about democrat and republican, it's about a sick message. this message has been tried on america many times before. we always, always, always, always, always overcome it. >> taking the hill. john stewart, the former "daily show" host coming to congress with a serious message to 9/11 responders. >> why is it incumbent on our first responders to have to consistently push to get the benefits that are coming to them purely for their acts of valor in a wartime situation? this is insanity. and no man's land. syrian refugees track between borders as the migrant crisis escalates. >> don't worry, i have nothing to lose.

good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. it's the donald date take two. the republican front-runner is stronger going into tonight's debate putting more pressure on the establishment republicans like jeb bush to try to punch through. it all happens tonight at hallowed ground for republicans, the reagan presidential library in california. built to honor one of history's great debators. >> i will not makage an issue of this campaign. i am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. >> that was a moment. joining me now, michael reagan, ronald reagan's son. michael, very good to see you again. >> good to see you. >> your father's legacy is being invoked by all of the republicans. i want to ask you straight out. what does donald trump have in common with ronald reagan?

>> not much. i mean, the fact that they are both running and they both ran for the candidacy for the republican party, that's what they have in common. but that's really where it stops. and i think all of them make a mistake by invoking ronald reagan. ronald reagan was not invoking thomas jefferson and abraham lincoln, he was invoking what he was going to do and how he was going to, in fact, run the presidency of the united states of america. and i think everybody makes a mistake by putting ronald reagan's hat on. they need to put their own hat on to let us know who they are and go forward and win the nomination. >> we have been following your tweets, you have been very active there saying you can't be a trump republican and a reagan republican. tell me why you think there is that gulf between reagan republicans and trump republicans. >> well, andrea, you and i have been around a long time, you knew ronald reagan and also know donald trump. they both have their own ways but ronald reagan is not someone to attack people personally.

he believed in the 11th commandment, thou shall not speak ill of another republican. donald called me 15 minutes the other day, and i said, you're attacking personally. if you want to do anything, you have to put the building back together at the end of the day to get everybody on your team to win the presidency. so if you're a trump republican where you're going to attack personally, and then talk about picking up 11 million people and throwing them out of the united states of america, that's a lot different than ronald reagan ever was. he never talked about throwing people out of the united states of america. he talked about having to secure borders, but back in 1986, i would like to see what these candidates say today if indeed they are asked a question if ronald reagan was right or wrong in signing that in 1986. >> and what about the shining city on a hill? there's a big difference between making america great again, which did -- that is a phrase

that your dad used, but the way it's now being used is to say that everything is wrong about the current leadership. they're idiots, they're stupid, they don't know how to negotiate, that's a different tone completely. different words. >> well, it is a different tone. and again, if that's your town, then how are you going to work? it doesn't matter, when you're the president of the united states of america, you have to find a way to work with congress. ronald reagan had to find a way to work with tip o'neal. he had to work with democrats to get things done. if you are going into the room to blow it up on the way in, then don't expect that people are going to be on your team as you move forward to get those things done you want to get done. building walls or trade issues or whatever it might be. i think what's happened is in the 20 years, if you will, i mean, we've become very, very angry. and so you never solve a problem in anger. you solve a problem in the ronald reagan way. sometimes you get together and

you get things solved. ronald reagan would pull people into his office and say, listen, bring me the immigration bill. let's find the areas where we agree. give me that bill, i'll sign it, and the places where we disagree, let's get together the next time to talk about those things. that's what ronald reagan would do. we are not doing that today. >> i remember one of the moments when he finally made that budget compromise having said that he would never agree to it and then he said that sound you hear is the sound of concrete cracking around my feet. and he passed it off as being pragmatic and getting things done. i think you might argue that's one of the reasons people are frustrated with washington. nothing gets done because people don't work together. >> there's a placard on his desk to tell his story. there's no telling a man what he can establiaccomplish if he doet the credit. there are people trying to take credit for everything.

ronald reagan never did that, whether s.t.a.r.t. agreements, he didn't care about the credit, he just wanted to get the job done. when he worked with tip o'neal for the tax break back in august of 1981, he brings tip back to his office and says, i'm going to offer the bill to the floor. he said, wait a minute, what did the president promise you to make you cave to bring that bill to the floor because you know it will pass? he said, i went there for dinner and we never talked about taxes all night long. he never talked about taxes, what did the president talk to you about? he talked to me about the greatness of america, the goodness of our people and how the two of us work together to make it better for mankind. before i knew it, i'm having a glass of wine with the president, we are telling irish stories and today i tell him i'll pass it to the floor of the united states of the house of representatives. that's how ronald reagan worked.

he negotiated from areas of agreement, not from no agreement. >> nancy reagan formally invited everyone tonight. how is she doing? i know she's frail. >> people always say to me, she's only a size 2. i say, she's always been a size 2. she's always looked frail. but she's doing all right. she's 94 years old. and, you know, she's at home. most all the time unless she can get out for lunch. i hope she's there because there's a dinner after the event. she's 94 years old and she misses the hell out of her husband. we all miss the heck out of our dad and her husband. and we wish we had him back. but you know something, andrea, we were lucky enough, whether you're on the left or the right, we were lucky enough to have a ronald reagan be president of the united states for eight years. a likable, relatable man who cared about america and cared about each and every one of us. >> michael reagan, thank you so

much. very good to see you again. >> good to see you. and msnbc contributor steve schmidt is joining me now, a republican strategist who served as senior advisor to mccain during his 2008 presidential campaign. steve, what comes to mind about the tone and substance of what republicans need to do to live up to the reagan legacy? >> andrea, great to be with you. just listening to michael reagan, i was struck by some of his comments, but specifically what is inscribed on ronald reagan's tombstone, which is the following, "in my heart i know that man is good. that in the end what is right will always eventually triumph. and there is worth and purpose to every life." and i think in that quote it gives expression to the qualities that general sherman ascribed to abraham lincoln which were the qualities of goodness and greatness. and ronald reagan possessed those in spades. he was a very significant president in the history of the country. but he was a good man. and he was a man who led the

country with optimism, with an enduring faith in our country and her people. and when you see these candidates up there tonight, we shouldn't underestimate the importance of tone and reaganism. because that optimism can't be decoupled from conservativism because the right of center party is never successful when it doesn't have an optimistic message. >> and take us behind the scenes. if you were prepping some of these candidates, what would you tell jeb bush? you know, obviously he has been fading. he's got to show some fight tonight. but he can't be too nasty and taking on trump has been devastating for everyone who has tried it. so what do you do? >> jeb bush has to be strong tonight. he has to be tough. and there's a difference between fighting and flailing. but jeb bush has to fight for the future of the republican party. he has to fight for the future of his candidacy.

he has to fight to be president of the united states. and he has to communicate very clearly to the american people the choice, the choice between trumpism, the choice between conservativism. i think he has to take on donald trump in terms of tone, in terms of character, in terms of temperament. the donald trumps attacks on jeb bush over the course of the summer have been devastating. he's portrayed jeb bush as something he, in fact, is not. as weak, ineffective, i inaffectual. he's one of the most successful leaders of office that the country has had of the last generation, but donald trump painted a caricature of jeb bush and this is reality. donald trump has soared on a message that communicates to republican voters what many of

them believe. that barack obama has fundamentally succeeded in his mission to change and transform america. and that he has wrecked the country. and that we are no longer great. jeb bush needs to offer the anecdote to that and needs to offer it in tough, tough terms. >> and carly fiorina, what do you expect from carly fiorina tonight? >> she's an ascending candidate moving up in the polls. she is tough, she is strong, she is smart. she's articulate. she's absolutely fluent on all of the issues that will be discussed whether they be domestic policy or national security. and you know, because there's talented moderators at this debate, that they will provoke a fight between carly fiorina and donald trump. and carly fiorina is going to have an opportunity tonight to show her toughness, to show her metal. maybe she'll be the candidate of all of them who is most

effective at standing up to donald trump in articulating an alternate choice to republican voters out there. but carly fiorina is somebody who came from nowhere in this race, has every potential to be the nominee, has every potential to be a vice presidential candidate. she's going to have an impact in this race once the voting starts. and tonight is going to be a big moment, i suspect, for carly fiorina. >> steve schmidt, great to see you. we'll see you later. join chris matthews after the debate right here on msnbc for complete debate coverage. up next, face-off. more on carly fiorina's rising poll numbers that have brought her to the big stage tonight and her first chance to go toe-to-toe with donald trump. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. it erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. need any more proof than that? neutrogena.

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ladies, look at this face. and look at all of your faces. the face of leadership. >> a scrappy carly fiorina fighting her way into the primetime debate. her first chance to go head-to-head with donald trump. she's pouised and well briefed for the debate tonight. joining me now are a few members from minneapolis, first up is amy walter. >> the real question is, which

candidate is going to be the one to hold the mantle of the outsider throughout this race. and i think if you're looking at somebody like ben carson, carly fiorina, they have more upside than downside. donald trump may continue to ascend but he's going to continue to offend. and i think at some point it is going to be problematic for him. >> and when you look at the setup for tonight, you know, 11 people on the stage, she fought her way in as her poll numbers were creeping up. she made the case and basically shamed them into putting her on that stage. at this point, how do you break through? >> well, andrea, i think at least partly is that you look different than everybody else on the stage. and she's got that taken care of. ten men, one woman. for the republican party, they will be very happy carly fiorina has made the debate stage. the image of ten guys up there talking last month in the debate was not great, particularly when you have theoretically hillary clinton waiting as the

democratic nominee and republicans trying to change the face of the party. so i think just in terms of how it looks, carly fiorina will standout. it is hard, it's not only just 11 people or ten other people you're competing against, but there's donald trump up there who is unpredictable to get the lionshare of the questions and the talking because of his status as the frontrunner. and he can take the conversation in a lot of different directions. everyone is going to be pointing at him in different ways. so these things are very difficult. all the candidates gain the momentum including carly fiorina. but you really have to think on your feet. i think there will be a lot more moving parts. >> ben carson is the other person that looks different being african american and has a story to tell as an outsider. he doesn't have as much to lose. there's not ma that much downside for ben carson tonight, is there? >> ultimately over the course of this campaign his downside is

the lack of experience and the lack of meat on the bones on the policy. if you go to his website and you go to jeb bush's website and you click on tax policy, you know, his is -- carson's is this long and jeb bush's is an entire -- >> by the way, jeb bush's tax policy is counter intuitive. he goes after a lot of the hedge fund guys and the establishment republicans. it's not what you would expect from the establishment republican candidate. >> it isn't. and then he gives a nice little package to the establishment and corporate america by giving corporate tax cuts and lowering the top tax rate. so he's trying to be able to have a little bit of both. but for carson, the question is not, is he nice enough because i think people will say he is. does he have a strong enough story and narrative? he absolutely does. does he look differently? absolutely. can he do the job? is he up to the challenge? maybe he's run for student council, i don't know about

that, but he hasn't run for office. he has not held an executive position. this is a big leap for voters to make, to take him from that position all the way up to president. >> amy walter, chris solisa, thank you to both of you. up next, john stewart takes his fight straight to capitol hill today. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. [ school bell rings ]

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after serving so selflessly with such heroism have to come down here and convince people to do what's right for the illnesses and difficulties that you suffered because of your heroism. >> nbc's luke russert is on capitol hill watching all of this. luke, it's been -- it's incredible, we talked to kirsten gillibrand about this the other day, that their medical benefits are expiring. those who rescued new york city on 9/11. >> that's true, andrea. back in 2010 congress appropriated after much public shaming from jon stewart, federal funds to be used for first responders who came here on 9/11. many developed debilitating illnesses years later. talking to representatives, a lot of them didn't believe jon stewart would have to come back to the hill to fight for this bill again. they were the first to respond

on 9/11. and 14 years later, they are still fighting for their lives. barbara burnett was an nypd detective on that fateful day. after working more than 20 days at ground zero, she developed debilitating health issues that came years later. >> i suffer from tissue lung disease that has limited my mobility, it has caused many side effects. >> reporter: much of barbara's health care is covered by funds made possible for 9/11 first responders by congress in 2010. set to start expiring in october, representative carolyn maloney is fighting to preserve them. >> if we don't have the health care compensation plan, they won't get the support they so justly deserve. everyone calls them heroes and heroins and they are. well, treat them like that. >> reporter: surprisingly, the legislation has proved controversial. some fiscal conservatives don't agree with 9/11's specific funds and say the care can be covered by existing programs. advocates for first responders

disagree. >> the very same politicians that wrap themselves in the american flag days ago on september 11th calling us heroes, when those same heroes are sick and dying as a result of their service to the country, they are not supportive. i don't understand. i don't think money for domestic veterans should even be a question. >> reporter: comedian jon stewart doesn't think so either. five years ago he lended his support to the cause, a bill many thought would never pass made its way to the president's desk. this time stewart believes the stakes are just as important. >> i refuse to despair as long as i see the heart and courage and dedication of the men and women standing behind me. the thing that gave me strength that day, the thing that carried me through those terrible moments was the power and the heart of the first responders behind me. and it's still there today, sadly, the only people who don't seem to see it reside on capitol hill. >> reporter: for first responders like barbara burnett, they can't come soon enough.

>> i think a great way for them to honor us would be to support the bill. >> reporter: now, andrea, advocates for this bill do believe they have a good chance that it will, in fact, be reenacted. however, as we have been talking about all week here on msnbc, the calendar is the enemy. congress still has to fund the government. they have to raise the debt limit as well as the highway here in the next few months. it will be interesting to see the timing of this bill. but because it hasby partisan support, hopefully it's done sooner than later. >> luke, thank you so much. and in utah searchers are still looking for four victims missing more than 24 hours after deadly floods swept through a small town along the border with arizona. 16 people died so far. most of them children and what residents are calling the most devastating flash floods in their lifetime. 12 of the victims were swept away after a wall of water sent two cars hundreds of miles downstream. the same floods also claiming the lives of at least four

hikers in zion national park. and coming up, the tipping point. this is new video from lesbos, greece, with migrants are clashing with authorities. richard engel and senator dick durbin are joining us next. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. here's to breaking more glass ceilings in golf and everywhere else. kpmg. continuing our commitment to the next generation of women leaders.

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but one of these kids is going to change the world. we just need to make sure she has what she needs. welcome to windows 10. the future starts now for all of us. a dangerous squeeze play at hungary's border with syria. they are now building fences to keep the immigrants out. we are joined from the border area in syria where the clashes have been taking place with richard engel. what is going on there? >> reporter: there's a lot of frustration and it boiled over

today. many in the hundreds, perhaps a few thousands are here. migrants and refugees, many whom came because they didn't know the border has been sealed. they don't have credit on their telephones, communications are poor, and when they arrived here they found rows of riot police telling them to go back. several have been staying here now for over a day, sometimes in some cases two days, and today a group of maybe 100 or 200 decided to try to rush into hungary. they were quickly pushed back by the riot police carrying shields. some of the refugees started throwing bottles and perhaps stones, throwing trash. a group clearly wanted to pick a fight with the hungarians and lost the fight. the hungarian authorities fired back with a very strong type of tear gas. i was caught in the middle of it and people were collapsing. in fact, one woman, a pregnant woman, collapsed right at my

feet. there were many children there, there were people pouring water over their faces and heads to remove the gas. there were water cannons being fired. things have calmed down slightly right now. i can still see some smoke from people lighting fires. there are not active clashes going on right now, but it is just a sign of the frustration. people here have come this far, in many case, they have spent their life savings. even if we wanted to go back, they don't have the money to go back because of what they have spent on the trip thus far. and some people said they would rather die here. so when you have hopelessness crashing into riot police, you get this kind of scene we saw earlier. >> and we are showing some of the pictures. you have women and children caught in the middle of this. a pregnant woman as you pointed out. so where is the relief valve for this pressure? >> reporter: the odd thing is there is a relief valve not far very from here. the relief valve is to go around

hungary and new routes are opening up. the main new path seems to be going through croatia and the croatian border is not far from here. the reason we are sees thousands do this and not tens of thousands is because people decided this is not the way to go. and to slip around hungary and try to go into croatia and continue the journey that way. so far the croatian path is moving. some people came here and some may divert to croatia, but i think in their disappointment, frustration and exhaustion, that exploded today on the border. but many people are taking that relief valve passageway. >> just awful. completely understandable, the level of frustration and anger. thank you so much, richard engel, for your reporting. >> absolutely. and 72 house democrats are pushing president obama to relax

restrictions on syrian refugees and accept 100,000 escaping the civil war. that's ten times the number the president and secretary kerry say they will take by 2016. i'm joined now by dick durbin, senator, thank you so much for joining us. what do you say about the house democratic move to pressure the white house to accept more when there's no money even for the 10,000 as far as i can tell, for the screeners needed to appropriately check to make sure there are no infiltrations by terrorists? >> well, i can just tell you that any refugee accepted by the united states must be carefully vetted. let's start there. we don't want to invite anyone, even if they are escaping a war to come to america if they are intent on causing harm to us or the economy. but i have met with some of the syrian families and they are in a helpless state forced out of their homes. many have lost their loved ones and are desperate living in the camps and trying to find some place to go. the united states has a rich history of accepting refugees.

we think of 500,000 at least that came after the vietnam war. we think of 500,000 that came from cuba. 225,000 soviet jews who escaped persecution. 131,000 from bosnia. 55,000 from somalia. the list is long. but we have to understand that we cannot absorb them all, certainly. and those we can absorb have to be carefully, carefully vetted. >> don't we have to do better, though, than even the 10,000 that the president and congress are calling for? with everything else on your plate, are we going to add the translators and the intelligence analysts to do the proper vetting? >> well, i think we should. and i think 100,000 is not an unreasonable figure in light of our historic responses to these refugee crises. you know, this is a test. let's be -- let's get to the bottom line here. this is a humanitarian crisis of our time. and the question is, will the united states, which has been extremely generous in supporting refugees in these camps and other places in the world, will we accept a fair share of those

refugees if they are carefully vetted and can come to the united states and become part of our nation? i think we can and we should. but let's not overlook the obvious. why are they leaving where they started from? it's war in syria. but it's other reasons as well. economic reasons, situations in iraq and afghanistan. when i met with the ambassador of italy just a few minutes ago, they talked about the fact that their displaced refugees don't come from syria by and large, they come from africa and somalia, places like that. this economic instability, climate change, war, it's going to create a continuing pressure on the front line in europe, of refugees flowing into that part of the world. >> let's focus on syria for a moment. this bashar al assad spoke to russian media today blaming the west for what's happening in syria. let's watch this. >> it's like the west now is

crying on the refugees with one eye and aiming at them with the machine gun with the second one. because, actually, those refugees left syria because of the terrorism. so the west is crying for them and supporting terrorists in the middle of the crisis when it was a peaceful uprising as they called it. >> of course, what he calls terrorism we call the anti-assad syrian rebels who have, according to john mccain and other republican critics, not gotten enough support. we have testimony on the hill today that only a handful of them are still in the field after all the money we have spent. and that this administration bears some responsibility for the failure to deal with russian aggressiveness in propping assad up. >> first of all, president bashar assad has introduced into our lexicon barrel bombs. barrel bombs that he releases and explodes in his own backyard killing innocent children and women and families just on a

random basis. so we shouldn't accept any preaching from him when it comes to terrorism. secondly, i happen to agree partially with senator mccain, we can do more. but the notion to send the military into every corner of the world, no, we have tried this and did this in iraq and afghanistan. there comes a point where the problems have to be solved. i hope with our help by the people who live in this part of the world, i would support the humanitarian zone in syria. i think that makes sense. and i think we should work in the administration and we are working with turkey to achieve that. >> senator, should president obama meet with vladimir putin. they will both address the u.n. on the same day ten days from now. >> i think they should and hope they do. you know, putin is an unusual person. his aggression in ukraine is obvious. his militarization of his role in syria is obvious. he said next to us he would

negotiate with iran to try to forego any possibility of nuclear weapons emerging there. there's a lot to be talked about. and whether the u.n. is the right place, i hope the president will engage him and see if he'll join us to trying to diffuse the violence taking place in syria. >> senator, thank you so much. always good to see you, sir. >> thank you, andrea. and up next, the head of the democratic party on hillary clinton's falling poll numbers and what the democrats are watching for in tonight's republican debate. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. they come into this world ugly and messy. ideas are frightening because they threaten what is known. they are the natural born enemy of the way things are.

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democratic presidential candidates are still a month away from their first debate. and that's sparking complaints from everyone not named hillary clinton. a short time ago i spoke to democratic chair debbie wasserman schultz about why she refuses to expand the democratic debate calendar. congresswoman, thank you very much for being with us. tonight is the big republican debate. they have had two debates, the democrats have not had any

debates yet. and there's criticism from two of your vice chairs that you are disadvantaging everyone but the presumed frontrunner, at least hillary clinton, by not agreeing to more democratic party sanction debates. >> well, you know, it's important that our candidates be seen in a wide variety of formats and venues. we have six debates and there will be many other opportunities for our candidates to be seen in candidate forums. and our initial focus in the early primary states is on making sure that the retail politics can really be robust. and every time a candidate has to engage and get ready for a debate, they have to come off the trail. and that means that they are going to not get as much of an opportunity from the voters to be seen up close and personal. >> but the fact is the republicans -- >> hold on one second. >> the republicans are drowning you guys out. >> good. you know what? i'm actually thrilled at the

voters across america being able to see the 16 republican candidates in the food-fight they will engage in tonight in the doubling down on extremism, alienating immigrants to the country who simply came to make a better way for themselves. alienating women by suggesting that we're providing too much health care funding for them. and wanting to take away the access to quality affordable health care for all americans. we're going to have a debate in one month and then we'll have five subsequent debates. we have five debates and they have 16. they won't be spread too thin when there were no controls put in place in 2008. and as a result, we had 26 debates, and that was too much. so i made a judgment call and i saw input from people involved in developing the schedule in the past.

this was a decision we all thought best. >> speaking of women voters, women voters are abandoning hillary clinton in droves. a 29% drop among her support from white women voters in one poll this week with most of the increase going to none other than joe biden who is not a declared candidate. what about the biden factor? he's out there today in california where you are. he's going to be in michigan and ohio. and clinton folks are acknowledging to me this is a shadow campaign to test the waters. >> well, you know, i know you know my role as the chair of the national party is to make sure that i can manage a neutral and fair nominating contest. the vice president is not a declared candidate and is going through a decision-making process. hillary clinton has been doing what i think is a fantastic job criss-crossing the country talking about the issues, the bread and butter issues important to americans who ultimately decide who becomes president of the united states. how are people going to reach the middle class? while the republicans argue

about building walls to keep people out, denying people to health care, doing everything they can to make people feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in their country. >> well, if hillary clinton -- with all due respect, if hillary clinton is doing such a great job, why is she losing support? and why are two well-known south carolina democrats saying that this is a wide open race in conversations with me? >> well, i think that we will go through a race that is wide open. i mean, we have a contest with five very credible candidates. ultimately we could have an additional credible candidate that decides to get in as well. and they are going to debate their ideas on how best to make sure that people can build those cornerstones of the middle class life. a good education and strong roof over your head. making sure you have access to health care. making sure you have a rescrecu

retirement. those are things the democratic candidates throughout our campaign will showcase while the republicans are in this massive right-wing who can outright win the food fight. i like that contrast every day of the week, if. >> debbie wasserman schultz, the democratic chair. thank you very much. >> thank you, andrea. up next, he says he's the tortoise in the race for the gop nomination. so what does jeb bush have to do to beat the hair? you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. how much prot18%?does your dog food have? 20? nutrient-dense purina one true instinct with real salmon and tuna has 30% protein. support your active dog's whole body health

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tonight ten other republicans are going to all be on stage struggling to gain some momentum against frontrunner donald trump. vin weber is a republican strategist and supports jeb bush, though he's not an official spokesperson for that campaign. you were a romney advisor and

member of congress. so what is the strategy to go after donald trump tonight? >> i think that the candidates have to assume a big thing, which is that we have entered a new phase of the campaign starting out. over the summer we introduced all the candidates to the country and 90% of that was introducing donald trump. the campaign now has to switch to more of a focus on policy and proposals, more of a focus on the differences between the candidates. and they can't try to compete with donald trump in terms of personality or personna or anything like that. they have to talk seriously about, do you really want to try to deport 11 million people? do you really want to seize the oil fields in the middle east and appropriate their revenues from the united states? how are you going to do that? what is that going to mean? actual differences over issues are what aught to matter in the next phase of the campaign, which aught to be very good for governor bush. but also for governor kasich and senator rubio and some of the other people on that stage. all of whom are far more substantive than donald trump. >> so why is jeb bush at 6%

against ben carson at 23%. and donald trump at 27% in the latest poll. >> it's the same thing we have talked about all summer long. we look at this race as a reality show and donald trump is excellent at that and ben carson is interesting because nobody knows who he is. but what i've said to my friends is, look, people don't watch reruns of reality shows. and we're about to get into the next season and it's got to be something new. we'll see if trump or dr. carson have the next act. i don't think they do. i think the other candidates have policy positions, they know what they want to do as president of the united states and they've got to push that through and hope and expect that the voters are going to care about that more getting closer to actually choosing a nominee. >> who would have thought marco rubio would be completely overlooked. here is his attempt at an ad to try to get some attention. >> more nervous before first

presidential debate or the college football game? >> i was more nervous before my college football game because you were going to get hit and nobody was going to hit me at the debate. >> harder to recover, hillary clinton's e-mails or tom brady's text messages? zbli >> i think it's harder to get hillary clinton's e-mails and a lot more meaningful information was in those e-mails. >> chuck todd brought this to our attention today. this is the first republican ad anyone can find. it was for someone named dwight eisenhower back in 1952. >> eisenhower answers america. >> you know what things cost today. high prices are just driving me crazy. >> yes. my meme gets after me about the high cost of living. it's another reason why i say it's time for a change. >> time for a change. i mean, some things never change. isn't that wonderful? >> right. i'm for eisenhower. >> i remember those buttons when

we were all kids. the eisenhower buttons. so, eisenhower, reagan, the sort of icons of republican history. and here you've got donald trump getting all the oxygen. how do you explain it? >> well, the country is in a deeply pessimistic mood. we saw the cbs news, pardon me, survey this week that came out to talk about how deeply pessimistic 70% are thinking the country is dysfunctional. 65% believe we are on the wrong track. but the solution is not to elect people to office that have no experience in government and aren't proposing to do anything specific to solve it. that's what we have to do to get through to the american people. >> thank you so much, ben weber. tomorrow on the show, we'll be on the trail with hillary clinton in new hampshire in regard to the republicans. and we'll have a lot more. follow us on facebook and twitter @mitchellreports. thomas roberts is here with what is coming up next on

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it's "msnbc live" on political fight night in america. and this one just happens to fall on a wednesday. let's go ahead and call it the simi valley shutdown. 11 fighters ready to rumble in the political boxing ring just hours from now. and the favorite out of all this, donald trump. and can anyone land a knockout punch? that will be the big question as we all watch tonight. hi, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. great to have you with me. in seven hours republican candidates hold the second debate at the reagan library in simi valley, california. expectations are this could be a more ruccous affair than the first, and most of the candidates are polling in single digits. many feel they need to stand up, less they have to bow out, and the best way to do that, take on the king, donald trump. the front-runner for more than two months is now really in a top spot. the only challenger coming close

to him is dr. ben carson just a few points behind in recent polling. trump has had a busy schedule in dallas on monday, los angeles last night. aboard the "uss iowa" leading to tonight's debate. trump was asked what his greatest weakness is? take a look at his response. >> well, it's a tough question because you hate to say what your weaknesses are, but i can tone it down a little when pressed. i have a great temperament. you couldn't build a great business like i built if you don't have a good temperament. but i think make i can tone it down when somebody hits you, you can hit a little less hard. at the same time, that may be the kind of thing the country needs. >> nbc's katy tur is reporting live for us in simi valley. we are talking about the ten-against-one match. we'll start with the anticipated match-up of trump versus carly fiorina. >> reporter: this is the one everyone will be watching. they say that if