president donald trump was a potential target. possibly retribution for the killing of a general in iran's islamic revolutionary guard. >> for years the justice department has been working to counter iran's brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against american government officials for the killing of general soleimani. >> he was arrested the day before the attempted assassination of mr. trump. while his plot is not believed to be connected, it is part of the reason the secret service detail around the former president had been increased. republicans are urging the biden administration to call this an act of war and say what they're going to do in response. >> ken dilanian, thank you very much. that wraps up the hour for me. thank you for the privilege of your time. "andrea mitchell reports" starts right now. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," vice president harris and her new running mate, minnesota governor

tim walz, firing up a huge arena in north philly as they launch their campaign blitz of the battleground states and head today to the midwest. >> we are the underdogs in this race. but we have the momentum. and i know exactly what we are up against. >> make no mistake, violent crime was up under donald trump. that's not even counting the crimes he committed. former president trump tries to define walz. . >> he is a very liberal man. he is a shocking pick. i could not be more thrilled. >> among the guests this hour, nancy pelosi and wes moore on whether the new democratic ticket can gear up with 89 days

left until election day. ♪♪ good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. after kamala harris introduced her new running mate of more than 10,000 in north philly, the newly minted democratic ticket hoping to take the momentum into wisconsin and michigan, focusing on union members. minnesota governor tim walz, a former union member himself, is widely considered pro-worker, raking in labor endorsements. the campaign releasing video of that acceptance call. walz seen at home in his signature camo baseball cap. harris trusted her gut in choosing the running mate and the chemistry between the pair that was clear last night at

temple university. harris calling him coach walz. >> thank you, madam vice president, for the trust you put in me. maybe more so, thank you for bringing back the joy. donald trump sees the world a little differently than us. like all regular people i grew up with in the heartland, j.d. studied at yale. had his career funded by silicon valley billionaires. then wrote a best seller trashing that community. come on! that's not what middle america is. these guys are creepy. yes, just weird at hell. that's what you see. that's what you see. >> the harris campaign introducing walz to the nation as a midwestern dad, highlighting his values, his biography, his accomplishments as governor. republicans trying to define walz as a far left progressive. >> this is a radical human being who comes from the far left wing of the democratic party.

what kamala harris is telling all of us by selecting tim walz is she bends the knee to the far left of the democratic party. she's done it every single time in government. she's done it in who she selected as her vp nominee. she will do it if the american people give her a promotion to the president of the united states. >> we begin with yamiche alcindor and philip rucker. welcome both. yamiche, this is a race to define someone that few americans really knew outside of his state, his own state and the house where he served for 12 years. how do they do that? the republicans certainly have made it clear the way they are trying to define him. >> certainly, the way they're going to try to define governor walz is both introducing him to people, especially in the battleground states, why you see this tour happen this week. they are also going to not just

wisconsin, where they are now. they will be in detroit. they will put out videos and trying to make sure people understand who he is, his background and what he has done in his life. there's the media and that's social media, merchandise, that's big meetings but also small meetings. there's a campaign and rollout to introduce him. the thing that made the difference is the rapport between tim walz and vice president harris. i was told that was really the thing that put him over the edge of the other contenders. in particular, also his background. not just as an executive who knows how to run a state and a midwestern state at that, but someone who really is on the same page when it comes to policy, when it comes to codifying roe v. wade for minnesota, passing universal school lunch in his state, ensuring paid family leave. the policy difference that made him stand out. i was told the communication. we saw it there in the clips. i was told he is someone who is seen as brilliant and funny. one of the clips they didn't

show but that got a big response yesterday in philly was he said at one point, violent crime was up when former president trump was in office. he paused, that's not counting the crimes committed by trump. the crowd burst into laughter and cheering. it tells you that tim walz feels like someone who the campaign feels like can really go out there and talk to people in a plain way but also make the case against why he is going to say why these republicans are -- he is talking about trump and vance, that the candidates are weird and creepy. i want to point out, when you think the josh shapiro, he wasn't seen as somebody who would win them the state of pennsylvania. they didn't think any one candidate would win them the state of any battleground state. that was a calculation. the other thing with mark kelly, he was seen as someone who wasn't loyal enough to president biden. not only after the debate when people tried to push him out of the race but also over the years

when it comes to policy, including border policy and immigration. that tells you what the other contenders were thinking about and what they thought about. i will say it is why tim walz stood out. >> josh shapiro came out and gave an incredible speech right before -- as the warm-up act, if you will. it was gracious. they paid tribute to him. walz called him out when he -- and talked about what a phenomenon he is there. i don't know about your reporting. my reporting is, from covering pennsylvania and all of the polling there, that he could have helped them in pennsylvania. i don't think there's any question of that. >> their internal -- >> go ahead. >> what i was told -- my sources tell me their internal polling shows he didn't help them enough in a way that would make it guaranteeing pennsylvania or help them enough in a way that

would sway pennsylvania enough that would make them want to really choose him with the idea of winning pennsylvania. i think when you go down the box of people that they wanted people to check, when you look at tim walz, not only is the things you mentioned, a veteran, a teacher, former governor, he is someone who has a background when it comes to fertility. he talked about his wife and how they had for years struggled with fertility issues and conceived their daughter hope via ivf. that speaks to the issue that vice president harris spent a lot of time talking about, abortion rights and reproductive rights. if you look at the boxes that he ticks and all of the different ways he connects with their messages, that's important. as i'm sure you are reporting, with shapiro -- i talked to one source that said they were worried about the protests that might happen when it comes to people protesting the war against israel and hamas.

they didn't say that sinked josh shapiro. that was not the thing that did him in. there were concerns when it came to his stance on the war. >> phil, that point that yamiche was raising is one of the things that the trump people are seizing on today. trump called harris' pick of walz insulting to jewish people. they are trying to hone in on that. harris passed over josh shapiro who is jewish. he was talking about in defense of his faith. >> i lean on my family and i lean on my faith which calls me to serve. and i am proud of my faith. >> i talked to a lot of people in pennsylvania and elsewhere, jewish people who feel slighted by the fact that shapiro was not picked. i think the comfort level, the

fact that he is an ambitious younger politician, who has been talked about as a presidential hopeful some day, and that harris clearly maybe from her own experience with joe biden and how awkward their pairing was at first, wanted somebody who would definitely not challenge her and be very comfortable being a second banana. >> yeah. i think that's right. i think we underplay how important personal comfort and chemistry is in making a selection like this. she wasn't just picking somebody to win an election. she was picking somebody she would want to share the stage with in these rallies, someone who she would want to be a trusted confidante. if she -- she spent time over the weekend at the vice president residence meeting individually with these three finalists. the reporting by my colleagues at news organizations showed she just had such a deeper comfort level with governor walz, that

he was somebody who there was clear mutual respect but also a sense ofdltsubserve -- it's important when you are choosing a running mate. >> they wanted their home governor. there's the fetterman factor. there were awkward moments with fetterman looking straightforward when shapiro was on stage. fetterman has come out against his own governor. that could have been awkward, especially when they have a senate -- hot senate race with

bob casey and dave mccormick going on in pennsylvania. >> they have a history in pennsylvania politics. there's a rivalry there. this predates fetterman's role as senator and shapiro's role as governor. that's not helpful. i would imagine harris made this choice more because she felt as the reporting shows more comfortable with walz. he had this full package that she was looking for. >> he was the happy warrior last night. that was quite a rally. that was bigger than any we have seen since the obama years. for the democrats. thanks so much for starting us off yamiche and phil. joining us is the uaw president. it's great to see you. over the weekend, you were saying that walz was the second

choice. you didn't like kelly because of a vote he took in the senate on the right to organize and the fact that he is a teacher and all the rest. the teachers will be behind him. very frankly, the fact that josh shapiro sends his kids to jewish day schools, to private schools. >> thanks for having us. we weighed in on this. i will be clear. we rated all the candidates with our research team, listened to our members. it was clear, there were two candidates that stood out. i had more of a working relation with beshear. we are ecstatic. our membership is ecstatic about tim walz being the vice presidential candidate. he is one of us. he is a teacher. he knows what it's like to scrape to get by check to check. teachers have seen their situation erode over the years.

they have been left behind just like the working class in this country have. that's what this election is about. there's nothing better that vice president harris could have picked than tim walz. we are excited and looking forward to rallying with him tonight. >> what about the auto workers for trump? donald trump has a lot of appeal in michigan. that was a major factor for his victory in 2016 was michigan. how will this team do in michigan? they're going to detroit tonight. >> this team will win big in michigan. there's a small minority of workers that support donald trump in aut majority of uaw mee going to vote for kamala harris and tim walz. they identify with them. they understand them. that's what this election is about. this election -- donald trump talks about bringing the auto industry back. let's remind people about facts. that's something donald trump -- donald trump talks about alternate facts, which is what

normal people call lies. we talk about facts in uaw. we talk about facts in our big three campaign, how workers have been left behind. it's no different now. working class people have been left behind because of policies of donald trump. auto workers when he was president, multiple plants closing. donald trump did nothing to help those situations change, to help keep those jobs here. you know what? when kamala harris became vice president and joe biden became president, they worked with us to turn around the situation in ohio where donald trump left workers behind. they got shipped all over the country. under vice president harris, they are bringing those workers home go back to 2019 when donald trump was president. gm workers were on strike for 40 days. donald trump was missing in action. he did nothing and said nothing. you know who joined striking gm workers? kamala harris. that's when it wasn't a popular thing to do.

she stood shoulder to shoulder with our members. in 2023, governor tim walz of minnesota was there on the picket line with our members. we know who is there for us. we know who is all talk. donald trump is all talk. kamala harris and tim walz, they walk the walk. >> i know you will be there tonight. thank you very much for joining us today. we appreciate it. >> thank you for having us. high alert. israel bracing for potential military action from iran. a live report from the region when "andrea mitchell reports" is back in 90 seconds. stay with us. you are watching msnbc. bc ant. -you the man! cologuard is for people 45+ at average risk, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider for cologuard. ♪ i did it my way ♪

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when you gotta have seafood, you gotta have red lobster. hamas has chosen sinwar to replace the top negotiator for the cease-fire and hostage release talks. sinwar is believed to be hiding in the tunnels under gaza, beyond reach of the negotiators. >> with regard to mr. sinwar, he has been and remains the primary

decider when it comes to concluding the cease-fire. this only underscores the fact that it is on him to decide whether to move forward with the cease-fire. >> joining me now from tel aviv, raf sanchez. there's dismay in washington and a number of other capitals as tony blinken has been trying to rally the world to influence iran through anyone, the envoy from jordan, you know this so well. so far no signals iran will let this go unretaliated. how can sinwar negotiate when he is hiding in a tunnel? >> reporter: it's a very interesting question. part of the reason these negotiations have been so painfully slow is that sinwar is believed to be deep under the ground in southern gaza. he is not using electronic equipment because he is worried the israelis will find him, kill

him. instead, he sends messages via couriers that travel from the tunnels to the surface and then they have to reach the hamas negotiators who sit in those hotel rooms in doha, in cairo and who actually interface with the mediators who pass those messages on to the united states and on to israel. it's a very, very long chain. as you heard secretary state blinken say, from the american perspective, sinwar was always the key decider. the political chief of hamas was sort of the mediator. it was ultimately sinwar who has the hostages in his custody under gaza who is making the decisions. the u.s. is trying to be optimistic that this won't further complicate what are already just fiendishly complicated negotiations. the israeli government says this doesn't change anything. he is their number one target, the most wanted man. they are determined to find him.

they are determined to kill him. he has evaded them for ten months. they say it is only a matter of time before they track him down. the way they tracked down the military commander inside of gaza. as you mentioned, the negotiations made more complicated by the fact that israelis are wondering if tonight is the night that the wave of iranian missiles is going to arrive. so far, it hasn't happened. there's no indication at all that the iranians have backed down. they appear to be biding their time. in a phone call with president macron of france earlier, the newly sworn in iranian president is saying that iran will retaliate for the assassination. a humiliation for the iranian regime. >> is there any second-guessing

in israel with all of the disputes and the military being against a lot of the decision making from the cabinet, from netanyahu? is there any second-guessing about the timing and location of how they took him out? >> no one in israel is shedding a tear. i can tell you, the families of the israeli hostages who have been waiting so, so long for a breakthrough and not seeing it are deeply concerned. for them, it's raising new questions about whether prime minister netanyahu really does want to get to a hostage deal or not, given that the u.s. is working overtime on this complicated diplomacy to try to get a cease-fire back, get the hostages back after ten months. that work is made so much more difficult when you have high profile killings like the one we

saw in iran last week. >> raf sanchez, thanks so much. trump's take, next, how former president trump and his running made are responding to shifts on the democratic ticket. later, nancy pelosi on all the big developments for her party and her new book. that's coming up. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. . oh. enjoy it. oh, poofect. bye waybor. something minty? of course, it's a large. [ gasps ] ♪ ♪ a double. lucky. ♪ wayfair. every style. every home. ♪ we planned well for retirement, but i wish we had more cash. you think those two have any idea? that they can

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as kamala harris and tim walz continue their tour, j.d. vance is visiting the same key swing states. he was in michigan this morning where he spoke at a police department. he was going to wisconsin where harris and walz will be this afternoon. joining me now is garrett haake in michigan. garrett, how is vance pitching himself to voters? i understand you had a rather interesting exchange with him this morning. talk to me about that. >> reporter: i would agree with that. vance is on message. we were at a police station. he was focused on crime and on immigration and linking those issues together. a bread and butter issue for the trump campaign and the republican ticket. he was on the attack against vice president harris and to a lesser degree her new running mate tim walz on a host of issues, including introducing a new issue, something about walz's service in the national guard and whether he left his

unit before it deployed. i took an opportunity in the q&a portion to ask him about comments he made suggesting that perhaps if not the only, the most important reason that josh shapiro was not put on the democratic ticket was that he was jewish. i asked him whether he had any evidence to support that claim, given the fact that kamala harris is married to a jewish man. here is part of his response. >> i have suggested that kamala harris was motivated or at least her party was motivated by anti-semitism. the evidence i offer is what dozens of democratic activists said in the run-up to her selecting her nominee. >> reporter: my snap analysis on this is the republican ticket is trying very hard to create disunity within the democratic party over this pick and particularly over this issue of israel and the war in gaza, which has divided democrats up until this point.

i don't think as large of an issue on the vp side of the slate today as republicans want it to be. >> it seems like playing the race card -- i mean, playing racial, religious, gender politics is an old game. we have seen it. it can work. but it doesn't seem to pass the laugh test in this case. >> reporter: i think that is a very reasonable way to look at it, yes. i agree. >> given the fact that she's married to doug emhoff, who made anti-semitism one of his causes. he was heading to paris where he would give a speech about anti-semitism and the holocaust. >> reporter: i do think -- to me, this is an effort to try to create as much friction as they can within the elements of the democratic party about this ticket. the trump campaign believes,

including about their own vice presidential pick, that the running mate doesn't actually do all that much for you. you want him to do no harm. maybe it helps with your base, with your fund-raising. tim walz is doing that for democrats. creating this question about whether it should have been shapiro and why it wasn't can create some disunity, i think that's a message that they're going to try to strike it. i don't see it being effective. >> did you hear anything that was at all different in what donald trump said about a debate today? he has been saying he won't live up to the agreement, which was to do a debate in september with abc. do you think he is changing his posture at all? >> reporter: he gave a very trumpian response, which is that it's coming soon. there will be more information. suggesting there was some agreement in place, but he wasn't going to say what it was

or which station it might be with. this is a weird way, consistent with what he has been saying, that he does want to debate harris. he doesn't want it to be on abc. he has issues there. what the specific location, time, place, format is that the two campaigns could agree upon i think is very much an open question. >> garrett haake, thank you very much. coming next, maryland's governor on what tim walz brings to the democratic ticket. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports." stay with us. this is msnbc. balanced nutrition for strength and energy. yay - woo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. (♪♪) (♪♪) [shaking] itchy pet? (♪♪) with chewy, save 20% on your first pharmacy order so you can put an end to the itch. get flea and tick medication delivered right to your door.

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we are back with an nbc news exclusive first to us. according to the campaign, since yesterday's announcement that governor tim walz would be harris' running mate, they have raised more than $36 million. joining me now is wes moore who is on the campaign advisory board. that's good news for the campaign. they had a good launch yesterday. many people in the country didn't know governor tim walz, according to the polling. how does he break through? >> it's great news. i think that number of $36 million goes to show the level of energy that we are seeing around the country. much of that are small dollar donors. much are first-time donors. the thing that we know about a

person, whether they give $5 or whether they give $500 is that person is probably a voter now. we are watching this level of energy, the signs which has been encouraging. as people learn more about my friend tim walz, the more excited and impressed they are. this is a person who is a military veteran, who went on to become a high school football coach, who went on to run for congress and then now is a successful governor of minnesota. the thing that you see, the thread amongst tim walz is public service. this is a person who believes in this country. he believes deeply in the people of this country. now that he is raising his hand to serve as vice president of the united states in a harris-walz administration, the level of excitement is something that correlates to people continuing to learn more about who tim walz is. >> i want to give you a chance to respond to something that

j.d. vance said. he is attacking tim walz's military service today. let's listen. >> i wonder, when were you in war? when was this -- what was this weapon that you carried into war given you abandoned your unit before they went to iraq? he has not spent a day in a combat zone. what bothers me is the stolen valor garbage. don't pretend to be something you are not. >> given your record as a veteran, why don't you respond to that. he was a sergeant major, highest level of enlisted men. >> i'm a very proud veteran of this country, having served with the 82nd airborne division. i know that anybody who is willing to raise their hand to put on a uniform of this country, especially when you consider a small percentage of our population has ever done

that, they deserve our most respect. that includes j.d. vance, corporal j.d. vance and that includes sergeant major tim walz. i think j.d. vance knows as being a corporal, you don't get to sergeant major just because. you get to sergeant major because you served the country, you were willing to put the flag of this country on your shoulder and promise to defend it against all enemies. you get to sergeant major because you have a track record of taking care of your people. if j.d. vance is going to go after tim walz, i would suggest he take from his military training, his military experience, do not start with trying to attack the fact that someone raised their hand to serve this country. they deserve our respect. we need to make sure and especially as a veteran, you must make sure you respect that. >> we should point out the biography alone, he enlisted at 19 and then went to college on

the g.i. bill. his family, had his father died, they were living on social security benefits to make ends meet, according to the biography. >> that's exactly right. you are right. we enlisted at the same age. we both joined the military at 17 years old. this is a person who decided at an early age that he was going to enlist in the military and make the military part of his future, part of his life. this is a person who believes in patriotism, he believes in the goodness of the american people. he believes in the goodness of the documents that we fall under and that we served under. i do think it's important that if j.d. vance wants to spend time highlighting this is a person who served over 20 years in uniform, if j.d. vance wants to point out this is a person who rose to the rank of sergeant major, if j.d. vance wants to

point out this is a person who has led countless other enlisted personnel in the military, i just don't know if that's necessarily the hill that j.d. wants to climb. >> let me ask you whether governor walz is a regional pick to appeal to white men. how does he appeal to black america? >> i think the beautiful thing about tim walz is that he is someone who sees all of us. that's why his pick matters so much. when you are making a vice presidential selection, you are no, ma'am make not making that selection because you are trying to say, what state can this person get me or what state can that person get me. the truth is, that's not how a vice presidential selection has been made since 1960. what we know about tim walz is that he doesn't just shore up the blue wall that people have, the michigan, wisconsin,

pennsylvania. we know that because of his track record, because of his history, because of his military history, he is going to be uniquely able to speak to folks in other states like north carolina and like georgia, like arizona and nevada. this is a person whose unique service to this country speaks to all of us. frankly, what he is offering is what all of us want. that's just simply a fair shot. that's what i think a harris-walz campaign and eventually administration is going to be able to provide to the people of this country. >> governor wes moore, thank you very much. >> thank you. the balance of power, next, nancy pelosi joining me with her take on what's at stake for democrats in november. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc.

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aspen dental makes getting new dentures and implants easier. with the technology and expertise to give you the right fit and $0 down plus 0% interest, if paid in full in 18 months. making things as simple as they should be. it's one more way aspen dental is in your corner. just 2 1/2 weeks after president biden reluctantly agreed to step aside for kamala harris, the democratic party pulled off what seemed impossible. virtually nominating harris unanimously, raising hundreds of millions of dollars, $36 million more overnight, and launching a new campaign with a newly anointed running mate before the biggest crowd democrats have seen since barack obama. this just two weeks before the party is gathering in chicago for its convention. can they pull off an upset against donald trump? win back the house and even have

a shot at holding the senate? joining me now is an expert on this, nancy pelosi. her new book is titled "the art of power, my story as america's first woman speaker of the house." madam speaker, it's great to see you. thank you so much. the book is wonderful. i'm going to ask you about it. i want to start with the election. you have a new ticket. the excitement last night was palpable in north philly. is it fair to say the democrats have gotten their mojo back after president biden dropped out? >> i think we have always had our mojo. now it's campaign time. we were ready. i'm very proud of the campaign. it speaks not only to our readiness but the opportunity the public presented to us. they were eager for -- to get moving.

they wanted to be joyful, hopeful. this campaign is giving them that. >> he was portrayed and seemed to be the happy warrior last night. is it fair to say that donald trump, who claims he is thrilled about this choice, thrilled, he thinks it's the second best choice or not as good as josh shapiro. >> it's not up to him to decide that. this is kamala harris' choice. she's going to be elected president of the united states. it's not a question of who can help you win. it's who can help you lead and guide the country into the future. the combination has a certain magic to it. josh is wonderful. we love josh. she actually had six or maybe more good choices. the governor of michigan took herself out. any other candidates in there show a great bench in the democratic party as we go forward. certainly josh among them. the others as well.

who cares what he thinks about her choice? he has enough trouble with his own choice for vice president. >> but there are house members who are very excited about tim walz. he was in the house for 12 years. he came in in 2006, the year you became speaker. some people are reporting that you had a lot to do with this. >> i knew them all. as i said, any name -- any one of them would have been great. >> was he your first choice? >> i didn't have a first choice. let me say this. tim walz came to the congress -- my daughter had him in one of her boot camps for that year that we had to take back the house for the democrats. we had a big victory. that class is a big class. again, we got -- took back the house for the american people, took the majority. they are so excited.

that class is taking particular ownership of tim having events, zooms, all the rest. all of the members respect him highly. in the congress, he came from his years wearing a nation's uniform as opposed to the current candidate for president who had what, spurs or something on his feet and he couldn't serve our country and he is criticizing our candidate. to stick with tim, so well liked, nominated and elected by the members to be our top democrat on the veterans affairs committee where he brought his knowledge, his priorities, his vision for how we could help our vets better. our vets better, and he working with chad edwards of texas who was appropriator and our caucus did more for veterans in that period of time than since the gi bill. >> j.d. vance has criticized him

as never having been in combat. >> has he? has he? has j.d. vance been in combat? >> he was over in iraq, i think, as a public relations officer, as a communications officer, i think that's the case, but he's also said that this is anti-semitic that josh shapiro was not chosen because he wasn't against israel enough. >> let me say this, we have some challenges in our country. as i say all the time, what matters are the kitchen table issues for the american people. what matters is the distinction between the two visions for our country, and the experience that has been brought. joe biden 16 million jobs created. i don't like to use his name, but donald trump, the worst job creation record since herbert

hoover. >> what about playing religion or racial politics? >> that has no place in our politics, and they know it, and they're desperate. they're desperate. >> do you think it works? >> i think that there is -- it may work for their base, but it shouldn't work for our country. >> you watch the debate as we all did, and you were so close to president biden. you've said you loved him, and in fact, by a lot of reporting, you were closer to him than you were to barack obama. you both came from the legislative branch. you appreciated the way he worked the congress and understood the congress and the senate particularly but the congress as well, so how painful was it to see that debate and to realize that the house only five seats had to be switched, that you might lose the house, not regain it? with him at the top of the ticket. >> of course i'm very concerned because we won when we took

back -- one of the reasons i went into leadership was to win the house for the democrats because we had lost '94, '96, 2000, so i said i know how to do this, and tim walz was part of that. a representative of heartland of america for rural america, for our veterans, a small business, he was even a small business owner. so that's what we're about. it wasn't just, though, about the house. i thought it was very important, very important for us to make sure that donald trump never becomes president again. >> it was more likely that trump would win after that debate, what you saw there -- >> i don't know that. >> that's what you were hearing from the members. >> what you're hearing is one thing, what the president decided was his decision, this great consequential president of the united states, so many great things he did for our country,

which he's continuing to do, god bless him for this -- the return of the prisoners from russia, just masterful, virtuoso diplomat and the rest. >> he's obviously in pain, and he's handled it so well in terms of being gracious and all that, and you cared so much about him. have you reached out to him? you said that you've -- >> i'm going to sneeze. >> that's okay, god bless you. >> sorry. >> i don't know why. >> live television. excuse me. >> no, have you reached out to him? you said you haven't talked so i'm just wondering. >> no, we haven't spoken, but everybody's busy, you know. that is to say he's freeing prisoners. do you understand what a virtuoso performance that was? the prisoners having to make trades from different countries and all the rest, so he -- he's busy, and we're all busy, and we have this campaign, and he has said beautiful things now about

tim walz as well, so it isn't a question of -- what's not important is when he or i speak. what's important is that the american people hear his message, see what he has done. we show the difference between the two in terms of it. one of the great distinctions i like to make, it's my personal favorite for one reason or another you'll know. when -- obviously we respect people's views on the woman's right to choose with roe v. wade, not one republican voted for us to enshrine it as law in our country. okay, i'm italian catholic, italian american catholic. i understand some of that attitude. i have it in my own family. however, when we put on the floor a bill that said women have a right to contraception, some people were like why are you doing that? you're giving them an out. they're going to look sane for a change. eight republicans voted that

women have a right to contraception. 195 said no. so, again, when we're talking about creation of jobs, freedom -- freedom of women. >> so these are the issues that you really want to -- i want to ask you about the book because in the book you reveal you had a very difficult conversation with donald trump for one thing. >> yeah. >> it was the day he was going to the u.n. and you were telling him that you were starting the impeachment inquiry at the commission committee. >> he said what he was doing that day, and i said what i was doing that day. >> donald trump is now most likely not going to go to trial for all that you investigated for the election and if he wins, then the trial of the election become overturned will never take place. >> well, because we have a rogue supreme court, thank you donald trump, thank you mitch mcconnell. >> let me ask you about paul pelosi and the invasion, the

attack on him. it's really a miracle that he survived. he came that close. do you -- do you blame the people who targeted you and demonized you? >> i think they take some responsibility for that. >> not only that, earlier than that the republican party. the republican party with cloven feet head horns, really, actually, they started under clinton, hillary and bill clinton. the politics of personal destruction, and then they transferred it to me. you know why? because i was effective. i was getting bills passed, i was raising money to win the congress and retain that majority and the rest, and they had to take me down, but when they were doing it, they went into a different territory of political debate, and it fed a flame, a fueled a flame, and so

but that was before. after to see the president of the united states, his family, some governors, leaders in the republican party make a joke of it, that was pathetic for the party. not as pathetic, however, after january 6th the assault on the capitol, the congress, the constitution of the united states that overwhelmingly the republicans came back in the room and overwhelmingly voted not to accept the voting of the electoral college, the peaceful transfer of power. so we have a problem here. we want to diffuse it, and that's why let's not even talk about it. let's just talk about the glory of kamala and tim, the promise that they have put out there, the enthusiasm that they have generated and to make a distinction when it comes to the kitchen table about jobs and education, they want to

eliminate the department of education now. >> you also write about working on the financial services with the former treasury secretary, you talk about john mccain and talking to him and he gave you a heads-up he was going to vote -- the key vote to save affordable care act, obamacare, so there used to be bipartisanship, you write about this throughout your book. >> the republican party has been hijacked. it is now a cult, and they should take it back because the public needs a strong republican party. the grand old party, great things they've done for the country, great leadership that they have provided and what now? what now? so in any event, we just have to win the election. they have told me some of the republicans, you have to beat them in the general because we can't beat them in the primary, and then we will come back to our debate on the issues. what is the role of government since the beginning of our country. just the competition of ideas

and the excitement of it all. >> well, i hope you'll come back. we can talk during the convention or before about this campaign and more about the book because it's the end of the hour, so we're out of time. >> you are. it's wonderful to be with you, thank you. my pleasure, and i'll tell paul you asked about him, thank you. victory to kamala and tim. >> ever the campaigner, ever the politician. "the art of power". >> thank you. >> and fortunately he is recovering well as we understand. >> thank you. >> thank you so much, madam speaker. speaker emerita nancy pelosi. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow the show on social media @mitchellreports. you can watch the best of the show on youtube. go to msnbc.com/andrea. "chris jansing reports" starts right now. good day. i'm chris jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york