people are throwing questions at him left and right. think about the number of hours he's gone just for these 90 minutes. i have dealt with this man when he was a senator, when he was a vice president, and when he was president. and i will tell you he's not the same person he was before, so let's not lower expectations. he's going to be prepared. the best he's ever going to be prepared, so what america needs to judge is this is joe biden at his very top. >> after previously attacking president biden for his mental acuity former house speaker kevin mccarthy is now warning against lowering expectations ahead of tonight's debate. we'll dig into those comments as both candidates gear up for their highly anticipated matchup. plus, donald trump continues to tease who he will pick for his running mate, telling his supporters the possibilities will show up at tonight's debate. but when will he finally make his choice? and also ahead, another significant abortion opinion was mistakenly leaked by the supreme court. we'll go over whether it could be welcome news for abortion rights advocates and how the justices are seemingly poised to rule in the case. good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this thursday, june 27th. i'm jonathan lemire. i am live in atlanta ahead of tonight's first presidential debate. we're coming to you live from the campus of georgia tech university, and it is officially debate day. for the first time in four years president joe biden and former president donald trump will come face-to-face tonight here in atlanta in the battleground state of georgia. sources familiar with president biden's plans tell nbc news the president will travel directly from camp david to georgia later today after a week of intense preparations at the maryland presidential retreat match that prep has reportedly included both dress rehearsal-style mock debates and in formal huddles with advisers to workshop answers and review policy. contrary to claims from trump's team, biden campaign sources say the president has maintained his executive schedule while at camp david and that only part of the days have been spent on the debate prep. as for the former president, the biden campaign believes that trump is preparing more for tonight's debate than he has been letting on publicly. they are bracing for trump to arrive here later this evening, quote, more disciplined than an past occasions, and they have been strategizing ways to get under the former president's skin to remind americans of his more uncontrolled side. and the biden campaign has said that the president will likely bring up trump's felony convictions during the debate tonight. the campaign put out a statement yesterday that read in part this way. donald trump is a twice impeached, 34-time convicted felon whose record of attempting to overthrow democracy, promising to enact revenge against his enemies, and inciting political violence at every opportunity makes it clear he belongs nowhere near the white house. he'll have to answer for his priors in front of tens of millions of american voters. we'll be watching. joining us now here with me in atlanta, national political correspondent for politico, meredith mcgraw, and back in washington deputy managing editor for politics at politico, sam stein. sam, let's begin with you. you and i have been reporting for days and weeks about how the biden campaign is approaching this debate. they certainly recognize the stakes are high. they're not trying to diminish it. that's why they wanted an early debate to shake-up what has been a static race to this point. tell us a little more about their thinking and hopes for this evening. >> well, first of all, jealous i can't be with you guys in person. it looks great down there. secondly, as for the stakes, yeah, incredibly high. as you rightfully note and reported they did this, they called this debate and got trump to agree with it precisely because they want trump to shake-up the race. this is a historically early debate. they've not been able to move the polls through a variety of different messaging tactics. i think they're disheartened to see the polls have moved a little bit in the little bit in the post-conviction period. but as of now it's a 50/50 race at best for them. really tonight is a chance to bring trump back into the living rooms of american voters, remind those voters what happened during his presidency. keep in mind a lot of voters now look back fondly on those four years, seemed to have dismissed the significance of january 6th. biden's job tonight is two fold. one is to remind people of those moments. the second is to clear the bar to a degree he's self-set and trump has set for him, which is to show voters he's someone more sprite than the caricature of him, that he has the energy and stamina to handle another four years, that he's not this caricature of a bumbling president who can't really find his way or handle the job for another rigorous four more years. so those are the two tasks at hand for the president. >> to this point republicans have set the bar so low for president biden, it probably wouldn't take much for him to clear it, but aides tell me they recognize there's potential down sides as well if he were to have a bad side or two this evening. you've covered the trump campaign. we know his bluster. how is trump getting ready for tonight? >> donald trump has been preparing for this debate for weeks. they just don't call it debate prep. they say he's having these policy discussions with some of his top advisers and members of his cabinet. kellyanne conway, steven miller, rick grenell, and others and have come and talked to him about specific policy points at mar-a-lago and in between some of his fund raisers and campaign events, and trump i'm told is listening carefully. he's asking a lot of questions. they're taking this very seriously. even if they want to avoid saying they're doing any kind of mock debates or debate prep at all. and i think one of the big things that keeps coming up for some of trump's advisers and allies is that they don't want him to have a redo of 2020, when he came off really aggressive and combative. some of his allies say he needs to stay calm and cool and present a more forward looking vision for the future. it's donald trump. we'll see what happens. >> that's a tall order for him. so what is the thinking there? because we know that president biden is going to be aggressive tonight. he's going to use the phrase "convicted felon." he's going to talk about january 6thch he's likely i am told very early in the night try to pose the question or have the moderators pose the question who won the 2020 election? how is donald trump with an audience watching including a sliver of swing voters both men need in november, how's he going to respond? >> that's a great question, but they are talking to such a small sliver of the electorate and for so many of their supporters the cake seems baked, and i'm going to be looking to see how much this ends the polls. >> let's talk about those polls. we go into tonight trump with consistent but narrow leads in the battlegrounds though biden has certainly had some momentum, some of the national polls particularly of late. aides in both campaigns think even if one man clearly wins tonight, that probably only moves the polls a couple points. these men are so well-defined. these voters are so polarized, but in a race this close that might be enough. talk about what each can do tonight and the down sides for each. >> again, i mean the race is so static, right? so a one or two point swing in either direction could be incredibly consequential. for both men it's basically can you -- can you clear these bars that have been set remarkably low? we talked about biden's bar. i guess in trump's case the bar is will he, you know, not come off as a rabid lunatic, right? or will he not do what he did in the first debate in 2020 where he was just talking over the moderator, talking over biden. i think for trump that, you know, you need to come across as being more stenseative than your caricature is and go after biden and get the spotlight for his record. for biden it's the inverse. you have to not only clear that caricature set for you but turn this race into the referendum but into a choice. the reason to ask whether or not the election in 2020 was stolen is not just to goad trump into saying something, it's to create a contrast so the voters can see. do you want someone who peddles in election lies or do you want someone who doesn't? get this election away from a referendum into a choice for competing visions and competing characters. >> national political correspondent for politico, meredith mcgraw, thank you for joining us this morning. sam stein, stay with us. we'll talk to you again a little later. as mentioned donald trump is giving his supporters a chance to weigh in on who should be his running mate. the trump campaign sent this e-mail to voters yesterday saying his vp pick will be at tonight's debate. the e-mail does not list any names but asks supporters to choose whether they'd prefer to have a senator representative, governor, former trump administration official, or a political outsider as president. not mentioned, mike pence. it's believed north dakota governor doug burgum and senators marco rubio and j.d. vance are at the top of trump's list. all three are expected to be here in atlanta for the debate. yesterday "the wall street journal"'s editorial board through its support behind burgum writing that the governor would be loyal to mr. trump while also unafraid to offer hard advice or speak an unhappy truth when the moment demands it. i don't think we should expect donald trump to take "the wall street journal" advice. coming up we'll have much more, much here from atlanta ahead of tonight's first presidential debate. plus what we're learning about the closed door espionage trial for wall street journal reporter evan gerschkovich, and what the biden administration is saying about trump's claim that he can get him released. those stories, other headlines, and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. weather when we come right back. for your own safety, you'll all be assuming new identities. hello! i'm your new neighbor. chet cunningham. ah, hah. gru, you have to blend in. perry needs a fourth for tennis tomorrow. i'm mr. tennis. it's my favorite of all the sports games. [ speaking minionese ] i'm gonna smoke this guy. you've gotta be kidding? better? if you have heart disease and struggle with ldl-c... even with statins and a healthy diet... listen to your heart. talk to your doctor about repatha. repatha plus a statin lowers ldl-c (bad cholesterol) by 63%, and drops the risk of having a heart attack. do not take repatha if you are allergic to it. repatha can cause serious allergic reactions. signs include trouble breathing or swallowing or swelling of the face. most common side effects include runny nose, sore throat, common cold symptoms, flu or flu-like symptoms, back pain, high blood sugar, and redness, pain, or bruising at the injection site. talk to your doctor about repatha. ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. welcome back. live from atlanta, but we're going to turn to some other headlines now before returning to coverage here of the debate. trial proceedings began yesterday behind closed doors in russia in the case of wall street journal reporter evan gerschkovich, taken into custody on espionage charges last year he's considered wrongfully detained. that's a status given to him by the u.s. government. "the wall street journal" notes espionage trials in russia are opaque and that it's not clear how long the trial might last. the court said gerschkovich's next hearing was set for august 13th. with the agenda of what happened behind closed doors yesterday still very unclear. >> meanwhile, former president trump suggested again yesterday that the reporter would be released from russian custody if he, trump, wins the presidential election this fall. in a post on his social media website trump declared that russian president vladimir putin has no respect for biden and that gerschkovich would be released prior to trump taking office should he win the election. state department spokesman matthew miller was asked about trump's latest claim yesterday. >> i would note that i hope that every american who cares about the safety and security of their fellow american citizens would demand the release of evan and paul now, not november, not december, not january but now. that ought to be the position of every american because i would hope that every american citizen wants to see these two wrongfully detained americans return home immediately. >> miller was also referring to wrongfully detained american paul whelan who's been held in russian custody since 2018. elsewhere overseas israel's defense minister says significant progress was made during his meeting with white house officials. gallant was in washington this week holding discussions with secretary of state antony blinken, defense secretary austin, and white house national security advisor jake sullivan. according to white house the cease-fire deal and efforts to reduce hostilities with hezbollah and lebanon were among the main topics of discussion. in a video statement released yesterday gallant explained that the obstacles surrounding america's supply of weapons to israel have been addressed. this as israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has accused the white house of withholding arms and slowing down israel's operation, a claim the biden administration has repeatedly refuted. still ahead we'll take a break and turn to sports and the nba draft with the atlanta hawks looking overseas for their number one pick. plus, was this bomb from baseball's home run leader aaron judge enough to keep the slumping yankees from being swept by the mets? i'll be delighted to bring you that answer. those highlights and a check on the forecast when we come right back. check on the forecast when we come right back new centrum menopause supplements help unpause life when symptoms pause it. with a multivitamin plus hot flash support. 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could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ with the first pick in the 2024 nba draft the atlanta hawks select zachary. >> the nba draft 6 foot 9 zaccharie will follow the hawks. get this he's the fourth overall international prospect to be taken with the top pick and the first in a slew of french players selected in the first round last night. i'm about to do a lot of french pronunciations. bear with me. a fellow frenchman alex also taken at number 2 by the washington wizards. another french player -- i think i did that right -- went to the charlotte hornets at number 6. and late in the first round a fourth french prospect went off the board as the new york knicks took home -- with the 25th selection. a lot of french players. jeez. meanwhile, the knicks have reportedly reached a deal to return free agent forward og anunoby to new york. he intends to sign a contract worth $212 million. that includes a player option and a trade kicker. he'll join the knicks in their efforts to re-create the 2016 villanova wild cats and create a revamped starting line-up heading into next season. lemere, you can thank me. i handled all the international pronunciations. they french came out, it's very beautiful. the league, it's turning into an international nba for sure. love it. >> that is why you are here to handle the tricky names. i can report atlanta has not been consumed by the fever. let's turn now to major league baseball and last night's rain delayed subway series finale in queens. the nets clobbered the yankees again with a 2-2 win. the mets tag the pitchers for seven homers, 21 hits over the two games, and with their 15th victory in 19 games the mets have climbed back to 500 for the first time since early may, all credit to grimace. the yankee's only runs came courtesy of their captain aaron judge who extend said his home run lead with his 30th of the season. judge joins a guy named babe ruth as the only players in franchise history with 30 home runs since july and on pace to finish in for 2022 season. but they still lead the american league east by one game. also in a slump the boston red sox, eight games out. in chicago now los angeles dodgers superstar shohei ohtani made history last night now with at least one rbi in con consecutive games after connecting for a second lead off homer in a row and national leading 25th long ball of the season. he's just so good. the dodgers beat the white sox 4-0. time now for the weather and let's go to meteorologist angie lassman for the forecast. i can report in atlanta it's hot. >> it is hot, indeed. it's going to stay that way, jonathan, the next couple of days. ever where else i'm afraid to tell you you messed the thunderstorms for the north east and atlantic. but those are on the way out. just a couple showers leftover in boston. right now identify might run into wet roads but otherwise major improvements for that region. we'll watch for the severe risk for parts of the rockies and central plains and more rain across the upper midwest. unfortunately, this is going to be concerning with that river flooding we've been dealing with days and days now. 6 million people mainly concerned about those really strong wind gusts over 80 miles per hour. so hurricane strong wind gusts are going to be possible in that region. there's rainfall amounts. a couple of spots localized amounts could potentially end up higher than 3 inches over the next couple of days. temperature-wise you mentioned it, jonathan, 90 degrees. 95 for jacksonville, still running above normal for dallas and amarillo. today and tomorrow not much of a change. you can see where that jetstream is. it keeps the south real warm over the next few days. dallas ends up triple digit 100, nashville, 92. notice the triple digits we see centered above texas but feeling a lot like summer cross parts of the north east, 88 on tap on sunday. raleigh ends up back in the mid-90s. angie lassman at 30 rock, thank you so very much. next up here former house speaker kevin mccarthy is out with a new warning to republicans about not underestimating president biden at tonight's debate. we'll take a look at mccarthy's new remarks when we come right back. at mccarthy's new remarks when we come right back welcome back to "way too early." it is 5:30 a.m. here on the east coast, 2:30 out west on this thursday morning. i'm jonathan lemire, and we are live in atlanta, georgia, this morning ahead of tonight's highly anticipated presidential debate. now, earlier this month you'll recall "the wall street journal" put out shall we say questionable report about president biden's mental acuity, largely citing comments from former house speaker kevin mccarthy. but in an interview he gave on fox news last night, mccarthy warned republicans biden will be fully prepared and ready for the debate. >> i don't want to lower expectation because that's what everybody's doing, and all that does is help biden. if you watch biden throughout his career, the one thing he has done well is in debates. i've been fortunate to go to camp david a number of times. and this is where i'm concerned, he is taking this serious. he has spent one week at camp david only focused on debates. people are throwing questions at him left and right. think about the number of hours he's gone just for these 90 minutes. let's not lower expectations. he's going to be prepared, the best he's ever going to be prepared. >> it all just remains to be in remarkably bad faith. meanwhile, the biden campaign is getting an early start on fact checking former president trump ahead of tonight's debate. according to a memo shared with nbc news, the campaign has setup a rap utd response strategy, and has already outlined the lies, misstatements, and exaggerations it believes trump is most likely to say on the debate stage tonight. biden's campaign is focusing on seven key topic areas they expect to come up during the debate which include abortion, crime, the economy, immigration, entitlements such as social security and medicare, foreign policy, and trump's false claims that he won the 2020 election. the president's allies also plan to send out fack checks during the debate through e-mails and on social media. so let's turn again to sam stein, and sam, you've proven to be an expert on incoming french nba players, but let's do some politics now. the biden campaign has been, you know, very frustrated at times trying to break through the noise, break through a fractured media environment and actually get their message out. you said it earlier in the show i think it's exactly right, it's all about contrasts. talk to us about the opportunity here and whether this fact checking effort makes sense for what the biden team wants to do. >> it's tough, right? like we wrote about this at politico, but fact checking trump is very difficult if not impossible. the man lies a lot, and he meanders, and multiple moderators and interviewers have tried to do it in realtime. some have done it successfully and some have not, but that's part of trump's strategy. he just bulldozes. so the question confronting biden people is, okay, to what degree do we use our time on the debate stage and time outside of the debate stage where we're trying to spin what happened on the debate stage to fact check? there was some frustration within the biden camp that cnn had said that the job of the muderators were not to necessarily do realtime fact checking, but, you know, that raises the question of what responsibility the biden operation itself has to do for them. and i think every -- i don't have the correct answer. i think they want to create a contrast is the best way to do it by saying, no, that's a lie or, no, you're misleading? i don't know. i will note there's historical point to think about here and how they're approaching debate prep. 2012 obama first debating against romney, he comes out probably a little overconfident. but what the obama camp did not anticipate was that romney was going to basically adopt widely different policy prescriptions than what they had been running onto that point. and basically, you know, move away from the attacks that obama had lodged on him. obama was not ready to do realtime push back in that sense. i do wonder if people who looked at that debate look for something similar to happen tonight? >> it's true incumbents tend to be rusty or maybe don't perform well at the first debate because they haven't been challenged. that goes for trump, too. sam, let's talk about trump you mentioned earlier in the show he's teasing his vp, whoever that might be, will be here tonight in atlanta. and there had been some suggestion he was going to announce his pick just before the republican convention in milwaukee in a few weeks. now that timetable might be moving up. quick for the viewers here, lay out the candidates and also what is trump looking for in a vp, and frankly, does it even matter? >> well, first and foremost, you know, trump bringing the vp tonight would be kind of weird unless he is nervous about being -- having a bad night, right? you use that vp to win a news cycle, to gain some momentum, to change a script. and so if he has a bad night, i would expect some announcement pretty soon. but to debut it right before the debate would be to step on the announcement. doesn't make any sense. he has a well-known history of bringing surprise guests to debates, so that's something to consider. in terms of the candidates, you know, the main ones we know of are doug burgum, marco rubio, j.d. vance, right? and obviously there's others, but in each case it's either a senator or governor, someone who ostensibly could run out the ticket in certain ways, but i'm with you -- i think i'm with you because it was implicit in your question. i don't know how much it actually matters here. i don't think they care north dakota all that much, i don't think they care about ohio all that much. i think j.d. vance if you want to appeal to popialist message, arb new type of policy which is very trump focused, which is not a lot of international engagement and outright skepticism. marco rubio wouldn't fit, can doug burgum he's bland. i think that's basically the idea you don't upstage trump, but he would give the veneer of nor malsty, which is something i think trump people want to product. i really would be surprised if we actually get the announcement tonight before the debate. >> some the trenched political analysis there. sam stein, thank you for helping us this morning and we'll talk tayou a little later on "morning joe." next up here we'll go live to cnbc for an early look what's driving wall street as investors await the release of key economic data. plus amazon's market cap tops $2 trillion for the first time ever. what it means for the tech and ecommerce giant. we'll be back with that as we take a live look at downtown atlanta. it's debate day, everyone. t down atlanta. it's debate day, everyone. so this is pickleball? it's basically tennis for babies, but for adults. it should be called wiffle tennis. pickle! yeah, aw! whoo! ♪♪ these guys are intense. we got nothing to worry about. with e*trade from morgan stanley, we're ready for whatever gets served up. dude, you gotta work on your trash talk. i'd rather work on saving for retirement. or college, since you like to get schooled. that's a pretty good burn, right? got him. good game. thanks for coming to our clinic, first one's free. i'm jonathan lawson, here to tell you about life insurance thanks for coming to our clinic, through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85 and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price 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your health. centrum gives every body a healthy foundation. supporting your - oops - energy, immunity and metabolism. and yours too! you did it! plus try centrum silver, now clinically proven to support memory in older adults. welcome back. time for business, and for that let's bring in cnbc's arabile guwhen he had who joins us live from london. investors will be watching for some key economic data including weekly jobless claims and pending home sales. that's all going to be released today. what's the market anticipating? >> yeah, look, all of those will be very important, but it might be the calm before the storm because we're headed towards the pce data, right? personal consumptions, expenditure data and that's going to be the federal reserve's preferred inflation figure, so that print is going toby a bit more of a market mover. and of course we're headed towards the debate later as well, and is also fog to be one the market is going to focus on, too. you might hear more from the two candidates and of course heading off to that pce data. it's going to be interesting to note overall what happens to that a.i. trade. will that continue to boost things as well for this market? of course the likes of nvidia of course having started this week. we are closing onto the quarter as well for the first half of the year. it'll be interesting to see what the numbers are on the back of that. >> arabile, amazon achieved a significant milestone. please fill us in. >> yeah,$2 trillion. for the first time amazon has now hit that mark joining it likes of apple, microsoft, even nvidia surpassed that figure pretty recently as well. in fact, nvidia has gone up $1.8 trillion this year. so significant uptick on that front. it's gone up $400 billion this year as amazon and only surpassed by apple and nvidia. they spent quite heavily a few years ago when there was a downturn in that stock price. over the last three years they've actually gone into a deep and managed to recover and spend heavily on amazon web services, which has been a very significant a.i. play for them. retail space overall having found some sort of recovery as well. sustaining power has also kept amazon up for a large period of time. $2 trillion for the first time for amazon. will the staying power be there, though, to catch onto the likes of apple, microsoft, as well as nvidia? >> $2 trillion, that is real money. cnbc's arabile gumede, live from london, good to see you as always. next up here a leaked document shows the supreme court might rule in favor of emergency abortions. what we're learning about the potential decision surrounding a case from idaho and the effect it could have on other restrictive health care laws. we're going to dive into that next on "way too early" live from atlanta. d patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. otezla can help you get clearer skin. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. some people taking otezla had depression, suicidal thoughts, or weight loss. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla. ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. that's according to a leaked document seemingly posted inadvertently on the website yesterday. bloomberg news saw the document. and it's not known whether it was a draft decision, the actual decision, or neither. the high court did acknowledge the document yesterday in a statement to nbc news confirming that it was inadvertently posted but reiniterating that the court's opinion in the case had not yet been released. the white house declined to comment on the matter. joining us now msnbc justice and legal affairs analyst anthony coley. anthony previously served as the top spokesperson for the attorney general merrick garland. you were at doj when the biden administration brought this lawsuit against idaho. first, let's get your reaction that such a leak could even occur. and if it is accurate, what does that mean? what should we take from this potential decision? >> that's right. good morning, jonathan. i was at doj when the biden administration decided to affirmatively bring this lawsuit against the state of idaho. and i will tell you, jonathan, there was zero hesitation about bringing this case, and that's because federal law really is quite clear that when the health of a woman is at risk and she presents at a hospital that receives federal funding, that hospital must provide stabilizing treatment inclusive of an abortion. now, what we have in idaho, jonathan, are conservative lawmakers really trying to preempt federal law. that's what's happening here. and they've got a willing participant in this supreme court even if as this document suggests there is a temporary reprieve. now, jonathan, the most curious thing about this draft document or whatever it is how the supreme court suggests oats not even going to rule right now. camy coney barrett wrote according to this draft opinion that the court miscalculated in even considering this case right now. that to me doesn't feel ingenuous. it suggests to me, jonathan, that she reads the newspaper, she sees the elector outcomes that have happened since dobbs occurred. and you and have talked about this before in state after state after state including deep red states like kansas. every time abortion is on the ballot, it wins. and i think that's what the supreme court is well aware of, and that's how it found this curious way of trying to decide this case right now to kick it down the road. >> yeah, abortion certainly going to be front and center at the debate tonight. so, anthony, we of course are still waiting for the supreme court to release a number of other opinions including one on presidential immunity that could come today, it could be tomorrow. my question to you is if that decision does come today, what sort of impact do you think it would have on tonight's debate proceedings? >> so i don't think it's going to come today. i think given the debate it's a little too on the nose activist supreme court to make it happen today. but, jonathan, i'll be clear about it, in some ways, it really doesn't matter what the decision is because the delay is the decision. there is no reason why this decision could not have been -- could not have come down months ago, and that really is unfortunate because it appears that this supreme court is putting its thumb on the scale for the president just by refusing to decide this case. >> an important point there to be sure. the odds of that january 6th federal trial happening before election day slim to none at this juncture. >> right. >> legal affairs analyst anthony coley, thank you, as always, for being with us this morning. we'll talk soon. up next, we'll preview more of tonight's debate, including the biden campaign's social media strategy. then coming up on "morning joe," more live coverage from atlanta where i am this morning ahead of the high stakes head-to-head between donald trump and president joe biden as they try to sway that thin slice of undecided voters. plus, the trial of jailed "wall street journal" reporter evan gershkovich is under way in russia. we have the latest developments. 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>> immigration, we should expect to hear the president consistently say he put forward a bipartisan border bill to address the issue and blame trump and other republicans for blocking that. we'll hear the president say this is an issue congress needs to solve, and he tried to do that and it was blocked. two recent statistics show border crossings are at the lowest of his presidency right now. on the economy, that's something that biden has clearly struggled with for years to talk about, as inflation has risen throughout his presidency. he's had different messages about bidenomics, putin's price hike. they haven't been able to settle on the message. we'll hear the president tout the various pieces of legislation he's passed, also tout that inflation is stable in its recent reporting. that is one of his vulnerabilities tonight. we should expect to see trump particularly hammer him on the issue, and how biden responds will be a marker for what we should expect his message will be over the next several months heading into november. >> biden on defense, but we should expect him to go on attack on abortion rights and his dislike for donald trump likely will shine through. white house reporter for "the washington post," tyler pager, thank you for joining us this morning. thanks to all of you for getting up "way too early requests on