we were coming back from. and we got pulled over in our taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, they pulled us over. they pulled out their guns and told the other swimmers to get down on the ground. they got down on the ground. i refused. and the guy pulled out his gun. heocd it. put it to my forehead. he said, get down. >> all right. so that was sunday. some differences between that account and what lochte told matt lauer. >> he told me that the car was sideswiped when it went over -- and then pulled over to a gas station. i think when you spoke to him it was not sideswiped. >> the car was standing still and the people came up with guns and badgers. >> and he talks about how the people got a gun out and put it to my head. that did not happen. >> there was a gun, right? >> they all agree on that. >> he embellished a little bit when he said -- he told the guy,

look, i'm not getting down on the ground and if you've got a gun, you can use it. he told me he never had that dirty harry moment. >> watergate, hot water, lochte locks up. those are the headlines here at home. headlines around the world, as well. what's next? the potential legal trouble. could there be extradition? we've got the all the angles covered. we start with nbc's keir simmons, who is live for us in rio. walk us through what happened, beginning with the robbery. how did we get here? >> reporter: okay, craig. step by step. sunday morning, the robbery happens, according to the swimmers. ryan lochte and others get back to olympic village around 7:00 a.m. he appears to have spoken to his mom. the news begins to break. and as you saw there, billy bush sees him that day and he gives his account to billy bush. that the car was pulled aside by folks pretending to be a policeman. he had a gun put to his head. now fast forward a few more days. ryan lochte has left the country, and after that,

brazilian court says, in fact, they want ryan lochte and jimmy feigen to stay here. matt lauer, as you pointed out, has spoken to ryan lochte by phone. he says he is sticking by his story, but changing some details, saying, for example, he, informed, pulled over at a gas station to go to the men's room and saying that, in fact, he didn't have the gun put to his head, it was just pointed in his direction. now, craig, i spoke to the police detective here in charge of the investigation. he was clear that they are gathering more evidence. i specifically asked him, is it really right to be pulling, as they have done overnight, to american olympians off of a plane. >> justified to pull olympic gold medal-winning u.s. athletes from a plane. >> well, there was a court order. court orders have to be followed. >> reporter: so he is saying, the detective there, that he is expected to find more evidence.

i think, craig, you will see police going to every security camera they can find. every piece of security footage, picking over it, to try to establish whether the swimmer's account of what happened really is with the events that can be seen on video. >> keir, any explanation for the change in story? again, as you point out, we're not talking necessarily significant changes, but has lochte said why his account to billy bush was a bit different from the account he gave to matt lauer a few days later? >> reporter: i'm not sure that he does, necessarily, justify when he talks to matt why he is changing his account. except to say, of course, in situations like this, people have different reminiscences. that is only natural. i think there will be a substantial question, craig, over the difference between saying that you were pulled over by brazilians pretending to be police officers and then going on to say we pulled up at a gas

station and we had gone to the men's room. that will be something they're focusing on. and the reason why these court orders were brought, by the way, wasner piece of security footage at the olympic village that a judge said showed the men arriving and looking calm and aying around with each other. so the police clearly believe it's worth investigating and that's why they wanted these olympians to stay in the country. craig? >> keir simmons for us there in rio on the story. thank you. let's bring in the aforementioned billy bush. today's billy bush got the exclusive with lochte sunday after the robbery. he also joins us from rio now. good to see you, my friend. thanks for being with us. >> hi, craig. >> before we got into the nuts and boats, you were standing there. you looked into his eyes. is this a story you buy? do you buy this? >> reporter: i buy the general flow of the story. some details and embellishments were plaed. i spoke to ryan for a while before he actually -- just before i asked him to come

across the street and to chat with me on the record, which would be, you know, on my iphone. but we talked for a while beforehand. craig, i said this to matt lauer earlier this morning. ryan lochte, even when he hasn't been out all night long in his most lucid state, isn't the greatest weaver of fantastic tales. i mean, he -- you know what i mean? he's not -- he's not -- how do i put this nicely? he's not exactly a great story-teller. so in this case, he was so perfect in everything he told me, it seemed like generally that had to have happened. now, the points that are in contention here, were they -- he told me off camera, they were sideswiped by another vehicle and then guys with badges got out unmarked car, no siren. you know, pulled them over. had the other three guys, told them all to lie down on the ground. lochte told me, he said, i'm not going to lie down on the ground, i refuse to do so, and then the guy cocked his gun and put it up -- you know, lochte's

forehead. that didn't happen. as i called it, a dirty harry moment, where he said, you know, hey, if you've got a gun, you can use it. that's what he told me. that didn't happen. so all these embellishments that dress it up a little bit. was there a gun at a gas station late at night with these guys? i do believe that happened. >> he was on the same flight -- not the same flight, at the airport at the same time, leaving rio a couple days ago. he left before his teammates. any idea why he left before the other swimmers? >> reporter: i can tell you -- yeah, i can tell you flat out, he didn't skip town. he told me before we did the interview -- we were just chatting. i said, how long are you here? and he said i'm out of here tuesday night. so he was always leaving tuesday night. we did the interview on sunday afternoon. the whole thing broke on monday. he did end up leaving on tuesday night, as planned. so, yeah, definitely didn't stipulate town. >> the story that won't go away. billy bush. thank you, sir.

>> reporter: yeah, we'll see. thanks, craig. let's bring in msnbc's chief legal correspondent, arrest ari melbourne now. let's start with the swimmers. what kind of rights do these americans have in brazil? >> in brazil under the 1986 constitution, they have the right to remain site, silent, right to a lawyer. similar protections in the united states. they can access those rights and stay out of any trouble if they want. the question is, why should they be in trouble in the first place if they are allegedly the victims, not the perpetrators, of any crime. your conversation with billy bush was fascinating, craig. we are in the place of the investigation in brazil, as well as the general public commentary here of looking at the credibility of witnesses. that is what is going on. and the question being, is mr. lochte skilled enough to give the kind of narrative or story that somehow might depart from what actually happened. does that mean people think he has the ability, capacity or

desire, motive, to concoct things. why are there discrepancies, as many people have noted, sometimes in incidents, you have discrepancies because something scary happens quickly, after a long night and people don't remember exactly the details. i will tell you, though, obviously we can deduce from brazil's conduct, they have some reason to believe that this is not the whole story. i don't think you pull people off a plane in any context, let alone an international one, with the olympics and this kind of attention, unless they have some reason to believe, some evidence, testimonial, video or otherwise, that this all doesn't add up. i will tell you, if you look at the soup of this story, craig, the recipe does keep changing. >> indeed. let's talk about the chances of realistic to expect that, or no? >> no. let's be clear. even though there is a lot that doesn't add up, and i've been reporting on this, like many other people, the discrepancies, i think are known. that in and of itself does not amount to any kind of crime.

it would take a lot more. it would take falsification in the eyes of the brazilian authorities with some evidence to support that. then there would have to be charges. and then for anyone like lochte who is abroad, then, yes. in theory, if you had charges, then you could get into the extradition context. i think what legally is going on here, though, is you have reports of an incident that weren't made directly to the authorities, right? because it began with public discussion, media accounts, et cetera. then you have the authorities get involved and say, wait a minute, if there was a crime, we want to know about it. and if there wasn't a crime, which seems to be part of the speculation, that in and of itself would be a problem. if, and only if it legally, those potentially false allegations of a crime were made to authorities. it is legal, generally, to lie about all kinds of things in casual consideration, right? that is separate. people may judge that. that is separate. what brazil -- you asked about extradition. somebody deliberately misled authorities, which would be up

to punishable by six months in jail in brazil. >> ari melbourne, always good to see you. always enjoy your soupnal sees, as well. >> any time, craig. back in this country, we turn to politics. 82 days until election day. we've got some new details on why donald trump is hitting the reset button on his campaign. this morning, sources inside the campaign telling nbc news not to expect any significant changes from the gop nominee. the addition of a campaign manager and ceo are specifically designed against a general election pivot. the reshuffle is about helping trump be trump. and with just weeks to go until the earliest of early voting starts in some critical states, republican party leadership appears to be growing even. even more nervous, nbc's hallie jackson is stationed outside trump tower here in new york with some new reporting this morning. so let's start here. for someone who is down in just about every national poll,

halle, what's behind this strategy that seems to a lot of folks to be more of the same? >> reporter: well, it'sxactly that, craig. it's go back to what worked for donald trump in the primaries and see if that will propel him to success in the general election. the challenge for trump, will this just reenergize his base? that's not enough for trump. he's not -- the challenge for trump is not to make sure his supporters really, really love him instead of just regularly love him. the challenge is to grow that base of support so that he can actually compete in these swing states, where poll a poll after poll, shows he's trailing hillary clinton, including, by the way, in north carolina where he is headed today. his new campaign manager talking about this new strategy. i want you to listen to what she had to say. >> sharpen the message and we're going to make sure donald trump is comfortable about being in his own skin, that he doesn't lose that authenticity that you simply can't buy and a pollster can't give you. voters know if you're comfortable in your own skin.

and let him be him in this sense. he wants to deliver a speech -- if he wants to go to a rally. if he wants to connect with a crowd in a way that's very spontaneous, that's wonderful. and that's how he got here. >> reporter: so craig, what can we expect to see from the candidate today? campaign aide telling nbc news, he will probably be reading off prompter more generally, even at rallies like the one tonight. that's something we first saw in wisconsin earlier in the week, which was sort of interesting. you're at this rally, fired up crowd and there is donald trump reading off a teleprompter. we hadn't seen that before tuesday night. we also expect to see trump talking about national security, who will probably bring up the "wall street journal" reporting on hillary clinton. he'll bring up a couple attacks as he tries to focus on clinton. but as kelly ann conway said, the goal for the campaign is to keep trump comfortable in his own skin. i think some folks look at that, some critics, and say, hasn't he been comfortable over the last three weeks that have been pretty rough for him? we'll see how that goes. >> the first trump tv ads of the general election, as you know,

start tomorrow. do we know at this point what we can expect in those ads? or those anti clinton ads or pro trump ads? >> reporter: so that's a question to be answered, craig. we know they're coming out in five battleground states, although our sources in the ad-buying world tell us the purchase itself has not been made yet. i can there is still a question of which one is going to run, which you will see, but we should know more about that in the coming hours. >> who are those people behind you, just out of curiosity? >> reporter: these are folks -- you always have protesters here at trump tower, put together at the dnc. out here earlier today. this ties into the new ad that hillary clinton has out this morning, hitting donald trump on the lack of release of his tax returns. as you know, trump has said he will release his returns once an irs audit is complete, although the irs has said that nothing prevents trump currently from releasing those returns. >> hallie jackson outside trump tower. thanks, as always. i want to bring in trump campaign surrogate steven cortez. thank you for being with me,

sir. we heard from kelly ann conway there, saying the campaign wants to make sure that donald trump is comfortable in his own skin. not sure if that's something that has ever been a problem for donald trump. but it has been -- if has been quite the problem for the rnc and republicans running for re-election in this country. what should reince priebus, what should endangered senators take from the campaign overhaul announced yesterday? >> listen, i think what they should take is this, if i could use an olympic analogy. donald trump is an incredible sprinter, we want to make sure he's sprinting on the track and not sprinting on a crowded highway. at times, we've gotten distracted and gotten off message in that we're attacking people who are not hillary clinton. and we need to make sure that when we're on the attack, it's only against lirk and when we're promoting our agenda, and there has to be the pro and con, promoting our agenda, we stick to the two macro themes, faster income growth and increased national security. if we continue to do that -- he did a great job in wisconsin the

other night in his speech, partly by using the teleprompter. if we continue to do that and sharpen the message with peel like kelly ann conway and people like steve bannon who i think knows very, very well how to message very effectively, particularly via video, we're going to make this race tighten up dramatically. >> there is a big difference, steve, between being able to run a website and make videos and running a presidential campaign. in the united states of america. and you also indicated that it's -- you use the pronoun "we." have sort of gotten off message from time to time. isn't it fair to say that it's him? it's the candidate himself who has demonstrateded time and time again he lacks, perhaps, the discipline to remain on message on a consistent basis? >> right. i'm not trying to use the royal "we," there. i said "we" as a campaign. this is clearly an unconventional campaign, to say the least. and an unconventional campaign might have an unconventional o

ceo. i think so far many of the american people have resonated to that idea, that this man is a self made mogul, someone who builds magnificent structures, employs thousands of people, doesn't campaign the way traditionally police politicians have campaigned. he selected really probably the primary mouthpiece in terms of politics of the outsider. if there's one thing that steve bannon brings in the -- history brings to this campaign, they are the consummate anti establishment media voice. by the way, they're not only partisan against democrats, they have been extremely critical, jeb bush most of all. so this is an anti establishment movement, as much as it is an anti hillary movement. americans know instinctually know they're not doing well. don't feel safe in terms of security at home and abroad. we need a different path and that path is not the rigged washington crony system that has stifld growth and made most

americans' lives poorer and unfortunately only rewarded the very top. >> let's talk about the website you just mentioned, breitbart. it has advanced some of the more outlandish conspiracy theories out there. including one on hillary clinton's health. this is what donald trump said on monday. take a close listen. >> can you tell us how your health is? [ laughter ] >> hillary clinton lacks the judgment, as said by bernie sanders, stability and temperament and the moral character to lead our nation. she also lacks the mental and physical stamina to take on isis and all of the many adversaries we face. >> lacking physical stamina. is he saying there that she is too old, or -- what's he trying

to say? >> i hope he's not saying too old. because they're the same age -- a year apart, right? no, i don't think he's saying -- look, i think -- here's the issue. i have no idea what hillary's health is like. there are certainly a lot of questions out there from reasonable people, not just from nut jobs, people who watch videos where it appears she is not as healthy or steady as perhaps a completely healthy 70-year-old person or 69-year-old person would be. i'm not accusing her of anything. but how about transparency? >> in terms of transparency? we have it right here. her medical history as released by her doctor, just as healthy as your guy. >> okay. >> so why raise that issue? i mean, it seems to be mean-spirited. if not just completely unnecessary. >> look, i would say this. in terms of transparency, there's one thing we have seen from the clintons, and this is over many, many years, not just recently. but is that concealment is always their first instinct. so it really is -- it's not unnatural for those of us who are on the trump team or even just those who are scencally of

the clintons to worry. she hasn't had a press conference yet this year. that is outrageous for a presidential nominee for someone who wants to take the white house in 80 something days. donald trump has too many press conferences, but at least utterly available to questioning and on his feet on an impromptu basis. i don't want to focus on this health issue. we have much bigger fish to try. >> steve, we'll leave it there. thank you for your time. >> thank you. talk show legend, monday tell williams, very publicly supported ohio governor john kasich in the primaries. but who is the one-time republican and veteran ready to endorse now? he'll join me on the other side of this break. also, historic floods, fires, ravaging louisiana and california. from destroyed and damaged homes in the bayou to those tens of thousands forced from their homes out west. we'll get live updates from both spots, as well. you don't know this yet but in fifteen hundred miles, you'll see what you're really made of.

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a major endorsement for hillary clinton this morning as another prominent republican turns his back on the gop and fever of the democratic nominee. former general motors chairman and chief executive, daniel ackerson, explaining in a washington post-op ed this morning, although he has always voted republican, he won't this year, because, quote, trump simply lacks the competence to serve as president of the united states. he's hardly the first to jump ship. former talk show host, montel williams, campaigned for john kasich early in the primaries, but with donald trump at the top of the ticket, what's he going to do now? he's here in the studio to tell us. for whom will you be voting in november, good sir? >> i have to cast my vote for really the only legitimate candidate running for president right now and that's hillary clinton.

am i jumping up right now and enthusiastically stumping for her? she was my second choice. my first choice, you said it, was john kasich. and i have voted pretty much my entire life republican, although i've been an independent for almost 15 years, no, 20 years. john kasich bought me out of that and brought me back to the republican party. and now i'm completely disenfranchised by who is in leadership position there. >> what are your chief concerns as they relate to donald trump? >> i mean, you know, do we have five hours? >> we do not have five hours. >> so everything from his racist rants to the fact that he is as divisive as he can be. a couple weeks back, everybody was interviewing his ghost writer who wrote his book, "the art of the deal" and i've never told people this and i'm proud of it, when the book was out, it didn't hit the "new york times" -- i'm the only person who gave donald trump an hour on that book, on my show. and that following monday, it became a "new york times" best seller. and back then i remember

distinctly the fact that his ghost writer, i think -- had come and gone from the studio, went home. but he said two weeks ago, when i met him, he walked in and said, i'm the same guy i was when i was 8 years old. well, guess what? he's still that guy now. we don't need a child in the white house. we need a person who is there who can be commander in chief and everything from his racist rants to his demagoguery to the fact he wants to build walls, to the fact that -- just even two days ago he talks about he wants to broaden his reach to the african-american community, but he wants to do so by making sure there are more police officers there. do you want to start building walls around inner cities? let's take it to the last one. i've got 22 years in the military, my friend. everything i've heard out of his mouth, he's going to take it to the enemy. that means there's more soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, whose lives are put in danger. and we have not yet paid the debt of the last 20 years of war. stop.

>> why do you think that his message has resonated with so many people? i've been at trump rallies and i assume you watch the coverage, have seen the speeches. thousands of people show up to hear him speak. he managed to win out a crowded field. what is it about that message? >> but, you know, donald trump put this all into play 15 years ago. he spoon-fed you and every one of us suckers went along with it. he produced a television program that got you used to him being bombastic and divisive. he tricked people on his show into back-stabbing other people. he did everything and we applauded it. so now all of a sudden he jumped in front of it. it's nothing more than -- a year-and-a-half ago, i said this. this is prime time producered television. and we're all playing into it, just like we play into "game of thrones." one day somebody will walk down the steps and throwing all kinds

you have stuff at him. >> you have been critical in the past of hillary clinton's handling of the v.a. debacle. >> no question. and i'm also very critical of the fact of the handling of sensitive material. most people don't know, i was crypt logic officer, i spoke russian. most of my time spent in the national security agency. i am appalled by the way that classified material was handled by her. but also appalled by the way it was handled by colin powell and serving others along the way. we went through a judicial process, we found out we're not going to prosecute. let's get on with it. of i have no problem with that. where i have a problem, the fact there is a denial that the v.a. is still as messed up as it was two-and-a-half years ago when we put three or four months behind making america understand we hadn't paid our debt. and for them to say, well, it's not as bad, no. it is as bad. so i can't -- so by i tell you something yesterday i came out this way. and immediately, the clinton

camp, three steps removed, reached out and said, montel, we would love to talk to you about the v.a. issue, last night. so, again, she is bridging gaps. that's what i think she is going to do for america. he's building walls. >> montel williams, i know you're very busy. thank you so much. i do appreciate it. >> thank you. >> i hope you'll come back. >> for sure. when we come back, out of control wildfires in california. perfect conditions for even more new fires to spark. we'll go to the edge of the flames as the national weather service issues a red flag warning and the governor there declares a state of emergency. my belly pain and constipation? they keep telling me "drink more water." "exercise more." i know that. "try laxatives..." i know. believe me. it's like i've. tried. everything! my chronic constipation keeps coming back. i know that. tell me something i don't know. (vo) linzess works differently from laxatives. linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation, or chronic constipation.

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knows more about isis than our generals. there is no new donald trump. this is it. >> msnbc's kasie hunt following the clinton campaign. kasie, is it safe to say the campaign is giddy about the campaign overhaul? >> well, yes and no, craig. i mean, the line they have been pushing and you saw hillary clinton herself talk a little bit about that there. campaign manager robby mook holding a conference call with reporters yesterday to push this idea that this overhaul, especially this late in the game, and the picking in particular of steve bannon as the ceo reflects all of the things they want americans to believe about the trump campaign. they're pointing, of course, to a lot of what's been written on breitbart, that news website, over the years to kind of underscore that point. but there is some concern, privately, among the clinton team about what this might mean for trump's attempts to make this election a referendum on hillary clinton.

that's a frame we have been using all the way along, right? if donald trump could make this about hillary clinton, she had more of a chance to lose, the more this election is about donald trump, and it becomes a referendum on him, the more confident the clinton campaign has become. bannon has all of this depth of experience, basically attacking the clintons on a whole host of issues. money. the clinton foundation. health. whether or not she is a healthy candidate. that's a new conspiracy theory that's now being pushed. some of the scandals in the clintons' as well. so the question becomes at what point do the clintons defend themselves, does the trump campaign start to stay more on a anti clinton message. >> kasie hunt covering the clinton campaign. always good to see you. >> thanks, craig. this morning, more than 1,500 firefighters fighting the wildfire raging out of control in southern california.

the blue cut fire near san bernardino swept across the region in less than 24 hours. it's already scorched 40 square miles, roughly the size of san francisco. forced tens of thousands to leave their homes. nbc's steve patterson live in oak hills, california. let's start with whether there is any sign of this thing letting up. >> reporter: well, craig, we can't give you the full spectrum of the damage out here. just to give you a little glimpse, we are standing in what should be the inside of the historic summit diner around for six decades, serving people like clint eastwood and john wayne and elvis presley. and seemingly in one instant now looking at charred remains. this is a picture of what we have been seeing in communities all around this fire. now raging. so the question, is it anywhere close to an end at this point? firefighters are saying they just don't see it. this thing, as you mentioned,

going for some 48 hours now, burning since tuesday morning, only 4% contained, cutting an area, as you mentioned, 40 square miles, the size of san francisco. we saw an aerial assault yesterday, fire crews from the air trying to do you say douse the flames, teams around for some 40 hours straight. yet with all of the work being done, they can only make small dents in something that was so intense and so extreme from the very start. aided by 30-mile-an-hour winds, aided by this five-year drought and aided by triple-digit temperatures. today crews will bring in c-130s, they hope to douse the flames again. to say this is an uphill battle, craig, is an understatement. >> one fire official saying yesterday, and, again, these are firefighters that unfortunately see a lot of wildfires in this part of the country, saying quote, we have never seen anything like this. steve patterson in oak hills, california, this morning. steve, thank you. under scrutiny. new questions surrounding lion

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so live your whole day, not part... with 12 hour aleve. let's get back to the developing story we have been talking about here on msnbc. olympic gold medalists in hot water this morning as questions continue over ryan lochte's account of being robbed in rio, following a night of partying there. two swimmers removed from a plane, passports were confiscated, leaving them in brazil until further notice. nbc's ron mott in rio for us. ron, first of all, do we know if those two swimmers, if they're going to be able to leave that country any time soon? >> reporter: don't know for sure, craig. at this moment. this is still a very developing situation, as you mentioned. still very fluid. they were taken off that plane last night, questioned by authorities, apparently did not give a formal statement to police, and we have just got a statement, in fact, from the united states olympic committee. i'll read that to you.

and it says the following. quote, the three u.s. olympic swimmers, that is gunner bents, jack conger and james feigen in the's process to provide further statements to the brazilian authorities. all represented by counsel and being appropriately supported by the usoc and u.s. consulate in rio. so what that means is, essentially that they are not in the area as we know right now. so they're trying to work through some agreement, some time, to schedule to sit with brazilian authorities with their counsel, with representatives of the usoc to go over this incident last weekend. and i can tell you, having covered this last sunday, there were a lot of eyebrows that went up when the initial story came out and one of those specific details in ryan lochte's story that seemed to raise the most eyebrows, the fact that the parent or alleged thieves did not take anything besides money that they did not take cell phones or jewelry or anything else of any value from these athletes. and apparently we did not hear from the taxi driver at all.

so there were a lot of questions going into monday, a lot of people perhaps thought this would blow over rather quickly and instead it has blown up into an international story here at the olympic games. >> ron, really quickly. we heard from one of the officials in brazil earlier in the broadcast that indicated that they had more evidence or were likely to soon be getting more evidence. any idea what kind of evidence we're talking about here? how can we characterize this evidence, or do we simply not know? >> reporter: well, i don't know exactly what they're referencing. but as you know, the daily mail online obtained surveillance video at the athletes' village of four swimmers coming back into, checking into the athletes' village after this night out on the town. the government here apparently i want mating they did not appear to be four guys who had just had a brush with an armed thief, if you will. so that is out there. there is also apparently a video that is making the rounds now at

a gas station. now, ryan lochte in his conversation with matt lauer last night said they made a stop at the gas station to go to the bathroom and that is when they went back to the taxi and told the driver to drive on to the athletes village and the driver did not move, when these alleged thieves came into the picture and ordered them out of the vehicle. so there are a lot of moving parts here. the government and particularly the police department here apparently feels like this was an unfair allegation against them, because ryan lochte remember, said, they flashed police badges and they put on a siren. so there are a lot of things to settle here in this case and ryan lochte back in the u.s. >> ron mott, good to see you, my friend. thank you. five weeks away from the first presidential debate. likely to be a combination of the olympics, the super bowl, the conventions in terms of ratings, at least. all rolled into one. clinton and trump facing off for the first time. more on how the campaigns are

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donald trump overhauling the leadership of his campaign once again. what exactly will change? well, that remains unclear. campaign sources telling nbc news the shuffle at the top was designed to let trump be trump. so for now, at least, it appears there will be no trump establishment republicans were hoping could attract swing voters and defecting republicans. politico's annie carney and ed o'keefe of the "washington post", thanks for being with me. annie, let me start with you. let's listen to the new campaign manager, this is kelly ann conway, neighbor an hour or two ago on cnn. >> if we're going to cover campaigns as, you know, comedy show or who is in that day or no content, no substance, i think we're doing a disservice to the voters. when people talk about a pivot, allison, most of the advice he receives, whether it's on tv or

in person, is pivoting style lisscally, but substantively, the issues that benefits donald trump. >> if today was your first day tuning into the campaign and you listen to kelly ann conway there, what would your opinion of donald trump and his campaign be? >> i think it would be that they're in trouble. that they obviously are shaking things up, hoping to kind of regain altitude. that doesn't sound like someone talking from a position of confidence with 81 days to go until the election. >> ed o'keefe, i'll tell you who we haven't heard from in a while here and you've got to wonder what they're thinking at this point. senate leader, mitch mcconnell and house speaker paul ryan. any indication where they stand on this change at the top? >> well, they're keeping their heads down, that's for sure. and sort of focusing on fund-raising and making sure their members get re-elected. and that is hard when you continue to see surveys that show mrs. clinton pulling ahead of mr. trump in so many of these

swing states where there also happen to be senate races, places like colorado there's a competitive race to me extent in missouri and georgia, which to be troubling. and ohio and wisconsin, two others they worry about. and new hampshire. so, look, mr. bannon runs -- or has run breitbart, a thorn in the side of congressional republican leaders for several years now. so they're not going to be happy to have a guy like that associated with the top of their ticket. and we'll have to wait and see what exactly they say publicly about this. but i think, you know, this is clearly now a campaign that is hunkering down, keeping focused on what he has been able to do, believing at this point he might as well just be the guy he is, and there is no sense in pivoting. and that means, likely, that there's going to be very little room for growth, that there is an incredibly narrow path to getting to 270 electoral votes. it requires winning a place like florida and holding on to places like georgia or arizona, which is looking increasingly difficult. and, you know, this may have just as much to do about what

happens after the election and mr. trump as it does to what's going on right now. >> any -- five weeks away now, if my math is right, roughly five weeks away from the first presidential debate. we assume trump is going to be there. at this point, what can we expect? what are the chances that this new team can get him to stick to policy and tangible ideas, as opposed to monica lewinsky or white water or vince foster or -- insert theory here. >> i think we already thought there was a big chance of him doing the personal attacks in the debate and this new team, if you thought it was going to happen before, it means it's more likely to happen now. i think that this -- it does seems like he's going with his authentic self, that attracted the big following in the republican primary, and maybe it does have more to do with what's after the election for him, thinking -- i talked to some democrats who said you can monetize that base and if you

pivot to something that's more mainstream or doesn't feel authentic, you lose that base, even if that base isn't enough to get you elected president. so i think that the prep for hillary clinton just got a lot harder. you know, you just don't -- it's hard to prep for a candidate that really can say anything and that's what they are likely going to be up against. >> annie, ed, good to see you both. thank you. coming up, day seven of those historic floods in louisiana. people are now returning home to see what's left of those homes. >> i stayed through hurricanes, i stayed through other things. this has got to be the worst. gary, gary, gary... i am proud of you, my man. making simple, smart cash back choices... with quicksilver from capital one. you're earning unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere. like on that new laptop. quicksilver keeps things simple, gary. and smart, like you!

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welcome, to it all. comcast. security secretary jeh johnson is headed to louisiana today. he will be touring the flood-ravaged region there. those relentless rains haven't let up as well. nbc's gabe gutierrez in denim

springs, louisiana. he has more for us. gabe, where are you? >> reporter: hi there, craig. we're inside one of the homes that was devastated by this flood. as you can see, water came in here about four feet and this family is cleaning up. we also have new numbers from fema. they say about 80,000 people so far have registered for some type of fema assistance, and is fema already has approved $3.7 million in temporary rental assistance, as well. and emergency repairs. now, we're here inside one of the homes, again. and this is neil mccreary, who would he spoke with in the last hour. he's here with several sons trying to build their lives back up. so kneel, tell me, what are you doing here today, and, you know, tell me the progression of this over the last couple days. the water rose on saturday. what have you done for the last few days, and when were you able to come back? >> it was monday, i think, when we got back. and we just started moving all of the furniture and everything out that we could get to get to

the structure. and we have been cutting all of the sheetrock and getting the wet insulation out, the wood floors, everything is just destroyed. >> reporter: how long do you think this is going to take, and when do you expect your insurance adjuster to get here? >> well, i'm going to be a couple more days, and i haven't even gotten to my outside shed yet, and it's starting to mold already. and insurance adjuster already told me he can't get here until tuesday, which that means everything is still going to be sitting out there. i've got to sift through the pile for him. he wants to see every shoe, every pair of pants, everything in there. it's just a mess. it's a mess. >> reporter: neil, thanks for talking to us. craig, this is just one of tens of thousands of families that are having to go through this right now. >> gabe gutierrez, certainly our thoughts and prayers to the folks down there in louisiana. thank you so much. when we come back here, an image that stunned the world. picking up for kyle.

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thursday morning, there is a photo we want to show you. i should warn you that is it may be difficult to look at. it is from syria. it shows a stunned, bloodied child in aleppo. it's gripping the world, because in so many ways, it sums up the horror of what's happening in that war-torn country. that boy is 5 years old, he's covered head to toe in dust and dirt and grime. he is sitting in the back of an ambulance. he was hurt in a government air strike in rebel-held territory. according to reports, his three siblings, his parents, were also injured. we are told they are expected to be okay. the civil war in syria, it started more than five years ago. more than 200,000 have died, but the united nations actually has had trouble keeping track since 2014. protesters are fighting for the ouster of president and

dictator, bashar al assad. that is going to do it for this hour of msnbc live. chris jansing just back from rio picks up our coverage right now. >> craig, thank you. we will talk more about that devastating video and the photograph that is really taking the world and broken its hearts, really, a little bit later on in this program. right here on msnbc, the question is what really happened. new questions about whether olympic swimmer, ryan lochte and teammates were held at gun point and robbed. the changing details in lochte's story. plus, donald trump back on the trail today for the first time since shaking up his campaign again. with his team returning to an oldmott let trump be trump. will that gamble pay off. and the threat of rising water forcing more evacuations in louisiana in what officials call the worst natural disaster since