up. we're like fire and ice. i have a fan. >> the secret is i have a heater down here. we have so much going on this afternoon. it's a busy day. in about an hour, we're waiting for president obama to hold that press conference to discuss the administration's fight against isis. we'll certainly bring that to you live. but right noul, he's meeting with his national security team. these pictures just into our newsroom. also happening now, the man who wants to replace the president this fall, donald trump, set to teenage take the stage in portland, maine. new polling showing the degree of his recent controversies may be afikting his stanzing in e key battleground states. florida, maine, pennsylvania, new hampshire, all places where trump needs to make up some ground. reporters have been talking to their gop sources all day and are bringing us the latest on what all this means for the race for the who's with just 96 days

left until election day. let's start with katy tur, she's covering the trump campaign from portland, maine, today. trump expected at any moment. >> reporter: he is. this is what you could call reset number, gosh, i don't know 10 or 11, and day two of it all the this point. the gop says they have a sliver of hope that this message that donald trump needs to get on message has gotten through to him. confidants, aids, donors, people close to donald trump, people within the party telling him he's trying to get away from the controversies and focusing on his message. i spoke to supporters here and i asked them if they think the controversies are starting to wear his support down. and although they said they were as supportive as ever, they did acknowledge he's starting to take a hit. i asked what advice they would

give him and every single person i spoke to said please get back on message. they want him to talk about policy. the economy, job creation, national security, less about the personal squabbles that he can't seem to stay away from. this is reset day two. the campaign feels hopeful. they came out with the fundraising numbers for july. $80 million. they are saying that regardless of what the media is reporting, they plooef they are doing well. they believe they are doing fine. the reality is, though, with the new polls out, kate, donald trump is facing an uphill battle. if he doesn't reset now, he won't have any time to reset later. >> katy tur out with donald trump. we'll watch that stage and bring it to you as he starts to speak. let's get to breaking news. kelly o'donnell is following news on mike pence, the vice presidential candidate decline ing to endorse some key republican senators. kelly? >> mike pence gave up his

ambition to seek a second term as governor to join donald trump and finding that the tough questions come to him day by day. we saw mike pence broke with trump to support paul ryan in his primary. when asked by reporters in an off camera session about john mccain, a republican in tough reelection battles and a senate that is on the line about whether republican cans keep control, pence declined. he said he does look forward to supporting republicans across the country. then turned to say he and donald trump want to be a part of driving new leadership. it's an interesting message from pence, who spenlt 12 years on capitol hill, a traditional republican. shows more message discipline than donald trump. and we have seen mike pence, again, acknowledge there are style differences between himself and donald trump. but allowing to break with the paul ryan due to a personal relationship, long-time friendship, but declining, even

though he just met with john mccain earlier this week n a private meeting in phoenix. it would seem that by all metrics, mike pence would be the type of person who would back the republicans in both races. but declined to do so publicly today and that is notable. >> absolutely notable. the reverse is also happening. you have members of congress who you know and cover who don't want to endorse donald trump. >> there have been three we've been talking about in the last 24 hours. each left us clues during the primary season. charlie dent of pennsylvania, the congressman of illinois and each had expressed their public concerns and worries with some of the things that donald trump has said along the way. they each come from home states that in the overall voting total typically go for democrats in a

race. in adam's example, he's speaking out about mark kirk, a vulnerable senator, maybe the most of all of those seeking reelection. he wants to support him in a state that typically goes blue. the president's home state. he had been a jeb bush and a marco rubio supporter for charlie dent. he was an active not only supporter but surrogate appearing with john kasich. richard hanna is freed from the electoral concerns because he's not seeking reelection. his district tends to go a swing district. so root d in their home state politics, they have a little breathing room to make this break from trump, but when you have three sitting house members who say no to the nominee, that is a story. >> kelly o'donnell, following all of it for us as it's breaking. thank you so much. for more let's turn to mark halperin, co-anchor of "with all due respect."

let's start with reports as of yesterday about the trump intervention. the idea that people are going to have to write the campaign. . rudy giuliani said that hasn't happened yet. katy tur was saying there's so much talk about retooling. is it going to happen this weekend? >> they are in constant conversations. he's speaking to mike pence and senior officials on a regular basis. and most of them believe he gets the message. he said as much yesterday. he said i get it. i need to talk more about hillary clinton. he's giving an economic speech at the detroit economic club on monday. he's never going to be super disciplined message candidate. but does he say to people, i get it, yes, he does. i think it's been painted as a formal intervention with seven people in a room. i don't think it's going to be like that. he doesn't agree about the khans. he believes the khans attacked him and he attacked back. he's moved on, except when asked

about it. but the general question of should he be saying things about hillary clinton and the economy and not picking the fight of the day, he told people he gets it and some of them believe him. >> scott walker just said the same thing. just talk about hillary clinton. i want to play a clip getting a lot of attention from this afternoon. this is mike pence earlier at a campaign event in north carolina. an 11-year-old boy asks a question. >> i've been noticing that you have been softening up on mr. trump's policies and words. is this your role in the administration? >> number one, this boy's got a future. nicely done. i couldn't be more proud to stand with donald trump. we are shoulder to shoulder in this campaign. sometimes things don't always come out like you mean. and donald trump and i are absolutely determined to work

together. we have different styles. you might have noticed that. >> let me repeat the beginning of the question. i've been noticing that you have been softening up mr. trump's policies and words. spoken from the mouths of an 11-year-old. >> everyone is a pundit and political analyst. mike pence, people who hate donald trump say mike pence is sacrificing his soul. but he's showing a level of politicalness that he's new to this role and in the trump campaign a hero for figuring out a way to express the loyalty of saying shoulder to shoulder, and at the same time meeting with john mccain, speaking to donors, speaking to conservatives and people in the campaign staff and keeping things from being an absolute shambles. if they get through this period and trump gets back in contention, pence is going to be a hero because he's doing a lot of work with the 11-year-old

demographic as well as others. >> he's meeting with john mccain but not going to endorse him. he's also going after hillary clinton today. i want to play a little sound of that from the same event earlier. i guess we sound don't have that sound ready. it was hillary clinton who instigated the president's disastrous agreement with the radical muslims in iran. we're reeling from it the news that on the week that four american hostages were released, hillary clinton and barack obama saw to it did that $400 million was delivered to iran. is it going to stick? >> it's a big issue to energize the base. i'm not sure how big an issue it will be for the broader electorate, except that this message of change. there's unhappiness with the direction of america's role overseas. if this can be part of of that it critique, it's potentially an area of vulnerabilities.

>> i'm such a big fan of the circus on showtime. i cannot wait to see how you deal with this past week on sunday night. >> i hate to say it but we're on hiatus. you'll have to imagine it. >> i was trying to imagine how you summarize the chaotic week we have had. >> maybe a series of shoe box dioramas. we're taking a a break this month. >> great to see you, thank you. catch the show weeknights at 6:00 eastern here on msnbc. tonight's guest ben weber and former romney adviser dan senior here. the ripple effect beyond concerns that donald trump is slip issing in polls. the party is also concerned about the effect of trump losing ground on key congressional races. and later in the hour, i'm joined by lester holt in rio. he's talking with the athletes on team usa.

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what would you tell donald trump? >> i'd start with the one question. do you want to be president? if the answer to that is yes, you damn sure need to start acting like it. you're losing this election. not only are you losing it, you're giving it away. >> strong concerns today from former rnc chair michael steele on "morning joe." giving it away, he says, and not just worries about donald trump's campaign losing, but the impact it could have on all those other congressional republican races. it's what they call the down ballot effect. if you live in a place where there's a tight race right now congressionally, you're seeing this firsthand. beth fouhy joins me. we have new numbers.

start with new hampshire. the new poll clinton is up 15 points if you look at it as a four-way race. what's that going to do to new hampshire? >> here's the thing. the overall big stories that the presidential race always drives what happens. most don't ticket split. even more today than 20 years ago because we live in a polarized environment. the chances of ticket splitting, it was supposed to be a battleground state. perhaps still might be. but if clinton is winning by 15 points, that has a huge impact on the senate race there where senator kelly ayotte is being challenged by the governor of the state. it was supposed to be a race for the ages. but now in the same poll, maggie is leading kelly ayotte in part because of the trump effect.

>> a really strong ad that's been running. >> we're talking about the governor running a strong ad that was very well received talking about care for her disabled child. this is an impactful ad because there's an ad that's still showing donald trump making fun of a disabled reporter. that, too, has had a big impact. people are aware of those issues of treating people of disability with respect. >> pennsylvania, the state that trump thinks he can win. clinton is up 11 points. bad news for senator toomey. >> he, too s a republican seeking back into the senate. he's being challenged by a democrat who used to be in the clinton administration. pretty well respected. that's made that race a lot closer. pat toomey is well liked and respected among the chamber of commerce world of republicans. he's in a bit of trouble because of the trump effect. trump is pulling him down. >> lastly in florida, we have to

talk about florida. erbe knows who marco rubio is. he's trying to keep his seat. >> he jumped back into the senate race at the very last second. he planned to retire after his poorly received republican run for the presidency. he was going to go to the private sector. he decide d to get in it at the last minute. that was a big relief for republicans because there's a good chance he could hang on to that seat. the poll shows him ahead of the two democrats vying to challenge him. pat murphy and greyson, that could change. if trump starts to do badly in florida, it's going to weigh on rubio. >> clinton, 48%, trump, 42%. >> that's very bad news for republicans at the presidential level because it's very hard for a republican to win the presidency without carrying florida. >> beth, thank you so much. breaking it down for us. a lot of excitement in wisconsin as we head into the weekend. house speaker paul ryan facing a tough challenge potentially in his primary on tuesday. donald trump is in green bay tomorrow.

that's why there's so much focus there. trump has nott endorsed paul ryan. he says he's not quite there yet. that's language similar to what paul ryan said about not being ready to endorse trump before he did. the speaker was on the rid owe today in wisconsin saying no big deal. for a look at that race and more, i'm joined by charlie sykes. >> good to be back. >> we have a lot to talk about in your state. it's like the focus is coming there tomorrow once donald trump gets there. i want to ask you about wisconsin politics and what paul ryan said on the radio. take a listen. >> honestly, the only endorsements i'm really worried about, or not worried about, the but the only endorsements that i want are those of my own employers here in the first congressional district. that's what my focus is.

>> kind of shrugging off the fact this trump hasn't endorsed him. what do you make of that? is he not worried at all? >> first of all, isn't this the most complicated bromance of 2016 between donald trump and paul ryan? paul ryan is not worried. he's going to win overwhelmingly. i would be surprised if he gets less than 70% of the vote. check back with me next week on whether or not i get that right. this has a significant impact on donald trump's ability to win wisconsin. i got to tell you the amount of blowback that he's getting here is considerable. to the extent there was an effort led by mike pence to build bridges to conservatives here in wisconsin, that was kind of blown up by trump's refusal to endorse paul ryan. >> what about the opposition? we wouldn't even be talking about him i don't think, if donald trump hadn't talked about him. there's something catching fire this afternoon, charlie. something he said to chicago radio earlier this week implying

that vetting muslims might not work because, as he said, sharia law encourages muslims to lie to infide infidels. take a listen to what he said. >> the question is why do we have muslims in the country that if -- how can you possibly vet somebody who lies. >> are you suggesting that we deport all of the muslims in this country? >> i'm suggesting we have a discussion about it, that's for sure. i'm absolutely suggesting we figure out -- here's what we should be doing. we should be monitoring every mosque. we should be monitoring all social media. >> again, that's the man running for paul ryan's seat, the man that donald trump has commended for running a good campaign. those are all his words, not mine, when i was quoting him. >> that's going to be a big issue over the weekend because that's flat out crude bigotry.

and paul has been floated by a lot of outside scam pacs who have parachuted in. he's never had that much grass roots support here in wisconsin. he doesn't have much of a a campaign here. he's getting media attention because of trump. to say he's not ready for prime time is understating it. those comments are going to be a major issue over the next four or five days here in wisconsin. >> can i ask you if you think those are bigger? an opinion piece was written in the chicago tribune arguing if if trump loses in november, which we know is what you want to happen, his toxic legacy, she writes, will live on. as white men with ideological perspectives unite, many have come to condone his racist views tainting their economic grievances with an ugly nativist edge. america's economic recovery is creating to create jobs.

white populism is set not to keep growing, but to become further incorporated into mainstream american politics. she calls it the mainstreaming of extremism. do you see that? >> i'm concerned about it. who knows what is going to happen. one of the reasons why i'm here on shows like this is to e let you know there are conservatives who do not embrace this kind of white yours truly politics or trumpism. this is one of the reasons prince kled conservatives like paul ryan and scott walker need to rethink their position on donald trump. they need to pushback on this. they need to make this clear this is not acceptable. you have to draw the line. back in the 1960s was expelled from the conservative movement. that was important to clarify this is what we believe and what we do not believe. i think that is absolutely important. but also part of the donald

trump phenomenon is the cult of personality. the reality tv star celebrity. so when this is all done, it will be interesting to sort out how much of that was just donald trump and how much does represent this ugly underbelly he has brought out into the mainstream of american politics. >> you have paul ryan with you tomorrow? >> i do. one of the first questions is going to be is there any breaking point? what will it take? anything that donald trump could do or say that you say i'm cutting the rope. >> we're listening for the answer to that. charlie sykes, thank you, good to see you. we're watching a lot at this hour. mike pence just took the stage. donald trump is expected any minute now on stage in portland, maine. the governor is introducing him. and we are still monitoring the pentagon, where president obama is expected to hold a news conference in the next hour. stay tuned for that. plus we're heading out west.

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don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. now i have less diabetic nerve pain. ask your doctor about lyrica. donald trump is just taking the stage at a rally in portland, maine. he's talking about iran and the $400 million cash payment to iran. let's listen in. >> our president they want to embarrass our president. who would ever think that they would be taking all this money off the plane and it's only for one reason. it's very sad. so we have a lot of problems in our country. we have border problems. we have no idea who they are.

we're going to build a wall, folks. don't worry about it. wooir going to build a wall. up here you have tremendous heroin problems. you have tremendous problems. comes from the southern border, but you have tremendous problems. and i'll tell you what, we're going to build a wall. we have another thing. we have 16,500, you can do whatever you want. go ahead, do whatever you want. >> those appear to be protesters

holding up the pocket-sized constitution, which was the same thing held up by mr. khan. those are now best sellers on amazon. proters being escorted out. >> a trump rally is the safest place in our country to be. believe me. believe me. but if we keep going the way it is, our whole country is becoming different. they are shooting our police at record levels. you saw where i said in my speech 50% higher and then they went out and they look ed.

>> looks like we're watching more protesters. this is portland, maine, an area that's a stronghold for hillary clinton and bernie sanders. apparently some folks have gotten in who want to send a message to donald trump. >> when you think of it, what are we looking for? we want strong military. we want jobs. we want good education, good health care. we're all like looking for the first. we're looking for the same thing. you want to have a good life. you want safety. then we have people interrupting constantly. but actually, it hasn't been happening much. it's happening a little bit today, but it hasn't been happening much. i sort of miss my protesters.

we don't get them from hillary, because the bernie people had spirit. e we don't get it from hillary. because they don't care. they don't care. but you look at what's happening in terms of our police where they are shooting our police at record levels. 50% up. i said 50%, it's actually much higher than that from last year. so we need law and order. we have to have it. we have to have it. we need skplau ordlaw and order. and our police have to be careful. they have to do their job and they have to do it correctly and will do it correctly. we have to take care of our police. they are really going through a tough time. so i wrote a little thing down i thought i would have, because in light of the $400 million that just got ripped away from our country, the real number you look at it, $150 billion, we got nothing. and they think they probably

paid the $400 million for the hostages, which is even worse. now since then, i don't know if you know, we have two more hostages right now. and they are in iran and what are we going to do with them? gets flown at night into iran. i think it's so sad and so disgusting. you also wonder about a government. who can approve such a thing when they take cash into a country and hand it to them. bushels and bushels of cash. then you look at our country where we owe $20 trillion. used to say $18. when i started i was say iing $ and $17. now it's $18 and $19 and soon be $20. it's going to be $22 soon because we have a budget that's expensive, but it doesn't take good care of our military. our military is depleted.

one of the reporters was talking about how you feel about building ships because a lot of ships you're building up here. good ones. so our navy, as you know, has one of the lowest numbers of ships that they have had in decades and decades. we have to rebuild our navy. we have to rebuild our whole military. we're going to do it. probably almost have never needed it more than we need it now with all of the people out there that don't like us very much. and we're going to be very strong. we're going to be very strong and build up our military. we're going to take care of our vets. we're going to take care of our vets. our vets are so badly treated.

you look at what's going on where they wait in line eight days. you're not a vet. think of it. people are dying online waiting for doctors. and committing suicide. the suicides are at numbers that nobody has ever thought possible. we're going to take care of our vets. i put a plan in. people are loving the plan. people are loving the plan. and if you're waiting in line for an extended period of time, you're going to walk outside, you're going to go to a doctor looking for business, you're going to go to a hospital, private or public, you're going to get taken care of. it's going to be less expensive. the government is going to pay the bill. it's going to be far less expensive than what's been happening. people are doiing waiting in line for a simple prescription. they are dying. our great veterans are dying waiting online and we're not going to do it.

so i wrote a few things down. clinton is a disaster. it has handed huge portions of with all of the people that are pouring in, we have no idea who they are. we have absolutely no idea. you know the harm. you look at what's taken place in our country. san bernardino and orlando and look at what's gone on all over the world. look at the world trade center. look at what's happening.

[ applause ] >> oh, boy. it's a wildlife. so you look at what we have sacrificed and what we have given up, and the level of viciousness where heads are being chopped off. people are being drown in steel cages.

we haven't seen this since medieval times. i loved history. you talk about medieval times. you would never have thought you were to see the things we're seeing today. it's gotten out of control. and obama has let it get out of control. then you have hillary's made tremendous mistakes. >> you have been listening to donald trump speaking in portland, maine. you saw a third round of protesters interrupting his rally there. at one point, they were holding up what looked to be pocket sized constitutions, that a reference to the gold star family father who spoke at the democratic national convention. another point i want to fact check here. donald trump was talking about news in terms of iran and news of a $400 million payment made to the iranian government. it's become a a talking point of republicans lately. they are blaming the obama administration calling it a ransom for people being held. let me bring in ayman.

we heard donald trump. he was talking about this, but he said, again, in this rally i saw the video, he said, of cash going to iran and then he said the iranian government surely released that video. this is video that it doesn't exist, correct? >> this is a video that we have not been able to find. i can tell you we have been spending a lot of time trying to dig it up, whether it was a a news agency. i would suspect if there was any video of this that existed, it would probably come from official iranian news agency, perhaps the government. yesterday he suggested it was the iranian military who filmed it because the camerawork was really good. but there is no such video. we have not been able to find it. there was never any account to suggest that the money transfer, which was confirmed by the obama administration, was ever filmed or released. the implication that trump was trying to suggest particularly yesterday was that the iranian

government released this jid video of the money transfer to make the american government look bad or even to humiliate the administration. but in reality, no such video exists. perhaps what he was referencing was the video showing the americans that were held in iran, including "the washington post" report and others who that night were released in the middle of the night, who landed in a private plane, getting off that plane. it was the video circulating around at the time that would have fit anything remotely similar to what donald trump was referencing earlier. >> and that was video we showed, for example, here on msnbc that might be what he's referencing. ayman, thank you so much. coming up, we'll switch gears. the final countdown. we are one day away from the much-anticipated opening ceremony at the rio olympics. after the break, we go live to brazil where lester holt is standing by to give us a preview

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sears optical here's what most of the world will be focused on 24 hours from now. the opening ceremony of the 2016 rio olympics. the torch is already there, arrived in the host city on wednesday. this hour it's making its final journey to the olympic stadium for tomorrow night's festivities. while the cauldron isn't lit yet, the games have already begun for some. the women's soccer team was solid. they beat new zealand, 2-0, on their quest for a fourth consecutive gold. happy to have my friend and colleague lester holt with us from rio. he's hosting "nightly news" from there. you have had a chance to get a feel for team usa. what can we expect? >> first of all, i got stuck in a little traffic with that torch making its way through rio. it's very exciting. some of the people were standing

there as folks were taking pictures. very sweet moments. in terms of team usa, they are off to a good start in women's soccer. more than 500 american athletes here. 292 are women. that's the most women any team has sent to an olympic games. the folks were watching michael phelps, 22 medals. he stands a chance with walking away with another three medals here. another swimming sensation, she made huge splash in london, when she won the 800 free style. she's competing in a slew of events here. in gymnastics simone biles is the name you'll keep hearing. high hopes for this lady. too young for london, but she could be an all-around gold, a strong contender in three events here. kerri walsh jennings, women's beach volleyball. this is going to be her fifth

olympic games. she's got a new partner april ross. they come in here as number three seed. the brazilians have the numbone two seeds. this is a beach volleyball nation. so a lot of excitement building up for tomorrow's opening ceremony. then let the games begin. >> let me ask you about sprinter you had a chance to catch up with. it's her fourth olympics. she missed out on qualifying for her favorite race, but she's got a lot of other stuff going on. >> i'm hoping to catch up with her. i spoke to her in los angeles a couple months ago where she's training. she was hoping to qualify in the 200 meter. didn't, but she'll still be in the 400 and she's another one of those very highly decorated american olympians. there's something like three u.s. olympians heading into their sixth olympic games. it's pretty extraordinary. >> it's your eighth olympic games. is that right?

>> yeah, this is my eighth. i haven't won a medal, but i keep coming. >> how do you think this one will compare to the other olympic games you have covered? >> i was talking to nbc sports and almost said the exact same thing. the games are the games are always exciting seeing young athletes from all over the world excelling. but there's something about this period wroo we're in right now. there's been a lot of awful news with terror attacks and a very spirited, shall we say, presidential election. we were both looking forward to maybe just a little calm. allow us to celebrate the athletes, their accomplishments, the world comes together. it sounds corny, but a lot of us could use a break right now. this is a pretty great one. >> we're very jealous, lester, of you standing on that beautiful beach. thank you so much. a reminder -- >> i didn't even notice.

>> there's a beach behind you. lester is anchoring "nightly news" tonight and every night live from rio on your local nbc station. up next, we're going to head west where hillary clinton is about to speak in las vegas. we have our eye on the pentagon where president obama will be holding a press conference minutes from now. so guys with. take viagra when they need it. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension. your blood pressure could drop to an unsafe level. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. ask your doctor about viagra single packs.

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looking at a live picture now, senate democratic leader joining hillary clinton for rally taking place in loss vegas at this moment. just took the stage a moment ago. let's turn to john raulston, political analyst with kmtv in las vegas and our favorite person to talk to about nevada politics. john, nice to see you again. it's been since the primaries that you and i talked. let's talk about what is happening out west. she, hillary clinton, clearly has a strategy out there. she is in nevada today. in colorado yesterday. polling if colorado shows

clinton up by double digits over donald trump. fox news has her up 10 point. nevada is closer. you look that, monmouth university has her up 4 point within the margin of error in your state of nevada. two questions. is colorado maybe not as swing staty as it used to be? and why do you think she is not doing as well in nevada? >> kate, as a risk of being a homer, it is all about nevada in the west. we are the swing state. colorado has fallen out of favor. i still think the state leans toward hillary clinton because of what you're seeing here today. strong labor support and more importantly, the hispanic support which she has gone after since the middle of 2015 doing event with dreamers. she has catered to that community. and you saw a couple of nevada hispanic activist on stage at democratic national convention. could be 20% of the electorate. great turn-out operation here. but the best turn-out operation

for hispanics is donald trump. >> talk to me about donald trump for a moment. last time i was there, i went to some of his big rallies at casino. he filled that place. is that kind of energy still there for trump? >> i think the energy is here. what's not here, though, kate is the organization. and in fact the trump campaign just let go, maybe their best organizer, out here, he was the regional direct fortrump out here if the west. he's began now. no discernible organization here. rnc, republican national committee has a couple of staffers out here. republicans are falling further and further behind in voter registration. so even though i think there is hard core trump support, i think the clinton organization and voter registration edge for democrats makes the state lean toward hillary clinton. >> john ralston, political analyst in las vegas. john, thank you. president obama is set to hold a press conference minutes

from now. after his meeting with his national security council after discussing their ongoing campaign against isis. his final appearance before he leaves on a big summer vacation. at the pentagon with a preview of what we can expect from the president, hi, ron. >> reporter: yes, questions on the war against icits to president's birthday plans, you're right, he leaves over the weekend for two weeks to martha's vineyard. we heard from him a couple of days ago at a press conference and this event is largely about isis and the war. the update on that. particularly questions i'm sure about the opening of a front libya where air strikes have been taken against some there, 1 of some 18 countries where intelligence officials say there are isis affiliates. so kwet is, are we winning this

war? we are taking about territory in iraq and syria but they seem to be popping up so many other placees. that's probably a line of questioning for the president. >> ron allen, waiting for a press conference from the president. expected to be at the top of the hour. he is heading it martha's vineyard on saturday. but we should note that sasha obama will be there awaiting the family. the 15-year-old just started a summer job at nancy's, popular seafood shack there. over the years the obama's have been regulars at nancy's. here is sasha visiting in 2009. cute. we'll be right back. max and i just discovered

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can change man. the birthday wishes port president on social media were plenty today. the first lady posted this picture. 55 years young and that smile still gets me. happy birthday, barak, i love you. and pal biden sends this out. joe and barak friendship bracele bracelets. that does it for me. 3:00 eastern time as we await and my colleague steve kornacki picks up coverage from here. >> thank you very much for that. we are standing by right now for president obama and that press conference expected to get under way shortly. he is at the pentagon. being briefed by the national security council right now along with the vice president on the state of the american-led campaign against isis. talk together press about that in a few minutes. we will carry it live.

as soon as the president appears, we will bring it to you. a very busy afternoon in politics. we will bring you up to speed while we wait on other major developments. 96 days away from election day. donald trump is speaking right now in portland, maine. interesting location for a trump speech. maine is a blue state. you don't get many republican candidates visiting there in general elections but trump thinks he can win one of the congressional districts in maine. maine is state that gives out electoral votes by congressional district. that is why he is up in maine. trump right now trying to slow the bleeding as this, what can only be described, as a diszastrous week of public relations as his campaign continues. top republicans afraid the trump campaign is losing ground. as it spends more time defending trump and his controversy remarks tan mounting an offensive campaign against hillary clinton. house speaker paul ryan taking a jab today at trump strategy. take a listen.

>> we just came out of our convention and yeah, pretty strange run since the convention. you would think you would publish on hillary clinton and all of her deficiencies. she is such a weak candidate that you'd think we aught to be focussing on hillary clinton and a -- >> we also have new polling numbers to tell you about today. in about an hour we will get a look at where the national race stands in the nbc news wall street journal poll. that is coming out. you will see that in about an hour from now. and a bunch of battle ground state polls toll you about starting in new hampshire. new hampshire is a state that trump campaign very much believes it has a shot at flipping donald trump. of course won the new hampshire primary this year. hillary clinton lost the democratic primary up there by 20 points. but look at this today in the wake of theoc