architect of the the trying to move biden out was pelosi. also was angling for an open convention. i would just note that now, i think democrats have seen what vice president harris can do. she has very adeptly coalesced the party around herself, earned the support of the folks within her party, and now she is working to earn the support of folks across the country. she wants to be the 47th president of the united states. >> the co-host of "the weekend," symone sanders townsend, thank you. stick around for "morning joe." thank you for getting up "way too early" on this thursday morning. i'll be back here friday morning for "way too early" again. "morning joe" starts right now. so let me -- let me finish with this, team. it's the fourth quarter! we're down a field goal, but we're on offense and we've got the ball. we're driving down the field.

and, boy, do we have the right team. kamala harris is tough. kamala harris is experienced. kamala harris is ready. our job, our job, our job, our job for everyone watching, is to get in the trenches and do the blocking and tackling. one inch at a time. one yard at a time. one phone call at a time. one door knock at a time. one $5 donation at a time. [ applause ] look, we got 76 days. that's nothing. there will be time to sleep when you're dead. we're going to leave it on the field. >> governor tim walz. >> that is a high school coach right there. >> rousing speech during the democratic national convention where he formally accepted his

party's nomination for vice president. you were a coach so you saw that in him. >> yeah. >> the coach stuff. >> yard at a time, yeah. >> it was night three of the dnc. it was packed with more star power, including former president bill clinton and oprah winfrey. parts of the night were sectioned into themes, like immigration with remarks by a texas border county sheriff who has criticized donald trump on the issue. the january 6th capitol attack was also a focal point, with a series of speeches by some of the people most affected on that day. and tonight, vice president kamala harris will close out the convention. we'll have a preview of her speech. good morning. welcome to "morning joe." it is thursday, august 22nd. willie is in chicago this morning along with the host of "way too early," white house bureau chief at "politico," jonathan lemire.

special correspondent for bbc news, catzkatty kay. and co-host of "the weekend," former spokesperson to kamala harris, symone sanders townsend. also with us, the host of "on brand with donny deutsch," donny deutsch. and contributor to the conservative website, "the bulwark," tim l served as a spokesman for the republican national committee. and nbc news national affairs analyst and partner and chief political columnist at "puck," john heilemann. >> that's all the time we have for this morning. ana cabrera has it next. let's first go to the two guys who did not sleep. willie geist and jonathan lemire. >> willie, you awake? >> take us through the night. >> speaking of high school football, we have enough people for a full defensive unit. do we have 11? >> stuff the run. >> you're vulnerable deep, stuff the run.

joe, you and i played high school football. that was a high school football coach giving a locker room speech to a party and a country last night. incredible amount of bio given about governor walz last night. who he is. really introducing him to the country. i feel a lot of us have gotten to know him better in the last couple weeks, but the nation, let's be honest, doesn't know much about the guy. they got a look at him, at his family, the emotion on his son, gus, last night as he said, that's my dad up there. it was a beautiful moment. honestly, we've said think feel like every night, john, but the enthusiasm in this building that cannot be manufactured, the star power in this building. i'm not just talking about oprah, who gave a rousing speech which was something of a surprise until yesterday, but just the lineup of democrats. the young democrats, the youthful energy that's projected, whether it is governor wes moore, josh shapiro, pete buttigieg, the transportation secretary, and a

nod to the past, bill clinton. >> bill clinton still has it. he rewrote the speech on monday. he had been moved from the joy emanating from the room and needed a different approach. he talks quieter than he used to, slower than he used to, by his own admission, but he captivated the room. they were spellbound by his remarks. classic bill clinton style, he went way over his allotted time. he laid out a forceful argument for kamala harris. again, sort of belittled donald trump and talked about how trump only -- in a way that eloquently said, donald trump only focuses on himself. it's about the i. don't talk about the -- you know, listen to how he speaks about himself because everything is about himself when trump gets his remarks. we had former speaker pelosi spoke. as we were discussing the end of the last hour, she was a face of the move to push past president biden. it seems like those rifts have healed and this party is focused around the vice president and governor walz, who was the

capstone last night. i, like you, was struck. every time i see the clip of his son tearing up and saying, "that's my dad," it gets me. there was real emotion there. they leaned in heavily into the coach walz motif. they brought some of his former players up. >> yes. >> salute the former defensive coordinator of the state champions, i'll note. the signs in the crowd also say coach walz. >> there they are. 1999 state champs, joe. >> yeah. >> fantastic. >> weighed 127 when they were playing there. [ laughter ] >> i'd get behind them. >> joe, it was also interesting to watch how this party, especially last night, is leaning into issues that maybe were perceived as vulnerabilities. last night, i'm talking about immigration. >> yeah. >> chris murphy, who was one of the co-authors of the legislation that donald trump killed, along with james lankford of oklahoma, the republican there, he came out and said, we worked hard for

months and months. we got the deal republicans said they wanted. we presented it to them, and donald trump came in and killed the bill. kamala harris says, i will sign that bill when i become president. going hard. very interesting. >> wow. >> this is an issue donald trump thinks he has on democrats, and the democrats last night said, no, actually, you killed that bill. we are going to be on the offensive on immigration. >> yeah. it is a new democratic party. this is a different type of democratic party than the type i ran against. they were always very easy to go after and, you know, would sort of run around in circles. they were for the war before they were against the war. they were this, they were that. take an issue they were nervous about, and they'd run away from it. it'd be just easy, easy to run against them. now, they're doing exactly what you're supposed to do. take the issue that's your weakness, make it your strength, and go straight at them with it. it's hard to beat that. i will say also, tim, we used to run against democratic parties. it was like the old simpsons

cartoon. they had republican conventions and said, we don't care about people. then the democratic convention, they had banners that said, we can't run things. >> even ourselves. >> yeah, we can't run things. this is a democratic party, just ruthlessly efficient. i have not seen a convention night after night after night that sets it up this well. this is not the democratic party you and i are used to seeing. >> no. the way they co-opted these traditional republican themes -- they're not values really, but republican themes last night was, you know, there's been a lot of talk about the freedom, how they co-opted that word. last night was more than that. the patriotism. there's the usa placards, the chants more at the democratic convention than the republican. i think there was more mention of god and the bible. saw it with hakeem jeffries, oprah, tim walz. football, obviously. patriotism, talked about the olympic teams.

republicans were complaining there were drag queens in the opening ceremonies. last night, they were like, we love our olympic heros. it was heartland for america thematically, very savvy. sometimes, democrats in the past were uncomfortable with or ran away from. not last night. >> right. if somebody started a usa chant in the democratic crowd, everybody would look at them, what are you doing? >> plant? >> what? who let the republican in? now, you're exactly right. there is a reason, too. this is not sort of just faux patriotism. i mean, it is because donald trump has opened the door. when donald trump brags about saying america sucks, when he brags about saying america is on the decline, when he brags about saying that america is a stupid place, well, we have lot to be proud of as americans. i've always believed that. doesn't matter what party i'm in. i love this country. i'm proud of this country. most americans feel the way i do

about america. so when you have one party that's actually attacking america all the time, then, yeah, i'm going to hold a usa placard up and go, "usa, usa, usa." it works. it's the same thing with immigration. they killed the toughest immigration bill in history, that james lankford wrote. so it's working because it's true. >> yeah. the democrats are showing bravery, and they are leaning into issues. they brought in last night, and it was one of the most emotional moments, the parents of hersh goldberg, the hostage, talking about basically, and in the most empathetic way, saying there is agony on both sides and we need to bring them home. talking about this is not a political issue, it's a humanitarian issue. you contrast that with donald trump trying to pit jews against each other. it was, as you said, they're leaning into the issues that have been challenging for them. an entire night of freedom and joy and joy and freedom. boy, i wouldn't want to be

running against those democrats right now. >> not at all. willie, we're going to have the -- they're going to be here later this morning. >> yeah. to me, i think donny is absolutely right, that was the most emotionally striking moment of the night, particularly when mrs. goldberg called out to hersh at the end, unscripted moment, and said, if you can hear us, be strong, survive. they'll be our guests later. katty, your impressions as this week and leading up to the moment of the week, which will be the acceptance speech tonight by vice president kamala harris. again, just stopping and noting what an extraordinary moment in history it is. not just because of who she is but because of how she got here. a month ago, things were very much up in the air in the democratic party. >> look how united and excited the democratic party is. before joe biden stepped down, people were second guessing kamala harris, saying, maybe he shouldn't step down because

she'd be the next choice. there are so many concerns about whether she'd be a good candidate. we've seen the last four manhattamonths, what an exceptional candidate she's been, rallying the party behind her. tim walz's speech was 16, 17 minutes by my judgment. joe biden spoke for an hour monday night. it show what you can do in a political speech when you don't need it to go very, very long. he told the stories. i think he had, just by virtue of the fact of who he is and playing up this coach theme, it does do something to reach out to rural white, non-college educated voters who might be leaning for joe biden. he looks like the guy they could be comfortable with. i don't know if any of the voters are going to switch side because of tim walz, by he of all of the speakers we've had during the course of the week, he has done the most to get there. >> he is running a "friday night lights" campaign, coach walz. >> something about a field goal, we're in the end, and we have to keep going. >> very good, field goal. nice reference. we'll get you there.

let's listen to a little bit of governor walz's speech last night. >> now, i grew up in butte, nebraska. a town of 400 people. i had 24 kids in my high school class. none of them went to yale. but i'll tell ya what, growing up in a small town like that, you learn how to take care of each other. that family down the road, they may not think like you do. they may not pray like you do. they may not love like you do. but they're your neighbors. and you look out for them. and they look out for you. so while other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours.

we also protected reproductive freedom, because in minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make. and even if we wouldn't make those same choices for ourselves, we've got a golden rule. mind your own damn business. that includes ivf infertility treatments. this is personal for gwen and i. if you've never experienced the hell that is infertility, i guarantee you, you know somebody who has. and i can remember praying each night for a phone call. the pit in your stomach when the phone would ring, and the absolute agony when we heard the treatments hadn't worked. it took gwen and i years, but we had access to fertility treatments. when our daughter was born, we

named her hope. [ applause ] hope, gus, and gwen, you are my entire world, and i love you. >> john heilemann, brevity is the soul of width, they say. that never really absorbed into my being, but at a convention, 17 minutes, you define that as brief. looks like the governor did that. did he deliver? >> i think so. i mean, look, i agree with you, joe, we're used to these long convention speeches. bill clinton is a great example. you know, he ends up going over time, then everybody says, wow, it was so brilliant that we're fine with that. it is almost surprising, you know, when someone gets up and comes in well under what everyone expects to be the time.

i will say, one of the things about this convention, they have been running late every night. remember back to when joe biden started monday night. there was discussion about how unfortunate it was he started out of primetime. everybody has been going out of primetime every single night, including, i believe tim walz, starting roughly the time joe biden did on monday night. for that purpose, if nothing else, coming in at 15 or 16, 17 minutes is good news for him. there wasn't a word wasted in the speech. i continue to be stunned by a guy who had never performed on the national stage before. every time you put him in front of a crowd, whether it was the first introductory speech or this one, he's knocking it out of the park. >> you know, tim, that's the surprise. we sit around this table. i sit around this table. we talk about, oh, yeah, you know, when the quarterback was rolling to his left and he threw the 70 yard pass, he should have

passed it five more yards to the right. why didn't he lead the receiver better? you know this well because you've been close to it. when you get under those bright lights, you don't know who is going to hit their mark and who is not. 99% of people don't hit their mark. i wonder if you're as surprised as i am that, not just tim walz, but also kamala harris, somebody that people did not think was up to the job a month and a half ago, that shespotlight, that th the stage and hit their marks like they've been doing it their whole lives. >> i worked for pretty good politicians that didn't step up when the spotlight got bright. >> right. >> they're still great and talented individuals. you just don't know. i think the vice president, maybe even her team, would admit, like, the beginning of the vice presidency, she was

uncertain, right? it is tough being the second ref. so how are you going to do when is spotlight is there? she really has stepped up. i think both her and walz, to the brevity of soul is the width point, have been keeping it tight. they have a clear message, know what it is. it is different from biden. they're not getting off it. >> by the way, the first night, tim, and, again, i know this sounds like a small thing, she came out the first night, she waved, she spoke for four minutes, she walked off the stage. mika and i looked at each other and said, brilliant. >> yeah. >> everybody else would have overstayed their welcome. you're right. they're hitting it. >> night two, milwaukee, where trump had his convention, packed forum, and they cut to her from the convention. she's just waving. you see the huge freedom in red, white, and blue up there. it was hitting the marks on advance and on her performance. >> by the way, can we talk about that, as well?

we're talking about how they're taking republican themes, republican symbols, and making them their own. freedom is a great example because of abortion rights, because of reproductive rights. also, think about that. she decided freedom worked better than democracy. >> yeah. >> she's so right. >> it was definitely right. look, this is why i'm a never trumper. democracy threat, i care. it's playing to the "morning joe" green room, right? you have to get beyond that and speak to other folks, as well. she really has landed there on freedom and patriotism. one other person i should shout-out as the never trumper, duncan, lieutenant governor, more conservative than me, spoke last night. said, clearly, i disagree with her on policy. if you vote for kamala harris, you're not a democrat, you're a patriotism. great line. again, the freedom and patriotism we're trying to speak

to, the types of people that might not traditionally be democrats, but are like, we're sick of this. we want these folks to share our values. former president bill clinton delivered his 12th con consecutive convention. it was a long run. look at his remarks. >> two days ago, i turned 78, the oldest man in my family in four generations. and the only personal vanity i want to assert is i am still younger than donald trump. remember, we have a guy that's pretty good at what he does. donald trump has been a paragon of consistency. he is still blaming other

people. he creates chaos and sort of curates it. as if it were precious art. so in 2024, we got a pretty clear choice, it seems to me. kamala harris, for the people. [ applause ] and the other guy who has proved even more than the first go-around that he's about me, myself, and i. i know which one i like better for our country. i mean, look, what does the opponent do with his voice? he mostly talks about himself. right? so the next time you hear him, don't count the lies. count the is.

i, too, want an america that's more joyful, more inclusive, more future focused. just think what a burden it's been on us to get up day after day after day after day, buried in meaningless, hot rhetoric, when there's so many opportunities out there, so many problems that need to be solved. i want that. and that's the america kamala harris will lead. take i from a man who once had the honor to be called at this convention the man from hope. we need, we need kamala harris, the president of joy, to lead us. >> symone, you had president clinton hitting on a lot of themes. talking about donald trump's age. he knows which buttons to push.

also getting at the theme that donald trump is weird. he threw it out as an ad lib. what is this about the late, great hannibal lecter? why does he talk about hannibal lecter? clinton doing his job in the lineup. you worked for president harris for some time. i'm keirious what you think tonight will look like in the room behind us x in the context ott three nights that, it's all exceeded expectations. >> can i say a word about bill clinton? >> yes. >> he wasgreatest or of our time. people captivated the room. people were captivated. you could almost hear a pin drop as he was speaking. i think president clinton captured the room. as someone who, when he was president, the economy was -- what president clinton did in terms of the economy is something that i believe a

potential harris administration would love to be able to replicate. look, tonight, you're going to hear from the vice president. this is someone who has not wanted her entire career to become president, but worked her entire career breaking barriers and doing the work. tonight, you know, she's ran for president before, obviously. you don't run for president not ever wanting to seat in the seat, right? she's ran for president. didn't have a successful first campaign. joined the biden/harris ticket and served as vice president the last three, almost four years. in that time, has literally been doing the work. border crossings are down. mexico is enforcing their border. how does mexico enforce the border? diplomacy. do you know who was in charge of working on that diplomatic effort? the woman who will be standing on this stage tonight. you don't get to this moment without the first three years of

this administration. the vice president doing that work. i think she's going to talk about herself and her values. we'll hear about her mother, who instilled everything that we have seen in her and her sister. i think we'll hear from her sister, maya harris tonight. she is going to make a forceful case about why she can lead this country, not just lead democrats. i think that's going to be very, very important. there are people out there that are still spectacle. i've been talking to voters who say, i don't know if, you know -- they're blunt. i don't know if people in rural america are going to vote for a black woman as president. kamala harris is going to stand on the stage tonight, i think, and make the case that, i'm a patriot just like you, an american just like you. my story is not that different from yours, which is why i'll be a good president to represent you. >> very good. still ahead on "morning joe," maryland governor wes moore and democratic senator chris murphy will both join the conversation after speaking at the dnc last night. also ahead, former president trump made a campaign stop in

north carolina yesterday and responded to barack and michelle obama's dnc remarks. we'll show you some of what he had to say. you're watching "morning joe." we're back in 90 seconds. awkward question... is there going to be anything... -left over? -yeah. oh, absolutely. (inner monologue) my kids don't know what they want. you know who knows what she wants? me! with empower, we get all of our financial questions answered. so you don't have to worry. empower. what's next. the itch and rash of moderate to severe eczema disrupts my skin, night and day. despite treatment, it's still not under control.

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choosing a guy like jd vance to be america's next vice president sends a message. the message is they are doubling down on negativity and grievance. committing to a concept of campaigning summed up in one word, darkness. darkness is what they are selling. the thing is, i just don't believe that america today is in the market for darkness. >> yup. that is joe biden's secretary of transportation. i think it's a good message. >> absolutely. he's been great, also, going on fox news and trying to take on the opposition and some of the disinformation out there. a very effective campaigner and speaker. pennsylvania governor josh shapiro also took the stage for a speech focused on protecting freedom. shapiro, who was a finalist to be vice president kamala harris' running mate, partly used his

time last night to rail against former president donald trump, who he said is trying to strip americans of their rights. take a look. >> thank you. kamala harris she's spent her entire career making progress. donald trump, a man with no guardrails, wants to take away our rights and our freedoms. listen, while he cloaks himself in the blanket of freedom, what he is offering isn't freedom at all. hear me on this, it's not freedom to tell our children what books they're allowed to read. no, it's not. and it's not freedom to tell women what they can do with their bodies. and hear me on this. it sure as hell isn't freedom to

say, you can go vote, but he gets to pick the winner. that's not freedom. kamala and tim's names may be on the ballot, but it's your rights, it's our rights, it's our future and freedoms that are on the line. and you have the power to shape the future of this country. just like our ancestors, our ancestors who fought for freedom on the battlefield and sat in at lunch counters so our kids could stand up. now, it's on us. it's on us, my friends, to organize in our communities and on our for you pages around three basic american principles. >> can i do one edit? tim, is it okay if i do one edit as a former republican?

>> i get the edit. >> they're trying to speak to conservatives. >> that was really good. >> josh sha peshapiro. i want him to be vice president. as a former republican, i was like, eh. >> abortion? >> no. >> when he says, it's not freedom to tell children what books they can read. it should be, it's not freedom to tell parents what books their children can read. >> that's a good edit. >> it is a good edit. >> some of the books are books we would not want our children to read. but it should be the parents' decision and not the governor's decision, right? >> good edit. >> it's a fair edit. i'll send it through to governor shapiro's team. >> send it through. >> hours and hours of programming, you've come up with an edit. >> just one.

donny, you and i were both in the shapiro cheering section. >> he's wonderful. wanted him to be the vice presidential pick. but i've been shocked by how good walz has been. >> joe feels a lot of hysterical calls from a lot of people, including me. they made a mistake. they didn't. shapiro is amazing, but walz has been the right pick. talked about being a neighbor. there's a great slogan, like a good neighbor, state farm is there. like a good neighbor, tim walz is there. >> the plaid shirt thing. >> the other emotional moment for me, when his son was standing crying, pointing, going, that's my dad up there, that's my -- >> yeah. >> like, if you're a son, a father, anybody, you could not not react to that. tim walz has been a revelation. he is a rock star. i'm blown away by him. >> he really is. following that speech, trump attacked shapiro on social

media, referring to him as, quote, the highly overrated jewish governor. >> what? >> of pennsylvania. he went on to add, quote, "i have done more for israel than any person, and it's not even close. shapiro has done nothing for israel and never will." willie geist, it's always helpful to your campaign when you attack the governor of a state you desperately need. >> by the way, identify him as the highly overrated jewish governor. >> this is a moment where people go, there he goes again. no, no, let's stop for a moment. the man who wants to be president again is calling josh shapiro a jewish governor, sending up smoke signals to his supporters. i mean, he's lost his ability, if he ever had it, katty, to use innuendo. he's coming out and saying these things absolutely out loud about josh shapiro. he is jewish so take what he

says with a grain of salt. >> there's focus on tim walz, did he actually go to war? he said he carried a weapon in war and didn't actually go to war. it is probably right, the man who is going to be the vice president of the united states has scrutiny on him. but every time we go like that, you have to remind yourself of some of the things that donald trump will say. he'll identify josh shapiro as the jewish governor, making him a part of another group. it's not a dog whistle. it is a bull horn. it's out there and blunt. he has a habit of attacking governors of states he needs to win. pennsylvania, georgia. is he going to tick off the list? not sure what he'll say ability the governors of nevada and arizona, but they should watch their backs. >> donald trump talking about governor brian kemp.

the extraordinaily popular governor. >> and protecting his right. >> no, the count was right in 2020. i supported donald trump, but we got the vote right. that was his sin. donald trump continues to flail. we see it there. the anti-semitism in that post. also yesterday, at his rally, just, again, meandering, making up a story about kamala harris meeting with vladimir putin three days before putin decided to go into ukraine. that meeting never took place. he's making stuff up again. >> days before the invasion, vice president met with volodymyr zelenskyy at the munich security conference, showing the important role she did play in president biden's foreign policy. yesterday, trump had a rally in north carolina and polled the crowd. my advisors want me to stick to policy. the obamas, they got personal. should i do the same? of course, the crowd said, yes, go on personal atax. hours later, there's this

inflammatory post on truth social. symone, there is a current here about trump. i thought one of the more powerful moments, searing to see, the january 6th footage. congressman thompson introduced it, and it was difficult to watch. we've all lived with this and talk about january 6th nearly every day. this is the first election post january 6th. the first presidential election post january 6th. that matters. i think the democrats were smart, even if they're moving away from the, hey, trump is a threat to democracy line a little bit, but they're smart to remind people just how dangerous he was and how he is laying the groundwork to potentially do it again. >> the footage is very important i think to play. there are a lot of people who maybe tuned out, given the misinformation from republicans specifically on capitol hill. seeing the footage matters because it was terrible. no one, and reminding people, this is what it was the last january 6th when donald trump sent his supporters, sent his

supporters out and told them to march on the capitol. i do think it is important. look, i know there's all this harping on, oh, democrats aren't leaning into the threat to democracy anymore. but i think talking about the stakes of this election gets that done in a way that everyone can understand. for some folks, democracy never fully worked for them, so they don't feel the message of democracy speaks to them. the stakes, everybody understands them and they're high. >> chairman thompson who chaired the commission in the united states congress spoke, and we'll share this video now as a reminder of what happened that day. >> we will never give up. we will never concede. it doesn't happen. you don't concede when there's theft involved. after this, we'll walk down, and i'll be there with you, we're going to walk down to the

capitol. [ applause ] because you'll never take back our country with weakness. you have to show strength, and you have to be strong. >> we love trump! >> we'll have an ad hoc march stepping off. there is a crowd surge heading east. >> mike pence, i hope you're going to stand up for the good of our constitution and for the good of our country. and if you're not, i'm going to be very disappointed in you. i will tell you right now. >> usa! usa! >> we're going to give warning. it's now possibly a riot. >> declaring it a riot. >> we're trying to breach and get to the capitol. >> hold the line! hold the line!

we have a breach of the capitol! breach of the capitol from the upper level. >> mike pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our constitution. >> bring out pence! >> hang mike pence! hang mike pence! >> push forward! >> we can't hold this. we have too many [ bleep ] people. look at this vintage point. >> we're trying to hold the upper deck. we are trying to hold the upper deck now. >> we need an area for the house members. >> they're all walking over now through the tunnels. >> we need to move now. >> copy. >> if we lose any more time, we may lose the ability to leave. so if we're going to leave, we

need to do it now. >> we've lost the line. we've lost the line! all mpd pull back. all mpd pull back to the upper deck. >> usa! >> the door's barricaded. there's people flooding the hallways outside. we have no way out. >> officers still remaining on the house floor. so we can secure the members on the other side. copy. >> officer's down. >> get him up. >> heave ho! >> ah! ah! >> and if i win, i will be looking very, very strongly at pardons, full pardons, with an apology to many.

>> they were peaceful people. these were great people. the crowd was unbelievable. and i mentioned the word love, the love. the love in the air, i've never seen anything like it. >> usa! usa! usa! usa! usa! >> joe and mika, that was the video played inside this hall last night. it wasn't broadcast on some of the networks, but it is striking to see it all again. we witnessed it live. we watched the hearings. we know the facts. we've seen the videos. it's worth the reminder because that day has been so whitewashed and attempted to be whitewashed by donald trump. he's talking about the people

you saw in those videos who had been convicted by juries as hostages that he will pardon and set free because they are the real victims. two weeks ago, a man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for beating police officers with flags, furniture, anything he can get his hands on. donald trump thinks that man and others are hostages. we know what happened that day. america saw it again last night. >> people who supported what happened that day are hypocrites, the most horrible hypocrites. people who have been whining about the american flag for years, cheering, whining that the american flag is being misused on t-shirts, what nfl players did with the american flag. they're now cheering people who take american flags and beat the ever living hell out of police officers. beat the ever living hell out of

cops. they have done it for three years now on other cable news networks, trying to say this was much to do about nothing. and donald trump calls these thugs, these rioters. these people calling for the hanging of mike pence. these people beating the hell out of police officers, within inches of their lives. they call these people, donald trump calls these patriots and now hostages. john heilemann, thank god there was reminder at the democratic national convention that this is the first election since donald trump led a riot against the united states capitol and american democracy. >> thank god for that, joe. it's one of those things that i think you can't have enough reminders of. i mean, truly, it continues to be one of the most shocking things in our politics, watching

donald trump, as he has routinely done throughout the campaign, do the pledge of allegiance with the j-6 choir singing the national anthem, talking over and over again about his intention to give out full pardons to many or most of the convicts in that case. i find it staggering and stunning every time we see it. you need to be reminded of it over and over again. i will say, of all the things in the last month with trump, where we have seen him in a state of strategic flailing, and i have said, you know, i keep saying it over and over again, it is evident his mental acuity and cognitive state, in addition to his psychic state, but cognitive state is becoming much more starkly evident, how far he is failing and falling. the only thing he's managed to do, that his campaign would be happy about, is he has not been talking about this in the last

month. that means we're probably due soon for him to uncork another one to these people who are heros. a powerful part of the program last night, for sure, and necessary. >> and necessary. tim, these images remain shocking all these years later. even more shocking are the number of republicans, the number of trump republicans who dismiss it as much to do about nothing. they do. >> all of them. >> yeah. >> i guess you can note, one note last night to the democrats. my note is, i guess, sergeant gonell spoke powerful, one of the capitol police. where is everybody else? i would like to see more of mark esper, like the people that were there, too, you know, the secretary of defense. he's spoken out, mark esper. but in the campaign setting,

john kelly, background quotes aren't doing nit this moment. people who can speak to donald trump's abdication of duet think, we can really use. obviously, i have no expectation for the republican senators that are in the house, but it is insane when you watch a video like that. there's sergeant gonell. watch the cops getting beaten up with the flags, there's not even any republicans out there who are speaking out about it at all. they dismiss it, minimize it, mock you for doing it. >> when he is interviewed on his favorite networks, he's never asked about it. >> the only time he's been asked recently, this stands out, the national association at black journalists, everybody was focused on him saying kamala harris wasn't black. he was asked specifically, when you're talking about the pardons, are you talking about the violent rioters or the ones who weren't violent? he wouldn't answer, saying i'm pardoning everybody. >> he implied the dictator role. a group of people would design

who has been treated badly. i would. a group of people would decide. i would decide. i thought that was actually one of the more telling answers in the interview. >> what's amazing, when i'll talk about democracy is really in trouble, vulnerable with trump, well, democracy held the last time. did i couldn't see the footage of january 6th? did you listen to the recording of brad raffensperger when trump was trying to get 12,000 votes? there was attempted overthrow of the government. >> wanted to kill his vice president. >> he desperately tried. all those out there that go, well, we didn't lose democracy last night, come on. >> john heilemann, thank you very much for coming on this morning. we appreciate it. coming up, we're going to bring you more highlights from the democratic national convention, including oprah winfrey's surprise appearance. we'll play for you some of her remarks. "morning joe" will be right back.

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coffee. >> or five. >> ease into the second hour of "morning joe" in a few minutes. >> yeah. >> time for a look at the other stories making headlines this morning. ukrainian forces are reportedly moving to encircle an estimated 3,000 russian troops, hemmed in against a river in the kursk province. the site of ukraine's surprise incursion. ukraine is striking russian supply routes as moscow ramps up counterattacks using massive glide bombs and reinforcements. we'll follow that. canada's two largest freight railroads are at a standstill this morning because of a contract dispute with their workers. it comes after the companies and union leaders failed to reach a deal by a midnight deadline. the work stoppage could have a huge impact on u.s. businesses, threatening deliveries of cars, timber, petroleum products, and other crucial supplies. and longtime congressman

bill pascrell of new jersey died after fighting a respiratory illness earlier this summer. known for his sharp critique of donald trump, the democrat led the charge for access to the ex-president's personal tax returns. bill pascrell was 87 years old. tim miller, symone sanders townsend, thank you, both, for being on this hour. we appreciate it. still ahead on "morning joe," house minority leaders hakeem jeffries will join the conversation on the heels of his dnc speech last night. plus, "politico's" jonathan martin will be our guest to discuss his new piece entitled "free bill clinton." on why democrats need him on the campaign trail. "morning joe" will be right back.

she grew up in a middle class home. she was the daughter of a working mom. and she worked at mcdonald's while she got her degree. kamala harris knows what it's like to be middle class. it's why she's determined to lower health care costs and make housing more affordable. donald trump has no plan to help the middle class, just more tax cuts for billionaires. being president is about who you fight for. and she's fighting for people like you. i'm kamala harris and i approve this message.

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and more than anything, you know this is true, the decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024. [ applause ] and just plain common sense. common sense tells you that kamala harris and tim walz can give us decency and respect. they're the ones that give it to us.

let us choose truth. let us choose honor. let us choose joy! because that's the best of america! but more than anything else, let us choose freedom. why? because that's the best of america! we're all americans. together, let's all choose kamala harris! [ applause ] >> that was part of oprah winfrey's surprise appearance at the dnc last night, where she offered a ringing endorsement of vice president kamala harris. welcome back to "morning joe." it is thursday, august 22nd. jonathan lemire and donny deutsch still with us. joining the conversation, we have staff writer at "the atlantic," mark leibovich. nbc news chief foreign affair

correspondent and host of "andrea mitchell reports," andrea mitchell e. and host of "the 11th rule," stephanie ruhle is here. >> who is better than stephanie ruhle? >> oprah. >> maybe andrea mitchell. >> yeah, when andrea mitchell is on the sit, how do i do this? >> andrea. >> how do i do this? i'll toss it to willie geist. >> well, i will -- i'm honored to be seated next to andrea mitchell, as always, of course. >> how about being with me? >> it's fine being next to you. >> okay. >> we'll talk about what we've seen in the hall and what we'll see this week. tim walz virtually unknown two weeks ago, introducing himself on the stage. talked about being a teacher, congressman, governor, and football coach. he made a clear contrast between the two tickets. >> i wound up teaching social

studies and coaching footbal. go scarlets. mankato west high school. we played through to the whistle on every play, and we even won a state championship. never closed the yearbook, people. but it was those players and my students who inspired me to run for congress. they saw in me what i had hoped to instill in them. a commitment to the common good, an understanding that we're all in this together. and the belief that a single person can make a real difference for their neighbors. so there i was, a 40-something high schoolteacher with little kids, zero political experience,

and no money, running in a deep red district. but you know what? never underestimate a public schoolteacher! never. [ applause ] i represented my neighbors in congress for 12 years, and i learned an awful lot. i learned how to work across the aisle on issues like growing the rural economies and taking care of veterans. and i learned to compromise without compromising my values. then i came back to serve as governor, and we got right to work making a difference in our neighbors' lives. we cut passes for the middle class. we passed paid family and medical leave. we invested in fighting crime and affordable housing.

we cut the cost of prescription drugs and helped people escape the medical debt that nearly sank my family. and we made sure every kid in our state got breakfast and lunch every day. you know, when i was teaching, every year, we'd elect a student body president. you know what? those teenagers could teach donald trump a hell of a lot about what a leader is. leaders don't spend all day insulting people and blaming others. leaders do the work. so i don't know about you, i'm ready to turn the page on these guys. go ahead, say it with me. we're not going back! >> we're not going back! we're not going back! weir not going back! >> we've got something better to offer the american people. >> you know, andrea, as you

watched the speech last night and you see the reception he got in the room, you go back a couple weeks and think how much consternation there was when he was the choice over governor shapiro, for example. people saying, what are you doing? you've got to win pennsylvania. you have this dynamic, young governor in josh shapiro. the fact of the matter was most people didn't know governor walz. you get the sense in the room last night, the opinion, people had really come around to this guy as potential vice president. >> absolutely. josh shapiro gave a great speech last night, and i am sort of an adopted pennsylvanian and view that as my roots. that's what i covered for years and years, and i was in that camp. but tim walz just nailed it because of what they need right now. we all have our favorite teachers. our favorite high school coaches. you know, when we all went to the games on thanksgiving day. he reminds us of our hometowns. big, small, medium-sized towns.

gus walz, i mean, those kids, you know, gus and hope, those children and gwen walz, the teacher. one of the coaches said last night, i think on our show, you know, that gwen walz was our other favorite teacher. she was beloved. >> right. >> the two of them together. you know, for the white guys in red states that they're trying to reach in small town america, in western central pennsylvania, mccomb county, i think he really plays in that area in the rust belt. >> yeah, it was striking. we've been talking about this all week. to see the themes that democrats are leaning into, it is almost disorienting. some ways, it feels like the republican convention, taking back patriotism, taing back the flag, the usa chants, football, "friday night lights," things that had been conceded to

republicans. democrats were like, no, we're all americans. that's us, too. >> first of all, the incredible change in the dynamics of the race and the identity of this party, particularly the last four weeks. the thing about walz, to andrea's point to some degree, there's like this rolling revelation with him. i mean, the power of newness, yes, familiarity, but there is so much newness around this ticket. walz has been proving this for the last few weeks, which is perhaps what got him the job. you know, i think democrats obviously hope that that continues tonight with kamala harris. >> i think we should note, the evolution that's occurred as the week has gone on. of course, monday was about president biden. many speakers sense, including billdelivered an emotional tribute to him, his service and then decision to move away. now, we're changing the conversation to talk about the future. the vice president nominee last

night. kamala harris tonight. this is not to denigrate president biden or his time in office, that's what everyone says, but there's a sense of joy and relief. the party had turned the page over a question that had been hanging on them for two years. of course, it got heavier after the atlanta debate, what do we do now? i was talking to former senior biden aides yesterday who said, like, in their hearts, we're not sure he could win anymore. now, it's like, we have a fight ing chance. we heard it last night, from the obamas, the race is going to be close. bill clinton stressed that, too. there will be hard days ahead. we have to work. we have to fight. they believe they have momentum at their side. they have a real chance. tonight, vice president harris addressing the biggest audience which she ever has, has a chance to tell the american people who she is, what she stands for, and where she'll take the country. >> if she does this, stephanie, this is a tale of two campaigns. you have the democratic campaign hitting on all cylinders right now in a way nobody expected a

couple weeks ago, let alone a month ago. let me read "the washington post" this morning. trump attacks u.s. economic state, baselessly alleging an electoral scheme. a nominee says he is having difficulty staying focused on issues and polled the crowd, whether they preferred personal attacks on kamala harris. donald trump introduced a new premise for doubting the election results in advance on wednesday, turning a routine professional revisions of government economic statistics into a baseless allegation of manipulation. revised job creation numbers at the bureau of labor statistics was said to be an accidental disclosure. he accused biden and harris of rigging the 2024 election. it is remarkable how unmoored he

is, even by his own standards out there. admitting he can't stay focused on economic issues. admitting he can't stay focused on political issues. he just wants to attack. >> he's all over the map, and it's just about donald, donald, donald. i was at the rnc last night. it wasn't like a showcase of the best of the party. you didn't have former presidents up there. you didn't have the next generation of republicans. it was an homage to praising donald trump. you know, they celebrated like it was the inauguration. think of the difference we've seen in the last four days. this hasn't just been about kamala harris and introducing tim walz. you have seen this lineup from pete buttigieg to wes moore, on and on and on, the extraordinary, next generation democrats that are showing you where the party is going. willie hit the best note, which was, they have reclaimed patriotism, right? wes moore has been trying to do

this and talking about it since he started running for governor of maryland two years ago. think about the amount of flags and stars and stripes we've seen over the last few days. if the volume is down on your tv and you were squinting, you might think you were watching the rnc. this is so rattling for donald trump. just to hear them over and over, they're not saying my fellow democrats. they're saying my fellow americans. they talk about your neighbor. you saw bill clinton and barack obama extend the olive branch. show more grace. the opposite of what republicans are doing right now. while republicans are saying these are dark, dark times, democrats seem to be turning on the lights and saying, everybody, come on in. >> it is. democrats are turning a page from reagan's optimism, talking about how great america is. >> the possibility. >> the possibility of america. you look at the economy. relative to the rest of the world, stronger than anybody else. the military, relative to the

rest of the world, stronger than anytime since 1945. culturally stronger than ever before. in every single way, this country is doing exceptionally well. you have donald trump calling america a failing country. you have donald trump calling america a stupid country. you have donald trump saying america is in decline. there is no data that comes close to suggesting that. when he does that, well, he invites the retort, the usa, usa. he makes the democratic party the party of patriotism, the party of people who are actually proud to be americans. even the olympics. you know, i was sort of tuned out the first couple of days of the olympics. we were away, and i wasn't looking at social media. i wasn't looking at the news. three, four days later, i went back on twitter. i was like, oh, conservatives hate the olympics.

why do they hate the olympics? oh, because the french were being french, right? >> because they misunderstood the opening ceremonies. they didn't actually pay attention to it. >> it is better for them to be outraged all the time at everything. >> grieved. >> america cheers for team america, and you have the aggrieved trump party attacking the olympics. it's just -- that's the story of our political time right now. >> you mentioned reagan. what would be a brilliant move by the democrats, and they've been from a marketing point of view, they've been on point, rerun, do an updated morning in america. the statistics today for democrats blow away reagan's 1984. there's mourning in america. do it for the democrats. that'd be the ultimate finger to republicans. >> yeah. willie, again, you look at the optimism from the democratic party. as a former republican, it's not

something that i am used to. i'm used to democrats wringing their hands, not exactly sure. >> over thinking. >> not knowing how assertive to be on policy issues. i was saying before, joking to tim miller, if anybody broke out in a chant of "usa, usa," everybody would look over their shoulder and go, what? what? i mean, i think nancy pelosi started talking -- i mean, she always has. she's a person of deep faith. but she started talking publicly about faith, you know, pretty aggressively a decade ago in the public sphere. that's something that democrats just didn't do. you started seeing nancy pelosi and others start to do that. again, it's just sort of a 180 change for both parties. >> as you say, it is donald trump who has opened the door to this. he goes out every day, and he did again yesterday, trashing america, saying it's a third world country, saying we're a

banana republic, on and on and on. he peoples he has to tear it down because he's the one who can build it back up. democrats are saying, we tried that once. we're turning the page. listen to governor walz or secretary buttigieg or governor moore. you can go on and on, talking about their own military service and why they did that. why they love the country. you talk to senator warnock, who made a stirring speech a couple nights ago, saying only in america could my mother pick to bacco and cotton, and a generation later, i'm senator. andrea, you've lived through a few of the conventions, seen enthusiasm. the key then is to translate it into people going to vote. >> absolutely. >> this is well and good for democrats this week, but there are 75 days from this point forward to election day. what's your sense of what they need to do to keep this rolling? >> i go back to michelle obama's speech. they have to do the work. they have to do the phone calls,

call your neighbors. don't expect an invitation. consider this your invitation. i'm michelle obama, and i'm telling you you have to do the work. i was on the floor and talking to people in different delegations. they say, first of all, volunteerism is way up. >> yeah. >> they already had an infrastructure that joe biden built with all that early money, so they had a much better, you know, county-to-county infrastructure. lots of offices. but they need to make that happen. much better than the trump campaigned had. but now they've got to just, not only raise the money, but know how to spend it and do the absolute work that makes elections happen. they have to figure out which counties they have to do it in. they know the battlegrounds, both campaigns obviously know the battlegrounds. what i've been struck by, especially last night was tim walz, and the other night when they did the split screen with milwaukee, filling that arena, and, of course, the convention

here, they just hit their marks. these are two people, kamala harris even did not have that much experience on the national stage. she's a natural. tim walz, speak of a natural. consider he gave that speech, that was flawless in terms of not only the themes but his delivery. for that kind of raw political talent to exist, it tells you, he doesn't come across as a politician, as someone, despite ask years in washington as a congressman, as a career politician, he projects those values. the themes have been smart. not democracy, which may have worked in 2020 after january 6th, but it was not working for joe biden, but freedom. freedom reaches out to libertarians, to independents. freedom to make your own decisions and not have big government interfering with you. that is thematically smart. >> that's an argument president clinton also made last night, saying let's reach out.

something he did, of course, coming from arkansas in a southern state, something he did when he ran for president. let's reach out to people outside of our party. >> you know what he did. according to friends who were with him this weekend, he rewrote that starting monday by hand, the yellow legal pad. that was bill clinton. for him, it worked. he went too long. tim walz went under time, which was great for them. they've been going over all week. but he was bill clinton. there is a nostalgia. he's a bridge back to the joe biden for those who were -- >> perhaps was writing it as he went along last night, as well, adding in flourishes. >> yeah. >> mark leibovich, your piece is "the dnc is a anything, smiling mess." what's the mess part? >> mess has negative connotations, but i believe it is a beautiful mess in that it is so many old and new, certainly. we're seeing that. there is sometimes a tense interplay between that, the

awkwardness of kind of joe biden's farewell on monday, not coming back, but i also think, to andrea's point also, the force multiplying of all these surrogates. i'm interested to see how the democrats use all of the surrogates that they have at their disposal over the next few weeks. because, yes, as an organizing tool, phone calls, knocking on doors, that kind of thing, very, very important, but there's a lot of talent out there. it'll be a challenge to know how to deploy it strategically. >> they have bench strength. >> over the next condensed, you know, several weeks, you have to figure out how to deploy. >> the campaign has begun thinking about that. they have popular governors. whitmer in michigan. shapiro in pennsylvania. they'll be out there for them. joe biden said the other day, they'll target him in places like pennsylvania, michigan, talking to older white voters where he remains very, very popular. you know, we will see. bill clinton offered. he can be used smartly, as well.

i think this mess, if you will, because it's also remarkable, they had to create a whole new convention in a month's time. they had been building for months and months to have this be joe biden's coronation, his convention. even to the point where some of the passes handed out have ice cream decals on them because of joe biden's love of ice cream. but they have seamlessly merged the biden convention now to this one for kamala harris. that will culminate tonight. i think, i'm told she'll be on the attack with trump, but it won't be to deem him a threat to democracy but to belittle him. yes, he is a threat to the freedom, but to use the obamas' words, he is small, insignificant. as i was told by a senior harris adviser yesterday, her overall thoughts about him, dismissive. i think we'll get that tonight, too. >> can i just say? but she can't dismiss him. the reason kamala harris needs to keep her foot on the gas and have every surrogate out there is the misinformation machine

has barely gotten started. the lies that will be spread about kamala harris, tim walz, are only going to get bigger. donny and i were talking to mika in the break. the people who want to rationalize donald trump, they need only a morsel of nonsense spoken about kamala harris, and they'll run with it. you're seeing it this week. donny, if i can, i want you to talk to us about their approach to diversity. until this week, republicans weaponized diversity in that, you know, it's just about women and minorities. the patriarchy is dead. guys that look like the two of you have no chance. we're seeing a totally different take on diversity. >> they are. you see the tent. the tent has everybody in it. the tent is unified. the tent is happy. so it's not like the other side, as you say, weaponizes it. i don't know if you heard the word once. it just is. it just is. >> so far, the lies and the

attacks and the misinformation haven't hit their targets, but that doesn't mean they aren't going to keep going. willie, i just wanted to agree with mark leibovich. when i looked at this convention, i turned to mika last night and said, you know, this is a pastige. >> delicious. >> it's mika's favorite ice cream. >> please. ridiculous. >> joe, how well i know you for 17 years, when i heard that word, i was waiting for you to comment about it. >> i thought, well, if he is throwing pastiche out, it's like when jon meacham talks about the french and indian war and how it applies to next week's economic data coming out. >> if you hadn't cut me off, i was going to get to the french and indian war on this beautiful

morning. >> next time. >> mark leibovich, we'll let you have a half dozen pastiches, whatever those are. >> i had one for lunch yesterday. >> light and fluffy. >> need one now. >> okay. >> thank you, sir. before we go, get a shot of andrea's shoes. tj, get the director. talk about the olympics and gold medal shoes. come on now. >> that's my gold medal for the convention hall. >> andrea. the great andrea mitchell. >> they're not trump shoes. >> i was going to say. >> great distinction. >> that's incredible. well, i think to your point about disinformation, it's already started, but it's up against this convention. when the convention -- i know, they don't -- >> they're trying to do willie horton again. it doesn't work. >> if you watch another network, you will see anchors with their heads exploding about video out of china of tim walz and his wife. i mean, crazy talk about hosts calling out other hosts on what

their race is. they're flailing, but they're going at it. they will say anything, and it's nasty. it could be effective because those people watching, they're not watching the convention. they have one funnel where they get what they think is facts. >> when you tell people crime is down, they tilt their heads and go, what? >> it's unbelievable. >> what? >> the disinformation. >> tilt their heads. >> a certain network will have crime going 24 hours a day, just like "the new york post," crime day in, day out, day in, day out. the fact is, right now, we're on track this year to have less violent crimes than they had in 1950. >> yup. >> but, again, it's just a completely alternative set of facts. >> another day at the office for them. >> democrats can't not be on offense. >> right. >> if they allow these narratives to be out there, then it will run. >> that's right. >> people -- there are so many

people that would love to rationalize voting for trump again. >> that's all they do. >> yeah. >> you hit people with facts, and they just are dug in with their rationalizations. they literally, you can see their eyes glaze over when you give them facts. >> i know we have to go to break, but we all know people that will say, oh, joe biden, kamala harris, they're socialists. you're like, how much money have you made over the last four years under joe biden and kamala harris while you're driving around your maseratis, going to your clubs, making more money on a round of golf, like, just looking at your stocks go up than most people make all year? that's socialism to you? i mean, by every benchmark economically, they are doing better. these people who are saying they're socialists. donald trump and republicans going, yeah, but they're communists when it comes to energy policy. really? the united states has drilled more oil this year than any

other country. >>communists and socialists? steve kerr showed up at the convention after bringing home olympic gold. he could be anywhere in the world. he said he is going to spend the next 75 days campaigning. oprah winfrey is the most successful person in media in our lifetime, and she showed up. you can't possibly make this argument, these are a bunch of lefty socialists. give me a break. >> stephanie ruhle, thank you so much for being on. we'll see you tonight. you just go 24/7. still ahead on "morning joe" -- >> for the first time in decades, a chance at a real bipartisan solution. >> but at the last minute, trump directed his allies in the senate to vote it down. >> they're blaming it on me. i said, that's okay. please blame it on me. please. >> he tanked, tanked the bipartisan deal because he thought it would help him win an election. [ crowd booing ] which goes to show, donald trump

does not care about border security. he only cares about himself. >> that was part of the video played at the dnc last night. democratic senator chris murphy, who helped negotiate the bipartisan border bill and spoke at the convention, joins our conversation next. we'll be right back. as americans, there's one thing we can all agree on. the promise of our constitution and the hope that liberty and justice is for all people. but here's the truth. attacks on our constitutional rights, yours and mine are greater than they've ever been. the right for all to vote. reproductive rights. the rights of immigrant families. the right to equal justice for black, brown and lgbtq+

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to texas, stands next to officers in uniform like mine, he's not there to help us. don't think that, not for a second. he is a self-serving man. just like when he killed the border bill. he just made our jobs harder. now, kamala, on the other hand, has been fighting border crime for years. she's gone down to mexico and worked to stop the traffickers. when the traffickers didn't stop, she put them in jail. >> that is the sheriff of bear county, texas, salazar, speaking at the dnc, where immigration was a major theme. democrats reminding voters that donald trump persuaded republicans in congress to kill a bipartisan bill negotiated earlier this year. >> let's be clear. the border is broken. but this year, when democrats and republicans worked together to finally write new border laws, we were blocked. we all know who sabotaged us.

>> we would have much more security at the border if donald trump hadn't tanked the bipartisan bill. folks, we don't have to choose between a secure border and building an america for all. under president harris, we can and will do both. >> trump killed that bill, and he did it because he knew that if we fixed the border, he'd lose his ability to divide us. his ability to fan the flames of fear about people who come from different places. >> and the man you heard there, democratic senator chris murphy of connecticut, joins us now here on set in chicago. he, of course, is one of the lead negotiators of the bipartisan border bill. senator, good morning. great to have you with us. >> yeah. >> we talk in shorthand about this bill that you and james lankford and senator sinema got together and worked for months

on, something that republicans said they wanted. we should remind people what was in that bill and why we call it one of the strongest immigration packages in at least a generation, maybe many. donald trump came in at the end and child it. -- killed it. let's walk through it and what happened in the end. >> we spent months negotiating this bill, why? immigration law is complicated. there is not a silver bullet to what the problems are at the border. here's what we did. we put $20 billion into new border security. that means more border agents, faster processing of people at the border. we gave the president a pretty remarkable emergency power to be able to shut down the border, stop processing asylum claims when the number of crossings get too high. we did a fundamental reform of the asylum system, how people come into the country, claim asylum, and also stay here for ten years before their claim is processed. most of them don't qualify for asylum, and nobody thinks that's fair. we reduced the time from ten

years down to a couple weeks. then we increased the number of people who can come here through legal means, through the visa system, to reunite with the family or get a job, so there's not pressure at the border. you have other ways to come here. donald trump looked at the bill and realized that it actually would fix the problem. maybe not all the problem, but it'd make the border manageable. once he realized that talking point would be gone, that this bill was actually going to be effective as solving most of the problem, he came to the conclusion that he couldn't win the election if the border wasn't a mess. he told all of his lieutenants in the senate to kill it, and they did it. >> by the way, as you know, there were progressives upset about the package. it was, they thought, too conserative and strict on the border. what about republicans when donald trump came in and said to kill it? >> i give credit to

lankford who stood his ground. even as it was on its way to defeat, he was on cable news, conservative talk shows, defending it. i think we had about 20 republican votes for that bill, and they were pretty solid votes. at 8:00 p.m. that night, stephen miller, trump's immigration guy, tweeted out, "kill the bill. we're against the bill." by the time we woke up monday morning, we were down to four votes. that's how quick people folded. there wasn't much pushback from republicans. they just took their instructions. >> what is your sense now of the position that the harris/walz campaign finds itself in because of everything you just laid out? this has been an issue that donald trump thought he owned, that he could say that kamala harris was in charge of the border for all those months, and look what happened. the border crossings are way down now. now, she's able to say, donald trump killed the bill, simply, i will sign it, period.

end of story. >> yeah, it's a really easy story for people to understand. because they don't believe trump is sincere. they believe he is out for himself. when you explain the true story, that there was a tough bill that would have solved most of the problem and trump decided he wanted the border to be a mess because it helped him politically, people get that. we need to go on the offense of border security because people care about it. it's a real political issue. between the border bill, crossings being lower today at the southern border than they were the end of the trump administration, and kamala harris' work to successfully stem migration from central america, the specific job she was given, there is a really tight, good story to tell about how democrats are much tougher on border security than republicans. we should be talking the talk. >> striking, he ordered the bill killed for political reasons, but it was bad politics. he handed the democrats a gift here. you made that point so well last night on the stage. i want to turn to your -- you also sit on the foreign relations committee.

the situation in gaza. there have been protests in chicago. thankfully, not as chaotic or widespread as this believed, but it is still here. we're hearing it night after night at the arena. what is your sense of the ongoing talks right now? biden administration officials have signalled some real worry that they're on the verge of breaking down. can a deal get done? will a cease-fire be struck? >> i think a deal can get done, but i think the chances seem to be narrowing day by day. they're narrowing because both hamas and bibi netanyahu are coming to the conclusion they may be better off without an agreement. we can't ever reason with a terrorist group, but it is disappointing that the prime minister continues to put his political survival, which he may think is enhanced by keeping the stalemate open, ahead of the safety of his country and the priority of rescuing these hostages. i'm worried about our ability to

get a deal. i'm worried about escalation with iran. i'm worried about keeping the northern border as calm as possible. this is a real dangerous, 30-day period we're heading into. if that cease-fire deal falls apart, we are going to have an even harder time containing the situation throughout the region. the biden administration is going to be on the ground doing heavy, important work the next few weeks. >> those hostages in israel now, 321 days. need to come home, as we heard in stirring testimony last night. before i let you go, senator, just generally, your feelings about what's been happening in this hall for the last three, four days? what's going to happen tonight, given where your party was a month ago even, which was president biden steps aside, is kamala harris the right person for this job? should there be an open convention? all the conversations that were happening, what do you make of what you've seen this week? >> i don't think i've been through anything like this, right? i'm glad we spent a bunch of

time this week honoring joe biden and talking about the successes of his administration. but the joy in this hall is contagious. i think, like 2008, 2024 is going to be a year where literally millions of people are going to begin their political journey. this campaign is going to have the ability to bring in millions of young people all across the country who are going to make the difference for kamala harris in this election, but make a difference in their communities moving forward. it just feels like one of those years, one of the campaign seasons that you're going to remember for a long time. i've just been absolutely privileged to be a part of the week. >> it all culminates tonight when vice president kamala harris accepts the party's nomination. democratic senator chris murphy of connecticut, thanks for stopping by. good to see you. >> thanks, guys. up next, we'll hear from another prominent democrat who spoke at the convention last night. maryland governor wes moore joins us on set. straight ahead on "morning joe."

>> maryland, how do you cast your vote? >> we are maryland! we're trying to save the planet with nuggets.

because we need the planet. and we also need nuggets. impossible. we're solving the meat problem with more meat.

75 days and a wake-up for us to prove what americans can do when the pressure is on. 75 days and a wake-up for us to

show that true patriots do not whine and complain. we put our heads down and we get to work. 75 days and a wake-up to build a future that those who came before us hoped for and those who come after us, that they deserve. and 75 days and a wake-up to elect a leader who is willing to believe in the best of us, and that leader is kamala harris, the next president of the united states! >> as maryland governor wes moore speaking last night here at the united center in support of vice president kamala harris. governor moore joins us now here in chicago. governor, great to see you. >> great to see you, too. good morning. >> good morning. can we talk first just about the vibe in this place over the last week? >> yeah. >> over the last month, really, of this campaign. how things, quite frankly, have changed. there was talk after the debate,

should joe biden stay? should he get out of the race? a lot of people thought he should stay and let's hang in with him, see if we can get him across the finish line. just the energy within the party changed, and you see it, as you've felt up close last night. >> yeah, this energy is real. i think what this energy is, it's an energy that's ready to win. there is a difference between folks who actually see and believe that victory is within reach. it also means you have folks here ready to do the work. the great thing about being here right now is not just that the rallies are great, the energy is wonderful, and everything is really loud. it's the fact that these are all people who are now going to be going back to indiana and mississippi and missouri and maryland and who are ready to put in the work. that's the thing you want to see coming in, especially when one now only have, you know, 74 days and a wake-up. >> one of the things that's notable, and we're looking at the usa signs in the photos here, and we've been talking about a lot this week, is talking about patriotism.

>> sure. >> you've been at the forefront of that, going back to your campaign, saying republicans don't own patriotism. just because you have a bigger flag and wave it in the back of your truck or put a sticker on your truck. it's about embodying the values of the country. you, of course, served in afghanistan with the 82nd airborne. how important is that to you and to this party to talk about patriotism in a different kind of way? >> i think there is a real danger we had as democrats of shying away from it, of being afraid to put the american flag, you know, in your yard. a fear of saying, i'm a very proud american. because the thing i wanted people to know is that saying i'm a proud american, and i love my country, i love this flag, i have fought for it, and i will fight for it the rest of my life, it's been the world's greatest experiment. it doesn't mean i'm naive and ignoring history. i get that. i wanted to speak to the

skeptics, people who said, how can you love america if x or y? my point is this, i'm not asking you to parking lot your skepticism or measure a cynicism you might have. all i'm saying, bring that skepticism with you. let that skepticism be your companion and not your captor. don't let it remove you from the process. let it actually be your fuel to continue making this great american experiment better. that is patriotism. people are willing to sacrifice for a better america, people willing to defend to the left and right regardless of what family lineage might be, that's the beauty of what makes america so special. as democrats, it's not just a smart political thing to do. it's the right moral thing to do. we love this country. we'll fight for it. >> last night was tim walz's night. we learned of him as a teacher, coach, time in the military. you know him as a fellow governor. governor of minnesota. you're of maryland. tell us of your experience working with him, what he adds to the ticket? >> i love this dude.

like, the thing about tim walz is, what you see is what you get. there's no performance with him. he doesn't get up there and put on a show. he is coach walz. whether he is in a back room or whether he is on a big stage. you know, one of the things i've always loved about him is not just his military service. this is a guy who is a 24 year military veteran, rose to sergeant major, less than 1% of people do. i remember him as president biden was going through what he wanted to do. i was having in-depth and deep conversations with tim walz. he was having very in-depth conversations with president biden. he would always stand there and say, but our job is to stick and be loyal and making sure we're pushing forward the right agenda for the keep the country first in this, and i love him for that, and i will stand with him always. i think he's going to be a remarkable vice president. >> we saw last night this party has fallen in love over the last couple of weeks with governor walz. governor moore, he saw it a long

time before a lot of people did. this is a guy who can help the country. >> these governors are amazing, and there are so many. what a great and groundbreaking bench the democrat haves when you look at california, wes moore. your speech was amazing last night. pennsylvania's josh shapiro and everything he brings to the table. north carolina, massachusetts, the great maura healy, the first openly gay female governor, and it doesn't make sense to me that donald trump would go after a swing state governor, a state that he needs to win at a time when it looks like his chances could be -- could be in jeopardy. >> donald trump sent out an offensive tweet about josh shapiro calling him the highly overrated jewish governor. imagine saying the highly overrated black governor. he throws out these anti-semitic

tropes and saying he's not good for israel. i'm so tired of donald trump dividing jews. 75% of jews traditionally vote democrat. it's vile, anti-semitic and i get offended as a jew personally. >> wes, congratulations on your great success, my friend. you are one of the future stars of this party. so you're out there, and are you feeling that the electorate is tired of the negativity and tired of the name-calling, and the very thing that's happening in the democratic convention, the joy, the excitement, the exuberance, that's what people want across the aisle? >> i think this country by its nature is a hopeful country. i think that this country is a country that understands the power -- that there's a healing power to american democracy, and when you look at the origins of it, that america was founded on this idea that every two or four or six years depending on the race, we have a chance to choose

our fate, and americans generally choose hope. they choose optimism. they choose the thing that's going to lead us to our better angels, and i think that's what we're seeing, and i think people are seeing that, you know, the shell game of donald trump is very tired, and it's very tiring. he is not a policy guy. he is a vessel. he is a vessel for an ideology that believes that patriotism means separating us, and that means making america great again and telling who should be a part of that experiment and who should not be, but donald trump is nothing more than a vessel for that, and i think people are seeing that we have a real opportunity to be able to have an economy that everyone feels a part of. we have an opportunity to have a country that is respected on the global stage. we have a chance to actually have a country that can do big and bold things, and know that we need everybody involved in it. that's what the people are hoping for, and i know that -- and people believe, and they know that donald trump is not going to get us there, and he has no plan to get us there. that's not his intention.

so this is actually an exciting moment because i think it represents what every single election represents for the american people, a choice about who we are and about who we hope to be. >> donald trump denigrates immigrants whenever he gets the chance. one of the points you made in your speech last night tying it to the collapse of the key bridge after that terrible accident early they are year was the people who were working on that bridge and what they saw in the promise of america. >> i remember even speaking to those families and speaking to them in spanish, that first morning when we were letting the six families know that we were -- at that point, it was a search and rescue mission, and then eventually just turned into a recovery mission, and i think about those men often who were fixing potholes at 180 feet in the air in the middle of the night so we could have a smoother commute in the morning. people who weren't born in this country. they did not even yet speak

english, but who believed that the hope of america was big enough for the hopes of their families too, and one of the things that we actually did in the wake of the collapse of the key bridge, we actually established a scholarship for their children to make sure that their families and their children knew that we appreciated their loved ones, their fathers, their brothers, their uncles, their cousins. we appreciated their service. we appreciated their love of country and their love of community, and we were going to make sure that they -- they weren't going to be forgotten nor left behind in this. >> maryland governor wes moore who has served this country since he was, i think, 17 years old, right? >> that's right. >> i appreciate you being here this morning, governor. >> thanks so much. coming up, donald trump told the crowd in north carolina yesterday he is not focused on increasing voter turnout. huh. we'll play for you what he thinks is more important than that when "morning joe" comes right back from the dnc in chicago.

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still ahead on "morning joe," we'll be joined by john polen and rachel goldberg. pleading for the release of their son and other hostages still being held by hamas. we're back in 90 seconds. y hama. we're back in 90 seconds

so let me -- let me finish with this, team. it's the fourth quarter. we're down a field goal, but we're on offense and we've got the ball. we're driving down the field, and boy, do we have the right team. kamala harris is tough. kamala harris is experienced, and kamala harris is ready. our job -- [ cheers and applause ] our job, our job, our job for

everyone watching, is to get in the trenches and do the blocking and tackling. one inch at a time, one yard at a time, one phone call at a time, one door knock at a time, one $5 donation at a time. [ cheers and applause ] look. we got 76 days. that's nothing. there will be time to sleep when you're dead. we're going to leave it on the field. >> that is tim walz. >> that's a high school coach. >> it was a rousing speech last night during the democratic national convention where he formally accepted his party's nomination for vice president. you were a coach. you saw that in him, that coach stuff. >> all those -- yeah. yard at a time, yeah. >> so it was night three of the dnc. it was packed with more star

power including former president bill clinton and oprah winfrey. parts of the night were sectioned into themes like immigration with remarks by a texas border county sheriff who has criticized donald trump on the issue, the january 6th capitol attack was also a focal point with a series of speeches by some of the people most affected on that day, and tonight, vice president kamala harris will close out the convention. we'll have a preview of her speech. good morning, and welcome to "morning joe." it is thursday, august 22nd. willie is in chicago this along with the host of "way a early," jonathan lemire. we also have with us, u.s. special correspondent for bbc news, katty kay, and co-host of msnbc's "the weekend," former senior adviser and chief spokesperson to vice president kamala harris, symone sanders-townsend. also with us, the host of the

podcast "on brand," donnie deutsche, and tim miller. he served as a spokesman for the republican national committee, and nbc news national affairs analyst and columnist at "puck," john heilemann. >> that's all the time we have this morning. ana cabrera begins coverage next. the two guy who is did not sleep last night, willie geist and jonathan lemire. >> are you awake? >> take us through the night last night. >> speaking of high school football, i think we have enough people on to put up a full defensive unit right now. do we have 11? i think we can do it. we have stuff to run. you're vulnerable, and you have stuff to run. you said it, joe. you and i both played high school football. that was a coach giving a locker room speech to a party and a country last night. incredible amount of bio given about governor walz last night, who he is, really introducing

him to the country. i feel like we've gotten to know him better in the last couple of weeks, but the nation let's be honest doesn't really know that much about the guy. they got to get a look at him, a look at his fame, the emotion on his son, gus last night that said, that's my dad up there, that was a beautiful moment, and honestly we've said that i feel like every night, john, but just the enthusiasm in this building that cannot be manufactured, the star power in this building. i'm not just talking about oprah who gave a rousing speech and that was a surprise until yesterday, but the lineup of democrats, the young democrats, the youthful energy that's projected whether it's wes moore, josh shapiro, pete buttigieg, the transportation secretary up and down, and then a nod to the past with bill clinton as well. >> bill clinton still got it. he rewrote his speech and said he felt like he needed a different approach. he talks quieter than he used to, and slower than he used to,

but he captivated the room. he went way over his allotted time, but he laid out a forceful argument for kamala harris, and again, sort of belittled donald trump and talked about how trump only -- in a way that el -- eloquently said, he only speaks about himself. everything is about himself when trump gives his remarks, and, you know, we had house speaker nancy -- former speaker pelosi spoke. as we were discussing at the end of the last hour, you know, she was the face of the move to push past president biden, but it seems like those rifts have largely healed here, and this is a party that is now unified, focused around the vice president, and now governor walz who of course, was the capstone last night, and i like you was struck -- i mean, every time i see the clip of his son tearing up and saying, that's my dad, it gets me. there was real emotion there. they leaned in heavily into the coach walz motif. they even brought some of his former players up to salute the

former defensive coordinaor of a state championship team. the banners also say coach walz. >> there they are. >> 1999 state champs. >> there we go. >> yeah. they weighed 127 when they were playing. yeah. >> joe, i'll also say it was interesting to watch how this party, especially last night is leaning into issues that may be perceived as vulnerabilities. i'm talking last night about immigration. chris murphy who was one of the co-authors of that legislation that donald trump killed along with james langford, the republican there. he came out and said, we got the deal republicans said they wanted. we represented it to them and donald trump came in, and killed the bill. kamala harris says, i will sign that bill when i become president. going forward, very interesting.

this is an issue that donald trump thinks he has on democrats and the democrats last night say, no, actually, you killed that bill. we're going to be on the offensive on immigration. >> this is a different type of democratic party than the type that i ran against. i mean, you know, they were always very easy to go after, and they would, you know, sort of run around in circles, and they were for the war. before they were against the war. they were this, they were that. you take an issue that they were nervous about, and they would run away from it and they would be easy -- it was just easy to run against them. now you're doing exactly what you're supposed to do. take the issue that's your weakness, make it your strength and go straight at them with it. it's hard to beat that. i will say also, tim, we used to run against the democratic party. they had republican conventions and held up banners that said, we don't care about people. you would go to the democratic convention that held up banners that said, we can't run things. right? we can't run things, and this is a democratic party, i mean, just

ruthlessly efficient. i have not seen a convention night after night after night set up this well. this is not the democratic party that you and i are used to seeing. >> no. the way that they co-opted all these republican themes. it wasn't values, but the themes. it was freedom, the way they've co-opted that word. it was the usa chants than the republican convention. i think that there was more mention of god and the bible said in a lot of speeches. like in hakeem jeffries, oprah. you saw patriotism, talking about the olympic team. the republicans were complaining this were drag queens in the opening ceremonies of the olympics. they were, like, we love the usa, and it was a very heartland america thematically, and it was very savvy, and it's something that sometimes democrats in the

past were uncomfortable with, or ran away from. >> right. >> not last night. >> they always were uncomfortable about it. if somebody started a usa chant at a democratic crowd, they would turn around and look at them, what are you doing? >> plant. >> what? who let the republican in? now you're exactly right, but there's a reason too. this is not sort of just faux patriotism. it's because donald trump has opened the door. when donald trump brags about saying america sucks, when he brags about saying america's on the decline, when he brags about saying that america is a stupid place, well, we have a lot to be proud of as americans. i've always believed that. it doesn't matter what party i'm in. i love this country. i'm proud of this country, and most americans feel the way i do about america. so when you have one party that's actually attacking america all the time, then yeah. i'm going to hold a usa placard up and i'm going to go usa, usa, usa, and it works. it's the same thing with immigration. they killed the toughest

immigration bill in history that james langford wrote. so it's working because it's true. >> yeah. >> and the democrats are showing bravery and they're leaning into issues. it was one of the moments the parents of hersh goldberg talked about. they said there is agony on both sides and they need to bring them home, and talking about this as a humanitarian issue. you contrast that with donald trump trying to, you know, pit jews against each other, and it was, as you said, they were leaning into the issues that were challenging for them, and the entire night of freedom and joy and joy and freedom, and boy, i wouldn't want to be running against those democrats right now. >> not at all, and willie, we're going to have the -- they're going to be here later this morning. >> yeah. to me, i think donny's absolutely right. that was the most emotionally

striking moment of the night, particularly when mrs. goldberg called out to hersh at the end and said, if you can hear us, be strong. survive. they will be our guests a little bit later this morning as you said. katty, your impressions from last night as a port of this week and leading up to the moment of the week which will be the acceptance speech tonight by vice president kamala harris. noting what an extraordinary moment in history it is, because of how she got here where a month ago, things were very much up in the air in the democratic party. >> and look how united and excited the democratic party is, and we went through all easy to weeks before joe biden stepped down with people second guessing kamala harris and saying, you know what? maybe he shouldn't step up because she would be the next choice and there are so many concerns about whether she's going to be a good candidate, and we've seen over the course of the last month, how the party has rallied behind him. the most striking part of the

night was tim walz's speech. it shows what you can do in a political speech when you don't need it to go very, very long. he did it and told the stories. i think he had just by virtue, the fact of who he is and playing up this coach theme. it does do something to reach out to rural, white, perhaps non-college educated voters. i don't know if any of those voters are going to switch sides because of tim walz, but he of all of the speakers he had, he has done the most to get there. >> he's running a very friday night lights campaign right now. coach walz. >> something about a field goal and we're in the end, if anyway we've got to keep going. >> very good. field goal. we'll get you there. let's listen to a little bit of governor walz's speech last night. >> now, i grew up in butte, nebraska, a town of 400 people.

i had 24 kids in my high school class, and none of them went to yale, but i'll tell you what. growing up in a small town like that, you learn how to take care of each other. that -- that family down the road, they may not think like you do. they may not pray like you do. they may not love like you do, but they're your neighbors, and you look out for them, and they look out for you. so while other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours. [ cheers and applause ] we also protected reproductive freedom because in minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make.

and even if we wouldn't make those same choices for ourselves, we've got a golden rule. mind your own damn business. that includes ivf and fertility treatments. this is personal for gwen and i. if you've never experienced the hell that is infertility, i guarantee you, you know somebody who has, and i can remember praying each night for a phone call. the pit in your stomach when the phone would ring, and the absolute agony when we heard the treatments hadn't worked. it took gwen and i years, but we had access to fertility treatments, and when our daughter was born, we named her hope. hope, gus, and gwen, you are my entire world, and i love you.

[ cheers and applause ] >> john heilemann, brevity is the soul of wit, they say. that never really absorbed into my being, but at a convention, 17 minutes, you define that as brief, and it looks like the governor did that. did he deliver? >> i think so. i mean, look. i agree with you, joe. we have had -- we're used to these long convention speeches, you know, bill clinton's a great example where he ends up going over time and we say, wow. it's so brilliant that we're fine with that. it's almost surprising when someone gets up and comes in well under what everyone expects to be the time. one of the things about the convention is they have been running late every night, and we thought back to when joe biden started as late as he did on monday night, there was all this discussion about how unfortunate it was that he started out of

primetime. everybody has been going out of primetime every single night, and tim walz started around the same time joe biden did on monday night, and for that purpose, if nothing else, coming in at 15 or 16 or 17 minutes is good news for him. there wasn't a word wasted in that speech, and i continue to be stunned by a guy who had never performed on the national stage before. every time you put him in front of a big crowd, whether it was that first introductory speech or that one, he's knocking it out of the park. >> tim, that's the surprise. we sit around this table and i sit around this table and we talk about, oh, yeah. when the quarterback was rolling to his left and he threw the 70-yard pass, he should have passed, like, five more yards to the right, like, why didn't he lead the receiver better? you know this very well because you have been close to it. when you get under those bright

lights, you don't know who's going to hit their mark and who's not, and 99% of people don't hit their mark. i wonder if you're as surprised as i am that not just tim walz, but also kamala harris, somebody that people did not think was up to the job a month and a half ago, that she couldn't step into that spotlight, that they both hit the stage and they're hitting their marks like they have been doing it their whole lives. >> yeah, and i've worked for some pretty good politician that is didn't step up, right? and they're still great and talented individuals. you just don't know, and i think that the vice president, maybe even her team would admit that at the beginning of her vice presidency, she was uncertain, right? it's tough being the second president speaking -- how will you do when the spotlight is there? she really has stepped up. both her and tim walz, brevity is the soul of wit point.

they have been keeping it tight. they know their message. it's different than what biden's message was, and they're not getting off it. >> tim, and again, i know this sounds like a small thing. she came out first night. she waved. she spoke for four minutes. she walked off the stage, and mika and i looked at each other and said, brilliant. >> yep. >> everybody else would have overstayed their welcome, like, you're right. they're hitting it just right. >> too when they were in milwaukee where trump had his convention, packed fiserv forum, and they cut to the convention and she's just waving and you see the huge freedom in red, white, and blue up there. it was hitting the marks on advance and on her performance. >> we're talking about how they're taking republican themes, republican symbols, and making them their own. freedom is a great example because of abortion rights, because of reproductive rights, but also think about that.

she decided freedom worked better than democracy, and she's so right. >> it was definitely right, and look. i -- this is why i'm a never trumper. everywhere here. it's playing to the "morning joe" green room, right? you got to get beyond that, and you got to speak to other folks as well, and i think that she really has landed there on freedom, and on patriotism. one other person i should shout out is jeff duncan, lieutenant governor of georgia. >> yeah. >> very conservative. much more conservative than me, like, a far-right social conservative, spoke last night, said clearly i disagree with her on policy, but if you vote for kamala harris, it doesn't mean you're a democrat. it means you're a patriot. >> yeah. >> great line, you know? and again, it's like that freedom and patriotism we're trying to speak to, the types of people who wouldn't traditionally be democrats. we're sick of this, and not going back, and we want to trust these folks share our values. coming up, the top house democrat, hakeem jeffries is our

guest on set here in chicago. the minority leader joins our conversation on the heels of his rousing speech last night at the dnc. that's straight ahead on "morning joe." straight hahead n "morning joe."

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former president bill clinton delivered his 12th consecutive dnc speech last night. the former president first spoke at the 1980 convention when he was just 33 years old. it was a long one. take a look at his remarks. >> two days ago, i turned 78, the oldest man in my family of four generations. and the only personal vanity i want to assert is i'm still younger than donald trump. remember, we've got a guy that's pretty good at what he does. donald trump has been a paragon of consistency. he's still dividing. he's still blaming. he's still belittling other people. he creates chaos, and then he

sort of curates it as if it were precious art. so in 2024, we got a pretty clear choice it seems to be. kamala harris for the people -- [ cheers and applause ] -- and the other guy who's proved even more than the first go around that he's about me, myself, and i. i know which one i like better for our country. i mean, look. what does her opponent do with his voice? he mostly talks about himself, right? so the next time you hear him, don't count the lies. count the is.

i too want an america that's more joyful, more inclusive, more future-focused. just think what a burden it's been on us to get up day after day after day after day buried in meaningless, hot rhetoric when there's so many opportunities out there, so many problems that need to be solved. i want that, and that's the america kamala harris will give. take it -- [ applause ] -- from a man who once had the honor to be called in this convention, the man from hope. we need -- we need kamala harris, the president of joy, to lead us. >> symone, you had president clinton last night hitting on a lot of themes, talking about trump's age. he knows which buttons to push and getting at that theme that

donald trump is just weird. he threw it in as an ad lib. what is the thing about the late great hannibal lecter? clinton doing his job in that lineup last night. you worked for vice president harris for some time. i'm curious what you think tonight will look like in this room behind us, in the context of these three nights that by all accounts within the party have gone -- have exceeded your expectations. >> i mean, truly amazing. can i say a word about bill clinton? he was truly one of the greatest orators of our time. he had notes, a prompter and he had what he wanted to say, and it was just amazing, and what he did last night, he did captivate the room, and people were completely -- completely captivated. you could hear a pin drop as he was speaking, and i just really think president clinton. tured the room as someone who when he was president, the economy was what president clinton did in terms of the economy is something that i believe that this -- a potential

harris administration would love to be able to replicate. you're going to hear from the vice president tonight. this is someone who has not worked her entire career to become president, but has worked her entire career breaking barriers and just doing the work. she's ran for president before, obviously, okay? in that time, she has literally worked. border crosses are done because mexico is enforcing this border. do you know how mexico enforces their border? diplomacy. do you know who was in charge of the root causes of migration and working on that diplomatic effort? the woman who would be standing on this stage tonight. there is just -- you don't get to this moment without the first three years of this administration and the vice president doing that work, and

so i think she's going to talk about herself and her values. we're going to hear about her mother who instilled everything that we have seen in her and her sister. i think we're going to hear from her sister, maya harris tonight, and she's going to make a forceful case about why she can lead this country, not just lead democrats, and i think that's going to be very, very important. there are people out there that are still skeptical. i have been talking to voters who say, i don't know if, you know, they're very blunt. they're saying, i don't know if people in america would vote for a black woman as president and kamala harris is going to stand on that stage tonight and i think make the case that i'm a patriot just like you. i'm an american just like you. my story is not that different than yours which is why i'll be a good president to represent you. coming up, two of our next guests spoke last night about their son, hersh goldberg-polin who was taken hostage by hamas more than ten months ago. hersh's parents jon and rachel join our conversation in the fourth hour of "morning joe."

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choosing a guy like jd vance to be america's next vice president sends a message, and the message is that they are doubling down on negativity and grievance. committing to a concept of campaigning best summed up in one word, darkness. darkness is what they are selling. the thing is i just don't believe that america today is in the market for darkness. >> yeah. that is joe biden's secretary of transportation, and i think it's a good message. >> yeah, absolutely. he's been great also going on fox news and trying to take on the opposition in some of the disinformation out there. a very effective campaigner and speaker. pennsylvania governor josh shapiro also took the stage for a speech focused on protecting freedom. shapiro who was a finalist to be

vice president kamala harris' running mate partly used his time last night to rail against former president donald trump who he said is trying to strip americans of their rights. take a look. >> kamala harris, well, she has spent her entire career making progress. donald trump, a man with no guardrails, wants to take away our rights and our freedoms, and listen. while he cloaks himself in the blanket of freedom, what he's offering isn't freedom at all, because hear me on this. it's not freedom to tell our children what books they're allowed to read. [ cheers and applause ] no, it's not. and it's not freedom to tell women what they can do with their bodies.

and hear me on this. it sure as hell isn't freedom to say, you can go vote, but he gets to pick the winner. that's not freedom. kamala and tim's names may be on the ballot, but it's your rights. it's our rights. it's our future and freedoms that are on the line, and you have the power to shape the future of this country. just like our ancestors, our ancestors who fought for freedom on the battlefield and sat in at lunch counters so our kids could stand up. now -- now it's on us -- it's on us, my friends, to organize in our communities and on our for you pages around three basic american principles. we value our freedom.

we cherish our democracy, and we love this country. [ cheers and applause ] >> can i do one edit? tim, is it okay if i do one edit as a former republican? >> i get the edit. >> they're trying to speak to -- >> that was really good. >> -- conservatives. josh shapiro's great. >> amazing. >> i wanted him to be vice president. i made that very clear. i want to do one edit that every time hear it as a former republican, it kind of -- >> abortion? >> no. when he says it's not freedom to tell children what books they can read. it should be -- it's not freedom to tell parents what books their children can read. >> that's a good edit. >> there's a big difference. >> it's a good edit. >> some of these books that are, like, out there are books that we would not want our children to read. >> yeah. >> but it should be the parents'

decision and not the governor's decision. >> good edit. >> i think that's a fair edit. i'll send it through. >> hours and hours of programming, you've come up with an edit. >> just one. just one, but donny, you know, we were -- both of us, we were both in the shapiro cheering section. >> he's wonderful. >> and wanted him to be the vice presidential pick, but man, i have been surprised by how good tim walz has been. >> his time will come. >> joe feels a lot of hysterical calls a lot of people including me. they didn't make a mistake. walz has been -- shapiro is amazing, but walz has been the right pick. he talked about being a neighbor and there's a great slogan, like a good neighbor, state farm is there. like a good neighbor, tim walz is there. he's that guy. >> the whole plaid shirt. so good. >> it was emotional for me when his son was standing crying, going, that's my dad up there.

you just, if you're a son, if you are a father, if you're anybody who could not react that way, but tim walz has been a revelation. he's a rock star. i'm blown away by him. >> he really is. coming up, one of actors adding star power to this year's dnc, tony goldwin from the hit show "scandal," hosted the opening night of the convention and he joins us live when "morning joe" comes right back. "morning joe" comes right back this is clem. clem's not a morning person. or a night person. or a...people person. but he is an "i can solve this in 4 different ways" person. and that person... is impossible to replace. you need clem. clem needs benefits. work with principal so we can help you help clem with a retirement and benefits plan that's right for him. let our expertise round out yours. ok limu! you set it,

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time now for a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning. ukrainian forces are reportedly moving to encircle an estimated 3,000 russian troops hemmed in against a river in the kursk province. the site of ukraine's surprise incursion.

ukraine is striking russian supply routes as moscow ramps up counterattacks using massive glide bombs and reinforcements. we'll follow that. canada's two largest freight railroads are at a standstill this morning because of a contract dispute with their workers. it comes after the companies and union leaders failed to reach a deal by a midnight deadline. the work stoppage could have a huge impact on u.s. businesses threatening delivery of cars, timber, petroleum products and other crucial supplies. and longtime congressman bill pascrell of new jersey has died after fighting a respiratory illness this summer. known for the sharp critique of donald trump, he led the charge to the ex-president's personal tax returns. he was 87 years old. coming up, what's the democrats' best bet of connecting with working class voters? according to our next guest,

it's to free bill clinton. politico's jonathan martin explains how the former president could play a critical role on the campaign trail this fall. that's just ahead on "morning joe". on "morning j joe" thanks to skyrizi, i'm on my way with clearer skin. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. and skyrizi is just 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses. 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. nothing on my skin means everything! ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. a perfect day for a family outing! shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. only shingrix is proven over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome

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donald trump is like an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just won't go away. [ cheers and applause ] he has spent the last four years spinning the block, trying to get back into a relationship with the american people. bro, we broke up with you for a reason. [ cheers and applause ] trump is a chaos agent who is focused on himself, not the american people. trump tried to destroy our democracy by lying about the election and inciting a violent mob to attack the capitol. trump put three extreme justices

on the supreme court who destroyed roe v. wade. we broke up with you for a reason. donald trump can spin the block all he wants, but there's no reason for us to ever get back together. been there, done that. we're not going back. [ cheers and applause ] >> that was house minority leader congressman hakeem jeffries giving a rousing speech last night here at the democratic national convention in chicago, and the democratic leader joins us now. leader jeffries, thank you for being here. >> great to be with you. >> can you speak broadly to what you felt in this arena where vice president harris will accept the nomination, especially where the party has been for the last several months? this sort of hand wringing about whether president biden should stay in the race. should he stay or should he go? uncertain even for some democrats if vice president harris was the person for the

job. what are you seeing after all of that? >> there's been a lot of unity, a lot of joy, a lot of hope about the future. president biden will go down in history as one of the most consequential presidents of all-time, and then he made a selfless decision to pass the torch to kamala harris who is ready and willing and able to get the job done. we've seen it. she's got an amazing partner in tim walz, and so we're optimistic about the future, but also we understand that there's going to be a lot of work that needs to be done over the next 75 days to get this done for the american people. >> can you give some insight with some distance from it? you were respectful of president biden and gave him the time and space to make his decision about what it was like behind the scenes. as you all waited to see what he was going to what he was going to decide, perhaps any pressure in a direction. what was it like for those days and weeks? >> from the house perspective, we thought it was important to

speak amongst ourselves. i could communicate the fill breadth of perspective. but we also believed that president biden, who has served this country incredibly well over a 50-plus-year legendary career, was going to work through this. it would ultimately be his decision. and he made a decision that he felt was best for the country and for those who he has served with and led so capably during his time in office. >> leader jeffreys, i know it's a point of pride that there's a house guy you work with as a former colleague. tell us how you got to know him, what he brings to the ticket. >> he's such a good man, an authentic man, a family man. everyone who served with tim walz, myself included, was just left with the impression he's

such a fundamentally decent person in it for the right reasons, has experiences that are closely connected to the day-to-day experiences of everyday americans. that's why we've seen his appeal be so explosive. >> on that idea, i was struck last night as we saw him deliver this speech, it was very emotional. his son was pointing saying, he loved his foughter. the vice presidential debate where you have this everyman in governor walz versus jd vance, who for weeks now the democrats have labeled successfully as weird and out of step with americans. >> it's going to be a bad night for extreme maga republicans. they've had four consecutive bad weeks. they're not going to be able to spin or find their way out of it. when they have to confront vice president harris and the vision she has, when they have to confront tim walz and the authentic character he has and the relatability, it's going to

be very difficult for them. the big important difference is we want to move the country forward. they want to turn back the clock. we're trying to unify the country. they're trying to divide us. their view of the economy is, we just want to continue to support the wealthy, the well off and the well connected. i think that will put us in the strongest possible position to make our case to the american people that we should be given the opportunity to lead. >> on the question of the economy, we know we'll continue to hear from donald trump and republicans that prices are through the roof, inflation is too high. i think you hear that from your constituents in brooklyn. what is the answer to this? vice president harris has put

out this plan. she's talked about price gouging. some analysts have been skeptical that's the answer to inflation. >> we recognize that far too many people are struggling, living paycheck to paycheck in terms of trying to fully realize the american dream, which is why kamala harris, which is why house democrats have said we want to focus on lower costs, lowering housing costs, lowering food prices, lowering the cost of prescription drugs. it's been interesting, because this has been a convention where you've heard a lot of talk about the housing crisis, including from our two former presidents. president obama leaned in to the need to deal with housing affordability. president clinton last night did the same thing. we recognize there's still a lot

of work to be done to let everyday americans get ahead. >> this house republican report that came out, 291-page document, republicans making the case that there is a case to impeach president biden. notably absent, any evidence that he did anything impeachable. >> if you think there's a case to impeach president biden, go ahead, make our day. they'll go down in flames. the reason they're not doing it is because on the one hand they issued this fake, fictitious and fraudulent report to appease donald trump, but they also know politically it's toxic, so they're never going to put it on the floor of the house of representatives. if they do, we'll stop them. >> was there some deliberation around that? >> i just wanted to let the spirit move me, figure out what the situation was in the arena and what the relationship was

with the people i was speaking to. clearly at the end, i felt like, you know what, it's time to drop it. nothing can stop us. we're all the way up. >> house minority leader akeem jeffreys, thank you for your time. coming up, more key moments from the democratic national convention leading up to vice president harris accepting the nomination just a few hours from now. lawrence o'donnell joins us at the top of the hour. plus, job growth is up. andrew ross sorkin joins us to explain why. business before the bell straight ahead on "morning joe." l straight ahead on "morning joe."

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♪♪ you know, it's not really so much a comparison between the music performances at the democratic and republican national conventions, but the crowds' reactions to the musical performances at both places. >> very stark. >> yeah. i mean, you know, willie, you've been to some shows when, when i've played my music before. definitely more sort of the rnc feel, right? >> no. >> the rnc feel where people are looking at their phones. >> that's not true. >> they have the phone version

of frogger and asteroids. frogger, you've got to get the frog across the street. i'd rather do that than listen to joe's songs? >> no. we need to get those going, by the way. we need some more joe scarborough and ifc jams. joining us is lawrence o'donnell. pulitzer prize winning author doris kearns goodwin. presidential historian doug brinkley, and jonathan martin. >> lawrence, we're honored to have you here, especially because of how late you do your show. we're asleep three hours before you start. >> yeah. >> i want to, though -- i would love for you, because you've been doing this for so long and i've been in this for so long,

i'd love for you to take a step back. forget about what happened last night. forget about what happened the night before. let's look at the last month and try to put it -- put into perspective for people who may just now be focusing on politics how extraordinary this past month has been in american politics. >> it will be a month in american politics that is being discussed 50 years from now in discussions like this. it will be the one that people will be comparing other stunning events in the future that we don't know about that might happen. and they'll say, well, you know, remember in 2024 there was that amazing moment where joe biden decided not to run, and 27 minutes later he endorsed his vice president for the nomination. and really that was all it took to create what happened here. when you really see how that day unfolded, the clintons endorsed about an hour after joe biden.

that nomination was locked in within, i don't know, 90 minutes after joe biden decided that he wasn't going to run. formally, it took over 24 hours for kamala harris to actually assemble formal commitments from the number of delegates it would take for her to get it. but the nomination in a day, that's what her campaign for the nomination ended up being. and that's very clearly what joe biden wanted, because all of the discussions about joe biden dropping out, they always included what, for me, sounded like an element of chaos, a large element of chaos. and then let's go find a candidate? there were preposterous suggestions like turning bill clinton and barack obama into talk show hosts who would host shows inviting a few of these candidates who they would select, like crazy stuff that could never happen. you wouldn't have had a nominee on monday night. you wouldn't have had a nominee on tuesday night.

we don't know how many ballots it would take to get one. i think what joe biden saw in all of those discussions was, if i step down, i have to prevent chaos, and that endorsement was the thing that prevented the chaos. it put everything on track to everything you're seeing now. >> let me ask you this question as well. in all your years in politics, have you ever seen a political figure surprise, stun critics, even supporters as much as kamala harris? my only -- the only comparison i have is ronald reagan, who somehow, you know, overnight turned from a b-list actor and a clown into -- you know, according to his critics' perception of him -- to a guy that won landslides and started

a political revolution or counter revolution. >> right. and you know it wasn't overnight. >> right. >> there was the governorship. there was more than one presidential -- there was more than one attempt by him to get the republican nomination. >> and i will say too -- >> same with kamala harris, it wasn't overnight. >> there was the '76 convention speech where gerald ford said come on down and speak. reagan gave one of the great speeches. the beatles were not an overnight sensation. they played in hamburg 20 hours a night. >> i certainly didn't take ronald reagan seriously before he got the republican nomination for president. and he was maneuvering for it for several -- the beginning of 1968, he was trying to get that nomination. he was the long shot in miami in that convention. i think people who were not watching kamala harris closely have been very surprised by

this, especially because there's been media coverage of her as vice president which i always found completely preposterous saying she was somehow failing at a job that doesn't have any job description, other than showing up at the senate when we need your vote. i've known her since 2009 since she was the san francisco district attorney. i had people in l.a. say to me, hey, come and meet the female obama. i didn't know who this was. i went to a law firm in century city, about a dozen lawyers listening to this san francisco d.a. i listened to her for about ten minutes and i think, okay, this is the female obama. this is the one who can become president of the united states. i've been completely unsurprised. i firmly believed she was going to win that race. turned out to be a real squeaker because karl rove very much tried to stop her at that campaign. the republicans were worried about her winning the attorney

general race statewide in california, because they saw -- karl rove saw how powerful she could be as a campaign presence. they didn't want to see her win statewide in california. then that obviously led to her senate election, and here we are. >> it's interesting. karl rove one of the voices in 2024 who keeps trying to warn republicans you don't know what's coming at you, and you better stop underestimating it. i think it's brilliant what he says. he says republicans usually stand in line. democrats fall in line. democrats, this is the first time i've seen them fall in line while they're falling in love. >> exactly. that's an incredible comment on his part. so the third night was all about tim walz and oprah and bill. nbc's peter alexander has the highlights from day three of the dnc. >> reporter: overnight, tim walz, a former high school football coach, taking the handoff for democrats.

>> it's the honor of my life to accept your nomination for vice president of the united states. >> reporter: his family looking on with pride, his son gus moved to tears. >> i'm letting you in. >> reporter: walz introducing himself to america, emphasizing his heartland roots. >> growing up in a small town like that, you learn how to take care of each other. >> reporter: and how his years as a schoolteacher informed his political career. >> there i was, a 40-something high school teacher with little kids, zero political experience and no money running in a deep red district. but you know what? never underestimate a public schoolteacher. >> reporter: while going after the trump/vance agenda. >> is it weird? absolutely. absolutely. but it's also wrong. and it's dangerous. >> reporter: and contrasting the

parties' definitions of freedom. >> in minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make. and even if we wouldn't make those same choices for ourselves, we've got a golden rule. mind your own damn business! >> reporter: coach walz delivering a final pep talk. >> we're going to leave it on the field! >> reporter: the night's surprise guest oprah winfrey, with a speech drawing a line from pioneers of the civil rights movement to harris and calling for unity. >> when we stand together, it is impossible to conquer us. >> reporter: referencing jd vance's comments about childless cat ladies. >> when a house is on fire, we don't ask about the homeowner's race or religion. and if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady,

well, we try to get that cat out too. >> reporter: but focusing on harris. >> let's all choose kamala harris! >> reporter: the night featuring a parade of rising democratic stars, celebrities, and as democrats have been under pressure over the war in gaza with protests in chicago, a powerful and somber moment. the parents of one of the hostages taken from the nova music festival on october 7th emotional as the crowd chanted, "bring them home." >> bring them home! bring them home! >> reporter: and another passing of the torch moment, former clinton addressing his 12th democratic convention and evoking his own political nickname from 1992. >> from a man who once had the honor to be called in this convention the man from hope, we need -- we need kamala harris,

the president of joy, to lead us. >> reporter: and taking on former president trump. >> two days ago i turned 78. and the only personal vanity i want to assert is i'm still younger than donald trump. >> peter alexander reporting for us there. jonathan martin, your piece titled "free willie" previewing this address from bill clinton last night. he had a script, he embellished and added to the script a little bit as he's wont to do. why was that a significant address in this moment for this party? >> well, because he obviously is trying to lay hands on a candidate who's not that well known to most americans. obviously bill clinton is somebody who has been well known for, you know, a quarter of a century to the american voter. i think it's about reassurance.

it's about reassuring middle america this is a ticket you can get behind, you can trust. i'm the seal of good housekeeping. we lived through that. those days were pretty rancorous. all parties look back with some fondness for an earlier period, that clinton era where you didn't hate your neighbor or stay away from thanksgiving with your family because politics was life and death, you know? >> and democrats that have been labeled sort of coastal elitist, he reached out to people beyond the coast. >> it's all about trying to reach the broad center of the country, both literally and politically. >> doug, you've seen a lot of these conventions. you've seen a lot of campaigns. as joe and lawrence were just discussing, what a month this has been since joe biden dropped out of the race.

what are your impressions of how this campaign has turned so far? >> it's unbelievable. the energy here in united arena is just palatable. it was very well produced, at times too long. bill clinton, one of the reasons he was important last night in addition to what you just said was, look, he won big in 1992, he gave the best speech. then al gore kind of wanted to distance himself from bill clinton. if clinton would have been motivated and gone out there as the surrogate, gore probably would have won. you don't want to just forget about bill clinton. i thought clinton hasn't gotten any media credit that i've seen for what he said about joe biden. and he talked about how -- you know, connecting it to washington, how hard it is and great and courageous what biden did. that matters coming from another president, because it was president talking to president, not somebody else saying it or not somebody from a younger generation. >> so the convention where bill

clinton was renominated was here in chicago in 1996. no one remembers that chicago convention. they only remember 1968. in the run up to this convention, there were real fears. there are protests, but they are smaller than expected and it has stayed quite peaceful. the transition from biden has gone well, no protests. tonight is harris' big night. what message does she need to send? >> the biggest story here could be the nonstory actually, that the dog didn't bark, there's not been disruptions in the arena or the street really at all. democrats have now fallen in line, and there's not that sort of rancor. i think kamala harris has a party now that's unified behind her. the third-party threat has diminished significantly, also a key story line, kennedy perhaps going to drop out. she now needs to go about the business of bringing in folks

who are not in the democratic coalition, people who are still undecided or perhaps are even leaning trump, and present to them why they should not vote for trump, why they should stick with her. i think this is a key moment for her, perhaps second only to the debate next month in reaching those voters. look, she may well carry georgia and north carolina. if she does, that's an insurance policy. if she doesn't, wisconsin, michigan and pennsylvania are going to be top of mind for kamala harris tonight, telling her story to those voters, putting her life in the broad tradition of american politics and american history. again, it's a campaign of reassurance for those voters. >> you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. you look back at the presidential candidates that did that well, their acceptance speech, you look at reagan in 1980, bush in '88, bush 41 surprised a lot of people in

'88, clinton in '92, obama in '08. those are some highlights. what does kamala harris need to do tonight to make that first impression with voters just tuning in? >> i think i'd even go further back in time to a candidate who made an impression, which is in 1932 when fdr is the first candidate to deliver that speech in person. fdr knew he had to change the dynamic of a depression that had taken the mood of the country so far down. so he flies eight hours from albany to chicago to give a talk, and the happy warrior is what he presents. that's what kamala will have to do tonight too. "happy days are here again" was the song, because we're going to have a new deal and change the mood of the country. overnight the mood of the

country changed because of his confidence and his optimism. i think jfk did the same thing in 1960. the problem for him was youth. instead, he made it an asset. he said we're going to take our youth and go into the '60s with a whole new approach. we're going forward, not backward. he likened himself to somebody different from the old guy. eisenhower was only 50 at the time, but he was considered the old guy. his song was "high hopes." i think the mood of the democratic party has changed. she needs to keep to that. something is in the air, as they said last night. they're speaking to the people watching on television and telling them there's things you need to do, you've got to get motivated, you've got to get to the polls. that's when rhetoric matters, when it makes a change in behavior. if kamala can keep that up just

as walz did last night, it's a change in the atmosphere entirely. >> lawrence, the democrats have done so many things right. let's talk about one thing they've done horribly wrong. >> what? >> timing, scheduling, prime time. this is, as you said, this is a tv show. when you start barack obama at what time? >> 11:02. that's two minutes after prime time. he was supposed to be finished two minutes before 11:00. >> there's a real problem there, and they keep making that mistake every night, going too long. >> but that's for the east coast. >> mika makes a good point because a lot of people responded to that last night, saying, wait a minute, what about the other time zones? it's not my design. it's the design that they end at

11:00 p.m. eastern, which is prime time in pennsylvania and georgia. that's the design, and it's always been that way. and it's always been considered a failure when you slide over, because whatever you get after 11:00 p.m. will be a smaller audience for that speaker than that speaker would have gotten at 10:30 a.m. it's the nature of things. people have to go to bed at a certain point. what's interesting about it is obama started at 11:00 p.m., but certainly at msnbc, the ratings went up after 11:00 p.m., but it probably would have been higher if he had speaking at 10:00 p.m. you were talking about the brightness of the harris campaign to the morning in america reagan campaign. i heard from someone who was

hearing that from his republican friends, saying, hey, this is reminding me of that feel that we had. >> donald trump is playing into that by trashing america every day, by talking about america in decline, by talking about america being a, quote, stupid country. you talk about handing the mantle to democrats -- >> it's what buttigieg called the darkness last night. the most important line of the night was in early prime time. geoff duncan, former lieutenant governor of georgia, he said to republican voters, he said to them directly, republicans, if you vote for kamala harris, you're not a democrat, you're a patriot. and what i was looking for in this convention first two nights were, you know, thrill the base, and it did. and last night was the very first time there was a serious reach out to voters they don't have yet and they might be able to get, the nikki haley republican voter. geoff duncan did a brilliant job

of reaching out directly to that voter. i think tonight kamala harris will have to do both. she will thrill the base. she will find a way of echoing what duncan said last night in reaching out to voters who she knows she does not yet have. >> right, right. i'm curious, doris, before we go what's going on with rfk junior, and i guess the concern or word that he might be jumping to trump, dropping out of the race. what's going on there? >> obviously it hasn't worked what he was trying to do, so that whatever spin he's going to put on the idea that he's dropping out and encouraging trump or endorsing him, hoping for a cabinet post, i'm not sure it's going to make a difference anymore. for a period of time, he was up to 20% early on. it's hard to imagine that earlier, because he seemed to be saying something different from the other two candidates. i think now it's going to go

with awhimper rather than a bag when he goes out of this. >> rfk junior will drop out tomorrow and possibly endorse donald trump is what we're hearing. >> both men have events in the phoenix area tomorrow. the kennedy campaign has put out a statement saying robert f. kennedy will address the nation about the future of his campaign. that's code for dropping out usually. it does seem clear that rfk junior will end his independent candidacy tomorrow. >> peace in our time. >> doug, give me one of the last words here on what we've seen so far and what comes next. as you know, having been at a lot of these and stuied them, there's always been enthusiasm at the convention. it's what comes over the next 75 days that will determine the

election. >> this city of chicago during when emmett till was killed, the mother of emmett till had the casket open here. in this hall, black women were ecstatic about kamala harris, but reminding people of shirley chisholm, reminding people -- you know, when jesse jackson arrived, people came to him in a way i have never seen come to a politician. he showed up in a wheelchair. people in your business were dropping their mics to go see reverend jackson. this was chicago and this was obama's arena. history will look at what barack and michelle did as this polished piece of oratory,

timing. some of the clips, particularly the size one of obama, will live in documentaries about this time forever. kamala harris now is -- young people are so enthused. i saw former students of mine screaming. i never thought i'd see one with a sign randomly they're energized. >> it is fascinating to think about the parallel universe where president biden stayed in the race and how different this event would be. >> he would have limped into chicago and faced a divided party, and they would have obviously made the convention almost entirely about trump, but there wouldn't have been that sense of joy and enthusiasm for something. it would have been all against something, namely, donald trump. they're also finally for somebody. they're enthusiastic, a lot of them are, about their own

nominee this time around. >> great to have you both with us in chicago. thanks, guys. mika. >> doris kearns goodwin, thank you as well. lawrence o'donnell, thank you. we'll be watching you tonight as part of msnbc's prime time coverage of the democratic national convention. >> let's underline that prime time convention. let us hope kamala harris is speaking in prime time. >> that's usually the plan. [ laughter ] >> by the way, joe, this is my anniversary appearance on this program. the first time i appeared on this show was the democratic convention in 2008. i can't do the math on how long ago that was. >> it's a long time ago. >> yeah. it was done in that restaurant, that breakfast place. >> in denver, right? >> in denver. it was the most fun i've had on tv. >> it was a lot of fun. >> so i will see you in four years. >> thank you very much. coming up on "morning joe," the labor department announced yesterday that the u.s. economy added far fewer jobs in 2023 and

early 2024 than previously reported, the largest revision in 15 years. this comes as wall street turns its attention to fed chair jerome powell's high-profile speech tomorrow for any sign on how fast the fed could cut rates. we'll be joined by cnbc's andrew ross sorkin to break it all down. as we go to break, amanda gorman at last night's dnc. >> we face a race that tests if this country we cherish shall perish from the earth. we do not fall for a people that cannot stand together cannot stand at all. we are one family recordless of religion, class or color, for

what defines a patriot is not just our love of liberty, but our love for one another. liber our love for one another

she grew up in a middle class home. she was the daughter of a working mom. and she worked at mcdonald's while she got her degree. kamala harris knows what it's like to be middle class. it's why she's determined to lower health care costs and make housing more affordable. donald trump has no plan to help the middle class,

just more tax cuts for billionaires. being president is about who you fight for. and she's fighting for people like you. i'm kamala harris and i approve this message. ( ♪ ♪ ) start your day with nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand.

the spotlight is on governor tim walz to introduce himself as the party's vice presidential nominee. >> if he introduces himself to the american people. >> tim walz big speech to introduce himself to much of america. ♪♪ ♪ allow me to introduce myself ♪ ♪ my name is walz ♪ ♪ i've got a rescue cat ♪

oh my god, i love it. >> that's funny. >> the labor department has made a major revision to the jobs numbers for part of 2023 and 2024, announcing yesterday the u.s. economy created 818,000 fewer jobs during that time than previously reported. this is the largest revision since 2009. let's bring in the coanchor of cnbc's "squawk box" and "new york times" columnist andrew ross sorkin. >> these things are inexact but -- >> not to rig the election. if this was rigging the

election, it would be the other way. doesn't make any sense. if you start to see him say the federal reserve does this, jay powell is out west in jackson hole this weekend. he's going to talk about what the federal reserve is going to do. the new expectation on the back of that number is by the end of this year the federal reserve would have -- this is what the market is saying -- would have reduced interest rates in total by one full point. the question is, how would you do that? does that mean you're doing half in september and then a quarter and a quarter? >> they were thinking a quarter. i'm wondering if this news doesn't push him to a half. >> exactly. the likelihood is it is going to be a half in september. having said that about former president trump suggesting something is rigged, i am sure that if the federal reserve moves in september, he's going to scream and holler and say this whole thing is rigged, look, they're trying to make the economy better just in advance

of november, et cetera, et cetera. >> so that brings up another point we were talking about off camera. i had asked you a couple weeks ago about -- about ceos. >> right. >> because it seems to me they're balancing a guy that's talking about more tax cuts versus a woman who, if president, is not going to be tweeting about them every day, is not going to put target in the cross hairs, is not going to put other corporations in the cross hairs. you can look at the state of florida and you can see you've got a supposedly conservative governor who picks winners and losers. and if you talk to ceos in florida, they are scared to death every day that he's going to point at them and turn consumers against them. >> the ceo community, many of whom have ptsd from 2016 to 2020

because they woke up every morning worried out of their minds, out of their minds that they were going to look at twitter and their names and their company's name was going to be on twitter and the president was going to be saying or doing something to them. that is one form of uncertainty. invariably, in truth, there's going to be another form of uncertainty, which is if harris becomes president, what kind of tax policy are we going to have in the country? it's going to be different from today. for the business community, which version of uncertainty do you want? by the way, you layer in the issue of tariffs former president trump plans to put in -- >> as the "wall street journal" said, the largest tax increase that's been proposed has been his tariffs. i will say this too. i'm just explaining the way some ceos think. people saying you're making excuses for kamala harris changing on positions, no, if

you're a ceo and you're seeing she's changing this position or that position and she's changing on fracking, they're not thinking flip-flopper, which donald trump, the greatest flip-flopper of all time. they're thinking pragmatic. >> pragmatic, moving to the senator. >> this is not bernie sanders. this is not even elizabeth warren. this is somebody who's pragmatic who we can deal with. >> i think that's absolutely what's going on. by the way, i think bill clinton made the case last night with those comments about jobs. he went back over history and looked at the democratic party, despite all the views and the conventional wisdom in the world that somehow under republican presidents the economy, the real economy -- i'm not even talking about the stock market is supposedly doing better under republicans. it's not true. he made the case last night that the 51 million new jobs -- i'm

not sure what the period he used is -- came under democrats. there's going to be some moments that you can look at covid and other things that changed the dynamic during some republican presidencies, but it is true. same thing with the stock market. >> the stock market over 41,000. it could change tomorrow. it's changed. it's under 41,000. it's 40,981. i just can't get over all the people who will say, oh, biden is a socialist, harris is a socialist, and they've made more money over the last four years than they've made in their lifetime. >> there's no question. that has always been the question about sort of how some of these guys are going to vote and how they're giving their money and who they're supporting. i think you're going to see over the next couple of weeks a lot more business people get behind harris. they've made a push behind the scenes to tack to the center, at

least for them. the question is, do they tack to the center publicly as well. i think that's going to be the fundamental question. >> andrew ross sorkin, great to see you, as always. also, the parents of a 23-year-old american taken hostage by hamas during the october 27th attack on israel delivered an emotional and extremely moving speech last night to the dnc in chicago. and they join us next on "morning joe." we'll be right back. oe." we'll be right back.

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last night's most emotional moment came when jon polin and rachel goldberg-polin talked about hersh goldberg-polin's 321st day of captivity.

>> bring them home! bring them home! bring them home! bring them home! bring them home! >> at this moment, 109 treasured human beings are being held hostage by hamas in gaza. they are christians, jews, muslims, hindus and buddhists. they are from 23 different countries. the youngest hostage is a 1-year-old red-headed baby boy. the oldest is an 86-year-old grandpa. among the hostages are eight

american citizens. one of those americans is our only son. his name is hersh. >> and rachel and jon join us now live here in chicago. good morning to you both. rachel, what was it like to feel that energy and that love in this room last night? >> it was completely unexpected, and therefore completely overwhelming. and we had so anticipated either neutrality or negativity from what we have been told and prepared for. so to walk out to this embrace of support and love before we started to speak was just absolutely shocking, but in a good way. >> yeah. i don't know if you could look out and see the faces, but the

tears streaming down people's faces, the emotion in the room and the support, jon, with those chants of "bring them home." what was the feeling from your perspective up there? >> similar to rachel. i kind of expected we'd have something neutral to hostile as a reception. so to walk in and before uttering a word have people show such support was strengthening, and it really shows us that the world does not like hostages being held. the world wants these hostilities to end. and what we need to continue to do is get the message that we all heard last night loudly and clearly to the people in power who are the ones that can end this. hersh and all the hostages and all the hostage families in the whole reach, our fates are in the hands of two men right now, prime minister netanyahu and hamas leader yahya sinwar. we need these guys to figure out

how to end this for all of us. >> secretary blinken is in the region trying to do exactly that. we're coming up on a year, 321 days since hersh and the other hostages were taken. what gives you, rachel, the strength to get through all of these days? you touched on it last night, which is that they give you oxygen when you struggle to breathe, all the support you've felt. >> i think it very much is a primal, reflexive, innate response that any human being has when a loved one is in danger. and when your child is in danger, you have no choice. we've heard stories of mothers who lift cars when there's been an accident and their baby is stuck in their car seat. these herculean feats of

strength are what we see from all of the hostage families. we are all in a marathon of ambiguous trauma, and we have no choice, we have no choice. and thank god we have literally, as jon mentioned last night, millions, millions of people have reached out and continue to reach out daily to the hostage families saying, we're with you, we're praying for you, we're calling out to the universe for you. and it gives us strength and keeps us going. >> president biden called prime minister netanyahu yesterday and urged him, we have to get this deal across the finish line. they're not there yet. there seem to be some gaps that remain. have you heard any updates with your son? >> so we have not. we basically know what everyone else knows from watching and

reading the media. we know that that call happened. what's happening in israel is prime minister netanyahu is talking about the security of the country and all these legitimate needs that the country has, but i think the narrative that hasn't yet broken through to him is what we hear consistently from people around the country in israel regularly, is we, we people of the country, cannot begin the necessary process of rehabilitation from the trauma of october 7th knowing that we have hostages being held. we need the hostages home for our national resilience. and so i know it's complicated, but we just push him to make sure that prime minister netanyahu is not underestimating the need need for the entire country, not just the 109 hostage families but the country to bring these people home. >> you had a moving line in your speech last night where you said in a competition of pain, there are no winners. acknowledging the humanitarian suffering in gaza saying this is

not a political question, this is a humanitarian issue. rachel, the moment at the end of the speech where you came back into the mike and called out to hersh, brought everybody in this room to tears, anybody watching, anybody with a child, anyone with any human heart to tears. what compelled you to step in and say that? >> the truth is that that is the mantra that i've been saying. i probably at this point said it hundreds of thousands of times through these 321 days, and i actually had written it in at the end, because it's a beseeching to the entire universe, and before going out actually when we were backstage someone said what did you say to yourself not knowing what reception we were going to get and for a minute or two before

we went out, i was just saying, i love you, stay strong, survive. i was saying part of a verse that is in the bible, but i was saying it in hebrew but the english translation is god with me, i am not afraid. >> we love you. stay strong, survive. a mother calling out to her son. we're so always to have you on our show. come back as often as you can and know our leaders are pushing to bring your son and others back home. >> we want to come back one more time with hersh by our side. that's our goal. >> thank you. >> we'll be back in two minutes with more "morning joe." ♪ i'll be there... ♪ ♪ you don't... ♪ ♪ you don't have to worry... ♪

at the alzheimer's association walk to end alzheimer's, ♪ you don't... ♪ this is why we walk. ♪ they're why we walk. ♪ we walk in the alzheimer's association walk to end alzheimer's because we're getting closer to beating this disease. join us.

she has a message for us. it is a message that's not mean spirited. a message of optimism and opportunity, not chaos and division.

a message that has woken us up to who we are. to who we've always been. because americans are not a cynical people. we are not small-minded and whether we realize it or not we are writing a new chapter of the american story. >> that's tony goldwyn on night one talking about kamala harris' vision for the future of the country, the former "scandal" co-star was one of four hosts tanned. goldwyn's counterpart, kerry. a "scandal" vibe. >> i said to shonda life imitates her art. >> it often does with shonda. >> can you speak to what you saw on that stage? we've been talking to some of the elected leaders and they

have been blown back by the energy in this place in such a positive way that given how the bumpy road to get here, joe biden stepping out of the race, concerns about him after the debate, worries donald trump would get re-elected were front and center. what's it like to be in this arena all week? >> yeah, it's been quite a month, first of all. and honestly on that first night walking out on that stage, even then you could feel the wave the electricity is palpable and only increased each day and i think that every speaker, every key speaker has kind of nailed what they needed to accomplish. you know, from certainly doug emhoff and then last night tim walz, and then, you know, oprah, hillary gave a great speech, wes moore, i think it's been the message has been tight and clear and people are just -- it's been electric. >> you presided over night one and it was about president biden. a tribute to him. did you have a chance to talk to

him or fill us in. what was it like back there as people were getting ready for him saying good-bye and a thunderous ovation of gratitude from the crowd? >> it was very emotional backstage. you know, the whole biden family was back there and in tears and it was the, you know, it was the swan song of a historic career in american politics, and i think that the -- history will bear him out as president clinton said last night, you know, this will burnish his legacy in an extraordinary way but i think it was very, very painful and yet tremendous pride in everyone backstage i felt lucky to be standing as a fly on the wall. >> you mentioned shonda rhimes and been around pretty impressive productions. this is something else entirely, though. just conveying -- the idea i guess has been to convey joy which has happened organically

but enhanced by the performances, the roll call, for example, all of those things projecting a different kind of energy than we saw, for example, at the rnc. >> it's just a cultural difference. you know, i think the positivity and the other thing, it has real substance. it's not just joy is a buzzword. if you're here you feel the electricity and i think even more important thing that people are feeling is this, the fighting for this idea of holding on to our freedoms. that's been really well articulated and people are feeling it. look, this is -- because it's been such an extraordinarily well conceived and produced but we cannot get complacent. there's whatever 70 whatever days left and a tremendous amount of work to do. >> that's an important point a lot of speakers made. this is fun but it has to be a springboard. congrats on a good run and see you and kerry maybe tonight. >> you'll certainly being kerry.

she'll kill it. >> back to you in new york. >> tonight's the night. >> it is. >> it's all led up to tonight. and we will see what happens and, again, it just -- the next step in an incredible month. >> i think kamala harris will reach out to as many people in america that she can to show that her story shows the possibility of america in a joyous and positive way. >> and hopefully she will do it in primetime. >> that's what we're hoping, so that does it for us this morning. we'll see you tomorrow morning with full coverage. ana cabrera and jose diaz-balart pick up the coverage right now. >> right now on our special coverage, a speech that will make history. >> vice president harris to give the biggest address of her political career inside the final hours before the dramatic conclusion in chicago. >> plus, meeting the coach. governor tim walz introducing

himself to the country with a speech that could double as a locker room pep talk. >> we got 76 days. that's nothing. there will be time to sleep when you're dead. we're going to leave it on the field. [ cheers and applause ] >> and appearances by former president bill clinton and oprah winfrey. we've got all the big moments from night three, also ahead, three becomes two. rfk jr. planning to end his presidential bid and back donald trump. but will it make a difference? good morning, it is 10:00 eastern. thank you for joining us. i'm ana cabrera alongside jose diaz-balart. the democratic national convention has been leading up to this tonight, vice president kamala harris will make history becoming the first woman of color to subpoena