that does it for me today, but we are already working on a great show for tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. massachusetts senator elizabeth warner will join me fresh off of her speech at the dnc. plus, don lemon is stopping

by after recording from chicago all week. that is all coming tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. for now, stay right where you are because it's much more news coming up on msnbc. -- from world headquarters in new york. welcome everyone to alex wood reports. we begin with the breaking news in the middle east. israel launching a wave of airstrikes in southern lebanon overnight what it said were preemptive strikes to -- by hezbollah. israel is saying it eliminated the threat after learning that thousands of missiles and drones were ready to be launched into israel, including towards tel aviv. an israeli spokesman is saying that the death toll would have been in the thousands had the weapons been launched. returning fire with hundreds of rockets and drones into israel. this is in retaliation for the assassination of a top commander last month. israel is saying the strikes did little damage, both sides now signaling that there will be no immediate further escalation.

the heaviest exchange of fire in months of conflicts, raising fears of a wider war that could potentially draw in both the u.s. and iran. and it comes as mediators, including americans meet in cairo today to bridge the gap from the latest gaza cease-fire proposal. we have a number of reporters in place covering all these new development. we are going first to matt bradley joining us from tel aviv, israel. matt, welcome. what can you tell us about the extent of the strikes and whether they will increase chances of all-out war between israel and hezbollah. >> reporter: alex , this might decrease the chances of a all- out war. and what we didn't see, i know you are asking about the reach of these attacks. they reached not really much further than they have over the last 10 months because remember, as we have been talking about night after night, there's been a lot of fighting over the border between lebanon and israel. it's been dwarfed, particularly in the media come by the fighting in the gaza strip, but

they're still been a ferocious battle that's been lasting for the last several months and over the past month, ever since the assassination of -- at top -- in the southern suburbs of beirut, there's been direct threats by has below that they would be retaliating fiercely against the israelis and as you mentioned, matt, it's really been raising concerns across the region that owned not only would there be more space fighting -- more fierce fighting, but that could wrap in the entire region and maybe even iran in the united states. there are really real fears and ones that united states has been pouring a lot of diplomatic resources into averting this massive crisis. but now, we have seen a quantitative increase in the numbers of weapons use. as you mentioned, this is almost definitely the worst exchange of fire between lebanon and israel. between hezbollah and israel ever since those october 7 the tax that started off the latest round of fighting. but qualitatively, it wasn't really all that different.

it didn't kill huge numbers of civilians, and it didn't ratchet up the amount of damage that was done to either side. it did not extend the geography of the battle. it was still mostly confined to northern israel and southern lebanon. even though we are seeing a quantitative increase in the fighting, a difference in the fighting, we haven't seen a qualitative increase in the fighting, with the politics surrounding this, are more or less the same, except that actually, there were so much more tension just yesterday. so much more expectation that this could be a huge regionwide disaster and now, we have both has willa and the israelis saying essentially that they are satisfied. both sides declaring victory. that really takes the temperature down a lot in a region that has been really enduring some really skyhigh tensions for the last 10 months. alex? >> okay, i appreciate your reporting on what has not done in terms of playing on those fears that there were about a

greater, wider regional war, but what about what's happening right now? the very delicate cease-fire negotiations. will this have an impact on that in a negative way? >> very, very good question. >> reporter: this is something where we are kind of waiting for another shoe to drop here. iran, which like has below, and vowed to retaliate against the israelis. just a couple of hours after that assassination in beirut last month that i just mentioned, there was another assassination of a top hamas -- in the capital of iran. the israelis are widely suspecting -- he neither confirmed nor denied that assassination, but iran has vowed to retaliate against the israelis. it looks as though hezbollah had kind of waited a wild before they made the retaliation. it might have been in part due to how these negotiations were going to pan out. it looks like it's possible that has below lost patience with those negotiations but it looks as though iran is still waiting to see how those negotiations go. when i spoke with a senior israeli official. i was told that actually, they

believe that they are waiting to see how these negotiations will pan out, even though they are saying there's some progress at least made on this deal particularly on the one really thorny issue that's been added quite recently by benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister of israel. he's insisting that no matter what happens, that there was still a troop presence right along what is called the philadelphia corridor. this is a strip of land that runs from the mediterranean down the border of the gaza strip between gaza and egypt. the israelis took that over a couple of months ago and they were starting their invasion of profit, the city right on the gaza strip. looks like they still want back, they still want to hold onto that to stop weapons flowing between the sinai peninsula and the gaza strip.

that was a major roadblock to these negotiations. it looks as though, according to the israelis, that might actually be proceeding. there might actually be some kind of deal but i've got to tell you, this whole negotiation is shrouded in pessimism, just as it has been since there was a successful deal back in november. it looks as though as long as the diplomats are talking, at least they are confident that i ran won't be launching its retaliation. we will see if that works. >> yeah, we sure will with your help. thank you so much, matt bradley. we are going right now to -- standing by the white house for us. so welcome. what is the latest attack mean for the cease-fire talks. those talks that president biden suggested were heading in the right direction. >> yeah, you are absolutely right. as recently as yesterday, president biden was asked about how the cease-fire talks were going in cairo as they started last week. >> reporter: the president gave a thumbs up as he was leaving church yesterday in california. he still on the west coast with his family on vacation there. obviously, still being read in on what's happening in the middle east. we did hear from the national

security council overnight that president biden was updated on what was going on between israel and lebanon, israel and hezbollah, i should say, in lebanon in particular and that the president had directed his team to continue to engage with their counterparts in israel about the conflict there. you are right to note that there's always been this undercurrent of concern about destabilizing conditions across the middle east and as the president has tasked the secretary of state, antony blinken, who was just in the middle east last week, as well as others who have been working on the cease-fire deal to continue working to figure out the details of implementing a deal between israel and hamas, and to get that done as quickly as possible. we know that the cia director bill burns was in cairo for those talks on friday and that several levels of officials had been engaged in these talks, as best we understand, those are

continuing with u.s. involvement and there's still concern here at home that any movement that happens in that region involving any players, not just hamas and israel could be something that destabilizing. i want you to hear what rory booker had to say a little bit earlier on msnbc. he is a member of the senate foreign relations committee. listen to this. >> the last night was a little worrisome. perhaps the biggest exchange that we have had since the start of this conflict. there's a full-court press going on. president biden has sent the head of staff cq brown, general cq brown. working with our jordanian partners, our saudi partners, as well as israel and some of the soft diplomacy going on with even the iranians to try and keep this from escalating. >> i miss book there. the senator was on cnn this morning talking about this issue. he noted that the chairman of the -- in the region right now,

working on the cease-fire issue. we also did hear from the pentagon overnight that secretary austen has spoken to his comp are in israel about the conflict that was happening between israel and hezbollah. we were also told from the department of defense official that the u.s. was not involved, alex, in the strikes from israel, the strike between israel and hezbollah. we do understand from that source that the u.s. was involved in terms of providing some tracking of incoming missiles and drones from lebanon, but was not involved in any of the connecticut activities, as determined by the department of defense often uses to describe any activity that would involve firing a weapon on either side of this conflict, alex. >> thank you for all those details. you stay with me. we are coming back to you in just a bit for domestic politics, an update on that. in the meantime, join me right now is virginia congressman jerry conley. he -- gerry connolly.

to see you, my friend. -- good to see you, my friend. israel and hamas certainly remain far apart on some pretty key issues, particularly israel's demand to retain control of a key quarter there, as aaron was laying out for us with egypt. how realistic are the expectations, the remaining issues will be resolved now? what are the stakes of avoiding a wider conflict? >> reporter: i would say that recent events make the prospect of a wider conflict more probable. as your previous reporting indicated, we now have potential conflict with iran and israel, has a lot and lebanon and israel. ongoing violence and strife in the west bank with israel and palestinians and of course, the

war in gaza. this going to stretch israel very thin and it is paramount that we de-escalate all of those potential or real conflict situations as quickly as possible. hamas has a motivation at some point to want to have a cease- fire. israel has a motivation to want a cease-fire but you are right to point out that that also means hamas also has demands that israel is not going to me and israel has demands that hamas is going to have trouble meeting. this is a really pivotal moment in mideast diplomacy and i am glad that our chairman of the joint chief of staff and our secretary of state are actively engaged. they need to be. >> let me ask you very quickly.

with regard to what erin was reporting. the united states is not involving any of the kinetic energy, if you will, of this particular strike. it's not something that the u.s. aided israel in doing in the launch on hezbollah. is israel either required to or likely to inform the united states when they are going to have an event like this? >> not really required. obviously, the use of u.s. weapons is supposed to be coordinated with the united states. you know, we have a fraught history with israel over many decades. there are many times that israel has engaged in kinetic activity strikes military strikes in iraq, in iran throughout the region. that we are not coordinated with the united states and we were informed after the fact. so that relationship can be a difficult one to manage because when israel takes action, often, the united states gets the blame, even though we were

not involved in the decision- making. i think israel often operates on the principle that it's better to ask forgiveness than permission. >> let me ask you overall, the effect of these strikes between israel and hezbollah. is it likely to prompt the united states to put a greater presence in the region? >> i think it's really important that the united states not be drawn in to conflicts that we don't have a direct stake in terms of our own national security. on the other hand, obviously, the united states is committed to is really defense and security and we are going to do what we have to do to make sure that that is protected. we are also going to do everything we can to try and de- escalate by upping our presence but i think it is really important that we avoid direct conflict ourselves. >> one more question, sir, this is regarding ukraine, as the shock offensive in western russia is now in its third week, as you know, ukraine has said that it is using high precision u.s. allied bombs in

this effort, which the u.s. supports, and it has recaptured some territory in eastern ukraine. does the biden administration have a clear understanding of ukrainian long-term goals for its russia operation, and are there concerns that ukraine's momentum here could be slowed if's forces are stretched too thin? >> i think in the history of this conflict, the united states has reluctantly gone along in escalating phases of assistance and permission to use that assistance in the conflict. so initially, we opposed providing text. initially, and then we provided , we allowed our allies to provide. -- long-range artillery and then we provided them and our allies provided them. we -- and then, of course, there was the whole issue of can they strike into russia when the russians have

deliberately position, especially long-range artillery right on the border and under the previous rule and he can't strike back. we have successfully lifted that restriction. >> may ask you sir, what is the calculus for that and i, i don't have the time but i'm asking anyway. vladimir putin has said if the united states goes and does that, i remember specifically with regard to the plaintiff, he would consider that an active war by the united states against russia. how has that changed then? >> i think the reluctance was exactly because that's right. we did not want to get involved in direct conflict with russia. we wanted to contain the conflict and hopefully -- but vladimir putin does not get to make the -- he's done nothing but the property and mentality. he knows no strength of any kind and to put ukrainians in a straitjacket and that is why i

think the united states has increasingly -- and to take out military capability, even on russian sovereign territory. that makes sense and i approve of it. >> okay. congressman gerry connolly, always approve of you having me on the show. thank you so much, sir . -- we are back in a quick 90 seconds. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! sometimes jonah wrestles with falling asleep... ...so he takes zzzquil. the world's #1 sleep aid brand. and wakes up feeling like himself. get the rest to be your best with non-habit forming zzzquil. ♪ ♪ (vo) you were diagnosed with thyroid eye disease

a long time ago. with non-habit forming zzzquil. and year after year, you weathered the storm and just lived with the damage that was left behind. but even after all this time your thyroid eye disease could still change. restoration is still possible. learn how you could give your eyes a fresh start at tedhelp.com. t-mobile's 5g network connects a hundred thousand delta employees so they can make every customer feel like they've arrived before they've left the ground. this is how business goes further with t-mobile for business.

now to decision .24 with just 12 days to go before the start of early voting. 16 days the first presidential debate and 72 days to election day. the pfeiffer battleground states intensifies this week with former president donald trump campaigning in detroit on monday. again in michigan, wisconsin thursday, and then in pennsylvania on friday. while vice president kamala harris and governor tim walz will launch a bus tour in georgia on wednesday. both sides believe georgia is in play. >> focused on georgia. they have new energy when the vice president took over. we really think we have a chance to win and they are really going to compete there in a hard way. and they are going to defend every ounce of ground. >> i think between governor kemp and president trump, governor kemp came out strongly for president trump in georgia. he is going to put his ground game behind all other

republicans in georgia. that is a very underreported story. if we don't win georgia, i don't see how we get to do 70, but i do believe georgia is ours to lose. >> also new today. -- a monument in tribute to the late civil rights leader and congressman john lewis, the 12 foot tall bronze statue places a confederate monument in -- let's ring back aaron gilchrist. aaron, what's on the calendar for vice president harris and donald trump? >> you know, alex, is a biggie week -- busy week. >> reporter: the vice president and her running mate continuing that tour that they started before the convention. they will be in georgia making several stops later this week . they also anticipate they will be doing an interview, a joint interview as the vice president had promised.

this is really a time where we are entering the heart of the campaign season. we are after the conventions at this point. we are getting close to labor day. a little over two months left in the campaign season. you are really going to see a full-court press from both campaigns trying to persuade the few voters were left who have not yet decided to vote for. >> the timeline is shrinking with early voting starting next month in at least six states, including the crucial battleground of pennsylvania. the harris campaign announcing plans to take the tour bus unveiled in western p.a. last weekend to the battleground state of georgia this week. targeting black, working-class, role, and supporting burgers -- suburban voters. >> talking to people where they

are. that's how you capture the momentum of these big moments. you inspire people. >> both campaigns are you looking beyond the election to january, setting a presidential transition teams as required by law. nbc news has led the federal government is set to offer them office space and resources to start transition planning on tuesday. >> thank you, president trump. appearing with robert f kennedy jr. just hours after he suspended his independent run for president. >> to all who supported bobby's campaign, i very simply ask you, join us in building this coalition. it's a beautiful coalition. >> kennedy's exit is a potential game changer the selection with thousands of his supporters now looking for a place to go >> reporter: what is the potential impact on the harris campaign? >> we're looking at a sliver of the electorate. four to 5% were backing rfk jr. in the polls, but just a slight difference can make all the difference. >> reporter: in a race with only 10 weeks to go, every day and every vote matters. make the debate that's happening on september 10th matters.

it meets the vice president will debate october 1st matters. every interview, every rally, every campaign stop, there is no time to waste at all. >> reporter: the harris campaign is pouring a lot of money into making those contacts with potential voters, as well. we learned this morning that the democrats up and down the ticket have raised $540 million since vice president harris took over the top of the ticket. 82 million of that just during the convention last week. we also know that the harris- walz campaign plans to make a few stops, fundraising stops in big cities over the next several weeks, as well. there will be another swing through battleground states starting after labor day. again, alex, as we said, this is entering the meat of the campaign season and it's going to be time for people to be making decisions. >> okay. thank you for all of that, aaron gilchrist at the white house. the extremely important

move the kamala harris campaign is making this week, and the impact it could have on the wrist, next. >> thank you. you. whatever ce you care about, there's a dove for every body.

a test or approve a medication. we didn't have to worry about any of those things thanks to the donations. and our family is forever grateful because it's completely changed our lives.

[ speaking in a global language ]

vice president kamala harris at home in d.c. after a busy conventionally, getting ready to get out on the campaign trail. harris will hit multiple states, including a visit to the critical swing state of georgia with her running mate, governor tim walz. with me now, and one right, -- founder of blueprint strategies. along with republican strategist susan del percio and -- both of whom are msnbc political analyst. welcome, guys. antoine, you first here. where does harris need to focus the most and how can she keep this momentum going after the convention. >> well, she mentioned the world is experiencing a certain axis and so i think the next step is to continue to integrate with the american people. a top priority but also get some of that energy with laser focus and position. we know that this game we are

in called politics is a game of addition and multiplication. not subtraction or division. she cannot afford to leave no constituency untouched. so her efforts to go to battleground georgia, where they have some 400,000 volunteers, 24 officers and i think hundred and 77 staffers on the ground is going to be so important. efforts of a high touch campaign are going to be critical and, quite frankly, this is going to be a race that is won on the margins and i am comfortable -- quality and the versatility that kamala harris brings to the race. >> okay. i heard that. duly noted. so susan, former president trump, campaigning in detroit tomorrow, focusing on michigan this week and your times pull prior to the convention had harris up four points in that state, but within the margin of error, how will trump try to cut into her lead? >> by spreading more lies and falsehoods. i don't think at this point

that trump is going to cities like detroit to actually win over votes, but rather to kind of plant the seed of a false claim of a fixed election. that's what i think this is about. he knows, what is he going to do in detroit? he's going maybe for the media market but he keeps saying he has a high number of supports among black men. it's not there anymore. so what trump has to do is if he goes to places like detroit, he has to really stay on message because it's a national message. >> interesting. -- her first international -- national interview, it's going to take place by the end of august so that means sometimes we, how critical will that be after a few press interactions since becoming a nominee? >> it is critically important because it will either keep the momentum going or possibly, briefly interrupted but it's a very important moment in the

country. republicans and democrats alike to see vice president harris engage in a one-on-one interview with a sober, serious reporter with real questions. and in some ways, i think it's more about how she answers the question than what she actually says if that makes sense. -- other changes when she ran in 2019 is a presidential candidate to now? if so, why? she will be pressed on her role when it comes to the biden harris administration. mabel she will get weston's also rest on foreign policy in afghanistan so there will likely be some kind of uncomfortable moments for her for the vice president and that's where it's important that we get to see how she handles those moments. you know, the trump camp is already running a commercial about a clip she delivered when she was pressed on having not visited the border in the past. do we see that vice president harris, or do we see the strength of the candidate we've seen in the last four weeks?

it's not going to be make or break interview. her candidacy is that strong right now. but it is very important that we see how she handles a strong push from a seasoned, sober reporter. >> it sounds to me like you are saying it could help make it, rather than break it. you don't think it's make or break. susan, what do you want to say? >> i just want to add, is not a one-on-one interview and that is a problem, i think, with the way they set it up? it is harris and walz together with an interviewer. and that, i think, was a strategic mistake. they should have put her out there on her own. to show her strength and do everything that david just said. it's a mistake doing it together. >> okay, go ahead, >> i disagree a bit. i think the most important interview that she can do is continue interviewing with the american people. because people understand the contrast in this election. i think that is going to determine who passes or fails in november. the most important thing that kamala harris and governor walz must do is continue to speak

directly to the american people with bread and butter of a barbershop issues. these issues are what drives the narratives and it what drives -- so get up in this idea that the interviews are a must. they are a plus. i think that's a false narrative. at the end of the day, a lot of people may tuning, but a lot may not. so her going directly to the people, meeting them where they are, with issues about how the future is going to be shaped is the most important thing that we must do as democrats and we can't allow the media to drive the narrative about what's important in this race. >> what about, antoine, the energy, the fundraising we've seen since harris became a nominee? it's been outstanding and now supporters are asking, actually, if harris could be,, not only a candidate for president, but actually, and rather remarkably, the leader of a political movement. is this the start of a movement? and if so, what kind? >> i think it's a movement we've never seen before and,

quite frankly, i think she's a once in a generation candidate. we are starting to experience that in a new way. i say, she's brought more energy to this race then -- but that energy has to be harnessed and used with, i think, with purpose, in order to drive out every single constituency that we need. she started to bring the politically unhoused home, she's given the politically homeless a reason to come home and she is uniting the party, but we still have work to do in terms of getting our base together and then the outrage of independent thinkers, independent voters. >> you, susan, can i ask you since you are a veteran of many campaigns? the issue of timing, look at how antoine is responding to the question and the headlines about her starting a movement. is a once in a generation candidate. she ran back in 2019 for the 2020 election. there is a difference. the timing of this. she was not perceived as the leader of a movement five years

ago. how much different does timing make with any candidate. >> it's all about timing, alex. 100%. and yet, to the vice president's credit, i hope she's learned a lot during her 3 1/2 years as vice president. she is bringing a lot more to the table today and she could even in 2019. but, as far as being a movement, i think what's interesting that antoine's answer is, he talked about needing to reach out and get every vote on the ground. i candidate should not had a movement at the same time they are running. she needs to focus on winning every swing state and being out there and not worrying about the bigger movement. that can come after she winds. but right now, had to the ground, just keep worrying about this campaign and nothing else . >> let me ask you, david, about what donald trump talks about a law, which is the rising crime rates. he called d&c host in chicago a war zone that's worth an f and a stand -- worse than

afghanistan. fb idea shows a clear drop in violent crime since trump left office. does harris need to strongly point out trump's lies on crime and everything else, but if she does that, is she spending more time doing that then putting out her own proposals on policy? >> well certainly kamala harris campaign or surrogate needs to caught the lies like you just did. donald trump lied about everything. crime is on the way down. the stock market the an all- time high, where people go to work to borrow then -- as it's ever been. so donald trump likes to badmouth america, likes to demean america. and that was -- the american people are sick and tired of donald trump waking up against america every day, particularly when he is lying, using lies to do that.

that does build into this movement conversation a little bit. part of what is lifting harris right now is she did inherit, in part, a coalition that was being built by joe biden, but with her renewed leadership, first stamp on it -- her stamp on it, that something that seems different than we have seen in a generation. >> all right. antoine, susan, david, stay with me please because we are bringing in the noise. bringing the funk. what to make of all the noise that donald trump is making and how kamala harris is handling it. g it. voltaren... for long lasting arthritis pain relief. (♪♪) everywhere but the seat. the seat is leather. alan, we get it. you love your bike. we do, too. that's why we're america's number-one motorcycle insurer. but do you have to wedge it into everything? what? i don't do that. this reminds me of my bike. the wolf was about the size of my new motorcycle. have you seen it, by the way? happy birthday, grandma! really? look how the brushstrokes follow the line of the gas tank.

-hey! -hey! brought my plus-one. jamie? i still love to surf, snowboard, and, of course, skate. so, i take qunol magnesium to support my muscle and bone health. qunol's extra strength, high absorption magnesium helps me get the full benefits of magnesium. qunol, the brand i trust. announcer what if you could whiten your teeth by simply brushing your teeth? now you can with smileactives, the teeth whitening breakthrough

that safely gets your teeth white and keeps them white every day just by brushing your teeth. christine i never thought that whitening my teeth could be so easy. i just put the gel on the brush, the toothpaste on it, brush and i can see my white teeth. announcer simply add smileactives to any toothpaste, and our patented polyclean technology activates into a powerful micro foam that penetrates into the enamel surface to safely lift and remove stains. robert you need a simple way to withen your teeth without strips, without trays, without going to the dentist. and it was about time that a product was developed that you would be able to do that with just brushing. announcer and now smileactives is even better. with new pro whitening gel with 33% greater whitening power. clinically shown to whiten teeth faster up to eight shades. 100% of users saw whiter teeth on food stains, coffee and wine stains, even on veneers, crowns and dentures. paul i eat the blueberries, i drink the coffee and i know that smileactives will keep my teeth white every day.

janell if you could do something so easy like smileactives to take yellow teeth to white teeth, why wouldn't you? announcer why spend hundreds of dollars for whitening treatments at the dentist, when now you can whiten your teeth with new smileactives pro whitening gel every time you brush your teeth. call or go to smileactives.com and for a limited time get new pro whitening gel for just $24.95. order in the next 5 minutes and buy one get one absolutely free for just $24.95. that's two for one and save 58%. we■ll even include free shipping. get your teeth whiter, guaranteed, or return it within 60 days for your money back. i smile every day now. the difference is literally night and day. so now i'm always smiling or cheesing because now my teeth are much wither. announcer this offer is not available in stores, so call or click now before the special buy one, get one free offer goes away.

vice president kamala harris hopping back on the campaign trail this week. fresh often energetic -- but a member of her own team is calling. we will see what they are saying with usa today. we are getting a little bit of confusion here, everybody, but let's move to what would be a very close race. let's play that sound bite. you know what? i'm going to let all of you in a little bit of seeker. we've had to switch control booths during our last commercial break. there was a bit of a technical problem so let's get back with our panel. those guys i know are ready for us. so antoine and susan and david. are you guys back? yeah, we had a little bit of a longer break and the joy of ytd.

let me ask you a few questions. antoine, you first. remember we were talking about trump and how he is, it seems he is incapable of taking the narrative that he's been told by his advisers, we wanted to stay on message, sir. is that going to be a problem for the remainder of this campaign? can he not stay on message? is that just a proven fact so why bother? you are going to get one of his advisers? >> i think the audience he is speaking to is the right wing extremists who now make up the majority of the republican party. that is his base. so he's taking care of those folks and while some argue he is not on message, i think the counter to that is we have to directly to independent thinkers and independent voters and expect our coalition, stretch the map, what was uncertain at one point then has now become -- and that is why we have to focus our efforts on our attention. it's so important for vice president harris, allies and partners that continue to draw the contrast to what we offer versus donald trump and j.d. vance and trump's private project 2025, which is baked in extremism -- extremism.

>> so, susan, as trump continues his personal attacks, of which are extremely vile, let's not undermine them. he seems rather unphased at the convention in some ways, the democrats have said, look. as long as usa today is writing this, as long as trump is in strong, he's just being. -- weird and weak enough to implement any policy that people suggest while he gets to recklessly abuse the power of the office . how important is it to undermine his power and warn of the very real danger he poses? >> i think the harris campaign has done a great job in starting to tear down donald trump and, to be fair, in 2020, it was a lot harder because he was a sitting president and i think joe biden and the way he kind of came through politics did not want to do it. but this convention got underneath trump's skin. there's no doubt about it and

it adds to the fact that he got better ratings and he had much many more celebrities. this is the thing that makes donald trump completely flip out. and he focuses on it and nothing else. i think at this point, and just one of the thing, i'm sorry, the fact that harris is not taking the bait every time trump tries to turn the waters, it's been fantastic. that also has some -- >> david, robert f. kennedy can cease and he endorsed trump. what impact, if any, is this going to have in the race? recent polling shows rfk jr., he had slightly more republican support the democrats. will those votes go to trump, or will they split between him and harris to some degree? >> i think largely, rfk jr. has always run a trump style campaign centered around the fact that is an anti-science and questioning the government as some sort of, questioning

the man, if you will, so that they trump voter, that's an aaron rodgers voter. but -- i don't know that that's the case. there's a reason they are with rfk and not with donald trump. i think part of, to take your previous question into conversation, part of what donald trump is facing is the many ways people see him as an incumbent. he has a brand of an incumbent and what we know about him? we know he's now a convicted criminal, still facing accountability for january 6. administration went out in ashes with a collapsing economy around covid and his own involvement in a violent attack on the capital and what does he promise to do next? raise taxes with a 20% tariff. so i don't know how donald trump can actually reset a narrative around his vision for the country and actually mobilize the people that were so excited about rfk jr. i would suggest just disproportionally if they do move and move to trump, not harris so that they are

certainly going to pay close attention to those voters. i just think it's going to become an irrelevant part of this entire campaign. >> okay. antoine and susan and david, thank you so much. this was a fun segment. let me tell you the technical stuff was wild, but thank you for joining me and for staying with me through all of it. in the meantime, for all of you, why some donald trump supporters are using some phrases like maga civil war and the impact that could have on the election. she thinks her flaky, gray patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. over here! otezla can help you get clearer skin and reduce itching and flaking. with no routine blood tests required. doctors have been prescribing otezla for over a decade. otezla is also approved to treat psoriatic arthritis. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. some people taking otezla had depression,

suicidal thoughts or weight loss. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. ♪♪ [announcer] with clearer skin girls' day out is a good day out. live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla.

.trump's far right supporters , some of whom have been critical of his campaign strategy, are now taking credit for the return of former trump maga officials, including -- to his campaign. joining me now, colin henry, researchers -- researcher at george washington university who has studied political extremism. what a world your stuttering -- studying. discontent with some trump supporters that use those phrases like a civil war.

give me a sense of this status of trump's relationship with his most extreme supporters. do they have enough influence to change campaign staff? >> thank you for having me, alex. so yes. it's important to know the main intention of any social movement between these mainstream elements and these fringe elements and you want to be able to harness the energy of the fringe elements will not giving them too much power. the more power you give them, then the more chaotic they can be. i think trump and his campaign have seen what we have seen in our data at george washington university, which is a long- term decline in enthusiasm and anger towards trump's enemies. i think right now, what we see is him trying to shore up his support by giving them more and more cookies to try and get them back in the tent. i think, you know, over the past four years, he has not enjoyed the kind of kinetic,

really explosive energy that he had in the 2020 electoral period . he hasn't been able to rally them to, you know, when he is called for big in person gatherings. >> interesting. maybe he is trying to change that, colin, because in less than two weeks, he's going be hosting the event at his -- is called the j6 awards gala to support january 6 writers currently being prosecuted. there's a trump campaign official telling nbc news that he's not going to attend but i'm wondering, colin. how does online engagement right now, among trump's -- to what you saw leading up to january 6 because i understand you saw the build up to that, right? >> yeah. that's a great question, alex. me, like every other extremism researcher who is online at this time, we watched in the months leading up to january 6

what we call network incitement, which is where there are these kind of strong networks of people all talking to each other and they are sharing ways to coordinate, to get to washington, d.c., to pay for hotel rooms, to figure out where the stash weapons in the city and we watched all this happening, knowing that something big was going to go down. when we look now at the same networks in the same online spaces, we don't see the same kind of coordination. we don't see the same kind of excitement. it turns out that the department of justice and the arrests that were made of a lot of january 6 participants and leaders have really worked to kind of scare these networks of people. you will see them talking about how any kind of big event, in person, including ones that trump directly calls for my

piece false flags. that anybody engaging in the kind of coordination or cost- sharing that we saw before january 6 might be a federal agent of some kind and that is really -- that's the kind of conspiracy that has really worked against the movement for organizing these kind of big events. >> that's extra ordinary. what about the wider discontent among the far right? does that have anything to do with his attempts to publicly distance himself from project 2025? how about that? >> i think it's actually a little bit different than that. the project 2025 document, what i read in that was an attempt by more mainstream elements of the campaign to co-opt some of the ideas and energy of the fringe movements. the fringe elements. so when they look in the document and they see their extremist ideas made out the policy they get upset with that because what they disagree with is of the outcome, what they disagree with of the tactics. they prefer chaos, street violence, taking over capital buildings and the states or in d.c. and so for them, this is really a shot across the bow from the mainstream elements of the campaign.

him distancing himself from that document is actually kind of playing back towards the fringe elements by saying okay, i see your points and we can go back to some of the chaotic tactics that you favor. >> real quick, what do you think the effect will be of this dis-affectation on his campaign? >> well, unfortunately, i think it signals that, you know, when extremists are feeling weak, that's when they are at the most dangerous. unfortunately, i think it signals that he is going to further embrace this kind of fringe elements. is going to go back to what he was doing during the 2020 election, which is giving them wink and a nod at every opportunity and i think he can do this either through campaign rhetoric or just on true social and so, unfortunately, i think this is a return to some of the more direct incitement tactics that we saw leading up to january 6. >> okay. colin henry, we will see.

come see us again. happy to have you. >> thank you. >> in the next hour. the issue on the ballot in 10 states and how it can drive turnout to the polls . . , no refrigeration, no heating or air conditioning. the winds are not letting up at all here. we're going to see some power outages. number one thing to prepare for is extended power outages. are you prepared? you can be with a generac home standby generator. when a power outage occurs, your generac home standby generator automatically powers up, using your home's existing natural gas or propane, so your life goes on without disruption. you and your family are comfortable, safe, and secure. stay tuned, to get over a $500 value free on the most popular home standby generator in the world. with the generac, we don't have to worry about whether we lose power or not. if the utility company does not come through, our generac does. having a generac takes a lot of the anxiety out of, there's going to be a storm.

after the hurricane happened, we just want to be prepared for anything. generac generators are designed, engineered and built in the usa. 8 out of 10 home generators are generac, and have thousands of satisfied customers. how many times have you heard people say, i never want to go through that again? well, the next time you go through it, don't make it so hard on yourself. have a generac home standby generator. call or go online now to request your free quote with one of generac's nationwide dealers. special financing and low monthly payment options are available, and if you call now, you will also receive a free 5 year warranty valued at over $500. the call is free, the quote is free, and there's no obligation to buy. call or go online now, so the next time there's a power outage, your home powers up. power your life with generac. call or go online to request your free quote today.

is it possible to count on my your home powers up. power your life with generac. internet like my customers count on me? it is with comcast business. keeping you up and running with our 99.9% network reliability. and security that helps outsmart threats to your data. moaire dida twoo? -your data, too. there's even round-the- clock customer support. so you can be there for your customers. with comcast business, reliability isn't just possible. it's happening. switch to reliable comcast business internet with security and get started for $49.99 a month. plus ask how to get up to a $500 prepaid card. call today!