good afternoon, i'm chris generalsing. the battle is intensifying. 90 days from election day, some big developments. joe biden, who has made safety and setting an example during the pandemic central to his campaign just announcing he will not travel to battleground wisconsin to give his acceptance speech. are and president trump, who has never been shy about using the white house as a backdrop, suggesting it could be the perfect place for his convention

acceptance speech, drawing quick reaction from ethics experts and democrats. >> we're thinking about doing it from the white house because there's no movement. it's easy and i think it's a beautiful setting. >> it's very wrong. again, when we're in the capitol of the united states under the dome, we have very little opportunity to reference anything political. and for the president of the united states to degrade, once again, the white house as he has done over and over again by saying he's going to completely politicize it is something that should be rejected right out of hand. and it's not just the white house for speaker pelosi that would include other possible d.c. location that is have been floated like the lincoln memorial. all as politics play out against the backdrop of the pandemic. right now florida is reporting they have more than half a million coronavirus cases. the u.s. total approaching 5 million confirm cases.

nearly 1,000 americans dying each day from the coronavirus and coronavirus-related causes based on average data from the past week. so the stakes for the 2020 election not just for the president but for up and down the ballot pushing the urgency in congress for a deal on the next round of coronavirus relief legislation. just moments ago speaker nancy pelosi told my colleague, andrea mitchell, she is confident they will reach an agreement, but they will do it on democrats' terms, she says, as the republicans are too divided. >> they don't have the votes. they have the votes for practically nothing. last week they brought something that was $200. well, it was a nonstarter. but even with that, it didn't have the full support of the republicans in the united states senate. so it's unlike other negotiations in terms of a matter of life and death. >> joining me now is nbc news capitol hill correspondent garrett haake, digital senior

white house reporter shannon pettypiece and with joe biden in delaware, great to see all of you. so, garrett, there are literally millions of people who are sitting on the edge of their seats, their future at stake. what's the latest on the potential compromise deal between the white house and democrats? >> well, just pieces of a potential compromise are coming into focus from our reporting and the caveat is this could change at any moment as these sort of pieces slide and move together. but what we're hearing there might be close to a compromise settling in at $400 in assistance to unemployment benefits from the federal government. that would last the next couple of months. there's also the possibility we could see a moratorium on evictions that could last through the year. democrats seem to be backing off their ask for the postal service. that could come into sharper focus later this afternoon when all the negotiators meet with the postmaster general. now there are still miles of

difference between the parties on some sides of this including what to do about schools and how best to fund them, perhaps to help them come back without mandating they come back. and then on state and local government funding, probably the biggest goal, hundreds of billions of dollars separating the two parties. while they are making what seems to be fairly consistent, albeit slow progress towards a broader deal, there's still a lot of work that needs to get done up here. >> so as you talk to folks on the hill, garrett, is there some consensus the pressure is building, as we all know expanded unemployment benefits, for example, have already lapsed. is this likely to get done in the next week or are there just too many variables? >> reporter: there are a couple things going on here. the pain is real. this isn't a theoretical washington exercise here. the numbers we're talking about reflect real suffering for people all across the country. and lawmakers are increasingly aware of that. but on the other side that have there is this idea of a deadline at the end of this week or trying to vote next week. that feels, to me, like one of

these arbitrary washington deadlines that gets thrown out there merely as a way to motivate people or perhaps to stave off in this case some kind of unilateral executive action by the president. as we roll more into august and closer to the election, a lot of lawmakers start looking over their shoulders wanting to get out on the campaign trail and wanting to say they have something they've accomplished here, could be something that pushes both parties closer to an agreement. >> as we say, the potential impact up and down the ballot is tremendous. so, shannon, let me ask you about mitch mcconnell who effectively endorsed any deal at the white house where you are and democrats are able to come to. so where is the white house on all of this? what are you hearing? >> reporter: it's interesting the president is kind of in the same place as mcconnell on this, just give me something and i'll sign it. pretty much any red lines drawn in the sand on things like payroll tax cut or how much that unemployment insurance should be, basically have been pushed

aside because of the president's urgency to sign something. now, of course, the big issue, though, as garrett laid out, is trying to get something for mcconnell to get onboard behind or the president to get onboard behind. while they're still hopeful at the white house they will have some deal and the posturing has sort of changed from making no progress to making some progress, they still seem very far apart. yes, the president seems eager to get behind anything that can get to his desk at this point which, of course, gives a lot of power to the democrats. >> and that's only obviously one part of this whole re-election equation. the other one is, quite frankly, the status of the coronavirus. the president making some more claims today about testing that don't match a lot of reports we're seeing on the ground. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: well, and don't match what his own health officials have been saying about how long it's taking for people to get testing back. they are saying we're not at the

point where we're getting two to three-day turnaround times on testing. here is how the president characterized it in an interview on "fox and friends" this morning. >> what is going on with the abbott test? if you got that 15-minute test that the white house has all around the country, you don't make the test, why can't they flood the country with the abbott test? it would help sports, schools and businesses. but where is this test? >> we're 50% on the test or its equif len where it's a five-minute test and goes up to 15 minutes. it's a great test. >> i don't know anybody that gets it. they're all going to these labs and it's taking forever. >> 50% of the country is short-term testing. we're going to more. >> reporter: those comments by the president reflect something that the admiral who is heading up the testing said, 50% are done at point of care, a doctor's office, an urgent care

clinic, where the test theoretically you should get back in a few minutes. it doesn't reflect how long it takes someone to get an appointment at their doctor's office to get the test and broadly across the country said about 59% are coming back within three days, 79% are coming back within five days. so we're still talking about for the vast majority of the country days to get a test result back rather than hours which, of course, doesn't really help people when we're talking about figuring out whether someone should quarantine and stop the spread of the virus. >> yeah, the last test i had was at an urgent care facility and took eight days to get results. shannon, thank you for that. mike, this brings us to who do americans trust more? we have seen the president's poll numbers plummet during this coronavirus pandemic. we've seen joe biden's go up. now he's made the decision to change the location of his convention acceptance speech to his home state. give us the backdrop of all of this. how did this come about?

>> reporter: well, you'll remember when the democratic national committee selected milwaukee from a list of cities bidding to host the convention there was a sense that democrats were trying to send a message they weren't going to repeat the mistakes not showing the time and attention they needed to win it again. we saw president trump win the state and others to win the white house. this is the third major change to democratic plans to hold that convention in milwaukee. we saw very early in the summer, in fact in the spring as the pandemic was becoming much more of a widespread situation, democrats made that decision early on to postpone the convention from july into the month of augment then they made the decision to hold what they said was a largely virtual convention. but even last week convention organizers were still talking about a convention anchored in milwaukee with the hopes he could speak to the country from milwaukee.

now convention organizers announcing a little more than an ago that after continuing consultations and out of concern for the health and safety not just of their own teams, the staff, the media, all of those who would be traveling to milwaukee to attend the convention and also for the host city itself having all these people come from around the country. they made the decision for not just the former vice president but for any of the speakers including the woman who joe biden would choose as his running mate to speak elsewhere. this will be a completely virtual convention, biden speaking here in delaware and the other speakers elsewhere. get used to this backdrop, the skyline of wilmington. we'll be camped out here. >> i hope you have a nice hotel room, mike memoli. shannon pettypiece, we'll come back to you. garrett haake on capitol hill, thanks to you as well. speaking of vp picks, the name of a potential biden vice presidential pick repeatedly came up at a senate hearing this morning.

susan rice. the republican-led judiciary committee questioning sally yates about the fbi and justice department's investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election and chairman lindsey graham repeatedly interrupting yates' answers. >> what was mentioned in the logan act about and in what context? >> i'm not sure if you mentioned that in the oval office meeting or in the meeting -- >> what do you think about -- >> mr. chairman, let her answer the question. just because it's a woman testifying doesn't mean she has to be cut off. >> thanks a lot, senator. i appreciate that. you're very constructive. >> joining me now is jeremy bash, the former chief of staff to the secretary of defense as well as the former chief of staff to the director of the cia, and an msnbc national security analyst who knows this story inside and out. it's great to have you here, jeremy. look, so you have lindsey

graham, within minutes of this thing starting, bringing up susan rice and a memo that she wrote. she, of course, is a potential vice presidential nominee. there's a lot of talk in republican circles, bring her on. so my question to you is this about the 2016 election, or was this hearing about election 2020? >> well, chris, we're 90 days away from an election in which trump is trailing vice president biden badly in the polls, so obviously this was an effort to change the subject. it's political theater and actually not very good theater at that. i've been watching the hearing and it has nothing to do with national security. but what is currently going on, chris, is that trump and the bill barr justice department are seeking to interfere in the prosecution of mike flynn who, of course, was convicted on a felony for lying to the fbi and covering up his back channel with the russians. to this day, chris, we don't know why mike flynn was covering up that back channel. this was a back channel that was going straight to the russian

embassy, back to vladimir putin. it was to communicate that when trump came into office things would get better for vladimir putin. it was a back channel that mike flynn felt compelled to lie about not only to the vice president but to the federal bureau of investigations. i think there are still a lot of questions like what was mike flynn covering up, but none of those questions seem to be getting answers at today's political theater. >> yeah. let's talk about the president tweeting about it before the hearing started. this is what he wrote this morning. quote, sally yates has zero credibility. she was a part of the greatest political crime of the century, and obama/biden knew everything. sally yates leaked the general flynn conversation? ask her under oath. republicans should start playing the democrats' game. anything nonpolitical, anything revelatory, anything you learned that you didn't know before? >> not much, chris, and this is the president's mode in which he tweets, for example, that obama

tapped my wires, if you remember that back in march of 2017. so he's been on this team and he's been lobbing false attacks against people who conducted an investigation of his campaign. sally yates, by the way, came into government service under president bush as a career prosecutor and she served admirably for a very long tenure at the department of justice in nonpolitical roles. and so i think she's really showed during this hearing and elsewhere that she has a lot of credibility. and when she says that mike flynn could have been blackmailed by the former kgb vladimir putin, that concept that an incoming national security adviser could be blackmailed by the russians to cough up classified information, that is ay counterintelligence threat and appropriate the fbi was investigating it. >> as i was watching that exchange between pat leahy and

lindsey graham, obviously it's kind of the sound bite that people will play because it's this accusation that shows you the tension in the room. having said that, as somebody who worked for a long time, as we said, very very high-level folks, people who have had to go in front of congressional committees and testify, is it me or has it gotten worse? i mean, not that congressional hearings always were apolitical, it's not as though questions didn't get asked and things move on, but it does seem like it gets harder and harder and harder for witnesses to answer questions. >> it does seem that way and particularly if you look at the substance here, chris this is about getting tough on russia. and i remember a time when republicans on capitol hill and democrats were united in their bipartisan concern about russian interference. and as russia seeks to interfere in the 2020 election, as they seek to pay off the taliban to attack our troops in

afghanistan, as they seek to conduct espionage operations to steal our vaccine information as was recently reported, we have to be tough on russia and this president has been weak, he's been undermined nato, he denied aid to ukraine. it got him impeached. that would have been used to fight the russians. i think the question on congress' mind ought to be how can we get a president to be tough on russia? that's the question we need answers to. >> jeremy bash, not sure you'll get those answers, but appreciate you being with us. thank you so much. always great to see you, my friend. >> thank you, chris. still ahead, live to california. why governor gavin newsom is warning residents there the coronavirus will impact that state for mani, mamany, manny m come. the ongoing search for survivors in beirut. ongoing search for sus in beirut. little things can become your big moment.

that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines, and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. and if you're pregnant or planning to be. struggling to clean tough messes with wipes? try mr. clean magic eraser sheets. just wet, squeeze and erase icky messes in microwaves and on stovetops for an amazing clean, get the power of mr. clean magic eraser in disposable sheets.

it's hard to overstate the devastation in beirut today. 100 people dead, more than 4,000 injured, 300,000 displaced, and the search for survivors continues as fires continue to burn following a devastating explosion yesterday. simultaneously a search for answers has begun after a warehouse storing ammonium nitrate exploded, a danger that was known about for years. an entire waterfront neighborhood, home to popular restaurants and bars, was

flattened. with every hour more extraordinary video emerges. here we see the moment the blast sends glass and concrete flying inside a church sending worshippers and the priest running for cover. and then we have this picture from inside the associated press offices tweeted by a journalist with the caption, coronavirus saved us. the associated press staff working from home, of course, amid the pandemic. almost immediately the prime minister appealed tore aid. many foreign nations have offered their support. and president trump is being questioned after calling the explosion an attack, a claim local officials dispute. joining me is chief global correspondent and senior reporter shannon pettypiece. bill, the death toll is continuing to rise. what's happening on the ground right now? what new can you tell us? >> reporter: yeah, hi, chris. the blame game has begun but not a lot of answers. beirut this morning is a city of

broken glass and broken lives and anger and questions, and it's not just the 135 dead, that's the latest figure, and 5,000 injured and a third of a million people who have lost their homes or their homes have been damaged, it's that core question of how on earth could 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate be stored in a white house farex years despite it was a danger. the blame game began with lebanon's government putting under house arrest those people at the port who survived who were in charge of security and storage. but almost certainly they weren't the people who were ultimately making the decisions because customs officials are telling lebanese television today they warned judges and committees repeatedly fo lly fo this was a tragedy waiting to happen and there was an inspection just six months ago

in which they repeated the same warnings. now lebanon's president has vowed that those responsible will pay the price. but people in lebanon very, very skeptical. they've suffered years of political corruption. they're already worried that the people who are really responsible for this will somehow escape justice. also, chris, the question of, you know, how on earth was this nitrate there in the first place? it appears to have come off a russian ship which was destined for mozambique. it may have been used in mining. there was something wrong with the ship. it was judged unsea woworthy. it was taken off and put in this warehouse number 12 and then a whole legal battle. it was just left there. now why was explosive material just left in a very combustible city and fragile city like lebanon?

there's anger. the death toll expected to rise. this appears to be a terrible story of negligence, of political indecision, of a tragedy that you could almost, chris, foretell years ago. >> it is truly a real catastrophe as the prime minister said, and we're seeing it there from the headline from nbc news. so, shannon, the president raised a lot of eyebrows when he said he heard from his generals that this was an attack. what are we hearing from the white house today about those claims? >> reporter: yeah, the president made those comments just a few hours after this explosion mentioning in opening prepared remarks at a coronavirus briefing that he thought it was an attack. and i followed up with him and asked him a bit more why he thought that. here is what he had to say. you called this an attack. are you confident this was an attack and not an accident?

>> well, it would seem like it based on the explosion. i met with some of our great generals, and they just seem to feel it was, this was not some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of event. this was a, seems to be, according to them, they would know better than i, that it was an attack, a bomb of some kind of. >> reporter: now we're not aware of any formal meeting that the president had with his generals aside from, however, a swearing in he had of the new air force chief of staff, general charles brown, who was in the oval office yesterday afternoon and the secretary of defense esper was there. it's possible the president spoke to them about the explosion, why they were there but that, of course, is not a formal briefing by anyone from the defense department or from the intelligence community which we are told this morning and from the state department they are still investigating what the actual cause of this was.

>> shannon pettypiece, bill neely, thank you both. the trump campaign takes legal action against nevada as it tries to expand its mail-in voting. why the president is attacking nevada's efforts but at the same time encouraging voters in florida to mail in their ballots. and all the focus on the development of a covid-19 vaccine but there are new treatments giving hope to people already struggling with coronavirus. we have an update on that still ahead. you're watching msnbc. the acid can actually wear away at the enamel which over time can cause sensitivity and a lot of people start to see their teeth turn yellow. i like to recommend pronamel to my patients to help them protect their teeth and keep the enamel strong. i like to recommend pronamel to my patients just between us, you know what's better than mopping? anything! at the end of a long day, it's the last thing i want to do. well i switched to swiffer wet jet and its awesome. it's an all-in-one so it's ready to go when i am. the cleaning solution actually breaks down dirt and grime.

and the pad absorbs it deep inside. so, it prevents streaks and haze better than my old mop. plus, it's safe to use on all my floors, even wood. glad i got that off my chest and the day off my floor. try wet jet with a moneyback guarantee >> techand your car., we're committed to taking care of you >> tech: we'll fix it right with no-contact service you can trust. >> tech: so if you have auto glass damage, stay safe with safelite. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

california's economic challenges are deepening. frontline workers stretched too thin. our nurses and medical professionals in a battle to save lives. our schools, in a struggle to safely reopen, needing money for masks and ppe, and to ensure social distancing. and the costs to our economy, to our state budget? mounting every day. we need to provide revenues now, to solve the problems we know are coming.

now for the latest facts in the pandemic, the cost of groceries rising at their fastest pace in decades. since february the cost of beef and veal rose 20%. eggs 10.4%. poultry and pork more than 8%. ohio governor mike dewine saying all students kindergarten through high school will be required to wear masks in school this fall with limited medical exceptions. that state approaching 100,000 coronavirus cases. the ceo of clorox warning its hottest product, clorox wipes, won't be fully stocked in grocery stores until 2021. the company normally has a supply set aside for the flu season, but it has not been able to keep up with the sixfold increase in demand since the pandemic hit. and the miami marlins returned to the baseball diamond

yesterday but with a team even fans may not recognize with half the team testing positive for the coronavirus managers don mattingly said, quote, some of the guys i've never met. meantime in california locals are being warned that the pandemic there may continue through labor day, halloween and even into the holidays as the state continues to battle covid-19. there was, however, some positive news yesterday. more than 20% decline in the weekly average rate for positive infections week on week. but with more than half a million cases statewide and counting, frontline health care workers say they are facing an uphill battle. joining me now from los angeles is correspondent steve patterson. steve, so i understand you're at good samaritan hospital in l.a. i see the sign behind you. what's the situation there today? what are you learning from folks? >> reporter: well, chris, not too long ago there would have been a row of registered nurses behind me, the largest -- one of the largest nursing unions in

the country has a national day of action going on. and a lot of it specifically in california is what you just reported that things when you look at the numbers seem to be declining. the nurses wanted to get out ahead of that because they're saying those declines are not being reflected in the e.r.s, in icu, in covid units they are operating under. they're still very much under the gun and they want people to know that while this is happening they feel like they're not properly staffed, that the staffing ratios are way out of whack and they feel they don't have the proper ppe still months into this crisis to do their job efficiently. one nurse i spoke to said she had been wearing the same n95 mask for so long that the elastic band started deteriorating, and they feel this general sense of unsafety when they go into their units to treat people. not only that but the elective surgeries that have been put off for so long continue to be with the number of surge we're seeing in the state of california. we spoke to some of the nurses while they were on the ground

today, asked them what their message was for the health officials and health departments and health providers that cover some of these hospitals. here is what they said. >> the most important thing right now facing hospital workers and nurses is the lack of ppe, especially adequate ppe, as well as staffing levels. >> i want to see my co-workers have proper equipment, functioning equipment, that they don't have to worry they're going to catch something from someone they're taking care of. >> reporter: another woman said that this has led to several outbreaks in the area, in area hospitals with the staff including several nurses who have gotten sick. so the worry is ever-present for these people on the front lines of this crisis. chris? >> talk to pea about what we're hearing about these discrepancies in the counting of cases. health officials talking about the state's data system used to process covid-19, test results

having some technical issues. what more can you tell us about that? >> reporter: yeah, chris, every day we get the numbers that we expect both from the county and the state, and several counties are reporting the same thing, they come now with a caveat saying that there are technical issues, serious technical issues that may not have -- may or may not have a reflection in the declines that we're seeing, specifically the top health official in the state said unequivocally some of these misreporting or communication or technical errors directly impact the reduction in the state positivity rate that we've been seeing over the past seven days. now it's 6%. the problem is we do not know how impactful these technical errors are. are they driving the declines or are they a by-product of the amount of testing that's being done in the state? nevertheless the state health officials every day sort of releasing those caveats saying the numbers are impacted. they're now going county by

county to try to go to these labs to get proper reporting day by day and to get a handle on what's happening with the testing, but that is a huge issue specifically when you're talking about hospitalization rates and these nurses and doctors on the front lines dealing with this crisis. they need to know what is happening exactly with the virus. right now there's worry that's not being reported properly. chris? >> steve patterson in los angeles for us, thank you so much for that. the increase in new coronavirus cases here in the u.s. continues to rise at a staggering rate of between 40,000 and 60,000 a day, and it begs the question how much worse will it get before it gets better? >> people were talking in the spring about the big surge we had that everyone was hoping it would go down to baseline, and we were talking about the second wave in the fall. you look at our numbers now

we're right in the middle of the first wave here. >> joining me now is emergency room physician and the author of "the beauty in breaking. "we appreciate it, dr. harper. we keep hearing about first wave, second wave f. we are still in the first wave what does a second wave look like? >> and that's what concerns us all because what they're saying is true. we've done our best to stockpile equipment, lack of equipment, lack of staffing, we don't feel ready for whatever this continuation of the first wave or second wave will look like. as you know i practice in the northeast. i'm in new jersey where we don't see the severity of disease that we saw in the late winter and late spring.

but we have a spike of cases. so we are continuing to brace at a time people are getting sick of it, not practicing the social distancing they need as they congregate and as schools are starting to open up in the midst of the spike. we're deeply concerned how this will evolve. >> talking about kids, president trump spoke with fox news about children impacted by the outbreak today saying, again, he said this in very different ways, but he said the thing will go away. here is more. >> my view is the schools should open. this thing is going away. it will go away like things go away and my view is schools will be open. if you look at children, children are almost -- and i would almost say definitely but almost immune from this disease, so few -- they have stronger -- hard to believe and i don't know how you feel about it but they

have much stronger immune systems than we do somehow for this and they do it. they don't have a problem. they just don't have a problem. >> is that what you're seeing, doctor? >> no, and that's a dangerous message to spread. we are seeing children can get infected. it is true they tend to do better, but it is also true that people who tend to be healthier can infect people who tend to die of this disease. so putting children in the position of getting sick themselves where they may die even if they live they will then act as vectors to spread it to the rest of the community and that's very dangerous and something we need to prevent if we care about the health of the population in general. finally, if we do see a surge in cases at least in part

because of students going back to in-person learning the way that we saw it with some of the camps where they had outbreaks, how prepared are you and your colleagues with the critical supplies you need to treat patients this fall? >> we certainly don't feel prepared especially in the fall. we still don't have enough testing. so we're in a position if we're exposed we also need tests. we don't have enough tests. the turnaround time can be days to weeks. so now we're in a position where we're working without enough equipment and also likely and we've seen it now where people have to go out because they're exposed so we're already working short and at a time there's more infection in general and we won't know what we're dealing with. we'll be working short again, so we are not confident.

we remain concerned. we need a robust, coordinated federal response to this to address this public health care need. >> dr. michelle harper, it's always great to have you on the program. we appreciate your time, thank you. in a moment we'll return to the breaking story in the 2020 election about where joe biden will accept the democratic nomination and we'll talk to committee chair tom perez next. you're watching msnbc.

back to the breaking news, joe biden will not travel to milwaukee due to the coronavirus. instead opting to accept the party's nomination virtually from delaware. joining me now is the chair of the democratic national committee tom perez. good to see you. thank you for coming on the program. >> great to be back with you. >> so tell us a little bit about how and when this decision was made and how you think it could

impact the ability to get out the message of what is the traditional kickoff to a campaign and obviously one where you want to get a bump. >> sure. from the beginning of this pandemic our north star has always been public health and safety. that was clear from the outset. and we have always made sure that we listen to the experts. because our convention isn't about the ego of a nominee, it's about telling our vision and values to the nation. and the situation, quite frankly, in wisconsin and in many other places has been worsening. and so based on the consultation with public health experts and, again, this is our north star, we made a judgment that out of town speakers should not be traveling to milwaukee. now we're still going to have a very robust -- in the second part of your question, how does this affect our ability to get our message out. i don't think it affects us in

any way, shape or form. we'll have a convention that highlights the great city of milwaukee and it rooted across america. we have a great production team. the vice president will speak from delaware thursday night and accept the nomination. and i am excited about highlighting our values and, frankly, the differences. the ditchesdifferences are nigh day between joe biden and donald trump who is all about his own ego. >> would you say, though, realistically what we used to know about conventions is off the table? we don't know how people will react to a virtual convention. would you say you don't know whether or not to expect a bump? >> well, what i know we have a lot in store that's going to be very exciting. what people want to though about a convention, conventions -- the 99.9% of people see conventions from television. it's great to be in the town. i've been to a number of

conventions. that's really exciting. conventions are television productions and we're going to have a great show four nights in a row highlighting who we are as a nation. we're making history. we're going to have the first female vice president in american history. i think that's really exciting, and that reflects the boldness of the vice president. and our party platform is a bold vision of inclusion. i think -- i've said to our team many times necessity is often the ingenuity and innovation. we have a historic pandemic here, and we have a great team. we are innovating. i think the american people are going to see a remarkable production that is going to highlight who we are as a party and how we're going to build back better this nation and unite this nation under a person who has been uniting the nation his entire career.

>> and obviously whatever challenges joe biden faced, so does donald trump. the president clearly wants to make sure he has a made-for-tv backdrop. i'm sure you heard him talking about the white house potentially as a place for his acceptance speech or one of the monuments even. let me play for you what he said. >> there are reports that you're considering possibly giving your convention acceptance speech from the white house lawn. >> we're thinking about doing it from the white house because there's no movement. it's easy and i think it's a beautiful setting and we are thinking about that. it's certainly one of the alternatives. >> he also said it would be easier, less expensive. what's your reaction? >> well, it's ethically breathtaking to hear the president say that i'm going to give a political speech from the white house. that is -- that would be a nonstarter for any democrat running. that is so unethical.

but there's no surprise there. he also said today it's virtually impossible for kids to spread the coronavirus this is a president who has been reckless with the facts, reckless with the science, reckless with the ethics, reckless with the truth. and that is something the american people are just sick of. i think wherever joe biden is in delaware giving his acceptance speech, our party, the differences between them and us, i am so excited to highlight those differences. and i do think we're going to come out of our convention with a remarkable level of excitement. and we've been preparing for this. unlike the other side, they're just going one place to the other. we've been preparing for this eventuality now for months because we understood that this pandemic might require some extraordinary measures and we're ready for that. >> yeah, a very unconventional convention, but this has been

three, almost four years of an unconventional presidency. and i want to play an interesting exchange that joe biden actually had with a reporter last night about something that the president has been saying. >> please clarify you taken a c? >> no, i haven't taken a test. why the hell would i take a test? come on, man. that's like saying, you know, before you got in the program, you take a test where you're taking cocaine or not. what do you think, huh? are you a junky? >> what do you say to president trump who brags about his test and makes it an issue? >> well, he can't figure out the difference between an elephant and a lion, i don't know what the hell he's talking about. >> so then joe biden went on to say he can't wait to debate, so i ask you, tom perez, how many will there be, and have you gotten any indication that biden has any hesitation about debating, which is what trump

and many on the right have been suggesting? >> the vice president has been very clear that he accepts the terms and conditions of the debate commission for three debates. what's really interesting is the trump campaign, who said just yesterday, they said yes, we will. or a spokesperson for trump said, yes, we'll have three debates, then the trump campaign walked back that statement. so i think the people you need to ask about debates are the trump folks. and frankly, the question that was asked of the vice president, that's a stupid question with all due respect. and donald trump has nothing to work with in this campaign because he's been a colossal failure, so they want to change the subject. >> there's so much more to talk about, especially some of the down ballot races, whether you guys can take the senate. we're out of time, but i hope you can am back. chairman of the democratic

national committee, tom perez, thank you so much. and when we return, the trump campaign sues the state of nevada over a plan to expand their mail-in voting. you're watching msnbc. i wouldn't be here if i thought reverse mortgages took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. learn how homeowners are strategically using a reverse mortgage loan to cover expenses, pay for healthcare, preserve your portfolio and so much more. a reverse mortgage loan isn't some kind of trick to take your home. it's a loan, like any other. big difference is how you pay it back. find out how reverse mortgages really work with aag's free, no-obligation reverse mortgage guide. with a reverse mortgage, you can pay whatever you can, when it works for you, or, you can wait, and pay it off in one lump sum when you leave your home. discover the option that's best for you. call today and find out more. i'm proud to be a part of aag,

i trust em, i think you can too.

>> techand your car., we're committed to taking care of you >> tech: we'll fix it right with no-contact service you can trust. >> tech: so if you have auto glass damage, stay safe with safelite. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ "ok, so, magnificent mile for me!" i thought i was managing... ...my moderate to severe crohn's disease. yes! until i realized something was missing... ...me. you ok, sis? my symptoms kept me- -from being there for my sisters. "...flight boarding for flight 2007 to chicago..." so i talked to my doctor and learned- ...humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications.

and the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief... -and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. 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. be there for you, and them. ask your doctor about humira. with humira, remission is possible. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. overnight, the trump campaign officially sued to try to stop nevadans from voting by mail. there was a new law signed by nevada's democratic governor.

it would send absoonty ballots to every voter in the state. the lawsuit claims this is unconstitutional, and president trump defended his decision to sue, making misleading and false claims about mail-in voting. >> so nevada, we're in court. we'll see how it works out, but if it doesn't work out, you're not going to know the november 3rd election results. i'm talking for the country. it could be for months and months. i mean, actually, it could be for years. they plan to send these ballots to everybody who's ever walked in the state of nevada. it will be a disaster. >> yet, the president just encouraged voters in florida to vote by mail. he tweeted yesterday, quote, in florida, the election system is safe and secure. tried and true. in florida, i encourage all to request a ballot and vote by mail. but when pressed at the white house press briefing last night, the president said it's because he trusts the republican governor in the state. >> florida's got a great republican governor.

and it had a great republican governor. it's got ron desantis, rick scott. they have been able to get the absentee ballots done extremely professionally. florida has been working on this for years. >> the vote by mail controversy to be continued. but that's going to wrap up this hour for me. i'll see you right back here tomorrow at 1:00 eastern time. thanks for watching. my colleague, katy tur, will pick up our coverage right after this quick break. after this quick break photos from your trip? ouch, okay. huh, boring, boring, you don't need to see that. oh, here we go. can you believe my client steig had never heard of a home and auto bundle or that renters could bundle? wait, you're a lawyer? only licensed in stockholm. what is happening? jamie: anyway, game show, kumite, cinderella story. you know karate? no, alan, i practice muay thai, completely different skillset. >> tech: when you've got ...safelite can come to you. >> tech: and you'll get a text when we're on our way.

>> tech: just leave your keys on the dash and we'll replace your windshield with safe, no-contact service. >> tech: schedule at safelite.com. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks?t smell clean? now they can! this towel has already been used and it still smells fresh. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. essential for sewing, but maybe not needles. for people with certain inflammatory conditions. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz. the first and only pill of its kind that treats moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or moderate to severe ulcerative colitis when other medicines have not helped enough. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. serious, sometimes fatal infections,

cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. needles. fine for some. but for you, there's a pill that may provide symptom relief. ask your doctor about the pill first prescribed for ra more than seven years ago. xeljanz. an "unjection™".

good afternoon. i'm katy tur. it is 11:00 a.m. out west and 2:00 p.m. in the east. president trump is still spreading misinformation about the covid-19 pandemic. he told fox news this morning that it is fine to reopen schools because the virus is simply going to go away. he also incorrectly claimed that kids are immune to the virus. the president made these claims on the same day the state of