spreading so much joy, it is really an honor to be able to do that. >> and they're expecting to undergo their surgery in november. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. you can reach me on social media. you can watch clips from this show on youtube. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrew mitchell picks up with more news right now live in chicago. ♪♪ and right now, on a special edition of andrea mitchell reports, we are live in chicago from the democratic national convention all this week. as vice president kamala harris and her running mate, tim walz, top the democratic ticket, after a whirlwind month sparked by joe biden's unprecedented exit from the race. tonight, president biden's farewell to the democrats in the hall and the nation, and his complicated handoff to his vice president, delivering a primetime speech that could be his last big moment as the party's leader.

and former president trump beginning his week in battleground pennsylvania and on social media with a string of new attacks. ♪♪ ♪♪ good day, i'm andrea mitchell in chicago for special coverage of the democratic national convention. tonight, president biden will take the stage behind me, passing the torch to a new generation after a challenging period for both him, personally, and for his party. the congressional leaders who persuaded him to hand off the nomination to kamala harris because of fears his faltering debate performance could cost them seats in the house and senate are now planning an emotional tribute, honoring his decision to step aside for the good of the party. vice presidential nominee tim walz setting the tone of the day early this morning. >> we get an opportunity tonight to say a thank you to the best

president of my lifetime that i have been able to witness. to someone who's delivered time and time again, someone who made the selfless act of handing that torch to an incredible leader. >> the president will be introduced tonight by his wife, first lady dr. jill biden. as vice president kamala harris tries to define herself as the nominee. >> i very much consider us the underdog. we have a lot of work to do to earn the vote of the american people. >> harris will formally accept the nomination on the thursday. her running mate, tim walz, takes the stage wednesday amid a packed lineup of top democrats over the coming four days, and in an attempt to draw away the spotlight, donald trump is planning his campaign's busiest week yet, while ignoring pleas from allies, including lindsey graham, to stop his personal attacks. >> have you heard her laugh? that is the laugh of a crazy person. i say that i am much better-looking than her. i think i'm much better -- much

better. i'm a better-looking person than kamala. >> we begin this historic week in politics with my colleagues, nbc white house correspondents monica alba and mike memoli. so, mike, this could essentially be -- well, it will be president biden's biggest audience. he will give most likely a farewell speech in january after the inaugural, but this is his moment. and the people in this hall, his most loyal supporters, they're all pledged to him, other than the uncommitted delegates who are upset about the war, so how does he enjoy this moment and the awkward handoff? he still said in that other speech he felt he could do it. >> think how much has changed. it hasn't even been a month, andrea, since he made that announcement that he was not going to run. i was thinking, just looking out on that stage, of being there when senator biden came out in 2008 to do the walk-through ahead of giving his first speech

as the vice presidential nominee. this was supposed to be his convention. he was finally going to have that moment. in 2020, he spoke to an empty room during the covid convention in delaware. but there is going to be just a series of emotional tributes where the party will have an opportunity to thank the president for his decades of service. the president, i'm told, understands there's a little bit of "this is your life" treatment coming your way. there are some mixed feelings about that, because these people, some of them in the room, pushed him out, but he sees his mission as very much the same, to talk to the american people about the importance of keeping donald trump out of the white house. he does believe he's still a threat to democracy. that's something he can uniquely talk about at this convention. a lot of the other speakers want to talk about the future. they want to talk about the joy. they want to embrace the positive vibes, as we keep talking about it, with this convention, but he's going to make the case for keeping trump out of the white house and then talking about what a partner kamala harris was in making all the progress he feels he has made in the last four years. >> and dr. jill biden, the first

lady, monica, whom you cover so well, is going to be introducing her husband. and she and close members of the staff, she and other members of the family, were the last to be persuaded when he made that decision, as we understand it, by himself on a saturday night, with covid, isolated. >> she had told him, essentially, you're the only one who can make this decision, and i will support whatever road you choose. but she also was very clear in those days after he announced his decision that she wanted to acknowledge the people who she considered the most loyal, the people who never wavered, the people who never doubted, and the people who stood by him, and i'm told that that will be a message that is somewhat reflected when she speaks this evening, that it's something that's very important to her and that privately, we have reporting that she has expressed dismay about some of those democrats who maybe were quietly supportive, telling them, hey, hang in there, maybe he'll get through this, but then didn't

publicly stand with him when he was weighing that, when he was going through that turmoil. so, she will, of course, ask democrats to rally around vice president harris, but it comes with that backdrop. now, she has been, as she will say tonight, someone who can only speak to joe biden as someone who's been married to him for nearly 50 years can, and she will certainly pay tribute to him in that way as well. >> and she has a consequential legacy also, military families, breast cancer, you know, education, but let's talk about hillary clinton. she's speaking tonight. she was the one -- you and i covered her in 2016, that whole road she was going to break the glass ceiling, and now she's going to be also praising kamala harris, who is going to be the democratic nominee. >> right. >> and could be the first woman president. >> and i'm told that is how she will talk about this evening and the potential history ahead. she will frame it through the lens of her loss in 2016, and she will also potentially put

that forth as a warning to democrats. she's going to say, i tried so hard to put those cracks in the glass ceiling, but i couldn't ultimately break it. maybe kamala harris can. and so, she's going to put it in those kinds of stark terms, and she's going to speak to why she believes that vice president harris could be successful in that endeavor, but she's also going to put this in the context of, when i lost to donald trump, we saw what could happen for democrats, for the country, for the party, and so she's going to try to dovetail that kind of messaging of why it's important to consider that threat as well while, she will argue, they should pay tribute to president joe biden's leadership. >> monica and mike, great to have both of you with all your combined experience here. thank you so much for being with us. and in just 90 seconds, minnesota democratic senator amy klobuchar joins me right here in chicago with her hopes for this week's convention. you're watching andrea mitchell reports live at the dnc in chicago. this is msnbc. e dnc in chicago. this is msnbc.

my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the picture. now i have skyrizi. ♪ i've got places to go and i'm feeling free ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me ♪ ♪ control is everything to me ♪ and now i'm back in the picture. feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements. skyrizi helped visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. and with skyrizi, many were in remission at 12 weeks, at 1 year, and even at 2 years. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. liver problems may occur in crohn's disease. ask your gastroenterologist how to take control of your crohn's with skyrizi. ♪ control is everything to me ♪ learn how abbvie

could help you save. an alternative to pills, voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel, which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine directly at the source. voltaren, the joy of movement. when president biden comes on stage tonight, the convention hall is going to be filled with delegates, delegates right behind me, who are all pledged, most of them at least, pledge their loyalty to him. many hardcore biden supporters who have to be won over by kamala harris, as well as a minority of uncommitted delegates who could stage a

protest on the floor because they object to both biden and harris' position on the war in gaza. joining me now is minnesota democratic senator amy klobuchar. president biden, amy, has -- >> thank you, andrea. >> -- his faith in this transition. it's hard for him. you've known him for so long. >> well, he has done it so generously, so beautifully, and so patriotically. you think about this. he handed over this torch to kamala harris, and did it in such a way that in 28 days, she was able to launch her campaign, unite our party, raise over $300 million, pick a running mate, and fill arenas, but tonight, you're going to hear from president biden, as you noted, talking about our very democracy is at stake. no one knows that better than him. he basically saved our democracy by running, by beating donald trump, and i was there on that inaugural stage with him that day under that blue sky, just two weeks after the insurrection, and knows exactly what he means. he saved that democracy. he went on to promote voting

rights, to stand up for the people of this country, to have their backs through that pandemic, and out and emerge strong. that's what he'll be focusing on today, but he's also going to talk about the future, and people can't forget that. for him, it's not going back to donald trump, yes, but it's also handing that torch to the next generation. >> and as we hear the rehearsals behind us, i know -- >> that was for the future. >> that's for the future. that's for tonight. talk to me about tim walz, because you know him so well. he's the governor of your state. and he's being attacked. he's a 24-year veteran of the national guard, but jd vance has found not flaws with his service but criticism, a lot of it verified, that the way that he accounted for his service. >> well, okay, so, first of all, i'm just thinking, fine, you spend your time attacking someone who spent 24 years -- 24 years -- in the national guard, signing up like so many rural kids do when he's only 17 years

old, and people love the national guard. they get that you do get deployed at times, as tim was with his unit, to europe, but a lot of the work is at home, protecting the homeland, tornados, floods, hurricanes, fires. tim walz has served our country valiantly, and then decided, after 24 years, to run for congress and became head of the veterans committee. you contrast that to donald trump. contrast it to a guy that's gone after our vets as suckers and losers, went after john mccain for being a prisoner of war, and it is the biden-harris administration that passed the pact act. >> speaking of donald trump, we've got a clip of him on the medal of honor. >> okay. >> people, they get the congressional medal of honor, which i've given to many, are often horribly wounded or dead. they're often dead. they get it posthumously, and when you get the congressional

medal of honor, i always consider that to be the ultimate, but it is a painful thing to get it. when you get the presidential medal of freedom, it's usually for other things, like you've achieved great success in sports or great success some place else. >> and that was him trying to explain away what he had said when he initially said that giving the medal of freedom to one of his biggest donors was a better thing than those who have taken -- who have received the medal of honor, the congressional medal of honor, because they have done such service. >> it's just -- it's an unbelievable thing, and on a week of unbelievable thing where he started talking about bird cemeteries and claimed he did the cap on insulin. now this. and actually, i would say the vfw, one of our largest veterans organizations in the country, said it best when they said he brazenly dismissed the valor and reverence symbolized by the medal of honor and those who

have earned it. they noted that the -- while both medals are important, the medal of honor is more sacred as it represents the gallantry and courage of selfless service members. that's what the medal of honor is about, and i am outraged, as general kelly was this morning. he came out as former chief, and talked about how this was just plain wrong to say. >> and let me just point out that on this stage, the giant stage behind us, doug emhoff, the second gentleman, is doing his quick run-through as every speaker will, so we're going to be hearing from him. they were on the road in a bus in pennsylvania just yesterday. the two couples, reminiscent of the 1992 pennsylvania bus tour of the clintons and the gores, and we'll be hearing from hillary clinton. kamala harris has not played up breaking the glass ceiling so much. that is not the barrier that she's even talking about. it's almost a generational shift from hillary clinton who tried

so hard to become the first woman president. kamala harris could become the first woman president, but that's not really what she's talking about as much. what do you think about the role of women here? >> i think, first of all, hillary clinton can't wait to hear from her, such a leader. and i also think that when she was running, that was -- you're right, andrea, as you remember, that was some of the -- a lot of the theme there. but now, time has passed, we have now grown slowly but surely in the number of women in the senate. women mayors, women governors all over the country, and we've reached this point where kamala harris is running on her merits. she's bringing the receipts. she has been an international leader, as well as a national leader. she has, as i noted, in just 28 days, done everything flawlessly, including picking an excellent running mate from the state of minnesota, where we just love our vice presidents. and i think that you're going to hear about the first woman. that's important to us. but what's most important for

the vast majority of americans is having someone who has their backs, and not going backwards to those dark days of donald trump. that's what you're going to hear a lot about. it's not to minimize that she'd be the first woman president. she's already been the first woman vice president. we know it's not easy to be president or you'd play a game, pick your first -- your favorite woman president. we've never had one. but i think this is her own decision, to emphasize the merits of her candidacy as well as what she wants to do in the future, and i think it's the right one. >> senator amy klobuchar, i know you've got a busy schedule. thanks so much for coming. >> great to be on. thank you. and up next, delaware congresswoman and senate candidate lisa blunt rochester is here to discuss how president biden plans to meet the moment. you're watching andrea mitchell reports at the democratic national convention. stay with us. he democratic national convention. stay with us sometimes your work shirt needs to be for more than just work. like when it needs to be a big, soft shoulder to cry on.

which is why downy does more to make clothes softer, fresher, and better. downy. breathe life into your laundry. (vo) if you have graves' disease, your eye symptoms could mean something more. to make clothes softer, fresher, and better. that gritty feeling can't be brushed away. even a little blurry vision can distort things. and something serious may be behind those itchy eyes. up to 50% of people with graves' could develop a different condition called thyroid eye disease, which should be treated by a different doctor. see an expert. find a t-e-d eye specialist at isitted.com have you ever considered getting a walk-in tub? well, look no further! safe step's best offer, just got better! now, when you purchase your brand new safe step walk-in tub, you'll receive a free shower package. yes, a free shower package! and if you call today, you'll also receive 15% off your entire order.

now you can enjoy the best of both worlds! the therapeutic benefits of a warm, soothing bath that can help increase mobility, relieve pain, boost energy, and even improve sleep! or, if you prefer, you can take a refreshing shower. all-in-one product! call now to receive a free shower package plus 15% off your brand new safe step walk-in tub.

pete g. writes, “my tween wants a new phone." "how do i not break the bank?" we gotcha, pete. xfinity mobile was designed to save you money and gives you access to wifi speeds up to a gig. so you get high speeds for low prices. better than getting low speeds for high prices. -right, bruce? jealous? yeah, look at that. -honestly. someone get a helmet on this guy. get a free unlimited line for a year when you add one unlimited line. plus, get a new google pixel 9 on us. bring on the good stuff.

welcome back to chicago. nearly a month after kamala harris took over the top of the ticket from joe biden, her campaign is energized by a big boost in fund-raising, volunteering, poll numbers, but how does the campaign turn that enthusiasm into votes on the ground? joining us now is someone running for the senate herself, democratic congresswoman lisa blunt rochester of delaware. she is a national chair of the harris-walz campaign and is very close to joe biden. it's only been a month. this is an emotional roller coaster, it has to be, for him. coming here today, he thought he was coming to be, you know, welcomed as the nominee to speak on thursday night. instead, he's the keynoter on monday night. >> right. >> bidding farewell. >> yeah. yeah. it truly has been an emotional month. it's interesting, the day that he made his announcement, i remember saying to myself, you

can hold two things in your hands simultaneously. one is gratitude. i mean, just for him stepping up and running in 2020 when he really didn't have to do it, and he -- i remember it like it was yesterday. we had a meeting, the two of us, just one-on-one, and i remember him talking about charlottesville and what he saw and how it motivated him, and so that motivation really propelled us to this place, and at the same time, i've got, in my other hand, gratitude and excitement about kamala harris, who was his vice presidential choice. so, there's the gratefulness. there's the joy. but at the same time, there's also energy and excitement about kamala harris. >> now, he said in his farewell speech that he didn't think it was necessary for him to step aside, but he was persuaded for the good of the party. did you think it was the right

thing to do. >> yeah. you know, i very much trusted him. i trusted his gut. and i trusted his heart and his head in making this decision, because it really was his decision. you know, when he came into office, his whole goal was really to restore the soul of his country and to bring us out of a pandemic, a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, but i don't think anybody could have predicted how important and consequential his administration would be. i mean, in one administration, in one term, he's done more than some presidents do in two, and so, to me, the decision that he made was the same as when he first decided to run in the first place, focused on the american people. what is best for the american people? what is best for the future of this country? and i just, again, am so proud of who he is. i love the play, "hamilton," and i think one of the pivotal things in "hamilton" was when

george washington had to make that decision to not be a king or a dictator like some other people want to be. for joe biden to be who he is, i'm just proud. we're proud. delaware is proud. >> i want to ask you about some of the groups that are now coming back to kamala harris, black voters in particular, women, young people. but there's still a hard struggle to get latino voters, the hispanic community. what is the campaign doing? >> well, you know, first of all, i think there's such excitement and momentum that we're feeling now, and it's coming from all different places. i mean, the fact that on day one, you know, you had black women for kamala, then black men, white women for kamala, and white dudes. that was powerful. but we also had, which probably wasn't as much advertised, a focus on our latino voters as well as aapi, and so, this campaign has really invested and is investing millions of dollars

to go to places where people are, meet them where they are, and that's also including black and brown radio, news outlets, and others as well, so it's going to be both on the ground, but also make sure that we communicate the message out that this is about an opportunity economy, not trickle-down, not going backwards, but about going forwards, and i think our messengers, our message, are the things that are going to be inspirational to the voters. >> congresswoman, thanks so much, and good luck in your senate race. >> thanks so much. thank you, andrea. and high alert. next, thousands of protesters descending on chicago over a host of causes, but primarily to put pressure on the democrats about the war in gaza. you're watching andrea mitchell reports on msnbc. you're watching andrea mitchell reports on msnbc

only purple's gel flex grid passes the raw egg test. no other mattress cradles your body and simultaneously supports your spine. memory foam doesn't come close. get your best sleep guaranteed. save up to $1,000 during our labor day sale. visit purple.com or a store near you. >> at university of

maryland global campus, getting a bachelor's degree doesn't have to mean starting from scratch. here you can earn up to 90 undergraduate credits for relevant experience. what will your next success be?

more than 20 now -- 20,000 protesters are expected to demonstrate outside the democratic national convention this week. they focus on a host of issues. shaquille brewster is monitoring the protests closely. well, shaq, it's a combination of a lot of different people and coming together. they've come from a long way. tell us what you're seeing out there. >> reporter: yeah, andrea, we're about a half mile from where you are right now in one of the designated protest areas and this group is going to go and march closer to the united center, where they'll be just a

couple of blocks from the united center, but you mentioned there are a coalition of groups that are here. i'll let you see. this is one of a group for immigrant rights, but there's groups for reproductive rights, for lgbtq rights, but the main message that this coalition of some about 200 groups is trying to send to the democratic party is that they want to see an immediate ceasefire, and they want the end of u.s. support for israel. that's been the consistent messaging that you have been hearing, and the question that i have been asking is, you're expecting to see many more people here in chicago than you did in milwaukee a couple of weeks ago for the republican convention, and the message that you're hearing from protesters is because that is because you have president biden in the white house, because kamala harris is currently vice president, that they believe that they have a chance to influence policy right now. they want to make that message clear to the democratic party who are going to be having that convention where you are right now, andrea. >> shaq brewster, thank you very much. and joining me now, "new york times" chief white house

correspondent, peter baker. terry mccaul, former chairman of the dnc and co-host of "the weekend" here on msnbc, former republican national chair michael steele. welcome, all. terry, you know joe biden so well. mixed emotions tonight. this is such a change of generations, handing off the torch to kamala harris. >> yeah. very emotional tonight for him. you know, i think he's going to talk tonight about the great success he's had the last three and a half years, and i think he's going to set the place up for his vice president, for vice president kamala harris -- >> what do you think he's feeling? >> listen, i think it's bittersweet, obviously. he wanted to run again for president, but now, he's looking -- we're going to elect kamala harris, the first woman, first woman of color to be president of the united states of america, and i think he's going to take tremendous pride in that. it's an exciting time. i've been doing this as you say a long time, 13th convention. i chaired the 2000 convention.

i was national chairman for '04. i have never seen something like what we're seeing going on, the excitement, the joy, the happiness, the grassroots activism that's going on. this is an exciting time for the democrats. i mean, literally in three weeks, andrea, how this has changed, and i think joe biden takes a lot of credit for setting the table and now having his vice president going to make history is something he's going to be very proud of. >> and peter, you wrote so memorably this weekend about the bumpy ride she had at the beginning, there were people, including the first lady, who didn't quite trust her, because they had been competitors. she and joe biden in the primary. and yet, she grew into a bigger role, and she grew more confident, and they now give her a lot of credit. >> yeah. chris whipple, the author, quotes joe biden in his book as saying at one point that she was a work in progress. we've seen the progress. kamala harris of year four is not kamala harris of year one. she didn't feel confident, i think, in her first year on the job. she had to find her own way.

remember, she's the very few vice presidents in modern times who had less experience in washington than the president they serve. usually, they've served as a guide, in effect, like biden did for obama, like cheney did for bush, like elder bush did for reagan. she didn't have that position. so, she had to find her own way, and i think by the fourth year, she's begun to find it and she's showing in the last few weeks that she does have her confidence and she's ready to take over the party. >> two of the things that were tricky for her was that he was such an expert on foreign policy, certainly he felt so, and such an expert on the senate, and so she was not the one to do negotiations on budget deals or, you know, other deals. but she provided a lot of support along the way. >> yeah. >> but she brought a huge voice on the abortion issue. she pushed -- they will acknowledge she pushed them on israel and the gaza war to at least understand better what was happening with the palestinians,

a balanced approach, but the emphasis a little different. and she also pushed them on some other things. >> yeah. she looked for openings, places where the president wasn't himself, necessarily, as active, and abortion rights is a great example, because he doesn't feel comfortable with that issue, even though he supports a national right to abortion. it's just not his comfort level. he's a church-going catholic. she does feel comfortable with that. she found her voice to some extent with that issue and began to change the minds of a lot of democrats who did doubt her, who didn't think she was the best vice president, much less presidential candidate at first, and i think they're coming around at this point. >> michael steele is with us from washington. michael, seeing this extraordinary change in the party, and the fact that donald trump is just hitting her so hard on personal qualities, rather than on, you know, the policy issues, how do you see this race shaping up? uhe

way,, the way you expect it to when donald trump still thinks he's running against joe biden. because that's who he wants to run against. that's what his whole, you know, effort was around is this concept of, you know, running against the older guy, running against a president that he felt that he was better than, in so many respects, and then suddenly, biden does the magnanimous thing and steps aside. kamala is now carrying the torch, and he has no idea how best to go at her, so it becomes personal. it becomes vitriolic. it becomes name-calling, and it's just most recent confession, oh, i think i look better than she does. this is what donald trump is reduced to, beyond what he normally spews when he's up against something and someone he does not know how to tactically approach, and the problem

remains the same as peter knows very well from covering this president -- former president and his white house at the time. he does not listen well. in fact, he does not listen at all. and so, he's not taking the advice to lean into a policy debate, which republicans can make now given some of the economic policies that kamala wants to put out there. there is something to chew on. but that's not what he wants to bite on, and so here we are. >> and terry mcauliffe, you know the clintons so well, worked so hard with them, and hillary clinton's speaking tonight, the former president tomorrow night. we looked it up. he has spoken at every democratic convention since '88 when he gave that keynote, and he got the biggest applause for when he said, and finally, because it went on and on forever. >> he laughs about it. yeah. >> atlanta, the omni.

but what is it for them tonight to be seeing this generational change? >> yeah, and first of all, let me give a shoutout to president clinton, wish him a happy birthday. today is his birthday. we have a little birthday party this afternoon. but i've spent a lot of time with the both of them, and they are so excited. they have been in constant contact not only with the president but with vice president kamala harris. they've been taking through this whole process. hillary is so excited that we are going to finally have a woman president of the united states of america. bill clinton thinks about this in economic terms, about what we've been able to accomplish under president biden and vice president kamala harris, so he's going to talk a lot about, this is what you get when you get democrats. i mean, look, we're going to have all our former presidents speaking. you didn't have that at the republican convention. i mean, look where we are today. it's historic how fast this has shifted. you've got the vice president out talking about saving democracy, fighting for women's freedoms, fighting for our future, lifting everybody up, and donald trump, a convicted felon, who wants an extreme agenda -- >> but terry, is there a risk of

being overconfident? that happened in 2016 with hillary clinton. >> nobody is overconfident. you're right. i still go back to the searing 2000 presidential election, and i remind you, democrats, the nominee has won the popular vote in seven of the last eight application presidential elections. the only one was '04 and it was very close. and yet, you need 270 electoral votes. you're right. we lived through hillary clinton winning the popular vote, not getting the electoral college. we lived through door, so nobody is overconfident. people -- i mean, the record number of people signing up to work the doors and make the phone calls, it's extraordinary what's going on there today, but we got a long way to go. we got to bring it over the top, and everybody's working. everybody's fired up. there's joy. there's happiness in our party. i've never seen anything like it. i'm always fired up, but i am really fired up. >> yeah, i mean, you are, terry mcauliffe. you are jumping up and down. >> i'm ready to go. >> this is classic mcauliffe. thank you very much. peter, you're also fired up, just a little quieter about it.

and michael steele, thanks to you. thanks for being with us. and joe biden's closest confidante, first lady dr. jill biden, speaking tonight here at the democratic national convention. we hear from one of her top advisors next. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" live from chicago on msnbc. g "andrea mitchell reports" live from chicago on msnbc. scout, weld, stack, feed, pull, load, tow! drop, and haul, all in a single day, then you just have to get in the seat of the new john deere gator™ xuv. learn more at your john deere dealer.

why do couples a sleep number smart bed? i need help with her snoring. of the new john deere gator™ xuv. sleep number does that. thank you. during our biggest sale of the year, save 50% on the sleep number limited edition smart bed shop now at a sleep number store near you. why use 10 buckets of water when you can use 1 fire extinguisher. and to fight heartburn, why take 10 antacids throughout the day when you can take 1 prilosec. for easier heartburn relief, one beats ten. prilosec otc. one pill. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

when bad allergies hit, trust claritin to keep you in the game. (♪♪) nothing is proven more effective for 24-hour, non-drowsy allergy relief in 1 pill. live claritin clear. (♪♪) in just about an hour, president biden and first lady dr. jill biden are going to be leaving the white house, heading here to chicago for the democratic convention. the president is, of course, the keynote speaker tonight. that's not the role he originally envisioned with dr. biden introducing him as he passes the torch to kamala harris. joining me now is elizabeth alexander, communications director to first lady dr. jill biden, and deputy assistant to president biden, and she's going to be traveling with the bidens to chicago on air force one. i think i can even hear marine one on the south lawn just opposite behind the white house, so i think you're ready to go,

so we're going to do this just a little bit in advance of our show. >> sure. thank you so much. >> announcing -- well, it's great to see you. this is an historic day and an historic day for the president's legacy, the first lady's legacy, and also the historic gracious decision that he made, a choice of democratic party over self in announcing he was stepping down from the race a month ago. the president said, "i revere the office, by i love my country more." he made a generous decision, doing it for the good of the party. how difficult is it going to be tonight for the president? >> well, i think this is a fulfilling moment for him. his legacy of 50 years of public service is going to be celebrated. i know that the first lady is very excited to pay tribute to her husband, his character, his empathy, his leadership, and how he has always put country first.

>> i know dr. biden is going to honor the president tonight in chicago. she's going to be introducing him or doing the first remarks. a source familiar with those remarks says that she will do it "in a way only a spouse of nearly 50 years can do." what is her message about her husband? >> she'll talk about, as you mentioned, she'll talk about her husband as his wife, as his spouse of almost 50 years. she knows him better than anyone. she knows his character. she knows his capacity for empathy. but she's also seen him on the world stage for those 50 years, so she's seen his accomplishment up front, and so she'll talk about that, and she'll also talk about her full support for kamala harris. >> now, there are some sore feelings, not towards kamala harris, but towards others in the party. famously, dr. biden once said that joe doesn't hold grudges, she holds grudges for him. i'm paraphrasing, but after the

president announced he was not running for re-election, dr. biden posted a handwritten note on x, and it said, "to those who never wavered, to who he has -- those who refused to doubt, thank you for the trust you put in joe. now it's time to put that trust in kamala." so, she's his fiercest defender. tell us more about that. clearly, there are some hard feelings with some of the people in the party who conveyed to him the message that they thought that he could cost them the house and the senate, the down ballot races, if he proceeded. >> well, i mean, i think you saw it in the first lady's own hand, and it's one of the reasons why she decided to do it in her own hand, is so that people knew that it came directly to her, and she wanted to thank those people who had been with them from the beginning, and she also wanted to acknowledge how they might be feeling, but then, thank them for the trust and the faith that they had always put

in her husband, but that now it was the time to put that same trust and that same faith in the vice president. she wanted people to know that that came directly from her. i think everybody saw that as a powerful message from the first lady and from the president's spouse. >> do you think some of the -- some of the feelings, the hard feelings, might be patched up? >> i don't see any hard feelings. i mean, i think that that's been way overblown in some of the anonymous sources and campaign books. you know, the vice president would not have been interviewed in the summer of 2020 to be the vice president if there had been any hard feelings. i mean, the bidens themselves, joe and jill biden, have been in politics for a long, long time. they've been through debates. they've been through primary debates. people compete. people play hard to win. and they all played hard to win, and so all of that, everybody moved past all that by the time

the vice president was interviewed, the summer of 2020, by the president, and the first lady and the second gentleman and the vice president and the president, their families have a wonderful relationship, a true friendship, and you know, politics is politics. that's long blown over. >> and what is the top legacy achievement that he's still hoping? he's the president of the united states. i assume the ceasefire and the hostage release is high on his agenda. he's made that clear. talk to me about that, and about the other things he wants to do. >> well, i can't get ahead of the president on the ceasefire negotiations, but what i will say is i like to take just a step back to where we were four years ago when he took office. we were in the midst of a global pandemic, not seen in a hundred years. we were an economy in free fall, two weeks past a violent insurrection on the u.s. capitol. people were dying of covid by the thousands, by the day,

daily. schools were closed. businesses were closed. and this president led us all out of that chaos with strength, with stability. he restored dignity to the office. he restored our global relations. you know, he faced the first land invasion in europe since world war ii and rallied the world to support nato, and so he has a tremendous legacy, not to mention the fact his historic bipartisan legislation that no one thought could be done in this hyperdivided environment, but joe biden did it. and so, he has -- he has tons of things in his legacy from his senate days, from his vice president days, to his presidential term that we will celebrate and continue to celebrate, but the work's not done. you know, the government -- the governing doesn't end at the convention. and so, for the next six months, you're going to see him on the campaign trail, the first lady on the campaign trail, working on what you have talked about, you know, peace in the middle east, getting prices down, fighting corporate greed, and a

robust travel schedule leading into january 20th. >> well, elizabeth alexander, you can hear that they're testing the microphones behind me at the hall, so everything's ready for you, and come on to chicago. we're looking forward to seeing you and seeing the president's speech, hearing the president's speech, and of course dr. biden, the first lady, and how it -- how they say farewell to the party that has loved them for more than 50 years. >> thank you, andrea. i wouldn't call it a farewell, but i would call it a celebration, and i look forward to seeing you there. middle eas getting prices down, fighting corporate greed, and a robust travel schedule leading into january 20th. >> you can hear that they're testing the microphones behind me. also, everything is ready for to you, come on to chicago. we look forward to seeing you and hearing the president's speech, and of course dr.

biden/first lady, and how they say farewell to the party that's love them for more than 50 years. >> thank you will, andrea. i wouldn't call it a farewell, but a celebration, and i like forward to seeing you there. >> we appreciate it. joining us now is former alabama democratic senator doug jones, and susan page, she was a bureau chief -- washington bureau chief and the author of so many important books, one importantly about nancy pelosi. i want to ask you about that. nancy pelosi was viewed by some in the inner serred. >> now, in the hall, i think we have -- we'll see a lot of relief about that, a feeling of nancy pelosi as a hero, but if you're joe or jill biden, you may not see her in that positive way. when i ask speaker emeritus

about that, and whether they had talked, i asked have they talked, and i discussed, have you tried to call him, she said we're both busy. it was so awkward and painful. senator jones, you know joe biden so well, you have worked with hem in the senate and shepherding some of his nominees. how tough has this been emotional. >> tough, but somewhat of a relief joe biden has had 50 years of public service, which is the crowning moment. he's had such an amazing administration. jill has been beside him the entire time. sure, it's tough to the leave the most power of i don't feel, but i said at the time when asked, what do you think? i said, look, i believe in joe

biden. i believe he will do what is in the best interest of the country. i think they are both satisfied that they made the decision in the best interest of the country. you can see it from one end of the country to another, as terry mcauliffe said earlier, everybody is excited. everybody is fired up, so you can take great satisfaction that you did the right thing at the right time for the country you love so much. >> battleground polls are shows in some states that she is doing better than joy joy was doing again donald trump at this stage. >> i am certainly not surprised by that. the one thing i have seen traveling around the country, people were yearning for a reset. we see the polls about the discusses satisfaction, and now you see not only a new

generation, but a new enthusiasm, new joy. people want together people working together, that's what kamala harris and tim walz brings to the country. >> and she has to define herself while still being loyal to the legacy of joe biden. >> she's are enormously doing that so far. she'll bet here to listen to president biden's speech. she'll see how she does, but so far she's a surprise, even some who were in support with her with the skills she's pivoted to being the number one in an incredibly unprecedented short period of time. >> susan page, thanks so much. senator joans, thank you. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell

reports." we'll have more tomorrow. you can rewatch the best parts anytime on youtube. "chris jansing reports" starts right here in chicago after a very short break. orts" starts right here in chicago after a very short break my symptoms got worse over time. my eye doctor explained the root was inflammation—so he prescribed xiidra. xiidra works differently. xiidra targets inflammation. over-the-counter drops don't do this. they only hit pause on my symptoms. but twice-daily xiidra gives me lasting relief. xiidra treats the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. don't use if allergic to xiidra and seek medical help if needed. common side effects include eye irritation, discomfort, blurred vision, and unusual taste sensation. don't touch container tip to your eye or any surface. before using xiidra, remove contact lenses and wait fifteen minutes before re-inserting. dry eye over and over? it's time for xiidra. (♪♪)

♪♪ some things stand the test of time, like a family car. the hartford has been insuring experienced drivers for generations. many who switch to the aarp auto insurance program from the hartford. saved an average of $577. for what's worth protecting, the hartford is here. to get your free quote, go to the buck's got your back. by the time this ad is over, karen will know if that feeling in her chest is afib... or just the end of a stressful day. (nature sounds)

(cell-phone notification) it's that easy. peace of mind that fits in your wallet. kardiamobile card is on sale now at kardia.com or amazon. and now, kardiamobile card is hsa/fsa eligible. z's baking the house special. arisa's styling a new look. and steve's filling his biggest order ever. with the first ever comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee, these business owners get five years of value on gig speed internet and advanced security, all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. so now they can focus on doing what they do best for the next five years. that's a lot of bread. you got this. the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. this is the easiest, non-toxic swap you'll ever make. switch today for a limited tim. most teeth whitening toothpaste brands use harsh ingredients but i made the switch to lumineux non-toxic teeth whitening toothpaste about a year ago and haven't looked back. this toothpaste is truly non-toxic

and uses real ingredients like dead sea salt, coconut oil, and lemon peel oil so it'll deep clean your teeth and whiten your teeth without any sensitivity. i recommend this toothpaste to everyone and they always have the same response. kyle, why did you not tell me about this sooner? find lumineux toothpaste at a walmart and target. hello, everyone.

i'm chris jansing, and this is the united center, home for the next four days for the democratic national convention. you can see the stage being set. they've been doing mic tests, and right up front, the pennsylvania delegation is joe biden's home state. he'll be speaking tonight. it's also the state with the most delegates. everywhere you look you see signs. one says "history is in your hands." the message they want to send to the delegate. how much this moment mean. plus, passing the torch. president biden prepares to lay out his legacy as he gets to to play a very different role. what could be one of the last political moments of his long career. and massive crowds outside the convention halls as protesters call for change. it's not just outside, asoz