i am here to tell you that the truth is, nobody fully understands the challenges of the job of president until you've actually sat at that desk. everybody's got an opinion, but nobody actually knows the job until you're sitting behind the desk. everybody can tweet, but nobody actually knows what it takes to do the job until you sit behind the desk. i mean, sasha tweets, but she doesn't think that she, thereby, should be sitting behind the desk. so, you can't fully understand what it means to make life-and-death decisions until you've done it. that's the truth.

but i can tell you this, hillary clinton has been test ed. she has seen up close what's involved in making those decisions. she has participated in the meetings in which those decisions have been made. she's seen the consequences of things working well and things not working well. and there has never been any man or woman more qualified for this office than hillary clinton. and that's the truth. that's the truth. [ crowd chanting "hillary" ]

so, the bottom line is, i know hillary can do the job. and that's why i am so proud, north carolina, to endorse hillary clinton as the next president of the united states. now, now, i recognize to some degree i'm preaching to the choir. i know i probably don't need to tell anybody here why we need hillary's steadiness and her level-headedness and her brilliance and her temperament right now. right now. because we've been through some tumultuous times in this new century, and we continue to face all kinds of challenges and change in the years ahead.

and this november, in this election, you are going to have a very clear choice to make between two fundamentally different visions of where america should go. and this isn't even really a choice between left and right or democrat or republican. this is a choice between whether we are going to cling to some imaginary past or whether we're going to reach for the future. this is about whether we have an america that works for everybody or just a few people. and hillary is not somebody who fears the future. she believes that it is ours to shape, the same way it's always been.

hillary understands that we make our own destiny as long as we're together, as long as we think of ourselves not as just a collection of individuals or a collection of interest groups or a collection of states, but as the united states of america. she knows that. she knows that when it comes to our economy, because she knows our economy works best not when it only benefits a few at the top, but when everybody's got a fair shot at success. as hillary mentioned -- look, when i came into office, things were not in very good shape, you will recall. we were losing 800,000 jobs a month, pursuing, by the way, the same proposals that the republicans are still pedalling. and over the past six years, our businesses have created more than 14 million new jobs, we cut

the unemployment rate in half, manufacturing jobs have grown for the first time for the first time since another president clinton was in office. by the way, because they're always talking about us being the spendterif democrats, i want to point out, we cut our deficit by nearly 45%. they didn't. they did not. wages for families are finally starting to rise again, but we've got so much more work to do. because in the 21st century, we're not going to help families, we're not going to create jobs just by pretending that we can turn back 9 clock and women are going to somehow not be in the workforce anymore. and you know, people of color

suddenly are not going to be competing and wanting a better future for their kids. we're not going to suddenly ignore all the progress that's been made over the last 30 years. we're not going to build walls around america or put technology back in a box. we're not going to reverse hard-won rights for women or minorities or americans with disabilities to fully participate in the workforce. we're not going to do that. if we're going to give working families, all families, a chance to succeed, we've got to make sure they can afford child care and they've got sick leave and paid leave, and we've got to make sure women get equal pay for equal work. and we should make it easier, not harder, for workers to organize for better wages and working conditions, and we shouldn't eliminate the minimum wage, we should raise it high

enough so that if you work full time, you don't live in poverty! each of these policies, the policies hillary mentioned, would help working families feel more secure in today's economy. she's actually got a plan. it's actually paid for. you can actually look at it. now, the fact that we haven't gotten all these ideas done, it's not the fault of immigrants or unions or some liberal, socialist scheme. it's very simple! republicans in congress and republican governors have been blocking these ideas for the last eight years. it's that simple.

so, look, i just want to be clear, not everybody votes on the economy. i understand. there are other issues. but if your concern is who's going to look out for working families, if you're voting your pocketbook, if you're asking, who's actually going to stand up for the guy on the construction site or the guy in the factory or the woman who's cleaning a hotel room or just somebody who's really working hard, the working family, if that's your concern, this isn't even a choice! because the other side has nothing to offer you. the other side's got nothing to offer you. >> hillary! [ crowd chanting ]

>> i'm going a little off script here, but i just want to repeat this. if your concern is working peop people, then this is not a choice. i don't care whether you're white, black, hispanic, native american, polka dot, male, family. i don't care. if what you care is who's going to be fighting for ordinary folks who are fighting for a better life for themselves and their children, then i don't know how you vote for the guy who's against the minimum wage, against unions, against making sure that everybody gets a fair shot, against legislation for equal pay, against sick leave and family leave and against all the things that working families care about.

so, if you're voting for the other team, it's not because of the economy. it's not because of the economy. you've got to be clear about that. i mean, even the republicans on the other side don'ts really know what the guy's talking about. they really don't. they really don't. you ask them, they're all like, i don't know. then they kind of duck the other way. am i joking? no. so, you can choose a path that divides us with harsh rhetoric and pits working people against each other, all the while pushing policies that will just

help folks at the top do even better, but that's not helping working families. or we can transform our politics so they're responsive to working families, so that all people of all races and all backgrounds get a higher wage and all folks get quality health care and a deantre tirmt, and all children in this country get a better education that lets them dream bigger than their circumstances. that's what hillary clinton believes, and that's why i'm supporting her for president of the united states. and that's why you should, too. now, to me, that in and of itself would be enough to make the choice. but we've got some other choices.

you can go the path that denies climate change is real, or you can choose a path where american jobs and businesses lead the wor world. over the last seven years, we have doubled renewable energy in this country. remember when we were all concerned about our dependence on foreign oil? well, let me tell you, we've cut the amount of oil we buy from other countries in half. remember when the other team was promising they were going to get gas prices down in, like, ten years, and -- we did it. did it. so, we've been able to shape an energy policy that's good for families, good for your pocketbook. and with secretary clinton's help, america ultimately led nearly 200 other nations to an

agreement to save this planet for future generations. now, maybe you don't care about this. maybe you think, 99% of scientists are wrong. or you can -- [ inaudible ] you're welcome. but the point is, we're not done with this. so, where we go from here is up to you. you can vote with the climate deniers who want to tear up the agreements we've crafted and doom our kids to a more dangerous world, or you can vote to keep putting people back to work building a cleaner energy future for all of us. that's part of what's at stake in this election. that's one of the reasons i'm supporting hillary clinton for president. you know, hillary mentioned how we operate on the world stage. now, let me just say, i know the

other guy talks about making america great again. america's really great. and just the other day, somebody was writing about, wow, when you look at the surveys in the world, turns out that when obama came into office, the world didn't think we were that great. but now they think we're the greatest. they think we're the strongest. they think we're the best positioned. we were in a hole before i came into office, but right now, the rest of the world thinks we're pretty darn great. and by the way, you can look that up. that's a fact. that's not, like, just something i just made up and tweeted. so, there are actually, like, surveys done. they poll people so you actually know what people think.

you don't just assert it. and it turns out, that's what they think. you can look it up. part of the reason for that is because we had an outstanding secretary of state. part of the reason is that hillary understood and continues to understand that just a bunch of tough talk doesn't replace the hard work of diplomacy. a bunch of phony bluster doesn't keep us safe. and she understands we can't retreat from a world that needs american leadership. that's why she offers a smarter approach that uses every element of american power to protect our people and to protect our allies. she is and will be a stateswoman who makes us proud around the world. she'll deploy diplomacy whenever possible, but she also knows what it takes to be a commander in chief.

and a know she will never hesitate to use force when it is necessary to protect us. and she'll know how to mobilize the world around the causes that we believe in, that we know are right, and make sure other countries pull their own weight. that's strength. that's leadership. and that's why hillary clinton has to be the next president of the united states of america. >> i'm with her! [ crowd chanting ] >> i'm with her. i'm with her. you know, part of the reason why we are here is because we all share the belief that this country only lives up to its potential when every single one of us get a chance to succeed -- black, white, latino, asian, native american, young, old, rich, poor, turkish, american,

gay, straight, male, female. all of us matter. all of us share the same creed. all of us pledge allegiance to the same flag. that doesn't mean we have to agree on everything. we all have different ideas and beliefs, and that's part of what makes america great. but i agree with hillary that our democracy works best when there are basic bonds of trust between us, when we recognize that every voice matters. and the people who disagree with us most strongly love our country just as much as we do. you never heard hillary clinton demonize other people. you haven't heard her not be willing to engage with folks even when they disagree with her. you ask about folks in the senate who were on the other side. they liked working with her. even though some of them had done everything they could to tear her down. when she was first lady, she

still worked with them. and that brand of leadership is how we're going to get things done. that's how we can protect more of our kids from gun violence. after newtown, the other side blocked any new gun safety reforms. after orlando, they blocked any new gun safety reforms. they're not listening to 90% of the american people, democrats and republicans, who support background checks and making sure somebody who's on a no-fly list can't actuay go out and purchase an automatic rifle. hillary knows how to build coalitions, and she knows we can take smart steps to protect both our rights and our kids, so they can go to the movies or to church or to a nightclub or to school. and if you believe that, too, then there's no choice here,

you've got to vote for hillary clinton. her brand of leadership can fix a broken immigration system so that it lives up to our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. unless you're a native american, somebody brought you here. somebody came here. you came from someplace else, now. so, i just want to be clear about that. and not everybody had their papers straight when they came. i'm just saying. and you know, there are millions of striving, young people whose lives hang in the balance, and they want to give something back to this country that they love. they want to serve in our military. they want to go to college. they want to be doctors. they want to cure diseases.

and for years, the republicans who run this congress, they'd talk a good game about immigration reform, and then they don't do anything. and now they've picked a nominee whose only plan is to build a higher wall. that's not a plan. [ booing ] hold on a second. i was waiting for this opportunity. don't boo, vote. don't boo, vote. booing doesn't help. you need to vote! but if you care about a smart immigration policy that controls our borders and makes sure that it's lawful but also gives everybody opportunity, this is your chance. if you don't -- >> a little breakup in our satellite feed from the convention center in charlotte. we've re-established the picture.

let's go back inside. we've lost it again. don't know if there's weather outside that location or not. we're going to search around and try to re-establish the picture. while we do, let's just bring in the voice of our political director and the anchor and host of "meet the press" on sundays, chuck todd. chuck, watching this president, it occurs to me that is how a baton gets passed. >> well, sort of. yes, on one hand, that is how a baton gets passed. but on the other hand, he is reminding people that he is certainly a more experienced campaigner and more comfortable campaigner than the person he's trying to hand the baton to, than hillary clinton. i think you definitely see a fired-up barack obama. we were just talking right before the satellite interrupted. it's amazing that the minute he goes south of northern virginia, brian, those gs get dropped. you know you're in campaign mode obama and you know you're in campaign mode obama when you're in a southern state as he's in right now, north carolina.

so, yes, i hear what you're saying, but there is a point, is he too good at this when he stands next to her? how often will the two of them actually campaign together? but he is going to be a very, very effective, if not the most important surrogate she has between now and november. >> it appears we've re-established our signal, at least on a wide shot of the event. let's see if our audio is back up to snuff, if we can rejoin this and go back inside. >> and being president of the united states means that you have to deal with reality. when a crisis hits, you can't just walk off the set. you can't fire the scriptwriter. you can't be reckless. you don't have the luxury of just saying whatever pops into your head. you've actually got to know what you're talking about. you've got to actually do your homework. you can't just kick out reporters. you can't go to another country,

and if they ask you a question you don't like, just kick them out, because you're in another country. you've got to apply steady judgment. even when things don't go your way. you've got to make the tough calls, even when they're not popular and even when they won't pay off right away or increase your poll numbers. you've got to be able to handle criticism without taking it personally. you've just got to brush it off and get the job done. that's some of what i've learned while serving as your president. that's some of what hillary's learned as a senator and as a secretary of state. and that's why i'm voting for hillary clinton to be the next president of the united states. so, let me -- you know, i know i've gone on too long. this is what happens. you haven't campaigned in a while, you start, you know, just

enjoying it too much. so, let me just simplify this. and let me be blunt. i want to be blunt. can i be blunt? i'm going to be blunt. you know, hillary's got her share of critics. that's what happens when you're somebody who's actually in the arena. that's what happens when you fought for what you believe in. that's what happens when you've dedicated yourself to public service over the course of a lifetime. and what sets hillary apart from so many others is she never stopped caring, she never stopped trying, you know, we're a new country, so we like new things. and i've benefited from that culture, let's face it. when i came on the scene in '08, everybody said, well, he's new. they don't say that now because i'm not.

but sometimes we take somebody who's been in the trenches and fought the good fight and been steady for granted. sometimes we act as if never having done something and not knowing what you're doing is a virtue. we don't do that, by the way, for airline pilots. we don't do that for surgeons. but for some reason, we think for president of the united states, i don't know, who's that guy? come on. so, as a consequence, you know, that means that sometimes hillary doesn't get the credit she deserves. but the fact is, hillary is steady and hillary is true. and she's been in politics for the same reason i am, because we can improve people's lives by doing this work. and we don't care about the slings and arrows that are thrown at us, because we know that's how real change and real progress happens and that we, if

we're willing to work hard, can fini finish, can bring about changes that make life better for some kid out there, some senior out there, somebody who's unemployed out there, and it may take more than a year. and sometimes it takes more than a turn. and sometimes it takes more than one presidency or even one generation. and yeah, that's old-fashioned. i think she'll fess up to that. but we want people to believe that their government can work and that their president cares. and that every child in this country should have the same chance that this country gave us, because we weren't born with a silver spoon. and we know that behind all the division and sometimes angry rhetoric of this election year and all the petty bickering and the point-scoring and the

punditry, the ordinary americ american -- americans are good and they are generous and they are hard working, and they've got an awful lot of common sense. and we share a certain set of common values and hopes and dreams. that's why i ran in 2008. and i believe in those values and those ideals more than ever. and i believe in you, the american people, more than ever. and i am more optimistic about our future than ever. and that's why my faith, my faith is stronger about the simple american ideal as old as our founding the people that love the country can change it for the better. i have seen it happen. i have run my last campaign. and i couldn't be prouder of the things we've done together, but i'm ready to pass the baton. and i know that hillary clinton is going to take it. and i know she can run that race, the race to create good

jobs and better schools and safer streets and a safer world! and that's why i'm fired up! and that's why i'm ready to go! and that's why i'm with her! and that's why i need you to work just as hard to make sure that hillary rodham clinton is the next president of the united states of america. god bless you, north carolina. god bless you! ♪ god bless the united states of america. ♪ ♪ >> the president wrapping up a boisterous rally in charlotte, north carolina. just one note -- we lost the video feed. and indeed, they are under a severe thunderstorm warning, including one of them right on top of where they are in the city of charlotte right now. that's why. we apologize for having lost our satellite feed briefly. the president was being urged by one member of the crowd to preach, and he seemingly tried

to at one point, borrowing almost a richard pryor delivery to deliver the degree of his disgust and disdain for the other side. the comments clearly aimed at donald trump. at one point, he said "my daughter sasha can tweet." he was trying to draw the difference between being a spectator and being in the arena. but where it came to hillary clinton, he said "i'm with her." he said, "my faith in hillary clinton has always been rewarded." chuck todd, let's go back to chuck, who's been watching and listening along with us. chuck, something tells me we've just seen the template for what we'll hear at the democratic convention. >> i think that's right. and you're going to -- look, barack obama's going to be a big player at that democratic convention. he may be -- the way bill clinton, as important as bill clinton was to barack obama in 2012, in many ways, he gave the most important speech of that convention, bill clinton did, in defending obama's stewardship of

the economy. well, i think what you saw there is what the clinton campaign wants from barack obama, is to have him be her character witness, character. personal character is her issue, particularly with swing voters. that's something that obama scores better than she does, always has, on personal ethics, personal character, and that's what they hope to use him for. i was thinking, brian, john mccain i think basically did a photo op at the white house, sort of perfunctory, when he was the presumptive nominee and met with president bush. al gore kept bill clinton away. george h.w. bush didn't get as much as reagan as i think he wished he could have had. we'll have an outgoing president enthusiastic about the campaign trail and a nominee that will want him a lot on the campaign trail, something we haven't seen in multiple generations. >> people can feel the way they do about this president, love him or hate him. from a delivery standpoint, he

has a unique set of skills from the podium. and as a communicator, he's not quite like anyone we've ever seen. >> he's the best campaigner ever in the democratic party, period. this is one of those cases where i don't think you want a lot of joint events between hillary clinton and barack obama because there's that sense of as a campaigner he's just more comfortable than she is, but you do see why you may see a lot more barack obama than you will see bill clinton on this campaign trail. >> our friend, chuck todd, political director, moderator of "meet the press" and host of "meet the press daily." you may note he is in his studio where a scant half hour from now, the most-watchable political show on television will begin on this important night of the political calendar. chuck, thanks. let's talk to hugh hewitt. hugh is, of course, a radio show host and a veteran of the reagan administration. fair warning, he's not only a lawyer, but he's been a law professor, so often uses skilled

reasoning, shall we say, hugh? we can agree on that. >> thank you. >> i'm so curious to hear your take on this, what we've just witnessed, yes, but this day in politics where you could argue, the director of the fbi had the kinetic power in his hands to end hillary clinton's campaign today. >> you could. he did. i thought rudy giuliani's conversation with you earlier, brian, is going to make news for days and days, because he took the bark off of director comey. i'll say about the president's speech just now that the only mention of the so-called exoneration of secretary clinton is when he said, the one thing she'll fess up to is being old-fashioned. look, she wasn't indicted today, but she was convicted. director comey convicted her of lying repeatedly about not receiving or sending classified markings. she was convicted of being vulnerable to hostile agents. her aides are convicted of

actually having been penetrated by hostile agents. and so, i think you're going to see donald trump and his surrogates in the republican national committee play the comey press conference again and again and again. it was damning. it was absolutely damning, of the fact that you can't trust the former first lady and former secretary of state, and there's nothing she can really do to change that. he said what he said. so, she's not indicted, she's just convicted. so, bad day for hillary. and i'll be interested to see what donald trump says about it tonight. i think nicolle wallace said earlier on the program, in between hall & oates updates, that if we stay focused tonight, donald trump could score some real points. >> so, counselor, devil's advocate here. you say she's been convicted and donald trump will say whatever he's going to say at 7:00 eastern time when he gets cranked up in raleigh, north carolina, where i just noted they are also having some very rough weather. but how much velcro does this have in terms of the choice

american voters are presumably going to have in november? how much are you going to have this stick day after day after day as a study of comparisons? >> well, i've sent a note off to a senior trump adviser, saying in my opinion, they should select either tom cotton or chris christie, because both are lawyers with the ability to prosecute a case, and tom, of course, senator cotton's a combat veteran. chris christie's prosecuted terrorists. they can both prosecute using james comey's own words today about hostile agents. and about, by the way, if anybody else did this, there would be consequences. this is all on tape. and there was a little speculation earlier between you and pete williams, why would the director do this this way? it was so unusual. and i think it's because he wanted it both ways. he wanted to slam secretary clinton in a way that would leave a mark that is indelible, which he did, and at the same time, he didn't want to politicize the bureau and ge recommendations to the doj tha

would drag on a long time. rudy giuliani, who is probably america's most well-known prosecutor before he became mayor of new york, as u.s. attorney and associate attorney general at the doj, slammed him for his decision to make a legal argument. my political argument is he did enormous damage to hillary clinton today on her trustworthy factor, because i think that ad is going to play using his name every single day. and if donald trump picks a cotton or a christie or anyone who can make a disciplined, daily argument about her unfitness for office based upon her reckless disregard for the national security -- that's the takeaway, brian. we know she was lying now. that's been confirmed. she had been lying a lot. she lied again and again about not receiving or sending classified markings and comey confirmed that today. but the real takeaway was she was reckless with national security, and that is something one cannot have in a president. >> hugh, given your knowledge of the characters here and the law -- and i'm looking at this

paragraph. rudy giuliani says he would have tried to nick her on u.s. code 793, paragraph "f." what do you think comey's thinking was? was it, look, i do have the power to end this candidacy today, or look, we're going to run up against some very good lawyers if we do bring this case, and it will only be protracted and awful, and we could lose? what was his thinking? >> director comey's widely admired by everyone in both sides of the aisle. and so, i don't profess to know. i know that rudy sounded shocked. i will say that it reminds me in part of chief justice roberts' decision in the obamacare case where he appeared to leave it to the political branches to decide what is more important to them. and so, it's being left up to the voters. for him to have indicted or to have recommended indictment would have ended secretary clinton's campaign after she had won and after this was well known. so, instead of ending the campaign, he just added damning

detail after damning detail, again, especially on national security and lying. and her biggest negative is on those two. so, then they have this big speech in north carolina, and she doesn't proclaim vindication, the president doesn't proclaim vindication. they want to run away from it. that's the elephant in the room. so, i think he may have made a political decision in the best interests of the fbi. the only thing i quarrel with him is his saying no reasonable prosecutor would conclude anything else. in fact, rudy giuliani is one hell of a reasonable prosecutor, and i've never been a prosecutor. i've been in the department of justice and held all those clearances and done counterintelligence, but not prosecute. i'll trust rudy giuliani. and so, that, in fact, indicts director comey's judgment. a lot of reasonable prosecutors would have indicted. and he gave us the evidence why today. >> hugh hewitt, thank you very much for coming on and for your patience as we waited for this event. and as we try to bring out both sides in this, reacting to what we've just witnessed, especially since her name was invoked in

the last few minutes, nicolle wallace remains in our new york studios. nicolle, first of all, what did you make of this event? >> well, just as an observer of presidents, they love this, especially the ones that have won twice. and they are itching to be asked to do exactly what president obama did today. they think they know a thing or two about how to get elected not once but twice, and i think the comparison that chuck thought might have been problematic is precisely what makes this so irresistible for president obama. and the truth is, she has no choice. this is precisely how a baton would be passed from one president to another. and she needs him. no way around it. he is more effective with the kinds of voters she needs to bring around than anybody else. bernie sanders remains in the race to this moment, unless i missed something over the last hour. and the explanation that i heard from the white house about why he didn't nudge sanders out of the race at an earlier point so that sanders could stop making the kinds of arguments that

trump is making now about her judgment was so that he could do exactly this at the right time with all the cameras on him, give her a warm political embrace and sort of show her how it's done, if you will. now, back to what hugh was talking about, donald trump has issued a lengthier statement where i think he gets one thing exactly right -- the public will now be the judge of whether or not her judgment is too lacking and whether or not everything that the clintons do is too above the law. and i think that's right. this is now tossed over to the court of public opinion, to the 11 swing voters left in america who have no opinion about their choices this year. and we'll see how it plays out. but this was a day that would have otherwise been a calamity for hillary clinton, save perhaps in some, certainly in local news coverage in the state where they held this event, north carolina, unless the weather beats it for the top story that night, by president obama. >> all right, nicolle wallace, who points out correctly, there

is a subgroup among presidents, for two-term presidents, that is a special corner of the former presidents' locker room that we saw on display today, along with the also familiar point that there are those in the arena and all the rest of us who are watching. nicolle, thank you. and just a quote from the statement that came out from donald trump during that event. he goes there on former president clinton. "bill clinton didn't accidentally run into the attorney general on an airport tarmac last week in phoenix. hillary clinton didn't accidentally sneak into the fbi building on one of the country's biggest holiday weekends to testify on her illegal activities, something that wouldn't be afforded to others under investigation, and on a saturday of all days. it's no accident that charges were not recommended against hillary the same day as president obama campaigns with her for the first time." that's the current state of our

politics today and still more to come as day turns into night. for that, we turn it over to steve kornacki to take us the rest of the way. steve? >> all right, thanks for that, brian. continuing now our msnbc coverage. 126 days right now from the election and that breaking news we've been following this afternoon, president obama making his first campaign appearance with his former secretary of state and his former rival, hillary clinton, just moments ago in charlotte, north carolina. north carolina emerging as somewhat of a surprise swing state, potentially, in this general election fight. >> there has never been any man or woman more qualified for this office than hillary clinton. ever. >> president obama avoiding actually using the name of donald trump, hillary clinton's likely presumed opponent in the general election, but he made

the contrast between them, at least as he sees it, clear, describing hillary clinton's vision as hopeful and donald trump's backward-looking. >> we're not going to create jobs just by pretending that we can turn back the clock and women are going toomehow not be in the workforce anymore. and you know, people of color suddenly are not going to be competing and wanting a better future for their kids. we're not going to suddenly ignore all the progress that's been made over the last 30 years. we're not going to build walls around america or put technology back in the box. we're not going to reverse hard-won rights for women or minorities or americans with disabilities to fully participate in the workforce. we're not going to do that. >> here now is jackie kucinich, washington bureau chief for "the daily beast." all sorts of directions we could

go on this. i'm struck by the location today, north carolina. last time barack obama and hillary clinton met in north carolina was eight years ago, basically the death blow to hillary clinton's campaign delivered by barack obama in the north carolina primary that year. of course, the reason they have this rally now in north carolina, a red state in 2012, a mitt romney state by a small margin, tells you the democrats are looking to potentially xhand the electoral playing field this fall. so, barack obama, though, coming off the sidelines. what did you make of his speech today and the effect his presence on the campaign trail is going to have? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. what barack obama was saying when you boil it all down, was i trust her, she's capable, you should, too. and that's a message hillary clinton really needs, particularly on a day like today, after you had the fbi director say what he said. but the obama coalition could really play a huge role in this election. he needs them to get out and he hasn't been able to in the past for other candidates in, say,

midterms, bring them together and get them to vote for someone other than barack obama. but you know, by framing this as not only as, you know, to vote for the person standing next to him -- she is the tomorrow ashbearer for the obama legacy, for everything he's done over the last eight years. and the only person in this race that can carry that on. and it's interesting. i think chuck mentioned this in the last segment, you haven't really seen a front-runner for either party campaign with the sitting president in a really long time. but you know, these are coattails that hillary clinton is more than happy to grab on to this cycle. >> and you mentioned. i don't know if we have this graphic. let's see if we can call it up. the obama coalition. if you look at the black vote in north carolina, the state where they were campaigning today, a state that mitt romney won only by about two points in 2012, the key of that race being so close in 2012, surprisingly close -- there it is. look at that. the turnout in north carolina in 2012. this was the first time in north

carolina history the black turnout had actually exceeded the white turnout in north carolina. barack obama wasn't expected to come that close to mitt romney in the state. he nearly took north carolina fueled by that turnout. so, certainly, that's something democrats are looking to rep kalt now with hillary clinton at the top of the ticket in north carolina. 15 electoral votes in that state. that would be a big swing, if they could get it. the president, as we said, also going after donald trump, not necessarily by name. let's play more of what he had to say about the presumptive republican nominee. >> i don't know how you vote for the guy who's against a minimum wage, against unions, against making sure that everybody gets a fair shot, against legislation for equal pay, against sick leave and family leave and against all the things that working families care about. so, if you're voting for the

other team, it's not because of the economy. it's not because of the economy. you've got to be clear about that. >> you know, jackie, just through history, we know two-term presidents, the idea of getting their sort of hand-picked successor to succeed them, they see that as part of their legacy. they see that as a validation of their presidency. that's always an important thing for them, that the candidate, their chosen candidate win after two terms in office. but with obama, i get the sense that just beating donald trump, the guy who did so much to stir up that birther issue against him, he's as much motivated by that. >> oh, yeah, there is no love lost between those two and there hasn't been for a while. so, i think you're absolutely right. the president has relished really going after trump on every level that he can. and yeah, he's not saying his name, but it's very clear who they're talking about. and you even saw hillary clinton sort of make a joke about it at the beginning of her speech, saying something about the president being from hawaii and

not forgetting where he came from. i just totally ruined that joke, but you know what i'm talking about. so, yeah, this is personal for the president on a lot of different levels. and you know, if he gets to beat up on donald trump, it's sort of an added bonus, i think, at this point. >> all right, jackie kucinich with "the daily beast," helping us to wrap up that coverage of president obama and hillary clinton, their first rally together. wove a lot tomorrow to come. we're going to squeeze in a quick break. on the other side, the other big story from the presidential race today, a wrirvegle for the clinton campaign. maybe more than a wrinkle. fbi director james comey revealing that hillary clinton sent eight e-mails containing top-secret information. comey, though, saying he will not recommend that charges be brought against clinton. that recommendation, though, coming with a stern rebuke. >> although we did not find clear evidence that secretary clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of

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a harsh rebuke, but no charges for hillary clinton following a lengthy fbi investigation into her use of a private e-mail server while serving as secretary of state. in a statement today, fbi director james comey laying out the logic behind his decision to

recommend that no charges be brought against clinton. let's listen. >> although we did not find clear evidence that secretary secretary or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information. for example, seven e-mail chains concerned matters that were classified at the top-secret special access program at the time they were sent and received. those chains involved secretary clinton both sending e-mails about those matters and receiving e-mails about those matters. there is evidence to reach a conclusion that any reasonable person in secretary clinton's position or the position of whom she was corresponding with those matters should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation.

in addition to this, we found information highly classified as secret by the intelligence community at the time it was discussed on e-mail. that is excluding any later up-classified e-mails. none of these e-mails should have been on any kind of unclassified system, but their presence is especially concerning, because all of these e-mails were housed on unclassified, personal servers, not even supported by full-time security staff like those found at agencies and departments of the united states government or even with a commercial e-mail service like gmail. with respect to potential computer intrusion by hostile actors, we did not find direct evidence that secretary clinton's personal e-mail domain in its various configurations in 2009, was hacked successfully. but given the nature of the system and of the actors potentially involved, we assess we would be unlikely to see such direct evidence. we do assess that hostile actors gained access to the private

commercial e-mail accounts of people with whom secretary clinton was in regular contact from her personal account. we also assess that secretary clinton's use of a personal e-mail domain was both known by a large number of people and readily apparent. she also used her personal e-mail extensively while outside the united states, including sending and receiving work-related e-mails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries. given that combination of factors, we assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to secretary clinton's personal e-mail account. although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case. prosecutors necessarily weigh a number of factors before deciding whether to bring charges. there are obvious considerations, like the strength of the evidence, especially regarding intent, responsible decisions also

consider the context of a person's actions and how similar situations have been handled in the past. in looking back at our investigations into the mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts. >> and there it is. that is the other big headline from politics today. not only do you have president obama and hillary clinton making their first campaign appearance together, but you have president obama's fbi director, as you just saw there, hours before that campaign event, saying that he will at least not recommend that there be charges brought against hillary clinton. that decision still ultimately up to the justice department. it's likely they'll go along with that investigation. but then also taking hillary clinton to task by the way she handled her private e-mail server, the fact that she had it while she was secretary of state. we will, obviously, have much more in terms of reaction, in terms of the fallout from that announcement today from james comey and certainly more on

hillary clinton and barack obama making their first appearance together as she's the presumptive nominee. chuck todd will be along momentarily with "mtp daily," and we'll pick that up -- we actually have -- we have a graphic to put up here actually before we go to chuck. this is just to put some numbers on what james comey was saying there. you have 30,000 e-mails turned over. this is what the fbi director said today. he said 110 of those e-mails from hillary clinton that were turned over contained classified information. 52 e-mail chains, 8 of them confidential material, 36 secret material. then here's what makes the headline -- eight of the e-mail chains that passed through hillary clinton's private e-mail server contained the highest level of security there, top secret information. hillary clinton, of course, had initially said that she had not ever sent any classified information. the fbi director with different information on that today. that does it for this hour. i'm steve kornacki.

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if it's tuesday, hillary clinton gets a clean bill of health on the legal front, but her political health is still in question. the e-mail saga has done real damage. can president obama be the one to fix it? this is "mtp daily," and it starts right now. well, this is a day for the presidential campaign time capsule, that's for sure. i'm chuck todd here in new york,