hallie? >> and monica, i've heard from campaign sources pushing back on the polling showing a bit of a dip for the president. but elected leaders are also looking to see where donors go. and there is movement on that front now? >> we're starting to see some big dollar donors, including reed hastings, who cofounded netflix, call on the president to exit the race, while biden campaign officials insist they've seen some strong grassroots support in the past week, though the pressure is quite intense. hallie? >> monica alba live at the white house, thank you. >>> tonight's other top story, that blistering heatwave putting more than 140 million of us under alerts, the dangerous temperatures making it that much harder to fight that huge wildfire forcing tens of thousands to evacuate and canceling fourth of july plans in northern california. we have team coverage tonight including an update on deadly hurricane beryl as it possibly heads towards texas, but we start with steve patterson in the fire zo

hallie? >> and monica, i've of a dip e president. heard from campaign sources pushing back on the polling showing a bit of a dip for the president. but elected democratic leaders are also looking to see where donors go. and there is movement on that front now? >> reporter: we're starting to see some big dollar donors, including reed hastings, who cofounded netflix, call on the president to exit the race, while biden campaign officials insist they've seen some strong grassroots support in the past week, though the pressure is quite intense. hallie? >> monica alba live at the white house, thank you. >>> tonight's other top story, that blistering heatwave putting more than 140 million of us under alerts, with the dangerous temperatures making it that much harder to fight that huge wildfire forcing tens of thousands to evacuate and canceling fourth of july plans in northern california. we have team coverage tonight, including an update on deadly hurricane beryl as it possibly heads towards texas,

i want to send it back to hallie jackson, live in washington. hallie. >> hey, tom. it's so difficult for people to hear the stories that you are telling, that dasha is telling, considering when folks show up to a political rally, especially in a community like this, this is so called trump country. this is a very republican part of pennsylvania, talking to folks who had been there. this were excited to show up and celebrate the presumptive nominee in the moment, the critical moment when about 24 hours ago, the biggest question would be who would donald trump pick to be his running mate. it's a different political universe we're looking at now with so many lives changed forever. at this moment, the question is turning to how this could have happened, from people on the ground, to members of congress. how did a shooter get such a sight line to former president trump, how did this shooter get so close. our ken dilanian has more. >> reporter: tonight, 24 hours after the alarming assassination attempt on former president trump, growing questions about what many in law en

>> reporter: right, hallie. your conversations are worth noting because the secret service here, they designated this event as a national special security event. much like the inauguration is and the state of the union addresses. this is where the department of homeland security, the secretary designates an event and puts the u.s. secret service at the top of orchestrating and working with the multiple law enforcement agencies to oversee this particular event, and that is what has happened for the republican national convention. for the first time, a u.s. secret service official began to answer questions about what unfolded yesterday with the attempted assassination. but side stepped directly answering any detailed questions about what actually unfolded in pennsylvania. instead, suggesting that the focus needed to be on what was happening here in milwaukee, and i said to what extent should donald trump, his family and those going to this convention here trust that the safety and security is going to be in tact h

lester. >> all right, hallie, thanks.ant to bring in kristen welker, the moderator of "meet the press." for many americans this will be their introduction to vance. >> it's a major moment for vance. as for former president trump, who clearly made this decision from what he believes is a position of strength, given he has a narrow lead in national and battleground state polls. vance is viewed as the future of the maga movement and energizes the trump base but doesn't exactly expand it, all of that underscoring what we're seeing at this convention so far. this is a party that is remarkably unified around mr. trump. compare that to the divided democrats, president biden facing another call to drop out and a new poll today showing 65% of democrats want the president to step aside. all of it adding to a really complicated mix for president biden who, of course, as we

>> it is democracy at work, hallie. and one thing that strikes me with j.d. vance is the issue of abortion. we have seen j.d. vance shift his views in a range of different areas, and one of them is the very way he talks about donald trump going from the self-described never trumper, and one of the critics and on the issue of abortion, he was asked about the texas ban of abortion that does not include the exceptions, and he sort of downplayed it, and that is something that the trump team was looking at. he has moderated himself on "meet the press" two weeks ago and he echoed donald trump and he said that he would support the abortion pill to continue to be accessible to all americans, mistiprone, and what do you make of that issue, hallie? >> yes, they will continue to press the campaign and on the issue of reproductive right, and the reason is because the democrats have seen this as a mobilizing issue. because the democrats believe they will see more increased turnout in november as they have seen it after the overturning of "roe v. wade" and that cannot be r

>> hallie, thank you. i'm joined by kristen welker, the moderator of "meet the press." kristen, we're seeing remarkable moment or moments playing out on both sides. >> we are, lester. this is an incredible split screen. there is a real opportunity to retool donald trump's message which his crew chief says will be unifying. but the question is will voters who are skeptical of trump give him a second look in the wake of the assassination attempt? a successful night could really set him up with momentum after this convention. now as for democrats, this is just unprecedented. it seems increasingly likely president biden will not be the likely dom nome knee. nominee. democrats i talk to say there is a growing air of inevitability that he'll drop out soon. this is just a sad moment for the party. lester? >> kristen, thank you so much. join us for our coverage tonight from the rnc as former president trump gives his highly anticipated speech. our coverage begins at 9:00 eastern time. >>> well, five days after the attempted assassination of former president trump, the head of t

i want to send it back to hallie jackson live in washington. hallie? >> it isja so difficult for so many people to hear the stories that you are telling, that dasha is telling, considering when folks show up to a political rally, especially in a community like this, this is so-calleds trump country. thiso- is a republican part of pennsylvania. talking to folks who had been there, they were excited to show up and celebrate the presumptivb republican nominee in this moment when about 24 hours ago, the biggest question was going to be who would donald trump pick to be his running mate. it is obviously, a different political universe that we arese looking at now with so many lives changed forever. at this moment now, the questioo is turning to how this could have happened from people on the ground to members of congress. how did a shooter get such a sight line to trump. how did the shooter get so close. ken dilanian has more. >> reporter: tonight, 24 hours after the alarming assassination attempt on former president trump, growing questions aboutwi what ma

hallie jackson for us, hallie, appreciate that.n the legal aspect of this case, i want to bring in danny cevallos tonight. danny. hallie was just explaining to us there about what the official and unofficial duties of the president are going to be, and that a lower court judge is going to decide that. what are they going to look like, and how do they exactly figure that out? well, the lower court will decide that on this particular january sixth federal case in d.c, and the judge has a real challenge because it is easy to say in principle that there's such a thing as official conduct and purely private conduct, and then maybe even these core executive functions, but actually applying them to the facts can get much thornier. indeed, the supreme court even took some of these decisions out of judge hutchins hands by saying on some of the indictment facts, you have the conversations with doj officials. those are absolutely immune because they fall within that core executive function category. but you could take almost every exercise of

hallie jackson has it. hallie? >> reporter: all right. it is a new post on his online platform truth social, lester in which the former president says and i will read this in full because obviously, this is the first time that we are now hearing from the former president himself since this incident at his rally in butler, he says i want to thank the united states secret service and all of law enforcement for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in butler, pennsylvania. most importantly, the former president continues, i want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the rally who was killed and also to the family of another person that was badly injured. he goes onto say it is incredible. he also adds nothing is known at this time about the shooter who is now dead. the former president says he was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. you are looking at that online post now. he is confirming he says that he was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of his right ear. he

hallie jackson is following the politics of all this. hallie, former president trump is already out there declaring victory after this ruling? >> reporter: that's right, tom. calling this a big win for the constitution and democracy, in his words, saying it should end what he describes as the witch hunts against him. that this ruling virtually assures his trial will get pushed until after election day. and politically for him that is a win. but the white house in a new statement says nobody is above the law and that the country needs leaders like president biden who in their words respect the justice system and don't tear it down.

hallie jackson is down on the floor for us. hallie, what do we know? >> hey, lester, a source familiar with that call tells me that j.d. vance and kamala harris, the vice president, have spoken by phone with another person describing the conversation as brief and cordial. come here, i want to show you. you already see the trump-vance signs on the convention floor as night two is in full swing. ahead of the second night of the republican convention, the new gop vice presidential candidate making an appearance online after his new running mate's appearance off it on monday. republicans roaring in what is becoming the defining moment of the convention so far, the crowd pumping their fists in unison, yelling "fight." mirroring the moment the former president chanted those same words while being rushed offstage saturday after surviving an assassination attempt, his ear covered in blood, but now covered by a bandage clearly visible. today his former white house doctor, ronny jackson, now a congressman, describing in detail the injury. >> just took the top of

i do want to echo what hallie said. ly, he will be haunted by the opening comments where he misspoke and referred to vice president harris as vice president trump. at the end i asked him about it, and he said just listen to him, but substantive, of course, he did demonstrate his years of service, his understanding of foreign policy, and across the world, so now the challenge for this white house is that a lot of this will be digested in simple sound bites outside this news conference. the question is, is that going to snuff out the rebellion? >> and the president didn't seem in much of a hurry to leave, peter. >> reporter: i think that's exactly right. he heard a lot of yelling from other reporters. >> that concludes this nbc news special report. join me monday

that's a record one-day haul. >> hallie, standby there.will talk in a moment. >> we want to talk about what's next for the democratic party. now in unchartered territory with their election looming. election day 15 weeks away. let's bring in kristin welker, moderator of "meet the press." good morning. >> hi, hoda. with just four weeks until the democratic national convention kicks off in chicago, the key question this morning, will the president's endorsement of vice president harris clear the field, or will it set off a bruising battle for the nomination? the big question for democrats today, what now? with the clock ticking toward the democratic national convention in chicago four weeks away, president biden's historic decision to stand down and endorse vice president harris could give her a critical head start against potential rivals. while vice president harris says she intends to earn and win the nomination, republicans are relishing the battle ahead. >> the democrats are in free fall, trying to figure out who they are going to have

lester. >> hallie and chrissen. thanks to both of you. >>> join me and savannah guthrie for president biden's primetime address to the nation starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. >>> and tonight, former president trump is holding his first campaign rally since president biden dropped out of the race as the fbi director revealed much more about the man who tried to kill mr. trump. garrett haake has late details. >> reporter: tonight, new video showing the moment a would-be assassin fired on former president trump as people scream and run for cover. the new video coming to light as fbi director chris wray shared shocking new details of the shooting investigation in testimony before a house committee. wray reporting that the shooter managed to fire eight total rounds and revealing this disturbing evidence extracted from the shooter's laptop. >> on july 6th, he did a google search for, quote, how far away was oswald from kennedy. >> reporter: it all comes as mr. trump holds a rally in north carolina tonight with security

we've got hallie jackson and kristen welker. it is so interesting. and we really are in a moment in american history where no one -- we have to have humility about it. no one knows how this will play out. everybody who thinks they can predict and have their crystal ball, throw them out. it's all changed. but isn't it interesting? even eric trump saying he thinks, you know, there could be a real change in the rhetoric on both sides. >> savannah, with eric which is so revealing. he leaned into the idea that, yes, his father is rethinking and has changed in that moment in that assassination attempt, and when you pressed him to respond to president biden to put trump in the bull's eye, and he said that the rhetoric does need to come down for everyone. >> it is interest, because i have interviewed eric and don jr. and a lot of the guy, and it can be combative and they are sitting there wanting to make the points, and this is fine, because that is what people does in politic, and everyone does it, but it is as though, he did not want to go there. >> he tal

and hallie, you were watching the speech, and what are your thoughts? >> you saw him prosecute the case against president biden and to a degree against kamala harris here in a speech that had more, i think, prosecutorial lines and attack lines than we thought, and he touched on the biography and who he is, and obviously on stage with his mom and the moving moment, and he did not shy away on rhetoric of the immigration, and nods to party unity, and overall, the message was clear based on the states that he name dropped repeatedly and how many times were michigan mention and pennsylvania and wisconsin and the same kind of thing, and this is a big reason why that j.d. vance is on the ticket to help to boost the turnout on those states here, and he knows that. he is trying to relate his own biography to those voters that the trump campaign wants to reach. >> kristen, what does he bring to table. >> well, he was talking to the communities and the campaign thinks that he is going to and he mentioned throughout, ohio, michigan and wisconsin and by the way, if

>> all right, hallie, thank you for that. all of this of course comes as the biden campaign struggles with calls from democrats to drop out of the race after his poor debate performance. the president and first lady both pushing back tonight. kelly o'donnell has more from the white house. >> reporter: a campaign pressure point. as democrats wrestle with whether to save or change their party's nominee. today with a new ad the biden campaign looking to calm a crisis over his halting debate performance that rattled many democrats. >> i know i'm not a young man. but i know how to do this job. >> reporter: first lady jill biden on the cover of "vogue," where she says they "will not let those 90 minutes define the four years he's been president. we will continue to fight." the president has been at camp david. multiple sources say some family members expressed deep frustration with advisers over debate preparations, a criticism voiced today by some elected democrats. >> i think he probably could get better advice in terms of how to

hallie jackson joining us now. hallie, you're following those in the running? >> that's right, lester. this unexpected round of veepstakes is putting battleground and battleground-adjacent governors into the spotlight. there is roy cooper of north carolina who has known harris for years as a fellow former state attorney general. josh shapiro of pennsylvania, who won office in a landslide there, tim walz of minnesota, head of the democratic governors association, and gretchen whitmer of michigan, who said she is only interested in her current job for now. there is also mark kelly, arizona's democratic senator, well liked in that chamber. multiple sources tell nbc news vetting materials have been requested from all of them. there is also speculation about andy beshear and transportation secretary pete buttigieg. a source familiar with the vp selection process tells me it is moving along. there is no firm deadline, but the campaign may want to make a pick before august 7th to avoid potential legal challenges if the ticket is not set then. lester? >> hallie, thank

lester. >> all right, hallie, thanks.ant to bring in kristen welker, the moderator of "meet the press." for many americans this will be their introduction to vance. >> it's a major moment for vance. as for former president trump, who clearly made this decision from what he believes is a position of strength, given he has a narrow lead in national and battleground state polls. vance is viewed as the future of the maga movement and energizes the trump base but doesn't exactly expand it, all of that underscoring what we're seeing at this convention so far. this is a party that is remarkably unified around mr. trump. compare that to the divided democrats, president biden facing another call to drop out and a new poll today showing 65% of democrats want the president to step aside. all of it adding to a really complicated mix for president biden who, of course, as we lester, is now battling covid. >> also this major headline tonight about democratic senator bob menendez. >> that's right. this is definitely a big headline. one

>> hallie, thank you. >>> also tonight, the head of the secret service resigning after bipartisan calls. it comes after the attempted assassination of former president trump. julia ainsley now with late details on that. >> my name is kimberly cheatle -- >> reporter: tonight kimberly cheatle, the 29-year veteran of the secret service is out, in a letter to president biden saying the secret service's solemn mission is to protect our nation's leaders. on july 13th, we fell short on that mission. i take full responsibility for the security lapse. her resignation first reported by nbc news, comes nine days after a gunman tried to assassinate donald trump at a rally, putting cheatle in the hot seat yesterday as she struggled to answer basic questions. >> why was the rooftop left naked to begin with, can you tell us that? considering it was within the line of sight and so very close. >> again, i can't speak to the specifics of this particular event site. >> reporter: the deputy director has now stepped in temporarily. but questions and harsh criticism of the agency persist. committee chairman

hallie jackson joining us now. hallie, you're following those in the running? >> reporter: that's right, lester. this unexpected round of veepstakes is putting battleground and battleground-adjacent governors into the spotlight. there's roy cooper of north carolina, who has known harris for years as a fellow former state attorney general. josh shapiro of pennsylvania, who won office in a landslide there. tim walz of minnesota, head of the democratic governors association. and gretchen whitmer of michigan, who's said she's only interested in her current job, for now. there is also mark kelly, arizona's democratic senator, well liked in that chamber. multiple sources tell nbc news vetting materials have been requested from all of them. there is also speculation about andy beshear of kentucky, and transportation secretary pete buttigieg. a source familiar with the vp selection process tells me it is moving along. there's no firm deadline, but the campaign may want to make a pick before august 7th to avoid potential legal challenges if the ticket is not set then. l

hallie jackson is at the rnc. hallie, what is the mood there today? >> reporter: hey there, lester. the assassination attempt against the former president is obviously top of mind. but the mood here is also celebratory, with the official rollout of the trump-vance ticket. all eyes right now on the ohio delegation here. and the first time a running mate has been revealed in the convention hall in four decades. republicans making it official. >> the republican nominee for president of the united states of america. >> reporter: former president trump becoming the party's nominee for president. and alongside him ohio senator j.d. vance, announced today as mr. trump's running mate. his name already being added to the campaign plane. the former president calling vance to share word of his selection just 20 minutes before the public announcement, according to a source familiar with the call. writing in an online post, "vance will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the american workers and farmers." vance, a 39-year-old first-term senator and the author of "hill

here's hallie jackson. >> reporter: former president trump stepping off his plane early this morning after stepping off the stage in milwaukee, balloons dropping on the final night of the republican convention. >> i proudly accept your nomination for president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: in his first speech since surviving an assassination attempt against him -- >> you'll never hear it from me a second time, because it's actually too painful to tell. >> reporter: -- mr. trump describing what happened in dramatic detail. >> i heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear. >> reporter: delegates listening intently, some with faces wet from tears. >> i'm not supposed to be here tonight. not supposed to be here. >> yes, you are. >> and i'll tell you, i stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty god. >> reporter: the former president surrounded by images from the shooting saturday in pennsylvania, and also on stage, the gear of corey comperatore, the firefighter dad killed at the campaign event. i

hallie jackson is down on the floor for us. hallie, what do we know? >> reporter: hey, lester. a source familiar with that call tells me that j.d. vance and kamala harris, the vice president, have spoken by phone with another person describing the conversation as brief and cordial. come here, i want to show you. you already see the trump/vance signs on the convention floor as night two is in full swing. ahead of the second night of the republican convention, the new gop vice presidential candidate making an appearance onstage after his new running mate's appearance off it on monday. republicans roaring in what is becoming the defining moment of the convention so far, the crowd pumping their fists in unison, yelling, "fight." mirroring the moment the former president assassination attempt, chanted those same words while being rushed offstage saturday after surviving an assassination attempt, his ear covered in blood, but now covered by a bandage clearly visible. today, his former white house doctor, ronny jackson, now a congressman, describing in detail the injury. >> just took

hallie, a new cnn poll out this afternoon, three-quarters of all u.s. voters say the democratic party would have a better shot holding the presidency in 2024 with someone other than president joe biden at top of the ticket, we should note that this was happened after the debate and before yesterday's supreme court ruling on immunity, also today the first democratic congressman publicly calling on biden to step down. we've also heard from some of the leaders in congress -- democratic leaders voicing support. where are we on this giant question of biden's future? >> reporter: we're at the period of leaks in the dam, the question is, are these leaks going to get bigger, turn into a full-on collapse or will the biden campaign with its vigorous pushback so far be able to plug up those leaks. you referenced congressman lloyd doggett, came out and publicly said the president should step aside in this race. you have what i call the next category of concern or skepticism here and here's where i think you got to start to read so much the tea leaves here, former h

let's bring in nbc news now anchor hallie jackson. democrats are saying they're worried about what a president can now do in office, republicans are saying the supreme court's decision is a victory, what changes politically in the race for the white house now? >> reporter: in the eyes of democrats, this essentially highlights the stakes at play come november. raises them to a degree given what the supreme court has found today. you have some real frustration with the court's decision, but also with the court as a whole with former house speaker nancy pelosi suggesting that this now conservative majority court has gone rogue, congresswoman alexandria ocasio cortez may try to file articles of impeachment against some of the justices, at least the chief justice, we asked her office for clarification. that's mostly symbolic, given that the house is controlled by republicans. the deep dissatisfaction by democrats. on the flip side of the aisle, you have republicans of course largely following along party lines falling behind former preside

nbc's senior correspondent hallie jackson has the latest from this. hey, hallie. >> hey, hoda.d morning to you. former president trump says he will probably end up debating vice president harris. although he did not commit to it. as harris prepares to head to the swing state of georgia today getting ready to select a running mate as mr. trump now defends his. the presidential race taking shape this morning with vice president kamala harris set to hit the campaign trail and former president donald trump in a new interview backing up his new running mate, senator jd vance. >> he's got tremendous support. among a cert people that like families. >> reporter: the former president referencing vance's controversial comments from 2021, critical of democrats without children. >> we are effectively run in this country, via the democrats, via our corporate oligarchs by a bunch of childless cat ladies. >> he's not against anything but he loves family. >> reporter: mr. trump also insisting that when he told a christian audience friday you don't have to vote again in four years, he was not e

all right, hallie, thank you. now to the supreme court, which is expected to hand down a major decision today regarding former president donald trump's claim of immunity from prosecution in his federal election interference case. and that that could determine if the case goes to trial before the november election. laura jarrett is nbc's senior legal correspondent. she has been following this one very closely for months now, and it would seem highly likely that the high court finally hands down this decision today. so refresh our memories, walk us through the former president's best arguments and the government's best arguments. his best argument is that the presidency itself, not him, not his case, but the office of the presidency itself, has to have some immunity or it just can't function. you can't have the president looking over your shoulder thinking he's going to get prosecuted for things that he's doing as president. and on the surface of it, that makes a lot of sense. but the federal government's position,

hallie, good morning to you.about this call between the president and democratic governors, president biden insisting that he is in it to win it. but hallie, i mean, what at this point can the president, can this administration realistically do to win over the skeptics at this point? >> it's a great question, craig. and the answer seems to be, to give it some time and to get the president out there. a campaign source tells me overnight that they believe that the governor's meeting and some of the public support we saw after that demonstrates what they see as united front of those elected leaders rallying around president biden. look at governor gavin newsom, for example. he's speculated to be a future presidential candidate. he says he plans to headline events in michigan, in new hampshire this holiday weekend. but remember, for some of these other skeptical democrats, it really is less about what the campaign says president biden can do, craig, and more about seeing and hearing from the president himself himself

nbc's senior washington correspondent hallie jackson here with more. hi, hallie.s a late night. >> it sure was, savannah, in many ways it was a tale it was a late night. >> it sure was, savannah, in many ways.of two speeches with the former president returning to the controversial rhetoric more familiar t it was a tale of two speeches with the former president o his remarks, even after promising a departure from the divisions he's h returning to the controversial t rhetoric familiar to his at the outset of that campaign remarks, even after 93 speech he positioned himself as promising a departure from the divisions he had a hand in a unc detail stoking. the a but he positioned himself as a unifier, describing in dramatic detail, the attempted empted assassination attempt against assassination against him. ♪ hold on ♪ >> rep him.orter: before the balloon drop before the balloon drop, a , a marathon monologue overnight with former president trump's t trump taking the stage, his name in lights. >> i proudly accept your nomination for name in lights. president of t uni

hallie jackson has that. >> reporter: the spotlights turning to vice president kamala harris, one of president biden's most vocal backers since that debate widely panned as disastrous. >> it was a slow start. no question about that. but i thought it was a strong finish. we are looking at a president in joe biden has done historic work. >> reporter: now the president's endorsement of harris puts her in the pole position to take the top of the ticket. harris, in a statement saying in part i am honored to have any president's endorsement and my haim a&m is to win this nomination. well together we will win. in recent day, some of the president's key allies signaled if he were to step aside, it is harris who should get democrats' support. >> this body should not in any way do anything to work around ms. harris. >> reporter: congressman jim clyburn publicly backing harris, other democrats following suit. the exception, the parties a top leaders in the house and senate, stopping short of an endorsement, but blazing the president for his service. whether it's harris at the top of the ticket

>> hallie jackson, thank you. laura jarett joining me now. there's not a lot of time here. >> no. there's a big push to button up things soon otherwise democrats can miss key state deadlines. ohio has the first deadline on august 7th. the democratic convention is the 19th. that's why there's an urgency to hold a roll call vote that would nominate the parties' candidates. not just the president. the vice president has been certified to appear on the ball let ballot in time. that doesn't leave vice president kamala harris as lot of time. >> thank you, laura. >>> let's look at this from the angle of the trump campaign. it's a reset for them as well. a new opponent, but the campaign said they've spent weeks preparing for it. garrett haake with the new reporting. >> reporter: after 615 days focussed on joe biden, the trump campaign shifting now for a likely showdown with vice president harris. >> i guess she's going to run for president now. >> reporter: mr. trump's running mate j.d. vance mocking harris at a rally in ohio. >> i was told i was going to debate kamala harris. now preside

here's hallie jackson. >> reporter: the biden campaign tonight arguing what really matters won't come from the beltway but the rust belt and beyond. >> when he says he's in and he's running, i believe him and i believe he's going to do a good job. >> i'm still feeling good about joe biden. there is no other alternative. >> i think joe biden, you know, if he is slower these days at least he's honest. >> reporter: his campaign pointing to support on the ground, with one senior adviser telling nbc news their grassroots fund-raising saw its best start to any month this month, post-debate. >> i'm getting so frustrated by the elites in the party who they know so much more. but if any of these guys don't think i should run, run against me. >> reporter: but while new polling shows the race still very close, it's former president trump leading narrowly in five of seven key battlegrounds, mostly inside the margin of error, and in pennsylvania mr. trump has a slightly larger lead after the president flipped that state four years ago. >> i just don't think we can deal with his health. and it's th

here's hallie jackson. >> reporter: the biden campaign tonight arguing what really matters won't come from the beltway but the rust belt and beyond. >> when he says he's in and he's running, i believe him and i believe he's going to do a good job. >> i'm still feeling good about joe biden. there is no other alternative. >> i think joe biden, you know, if he is slower these days at least he's honest. >> reporter: his campaign pointing to support on the ground, with one senior adviser telling nbc news their grassroots fund-raising saw its best start to any month this month, post-debate. >> i'm getting so frustrated by the elites in the party who they know so much more. but if any of these guys don't think i should run, run against me. >> reporter: but while new polling shows the race still very close, it's former president trump leading narrowly in five of seven key battlegrounds, mostly inside the margin of error, and in pennsylvania mr. trump has a slightly larger lead after the president flipped that state four years ago. >> i just don't think that we can deal with his health. and it

and that is the lay of the land, and when you are looking at the midwestern states, hallie, it is whywe are in wisconsin, and how they won by one percentage point there. >> and yes, we are getting a hand on the reportable excerpts of the speech of j.d. vance, and he name drops a couple of states, and you want to guess which ones? he is fledging to remember that he never forget where he came from, and midtown ohio, and communities forgotten here in michigan and wisconsin and pennsylvania and he is fighting for them, and so it is very clear that the message that j.d. vance is pushing here as this ticket heads into november. i will tell you that in my conversations with the republicans, including senator on the republican side of the aisle who vance has described as his men to, senator john barrasso says he believes that vance can help to bring those people to the table. let's be clear, these are rural voters who are certainly going to back donald trump, but this election as steve layed out, it is very close and in part going to come out the turnout, and can you get the base excited to c

>> hallie jackson, thank you. laura jarett joining me now. laura, even with many democrats backing harris, there's not a lot of time here. >> no. there's a big push to button up things soon otherwise democrats can miss key state deadlines for certifying who is on the ballot. ohio has the first deadline on august 7th. the democratic convention doesn't start until the 19th. that's why there's an urgency to hold a virtual roll call vote that would nominate call vo the party's candidates. not just the president. the vice president has to be certified to appear on the ballot in time. that doesn't leave vice president kamala harris a lot of time to vet someone, lester. >> laura, thanks very much. >>> let's look at this from the angle of the trump campaign. it's a reset for them as well. a new opponent, but the campaign said they've spent weeks preparing for it. garrett haake with the new reporting. >> reporter: after 615 days focussed on joe biden, the trump campaign tonight shifting gears for a likely showdown with vice president harris. >> i gues