and a very good afternoon to you, i'm richard lui in new york city. on this sunday i want to start with breaking news, sad news for those fans of comedy legend of jerry lewis, best known for his slapstick humor. he has died, according to a statement put out by his family. the comedian passed away peacefully in his las vegas home today. lewis was 91 years old. we're going to look back now. nbc's keith morrison takes a look at jerry lewis' life and legacy. >> this is how most people remember jerry lewis. zany, goofy, nonstop hilarity.

he was born jarome levitch in newark, new jersey. he never finished high school. the business making people laugh was all that mattered. audiences loved him. here he was still a teenager with second billing of the prestigious 500 club in atlantic city, which is where jerry lewis formed half of one of the hottest comedy teams in history. dean martin and jerry lewis, the crooning casanova and the clown. literally an overnight sensation. it wasn't long before hollywood called. they made 17 movies together, all box office hits. then in 1950 they got their own variety show. jerry lewis was only 24 years old.

then as suddenly as it started, it was over. after ten years, jerry and dean called it quits. when martin and lewis parted, they were no longer friends and there were rumors the breakup would end each of their careers. instead, jerry went on to sign a $10 million contract with paramount. he made more than 30 movies solo. those movies broke new ground, unlike nearly anyone else at that time, jerry lewis had complete control. he not only acted in his films, he wrote them, produced them, directed many of them, too. years later his movies didn't do so well, and the only place left to see a jerry lewis movie was late night tv. but there was one thing, one huge long running act that never seemed to get old. every labor day the jerry lewis telethon for muscular dystrophy. and long after a legendary career in movies, club acts, and

tv when he was 69, he got going all over again. debuting on broadway in the hit musical "damn yankees." his was a life as big as entertainment. the only thing he ever wanted to do. and did so well, he got the whole world to watch. ♪ >> joining me right now on the phone is a columnist for "the las vegas review journal" and close friend for the lewis family. thanks for being with us. you came out earlier and did say he had passed at the age of 91. you know the lewis family well. what other pieces of information are you hearing from the family and how this all happened? >> you know, i think it happened in the way -- how you should go out. with his loved ones around him and, you know, in a peaceful

sleep of natural causes after living a legendarily long and fruitful life. i think that's what the take away here is. he hadn't been well recently. we had known that. he had been weakened. you know, definitely an end of an era. i don't know we'll see anybody like jerry lewis come around again, you know, at least in terms of his versatility and he could do so many things so great, you know, it's a sad day in las vegas and everywhere else. >> for certain generations he's quite well known, jerry lewis, for others not. how would you put him in context of those who are now comedians, those who are tv shows, those who are out entertaining people today? >> you know, i think for the contemporary generation of stage performers, or even actors, this is a time to stop and go back and do some research about one of the real greats.

he was a great live entertainer, he was a great -- he could do things like tap dance that people don't appreciate, he was a funny guy, he could sing, and go back and look at his career both in film and on stage, and observe him. because he was a brilliant man across the board. and i think those who grew up with jerry lewis probably remember him from the telethon, you know, the moment with dean martin, who's one of the great moments ever in the history of the medium. and just watch him and study and know what made him great, you know. this is a guy who performed as an entertainer from the age of 5 and was famous worldwide for 80-plus years probably, 80 years. he was famous at some level for a really long time. and deservedly so. he was a brilliant man. >> and he's been in the media as of late just within the last year or so, the hollywood

reporter being interviewed, he had a movie, right, within the last one or two years, was also interviewed for cbs this morning. talking about the last couple of years, an interview with jimmy fallon on the tonight show from 2014. i'll play that and get the reaction. >> he had his hair spiked. yellow, red, green, purple. so i'm looking at him. he said what's the matter old man, didn't you ever do anything out of the ordinary in your life? i said, yes, as a matter of fact, 20 years ago i had sex with a parrot. i thought you were my son. >> all right, that was jerry lewis there, johnny. for those who didn't see that interview was happening in 2014. he was telling jimmy fallon a story about meeting a young man in new york city. you can just hear his frankness and that was certainly a reputation that he had within the last couple of decades of being very clear about what he

thought. not afraid of what he was saying, right, johnny? >> oh, yeah, he was a direct man. he loved that joke. he told that joke. every time he told it, it was like the first time he ever said it. what a great delivery. he was -- i'll tell you, people often ask me who my favorite interview here in las vegas or anybody else has been, or about some of the people i have interviewed, i bring up jerry lewis, he was not easy to interview. he was a challenging guy for a lot of reasons. when he had an opinion, he would state it and you had to be ready to speak with him about it. you know, that joke, you know, we got a chance to, him and i, hang out at some shows in las vegas, we got to reintroduce jimmy to the entertain on the strip, cirque du soleil, we went to see jennifer lopez together, and he really was energized by live performance. he loved great live performance. we had such a great time. we went to a show that has a

clown actor who's in his 80s, they got to meet. you know, and i think if there's anything, he was still very interested in what was happening. he was very intrigued about his surroundings and everything going on up until fairly recently, you know, up until his last past his 91st birthday, we were there in town on the strip. and i think that was, you know, that was a testament, too. he was so intrigued by everything. so curious about everything happening around him. and he loved entertainers, and he used to bemoan the fact that marquees on the strip would promote the prime rib dinner over the stars in the show room, you know? >> i was watching some of the interviews there, very engaged at the age of 90. >> oh, yeah. >> one footnote that you know well and for those who are fans of jerry lewis and the trivia behind jerry lewis is he pretty much got his start here at 30 rock where we're broadcasting

from today on the sixth floor here, the same studio where jimmy fallon actually broadcasts. one of the locations where he and dean martin got together. then they had that long career, had that two decades of where they didn't get along, then they got back together again. that brings us to folks like don ri rickles and jim carrey. if we were trying to think of two younger comedians and entertainers, those might be, too, right? >> i think jim carrey for sure. and i see a lot of martin short, a lot of jerry lewis in martin short's act also. i think that's not an accident. you know, the way he throws himself around the stage. i just had a chance not long ago to see martin short and steve martin do a stage show here in las vegas periodically, and i was watching them. this is the closest thing i think i will see, or we will see, to martin and lewis. it was that kind of feeling. he touched so many people.

i just talked to penn and teller, they were a duo made of dissimilar personalities work on stage for a long time. they owe a lot of their template at least of that approach to martin lewis. >> talking about martin lewis, this was a discussion with bob costas on later with bob costas, lewis talking to bob in 1993 about his career and debunking the myth that buddy love in "the nutty professor" was based on the partnership you just mentioned here, johnny, with dean martin. take a listen to this. >> i got him from the anti-semite, i got him from the racist, i got him from the people on the bus that won't get up for a lady. i got him from a cheat. i got him from a guy that don't pay his debts. i got him from everything that's ugly. >> so, was he talking about dean martin, his partner, going back to the '40s, and were they

really the first partnership? >> you know, it's hard to say. you know, he -- jerry would always bring up laurel and hardy, you know, abbott and costello, there are others. there are others, but i don't know with this kind of breadth that you would see. they were the first maybe that were superstars live in film and tv concurrently, you know? i think that's what martin and lewis were. go to the colgate comedy hour, go to the incredible film career over a decade, they were definitely selling out as a live act everywhere they were performing, including in las vegas. you know, i don't know how you get more influential than that. >> right. finally, what will your headline be for your column? >> you know what, i think that i lost a friend, you know, i think

come back to the personal side of him. even absent the fame and everything else, in a one-on-one basis he was a genuinely fascinating individual, wonderful guy to talk to, challenging, brilliant, giving advice. he said one time to me, everybody needs a 90-year-old friend, you know? and that was what he was, you know, he was passing that along. giving pearls of wisdom all the time. >> poking fun at himself, as well. fascinating will be the takeaway there. johnny, thank you so much. columnist for "las vegas journal," good friend of the lewis family and jerry lewis and giving context to his career and what he means to so many generations. appreciate it, johnny, and sorry for the loss. >> any time, glad to help. >> i want to bring in nbc's morgan radford. really tough for somebody like johnny, a close friend. he was trying to give us context of who jerry lewis is and was, but at the end of the day, he's

sad to see him go and many others with the reaction on this sunday. >> that's right, richard. hollywood is really mourning the loss of a legend. as you mention, lewis' agent didn't reveal a cause of death. meanwhile, fans and colleagues alike have taken to twitter to express their condolences. actor william shatner, "condolences to the family of jerry lewis, the world is a lot less funnier today." here's another one, "jerry lewis, another comic legend gone, what an amazing talent and philanthropist. a long lived life." whoopi goldburg tweeted, "jerry lewis passed today, millions around the world loved him, millions of kids he helped with his telethons. r.i.p. and condolences to his family." jamie lee curtis tweeted, "jerry lewis loomed large with my family. he made me and many laugh." as you know, lewis hosted his

final telethon back in 2011. he raised over $1.6 billion in 45 years. i found this great article he did in an interview with "vanity fair" that year. they asked how would you like to die, and in true lewis fashion, he said, i didn't know we had a choice. >> very straight forward, certainly. those telethons, we all can remember either our parents or having to watch it or turning on the tv during that holiday and seeing him and so many other greats. thank you so much, nbc's morgan radford. of course, we'll continue to follow the loss of jerry lewis, dead at the age of 91, throughout this hour and next. stay with us on msnbc for that. we'll also look back to what's happening here in washington, d.c., when we talk about politics. more of that right after this. (vo) more "doing chores for mom" per roll more "doing chores for dad" per roll

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thanks for staying with us. we have new polls out today that show where president trump stands after his both sides are to blame comments on the violence in charlottesville one week ago. a new poll shows the president's approval rating now at less than 40% among americans in the three states that helped propel him to the white house. that's michigan, pennsylvania, and wisconsin. you see them right there. 60% of those polled in those states say they find trump's conduct as president embarrassing so far. only a quarter saying it's made them proud. this as the president reacted in two different ways to yesterday's massive demonstrations in boston. first referring to marchers as anti-police agitators, then an hour later this way, saying, "many protesters in boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate." seemingly applauding what they are doing. kelly o'donnell in new jersey.

kelly, let's go to the poll numbers. they are not good. they are consistent with other polls we have seen, but has the white house reacted at all to them? >> reporter: no direct reaction from the white house, but what makes this poll particularly interesting right now is what you mentioned about the states that are drilled down on here. michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, states that are typically a critical piece of the battleground map and donald trump did what was highly unexpected in 2016 by winning each of these three states, and now months later we see where the numbers are and he has a challenge there to try to get back some of the support that he had. this seems to reflect what has been a turbulent first seven months in office and these questions were put to voters in those states after the charlottesville events of last weekend and the president's differing statements and the criticism that has followed that, so it really shows a reflection of what may be a low

point for the trump presidency overall. and this has been a very difficult week. and so those numbers certainly bear out part of this story. another fact was a question you don't often hear asked in presidential polling, and that is an embarrassment factor. that's something that of all the kinds of questions put to voters, typically that is not one you would see, but given the circumstances we're in, it seems applicable. more than 60% say the president's approval rating and his conduct in office is embarrassing to them. only 25% say the president's performance makes them proud. those are concerning numbers for sure. and then when we look at control of congress, voters will be asked in 2018 to render a verdict on the trump presidency by voting in the midterms for house and senate races, and, of course, that's also a reflection on the approval of those people who hold those office now or want to challenge for those

positions. usually the first midterm in a presidential term is a tough time. and when you look at this, you see that the respondents are saying they would prefer democrats over republicans in control of congress by substantial margins in those states. all of these signs put together show a troubling picture for the president where he does not have the approval or does not have the confidence of many people in the survey. richard? >> nbc's kelly o'donnell with the president there in bridgewater, new jersey, with the latest. kelly, thank you so much for that. i now want to bring in our panel. white house correspondent anita kumar, capital hill reporter molly hooper and gop strategist rick tyler. rick, what are the numbers that stand out to you here? is it the 25% that remain to be proud, is that a better indicator or indicator you're watching that shows what his base in the midwest is feeling right now? >> well, as kelly pointed out,

we don't usually poll for the embarrassment factor, so there's no way to benchmark it, but it's a shocking number. when more than 60% of those polled are actually embarrassed about the president's behavior, that is got to be telling, but he's also upside down, richard, in the three states. pennsylvania, for republicans, these states haven't really been battleground states. donald trump made them battleground states, but if he is considering a re-election and kellyanne conway, who is trump's pollster, she's got to know whether these numbers are real or her own polls reflect this, and if they are real, he's got a real concern if he wants to be re-elected. >> anita, the mid western firewall, remember we were saying that i don't know how many different times leading up to 2016 and its election, the midwestern firewall, which then switched in these states to the current president, are we seeing a recession here, bit of going back if you had in terms of that

support at the numbers? >> the poll was conducted right after charlottesville, so it's hard to tell exactly how much impact that had, but i think it's a broader problem, as you've mentioned. this has been now months of controversy after controversy, firings, you know, lack of things going on on capitol hill, significant legislation, so it's got to be all those things together. even if president trump can move past charlottesville, he's still got all those other burdens from the last few months. >> there's also, molly, when you look at the numbers that came out of this poll, the number of americans that feel better about the economy or good about the economy, and he gets higher marks on that particular issue. as we know when it comes to presidential elections, it is the pocketbook, right, at least historically. >> historically it is the pocketbook, and when you look at those states, michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, what we're going to be looking at is what the republicans in those states, the republican lawmakers, what they are saying

about the president, how they react to what the president's doing because they are the ones who are up for re-election in 2018. and though we see, you know, a number of americans in these polls saying they want divided government or they want democrats in control of congress, it really matters how those people are going to vote on the incumbent republicans and democrats that are already in office. and usually the country will say, oh, we want a new congress, but i want my congressman. and so that's the key here. so watch for people like fred upton, who was chairman of the energy and commerce committee, what those types of folks do moving forward on the big issues like debt limit, tax reform, all that, because that's really telling as to what is happening on the ground. >> really great point, and rick, reflect on that, because the data coming out also showing that the support for democrats and the dnc, if you will, upcoming into this election is consistently, more or less, mt. double digits for the democrats.

this despite, again, the support in these three states in the last election for republicans. >> you know, it's really interesting and hard to read because democrats do look more energized and this poll reflects that, although the money isn't flowing into the dnc the way it is into the rnc, so you've got that mixed message here. i think the problem for republicans is donald trump isn't seen as a republican and people are separating out whether they blame trump or blame the republican party. certainly, trump's own base would blame the republican party, but i've always suspected that donald trump's voters will come out for him in large numbers, but they won't be motivated to get out there for republicans, so the republican party has a real challenge. they have got to show that they are being in charge and their keeping control of the congress, they've got to have something to show for that in 2018 if they expect people to get out and not sit on their hands. and that is typical what will

happen is if a republican or the person who's in the white house is the other party often gains. >> anita, the president is watching the base, what they are thinking, as we look at some of these poll numbers here. one of those items might be what is happening in phoenix when the president heads there this week for a large scale political rally, according to what we understand at this moment. the question is, as he has mentioned, joseph arpaio, somebody who stands out as a lightning rod when it comes to issues of immigration, specifically, which has a bit of a hue in terms of the discussion of race within the last week. what do we think he's going to do and what might be the fallout if he does decide to pardon joe arpaio? >> let's be clear, we never know what he's going to do until he does it. his advisers can tell us something, then he does something different. look, he has talked about pardoning other folks over the

last seven months and he hasn't done it. if he does do this, couple reasons this would be unusual. one, this is generally not how it's done. generally the department of justice reviews all these people first and it's generally not done this early in the term. so if he does it, it would be unusual. he does lots of things unusual, so he could do it. after charlottesville it would be a really tough thing for him to do. there are organizations like the aclu that say if he does this it's racism, you know, and he's already been accused of racism this past week, so it would be a really tough thing for him to do. now, there are people that are really pushing on him to go ahead and do it. the reality is, i believe the sheriff has not been sentenced, won't be sentenced until october, so it's supposed to not be for very long. it's really not much of a, you know, it's not going to make much of a practical difference. >> molly, 15 seconds to you, why do this? >> i would say why not do this? he's going to want funding in the upcoming budget for border

security and for building this wall, and this is something that could inflame members of congress and they are going to be the ones who deliver that budget and the government funding bill to his desk. >> thank you all three. molly, anita, rick. thank you so much. eyes to the sky, from oregon to south carolina. spectators are already gathering, you're probably doing it right now, to try to witness that first solar eclipse to cross the united states from coast to coast in nearly a century. live with the excitement ahead of tomorrow's cosmic event. stick around for that.

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since 1979 that people in the u.s. will see the moon completely block the sun. joining me now from oregon is msnbc's jacob soboroff. the path of the eclipse starts in oregon. what are oregonians doing right now? >> reporter: it is a scorcher out here, richard. madras, oregon, usually the population is less than 7,000 people. at this camp site there are going to be around 100,000 people. it would make this place go from the 80th biggest place in oregon to the fourth largest city in the state. this guy drove from southern california. come with me, there's a family over here i want to introduce you to. where are you guys coming in from? >> coming from seattle. >> reporter: they are coming in from seattle. there's a family over here, richard, nice to meet you guys. hey, guys, can i come into your gazebo here? where did you come from? >> i came from seattle. >> i came from washington. >> how about you?

>> bainbridge. >> reporter: part of the reason this is so cool, families like this are coming in here, i'll leave you alone, nice to meet you, is because here in madras, this is going to be one of the clearest places in the country to see the eclipse happen. obviously, there's the pacific coast mountain range and the cascades and the sky gets crystal clear blue like it is right now, despite the fact there are forest fires going on in this general area. more and more people coming. line is about two hours long just to get inside this camping ground and it's all for seeing the full total solar eclipse for around two minutes tomorrow. it's going to be really extraordinary to see. really exciting vibe, feels like you're at coachella for science nerds out here. richard? >> that number of gazebos, i would say the same thing too, as well. safety precautions as folks are looking up to view the solar eclipse? >> reporter: yeah, definitely do not do it with glasses like what i'm wearing or regular sunglasses for that matter.

there are special specific glasses that you have to wear when looking directly at the total solar eclipse. if you don't have them, don't look directly at the sun, and that's a very serious thing. in fact, double check you don't have counterfeit ones. counterfeit glasses are coming in from china, very dangerous to look at the sun, as well. >> there in oregon where they'll get a first glimpse of that eclipse. thank you so much, my friend. we'll stop in with you later. tomorrow nbc news and msnbc will have live coverage all day from the eclipse. get more information by heading to nbcnews.com/eclipse. all righty, next, steve bannon's exit from the white house, will his return to breitbart news give the alt-right some new momentum? ♪ hey, is this our turn? honey...our turn? yeah, we go left right here. (woman vo) great adventures are still out there.

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welcome back. president trump's chief strategist steve bannon was released last week friday. bannon returning to head breitbart news now, where he vows to fight for the trump agenda where he started.

for more, joining me now, nbc news political reporter benjie starlin. benjie, good to see you. what's he going to do next? >> well, steve bannon is heading back to breitbart, the conservative publishing empire that he ran before joining the trump campaign, and he's made it clear he's going to drive the same ideological agenda he tried to push in the white house from there. the question is whether in doing so he's supporting trump or aggressively undermining members of the trump administration and possibly eventually trump himself. so that's going to be the big tension moving forward in terms of his role. >> does he do a trump on trump? does he say one thing publicly and something different privately? >> well, steve bannon seems to be at some degree what you see is what you get. he's been clear about his ideological views. he's very skeptical of multiculturalism, especially when it comes to religion. he wants a specific agenda on aggressively confronting foreign

trade practices, lower immigration levels, he's suggested he was pushing tax views somewhat more progressive than what some more traditional conservatives wanted, so he has a slate of issues and likely he's going to push it from breitbart, as well. >> without that list that reportedly bannon had in his office, a list of things he promised in the campaign, without that there in the white house right now, do you see the white house moderating? >> well, it's difficult to say. a lot of people tagged steve bannon as this kind of force who pushed the white house towards more racially inflammatory or aggressive positions that were more aligned with, say, the alt-right, but as he shows with his response to charlottesville, he can get there on his own. steve bannon only showed up late in the campaign after trump was already doing things like proposing a ban on all muslim entry into the united states, or reciting fake war stories about executing muslim prisoners in the philippines with bullets dipped in pigs blood, something

he repeated on twitter recently, or referenced. so the idea trump is going to sound different because steve bannon is gone, it's tough to really square that with his behavior. >> you've been watching the polls that came out today. seems like in the three key states that he had won when we look at pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin, that his base, if you will, seems to be losing some numbers there. is this a reflection of that arc? >> well, it's very difficult to say exactly what's going on here, because people are very unsure what's the baseline to judge trump against, which is that trump's approval numbers, then it was favorability ratings, were extremely low in those states on the day he won them. exit polls in pennsylvania, for example, had him at just 42% favorability there on election day. now, how did he win? hillary clinton was even more unpopular, just slightly, in states like pennsylvania, which managed to put him over the edge. so it's unclear if you take away someone like hillary clinton he can survive politically, but on

the other hand we do have an example of him being unpopular in those states but still exceeding. >> various reports what he might do next and what's funding him, but big talk about expanding, does it include a tv network? does it include something that's in print? do we have any reporting on that? >> we do know he has a close relationship with big donors like the mercer family especially and that he could possibly have avenues to expand his reach if he managed to draw enough funding, but for now we have breitbart the news site, that's plenty, it has tremendous influence that reaches beyond the site towards other areas of talk radio, fox news, and it will be interesting to see if he becomes a more formal political movement or if it stays as this outsider site that it's been for the last few years. he definitely has his options open. >> thank you so much. benjy sarlin, all things bannon. thank you so much. >> thank you, richard. now to breaking news. president donald trump will

address the troops, u.s. troops, and the american people tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. we're just getting that in from fort myer in arlington, virginia, to provide an update on the united states engagement in afghanistan and south asia. let's go to nbc's kelly o'donnell who's with the president right now. kelly, what do we know? >> reporter: well, we have been expecting that the president would outline his plans for afghanistan some time soon, and we had even looked at the week ahead and said monday was a likely date, and now the press secretary, sara sanders, is confirming this primetime address from the president. this is the culmination of, of course, america's longest war in afghanistan and on friday the president went to camp david for several hours, leaving his new jersey home here, to go to the secure military facility at camp david to meet with many national security adviser experts and top officials of the administration to review various options. we're talking about things like

troop levels and a game plan for afghanistan, and traveling today defense secretary jim mattis said that he wanted to let the president make the announcement first, but once that strategy is outlined by the president, he'll be able to further recommend levels of american troops involved in afghanistan. some of the questions have been about ongoing efforts to try to train forces, afghan forces, and also trying to just bring some stability in what has been a very difficult part of the world, not only for the united states, but historically for other nations who have gone in there. of course, the war in afghanistan began in october of 2001, after the ner9/11 attacks and now for president trump who most recently has been talking about foreign policy with respect to north korea and hostilities, at least verbal hostilities with kim jong-un and his regime, the president will be outlining this plan about

afghanistan and the u.s. policy, a path forward as they are calling it, for american engagement in afghanistan and south asia. so this will be tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m., a primetime address, from just outside washington in arlington, virginia. military base there called fort myer, an army base. and so the president, who has not had an opportunity to do a primetime address except for his joint session before congress, this is a pivotal moment. it also comes at a time when you commit u.s. troops anywhere in the world or change the balance of troops. that requires the support of the american people, even though a commander in chief with the advice of generals and top experts can decide what the best plan will be. the american people need to support it. and, of course, president trump goes into this at a time when his own approval rating is considered among historic lows, when he is coming off of a week where his performance in the handling of charlottesville, the

racially charged and overt violence in charlottesville. his discussion about who was to blame there, falling short in the eyes of many who feel he did not display significant and sufficient moral clarity. so, that's the backdrop for president trump, who did not serve in the military himself, but has often talked about a strong military, strong law enforcement, and his reliance on his generals. of course, in secretary jim mattis he has a former general, now a civilian head of the department of defense, and as his national security adviser, he has still active duty general h.r. mcmaster. so this is a very big development. we don't yet know what the expectation will be. it has been widely discussed that it is likely there will be more troops, but that's in the conversation level, not something white house or pentagon officials are saying publicly. so again, 9:00 p.m. monday night this big address for president trump. another challenge for him and his leadership style and his

decision making. rivera cha richard? >> very big topic. also with president obama, as we both remember, 2011, you know, a big question when we had over 100,000 troops there in afghanistan, now moving back to less than 10,000. in context, if you were to take a step back here for us, kelly, looking at the obama administration and what it was doing in afghanistan, reduction in troops and now the potential of an increase as was requested at least by one of the commander there of u.s. forces in afghanistan, whether he says yes to it, and if he says yes, how much. but a shift potentially here in what might be the question of what is the least worst option, right? >> reporter: that's been one of the challenges about afghanistan, that there are many who believe a u.s. presence is needed there for stability, and that absent that there's a vacuum where hostile forces to the united states have found a safe haven. that's why it is the longest war. in the bush era, of course, it was a war that then there was

the switch to the iraq war and there are some who say that the afghanistan war was not fully fought to a conclusion, and that protracted it then during the obama years. he had campaigned and won as a nonwartime want to get out of american conflicts president, and so we saw a reduction in forces. and then often you hear from president trump a criticism of president obama in that he does not want to telegraph his military moves. that's something we hear frequently from the president, whether we're talking about north korean tensions or we're talking about afghanistan, and so again that puts this in sort of new territory for president trump to have to be the commander in chief at a level of a primetime address to the nation, which just in the sweep of the modern history takes on a much greater sense of gravity and gravitas at a time again when the president's leadership is being questioned. so, we don't have the details yet on what specifically will be

prescribed by the president, except just based on our general conversations we think there is a sense that more troops, not in great numbers, but additional fortification of a u.s. presence there is what we think will happen. we'll have to see how it unfolds and how the military experts who may have greater insight on that will be able to fill that out for us. >> with the breaking news you have for us, kelly, you did well note with this president's deference it appears to military generals and now that he has one at chief of staff, was this move to the top of the pile, if you will, and now the breaking news you're giving us is the president will address the nation on monday night on this very topic of afghanistan and what that might mean for u.s. troop levels and more. nbc's kelly o'donnell with the president today in new jersey with that breaking news. thank you so much, kelly. we'll stay on top of that right here on msnbc, as well as what's happening in washington, d.c. we'll be right back. (vo) gentlemen,

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let's bring in ben, host of "turner classic movies." ben, some of the names that folks might think of, who did not grow up watching comedy legend jerry lewis might be melissa mccarthy, jim carrey, but this is a man who started this entire era of slapstick and more, didn't he? he even did it on radio. >> yeah, he was a seminal figure in 20th century comedy and to deny that is to deny reality. there's really no doubt about that.

you know, he was a mercurial fellow, jerry. i got to know him a little bit at the end of his life, we did events at turner classic movies. i don't think there was a star i was more nervous to interview before sitting down with than jerry, but he was kind and thoughtful and really, really smart. >> what made him so good, ben? we're watching some of the video over the years of him performing. it's just a natural, right? >> well, you know, "the new york times obit" today ends with a quote from jerry he gave apparently around the time he staged a stage performance of the nutty professor in nashville in 2012, so when he was 86 or 87, he directed it. he said, there's something about the risk, the courage that it takes to face the risk. i'm not going to get greatness unless i have to go at it with fear and uncertainty. and i think jerry summed up jerry there.

his willingness to fail, his willingness to expose himself really defined his comedy when it worked, is that he was completely fearless. and it was, you know, it was this guy desperate who'd been not quite abandoned by his parents, but abandoned by long stretches who was sort of desperately, eagerly, and willing to do anything to get the approval and the laughs of that crowd. >> and that heartiness. he was so honest, as you know, talking about interviewing him. some interviewers not being so successful as you were, and he had discussed in some of those how he had considered taking his life, how he had dealt with certain types of addiction. describe some of the tough times. at the end, of course, him making it through all of that. >> some of the -- excuse me, some of the videos you're showing shows jerry's unbelievable willingness to give up his body for a laugh. he did just about every stunt in every one of those movies by

himself. left him addicted to painkillers, he had cancer, couple of heart attacks. last 20 years of jerry lewis' life were not easy years in any way. he was fully committed to getting that laugh. and, yeah, you read biographies of jerry, and there are some good ones. his parents were performers and they left him with other relatives and he loved his parents, but they were gone for weeks and months at a time, and you see what you would expect to see, the sort of, again, that sort of neediness and yearning for a connection that jerry had first with dean and then later with his audience. again, just desperate for people to accept him. you know, and i think if i can just say also, you know, i think jerry in many ways represents the best and worst, you know, of celebrity. he was a risk taker and innovator and that's the best part. the worst part is, we took him seriously all the time and we

thought what he had to say was always important because he was a famous person and that's what the reaction when he said something as ig noernorant and foolish as women aren't funny and are there just to make babies. that was shocking to deny half the population can be funny when that is so patently offensive on a thousand different levels. >> and wrong. 30 seconds here, ben. what's the trademark physicality of jerry lewis that you like? for me it might be the eyes. >> he's a really good actor and anybody that can make you laugh without saying anything or make you feel something, be emotive with just his eyes, is a sign of a good actor. also if you want to see him acting, check out martin scorsese's the king of comedy, where jerry plays a version of johnny carson. truly a great performance. it's brilliant. gives you an idea how good an actor he was, as well. >> ben, great to have you.

thanks for stopping in. host of "turner classic movies" with great context on jerry lewis. thank you, ben. >> sure. >> comedy legend jerry lewis dead at the age of 91. we'll have more at the top of the hour for you. super cool notebooks... done. that's mom taking care of business, but who takes care of mom? office depot/office max. order online and pickup in store in just one hour. ♪ taking care of business whuuuuuat?rtgage offer from the bank today. you never just get one offer.

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and i marked other. discover the story only your dna can tell. order your kit now at ancestrydna.com. we have some breaking news at the 4:00 hour here in the east, 1:00 in the west. the breaking news coming out of the white house, what we're hearing from the white house in a statement released in the last 30 minutes is the president will address the nation, the nation's troops, as well as the country, tomorrow night, 9:00 p.m. eastern, monday. there from fort myers in arlington. what he's going to do according to the statement we have is he's going to provide an update on the path forward for america's engagement in afghanistan and south asia. that is what we understand just coming in to us. the president huddling with his top national security aides at camp david friday to work on a new strategy after earlier telling his military