matthew dowd, i turn to you first. donald trump clearly wants this field to himself, and nikki haley won't let him have it. why not? she's obviously not doing very well in the polls. we can't find a state where she is going to beat him. what is your strategy? >> i honestly believe she is a smart woman, that she understands she cannot win this race. you just look at a matter of fact. every single state that she has run in and about to be in in south carolina, she's losing among republican voters by 40 to 50 points. she lost republicans by 50 points in new hampshire. so i think she understands that, and my guess is -- i have not had any conversation with her -- but my guess is she has something to say and she wants to say it in a clear way. and she thinks that by staying in she has a platform to say that. but i would believe that in her heart she know she cannot win this race. so, she's in it to deliver a message about donald trump and what it means and to the republican party. by those standards it is probably a good th

matthew dowd and mike schmidt. please stay with me. >>> coming up in 60 seconds, breaking nauz on former president trump's civil fraud trail. the judge there sent a letter containing white powder. we'll explain what happened and dig into a new filing by the former president. >>> and a disaster declaration in texas as wildfires scorch half a million acres and counting forcing evacuations. those dramatic images next. one breath... ...can delight them all. protect yourself against rsv... ...with pfizer's abrysvo a vaccine to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. it's not for everyone and may not protect all who receive it. don't get abrysvo if you've had an allergic... ...reaction to its ingredients. a weakened immune system may decrease your response. most common side effects are tiredness, headache, injection-site pain and muscle pain. ask about pfizer's abrysvo®. because every breath matters. >>> breaking news in the new york civil fraud case against former president trump. a sour

matthew dowd back was.as, executive direct tower of the mccain institute and former advisor to the supreme allied commander. any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security including that of the u.s. and puts american and european soldiers at increased risk. do you share those concerns sdm. >> absolutely. i would say this is not stupid -- i mean it's stupid, but it's dangerous and unpatriotic. i even saw someone refer to it as treacherous or treasonous. this will put potentially u.s. troops even in harm's way because it's tempting vladimir putin and frankly any of our enemies to test the alliance, and that puts everyone in greater danger. we don't want war with russia and we don't want russia to think we're weak and won't strike back if they do try something with us militarily. >> julie, what's been the reaction among republicans? >> the top line here is, chris, after running around the capitol trying to ask as many senate republicans as possible about this, is they don'

. >> joining us now, matthew dowd, msnbc senior political contributor and author of revelations on theves. matthew, what did you make of nikki haley's surprise appearance on snl last night? >> i mean, she's trying to climb mount everest and is doing whatever she can to get through the ice and the glacier that is donald trump of course in this race. i don't think there is much she can do, honestly, to overcome the problem she has. keep in mind, she lost republicans in new hampshire by 50 points. republicans she lost by 50 points. south carolina primary is going to look more like iowa than it does new hampshire, with more republicans, republicans voting, not independents, in that state. i don't know how she overcomes that problem she has. and her snl appearance, i don't think being more likable is what republicans won. >> right, yes. that's true. >> if they will nominate and support donald trump, likability, i don't think, is a factor in the race. her questions, your previous discussion with april, her answers to the race questions, while on one side, many of us think is awful because sh

matthew dowd, carol lam, lisa rubin. first service "chris jansing reports."reciate you. >>> still to come on a much more serious note, the emotional tributes after two minnesota police officers and a paramedic are gunned down in the line of duty. we are live with the latest next. re live with the latest next lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose. delicious too. just ask my old friend, kevin. nothing like enjoying a cold one while watching the game. who's winning? we are, my friend. we are. power e*trade's easy-to-use tools, like dynamic charting and risk-reward analysis, help make trading feel effortless. and its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market. e*trade from morgan stanley. with powerful, easy-to-use tools, power e*trade makes complex trading easier. react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley. rsv can seriously impact breathing, even for the best p

. >> joining us now, matthew dowd, msnbc senior political contributor and author of revelations on theourselves. matthew, what did you make of nikki haley's surprise appearance on snl last night? >> i mean, she's trying to climb mount everest and is doing whatever she can to get through the ice and the glacier that is donald trump of course in this race. i don't think there is much she can do, honestly, to overcome the problem she has. keep in mind, she lost republicans in new hampshire by 50 points. republicans she lost by 50 points. south carolina primary is going to look more like iowa than it does new hampshire, with more republicans, republicans voting, not independents, in that state. i don't know how she overcomes that problem she has. and her snl appearance, i don't think being more likable is what republicans won. >> right, yes. that's true. >> if they will nominate and support donald trump, likability, i don't think, is a factor in the race. her questions, your previous discussion with april, her answers to the race questions, while on one side, many of us think is awful beca

nbc news correspondent dasha burns joins us from eagle pass and matthew dowd, chief strategiest for the/cheney campaign. what who exactly is the president expected to meet with today and what else can we expect from his visit? >> reporter: this will be president biden's second trip to the southern border. he went to el paso in january of 2023. this time he said to me, with local leaders, as well as border patrol agents and first responders. now, the schedule is a little bit in flux. it is sometimes kept under wraps, always kept under wraps for security reasons, but we understand he is set to meet with the local leaders and hear firsthand about what it is like here on the ground. and, jose, he's expected to deliver -- and calling out house republicans about what -- >> well, we just lost -- >> -- that was negotiated in the senate. sorry, jose. >> sorry, gabe. i apologize, we took a tech hit from you. but i think you're back, please continue. >> reporter: sure, no problem, jose. listen, the president plans to call out house republicans for what he sees as obstructionism. and he really want

let's discuss with matthew dowd, chief strategist for the 2004 bush cheney campaign, and also with uscal strategist alencia johnson who was a senior adviser on president biden's 2020 campaign. matthew, these 40% of voters who say trump's presidency was better than expected, what do you think's behind that? >> i'm not surprised. this is what happens in the aftermath of people's presidency. just like president's job approvals go up the january after they leave office, people have a tendency to look back more positive until reminded of it again in the course of this. so it doesn't surprise me. i actually don't think that's what this race is going to be about. i think both sides are going to try to make it about the other person in this. i think joe biden's campaign needs to make it about donald trump and the threat he poses to our democracy, and i think donald trump's going to make it about joe biden's presidency and who he is. and so i don't think those numbers are surprising at all. >> alencia, what about you? it's even more stark when you look at independents, 38% saying the trump adm

that is where we start today, with matthew dowd, ann applebaum, and basil michaels., it is my democracy on the line, what is their core concern? >> let me answer that by quoting a member of the german parliament, who i saw in munich last weekend, who said to me, we are faced with a real prospect now that europe will be facing three autocracies -- russia, china and the united states. so, america's traditional allies in europe, asia and elsewhere, are afraid the very nature of america will change. therefore their relationship to the united states, their relationships to one another, their secure relationships, trading relationships. they believe it's a very existential election. i'm sure biden was telling the truth where he says every world leader he meets wants to talk about it. >> the fact, matthew dowd, that you have a world where he see russia, china and the united states in the same camp, how terrifying is that? >> exceedingly. i'll take us all on a short history lesson of the rise of democracy. when world war ii ended there are ten democracies in the world. that

dowd is with us as well. ashley, help walk us through the sort of state of the race as we keep an eye on this. you've been keeping a close eye on trump and haley, in particular her challenge to try to challenge him right now. she's trying to walk this fine line and i'm curious, clearly it hasn't worked to this point. what you think she hopes this accomplishes because it's a delicate dance she's doing. >> a couple of things. one challenge she has is that to beat him and stay in the race, she has to win. she has to win a state, and another state and another state. and while she has been impressive to be the last as she would say, woman standing against him, she hasn't won yet and she's preparing to lose in her home state and that's a very devastating thing to recover from. what's been fascinating for me to watch is how she's emerged part deliberately and intentionally and in part, she's been thrust into this role but as the new face of the anti trump resistance and she is making a strong and forceful case again