♪ the election of 2020 is 100

days away until the most important election of your lifetime. six swing state residents talk to me how they plan to vote and ultimately agree on just one thing. >> we do have a crisis of leadership and we're living in a time where calls for strong leadership. and two hours of analysis about the candidates and the issues. plus, rachel maddow and the press secretary for president trump's re-election campaign both join me live. "velshi" starts now. good morning to you. it is sunday, july 26th. 100 days out from election day. i'm ali velshi live on the ground in bethlehem, pennsylvania, the site of the old bethlehem steel corporation. plants at this site started producing steel 147 years ago in

1873. grew to become the second largest steel manufacturer in the nation, producing steel for the golden gate bridge, much of the manhattan skyline, madison square garden and ships and artillery for both world wars. this plant ran 24 hours a day employing more than 30,000 people in its heyday. this november marks 25 years since the last time steel was produced on this site. in 2011, the site was reopened as the steel stacks art and entertainment direct holding festivals and hundreds of free concerts a year. although the pandemic has closed all that down for now. pennsylvania continues to be one of a handful of major swing states that could tip the scale in one direction during the presidential election. this state played a major role in president trump's victory back in 2016. he won the state by 44,000 votes after a half a million -- out of a half a million cast.

more than 200,000 people voted for a third party candidate. times have changed. voters appear to be growing tired of donald trump's ways. a recent fox news poll shows biden ahead of trump in this state by a whopping 11 points in an effort to try to turn the tide which have dropped across the board in every category, donald trump announced yesterday that he's sending vice president pence to this area this week. earlier he unveiled the made in all of america plan, manufacturing -- a manufacturing pillar with his four economic parts called build back better. considering the remnant of manufacturing's past behind me, it makes sense he would debut it in a place like pennsylvania. trump doesn't really have plans for americans with the exception of prison reform and a tax cut.

trump not only hasn't had any major legislation passed during his time in office. he hasn't really put forth anything. now he's staking his re-election strategies squarely on race and culture wars while espousing an apo apocoliptic future if anyone is elected other than him. the fact of the matter is, trump doesn't have much to hang his hat on. even his once cherished economy is tanked and he appears to grow more disconnect by the day. a hurricane has just hit texas, this country has fallen to such a level that we can't even go to canada right now and trump played golf yesterday in new jersey with brett favre. joining me now are two of nbc's

reporters who didn't go golfing yesterday, they were working in harrisburg, pennsylvania, ali vitali and in milwaukee, wisconsin, shaquille brewster. thanks for joining me this morning. we're 100 days out from election day. in the past you would find campaign volunteers shaking hands. this new normal is something entirely different. most of this is being done online or by phone. you are going to be with a group that is still doing some old fashioned door-to-door campaigning with several precautions. how is that going to work? >> reporter: you set the stage exactly right. typically to mark 100 days out you might see field offices opening and canvassers gathering in groups to go door-knocking. but that's not the case right now. a lot of these parties and campaigns have transitioned their organizing structure to being online. there's an old organizing mantra of meeting voters where they

are. voters are at home, but they're on their computers, phones and you've seen the parties further invest in those digital structures to keep up with the times right now which is the pandemic which makes the realties of grassroots campaigning very difficult. in fact, as i was trying to find groups of people who were still campaigning door to door, the options were slim. campaign and is both parties are really pushing back on the idea of being out there in person. but we did find one group, a progressive group that's going to be door knocking. they're abiding by a lot of the rules, but the practice looks different than what it used to look like. it used to be a social thing, now you're going at it alone, you're wearing a mask, bringing hand sanitizer. the pamphlets and paperwork that you would bring to voters' doors is wrapped in plastic. we're going to see a lot of the new realities of bringing back this practice in this risky new environment of the pandemic and

i think your lead lays out the stakes here in the backdrop in places like pennsylvania. the thing that shaq and i probably hear from operatives across the board is, the polls are great, they like to see that biden has a lead right now. but the word is complacency. they don't want volunteers to think this is in the bag so early. there's still 100 days to go. >> shaq, wisconsin is another state that barely swung trump's way in 2016 in large part due to milwaukee. it failed to show up on election day. you've been talking to voters there. what sort of sense are you getting about enthusiasm in milwaukee? >> reporter: well, voters here, democratic voters specifically, are hoping things change this time around and they're optimistic things will change.

you're in michigan, it was closer here in wisconsin. president trump was the first republican to win wisconsin in about 30 years. he won the state by just 23,000 voters but here in milwaukee, which you mentioned, is a democratic stronghold, there were more than 41,000 voters who stayed home after voting in 2012. so that was part of the reason why the democratic national convention was going to be here and it still will be here, but it will be largely virtual. they were hoping to excite democratic voters on the ground and get them invested in vice president joe biden. without that being here, that's somewhat of a lost opportunity. despite that, when you talk to people here, democratic voters on the ground, as i said, they feel a little bit more optimistic about their chances this time around. they point to president trump and his appeal of what do african-americans have to lose that you heard in 2016. they believe that fell flat. they brought a point to the protests that you're seeing.

listen to a little bit of my conversations yesterday. >> the momentum from 2018 is only increased. it hasn't decreased. it's only increased. it's going to be a bigger turnout. they said in 2016, what do you have to lose? ain't nobody got to ask that question anymore. they saw what they have to lose. >> what's there to lose? >> everything. you can't ask nobody what they got to lose, they already lost it. they found out what they had to lose. >> i think these riots are sparking a lot of awareness throughout the united states of america and people who normally wouldn't vote are going to go out and vote in 2020. >> reporter: and that last gentleman i spoke to, he was at a protest yesterday. you're seeing the marches continue. that was their 58th day protesting here in milwaukee. that's an opportunity that they say vice president biden has to

capture that energy. another protestors said the anger that you're seeing, that can overwhelm the excitement factor. you're in pennsylvania, you see this big blue wall that we used to call it, the michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, those states, it's important to look at the black vote in those states and that's why you have both vice president biden and president trump targeting black voters heavily. >> shaq, i want to ask you, we're going to be talking about portfoli portland a lot. he didn't talk about milwaukee, but the chief of staff, mark meadows mentioned milwaukee as a possible destination for these troops. i spoke to a member of congress yesterday from wisconsin who said they're not interested in this. have you heard anything about that? >> reporter: the governor has been speaking about that and said they're not welcome.

that's the thing, when you look at what the latest action that you saw from the administration when he said he was sending troops down in chicago, the reality of it is, it's not the troops in that force that you saw in portland, oregon, it was federal agents to help partner with the local agencies. if you spoke to some officials down in chicago, they welcomed the federal partnership. what you hear and what you see here in milwaukee is, people believe that that was something to kind of stir the pot. they thought that was president trump kind of looking at milwaukee, which does have a problem with police and african-american relations and does have a history there, they saw that as him trying to stir the fight than actually sending in the action. as i mentioned, the governor said that any federal troops, any federal force would not be welcome here in wisconsin. ali? >> thanks to the two of you my friends. it's good to see you out here and we will see you many, many times over the next 100 days.

unlike what candice gibson said, i suspect we're going to see you well beyond november 3rd as well. ali vitali, shaquille brewster, thanks to both of you. joe biden is getting closer to this part of the country. he's announcing his pick for a running mate with his team revealing they plan to go forward with that around the first week of august. joe biden has vowed to select a woman, there are five top contenders bringing different backgrounds and characteristics. congresswoman val demings of florida, the congresswoman has excellent credentials. you saw her as an impeachment manager in donald trump's impeachment trial. she's the former police chief of orlando, florida, and she was the first woman to hold that

role. congresswoman demings, thank you for being with us this morning. good morning to you. first of all, have you any news to disclose to us about the process about choosing a vice presidential candidate? >> good morning, ali. it's great to be back with you. i wish i did have some news because we are ready to get, you know, get on with the business of this country as we approach november 3rd. but we're continuing to work. our number one priority is defeat donald john trump and to elect joe biden, the next president of the united states, as we're facing this major crisis in so many different areas. but no new news this morning. >> there is a thing happening in america around which you are uniquely qualified after having been a police chief. let's talk about last night in portland. protestors and federal agents clashed for the 58th straight night. a reporter reports from the ground there are thousands --

like we saw in wisconsin, in madison, thousands of mostly peaceful protestors, there were some fireworks that were sent toward the federal agents and the federal courthouse. the federal agents responded again with tear gas and munitions. i want to ask you, as somebody with a successful law enforcement background, how would you deal with this? how do you go about resolving this situation as it stands, not only in portland, but in other cities around the country? >> number one, the federal agents need to begin with respecting the wishes of the local officials there on the ground. i've had an opportunity as a police executive to work with other local, state and federal law enforcement, but not once have federal agents or officers descend descended upon my jurisdiction without being invited to do so.

what we're seeing in portland and what we are anticipating in other cities, i've never seen it before. i think it's disgraceful and i believe that the federal officials need to listen to local authorities because who knows best about the conditions on the ground? there are a lot of reasons why this is so inappropriate. but let me just give you one more for thought. as law enforcement -- as local law enforcement agencies all over this nation work hard to rebuild trust and the relationship with the people they serve in their various communities, i can think of no worse way to undermine their efforts than to send federal agents and officers in to those local jurisdictions. they are completely undermining any efforts within those communities to rebuild and restore. and, you know, i don't know how we're going to resolve it. i guess it will need to be resolved in the courts because normally you would have an

attorney general, if the president went to the attorney general with such a ridiculous idea, the attorney general would shut it down. certainly, we cannot anticipate seeing that from william barr. >> congresswoman, here in pennsylvania it's a diverse state. there's a lot of minorities, a lot of african-americans here, but it's not particularly integrated. people live in different communities. the president in the last few weeks has tweeted out a number of times about suburbs. he tweeted something directly at something he calls suburban housewives. and the implication is that they -- he called them who knows who, who knows, will come into your neighborhoods, crime will increase, your property values will go down. ida i'd call that a dog whistle, but it's not a dog whistle because everybody can hear it. the people i spoke to here in pennsylvania reflected some of that fear, that the police are

not being protected, that crime will increase. joe biden's america is going to be scary as donald trump's ads say. what do you make of that? >> well, what i would make of that is donald trump's america is the scareyest america i've seen in my lifetime and, you know, i would give the president this advice. number one, get to know the people that you represent because i'm not sure when he's appealing to the suburbs, i know what he's trying to do. but america is changing and where people live are changing and communities and even the inner city areas, downtown areas, for example, are becoming more diverse than ever before. number one, get to know the people in america and where they live. i know the president -- isn't it interesting to watch the presidents from the two candidates. the president is doing everything he can to instill fear, to further divide us as a nation.

but then remember, we're talking about a president who is already demonstrated that he will cheat to win, that he will sow disinformation and does not mind inviting foreign powers to interfere in our election. so he's using fear while joe biden is talking about a plan for the future. we're in a public health pandemic. he has a plan for that. we have tens of millions of people who are unemployed. he has a plan for that. division, addressing systemic racism, joe biden has talked about how he will do that and how it will be one of his top priorities. i would say to the voters, stay focused. we have some major issues that we're dealing with and we need to elect no one who is serious about dealing with those issues and get rid of the person in the white house who does not have a clue. >> congresswoman, in the united states congress you passed a bill, the heroes act, that would

extend the federal benefits that are going to people, unemployment benefits. we're running out of those benefits in most states. right now that's $600 for most people comes to an end this week. the moratorium on evictions comes to an end. the moratorium on foreclosing on mortgages comes to an end. the senate does not look like it's in a position to pass a new bill, and even if it did, it would take weeks to get caught up because the state unemployment systems are all backed up. what happens now? next week, the reality for a number of americans is that they could face eviction, face foreclosure and face $600 less a week? >> ali, the president's number one responsibility is the health, safety and welfare, well-being of the people that he represents. people find themselves in this situation, out of work, about to be evicted, worried about their children going back to school, through no fault of their own.

the president's primary responsibility is to take care of them. we passed the heroes act a couple of months ago now. the direct purpose for the heroes act is to take care of state and local governments who we know in the absence of a national plan have scrambled and worked hard to lead us through this very trying time. i know that the senate -- i'm not really sure what they're doing. i know mitch mcconnell has said he's the grim reaper and it's the place where legislation goes to die, quite frankly, but we need every person, every voter, regardless of whether you live in a republican or democratic district, i know you care about the first responders, you care about those who are on the front line, our health care workers, nurses or doctors and others, the teachers who are keeping the trains running in terms of teaching and helping our children learn. i'm asking you to please flood the phone lines, call your

senators, call your members of congress who are not supportive of those much-needed funds because we cannot allow in this country that we say is the greatest country in the world people to be evicted. we already have a home lessness issue in this country that we need to deal with. we will not allow american families, those who are used to going to work every day but cannot, to be evicted from their homes. we're going to need the help of the american people to pressure the senate and the president to do his job. >> congresswoman, i want to end on a good note. typically i don't think about somebody's death as a good note. we will see the body of john lewis for the last time cross the edmund pettus bridge and that can bring nothing but a smile to most american's faces. this is a man from the time he crossed that bridge and was beaten, did not stop.

he went to jail dozens of times. every time i met him, he smiled and was kind. what do you want the american people to know about john lewis as they catch his casket go across the bridge. >> i had the opportunity to go on a pilgrimage with representative john lewis. when we got to the bottom of the bridge and i thought about the images of representative lewis being beaten down. when we got to the bottom of the bridge, the troopers were there waiting to welcome us and ensure our safety while we visited the edmund pettus bridge. john lewis, i don't think i've ever met anybody quite like him. and you said it correctly. he was such a powerful man, but such a humble man, full of love. love for this country. even though the country did not always love him. and today, he will be honored.

tomorrow he will arrive back to the u.s. capitol and he deserves every honor that this nation can give him. as i said last week, when john lewis died, a part of america died. and so we honor him today. >> people should watch that closely. it may be one of the last times you get to call that the edmund pettus bridge. if history is right, it will be renamed after john lewis. thank you for joining us. democratic congresswoman val demings of florida. we're back live in bethlehem, pennsylvania. in 2016 donald trump won this state by a hair. less than 1 percentage point over hillary clinton. he claimed all of the state's 20 electoral college votes. bill weld is the former governor of massachusetts. he was a former 2020 republican

presidential candidate. he was the last one in the race. he remains among a handful of longtime republicans who are sounding the alarm over donald trump and the future of the republican party. in an op-ed for "the washington post," weld issued this stark warning, to my fellow republicans, i plead with you not to follow trump off this cliff. a party that brands itself of the party of exclusion, disregard for citizen safety and thinly veiled voter suppression. bill weld joins me now. while you believed that donald trump was going to get the republican nomination, the republican party stood in the way of you competing in a number of states. the bottom line is, you heard from plenty of republicans who felt that they believed in their consecutive republican values but that donald trump didn't represent them. what do those people do now? >> well, i think they vote for

joe biden. it's very simple. the republican party stands kind of at a crossroads. as i said in that op-ed, if they want to follow mr. trump over the cliff, that's their choice. there's going to be a reckoning and i think no matter who wins this election there's going to have to be some reconstruction going on on the republican party beginning in january of next year. >> who leads that and how does it happen? it is not healthy for this country to have a party that doesn't stand for any of its old values including the values of, you know, troops not going into american cities, federal troops not enforcing laws against people's right to protest. who leads the new thinking in the republican party after the election? >> well, i think it's going to be some moderate democrats, some republicans, some libertarians, all coming together and trying to do what happened when the wig party blew up in the 1850s.

half of it went onto elect abraham lincoln because the northern antislavery portion of the wig party joined the -- became the republican party. and something like that, would be a good outcome to happen next year. if mr. biden wins the election, it will be a different kind of refashioning of the republican party. but that would kind of take care of business. one thing is certain, we don't have to wonder anymore whether mr. trump is going to try a para military, third world push or takeover in this country. we're seeing this right now with these secret police. you would expect that in haiti and the dreaded secret police of third world countries. that's what mr. trump and trying to bring that in here right now. and i think people can see that for what it is, it's too obvious. >> it's something republicans would typically not stand for. we heard from tom ridge and the

first head of the department of homeland security. you know tom. he said two things, if i were a governor, i wouldn't stand for it. and, two, when i was at dhs we wouldn't be doing this sort of thing. but it becomes difficult when the president talks, he's walked it back a little bit, about the fact that he's ready to send 40 to 50,000 troops into various different cities, in pennsylvania, the district attorney says, you try that and we'll arrest them. what does it look like when the president starts to send people into states and the governors and mayors say, we don't want them? >> it's never happened before. it's just the way the politicalization of the justice department under william barr, it's never happened before to this degree. i spent seven years in the justice department under president reagan. i've never seen anything like it. it starts at the top. the president has shown throughout his life enormous disregard for the law, for rules of any kind. and the whole idea of the rule

of law and the government of laws and not of men and women making the decisions, that's out the window in donald trump's white house and in donald trump's american. it's enormously threatening to the very idea of the united states of america and i think that's one of the things this election in november is going to be about and i have faith in the american people to see through the obvious authoritarian efforts by the president to essential trivialize the enforcement function, the security function in this country and in fact make a mockery of it with his secret police. >> governor weld, good to see you as always. i appreciate the time you take for us and we'll have plenty of opportunity to talk in the last 100 days. former republican governor of massachusetts and presidential candidate be weld. civil rights icon john lewis is going to make one final trip over the edmund pettus bridge. he took a stand there 55 years

ago on bloody sunday. his casket will be taken by a horse-drawn carriage. we're going to pay tribute to the late georgia congressman one last time. georgia congressman e last time. glucose control. the patented blend is clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels. it provides 60% more protein than the leading diabetes nutrition shake. try boost glucose control.

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suitcases for less than $40. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. in just a couple of hours congressman john lewis will across the edmund pettus bridge in selma, alabama, by horse-drawn carriage. it's the site where a young lewis and other demonstrators were savagely beaten 55 years ago as what's come to be known as bloody sunday. this morning's march is called good trouble. it's going to begin at brown chapel in selma, alabama. it's part of a six-day celebration of life paying tribute to the legacy of the man known as the conscious of the u.s. congress. the tribute began yesterday in lewis's hometown of troy,

alabama. he was a congressman from georgia but he was born in troy, alabama. last night with a memorial service in selma. over the next week, his body will lie in state at the u.s. state capital. he died on july 17th at the age of 80 after a months' long battle of cancer. we want to go to selma where priscilla thompson is standing by. today is going to be a moving scene for all of the celebrations and the memorials that will take place over the next six days, this is the one that will be remembered in the history books. the package of john lewis's body over that bridge that is a part of his history and america's history. >> reporter: ali, certainly. he's going to be taken by horse-drawn carriage over this bridge and whenever he reaches the bottom, he's going to be greeted with a salute by alabama state troopers and as we know

back in 1965 on bloody sunday, it was alabama state troopers who actually beat john lewis and other civil rights demonstrators and such a remarkable scene today to see those folks saluting him. it's a part of this larger celebration which began yesterday in troy, alabama, with folks traveling hours to be there and pay sotheir respects. we heard from so many of his loved ones, and i want you to take a listen to some of the tributes that they shared yesterday. >> to improve the lives of others without any concern for himself. >> i remember the day when john left home, mother told him not to get in trouble. not to get in the way and be particular. we all know that john got in trouble. got in the way. but it was a good trouble. >> my name is jackson lewis, and

congressman john lewis was my uncle and my hero. it's up to us to keep his legacy alive. >> reporter: and today, ali, a culmination of so many things 100 days out from the election and here we are at the edmund pettus bridge where john lewis was fighting for voting rights all those years ago. i want to point out that in march, as he was battling cancer, john lewis actually pressed his way to be here. he was hoisted on the shoulders of others and his message was, we must go out and vote like we have never voted before and so many people i've talked with over the past couple of days have said the best way to honor his legacy is by going to the polls on november 3rd and doing just that. ali? >> thank you. you have set up the rest of the conversation very well. priscilla thompson in selma, alabama. we're going to keep our eye on selma and that bridge. you do not want to miss john lewis's body being pulled by a

horse-drawn cart across the edmund pettus bridge. i'm joined right now by reverend al sharpton. he's the president and founder of the national action network and he knew john lewis personally and worked for him for many years. in march, john lewis went there to a rally. he's been supportive of the black lives matter movement which reflects in many ways the movement he was part of in the '60s. but the distinction is that he only talks about one thing when he talks about the black lives movement or he goes to black lives plaza in d.c. he talks about voting. we are 100 days to the election. has enough happened to motivate african-americans in this country to do everything possible to make sure they get the ballot and they fill that ballot out? >> i think there needs to be more done to energize the vote and to protect the vote.

clearly in my judgment the strategy will be to suppress the black vote and to try and -- through demonizing mail-in voting and not measures, have people not prepared to do mail-in voting, how to deal with long lines, how to in advance to check their registration and to make sure voting sites are not moved. that's one of the reasons that we're hoping the congress will move on the new voting rights act which would have prevented that because they would have had to have preclearance after the supreme court took it out. but notwithstanding that those preparations must be made. the irony is, as you talk about that, ali, when john lewis came to that bridge in march for the last time, as you can see in the pictures, i was one of them that helped hold him up in that moment as he talked about

voting. and as moving as it will be today to see them bring his body across that bridge, it will also be a personal memory to me that i was one that helped him to be hoisted up the last time he went across that bridge alive. and his message to us was to vote, vote. whatever we do, protect the vote and vote. as we're memorializing him today, i will never forget that i was among those that stood there and heard this titan of the movement for the last time on the very spot he was beaten to make that message plain for the last time alive. >> a book was written about james baldwin and a lot of people of reading a book called "white fragility."

they make a point that white liberals believe in the right thing, but they go back to living in a certain degree of comfort because that's what comes with privilege. on john lewis's last day on earth, he sent a letter to the education department. this guy from the days that he walked across that bridge in selma until the day he died never enjoyed his comfort, never enjoyed the privilege that came to him by being a united states congressman. his message is that the fight never ever ends. >> never ever ends and he never stopped fighting. that's why one of the reasons that it became important as we have seen in the george floyd movement behind that and others is intergenerational. john lewis never stopped

fighting all the way until he was 80 years old. but he started in his early 20s. and many of us that grew up, i was 15 years younger than john lewis. he was 11 years younger than dr. king. it's not about age. it's about commitment. the real problem that i have is what the greatness of today, to see the troopers salute john lewis on that bridge where they beat him the same people who held that office, state troopers, is still named after clansman and it needs to be renamed. but the enact that it's still named that shows that we still have a ways to go, we still do not have the policing act that was passed in the house even on the schedule to be in the senate. we still don't have a civil rights act. so in all of our remembering john lewis, let us remember your point, there's still a point of white privilege in this country

and we still must have real change with legislation and other things to make fundamental change. otherwise, we're just having a moment, not a movement. >> the reverend al sharpton, also a very important part of civil rights history. thank you for being with us, sir. reverend al sharpton is the president of the national action network and the post of msnbc's "politics nation." we're in pennsylvania. this is one of 2020's most critical swing states. i'm in the town of bethlehem. the bordering counties voted for hillary clinton and president trump respectfully and that shows just how unpredictable this state can be in general elections. in an effort to better understand which way this state is leaning, i went to neighboring bucks county to have a socially distanced conversation with six pennsylvania voters. we were hosted by the bucks

county play house in the town of new hope. it's a beautiful place. there's of those voters were registered democrats. the other three are registered republicans. but generally speaking, none of their views exactly fit the mold. they were able to agree on a few issues. one of them being the leadership coming from the oval office. >> well, i just have been so disappointed with what's been going on in this country for the last four years. the leadership, it's just been weak as far as i'm concerned. >> i say idealogically i'm probably a libertarian and pragmatically i'm a republican. i've never been a big trump cheerleader. i'm frequently dismayed by his lack of presidential decorum. but on the other hand, he's a manager and i like the way he's managing the country. >> i grew up in the philippines and i'm seeing a lot of glimpses

of the dictatorship today, the attack on the media, our place in the world, i think it's unfortunate and we need to mend a lot of that. >> i was not a trump supporter when he first ran. i had another candidate i was pretty enthusiastic about. but once he got in, and i also wish sometimes he didn't say that or say it that way, but i look at what he's doing. i like what he did with the economy. >> we are tired, every news cycle, there's another breakdown of an institution, the department of justice, the state department. there are issues all over the place. we have to pull back and get our country back together. and there's just a need for hard pivot in leadership in order to do that. we cannot sustain this for another four years. >> i want somebody in there that does have past experience, political, that has helped to formulate bills and someone with

the expertise that is respected and knows people that would be good leaders so that they can get this country going back in the right direction. >> i feel like the president sets the tone of the country. and from the beginning the tone that donald trump set was negative. i think we could all agree that president trump has deliberately, in my opinion, antagonized so many people from every race, sexism, misogyny. he should not at this point still be trying to enamor his base. he's the president of the entire country. >> i believe in the greatness of the american system. we're fundamentally great and we overcome of a lot of these things. but we do have a crisis of leadership and we're living in a time where calls for strong leadership. >> the president is setting a tone that my 4-year-old, i would

pull him aside and say don't you ever speak to somebody that way. you're not going to change somebody's mind. you're not going to build a better relationship with somebody and you're not making yourself any smarter or the person you're discussing it with by calling them names or -- it's juvenile. >> i think that discourse has degenerated in society. what we need to do is focus on healing, how do we heal? in my view, i think joe biden is best positioned to heal this country because he is exhibiting compassion and caring for people who are underrepresented, who are being attacked, and i do want to touch on the fact that bucks county has a flourishing lgbt-plus community and our concern -- >> which you're a member. i'm not going to out you on tv -- >> i am a member of it. and we in this community are very concerned about the rollback on a lot of the policies this current

administration has brought us back decades. >> there's a breakdown in dialogue in basic respect for people. my main issue is, people can't talk about it and there seems to be a shouting down that happens. i don't see them getting fixed until people have a dialogue again in a respectful way. >> adding to everything i said, i've never seen the country as polarized as it is right now and it's very, very discouraging. we haven't been this polarized since the late 1850s. there's a lot of blame to go around, president trump contributes to that polarization because he tends to lack empathy. but on the other hand if donald trump walked across the delaware river, the "new york times" would read, donald trump can't swim. so he gets attacked by everybody unfairly in many cases. >> i agree with that -- it's just obvious. that's why i was so happy to be

invited here. but frankly quite scared also. i thought i hope there's no gotcha moments here -- >> there will be no gotcha moments. >> you have comforted us and so has your entire crew, but we still have to talk which is what prompted me to come here today. >> what message do you have for america right now to get back on the right track, to be em pathetic. >> i feel like we need a leader who will heal the country. this is in turmoil and the answer is, a leader that will heal the country. >> i'll have more of my conversation with those residents of bucks county later in the show. the next coronavirus relief bill is stalled in congress. i'm going to talk to julian

castro, former hud secretary. as we county down to election day, we've asked some of your favorite msnbc voices what is the one issue we should be watching as we enter the final 100-day stretch. here is my good friend and partner, stephanie ruhle. >> i've got my eye on money. we're in an economic crisis, a health crisis that sparked an economic crisis. and while the stock market may be roaring, it's never been more clear, the stock market is not the real economy. thousands of small businesses have already been shut. millions of people are out of work and they're just not getting back on the job. as it relates to this november, i'm focused on money, a nation divided by green. but when you have the chase mobile app, your bank can be virtually any place. so, when you get a check... you can deposit it from here. and you can see your transactions and check your balance from here. you can save for an emergency from here. or pay bills from here. so when someone asks you, "where's your bank?"

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i lost my job. i lost everything else.

no money, no nothing. i don't sleep well. i stay worried about stuff all the time. it's just so painful to me that i could be a real use to society one day and then the next day i'm useless. >> senator majority leader mitch mcconnell says he's hoping to pass a relief bill in the next few weeks. the next bill is weeks away when the party had months to come up with a solution. this isn't new information. everybody knew -- everybody knew these benefits would end in july. we've been talking about this for months. the heros act has been sitting in limbo for nearly a month in the senate waiting for mcconnell to call it on to the floor. he and president trump called that bill dead on arrival when it arrived in the senate at the end of june. protesters showed up to mcconnell's house this week in the nation's capital protesting with music and pulling a banner

that said mitch better have my money. it's kind of funny. people are not going to lose benefits this week because those benefits have lapsed. boosted unemployment paid out its last checks today and the moratorium on evictions expired yesterday. americans have been paid out their last $600 federal boost in additional relief. joining me now is julian castro, he's the former mayor of san antonio and was a former presidential candidate in the 2020 election. secretary castro good to see you. we have a few topics to discuss. i want to start with this money. as you know the state unemployment systems work very slowly. even if the house passed something on friday, that extra money which most people use for housing will be expired.

over the course of the next few weeks there will be people facing eviction or foreclosure. >> that's right, ali. by one estimate 28 million people could face eviction through october. this is a crisis. you heard that in the words of the woman whose interview you showed there. people are panicking across the country because, as you said, the eviction moratorium has run out. the employment boost has run out. there's still 20 million people out there out of work, just another 1.5 million filed for unemployment last week. it's a crisis like we have not seen in our country, at least in a very, very long time. oftentimes people lambast or they parody politicians as being totally out of touch with the lives of every day people. that's probably the best way to describe mitch mcconnell and his republican buddies. there's no 50/50 here.

democrats in the house passed the heros act that included $100 billion in rental assistance and expanded eviction moratoriums. that landed on the door step several weeks ago of mcconnell and his republican colleagues. they haven't lifted a finger. i hope americans fully realize there are folks in d.c. who are trying to ensure they don't get evicted and there are others who know very well that we have a problem, but aren't willing to do anything about it. i don't know who they think they represent, but there are democrats, there are republicans, there are independents, there are people all over this country in every single congressional district that are hurting because of this. they need to act. >> yeah. let's spell this out. in a lot of parts of this country we're short of affordable housing. you're taking somebody who lost their job, because that's why

they would be on unemployment or getting rental assistance. they don't have a job. all the rent they have not paid for the last few months may come due at the same time. they won't have money for that. they can be evicted or the foreclosure process can start then they're left without housing in an environment without enough housing and they don't have credit to get new housing. we're talking about people becoming homeless as a result of the inaction by the senate. >> that's right. you would have people living with relatives or sleeping in their car or going to a shelter that is already crowded and you would have people sleeping on the street. on top of that, we know that the unsanitary conditions of sleeping on the street or being

homeless, that would just make people more susceptible to getting the coronavirus. so it creates a vicious cycle of hurting people in our country and america overall if we let this happen. it's unnecessary. you know, one of the things i'm very proud of that research has shown is that when we invested in people with the c.a.r.e.s. act that people are responsible. they used that money to pay their rent, to stay in the housing that they had. for too long people were characterized as irresponsible. if you give folks more in food stamps or more assistance, they'll spend it in a free wheeling way. that hasn't been the case at all. we've seen that people have paid their rent. they provided for their family. that's why there's every reason we should do that again because people need it. >> thank you for joining us

secretary castro. julian castro is the former secretary of housing and urban development under president obama and he's a former 2020 presidential candidate. rachel maddow joins me next. i'll also speak to senator bob casey. this is a special edition of velshi from bethlehem, pennsylvania. hem, pennsylvania >> tech: at safelite, we're committed to taking care of you

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good morning. it is sunday, july 26th. i'm ali velshi at the site of the old bethlehem steel plant. it its heyday it employed more than 3,500 people. nine years ago it was re-opened at the steel stacks. it's an arts and entertainment district. it holds festivals. it holds hundreds of free concerts every year. today we're marking another milestone. 100 days until the election in november. pennsylvania luka sabbis a batte