happy. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. good morning. i'm dara brown in new york at msnbc world headquarters. it's 6:00 in the east, 3:00 out west. here's what's happening. the president and the polls. the issues important to the voters and how the president fares against the top democratic candidates. >> was i wrong a few weeks ago? >> i felt just grateful. >> joe biden's apology and the reaction on the campaign trail. why he may not have put the backlash to rest. >> the leader of the free world with a tweet can start a war. >> former first lady michelle obama gets candid on a number of

issues. who she and the former president will support in 2020. new today, a poll from the "washington post" shows that president trump has reached his highest approval rating propelled by a strong u.s. economy. overall 44% approve of the president with more than half approving how he's handled the economy. but as you can see here, the president has much lower approval ratings on immigration, health care, climate change and gun violence. on the race for 2020, the poll found that former vice president joe biden leads donald trump by 10 percentage points. three others came in -- after weeks ever intense criticism, most notably from his democratic rival, senator kamala harris. joe biden apologized for reminiscing with his work with

segregationists. >> to somehow say i was praising them who i successfully opposed time and again. yes, i was. i regret it. i'm sorry for any of the pain or misconception that may have caused anybody. see, that misstep defined 50 years of my record. for fighting for civil rights. racial justice in this country. i hope not. >> presidential candidate senator cory booker, one of the first to call on biden to apologize, had this reaction. >> i felt just grateful that he's now speaking to his past in a way with more candor and with a sense of regret for some of the things that he supported. none of us are perfect. all of us make mistakes. we need leaders who have the courage who speak to that and i'm grateful. communities in fear as the president vowed friday the mass

arrests of undocumented family members will start, quote, fairly soon. this friday, the house oversight committee is planning to hold a hearing about the inhumane and dangerous detention conditions of migrant children. the acting chief of the homeland security and border patrol had been asked to testify. yesterday, congresswoman katie hill told alex witt what err focus will be during the hearing. >> why is it that law enforcement agencies are operating these kind of centers that need to be centered on humanitarian relief. you're talking about what would normally be operated by a nonprofit or community-based organization like the red cross. this is where you have people living in conditions, they're not criminals, in many cases unaccompanied minors, that is not a law enforcement function. i think that would free up border pa toll to do more of what it's supposed to be doing. jonathan allen with nbc news is joining me and david leventhal senior political

reporter with the center for public integrity. i want to start with joe biden's apology. he defended his civil rights record by repeatedly mentioning former president barack obama. listen to what he told a south carolina audience. >> if you look at the issues i've been attacked one, nearly every one has something to do with before 2008. as if my opponents want to believe i served from 1972 to 2008 and took a hiatus the next eight years. they don't want to talk much about my time as vice president of the united states. it was the honor of my lifetime to serve with the man who i believe was a great president, historic figure and most important to me a close friend. i was vetted by he and ten serious lawyers he appointed and he selected me. i'll take his judgment about my record, my character, my ability to handle the job over anyone

else's. >> jonathan, the big question surrounding biden's candidacy whether he's able to navigate the backlash of consensus. did he show he can do this with the apology yesterday? >> not yet. it may turn out that apology ends up doing that for him. i don't think he's shown that yet. you saw cory booker, the senator for new jersey running for president say that he's happy that the vice president started to address his past. i don't think kamala harris' team will let this go. i think the issue here is that the apology that joe biden gave yesterday was he said he regretted praising the segregationist senators, even though he fought them tooth and nail, paraphrasing him there, the whole time. the truth is that's not true. he worked with them very much on a variety of issues. generally speaking,

anti-bussing. more broad issues around school integration. i think he has to address that or going to take hits on it. >> the new poll shows that joe biden's lead over president trump is built in part on stronger support among independent and moderate voters there. biden has a 28-point lead with moderates over president trump. >> joe biden is going to constantly present himself as the candidate who can beat donald trump. the poll numbers are giving him new fuel for his fire that you're going to hear time and time again over the coming months. the problem which biden has said he wants it both ways. he wants to run on this long political record that he has. oftentimes, he kind of sounds like a candidate who is going down memory lane and having old home days for himself. the fact of the matter is, if you're a voter and you're 55 or under, you're not going to remember anything about joe biden's days in the u.s. senate

during the 1970s. what you saw here in the past couple of days is a definite effort for joe biden to stop the bleeding, to get into the here and now or the recent pasta as opposed to the distant past. he wants to make sure the poll numbers are there and that he can be a candidate to beat donald trump. >>let look at the top issues for voters. economy is number one, followed by immigration, health care, gun violence. issues of special concern to women, taxes, abortion and climate change. so jonathan, the president has positive numbers only on one of those issues and that's the economy. what does that tell you? >> it's the issue that most americans care about and the one that drives their voting. even at times where they suggested other things drive their voting, that they care more about other issues. we tend to believe, i think,

that underlying it all is the sense of like how their own pocketbook is doing and how the national economy is doing. so i think the president's numbers have generally been pretty -- it would be surprise to go see him get to a place where his approval rating is over 50%, say. the economy has maintained, it's going on strong. he inherited a growing economy from president obama and he's continued that path and maybe the voters don't want to switch horses midstream if the economy continues to do well through next november. >> dave, immigration, that's tied for second place as top issues for voters. just friday, the president disputed the reported deplorable and inhumane detention conditions of migrants at the border. let's take a listen. >> i think they do a great job with those facilities. you know how it could be taken care of? number one, tell them not to

come because it's illegal. i've seen some of those places and they're run beautifully. they're clean, they're good, they do a great job. they do a great job. they're crowded because the democrats will not give us any relief from the loopholes. >> dave, what is your assessment on how much political damage is the president facing on this front? >> it's not going to be good for him if the images and the stories continue to come out of the situation down there being very much against what the president described. there are horrible situations down there. certainly, it's a mixture depending on where you go. texas, they're different than the ones in arizona, different than ones in california. it's not going to be a good thing for him going forward if you continue to have children who are not getting enough food, you have the issue of people being held in cages. you're not going to have comprehensive immigration reform between now and the election.

this is something that has just been a great white whale for democrats and republicans for many, many years. expect that this is going to be on the issue of immigration, something that can probably only damage donald trump and not really help him all that much. >> jonathan, to dave's point, do you expect the president will face more political pressure this week. if there's testimony before the house oversight committee, how problematic is that? >> the president may hear more about it. he'll continue to face some pressure, but it's not clear that he feels that pressure. typically, when he's faced with pressure, he turns it on his political opponents. he likes to say these democratic laws. you know, that's his sort of m.o. he tries to turn it on other people. i don't think that really works, to be honest, over time. i think voters will judge what

policies are being put in place by the president and what the united states is getting done or not getting done based on who is in charge at the very top. i think he probably understands that. yeah, i think we're going to see this testimony and ultimately our government has not been living up to the standards that i think a lot of americans would like to see in terms of caring for people in its charge. >> jonathan allen, dave leventhal, thank you for joining us this sunday morning. great to have you. >> thank you. turning to the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked southern california on friday and while the epicenter was located in ridge crest according to the u.s. geological survey, it was felt from phoenix and las vegas. the naval airs weapons station, testing facility, just a couple of miles from ridge crest is currently, quote, not mission capable as officials evaluate infrastructure damage. the police chief of the city

confirmed no fatalities or major injuries. the experience has left many residents distraught. take a listen. >> when this hit last night, what did you feel, describe what you went through. >> pure hell. never in my life in ridge crest have i been through so many quakes in such a short period of time and so strong of quakes in a short period of time. >> nbc's miguel almaguer is in ridge crest with the latest. get under the table. oh, my god. >> it struck with fury at 8:19 p.m. >> the front door came open. >> it's okay. hold on. >> this is the moment of impact near the epicenter in ridge crest. >> this is bad. >> the powerful 7.1 earthquake sending terrified customers searching once again for cover. >> everybody okay? >> shockwaves of fear rippling across southern california.

>> oh, my god. >> the quake felt as far as l.a., phoenix, sacramento. >> it's a strong earthquake. >> the terror playing out on live tv. >> we're experiencing very strong shaking. i think we need to get under the desk. >> at the dodgers game, a stunned crowd. they played on. >> i think we got another earthquake. >> yep, we definitely have an earthquake going on. >> the violent jolting lasted near 30 seconds. power went out. residents too afraid to sleep inside. >> it's scary to be in the house. >> incredibly, no one was killed. >> oh, my gosh. there's a rockslide. >> roads and highways blocked, buckled and in shambles. at the east ridge market, the jolt captured on camera. >> for many, it's still too early to estimate the damage. the owner of this store who has no earthquake insurance estimates it tops about $100,000. this is what every aisle looks

like. the cleanup could take days, even weeks. >> with the 7.1 registering as the largest quake in two decades for the region, what seemed like the main event thursday was just a foreshock. friday's jolt ten times stroerng. with fault lines growing, so is the fear. >> miguel almaguer reporting there. seismologists at the california institute of technology have detected more than 3,000 smaller earthquakes since thursday and about 34,000 aftershocks are expected with a magnitude 1 or greater over the next six months. president trump says he might use his executive order to include the census citizenship question. next, can a president overturn a supreme court ruling? drivewise. feedback that helps you drive safer. and that can lower your cost

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new court filings on friday from the justice department revealed it's unsure whether it will formulate new rationale to justify the trump administration's citizenship question on the 2020 census. this comes as the president says an executive order is still on the table. take a listen. >> are you going to do an executive order on the census? >> we're thinking about doing that. we have four or five ways to do it. it's one of the ways we're thinking about seriously. we're doing well on the census. we can start the printing now and do an addendum after we get

a positive decision. we're working on a lot of things, including an executive order. >> joining me now is msnbc legal contributor katie fang, great to have you this morning. >> good morning. >> can an executive order by the president actually overturn a ruling by the supreme court? according to the census bureau, the constitution gives congress that power, not the president. >> yeah. you're absolutely right about that, dara. that's really in the constitutional pursue of congress. it is not something that belongs to the executive branch. in fact, chief justice john roberts on the supreme court said in its ruling about this particular case that the census has nothing to do with executive action unilaterally. trump will face an uphill battle if he decides to go that route for two major reasons. one, frankly, dare a, the supreme court itself, as well as a federal district court have found that there have been con

drived by discriminatory reasons why the trump administration is pursuing this particular -- frankly an executive order will be subject to review judicially. if you can't come up with a legitimate reason as to why you want to do it via executive order, as we saw with the travel ban, there were different versions of the travel ban under judicial scrutiny and attack. eventually the trump administration got it right according to a court, but it's going to be subject to judicial review. trump will have an uphill battle to show there's no discriminatory intent behind it. >> would it make a difference? >> the executive order in terms of the practical applications may not make a difference. as we know, the printing has begun. the doj told the supreme court it had to be done by june 30th. that was a hard-and-fast deadline.

that's part of the reason they wanted to expedite the judicial process. the date has come and gone, the printing begun. each if there was an attempt by trump -- how would you apply that? would you general rapt a new supplement to it we know any attempts to do that have been shut down because it creates more of a problem from an administrative standpoint. i don't think that you're going to be seeing that citizenship question on not only 20920 census, maybe they'll get it right in a few years but not for the 2020 census. >> the president also said he wanted to add the question for districting. take a listen. >> mr. president for trying to get a citizenship question -- >> you need it for many reasons. you need it for congress. you need it for congress, for districting. you need it for appropriations. where are the funds going? how many people are there? are they citizens? are they not citizens? you need it for many reasons.

>> he told the court that wasn't the purpose for the question. does this prove there was discriminatory intent. >> this is another example why you want a muzzle on donald trump, especially if you're his lawyer. there have been not only the solicitor general but then another doj lawyer had to explain why trump tweeted certain stuff out, why he's now made this statement. listen, districting, gerrymandering, not permitted. the fact that you had an attorney who went before the supreme court and said, listen, justices, we're not doing this for districting purposes. then trump saying we're doing it for districting purposes. it creates a reason why a court will be suspicious when the administration comes forward and said we have legitimate reasons why we want to include a question, are you a united states citizen when doing the census. they're going to say, are you doing it for that reason or for racist and discriminatory purposes. it's a problem for some for trump to open his mouth and make statements like that.

>> he tends to go off script sometimes. what about the timing? does this play a role in his decision? >> the judges are now going to be looking again at an attempt by the doj to try to legitimize this question. for example, in something really important for people to know. the district court ha has this case has let discovery proceed. in terms of being able to look and dig more into why this particular administration wanted to include this question will be more revealed. the discovery process is an investigative tool that allows depositions of people in commerce. people in doj. we don't know if we want them under oath to answer questions of the plaintiff's attorneys. incriminating emails that will show the real reason behind this question. this process will continue on a speedy basis. this discovery will be completed by august. we'll swhether or not the

executive order route will be -- or expedited basis. >> katie fang, thanks for joining us. the iran nuclear threat, what it means for the -- and for stability in the region. up next. [alarm beeping] {tires screeching} {truck honking} (avo) life doesn't give you many second chances. but a subaru can. (dad) you guys ok? you alright? wow. (avo) eyesight with pre-collision braking. standard on the subaru ascent. presenting the three-row subaru ascent. love is now bigger than ever.

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now to the morning headlines. tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets of hong kong. this is video of the demonstration happening right now over an extradition bill that would allow some people arrested in the city to be sent for trial in mainland china. the bill was suspended last month. but protesters are demanding it to be withdrawn completely. investigators still don't know what caused saturday's massive explosion at a south florida shopping mall. they found ruptured gas lines in the rubble but they're not sure if they are to blame. some businesses in the blast zone were completely destroyed. 23 people were injured and no one was killed in that blast. jeffrey epstein is in jail this morning in connection with federal sex trafficking allegations according to law enforcement. the billionaire allegedly paid minors for massages and sex acts and paid them to bring them

their friends in order to do the same. epstein is expected to face two federal charges for dozens of victims spanning from 2002 to 2005. the u.s. women's soccer team meets the netherlands in the world cup final. team usa is the favorite. with good reason. they have the top scorers, alex morgan and megan rapinoe. they're looking for a fourth title. this is the first time the netherlands made it to the final match. new this morning, iran is threatening another step to defy its 2015 nuclear deal with nuclear powers but not revealing what the plan involves. it is the latest move in a at this time for tat between iran and the u.s. today, it's increasing uranium enrichment levels, producing material that could help that country build a nuclear weapon. bobby ghosh is joining me from bloomberg. bobby, we're keeping a close eye on this. in one week, the enrichments

went up, the heavy stockpiles went oup up. are these significant breaches? >> yes they are. they're not the levels that iran would need to make a nuclear weapon but they're definitely significant. iran is signaling it is past the limits that were set in 2015 when it signed the nuclear deal. the deal that president trump pulled the united states out of. it is much more a political signal that iran is -- more importantly, to the wider world it is saying our patience has worn off. we're now beginning to enrich beyond the limits that were set on us. the important language here is that we'll now -- we will now enrich to any level. they're not setting any limits upon themselves. so the limits that the nuclear set on them have expired in their minds. they're not setting limits on

themselves. they're saying to the world, we can go to any level we feel like. >> at today's press conference, iranian officials say they consider the nuclear deal a valid document and want to see it continued. so why is iran holding on to this deal? >> it is and it isn't. they're saying we're the good guys and want to keep the deal alive. look more closely. they want the europeans to keep the deal alive. that's technically impossible. they're asking the europeans to provide the financial and economic benefits of that deal, but the europeans cannot do that as long as american sanctions are in place. the iranians know that. they're sort of using the europeans at patsys. they're saying it's not up, it's up to the europeans to fix the problem. let the europeans do it knowing full well that they cannot and will not fix it. >> to your point, french president macron and rouhani agreed yesterday to explore by july 15th conditions for

resuming talks. did the u.s. withdraw from this deal kick the iranian problem to europe's doorstep? >> it gives the impression of doing that. the fact it is europe can't do anything about it. no matter how much macron promises or the european political leadership promises to keep the deal alive, the fact is that european companies, the mercedes-benzs, the airbuses of europe will not dare to defy american sanctions. if they do so, that will hurt them in europe, in the united states. so europe doesn't really have any leverage here, does not have any cards to play. this is not something the european politicians would like to admit. they'd like to keep up the impression they're an important power and can make change happen in iran. the fact is that their companies have already essentially shown where their priorities lie and their priorities lie in not

defying american sanctions. >> the e.u. tried to come up with a financial work around but multilateral sanctions by the u.s. made it unworkable. what viable options remain to save this deal? >> well, none really. that one thing that the e.u. came up with was specifically for humanitarian exports to iran. things like medicine, things like emergency supplies or food if iran needs those things. they're not meant to sell airbuses to iran or manufacturing equipment or anything else of substance that will help the iran economy. as you point out, even that mechanism cannot really work until and unless the united states says it's okay for companies to use that mechanism even for humanitarian trade. the united states has not done that yet. the u.s. would prefer that humanitarian trade go through other channels.

>> we're going to keep a close eye on it. bobby ghosh, thank you so much. now to what you might consider an invasion of privacy. the new popular amazon echo and alexa. amazon, what they admit about alexa may make you think twice about what you say to the listening device. jo ling kent explains why. >> amazon admitting it may be keeping track of what you say to alexa. in a letter to congress, the online shopping giant revealing that even if you delete your voice recording, amazon holds on to a record of what you say indefinitely. writing we do not store the audio of alexa's response, however, we may still remain other records of customers' alexa interactions. including records of actions alexa took in response to the request. that means amazon can store data about when you've ordered an uber or food delivery to your home. in an interview inside amazon

headquarte headquarters, we pressed the head of it on privacy? >> can homeowners trust alexa? >> absolutely. so customers understand the new technology. and for us to real i will educate customers and to be able to answer their questions about what is happening. >> amazon says storing what you ask alexa to do trains the artificial intelligence to better serve you in the future. >> it's important to recognize, if you're going to use a device for convenience sake, you're giving up a certain amount of privacy. >> leaving consumers wondering who is listening on the other side. jo ling kent, nbc news, new york. from health care to the border crisis, even weighing in on north korea, what the democratic presidential contenders had to say this week on the campaign trail. -i'm not calling him "dad." -oh, n-no. -look, [sighs] i get it. some new guy comes in

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as a new poll joshows joe biden winning the white house. the others are making case why they should be the ones to face the president next november. here's what they're saying on the campaign trail. >> building on obamacare means we have to bring everyone along and we can't start over. there's no time to start over in my view. i fundamentally disagree with anyone who says scrap obamacare. i'm against any republican or democrat who wants to scrap it. >> i haven't had anyone say they

love their health insurance companies. they know they're ripping them off every single day. >> when we went into the cell, it was clear that the water was not running. there was a toilet, but no running water for people to drink. >> he has made it very clear that he wants to make people afraid and he likes these inhumane conditions because it is part of his intention to fan the flame of discord around immigration and instead of uniting us to find a comprehensive solution, instead of trying to address the root causes of this immigration problem to keep people where they live and not force them to come north, he's decided to utilize inhumane conditions as a tool of his gross cruelty. >> this is not like you're going and meeting your neighbor and bringing the dictator next door a hot dish. this is a little different than that. >> why would kim jung ong-un th

they should enter an agreement with the you state, when it administration violated the one we made two years ago? >> people will often come up to me and they will say, well, kamala, talk to us a little bit about black people's issues. and i look at them and say you know what, i am so glad you want to talk about the economy. i am so glad you want to talk about health care. >> i talked about the conversation shah cher lane and i had with our son dante. preparing him for life in america as a young black man. it is an american conversation millions and millions of people, let's surface it to fix it. >> red and purple places and done well in blue places. brought the state together. >> i am someone who can win. i am the candidate that's won in the reddest of red districts.

i have won every single time. >> i want to ask every young person in america, if you will do a year of public service, you can have two years of community college free. if you'll do two years of community service, you get four years free. >> on the trail today, pete buttigieg speaks in new orleans. castro heads west and other candidates focus on the east coast. talking 2020 with michelle obama. the candidates and the question she'd rather not answer. >> do you have any thoughts approximate that? >> i do not. >> let me ask this. moving on. >> i've been doing this rodeo far too long. >> moving on. >> no comment. is supporting military families. when i have a child deployed, having a reliable network means everything. so, when i get a video chat, and i get to see their face,

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can crush an economy, can change the future of our children. you have to read everything. you have to know everything. you have to know more than the people around you. but i fear that sometimes people might have thought that barack made it look easy. i guess if the black guy could do it, anybody can do it, and that's not true. >> joining me now is progressive commentator rashad richie and ned ryan, see -- owe a former speech writer for president george w. bush. >> how much of the comments do you take as a reference to president trump? >> obviously the comment on tweets was a shot at donald trump. again, i would disagree with michelle obama that a tweet starts a war or any of those things or that donald trump doesn't know what he's doing. i think he's shown he knows what he's doing when it comes to the

economy, rutting regulations, working and cutting the taxes. we've seen it in unemployment numbers and gdp. for her to insinuate that donald trump doesn't know what he's doing, i think it's a cheap shot. >> rashad, what's your take? do you think the comments are a reference to president trump? >> well, sure they're a reference to president trump. they should be a reference to him. here's the thing, president trump creates policy, many times, by way of tweeting. his staff and his cabinet, they're running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to figure out how to answer to what the president has tweeted because his words actually mean something. it's not like me tweeting something. this is the president of the united states and it has a real cause and effect relationship to the american domestic and international policy. beyond that, michelle obama actually has really great points about the values and virtues of his country that i think may get lost in the political narrative. she talked about how we are for

honesty and for fairness. she said that the obamas aren't doing good until everybody is doing good. they got a loud response from the audience. i got to tell you, i had a lot of friends that went to the essex music festival only because michelle obama was involved. >> she cleared up questions about their approach to the democratic primary. let take a listen to that. >> barack and i are going to support whoever wins the primary. we're -- our primary focus is letting the primary process play out. because it's very early. so we're watching everyone. we're supportive of everyone. we're giving advice to whomever seeks it. >> what, if anything, would you like to say about the kamala/biden dustup. he apologized today. do you have any thoughts about that? >> i do not. >> what is the significance of this for 2020 democrats and joe biden in particular? >> well, for joe, he probably would like to have the

endorsement of president obama right now. he's not going to get t i think once again, this is president obama and michelle obama playing it classy and showing you how a former president, a first lady should respond in the field of politics, especially democratic politics. >> and ned, there is a bit of a contrast here between their plans to stay out of the spotlight at this stage of the race and then president trump constantly trying to bring them back into it. "the new york times" reporting yesterday that two years into trump's presidency, obama remains a top target for criticism. so, how much does this approach buy him? i mean, he's been calling the shots for the last two years. >> well, i mean, first of all, donald trump can say whatever he wants to, and he can again highlight the contrast from the previous administration to his own. i think the thing that trump has to do moving forward, though, is, again, show people, here's what i plan on doing in my second term. if you like the economy, if you like all of these things, here's my plan to continue that. so at a certain point, it even

comes down, i would say, to the mueller investigation and the whole russian collusion hoax. like at a certain point, you've got to say, okay, enough's enough, we've moved on, let's move on to the next phase, which is, again, laying out a vision for his next four years. so at a certain point, i would like to see him continue to focus on the future and leave some of that past alone. >> and rashad, michelle obama also said she now still stands by her line, when they go low, we go high. and here's her reasoning for that. let's listen. >> people ask me about, in this climate, you know, how do you find it in yourself -- >> yes. >> -- to go high. and here's the thing. going high, it's a long-term strategy. we're all thinking about what the agenda is, which is getting to a place where we live in a country that we're proud to pass on to our kids. going high is the only way we get there. >> yeah. >> it's not about getting somebody back. it's not about the immediate

clapback. the immediate clapback is just for your own selfish purpose right there in the moment, and rarely does it solve anything. >> mm-hmm. >> rashad, where do you think the democratic voters are on this, because the 2020 democrats are all over the map on whether they think it's a winning strategy in the short term. >> well, some will agree with the former first lady, some will disagree. but i've got to tell you, she was saying some things that i remember my grandmother telling me about the instant gratification of revenge and how that does not solve a long-term problem. and this once again reminds us of why michelle obama was such a remarkable first lady. let's be very honest, this president, president trump, is no moral leader, and that is something we have been lacking in the white house. republicans will even say that off record. but we've been lacking that as part of the leadership dynamic of our country for a while, and it was refreshing to see her kind of restore that on such a huge stage just this weekend.

>> and ned, i'm going to give you the last word here. do you agree that the immediate clapback rarely solves anything? and do you think that president trump, he's actually -- why does he take that route so often? >> well, first of all, i mean, it's -- politics these days is a full-contact sport and i think we're being naive to think otherwise. i think a lot of the democrats in 2020 realize they're going to have to go toe to toe with trump and he's very fugalistic and they can't compete on that front. i've written in regards to public arena morality. i know that president trump has lived a very different personal life than i have, but what does it mean to me moral in the public arena? does it mean you can be moral in your private life and lie to people in public? and i think donald trump has been as honest as he can be in the public arena -- here's what i promised, here's what i intend to accomplish for the benefit of the american people. so i think we should have a conversation what does it mean to be moral in the public arena and i think president trump has been as honest as anybody in

decades. >> laughable. >> i want to switch gears because trump's approval ratings are ticking up five points since last month to the highest point yet in new polling by abc news and "washington post." it now stands at 44% approval rate. 53% disapprove. so, how do you explain that? >> well, his rates go up and down, but here's what's significant -- you have roughly 61% of the american public actually saying that they like the economy, but they don't give credit to trump. trump should be polling well over 50%, given the state of the economy, and that's not happening. he is disconnecting his own message for the first time in modern american politics. i don't think we will see the economic numbers correlate to the presidential popularity numbers. >> and ned, what do you think about that? >> no, i actually agree. i think sometimes he steps a little bit on his message, but i think that more and more people actually identify trump with the benefits they're seeing economically. of course, it's very hard to beat an incumbent president.

only five have lost re-election since 1900. and if you have an incumbent president running on a strong economy, it's going to be almost impossible to beat him. and so, i think that if donald trump can, again, get out of the way of his message in regards to the economy and more and more voters identify him with their economic benefits, it's going to be extremely hard to beat him in november of 2020. >> but ned, do you think it's still a concern for republicans that president trump's approval rating isn't higher? >> no, i really don't. i mean, there's this very strange dynamic when it comes to donald trump and polls. you even look at the polls in the last month of the 2016 elections where it showed hillary clinton was going to win pennsylvania by 12 points and she didn't win pennsylvania 30 days later. there's a certain amount of people who will not say publicly that they identify and support donald trump. and i think that changes when they actually go into the voting booth and say, hey, you know what, i'm better off than i was four years ago. again, i don't put much credence in polls. the only poll i really care about is the election-night results on 2020. and again, he showed in november of 2016, polls and the election results are not always the same.

>> well, we certainly have a lot to look forward to here between the polls and what's going to happen with his tweeting and how that affects it. rashad richey, ned ryun, great to have you here. thanks for joining us on this sunday morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. so, why the president might want to re-examine his internal campaign polling for the battle for the white house, up next. e l for the white house, up next on, be stronger... with new nicorette coated ice mint. layered with flavor... it's the first and only coated nicotine lozenge. for an amazing taste... ...that outlasts your craving. new nicorette ice mint.

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and that will do it for me this hour of "msnbc live." my colleague, kendis gibson,

joins us now to continue coverage. good morning, kendis. >> good morning. good to see you. good to be across the desk from you. enjoy your sunday. good morning, everybody. i'm kendis gibson here at msnbc world headquarters in new york. it is 7:00 in the east, 4:00 out west. here's what's happening right now. there are some new polls on the president and his 2020 challengers. plus, whether voters think his behavior is fitting and proper for a president. >> was i wrong a few weeks ago? >> i felt just grateful. >> joe biden's apology and the reaction on the campaign trail. will this put the backlash to rest? plus -- this isn't a joke. it's not a game. the leader of the free world with a tweet can start a war. >> former first lady michelle obama gets real, gets candid there, on a number of issues. but we are going to start with that brand-new polling this

morning offering some mixed results for the president. his approval ratings have reached a high for the "washington post"/abc news poll. overall, 44% approve of the job the president is doing. with more than half approving how he's handling the economy. but as you can see here, as you parse the details here, the president has much lower approval ratings on several key issues, including immigration, health care, gun violence, and climate change. and on the 2020 race, the poll found that former vice president joe biden leads donald trump by ten percentage points. there are four other democratic candidates who came within the margin of error in a hypothetical matchup, of course, against the president. as you can see there, bernie sanders beating them out slightly. and after weeks of intense criticism, mostly by senator kamala harris, joe biden apologized yesterday for reminiscing about his working relationships with southern segregationists. >> was i wrong a few weeks ago

to somehow give the impression to people that i was praising those men who i successfully opposed time and again? yes, i was. i regret it. and i'm sorry for any of the pain or misconception that i may have caused anybody. that misstep define 50 years of my record, for fighting for civil rights, racial justice in this country? i hope not. >> and presidential candidate senator cory booker, who was one of the first to call on biden to apologize, had this reaction. >> i felt just grateful that he is now speaking to his past in a way with more candor and with a sense of regret for some of the things that he supported. none of us are perfect. all of us make mistakes. we need leaders that have the courage to show vulnerability and speak to that, and i'm very

grateful. also happening this morning, some tense moments within immigrant communities across the country living in fear as the president vows the mass arrests of undocumented family members will start fairly soon. and this friday, the house oversight committee is planning to hold a hearing about the inhumane and dangerous detention conditions of migrant children. the acting chiefs of the homeland security and border patrol have been asked to testify. california congresswoman katie hill told my colleague, alex witt, just yesterday, what her focus will be during that hearing. >> why is it that law enforcement agencies are operating these kind of centers that need to be centered on humanitarian relief? you're talking about what would normally in any other situation be operated by a non-profit or by a community-based organization like the red cross. this is where you have people living in conditions that, they're not criminals. in many cases, they're

unaccompanied minors. that is not a law enforcement function, and i think that would actually free up border patrol to do more of what it's supposed to be doing. >> all right, so needless to say, we have a lot to get to. joining me now, julia manchester, reporter for "the hill," and allen smith, political reporter for nbc news. all right, so, let's start with the poll numbers and the president's job approval rating. allen what do you make of these new numbers? >> well, the thing that's most interesting to me, actually, you look at trump's overall approval, 44%, it's higher than trump's approval on any issued poll, aside from the economy. it shows that trump's personality is showing through a little bit. it's sort of guiding voters in their approval or disapproval of him, and democrats have a lot of room on some of those issues to try and stake out ground, opposite trump and with plenty of support. >> in the meantime, julia, is this a dangerous sign for the president? he still has not reached 50% when it comes to his approval rating. will all of that matter?

>> yeah, i think it could potentially matter. we know that president trump throughout his presidency has kind of teetered between the 40% and 50% approval rating, and he really needs to raise that approval rating ahead of the election. but i think those economic issues really stood out to me in the fact that a lot of americans approve of his job on the economy, and that is something that's obviously going to matter going into 2020. however, i think the fact that president trump needs to focus on touting the economy, and at least on the macroeconomic level really drive that message home, because clearly, a lot of voters aren't happy with the way he's handling, i guess, the personal part of the presidency, his public relations aspect of the presidency, the tweeting. so, president trump really needs to focus on touting the economy, but we know that he's had an issue doing that before, frequently taking to twitter, not only to talk about the economy, but also to go after his political opponents, which isn't exactly helpful, i think, going forward. so, i think you're going to see

a lot of republicans and those around the president pressing him to focus on this issue, because we know that american voters tend to vote on how it's going in their pocketbook. >> hey, something else they are not happy with is his immigration stance and how he's been doing that, that at 40%, allan. of course, we know that's a key campaign issue for him back in 2016 and going forward. how will this impact him? >> so, elsewhere in the poll, it showed that immigration was one of the top three issues that voters really cared about. that 40% sort of mirrors where we see president trump's approval ratings stand traditionally. this poll has it just a little bit higher. but that's really the president's base on immigration. it's become a top three issue. and democrats are sort of staking out somewhat different positions on it. we've seen some come down for the decriminalization of border crossing itself. not all candidates are on board with that yet. but that strikes a clear difference with the president.

also, keep in mind, immigration's been in the news a lot lately, some of the horrifying images coming out from the border from the detention facilities. so it's an issue very much on the mind of voters right now, and it's not surprising to see it come right after the economy and taxes, which are traditionally two very top issues. >> okay, so you have no doubt, then, that the president is going to try to get those numbers up. in the meantime, i mentioned it just a few moments ago -- house democrats, julia, are holding a hearing next week on the treatment of those migrant families. do we have any idea what the committee is trying to have come out of this? >> yeah, i think the committee is really trying to drive this message home of the conditions for the migrants in those detention facilities by the border, and i think they're really trying to essentially pin this on the administration, show that this is something that has happened under the trump administration. we know that republicans and president trump have kind of tried to push back on democrats, saying this is an issue of appropriations and funding. but i think they're trying to draw more attention to this

issue in order to, you know, maybe somehow bring more resources to the issue at the border in these detention facilities. we've already seen 2020 democratic presidential hopefuls visit some of these facilities, and we've seen this covered extensively in the media. so, i think this is democrats maybe trying to put a plan into action by holding these hearings. >> yeah, and do we think the folks who are called to testify will testify? the acting chiefs of homeland security and customs and border protection? >> well, if we look at president trump's officials and their past record coming to testify before congress, you know, depending on what issue it is, we know that it's kind of a hit-or-miss. so it depends. i think if they do testify, though, we saw a couple of weeks ago, you know, that this interaction between a judge and attorney on representing the trump administration about the availability of soap and basic necessities for these children in these detention facilities, and it didn't look well for the trump administration. so, the trump administration needs to figure out whether it's

best to appear before the committee and really take that heat, or they could actually go the other way and not appear. so we will see what happens. >> yes. so, you have those folks who are there and trapped at the border. you have millions of other people, illegal immigrants, who are living here, allan. and the president is declaring that his administration is moving forward with plans to arrest thousands of migrant families across the u.s., but he was careful not to give a timeline. how might this play out in the next coming days? >> so, first off, we've seen this recently in the past couple weeks with president trump pledging that these sort of mass roundups, mass deportations would start very soon. back then, he gave no timeline as well, and it wasn't clear at all whether this was something that was actually going to start soon or something that the president, as he frequently does, pledges would begin either very soon, within a couple of weeks, so on and so forth. i mean, we see the president time and time again when he brings up an issue like this, something that's going to take

place in the future, he gives a loose timeline, and it sort of gives him some room to get people worked up about it in the immediate future while not having something actually take place right away, but it does help him keep the issue in the news, right? so, if he says something's going to happen fairly soon, everyone has a chance to discuss and talk about it, and he doesn't have to necessarily come out with any hard-and-set rules for when things are actually going to take place. >> yes, soon could be any time frame. we're covering so many different topics here. julia, i want you to weigh in on joe biden and finally saying "sorry," after saying "i ain't sorry" for so long. will this stop all of this conversation about bussing and the segregationists? >> you know, it's hard to say at this point. you know, i think the key word in the sentence you just said was finally. it took vice president biden so long to get to that point and really lay it all out. i think if he had said that before those debates, before

kamala harris really hit that point home to him during the debates, we would have seen that play out differently. it is possible that biden will still be attacked on this issue because he has said these comments before, and maybe there will be a generationalist argument in terms of all this, you know, saying, essentially, the other candidates saying i necessarily won't make these sorts of comments. i've never worked with people like this. but i think, no matter what, biden is the front-runner. so, he is the main target for the harrises, the bookers, the buttigiegs, the warrens, the sanders, so no matter what, he's going to be attacked, on whatever issue. >> he should have his armor ready for july 30th and 31st in detroit, the next debadtdebate. julia and allan, thank you on this sunday morning. we're also following the aftermath and aftershocks in southern california after a 7.1-magnitude quake hit that region. now, crews have been assessing

the damage after homes, many were caught on fire and roads were split as a result of this. seismologists at caltech say more than 3,000 smaller earthquakes have been detected since thursday. nbc's molly hunter is in the earthquake's epicenter, the town of ridgecrest, california. and molly, friday night, as you know, residents spent that night sleeping on the sidewalk. how are they weathering all of these aftershocks? >> reporter: kendis, good morning. and the aftershocks just keep coming. the ground hasn't stopped shaking. we were just talking, we were awoken last night to a pretty strong one, 10:30 our time, a 4 4.5. but when you look at the usgs website, every few minutes there's an aftershock. we're in a residential neighborhood and last night a lot of people were sleeping outside on their mattresses. i spoke with a single mother of three, and she didn't know where to go to keep her kids safe enough, so they were sleeping outside in the garden. i just want to show you, this is the house.

kendis, you might remember the first night after that 7.1 quake, there was a huge house fire. we came right there. this is what it looks like now, kind of completely burned out. we do know that the owner made it out alive, but she lost everything, including her car back there. we did speak with a couple residents, both here in ridgecrest and in trona, about 30 miles away. listen to what they told me. >> when this hit last night, what did you feel? describe what you went through. >> pure hell. never in my life in ridgecrest have i been through so many quakes in such a short period of time and so strong of quakes in such a short period of time. >> if i had broken pipes, it would put me out of business. >> i've got a 4-year-old and a 3-year-old. my 4-year-old's pretty traumatized, no matter what. anything that's happening now, he thinks we're having an earthquake, so he's pretty scared. >> things were falling as we were running out. so nervous we couldn't make it out or anything. a crazy experience, for sure. i'll remember this for the rest

of my life. >> reporter: now, kendis, we're in ridgecrest right now, but about 30 miles down the road is trona, and we visited there yesterday because residents were actually coming into ridgecrest looking for supplies. they said trona was really hard hit, residents without water, without power. kind of a cool little story. a guy named roger sandoval owns a shell station there, no gas and no power, but he did have ice, he did have water, and it's become kind of this meeting place over there. but kendis, of course what everyone is worried about, with each little aftershock, even a 4.5, my stomach just dropped. everyone's worried that it could get worse. >> yeah, but it's great to see that at least people of trona and ridgecrest, that there were no fatalities in both of those communities. molly hunter for us in ridgecrest, thank you. the other big story that we're following this morning -- iran putting the trump administration on notice. what the regime is doing to end u.s. sanctions, next. end u.s. sanctionsne, xt this is the story of john smith. not this john smith. or this john smith.

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new this morning, iran announcing it is planning yet another step to defy the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. that same agreement, you'll recall, the u.s. backed out of last year. it's the latest move in a tit for tat between iran and the u.s. iran's response to crippling, multilateral u.s. sanctions. nbc's ali arouzi joins us now from the capital of tehran. and ali, you were there at that press conference in the room with the iranian officials.

what was their rationale for this move? >> reporter: good morning, kendis. well, they announced the second step they're taking in less than a week to roll back their commitments to the jcpoa, the nuclear deal. last week, iran announced they had exceeded the 300-kilo stockpile of low-enriched uranium that they're allowed to keep under the terms of the deal, and today they said they're going to start enriching uranium beyond 3.67%, which is the cap that was set during the nuclear deal. now, today's announcement also came with a further warning, that if europe can't provide iran with economic relief, if they can't shield the country from u.s. sanctions, then in 60 days' time, iran will crank up its nuclear activity even further. now, this seems to be a new policy adopted by tehran to take calibrated steps away from the nuclear deal to put pressure on europe to salvage the deal, or at least to live up to their end

of the bargain, despite u.s. sanctions, but it's a risky move, kendis. it's a risky strategy, because europe says it won't accept any ultimatums from iran. they're urging tehran to return to its commitments. and with all the moving parts in this region -- u.s. drones being shot down, tankers mysteriously sabotaged -- all that draws europe closer to the u.s. position on iran. increasing the gulf between islamic republic and the countries that still want to remain in the nuclear deal. and iran, however, says the door for diplomacy is still open. they say if all the sanctions are removed, they can come back to the negotiating table. but at that meeting this morning, they also said they're not holding much hope for europe to be able to salvage the deal and provide some sort of economic relief for them. >> yeah, that deadline with the french president being july 15th. you get a sense, ali, that there

are different conversations that are happening behind the scenes. of course, you had the japanese prime minister who was there just last month meeting with iranian officials, and you had this olive branch by macron, the french president. something else happening behind the scenes? >> reporter: well, i think all the countries, aside from america, are doing all that they can to try and salvage the deal, to convince iran not to roll back its commitments to the jcpoa, because that would be a deal-breaker and everybody would then be drawn to the u.s. position, but it's not bearing a lot of fruit. i mean, macron said that he had a conversation with rouhani and they're going to try and pave the way for further talks in the next week. well, they haven't been able to do it in the last year and a half, so what they are hoping to establish in the next week is a pie in the sky idea, but everybody's just trying to lower tensions, but the prognosis

doesn't look good. as long as america is putting pressure on iran and iran doesn't want to talk to america, this is not going to resolve itself. >> all right. so, they haven't had any progress in a year. valid point. what progress can they have in a week? nbc's ali arouzi joining us from tehran, the iranian capital. thank you. and joining me right now is jahvid ali, former senior director for counterterrorism at the national security council and policymaker in residence at the ford school. thank you for being here this morning. you have decades of experience in the defense intelligence. what is your assessment right now of the threat that is posed by today's announcement and development? >> kendis, thank you for having me and good morning to you. so, today's announcement appears to be a calculated measure by the iranian regime to increase its pressure on not only europe

but the united states in order to get concessions, get some kind of relief from the sanctions, perhaps send a message that it can play tough as well from the security perspective, just like the united states is doing. so, this is likewise seems to be a very deliberate move on the iranians' part. now, whether it provides some kind of off-ramp to the current tensions or it will just continue to escalate things beyond where they are now, that's i think one of the $64,000 questions. >> yeah, there are so many questions. so, one of them, javed -- does iran have the capability right now to produce weapons-grade-level uranium? >> well, that was part of the arrangement through the 2015 accord that all the measures were put in place to make sure that did not happen then. so, all of the publicly available information is that after 2015, iran's capabilities to move forward, at least with

the nuclear weapons program, either through enriched uranium or plutonium, stopped. whether they have tried to do something covertly since then, again, that's another one of these questions that's really hard to tell. but right now, just, again, looking at what's available publicly, it seems that iran does not have that capability. and even the step they've announced today of increasing, you know, the slight increase in uranium enrichment from 3%-something percent up to 5% or 6% still would not give iran weapons-grade uranium. it has to be enriched at a level around 90%. but again, depending on their desire to further sort of break out from this pressure sort of that's been building against it -- could they quickly accelerate to 90% and how long would that take and what signs would be detected? these are all things that i would think the united states and other western powers are looking at very closely. >> so, let me ask you this,

because you were part of the national security council, i believe from 2017 to 2018. how would you actually describe how the trump administration's calculation is with iran, at least from a strategy standpoint? what are they betting on? >> sure. so, i came into the administration, or at least the national security council, in 2017 on the counterterrorism side. so, i was not part of the middle east sort of side or the team that ran the middle east strategy to include the iran strategy. but from what i recall at that time, the administration wanted to increase pressure on iran in a different way from beyond the jcpoa, as ali had mentioned. so, at that time, there was a lot of effort led by then the national security adviser, mcmaster, who i had the pleasure of working with then, to come up with a sort of new approach on increasing pressure against iran, and so that led to sort of this maximum pressure strategy

that the public has heard over the last year or two. so, that maximum pressure strategy has tried to open up some new avenues of national power that perhaps we as a country weren't using before against iran, so more sanctions, more diplomatic tools. recently, we've seen some increase of military maneuvers or measures in the persian gulf, seemingly directed against the iranian threat. so, this administration has tried to take a new approach against iran, but this sort of cycle of tension with iran also stems from almost 40 years ago. so, this is just, in my mind, a continuation of a struggle that's been going on since the beginning of the iranian revolution in 1979. it's just perhaps a different approach. >> it's definitely not a new development at all between these two countries. javed ali, thank you. >> thank you. a public apology from joe biden earning some praise from his democratic opponents, but is

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there, at 7:30 in the evening, at night, and these are live pictures. this is a central business district. they have been on the streets all day long. of course, this is a continuing fallout from an extradition bill that would allow some people arrested in the city to be sent for trial in mainland china. now, the bill was suspended last month, but protesters are demanding that it be withdrawn completely. today's protests have been mostly peaceful. investigators still don't know what caused this weekend's massive explosion at a south florida shopping mall. they found ruptured gas lines in the rubble but still aren't sure if they're to blame. some businesses in the blast zone were completely destroyed. rescue crews report that 23 people were injured and no one was killed in that blast. stevie wonder will be undergoing kidney transplant surgery. the legendary singer-songwriter told fans at a concert in london that he's taking a break in order to have the operation. wonder's announcement comes

after a week of speculation over his health. the 69-year-old was hospitalized earlier this year and travels with a medical team. the u.s. women's soccer team meet the netherlands today in the women's world cup final in lyon, france. team usa is a favorite, and with good reason. they have the tournament's joint top scorers, alex morgan and megan rapinoe. now, the reigning champs are looking for their fourth title. this is the first time the netherlands, by the way, has made it to the final match. to the battle for 2020 and the apology from the democratic front-runner. after weeks of criticism for his statements, including his remarks on working with segregationists, former vice president joe biden is now saying the words "i'm sorry." nbc's hans nichols has more on what biden had to say. >> reporter: following weeks of criticism, joe biden said he regretted his controversial comments about working with segregationists during his time as a senator. >> i regret it, and i'm sorry

for any of the pain or misconception that i may have caused anybody. >> reporter: the course correction for biden coming after senator kamala harris criticized him for opposing the kind of school bussing that benefited her. >> i was bussed to my elementary school. >> reporter: harris continued to focus on school segregation without mentioning biden by name. >> but there is a lot to be shameful about. i mean, as you know, most recently, we have talked about america's segregated schools. >> reporter: the democratic dust-up coming as president donald trump took another shot at biden, tweeting, "the former vice president won't win in 2020. joe biden is a reclamation project," the president said. "some things are just not salvageable." it's part of a one-two political punch. criticizing obama is a way to wound biden. >> i call it the obama/biden mess. >> reporter: but biden is sbraitisbrait i

celebrating his service to president obama as proof of his progressive values on race. >> when i talk about the obama years, my opponents talk about his ancient history. when others talk about something i said in the '70s, they talk about it like it's yesterday. >> reporter: biden made his comments in south carolina, where african-americans will likely make up a majority of voters in the democrats' first-in-the-south primary next year. kendis? >> our thanks to hans nichols there in bedminster. the census and the citizenship question. what can congress do to limit the president's pursuit of an executive order? that's next. pursuit of an executive order? that's next.

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all right, so, president trump is insisting on adding a citizenship question on the 2020 census, saying that he may even do so with an executive order. a printing of the census has already started without the citizenship question. the supreme court rejected the administration's stated reason as contrived, but government lawyers can still provide a different rationale. here's the president's new justification. >> what you needed from that is a reason, not the one you needed for congress. you need it for congress, for districting. you need it for appropriations, where the funds are going. how many people are there? are they citizens? are they not citizens? you need it for many reasons. >> okay, but here's the thing about that. congressional seats have always been based on a state's total population, not on the number of citizens.

joining me right now, somebody who knows about that, congressman mark vizi, a democrat from texas and member of the congressional voting rights caucus. welcome, congressman. >> kendis. >> you heard the president's new narrative right there. what do you make of this new rationale for adding this citizenship question? >> well, i think that he just admitted in his own words that what they're trying to do is illegal. the supreme court had a decision on this a few years ago where they said all citizens must be counted. now he's saying that maps need to be drawn based on people that are citizens. the court has already ruled on this. and not only that, as was mentioned earlier, they have also ruled that they cannot have this question on the census. it's clear what they're trying to do. if you look here in dallas, for instance, there was notes that were turned over by this man's daughter after he died.

i'm sorry that i can't remember his name off the top of my head. but he said that if you were to add this question on the census, that you could actually eliminate close to two latino state representative seats in dallas county, and those are in areas that i represent. so, it's clear that they're trying to use race in order to further the republican party's dominance of these districts, and that is illegal. using race that way is absolutely illegal. >> yeah, it's a republican strategi strategist, i believe, who died back in 2015, and many of his notes were unearthed afterwards and showed -- >> that is right. >> -- the information that you're referring to. so, that said, what can you guys do about this? because the president says that he may declare an executive order to add this citizenship question on the census. your colleague, congresswoman katie hill, i saw her yesterday saying that it would spark a constitutional crisis. would it? >> absolutely it would.

the supreme court's already ruled on this. trump may look up to strongman, he may look up to dictators, but the fact of the matter is he's not one. we have a constitution and the supreme court, which is a part of the three-tiered system that we have, says that this question cannot be used. and so, if he decides, well, i'm the king and i'm going to go ahead and do this, it would definitely spark a constitutional crisis. i think that a lot of what he's doing right now is that he knows that this question cannot be used. i think it was mentioned in your segment right before i came on that the questionnaires are already being printed up, and he's just trying to feed a lot of red meat to his base. i think that that's really what this is all about, because they have decided that they have to have this question on the census, but i don't think that it's going to happen, and i agree with my colleague from california that it would definitely spark a crisis. >> okay. well, let's talk about something else that's within a similar purview right now, and those

conditions at the detention centers on the border. we've seen many of the pictures. they look horrible. you visited the detention centers in el paso. describe what it really was like right there in those rooms. >> well, first of all, let me tell you this, when you go on those tours, you have to give customs 48 hours' notice before you can take one, even as a member of congress. >> okay, so they know you're coming. >> they know you're coming, and that needs to change, because you know, a lot of what we saw, you know, were empty beds, empty cells and what have you, especially the outdoor facilities. but we did see a couple of holding cells, a couple of detention holding cells look very similar to what you would see if you were to visit a county lockup in a large facility. it was our kids, like toddler-age kids, or just barely older than toddler-age kids in these detention lockup-like

facilities. we also saw one particular holding cell that had cuban migrants in it, and it was very overcrowded. the women were crying. there was one grandmother who was very afraid because she was actually separated from her mentally impaired grandson and didn't know where he was. these women were crying. they told us that when they asked for water, that one of the guards told them to drink out of the toilet. and so, these are their words to us. and if you look at the facebook page that came out, and now it looks like there's a second facebook page and that it looks like these facebook pages are at least a few years old, and you look at the content on there that's being used by current members of customs, you have to tell yourself that what these migrants were telling us, a lot of it has to be true. >> yeah, you're referring to some facebook groups and that

featured, we believe, members of border patrol who were talking about some of the conditions there and the treatment of many of these migrants. >> right. >> that said, you spoke with many of these migrants -- did they have any idea of what the conditions were? why would they trek all these miles knowing that this would be the situation? >> you know, you take a country like honduras, for instance, it's one of the most dangerous places in the entire world. there's no opportunity. and so, you know, people are coming to america to seek asylum for themselves and their families, hoping for a better life and a picture opportunity. so, that is why they're risking it. they say that where they live right now, that there is absolutely no hope and that they actually fear for their actual, you know, life. it's that simple. >> do you have any confidence that this administration would do anything to help the conditions right there at those detention centers? >> no, i don't believe so.

i mean, they need to work with us to help, but i also think that they have shown over and over again that they're willing to use migrants in order to fan their base up and get their base flamed and amped up, and that they simply see migrants as pawns in a political game, which i think is absolutely sad. i don't understand how the president can even sleep at night. he absolutely has no conscience when it comes to the real-life crisis that is going on at the border and that these make rants are facing. it's sad, and it really goes against what happened in 1980 when we passed the refugee act to try and get with the rest of the international world on how you define asylum and how you define asylum-seekers. and we're going against that spirit where the world came together in order to make sure that we never would come to a

situation again where we see people that are seeking asylum, that are turned away from life-threatening conditions back in their own country. >> all right. congressman marc veasey of the 33rd district in texas near ft. worth. thank you for your time. >> thank you. all right, so, president trump appears to have a love-hate relationship with political polls, and this morning, he may both love and hate a new one that was just released. that's next. released that's next. hi. do you have a travel card? yep. our miles card. earn unlimited 1.5 miles and we'll match it at the end of your first year. nice! i'm thinking about a scuba diving trip. woman: ooh! (gasp) or not. you okay? yeah, no, i'm good. earn miles. we'll match 'em at the end of your first year.

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>> when you talk about how well the american people are doing, how well their overall -- the prosperity that we're enjoying -- it has little to do with this president. he is not really helping us in terms of any type of economic stability, but that doesn't stop him from enjoying what is actually happening right now with this economy and with this nation. so, you don't have people, particularly voters, having a sense of urgency as much as many of them should to see him removed. he's continuing to hurt us from a us from a political perspective.

he is hurting american interest abroad through our diplomacy. that's a little disconnected from the realities we're seeing with the economy. voters are giving him high marks there, on the economy, brian. the economy is doing great. one of the reasons is the tax cuts. another is a regulation by the obama administration. we've seen in every demographic, unemployment is at record lows. these are good numbers. you look at the polling data, that people care about the economy, more than any other issue, donald trump has a good chance of winning re-election.

65% of the population says his behavior is unpresidential. and, yes, his numbers are on a number of different things, including immigration, which is a three topic for a number of people. there's a number of things that he's getting low ratings for. brian? >> that's true. in that poll, he is given ratings on a number of issues. but the overriding issue that people care about, is do i have a job? am i able to pay my bills. are my friends working. the economy will be the overriding issue. the last time it happened, was george h.w. bush. eight years of reagan and four years of george h.w. bush, when he promised to cut taxes and he raised taxes. >> you talk about the trump tax cuts, the people haven't fully

felt te investigahe effects of their pocket. you will see some wind out of the sails in the coming months that people will start to understand that this is a tax cut for the rich. it wasn't about rebuilding the middle class. and it was about giving corporate interest another opportunity to make more money of after tthe backs of middle a. we haven't seen the effects of that. >> there's some saying that the tax cuts have not been popular among regular americans. popular within corporate america. want to talk something else. the poll looked at the match-ups between donald trump and the candidates. all of the democrats, seemingly, beating him among all adults. biden is a whopping 14 points

up. but there's a different picture among registered voters. all of the races narrowing or tied, except for biden, who has a ten-point lead. >> if you believe polls, hillary clinton was going to win pennsylvania in the last election. was going to stomp trump. trump is not polling as high as an incumbents should be polling. he is under polling. i think a lot of americans are scared when they get a call to say, i'm a supporter of donald trump. i think he does underpoll when people get called and asked who they support. >> i have to squeeze in a sound byte from michelle obama and made appearance. freed the curl at the essence music festival. i was proud of her. >> barak ack and i are going to

support who wins the primary. our primary focus is letting the primary process play out. it's very early. we're watching everyone. we're supporting everyone. we are giving advice to whatever seeks it. >> what do you want to say about the kamla/biden dust-up. he apologized. do you have any thoughts on that. >> i do not. >> why do you keep invoking president obama? >> the truth of the matter was, he was the first vice president of the first african-american president of the united states. that's no small thing. he has worked hard and done a lot to support the agenda of the obama administration. throughout his career, he's done a lot for african-americans. he has a long way to go in showing us that he was sincere in his apology. >> i have to leave it there. michelle was like, i know what you're putting out there. i'm not having it.

>> she looked fantastic. >> bishop and brian, thank you. previewing the next debate. who might not make it to the next stage?

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look at the time. that does it for me for this hour. i'll take a short break and see you at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. now, it's time for "up with david gura."