it'...when that laxour loves your body back. only miralax hydrates, eases, and softens to unblock naturally. so you have peace of mind from start to finish. love your laxative. miralax. good day. i'm sheinelle jones in new york at msnbc headquarters. 12:00 in the east, 9:00 a.m. west. let's get right to politics as

we await donald trump in gettysburg, pennsylvania. any moment set to outline his first 100 days in office. his campaign says the speech will kick off his closing arguments to voters. just moments ago, his, running mate, mike pence at an event hosted by the faith and freedom coalition in ohio. >> it's not exactly a fair fight out there. i don't know about the rest of you. i get up everybody morning and i've got to turn on the television with a stick. do you get me on that? just not sure what's going on there. any given morning. it seems the media goes chasing after just every different potential attack against my opponent every single day of the week. while they ignore this avalan e avalanche, avalahe of controversies and scandals pouring out of hillary clinton's years as secretary of state. >> trump and pence will share the stage at a rly in cleveland later. hillary clinton and her running mate also on the campaign trail

today. they'll make two stops in pennsylvania. we have reporters covering both sides of the aisle. nbc's kasie hunt in white plains, new york, with the clinton kpain. but we begin with nbc's jacob rascon. any anyone now, donald trump expected to outline his first 100 days as president. can you tell us what we can expect to hear? >> reporter: so his aides are talking about a new positive vision. they say it's a different tone. and this is very different from what we have seen from donald trump. he's been very, very hard on hillary clinton. almost exclusively focusing on her and many of his speeches. lately, he has gone back into talking about more trade deals and other things on the stump. but what his advisers are saying, he's going to give his closing argument and kick off a closing argument tour, if you will, where he'll sum up the new policies that he's been talking about in the last month, the ethics reforms and other things. and he'll also reveal new policy details, things we have never

heard before. the aides did not talk about what those might be. they only said wait and see. so what we're looking for in this speech is what is brand new. what have we never heard before. and are we really going to get a new positive tone from donald trump in which he stays away from the more brutal attacks on hillary clinton that he's gone after, and instead focuses on what he will do to make this country great again, as he says, a more positive vision. and i'll tell you that in talking to dozens and dozens of his supporters, just these last couple of weeks, that's what they want to see. many of them will admit, even though they're excited by him talking about hillary clinton, how she's crooked and this and that, they really want to hear and they believe more voters will turn out if he talks more positively. that appears to be what he's planning to do. >> and you know, we don't see donald trump and mike pence together on the campaign trail as much. should we make anything of that? and then what do you think is different about today's upcoming

event in cleveland? >> reporter: you know, a lot of people wondered about that. especially after the leaked tape and after mike pence was forced to condemn the remarks of his own nominee. but afterward, and after the debate, he came out with a different statement and said he supports him 100%. he has been on the trail frequently, even though we haven't seen them together and we do expect that mike pence and donald trump will be together tonight. that's here in cleveland. >> all right. nbc's jacob rascon. of course, we're standing by. as soon as trump begins to speak, we will take that live. thank you, jack object. let's bring in kasie hunt in white plains, new york. hillary clinton and tim kaine taking on pennsylvania today. do they have a new strategy to match donald trump's new movement? >> reporter: hey, sheinelle. yes, a windy takeoff here in white plains, new york for hillary clinton and tim kaine. the two campaigning today in pittsburgh and philadelphia together. of course, pennsylvania, a pretty critical firewall for the

democrats. it's nearly impossible for donald trump to get the electoral college votes you would need to win this collection if he doesn't win in pennsylvania. that's part of why they have spent so much time there, sheinelle. >> donald trump has taken the stage so i'm going to let donald trump talk and we'll check back in, in a bit. thank you, kasie. [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you. it's my privilege to be here in gettysburg, hallowed ground, where so many lives were given in service to freedom. amazing place. [ applause ] president lincoln served in a time of division, like we've never seen before. it is my hope that we can look at his example to heal the divisions we are living through right now. we are a very divided nation.

i'm not a politician. and i've never wanted to be a politician. believe me. but when i saw the trouble our country was in, i knew i couldn't stand by and watch any longer. our country has been so good to me, i love our country. and i felt i had to act. [ applause ] i've seen the system up close and personal for many years. i've been a major part of it. i know how the game works in washington and on wall street. and i know how they have rigged the rules of the game against everyday americans. the rules are rigged. nearly one in four americans in

their prime-earning years isn't even working. one in five households have no one with a job. 45 million americans are on food stamps and 47 million are living in poverty. we have failed our inner cities and in so doing, have failed our african-american and hispanic communities. we have misguided military ventures overseas and wars that go on forever that just cannot be won by the people that are doing it now. they don't know how to win the wars. at home, we have our great veterans dying while waiting for medical care. change has to come from outside our very broken system. our system is broken. the fact that washington and the washington establishment has

tried so hard to stop our campaign is only more proof that our campaign represents the kind of change that only arrives once in a lifetime. [ cheers and applause ] the system is totally rigged and broken. first, the issue of voter fraud. according to pew, there are 24 million voter registrations in the united states that are either invalid or significantly inaccurate. and when i say that, there are such inaccuracies, it's unbelievable. 1.8 million dead people are registered to vote. and some of them are voting.

i wonder how that happens. 2.8 million people are registered in more than one state. these are numbers, folks. these are numbers. 14% of noncitizens are registered to vote. the system is also rigged because hillary clinton should have been precluded from running for the presidency of the united states. [ cheers and applause ] but the fbi and the justice department covered up her crimes, which included lying to the fbi and congress on numerous occasions and included saying "i do not recall" to the fbi on 39 separate times. she recalls everything else.

but 39 separate times she said "i do not recall." well, that's a lie also. then there is the deletion of at least 33,000 e-mails after receiving a subpoena from the united states congress. that's after receiving the subpoena. as an example, it was announced this week that the highly respected four-star general, james cartwright, may be sentenced to up to five years in prison with a massive fine for lying on one occasion to the fbi. and he said he did that for national security reasons. highly respected man. a four-star general. this took place two days ago. how must he feel?

a big part of the rigging of this election is the fact that hillary is being allowed to run, despite having broken so many laws on so many different occasions. why is she allowed to run? the dishonest mainstream media is also part and a major part of this corruption. they're corrupt. they lie and fabricate stories to make a candidate that is not their preferred choice look as bad and even dangerous as possible. at my rallies, they never show or talk about the massive crowd size, and try to diminish all of our events. on the other hand, they don't show the small size of hillary's

crowds, but, in fact, talk about how many people are there. very small crowds. you know it, they know it, everybody knows it. over the last two days, three highly respected national polls said we're in first place. [ cheers and applause ] and one of those pollsters was the most accurate poll on the last two cycles. but the media refuses to even say it or put that word out. they refuse to talk about it. they're trying desperately to suppress my vote and the voice of the american people. as an example of the power structure i'm fighting, at&t is buying time warner and thus cnn, a deal we will not approve in my administration, because it's too

much concentration of power in the hands of two few. likewise, amazon, which through its own ownership controls "the "washington post,"" should be paying massive taxes, but it's not paying. and it's a very unfair playing field, and you see what that's happening and what that's doing to department stores all over the country. very, very unfair, and you're talking about billions and billions of dollars. they should be paying those taxes. additionally, comcast's purchase of nbc concentrates far too much power in one massive entity that is trying to tell the voters what to think and what to do. deals like this destroy democracy. and we'll look at breaking that

deal up. and other deals like that. they should never, ever have been approved in the first place. they're trying to poison the mind of the american voter. every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. total fabrication. [ applause ] the events never happened. never. all of these liars will be sued after the election is over. [ cheers and applause ] but a simple phone call placed to the biggest newspapers or television networks gets them wall to wall coverage with virtually no fact-checking whatsoever. here is why this is relevant to you. if they can fight somebody like

me, who has unlimited resources to fight back, just look at what they can do to you, your jobs, your security, your education, your health care, the violation of religious liberty, the theft of your second amendment. the loss of your factories, your homes, and much more. look at what they have done to you with your jobs. it has just been learned on video that the violent protests at some of my rallies, like in chicago, were police and others were seriously hurt. you saw that. blood pouring down their face. were caused by paid -- paid dnc and clinton campaign operatives. now, we didn't know this. we didn't know this. this just came out two days ago on tape. we didn't know this. we were amazed at the level of

violence. these were paid operatives. paid by the dnc. and probably the clinton campaign. this is a criminal act. policemen were badly hurt. and so were many others. and these people should be prosecuted. [ cheers and applause ] but because of the rigged system, they probably won't be. just like we found out about these paid, violent protesters, it was probably the dnc and the clinton campaign that put forward these liars with their fabricated stories. but we'll find out about their involvement at a later date, through litigation. and i look so forward to doing it. [ applause ] the rigging of the system is designed for one reason. to keep the corrupt establishment and special

interests in power at your expense, and everybody's expense. i have no special interest but you. the american voter. [ applause ] i didn't have to do this. believe me. there's nothing easy about it. but i had to do it. i love our country. i love the people of our country. and i felt i had to do it. thank you. one thing we all know is that we will never solve our problems by relying on the same politicians who created these problems in the first place. hillary clinton is not running against me. she's running against change. and she's running against all of the american people and all of the american voters. [ applause ]

we now find ourselves at that very special fork in the road. do we repeat the mistakes of the past, or do we choose to believe that a great future, yet unwritten, still lies ahead for us and for our wonderful, beloved country? i think it does. i know it does. [ applause ] my economic plan will deliver at least 25 million jobs in one decade. now, our jobs have been taken away. they've gone to mexico. they've gone to so many other countries. it's a one-lane highway where they get the jobs, they get the factories, they get the money. and we get the drugs and we get the unemployment, and it's going to change. believe me. it's going change fast. and that goes for all countries.

when you look at china, when you look at every country, every trade deal we have, it's horrible. and we should be ashamed of what people that let those deals happen. they're defective and they knew they were defective and they were done for a reason. and believe me, they will be unwound so fast, and we will have trade. we will have great trade. and it will be free trade. but it will be fair trade and it will be real. my security plan -- so important. they've taken the jobs from us. my security plan will bring safety to our poorest communities. my ethics plan will end the corruption in our government. we will -- [ applause ] corruption is massive. we will drain the swamp in

washington, d.c. [ cheers and applause ] and replace it with a new government of, by and for the people. believe me. [ applause ] that is why i have chosen gettysburg to unveil this contract. i'm asking the american people to rise above the noise and the clutter of our broken politics and to embrace that great faith and optimism that has always been the central ingredient in the american character. and there is nothing better or stronger than the american character. [ applause ] i am asking the american people to dream big once again. what follows is my 100-day action plan to make america great again. it's a contract between donald j. trump and the american voter,

and it begins with bringing honesty, accountability and change to washington, d.c. [ cheers and applause ] therefore, on the first day of my term of office, my administration will immediately pursue the following six measures to clean up the corruption and special interests collusion in washington. first, a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of congress. [ cheers and applause ] second, the hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workthrough attrition, exempting military public safety and public health. third, a requirement that for every new federal regulation,

two existing regulations must be eliminated. regulations are killing our country and our jobs. fourth, a five-year ban on white house and congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service. making a fortune. fifth, a lifetime ban on white house officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government. six, a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for american elections. that's what's happening. on the same day, i will begin taking and really taking strongly seven actions to protect american workers. our american workers have been treated so badly by politicians that don't have their interests

at heart. and we're going to change that, we're going to change that very, very fast. first, i will announce my intention to totally renegotiate nafta, one of the worst deals our country has ever made. signed by bill clinton. i'll withdraw from the deal under article 2205. second, i will announce our withdrawal from the transpacific partnership. a potential disaster for our country. third, i will direct my secretary of the treasury to labor china, a currency manipulator. china is a currency manipulator. what they have done to us by playing currency is very sad. and i don't blame them. they have been very smart. i blame our politicians for letting this take place. so easy to stop.

so easy to stop. fourth, i will direct the secretary of commerce and u.s. trade representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact american workers and direct them to use every tool under american and international law to end those abuses immediately. [ applause ] fifth. very importantly, i will lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion worth of job-producing american energy reserves, including -- [ cheers and applause ] including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal. and we will put our miners back to work. sixth, i will lift the obama/clinton road blocks that

allow for this vital energy infrastructure projects to go forward. we have road blocks like you've never, ever seen. environmental blocks, structural blocks. we're going to allow the keystone pipeline and so many other things to move forward. tremendous numbers of jobs, and good for our country. we're going to cancel billions in payments to the united nations' climate change programs, and use the money to fix america's water and environmental infrastructure. we're paying millions and billions and billions of dollars. we're going to fix our own environment. [ applause ] additionally, on the first day, i will take the following five actions to restore security and

constitutional rule of law. we have to do that. cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by president obama. [ cheers and applause ] second. begin the process of selecting a replacement for justice scalia. whose wife, by the way, has a trump sign. his wife is a phenomenal woman. has a trump sign in her front yard. isn't that nice? [ applause ] i just found that out this morning. boom. isn't that nice? he was great. from one of the 20 judges on my list, you know we're going to make great decisions from 20 outstanding judges on a list that we submitted. who will uphold and defend the constitution of the united states. [ applause ]

third, we will cancel all federal funding of sanctuary cities. [ cheers and applause ] fourth. we will begin removing the more than 2 million criminal, illegal immigrants from the country. these are drug dealers, gang heads, gang members. killers. and cancel visas to foreign countries that won't take them back. [ applause ] and when hillary clinton was secretary of state, and they had someone who was bad -- really bad -- and they brought him back to the country and the country wouldn't take him, she said, well bring him back, we don't want to force the country to take him. there won't be one such instance if i become president, believe me.

[ applause ] we're going to suspend immigration from terror-prone regions, where vetting cannot safely occur. and if you look at syria, and the migration, we're taking in thousands and thousands of people into our country. we have no idea who they are. what their thought process is, where they come from. and hillary clinton wants to increase the number of those thousands and thousands currently pouring in by 550%. radical islamic terror is right around the corner. we have to be so tough, so smart, so vigilant. we can't allow that to happen. we have enough problems. [ applause ]

all vetting of people coming into our country will be considered extreme vetting. we will be very careful. next, i will working with congress to introduce the following broader legislative within the first 100 days of my administration. middle class tax relief and simplification act. an economic plan designed to grow the economy 4% per year and create at least 25 million new jobs through massive tax reduction and simplification in combination with trade reform, regulatory relief and lifting the restrictions on american energy. [ applause ] we need that so badly. jobs. we need jobs. our jobs have left us. our good jobs have really left us. the largest tax reductions are for the middle class. who have been forgotten.

it's called the forgotten man and woman. they have been forgotten. the middle class with family of two children will get basically approximately a 35% tax cut. and that's what they can use. and that money will go back into the economy. the current number of brackets will be reduced from seven to three. and tax forms will likewise be greatly simplified. [ applause ] the business rate will be lowered from 35% to 15%, and the trillions of dollars of american corporate money overseas can now be brought back at a 10% rate. it's stuck. we can't bring it back. 2.5 to $5 trillion. companies can't get it back into the country. some companies are actually leaving. not only because taxes are so

high, but because they can't get their money, and they are actually leaving to get their money. we are going to simplify that, we're going to have them bring the money back into our country, and use the money and spend the money on building our country. [ applause ] end the offshoring act. establish tariffs to discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate in other countries and ship their products back to the united states, tax-free. they leave the united states, like carrier, like ford, like so many others. they leave the united states, they fire all of their employees. they go to mexico or another country. they build a beautiful brand-new plant. they hire other people. they then take their air conditioners, their cars, whatever they're making. they send it tax-free across what will be a very strong border, believe me.

[ cheers and applause ] they send it tax-free across the border. and what do we end up with? we have unemployment, tremendous losses, and we have none of the benefits. so we will establish tariffs that when they do that, there will be consequences. we'll work with them, we'll be nice, we'll be fair. but there have to be consequences. and when they know there are consequences, our companies will stop leaving the united states and going to other countries. [ applause ] the american infrastructure act leverages public/private partnerships and private investments through tax incentives to spare $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over the next ten years. our infrastructure is in such trouble. we've doubled our national debt to $20 trillion under president obama.

in less than eight years, $10 trillion has been added. think of it. and we haven't fixed anything. we haven't fixed anything. what have we done? our roads are broken, our bridges, our tunnels, our hospitals, our schools. and we have $20 trillion in debt. all-time high. >> the v.a. hospitals! >> that's true. our v.a. hospitals are in bad shape and our v.a. is in very bad shape. and we will work on that. we are going to work on fixing that, because our veterans have not been treated properly. we have illegal immigrants that are treated far better in many instances than our veterans. and we're not going to have that. school choice and education opportunity act. redirects education dollars to give parents the right to send their kid, their children, to public/private charter, magnet, religious, or home schools of their choice. [ cheers and applause ]

and so importantly, we're going to end common core, and bring education supervision to local communities. we do so badly on education. if you look at the lists, and you see sweden, norway, be denmark, different countries at the top. you see us at the bottom. and yet by far, per pupil, more money than anybody, and it's not even close. we spend more money per pupil than anybody, not even close. we're at the bottom of the list. other countries spending far less per pupil are at the top of the list. so obviously, our current system is not working. we will change it, and we will make it good. [ applause ] it expands vocational and technical education. which we have totally forgotten about in this country. and make two and four-year

colleges more affordable. have you ever gone to school and you've been with people that aren't good students, but they can fix an engine, or they can build a wall? or they can do things that you wouldn't even think about. because we can use some of the ones that build the wall. we're going to need them. [ cheers and applause ] we're going to need them. but did you ever see that? how they're genius at fixing a car. they can do anything. but history, not so good. physics, not so good. we have to open vocational again. those are the people that -- these are great people. [ applause ] the repeal and replace obamacare act. [ cheers and applause ] fully repeal obamacare, and replace it with health savings accounts. so we can do that.

the health savings accounts, it's one way. there are numerous ways. but this is one very good way. the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines, which we have to do, because that's competition. the politicians won't let go of it, because the insurance companies, they don't want competition. but we'll open it up. believe me, we'll get rid of that. i've been saying it for years. and let states manage medicaid funds. it will be so good. [ applause ] reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the fda. there are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval. and we specially want to feed the approval of life-saving medications. they're looking at drugs that are looking very good, and you have terminal patients that it's over. these people. they're dying. they want to get the drug. they won't be living much longer. and we study it for years and years.

at some point, they have to do what they have to do. they have to do it properly. but we have 4,000 different drugs and products waiting in line for approval and we can't get them approved. we're going to speed up that process very significantly. affordable child care and elder care act allows americans to deduct child care and elder care from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide onsite -- so important -- child care services. and you see that with a couple of companies, and it's such a great thing to see. and creates tax-free dependent care savings accounts for both young and elderly dependents with matching contributions for low-income families. so good. [ applause ] end illegal immigration act. [ cheers and applause ] fully funds the construction of a wall on our southern border. don't worry about it.

remember, i said mexico is paying for the wall. with the full understanding that the country of mexico will be reimbursing the united states for the full cost of such a wall. okay? we're going to have the wall. mexico is going to pay for the wall. mexico -- by the way, i met with the president of mexico. two-and-a-half months ago. wonderful meeting, wonderful person. but i told him, this is a two-way highway, not a one-way highway. we have our people. we have to take care of our people. we have to protect our people. so it's going to be a two-way street. otherwise it's going to be a whole different deal. but it establishes a two-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence. this is people coming in illegally for illegally reentering the united states after a previous deportation. and a five-year mandatory minimum for illegally reentering

for those with felony convictions, multiple misdemeanor convictions or two or more prior deportations. so when somebody comes in, we send them out. they come back in, they go to prison for quite a while. they come back, they come back again, they go five years. because what's happening is they are coming back ten times. and i could go case after case. they come back, look at what happened in san francisco. five times he came back. on the fifth time he killed kate. five times. but so many others. one ten times came back. killed somebody after ten times. when they get deported, they stay out. otherwise they have very serious prison terms. they will stay out. once you do that, they will stay out. right now, they have no consequence. they have no consequences. also, reforms on visa rules to

enhance penalties for overstaying and to ensure open jobs are offered to american wo workers first. number eight. restoring community safety act. reduces surging crime, drugs and violence by creating a task force on violent crime and increasing funding for programs that train and assist your local police. we're doing such a great job. believe me. increase the resources for federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars and into the country they came from. restoring national security act, which rebuilds our military by eliminating the defense sequester, which has been very tough on our military. and expanding military

investment. now, at no time, practically, do we need a military like right now. we don't want to use it. but it's peace through strength. we need a strong military. our military is so terribly depleted. it also provides our great veterans with the ability to receive public v.a. treatment or attend a private doctor of their choice. if they are waiting online, and i have the plan up. and we've gotten, as you know, tremendous support from veterans. from law enforcement, from veterans, from the military. tremendous support. but if they're waiting online, and you see it -- 22 suicides a day. people don't even believe it. 22 a day. but if they're waiting online for seven days, six days, nine days, they can't get to see a doctor. and a simple procedure, or a

simple prescription can solve their problem, and they become very sick, and they die. they die waiting in line. we're going to give them the power to go across the street to a local doctor, a private doctor, a public hospital or a private hospital. all looking to help and all looking to do business. and we'll pay the bill. so much cheaper, but much more importantly, the veterans will finally be taken care of properly. because what they're going through now is unacceptable. [ applause ] also, we're going to protect our vital infrastructure from the new thing. it's called cyberattack. it establishes new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values. we want people that love our country or can love our country, and people that will love our citizens. we want people that can love us.

and there are ways through talent of determining that. and other countries do. but we don't. just come on in, folks. come on in. clean up corruption in washington act. enacts tough new ethic reforms to reduce the corrupting influence of special interests and donors on our politics. on november 8th, americans will be voting for this 100-day plan to restore prosperity to our country, restore our communities and honesty to our government. this is my pledge to you. and if we follow these steps, we will once more have a government of, by and for the people. and importantly, we will make america great again. believe me. thank you. thank you. thank you very much.

we've been listening to donald trump speaking in gettysburg, pennsylvania. his 100-day action plan, a lot there to talk about. let's dig in. joining me now, nile, associate editor for the hill. and john harwood, chief washington correspondent for cnbc. and political writer for the "new york times." good day to both of you guys. >> hey, sheinelle. >> oh, and chris kofinis, democratic strategist. let's dig in here. i want to start by talking about what trump said, right when he hit the podium. he talked about healing divisions. and i wrestle with that just a little bit, considering how divisive this campaign has been, and went right into talking about how the rules are rigged. how do we wrestle with what he talked about? and we'll get into the content, as well. >> yeah. i mean, i think that's a great point, sheinelle. i think it's interesting that he should try to frame himself as a unifier at the start of that speech. then immediately segue into

firstly attacks on the political system in general. and then he kind of went through the greatest hits of his own campaign of the kind of breitbart type wing of the republican party. you know, of course, he's entitled to argue those points, if he wishes. but they're not generally perceived as unifying themes for this country, to say the least. >> and john, how about you? what do you think? >> well, look. he started after saying he wanted to unify the country, he condemned the women who have come forward to accuse him of misconduct. said they're all liars, i'm going to sue all of them after the election. first of all, it sounds like if you listen to that closely, he's expecting to lose the election. it's hard to imagine someone engaged in a presidential transition would commence a series of lawsuits against women who have accused him of doing things that are wrong. he also went after the media. he talked about how comcast and nbc was too much concentration of power, and they were trying

to poison the minds of the american voter. he said amazon's -- through its chairman, founder, jeff bezos, its ownership of "the "washington post"" was introe appropriate. the "washington post" was telling lies about him. he said the fbi and justice department had covered uphill re's crimes, and that she should not have been allowed to run. none of that is the kind of thing that would bring the country together or broaden his appeal, beyond where it is now. he's stuck at 40%. his affect was calm, and that was something that his strategist had to have liked. because he delivered the speech in a very sober tone. but the ideas were pretty similar to what we've heard for a long time. >> chris, what was your reaction? >> you know, basically a desperate attempt to try to mobilize his base. i mean, listen. the people around him, you know, obviously can read polls. and my guess is what they're seeing is not only is he not winning over undecideds or the

few swing voters that are left, he is losing his core. they're getting demobilized. and this is an attempt to try to do it. i mean, that speech was basically a smorgasbord of everything he's ever said in the campaign. there really wasn't a -- an overall narrative, other than the delivery, i'm not sure what the point was, other than to try to get something out there to anyone who has ever thought about supporting him to reconsider supporting him. but i mean, to do the speech on a saturday just is odd. i can just tell you from a communications strategy perspective. but it just seems like this is a campaign that is finally realizing the depths they're in, and maybe trump is, as well. but i'm not sure that's the kind of speech you give two weeks out. >> sheinelle, can i just -- >> sure, go ahead. >> to chris' points about him trying to hold on to his base. i talked this morning to a senior republican strategist for senate races. who said that donald trump is now tied with hillary clinton in

indiana, down 11 points in pennsylvania, according to polling he has seen. down 14 points in new hampshire. he is going down hard. so the rest of the party is looking at a donald trump campaign in free-fall, trying to figure out how to save themselves. i am skeptical that this 100-day speech by donald trump is going to arrest that and pull republicans closer to him. i think it's now every man and woman for him or herself in the republican party right now. >> chris, i know you spoke with several independent voters after the debate. i want to ask you about that. real quickly, nile, as he was talking, there are a lot of people who have said whatever they want about his afact fect the way he speaks. but from a content perspective, he did get a lot in there. but many people are saying it's frankly his approach. we mentioned how calm he is here. would that have helped if he would have been like that from the beginning? >> i think it would have. i mean, i think he has gotten himself into lots of controversies during this campaign that he didn't need to

get into. and i do think to give him his fair credit for today, he did stress this idea of both of himself as an outsider and his opposition to free trade, his belief that lots of free trade deals have had detrimental effect. that argument can resonate in some battleground states. the question is whether he has now left it too late. and i think the timing of this speech, quite frankly, has something to do with the amount of ground the trump campaign has lost over debate season. they clearly can't coast from where they are now, because they're so far behind. so you need to try to change the agenda in some fashion. >> and while i'm talking to you, nile, you're reporting on the level of anxiety for the party in this final stretch. first, what are you hearing from strategists, and then do you think this speech will at least ease some of their worries? >> well, there's a great deal of concern from strategists and john has already touched on this. senate races are very difficult, if you look at someone like pat

toomey in pennsylvania, well, if trump loses that by eight points, then self-evidently, toomey has to outperform his -- the guy at the top of the ticket by nine points. that's a big ask. and i think this kind of speech would be something that strategists would quite like to see, but the big question is, is it just too late in the game. >> in fact, chris, can you answer that question? i know you've done focus groups, talked with independent voters. will it be swayed by anything trump said? >> i mean, the problem now with -- a little over two weeks left, the pool of undecided voters is just, you know -- decreases by the day. i mean, there's two ways to look at this. and it's hard to sometimes divorce these two, obviously. but the individual who trump is, his misogynistic, his racist, be zoxenophobic rhetoric that has dominated the narrative this campaign has been self destructive to an unparalleled level. that is just obvious.

but the message that he sometimes does say -- even today, when he talks about trade deals, i mean, i can tell you, in these focus groups, including the one i did on debate night, people -- especially in some of these rural states like ohio, you know, they react to it in a positive way. but they cannot divorce the message from the man. and that is the -- at the end of it all, going to be the trap that the trump campaign cannot get themselves out of. and as much as they try to give a speech in a nice, somber tone, and sober tone, as they did today, it is not going to repair the damage that he's done to himself and to his campaign with two weeks left. voters are starting to lock in, in those per essentials he's self-created can't be just wished away. i mean, it is a damage that he has done to his own campaign, even though the conditions were there for an outsider, for a candidate who would have come in and said we've got to do things dramatically different. he just was not the right

messenger. >> chris, thank you. nile and john harwood. thank you for talking with me this morning. >> thank you. joining me now is california congressman, john garamendi. good afternoon to you. >> good to be with you. >> first i want your reaction to some of trump's attacks on hillary clinton. let's listen to some clips and then i'll get your take. >> hillary clinton should have been precluded from rung for the presidency of the united states. [ cheers and applause ] but the fbi and the justice department covered up her crimes, which included lying to the fbi and congress on numerous occasions and included saying "i do not recall" to the fbi on 39 separate times. hillary clinton is not running against me. she's running against change.

and she's running against all of the american people and all of the american voters. >> congressman, what's your reaction to what you just heard? >> well, first of all, three things come immediately to mind. first of all, it's the same old, same old. there is nothing new here. not in policy, not in tone, not in rhetoric. so that's first thing that comes to mind. second thing is that he's promising 100 days of total chaos, beginning january 20th, 2017. if he thinks he's going to carry out or if he tries to carry out any of the things he talked about, all of the regulatory activities and so forth, we're talking about total chaos in washington. not change that's good, but rather chaos. and third thing is the way he delivered this speech, and the total lack of energy tells me that this man is out of gas. that he sees the future and the future is, he's losing. when you get down to the details of what he talks about, his tax

plan, you take a look at the actual language of his tax plan and the tax breaks go to the wealthy, the middle class gets screwed, along with the deficit, which goes up $5 trillion. so it's -- an interesting speech. but it doesn't change either the trajectory, nor does it change the reality of what this man is. you cannot change the stripes of the tiger. he is what he has presented to the american people over the last two years. all of those -- all of those sayings, all of the things he said about women, all of the way he reacts, all of his tweets. this is a man that is totally never to be anywhere near the white house. >> congressman john garamendi, we've had to rush you here, obviously. thank you for your time this afternoon. >> sure. we want to bring in another member of congress who is joining us, a supporter of the republican nominee in north carolina congresswoman, renee ellmers. good afternoon to you. >> good to be with you. thanks for having me. >> well, you just heard what congressman john garamendi had

to say. what's your take on what we just heard? >> well, you know, i disagree, of course. with my colleague there. you know, i think it's kind of interesting that, you know, he's a member of the armed services committee, and i think that i can speak for the armed services committee, and what we have is a situation where, you know, donald trump laid out perfectly what we need to do to make america safe again. and move us forward and fight isis in the way that we need. and yet my friend, congressman garamendi, never even mentioned. this is what the democrats are really afraid of. the moment that donald trump is moving forward and, you know, as far as the polls go, he's neck and neck with hillary clinton, especially in a lot of the battleground states. certainly in north carolina, where i am. and, you know, we've got to talk about the things that are important to the american people. these are the things that are important. he is -- he is the presidential candidate of change. and people across this country -- my goodness, 76% of

americans say we are in the wrong direction. barack obama, in his eight-year term has added $10 trillion to the debt. he has essentially doubled it. now, look, i've been in congress, and i will tell you that we should have worked a lot harder, as well, which has been point of contention for me, especially as a republican. but we are not going to get change in this country unless we get this man elected. and speaking as a woman who wants change in this country, as so many women do, this is exactly where we need to go. >> trump made a very, very long list of promises. is it realistic to think -- i only have about a minute left. but do you think it's realistic he can really accomplish all of this? >> i absolutely believe it. it just takes someone with strength and political courage to do so. >> you know what, i appreciate your time. i wish we had more time with you, republican nominee in north carolina, congresswoman renee ellmers. thank you for talking with me. we'll have much more reaction to trump's speech coming up right after the break.

it is 1:00 in the east, 10:00 in the west. i'm sheinelle jones at msnbc world headquarters in new york. and here's what's happening. let's get right to some highlights from a speech donald trump wrapped up moments ago to outline his first 100 days in office. he spent the first 20 minutes airing out some of the same grievances we've been hearing in recent days. >> 1.8 million dead people are registered to vote. and some of them are voting. i wonder how that happens. a big part of the rigging of this election is the fact that hillary is being allowed to run, despite having broken so many laws on so many different occasions. why is she allowed to run? the dishonest mainstream media is also part and a major part of this