because people didn't want to say who they voted for. i don't know that is supposed to be a good thing or bad thing but it is what it is. we did very well in 2016. >> so is he write about this? are polls more reliable now in 2024 where is there a caveat to all of this? >> the answer is, we don't know. we are in the dark. you can get the same data set to five different pollsters and they will translate that raw data sets into five different sets of topline numbers. every poster has to make adjustments based on what they think will turn out. nobody can say for sure with 80 days left until the election, keep in mind, kamala harris' lead is within the margin of error.

in the surveys that came out, going into the election in 2020, joe biden was ahead by seven or eight points on average. he did win by 4 1/2 nationally but the typical state had less than one point margin and trump came within 49,218 votes of winning a second term. i think for democrats to have a high degree of confidence, she has to be outside the margin of error heading into this very tight election and democrats can't forget that. >> we always talk about national numbers versus state numbers. let me ask you, is there a national poll number kamala harris needs to meet or exceed that will then indicate to you that the swing states another states are going to follow? that is the number, she hits it, she has got it. >> well, look, kamala harris, if she wins the national popular vote by more than four, she can be very competent in her chances in the electoral college but polling is a different matter. we have seen in the last eight years that polling has underestimated trump's face when he is on the ballot. ballo we simply don't know if there is an error that underestimates trump again or someone in his base that doesn't pick up the phone when a poster calls will

be fatigued this year after trump being on the ballot twice already. that is a possibility. it also could be democrats are demoralized because biden was still in the race and they were picking up the phone but now it is possible democrats are unusually energized. unusually energized. you are looking at life teachers right now from the united center in chicago, that is where vice president kamala harris will exhibit the nomination just a couple of days.

tonight, tight security measures will go into effect around the dnc venue as city officials prepare for protest. meanwhile, president biden is spending the weekend crafting his be traumatic, and democrats say they are making big plans to honor his legacy. >> i am really excited to be in the arena on monday night for president biden, because the gratitude that you are going tou see from the convention goers for what he has done, and, by the way, he did it with the thinnest majority in the congress. and even senate where the vice president had to live. >> and the horserace appears to be narrowing with 80 days to it election day, a new york times poll in the sunbelt states shows harris in a highly competitive number against trump in the art margin of error. they show trump leading in georgia and nevada, harris leading in arizona and north carolina where new excitement is building among democrats.

>> there is a change in the energy, the excitement, and the enthusiasm. you can absolutely feel it. even though north carolina has n not gone to the democratic candidate since 2008, we were in a state that was most narrowly read in 2012 and 2020. we are always in the game. >> we have a number of reporters writing over these elements. will go to aaron gilchrist at wr the white house. when we hearing from the vice president about her big plans if she were to take office? >> talking about tax cuts, making housing more affordable, banning price gouging in the food and grocery industries. she said that she would continue to work on the work that the biden administration has done to lower the cost of medication and health insurance. she talked about addressing theh housing supply shortage by building 3 million new housing units over four years in

office, if she were to win. the vice president also talked about this idea of passing a federal ban on price gouging in the food and grocery industry. she says she wants companies to enjoy the prophets, to create more jobs, but she also says that they have to play by the rules. listen to this. >> many of the big food companies are seeing their highest profits in two decades. and while many grocery chains pass along these savings, others still are not. look, i know businesses are e creating jobs, contributing to our economy, and playing by the rules. but some are not. and that is just not right. we need to take action. >> vice president harris also

introduced the idea of the $6000 tax credits for families with newborn babies. the trump campaign shot back atp this plan by saying it is a communist policy that would dismantle the free-market system, and i would to say, i want to know that we also just got a new memo from the harris campaign, it is reserving $370 i million in digital and tv io advertising space that they plan to use between labor day and election day, 200 million el of that going to digital ads on hulu, youtube, spotify, other digital platforms. the other 170 million is for the fall tv lineup, reservations in that time period around big programming ro moments, particularly in battleground states, but also nationally. the strategy here is potentially to flood the zone. it bought up so much of the available time early that there won't be much real estate left for the trump campaign to buy for its messaging once the fall gets here. alex? >> interesting, thanks for that detail. appreciate that. but spring in nbc's mike an mentally inside the d.c. venue

in chicago. we are learning more about what we can expect for president biden on monday night. what is his message, and how are organizers preparing for the planned protests? >> well, one thing you can predict about monday is it's going to be a very emotional night in this convention hall. i was just on the floor, we were in the front row where the delaware delegation has the prime seat for the president's m address on monday night. democrats want to send this president off with the appreciation they think he deserves after four years in the white house, but decades as a will loyal democratic party soldier. the president seems his job as unchanged. he will make a formal case for kamala harris instead of himself getting re-elected and the white house, but he also wants to make it clear that the stakes of this election are very high, as one white house official put it, he saved ci democracy in 2020, but he also wants to make sure that the e threat of donald trump remains e neutralized in 2024. the good vibes are going to be

in the hall, but of course, we also know that there is an important role kamala harris ast well. and jamie harrison, the dnc chair, was talking to nbc news about that. let's take a listen. >> the great part is that a lot of our convention was already going to focus on kamala harris. and to tell her story. because, as you can remember, in 2020, joe biden and kamala harris did not get the regular pomp and circumstance you get at a normal convention, because of covid. id and so, what we were able to do here is we switched the top of our ticket, to make sure that we continue to tell that story, that we are celebrating joe biden and the a compliments of his ministration. >> now, alex, as you hear jamie harrison talking about the fact that there was no pomp and circumstance four years ago because of covid, there also us wasn't the kind of protests that chicago law enforcement officials are expecting here throughout the democratic convention.

hundreds if not thousands of demonstrators are expected in the streets. there has been a significant effort involving the u.s. secret service, state, local police to prepare for this for well over a year, as the superintendent of chicago police told nbc news ahead of the convention. listen, they have a first amendment right to protest, andn as long as they do so peacefully we will not only allow them to do it, but we will protect them while they do it. but if they engage in any kind of illegal activity, including defacing the city, any sort of violence, of course the police are prepared to step in and do that. organizers are doing everything they can to have a peaceful week, but they are prepared for every eventuality. >> yeah, i can imagine. let me ask you, who is the big highlight that folks are looking ahead to in terms of the speakers? we heard it referred to earlier on the broadcast as the holy trinity going to be speaking, but give me a sense of who you think is going to draw the biggest excitement. >> well, as you look at that list, look at the photos. all the boldfaced names in the

democratic party. there is one person who has some chicago roots that a lot ts of democrats are wondering and hoping they will hear from, as well. that is, of course, the former first lady, michelle obama. we remember the 2016 convention that she gave such a rousing speech for hillary clinton that was so important, and the 2020 virtual convention she did record a video. those plans for what if any role michelle obama has in this convention are being very tightly held. i know a nglot of organizers ar hoping that they will hear from her, but we are also going to see a range of celebrities, some potential music acts, as well, that the convention organizers, even with the covidi convention of 2020, they had to adapt to make it different to deal with those circumstances. i think they actually thought worked better in that virtual convention that they want to borrow from this. so, the big stars don't necessarily need to be in this room for them be part of the convention. you will see as the week unfolds. >> okay, stay tuned, that's for sure. thank you, my friend. let's not go to nbc's don hilliard, in wilkes-barre where

the trump rally inkicks off in just under an hour. a couple of questions, we will get to crowd size in a second. but what you expect to hear from the former president during the rally? >> right, for donald trump, let's be very clear here. especially in the last three weeks he has really gone off on his own script, despite efforts of the campaign to set up a theme for him. i was in bedminster, new jersey at his club 48 hours ago when his campaign team, they set out some boxes of cereal, bread, eggs, and they were trying to contrast what the price of groceries is today versus what it was four years ago. and, frankly, we have seen his campaign try to hone in, and to a certain extent, donald trump himself hone in on the idea that goods around the country have increased over the last four years. of course, the harris campaign and administration of joe biden will argue that inflation has cooled to now under 3%. starkly down from where it was seven, eight, 9% just a few years ago. in this for the trump campaign is trying to win over in a

flurry of battleground states the argument to the middle part of the american electorate that have swung from 2016 to 2020, to come back to donald trump. and i want to let you listen to this one woman who i asked, because i was going around this venue and looks very, pennsylvania asking people about the poll numbers, and this is a gravel trump loyalists, what they make about the race with kamala harris in the top of the convention? e take a listen one of these changes. >> what you make of the tightening polls? >> i think the media lies a lot. >> so they are lying about the polls? >> i think so. i do. but i do know that there are a lot of ignorant people in this country that are going to vote for these lunatics. they are communists. they want to take a for their freedom. >> i heard that sentiment from quite a few of the folks i talked to. and this is a reckoning for the

better part of the last year, in head-to-head polling and battleground states, donald trump had healthy leads. and that is not so much the case now. in the margin of error, it shows this to be a dead heat in several battleground states. not just here in the midwest and the pennsylvania, but also the likes of north carolina, georgia, arizona, nevada. so, for donald trump, he has multiple stops across several different states, planned this week as counterprogramming to what is happening at the democratic national convention in chicago. >> quickly, crowd size, it looks like it has filled in a bit more on the second tier since we spoke last hour, as you predicted it might. give me a sense of how it looks. >> right, we are about an hour now away from donald trump w taking the stage, and i would say that we are probably about 60%, 65%, 70% full. potentially 70% full at this point. of course with secret service it takes a while for folks to come in. donald trump is been used to being the one to have these

trump rallies, we have five, 10, 15,000 people show up. and that is what is been different about the last two weeks, but it is not just republican trump loyal voters who are coming out for these mega rallies, but now democrats coming out for kamala harris rallies. and clearly, based off of following donald trump's social media feed, he is concerned about the enthusiasm on the democratic side here. that is why, for him, it is important to fill arenas like this. we will see, ultimately, how many folks come out here in a matter of time. >> i appreciate you giving us the crowd size number and the ze rest of it. meantime, the stories that have donald trump allies worried. we are back in 92nd with that. . wealth management n ♪♪ when you're a small business owner, your to-do list can be...a lot. ♪♪ [ cellphone whooshes ] [ sighs ]

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right now a live look inside the united center in chicago where the final preps are underway for what will be an historic democratic national convention. meanwhile, again, just about an hour or so from now donald trump is set to take the stage at that rally in pennsylvania where he hopes to win over crucial swing state voters. joining me now is political reporter for actio's and medical mcgraw, national political correspondent and author of the new book, trump in exile. so, welcome to you both. what are your expectations for harris's convention debut as her party's presidential nominee? >> i mean, we are certainly

going to see the enthusiasm we have seen over the past two weeks continue. it is typical for a convention to really reignite the base, and we are going to see that continue this week. we are going to see president joe biden officially pass on the baton here to kamala harris, and see him kind of annoyed her as the person to carry on his legacy, to finish the term, to finish many of the goals he has started. and, you know, one thing that i will be looking for is whether we see, get a better sense of what her real policy stance is. we've been hearing from republicans who have been trying to paint her as to progressive. we have seen her campaign try to moderate on some of the issues, stances that she has held in the past. and so, we will get to really see the kind of campaign that she is planning to run between now and november and get a better sense of what they are going to focus on in these coming weeks. >> so, looking ahead, meredith, are we going to see the usual bump the campaigns get from conventions? is it even possible, given the

momentum that the harris campaign already has? >> well, i think for the harris campaign, two things are going to have to happen over the course of the next week. you know, the vice president and governor walz are continuing to introduce themselves to the public, so i think there's going to be a big push to continue to lay out exactly who they are and what their plans are as we move forward, and what their plans would be for a second administration, and how that would differ from the biden administration. and, i think the other thing at play, too, we are expecting to see a lot of protesters next week in chicago. and so, how harris is able to balance both appealing to the people in the democratic party who are frustrated over the war in gaza and how it has been handled, and also how she has been able to appeal to moderates and independents, the really critical block of voters that she is going to need in this upcoming election. >> and, look, there are

multiple reports that trump allies are worried that trump is sabotaging his campaign by some of his recent remarks. let's take a look at some of the headlines. it is from your colleagues. trump's capitol hill allies feel that his unfocused candidacy. behind the curtain, trump's caught on tape women problem, and trump's new danger, overexposure. can you share some insight into these conversations? what is the mood, and are there specific concerns among trump allies? >> i mean, i have certainly heard from republicans who are very concerned with the way the campaign has been run in recent weeks, really ever since kamala harris became the top of the democratic ticket after joe biden stepped aside. there has really been, the trump campaign has really struggled to figure out what their strategy is. while they were very negative towards joe biden and called on him to step aside, many republicans didn't think he would actually go through with it, and most hope that he would stick around. they felt like joe biden at the

top of the ticket was their chance at a landslide election in november. so they are really scrambling to figure out how to define kamala harris, what their best strategy is moving forward. we have really seen trump devolve into these personal attacks going to him questioning kamala harris's ethnicity and race, which was concerning for a senate republican who i spoke to. and we have seen him go on, kind of suggest things like biting potentially coming to the dnc and taking back the ticket, or accusing democrats of using ai to create walls pictures of their rallies. we have seen him go back to these kind of personal and strange attacks where, up until this point, the trump campaign has been relatively disciplined. so, we are beginning to hear concerns from republicans, they wanted to go back to sticking to the policies, they feel like there is an argument to be made against kamala harris, focusing on her policies on the border, on inflation, and other issues.

we will have to see whether trump really changes the tone and is able to get back on track. >> all right, meredith, i know your reporter allies have cautioned trump about insulting the vice president, but trump counters saying he is entitled to the personal attacks because she weather nice the justice department against him. is the country tired of his attacks? is anyone trying to seriously rein him in, or do they approach them carefully to avoid trying to set off his infamous anger? >> well, in the past week we have seen a lot of prominent republicans come out and talk about donald trump's need to start focusing on his policy agenda, to be attacking the biden administration and harris policies, and to start presenting a forward-looking vision. and, it is something we've heard before. trump lashed out when he was asked about this at the press conference he held in bedminster, where i was this thursday. but we have seen how nikki haley went on fox news and encouraged trump to drop the personal attacks. kellyanne conway has said the

same. senator lindsey graham has also said that publicly. graham and conway are two people that trump listens to. and so, there has been these voices that have told trump you have to tamp it down. but trump has been very frustrated about the direction of the race, the fact that he is now having to run against harris, and the recent poll numbers that have slipped in the aftermath of that announcement. >> and, meredith, in your recent book about donald trump, trump and exile, which was just released, big congrats, by the way. based on your research, are these personal attacks against his opponent just trump being competitive? or is he seriously frustrated that her campaign is doing so well? is that why he is lashing out? >> well, we have seen how these personal attacks are really paramount to how trump campaigns. think of how, the nicknames that he gave his opponents back in 2016, and how he felt that

was really effective in trying to define them. and then back in the primaries, the same thing played out. one of the things i report on in the book is how trump and his allies tried to take down governor ron desantis early on, and one of the things that they really tried to focus on were personal attacks. insults, and ridicule that they felt was powerful in taking him down a few pegs before he even announced his run for office. so, this is really something that is straight from donald trump's playbook. we saw when senator vance, trump's running mate, was asked about these personal attacks, he said that is trump being trump. and, for some of the people who are close to him, they feel like he has these political instincts that he is going to go by, and some of his more outrageous comments are some of the reasons why his base likes them. whether or not that is going to help him in the general election with the independents, moderates, women, everyone that

is so key here come november, that remains to be seen. >> yeah, for sure. last question to you, because your report, campaign spending is booming on both sides. is there one side that has a clear advantage on the advertising front? i mean, not just the money, but the type of ads and their efficacy. >> i mean, democrats have long had kind of the fundraising edge here, they are certainly investing a lot of money. and both campaigns feel like they have strong messages to put out there. we really are seeing a battle over defining kamala harris right now. republicans feel like they need to go back and find clips from 2019 where kamala harris supported some of the more progressive policies, that maybe her campaign is now saying she no longer supports. they are pushing hard to try to define her as too liberal. but they are also up against immigrants who have significant fundraising, are able to invest in some of these expensive

markets. and we are seeing, even just looking at the numbers for august, it is clear that august is a pivotal month for these campaigns. and we are seeing that add to spending, earlier and earlier in the election cycle than, say, and 2016. >> good to talk with you, as always, we will see you again. thank you. it hit bermuda, but hurricane ernesto is also making an impact on parts of new york city. those details next. e details n swiffer, [wow!] the mother of all cleans! ♪♪ ♪limu emu♪ ♪& doug.♪ and if we win, we get to tell you how liberty mutual customizes car insurance so you only pay for what you need. isn't that what you just did? service! ♪stand back i'm going to show ya,♪ ♪how doug and limu roll, yeah!♪ ♪♪ ♪you know you got to live it,♪ ♪♪ ♪if you want to win...♪ [bump] time out! only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty,♪

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breaking news, hurricane ernesto passing over bermuda, leaving over 70% of residents without power. we have wind gusts and violent storm surges creating dangerous conditions. up to nine inches of rain may be dropped in all on that island, possibly causing flash flooding. and it is the first hurricane to make landfall in bermuda since hurricane paulette in 2020. the storm's impact is even being felt on the mainland of the u.s. new york city issuing

red flag warnings and closing beaches in brooklyn and queens. we have nbc's steven romo in bermuda, and meteorologist angie lassman in the studio following the latest twists and turns of the storm. as i will me both, we are going to start with you, angie. have the residence in bermuda gone through the worst of the storm yet? >> the good news is, they have. we are going to see him improving a lot as the next 24 hours goes on. the system will continue to lift with and without a little bit of a slower pace than we have seen over the past couple of days, but nonetheless, most of the rain was on the front side of the system. on the backside of it, still simmering, still some wind gusts they are going to do with, but things will slowly but surely start to improve and we will be looking a lot better to kind of get out there and assess damage over the next 36 hours or so. 85-mile-per-hour winds expected with the system right now, category one, still maintaining category one strength. it is expected to stay in that same ranger as we go through the rest of our weekend. into your sunday and into your monday, even as we get into monday we will start to see it

kind of we can. but we will be talking about potential impacts or parts of coastal canada here across the atlantic, st. john's, included in that cone right now. remember, the cone is where the center of that system could likely be. so we could see some impacts along the east coast of canada by the time the beginning of our work week starts. bermuda, though, we will slowly but surely start to see things getting a whole lot better for folks as the system works to the north. the east coast through the rest of the weekend, we will see the east coast of the united states still dealing with some rough surf. and potentially, waves 4-7 feet. i think the higher and is going to the seven feet waves, that will be a little harder to find. but even still, not great for the beach, not great for boating. those rip currents, we have seen the red flag warnings up for a couple of days. we have seen beaches be close across parts of new york, and this is a scenario that's going to stick with us here at least through the end of the weekend. the system is well off to our east, but of course, with a large system like that it is not hard to turn up some of the

water. we know the water swells that can be generated from systems like this. this will be something that even as it works to the north, ernesto will still be dealing with this up and down the east coast for the next couple of days, at least. hopefully will see some improvements for those indirect impacts for the east coast as we get into early next week. >> yeah, the last watch out for, if you going to the beach, that's for sure. rip currents at all, quite frightening. let's go now to nbc's steven romo in bermuda forest. must check out the conditions right now. it is been windy the last couple of hours, it seems to still be. how about the rain? is that still coming down? oh, yeah, looks like i can hear that. is anyone going out to assess damage here? >> that's a great question. they have actually just said that the storm, there was a hurricane wind warning. now that has been downgraded to a tropical storm warning. so they are able to now get out and assess that damage. the power company here, there is just one power service provider. they are actually going to host a press conference in a few minutes to try to get some more

information. because that's really the big problem, the problem with puerto rico is the problem here. 75% of customers are still without power right now. you can imagine the frustration as the temperatures will pick back up and become much warmer here again. you mentioned the wind and the rain, i thought it was safe to take my hood off for a second, clearly that was the wrong move because the rain pick right back up. we keep seeing that happen as ernesto continues to move away. but, as residents are still remaining indoors, being asked to remain indoors, tourists are also having a hunker down. maybe they try to get out before the airport close last night, the airport is still close right now. some people made it out. other people who are just beginning their vacations decided to go ahead and land here, and they have had a hunker down, as well. we had to speak to a few of them a little while ago. here's what they had to say. >> a hurricane wasn't too bad. we could hear it, there was a bit of rain and wind, but it was kind of exciting to go through. >> yeah, first hurricane. i wasn't too worried. i had faith in the building standard and stuff like that. we are here until next friday,

and just hoping for some sun and some time at the beach. >> yeah, they were talking about the building standards. that is something the local police were telling me, a lot of their buildings and homes are made of concrete. the roofs, even. they have a lot of concrete roofs here so they don't have any major structural damage reports right now. but once they're able to get on the roads and actually assess the damage they will know for certain. the good news, there are still no reports of any injuries out here in bermuda. >> that's right. okay, my flexible friend, i see you got your honey up. there you go, good luck covering it all. thank you, stephen. so, the battle over one electoral vote. why one state is getting a visit today from vice president of candidate tim walz. that is next. is next.

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right now the harris walz campaign is making the case to midwest voters, with democratic vice president of candidate tim walz set to take the stage next

hour at this campaign event. it is just outside of omaha, targeting a unique swing district in the red state of nebraska. welcome to you. we know tim walz maybe the governor of minnesota, but he long called nebraska home. why is omaha worth a stop on the campaign trail? >> alex, exactly right. an early campaign stop for governor walz today just outside of omaha, his home state. the crowd here is very excited that he is making this important stop. as you mentioned, there are policies in play here, nebraska at the state of maine is not a winner take all, it is split up by congressional district. so, the democrats could pick up a congressional vote in the district of omaha similar to what president biden did in 2020. to see voters and also come

here to visit his home state here. they could pick up that electoral vote here in november. the sisters that had governor walz as a teacher here couple years ago, was to listen to what i had to say. >> i was so excited. our cousins actually had him as a teacher growing up in nebraska. he has of the midwest means. >> it's so great to see such a large gathering of support. >> it has totally re-energize the young democrats and young people of america. >> having lived through the 70s as a young voter, i am very excited to see women come to the forefront for this. >> so, as you heard there, they are energized, they are excited to see governor walz here. when i arrived around 11:00 a.m. there was a line wrapped around

the parking lot. the crowd is getting louder, there is about an hour until the governor is here with his wife, gwen, before he heads to pennsylvania for a bus tour with vice presidential candidate harris, and of course the dnc starts on monday. a big weekend ahead. >> okay, and i can say miss nebraska is bringing it. good for her. well done, that certainly is energizing the crowd, too. okay, thank you so much for that. coming up later, why some republicans are trying to rewrite the recent past, and why that is so dangerous. and lost to time... can now be analyzed and restored using the power of dell ai. preserving memories and helping to write new ones. ♪

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breaking news, we have new, deadly strikes in gaza today the despite mediators expressing optimism on the long stalled gaza cease-fire deal. it will be finalized in the coming days. the deal also raising hopes it would stop iran from retaliating against israel over the assassination of a senior hamas leader. secretary of state antony blinken is traveling to israel today to try to boost efforts to reach an agreement. joining me now is former senior adviser with the state department and abc columnist. good to see you. we know negotiators say they have been tackling all the remaining issues, and have done so between israel and hamas. and they are optimistic that they will find when the talks

resume next week. do you know what the last sticking points are the remain on the table? >> yeah, part of the challenges that you actually don't have hamas right now, in cairo, directly representing themselves. so that idea of what those negotiators are concluding, it still has to go back after it has been written down, and it still has to go back to the two parties, ultimately hamas and netanyahu have to come to terms. one of the key sticking points, of course, is hamas's continued governance. they're hoping to leave that for after the cease-fire deal and have at least some temporary clause so that we can have humanitarian aid get in. and of course, the list of hostages. knowing who is still remain as an israeli citizen held by hamas, it has been several months and they have not been able to confirm where each of the individuals have been placed. so, at the moment, the negotiators are hoping to keep this deal focused exclusively on

this ease of life and burdening , the un-bargaining of the challenge of getting people's home safe. >> okay, so a couple of things. do we know, because you make a very good point, not at the negotiating table. do we know it hamas has looked favorably on that which has been committed getting to them? are they saying so far so good, since they are not of the table? and with regard to hostages, do we have any ballpark ideas, any intelligence on how many remain alive? and, in total, the numbers that they hope to have returned. >> on the hamas negotiating position, they maintain a public hard-line. but they lost their political negotiator in that assassination in iran. and the idea was that that might derail any effort to discuss and negotiate. but, instead, the threat of iran retaliation and what that could

mean for a larger scale conflict throughout the middle east is actually now bringing down some of the rhetoric, and making it possible to have this moment where, at least in some discrete fashion, there can be an agreement on the cease-fire. so, hamas, not entirely headless at this point. in fact, their most violent and brutal leader is the one now in charge in gaza. but, they have been committed getting a listening to there sometime allies in iran and in doha. to the point of the hostages, the number goes up and down. and the names go back and forth, as well. that is something they have held very closely within that room. netanyahu, for him, this is his biggest political challenge because this is a domestic issue that he had prioritized the invasion of gaza, the elimination of hamas, rather than the return of all of these hostages.

>> let me ask you quickly about the biden administration. you know it has sent messages to iran, the ws military presence in the region, and done other tactics to try to prevent a regional war. but iran launched that attack on israel several months ago. has the ministration focused too much on preventing a regional war instead of reassuring tehran look, we don't want to trample on iran's security? would that be more effective? >> the idea of saying that to iran, it's not like they would necessarily believe it. the iranian regime funded until he thinks that the united states and israel has partnered with saudi arabia to maintain power and control. and it is not entirely untrue. but, for the iranian ideology, america is entirely the antagonist. so it is far better to be concrete and specific, and plainspoken when it comes to u.s. willingness to stand up

for its allies. >> got it, thank you so much. always good to talk with you. next, rewriting history. my next guest explains why a new tactic being used by donald trump is so dangerous.

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a new book investigates how donald trump's republican party is using a favorite strategy of authoritarian regimes, rewriting history to suit their purposes. but it is not just history over generations. trump is rewriting recent history to spin his many disgraceful actions into favorable ones. everything from his 2020 election the nihilism and the january 6th assault on the capital to his dangerous handling of the covid-19 pandemic. >> people who love our country protest on january 6th in washington, they become hostages. >> then i see the disinfectant, knoxville in a minute. is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside?

>> i did finish the wall. i built hundreds of miles of wall, and i finished it. >> i told them, i said the election was rigged. i said all sorts of things about the election. i believe 100%. >> and they told it wasn't? >> joining us now is my msnbc colleague, steve bennett. steve is a producer on the rachel maddow show and author of the new book, ministry of truth, democracy, reality, and the republicans were on the recent past. good to have you with you, steve. get into this. you write arguments interpreting and history. that's nothing unusual. but you say republican's are doing something unique. they are trying to rewrite the recent past, which, that kind of seems ludicrous because recent history can so easily be verified. so, why are republicans doing this, and why is this dangerous? >> well, there's two things to keep in mind here. i think the first is that the republicans feel as though they don't have a choice. throughout history politicians have had controversies and scandals. but it is different when you

deploy a mob of insurrectionist to attack your own country's capital, or you failed to respond to public health crisis. or you cooperate with russia to elevate yourself to the presidency. these are unique scandals that have no real parallel in american history. so republicans feel as if they have no choice but to rewrite the stories, because otherwise they would lose. interesting to keep in mind, the polling suggested it is working for them, at least with regards to the voters they care about the most, republican base, republican activists, and so on. there is ample public polling data but shows that as of now most republican voters say that january 6th was not insurrectionist, the donald trump won the 2020 election, that his response to covid was fantastic, and that russia had nothing to do with the 2016 election. these are all completely wrong, of course, as a document in the book. at the same time, republicans do this because they know it is working with her on base. >> it even goes beyond that, though. because you said polling that

says not only does he get a super majority, often times, of gop voters, but it can go outside of that area and take hold with voters outside the republican base. how does that happen? >> well, that's a good question. i think really what happens is it starts with a republican base, who are misled by the people they put their faith in, their trust in, unfortunately, to the effect that they end up getting misled. but it starts to permeate throughout the american political system. after a while there is a growing number of americans, for example, who believe that the trump russia scandal was discredited. the exact opposite was true. we know that the evidence suggests that there was ample cooperation between trump and russia in 2016. so the more these lies and his efforts to rewrite history, and the more they put reality up for grabs, it starts to permeate american politics in such a way that it is fundamentally unhealthy to our democracy. >> and you say, to put this in a nutshell, that the first pillar of rewriting recent history is a wholesale indifference towards reality. so, trump can convince his

supporters that he built this gigantic wall on the southern border, which he didn't. he built a very small one. last week trump push that lie that images of kamala harris's huge crowd at a detroit rally, that they were ai generated. and that was a claim that was then bolstered by fake ai images that trump and his supporters trafficked as proof. how much does artificial intelligence concern you as a weapon for rewriting both present day and broader history? >> yeah, this is an important development the really need some additional attention. this past week we had the classic example, related to kamala harris's crowds. donald trump knew those images were real. he knew that we knew that they were real. and nevertheless he lied about it, hoping to leave people more confused. more people bewildered by these plain as day images. so i think we're going to see more of that in the coming weeks, months, and years, were republicans, especially donald trump, are put in a position where they say don't believe

your lying eyes. if democrats are turning out in large numbers it could not possibly be real. so, it puts people in a position where they are confused, understandably. they don't know who to trust. and so, this larger campaign is getting worse, not better. all the more reason to push back against. >> can i ask you, in about 15 seconds, to tell me. is it for more than just holding onto power? is there another reason it's being done? >> well, the scary scenario here is that the larger goal is not just electoral, it is undemocratic. it is about undermining the system. it is about making it harder for people to make up their own minds about what is real, and therefore make it more difficult for the political system itself to function the way it is supposed to. that is a scary scenario, but as i document in the book, it's a very real one. >> here is the book, everybody. ministry of truth, democracy, reality, and the republicans were on the recent past. steve, thank you so much for joining us. i appreciate you. that's going to do it for me, this edition of alex witt reports. i will see you tomorrow. up next, the weekend.