i am royalty of racing, i am the twisting thundercloud. raise your steins to the king of speed. ♪ welcome to "kasie dc," everyone. i'm ayman. tonight president trump calling off taliban talks at camp david. plus, travel agent, congress investigating an om-lees that seem to benefit travel places. and later the first draft of history is ringing in what else but a sharpie, a mistake over a

hurricane forecast goes from a blip on the radar to a week-long war of words. but at this hour in the bahamas the situation remains desperate. 43 people so far are confirmed dead. thousands more unaccounted for. and as people return home, what they see is grim minnesota krchlt, tornado damage and inland flooding have left one of the most beautiful places in this country in ruins. we are going to have much more in just a bit. but first the art of the international deal has been elusive for president trump. first he had the usmca trade with china, even peace in the middle east. no one said it would be easy, well, almost no one except. >> it's something that i think is frankly maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years. but we need two willing parties. we believe israel is willing. we believe you're along. and if you both are willing, we are going to make a deal. >> so that was two years ago.

this week the president's special envoy, but the big headline last night basically out of nowhere that president revealing that secret plans to meet with the taliban at camp david today, three days before september 11th, had in fact fallen apart also last night secretary of state mike pompeo attended the dignified transfer of sergeant first class ellis ortiz who was killed in afghanistan on thursday. in fact, 16 servicemembers have died this year alone. and the death toll continues to rise for first responders from september 11th. abc news reporting that 241 new york city police officers have died from related illnesses. that is ten times the number killed 18 years ago in those terrorist attacks. and if you look in the skies above southern manhattan, this week you will likely see two lights beaming above the city. it all begs the question.

what was the president planning at camp david and why now? joining me to break this down, white house reporter for the "los angeles times," and nbc news senior national security analyst juan. and former chief of staff at the cia and department of defense, jeremy bash. and white house correspondent for pbs news hour. great to have all of you with us. juan, let me begin with you, if i may. a lot of people are probably surprised to hear that the resident was planning this representatives of the afghan government just 9/11. we are going to dive into the specifics of what was at play here in a moment. but symbolically, to do something like this in washington three days before the anniversary of the september 11th attacks, what do you make of that? >> well, obviously the president has a flare for the theatrics, the dramatic and the

hyperpersonalized diplomatic approach. and i think what he wanted to do was to signal there was going to be a break from the past. i think he wanted to look the taliban leaders in the eye to test whether or not they were actually going to sign this deal that has been negotiated by zal kalizad. and the president i think wanted a peace deal moment that he could look to and that could be symbolic in terms of ending the u.s. presence in afghanistan. whether or not it was a smart move, i don't know. you obviously, we don't trust the taliban. they have had three decades of relationship with al qaeda, whether or not they're willing to rupture that is very unclear. to do that right before 9/11 obviously creates emotional and psychological implications here in the united states. and so i'm not sure if it's a good idea. but certainly it fits a pattern for the president of the they

attic, the dramatic and the hyperpersonalized way of doing business and trying to go for the big deal. >> let me pick up on what juan was saying about the possibility of trying to achieve a breakthrough here. 18 years at war with the taliban, al kida, even to some extent in recent years, isis in afghanistan. is there any reason in the history of this conflict that would make you or any others in the national security establishment confident that the taliban, if in fact reached an agreement with the u.s., would abide by it. >> not many reasons to trust the taliban as juan noted. they have been al qaeda's protector. they have been the main force in afghanistan that have been working to eject u.s. and international forces and killing our troops all yearlong. so first of all of course the tragedy of the loss of the life of a servicemember is a reason to pause and assess the diplomatic strategy, but really that's been going on all year. i don't think that's the reason

why the camp david talks were called off. i think they were called off for two reasons is because the afghans were caught by surprise. president ghani, they weren't really part of these negotiations. and second i think there is a significant split within the administration. there are those who are worried that we're talking about withdrawing our forces before we are even requiring the taliban to negotiate with the afghans who they have to make peace with. >> yeah. to that point, i want to come back to that, which is if you look at the president's signaling or his messaging on this, he has made it clear he wants to withdraw from afghanistan to the extent that the taliban knows where the position's desire is, that he wants a way out. why would they not feel that they already have the leverage in simply waiting this out? they have i don't understanded -- responded to the president's cancelation. they're still pretty much staying in the fight so to speak. >> well, i think this is a huge

challenge. it has been a challenge in any negotiation with the taliban. they are patient. they are willing to wait us out. either our electoral cycle or for having troops in afghanistan. and i think the president has been talking about withdrawal. there is a debate as to what that means. the negotiated number had been to draw down u.s. troops to 8500. the challenge of course is the taliban wanted to attack and talk at the same time. they had not only the attack on thursday that the president was referring to. they have had target assassinations. they have had suicide attacks. they have attacked two very large important afghan cities in the last four to five weeks. so they know how to build leverage. and i think part of what's happening is the president's realizing that the taliban not only is trying to attack and is doing damage, but they are playing for the long game. he's not sure, and i think the administration around him is not

sure if they can trust what the taliban has atried to. and ultimately as jeremy indicated the goal is to get the afghan government and the taliban together. that's been the difficult next step. that is a really tough sled to hoe. and the u.s. government and the afghan government are taking another look at this deal and determining whether or not they actually want to sit down with the taliban at this moment. >> let me play devil's advocate and say there are those who are at odds with him. there are others who are looking at this that are saying we've been in this war 18 years. we went to war against the taliban and against al qaeda. nothing has particularly gotten better. there are other countries in the region perhaps just as failed as afghanistan. you think of libya, you think of yemen where the u.s. doesn't have 18,000 troops there. why can't the president try to

bring down a drawdown of our troops in the way of other country where's we don't have a robust presence? >> i think because the assessment has been that if we were to withdraw from afghan sta stan, i think we'd be seeing the entire territory to the taliban and ultimately potentially to terrorist groups like isis, like al qaeda. and of course it was afghanistan that was the safe haven that allowed al qaeda to organize plan and train for the 9/11 attacks. we can't allow that to happen again. i believe in diplomacy. i think we should be bringing our troop levels down. we should be training the afghan forces. and over time we should have only a minimal presence in afghanistan. but i think the concerns are well founded that if we're only about, quote, bringing our troops home, then in fact we might actually be endangering u.s. interests more than helping it. >> all right.

eli, you know the saying there is always a tweet for everything. let me put up this tweet from president -- i should say, excuse me, from president trump but at the time he was private citizen trump saying that while barack obama is slashing the military, he is also negotiating with our sworn enemy, the taliban who facilitated 9/11. he seems to have not even taken his own advice criticizing a former president but then turning around and doing exactly what he criticized the former president of doing. >> he's not the most consistent, and that's why he's always a tweet because he's always living in the context in that moment. and right now he's the president of the united states and he wants to draw down the troops. even though it's very kplaktd as we have been talking about. and i think when you play that clip and you hear him saying how easy it will be to do these deals to make peace in the middle east to figure out afghanistan, he proposed to negotiate between india and pakistan, he's trying to talk to kim jong-un, he thinks all these things are easy. they're not so easy.

as much as he can sort of hang out there and suspended animation this promise this possibility that maybe something will happen that comes of talking, it doesn't seem like the administration is really all in the same page when it comes to afghanistan what to do here. obviously getting all of the sides together. it just didn't seem like it was ready to have this meeting yet. why the president decided to put out there that there was going to be a meeting at all when nobody really knew that is another question here. and, you know, as much as he thinks he's the secret ingredient in this diplomacy, this is a really hard situation for him because, yes, he wants to not be an interventionist person. the troops are basically policemen over there. he doesn't want american forces to be used that way. yet at the same time he is very weary about being blamed for a potential mistake, a foreign policy disaster. >> you obviously cover the white house. you know it better than anyone. give us the politics behind the scenes of this. as eli was saying, why announce

something that very few people know about, only for it to come out and appear that you are in a slightly weakened position because you have announced that you're bringing the taliban to camp david just days before 9/11. and walk us through the internal dynamics within the deliberations about the trump white house about whether or not withdrawing from afghanistan should be a definitive course of action. >> well, the president's tweets indicate what we all know which is that he's his own chief negotiator. he is the person who is driving everything at the center of the white house. he wanted to tweet this, and he did this. and there isn't really anybody around him to talk him out of his kind of natural instincts to do that. one of the most interesting things that mike pompeo was on tv talking about that he didn't really answer was why did the president actually cancel this meeting when there were american servicepeople being killed, being murdered throughout the negotiations. so the president says that it's

because he was moved by the taliban's dangerous actions to call off this meeting, but they have been doing that throughout these negotiations, and there just isn't a clear reason why. the other thing that mike pompeo was pressed about as he was making the rounds on tv was the idea of why have this at camp david where all the u.s. officials fled to camp david in the aftermath of 9/11. and mike pompeo simply said the president wanted it to be there. ultimately the president wanted to have this meeting at this place and understood the symbolism, understood that it was a couple days before the anniversary. now you also have mike pompeo not being clear about whether or not the u.s. is going to adhere to that deal that they closely had, which is this 86, 8500 troops remaining in afghanistan, which would be down from 14,000. that also isn't clear about whether or not the u.s. wants to do that. and i think there is a lot of back and forth in the government about what to do there. but ultimately this comes down

to the president wanting to go with his gut and wanting to be this dealmaker. and when he just doesn't feel like doing it, he doesn't do it. >> juan, let me play for you former ambassador to afghanistan talking about the negotiations that, you know, when obama was president, when president obama was in office, the talks that took place with the taliban. watch this. >> these talks that we've been witnessing now have taken place without the government of afghanistan present. when i held them, i did so at the request of the government and with the government there. what the president is doing is delegitimizing the afghan government very much as we delegitimize the vietnamese government in the paris peace talks. this is about surrender. this isn't about a piece. >> those are some pretty strong words there saying this is about surrender, this isn't about peace. the way these negotiations have taken place in the absence of the afghan government, have we

undermined the legitimacy of the current government of afghanistan? >> i think the sequencing and choreography of this is important how it plays out and making sure that we are supporting the afghan government that we are not leaving them on the sidelines that their legitimacy, their power, things like women's rights are not abandoned in the course of this negotiation. and certainly that we don't aggrandize the taliban. i think one of the problems with inviting the taliban leadership to the united states to an iconic location like camp david is you begin to offer too much too soon while they continue to kill, while they are not signed onto a deal yet, while they haven't reconciled with the afghan government. so i think ryan crocker has it right to a certain extent. we've got to be very careful about the sequencing here and how we legitimatize or delegitimatize the afghan government and the taliban. one other thing to note, when the president's tweeting i think

not only does he have his base in mind, u.s. political actors in mind, there are multiple audiences he's trying to reach, and that certainly secretary of pompeo is trying to reach different factions within the tail began. the pakistani government. there's a whole host of folks who have their own interest at stake here. and we have to keep that in mind as well. that puts again a premium on the diplomacy and on the communications and really argues for sensitive tweets and better choreography. >> all right, juan, thank you gentlemen both very much. a lot more to come. we are going to go live to the bahamas as the difficult search for people presses on. and new reporting on the interplay between the american government and trump properties. it's hard to think of two better reporters on this. they both join me live. and as we go break this scene from today in hong kong, thousands flooding the streets

there outside of the u.s. consulate, carrying american flags, singing the "star bengaled banner," asking the united states to help. "kasie dc" back after this. at verizon, we're building the most powerful 5g experience for america. that's why the nfl chose verizon. because they need the massive capacity of 5g with ultra wideband, so more screaming, streaming, posting fans... can experience 5g all at once. this is happening in 13 stadiums all across the country.

now if verizon 5g can do this for the nfl... imagine what it can do for you. and now for their service to the community, we present limu emu & doug with this key to the city. [ applause ] it's an honor to tell you that liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. and now we need to get back to work.

[ applause and band playing ] only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ hey.

you must be steven's phone. now you can know who's on your network and control who shouldn't be, only with xfinity xfi. simple. easy. awesome. the rate of incarceration in any country, you have to look at the numbers and understand this isn't working. it goes beyond just locking people up. what happens after you lock them up? do they deserve to be locked up? are we disproportionately putting one group behind bars as opposed to another? >> it's not a bipartisan issue. it's a nonpartisan issue. the country's in trouble. this is a crisis. > as congress prepares to head back to tomorrow work, some committees appear to be zroeg in on one central question. is president trump profiting in

a way that violates the constitution. nbc news has confirmed that the house oversight committee is investigating whether military spending has helped the president's resort in scotland financially that. came after a politico report that an air force crew made a stop in turnberry. they later confirmed that seven crew members did in fact stay at the president's resort in march but said the visit wasn't unusual and that turnberry was, quote, the closest available and least expensive accommodations. but one crew member tells politico that he was so struck by the choice of hotel that he texted someone close to him and told him about this stay sending a photo and noting that the cruise per diem allowance wasn't enough to cover food and drinks. they are also looking at pence's decision to stay at the president's dunebeg resort given

that it meant commuting 180 miles each way to his official meetings while in country. and of course all of that comes amid scrutiny over the president's proposal to host next year's g7 at his dural resort in miami, which would force foreign gomtds to pay money to the trump organization to participate in that summit. and now the chairman of the judiciary committee jerry nadler saying his committee is considering potential violations of the emoluments clause as part of its impeachment investigation. politico reports that the committee could vote as early as wednesday to spell out the parameters of that probe. joining me now from washington national security reporter for politico and msnbc contributor natasha bertrand who broke that story on the air for us at turnberry and "washington post" political reporter david. el. natasha, let's begin with you because you mentioned that the

air force in fact said that to stop at turnberry wasn't really unusual. though your reporting suggests otherwise. >> reporter: so that statement that we got from the air force came about 22 hours after we published the original story. raising questions of course about why if this was so usual and why if this was not out of the ordinary at all it took them so long to come up with a statement for us. also, you know, that contradicts something that a senior u.s. fair force official who has made these exact trips who was stationed at the air force base in alaska where the c17 crew was based told us that this is actually very unusual. for them to not only be stopping at prestwick, but for them to stop on this particular trip at this small airport en route to the middle east was odd as well as going 30 mile as way to stay at trump turnberry. and i think we really need to

focus also on the fact that regardless of whether or not it was the cheapest available option, which is what we still have yet to verify actually because the air force hasn't given us the relevant documents to prove that. this is still a potential ethical lapse. this is the military that is spending money at the president's resorts and potential -- >> i have done military flights from the u.s. to the middle east. usually their fueling or refueling takes place in shannon, ireland. the house oversight committee now looking into this among all the other things that it could've possibly violated the domestic emoluments clause. have you been able to confirm whether or not that is something that they are going to be doing? >> reporter: yes, absolutely. so they wrote a letter to the pentagon in june. they said that because of these potential violations of domestic and foreign emoluments clause

given the possibility that foreign governments are also spending money at trump turnberry, they were looking for answers from the department of defense. they still have not gotten those answers. but it's interesting because we didn't know when we first got this tip about this happening that the oversight committee was looking into this at all. we learned that this person was so arm left armed by this development that -- alarmed by this development. from the oversight committee on this issue. >> david, i know that you've been following the president's finances or at least the money aspect of his enterprise. since he really essentially took office. i'm curious to get your thoughts when you look at this piece of reporting from natasha, how does it fit into the trend of reporting you've documented and you've witnessed over the course of the past two years? >> well, certainly we've been seeing a lot of examples of the federal government spending money at president trump's properties. and the ones that we've been able to document usually have come by travels. those are the ones we've been

primarily interested in. natasha found another element. you don't know what dates to look for. and the freedom of information act requests that we put in to get federal spending at trump properties come back so slowly that generally we don't understand what's happened until two years later. i was very glad to see that story. and i'm sure there's more out there. it's very, very hard to get that kind of information. >> so what do you make of the state of play or the financial state, if you will, of trump properties from what you've been able to document over the course of the last couple of years of your reporting? what is the general, and maybe hard and different areas in different countries and in just states in the u.s. if you had to look at some of these properties where the president is trying to let's say bring the g7 summit next year, what is their financial state? >> well, as you suspected, we don't actually know the full financial picture.

when eric trump sits down to look at the profits and losses, i don't know if it's a profit or a loss. i can't see that big picture. but certainly looking property by property, it's much more common to see properties where trump's business has gone down since he got into politics. this is a guy whose brand was urban luxury cool, you know, coastal city places to hang out. then he turned those very customers against him. he ran against those people. so trump's hotel in new york and chicago at doral especially down in florida, you have seen business decline. in doral it dropped 70%. a lot of these places him being president has hurt his brand more than it's helped it. >> the house judiciary committee is set to take this up as part of their impeachment investigation. jerry nadler not shying away from it. the president has always been sensitive about his finances and certainly the trump organization. what do you know about how the white house is reacting to this latest round of investigations? >> well, the people over there

who i've talked to, they say here we go again. they really look at this and they say, look, the americans elected a president who happens to be a very successful businessman, he owns a lot of properties. i don't know if it's inevitable really that the attorney general plans to throw a party there that's going to cost him $30,000. that raises a lot of people's eyebrows. that's certainly something that congressman nadler and his committee are going to look at. but when you talk to the white house about it, they are exasperated and they shrug and say there is nothing going on here, he owns hotels, it is what it is. they don't really see it as anything that there's something wrong with. and they are sort of intent it seems like to respond to all this by saying this is all motivated by partisan politics. these are more attacks against the president. they portray all investigations as attacks as partisan-motivated

attacks. and now they're going to go after this. that's what you're going to hear. >> this is a president who campaigned on draining the swamp, "the new york times" is offering some additional context about the ways the president may be profiting off of his presidency. and that is the new reality of politics. the times "reporting that 250 trump administration officials have been spotted at trump properties since 2017. the paper also reports that the fec shows that since january of 2017, at least $5.6 million has been spent at trump properties by political candidates or party organizations including by mr. trump's own political operation. in the four years before mr. trump's bid for president, these same hotels and other venues collected a total of $119,000 in federally regulated payments from political groups. this is a new reality in

washington d.c. >> well, i am hearing a lot of the same things that eli is hearing which is from the white house which is that they will call this presidential harassment any sort of looking at the president possibly profiting off of the presidency is something that they see as partisan politics. but as you just pointed out, the president and the trump organization is obviously profiting and benefitting from the idea that the president can at least attract people to his properties. and in washington, d.c., there's this idea that there are people who want to influence the president or want to bump into associates of the president and the trump hotel in washington, d.c. has been a place where people have gathered. the president has also made numerous visits to his own property. so if you want to be a republican who wants to be known as being seen with the president or seen with aides of the president, those are the properties that you're going to go to. i was in g7 in france when news broke that the president was talking about wanting to hold the next g7 in doral. and the president said, hey, this is a great property, my

people have looked at all across florida, all across the united states. they think trump doral is the best place to do this. so even though the president hasn't officially made that stance, he's made it clear that he sees no problem with it being held there. and watch dog groups say that they are ready to file lawsuits because they are so appalled by it. and they see this for a possible future presidents profiting off the presidency. but overall the president obviously does not seem bothered by people looking into this. the. >> david, before i let you go, i've got to get your chance to respond to eric trump, the funny thing in all of this is that, you know, journalism school one day will probably be sending this letter to students or teaching journalism students that this is perhaps the most professional letter in soliciting to anonymous sources. he put you on blast seemingly for that standard message that you sent to a trump organization

staffer seeking an off-the-record letter. "these are the tactics used by the washington post." jeff bezos, you should be very proud. >> obviously he doesn't like it. and if i was the boss of any organization, i probably wouldn't like it either. but the point is this is what journalists do all the time. if you cover an organization whether it's the trump organization or the democratic party or the washington redskins, you do your best to let them know, look, if you have something to say, if you think there's something happening that the world ought to know\i am the person to reach out to and here's how to reach me. i've had a lot of success with it. so you're just seeing kind of one little snapshot of that process. obviously when you write these letters you think, okay, well, this person may turn it over to their boss, which is fine. that's part of the deal. so i wasn't surprised that eric

trump saw a copy of that letter. it's not that bad of a deal. >> i will going to say he's also sent the link out to everyone as well. so appreciate that. excellent piece of reporting from natasha bertrand, david. coming up, we are live in the bahamas where cleanup and recovery are just beginning after dorian. the death toll stands at 43 with that number expected to rise. ♪ spending time together, sometimes means doing nothing at all. holiday inn. we're there. so you can be too.

you wouldn't accept from any one else. 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. now, there's skyrizi. i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. 3 out of 4 people achieved... ...90% clearer skin at 4 months... ...after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections... ...and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection... ...or symptoms such as fevers,... ...sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs... ...or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. i feel free to bare my skin. visit skyrizi.com.

spending time together, sometimes means doing nothing at all. holiday inn. we're there. so you can be too.

at least 43 people are dead and thousands are still unaccounted for in the bahamas nearly a week after hurricane dorian moved through as a category 5 storm. rescuers continue to search through rubble left behind from homes, businesses, and vehicles all damaged. the coast guard says it rescued at least 308 people so far. many shelters are at capacity with the united nations saying that 70,000 people remain homeless. joining me now from nassau, the capital of the bahamas is nbc's calipari with an update. recovery both and rescue efforts as well as the plan going forward. >> reporter: yeah. so nassau is the center of those recovery efforts. a bit of good news. we heard from air traffic

control that the air space was full all day today. that's a good sign. that means stuff is getting to these islands. grand bahama and abaco were the islands most affected. just to give you an idea of how bad the conditions were there and how bad it was during the storm, we heard earlier today from representatives. >> this is something that has the attention of the highest levels of the u.s. government and we are here to help. there are communities that have been destroyed, absolutely devastated. it's almost like a focused nuclear attack. and so the needs in those areas are acute and they're immediate, and they're serious. >> reporter: usiid putting out tweets in the last 20 minutes that they actually rescued two individuals which is remarkable when you think about how far where we have been from the storm. i wish i had seen more injured people in that bay over my shoulder because it would be an indication that there are survivors. but we just haven't seen anyone. it gives you an idea of how

powerful that storm is. important and worth mentioning that the search and rescue efforts will continue over the course of the next few days before it switches into a recovery only effort. >> cal, very quickly we heard in that sound byte that you played there, the staffer talking about acute and immediate needs from. your reporting on the ground, what are some of those acute and immediate needs? >> reporter: to get people off of those islands. the conditions are incredibly harsh. the sun is obviously very hot here in the caribbean. there is no shelter. so it's not necessarily a matter of getting food to the islands, although that's important. the trick and the key for people is to get people off those islands, get them here to nassau, get them in hotels and cruise ships so that they can get the debris cleared from the islands. there are no phones, there is no power so they are trying to get those people off of those islands and here to nassau. >> calipari in the bahamas for

us. when we come back, clues hiding in plain sight. pulitzer prize winning reporter joins me with his in-depth reporting that goes back to the future on russia's playbook for disrupting elections. a case from 2007 that has echos of 2016. that's coming up next. let's be honest, insurance can feel a little outdated. the paperwork... the calling for everything. the searching for id cards... it's like you're stuck in the 90s. that's why esurance makes it simple with an app that has everything you need because that's how we live nowadays. rad. your id card is on a bodacious tiny future tv. wow! you're really committed to this whole 90's thing, aren't ya? no, i'm just saying what's in the script. that's true. everything we're saying's in the script. when insurance is simple, it's surprisingly painless. 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. you wanna see something yethatamazing?ing.. go to hilton instead of a travel site and you'll experience a whole new range of emotions like... the relaxing feeling of knowing you're getting the best price. these'll work. the utter delight of free wi-fi... . oh man this is the best part. isn't that you? yeah. and the magic power of unlocking your room with your phone. i can read minds too. really? book at hilton.com. if you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25% off that stay. expect better. expect hilton. these days we're all stressed. i hear you, sister. stress can affect our minds. i call this dish, "stress." stress can also affect our bodies. so, i'm partnering with cigna to remind you that your emotional and physical health are more connected than you think. go in for your annual check-up. and be open with your doctor about anything you feel. physically, and emotionally. body and mind. cigna. together, all the way.

that's better. that's why with dell small business technology advisors. you'll get tailored product solutions, expert tech advice and one-on-one partnership. call an advisor today at 877-buy-dell. ♪

i think the biggest national security threat can be broken into two segments.

one is external, and clearly those nations, russia and china, that are trying to impose their authoritarian models and decisions over other countries, whether it be in the south china sea or in the ukraine in parts of georgia that russia's occupied. they have mucked around in our elections. so externally, i would look at those two. >> all right. that's former defense secretary james mattis who was asked about his biggest national security concerns. it's nothing new for russia whose signer attacks in fact date back over a decade. >> when i was in washington and we were covering the russia story, we had this massive timeline document. and one of the first things on the timeline was russia hacks estonia. i'm really interested in this estonia story. it just has this feel of like a missed warning sign. and so i'm kind of wrestling with this idea about whether

estonia was a one-off, whether it was a cyber attack, or whether it was really the precursor to what got launched in 2016. >> the proverbial canary in the contr coal mine. >> that attack successfully hit estonia's government, media systems, and banking. now worries continue that russia once again plans to meddle in 2020. his work is featured in tonight's episode of the weekly on fx. matt, good to have you with us. let's talk a little bit about this. going back to that 2007 hack that you alluded to, why was that so significant, why was it as you and others see it, a precursor to what happened in our own elections here? >> well, so, on the surface what happened was russia launched cyber attack, we want on for

weeks trying to take down the government systems and the banking systems. and it really was seen as a warning sign for, well, we in the united states we better harden our infrastructure or, you know, protect against cyber attacks. but i think one of the things that i learned going back and really diving into this is this had all of the elements that we saw in the 2016 attacks. they had fake news, it was the era before social media, but they were using the comments sections on news websites. they had disinformation campaigns. they had the cyber component. they were also doing the same thing they did in the united states which is kind of pulling at the seams of natural division inside society and actually getting people into the streets. so when you pull this all together, it starts to look more and more like not a dry run or a trial run because they actually did some stuff. but a foundation, a blueprint actually for what happened in

2016. it seems like 2007 might obviously on the surface appear relatively recently within the decade. but in reality in technology terms, it almost seems like a lifetime ago because the technology has changed so much. how has russia adopted and adapted new technologies, whether it's social media and others to target our elections and those of other countries? >> sure. what we saw in 2016 of course was, you know, using twitter and using facebook, using ad bias that targeted specific demographics of people. but what the real lesson i think from estonia was that the natural divisions, the stuff that, the real flash points in society, whether it's immigration or race or income inequality, abortion, day rights, those hot-button issues really make for a natural, you

know, weapons in a disinformation warfare. and so when you couple that with modern technology, the more divided a country is, the more vulnerable it is to this sort of thing. and so that i think is what spins this story forward when we talk about 2020. you know, if the two parties aren't talking to each other and democrats don't like republicans and republicans don't like democrats, it actually makes them more vulnerable to manipulation. >> eli, let me get your thoughts on this. and i will start with the sound byte from the former fbi director bob mueller in his testimony back on july 24th. watch this. >> first our investigation found that the russian government interfered in our election in sweeping and systematic fashion. >> did you find evidence to suggest they will try to do this again? >> it wasn't a single attempt. they are doing it as we sit here. >> all right. so clearly mueller has said this. jim mattis has alluded to it.

do you think this current administration heeds those warnings? >> no. i mean, it's obvious that they don't. this president feels so, you know, affected by any claim, any news that russia had anything to do with the outcome of the election with his victory in 2016 they just can't really countenance that reality. and he tries to avoid it. i was in osaka at the g20 in june. and when he went into the room and sat next to reporters in that room and they said are you going to tell him not to tell putin to meddle in the election? he waved his finger and sort of joked don't meddle in the election. he just doesn't take it all that seriously. >> and certainly people on capitol hill, at least in some circles don't seem to be taking it as seriously as well. you can watch tonight's episode of "the weekly" at 10:00 p.m. eastern on fx. in our next hour i'm going to talk to a leading expert set to

brief congress this week on the toll that separating minors at the border. it's an interview you will only see on "kasie dc." but first an exclusive you won't want to miss next. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. i love you! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ at verizon, we're building the most powerful 5g experience for america.

that's why the nfl chose verizon. because they need the massive capacity of 5g with ultra wideband, so more screaming, streaming, posting fans... can experience 5g all at once. this is happening in 13 stadiums all across the country. now if verizon 5g can do this for the nfl... imagine what it can do for you. into our subaru forester. we fit a lot of life (dad) it's good to be back. (mom) it sure is. (mom vo) over the years, we trusted it to carry and protect the things that were most important to us. 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.

that's ensure max protein, with high protein and 1 gram sugar. it's a sit-up, banana! bend at the waist! i'm tryin'! keep it up. you'll get there. whoa-hoa-hoa! 30 grams of protein, and one gram of sugar. ensure max protein. (past them because she didn't sknow they were talking to her.g and she would just walk right (deborah) i just could not hear. i was hesitant to get the hearing aids because of my short hair, but nobody even sees them. (avo) our nearly invisible hearing aids are just one reason we've been the brand leader for over 70 years. (deborah) when i finally could hear for the first time, i started crying. i could hear everything. (avo) get special anniversary savings and your chance to win a seven day hawaiian cruise. call 1-800-miracle today. ♪when you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion,♪ ♪upset stomach, diarrhea.

try new pepto liquicaps for fast relief and ultra-coating. ♪nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea.♪ get powerful relief with new pepto bismol liquicaps. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, hmm. exactly. so you only pay for what you need. nice. but, uh... what's up with your... partner? not again. limu that's your reflection. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪

all right. so, it's been a busy "newsweek" particularly at kasie d.c. she and her husband, mark, welcomed their first child weighing in at 9.5 pounds. now for a kasie d.c. exclusive i'm joined live on the phone by kasie hunt. first of all, how are you feeling? >> it's great to be with you, it's great to see you in the chair. we're doing well here, you know. as you know, it's an absolute whirlwind the first few days, but we're thrilled. we're kind of getting the hang of things first time parents. >> you must be over the moon and having a lot of folks reaching out to you and stuff like that. first off, have you been able to get any kind of sleep or are you just totally too excited? >> it's a work in progress, but, you know what? it's a little bit of an upside to having a 9 1/2 pound.

mars surprised us and it was a long day in labor, i will say that. but he has come home and is eating and sleeping so far like a champ. if you have any wood knock on it for me. >> we're very happy to hear you're doing so well. we have a picture of him, just watching a few moments ago. i'm happy to see that kasie d.c. has a new fan and already taking in the world of politics. >> baby's first tv show. ayman, i want to say, too, the outpouring of support have you from our nbc family across the board from "morning joe" and mika, who could not have been more supportive of me through this entire process, to our "meet the press" family, our producer has been absolutely wonderful to us and everybody else who has been behind us on this whole long journey. as you know, it really takes a village and them being supportive of us to take this time with our new family.

it's just meant the world to us. >> we're all so happy for you and the outpouring of everyone from here to you. i hope you can feel that. we made a temporary change to kasie d.c. you see it on your screen. that's not my handwriting but it's temporary i promise. >> ayman, i'm thrilled to have you in the chair. thank you very much for being willing to step in. i can't tell you the peace of mind it gives us as we spend all of our time -- i'm just seeing the graphic as i'm sitting here. it's great. love it. >> take all the time to you. give my best to matt. see you soon. >> thank you. >> kasie hunt, thank you so much. interesting weekend of tweets for the president first the one about the taliban. when we return, in-depth analysis on this tweet with a

laser pointer and a cat. the president did, in fact, tweet that out. we'll talk about brand new polling in the 2020 field and kasie dvr team of producers watches the sunday shows so you don't have to. ♪

spending time together, sometimes means doing nothing at all. holiday inn. we're there. so you can be too. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. i wish i could shake your hand. granted. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ enterprise car sales and you'll take any trade-in?rom that's right! great! here you go... well, it does need to be a vehicle. but - i need this out of my house. (vo) with fair, transparent value for every trade-in... enterprise makes it easy.

now, there's skyrizi. i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. 3 out of 4 people achieved... ...90% clearer skin at 4 months... ...after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections... ...and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection... ...or symptoms such as fevers,... ...sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs... ...or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. i feel free to bare my skin. visit skyrizi.com.

here, hello! starts with -hi!mple... how can i help? a data plan for everyone. everyone? everyone. let's send to everyone! [ camera clicking ] wifi up there? -ahhh. sure, why not? how'd he get out?! a camera might figure it out. that was easy! glad i could help. at xfinity, we're here to make life simple. easy. awesome. so come ask, shop, discover at your xfinity store today.

having the taliban come to the u.s. especially on 9/11. >> how was the taliban going to get to u.s. soil? what were they thinking? >> harpsharpie fwat. >> is there anything left? >> i don't -- i think this whole sharpie thing is way being overplayed. >> he didn't talk about it every day for a week, eventually it

would wear out. >> he's talking about it because you're talking about it. >> the fact is he's wrong, full stop. let's move on. >> noaa has sided with president trump over its own scientists. >> a government agency that he controls, he got them to lie for him. >> this is the weather. it was the science. we saw what we saw. >> are you worried that the credibility of the words of the president of the united states has been. no. >> all right. welcome back to this second hour of kasie dc. as the bahamas and states along the east coast of united states continue to deal with the effects of dorian this week, president trump stayed fixated on a state that wasn't affected. it all started with a tweet, the president saying last sunday that alabama would, quote, most likely be hit much harder than anticipated. it was a claim that the national weather service in birmingham felt the need to clarify after receiving a flurry of concerned phone calls from residents.

president spent days defending himself and even displayed a map that appeared to can you a hand-drawn circle that extended the cone of uncertainty into alabama. friday he got some cover. noaa released unsigned statement that read, quote, from wednesday, august 28th through monday, september 2nd, the information provided by noaa and the national hurricane center to president trump and the wider public demonstrated that tropical storm force winds from hurricane dorian could impact alabama. now "the washington post" has obtained an internal email sent out a week before that statement was released in which a top noaa official warned its staff against providing any opinion on the matter. national weather service told nbc news the directive made no specific reference to the president but noaa meteorologist told "the post" it was understood internally to refer to the president as it came

right after the controversy was sparked, adding, quote, this is the first time i felt pressure from above to not say what truly is the forecast. and with that i would like to welcome my panel. deputy administrator of noaa during the obama administration, monica medina, former nrcc communications director, co-founder and managing editor, tiffany cross and in washington, white house correspondent for pbs newshour and nbc political analyst. great to have you all with us. monica, you have a great deal of experience in this field. when you look back at the week and the way it's played out, what's the big takeaway for you, as someone who served at the highest levels of that organization from how everything has played out? >> a couple of takeaways. the first is that this was unprecedented. in modern times we haven't had a president or political apparatus around the weather forecasters actually lean in and try to get them to change a forecast, much

less have a president change it after the fact. so, that was really remarkably bad. and disturbing to me as a former person in that agency who worked hard to keep the integrity of the science intact. secondly, i think the agency itself is now in a tailspin. there are a lot of people there very concerned about this kind of pressure and worried about it happening again. and everyday forecasts are pretty routine and run of the mill, but in an emergency, that's when you have to have complete confidence and what the weather forecast office did in birmingham was completely normal and what they should have done, which was to correct the forecast so that the right information was going out to people and they either didn't over prepare or underprepare for a storm. >> ramesh, we've been in a vicious cycle over the course of a week because the president continuing to insist on his position, continuing to treat and lash out against the media. the media undoubtedly covering

the various statements coming out, whether it's from noaa or the national hurricane center and others. from the president's perspective, this is certainly something he does not want to back down on. >> this fits the pattern of president trump not wanting to back down when he's caught sending out misleading information or caught lying about different things when it comes to immigration or the economy. in this case, it's the weather. what we see is something remarkable. something that, at first, was a small thing that people were like, okay, whatever. let's get over this. it stretched on and on and on. then you had the federal government essentially telling employees, don't cross the president even if the science is behind you. that, i think, is where critics of the president get very, very worried. also i was talking to a democratic consultant, who was talking to me about the idea that we're now learning even more about how our laws function. this week, most of us learned that there's a federal law that says you can't publish forecasts that are inaccurate. i certainly, as a reporter, had

never heard of that. the idea that we had to talk about that in reference to the president, speaking to the american people, is in some ways problematic. what you saw in alabama was a local field office trying to help people get ready for the hurricane and help people not get panicked, help people not get into chaos. now it seems as though the national office is slapping down that local office saying, look, you crossed the president. even if you were right, we're not going to back you. that could be a pattern we see in other agencies when it comes to immigration or health care or a number of other agencies. >> matt norman, a textbook president troling the media, going after specific news organizations, cnn, "new york times" and others. but you also have to wonder -- we got a little bit of it from senator roy blunt. everybody wants this to end but the president. >> yeah. this happens a lot over this summer. we saw it with the squad, with the tweets about baltimore, right? it becomes this ping pong game

between president trump and the media and keeps going on and on and on. the republicans i talked to think this whole week talking about sharpie gate was ridiculously stupid and that i think in two kind of ways. as we talk about 2020 and what the president is doing, yes, he bloted out the suvn today, or this week, as he has always been able to do. no candidate for 2020 was able to get any message across and it did seep down. people not involved in politics are making jokes about sharpies and the like. i wonder, though, this is the exact type of story for folks who might have been more anti-hillary than pro-trump in 2016, find exhausting. that's why there's appeal to a joe biden that will settle the office down a little bit. there won't be as much politicization of the weather, so to speak. that's one of the things of how these stories are impacted. >> what have you heard from your colleagues at noaa as supposedly a scientific organization, has

it now been politicized because of the way they've weighed in? >> they are feeling the pressure. i started our daily planet because we were hearing these stories from other agencies. noaa had been relatively unscathed and hadn't felt pressures to change the science or feel like their job was at risk if they did what they were supposed to do, what the statutes, the law tells them to do. . now i think they're worried they won't be able to do their jobs effectively. one of my successors said he couldn't imagine how leaders would stand up in front of the agency and look them in the eye after having told them to do -- not to take on the president. >> tiffany, we understand the significance of what it means for ordinary americans when organizations and agencies like

this, especially when there is a hurricane and natural disaster emergency. what's the political impact of th this. >> essentially, you've seen donald trump yell fire. he's creating chaos. time and again, the republican party is not willing to stand up and say this president is a liar. that's a problem. you saw that with roy blunt on the sunday talk show. this say problem. we know the president is a liar at this point. that's not up for debate. i think his base, who will always believe those lies. look, he still enjoyed a 78 to 89% approval rating among the republican party depending on the poll you look at. that's a problem. what's his legislative accomplishment? what are they approving of so far? the fact that we don't have anybody to counter this within the party. i obviously skew left. i'm cheering on the smart thinking of a republican party. they laid the pathwork for him.

it started with sarah palin and we ended up with donald trump. political repercussions, i have to disagree with you, it's not stupid to talk about this. it's a major issue when the president is directing agencies to lie for him. >> we don't have anything that says he directed noaa to come out with that statement. >> i'm using my own comments. >> i wanted to make sure you didn't see something i didn't see. >> no, no, no. >> i wasn't calling the fact that there's a national service in noaa and contradiction the whole thing stupid. because the president keeps tweeting about it, the fact we keep talking about a sharpie or errant tweet. >> fair enough but there is -- go ahead. i want to get your thoughts on something else. but go ahead. >> people's lives are put at risk when the warnings and the watches are not accurate. in florida, people who died, died because they were putting themselves at risk getting their

houses prepared. two people fell off roofs and ladders. people in alabama feared they needed to get ready and that makes them do things that are risky. it wasn't just about the president's hand size or his crowd size or some other inconsequential lie or a lie that might actually have repercussions down the road. it's a falsehood that will have repercussions right away at a time we're seeing more dangerous storms. he has denied climate change and now he has doubled down on that. >> a climate change -- >> denier. >> yeah. he doesn't believe in the science. another scary thing. the party echoes him. it's no longer republican party. it's donald trump's party. >> millions of people believe him. that's the scary part. >> congress is back tomorrow in session. or coming back to washington, d.c., back at work. do you think this will have legs going forward?

will the president remain his attacks going forward on this issue, or do you think being in d.c. it may die down as we heard from senator roy blunt? >> there is the idea that the president is fund-raising for his campaign off this. selling a marker, making fun of the idea that this even happened. going forward, democrats will be so focused on the president's possible conflicts of interest and the president's aides possibly having lied to congress. i've been in touch with democratic sources who sent me a long list of things, saying that they want to both legislate and investigate. i believe they'll be investigating other things and not sharpie gate. the fact that we put up the marker shows that the president is obviously interested in keeping this. if he wants to, he will keep tweeting and talking about this, especially if he gets backed into a corner and talking about investigations, he might go back

to sharpie. >> he has also tried to sell straws in the past. it is important to note, it is illegal to doctor a government forecast or government map, i should say. >> who knew? >> right. thank you very much. much more to come on kasie d.c. elizabeth warren pulls ahead in new hampshire. first, money taken from fema and the pentagon to pay for a border wall. i'll talk to members of congress this week about the toll that separations are taking on migrant children coming to america. devices are like doorways

that could allow hackers into your home. and like all doors, they're safer when locked. that's why you need xfinity xfi. with the xfi gateway, devices connected to your homes wifi are protected. which helps keep people outside from accessing your passwords, credit cards and cameras. and people inside from accidentally visiting sites that aren't secure. and if someone trys we'll let you know. xfi advanced security. if it's connected, it's protected. call, click, or visit a store today.

the trump white house has laid bear their plans, effectively barring refugees from most parts of the world from resettling here in the united states. the u.s. already capped the number of refugees allowed in the country at 30,000 for 2019. according to "the times" that is a 27% cut from the obama era. same time, the administration is diverting $3.6 billion in funding that was supposed to go to pentagon projects. the president diverting $155 million from fema's disaster relief on top of that. also this week, the president's campaign launches vamos to

victory in houston, texas, the same day as the democratic debate. the event includes a panel discussion with rnc chair mcdaniel, kayleigh mcenany and local stakeholders. consequences of family separation and prolonged detentions on migrant children. we'll dig into that in a moment. julia, let me begin, first of all, with you if i may. the administration has been somewhat unusual in its attempts to cut back the number of refugees settling here in the country. what more do you have on that reporting? >> ayman, it's interesting. a lot of people don't realize it's completely within the executive's power, meaning the white house and the president, to decide how many refugees come into the country each year, under the obama administration, for example, when refugees were fleeing syria, he increased that

to over 100,000. he can do that without congress' approval. now the white house is considering -- they have until the end of the month to set this number, considering bringing this number all the way down to zero, letting in refugees in extreme cases. you could argue refugees are trying to come here in extreme cases anyway. what we know about the ways that they are going about this is that they're also woshing on a plan that would allow cities and states to say no to taking in refugees. usually, the state department and the administration will work with local governments to make sure that they're able to take in the refugees but essentially it comes down to refugee resettlement agencies to take in these people. now they're able to say no, which really limits the places where refugees can be resettled and just furthers this narrative from the administration that refugees are a burden and that it is easier just to slash those numbers and make them much smaller. >> julia, this is obviously

something that the president has campaigned on sinces they first days coming down the escalator in trump tower. do we know whether or not steven miller has been instrumental in shaping this policy? he has been a hawk on refugees coming into this country in general. >> stephen miller is behind almost every policy you see, refugee resettlement or the southern border. i talk to people who are very much in touch with stephen miller and who are championing what goes through there, and they talk about how this has been a priority of theirs for a long time, to try to decrease the number of refugees. i do have to point out, if you think of refugees as a national security concern, which is what stephen miller and the president says, you have to stop and think for a minute about how they go through the most rigorous process to be screened. it's far more rigorous than people who come in on visas to

work here, u.n., department of homeland security and it takes two years before they've gone through this rigorous process and then they're resettled. >> doctor, i'm interested to get your thoughts in terms of what you've documented or able to learn about the mental state of the migrant children that we, as a country, have separated on the border from their parents. older kids do better with coping mechanisms, expressing their emotions. younger ones not so much. >> actually, ayman, everyone is at risk. there's been so much attention paid to the consequences of this trauma on children, their families, mental health consequences. what's really important and what is going to be an important focus of discussion in a real bipartisan namanner in this comg week is to dig deeper about what's going on inside the bodies of these children, inside their brain, immune system. deep and rapidly growing science

base. it helps to open up that black box and understand the very dire consequences of constant overactive stress response systems, what we call toxic stress and what this means not only for children right now but really the very deep and serious problems that most of them will have for the rest of their lives. >> can you talk about that? and what are the long-term effects to the trauma of these separation policies? >> this gets to the heart of what we know about the biology of the stress response. all of us knows what stress feels like. when we're feeling stressed -- most stress is short lived. our heart rate goes up. blood pressure goes up. stress hormone goes up. it's what we feel when we're stressed out. but that stress system, which is very helpful in an acute situation actually turns on us, if it continues to constantly be

activa activated. this is what's going on, in the lives of all these children. we pay attention to this periodically. it gets a lot of attention in the press. we move to other things. we come back to it. we talk about how many weeks, how many months does it take to resolve all of this? chronic stress activation is literally disrupting the brain circuits in developing brains, affecting children's ability to focus attention, affecting their immune system. it literally is not just a matter of mental health problems. these are children who have heart disease, diabetes, depression and a whole host of diseases as a result of this chronic wear and tear effect. >> certainly a scary picture for the long-term health of these children. the president is holding a vamos to victory campaign rally september 12th. hispanic heritage month. is there a pas path for this president in 2020 where he does not win the hispanic vote?

can he possibly -- given the fact that so many of his policies alienate, target that community, and yet he's going there, holding a campaign rally with with, quote, local stakeholders. >> i don't think anyone expects him to win the hispanic vote. president bush got the highest we've had in this party in quite a while. two weeks out from the campaign we were rising in the polls in places like suburban houston, dallas, orange county, california. these were seats we wanted to hold. as soon as the caravan talks started, folks that were up ten points were all of a sudden in a dead heat. folks up by eight were losing by two. there's real consequence in terms of polling. it's not just hispanics. when you're appealing to them, it's suburban voters in virginia, colorado. they might not be hispanic themselves but have hispanic neighbors as part of their

church. >> right. >> it's broader than just that. >> can he win without winning the hispanic vote, i meant to say does this mean he realizes how important this vote is going into 2020? thank you for your reporting and doctor, thank you for your insights. >> brand new polling on the 2020 race.

a lot of folks ask me why their dishwasher doesn't get everything clean. i tell them, it may be your detergent... that's why more dishwasher brands recommend cascade platinum. it's specially-designed with the soaking, scrubbing and rinsing built right in. cascade platinum's unique actionpacs dissolve quickly... ...to remove stuck-on food. . . for sparkling-clean dishes, the first time. choose the detergent that lets your dishwasher do the dishes! cascade platinum. the number one recommended brand in north america. play it cool and escape heartburn fast

with new tums chewy bites cooling sensation. ♪ tum tum tum tums

common theme at the state party convention. let's see if you can figure this out. >> look how democrats win. every single time, we have tried to play it safe with the most established and, let's say, washington tenured figures. every single time we've come up short. >> people are scared but we can't choose a candidate we don't believe in because we're scared. and we can't ask other people to vote for someone we don't believe in. >> we can't make the mistake that says oh, we've got to play it safe. this election is just about finding somebody who can beat donald trump. >> meanwhile, an abc news/washington post poll shows

vice president joe biden continuing to lead the pack. elizabeth warren is rising, six percentage points since july and kamala harris has faded slightly, fell four percentage points during the same time period. senior adviser for vice president joe biden's campaign, symone sanders and senior politics editor beth fuey. symone, from the sound bites we played there, no one mentioning the former vice president by name but eludes to something that the campaign has been running on. how do you see those comments? do you see those as a dig on the former vice president? >> i'm going to let your panel pontificate on the punditry. that's what they're there to do tonight. i reject the notion that vice president biden is the safe candidate.

he's running on a bold and aggressive agenda. it's a radical concept, in this day and age, to talk about bipartisanship, to talk about getting things done, to address the urgency of now. across the country in new hampshire, in south carolina, in places in iowa, nevada and many places in between, voters are taking a look at a number of candidates. but when you look at vice president biden, voters know him. >> what are some of the bold proposals? >> which bold proposal would you like to talk about? whether it's climate change proposal, whether it's our proposal for zero through 12 education, tripling the funding, title one funding to create better schools in every zip code, whetherware talking about our proposal for health care, building on the enormous success of obamacare and addressing the fierce urgency -- lot of plans talk about health care. some don't even have a plan. a lot of plans out there and what needs to be addressed right away in terms of health care in

this country can't wait ten years, as some proposals would do. >> okay. are you at all concerned when you see the rise that senators elizabeth warren and others have had in the polling that some have said joe biden has name recognition, experience. he is a known commodity, has been around the scene for a long time on the national level and as this race drags on and folks like senator sanders and elizabeth warren continue to rise, that spells trouble for the vice president. >> no. i think what we have seen is that, yes, voters do know joe biden. it's not just name recognition. to be clear, senator sanders enjoys name recognition as does senator warren and other individuals in this race. it's more than name recognition. they know who he is, they know his record, that he stood shoulder to shoulder with then president obama for eight years. there's a story on the front page of "the new york times" today that talks about vice president biden in the fight to defeat robert bourke, reagan's

then nominee to the supreme court. defeating borque and the person who was nominated to serve in his place, justice kennedy. he was deciding vote on marriage eequality, the reason women's right to choose is protected, civil rights limiting the scope of the death penalty and many things on down the line. he was chairman of the judiciary committee, senator biden, that fought and defeated robert borque. that's a bold, progressive win for folks all across this country and that's what we're running on. that's what we're reminding people about. >> this conversation to our team, beth, let me begin with you as we mentioned elizabeth warren getting a bump in some of these polls. what do you attribute that to? >> i was there in new hampshire when she got that huge reception. she has a very good team in new hampshire that packed that stadium, filled with their supporters, brought in the thunder sticks. it was loud. she gave a great speech.

clearly, she has a lot of energy in new hampshire right next to her home state. no question about it. we've seen her rise in polling for months. little by little by little. top tier, no question about it, with vice president biden and with sanders. the problem that still exists is that senator sanders and warren are in a cage match with progressive voters. they're both ranking at the same level, 18, 17% most polling, allowing vice president bide toen hover above. until and unless the sanders/warren clash resolves itself in some way it's hard to see how joe biden gets brought down by the two of them, unless he makes a major stumble. >> did you want to weigh in on that? >> i'm always concerned about the polls. you think about the poll right now, it tends to be older people, unanswered calls don't include young people.

i'm just not sure that his front-runner status is true. he polls well with older voters. symone is a friend of mine and is one of the sharpest minds in politics here but i'm not sure that bipartisanship is a bolder move in this environment. i think it scares younger people that you're going to be able to extend your hand and get accomplished on the hill. i worpd what barack obama feels about that trying to work eight years with mitch mcconnell. i'm not sure we can call him the front-runner at this point. >> having seen vice president biden campaigning in new hampshire, no doubt a lot of older voters feel comfortable with him. he is somebody who is -- presents himself as a paradigm of integrity, kindness, warmth. if that's what you're looking for. if that, to you, as a democrat is what you're seeking, is he a good person to fill that role.

>> that's a lot of focus on new hampshire. it's a state that's 94% white and doesn't reflect the changing demographics. when you get to primaries like texas, nevada, south carolina, when those voters have to weigh in, it may be through a different lens than looking for kindness. >> vice president biden does extremely well in a number of these contests. tiffany made a point that our campaign is actually making. >> i'll come back to you in a second. matt? >> texas and south carolina, to a point, if you're not doing well in iowa, you're not going to do well in texas and on and on and on. rick perry is up by 11 in 2012. you need to have competent campaigns like elizabeth warren, bernie sanders and joe biden have, in order to capitalize on that. john edwards in iowa had fully

built-out campaigns. robert borque. not to date myself. that was before i was born. if we're pointing to things like that, over 30 years ago, that may be a problem for the biden campaign. >> i want to get your thoughts. axios said joe biden is being talked about most on social media. a xc axios got the data on 100 stories about the former vice president, 77 were negative. of the 25 biggest stories, 24 of those were negative. are you at all concerned about that? >> i have said before and will say it again, this moment it is incumbent upon all of us to raise the bar. that includes the media as well. i know stories about gaffes or at this ti tit-for-tats may seem sexy. folks on the campaign trail want to talk about health care, the economy. they want to know what our

candidate and other candidates in this race, their plans for the future. if the media talks to more actual people and doesn't look at twitter to do our reporting, we would see that merit in the coverage. >> it is an important part of the publicity and the coverage of all of this you can't deny that social media has not become part of the reality of our politics. you can't disregard social media saying it's not important to look at the stories out there. >> that's not what i said. i said social media is not the totality of the conversation going on. if you only look at social media, you're not getting the full conversation. that's why debates are important. >> right. >> might even, dare i say, helpful. vice president biden will use the opportunity at the debate in houston, texas, this thursday, to speak directly to the american people. a lot of people seem to talk about joe biden. you don't always get to hear his proposals and plans but you can expect to on thursday. >> symone sanders, thank you. beth fuey as well, thank you.

>> as we go to break, did andrew yang just foil his chances to win new hampshire after the new england patriots picked up antonio brown from the oakland raiders which, to be honest, was the most intense news cycle of all yesterday? yang tweeted this out. man, i can't stand the patriots. then vintage analysis from president trump after this. >> bill belichick is a great guy, friend of mine. he was telling me, somebody told me that he will often times -- the players on the team. ) hey. go home. (woman) banjo! sorry, it won't happen again. come on, let's go home. after 10 years, we've covered a lot of miles. good thing i got a subaru. (man) looks like you got out again, huh, banjo. (avo) love is out there. find it in a subaru crosstrek.

hour 36 in the stakeout. as soon as the homeowners arrive, we'll inform them that liberty mutual customizes home insurance, so they'll only pay for what they need. your turn to keep watch, limu. wake me up if you see anything. [ snoring ] [ loud squawking and siren blaring ] only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ a lot of folks ask me why their dishwasher doesn't get everything clean. i tell them, it may be your detergent... that's why more dishwasher brands recommend cascade platinum. it's specially-designed with the soaking, scrubbing and rinsing built right in. cascade platinum's unique actionpacs dissolve quickly... ...to remove stuck-on food. . . for sparkling-clean dishes, the first time. choose the detergent that lets your dishwasher do the dishes! cascade platinum. the number one recommended brand in north america.

spending time together, sometimes means doing nothing at all. holiday inn. we're there. so you can be too. if you have moderate to thsevere rheumatoid arthritis, month after month, the clock is ticking on irreversible joint damage. ongoing pain and stiffness are signs of joint erosion. humira can help stop the clock. prescribed for 15 years, humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, 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.

mark sanford has been an idealist. 15 years ago he brought two pigs he called pork and barrel to the south carolina statehouse to make a point about runaway spending. making a point further, announcing this morning he is running for president. the odds are long, partly because his home state and others have canceled primaries. here is what he said three weeks ago on "meet the press." >> if you're unsuccessful, do you want to support him for president? >> what do you make of his chances and that attitude going into the race? >> first of all if you are an anti-trump republican, it doesn't behoove you to have multiple challenges, whether it's bill weld, joe walsh or him. it will split that anti-trump vote. i will say this, though. he ran a special election in

2013 when i was at the nrcc. he was coming back from his scandal at the appalachian trail. we had cut him off and we weren't that sure about his chances. he is one of the most incredible retail politicians i have ever seen. he worked his way back into that race. he was against a very well-funded democrat. very different issue now, but he can be someone who can go to new hampshire and at least impress people in coffee shops, i'll give him that. >> appreciate that. >> criminal justice reform, alice marie johnson will join me live to talk about her new freedom after president trump commuted her life sentence for a drug conviction. back after this. so you're with the ups store? yes. in fact, we printed these right here. oh, i thought you guys just did shipping. no we do printing, packing, faxing, notarizing, shredding, mailboxing, copying, taping, binding, uh huh... consulting, designing, returning, storing, and freighting. oh, and of course, shipping.

so you're into shipping? we also do printing, packing, faxing... come in to the ups store today for every ing your small business needs. and of course, shipping. this seat is reserved for the restless. those who need to... move. and roar. and ride. up, down, over... ...powering through. this seat is for those that get down in it. into the fray. the arena. this seat is not for spectators. ♪ (aurelia) i was just frustrated. i almost gave up.r company,

with miracle-ear, it's all about service. they're personable, they're friendly. i'm very happy with them. (avo) we provide you with a free lifetime of aftercare. meaning free checkups, cleanings and adjustments. (wiley) i see someone new, someone happy. it's really made a difference. get special anniversary savings and your chance to win a seven day hawaiian cruise. call 1-800-miracle to schedule your free hearing evaluation. you wouldn't accept from any one else. 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. i can't believe it. that sophie opened up a wormhole through time? (speaking japanese) where am i? (woman speaking french) are you crazy/nuts? cyclist: pip! pip! (woman speaking french) i'm here, look at me. it's completely your fault. (man speaking french) ok? it's me. it's my fault? no, i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico. (pterodactyl screech) believe it. geico could save you 15% or more on car insurance. this inot this john smith smith.

or this john smith. or any of the other hundreds of john smiths that are humana medicare advantage members. no, it's this john smith, who met with humana to create a personalized care plan. at humana, we have more ways to care for your health, and we find one that works just for you. no matter what your name is. the first setback that he signed into law last year. one person who benefited into efforts like this is alice marie johnson who served 21 years of life sentence for nonviolent drug offense. kim kardashian west lobbied for her release. she's out with a new book called

"after life: my journey from incarceration to freedom." alice marie johnson joins us. first of all, tell me briefly, how has it been since you gotten out in terms of what you've tried to do with your has been. of course, i have win a book called "after life," but i think one of the most important things i have been doing is i have been fighting for others who have been left behind. i have been using my voice, my face, my story to magnify the lead for the need for criminal justice reform, not only the first -- not only for the first step act, but for other things to take place, too, which also includes putting ex-offenders back to work. >> let me ask you your thoughts quickly about it. what has been the hardest part of your adjustment getting back into the real world so to speak before we talk about your work to free others that are behind

bars. what has been the hardest adjustment for you? >> technology. when i went to prison, there was no internet. and, so, i came out, it was like stepping on to a brand-new planet. the internet has exploded. and everything that you do now is connected to your cell phone. so i'm really still learning, even after a year, i am still learning about the internet. >> okay. you mentioned that the prison system in america is full of others just like you. talk to us a little bit about what kind of work you have been doing to free those that have been or remain in a similar position that you were once in. >> well, as i said, i have been telling my story all other the country. i'm hoping to move the needle forward and make sure that all of the political candidates that criminal justice reform is part of their platform. and, so, i think that telling stories to the american public, becoming aware that there were

others who are like me, i'm not abnormal. my situation is not an abnormal situation. to have someone who is locked away for life literally for a nonviolent offense and not only nonviolent offenses because some offenses are considered violent because there may have been a gun that was never discharged, a weapon b may have been present, so we have to also look at the way that we view and what we call violent versus nonviolent offenses. >> the president has made criminal justice reform part of his signature bipartisan issues, an outreach to the african-american community. is this a sliver of hope about bipartisan ship or how do you see this? >> i think so. but these efforts were done by corey booker and others well before the trump presidency. i think this came into being as president trump took office.

i think it's a legitimate one for the president and several people in congress. but this is also both the president and members of congress can go to swing voters, undecided voters or voters not sure who they are going to vote for yet and talk about actual accomplishment they have done. >> when you look at the criminal justice reform system that is needed in this country and where this situation fits into it. >> look, i think the first act is exactly what it is, it's a first step. a lot of these policies still exist at the state level. i want to say it is ridiculous that we're saying this outreach to the african-american community while his administration is still promoting policies for black and brown people to go to jail. they have tried to reduce mandatory minimums. so we have to look at this through a fair lens. i think it's great. i'm happy alice marie johnson was released from jail. there is tons of other people that deserve this.

but we have to look at the policies slipped under the rug. >> we need a major over haul across the country. thank you for sharing a part of your story with us. stay with msnbc to watch dateline, life inside. then at 10:00 p.m. eastern watch lester's justice for all. that is a town hall on criminal justice reform. when we return, what to watch for in the week ahead.

at verizon, we're building the most powerful 5g experience for america. that's why the nfl chose verizon. because they need the massive capacity of 5g with ultra wideband, so more screaming, streaming, posting fans... can experience 5g all at once. this is happening in 13 stadiums all across the country. now if verizon 5g can do this for the nfl... imagine what it can do for you. new pepto diarrhea to the rescue. diarrhea? its three times concentrated liquid formula coats and kills

bacteria to relieve diarrhea. the leading competitor only treats symptoms. it does nothing to kill the bacteria. treat diarrhea at its source with new pepto diarrhea. but dad, you've got allstate. with accident forgiveness they guarantee your rates won't go up just because of an accident. smart kid. indeed. are you in good hands?

before we go, let's talk about what you're watching in the week ahead. you're saying we don't have a lot of time. i will give you about a minute. tell me what you're watching. >> the week the congressional black hawk conference is kicking off in d.c. why it is a big deal this year is because all the presidential candidates are going to dissend on this conference and make inroads. it is not just the legislative body but also local and state elected officials, influencers, even some celebrities. obviously there is a lot of parties that happen. i won't be at any of those. but there are a lot of important things. and i just want to give a shout-out to reverend al sha sharpton being honored, getting the social justice award, so congrats, rev. >> i will watch that for sure. >> there is a democratic debate on thursday, and first time that joe biden is going to take the stage with elizabeth warren and

bernie sanders. he was shaky at best against kamala and corey. how does he respond? and likewise, does anyone go after elizabeth warren? do they do it? if so, how do they do it. there is a special election through tuesday. that will be a big test of where the environment is now. >> yeah. president is going to be heading down to north carolina to campaign there as well. in addition to that, we do know that he will be visiting the outer banks of north carolina to visit some of the damaged communities as a result of hurricane dorian. that does it for me on kasie d.c. up next, an unprecedented look inside the louisiana state penitentiary. then a town hall on criminal justice reform with special guests john legend and attorney general loretta lynch.

good night from new york. this is an msnbc special presentation. >> i had so many thoughts leading up to this assignment as to what it was going to be like. going up on this road knowing it is a one-way trip.