wallace starts right now. >> hi. there is something donald trump is worse at is the weather, but not for lack of trying. and talking about the hurricane response of hurricane dorian and the only problem with the plan was he named the residents of the wrong state and refused to back down until he was corrected. they tried to make sense of the botched storm chaser in chief. mr. trump boarded up mar-a-lago resort. the president golfed twice and since then pelted the american public with 122 tweets. he awaited landfall by assuming role of meteorologist in chief adding the usual routine of attacking his enemies and praise and critiquing the performance of his allies. and instead of looking steeped in the details of the slow

moving storm, motivated to act in the wake of another mass shooting, many of the president's tweets this weekend focused on the "washington post" story that got under his skin. the story that so irked the president was about his squandered summer, an attack one trump ally said today was among his private concerns. the post-writing this, the two months between independence and labor day offered a vivid portrait of the president. incompetent, indecisive, intolerant and ineffective. and quote, while monitoring the storm was apparently designed to help erase that image, it seems to have done anything but. it's hard to elicit a correction from the national weather service but after trump lumped alabama with a group of states in harm's way, officials were forced to put out this statement. quote, alabama will not see any impact from dorian. we repeat, no impacts from

hurricane dorian will be felt across alabama. the system remains too far east. that's the real news about the storm which remains dangerous. for more real news, we're happy to be joined by my friend, al roker. >> hi, nicolle. we're finally starting to see some movement and resolution. there are tropical winds along the coast as it gets closer. let's look at the latest from the national hurricane certainty. 105 miles north of fort pierce and 110 miles an hour winds. the watches continue from west palm beach for hurricane warnings to the east of charleston and watches for cape hatteras and they have tropical storm warnings as things start to finally die down. here's the path of the system. it's a quick mover now. will pick up more speed. daytona beach by tomorrow morning and then by eve, jacksonville. and maybe making landfall by

wilmington and a couple models, cape hatteras as well, and then it rockets into the atlantic although parts of new england may have to worry about it. the potential for storm surge is pretty good from vero beach to jacksonville and stronger along the carolina coastline. georgia coastline. charleston, high tides tomorrow around noon where we could see the problem. we're also talking about rainfall. could be isolated amounts up to 15 inches. generally 7-10 inches from fort pierce to cape hatteras. as it picks up speed, even though it's a category 2, i tell folks do not pay attention to the category, that's the important thing. as it goes to the north, the winds are coming around it and where you get the storm surge and heaviest rain and strongest winter.

folks along the georgia and carolina coastline are in danger and the florida coastline. >> let me ask you a question, because that's what we do, in all your time of covering storms, have you ever had an elected public official misdirect storm information? >> there was a few years ago in a blizzard here in new york with the mayor. we kind of had a back and forth, and my wife made me back down. >> i know your wife! >> as wives do. and, look, there have been a number of officials. >> have you seen the national weather serves correct an american president? >> no, i have not seen that. there you have it. >> i guess my other question for you, i could talk to you the whole hour but i won't do that. do you ever worry because we've been having this conversation

since late last week, do you ever worry about fatigue? i knew this when i worked for jeb bush, some of the evacuation concerns if you give them the results too early because fatigue sets in. >> there is a balance, if you wait too long, people can't make plans. especially, this was a labor day weekend in some of the most popular spots for this time of year. if you don't give people that lead time. folks realized and saw what was going on over the becomes. -- the bahamas. this sat over the bahamas 51 hours, and northwestern. it was a beast and still is a beast even if it is not a category 5. to your point, they never get it

right, i never saw that. there is potential for real danger and because it slows down and been so erratic, they understand caution being the better part of valor. >> they're glued to you and we're glued to you and so grateful. >> i will always stick with you. >> thank you, my friend. a sad but good excuse to talk to you. thank you, al. let's bring in phil from the "washington post" and jonathan and michael singleton and former aide to president george h.w. bush. let me start with the monser story this weekend, one trump ally told me part of the reason he might have responded and i believe is still responding as we come under some of the pillars is because he shares some of the same aides and worries his allies are worried

about. take us to what you reported. >> it was a pretty simple story. ashley parker and i wanted to take a look at the summer before the president's reelection campaign kicks into gear this fall. it's translationally been a period, as you well know -- traditionally been a period, as you well know, to push an agenda and get a place samessage to thy and get the political house in order before the campaign gets going. we started with july 4th, the fireworks, big speech and tribute to america and to trump. that turned out to be the pinnacle of the season because from there he started attacking the four congresswoman of color and the squad with the racist comment of go back to your countries you're from and attacked the city of baltimore and elijah cummings and the trip to france that was whipsaw

diplomacy and trump left our allies wondering about the state of american leadership. the president's aides and advisors publicly give trump a lot of victories for the summer but privately, they acknowledge this was really a missed opportunity and period of self-sabotage. >> this is the line i'm told, these kind of concerned keeps him up at night. trump's economy began to falter ping-ponging based on the president's erratic behavior. it's so subtle. this idea of his erratic behavior is something even his friends and allies acknowledge even from the outside concerns them as well. what is the thread that runs through this wasted summer? it would seem this erratic behavior spilling out in full view and not just used to rail against his perceived enemies of the justice department but

starting to unmore the global economy. >> if you just take the public comments and tweets and statements to reporters, there's no other way to describe it than erratic. the markets were in turmoil in late august. you heard from the president, yes, we're considering a tax cut, wait, no, we're not, yes, we are and, no, we're not. it was back and forth what the president really believed from a policy standpoint and what his administration was actually doing and take into consideration the trade war with china is more acrimonious and trump has been talking about there being an offering for many months and there hasn't. then he went abroad to france and couldn't get the message straight to china and expressed regrets and second thoughts and then went away from that. it left investors and everyday

americans wondering what is really going on here. >> i'm told there are a bucket of trump fans around his personal conduct, around the distasteful tweets and erratic nature and attacks on perceived enemies like comey and mueller and rosenstein and figures like that, that does not take away from his political standing, doesn't hurt him with his base. then, i'm told to look out for this conduct phil reported, erratic conduct that seems to destabilize the academy, that that's the flashing light for this president. >> yes, it is. first of all, it's terrific story i'm jealous of. they hit the nail on the head. this is a waste opportunity. summers before election campaign, you set the narrative and say, hey, i deserve four more years because of these arguments and start laying it

out, while the other side is in the middle of their primary battles, and you have the stage to yourself. >> there are some around that think the attack on the four congresswoman of color were effective. he met king jung up at the dm kim jong-un at the dmz, something i was part of. it's the economy, you're right. that's the biggest thing here. that is the number one reason for the election, handling a strong economy one he inherited from president obama, but it has been successful under his watch and allowed some to overlook distasteful conduct. i don't like this or that. but i can hold my nose because my small business is doing well, my bank account is doing well and wall street is doing well and the economy is doing well. if that starts to go away, he's

in trouble, particularly because the wounds seem personally inflicted like the trade war on china and leaves this president flailing right now because he has a sense the economy is slipping away and maybe his reelection, too. >> i know a little bit of running for reelection after your poll numbers have taken a beating. that was what george w. bush was in the year before the election year. one is to reassure your vulnerabilities. they appear incompetent. the performance of this hurricane, no one thinks a president can bend the arc of the storm. you have to grab the hanging fruit and we failed. donald trump did not turn in a performance this weekend that does anything to shore up his

competence narrative. >> it should have been a way to sure it up and how to respond to one of these things. >> let me point out another thing, the "new york times" found he did not even exceed that standard. george w. bush failed trying but donald trump didn't appear to try with all the trips to the golf course. >> he flies to camp david where he will monitor the storm. okay. what does he do? flies from camp david to the golf course and gets his 18 holes in. he was briefed on the course and he received the information about the storm, maybe, but he didn't project he was aware of it. it was made clear a couple days ago we would escape it. both days on weekend golfing sends off and erroneous tweet that alabama was in danger and

not that just he sent it off, he doubled down on it and said he was right all along. >> al roker in all his career has never seen the national weather service have to correct a sitting american president in the hour of great danger for a lot of people in the storm's path. >> donald trump could care less if he's tweeting something that puts lives in danger or deverts resources. he simply cares about his number one truth in himself. he believes personal truth, even if it is blatantly and demonstratebly wrong, he just has no problems fragrantly lying constantly. >> it is amazing elise, we spent a lot of the couple first two years, is there nothing sacred? clearly not. is there nothing that chills him to the bone and shushes him, clearly not and not even silenced, but slowed.

the tweets we don't want to put them all up or amplify the lunacy. but he is tweeting at an increased clip from you and phil's great reporting is increased anxiety, that you are describing. >> i was on your show a few weeks ago in the middle of donald trump's going to the hospital in dayton and el paso, and on that day he is meeting victim members and people who lost loved ones he's tweeting away on political rivals. >> he was attacking joe biden. >> it is a special low and this is another special low and comes in the aftermath of his summer of racism, constantly playing the race card, attacking elijah cummings and gloating over his home being robbed.

and then telling congresswoman to go back home. now, with the recession, you see how the pressure points of being called a racist, he doesn't like it and doesn't think he is because he doesn't put enough thought into thinking about what being a racist is. he hated that label and that coupled with the looming recession worries, he is definitely not a calm or stable actor right now, not that he ever really has been. >> let me read you a little bit more from phil's piece and ask you to elaborate. let me give you trump's response and then ask phil to elaborate on additional reporting. this is trump's response. the amazon "washington post" did a story that i brought racist attacks against the "squad." no, they brought racist attacks against our nation. all i do is call them out for the horrible things they said. the democrats have become the party of "the squad." this is where jonathan is talking about doubling down and

quadrupling down. >> facts don't matter. the president had an opportunity, i would argue, to paint the democratic party at large politically speaking as socialistesque if you look at the policies. i think some of the remarks in the past have been problematic and most agree with that statement. however, my point to the president would be when you tweet racist crap and say racist crap, more than likely people will believe you're a racist. it's just that simple. to what you're talking about in the economy, the president promised to bring back manufacturing jobs. where is the promise? he promised to build a wall. where is that promise? he promised to attack opioids, where is that promise? the only thing he has left is this economist. the economy is starting to slow down indicates it's pretty much split between americans no longer giving this president

credit for the economy. if you are a moderate republican or independent leaning, what will allow you to continue to support this guy if this economy falters? there is nothing left. >> it's a good point. a lot of people voting on the economy is psychology, feeling like, well, i haven't seen it in my own bottom line. let's face it, a lot of people have it. if that psychology goes away, he loses -- i would say the single most important sort of argument he has for his own reelection. >> that's an important point, nicolle. that's how the president sees it, too, according to my own reporting. he understands he has the ability with his megaphone, to shape the psychological and how people might feel about the economy, the market might dip or

things could happen to bring on an economic down turn. if he continues to proclaim the economy is roaring, great, bringing back all these jobs and all the coal miners are back to work and no plants are shutting down and everyone's 401(k)s are great, people might be optimistic and president trump's view and why he's so fixated about getting the message out on twitter and elsewhere about the economy. it can only hold so long but if there is a down turn people will feel it. you write about the president's advisors and outside allies bemoan what was an opportunity and sabotage. and you talked about crashing through the guard rail as this hurricane bears down. we should remind our viewers there is an acting deputy of

homeland security and acting deputy fema administrator and in your reporting, you sort of tie together all these dynamics really contributing to unprecedented political weakness even during this presidency. >> that's right, nicolle and shows instability of these acting directors. one i would add is chief of staff, nick mulvaney brought on in january but that's nine months, in the ninth month of chief of staff. there's not permanence in the agencies and they don't speak with the same authority and voice they would have if they were senate confirmed or in the case of the white house chief of staff permanently named to the position. >> absolutely true. no one is going anywhere. after the break, with america's gun epidemic turning into a clear and present danger for

americans everywhere, donald trump blinks on gun reform again. democrats step into the void adding urgency to a debate republicans have been content to see grind to a halt during a summer marked by one deadly mass shooting and another. conflict of interest? a tax funded flight. and his subordinates lining the pockets of his company. that doesn't make it right, does it? we'll explain all those stories, coming up. explain all those sto, coming up. his father was a miner, they were immigrants from italy and somewhere along the way that man changed his name and transformed himself into a successful mid-century american man. he had a whole life that i didn't know anything about. he was just my beloved grandpa. bring your family history to life like never before. get started for free at ancestry.com bring your family history to life like never before. so that early retirement we planned. it's going ok?

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nicolle. first responders, law

enforcement, police, the fbi, governor abbott, incredible, the job they did is tragic, but they did an incredible job under the circumstances. another very sick person. i just want to thank everybody involved, and always, you say, as bad as it was, it could have been worse. >> could have been worse? not a word about the victims terrorized? that is how far down the rabbit hole we've fallen. not only is donald trump bent over backward for the nra, now, it seems he's abandoned all pretense of what a leader is expected to say and do at times like these. to him, shootings are fact of life. in reality, it's risen to the level of a national crisis. the "new york times" reported in august started and end ed with a mass shooting, 53 people died. the latest this weekend in west

texas, authorities now say 7 are dead, 22 are injured, including a 17-month-old girl. and a recently trucking company and hijacking a u.s. postal truck before dying in a firefight with police. while that particular mass shooting did nothing to move things in the white house. at least walmart announced new action insisting the status quo is unacceptable and they will stop selling handguns and ammunition used in military style weapons. and also asks customers not to carry firearms in their stores. from real clear politics. phil is still here at the table. it's reaching a surreal level where it keeps happening, we keep posing the same questions. other than beto dropping the "f"

bomb, i'm not sure anyone in public life is masking the moment most people feel, which is hunted.ragedy that we have, in several from thinking these things, you know, rarely movie theaters and churches, at concerts. you're not safe anywhere but an airport. >> that's the whole state. he got in a car and terrorized and entire state. and donald trump thanked law enforcement. he said it could have been worse. the entire state is terrorized. i don't know. mitch is going to wait for donald to do something and donald is going wait for mitch. what is happening? >> when you saw this, he

equivocated and again after the shootings in day and to el paso, talking about how it's time to do something on background checks before he retreats. he really feels the pressure and wants to do something, both because it's the right thing to do and feels politically, he must. then, you say, there will be another shooting, and then that's when you think he will feel more pressure. very strange to hear before congress even returned, not even feigning interest and passing red flag legislation would be helpful but is not a background check. it just is remarkable to me he is not even putting on a show of trying to say we're at the table on this issue and at least get

down into serious negotiations before the congress even comes back. >> what is amazing to me, jonathan, for a president who cares about not one issue, not one issue, but only the metric of strength and weakness, there is nothing weaker than looking like a complete wholly owned subsidiary of the nra. >> what you saw there is how he responds to most mass shootings. he always makes the focus on the law enforcement and first responders. >> they're heroes. >> they deserve credit. one of his advisors say for him he feels those resonate and are his base. he doesn't want to talk about the victims because, one, he can't do it on a sympathetic level and doesn't want to talk about guns. there is something in white house something will come of this. probably small. maybe the red flag, as just said, perhaps emphasis on mental health or small measure on background checks.

there isn't any sort of sweep or reform unless this president really steps forward and exerts capital to do so and giving republicans cover. there's no evidence he will do that and there's no sense he will take any step on a few small things in part that perhaps the nra won't support them but not oppose them too much but if he can get something across he won't be asked to do more. >> phil rucker, it's an imperfect parallel and comes to mind. after charlottesville, why doesn't he come out and rebuke david duke and every white nationalist and every white supremacist and everyone that comes close to representing that world view. this person said he doesn't want to deprive himself of a single voter. if he was too afraid of defending a white supremacist, what in god's name will he be doing to defend a gun enthusiast? >> there is nothing. in the aftermath of the el paso

and dayton shootings, he, trump that he wanted to have stronger background checks, time to do something, and he buckled under the pressure of the nra and lobbying of wayne lapierre and calculation of threats made to him of him possibly losing this cornerstone portion of his political base as he heads into reelection. he basically seems afraid of it right now. i would be very surprised if he advocated for any actual gun measures. i think jonathan's right, there will be some sort of package of something to show he's responsive to these shootings but much more likely to be in the mental health-based or other towards of criminal penalties opposed to actual gun restrictions or expansion of the background check program. >> it's so amazing he's more afraid of the nra than 89% of the american public. here are the numbers for

background checks. 89% of the american public powered background checks. 76% supports red flag laws. i bet if more knew what they were that number would be higher. buy back programs gets 75% and assault weapons ban gets 62%. i don't know how many things in american politics get 89, 76, 75 and 62% support from anyone anymore. >> from the bare minimum of universal background checks to banning certain weapons, it still has the overwhelming majority of the country's support, not just the republican party, but the country. if you broke those numbers down even further, i guarantee you would find pretty much the majority of republicans also support universal background checks. i belabored this time and time again. i was foxed doing focus groups

in mississippi and tennessee, with gun owners, everyone is a proud second amendment supporter and gun owners telling and saying adamantly something had to be done. there were very common sense measures that could be taken like banning high volume magazines, universe background checks and person to person transfer, absolutely ridiculous you can buy and ak or ar with no paper trail in certain states if it's a person to person transfer. the republican party under trump, the establishment leadership, they are out of step with their actual voters on this issue say for the tiny sliver that are the hard core total nra enthusiasts. >> democrats could write a bill written by gun owners. gun owners support all those steps because legal gun owners have to do all those things. gun owners support background checks and support red flag laws

and buy back programs and assault weapons. lawful gun owners have to abide by the things not being done by trump and mcconnell. >> i approach this from two different perspectives. i one lost my father to gun violence and an avid gun shooter. i enjoy shooting. i believe not every single person should have a gun. that's a fact. there's a great responsibility that comes to owning these things, a lot of danger that one could cause. ask folks in montana that lost their fathers or brothers to suicide because the gun was so easily in the home. you talk about brecking down the polls to majority of voters, say background checks, we're for it. red flag, we're for it. make it tougher to purchase at gun shows, we're for those things because the responsible individual will go through the proper process and training to own these things. the president has an opportunity

to do these things right now. the nra is at its weakest financially. why isn't he doing something on this? >> phil rucker, you want to weigh in on how long before someone comes to trump and says, hey, you want to look strong, do something on guns? >> well, i actually think perhaps he's heard that argument or heard that argument in the media, which we know he's a vorvacious consumer of. there are a few states he wants to lock down in his path to reelection. one is pennsylvania. there are a lot of supporters in pennsylvania and a lot back the gun measures, why the senator pat toomey has been such an advocate for background checks all these years and a chance for trump to win the suburban women who have deserted him during his

presidency very well may be background checks, a calculation he has to be thinking about and considering in months ahead, a good point you way. >> it's unknowable what the effects of el paso will be and i wouldn't be surprised if they are talking about this issue and everything else. beto is back and so is his "f" bomb, deservedly so, democrats once again channeling american outrage in the gun control debate. tough talk with donald trump and mitch mcconnell. plus, we go to the coast of florida where hurricane dorian is moving dangerously closer to shore. sly closer to shore.

we're getting our first look at new images of the devastation of the bahamas abaco islands

pummeled by hurricane dorian stalled more than a day. thousands of homes believed to have been damaged or destroyed. five deaths reported and the community is just beginning to survey the full destruction there. the bahamas prime minister calling dorian an historic tragedy and moving dangerously close to florida's east coast. gabe is live now from jensen beach, florida. how is it looking and how are people feeling and is everyone heeding the warnings being given to them? >> reporter: hi there, nicolle. i can't tell you. the florida coast seems to be breathing a sigh of relief this storm has mostly stayed offshore. we had intermittent rain bands throughout the day but in martin county, evacuation orders have been lifted and remain further up the coast. as you are saying we are seeing

images of destruction in the bahamas and destruction. five have been announce dead but expected to grow. as this storm moves farther up the coast, there is concern other areas in georgia and south carolina can be impacted and 50-50 chance for a direct hit and carolinas. more than a million people throughout the southeast have already been put under evacuation orders and is a huge concern over the next couple of days. where i'm standing in jensen beach there was an evacuation ordered over the last day or so but now there is a chance this moves on without any major impact, at least to this area. local officials are warning people throughout the florida coast not be complacent. there is still the possibility of tropical storm conditions as

this massive storm weakened to a category 2 but could still bring some impact further up the coast in florida. >> i sound like your mother, keep your phone charged, stock water. thank you, my friend. there is reporting about missed opportunities. donald trump is a builder and in all seriousness has an opportunity right now. it's never over when you're the american president, get on a helicopter and get over there and promise the full might of everything he and we can do to help rebuild. electric at this. this is a human tragedy. this is devastation on a scale i'm not sure the becomes has seen. >> it's like a massive tornado moving through. >> right. >> destroyed -- entire towns were gone. that island in particular, not the most populous, devastation that will grow dramatically.

this would be a moment for the president to step up and lend a hand to a neighbor and say, we'd like to help out. remember, there are american citizens in puerto rico he let down in his response to that hurricane two years ago and there are still disputes over funding there that country desperately needs. when he went on a visit to rally them and to show sympathy ended up throwing paper towels like basketball. he hasn't shown he's particularly adept at doing. >> i wish i could get rid of the urge to stop asking why, why isn't someone with the power of the president become interested in rebuilding something mother nature takes away. obviously in puerto rico, there was blame and his response was anemic and tone was a disgrace. like that character that forgets everything and tattoo everything on their body. why not start anew and turn on fox news and say, i will help

them. >> great movie. two-fold. you're right. first, it would be a display of power. i'm the president of the united states and we're the united states and we will help you out. and the imagery and optics would be good. you want to show you're a leader to get out there and do something about it. >> do some good. >> he has shown no interest. >> it's an opportunity to do good helping other presidents. i remember george w. bush had bill clinton and former president bush after the tsunami. a normal american president would be still helping puerto rico, why doesn't it move him? >> interesting, his moves are so narrow, not only was he not moved by puerto rico, he continues to attack puerto rico. >> like last week. >> even in the wake before this showed up, he seemed to blame puerto rico being in the ocean

and in the path of a storm. there's no question, he could mobilize the power of this united states government and certainly, there would be undoubtedly huge charitable organizations to help out this island and he could put the government behind it and do some good here and to this point, he hasn't shown an interest. >> we know it isn't from history, these are images of the abaco islands totally wiped out. some great presidents and presidents he seemed to be obsessed with, looked at destruction after tsunamis and earthquakes and tried to do something. maybe he will, too. time will tell. we will sneak in a break. we'll be right back. be right ba.

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of them advocating for some form of action this labor day weekend. >> i do not know what the motivation is for the firearms used or how they fired them, but we do know this is [bleep] up. >> we do know this is time for politics to act, support common sense gun safety legislation into place. >> the answer is the trump and republican leadership are intimidated by the nra. that's about it. that's the whole deal. >> they've been having great ideas for decades. they want to get congress to act. if they don't -- >> every one of them right on all those points. interestingly, there are differences in how a few candidates approach the debate typified by the two people many would identify as front runners. >> do you see a come mapromise e made with republicans and

democrats on guns and asking for background checks? >> i don't know what that means? [inaudible] that's part of what legislation is all about. >> any compromise it is no comp. this is one that we have to push and push. everyone is back. we have drawn into service, garret haake, is on the road. we also showed you kamala harris and julian castro and all of them making point they are here. democrats clearly have the public behind the things they are saying in the context of the presidential contest. >> garret. >> reporter: yes, nicole, yeah, that's right. the idea of expanded background

checks alone, you can't over state how rare that is in our divided politics right now to get 90% support for anything at all. as i listen to answers of compromise or not compromise, i am going to tilt towards biden's approach here not being able to compromise based purely on historical precedent here. there is a reason these things have not been done in the past. you touched on it earlier. this does seem like the kind of thing which this president, donald trump is actually in a rare position here. he's such a non traditional republican. he's somebody that could break with the nra, would suffer consequences himself and provide cover for republicans. if in 2021. we are looking at a democratic control white house, maybe a democratic control senate, i do think this is something democrats are going to have to muscle through on their own as

you see the republican party slip back in mode. this president could provide cover that's not doing it. >> you have condition covering all week, how are they doing? >> reporter: it is tough, i met someone at the gym this morning who was one of the people shot in front of his wife and child. everyone here is in new orleans gas business or supporting in some capacity. most people know someone who's affected by it or if they were not affected by them. the luckiest person, somebody that's lucky that was shot twice. he was lucky because he was hit in the leg, managed to survive. he talked a lot about what that was like. he was sort of fatalistic.

there is this feeling as we talked about on this program before. there is really two types of communities when it comes to this. there does seem to be this fatalistic sense that this is the america that we are living in now. >> garret has spent a lot of time covering beto o'rourke. he has his bright moment when he's doing two things, one for better or worse dropping an f-bomb in a moment adequately describing what something is and responding to the tragedy of his own state. >> i think these two tragedies have given him the opportunity since he's also no longer in congress to really blanket the state and speak solely to this

issue with great passion and stand out because he's from texas. n i don't know if the f-bombs are necessary but candidates like to make t-shirts after they say something that goes viral. he's also missing one component of the messaging that we talked about on your show before which was none of the drms seem to be telling voters how essential it is if they get majority in the senate. this is really something they need to translate to voters that if even one -- 93 support for universal background checks. high support for banning semiautomatics. voters need to be single issue on gun control gujust like gun

right voters are single issues simply on this issue. they have to help each other on registered voters and they need to make a difference in the senate race. that really becomes the threat to republican gridlock on this issue and to president trump retrieving and pounding the nra. that's what needs to happen besides talking the floor. >> i think what twerk this issue around in the other way and i think all of this sort of ground work, we saw the fruits of some of it and the parkland kids had an effect and work people went out and voted on this issue. i think being in the pocket of the nra is the default of the republican position, not advocating for law fuful gun

owners. i think democrats had the real opportunity to turn this issue around them. >> i think they started to and i agree with your analysis, we are seeing tractions that we have not seen in previous cycles i think the parkland kids ignited a movement that's sustaining and expanding and got their parents engaged and registered so many voters in every rally they had and these kids are going to grow up and from all signs that i could see from following their movement, they're still continuing it. you look at 2018 impacting midterms and the joke that every district had a whole foods flipped four and turned democrats and those educated women who were abig part of that does not seem like they're suddenly -- yeah, i want completely unfeathered gun regulation. >> now, i think that's right.

i think that's a prime moment for democrats here. whether it is congressman o'rourke or someone else. it is a real powerful winning issue. garret, thank you you ffor joins on the road and all your reporting. we'll sneak in our last break and we'll be right back. we'll sneak in our last break and we'll be right back. we always knew we had a lot of life ahead of us. (mom) remember this? (mom vo) that's why we chose a car that we knew would be there for us through it all. (male vo) welcome to the all-new 2019 subaru forester. the longest-lasting, most trusted forester ever. woman: (on phone) discover. 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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thanks to jonathan lemire and alicia. >> most of all if you are in the path of the storm, please stay safe. chuck todd with "meet the press" starts now. >> if it is tuesday, hurricane dorian is heading towards the u.s. after slamming the bahamas. tracking the devastation and the connection between strong storms and