we can't let u-- ultimately, completely. but we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. if we don't take moments like this and try to advance the country in the way that president obama did, both george bushs did and bill clinton did, not partisan, they tried to push us forward out of tragedy. >> i think that's a good spot to end this hour. jon meacham, thank you, congressman costello, thank you. andrea mitchell starts right now with my colleague amen mohyeld mohyeldin. >> when you played that clip of obama, it gave me goose bumps. reminds me of a time of a president be a consoler-in-chief. donald trump denies his rhetoric is partially to blame for a rise in hate-filled violence as he visits the two communities most recently def stated by mass shootings.

>> i think we have toned it down. we've been getting hit left and right. >> the other thing i heard, chris, totally unsolicited from victims still in the hospital as they grab my arm and tell me, tell him not to come here. >> he made his bed. he's got to lie in it. >> coming together, can congress agree on tougher gun laws that president says no to an assault weapons ban but leaves the door open on other measures. >> there's a great appetite and i mean a very strong appetite for background checks, and i think we can bring up background checks like we've never had before. words matter. democratic presidential contenders tie the president to a rise in white supremacy. >> you reap what you sew. the act of anti latino, anti-immigrant hatred we witnessed this past weekend did not start with the hand that pulled the trigger. it was sewed by those who spoke

the same words the el paso murderer did, warning of an invasion. good day everyone. i'm in for andrea mitchell as prs continues to meet with dayton residents and survivors at the hospital. this is the first of two stops for a president fighting the perception that his rhetoric has emboldened white nationalists as across the country and violence we've seen in the past week alone. these trips today ton and el paso, gun safety legislation that could push congressional republicans to act. >> i'm looking to do background checks. i think background checks are important. i don't want to put guns into the hands of mentally unstable people or people with rage or

hate, sick people. i'm all in favor of it. >> after touching down in dayton, president trump having a long conversation with mike turner, the republican congressman representing the dayton area who, in fact, just came out in support of a ban on the sale of military-style weapons. joining me now, nbc's kelly o'donnell at the white house, yamiche alcindor, kimberly atkins and gabe gutierrez on the ground in dayton, ohio. let me begin with you. bring us up to speed on what you've seen so far, what you're hearing from folks on the scene in dayton, both from the president and those out to protest him. >> reporter: as you mentioned, the president on the ground here in dayton, meeting with victims, families and first responders. we're in the oregon district where this shooting happened. as you can see behind me, there

are some of president trump's supporters behind me. over here you do see demonstrators who say -- some of them say they're opposed to the president's visit. others say they welcome the president, but they want the federal government to enact some sort of gun restrictions. this is ned peppers bar right here. the gunman was taken down by the first responders just in this general area. this is where nine people were killed, more than 30 others injured just a few short days ago. this is a community that has been reeling. dozens of people, perhaps more than a hundred or so at this point have gathered. many earlier started chanting "do something." that's something we've heard repeated over the last couple days, here at a vigil less than 24 hours after the shooting, people chanting "do something" when the governor of ohio decided to get on stage. they told me the last couple days of the frustration, that they feel the government, state government, federal government

isn't doing enough. that's what we're seeing right now reacting to the president's visit. ayman he's still on the ground in ohio before heading to el paso. it doesn't look like he's heading here. if he would be, there would be a much higher security presence here than there is right now. all these demonstrators seem to be very peaceful. earlier there was heated discussion between some of president trump's supporters and some of the demonstrators that have gathered. so far this seems to be a day to send a message to the president but also to remember the nine lives lost here. >> gabe, i know it's hard sometimes to quantify this from a street perspective. what is the size of the crowd of the pro trump supporters and what are they telling you about why they are there on the street? is it in support of his policies, his rhetoric? what exactly have they been telling you? >> reporter: certainly. if we can look over there where i was standing earlier, you see one of president trump's

supporters holding up the trump 2020 flag. it's a small group right in that particular group, perhaps a half dozen president trump supporters. we've seen a few more throughout the crowd. what they say is they welcome the president. they say the president is coming here to ohio like he often does after a mass shooting and offering words of comfort. they are upset of the characterization of the president's rhetoric. they do not feel it is to blame for these mass shootings. they're upset with some of these demonstrators, upset with the media. they argue the president should have come here and that he is not to blame. his rhetoric is not to blame for these mass shootings. at least that's what they're telling me. >> gabe gutierrez, live on the street in dayton, ohio. let's cross over to kelly o'donnell at the white house and talk about what the president said as he left the white house this morning, embarking on this two-city journey, meeting with victims and their families and officials in those cities. some of them we know will not be welcoming him to those towns.

there's a history of this president making promises on policies, in this particular case about gun policy, that he ultimately abandons. i'm curious to get your thoughts about how he spoke about that issue today. >> reporter: he's signaling an openness to deal with congress on matters of background checks and talking about his own willingness to use whatever political capital he may have to try to convince some lawmakers to move in that direction. he spoke about a movement that he says has occurred because of the scale and magnitude of this deadly violence with members of both parties wanting to take some action. you're right, we have seen this before from the president. after parkland, the shooting in florida at the high school where there was a similar response, where people felt the enormity of the emotion and a desire to act. yet, it did not result in tangible change. it's a real question now. we're at a very early stage here where you still have sick tims who are being treated in the hospital. you still have the dead in these

two cities who have not yet been buried. you have feelings that are so raw. to talk about political solutions at this point is a very early part of the stage. the president is signaling a willingness to discuss this. he was not talking about things like changes to the ability to own assault weapons, but some conversation about remedies that might include changes to laws. we'll see where that goes. today is really about the president trying to use the authority of the office to come to two cities that have had this grievous wound to their community and to try to do something. when you say he is not being welcomed, that is true by some. at the same time it is the president trying to say that there is a place for a president to come there and to speak to those who have been personally affected, whether it's victims and families, law enforcement and first responders, local community leaders, and to try to show that the nation on behalf

of the whole country through the president and first lady, that he is there. will it change any opinions about the president politically? he says some of the critics who are not happy about his visit are those politically opposed to him to start with. he's going to go through these steps today to try to listen, to try to talk to people. will there be any real conversations? we'll have to say how that goes today. when you talk about the sort of protests that have materialized in dayton and el paso, that's the kind of thing where law enforcement has looked to keep the president's pathway separate from anything -- he might bible to see it but won't encounter protesters. that would be standard in any circumstance where the president, for security reasons, has to get in and out of places safely. he will clearly be aware of the mood on the ground. ayman. >> yamiche, not to sound a pessimist, but when you look at the list of places shot up as a

result of terrorist attacks or at schools and others, you have to wonner if anything is going to change this time or is this simply lip service by the president at a time of a national crisis to try and maybe deflate the pressure that's building up for action? the reality is will something actually change? are we going to see legislation like the manchin-toomey bill that calls for stronger background checks actually make it through to the president's desk? >> i was on the lawn this morning when the president said he was hoping to get people to do things that they haven't done in the past. that would, of course, include his own party. republicans have usually been the ones to not want to talk about changing a lot of gun laws. i remember covering newtown, connecticut, the shooting in pittsburgh at the synagogue and people feeling like those events might change something. not much has changed from those things. i think there's a lot of people who are hopeful this might be a

moment because this was such a gruesome weekend of back-to-back tragedies taking place, that maybe that will shock the consciousness. i think representative turner coming out saying i'm going to be supporting a ban of assault weapon, shows a republican with a high rating from the nra saying, i want to change things here. his daughter was closs to the shooting. people on the ground in dayton, having been there just a few days ago, told me they're hopeful this change could happen because of them. but they also told me -- one young man told me he heard about the el paso shooting but didn't fear for his own life, and only when he was standing about ten feet away from the gunman and watching people be shot down did he realize he personally needed to get involved. for a lot of people, it still has been something they have to personally experience to get them to move on this. >> kim, here is another mind-boggling moment. we heard the president this

morning saying he's actually toned it down about the rhetoric in all of this national debate that is taking place. believe it or not that was just hours after he sent this tweet where he writes, beto, phony name to indicate hispanic heritage, o'rourke, who is embarrassed by my last visit to the great state of texas where i trounced him and is now even more embarrassed by polling at 1% in the democratic party should respect the victims and law enforcement and be quiet. it's incredible to think he had the audacity to say he was toning it down after tweeting that out. the mixed messaging here, kim and the spontaneous comments that he does speaking to different audiences marks it hard to pin this president down on anything, both for his supporters and those who oppose him. >> yes. this is a repeated pattern. we have seen the president come out after a tragedy like this and give prepared remarks, just like the prepared remarks he gave the other day in which he said this was not a time for

partisanship and division. of course, that tweet he sent this morning belies that once he goes off the prepared script. so this is just another example of that. we saw that before and after charlottesville and other times. what happens next when it comes to policy, we still have to see. we've seen the president also express support for gun control measures. he sat in a room of lawmakers and was expressing support for gun control measures only later to come back and oppose them. we have seen in congress members of congress, some of whom have come very close to gun violence, recall there was a gun attack on members of congress just a couple years ago, and there still hasn't been any movement in congress on things even like bump stocks, something that almost universally people say can be band and it would not affect people's second amendment rights. it's the third rail of politics here in washington right now.

it's very difficult to believe unless there's a big shift in opinion among folks like mitch mcconnell that this will move forward now. >> yamiche, i want to play this sound bite from dayton mayor nan whaley. it's interesting to watch it unfold between local politicians and their interaction with the president. watch this sound bite. >> -- one very nice conversation with the mayor of dayton. could not have been nicer, and then she goes and says i tried to call it. i spoke to her and i didn't receive any calls. they're trying to make political points. i don't think it works because i would like to stay out of the political fray. >> this is a president who always fires back at his critics. he's trying to make the mayor of dayton who we heard at the top of our show essentially say she's trying to score political points at the expense of this tragedy. what do you make of it for these

local lawmakers? they're in this odd position of having to deal with someone who they have on going issues with, but because of their position have to also welcome the country's president to their community. >> i've interviewed that mayor over the last couple days and actually the week before when i was in dayton on a story about immigration. what the mayor told me is she wants to be in an official capacity welcoming to president trump, but she feels deep down his rhetoric has added to the divisions in her community, and his inaction on gun laws has made the world a more dangerous place because he has not come out to support some of the things that most americans like universal background checks, most americans would support. i would also add when the president said his rhetoric toned down, minutes after that he started saying illegal immigration was hurtful for this country. he then started going after the mayor and i asked him a question

about white supremacy. he started going off on antifa. some people felt like he was talking about both sides again. there's obviously the twitter changes, but even in that conversation, even on the white house lawn he was contradicting himself. >> absolutely. thank you all for joining us this hour. coming up, fanning the flames. former vice president joe biden and other democratic candidates try to tie the president's rhetoric on immigration to white supremacy ideals. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. the united states postal service makes more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. today's senior living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. and there's never been an easier way to get great advice.

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democratic presidential candidates are speaking out against president trump's rhetoric, tieing it to the rise of white supremacy in the country. former vice president joe biden will be in iowa this afternoon where he is expected to say that the president is fanning the flames of white supremacy and has aligned himself with the darkest forces in the nation. this morning senator cory booker speaking out at mother emanuel ame church in south carolina where an ave. vowed white supreme sift killed nine church goers in 2017. >> generations of politicians have used fear of the other for political gain. that is certainly the case today. hate crimes in america are increasing. anti-semitism and islamophobia are on the rise. these acts of hatred do not

happen in a vacuum. they are harvested only once they have been planted. >> in el paso beto o'rourke sfoek nbc's jacob soboroff about the role he feels president trump played in saturday's attack. >> describing immigrants as rapists and criminals, talking about invasions and infestations. all that fear, that anger, that hatred, the willingness to dehumanize our fellow human beings found a home in the killer and found an expression in the violence we saw saturday. he is in large part to blame for what has taken place. joining me now is jacob soboroff in el paso, shaquille brewster in dayton. jacob, let me go to you first. we played a sound bite about the president's tweet which said, quote, benny, phony name to

indicate hispanic heritage, o'rourke, is now even more embarrassed by polling at 1% in the democratic primary should respect the victims and law enforcement and be quiet. what did the candidate have to say to you about that tweet? >> reporter: i asked him, ayman, why he wanted to respond to the president today when much of what i've seen on the ground in el paso, not just over the course of today at a remembrance and memorial, but throughout my time covering immigration here has been so positive, so different from the way that the president characterizes life in this city, one of the safest cities in america. former congressman o'rourke said essentially he feels like he's standing up for this city, standing up for a president who has used racist and hateful rhetoric about latinos throughout the course of his presidency, echoed by the shooter who killed 22 people at the walmart behind me. congressman o'rourke is

channelling what he sees as the feelings of not only his constituents, but neighbors and friends, people who in my experience in el paso have always been warm, welcoming. it is a far cry, a totally different scene than the way that the president describes this place as dangerous, drug infested, feeling like there's an infestation. it just isn't what happens in the city of el paso. i think that is why so many people are, to put it mildly, less than interested in the president coming here today in the wake of this shooting. >> let me pose this question to you, jacob. the editor of "the el paso times" wrote in an open letter to president trump ahead of his visit saying, mr. president, the hatred of the el paso shooter didn't come from our city. when you visit today you will see el paso in the agony of our mourning, you will also see el paso at its finest. in essence, echoing a lot of the description you've provided from

what you see on the ground there. what are you hearing specifically from people about the president's visit? what more can you tell us about it? >> reporter: i just don't think people are interested, at least a large chunk of the people here in el paso are interested in what the president has to say. this president stiffed the city for $150,000 in security costs last time he was here by the health department and other local city services. folks here on the ground responding to the aftermath of the shooting. they are not interested in listening to a president of the united states that regardless of what happens on the ground continues to describe this place as something that is totally foreign to the people that have lived here their entire lives? they're not interested in listening to a president that used this city as his petre dish to separate families from their children along the border. this is the first place in the united states where the trump administration systematically started to do that. donald trump has a long and

checkered history with the citizens of el paso. we heard it from former congressman beto o'rourke this morning, ayman. >> shaquille, when we think about what happened at emanuel ame church for the violent white supremacist killing spree and the response from president trump afterwards. talk about cory booker and the speech her made there today. >> reporter: senator booker was trying to connect the gun violence we see historically and currently to the rise of white supremacy. he took more of a solid term than what we heard from cory booker just this week. he said president trump was complicit in the attacks we saw in el paso. in the church he didn't take that same stance. he didn't mention president trump by name. he spoke to the higher ideas of connecting people and uniting

folks. cory booker said, at this time it's not a matter of who is racist and who is not racist but who is doing something about the racist, who is combating the injustice we see in society. for senator booker, he talked about allocating resources. he said as president he would take on white supremacist groups. he wants to take on gun control legislation, slaiks legislation that goes beyond what we're hearing from some of the democrats in this field, just banning assault weapons or banning high capacity magazines cory booker wants to establish a federal gun licensing program and wants to limit the amount of monthly gun purchases a person can make. for senator booker, he was trying to frame this both in the current climate, in the current conversation that we're having right now, but also paint a historical picture. he used this church behind me to do that. >> mike, i want to get your thoughts on what we can expect to hear from the former vice president as he makes his address today, going up

head-to-head against the president. >> reporter: what we've seen from joe biden over the last three weeks or month or so is a candidate much more willing to mix it up with fellow democrats than president trump. what we'll see is in this moment of national tragedy, the vice president returning to what has been the core of his message from the beginning, which is describing this as a battle pour the soul of america. what he'll do with that split screen moment with the president in dayton and in el paso is talk about the ways in which he thinks trump has failed the country as a national leader. he'll talk about ways in which when the nation has been tested and past presidents have stepped up, he'll talk about president george w. bush a week after 9/11 visiting a mosque. talk about president obama in charleston singing "amazing grace" after the shooting there. he'll say trump is asking more like george wallace than george washington. trump, biden says, offers no moral leadership, no interest in

unifying the nation. instead we have a president with a toxic tongue who has publicly and unapologetically embraced a political strategy of hate, racism and division. strong words from the president directed at president trump. what's interesting as joe biden in the past has been attacked by fellow democrats about the crime bill, he's actually leaning into that, talking about how he's the only person who managed to get assault weapons bill passed . thank you all. coming up, a nation on edge. panic in new york city's times square overnight after a bark firing motorcycle sparked fierce of another mass shooting. what can be done to prevent the next domestic terrorism attack? this is the couple who wanted to get away who used expedia to book the vacation rental that led to the ride ♪

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welcome back everyone. in what could be a troubling sign of the times, terrifying moments in new york's times square last night. a panicked crowd heard what they thought was gunfire and started running for safety. it was a false alarm. it was a motorcycle that backfired.

a similar scare inside a crowded mall in utah after a loud noise led shoppers to think shots were being fired. it was actually caused by a sign that fell to the ground. in california the fbi has officially opened a domestic terror investigation into the shooting at the gilroy garlic festival that left three people dead and 13 others injured. joining me is barbara mckwaed, msnbc contributor and clint watts, former fbi special agent, now an msnbc national security analyst. clint, let me begin with you, first of all. how significant is it now that the fbi is opening this investigation or pursuing this as a domestic terrorism investigation in california? what does that actually mean? >> i think what it suggests is they don't see this as just a one-off crime. it wasn't just this is a murder we'll look at reactively. they're looking proactively, probably looking at a broader network. was this connected to other people, not even physically but

in an online way? can we look at this as a stream of ideologically based terrorism. white nationalists inspired terrorism. that would be a significant move. it may suggest behind the scenes in the government they're going much more broadly at this. >> barbara, you work as a terrorism prosecutor. i have a two-part question for you. what are prosecutors looking at when they're trying to prove a domestic terrorism case, for example, in this case, what we're seeing in gilroy and in el paso and why wasn't it something brought up against the shooter in the ame church who left a similar manifesto that described his ideological leanings of white supremacy and white nationalism when he killed nine black church goers. >> drim is a big challenge for prosecutors because, as clint said, there's a federal definition and that permits the fbi to take certain investigative steps to look for a broader group that might be

involved. but there's no federal crime of domestic terrorism. a prosecutor is left to look for other statutes to cobble together to try to make out a case. for example, in south carolina there was no crime, federal crime for the killings except for the hate crime because they were able to prove that the shooting was based on the race and the religion of the victims. so oftentimes you're without that remedy, if you don't have people -- if there's a motivation for race, just a political motivation. that's why there's been a call for new legislation to make it illegal to commit a crime of domestic terrorism. it's a little tricky because of the civil liberties protections americans get that are not present for foreign terrorist organizations. i think the time has come to focus on conduct and not individuals in making domestic terrorism illegal. >> clint, if there's one thing we know about this president is he consumes cable news, in particular fox news. you see that with his tweets

paralleling right to the minutes or right afterwards what aired on fox news. last night tucker carlson, prime time slot for that network, dismissed white supremacy and white nationalism as a hoax. we know the fbi director has said that is not the case. this president lives in an echo claimer with fox news. what's the consequence of a statement like that by a prominent personality on tv that the president listens to? >> if it's -- there's the bubble of the president and the media and with what the government is down. the same phenomena right now with white supremacy and terrorism. we have to call it what it is. there's something we haven't talked about enough which is reprisal attacks. what you see in other contacts of international extremists, if the minority group that's being targeted does not feel the government is reacting appropriately to protect them, what normally happens? you see the emergence of reprisal extremism, other groups

saying the only way i can defend myself is to take up arms. you'll see extremists in one of these positions take up violence. that's what i'm worrying about over time. you're in a downward spiral. if you don't go with what your fbi director is saying, don't confront it head on, put the necessary resources there, what's the message? i only represent some americans. those americans that aren't be represented will think i have to undertake this on my own. this is a cycle throughout history we've seen with extremism. >> barbara, speaking to that point that clint brought up in terms of the international terrorism and how we as a nation dealt with it, i wanted the read you this op-ed from john allen and brett mcgurk who led the u.s. campaign to defeat isis. they wrote in "the washington post" the country confronting a national security emergency on par with the islamic state threat, it dedemands moral clarity directing all assets of the federal government to protect all americans.

if the president will not ask, congress, state and local governments must instead. at stake is nothing less than the protection of the american people and our way of life. i'm curious to get your thoughts. have you felt that the response so far from the federal government has been adequate in terms of assessing this threat and confronting or at least putting forward the right resources to confront it? >> no, absolutely not. states can do what they want to protect us, but we really need a national initiative. weapons can cross state lines. if you have strong laws in one state but weak laws in another, then people in that state are going -- in all states are going to be vulnerable. just by way of one example. assault weapons. most americans favor an assault weapons ban and ban on high capacity magazines. we need to get that done. even these originalists who talk about interpreting the constitution as written in 1791 will not get behind an assault

weapon bans. in 1791, it meant a musket, not an assault weapon. it's a reasonable restriction on the manner of using weapons. we need a national ban, universal background checks and a domestic terrorism law as a start. we need it at a national level. coming up, who is responsible? a new poll shows where americans stand on mass shootings in this country. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc.

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welcome back. breaking news right now. the fairfax county police department tweeted they're responding to reports of a man with a weapon. updates to follow sfpd. we want to cross over to the washington bureau chief, susan pate. she joins us live to talk about this. we don't have details other than this came out of the account of the fairfax county police. talk to us about where the gannett building is located. >> this is the main headquarters for the gannett company and "usa today" in suburb virginia near tyson's corner mall. that's a familiar landmark for a lot of people. i'm told my co-workers have been evacuated from the building.

that happened just a few minutes ago, they're outside, not sure what's happening. we've also heard reports of a person with a gun, but that has not been confirmed. so we're in kind of a wait-and-see mood at the moment. my colleagues tell me there are a lot of police officers on the scene now. >> very quickly, susan, talk to us a little bit about how many people go to work every day at that building between all the offices on the gannett side, "usa today" side and how heavily protected is it? >> this is a very large office building with two towers. you see it sometimes if you're driving to dulles airport. thousands of people work in that area, hundreds of people were surely in the building at the point of the evacuation. it includes not only gannett and "usa today," but also other businesses that lease offices in that building. >> susan, how much security is at the building that is assigned to the building permanently? can you talk about that. is there an open area that is

part of the building where passerbys or onlookers can easily access it from the street? >> no. you have to go through a security checkpoint to get into the building. you need to have a permanent building pass or check in at the guard's desk. that's pretty standard procedure here in the washington, d.c. area. if you want to get into the parking garage, you need a security pass that opens the gate or get a pass from the guard gate there. so there is security at the building, but, of course, it's in the suburbs it's not one of the high security areas, not the kind of security you might see at the white house or the pentagon. but there is regular, consistent security at this site. >> as you can see from the screen that we've put up, the image we've put up, we're putting out pictures of mclean, virginia, where you can see crowds are actually spilling out a little bit into that area, evacuating the building. i want to read to our viewers

and you as well, this write-up from "usa today" with a little more detail describing the scene. "usa today" headquarters in mclean, we're being evacuated after police reported a man with a weapon at the suburb an washington building. alarms, law enforcement officers with rifles, body armor were patrolling the area and a helicopter hovered overhead. let me ask you, susan, as someone who has worked in that building, do you know if any protocol has been put in place because of how much we as a nation, as media organizations, institutions have been on sauch heightened state of alarm that your organization has some kind of protocol in place if there was a security threat that were to unfold? >> yes, absolutely. we've always had some security protocols. those have gotten more serious in the past few years as there's been violence generally in our country and also violence

threatened against reporters and journalists and news organizations. after the annapolis shooting we tightened security further. we've had briefings with everyone about what to do and that includes not only tyson's headquarters but also elsewhere for people with "usa today" and gannett work. >> susan, i'll ask you to stay with us. we have confirmation from "usa today" and the fairfax county police department t gannett building in mclean, virginia, has been evacuated as police respond to reports of a man with a gun there. we'll take a quick break. stay with us. fast... ...and brake too hard. with feedback to help you drive safer. giving you the power to actually lower your cost. unfortunately, it can't do anything about that.

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and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. ♪ welcome back everyone. he's being called the walmart hero for helping people through the mass shooting. the walmart employee, he tells nbc news about the horror he encountered and how he helped shelter people from the shooter. >> there were people running

further and i went to make sure they were okay. on the side of the store i went from 50 to 60 people. once i got to sam's, i noticed customers with gunshot wounds to their legs and arms and customers had been shot in their back. i saw a baby coated in blood. it was horrible. i will never forget that. i will never forget the faces as they run out of the fire exhibit. joining us live from el pass pa texas, miguel almaguer. what are people learning more of

this heroism. >> reporter: he was walking all the people through and he was shocked of what was happening and trying to realize what was happening. he heard the first gunfire and immediately realize oh my god, this is gunfire and said he began to rush people out of the access. he certainly saves many lives as folks who are there. he led them outdoors and they were sitting outside the shipping containers. they could hear the gunfire where they were ringing out and certainly say they were paralyzed by fear and gilbert kind of led them into the place of safety and even as that was happening, he went back to the store realizing he can help more people. we are learning more story like that. >> miguel almaguer, live in el pa paso, thank you. coming up, who's responsible?

where americans stand on mass shootings in this country? you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. ♪ i can't believe it. that karl brought his karaoke machine? ♪ ain't nothing but a heartache... ♪ no, i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico. ♪ i never wanna hear you say... ♪ no, kevin... no, kevin! believe it! geico could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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explore cost support options. here, hello! starts with -hi!mple... how can i help? a data plan for everyone. everyone? everyone. let's send to everyone! [ camera clicking ] wifi up there? -ahhh. sure, why not? how'd he get out?! a camera might figure it out. that was easy! glad i could help. at xfinity, we're here to make life simple. easy. awesome. so come ask, shop, discover at your xfinity store today. a new usa today poll, america overwhelming points to several contributing factor including racism, white nationalism and loose gun laws.

susan, let me get to you right away. some contrasts between the two sides of what they think behind the phenomenon. >> 50% people we surveyed say president trump and his rhetoric plays a role in these mass shootings. it including interestingly one out of four republicans and that was a surprise to us. >> jonathan, as more people have connections to these stories. can we expect more minds to change as we saw what the representatives rather mike turner, republican, who has an nra rating of an a but supports an assault weapon ban. >> it takes massacres like these and big moments like these to try to change some hearts in some minds and that's what needs to happen to get people to move off their positions. this is not just one thing as

the cause for this. can someone just be plain evil? >> what we saw in el paso to me was just plain evil what happened there. >> it is interesting how wide you see of a gap politically. you look at the long list of mass shootings in this country realistically. can anything politically change? >> our survey as in previous surveys overwhelming willly ames support something like banning assault well upoapons. republicans report stricter gun laws. >> beto o'rourke and others suggested it is up to the future generations to do that. thank you both for your time. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." here is my friend ali velshi from "velshi & ruhle." >> thank you, we'll stay on top

of our story. hello everyone, it is wednesday, august 7th, coming up this hour on "velshi & ruhle." president trump is in dayton, ohio where he's scheduled to meet with first responders victims and families. we then head to el paso, texas. we want to remember the reason for his visit. the nine people killed on sunday morning in dayton's mass shooting. they are megan betts, saree sareed saleh and derek fudge and monica brickhous and nicholas cumer. >> we spoke to them all week of the horror they saw. >> i walked down the sidewalk and see a row of -- a row of