is wrong or you could look at it as there is donald trump growing and trying to move past some of the things that have dogged him which is his inability to backtrack or to apologize when he is wrong. >> i could talk to you about this all day but i heard earlier -- i'm sorry, the eagles fans we got no time left for you. sorry. i'll see you, bye bye. >> see you. president obama, no surprise, she pushing back hard on the suggestions that this was ransom. >> it wasn't ransom. precisely because if we did we would start encouraging americans to be targeted. >> the white house and state department have officially said the payment was part of a larger $1.7 billion settlement over a

failed 1979 arms deal. i need help on this. we are live in d.c. i'm not sure. i want to talk about this. there's a lot of questions. >> i'm definitely an eagles fan. >> what is the president saying about the timing of this payment because it is weird? >>. >> reporter: the white house saying it all came together in and around the same time. you heard the president stress that the u.s. does not pay ransom. he did say this was part of a long-standing dispute with iran over the past financial issue that the two countries had. the other point that he made is that he knowledged and the administration knowledged that at the time. what is new here is we learned more details about the payment. the fact that this payment actually happened isn't the news. it is the fact that it was a

cash payment. we know donald trump has been hitting president obama for this and secretary clinton. secretary clinton pushing back saying i did lay the groundwork but she was well out of office when this deal was finalized. president obama -- >> didn't it need to be a cash payment? we don't need a banking relationship. >> reporter: that's exactly the point that the white house makes. we don't have a banking relationship because we have so many sanctions against iran. this is not new. they also argue the nuclear deal is working. it's doing what it is supposed to do which is delaying the time it would take to build a bomb. >> i want to talk about the zwrobs report. 255,000 jobs added in july. the unemployment rate at 4.9%. i'm going to guess it will be a big posztive for hillary clinton.

>> reporter: there's no doubt it is a big positive for hillary clinton. you can hear her making the point that the economy is getting stronger. she can't oversell this because there are still a lot of americans who aren't feeling the effects of the recovery. she has been talking about the economy, her economic plans to subsidize programs. she thinks it is an area she can gain ground on donald trump. he is a businessman. he is a person to fix the economy. it gives her a larger opening. i want to do it right now. we are in washington d.c. at the conference. that's national association of black journalists. you can see it all gathering here. in a few hours we will be holding a panel with secretary clinton. we are going to ask her about all of these issues from iran to

her e-mails and looking forward to hearing some of her responses capping what has been a very critical week. >> we'll talk about jobs. the jobs number is a good number. is it a good measure? a lot of under employed people right here. all right. good luck with your interview. we'll bring it to you right here on msnbc. we have to take a look at the big easy. there's a frightening scene, a tornado touching down injuring two. bill is here with more. this is horrible. >> this is right over the main city. a huge population center. they saw it spinning there. it was going over the top of everyone. it was the radar image. a ton of like ning. -- lightning. it is not really a long damaged path. it was an ef-0 tornado.

it was on the weaker end. it is regardless of what is hit that matters. it knocked down three structures. one fell on top and that's two there. again, nothing like that will happen again today but very frightening scenes. you see it overhe top of the city like that. it lifted right back up just as quickly. >> that's not what new orleans needs. >> donald trump heading to wisconsin today. paul ryan's backyard after mr. trump refused to endorse the speaker of the house. now it seems to predict a clinton presidency. and the count down clock. we are hours away from the olympic games starting. we'll take you straight to rio. dog chow for 36 years now. my dog girlfriend is 17 years old. she's been eating dog chow from her very first day and she can still chase squirrels.

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of coursehe elections will not be rigged. what does that mean? >> president obama there seemed a bit dismissive about the warning that the elections could be rigged. he said president obama should ask the dnc how they rigged against bernie. trump will be campaigning in green bay, wisconsin. help me understand, with all of the things mr. trump could focus on, especially today being jobs day, why is he pushing this rigged initiative narrative? >> it is a mystery wrapped inside. basically the only way this week

could go worse for him coming to wisconsin is if he goes to green bay. nothing would surprise me at this point. >> let's talk about paul ryan. he is not going to be there at the rally tonight. he sent out a fundraising e-mail with a quote in it that was very interesting. if we fail today protect our majority in congress we could be handing president hillary clinton a blank check. the last time we heard language like this from we hrepublicans when he was -- is paul ryan causing the election? >> he will be on my radio show live. i will ask him that question. this is something republicans have been talking about. they call it the 1996 strategy. they bail on the ticket. all of the donor money is aimed and directed at down ballot races in congress in the senate.

i think that this may be the first indication that that 1996 strategy is being implemented. >> how about the fact that paul ryan won't be there? how big of a deal is that? >> paul ryan will be fine. he will win over kwhelminglyove. it is the speaker of the wisconsin state assembly issued an open letter to donald trump saying he is embarrassed by the fact that donald trump is leading the ticket and talking about the refusal said he might be able to repair the damage but it cannot be ignored. his lack of judgment and even the most supporters. this has created. you know, this has left a real mark in wisconsin among republicans. it couldn't come at a worst

time. it will be interesting to me. >> we are talking what paul thinks, what donald thinks, can he bounce? >> no. look. i'm not saying that the fat lady is singing but the lights are on in the dressing room here. it is not just that. the it's state by state numbers. they are in denial about what's happening. all of this talk, i just don't see it happening. >> tell me what you want. you have a mass ive amount of followers. what do you want? >> well, i don't get what i want. i mean i spent a year trying to tell fellow republicans don't do this. don't let this happen. >> but you're here. who are you going to vote for? who are you going to vote for?

>> i honestly do not know. what i want is for paul ryan to be renominated and to be reelected. i want conservatives to be able to stand up against these folks. i hope we are able to rebuild the movement after what is a disaster in november. >> you don't know how you are going to vote. it is from the former acting cia director urging people to vote for hillary clinton. we have never heard him take the position one way or another. he worked for democrats and republicans in the past. are you impalcted by this? >> you know, i can't support donald trump. there's no way. i will talk of the libbertarian. it is to vote for gingrich running on cruz's agenda. there is really unease/panic,

disillusion among thchis. some of the stones will start going downhill and you'll see an avalanche of people saying we don't want the stink of donald trump on us. does it mean they go to hillary clinton? some will. i think most will simply hold their nose and maybe even vote for gary johnson. >> trump did turn off military families this week. could this effect them? the cia director, that's an important voice. >> it is an important voice. in terms of the tone daefness of this week, the fact that donald trump and some of his supporters in the alternative media continue to pound on this gold star family really is i think disturbing to a lot of veterans.

people have been respectful of the media. it ought to be his core constituency. i'm not sure trump understands the amount of damage he is doing and how offensive it is. >> all right. thanks for joining us. i will listen up on your conversation later today. coming up here, we will talk the olympic games. new controversy, more than 100 athletes banned from competing. we'll take you live to rio de janeiro. 4 allows me to actually operate my business from everest. i help clients achieve their dreams. being able to go between having a laptop and having a tablet is really important to me... i couldn't do that with my mac. i love that we as humans can go to the top of the world. it's the durability...the reliability...it's incredible.

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countries including russia. ron is live in rio. i want to talk about russia's contingent. more than 100 athletes banned. that is a third of the team due to this doping scandal. what can you tell us? >> reporter: a lot of folks would actually like to see the 271 athletes go home as well. they thought because of the doping that the entire country's athletes should have been barred. they wanted the federations to decide which athletes were clean and which were not. when the games get underway more than 5,000 dopes tests administered here. if there is one positive drug test that all of the calls that the federation, delegation of russian athletes should have been denied access will ramp

right back up. they want to compete and they will do so. they raised the russian flag the other day. there are a lot of eyebrows and once they get it started there will be a lot of eyebrows go up if we get a positive test from a russian athlete. >> a lot of eyebrows raised on rio. you're there on the ground. tonight is the opening ceremony. what's the vieb? >> reporter: well, the vieb is starting to get a little more of a party feel to it. there is a speaker right back here. they are blaring music. we have been here all morning long. in terms of infrastructure, all of the venues appear to be underway. some of the things that aren't quite ready to go, streets and plumbing is a big issue here. one big concern is security and whether this city is ready to protect the games and people

around the world from a possible terrorist avent. some say they are prepared and others say they are not quite prepared. the mayor says they know how to throw a big party here. it is a celebration of the world and they want these games to go off safely. >> they know how to party. before we go, you hadn't seen one single mosquito. how about today? >> reporter: still in the a single one. i did put a double layer of insect repellant to be sure. >> double deet at opening ceremonies. president obama pushing back over allegations he paid a ransom to release american prisoners there. a former ambassador breaks it downright after the break. thatg this out for you. it's your grandpappy's hammer and he would have wanted you to have it.

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>> we'll start with the latest wall street journal poll which shows a 9 point advantage over daily devotional daily devotional nearly doubling her lead. at least 14 people dead and at least 15 more injured when six gunmen lobbed grenades. one of the shooters was killed in a gunfight with police. the search is ongoing for the other five. the national weather service has confirmed a tornado touched down in new orleans yesterday. two hurt and four buildings damaged. george zimmerman was allegedly punched in the face in a restaurant in florida this past sunday. and we are now ten hours away from the olympics opening ceremony. michael phelps will lead the american team into the stadium.

the ser mceremony begins right . president obama try to go diffuse the money thaw donald trump says amounts to a ransom paid for u.s. prisoners. >> you see it. you don't believe it. 400 million in cash being flown in an airplane to iran. >> we announced these payments in january. this wasn't some thdeal. >> they think they probably paid the 400 million for hostages which is even worse. >> joining me now chris hill who also served in the state department and is currently at the university of denver. help me understand this. ie rain yan news sources said these prisoners were released

the same day. if that's a coincidence it is one held of a coincidence. >> obviously we had no interest in doing it on the same day that the hostages arrived. from the iranian perspective they had every interest in doing that. hostage taking is kind of a daily fair. they wanted to show, yes, they released these guys but they have this money. part of a narrative is they have essentially -- well, donald trump is listening to the iranians on this. it was an effort to clean up long-standing issues. they wanted it on the same day. i am sure we were reluctant to do it. they don't have a banking system that's wired in. we had to do it by cash. the combination of cash and timing makes it all look bad.

>> explain to me exactly what this $400 million is and where it came from. >> well, these were long-standing amounts of money going back to the 1970s having to do with the purchase of spare parts. so the iranians paid and they had a revolution and the u.s. never delivered the goods. it was money that was given to us for the purchase of arms and equipment and we never gave the arms and equipment. so now we are returning the money. >> this was iran's money to begin with. >> absolutely. >> we are returning it with interest. >> i want to continue with something that's a little more confusing. donald trump talking about a video, one that no one could find. when asked about it yesterday this is what harry reid said. take a look. have you seen that video? do you know what he is talking

about? >> no. my staff can't see it. it is really really bad. he let everyone think that it was some secret briefing he had. it was nothing. remember, it was iran's money. >> sheer what i don't get. is he saying the video is bad or is it bad that donald trump is saying there is a video? >> my sense is clearly the latter. as usual most of us are not privy to what goes on in donald trump's mind. i'm not sure what he is talking about there but i think he is trying to get out this notion that it was all about payments to do something the administration denied doing. >> he may be backtracking. he is not backtrack as it relates to the middle east. his campaign released a statement saying hillary clinton and president obama bear the direct responsibility of having

left isis take firm hold in iraq, libya and syria. how do you explain the rise of isis? >> it is a function of a lot of things. i want to stress it is a function of the people in the middle east. you have more radical so-- the notion that the united states -- well, i don't want to describe it on family time tv but it's not troouthful. >> thank you so much. chris hill. >> pleasure. donald trump talking about who he would like in his cabinet, the one name he kept coming back to, his daughter. we'll dive back with that with paul ryan. he joins me next.

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donald trump's campaign faces growing criticism from within his own party. he joins me now. good morning, dan. >> good morning. >> i want to start with a quote in the wall street journal. she says when you act as if you're insane people are liable to think you're insane. that's what happened this week. people are saying donald trump, the wheels came off this week. is that what happened? >> i think for a lot of people that just started paying attention that may be the case. anybody who may be following that primary closely, whether it is republican elected leaders and activists, we are coming on the one-year anniversary when it

came down and called mexicans rapists. soon after that he said john mccain isn't a hero. from then it was every other couple of weeks. so why is everybody surprised? there has been a striking consistency. at any time anybody following this closely. you can see donald trump has the values or character or integrity of the united states? no. >> he can because he got the nomination. when we said back in june, listen, he is never going to get smart gop donors. he just raised a lot of money. so a lot of people around him said don't worry. we know he acts like a little

bit of a maniac. once he hass the primary wrapped up there will be a pivot. in the primary he got 12 to 13 million votes. now it is about 130 million votes at stake. he has not pivoted. they said don't worry. when he is president he'll have good people around him and he'll act like a commander in chief. what evidence is that based on? there is no evidence during the career of the past year to back that up. > >> when asked what woman he would put in the first cabinet he said his daughter, ivanka. >> i can tell you there are a number of very talented from outside of washington female republican leaders.

take nikki, hailly, suzanne that martinez. if you wanted to take someone from inside congress, the youngest member of congress. the youngest republican member of congress is a woman in new york. there is an incredible bench of talented leaders. kelly could be a secretary of defense. she is a real national security expert. he is ignoring all of this and relying on people who may or may not be qualified. it is absurd. >> it is a part of the country who is very scared in terms of national security. they haven't thought hillary clinton is doing enough. today mike morell put out urging

people to vote for hillary clinton. do you think this is going to impact voters? there is some talk that donald trump lost some military. could his peace really effect voters? >> not as a stand alone but the clinton campaign strategy is twofold. one raised serious questions about donald trump's temperament. they ignored health care healthcare's on all of the issues. donald trump has the wrong temperament. national security sources weigh in. the way they test the temperament issue is getting surrogates like this to speak out and, b, what was so amazing about the khan family is before that he had fought against people. he fought with john mccain.

it is hard to think he is the weak un. even, you know, mike bloomberg gives a, but when he punches down that have fewer power and less able to fight back, when he punches at that you wonder if this man has a serious temperament issue and he is a real bully. it raises questions. do we want to put it in these guys hands. zb when we are talking about the all star line uphill ri had or the former cia director, does it matter to donald trump's core, his base? we had another good job number. he said the economy is doing really well. they are saying you have forgotten me, president obama. they are in donald trump's corner in a big way.

>> so i agree that it is probably unpersuadable. it is not large enough to win a presidential election. romney got 61 million votes. >> donald trump has to be able to lock down romney's voters and win every state and expand from there. if he wins what romney won he has to loose. what you're telling me is true. how is he going to reach beyond that? i don't see the behavior doing that. all right. this week the president said he was unfit. you have said that in the past. the dump trump movement didn't work. what are you going to do? are you going to vote for hillary? >> neither are acceptable to me. there are a couple of options. i know it sounds laughable. there is still enough filing deadlines that if someone wants

to get in. it is a low probability. >> saying that's chance. >> that's low probability but not impossible probability. i will probably write in a candidate. >> who is -- >> i don't know. i don't like johnson. i don't like the things he has been saying over the last few days. i think they are reaching a big thing. i think if they changed their focus, a lot of conservative voters and they could poll above 15%. if they poll above 15% they wind up on the debate stage. if they get on the debate stage it could shake things up. >> he thought -- so you're saying there is a chance. they continue to battle mosquitos. we'll talk to a miami doctor

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zika is a serious tlehreat americans, especially babies right now. so once again i want to urge americans to call their members of congress, help protect the american people from zika. >> president obama implors lawmakers to pass the funding to combat zika. 15 cases have mosquitoes. joining me now, doctor jorge perez, chair of the center for women and infants at south miami hospital. good morning, dr. perez. help us understand how federal and state officials given you enough resources you need to battle zika? >> good morning, everybody. thank you very much for having me here. it's getting better. i know the governor and cdc representatives here in miami yesterday, looking at the area in question, which is the area north of downtown miami, called wynwood.

but obviously, we can do a better job. >> the state announced that the tests would be free to pregnant women. i want to play a little of governor rick scott. >> we're going to do everything we can to get as many test kits we can, and make sure we can meet all the demand. >> are there enough test kits, and as the governor said, these test kits will be free, because insurance companies aren't paying for them. do you have enough on hand? >> we are -- actually, they are becoming a lot easier to obtain. as of now, they're not as simple to obtain. but i know the governor has said it's going to be free for all women, because you're right. the testing and the private labs are anywhere between $150 and $500. for some women, that's way too much money for them to afford. >> so you are offering these tests to the women who cannot afford it, correct? >> well, the governor says this testing will be available for these women. >> for you, are you in a situation with these women coming in -- is it anxiety, high alert, panic? help us understand what it's

like down there. >> well, it's more anxiety. i think everybody is in high alert here in south florida, because of the 15 cases that have been reported oh in that one square mile diameter north of downtown miami. i think for us, for right now, we're trying to educate as many people just to be -- to take all of the precautionary measures in order to either stay out of the area and if you're in the area, make sure you wear repellants and long-sleeve shirts and pants which hopefully will basically try to combat the transmission of the zika virus. >> how concerned are you, though, for your pregnant patients about wearing repel lasts, which do have many toxins in them about the ariel spray. that can't be good for a pregnant woman. >> i think the alternative is worse. i think as we all know, the alternative, which is getting the virus transmitted to pregnant women is even -- is worse. we know that the severist form,

microcephaly, this is a chronic, life-long, lasting problem. and that's going to be devastating for our society and cost and medical care, what i've read in the past, basically up to $10 million per child, per lifetime. >> wow. dr. perez, thank you for your work and thank you for joining us this morning, covering the zika virus in south florida. >> thank you for having me. coming up, the countdown to rio is nearly complete. we'll head back to brazil for a sneak preview of the opening ceremony. i'm going to tell you, i have olympic fever. and phelps back in the pool. stay with us. let's feed him to the sharks! squuuuack, let's feed him to the sharks! yay! and take all of his gold! and take all of his gold! ya! and hide it from the crew! ya...? squuuuack, they're all morons anyway! i never said that. they all smell bad too. no! you all smell wonderful! i smell bad! if you're a parrot, you repeat things. it's what you do.

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the pressure is on, brazil! nbc's ron mott is live in rio with an exclusive preview of the big ceremony. ron, what are we going to see tonight? i've been to carnival. it's pretty fantastic. >> reporter: yeah. this is supposed to be a little notch above all of that. can you imagine the pressure, as you mentioned, of having a five-year party you've planned, so the brazilians are ready to get going tonight with the magical opening ceremony. the creative director is calling it cool. so we'll just have to see if they live up to that. now, one of the big honors of any of these athletes walking into the opening ceremonies is being the flag bearer for your country. michael phelps, who has -- whose man kind of has goto look like fort knox, he's going to be the flag bearer for the usa, obviously honored about that. one of the prices that is no longer a surprise is that tom brady's wife, the super model, gisele bunch kin, is going to appear at the opening ceremonies. we don't know if that's live or on video. so a lot of people, obviously, will be looking for her tonight.

also, they're going to light the cauldron. and that is going to be a surprise. a lot of people, a lot of speculation buzz on the ground, it will be the soccer great pele, 75 years old, the muhammad ally, 1996 moment in atlanta. i can't imagine it being anyone else. but that moment of surprise when that payoff, if it is him, is going to obviously send a shock of electricity through the city. >> let's talk about athletic events this weekend. what's the must-watch tv? we know that women's soccer kicked off two nights ago. what are we going to see this weekend? >> well, there's a lot of great events. a good weekend for people to plant themselves on the couch and veg out on olympic sports. the u.s. women's soccer team, trying to win their fourth gold in a row, their fifth overall. trying to become the first women's team to win the world cup one year and then the very next year, win olympic gold. and they've got a good start with the win over new zealand

the other day, a 2-0 victory. they play france tomorrow. also tomorrow coming up, usa basketball against china, the nba stars, kevin durant, carmelo anthony, hit the chinese tomorrow. that's later in the day, about 6:00 local time here. and then on sunday, we've got swimming and also we've got gymnastics. keep an eye on gymnastics, very special. >> i never miss gymnastics and never veg out when i'm watching, ron, i make my kids run around the house, play soccer, do pullups. and when we're watching it, we can watch all oftive right here on nbc. ron, you are so lucky to be there,njoy e it tonight. i'll see you next we. for me, that's going to wrap us up this hour. i'm stephanie rhule. coming up right now, more news with chris jansing. you're leaving tomorrow, right? >> i'm leaving tonight for the olympic games. i'm sorry you're not going to be with us. >> i'm going to be your number-one fan. >> thank you, stephanie and good morning, all.

hillary clinton nearly doubles her lead over donald trump. it's our "wall street journal" poll, secretary clinton nine points ahead of trump. to put that in perspective, president obama in 2008 never had a lead that large until late october. and he ultimately won by seven points. a new mcclatchy marist poll shows a wider margin for clinton. 15 points. these new poll numbers come on the heels of some of president obama's sharpest criticisms yet of donald trump. following the republican nominee's remarks over the past few days. >> $400 million in cash being flown in an airplane to iran. >> this wasn't some nefarious deal. we do not pay ransom for hostages. >> hillary clinton, furthermore, can never be trusted with national security. in fact, we're both supposed to be briefed in the not too distant future. and i'm saying, you can't brief her. >> they have been told, these are classified briefings.

and if they want to being president, they've got to start acting like president. >> i'm afraid the election is going to be rigged. >> of course, the elections will not be rigged. what does that mean? >> we're joined now by nbc's hallie jackson in green bay, wisconsin, where donald trump holds a rally later this evening. and "new york times" political