wrongfully detained and are working hard to try to get that designation through our government. so we try to advocate for those cases who may not have all the support of media company or basketball team or something like that too. >> thank you so much. you're a hero to so many people, so many families, and to us, frankly. that you think, diane. it's good to see you. >> thank you, andrea, so much. >> for a lot more information please go to the jamesfoleyfoundation.org. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." remember, follow us on social media @mitchellreports. "chris jansing reports" with ana cabrera starts right now. ♪♪ hello, i'm ana cabrera in for chris jansing. it is a hollywood tragedy with a

new dramatic twist. multiple people are facing charges for supplying tv star matthew perry with the drugs that killed him. one accused of injecting perry with ketamine more than 20 times in the days leading up to his death. plus, donald trump's delays tactics ultimately failed to stop his hush money trial, but could they keep him out of jail? his lawyers now urging the judge to push back trump's september 18th sentencing until after the election. and from leading man to supporting role, president biden takes the stage with vice president harris in maryland just a half hour from now. the official purpose, to roll out a deal that could save americans billions on prescription drugs. but what will the dynamics be like with harris now at the top of the presidential ticket? but we begin with that breaking news. brand new charges and arrests

made in connection to the overdose death of friends actor matthew perry. moments ago, we got the indictment charging multiple people including defendants dubbed the ketamine queen, and dr. p. perry was found face down and unresponsive in the heated end of his pool. his death was ruled an accident, the result of acute effects of ketamine according to the l.a. county medical examiner's office. they said perry had so much ketamine in his system it was equivalent to the amount typically used for general anesthesia in surgery. nbc's steve patterson has the latest on the investigation. he is standing by, but first let's go right to will them a. as this news conference gets underway. >> underground criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of ketamine to mr. perry and others. this network included a live-in assistant, various go-betweens, two medical doctors, and a major

source of drug supply known as, quote, the ketamine queen. we charged five defendants in this matter. these defendants took advantage of mr. perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves. they knew what they were doing was wrong. they knew what they were doing was risking great danger to mr. perry, but they did it anyways. in the end, these defendants were more interest instead profiting off mr. perry than caring for his well-being. i'm going to talk about the indictment, the allegations, and the charges in more detail. on october 28th, 2023, mr. perry was found deceased in his home. an autopsy was conducted following his death. that autopsy showed that he had died due to the acute effects of ketamine. ketamine is a controlled substance. it has some legitimate uses, but

it is also used illegally. it is used by people seeking to disassociate from reality. it can cause serious health effects, serious health problems including loss of consciousness including spikes in blood pressure, and including respiratory issues that can deprive the brain of oxygen. for that reason, it is a drug that must be administered by medical professionals and the patient must be monitored closely. that did not occur here. this investigation focused on who supplied the ketamine to mr. perry. as many of you know, mr. perry struggled with addiction in the past. on many occasions, he sought help for his addiction issues. the investigation revealed that in the fall of 2023, mr. perry fell back into addiction, and these defendants took advantage to profit for themselves.

the two lead defendants in this case are defendants salvador placencia and javine. defendant pla sen sha was a medical doctor. he worked with another medical doctor, defendant mark chavez to obtain ketamine. he then worked with mr. perry's live-in assistant, defendant kenneth iwomasa to distribute that ketamine to mr. perry. over two months from september to october 2023, they distributed approximately 20 vials of ketamine to mr. perry in exchange for $55,000 in cash. the defendant saw this as an opportunity to profit off of mr. perry. he wrote in a text message in

september 2023, quote, i wonder how much this moron will pay. he also stated in text messages that he wanted to be mr. perry's sole source of supply. he wrote in a text message that he wanted to be mr. perry's, quote, go-to for drugs. as a doctor, defendant placnecia knew full well the danger of what he was doing. in fact, on one occasion he injected mr. perry with ketamine, and he saw mr. perry freeze up and his blood pressure spike. despite that, he left additional vials of ketamine for defendant iwamasa to deliver to mr. perry. defendant iwamasa had no medical training to speak of. he knew what he was doing was harming mr. perry. he had spoken to another patient in mid-october 2023, and he told that patient that mr. perry was

spiraling out of control with his addiction. nonetheless, defendant plasencia continued to offer ketamine to mr. perry. likewise, defendant sonya knew what she was doing was harming mr. perry. she took advantage of mr. perry by selling large amounts of ketamine to mr. perry in october of 2023. she sold approximately 50 vials of ketamine for approximately $11,000 in cash. she worked with a broker, defendant eric fleming and also the live-in assistant, defendant iwamasa to distribute this ketamine. sonya and the broker saw this as an opportunity to profit off of mr. perry. in a text message, the broker wrote, quote, i wouldn't do it if there wasn't a chance of me

making money for doing this. defendant sonya sold the batch of ketamine that resulted in mr. perry's death on october 28th. officers later searched defendant sonya's home. during that search, they found what amounted to a drug selling emporium. they found 80 vials of ketamine, thousands of pills containing meth amphetamine, cocaine, bottles of xanax and other illegally obtained prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia including scales and ledgers. as i mentioned, the defendants in this case knew what they were doing was wrong. when they'd refer to the ketamine, they'd use coded language, such as dr. pepper or boxes or cans. defendant plasencia and chavez

knew full well this was not the proper way to administer ketamine, and they even talked about that in their exchanges. and defendant sonya also knew that she was doing something that caused great risk to mr. perry. in fact, during this investigation we learned that several years before in 2019, defendant sonya had sold ketamine to another customer. that person died the same day, and family member of that person sent a message to defendant sonya telling her the cause of death was ketamine. nonetheless, defendant sonya continued selling drugs including ketamine including the ketamine that ultimately killed mr. perry. that other victim was a person named cody mclaurie. he died in 2019. as a result of this investigation, we have filed a

drug distribution charge related to the death of mr. mclaurie. after mr. perry died, these defendants tried to cover up what they had done. on october 28th after reading news reports of mr. perry's death, defendant sonya wrote a text message to defendant fleming saying, quote, delete all our messages. like wise, after mr. perry's death, defendant plasencia falsified medical records and notes to try to make it look like what he was doing was legitimate. it was not. we have filed numerous federal charges against the five defendants. the charges include conspiracy to distribute ketamine, distribution of ketamine resulting in death, maintaining drug involved premises for that drug selling emporium the defendant sonya had, altering and falsifying records related

to a federal investigation for those false medical notes and records that defendant plasencia made and multiple other tracking counts. of course the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. the penalties these defendants face are very significant. with regard to defendant plasencia, the statutory maximum sentence he faces is 120 years in federal prison. with regard to defendant sonya, the statutory maximum she faces is life imprisonment. by filing these extensive and serious charges, we are sending a clear message. if you're in the business of selling dangerous drugs, we will hold you accountable for the deaths that you cause. this is nothing new for us. since 2022, my office has filed over 60 cases against drug dealers who have caused the death of another person.

these cases are known as death resulting cases. they're labor-intensive cases, and we work with our law enforcement partners including ones represented here today to bring those cases. our office is a national leader in bringing those cases. they're very important because every victim's life counts. if you are in the drug selling business and you're selling dangerous drugs, you are playing roulette with other people's lives. just like five defendants here did to mr. perry. defendants nowadays are on full notice that the products they sell could result in the death of another person. therefore, if you're in the drug business and despite these risks, you continue in the drug business, you are pushed by greed to gamble with other people's lives, be advised we will hold you accountable. i want to thank our partners in this case, the los angeles

police department, the drug enforcement administration, and the u.s. postal inspection service. these investigators did a phenomenal job digging into the case, looking at every angle to develop a case, a strong case against not only those who killed mr. perry, but also mr. mclaurie. i want to note that these cases are important and we'll continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to bring them, to ensure that justice is brought to every victim. and finally, let me thank the prosecutors responsible for the investigation and the prosecution of this case. those are assistant united states' tenders ian yanello and show han sigh. and now i'd like to introduce the chief of the los angeles police department, dominick choi.

>> good morning. it's tragedy that brinks us all here together. i'm happy to stand here knowing that these dangerous individuals are no longer on the streets and won't be able to harm anyone else. the los angeles police department and our partners here today were committed to investigating all cases like this, and it's regardless of someone's background or socioeconomic status, and just with all of our cases, this investigation was done impartially. we let the facts drive this investigation, and those facts led us to a group of individuals who were responsible for supplying and distributing to mr. perry narcotics that led to his unfortunate and untimely death. the group standing here today, it's a prime example how our partnerships and our collaboration can yield meaningful results. i want to thank l.a.p.d., our

robbery homicide division who's standing in the back there, the u.s. attorney, the dea and her team as well as the u.s. postal inspection service and their team for their hard work, diligence and real patience. i know people think this took a long time. there was a lot of work, a lot of investigative strategies that we want into this to make sure that there's an assault case and we can pusue this in the courts. our relationship with our federal partners, it helps us ensure that these criminals will have meaningful sentences and be an example for anyone that is willing to risk or jeopardize distributing and supplying unlawful or narcotics to anyone, and i just really want people to know that that is the message. you cannot get away with this regardless of your background or socioeconomic status, breaking the law is breaking the law, and

you are dangerous and you are jeopardizing lives. so thank you all, all of my partners for being involved in this and bringing us to where we are at today, and at this time i'd like to introduce dea administrator ann milgram. >> good morning. today we announced charges brought against five individuals who together are responsible for the death of matthew perry. each of the defendants played a key role in his death. they falsely prescribed, sold, or injected the ketamine that caused matthew perry's tragic death. in the united states most forms of ketamine are only approved by the food and drug administration for anesthesia. a nasal spray version is approved for treatment of depression, but only in a certified medical setting. here matthew perry sought treatment for depression and

anxiety and went to a local clinic where he became addicted to intravenous ketamine. when clinic doctors refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulouses from who saw perry as a way to make quick men. dr. plascencia and dr. chavez violated the oath they took to care for their patients. instead of do no harm, they did harm so that they could make more money. without performing any medical evaluation or monitoring, they supplied matthew perry with large amounts of ketamine in exchange for large sums of money. charging perry $2,000 for a vial that cost dr. chavez approximately $12. as matthew perry's ketamine addiction grew, he wanted more, and he wanted it faster and

cheaper. that is how he ended up buying from street dealers who sold the ketamine that ultimately led to his death. in doing so, he followed the arc that we have tragically seen with many others whose substance use disorder begins in a doctor's office and ends in the street. perry turned to a street dealer, erik fleming who sourced his ketamine from a drug trafficker known as the ketamine queen, jasveen sangha. sangha knew that the ketamine she supplied could be deadly, since in 2019 she had sold ketamine to cody mclaurie who died at the age of 33. but despite this knowledge, she continued to sell ketamine and

methamphetamine throughout los angeles. matthew perry's journey began with unscrupulous doctor, and it ended with street dealers who sold him ketamine in unmarked vials. the desperation that led perry to these individuals was not met with help, as it should have been from the doctors, but instead it was met with exploitation. exploitation by those who should have guided him toward help. this betrayal of trust is at the heart of this tragedy. since 2023 dea has investigated nearly 500 drug poisoning and overdose cases just like matthew perry's. we run a national initiative known as od justice where we work with our state and local law enforcement partners to conduct investigations after someone has passed away. and it is important to note that the national model we today have

in every state across the united states is based on the work that started here in los angeles. we began this work with our partners in the los angeles police department and with other local police departments and sheriff's offices in california in the los angeles area and with the u.s. attorney's office. and today it stands as our national model for this critical work. together as part of od justice, we work to bring justice for the lives that have been lost and to stop others from dying. regardless of the size or scope of a drug distribution network, the dea will work nonstop to uncover and disrupt this illegal activity, and in this case the deadly activity. i want to close by noting that matthew perry's death is not just a tragic overdose. after his 2020 book openly discussed his struggles with substance use disorder, matthew perry told podcast host tom

power that he would prefer to be remembered for helping people rather than for his work on "friends" as chandler bing, and so perhaps what has happened and the tragic details we are discussing today can help others and save lives. i want to thank the los angeles police department, the united states postal inspection service, and the united states attorneys office in the central district of california for their tremendous partnership and their outstanding dedication to this case. i also have the privilege of serving every single day with the men and women of the dea and today i want to particularly recognize the outstanding work of our los angeles field division as well as our diversion investigators who tirelessly worked on this case to bring justice to the victims and the families. thank you. it's now my privilege to introduce postal inspector

shields. >> good morning. and again, welcome. i'd like to thank u.s. attorney mar estrada and his partnership with the postal inspection service. as the nation's oldest law enforcement agency, the postal inspection service has had a long, proud, and successful history of combatting criminals who misuse our nation's postal system and cause harm to our employees and customers. this is our mission. in this case, our agency in partnership with the los angeles police department, the los angeles drug enforcement administration, and the u.s. attorney's office worked to seize, search, and analyze evidence that has culminated in arrests and a dismantling of the group that is responsible for providing the ketamine and the reported contributing to the death of matthew perry. in this case, these individuals knowingly and willfully distributed ketamine to mr. perry as he struggled to overcome addiction.

which ultimately led to mr. perry's tragic demise. unfortunately, every day in this country, families are grieving for their loved ones lost to drug overdoses. we want these families and the american public to know that the postal service will not be an unwitting accomplice to anyone using the u.s. mail to distribute illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia. the inspection service continues to work tirelessly to rid the mail of elicit drugs, fight drug trafficking and the associated violence, preserve the integrity of the mail, and most importantly, provide a safe environment to postal employees, customers, and the american public. the postal inspection service is turning the tide against drug dealers, detecting and stopping their shipments is only the beginning. tracing illegal drugs back to the source and shutting them down is the ultimate mission. once again, tremendous thank you to our partners in federal and state and local law enforcement as well as the u.s. attorney's office for their continued

collaboration and hard work in support of this mission. thank you. >> okay, you've been listening in to a press conference detailing the charges now facing five different co-conspirators, alleged co-conspirators who are now charged in the death of matthew perry who died of an overdose to ketamine last october. back with us now nbc's steve patterson. also joining us former federal prosecutor and msnbc political analyst, glenn kirschner. steve, we just got a lot of new details there. walk us through what we learned. >> well, first, i think we have to talk about the impact of this news conference, which was designed -- what it was designed to do and was as impactful as possible, which was to be as direct and as heartbreaking and as maddening as possible because it describes this pattern, this network of people that saw a man with a disease, saw him falling off the wagon, and instead of

picking him back up, tried to exploit him as much as possible before he died. that's what federal prosecuting are alleging with these complaints. five people listed in this document. all five of them with knowledge that they knew what they were doing and that they knew what they were doing was very, very wrong. two of them were thought to be medical doctors. these are people that wore white coats and swore an oath to do no matter what, no harm to people. to protect people. but in this document, it is listed and you heard in this press conference, there's just this pattern, according to prosecutors that they over and over again were exploiting matthew perry for money, including one text message where this medical doctor listed as dr. p., a defendant in this complaint, saying, quote, i wonder how much this moron will pay. there are points in this document that list every single injection leading up to his death, six times on the 24th,

the 25th, the 26th, the 27th, and then on his death on the 28th, when it talks about sort of the final time that he drew breath and the dosage and the distribution that led to matthew perry's death. it is sickening. it is hard to read. i think it's hard to listen to. i think that's what prosecutors wanted us to hear. that they will not suffer the distribution that leads to people's death and i think they wanted to make a clear message and a clear example out of a very high profile case, and i think they've done that here. this is -- was quite difficult i think at points to listen to, especially when it came to the doctors, but also this woman who is described as a drug dealer, the ketamine queen of los angeles, who is not only described as delivering the final dosage that killed matthew perry, but also another victim who apparently died the same day that he got the dosage from this

woman and that she continued to deal and continued to deal. and so i think in outlining this, they've laid out a pretty clear case including the co-conspirators listed, the assistant to the medical doctor described as a defendant, the assistant to matthew perry, and then this distributor, the middle mankind of connecting all of this and making these deliveries at several points before his death. hard to hear, heartbreaking to hear. i think important to hear from federal prosecutors who wanted to get this message across as they deliver these charges. >> glenn, this involves so many different agencies, local, state, federal law enforcement, and they did quick work here. again, this was a death that happened in october of 2023, so here we are now fast forward less than a year later. you have multiple defendants, a laundry list of charges and all the details laid out at the press conference and in the indictment itself leading to the charges that include distribution of ketamine resulting in death, even

possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. what do you make of these charges and how did the prosecutors decide to bring them in a case like this? >> first of all, ana, it's law enforcement at its best when multiple agencies, state, federal, local, you heard from the postal inspectors, the dea, local law enforcement, when they work together well, so much good can be done. it multiplies exponentially the amount of good that can be done in these sort of wide ranging criminal cases, and this is a wide ranging criminal case. i have the 34 page indictment in front of me, but i have to be honest, i'm still working on count number one which is the conspiracy. the prosecutors indicted 78 owe

vert acts. that is 78 acts that the co-conspirators undertook in furtherance of the conspiracy, and it really is chock full of evidence. building on what steve said, the career prosecutor in me, when i hear that a medical doctor defended plascencia is quoting as saying about matthew perry, their victim, i wonder how much this moron will pay. that's coming from a doctor who is now a criminal defendant in a drug case that resulted in death of one of his de facto patients. that's the kind of thing that will get a jury's blood boiling for so many different reasons. another thing that is a curiosity that i want to clear up, there are only two defendants in the caption of this case. meaning two defendants are charged in this indictment and then the other defendants because we've heard there are

five charged are discussed as co-conspirators. there's a little easter egg in the caption of this indictment. it is captioned the first superseding indictment. what does that mean. that means the grand jury returned a prior indictment, which must still be under seal by order of the court, probably that indicted the other co-conspirators who are mentioned in this document, but technically, not indicted in this indictment. we're going to see more documents released publicly in the very near future about some additional acts undertaken by all of these co-conspirators. >> i mean, the details, the examples they gave as far as the evidence that they have, glenn, talking about how these defendants knew what they were doing. they knew what they were doing was potentially harmful, it was dangerous, and yet, they were so motivated by profits. how do we know they were motivated by profits, the text

message you just read, i wonder how much this moron will pay or the evidence they said was an example when they provided ketamine that they charged him $2,000 for what would typically be $12 worth of ketamine. the google search by the defendant known as the ketamine queen asking can ketamine be listed as a cause of death. how incriminating is this evidence? >> not just incriminating, it's the kind of thing that will resonate with jurors. in the event this case goes to trial, now, anytime you have a conspiracy that involves three, four, five, six people, there are five charged here. we don't know how much others might have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors during the course of the investigat such that they will never become charged defendants. but when you have this kind of a conspiracy, you know, you often have people who decide rather than take their chances at trial, they're going to come in

and cooperate and try to cut their losses, but if this case goes to trial, when jurors hear about doctors who are supposed to abide by the hippocratic oath, first do no harm, talking about how much money can we get from this moron patient of ours, and then ratcheting up fees, ultimately resulting in the death of matthew perry. and another individual, as we learned in this indictment, you know, that's the kind of case that will land and will land solidly when prosecutors are presenting this evidence to a jury. and mind you, this is not only a speaking indictment, ana, it's a picture indictment. there are photographs embedded in the indictment of, for example, the drugs and stacks of hundred dollar bills. it seems to be a pretty powerful case. >> well, thank you both very much, steve, glenn, i appreciate you joining us with that breaking news konk. coverage. president biden and vice president harris set to take the

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all for just $15 a month. get the fastest connection to paris with xfinity. welcome back. a new poll is presenting the latest evidence of just how excited voters are for kamala harris's presidential bid. she now holds a three-point lead in the key battleground state of pennsylvania over donald trump. this is a new quinnipiac university poll of likely voters in that key state. vice president harris still holds that three-point lead even with third-party candidates added in the mix, and both these results are within the margin of error. any moment now, we will see the vice president appear alongside president biden there in maryland. we're expecting their remarks to address the administration's efforts to lower costs for americans including these huge

price cuts on ten of the costliest prescription drugs under medicare. while this is not a campaign event, you can count on harris to try to use this economic win, so to speak, on the campaign trail. she's expected to unveil more of her economic plans tomorrow with a proposal to take on corporate price gouging in the food and grocery industry. nbc's mike memoli is standing by for us in maryland, also with us, msnbc's senior political analyst, matthew dowd. he's the former chief strategist for the bush/cheney 2004 campaign, and michael hardaway. i want to start with you, michael. the new poll here shows that this is a tight race, right? look at the results. you have about 46% supporting harris, about 42% supporting donald trump right now. this is a state that was decided by more than 81,000 votes in 2020. just 81,000, who do you think or i should say what do you think is going to determine who wins this election and could it be

even tighter? >> you know, it's really interesting because she brings the good things that we got with joe biden in this administration in terms of 15 plus million jobs, 800,000 manufacturing jobs, and this litany of good things they've delivered. however, she also brings the energy that he could not, and so for that reason, i think she's in a very good position in pennsylvania in battleground states and around the country because she can get the young people to come out. she can get people who may have decided to stay home with joe biden was at the top of the ticket. she delivers those people, and that's why when you look at the polling, she's doing incredibly well across the board. >> in that same poll, 30% of harris voters are more enthusiastic about the democratic ticket with walz as her running mate compared to the 21% of trump voters who are more enthusiastic, and 26% say they are less enthusiastic with vance as trump's running mate. if the goal for both campaigns was to pick running mates who could help in states like

pennsylvania or at least do no harm, what do these numbers tell you? >> well, it tells me the first big decision that the vice president made in this cam pane campaign was the right one, in which she picks somebody who added value to her ticket could help the campaign and change the lens by which the voters see the ticket in a more positive way. it's a net plus for her. it's been a net minus for donald trump. he started out with higher negatives and added somebody who quickly added more negatives than senator vance in this. it's a big net win for her, and also for the next 82 days, which i think we have left, having somebody for vice president harris as a partner in this who is more popular than he is not and more popular than the partner that donald trump had, means that the next 82 days will be easier for her in this campaign because she has a partner who is a net plus as opposed to a partner who's a net negative.

>> and we're looking at these live pictures. we just saw the governor of maryland wrap up his remarks. as soon as we hear from the vice president or the president at this event, we will go there live, and we will dip into it. in the meantime, mike memoli, you're there. you are standing by awaiting them with us. and of course they already put out this morning a big announcement cutting costs on some of the most expensive prescription drugs for medicare recipients. we're talking blood thinners, diabetes drugs and more. how long have people been fighting for the ability of the u.s. government to have the negotiations that led to this? >> reporter: yeah, that's one reason why the biden administration is so proud of this accomplishment. it wasn't easy, it took a lot of political capital to get this done. democrats campaign after campaign, cycle after cycle year after year have been promising voters they would try to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, and as part of the inflation reduction act which the president signed into law two years ago tomorrow, it included a range of provisions including climate savings, tax

provisions, one of the most significant was giving medicare the power to negotiate directly with drug companies. ste lara from a unit price of $13,000 to now $4,000, eliquis, jardiance, 197 down from $573. as this announcement was rolled out this morning, we saw the president put out a statement noting that no one should be forced to choose between putting food on the table and paying for medications. we fought the drug lobby and won as he put it. the vice president in her statement calling this transformational legislation, and she noted as she had to do often as vice president, she cast the tie breaking vote in the senate to make sure this got to president biden's desk. had this is a very clear example of how what's good for the biden legacy is also potentially good for the harris campaign. we have seen that the most

reliable block of voters is senior voters and one in six seniors now will benefit from these new lower prescription drug prices. and i have to say, ana, this is an official government taxpayer-funded event, but it certainly feels like a campaign event. you can see the big crowd behind me. we saw long lines to get into this event earlier today, and to add to the sort of campaign nature, the campaign feel of this, there's a huge senate race here in the state of maryland, and angela alsobrooks, the democratic candidate spoke as part of the program in addition to governor wes moore, a rising star in the party as well. >> we're looking at those long lines showing the enthusiasm, people wanting to take part in events like this. matthew, when president biden was still atop the ticket, we saw headlines from newspapers. we heard from some analysts that the president was struggling to sell and message his administration's accomplishments. vice president harris is part of this administration. she's atop the ticket. now what kind of strategic shifts will you be looking for

from the harris campaign on that front? >> well, i think she gets the benefit, all the benefit of the biden administration positive things like today, and she gets none of the downside because she's not viewed in many ways as the incumbent. and so -- and because she's younger than joe biden and she's perceived as more vigorous and has more energy, she almost comes across as a challenger, but she comes across as a challenger with all the benefits of all the things that joe biden has done in the course of this. that's why today is such a positive for her. i think it's very difficult what you found the trump campaign adapting to this new environment, they can't take on joe biden, and they know that the vice president is more popular and has more energy, and so they don't exactly know how to do this. and today even makes it more difficult because it gives her a benefit and it doesn't encumber her with the incumbency of the president. >> michael, i have to wonder, is it the message or the messenger that makes the difference here?

>> both. the message matters, and the fact of the reality is that she has a real record to run on in terms of what this administration has done for the american public, in addition to this life changing announcement today, you've got insulin capped at $35. that helps millions of lower income americans on a day-to-day basis. that matters, and then she has the energy, right? and so she comes across incredibly well. she's very strong on messaging and so she has both, and that's why you see what you've seen, which is donald trump can't throw anything against her that sticks. >> we keep hearing from voters about concerns on their grocery bill, right? just the cost of everyday items, the cost of housing, the cost of groceries specifically, and we're learning that harris's economic address tomorrow when she's in raleigh, north carolina, she's supposed to propose a federal ban on corporate price gouging in the food and drug industry. how specific does she need to be when it comes to implementing that idea?

>> first of all, this is huge, any state in america, any income level person would tell you that everything costs too much. food, housing, all of these things. i think the first thing you'll see her do is have a listening session in terms of meeting with certain organizations and groups that represent these area and work with them on implementing exactly what this looks like. but this is huge. >> while we await remarks for the vice president today, matthew, we note trump tried to focus his message on the economy yesterday. it wasn't exactly focused just on the economy. he ended up veering into personal attacks against the vice president, his new presidential opponent. watch this. >> when kamala lays out her fake economic plan this week, probably will be a copy of my plan because basically that's what she does. if harris wen wins this election, the result will be a kamala economic crash, a 1929

style depression. >> matthew, how effective is that message? >> not at all. he almost is -- he's almost on repeat, like the greatest hits from 2020. the greatest hits from 2016. he keeps repeating this, and he doesn't have any new material. he keeps repeating it thinking it will land. i think the problem i think he recognizes is that there's been polls out in the last four or five days that astoundingly now show that the vice president is competitive with donald trump on handling the economy. donald trump had a huge advantage on that versus joe biden. he now has lost that advantage on the economy. so if he doesn't have the economy as an advantage, he doesn't have the threat of democracy as an advantage, he doesn't have, you know, prescription drugs and health care as an advantage, he's losing advantage after advantage after advantage on issues, and it puts him in this awful box and he is not a person that is creative enough and attuned enough to the general public as the psychic shift happened among

the public when joe biden stepped back and the vice president rose. he doesn't have the capability of adapting to that new environment. >> mike memoli and matthew dowd, michael hardaway, everybody stay with us. we're looking at these images. we're told this is a nurse who's speaking right now about having to pay $9,000 out-of-pocket for medicine for her arthritis, so giving a personal story. again, we're watching to see the vice president and the president deliver remarks here any moment. we'll have that for you as soon as they start speaking. in the meantime, we're going to squeeze in a quick break. we'll be right back. quick break. we'll be right back. grab any ch, it doesn't matter if it's your outdoor style or not. [ music stops ] i'm sorry, carl. this is me in chair form. i don't see you. -oh, come on. this one's perfect for you. but you. love it. i told you we should have done a piñata. i explained it so many times. um-hum. they're not sitting. -and it rocks... you need to sit down. ♪ wayfair. every style. every home. ♪

it's time. yes, the time has come for a fresh approach to dog food. everyday, more dog people are deciding it's time to quit the kibble and feed their dogs fresh food from the farmer's dog. made by vets and delivered right to your door precisely portioned for your dog's needs. it's an idea whose time has come. ♪♪ i want to take you right there to prince george's county, maryland, and the vice president who's just stepped up to the microphone. let's listen in. >> good afternoon, everyone. can we please applaud judy! [ cheers and applause ] >> we love you, kamala! >> i love you back. oh, it's good to see so many

friends. it is good to see so many friends. and i want to thank -- thank you. thank you. and let's please -- i love you back. [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you, thank you, thank you. and i know we all thank judy for sharing her story. i think we all know it takes a very special person who has dedicated over 40 years of their life to do the work that judy has done as a nurse, that work being to care about other people in a way that is about lifting them up and caring about their well-being. so judy, we thank you so very much for being here today. [ cheers and applause ] i want to recognize the incredible governor wes moore. [ cheers and applause ]

and wes, i'm so thankful to you for all that you do in service to our nation in so many different ways. and your friendship, but in particular to share such a personal story as you have, and i know it takes a lot out of you to share that story, but to do it in a way that is about lifting up other people and helping hopefully others who are not in this room understanding how real people are impacted every day about this issue. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] i want to recognize the of our administration, including secretary vacera who is here. the bold administrator, brooks laseur is here, my dear friend

and former colleague, senator ben cardin. the chair of the congressional hispanic caucus, and representative emphoume for all of years, and i want to recognize your next united states senator, angela alsobrooks. and i've worked with her over the years, you're going to do a great thing when you send her to the united states senate. and of course i could speak all afternoon about the person that i am standing on the stage with -- [ cheers and applause ]

[ cheers and applause ] [ chanting joe ] our extraordinary president joe biden. [ cheers and applause ] and he's going to speak in a minute, but there's a lot of love in this room for our president. and i think it's for many many reasons, including few leaders in our nation have done more on so many issues, including to expand access to affordable

health care than joe biden. [ cheers and applause ] and today we take the next step -- thank you, joe -- forward in our fight. [ chanting thank you, joe ] so we here, we believe deeply every senior in our nation should be able to live with security, stability and dignity. and so in the united states of america, no senior should have to choose between either filling their prescription or paying their rent. that's the subject of today. because we know for far too long, far too many of our seniors have struggled to afford their medication, and as a result, seniors have been forced to spend their time trying to

figure out how they are going to be able to fill a prescription like insulin, based on the doctor's prescription, which is about saving their life, or whether they have to ration their pills to be able to make it stretch through a month. and why we all know, but let's ask, why are prescription drugs so expensive? >> why? >> i will tell you. well, one big reason is for years, big pharma has often inflated the price of life-saving medications. [ booing ] often charging many times what it would cost to make just to increase their profits. and millions of americans have suffered as a result. my entire career, i have worked to hold bad actors accountable,

and lower the cost of prescription drugs. as attorney general of california, i took on pharmaceutical companies for deceptive marketing and illegally inflating the cost of drugs. and we won billions of dollars. as a united states senator, i fought to pass laws that would make health care more affordable and accessible for all americans, and as vice president, together with joe biden, our president -- [ cheers and applause ] -- we finally addressed the long standing issue that for years was one of the biggest challenges on this subject which was that medicare was prohibited by law from negotiating lower drug prices. those costs then got passed on to our seniors, but not anymore. two years ago, we gave medicare the power to negotiate lower

prescription drug prices for the first time in history, and here is why that matters. it is nearly impossible for a patient to negotiate lower prices by themselves. just think about that. somebody who needs the medication, who may be suffering from a serious illness, that they would by themselves be able to negotiate against a big drug company to lower the price, it's virtually impossible. it's one person against a huge corporation. but medicare represents more than 65 million people, and so medicare has collective bargaining power, and now medicare can use that power to go toe to toe with big pharma and negotiate lower drug prices. [ applause ] thank you, joe. [ chanting thank you, joe ]

and this is to the benefit of not only tens of millions on medicare, but also those who have long-term disabilities. understand, as a result of our negotiations, the government will also pay less than for prescription drugs, and think about what that means in terms of helping taxpayers save money, whether or not they take these medications, so all of this is to say, two years ago, as vice president, i was proud to cast the tie-breaking vote that sent the bill -- [ applause ] -- that gave medicaid the power to negotiate and let it get to the

president's desk and i was proud when our president joe biden signed that bill into law. in the two years since, we have been using this new power to lower price of life-saving medications, and now to announce the result of those negotiations, it is my eternal and great, great, great honor, i have to tell you, to serve with this most extraordinary human being and american and leader, our president joe biden. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ we take care we take care ♪ ♪ wherever the flag is flown we take care ♪ ♪ >> thank you, thank you, thank you. ♪♪

>> thank you, kamala. i love you guys, too. i've been waiting for this moment for a long, long time. first time i sponsored a bill to let medicare negotiate the price of drugs was in 1973 as a freshman senator. with a guy named frank church from the state of idaho. folks, i have an incredible partner. the progress we have made, she's going to make one hell of a president. [ cheers and applause ] and, judy, thank you for sharing your story. it's a familiar one for far too many americans. people like my dad used to lay in bed at night when he lost his insurance through the company he worked for. stared at the ceiling,

literally, and you all have experienced this or know people who have experienced this. what in god's name will happen if my wife gets breast cancer or i get sick or my children get seriously ill. how can we pay for the prescription drugs, these are the discussions, you know it. do we have enough insurance, can we afford the medical bills? we'll have to sell the house or get a second mortgage. these are discussions that took place at my house and your house. kamala and i both get it. we know it isn't just about health care, it's about your dignity. it's about your dignity. it's about peace of mind. it's about security. it's about taking care of your family. it's about giving folks just a little bit more breathing room. look, i believe health care should be a right, not a privilege in