that is our show for the day. "am joy" will be back tomorrow. alex whit has a huge show. you have a lot of candidates. >> i know i do. we have such a big eye trained on new hampshire and so much going on from the bahamas, north carolina. in other words, stay tuned and buckle up, everybody. we've got a lot coming your way. thank you, my friend. i'll see you in the morning. a good day for you. high noon here in the east, 9 a.m. out west.

welcome to "weekends with alex whit." >> today is the big new hampshire state democratic party convention and what you see is people essentially walking down the middle of the road. >> she kind of is this just source of passion that i haven't felt in politics in my entire life. >> show of force in new hampshire. what the democratic presidential candidates are saying with the convention underway right now. a life and death mission in the bahamas, saving the injured and finding the unaccounted for after hurricane dorian. trump resort controversy. congress looking into military sleepovers at one of the president's golf courses. it involves millions of dollars. and a new poll in a key battleground state may ignite more vitreole from the president. we begin this very busy hour with 20/20 vision. they are set on winning voters and endorsements. the nation's first state to hold a primary election.

contenders are taking the stage. they are intending to ignite their campaigns five months before the state's election. take a listen to what they had to say earlier to rally their supporters to defeat president donald trump in 2020. >> we've got to beat donald trump, but beating donald trump is the floor, it is not the ceiling. beating donald trump gets us out of the valley but it does not get us to the mountain top. >> now there's a noise machine making it almost impossible to hear the alarm bells ripping in our everyday lives. americans are looking at prescription drug prices and wondering how they're going to be able to buy groceries and the president's got us arguing over whether to buy greenland. >> the core values of this nation, our standing in the world, very democracy, everything that's made in america is at stake and everyone knows who donald trump is. now we have to show them who we are. >> following all of the action

is vaughn hilliard and mike memele. vaughan, i'm going to start with you here. not only have you been talking with supporters and campaign volunteers, you've spoken to several candidates. in general, how are they feeling today? >> reporter: exactly. things started rolling around 2, 3 a.m. this morning, alex. to give you an idea, you've got 19 presidential candidates here. the new hampshire primary is five months away. this is an opportunity. each of them have ten minutes to speak here at the state convention. you have 1400 delegates here in new hampshire from the state party. those are state officials, those are your party activists from all over the state. they all descend here on this saturday and this is their opportunity to not only hear from the candidates but also engage with the field organizers that the campaigns have brought onto the ground. we also caught up with a couple of the dants that met up with those volunteers and organizers as they entered the arena this morning. this is a few of our conversations. >> the last few days is when a lot of voters make up their minds but i think in these weeks

and months ahead is when the ground game comes into place that is actually going to deliver us the win. >> i am very excited about this being a moment in america where we begin to refocus in on the campaign. so i'm really excited about building to win. >> we are prepared to fight for our country, to fight for the soul of our country. it is a fight borne out of love and this is a fight we will win. >> and that last person you just heard from that we talked to heading into the arena was senator kamala harris from california. she's now taking the stage in downtown manchester. >> vaughan hilliard, thank you for that. let's go to mike memele who's nearby in a hallway but you can still hear the crowds behind you. what are people saying to you? >> reporter: well, alex, i've been roaming around the hallways of the convention all morning. i think we might have found the best spot all morning.

off to my left you have a great straight on view of the stage. you can see all the speakers. if you pan off to my right you can see the bar and a lot of the firefighters. this is the spot where actually former vice president joe biden, the front-runner for the democratic nomination, he was one of the first speakers to take the stage here. as soon as he was done, he came here into this box, spent about an hour talking to some of the firefighters union members, top state political leaders who swung by the booth. this is an important moment as vaughan said before the likes of joe biden in terms of polling but also for the candidates, especially the candidates even who haven't qualified for the debate stage. i will say having listened not just to the presidential candidates who have spoken here so far but also some of the local state elected officials, some of the national party officials, there's been one applause line that generates the most enthusiasm of all and that is the idea that no matter what happens here both in the new hampshire primary and the rest of the nomination path going forward, the party needs to

unite behind whoever that winner is going forward. that's the line that's generating the most applause here so far, alex. >> mike memele, it looks like you got a bit of an upgrade from a hallway to a sky box. candidate and former hud secretary julio castro got off the stage. he has time to catch his breath and make his way to our camera. thank you for joining me. awfully good to see you. >> good to see you. >> how do you think your message is resonating there? >> we've got a great reception here in new hampshire. i spoke a little while ago and what i told folks here in new hampshire is that we need to move forward as one nation and work towards one destiny to become smarter, healthier, fairer, more prosperous for everybody as a country. to do that we have to beat donald trump in november of 2020 and if we're going to beat donald trump we have to get people off the sidelines.

i told them what i've been telling americans throughout the country which is that in this campaign i've been getting more and more support, building up momentum. i'm looking forward to the debate on thursday. i can reassemble the 2008 obama coalition and then take that to the next level so that we can go back and win in michigan, wisconsin, and pennsylvania but also in florida and in test states like arizona, my home state of texas and in georgia. that's the way we're going to beat donald trump. >> who do you think is his biggest competition in coalescing this obama competition? who has a hold on that at this point? >> well, i think that that's up for grabs. i believe that that coalition of young, diverse communities is completely up for grabs in this election and we still have five months to go before iowa and new hampshire actually vote. so i see this phase of the

campaign that we just started for the september and october debates as a totally new phase. people are now going to be drilling down and looking at these ten candidates. i'm going to work hard here in new hampshire and iowa and all of the early states and in every state because i've pledged to visit every single state in this country on the debate to deliver that message. people are responding. i think that sometimes there's this conventional wiggs come to that one or two candidates, you know, have a lock on this. people are looking for a new generation of leadership and somebody that can bring people together, excite young people in our country and beat donald trump in november 2020 and i know that i can do that. >> look, it is clear that you are undeterred. what is the message that you believe you can deliver that will attract that coalition of which we're speaking right now? >> well, what we're going to

deliver is the ability of every single american to reach his or her dreams. i'm in public service because, you know, i grew up in a single-parent household, went to the public schools of san antonio. had the opportunity to get a great higher education and i've been able to reach my dreams. i got into politics because i wanted to make sure everybody could reach theirs. in this time when we have a president that is cutting off opportunity for people, people are hungry for somebody that's going to bring the country together and spark opportunity for everybody. i believe that everybody counts and that that's a powerful message for people in america and people are going to respond. >> on a personal note, i know that we spoke about your book which was chronicling your life as that was being launched and it does a wonderful job of portraying your life and has brought you to where you are now. just a little plug for the book there. but i do want to ask you about the president and his diverting military funding to build his wall. what can democrats do to stop

that? is there a resolution that can do it? what can be done? >> i hope they do everything they can in congress to push back. you know, we control the house of representatives but democrats don't control the senate. obviously they don't control the executive branch. my hope is that democrats in the house will immediately launch a review and to take money that is going to improper the quantity of our troops. put it instead to a border wall that hardly anybody wants and is much less defective so donald trump can keep a dubious. i have no doubt that there are also organizations looking at

whether a lawsuit can be filed to stop that kind of shifting over of money that was intended for another person, but when it points to is we need a new sane nate and majority leader in 2020. we are working to bri together donald trump and dpeet mitch mcconnell at 12:01 p.m. have a democratic house and democratic center. instead of treating migrants with cruelty, treat them with compassion and common sense. >> you were from texas. you have been successful in texas as a politician, mayor of san antonio. is texas in play? can democrats make in roads to the potential of success in the state of texas come november next year?

>> texas is in play and one of the best ways to tell that right now is what's happened with all of these republican congressional representatives that are resigning. already we had five congressional republicans that have been in there for years announce that they're retiring, and they're doing that not because they suddenly don't care about the power that they have, they're doing it because they don't want to lose. they see the writing on the wall. as your viewers will know, every time you see that kind of stampede of retirements from one party, it usually means that in the next election the period is going to do pretty well. that happened and they announced their retirement. it's shaping up this year also in 2020. >> it's also happening in the suburbs of dallas, houston,

boston, san antonio, and that is matched by a demographic change in that state, not only from the has pin anything community but moving from other states and moderate that state and turn it into elections. that will all add up and i am confident if i am the nominee we can get the 38 electoral votes. if i can do that, it's game over for donald trump and mitch mcconnell. >> you mentioned the wide presumption there are a couple of front-runners. we'll talk about joe biden in that regard as he is at this point the clear front-runner in the field. it appears most of the others are chasing him. how do you perceive your path to the nomination given not only joe biden but those candidates ahead of you. yes, you are on the debate stage and have done a great job of making great points when you are on that stage before. there are nine other people. what are you going to do this week on the debate?

>> well, look, i'm going to capture the energy behind what democrats want to see in our country, behind a president who understands that everybody counts, who reflects the diversity of this country and who is a new generation leader because i believe americans want that right now. every time democrats have succeeded in the modern era of presidential campaigns, whether it was kennedy or carter or bill clinton or barack obama, it's because a new generation of leadership has come up and united people around a strong vision, a positive vision for the future. i've offered that positive strong vision for the future of our country and throughout this campaign we've been getting stronger and stronger, especially with young people. i had a young woman come up to me a few weeks ago in iowa and say i'm so excited because by the time we have the iowa caucus

i'll be 18 and i can vote and i'm going to vote for you. that kind of energy and spirit is what we need in this campaign to win. i'm looking forward to thursday. people will get another sense of who we are as candidate and what type of president we will be. i believe as i get a chance to do that and raise my name i.d. and compete against the nine other candidates that i'll get more support. we're going to continue that. by the time iowa comes around, i can be a front-runner. >> here's something i'm going it to applaud you for. it is a pretty loud, raucous arena behind you and it is clear you can stay very focused on only what's right in front of you and the issues. thank you very much for chatting with me under the loud circumstances. good luck thursday. >> thank you. let's go to breaking news, everyone. hurricane dorian, we are not done with it yet. it is ravaging north carolina's outer banks as it races up the coast. this is how cape hatteras

looked. the cars are stuck in the rising flood waters and not swept away. more than 800 people caught up in floods in north carolina's outer banks. one town over, ocracoke remains under water. the governor sending food, drinking water, rescue teams as well. let's move from there to the bahamas. ground zero for dorian's destruction. we have new areas showing in the grand bahama island. this was the main damage done in abacos. residents returning to wide open spaces where their homes once stood. they're picking through the rubble. the death toll has climbed to 43. it is expected to dramatically rise. it is the storm that won't quit. it's kicking up surf in nantucket and martha's vineyard. 85-mile-an-hour winds and drenching rains expected in maine as well as canada.

tracking dorian for us at this hour, nbc's david guerra joins us from naggs head and morgan chesky is joining us from the bahamas. morgan, we'll go to you first. the rescue efforts, daunting to say the least. >> reporter: yeah, alex, good afternoon. sorry. we are having some interference issues because of the active rescue efforts that are ongoing behind me. we have military helicopters that have been flying out as of first light going to abaco island which took the brunt of dorian's power when that hurricane 5 moved through here. the thing that we're starting to see today that we haven't seen in prior days is the relief effort starting to ramp up. we have tents 100 yards behind us that have basically opened up for everyone flying in from abaco island to give them food, water and a little bit of

clothing and set them with what they need for the next few days. a lot of people coming in today have family members and friends on new providence where nassau's located and they're trying to get reunited because there's simply nothing left behind. we do know that that relief effort is going to take off in a big way today with the arrival of u.s.a. i.d. they're taking helicopters over to abaco island. they're setting up a rescue area there. volunteers or members of that agency going essentially door to door with what's left of a lot of these neighborhoods to make sure that there is no survivor trapped there that needs to be rescued. they're going to be assisting the coast guard in those rescues because while they're them and hoisting them up. this is still a search and rescue effort. in the meantime, we know that death toll sits at 43 but a very

sad thing to hear from government officials is that they anticipate that number to go up significantly. we don't know exactly what that means but we do anticipate an update from them later today. meanwhile, just to the west on grand bahama, flooding still a significant concern there. so as the sun comes out today, we do know the relief efforts are coming. meanwhile, hundreds of people though still stranded, becoming more dehydrated, m hungry as the days go by. alex? >> morgan chesky, nassau and the bahama islands. david is at nags island. the sun comes out today but lots of destruction it has revealed. >> reporter: yeah. where i'm standing now is emblematic of the worst destruction we've seen in the northern parts of the outer banks. you can see around me a ton of 2x4s and air conditioners that

slid off the roofs and the electrical boxes were just peeled off. i'm going to step over here and be careful because there are a lot of nails. if you can pull back we have a drone flying overhead. you can see how close we are to the atlantic ocean. this is very much like many condo complexes up and down the outer banks. the roof and building to my right literally slid off onto the building to my left into the parking lot beyond that. these two facilities have a lot to do. roof i roofing is part of that in places that are normally incredibly difficult to get to. there's a ferry you have to take from hatteras to ocracoke. to get past this major bridge

that takes you there, you have to be military or power. we saw helicopters taking off. they're carrying supplies. they a they're assessing what's taking place down the street. the governor roy cooper is stepping out. i understand this one is a 40 minute ferry ride from hatteras. the first ferry of medical relief has come from swan quarter to ocracoke. >> at least a sliver of hope for the beleaguered people. the questions being raised about a military layover at the president's scotland golf resort and we're of course monitoring the state democratic convention in manchester. you're going to hear from some of the candidates this hour.

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new today, questions over a potential conflict of interest involving the presidency and trump properties. congressional investigators are looking into military stopovers that may have helped the trump resort in scotland. nbc's mike haveviquera is with . mike, what is this all about? >> reporter: you're absolutely right, alex. nbc news has learned that the house oversight committee is

looking into and investigating a sudden increase at a small private airport called presswick near turn bury golf course near that location in scotland. it happens to be very close to it. in a letter to the department of defense dated june 11th, three months ago now, the committee says that military -- the military has made 629 purchases of fuel costing a total of 11 million and the implication is that they're doing this at a private airport near the president's golf course. there are many military bases scattered throughout europe. they could stop there. the gas is much cheaper there. why are they stopping at presswick? again, the implication is the survival of this airport, which has had a lot of financial trouble, is vital to turnberry. the washington post has reported turnberry lost $4.5 million in 2017 but had a slight turn

around, a revenue increase of $3 million in the next year. so the implication, as a matter of fact that's explicit in the letter that the committee wrote, is that the president is, again, violating the emoluments clause as has been alleged before several times including the trump hotel just down the street here. so that's the story here. the guardian is also reporting a british newspaper that u.s. air men can stay at turnberry, get discounted rounds of golf and discounted room rates if they do stay there. so a lot of reporting here by politico, the guardian, the washington post and nbc news. alex. >> if we're going to do that they might as well discount the bar and food tabs because it's expensive there. >> yeah. >> apparently way exceeds the daily budget that these officials from the military are given for the day. mike, thank you for that. joining me, tessa berenson and john harwood, cnbc's editor at large. with a welcome to both of you. john, you first here. what do you make of the red

flags that were highlighted in the reports? >> reporter: they're really red and i think that it's more examples with either his political when i ams, his personal when i ams or personal businesses. remember, we've had this issue in a financial sense with foreign governments doing business with trump tower, renting space in trump tower, with foreign governments purchasing hotel rooms at president trump's hotel in washington as a means of currying favor with the president. we've had in the last 24 hours the example sz of noaa, the weather agency issuing a tweet rebuking a previous weather service tweet that said the president was wrong about his target identification of alabama as a target of hurricane dorian.

announcing an investigation on an antitrust basis for auto companies making a deal for an environmental regulation with the state of california. that appears to be lashing out to punish car companies. huge fodder for democrats and i think it's going to increase pressure on nancy pelosi to move this impeachment, the question of potential impeachment forward. >> but, john, is this so unique to donald trump? are we trying to figure this out -- >> yes. >> -- as we go along? he's a hotellier, he is a reality tv star. that is who the people elected as their president. have we ever had anything like this? has there ever been a president who's had their own personal family livelihood based on

things like this? >> reporter: no. presidents separate their finances from the conduct of their office generally speaking. i mean, obviously we've had presidents who engaged in corruption before, but this is a president who explicitly did not sever ties with his business and he's announced that he wants the g7, a huge international gathering -- >> right. >> -- to come to his golf club in the state of florida. so he is overtly trying to generate revenue for his properties from the conduct of his office. it's unprecedented. >> i'm curious though specific to this situation we're talking about, tessa, how does this work in the pentagon? who has to approve these jet fuel purchases that are more expensive here at this private air facility than it would be at a military airbase? who has to approve the military sleepovers or does any direction of that come from the president? >> well, i think that's been one of the questions that we've seen in this and in other situations similar is how overtly president trump may or may not be

pressuring other members of the government to stay at his properties. we just had a similar question about vice president mike pence when he stayed at a trump property in ireland and there were conflicting reports coming out after that about whether president trump sort of lightly suggested that he stay there, told him to stay there, said anything at all. but we've seen this, as john was mentioning, as an overall pattern in the trump administration. we have this pence stay in ireland, we had trump suggesting to host the g7 at doral. there was just reporting that attorney general bill barr spent $30,000 booking a holiday party at trump's d.c. hotel. so we're seeing this throughout the government and now this new reporting about the military in scotland really takes it to a new level. >> and why is that? do you agree with john's speculation, that it could be folks are trying to curry favor with the president? >> yeah, i think that certainly seems to be the case. again, it's not clear what the directives may or may not be from president trump, but it is clear i think to everyone that

he likes it when people stay at his properties and he's very proud of his properties and always talking about them. so i think people in the u.s. government and governments abroad know that president trump will be pleased if you stay at one of his properties whether in the u.s. or around the world. >> chairman cummings announced that the oversight committee is seeking more information about vice president pence's stay at the golf resort. why does the white house, john, continue to inject itself into these sticky situations? >> because we have a president who does not have a strong sense of impulse control and he pursues his interests. we've seen on all things his principle interest is himself. he sent out tweets today saying that the government of the bahamas had thanked the united states and me for our efforts.

he is extremely oriented toward transactions directly involving himself and his ego and so he is pursuing these things. it is not an accident that the pentagon has not cooperated with the oversight committee so far. they've tried to suppress democratic oversight and, you know, the question is is the congress going to allow him to conduct himself in this fashion? there's no indication that either the combination of democratic house or republican senate is putting any constraints on him. >> you know, tessa, with next week looking ahead to what's happening with the congress, the democrats are going to be spelling out the parameters of the investigation into the president. you brought up the topic of impeachment. does this bring them closer to it? how significant is this step? >> it does bring them closer and this will be one of the sort of official moves, as you said, to define the parameters. i think they are feeling some pressure on the calendar.

my colleague alana abramson reported days ago that some members of the democratic caucus are feeling acutely the fact that iowa is less than six months away and there is a concern about as they move towards impeachment, if they move towards impeachment, not wanting to bump up against the political calendar as much and the fact that there's an election next year. some democrats and democratic aids will say there's a political element to impeachment, that doesn't matter so much but i think overall according to my colleagues' reporting they feel they need to make a decision one way or another to making a decision for the first votes being cast. >> tessa, john, thank you so much. good to see you both. >> you bet. we're going from d.c. back to new hampshire now. 19 presidential candidates are there in manchester for the state democratic party convention. there you see amy klobuchar. the candidates are all taking their pitches directly to the voters just a little less than one week before the next debate. actually, five days from now on

thursday. and joining me now, 2020 presidential candidate john delaney who gave his pitch to the crowd just a short time ago. welcome back to the broadcast. good to see you, sir. how do you think the convention is going overall and the reception that you feel you're getting there? >> reporter: well, i think it went very well. i actually talked about a slightly different message today, which is how all of this stuff that we talk about individually is actually interconnected. in other words, what we do on trade policy is connected to climate policy and what's happening, you know, in -- with brexit is actually an indication of how we have to stand up against these protectionist interests that have risen in our country and led to the election of donald trump. so i was actually giving a different message about how we need to think about all of these things being inner connected and that we have a very big agenda ahead of ourselves to get our country back on track. >> yeah. i don't disagree with you. i think so many things are connected, need to be looked at from a broad picture perspective when they are examined.

but i know, sir, that you've made it pretty clear recently that you don't intend to drop out of the race. you say you are committed to staying on the trail at least through the iowa caucuses where you believe things could shift leading into new hampshire's primary. those dates are in february of next year. do you still stand by that? are we going to see you and continue having these interviews through at least february? >> yes, you are. i'm planning on staying at least through the early states. look, i still think it's early. i think we have three front-runners that for different reasons are each vulnerable, in my opinion, and i think when you consider the importance of the 2020 election, we have to make sure we have a really good debate and we put up someone who can beat donald trump by a big margin and also govern this country. and i think we really haven't had the debate we need at this point. i think there's a lot of time to go and i think we've got three front-runners right now who in my opinion each have vulnerabilities and, you know, i think we've got a ways to go.

>> do you care to name those three front-runners in your mind, vulnerabilities as well? >> well, i think the three front-runners are obviously the vice president and senator sanders and senator warren, and i think senator sanders and senator warren are quite frankly running on positions that a majority of the american people won't ultimately agree with. and i think that's a big problem because we have to win the center. we have to win independent voters to win in 2020. >> true, but how -- >> because i think the -- but the american people are also looking for new ideas and i don't think we're seeing as many new ideas out of the vice president as i think the american people are looking for. >> so putting all of that together, do you have the correct formula to win the center while still inspiring the left, which i'm going to presume by your statement you believe elizabeth warren and bernie sanders are doing while the president -- vice president, former vice president we should say has a more centrist approach? how do you think you can bring

those two entities together? >> well, here's an example. i have a plan to give universal health care to every single american, where every american gets basic health care as a human right for free. it's the greatest expansion of health care since the creation of medicare. what my plan doesn't do is make private insurance illegal. so there's an example where my plan is actually a really big progressive goal but it has that pragmatic approach that i'm known for that won't turn off the center like senator sanders and senator warren's plan will where they make private insurance illegal. the vice president is basically running on fixing the affordable care act, which i'm all for. the affordable care act was a great law and i want to fix it in my first 100 days but i think we need to go further. we need new, big ideas but they need the ideas that can get done. >> this week we have the debate. we have ten candidates. you won't be on that stage. how are you going to grab

headlines while those ten candidates will likely be doing so? are you going to go to houston? >> i don't think i'm going to houston. i think i'll probably be in one of the early states but we're not sure yet. >> john delaney, presidential candidate. nice to see you again. we're looking forward to seeing you for a while yet to come. thank you. >> thanks for having me. a state battleground poll may set off president trump. why the results could portend serious trouble for the man in the white house. raise your steins to the king of speed. so, every day, we put our latest technology and unrivaled network to work. the united states postal service makes more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country.

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as 2020 democrats make their case in new hampshire, a new poll is shedding light on wisconsin. it finds joe biden leading president trump by a whopping 9 points there and the poll by mar-a-lago marquette law school has bernie sanders topping trump by 4 points. joining me now, policy strategist elena beverly. she worked for the obama administration. marjorie clifton. stephanie valencia. she worked for the obama administration and republican strategist rick tyler and msnbc analyst. we have a power group. elena, what do democrats attribute biden's big lead to? that's a whopping lead? >> that's right. we know that trump's economy is hurting critical states. critical swing states like wisconsin and my home state of

michigan. the path for victory for 2020 goes through wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania and florida and the economy that trump is executing with his tariffs is harming those wisconsin voters, particularly the dairy farmers. as well as the farmers and the manufacturers of michigan. so i think the democrats are focusing squarely on what this economy has in terms of impact for those critical voters in wisconsin. >> rick, given the fact that the president squeaked by in winning this state of wisconsin, how badly does the trump campaign need to turn this around to have an election? >> they can afford to lose wisconsin but they couldn't afford to lose much more than that. the point is he should be building on his base and he's not. he's losing this state. he only won it by 1%. he can afford to lose it, but then you have to look at michigan and pennsylvania. he couldn't afford to lose all three. and it's similar -- they're similarly -- they're demographically similar which should be a concern of theirs.

>> interesting. bernie sanders, i'll go with you, marjorie, on this one. leading the president by 4 points. how significant is that? >> well, right now about 55% of democrats believe they will vote for the person they believe can beat trump. this beatbility of trump is the number one thing. when you look at overall polls, bernie is typically trailing a little bit behind biden as the candidate of choice. in wisconsin it's hard to say. i think these things can change from day to day. >> speaking of big debates, the climates, town hall, but look he's got many rounds and he is still polling in first place pretty handily. do you think it's that solid? how much is it about name

recognition? >> two key points here, alex. one is looking at general elections for the primary can create a false sense of security and i don't want democrats to create any false sense of security around the numbers that we're seeing around biden and even bernie. historically we've seen folks that have polled well this far out don't do well this close. we have so much time before the election over a year from now. on climate change though i think you're starting to see this is one of the issues we're seeing the democratic base shift. in 2013 pew did a survey of democrat leading independents in which hopefully 53% think that was a threat. today in 2019 84% of democrats and democrat leading independents think that is a threat to the united states a and to our country. and so i think for us and for the field those are the kind of things we need to take a note of. how has the democratic base shifted since 2012 and 2016?

>> it's a big enough issue that msnbc is holding its own it town hall. joe biden went on stevphen colbert let's listen to that. you confused new hampshire for vermont. assured us i'm not going nuts. follow-up question, are you going nuts? >> look, the reason i came on the jimmy kimmel show is because i am not. i -- i got it. >> clever. i mean, look, he's -- >> that was good. >> using humor, that's good. humor got to be calculating. can he, elena, brush off these concerns? >> he can't brush them off but, look, alex, the majority of voters, particularly african-american voters who are strongly with vice president biden see some of these gaffes

as just an example of his authenticity. he's not losing voters because of them. this is what joe biden has done his entire life. he sometimes doesn't have messaged discipline. he has a huge career of experiences and so it might make sense that at some point he's going to mistake a couple of places for a couple of other places. he's going to perhaps conflate stories but it doesn't change the fact that he has such significant experience and that he has frankly the trust of so many critical voters, especially in south carolina where he is placing a lot of his bets down on the african-american voter that can propel him to the super tuesday. >> can i just say, nice setup because i'm going to take a break right now and we are going to talk with all of you about that state, which could provide the biggest boost to joe biden's presidential hopes, or sink them. we'll be right back. i am royalty of racing,

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will cast a majority of the primary vote in a handful of states on supertuesday. democratic strategist put it that way. i don't see any path for biden to win without south carolina. elena beverly marmry clifton and rick valencia and stephanie tyler. elena set up nicely for the conversation. the last poll out of south carolina had biden at 36% more than double the support of any other democrat. how much of in is about service in the obama administration? >> well, again, alex i would start with a word of caution here and would remind folks of what happened in 2008 where hillary clinton was ahead of barack obama in the early days of 2007 over a hard fought primary battle with african-american voters. and it wasn't until south carolina where barack obama and after iowa then new hampshire he loses in new hampshire and then wins in south carolina. and that's where we saw him and

a number of african-american voters break away to support him. >> okay, do you see that happening this time around or do you think joe biden still carries that vote? >> he absolutely carries the weight and the history and the association of being vice president to barack obama, and all of the work that happened under the obama administration that disproportionately benefitted the african-american community. but i think he can't take a single vote for granted there is my bigger point. i think there is an opportunity where you have a more crowded field with folks like kamala harris and cory booker who have attention to gain attention away if they can gain traction in the coming months. >> you make a good point but it appears as if the biden campaign isn't taking much for granted focusing in south carolina. rick, right now only three democrats polling in double digits. biden warren and sanders. has it become a three-person race? john delaney said those are the top three.

>> probably, let me say this about this strategy of going to iowa and new hampshire and south carolina. joe biden has to win place or show in iowa and new hampshire. then he has to control expectations. remember bill clinton lost badly in iowa and came back to not win new hampshire but place second and he was the comeback kid which was the remarkable management of expectations. but if his strategy is to lose -- i don't expect their strategy is to lose but setting expectations they will lose the two states, the dynamic will change after iowa dmend depending who wins it because suddenly the national media focus goes to the winner of that state. and the same happens with new hampshire. now if he can maintain front runner status through all that and get the south carolina and win south carolina then get threw supertuesday, maybe that's right. but it sounds like a last ditch hope to me. >> but rick you said win place or show. if he comes in top three in those states and if it's competitive. >> he has to.

>> good enough. >> he has to win place or show. that's the low sfwleeft talking about iowa, and new hampshire. >> that's the lowest bar if he places fourth he is done. but, again, he could show, right. come in third. >> right. >> and manage expectations. but i'm not seeing a lot of great managing of expectations in the biden campaign. except for what we saw on the kolbert show. he has been caught flat footed repeatly and he should have answers to to it difficult questions. >> listen marj i want to let you weigh in win place or show to use rick's analogy if it it's is really tight can he vaf out of the the first two dates and continue on as a front ronter in south carolina. >> because it's a big map and and what we are will go seeing is that democrats want a diverse pallet. but the most important thing to democrats overall is who can beat trump. they are looking at the matchup,

including in the african-american population. they are looking at who can beat trump. and secondly looking at his support drurg the obama administration. we saw that in the obama wins. the black population helped turned out and win the elections. they matter so do women and in a lot of these praises. i think you have to look at the broader map. it's all about who shows on on election day who is motivated to turn out. the economy being the overlay of all in we have to look at. with the economy slowing right now with more potential risk of recession, people are on their toes in different way than they have been. i would say there is nothing certain. and so, you know, we'll keep watching. >> right. elena, i'm glad you got in to talk about south carolina before the break. nick's going to absolutely be mad at me if i don't go. got to take break. good to see all four of you thank you so much. >> thanks. >> it's a provocative suggestion that black athletes should leave so-called white psychologies. i'm talking with al sharpton about what's behind this headline. (woman) when you take align,

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the fight for the granite state, the first people to cast primary votes in 2020. hear from the field of contenders today, one by one. plus -- >> it came and destroyed like everyone, like, that's what it did. >> we need help. we need help. that's all i can say. that's it. >> you're on the roof grabbing your brother. and in debris does this. >> does this to me. >> race against time. the massive effort under way to

evacuate parts of the bahamas after hurricane dorian swept over the islands and to find the hundreds of people still unaccounted for. new questions about why an air national guard crew refueled at a trump resort in scotland and who footstep the bill. a dwood to all from msnbc headquarters in new york. welcome to weekends with alex witt. giving you live look right now at new hampshire's democratic convention. beto o'rourke there on the stage, 19 contenders trying to win over the state voters. february is the nation's first primary election. there february 11th to be exact. many delivering the same message that the party must unite to defeat donald trump. fake a listen. >> we have to beat donald trump. but beating donald trump is the floor. it is not the ceiling. [ cheers and applause ] >> beating donald trump gets us out of the valley. but it does get us to the mountain top. >> now there is a noise machine

making it almost impossible to hear the alarm bells ringing in our everyday lives. americans are looking to prescription drug prices and wondering how they're going to be able to buy groceries. and the president anticipates got us arguing over whether to buy greenland. >> the core values of the nation are standing in the world our very dpkz. everything made america america is at stick and everyone know who is donald trump is. now we have to show them who we are. following all the action from manchester is vonn hillyard and mike memberly. once again starting with you. you were on the ground when the candidates arrived for the big day. what did they tell new. >> exactly. you saw thousands of people outside make their way into the arena. essentially setting up what is a five-month count downto the primary. iowa is first and new hampshire is the one in which we can expect the race to be whittled down to a few candidates. but here what you saw was 19 candidates over the course of

today, a still a few more left. you saw o'rourke exit the stage. but i want to play a little bit of the interviews as we caught up some of the candidates as they entered the arena earlier today. >> the last few day is when a lot of voters make up minds. but the weeks and months ahead are when the ground game comes into place that actually is going to deliver us the win. >> i'm very excited about in being a moment in america where we begin to refocus in on the campaign. so i'm really excited about building to win. >> we are prepared to fiept for our country, to fight for the soul of our country. it is a fight born out of love of country. and this is a fight we will win. >> alex, i want to bring in the chair of the new hampshire democratic party, ray buckwood. this is an event you've got 19 presidential candidates. we're five months out. what does this day mean to democratic party as a whole? >> well it's really a kickoff. but we have not only thousands of new hampshire people here but people from all over the country

came. members of the democratic national committee, we've got about 250 reporters here too. that will be exciting. but it is the official kickoff to the election. >> back in 2016 hillary clinton bate donald trump here. >> um-hum. >> but by a narrow margin republicans like to think it's in play when you see the conversation taking place what should democrats around the country know about the energy in the early states. >> i think what's really important, while hillary only won about 3,000 votes, the latest poll has 67% of the people of new hampshire saying they will not vote to re-elect donald trump. he has lost enormous support here in the state of new hampshire. and i think that's true in a lot of the key states that really gave him that victory. and i think we learned our lesson zwl chairman, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> arlgs this is seen as also an organizing opportunity not only for candidates here in the primary but also getting the names, getting volunteers ready for next november of 2020. allis. >> a veried loud boisterous

energetic kickoff. thank you vem. >> let's go to mike now in a nearby hallway. you have moved from the sky box position spp so are you getting a sense of the messages that are being absorbed by all of those attending this gathering? are most of the people already decided on a candidate, or are there open minds? >> no, alex in fact that's why the new hampshire primary is so special, frankly. exit polling shows election after election that new hampshire primary voters tend to make up their mind or change their mind in the final few days before the election. and that's really why this convention is so important. the new hampshire primary typically is all about the hand to hand be be e, retail campaigning in-house parties at townhall meetings, dine esper across the state. so for the candidates speaking here today this is a primary a fish in the barrel moment to address all the candidate but also as vonn said a organizing tune. all the candidates have these tables.

commit to vote. button was signs to take home. yes the klobuchar campaign has beer coozie you can boy them for $8. you know how important the small donations are for the debate. a little bit what you see here in the convention hall. >> thanks for a look, mike in manchester. let's go to the breaking news on hurricane dorian as search and rescue teams in the blaums racing against time. they are still struggling to reach communities cut off by flood waters as we give you a look at new video showing parts of grand bahama, a second bahama island that was wiped out by the storm. residents are returning to some parts of the island where homes one stood. picking through rubble. looking for remiernsd of loved once lost in the storm. the death toll climbed up to 43 but expected to rice considerably for the rescue teams are clearing more fallen trees and debris and looking for victims. people are the desperate to leave the devastated islands.

many elijah up at the airport on abaco island. waiting to be transported by 16-seater prop planes. as we give up another viewpoint of the devastation, the outer bakes of north carolina on this island you can see how high winds ripped off rooftops. much of the region is without power. the governor is sending food and drinking water as rescue teams go door to door. it is the storm that will not quit. kicking up high surf in nan conduct and martha's veinedyard racing up the east coast. hysteric conditions in fact are expected to hit canada through nova scotia later today. we start in the bahamas and nbc's morgan chesky is on the ground in nassau. it's all rescue and recovery efforts right now. how do things stand? >> reporter: well we know they're really ramping up today, arlgs. because the federal agency usaid has arrived with necessary supplies allowing them to go to the harder to reach areas on

greater abaco island, the hardest hit island. and they're flying 50,000 pounds of gear over various flights today. they're setting up a camp on the island and from there having crews really some of the first boorts on the ground in the devastated areas, really going door to door searching through the rubble because that's one of the biggest concerns right now is because there is so many hard hit areas scootered across the island these are the men and women searching through that the debris to make sure no one is left behind. because as it stands right now the minister of health of the bahamas told me there are still hundreds if not thousands of people missing or unaccounted for. and that's one of the big concerns right now, bass because as we approach a week since the strike of the bahamas. we have people if not injured critically they are dehydrated, hungry. fatigue and frustration sets in at least for people in march

shall hash are where we visited hours after the airport reopened after being submerged from dorian. people there as you mentioned packing the ports, the airports, finding -- hoping to find a way off the island which they tell me they can't even call a home because simply nothing is left behind. at least half the buildings there are either damaged or destroyed on the island and on neighboring grand bahama but from the damage we witnessed first hand the number seem low because the damage it doesn't end. and in every direction you look. so right now relief really picking up in nassau as dozens upon dozens of people arrive on flights, getting a little food, water to hopefully reunite with family or at least begin the long process of recovery, alex. >> it's extraordinary because they have to pack so much patience together through this and really critical things they have to get through food, water, getting medicine trying to get off the island to a place to sleep, shower. it's just remarkable. let me ask you about satellite pictures, morgan, because it's extraordinary to look at the

before and after from this beautiful, lush island to what we see. can you talk about that and your perspective of that from the ground? >> reporter: i mean, satellite pictures show the scale of the devastation. the one that stands out to me is one of grand bahama where three of every four homes were nearly submerged or destroyed by the flootd waters that proved to be an issue. we can see how the island shrank when it pushed inland. but it doesn't do justice until you witness the devastation firsthand. i covered the ef 5 oklahoma that struck oklahoma back in 2013 lechlg portion he is of the town there. when i arrived in march shall harbor the other day i kept waiting to drive through the worst of the damage. and to see you know what was left. but really nothing was. it kept going and going and going. and in every direction. and that's really when you realize just how strong of a dorm dorian was when it roared ashore mot only bringing the

winds but such a slow moving hurricane, that that's really what allowed it to chew up everything in its path, on greater abaco and grand bahama. >> preshl the live report from the bahamas. and from there now back to new hampshire and contenders 2020. and look who is joining us now from the democratic convention. minnesota senator and presidential candidate amy klobuchar so glad to see you thank you for joining us. we saw you exiting the stage a short while ago. >> thank you. >> talk about the message, how you feel about how all went down at the convention a few minutes ago. >> well, i wanted to make very clear to people here that we have a job to do that we don't just want to win, we want to win big. and that means bringing along independence, moderate republicans, people that are sick and tired of donald trump and the chaos. and want to see a different president. and i am the one has one

consistently in the purple and red districts. that's one of the things so important. the only which we send mitch mcconnell packing is if we also win back the senate. you want someone heading up the ticket that's going to be able to do that. it was well received here in new hampshire which of course is a state that has a lot of independent voters. >> how critical do you think the state of new hampshire is for the success of your campaign? >> it's important. all the early states are important. it's not just one state. and we have a great operation here run by a formerly lerpgt scott merrick and a great team. we had quite the floor demonstration with signs and have gained endorsements of political figures in new hampshire. >> let's look ahead to thursday night. you're one of the ten candidates who made the stage for the debate in houston. there are suggestions by some that the primary race has come

down to about four or five of the opponent one of the opponents someone not on the stanl with whom i spoke said he has it down to three. what is your message to the people who think this is a done deal? >> i think that's a huge mistake when you look at the history of presidential campaigns a lot of times it's someone who went first, second or third during the summer and during the early fall. and this race is really influenced. there is a lot of people running i'm from the midwest and i'm so glad to be there on the stage to make the case. i've been the one youfrt with the infrastructure plan, the first one onto with a mental health plan, addiction plan doing something about alzheimer's. these are the things people talk to me about every place i go, whether new hampshire, iowa, south carolina or really any of those states that we're going to have come in in those first few months. i think they're ready for someone that's going to focus on

bread and butter issues. >> other than being persistent and tenacious, what is your path to the nomination, though, given where you stand right now? >> well i think it's -- i want to first have you look at the fact that i'm ahead of 18 people. >> yeah. >> including every governor and the mayor of new york city. we have built a grass roots movement. i never thought i was going to have the immediate viral moment because i remind you those are just moments. maybe they get you a day on tv but i'm ready to govern for the long-term. and from the very beginning when i announced in that blizzard in the middle of the mississippi river and talked about crossing the river of our divides, i have been consistently focused on that. and every single day when this president tries to tear people apart by belittling his opponents, but going after immigrants, by going after people of color, i am more and more convinced that this idea that we are one america and we bring people together, is how

you not just win a primary, but it's how you win big in a general election. that is what i bring to in race, a track record of winning big, a track record of getting things done in the senate and leadership on key issues like protecting our democracy, doing something about pharmaceutical prices, doing something on climate change, knows are things that really matter to people in in election. >> senator amy klobuchar it's good to talk to you on a personal note you don't need to write a thank you note. i have said to so many people how impressed with that and the way you are so polite don't write a thank you note for this get out on the campaign trail thank you very much. >> all right. well i just want to write a big thank you to america when we win in primary. >> all right. >> thank you. >> amy klobuchar thank you so much best of luck luck. we are now everyone weak one into the president digging in on claims that hurricane dorian was headed for alabama why isn't he letting up on that?

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new details today. nbc nups confirms the house oversight committee is investigating whether military spending has fpgsly helped the president's turnbury resort in scotland. the white house has not provided answers. politic of reports one of the military layovers happened this sfring. the military reportedly used millions of taxpayer dollars to refuel at a nearby airport to

turnbury intsz of a military base where it would have been keep cheaper. why? a here a clue from one of the journalists breaking the story. >> the other major airport about hour and a half away in order for trump turnbury to do well financially it needs this airport to survive. the military expenditures which totaled about $11 million since october of 2017 have really provided it a big boost. one big question that we have, though, is whether or not the u.s. military is not the only military, not the only foreign government that's been using this airport and its proximity to turnbury in order to perhaps curry favor with the president, other foreign manipulators could be doing the exact same thing. >> and this week congress returns from recess. democrats have more than 6 oh ongoing investigations into the president as we look at that. they scroll there. including two potential conflicts of interest. the vice president detour to the hotel in ireland. and the president's pitch to host the g-7 at doral in

florida. process. the house judiciary will vote wednesday whether to escalate the impeachment inquiry supported by 134 house kmkts and one dependent. a with a luke warm jobs report the president renewed the attack on the "washington post" journalisting details with the advisers characterized as his lost summer. one journalist reacted in realtime. >> we included the white house perspective in that story, which is that they considered this a summer of historic achievement but a lot of other people who work for the president and who are supporters of the president outside the white house think otherwise and thought it was a summer of self-sabotage, the racist attacks on the women of color. the way he handled the mass shooting in el paso and dayton. our story takes stock of the full picture. >> yoing me new abigail tracie writer for vanity fair and jeff a writer for routers. we should say the "washington post" issued a statement saying they completely stand by the two

reporters by phillip and ashley. not surprisingly so. jeff, the president has linked an op-ed by white house press secretary stephanie grisham and hogan guyedly rebutting that story. it's on the "washington examiner" there. you cover the white house on a daily basis. how would you characterize the president's summer? >> well, the first thing i would say is phil rucker and ashley parker are terrific journalists i would stand by them as a colleague the same way the paper is standing by them. they are amazing. the last thing you could say about either of them is that they are lightweights. whether or not the summer was a summer of massive accomplishment or a lofts summer depends on who you talk to and who you are. i'm sure the white house genuinely think it was a summer productive for the president. i think the white house probably thinks some of the attacks on congresswoman -- the come of color, the four members of the so-called squad may have been

helpful to the president politically, may have helped his campaign going forward. it's a perspective thing. but in terms of the journalism behind it, that was absolutely solid. and it's interesting to me to see in some which the fact gnat white house is elevating this issue by sending out in other op-ed you were referring to by stephanie and hogan. >> abigail, the "washington post" statement looks beyond just that of their stellar reporters, phillip and ashley. it looks big picture here. and released in part in in statement, the president's statement fits into a pattern of seeking to denigrate and intimidate the press. it's unwarranted and dangerous, and it represents a threat to a-free press in this country. what's your take on that. >> yeah, i absolutely agree with that. i think this is part of an ongoing pattern. and i think as we approach 2020 we're going to continue to see the president escalate his attacks on members of the media. i think the white house and his campaign team really view that as an effective strategy for the president.

you know, when we look back to 2016 that was kind of a part of how he would be won, sort of going up against the institutions, the press being one of them and sort of positioning himself as the outsider who didn't -- who spoke to individuals that weren't previously being spoengen to by presidential candidates. that was sort of the framing of his 2016 campaign. and as i think as we head into 2020 we're going to see a little bit more of that. but we're especially going to see the attacks on the media, given his record over the last few years and kind of use sort of the so-called fake news moniker to go after journalists and say the coverage of his presidency so far was unfair. >> you know, in the tweet, jeff as we look specifically at that from the president, he said that reporters in that piece should not be allowed on the grounds of the white house. the white house as we know they've suspended some reporters they bailed that out in court. how seriously do reporters take the warnings? >> well, listen, it's a great

question. the president and some people around the president and even some supporters sometimes say you can't take the president seriously and literally both. but when the president of the united states puts a threat like that on twitter, everything he says on twitter is an official statement. and it reminds me -- i think abigail is spot on about this. it reminds me of what the mood was moore more towards the beginning of his presidency in 2017 coming off of the 2016 campaign. i was pretty involved in that then as the head of the white house correspondents association. and he was issuing, you know rhetoric along the lines of the enemy of the american people, which he doesn't do -- hasn't done at least that particular threat as much recently. but when he says this about two reporters and suggests that their first amendment rights should be taken away but not being allowed to do the job and come on white house grounds, you have to take that seriously, even if it's meant more as something to get people in his base gined up. >> what you just said the president's statements on twitter are official white house

statements, it got me to thinking. >> yes. >> does the president see it that way? when he goes and calls people names or goes after a foreign leader, you know, or a competitor in any way, journalist, political candidate, anybody, do you think he sees it that way? or is it just something he is just venting? >> well, i mean, look at some of the tweets that he makes. he makes tweets like the ones that you are referring to now nar critical of his own critics. but he used twitter to make official announcement saying i'm raising tariffs on china or impose tariffs on mexico if mexico doesn't do what i'm asking. >> whether he announced that to those within the administration, often times that is -- those are the marching orders right there. they find out on twitter. >> i can tell you i have spoken to white house officials before where i have had to tell them the reason i'm asking about something. and asked them for reaction and

tell them what the news is because it's gone out on twitter by the president and they haven't even it. all of that is to say, alex, i don't think you can distinguish, okay, some of the tweets are personal tweets. some are official. we as a press corporation o corps treat them as official. and that's how he uses the twitter account. >> yes. i'ming egoing to ask you about something that has gone on abfwal, far too long in terms of our discussion here. you know where i'm going with regard to alabama. because the president has dug in on in claim the state of alabama was in the path of hurricane dorian. it's been five days since he is letting up on this? why not. >> when you look at president trump you really have to take into account and always remember he is a reality tv president pch. one of main things he constantly is focused on and worry about is others perception of him and how he is being presented in the media. i think when we are looking at this alabama map, sharpie situation, it's really important

to kind of remember even early on, you know, when we look at his inauguration. you saw very similar behavior around the crowd size back thn. donald trump is always worried about the media coverage of him. and this is another example of place where he is really trying to dig in because he is unhappy with the way in which he is being presented. and i think again to jeff's point, when we talk about twitter, i think one of the reasons that initially got such attention was because his tweets are taken as official statements of the president and of the white house. so i think that's really sort of to circle back kind of the origins of this conflict appear why people were paying so much attention to the tweet that is now kind of turned into this broader issue. >> all right. abigail tracie and jeff mason love talking with you both thank you. >> thank you. >> thanks. >> a new report escalating on whether the president's properties are profiting off his presidency. this in violation of the constitute's emolument claus. a air national guard crew

stopped at the resort in scotland during a routine trip from u.s. to kuwait. that part of the house oversight inquiry whether military spending helped keep the scottish resort financially afloat. joining me now missouri representative emmanuel cleaver, a member of the financial services committee. which makes you the perfect person to talk to about this congressman, welcome, sir. i want to look specifically at the numbers. 2017, the resort in scotland lost almost $5 million. moved to 2018 rove knew up $3 million. your colleagues in the house oversight want to know whether that is because military refueling spending increased by $11 million sinsz october 2017. i mean, this appears to be a red flag. what do you make of it? >> well, the -- the president -- and this is tragic, really tragic what the president has decided to make- dsh convert the white house into an atm machine.

and he is using the presidency to rake in minneapolis of dollars. and -- but this may be the worst part, though, alex, because i think we -- we would like to believe that our military, above and beyond anything else, is going to be an independent body that's going to first and foremost protect the people of the united states. and i hope that there is no cooperation between donald trump and the military, because if that is the case, then donald trump has achieved something that i don't think any president in our history has achieved or even attempted to achieve. and that is to corrupt the military. >> so i want to get to vice president pence in ireland. but are you more concerned about the military -- any other officials by the way who want to do business within a trump property, whether they are trying to yur favor with this president, or if the president has told them what he would like

them to do or made a strong suggestion, hey, you could go stay at turnbury scotland or someplace else. what concerns you more? >> well within i think the president is finding it difficult to say things that are true. so even though he would deny it, i am absolutely sure that either he or someone acting on his behalf is in fact making suggestions. i don't think they're being given orders. but i think they're being given suggestions. and i think everyone is to the president of the united states the most powerful person on the planet, the leader of the world -- used to be the leader of the free world. he is saying i have some property that would be just perfect for you to have a meeting and people will say, that's a good idea because it makes the president happy. if i make the president happy then the president may do something i want him to do. i think this is a very dangerous ground we are walking on right now.

>> what could you make of vice president pence and the 180-mile detour if you will staying at the president's property there in ireland and having to go to dublin for the conversations and meetings that he had scheduled? >> well, i hope this was not a test given to vice president pence that would determine whether or not he is going to be kept on the ticket for next year's election. you know, most of us even if we disagree with vice president pence over policy -- over the years i served in the house with him respect him for being a straight shooter and with political positions and theological positions as far as i'm concerned with which i have no agreement. however, i think the president vice president -- dsh the vice president is allowing himself to shed the one thing i think he had universal appreciation about. and that was his integrity and his honesty. i certainly hope that the -- the president had nothing to do with

this. but it's hard to imagine that he didn't realize that he was -- he could stay a lot closer to where the meetings were occurring. im, he is not a -- a stupid person. in fact he is quite bright. in does not look good. and makes us all look bad, i think it's making our democracy look immature. this is what you expect in the banana republics. and it's an embarrassment. i came back from africa we couldn't even talk about the business at hand in rwanda because they wanted to talk about the united states and whether or not the world could depend on the united states anymore. >> well that is a sobering prospect. let me move to this, the president having deforted $3.6 billion from 127 military projects to build the border wall. "the new york times" is pointing out that a new middle school at ft. campbell is among the projects that are being skut. and you wrote on twitter that really says a lot about this administration's moral failing. talk about that further.

what kind of a chord has this struck in you. >> well, first of all, the constitution is clear we have the power of the purse in the house of representatives. we start the budget process decide where the money is being spent. i don't care if you are the right wing person in the united states. you ought to be upset that the president is disregarding what the congress voted on saying i'm going to fake billions of dollars and spend them like i want. and then here is the worst thing about it, we -- it may become the worst thing. if mitch mcconnell and other republicans will put on blindfolds a and say we are following the president even when it hurts our constituents, then, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girl, this nation is in trouble. because there is no way in the world that i would remain silent if the president tries to take money that congress approved for my congressional district to do

some kind of a little pet project that will make him feel good. >> another sobering state. missouri representative emmanuel cleaver good to see you, sir thank you for voing joining me. >> good to be with you. >> it's a provocative question that black athletes should leave so-called white colleges. i will talk about reverend al sharpton about what's behind this headline next. every feeling. a product of mastery. lease the 2019 es 350 for $379 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. but allstate helps you. with drivewise. feedback that helps you drive safer. and that can lower your cost now that you know the truth... are you in good hands? if ylittle thingsate tcan be a big deal., that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently.

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shifting his campaign strategy. politico says advisers to the former vice president began lowering expectations about winning both iowa and new hampshire and directing attention toward south carolina and the south where wlak voters will cast a majority of the vote in the handful of states on supertuesday. democratic strategist mark longan balm put it this way. saying i don't see any path for biden to win the nomination without south carolina. joining me now is dannel moodie-mills. host of the democratish podcast. bill pressed. and amy holmes. former speechwriter for bill frift. dannel all three of you as we look at the last poll out of south carolina which had joe biden at 36% more than double the support of any other democrat. mouch is about miss service in the obama administration. >> i think that a large part of it is about his service in the obama administration and proximity to president obama

frankly. but i also think that, you know, the people that are being polled, the african-americans being polled are generally over the age of 50 years old. and so they are looking for stability, for security. who is going to beat donald trump? and you know, the polls right now, even though we are so far out are telling us that joe biden is the most, quote, unquote, electable person at the moment. but when you poll people below the age of 50 who are african-american that number changes dramatically. yes, do i think that joe biden needs to win south carolina? absolutely. but i also am looking at in steady rise of elizabeth warren right now who is making considerable inroads. we still have a long while to get. but i think that it's important for him to focus where he is doing well. and south carolina is one of those places. >> amy, nationally there are three democrats polling in the double digits. joe biden, to dannel's point, elizabeth warren surging as well as bernie sanders. do you think this has effectively become a

three-person race? >> well, i want make that prediction. we are still so far out. i think we know in politics that it's an eternity even just a day or a woke. i won't go that far. but we have seen some other candidates, they haven't been able to break out of the single digits. they haven't been able to capture the imagination of democratic voters in the primary. back to dannel's point let's remember joe biden didn't have a great history in iowa the last time around he ran for president in 2008. he earned less than 8 percentage points in that democratic primary. and dropped out shortly after. i think there's always been a feeling his strategy would be you know, being able to rack up the votes in south carolina. but one last point that i think is really interesting about the top three contenders and where joe biden is right now in his polling is how much identity politics does not matter actually to democratic primary voters. again to dannel's point, that near looking for a fighter, somebody who will go the distance with donald trump because they know that's going

to be a knockdown dragout going into 2020. >> i appreciate you going way back. if politicking can change in a day let alone 11 years when you go back and pull the stat from joe biden in 2008 but the fact is he has floated to the top because of husband association with barack obama. wouldn't you give him that, amy. >> certainly. and you know he has a lot of strengths a lot of arrows in the quiver not only association with obama, policies popular with democratic voters. but also the machine behind obama while it hasn't been officially formally put behind biden, he is an establishment candidate with knows establishment connections that have been useful to him. >> yeah. bill you've got other candidates very much looking for the breakout moments to a in new hampshire and knows who qualified in next we can's debate on thursday, what can they do to get the mental heard over the megaphones of the top three that we keep referencing? >> well, i would say there are really a top six now. >> who do you add. >> not just a top three.

i would add pete buttigieg, cory booker and kamala harris. in the last poll i saw -- the one you have on the screen, everyone of them beat donald trump by at least nine points. the others beat -- pete buttigieg was noin the others others were over ten. the next week debate is going to be pretty critical. but i want to in just terms of who emerge maybe it is down to the top three or four. but i want to reinforce what amy and danielle said about joe biden. i've been struck how joe biden has maintained the lead he has. there are two factors. one is they do see him as the staple, steady, solid person who can beat donald trump, number one. and number two, his long association with barack obama as has been mentioned. the latest poll i showed among african-american voters likely voters in the primary, joe biden was like 20 points ahead of anybody else. here is this older white guy,

leading ngs impressively among african-american voters because they want to get donald trump out. they think joe biden is the person to do it. and that's why south carolina is the smart decision. >> so by that description of joe biden, bill, i mean, it is the anti-thesis of the way someone would describe donald trump. steady, slow, that kind of thing. >> yes. >> do you think the fact that joe biden can commit gaffes and apologize or use humor to sort of divert and pivot from them, do you think in this age of donald trump where he calculatingly so tells lie and has been called out from every which direction on them, do you think it has created a great are almost societal cultural problem that someone makes a mistake, or says something wrong, so what? i mean, are you worried about that in the age of donald trump. >> let me put it this which. i think donald trump has innoculated joe biden against any kind of.

>> good statement. >> against any damage from his gaffes. i really do. in any other time, maybe against anybody else, joe biden's occasional gaffes, joe is joe, would get him in trouble. against donald trump, forget it. it's nothing impaired to donald trump. >> but, i think joe biden mass long had a reputation for gaffes. misstatements. >> yes. >> yes. >> maybe inventing things. >> he has. and look where he is with the numbers. absolutely so. >> i heard him and he was chosen by president obama to be vice president on his ticket. >> yes, i want to give you the time word on this danielle before we go. what are your thoughts on this is biden is gaffe-free in some ways in terms of processing o paying out of priets. >> he definitely is not gaffe-free. that is evident. >> we no that. >> the most his campaign can do is say joe biden he may mix updates, stumble over words, sure but he is not a compulsive liar that makes it his job and everybody's job around him to lie to the american people on

day in day out basis. does he mess things up? sure. but he has been in office holding some type of public service over the past 30 years. if i were them i would lean hard into the fact that donald trump is a liar that has never down anything other than for himself and his fireman. joe biden is a person of the people. does he make gaffes? sure but at least he don't lie to you. >> danielle moodie-mills. bill press, amy holmes you guys never lie to me thank you for that. >> you got it thanks, alex. >> another star coming our way, the reverend al sharpton weighing in on a controversial new article. he will join me next. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase relieves your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. flonase. 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?

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and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. help stop the clock on further irreversible joint damage. talk to your rheumatologist. right here. right now. humira. a new conversy surrounding college athletics. some are accusing her of being a segregationist and racist. hill argued, it's time for black athletes to leave white colleges. they attract money and attention to the white universities while historically black colleges and universities struggle. bringing elite athletic talent back to black colleges will boost endowments.

amplify the power of black coaches who are often excluded from predominantly white institutions. reverend al sharpton is joining us now. what do you think, is she guilty of the things she's accused of? >> no, i don't see how -- to advocate, people have a loyalty to their home or community based institutions. it's not any more racist than any other ethnic groups saying, i'd like to see you do something for us. it's a matter of self-involvement. sex enrichment in terms of the community. and i think that that's the spirit in which she said it. let's not forget the on going controversy of a lot of these

colleges you have the whole issue of these youngsters make a lot of money, make a lot of fame for these colleges. don't directly benefit. i think the point was making that, it is a relevant point. >> how can they have the top inductee. he was supposed to go to florida a&m instead opted to go to oregon. there's something about oregon that attracted him. what is it that he was attracted to that should be now amplifyie. >> he would have to answer what attracted him. i would know on a broader scale there are a lot of resources

that hbcu's do not have. there are a lot of things they can offer that would sub plant the lack of making money. that's because they do not get the same kind of state and funding and resources they get. use your stardom and start building these schools up. they could match with the resources. what comes first, the chicken or the egg. if you help to plant the seeds, you get the same fruits. there's not magic in these other schools, there's resources. >> i want to talk to you about thousands of federal prisoners are hoping for sentence reductions. he's hoping to make thousands of

them less. it expands early release programs through incentive programs. what is your thought about this kind of legislation. does it answer the questions that need to be done? >> it's an incremental step in the right direction. when senator cory booker and others came to us. my position was, it's a step in the right direction let's not act like it's elite or we've arrived. clearly we need to deal with mass incarceration and equal sentencing. i think this begins to address that i think the disappointment in the trump administration is where you don't deal with the whole social setting that feeds the criminal justice system.

i'm not going to deal with some of the things that need to be in the community that creates the climate in the first place. >> what needs to be done? >> education, education, education. you can't have a betsy devos try to privatize education, including after school programs. and at the same time say, we'll give you less sentences when we lock you up. >> reverend al, thank you. parade in new york, it's nuts out there today. >> yes, it is. lester holt is going to moderate the justice for all town hall right here on msnbc. of course, you can catch the rev saturdays and sundays 5:00 eastern on politics nation here on msnbc. a life and death mission in the bahamas.

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we've reached the top of the hour. up next jo ling kent. >> two big stories, talking about hurricane dorian's devastation. the death toll is rising in the bahamas as residents come to grips with the grim reality on the ground. there are new con