presidents call for bipartisanship between america's leaders. 64 days before the midterm elections, and democrats are doing all they can to take back the house. they're bringing out the big guns, including some who are getting 2020 buzz. we begin here in washington where senators from both sides of the aisle are preparing for their biggest battle of 2018 yet. the confirmation fight over president trump's second supreme court nominee. in 24 hours, circuit court judge brett kavanaugh will begin days of questioning about his record and criticalish sh issues that come before the court in the future. he shares the spotlight with susan collins and lisa murkowski, who may be the only law make imakers standing betwe president's nominee and a seat on the bench. joining me now, white house correspondent jegeoff bennett a justice correspondent pete williams. pete, i'll start with you. set the scene for us. what should judge kavanaugh

expect tomorrow. >> just to sit. for the first day tomorrow, it'll be almost all opening statements by every member of the judiciary committee. then when the day is about over, and everyone is tired of sitting there, he'll have his brief opening statement. the questioning won't start until wednesday and go into thursday. the other thing he should expect, i think, kristen, is to be confirmed. it's a simple matter of aris ma tick -- arithmetic. it appears the republicans have the votes. nonetheless, the hearing will shed important light on his views on some of the most important issues before the supreme court. he has been saying in meetings with some senators that he considers roe v. wade to be settled law. that's the same term chief justice john roberts used during his confirmation hearing. doesn't seem likely if he's confirmed that the supreme court would quickly, or maybe within years, vote to flat out overturn

roe. also seems likely with justice kennedy gone, the court will move to the right and be more willing to uphold restrictions on abortion. those, i think, are the main points as we head into tuesday and then really get down to the questioning on wednesday. >> as pete pointed out, geoff, this is a confirmation that seems all but certain. it is a critical moment for conservatives but also for president trump. of course, he's getting ready to head out on the campaign trail. to stump for some of those embattled seats in the house. what does this mean for the president? >> reporter: kristen, look, one of the most underappreciat appu reasons why donald trump won the election, according to exit polling, is conservative voters were motivated by the vacancy on the court. they knew by sending a republican to the white house, it'd have the effect of shaping the court for a generation.

fast forward to the current moment. this final stretch before the midterm elections. republicans believe that this could be a winning shieissue fo them, especially in the senate. that's what sources are telling us. even if they weren't, we'd only have to look at the millions of dollars that conservative outside groups are spending, trying to back kavanaugh. especially in trump states. red states that donald trump won that have a democrat up for re-election. it is a huge, critical issue for the white house and the republican party, kristen. >> it is. there's no doubt about that. we've sort of seen this controversy crop up in the past few days, pete, which is, democrats are crying foul. they say republicans, the trump administration is withholding more than 100,000 documents related to kavanaugh's time at the white house during the george w. bush administration. white house officials say, look, these are protected under executive privilege. raj shaw made the point they've released more than 400,000 documents. it's more than the past five supreme court nominees combined.

do you expect that we're going to see these documents, pete? is there a precedent for this? >> i'm not sure at the end of the day it'll make much difference, kristen. i think it is another thing the democrats can use. remember, they're still fuming over the republican maneuvering that deprived barack obama of his last supreme court nominee, merrick garland, holding the seat vacant after justice scalia died, allowing neil gorsuch to win. i think an unusual issue, we hear in the supreme court hearings, nomination hearings, about abortion, gay rights, church versus state, gun rights, so forth. one heissue that brett kavanaug will face that other nominees have not is the question of presidential immunitimmunity. when he was a lawyer with starr, when he worked on the ken starr investigation during the clinton scandal, he was strongly in

favor of pushing the legal limits on president clinton, in terms of the kind of process that ken starr could use against him. subsequently, he wrote that that was a bruising thing, and he changed his mind. he thinks that presidents should be immune from criminal trials, subpoenas, until after they're out of office. now, he did say that it would require a change in the law, that congress would have to change the law in order to give presidents that kind of legal immunity. nonetheless, it does show you sort of where he's thinking. it's not inconceivable that if robert mueller eventually decides to subpoena president trump, and this goes to court, it could up before the supreme court. if now-judge, eventually possibly justice kavanaugh votes on that and doesn't recuse, his views on the issue could be important. i think you're going to hear a lot of questions about that issue, which is unusual for a confirmation hearing. >> i think you're right. that discussion, that debate,

over whether he would recuse himself in an instance, got a lot of attention over the weekend. geoff, as pete points out, the other issue deals with roe v. wade. take a listen to what lindsey graham had to say about that. >> where do you stand? do you hope kavanaugh overturns roe v. wade? >> if there is a case before him that challenges roe v. wade, i hope he'd listen to both sides of the story, apply a test to overturn precedent. precedent is important but it is not invalue -- invalid. >> geoff, as you pointed out, what happens in the proceedings during this hearing will undoubtedly be talked about on the campaign trail for democrats and republicans. >> reporter: absolutely. pete spoke to this, too, but i was on the hill the day kavanaugh was making the rounds, doing his meet and greets with senators. he met with maine senator susan collins. after her meeting with him, he told me and some other reporters

that in their conversation, kavanaugh agreed with chief justice john roberts, who in his own confirmation a decade ago, said he viewed roe v. wade being settled law. to reproductive rights advocates, it is hardly reassuring. the supreme court settles resettled law all the time. it's what it does. that's why it is the supreme court. democrats are certainly worried about this. the white house has its eye not just on democrats but also on republicans, on susan collins and lisa murkowski. two potentially swing votes who have said they would not vote in favor of any nominee who displays any sort of hostility toward the ruling that is roe v. wade. >> finally, i've been talking to my sources over the weekend, pete, who tell me that cakavanah has engaged in half a dozen mock hearings, which have even included disruptions by protesters. he's feeling prepared heading into tomorrow. i wonder if you can give us a sense of the strategy we might

expect to see from him once the questioning does get underway. >> he's been preparing for this since he was in prep school. i'm not in any way surprised he's ready for this. his strategy will be to follow the rules that has become the familiar phrase, which is, he will decline to say how he might rule on a special case. that's been the successful formula for many recent supreme court confirmation hearings. on the question of roe v. wade, kristen, just briefly, lindsey graham said, if another case comes. you can be sure another case will come. that's what abortion proponents spent their time doing the last decade or two, trying to get the cases to the supreme court. remember, chief justice roberts said it is settled law, but he's also voted for the conservatives and would have, if he was in the majority, upheld many restrictions on abortion. the most recent two have been to require clinics to have doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby

hospit hospitals, which for many are hard to get, and clinics have to be built to the same standards has surgical centers. these are the restrictions states tried when justice kennedy was on the court. he joined with the liberals in striking them down. with him gone and justice kavanaugh there, we may see a change there. the core holding of roe may survive, but the court will chip away at when abortion can be legally available. that's the real issue on roe. >> a number of critical issues we'll all be watching closely. we'll see if the prep school preparations paid off. pete williams and geoff bennett, thank you so much for starting us off today. appreciate it. >> sure. keeping up appearances after a weekend's worth of calls for bipartisan cooperation as a way to honor the memory of john mccain, will the leaders from the senator's party listen? congressman peter king of new york joins us next. you're watching msnbc. stay with us. msnbc. stay with us to the junior prom with.

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he was honorable. always recognizing that his opponents were still patriots and human beings. he loved freedom, with the passion of a man who knew its absence. he respected the dignity inhe t inherent in every life. a dignity that doesn't stop at borders and can't be erased by dictators. >> he did understand that some principles transcend politics. that some values transcend

party. he considered it part of his duty to uphold those principles and uphold those values. >> the america of john mccain is generous and welcoming and bold. she is resourceful and confident and secure. she meets her responsibilities. she speaks quietly because she is strong. america does not boast because she has no need to. the america of john mccain has no need to be made great again because america was always great. >> that, of course, the powerful and emotional final farewell to senator john mccain. his daughter, megan,han, along h his former presidential rivals, outlining the principles that senator mccain held dear. at a time, the memorial service seemed to be a rebuke of president trump, who was not invited. many many of his colleagues

gathered to honor mccain, some critics wondered who will uphold mccain's legacy. the "new york times," the congressional republicans inside the washington national cathedral on saturday would surely say they came to honor john mccain, but they were there for show. faced with a choice, they have rejected mccain's america for trump's. joining me now is republican congressman peter king, member of the house intelligence committee. congressman, i want to extend my condolences to you for the loss of your friend and colleague. thank you for being here. >> thank you, kristen. thank you. >> congressman, you heard meghan mccain's strong, emotional remarks, what a lot of people saw as a rebuke of president trump himself. i wonder what your takeaway was. >> no doubt she was taking a bit of a shot at president trump. listen, meghan mccain had the right to say whatever he wanted to say. she was her father's daughter. president trump and her father didn't get along. president trump made inappropriate remarks about john

mccain not being a hero. she had every right to do that. i have no -- she is her father's daughter in every sense of the word. she loves her father and fights like her father. i have no problem with what she said. again, i would hope if my daughter was in that situation, she would say the same things. i understand that completely. >> well, to follow up with you on the broader point, not just about what she said, but her sort of call to action. you're someone, congressman, who has been a champion of bipartisanship. you also celebrated john mccain's maverick spirit. you were really the first republican in the northeast to endorse mccain over bush back in 2000. we have a picture of the two of you together there. you also support donald trump. what do you hope the president takes away from all of those messages we heard? >> yeah, let me just say, i do support bipartisanship when we have to have it. obviously, you fight for your own position, but there's nothing wrong with getting

together with the other side. you know, if it can work out a worthwhile compromise. what bothered me a little bit, many of these politicians were saying how great john mccain was, and i agree, he was great, but many didn't come to his defense in 2008, when prominent democrats were implying he was a racist, comparing him to wallace. no one came to his defense. the national media ridiculed him supporting the surge in 2007 and 2008 in iraq. it was just a double standard here. that doesn't take away from the main point, that we should try to be bipartisan when we can be. the republicans are the majority party. if we can get arrangements for 7 70/30, 60/40 in agreements, we should take it. find some common ground. >> i guess the question becomes, for president trump, does he not need to be a leader in terms of

setting the tone and in terms of working to reach across the aisle? has he failed to do that? does he need to do better in that regard, congressman? >> there is an obligation on president trump. there is also an obligation on nancy pelosi and chuck schumer. >> he's the president, congressman. >> yeah. i've been at meetings with him and chuck schumer, for instance, andrew cuomo, cory booker. i've seen him at the meetings. he doesn't feel there is a response coming. there was an agreement on the omnibus bill. there are instances. we are in a very tough political arena. i would hope, maybe at least after the november elections, no matter how you they turn out, we do make an effort. i would ask the president to try to do that. also, if he does, certainly chuck schumer, who i also consider a friend, if he would also extend the hand and try to find a way to get around the killing fields we have right now. if you disagree with someone,

right away, you're ten he enemy. i served under mccain. media loved him in 2000 against bush. against senator obama at the time, they looked the other way, when a lot of terrible things were said about john mccain. >> the "new york times" also talks about what he perceived to be hypocrisy at that service. he saw it a little differently. he points out that a lot of the folks who were there to celebrate john mccain's life haven't been upholding the ideals that he championed. that relates to standing up to president trump in some instances. does he have a point there? >> yeah. listen, i mean, i support overall much of what president trump is doing, but i voted against him on the tax bill. i thought it was damaging to the northeast. i opposed him as far as his russia policy. i think we have to be able to pick and choose. we have to be able to not have this view where you support someone 100% or oppose them

100%. you have to be willing to tell someone when you oppose them, but also stand with them when the going gets tough on various ways to support them. both sides are guilty of this. i'd agree, after the election, no matter how it turns out, if the president can reach out and hopefully get a response, we can find a way to move forward and split some of the differences. be able to get agreement where we can. not just hold out to score the political point in november. >> congressman, are you concerned about the state of your party? the fact that it went from elevating someone like senator john mccain, his maverick spirit, to a party where someone like jeff flake thinks he can't win re-election and has to drop out of the fight. >> well, again, jeff flake may have his own issues in arizona. i would compare the republican party to the democratic party any day. listen, i am proud to be a republican. i don't agree with everything that goes on. on the other hand, it makes the party what it is. donald trump was elected by the american people.

on issues like ms-13, isis, the middle east, i support what he's doing. the economy is moving well. as far as being the nice guy, republicans were the nice guys for a long time. it didn't always work. any event, politics reflects the people, too. i think what you're seeing now is the american people are fighting back. president trump gave it to them. again, i agree with you, after november, we should find a way to move forward and walk in a reconciliatory way. >> you map out the issues for republicans. one is obviously immigration. we've seen this issue resurface in incredibly tragic death and murder of molly tibbetts. authorities say she was killed by someone who was here illegally. her father wrote a very tong st odd- op-ed, siaying, don't use my daughter. they've instead chosen to callously distort and corrupt mollie's tragic death to advance a cause she cevehemently oppose.

she believes it was racist. a poignant rebuke of using her daughter to crack down on illegal immigration. is he right? >> i agree, no one should exploit someone's death. >> should the president stop talking about mollie tibbetts? >> i wouldn't use anyone's name unless i had the family's approv approval. i went to 9/11 for my constituents, and i'd never mention names unless i knew their family was in full agreement with that. i don't want anyone exploited. on the other hand, here's the other side when it comes to democrats. president trump said that he is willing to work on daca and other issues if the democrats give money for the wall. in 2006, voting for a barrier a you long the texas border,

virtually every democrat, including barack obama, joe biden, hillary clinton voted for it, and now it is immoral to talk about having a wall. again, this is an example of a compromise. put money in for the wall but also protect those who are daca. i would add people under tps. you could have a reasonable compromise, rather than saying it is immoral to talk about a wall. >> congressman king, we have to leave it there. appreciate your perspective. thanks for joining us to talk about your friend. appreciate it. >> great man. thank you, kristen. thank you very much. >> he was indeed. as we talk about reaching across the aisle, we want to leave you with this moment. a clip from senator mccain's service that went viral over the weekend. former president, george w bush, appeared to hand former first lady michelle obama a piece of candy. hundreds of thousands of people retweeted the clip, sharing it on social media as a signal that bipartisanship is still alive

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radar for years before meeting mr. trump. a wealthy russian closely connected to the kremlin was targeted by the fbi as a possible source but refused all overtures to become an informant. joining me now, global affairs analyst john mclaughlin. former acting director of the cia. and security reporter charlie savage. thank you for being here on labor day. >> great to be here. >> appreciate this very much. charlie, give us a sense of the big picture here. your colleagues reporting on these developments, that he was under the view of the fbi, and then you have the other names, including bruce ohr, with the doj, coming under a microscope, as well. >> this is one of the complicated stories with a lot of names, down in the weeds. the question is, why are we talking about this and why right now? why are we talking about it is because bruce ohr is a senior official in the justice

department. worked on organized crime for years. he had a series of contacts with christopher steele, the british intelligence agent who was hired ultimately by democrats to research trump's ties to russia during the 2016 campaign. produced the famous dossier. and because trump and his allies in congress and in conservative media outlets have been in the sustained campaign, through many iterations, to surround the question of the trump/russia investigation with suspension. that this is all trumped up. no pun intended. this is a hoax. >> threatening to take away ohr's security clearance. >> that's right. there have been a series of iterations, where they've taken players connected to it in some fashion and hinted there's some dark conspiracy going on. that results in a response of greater information providing contacts that shows actually that was a very cherry-picked and skewed view. we saw it with the carter page fee i fisa application. now, president trump is threatening to take away ohr's

security clearance, meaning he'd have to leave the government essentially. part was because ohr was talking to steele. part was ohr's wife was working for the research firm which hired steele. we don't think she works on the dossier itself. ohr was dragged in before congress last week and questioned. the justice department had given documents about his contacts with steele to congress. that has been leaking out now, selectively, in right-wing outlets, to suggest in 2016, around the time of this steele dossier and election stuff, the two of them were colluding about something. what my colleagues did with the article was to say, no, here's the context. they had known each other for years and had been working since 2014 specifically on an effort to try to flip this russian oligarch you mentioned. not for the purpose of campaign collusion information, which didn't even happen, you know. trump wasn't running for president at the time. but for russian mafia, organized

crime, conspiracy stuff. that stretched into 2016. that's why they were talking. things stopped for a few months. then late summer/early fall, they talked again at the point when the fbi investigation into russian election meddling and whether there were trump campaign ties to it was at a peak. >> pick up on that point. the context. >> yeah. >> the fact that this was happening, ultimately, when all of this was at its peak. >> as charlie says, this is a complicated story. context is very important here. the second meeting with the russian oligarch, between him and the fbi, justice people, that takes place in september of 2016. we are, at that point, two or three months into the russian ya -- russia investigation, which began roughly in may. go back to that. it was the information that the fbi got via an australian

diplomat, about george papadopoulos offering information to the trump campaign. the investigation is underway. only a month after this meeting in september is when the u.s. government, for the first time, publicly says, the russians are interfering in our elections. this was the statement by the director of national intelligence and the homeland security secretary. the very first one publicly. there was another in january. you can understand, at that moment, in this russia investigation, why the fbi and the justice department would be reaching out in almost every direction, and particularly to someone that they knew to be in close contact with both manafort and very close to putin. he was a logical choice. >> they were trying to figure out what was going on, right? they were putting the pieces together. >> yeah. in an investigation like this, you are kind of desperate at that point to find someone whether can bring it all together for you. and to be clear, daraposka looked like a candidate to do it.

apparently didn't work out, but it was the right thing to try. >> john and charlie, thank you so much for helping us understand a complicated story. really appreciate it. >> you bet. >> thank you. thousands coming out this morning for pittsburgh's labor day parade. one of the largest in the country. one of the people marching was former vice president joe biden. what he's saying this morning about the midterms and the rumors about a 2020 run to mike memoli. that's when we come right back. stay with us. back stay with us phillips' colon s have this unique combination of probiotics to help replenish good bacteria. get four-in-one symptom defense. also try our delicious new probiotic gummies. you always get the lowest price on our rooms, guaranteed?m let's get someone to say it with a really low voice. carl? lowest price guaranteed. what about the world's lowest limbo stick? how low can you go? nice one, carl. hey i've got an idea. just say, badda book. badda boom.

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in what's almost become an unofficial end of summer tradition, former vice president joe biden taking to the streets in pittsburgh, special dpes gue honor in the city's labor day parade. it draws between 60,000 to 70,000 people. biden, a strong supporter of organized labor, it is his third appearance at the event in the last four years. my colleague mike memoli caught up from the former vice president moments ago with this incredible exchange. >> mr. vice president, what is your message about what's at stake here in the midterms, sir? >> everything. it's simple, everything. we're in a fight for the soul of america. it's about time we restore dignity to work. it's about time we start talking to each other like we're civilized. deal with one another with respect. that's what this is about. that's what labor is about. my dad used to have an

expression, the job is about more than the paycheck. it's about your dignity. it's about your respect. it's about being to look your kid in the eye and say, honey, it is going to be okay. that's what these guys fight for. that's why i'm fighting for them. >> talk about what this means in terms of your political future here. is this an audition for 2020? >> i've been with these guys my whole life. my grandfather used to say, joe, you labor from belt buckle to shoe sole. i go anywhere with these guys. >> mr. vice president, tomorrow is the beginning of the supreme court confirmation process. you're the former chairman of the committee. what is your advice to democrats about how to handle this going forward? >> stay in the room. demand answers. keep pointing out that you have -- they have not given the material that was expected of the committee. >> mr. vice president, you were part of the mccain services all week. very close friend. you obviously gave a moving tribute to him. what message was he trying to send to the country with the services? what do you hope the country picked up from that? >> look, john, his whole career, john was like a brother.

we had the same value set. we had a different perspective. you know, as long as you were honorable, as long as you were honest, as long as you didn't leave anybody debehind, treated people with dignity, you can get along with john, even if you strongly disagreed with him, like i did on the war in iraq. >> give him some space. >> but if, in fact, we didn't have the basic american values, he didn't have a lot of respect for you. >> great interview there by our own nbc's national political reporter mike memoli, who joins us now live from pittsburgh. mike, incredible job. congratulations. no one knows the former vice president better than you have. >> reporter: thanks, kristen. >> you've been tracking him all these years. what is the feeling on the ground? is there a sense that biden is, in fact, going to run? >> reporter: well, kristen, of course, right on cue, the drum

brigade is about to walk by, so i hope you can hear me. when i was talking to the vice president last night ahead of the appearance at the parade, they said, there's no place he'd rather be than at this labor day parade. one of the bilggest in the country. he's a strong supporter of labor. these are the joe biden democrats at the parade. what does this mean for 2020 is the question hanging over all of this. we haven't heard a lot from joe biden all summer. this is the mkick-off for his midterm campaigning. aides say he is focused on helping democrats win back control of the house and hopefully the senate, as well. he'll sit down with his family, as every decision he makes about his political future is a family de decision. they'll sit down over the holidays. joe biden would enter the race as probably the front runner, leading in all the polls we see. the question hanging over all of this is his family. are they ready for another campaign? i think we saw in some of the mccain services this week, some of joe biden's thinking. when they talk about a potential

joe biden candidacy, they talk about somebody who can unite the country, bring both parties together, and get things done, in the way we heard him talk about john mccain. might be a little bit of the blueprint of a joe biden message for 2020, if it happens. kristen? >> i think you're right. very newsy interview. mike memoli, thank you for your great work and great reporting. appreciate it. joining us now, political analyst and republican strategist, rick tyler. along with former maryland representative donna edwards. thank you for being here. >> happy labor day. >> rick, i want to start with you. you have, at times, been critical of president trump. no doubt about that. >> oh, kristen. >> he said, i welcome a challenge by joe biden. do you think biden would be a strong and viable candidate against donald trump? >> i do. look, the democrats are going to -- there's going to be a lot of people who are going to run against donald trump. it'll be a large field. probably not going to help the democrats. joe biden would lead them

automatically because he was vice president. he's a gifted campaigner. you can see in the shots that they got there how he works the crowd. he hears someone yell out, hey, joey, you know, so he clearly has a rapport with people. he's a very good speech. he speaks in a way, you know -- what do they call him -- lunch bucket joe. this is the same group that donald trump is trying to attract. people who are working paycheck to paycheck, who haven't seen growth in their wages. they've still not seen a growth, even though this full employment. he can speak to those people. >> you think he can pick off some never trumpers? >> i do. >> congressman, i'll turn to you. former vice president, former president obama say they're going to be active on the campaign trail. focused on 2018 before they turn to 2020. is it too little, too late? should we have seen more? should the democrats have seen more of former president obama before now? is this the right time to really get engaged? >> it is labor day. it's time to get engaged for

november 6. i think what you're going to see is both vice president biden and president obama going out to places where it makes sense, in a way that makes sense for them. i'm a big joe biden fan. i think wherever he goes, he's able to bring in some of those folks who have been treading along the middle or, you know, supported president trump. i think that this is going to be a really exciting time for them. in some ways, it actually could, you know, at least set the -- begin to set the table for 2020. what are the issues? how do people run? who makes sense to have out there as surrogates? i think we're going to see a lot of that between now and november 6th. >> other democrat getting attention, the former secretary of state, john kerry. take a listen to what he said over the weekend. >> are you going to run in 2020? >> talking about 2020 right now is a total distraction and waste of time.

what we need to do is focusen o 2018. we need to win back the confidence of the country. >> what is the future for your, for you, john kerry? >> i'll continue to be an activist and continue to fight. >> donna, he did not say no. >> no, he didn't. i think there are a lot of folks out there not saying no at this stage. that's probably -- i mean, that's appropriate. you know, i think democrats have a lot of opportunity, both to draw on stability of some of our proven leaders, but also to groom some new leadership, as well. i think we're going to begin to see that after the midterms settle in. >> i want to turn to the race we're watching in florida between andrew gillum and ron desantis and these robocalls that were racist. we're not going to play them or say the name of the group that put them out. i'll play gillum's response. >> i think what's important is that mr. desantis and, obviously, the president really try to go high on this thing. we cannot afford to weaponize

race and go to the bottom of the barrel here. honestly, people are going to take their cues from what their leadership says. in this case, desantis is the leader. therefore, he's got to be very, very careful about how he addresses these kinds of issues. i'm pleased to see them decry the robocalls. it is also important that ron desantis take control and ownership of his own rhetoric and words. >> desantis has decried the robocalls. no doubt about that. he also says, we don't want to monkey up this election. a lot of people heard dog whistles in that comment. has his campaign been strong enough to speak out against these issues? >> clearly a misstep. the robocalls, i think in some way, may backfire. florida has a large minority populati population. i think it was said the other day that hopefully this may represent the last gasp of racism in politics. i don't think racism ever goes away in politics, but i think that we're seeing so many

minorities, all different minorities run, and that's a good thing. it is sort of sickening. i think it hurts the republican party when they don't speak out loud enough. the other thing is, silence is deadly in this situation. you have to combat this. you have to speak out against it in the strongest of terms. >> congressman, quickly, what does it say, that race has been injected into the gubernatorial race so early on? >> in some ways, it is not totally surprising. the reason is because the signals have been taken from the president himself. ron desantis really linking to the president in a way that, you know, he thinks is going to turn out that base in florida. i think andrew gillum is saying the right thing. he's saying, you know what? we need to focus on education and health care and the things that matter to florida's voters. ron desantis can go there in the

mud, but maybe it's time we actually, you know -- racism has come out. it is time to put it into hibernation. >> donna edwards and rick tyler, thanks for a great conversation on this labor day. appreciate it. coming up next, paying it forward. a west virginia college student is using the tough times he has faced to help inspire younger kids. how a new federal program apes to g -- aims to get the students that are hit hardest by the opioid epidemic. that's when we come back. y the opioid epidemic. that's when we come back the clock is ticking on irreversible joint damage. ongoing pain and stiffness are signs of joint erosion. humira can help stop the clock. prescribed for 15 years, humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened;

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and now to a special nbc news series one nation overdosed. one of the side effects of the opioid epidemic with children are often neglected and drop out of school. west virginia is lowest for the number of high school students who go onto a form of higher education. only 20 % of gone onto earn bachelor's degrees. there's an ambitious federal federal called gear up bringing hope and a change for a viable future in places like hard-hit boone county where kate snow met one of the program's biggest cheer leaders. >> reporter: every year new high school graduates in boone

county, west virginia visit elementary schools to inspire kids to aim high. >> i went to school at madison, elementary. >> reporter: this college senior is one of the biggest success stories here thanks to a program he started in 7th grade called gear up that helps kids go into higher education. >> that's an entire world waiting to be explored, and they're waiting for people like you. >> reporter: you grew up right here. his self-confidence is hard earned from too many life lessons. when you were a kid, would you bring people by the house? >> no. no one ever really saw where i lived. i didn't want them to really see what was going on. >> reporter: you were worried they might see your mom? >> i was terrified they might see mom nodding off. >> reporter: his mom started taki taking xanax when he was in kindergarten. >> reporter: you were dealing? >> yeah. getting them from the doctor and selling them. >> reporter: his dad was in prison and died of an overdose.

his babysitter overdosed in front of him. his rebellion was being a straight a student. >> ike, he's a trooper. that child is definitely -- he's meant to do something great. he's destined for greatness. he has crawled through a river of [ bleep ] and come out smelling like a rose. >> you just tell yourself, i'm going to get to college and that's my way out. >> reporter: we need to have educated people here with new ideas and to bring life back into the mtss. >> reporter: it's why his old high school holds a celebration to recognize seniors committing to some kind of higher education. >> we're going to make sure that we showcase the academic excellence of our students. >> reporter: and why the gear up program has tracked more than 10,000 students like ike from 7th grade on in the counties of west virginia offering s.a.t. prep and helping them find scholarships. and now ike is paying it forward this summer working at a gear up

camp at the university. they learn about jobs of the future, build leadership skills, and get a touch of campus life. >> if you're a first generation college student, raise your hand. >> reporter: and maybe most important, the chance to hear from someone whose struggles might be a lot their thelike th >> getting to college changed my life, but once i get that degree, no one can take that away from me. >> reporter: he hopes to go to law school. >> i plan to always stay in west virginia. this state has given to much to me. i have to give that back. >> what a remarkable young man. kate snow changes me now. incredible reporting and showcasing of this young man's work. it's incredible. he started this in 7th grade. what's his in future? >> reporter: he had a little bit of experience in washington and said he's really interested in politics now. i could totally see him running

for governor of west virginia someday, not to get too far ahead. first he has to graduate from college. it's an amazing program. it's in more than 40 states not just west virginia. in the counties in west virginia, it's really making a difference. thousands of kids going onto higher education because they get that one on one attention starting in 7th grade. >> kate, i thought one of the important points you made in the piece is the fact that the young students who he's talking to can relate to what he's been through. how important is that? what do they say about that? >> i feel like we can't convey how desperate the situation is for some kids in that part of west virginia. they told me that 75 % of children in that county have cases of abuse and neglect going. 75%. so it is a desperate situation. really proud people. a beautiful part of the country. but unfortunately drugs have gotten in there and really changed life for almost

everybody, because they're touched by someone in their life abusing substances, so it is really important for these kids to find that path and for ike to be able to speak to them about what they're experiencing that's so similar to what we went through and to show them you can get out of that. >> well, really important reporting and thank you for not only that report, kate, but all your work in terms of one nation overdosed. it's tremendous, and part 2 of the series is airing tonight with kate snow on nightly news. check your local listings. we'll be right back. he was a cutie! and if you go down, that's me, above him. you won best looking in your senior year of high school? somebody had to win it. my best high school moment was the day i walked across the stage. my dad...couldn't read real good, so, it was a milestone for me. ancestry now has over 300,000 yearbooks from all across the country. so go back to school with your family, and discover more of their stories.

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botoxchronicmigraine.com to enroll. thanks for watching this hour of msnbc live. you can find me on twitter. now to chris. >> thank you so much. good morning. we start this labor day with a look ahead to a huge day on capitol hill. one that will likely impact the balance of power on the supreme court for decades to come. at this time tomorrow president trump's nominee, brett kavanaugh will be face to face with senators from the judiciary committee and there will be fireworks on a range of issues from portion to executive privilege. his nomination is critical for several reasons. in the short term, he could be a key vote on the question of whether president trump could subpoenaed or indicted by robert mueller. in the long-term, his