randy if he can shun distracting from trump to put a more serious face on his campaign. susan colins indicating she won't vote for trump. in a "washington post" opinion piece, very writes, quote, the unpleasant reality i had to accept, there will be no new donald trump. just the same candidate, who will slash and burn and trample anything and anyone he perceives as being in his way or an easy scapegoat. regrettably, his essential character appears to be fixed and he seems incapable of change or growth. basically, 50 top republican officials signing a letter, condemning trump for his, quote, alarming ignorance on national security matters. this morning on "fox business," trump was asked whether he could and would adjust his campaign behavior. >> my temperament has gotten me here. i've always had a good temperament and it's gotten me here. we meet a lot of people in the primaries and now we have one person left, and we're actually

doing pretty well there. but we'll see how it all comes out. we have some good state information. we have some good -- we actually have some very good polling information. >> all right. so let's talk about that, because despite trump's remarks about very good polling information, examining the polls shows otherwise. the latest online poll from nbc news and survey monkey falls in line with previous polling from other media organizations, showing a double digit lead for hillary clinton. on monday, trump spent much of his serious economic speech doing what republicans have pleaded for him to do. keeping his anger trained on his democratic opponent. >> detroit is still waiting for hillary clinton's apology. she has been a disaster. obama has been a disaster. i expect detroit will get that apology right around the same time hillary clinton turns over the 33,000 e-mails she deleted.

>> so nbc's hallie jackson in fayetteville, north carolina, near where donald trump is expected to hold a rally coming up in a few hours. good morning to you, and it seems like republicans like the economic speech that trump delivered. but then we have got those reviews coming with the pile on of gop defections, national security officials. does the campaign feel that trump 2.0 is working? >> reporter: what is trump 2.0, though, thomas? we talk about it, have been talking about it for months. you know i've been covering republicans for the last year and change now. we've heard trump 2.0, haven't necessarily seen it. that said, you are seeing from his advisers comments like publicly, hey, we are now into the general election season. trump knows that -- knows what he needs to do, a phrase i keep hearing again and again, publicly and privately. trump this morning on fox talked about, hey, why does he need to change when he has been winning. the question, he has been winning in the polls and hasn't

been winning over elected officials in congress. people like susan collins in maine coming out with the scathing op-ed in the "washington post." you've got trump responding, not just to national security officials who have said that he could be, if elected, the most reckless president in american history. but to people like susan collins, tweeting this morning, essentially trying to paint a picture of the washington insiders versus trump as the guy who will change up washington. let me read this tweet. pull it up on screen here. of he said i'm running against the washington insiders, just like i did in the republican primaries. these are the people that have made the u.s. a mess. so it is again donald trump trying to paint himself as somebody who will change up the status quo. what's interesting to me, thomas, this is the same strategy that he ran on during the primaries on the gop side, a strategy that was successful to him. it appear as though when you look at trump's patterns, he continues to relitigate the primaries, to reference those primaries, talk about republicans that went against him in the primaries.

he believes that is a strategy that will work for him now that he's in the general election as well. we're going to play a sound bite from "morning joe" who say they're not voting for trump, not voting for clinton. they're voting for one of the other candidates in this race. listen. >> the nominee for our party, the republican nominee, i am just convinced is so lacking in judgment and temperament and in character that i think he really represents a true risk to our country. and i can't in good conscience support him. >> reporter: congressman ridgell talking about how he can't support trump. >> halle, thank you very much. we'll see you later today. the trump event taking place in north carolina. i want to bring in michael steele, msnbc political analyst, former rnc chairman. michael, good to have you with me. >> hey, man. >> we can talk about olympics later and phelps. >> oh, please. >> but let's get down to

business here with politics. and trump's economic speech and the lack of current party unity. so yesterday revealed his desire in the speech to repeal and replace obamacare. i want to show what he said in 2013 about obamacare as this unifying theme for republicans. take a listen. >> one of my first acts as president will be to repeal and replace disastrous obamacare. saving another 2 million american jobs. >> what do you think about the republican brand right now, back at home? >> well, i think it was badly hurt and i think it was -- i think it's very disunited. if they were together, they could have gotten something, and maybe something very good. but you have two factions, and it's very disunited. and really trouble. i will say this, however. president obama has got to do something with his website, and obamacare.

because that is absolutely hurting him so badly. >> it certainly gives of something for republicans to unite around. as you say, to redefine their brand. >> well, by the way, they are very united around obamacare. but they're not -- i mean, you have such different and such divergent views. i think if they don't get that fixed -- if they don't get obamacare going, and i'm not a fan of obamacare. but if they don't get it going, that will be devastating for the democrats. >> in 2013, trump knew opposition to obamacare was a rallying cry for republicans. so is that speech yesterday enough to stitch the hemorrhage of gop support for him? >> i think we're talking about two parallel universes, thomas. to be honest about it. you've got the folks who are the washington elected -- the ridgells and the -- you know, folks from maine and elsewhere. susan collins. who -- you know, they're just not there. they're not with trump. i suspect susan collins didn't vote for trump in the primary, didn't support him in the primary. so a lot of this is not lost on

the other side of the equation, the rank and file republicans. who do support trump. and he still has a great deal of energy among -- so that conversation he's been having more recently is more tailored to them. he's not trying to apiece the folks who travel to new york and d.c. and elsewhere. that's not his audience. his audience is much -- is much closer to the ground, and i think that's what that tweet was about. is to remind folks, you know, the people coming after me are the very people who created the mess that has pissed you off in the first place. and i'm the guy who is going to go in and deal with that head-on. so that's the message he needs to -- you know, arguably, if approximate he really wants to pull his wagon out of the mud, is to get traction with that message again as he it in the primary. to sort of get himself into september and towards the first debate. >> just getting p.o.ed people to come out for you isn't what is needed in the white house. we have seen that demonstrated in other campaign cycles.

you brought up susan collins. that makes six republican senators refusing to support this candidate. is that destabilizing to this campaign or to your other point, is that a benefit to trump, who wants to continue to be seen as the outsider? >> well, i think -- to be honest, i think it benefits him more than hurts him inside the party. this is the trick. how do you then navigate around that outside, when you're trying to get independent voters? when you're in the hole with women by some 35 points. we want to talk about minority votes. that's completely off the table. so this en you do have to figure out, where do you find those other coalitions? so for trump, unfortunately, he's got to rebrand after the last ten days of just a hot mess to create a new environment in which he can continue this conversation. because, believe it or not, that inside/outside washington argument does have appeal among a lot of those other supporters out there, other voters who aren't necessarily supporting him right now. >> i want to talk about that hot

mess, where we go from here, because based on new polling, it shows trump failing to attractive the same support as romney did in 2012 and without college degrees, and romney finished better than the level of support trump is now attracting. women with college degrees, romney won by six. trump is down by 30. do you think at this point the signals republicans need to look for and something to bring donald trump back on track is a commitment to the republican debates? hillary clinton locked in yesterday to the independent schedule put out. should trump say yes to those? >> yeah, i think he should. look, the calendar is a calendar. there are no good dates, really, in the fall when you -- between baseball, football -- it's just tough. so, yeah, a lot of smart people sat down and figured out when is the best avenue and the best time to do this. commit to the debate, and then begin to do the prep you need to have to get ready for that debate. i think you take that question off the table as soon as you

possibly can. >> michael steele, thank you, sir. we will talk olympics offline. >> you got it, bud. >> good to see you. robert rice joining us now, labor secretary for the clinton administration, he is currently an economics professor at the university of california at berkeley. also the author of "saving capitalism for the many, not the few." good to have you with me. your reaction from trump's plan. >> i thought it was a step back from the brink, the nonsense we have been hearing from the republicans for years. essentially, a rehash of paul ryan's plan which means you give tax breaks to the people at the top, and you expect the benefits to trickle down to everybody else and they never do. >> so when we think about what this means, and we know that there is components of last year that have changed, for instance, the slightly higher marginal tax rate, is that good enough? >> well, it's not good enough, in terms of the american economy. i don't think it's good enough in terms of politics, either. i mean, he did have a couple of things in there that sounded

populist, that sounded like they were for working people. for example, the child care tax deductibility. if you look closer, you find the child care ductability is not going to help most people. most people don't pay enough taxes and they aren't able to afford that much child care. it's really going to help much higher income people who can pay for and do pay for a lot of child care and have a lot of taxes that they can deduct the child care from. the same thing with, you know, closing the loopholes. this carried interest loophole that hedge fund and private equity partners, they love. it sounds like, by going after that, donald trump is really being very populist. but actually, at the same time, he's lowering the top marginal tax rates for everybody, and he's also lowering the business tax rate. so those private equity and hedge fund managers at partners come out almost where they were before. so the whole thing is kind of a gimmick, a pt barnum conshow and

that's exactly what the entire campaign is about. >> when it comes to what was demonstrated under the clinton administration during your time working there, a lot of folks think about the money growth then as the good-time '90s and a capitalist economy, pro growth. so if we're trying to get back to that, reduce inflation, reignite growth, what's the best way to do it? >> what we did in the clinton administration, which, remember, created 22 million net new jobs. it was the longest and most buoyant recovery in the entire post war era. i mean, you do serving things. you reduce taxes on middle class, you increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for investments and infrastructure and investments in education. you make sure that your people are able to compete in this international economy that we are in, whether we like it or not. you do not revert to protectionism or to

isolationism, and basically, you have kind of a common sense approach to economic policy. i think we're going to hear that from hillary clinton when she gives her detroit economic speech on thursday. and this is very much in contrast to the supply side trickle-down kind of nonsense that we hear from donald trump. a lot of negative stuff. we also heard from trump. >> robert, she's campaigned using president clinton as -- i'll put him in charge of the economy. do you think that's going to come up in detroit or do you think she should avoid that? >> well, i think she should avoid it. i think she will avoid it. president clinton, the former president clinton, was a -- i think, a wonderful president. i was very proud to be part of that administration. but people have mixed feelings, obviously, about bill clinton, and he's not really being elected now. i think she he is going to be elected on her own. i think she will be elected. the donald trump campaign right now is melting down. because of donald trump. it's not because hillary clinton has suddenly said something or

done something that is very, very remarkable and surprising to people. she is known. she is a known quantity. donald trump is becoming a known quantity. and there is no reset button, there is no reboot to donald trump. he's just exactly the way he always was. he will be. he's not going to change. and i think that's going to mean wider and wider margins for hillary clinton. >> former labor secretary, robert reich. thanks for joining me. hillary clinton wrapping up a two-day tour in florida. a visit to a miami clinic to talk about the public threat of zika. and marco rubio draws fire over his recent opposition to abortions for women affected with the virus. plus -- >> 14 million votes and nobody else got close to that. and so that's just the way the system works. >> paul ryan facing more questions about donald trump. as he campaigns on the night before his wisconsin primary election. will he survive a challenge from a man who just last week drew praise from trump? (riley) hey guys! what's up?

(jessica) so the new recipe of beneful is really excellent. the first ingredient is chicken. (riley) man, this chicken is spectacular! (jessica) i had to start hiding the bag because he would try to put his face in it all day. yeah you love it, don't you? you love it so much! i feel like when he eats beneful, he kind turns into a puppy again. it's protein. it's vegetables. it's grains. i mean, like that sounds like a dinner i'd make for myself, right? (riley) hey it's a big bag. just have some of mine. (vo) try new beneful healthy weight with chicken. now with real chicken as the number one ingredient, healthful. flavorful. beneful. sorry ma'am. no burning here. ugh. heartburn. try new alka-seltzer heartburn relief gummies. they don't taste chalky and work fast. mmmm. incredible. can i try? she doesn't have heartburn. new alka seltzer heartburn relief gummies. enjoy the relief.

this just got interesting. why pause to take a pill? or stop to find a bathroom? cialis for daily use is approved to treat both erectile dysfunction and the urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas for pulmonary hypertension, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any symptoms of an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis and a $200 savings card

house speaker, paul ryan, facing a primary challenger today for his district seat in his home state of wisconsin. ryan is expected to win. the man at the top of the gop ticket in november complicating matters. trump inserted himself in the primary race from praising ryan's opponent, paul nehlen, to initially refuse to go endorse the speaker. both candidates in today's primary filled in questions on trump in their last day of campaigning. >> he won the votes, fair and square. he won more votes than everybody else, enough delegates to get the nomination and the convention occurred a couple weeks ago where he got the nomination. he's the nominee. how it works in our party. >> we need to have a barack obama term, which paul ryan will rubber stamp to ship our jobs overseas and take money and food

off the table of american workers. >> daniel booes joins us now. good to have you here. as we look at the polling, paul ryan ahead by a wide margin, all held before trump's entrance in the race last week. and it's unlikely based on the polls that ryan is going to lose here. has this episode affected the speaker's standing in his home state? >> i think it probably bolstered his standing. i think this is a case where trump inserted himself and it probably did more damage to trump than it did to paul ryan. you know, back in april, he did something very similar, getting involved in attacking scott walker, who is much less popular than paul ryan. paul ryan is the most popular republican in the state. and donald trump is not popular here. so i think if anything it back fired. >> all right. so when we think about nbc news having its own projections and all of this, wisconsin right now liens towards clinton.

and the democrats coming up in november. sanders handily won the state. is there a way for trump to capitalize on any of that sanders support, the anti establishment message, or is he exposing too much that will drive people to clinton? >> well, you know, he's just not very popular right now in the state. but i think there is an opening for him. his style has been attack, attack, attack, which works very well in the primary. but doesn't work so well when you're attacking in august the speaker of the house and other republicans here. people here don't appreciate that. and it's just not worked. but the thing is, donald trump is very thin-skinned. and i'm sure skins may when paul ryan said, you know, he wasn't ready to endorse donald trump that that's been grating on trump. >> right. well, you say that that basically -- the trump cold shoulder that ryan initially got, not getting an endorsement

full-throatedly and with enthusiasm early on is kind of a net benefit to ryan back at home. this morning on "morning joe," joe scarborough said that ryan's skeptical endorsement of trump is actually going to be career-ending. do you think that based on the fact that -- yeah, career-ending. this will be politicly toxic to him moving forward. he didn't want the job as speaker to begin with. i think he has recalculated his political aspirations based on what his current role is. do you see that as being career-ending, the fact he had to rally blind behind a man he doesn't want to support? >> you can tell all of the time that he's incredibly uncomfortable with his endorsement. he's been very critical of him at every turn, and last week he said in an endorsement is not a blank check. and he's had a very, very hard time articulating why he thinks voters should vote for trump. he's been very good at saying why you shouldn't vote for hillary clinton. but he's -- any time you ask him

to say why you should vote for trump, it becomes a message about why you shouldn't vote for hillary clinton. i think, you know, we're talking about -- we're talking about two different things. joe is talking about what it means for his career nationally. i don't think it hurts him in the state very much. he still, as i said, incredibly popular. the only politician right now who is more popular than paul ryan in the states is barack obama. >> right. well -- or michelle, for that matter. michelle obama. but daniel, when -- >> michelle -- >> the rnc autopsy, he was based on the romney/ryan ticket and the anti sis, exactly the playbook that donald trump has flown in the face. so for a national jump forward out of being speaker, again, a job that he begrudgingly accepted, does paul ryan in november -- how does he shake any despair over this endorsement? is it just the fact he says,

well, it was fair and square, he won, i was just playing along? >> yeah. i think that's what he's got to do. he's trying to make sure that he keeps some distance throughout the race. and i think he's reserving the right to break from him, if there is something catastrophic that goes on. but it is a difficult thing for him as speaker, because he's -- he is endorsing him. however reluctantly. he is on board with him. and there are consequences for that. so i mean, it is possible if things do employblow up and go incredibly poorly that -- you know, that there will be consequences for him nationally. >> but something that he can salvage to continue. daniel bice will the "milwaukee journal sentinel." we appreciate your insight and you're busy getting for the primary going on in wisconsin. thank you. after a computer failure forced the world's second-largest airline to ground all flights, more cancellations

today. how much longer will the domino effect last? we're going to dig into that. and three young girls fall from a ferris wheel at a county fair in tennessee, dropping as much as 45 feet before hitting the ground. >> two of the children were alert answering questions. i can't tell you whether the third was or not. but the third -- the third child was -- does have a head injury. >> so how could this happen? an update on the investigation, next. t but in fifteen hundred miles, you'll see what you're really made of. after five hours of spinning and one unfortunate ride on the gravitron, your grandkids spot a 6 foot banana that you need to win. in that moment, you'll be happy you partnered with a humana care manager and got your health back on track. because that banana isn't coming home with you until that bell sings. great things are ahead of you when your health is ready for them. at humana, we can help you with a personalized plan for your health for years to come. [ crowd noisewhoa.

[ gears stopping ] when your pain reliever stops working, your whole day stops. try this. but just one aleve has the strength to stop pain for 12 hours. tylenol and advil can quit after 6. so live your whole day, not part... with 12 hour aleve. mother in-law with a glad bag, full of trash. what happens next? nothing. only glad has febreze to neutralize odors for 5 days. guaranteed. even the most perceptive noses won't notice the trash. be happy. it's glad. real is touching a ray. amazing is moving like one. real is making new friends. amazing is getting this close. real is an animal rescue. amazing is over twenty-seven thousand of them.

there's only one place where real and amazing live. book a seaworld vacation package and eat free. ssoon, she'll be binge-studying. get back to great. this week sharpie singles now twenty-five cents. office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great. thiswell we thought geench programmed machines to talk. ge is an industrial company that actually builds world-changing machines. machines that can talk to each other digitally. hello? they don't talk to each other like that, ricky. shhhh, you'll anger it. he looks a little ticked off now. mapping the oceans.

where we explore. protecting biodiversity. everywhere we work. defeating malaria. improving energy efficiency. developing more clean burning natural gas. my job? my job at exxonmobil? turning algae into biofuels. reducing energy poverty in the developing world. making cars go further with less. fueling the global economy. and you thought we just made the gas. ♪ energy lives here. so the world's tallest water slide remains closed today as kansas authorities try to figure out what caused a 10-year-old's death on sunday. the son of a state lawmaker died from a neck injury, and experts are questioning whether we can rely on the parks to always be safe. >> we are trusting that the host of a business, whether it's a fixed facility, an amusement park or a water park, even if

it's a traveling facility to provide rides that someone is looking out for our safety. i think the challenge is, we don't always know what level that is, and what the oversight is. >> two adult women who were also on the ride suffered minor facial injuries. we take you to tennessee, three girls injured last night after falling from a ferris wheel at a county fairground. the three were taken to the hospital after falling as much as 35 feet. one suffered a head injury, the other two alert answering questions. all amusement rides are closed today, as authorities determine what caused the accident. another rough day for travelers on delta air lines. cancelled 250 flights today. the airline struggles to recover from a computer outage that forced it to scrub 1,000 flights monday. delta will be handing out refunds and $200 travel vouchers. the company recommends travelers check the status of their flight

at delta.com and on their mobile app. as more republicans speak out against donald trump, he's firing back against the 50 former national security officials from the republican side who say he would be, quote, the most reckless president in american history. >> look at the mess we're in. whether it's the middle east or anyone else. and these were the people that have been there a long time, washington establishment people that have been there for a long time. look at the terrible job they have done. >> meanwhile, a pilon of elected gop leaders coming out against him. will this cause more to say they can't support him? hillary clinton talking about zika affected people in florida. staying in rhythm, it's how i try to live, how i stay active. and to keep up this pace, i need the right nutrition. so i drink boost®. boost® complete nutritional drink

has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones, and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. in three delicious flavors. i'm not about to swim in the slow lane. stay strong. stay active with boost®. and you needed a tow. did your 22-page insurance policy say, "great news. you're covered?" no. it said, "blah blah blah blah..." the liberty mutual app with coverage compass™ makes it easy to know what you're covered for and what you're not. liberty mutual insurance. trust number one doctor recommended dulcolax constipated? use dulcolax tablets for gentle overnight relief suppositories for relief in minutes and stool softeners for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax, designed for dependable relief

mother in-law with a glad bag, full of trash. what happens next? nothing. only glad has febreze to neutralize odors for 5 days. guaranteed. even the most perceptive noses won't notice the trash. be happy. it's glad. sorry ma'am. no burning here. ugh. heartburn. try new alka-seltzer heartburn relief gummies. they don't taste chalky and work fast. mmmm. incredible. can i try? she doesn't have heartburn. new alka seltzer heartburn relief gummies. enjoy the relief. welcome back, everybody. hillary clinton will call on congress to act on funding to fight the zika virus.

she is going to make that call while in a miami neighborhood. in that city being the front lines of efforts to stop zika here in the u.s. nbc's kristen welker is covering the clinton campaign and joins me now from florida. kristen, we're going to get to the zika portion of the clinton visit in just a moment. but the father of the pulse nightclub shooter was seen at clinton's campaign stop yesterday and i know you have reaction from the clinton camp to that. >> reporter: i do. just a short time ago, we heard from the clinton campaign about this, thomas. and i'll read you the reaction that we are getting. one campaign official saying, quote, the rally was a 3,000-person open-door event for the public. this individual wasn't invited as a guest, and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event. now, i attended that event, i can tell you that secretary clinton talked about the orlando shooting, the extent to which she wants to try to prevent tragedies like that from happening again. and omar mateen's father was essentially sitting behind her. he was interviewed by local tv stations, one asking what were

you thinking when secretary clinton started talking about the orlando shooting and he said we have been cooperating with investigators and then he made the point that he has every right to be there, just like anyone else who lives here. but it is certainly getting a lot of attention here today, thomas. >> absolutely. and being right over her shoulder there, behind her on her left-hand side, visible, and also, again, being chased down by reporters to give comment about why he would attend. very interesting, and certainly a reflection of the clinton camp to respond so quickly. she laid flowers at the memorial i think on another campaign trip not that long ago. >> reporter: that's right. and this is something that she has been talking about and on the day the shooting happened, she was obviously very quick to respond to talk about the need for tighter gun controls, to try to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them. and that's, of course, been a big hot-button issue, one she talked about yesterday when she spoke in kissimmee, florida.

this is obviously a critical swing state, thomas. this is one of what we anticipate to be several trips in the coming weeks and months ahead of election day. >> but the biggest pressing concern right now for floridans, zika and what's taking place between local officials and elected members of congress. >> reporter: right. so today secretary clinton is going to be touring a health center in miami that is treating a number of zika patients, and her message there is going to be to congress to pass legislation that would go toward funding research and treatment and trying to find a vaccine for this disease. and she's particularly going to focus on republicans in congress and urge them to call back a session and to vote on legislation that has been pending. that's just been sitting there. republicans are already pushing back and saying that, look, it's democrats who wouldn't sign off on this legislation. well, the reason for that, thomas, is because it includes controversial cuts to planned parenthood funding that

democrats want to pass a piece of legislation that only deals with zika funding. so i anticipate secretary clinton is going to talk about all of that today. but florida officials are also calling on the federal government to do more, to help fight this disease that is really a pressing issue here in this community and others throughout the united states. >> and getting a clean funding bill would be interesting to see that achieved. nbc's kristen welker, reporting in orlando. kissimmee, florida. thank you so much. we bring in politico's marc caputo from florida to talk more about this. and marc, you heard kristen there talking about clinton's hopes of getting a clean funding bill. but calling on congress to act on this, do you think that is a risk for her to politicize? >> well, i think it's become political already. and governor rick scott has called on congress to do the same thing. hillary clinton has. so there's bipartisan agreement that congress basically sucks, at least when it comes to this issue. right now zika really hasn't hit major crisis levels. there aren't people dying. but there are children being born, at least in other countries, with microcephaly, which you get -- pregnant women

get from zika or pass on to their child. so that's really the crux of this problem. florida has the most infections of any state, 425. 55 of those infections are pregnant women. so that's a problem. and the problem that you have in congress is just this desire to kind of float up bills with extraneous things and score political points. >> as florida's governor, rick scott says he wants a clean funding bill, as well. has he gone that far, just as hillary clinton would ask, or do they anticipate it would have to be filled with other type of pork projects? >> he says pass something. rick scott has not come out firmly and said pass a clean bill. marco rubio has. rubio, as you probably know, sponsored the president's original zika legislation, which then got kind of dismembered in the house. the larger problem here is, it's -- this is a problem in florida and perhaps in some southeastern states. it's not seen as a nationwide problem. so the nationwide legislative body, congress, doesn't view it the same way that floridans view it, which is an emerging crisis.

>> meanwhile, in your latest article, you point to rick scott, and he could be the main problem responsible for the lack of funding for zika. and i want to give a listen to what he said to nbc's chuck todd on "meet the press" about this. >> we still need the federal government to show up. the congress has to work together. is this a national international issue. it's not just a floor issue. >> explain where the fault lies. he did ask for special funding after the tragedy in orlando that was denied by the federal government. whose feet does this lie at, marc? who should be held responsible, the governor, federal officials, or both? >> well, i would say congress is responsible for not doing its job. but rick scott has had a complicated relationship between cutting government services and cutting government money and then turning around and saying, look, we need more government money. his first year in the state house, governor rick scott cut mosquito control funding. he then essentially restored it

and overtime, it's held flat with a 2% annual increase. he also has cut very social services, including some of the clinics you're seeing in the news. hillary clinton is going to a health care clinic in miami that over the years has had its state money reduced. now there's a lot of finger-pointing going on, because it's related to the state's failure to expand obamacare and the obama administration's decision to reduce a certain amount of medicaid money to the state, perhaps as a result. in the end, rick scott is right. hillary clinton is right. barack obama is right. and marco rubio is right. congress is not doing its job and as a result we're not going to see a lot of federal money come in until someone in congress basically says, hey, do your job and i wouldn't hold my breath that that's going to happen. >> marc caputo, thank you. good to have you with me. >> thank you. next, clinton's widening lead over donald trump. the 50-plus national security officials calling trump dangerous and now a growing list of republican congressional

lawmakers saying they won't vote for him, with all of this and more providing cover to republicans looking for a reason to back away. the exit ramp from this gop presidential nominee. only wendy's can make the baconator. because while some other guys use frozen beef from far away. that's 9,429 miles away. wendy's only uses fresh beef from ranches close by. so we don't have to freeze it. then add six strips of bacon, cooked fresh in an oven never a microwave. topped with plenty of... (all together) cheese! without a single veggie to get in the way. proving once and for all... that only wendy's has the bacon and the ator to make the baconator. the search for relief often leads... here... here... or here. today, there's a new option. introducing drug-free aleve direct therapy. a tens device with high intensity power that uses technology once only available in doctors' offices. its wireless remote lets you control the intensity.

and helps you get back to things like... this... this... or this. and back to being yourself. introducing new aleve direct therapy. find yours in the pain relief aisle. at ally bank, no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like grandkids equals free tech support. oh, look at you, so great to see you! none of this works. come on in. a universal expression of disgust, (vo) stank face. often caused by inadequate cat litter. if you or your a loved one suffers from stank face, the cure is tidy cats. it's new and improved with guaranteed tidylock protection that locks away odors. so you don't have to face one more stank face. tidy cats. every home, every cat. there's a tidy cats for that. would suffice for jordan's bachelor party.

i don't need a sword, i'm a firemaid. ding dong! i'm going to give this place a killer review. i don't know, i just always thought maybe my bachelor party would be a little less g-rated. wench! ahhh! ahhh hahaha... oooh! party time! party boy! ok, ok. mm hm, party time. hmm, mmm, mmm... now you can't spell nutriam i right?t nut, i mean whose to say it's pronounced nu-triton, anyway? my mixes contain delicious nuts, specially blended for your optimal nut-rition. that's right, i just changed a word in the english dictionary, forever. planters. nutrition starts with nut.

the fundamental characteristic on president of the united states is character, and judgment. and maturity. i wouldn't even say it's how much people know. so i think that's one of the major concerns. i think we will be ill-served by having somebody who is erratic, impulsive and not very knowledgeable in these national security concerns. >> then we have general barry mccaffrey speaking earlier today with mike holly and stephanie rhule here on msnbc. and 50 national security officials from the gop ranging from advisers to former cabinet members and generals are echoing those types of calls against donald trump, like mccaffrey.

adding to the voices, senator susan collins, congressman scott riggle. here with me, josh barrel. and in washington, politico's chief investigative reporter, ken vogel. good to have you with me. ken, let me start with you. trump responded to the national security officials during an interview on "fox business" this morning. i want to play that for everybody. take a look. >> i wasn't using any of them and they would have loved to have been involved in the campaign but i wasn't interested in that. look where the country is now on national policy. look where we are on defense. look at the mess we're in. >> talking about the mess we're in. we've got senator collins, congressman riggle coming out. collins being added to the list of senators, graham, sas, cruz, heller. what's the breaking point for republicans and really is there one? or are they just looking for a way to distance themselves? >> i think thomas, they have already reached that breaking point and that breaking point was when they can a real

clear-eyed assessment of how donald trump's place at the top of the ticket could affect their ability to hold on to the senate and even potentially the house. and once they realize it would have a really negative effect and could be a significant drag, they started looking for ways to distance themselves and where i think you're really seeing is with some of the super pacs aligned with the party but are shying away from trump, and instead trying to do triage to protect the down ballot races. that shows that the party has sort of to some extent reached that breaking point, where they're scared of what trump is going to do to them on november 8th. >> josh, we think about down ballot and look at some of the latest polling, trump trailing in the polls, survey monkey tracking poll. what is the effect in ryan, mitch mcconnell and mccain stay on the trump train? >> i think this is part of why they're breaking away now. they're admitting they're going to lose. it's going to cause him to fall apart in the polls. this is the difficult thing, trying to make a case. yes, you're not the going to vote for donald trump, but vote

for us down ballot to make sure there is a republican check on hillary clinton in the white house. >> right. >> this is the case that republicans made during the 1996 election, when they sort of admitted that bob dole was going to lose. and they held on to both houses of congress. so that it was possible to thread that needle. but bob dole lost by eight and a half points. this would cause serious problems. >> in colorado we see that add up on a member of congress running to say keep me -- send me so i can keep a check on hillary clinton. >> yeah, and so he's -- >> not trump. >> he's in an almost even-split district so realizes he's going to be in a lot of trouble, given that clinton is going to lose in a wider margin. i'm going to be interested to see if any candidates make the sale. i think it's skrenly hard to convince voirts to split their tickets. over the last few decades f. this works, it's going to be unusual. but then donald trump is an unusual candidate. and there may be a lot of people who almost always vote republican who abandon him, open to that message they should vote republican in other races. >> so as we look at the post

convention numbers, guys, and most could dismiss this as part of the bump or not part of the bump, but when we look at just the monmouth poll, the first one since the trump public spat with the khan family played out. ken, is this race set, and is the only thing that could change it in trump's favor, accepting the presidential debate schedule? >> certainly, that's the next set milestone on the calendar that has a potential to reset the race. of i don't think the race is set. however, it is telling, josh uses the bob dole analogy from 1996. the point at which republicans decided dole was going to lose and we need to protect the congressional seats was much closer to the election, really weeks out. here we are, months, three months out and republicans are already making that decision. that's very telling. that suggests that even though i think, and most observers who have watched this historically think there is the potential for the race to tighten significantly. in fact, probably the likelihood it will.

the fact that republicans are already turning away from him and trying to do damage control is really telling. >> all right. so let's talk about this other issue, guys, with hillary clinton being sued by the parents of two americans killed in libya. they claim clinton's use of the e-mail -- private e-mail server contributed to those 2012 attacks and also the fact that they were told by her that it was a youtube video that contributed to the killings. and that she has said that's not what i told them, they feel like they're being defamed by her version of the story. so clinton's campaign put out a statement saying nine investigations have found no evidence of wrongdoing. but josh, the benghazi attacks, that's a hot-button issue and gets people to pay attention. how tough is this, basically putting her in a role like trump against khan that she's in a role against the parents of those that were killed in benghazi, and their parents who have lost a person that was killed in duty, in the line of fire? >> well, so far, hillary clinton has been able to handle criticisms from the families of

people killed in benghazi, in a fairly skillful way. she has treated them with respect and talked about them -- about the significantance of their loss before going on to dec defend her position, similar to cindy sheehan, an anti war activity, whose son was killed in iraq. the trap that trump got into, arguing the point with the khan family is an unusual one. this is obviously a story that clinton would prefer not to be dealing with. but i think that so far, the damage that it is going to do to her candidacy has already been priced in and people upset about this are already very upset about it. barring some trump-style failure on her part, which i don't think she is going to have, i don't think this is going to be an additional problem that costs her votes going forward. >> real fast, ten seconds, do you think this type of litigation has legs? >> i think it definitely has legs in the sort of court of public opinion. and josh is right, that this is a problem for hillary clinton. she has dealt with it more

skillfully, but the issue of the video in particular does get to the idea of a coverup in the administration and the initial days after the attack, and that's -- that is something that's a legitimate question that hillary clinton has answer for, but will continue to have to answer for, especially now with this lawsuit. >> ken vogel, josh, thank you very much. we appreciate it. we're going to take you down south, yes, to brazil. another golden night in the poll in rio for team usa. also the women's gymnastics team will be back on the mat tonight. will they make history, as many have put the pressure and are expecting them to do? a live report from rio, next. ths you made with your airline credit card. hold on...you only got double miles on stuff you bought from that airline? let me show you something better. the capital one venture card. with venture, you earn unlimited double miles on every purchase... not just...(dismissively) airline purchases. every purchase. everywhere. every day. no really! double miles on all of them!

what's in your wallet? we've just been hearing you're a digital company, yet here you are building a jet engine. well, ge is digital and industrial. like peanut butter and jelly. yeah. ham and cheese. cops and robbers. yeah. nachos and karate. ahh. not that one so much. the rest were really good. socks and shoes. ok, ricky... one day a rider made a decision. the decision to ride on and save money. he decided to save money by switching his motorcycle insurance to geico. there's no shame in saving money. ride on, ride proud. geico motorcycle,

great rates for great rides.

the u.s. women's gymnast team, the gymnastics looking to beat their best in the team final today. yes, because it could be another big night for the american swim team, as well. msnbc's chris jansing joins me now from rio. before we get to the events today, let's talk about where we stand on the medal count. because americans got the

hardware in the pool last night they deserved. >> reporter: we're winning, let's just say that. let's talk about what happened last night. a lot of people talking about lily king, who made a stand against drugs. against doping. and she's had this thing going on with yulia enmovie, who is a russian, who was suspended for 16 months, have done some trash-talking back and forth. but basically, lily's point is this, you shouldn't be able to be in the pool for the olympics if you have been caught doping. she even said that about one of her u.s. teammates. and so what do you do when you want to take a stand? you win gold. and that's exactly what she did. there's no better way to keep that off. ryan murphy, in the meantime, the united states has won six straight golds in the backstroke. 100-meter backstroke. he has set an olympic record. another gold for team usa. but tonight -- tonight in the pool is going to be amazing. so this goes back to 2012.

the most decorated olympian of all-time, michael phelps, and chad lecko, south merg. there is this meme with michael phelps in the freeze frame of the staredown from michael phelps. he was having none of it. well, in the final seconds of that race, lecko came out ahead and said he said it's going to be like frazier ali. and let me tell you, of all the swims he's going to take here in rio, i'm guessing that probably none means more to michael phelps than this one. he really wants to win tonight. guess what, katie ledecky who has got the new buzz here, she's also going to be in the pool tonight. that's going to be exciting. and so will ryan held. he's the guy, remember him? he became instantly famous because he was on that relay team with michael phelps, got on the stand, got very emotional. what a nice guy.

sat down with his gold medal around his neck. i had a chance to talk to him. i talked to his parents, as well. here's a little bit of what he told me. >> you know, that symbol stands for so many things, and for -- and for so many people. that means it's really important to them. obviously a lot of people have, like, honorably given their lives for what that flag stands for. and, you know, seeing that flag rise to the first position, and with the national anthem playing in the background, i think that just kind of made me emotional. >> reporter: first-time olympian, will be back in 2020, and tonight the premiere event is going to be the best women's gymnastics team arguably that has ever been, competing for team gold. it will be a shock, thomas roberts, if they don't take it home. >> we'll all be watching, chris jansing, appreciate it. olympic coverage at 12:00 p.m. today right here on msnbc.

will your business be ready when growth presents itself? american express open cards can help you take on a new job, or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. find out how american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com.

find out how american expreno...rds andthey feel good? you wouldn't put up with part of a pair of glasses. so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with part of a day? these are not useful. live whole. not part. aleve. glad forceflex. extra strong to avoid rips and tears. be happy, it's glad.

the full value of your totaled new car. the guy says, "you picked the wrong insurance plan." no, i picked the wrong insurance company. with new car replacement™, we'll replace the full value of your car plus depreciation. liberty mutual insurance. if legalzoom has your back.s, over the last 10 years we've helped one million business owners get started. visit legalzoom today for the legal help you need to start and run your business. legalzoom. legal help is here. magives youves that the perfect recipepie for catching up with family. so she takes the time to prepare a golden flakey crust made from scratch. and mixes crisp vegetables with all white meat chicken and bakes it to perfection. because marie callender knows that making the perfect dinner isn't easy as pie, but finding someone to enjoy it with sure is. marie callender's it's time to savor and know there's even more to savor with family size pot pies.

all right. that's going to wrap-up this hour of msnbc live. i'm thomas roberts. thanks for your time. my colleague, kate snow, picks up coverage now. did you stay up late to watches the olympics? >> i stayed up a little light. i was watching the synchronized diving. that was unbelievable. >> and the announcers, oh, too much splash. i was like, o give a break. >> it was so precise, i'm really enjoying these olympics. thomas, great to see you. let's kick off this day, i'm kate snow here in new york. exactly 13 weeks to election day. and donald trump has a problem. republicans jumping ship. gop senator susan collins from maine made it official last night. she says she's not voting for her party's nominee. and on top of that, 50 former national security officials, all of them having served in republican administrations, cosigned a letter, saying the same thing. one of them is about t