in chief? >> hillary clinton's casual relationship with the truth is well known to americans. >> nobody knows which donald trump will show up. >> i look so forward to the debate with hillary. >> there is no new donald trump. this is it. this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. >> we are live on the campus of hofstra university. this is where donald trump and hillary clinton will square off for the first time in a historic debate. we are 14 hours away now. tonight's debate being called the most consequential in modern, political history. so, no pressure. >> it's all pressure. >> it's all pressure. >> that's what makes it so consequential. how will each of these candidates do with all the pressure and attention on them? hey, the timing is perfect. this race is locked out.

we have new, national and battleground state polls showing that it is a virtual tie. take a look for yourself. election is just 43 days away and stakes couldn't be higher. let's begin our coverage and give you the numbers and the analysis and cnn's jason carroll starting us off. he is live inside the debate hall. >> yes, chris. and a lot of folks are wondering what's going to happen when these two candidates take the stage behind me. two very different candidates who are preparing in very different ways. let's take donald trump who has not been following the traditional route. has not been holding mock debates. his advisors saying they don't want him to be overprepared for what's going to be happening later on. instead, what he's been doing is going over some of the issues with his trusted advisors. versus hillary clinton who has been following their traditional route. what she's been doing, she has been holding mock debates, in fact, having one of her long-time trusted advisors standing in as donald trump as she prepares.

even late last night, preparing for the debate that's to come ahead. two very, very different styles. both campaigns trying to manage expectations ahead of tonight. >> i'm very concerned that donald trump will be graded on a curve. just because he doesn't fly off the handle in the middle of this debate does not mean that he is prepared to be president of the united states. >> if mr. trump has any disadvantage going into tomorrow night's debate, it's that he's not really treated fairly and that's pretty obvious if you read many of the reports and turn on any station at any point in the day. >> so, the debate will last about 90 minutes. it will be broken into six 15-minute segments. clinton will be at the podium on stage left. trump will be at the podium on stage right. 1,000 people expected to be right here in the hall. up to 100 million people expected to watch.

alisyn. >> just huge numbers in terms of viewership. thank you, jason. let's look at some other important numbers right now. the latest polls show donald trump and hillary clinton locked in a virtual tie nationally. a new cnn poll of polls, that's the one that averages the last five national polls. shows clinton with a razor thin lead. 43% to trump's 41%. new battleground state polls, as well. the all-important swing states which has the race down to one point in two key states. let's look at colorado. trump edges out clinton among likely voters there. 4 2 to 41%. while clinton has a slight lead in pennsylvania over trump 45 to 44%. it couldn't be any tighter, chris. all right, joining us now with what we can expect from donald trump at tonight's epic debate. senior communication adviser for the trump campaign, jason miller. jason, thank you for joining us

before the big night. how is your candidate feeling? >> he's feeling good going am to tonight. i think we have the momentum is on our side to see the new poll numbers out today showing that donald trump has support, momentum and particularly in the key battleground states and mr. trump is in the lead and with regard to secretary clinton, i saw reports from showing that secretary clinton was polling something to brag about when you're getting ready for high school football but heading into the biggest debate that our country has ever seen that that is something that you really want to be putting out there. >> what is wrong with preparation, jason? ask you g trump doesn't want to study the issues and do mock debates? why is going in there and winging it an advantage? >> that's not the case, at all. mr. trump is going to be very prepared for this evening. but the key point to make about mr. trump, he will go in there with the clarity and conviction of a candidate who knows exactly

what his vision is and exactly how he wants to help the country. he's going to go in there and essentially be himself. shaerkt clint secretary clinton has a bigger figuring out what is going to help tonight. that's why i think he's doing so well in the polls. >> and, obviously, the excitement is the volatility with trump, right? and what he wants taavoo avoid tonight is a moment like the fiorina one and you tell me why you don't think that will happen tonight. >> ms. fiorina, i want to ask you about this in an interview last week in "rolling stone" magazine. look at that face, would anyone vote for that? could you imagine that, the face of our next president. mr. trump later said he was talking about your persona and not your appearance. please feel free to respond what you think about his persona.

>> it's interesting to me mr. trump said he heard mr. bush very cloearly and what mr. bush said. i think women across this country heard very clearly what mr. trump said. >> i think she's got a beautiful face and i think she's a beautiful woman. >> what have you taught or what has he learned from that moment that will make him different tonight? >> i think what you're seeing tonight, mr. trump will be very focused. i think he knows exactly what he wants to tell the american people. that is that he's ready to be commander in chief right now. eight years of the country going in the wrong direction and mr. trump has take on the better direction. i think you'll see him remarkably focused for the evening. >> is this the night? do you think, we always talk

about the hype in politics. i don't think there is any. i think this is the moment that this is donald trump's chance to stand across from hillary clinton and make the case he can be president of the united states. do you see it as that big of a proposition tonight? >> to me it's always important and mr. trump is a game-day player and he'll be ready for this evening. i take you back, let's look to the energy and momentum coming to this weekend. the poll numbers looking good for mr. trump. we see these crowds and rallies and drawing tens of thousands of people and quite frankly, chris, the news from the clinton camp coming this weekend with cheryl new taking immunity and consultants who have taken and more before this next weekend. with mr. trump, he's very focused and very clear and he'll be ready to go for this evening. i think the burden is on secretary clinton. >> if the scandal, if that's

what tonight is about. if it's a scandal kind of measuring contest, you won't get to any of the issues because so many controversies with both of these candidates. that's part of the trick for the moderator. one of the spin moves that's coming out of both sides is, hey, will there be fact checking tonight? i always thought that was the main job of the moderator. from the trump side, don't fact check, that's not what this is about. why would you not want fact checking in a debate? >> i think what tonight is going to be about, how we're going to get our economy back on track and keep our nation safe, again. renegotiating the trade deals and stop illegal negotiation. secretary clinton can present her vision and i think especially with upwards of 68% of the american public think we're going in the wrong direction. they'll see mr. trump is that agent of change and ready to take our country forward. that's what i think we're going to see tonight. >> right. that's what i understand you want to be discussing. when one of the candidates say something that is wrong or,

obviously, nonfactual, why would you not want the moderator to be in the position to check that? >> we think that lester holt will be very fair this evening. there is some concern that things might be a little bit tougher for mr. trump, just because so much blow back against nbc after the commander of chief a couple weeks ago. mr. trump will be ready and ready to make his case, defend his positions. i think he'll do well. >> and when you're coming into tonight with the preparation, was there a moment where you were sitting with trump or watching him and saying, he's ready. did you have a moment like that with him? >> there have been several of those moments. i mean, mr. trump is really hitting his stride as a candidate right now. we're seeing it on the campaign trail. quite frankly, we're seeing it with the poll numbers that are great. he's, he's going to be ready for this evening. >> you think this is the big moment? you said earlier when i asked you, well, debates always

matter. we've never seen anything like this. hillary clinton has never been in a situation like this and never been in a general election debate before. trump has never been in anything like this before. do you think this will be the defining moment of this race? >> i think tonight will be important, like i said, chris, several debates that the candidates will be going through and six more weeks on the campaign trail. but the trend lines are really what matters here. we're seeing the crowds and we're seeing the energy and the momentum and seeing that mr. trump is a very focused candidate. tonight will be important, but so will the other two debates and everything that happens for the final six weeks. >> but there's only one first, jason, and that's what we're going to see tonight. thank you for joining us on "new day." good luck tonight. >> thanks, chris, appreciate it. charlotte north carolina's mayor lifting a midnight curfew as dash cam and body cam video of keith lamont scott was release this weekend.

brynn gingras is live in charlotte with more. what have you learned? >> these two videos are what keith scott's family viewed before they went public and they don't provide many answers to the big question of was the shooting justified? of course, that question the center of an ongoing investigation. >> don't shoot him! >> reporter: keith lamont scott's widow releasing cell phone video of her husband's final moments before he was fatally shot by a charlotte police officer. >> drop the gun! >> he doesn't have a gun. >> reporter: insisting that scott was not armed when officers opened fire. >> keith, keith, keith -- don't you do it! did you shoot him? did you shoot him? >> reporter: under mounting pressure from the public, charlotte police releasing their own video a day later, including this dash cam footage showing an officer in plain clothes with his weapon drawn on scott.

you can see scott exit his suv and begins walking backwards towards police. then scott is shot at four times by officer brently vinson who is off camera at the time. >> there's no definitive evidence in this video as to whether or not there is an object in his hand and, if there is, what that object is. >> reporter: also made public, body camera footage from an officer racing to the scene. in the chaos, you briefly see scott with his right arm by his side. moments later, he is lying on the ground with five officers converging on him. none of the three videos show clearly whether scott was armed. >> you have to put all pieces together. we interviewed a lot of people. we've interviewed all of our officer os invols involved and consistent themes were the facts. >> reporter: handgun, holster and marijuana cigarette that officers said they recovered from the scene.

demonstrators swarming bank of america stadium sunday. activists boycotting the nfl carolina panthers game in protest of scott's death. >> reporter: a sit in calling for the resignation of mayor and police chief has started last night until this inclement weather came through. we expect it to pick back up later this evening. chris? >> brynn, thank you very much. a lone suspect in the deadly shooting rampage at a washington state mall expected to be arraigned today. the turkish immigrant is accused of killing five people last friday at a macy's store at a mall in burlington, just north of seattle. authorities say the 20-year-old who has a criminal record was taken into custody after nearly 24-hour manhunt. they say he has no ties to the victims. they're still digging for a motive in the attack. the king of golf is gone. beloved golfing legend arnold palmer died sunday in

pittsburgh. he was 87 years old. palmer had millions of adoring fans and credited for making the sport a televised sport. his hall of fame career defined in part by his epic battles on the fairways with rival jack nicklaus. extending condolences to palmer's family. that's a long life, long, full life. >> you know, truly great american there. you know, of course, golf is still a country club sport, by and large, but arne's palmer and arne's army with his wood chopping stroke and all-american appeal and working class roots. he really introduced something to that sport that made it so attractive on television. it wasn't much about him as it was about the event. >> i pay tribute to him at every lunch because i do enjoy an arnold palmer. >> he does have a drink named after him. protests did extend into a sixth straight night over the deadly police shooting of keith lamont scott.

newly released dash and body cam video, as well as photos are not going to end the controversy. was there a gun that police say, yes, you hear in the video a police saying gun, gun, gun. but did they need to shoot and kill? we debate, next. ot to be ready. i mean, really ready. are you ready to open? ready to compete? ready to welcome? the floors, mats, spotless. the uniforms clean and crisp. do your people have the right safety gear? are they protected? i'm ready! you think your customers can't tell the difference between who's ready and who's not? of course they do. everybody wants a piece of ready.

for a sixth straight night charlotte protesters marched through the streets of north carolina demanding justice for keith scott's death. over the weekend, charlotte police released dash cam and body cam videos of the deadly encounter. police say a gun was recovered at the scene. joining us now, cnn political commentator and law enforcement trainer and former nypd officer joseph. i want to start with you. police recovered a gun and they say the gun had keith scott's fingerprints on it. does that change your thinking about this case? >> the police made that claim from the beginning. what i was hoping for was something more conclusive from

the video. for over a week now, or nearly a week, once you see this video, all doubt will be erased. and all protesters will be put to shame. when i look at the video, i still don't see any conclusive video of him having the gun at the moment. i don't doubt there was some gun in the area. did he have a gun when he was backing away from police? >> it is very disturbing when you watch the video. let's take a look at, this is the dash cam video of one of the police cruisers that pulled up on the scene and it's very upsetting and i just want to tell our viewers because right now there on the left side of your screen, that is mr. scott getting out. he looks like he's complying. he's walking very slowly backwards. and then he's shot. and you just see him fall there on the left side of your screen. joe, what do you see? it looks like, again, to us, how

is he a threat walking backwards there? >> the issue that comes down to here is that like mark said, we don't know if he has a gun or not. you can't see it. it's pretty obvious that we don't know. he closes the door with his hand, you know. the only way he would have it would be with his left hand. >> he was a right-handed man and maybe if we believe the police, he had a gun in his left hand. but, again, in his left hand walking backwards slowly, how does that pose a threat to them? >> the only way they can articulate that is if he had a method of escape. >> what do you see when you look at this video? >> a guy who is walking back and a police incident where they didn't isolate and contain him. try to keep him within that circle. >> so, you see bad police protocol that they shouldn't have had him get out of the car and walk backwards towards them. >> the issue they come down to, they have to get him out of the

car. you have to try to slow this thing down. he's not listening to commands and the wife is shouting out things that are going on. for the police they get this tunnel vision. i counted 12 times where he says drop the gun, drop the gun, drop the gun. the issue that this comes down to, at least the crime scene photo of the gun and the evidence marker should have been released. this is a standard thing that happens in many cities, including new york city. >> marc, police have released this evidence that they say was the gun. they took a picture of it and said there was a holster and they say his fingerprints were found on it and you do hear even in his wife' cell phone video of them saying drop the gun, drop the gun, drop the gun. why are you still skeptical there was a gun? >> i have these eyes that are committed to look for the gun and can't find it. i don't doubt there is a gun. if you look at charleston with

walter scott, there was a gun, just wasn't walter scott's. sometimes police officers place things on the scene afterwards. i should not say that police planted evidence, but it it is plausible. this man was backing out of a car and decided to pick up a weapon to get in a shootout and use his off hand, his weak hand strikes me as curious. in the video they absolutely say drop the weapon. but i've been in a lot of scenes where i see excessive force use. and police will say stop resisting us and they continue tahit him. yelling those commands out sometimes is a way of making of creating a nar ittinarrative fo yourself. we asked him to drop the weapon and he wouldn't. finally, yeah, it's on the tape, but, also on the tape is her saying he doesn't have a weapon. if we go by audible

observations, we could just as easily say he didn't have a weapon. >> joe, do you -- right and the video is clearly inconclusive and unsatisfying on that level. do you understand, joe, why the public is skeptical even though the police have said, oh, we found a gun at the scene and they're like, not so fast. >> absolutely. the police department has failed to address the social media problem that they have. a lot of misinformation has gone out there from the very beginning and they have the opportunity to stop it in the beginning. instead, these alternative stories that have come out. should have come out with the facts right away and released some of the photos and videos not to apiece people but to inform people. and now it's like they're trying to appease people. >> even if there was a gun, joe. this was not somebody they were looking for. they just rolled up on him. he was minding his own business, waiting for his child, we're told. at a bus stop. why did it have to escalate like this? he was outnumbered. something like five police

officers. >> yeah, the number of police officers doesn't disturb me. they were on their way to a warrant and he attracted their attention because he was spoking a joint, supposedly. this is the kind of thing where i also have to question supervision there. you have all these officers on the scene that are going to do a warrant and they're not in uniform. we don't know. and we also hear a story where they had to run back and get their tactical outfits on so they might have been in regular, plain clothes. mr. scott may have seen that officer carrying a gun and thought he was a threat, too. we have to think of that story, too. >> really interesting story, too. thank you very much. both of you. we want to get your take out there. tweet us at new day or post your comment on facebook.com/newday. we'd like to read those. back here to hofstra lester holt has a tough job ahead of him keeping two presidential hopefuls with major trust issues honest. we'll speak with surrogates for both the clinton and trump campaigns, next.

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all right. we have the clock on your screen. you always know that something is about to happen when the cnn clock is on there. we are about 13 hours away from the biggest moment of this presidential race. period. all hype is justified. trump and clinton in their first debate tonight. and, guess what, it is going to be a battle of style and also fact. what are we going to see in terms of the preparation that goes into the performance for tonight and who will fact check the candidates? former donald trump campaign manager, cory lewindowski and christine quinn. good tahave yo have you both. >> thank you. >> what is the problem with a moderator fact checking?

what else is he going to do there? his taxes all night long. >> hey, let's not raise that issue. >> what is wrong with fact checking? strategist for the rnc going back and forth about it on twitter. what is the concern? >> i don't think there is a concern with fact checking. i think the concern from both of the campaigns and what it should be is the moderator is not the person running for president of the united states. you let the candidates debate and answer and you can hold people accountable, no question. not the role of the moderator to inject themselves in so they're making themselves part of the debate structure and people talking about what the candidates say and let the candidates lay out their vision for america and let the people decide. >> how do we get the facts? >> i think that's the position of the trump campaign because donald trump is known in his speaking appearances and in past debates to continually put out information that is factually incorrect. so, if you have a candidate that does that and there is a long

list of pinocchios and every campaign has them, i'll admit that but the long list of mr. trump's is far longer than any usual candidate in this situation. of course, that would be your perspective. i agree with cory, you don't want a moderator that becomes the story. but if a moderator allows a candidate to go on and on putting out factually incorrect statements and factually incorrect text against an opponent, they are the story. because they let a presidential debate become a lie fest. there's a way good journalists can be balanced about saying that is incorrect, but not in an argument with a candidate. that's what i hope we see tonight. to just let lies fly is not good for america. >> cory, is donald trump doing a head fake to everybody about not preparing. that is the narrative. he is not preparing. isn't he preparing and maybe just the campaign is

underselling it it somehow? >> look, i think, i can tell you from the 11 debates i was ready prepping him, he was very prepared. he is on the debate stage with the greatest debaters and the donald trump dominated. >> how did he prepare for those debates that you witnessed? >> the same preparation which is conversation and talking with x experts in the respected fields and briefing documents on issues that he wants to know more about and also prepared for the last 40 years of his life and getting ready for a day like this is a big day for anybody. you get 100 million people, potentially, who will tune in. one of the next two people of the united states will be on that stage tonight. i also think what hillary clinton does here she has to be human. she has to connect with people. people see her as, look, she knows the issues. no question about that. but what she doesn't have is the

compassion that people see. she has to relate to people on a different level. the expectation of donald trump as not preparing, he will exceed expectation. >> i hope donald trump is preparing because you should be preparing to partake in a debate to be the president of the united states. and we've seen, he tells everyone he's not. why do you want people to think if you're a candidate whether you are or you aren't. >> all politicians are seen as phony. >> donald trump was a man who wasn't clear on what states russia has annexed. donald trump doesn't understand the history and significance of nato. i'm not saying he should go up there and become some shy, reserving wall flower, he should know the facts. look, a lot of things people might say about secretary clinton, but you cannot say she doesn't know the issues on an in-depth level.

>> if you think she's going to run circles around him in terms of facts and policy, are you nervous about tonight? >> of course i'm nervous. ed i -- >> what are you nervous about? what makes you nervous? >> well, first of all, a presidential debate. if you're not nervous, you're not paying attention. i want to make sure hillary does the best she can and i think cory has a point. some people find her to be not relatable to. i don't, i always found her lovely. she needs to make sure she shows her true self-particularly when she's meeting with or talking to children. waev we've seen that over and over when she was with a mom in flint, michigan. one-on-one people see that. >> that is hard. having been on debate stages and been in interviews, it could be hard to convey your personal self-so, that's her job tonight and i think she's going to do it

well. >> one interesting point of contrast. you don't want to cheapen a process like this by likening it to sports. but a debate to me is like a competition. i guess, for me, i see more like a prize fight than i do a football game or something like that. one of the reasons that clinton is on it the way she's been on it is because she believes this matters tonight like nothing else. i can't get that out of the trump campaign. we had jason on, a lot of debates. nothing like this, brother. this is the night. him and her, the first time they're going to be there. it's never as big an impression the second and third and fourth times. you could say the first half hour of tonight may decide this election more than any single event. does he have that in his head, when i get out there tonight, it's no normal night. >> not even the first half. could be the first 15 minutes the structure of the way this debate is and the realtime work on social media where people are talking about this instantly

will set the narrative for the rest of that debate. by the time they walk off the stage, the narrative will be set. >> what makes you most nervous tonight, corey? >> donald trump is a big game player. if there's ten seconds left, i will give the ball to because he's a closure. we'd be foolish to think he's not nervous. 100 million people are going to tune in. he's prepared for this debate, but that said, look, the expectation of the media is that he's not going to go make a mistake or has to be presidential or isn't going to say something insane. look at the d11 debates -- >> by name calling. >> donald trump who if attacked will respond. tonight you'll see a prepared donald trump. >> remember, it's always been said that hillary clinton floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. >> haven't heard that in relation to her. thank you very much. >> thank you. look, it is true, though,

that in a debate the well-timed zinger. that lain. that one moment can really make the difference. it can make somebody lose their cool and

okay. tonight is the epic showdown between hillary clinton and donald trump. presidential debates can make or

break a candidate and, of course, they can even change the course of history. let's look at some of the most pivotal moments. we want to bring in our presidential historians. douglas brinkley and tim, the former director of the nixon presidential library. gentlemen, great to have both of you here. waiting to see if tonight will hold one of those pivotal moments. let's talk about what you believe. are a couple of the pivotal moments that did change the course of history. tim, tell us about the one you've identified. >> well, i identified it a moment when jimmy carter is looking very tired and old and a man whao is even older than him is debating him in 1980. after jimmy carter has, once again, told ronald reagan isn't true and ronald reagan would talk about what he had done as governor of california. reagan turned tahim ao him and

there you go, again. the audience is not supposed to react at all and the audience reacts and at that point carter is finished. >> let's take a look at this. >> there is no soviet domination of eastern europe and there never will be under a foreign administration. >> these are the kind of elements of a national health insurance important to the american people. governor reagan, again, typically, is against such a proposal. >> governor, there you go, again. >> okay. so, that was the second one. we'll get to the first one in a moment, but that second one, why was there you go, again, such a pivotal moment? >> the reason i thought of it this time is that there is going to be a moment where donald trump will say something that hillary clinton knows isn't true. and she's going to face this

challenge of how do you correct somebody without sounding too negative? and what ronald reagan did brilliantly and ronald reagan did brilliantly would put you down and that is going to be the challenge for hillary clinton because, we can predict it. trump will say a number of things that she will know are not true. so, that's, that's a skill in a debater. >> she needs a, there you go, again. >> roger ailes is the person that worked with nixon and reagan and that worked with george herbert walker bush that got zingers loaded up. trump is saying, yeah, i'm not doing this sort of mock debate i'm holding. does not mean that he's not creating one liners to and that was a great scripted moment. so, i'm looking at zingers tonight. prewritten bits. not spontaneous moments but when you unleash your arsenal like

that. >> of a phrase like that. >> let's look at the one we played for a second and this was gerald ford when he was asked about the soviet domination of europe. watch this moment. >> there is no soviet domination of eastern europe and there never will be under a foreign administration. >> doug, why was that such a pivotal moment? >> because he is the president of the united states at that juncture and he knows that eastern europe was under soviet domination. it was a big blunder. he had an opportunity to do a correction and he didn't correct it. maybe carter can be president. that's what people are looking for for trump tonight. carter was a one-term governor from georgia. so, kind of introducing himself as a possible president. he won that debate. tonight, trump's trying to say you can't imagine me in the oval office. >> so, two great examples. so, you can make a blunder

factually, which is a problem and can change the course of history. or you can come up with sort of a clever catch phrase that people remember and take away from it. >> and, alisyn, in the case of the ford blunder, people didn't know it was a blunder immediately. it was the chatter afterwards that made it out to be a huge gaffe. so what people will say tomorrow will matter a lot. >> different than what they feel tonight. these things take a while to mareina marinate. >> and i would also say 1960 with kennedy and nixon. i mean, i really think that how you come out immediately looks are going to matter. and how you're feeling. we've been looking as hillary clinton. clinton in 1960 had leg problems and wasn't feeling well and he said no to makeup. big mistake-in fact, walter cronkite used to charge extra

money on the side to how to look in the camera and nixon never en to -- >> she doesn't seem dwarfed by the lectern because those are important. are you either concerned that he will be graded on a curve? that if he just appears presidential and doesn't make a blunder that then people will think he won? >> well, fortunately, professors are not going to determine what happens. what i believe that what this is all about is in his case whether he can control himself and show self-discipline. one thing that he had trouble with during the primaries is that donald trump got bored. and when there are a lot of people on stage, his attention drifted. >> right. >> one of the things roger ailes said to nixon, don't forget,

you're always on. george herbert walker bush in the town hall looked at his watch. donald trump has got to be very careful not to drift off. hillary has to be very careful not to seem to be too critical. >> yeah. >> it's a gender fight, too. we don't know how donald trump is going to be able to deal one-on-one with a woman. that's new in american history. hillary clinton is our first. >> a lot of interesting things to look out for. let's get to chris. >> made me nervous just listening to that discussion. so much examination. it's time for cnn money now. chief business correspondent christine romans has a look at both candidates' economic plans going into tonight's debate. give us a little cheat sheet for it. >> prosperity a main topic of tonight's debate. here's where they stand on the economy. cut taxes for the middle class. help families with universal pre-k and a cap on child care costs. clinton plans to spend $275 billion on infrastructure.

she supports a $15 minimum wage. donald trump would cut taxes for most americans and add a child care deduction. trump wants to lower the business tax rate to 15% from 35%. he says he would renegotiate trade deals and spend twice as much as clinton on inf infrastructure, chris. >> thank you, christine. very helpful. we want to get in tonight and understand the debate what it is. tonight's debate moderator is nbc anchor lester holt. big pressure. big night. but that's what you do the job for are these big moments. so, what will it take for him to succeed on this stage? the less you talk about him tomorrow, the better.

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big night, big night, the first presidential debate, all eyes will be on the candidates, of course. there is someone else out there and they matter a lot.

lester holt, what sort of expectations are being placed on him. will he fact check the candidates or leave it up to them? lets discuss with our host of reliable sources and our executive ed contador executive editor. i will start with you. with this fact checking, it seems to take on the life of its own. what do we know about the moderator? >> you have to keep the conversation going and equal time between the candidates. fact checking is a hot topic. clinton could stretch the truth on stage. trump is better known for making more misstatements. he may look at trump and say what's your source or where did you get that information. >> it is a dicey proposition for

a moderator to insert himself in even when she hears or he hears. lets watch this. >> it took the president 14 days before he called the attack on benghazi an act of terror. >> can you say that a little louder, candidate? >> he did call it an act of terror. it did as well take two weeks or so for the whole idea of it being a riot it out there to come out. >> okay, what instructive did lester holt learn to do differently? >> he was trying to correct something and move along.

>> and keep it moving. >> it was something that had been discussed a lot and constantly was critical about it. he was being mischaractered. >> what lester holt was doing was exactly what brian said. there is a couple of things that you can call out on of the iraq. well, there is audio that shows you are not. the economy maybe a little bit hard. you are interpretation of where the economy is going and someone's interpretation could be a little different. >> not all lies are created equally. >> so does lester holt goes for it or not. he will speak up when he has to. my prediction, he will pick a couple of moments where he need to step in, otherwise, let the candidates do it himself. >> you are who you are up on that stage.

i think that he has to know that, this is much his night as it is anybody's. he has a different standards. he wants these two to go at it and decided by them. you never want the ref to decide the game >> right. >> what i think it is important that we are talking so much about the fat-checking. it does not have to happen. how is the animal lialysts goin talk about it. >> when the back and forth is obse obsessed of a false premise when you have a problem. if they start arguing about the e-mail situation and trump keeps on forwarding something that's not true about it. and clinton is saying that's not true then he has to step in. he has to figure out what he has to do whether move on or correct it. at the top of the debate, lester holt comes out and says

something to set the tone about how he will act about the debate and he's putting everyone on notice and on what exactly he's going to do. >> lets talk about the audience prediction, some numbers thrown around, give us some context of what other debates have looked like and what this means. >> i am expecting 85 million and some people got 100 million viewers. the only competition tonight is monday night football. even espn is saying watch the debate and watch football on your phone. this is the night and the show that everyone is watching. 100 million possible in the u.s. and a billion around the world. i don't know about you guys, i am going to watch it as many as i can. >> we'll be there. >> the first time you will see these two people making the case. it is a big night. >> i hope everybody does watch.

we all need to tune in. >> brian and mark, thank you. >> we have more debates to cover ahead, what do you say, lets get to it. >> donald trump is unqualified and unfit to be commander chief. >> hillary clinton who's weak and her judgment is horrible. when the lights are bright, she brings the a-plus game to the table. >> donald trump has been preparing for his debate for his entire lifetime >> his message seems to be making america hate again. >> hillary clinton is a world class liar. >> this is his debate tonight. i am concerned that donald trump will be graded on a curve. >> we'll make this country greater than ever before >> when there are no ceilings, the sky's the limit. >> this is new day. >> good morning, welcome to your

new day, it is monday september 2nd, this is tonight's first presidential debate is going to be. history in the make and there is no question about it. so much on the line for clinton and trump. we have 13 hours. where is our clock? that was 13 even, when that clock hit 00, we'll never see before. clinton and trump one on one. you will have a front row seat on history as we do here. tonight's debate the most consequential in modern history. this race is locked in a virtual tie, election day is just 43 days away and of course, the stakes could not be higher. lets begin our debate coverage with cnn's jason carol, how is