would make a great running mate for me or something like that. you're right about that. and that in some ways frankly there's a part of me doesn't mind we didn't have to worry about the kabuki theater, hiding behind a garage post. didn't paul ryan sneak out of his house, go across a river or something, maybe getting rid of that kabuki theater. i could have listened to you and michael go on all day about lbj. one other historical point, it may have been made, i think not a lot of folks are making, to me, this is a reagan-bush parallel. you know, 1980 when reagan picked bush, there were conversations, geez, he's the guy used the most effective attack on reagan in the primaries, voodoo economics, yet it did unite the party and it was a time the republicans thought they saw political blood in the water, they saw a big opportunity, don't have an

ideological fight, unite the party. here's joe biden, 2020. here we are, 40 years later. a lot of us think 2020 is looking like a 1980 type situation. you have the iran hostages, this pandemic, sort of this giant pal over the nation. biden is overlooking somebody that made the most effective attack on him in kamala harris, bringing her on board. it sends a message of unity and it does -- it is a reminder he wants a sharp campaigner. look, her campaign struggled because you could argue was she trying to be in the progressive lane, arguably was caught in the middle like an armadillo. she's always been an effective prosecutor, prosecuting a political case. boy, remember a lot of people, brian, believed the number two, best way a number two can be is to be the prosecutor against the opposition, and she's very good

at that. >> yeah, she is very good at that. chuck, to your point in plain sight, before i get on my way, it all goes back to the notes that were captured in his pocket by digital photography where he said something to the effect of hold no grudges or don't hold a grudge, and the proof was right there, what he was prepared to litigate had he gotten a question about kamala harris. we're two minutes into your hour. "mtp daily." >> i'll give you one more thing quickly. he used the veep stakes to elevate a lot of women in the party. yes, there was a littot of oppo research. karen bass looks more formidable. gretchen whitmer. biden deserves credit if you're a democratic party leader, he

used the process to elevate future or current stars and giving them a larger platform. i'm done talking. >> democrats that are trying to cast a future cabinet, perhaps, will see a lot of members on the list you just named. chuck todd, thank you. >> thank you, brother. appreciate that, mr. williams. welcome to a busy tuesday afternoon. it is meet the press daily. we begin with breaking news we talked about seconds ago. joe biden announced he has chosen senator kamala harris, a democrat from california, who came to washington the same year as donald trump, 2016. and he chose her as his vice presidential running mate. in an email to supporters, joe biden noted that, quote, these aren't normal times in american history, not with the pandemic and economic crisis and calls for racial justice. the reaction to this pick is beginning to pour in. we expect more activity from the campaign in the next few minutes.

we also expect to hear from president trump later this hour. he has a scheduled press conference sometime at the white house. originally expected to be on the virus. we expect him to react to news of the pick of kamala harris. we'll be keeping an eye on what he has to say there. but with the democratic nominee having made perhaps the biggest decision of his political career up to this point, the democratic convention in less than a week, we begin with the latest. biden's choice of senator harris as his running mate. let's bring in our amazing nbc news team. joined by kristin welker, andrea mitchell, mike memoli, our biden correspondent in wilmington, delaware, kasie hunt, capitol hill correspondent, and some of our favorite contributors, donna edwards, and claire mccaskill, former missouri senator, two year colleague of kamala harris, and now nbc news political analyst. so kristin welker, let me begin

with you. was this a tough decision for the biden campaign? obviously my guess is it will be no, it was never a tough decision. how close do we think it was? >> i think this was a very deliberative process, chuck. you and i have been covering all of the twists and turns in the past several weeks. he chose kamala harris, but we know that he was considering a range of different top contenders which included former obama national security adviser susan rice, someone who he has a very close relationship with, as well as the michigan governor, gretchen whitmer, someone he felt he had a strong connection with, someone that would help him with the battleground state. but ultimately my sense is he kept coming back to where he started, senator kamala harris, the sense that she checked all of the boxes, that she's going to be strong as a candidate, on the debate stage, and once he is

in the white house, someone who has governed, who has been elected by the people before, having served as senator from california. now as we have been reporting, obviously one of the snags in the process, the decision-making process for the former vice president as well as family members and close aides was the first debate. you were there, chuck. you remember all too well, that first debate when senator harris took sharp aim at him. she was asked about that during this process, and essentially laughed it off, according to reports, as nothing more than politics. bottom line, there were concerns. would she be trustworthy negative, lienough. undoubtedly in private meetings, that's a message she conveyed, that she would be a partner to him not only on the campaign trail, but more importantly once in the white house if they do, in fact, win. chuck, this cannot be overstated, this is a historic moment. she's the first african-american

woman to be picked on a major party's ticket, presidential ticket. so the vice president was getting a fair amount of pressure from the african-american community to pick someone who is african-american, not only because you have this inflection point in the country, but because of all of the events of the past several months, and because frankly, biden has really made this racial reckoning a core of his campaign. part of how he launched his campaign. it is something that made sense from that perspective. i think it was a deliberative process but sense from the beginning that she's someone that checks all of the boxes. >> is there a portfolio that she's going to gravitate towards

with obama, biden, it was clear in some ways, he saw biden as the guy that would be the insider washington mechanic at times if necessary. i think when he was picked, some people thought it meant a foreign policy portfolio, but that never -- wasn't necessarily the case. do we have an idea what the kamala harris portfolio may look like if elected? >> well, if elected you certainly would think that her focus would be on the racial issues, on younger people certainly as a campaigner, that's going to be very much a part of it, black women which is a part, very important part of joe biden's history, also the key part of the democratic base. in office it would not be foreign policy, but her expertise as an attorney general. that might be controversial at points in the campaign because as a prosecutor, she was a hard liner on some of the issues that have really been reimagined now

in light of black lives matter. in office, judicial experience, he is a lawyer, former head of the judiciary committee, that would be a critical part as we face a whole new experience. kamala harris being so much of the ticket in terms of youth, she's an energetic campaigner, women's vote, younger people's vote, all of this brings enormous energy. i just talked to jim clyburn, he is over the moon. he said he learned earlier today in a call from joe biden that he has three daughters and they asked him point blank, and he said i'll get back to you on that, that he would not reveal it, even to his three daughters whom he adores. he said that they were going to be so excited when he tells them about the choice, and he said john lewis is smiling down from

heaven. >> andrea, one other thing, we brought up the enthusiasm she can bring to the campaign trail, the alpha beta cappa sore or tee, when they turn on the network, it is a powerful ally, is it not? >> absolutely. you know, that's part of the whole strength of black women, how they supported the democratic party. most more than any other political party, they're a network, they're sisters in every sense of the word, and that's what she's part of, howard university. howard university alumni, being in washington, you know how important that is. this is a very important moment historically. shouldn't lose sight of that. as big a deal as we imagined. >> mike memoli, do we have an idea of what kind of campaign,

individual campaign do they want harris running versus what they have biden doing? is she going to have a set of stakes that are hers, a set of areas that are hers? you know, how much joint, there's not a lot of joint campaigning, they'll be together tomorrow, we assume. what do we know about her, basically what her job is as a campaigner for the next couple of months? >> well, talk about portfolio, she will certainly have a campaign portfolio as the biden team was evaluating on their part potential choices for joe biden. one of the factors they looked at, of course, is age, and the ability of the person to get on the campaign trail in the way the biden team has been very careful about biden doing himself. i think really, chuck, speaks to the moment two different search committees. we talked a lot about the vetting committee of what the most famous or infamous member was chris dodd, the team that

ran the nuts and bolts process of vetting. ultimately, there was a second vetting committee, it was joe biden, his head, his heart, and his gut. one of the challenges for us in reporting now going forward was did kamala harris check all three boxes. we know for sure one of the things that attracted joe biden to her, the reason he had a relationship with her predating the campaign, the relationship kamala harris had with his son beau, both attorneys general in their states, worked closely on a number of cases. that was the introduction to joe biden of kamala harris, by his son, beau. i think the other part of this that i think most important at the end is was kamala harris always the number one choice, was she always the person in joe biden's gut he felt was the right pick, and i think you should look at it this way. in terms of the formula that the joe biden campaign applied to the 2020 election, they looked at the 2018 election as something they could scale up, the formula for success for

democrats there which relied on suburban women turning out in unprecedented numbers to help democrats win the house is something that would apply to this campaign as well. chuck, no doubt the process changed in the last few weeks. african-american women are seen as, for good reason, the backbone of the democratic party. they makeup a lot of the volunteer energy. they have been key to electing democrats, white democrats, black democrats, up and down the ballot. even in a state like alabama. this conversation began to shift the last few weeks, the biden campaign was able to defy conventional wisdom in the party that the party wouldn't be unified behind his candidacy. what have we heard the last knew days, the question if he chose somebody else, if he chose a white woman rather than a woman of color, that rock solid support was potentially at risk. i think the biden campaign believes donald trump is doing enough on his own to keep suburban swing women in those districts that helped put democrats in control of the

house rushing to the polls, but they didn't want to take for granted support that made joe biden the neiman hope will make him president and that is the african-american vote. >> obviously i'm hoping everybody sticks around as long as they can. some folks have to rush off, follow other deadlines. we have a lot of platforms and deadline platforms. hope we can revisit with folks. kasie hunt, you have been covering kamala harris day to day probably more so than anybody before the presidential campaign began and it sort of was one of the things it was obvious in plain sight, both kamala harris and donald trump technically came to washington the same year. now here they are facing off on national tickets here. kamala harris distinguished herself in these high profile committee hearings. tell me about the kamala harris behind the scenes on capitol hill. >> chuck, you know, it is

fascinating. she started out when she first came to washington, they were very careful in how they put her out there in public for the first i would say six plus months. she was very careful in the hallway, didn't stop to talk to reporters, it was clear they were trying to give her a period of time to get her feet under her so she didn't make some sort of high profile mistake because we all were very interested in her from the beginning. she was laying all of the ground work behind the scenes for what everybody knew was a likely presidential run. she was doing all of the things, the dinners with the right sets of talking heads or reporters, the connections with the right types of operatives. all of the things that you do to build the ground work. then she slowly stepped out into those public spaces you're talking about. you talked about her high profile moments on the judiciary committee, that was really where she initially started and they were able to say look, this is what she's focused on, this is her expertise, what she cares

most about. it gave her an effective platform to criticize president trump, and it got a lot of notice. and obviously you saw her build out her presidential campaign from there. and i think you've got to see in the presidential campaign highlights of her strengths on one hand and you saw that on the debate stage and in other campaign moments, and you also saw what clearly has been what they have been trying to shore up all the way along which was making sure that she was taking steps onto a national stage. anyone that's run for president will tell you it is a spotlight that nothing can prepare you for except running for president. so it was pretty clear to me they tried to do a similar thing with her presidential campaign and as we know it turned out the way it did. i would also describe senator harris as a thoroughly modern candidate, senator. she's one of the younger members of the senate as you pointed

out. but her approach is also much less formal, much less pulled back than other senators i covered. she likes to develop personal relationships. she's warm. she develops a rapport, she remembers if you have a kid and you see her in the hallway, she asked me how my son was, et cetera. she has a natural political feel like that that comes out behind the scenes. that's one of the reasons why, even if biden had reservations, and obviously they had a high profile clash, it is hard when you list her qualities out and get to know her, it makes sense that they would feel she was somebody that could add to the dil ticket in ways that counter balanced him and his strengths. they're both politicians who have a sense of the tactile on the ground nature of

politicking. that may be a way they were able to connect. i think democrats have thoughts since she stepped on the stage that she had an incredibly bright future. also i think women that watched her, white women, african-american women, when she snapped back, she was asked in may of 2019 would you consider being, what do you think about being the running mate. she said well, joe biden would make a great running mate. these are the kinds of things that speak to people that feel particularly diseffected. >> donna edwards, we're all acting like this pick has been obvious from the get go. i say this, that's the way it always i think for the most part, you know you made a successful pick at least immediately when that feels like the response. does that feel that way to you, donna edwards? >> i think in some ways it does because certainly that was the talk early on but i also think i

was one of the ones that said i don't think it matters whether he chooses a black woman or not, that it is going to be a strong ticket, i would be able to support it. and it turns out it matters an awful lot, when the announcement came through i felt as a black woman something inside me that said oh, my gosh, this is really a moment. so i think you're going to find she's rolled out, gets on the campaign trail such as it is that people are going to have that kind of response to her, and i would imagine that's what joe biden felt as well, that he would not just be making an historic choice but one that would serve him well both on the campaign trail and when it comes to governing and speaking to the next generation. so it is really an exciting moment. but it is not without its

detractors, we will see those coming. but i think kamala harris is ready for that. she proved that during the primary fight and i thought it was instructive that joe biden chose somebody that stood up to him. that said a lot, says a lot about him, says an awful lot about her. >> not since reagan-bush have you seen that. that turned out to be effective. i think you're right. i think some voters like to know oh, you respect somebody who's willing to go after you. claire mccaskill, how would you assess joe biden. there were pitfalls during the vetting process they avoided. we can nitpick, but for the most part i don't think there's going to be sore feelings. i'm curious, how do you think they handled this, do you think they -- how do you think biden handled the vetting process? >> first of all, one of the

things you want in a presidential campaign is the kind of tight lipped access to the really important stuff. they kept this quiet. this was amazing, especially when everyone is having more time on their phones because nobody is traveling anywhere. the fact that this didn't leak says a lot about him and his campaign team. secondly, i talked to a number of women on the short list over the last few weeks and the sense of unity was palpable. i am friends with these women. there really was a sense we will all, no matter who he picks, we're all in. and that is what trump does to our party. it unites everyone. and i do think others talked about kamala as a candidate. one thing she and joe biden have in common which i think he saw

is that she's someone that slows down to actually connect with people. when somebody comes into the senate that's a hot number in terms of their political future, like barack obama or kamala harris, there's a tendency of other senators to try to pick them apart. well, who do they think they are. but kamala is good at connecting with people. you really don't find senators sniping at her behind her back when she would have these moments of stardom. as you know, chuck, that goes on with senators, when someone grabs the moment in a hearing. but you didn't really have that with kamala. she would slow down and talk to people and not just to other senators but to staff. i think that speaks volumes about who she is. she and joe biden have that in common. they're both, they don't see people at a rally as props like donald trump. they see people supporting them

as people. and that will come through. that connection with people that they both have, that empathy they both have. that i think is the secret sauce they have that will make this ticket particularly strong. >> back to kristin welker. had first reaction from president obama, this tweet from george conway reminding people, previous donors to her campaigns for attorney general were people with the last name of trump, the president and ivanka have been donors to her statewide bids back in the past. kristin welker, first reaction from former president obama. >> we do, chuck. you're right. that tweet is making its way around. this is what former president obama had to say. he cast the decision as the first important decision that a president makes. let me read you the key graph. he says joe biden nailed this decision by choosing senator kamala harris as america's next

vice president, he's underscored his own judgment and character. reality shows us these attributes are not optional in a president, they're requirements of the job. now joe has an ideal partner to help him tackle the very real challenges america faces right now and in the years ahead. then former president obama goes on to talk about the long relationship that he has had with senator kamala harris. of course, she was a fervent supporter of obama, someone who campaigned vigorously for him, he talked about her strengths and what she brings to the ticket. expect former president obama to continue as we have seen him in some of the virtual events for joe biden, come out in full force for the ticket. there's no doubt he was not giving joe biden advice who to pick but serving as a sounding board. clearly making the case that this was the right decision. in terms of the current

commander in chief, chuck, if i can say a word about reaction we're getting so far inside trump world, it is fascinating, the campaign has released a video trying to cast her as a phony, seizing on the fact she was critical of joe biden. one administration official telling me that's part of what they're going to focus on, that she criticized biden, now she's on the ticket with him. they're going to try to put her in a box, paint her as part of the radical left. that's something we heard quite a bit from president trump. but what's so interesting is that the president has really struggled to put kamala harris in a box. we saw this during the primary, for example. the only thing he had to say about kamala harris during the primary is she had the strongest rollout. we're seeing that now as the campaign and the administration tries to figure out how to talk about this pick. do they want to cast her as someone phony or radical. seems like they're trying to work it out.

the key challenge for the trump campaign, they feel they have yet to lay a glove on biden, feel as though that name, sleepy joe, hasn't been resonating with voters and so they were looking for a pick they could pounce on and try to define. the question is will they be able to do that. we're going to hear from president trump later this evening, chuck. no doubt this will be among the first questions he gets asked about. >> but it is an important point. he has struggled to stick with a message on defining biden and never figured out how to define harris. but there's going to be one metric whether this is a successful pick, that metric is in states like wisconsin, pennsylvania, and the next state i want to bring up, michigan. we have debbie dingell with us. congresswoman from michigan, the person that sounded the alarm for democrats back when nobody was listening to your alarm back in 2016.

kamala harris, can she help joe biden win michigan? >> she will definitively help joe biden with michigan. one of the things bothered me was the way people tried to pit women against each other. there was a large human cry for people in michigan to be this kind of pick. as everybody else has been saying, she's a very strong woman. people know she's prepared. the other thing that i do know about her personally, all these women were good friends. we were lucky. i want to say how lucky we were that joe biden had such a strong list of women to consider for this position. we mustn't forget that. she's a very compassionate person. that's part of what happened last time is that we didn't have a candidate who maybe understood union workers. i've seen kamala with a group of seniors. wheelchair people, we were at a

school, kids wanted to talk to her. i have seen candidates blow students off. she took the time, talked to them, took her picture, hugged them. this is a woman with empathy. i think democrats are looking, not democrats, americans, voters are looking for a team that's going to heal the nation's heart and soul. >> you don't believe, you brought up the fact you thought people were pitting some of the women against each other, you think there's going to be any sore feelings from governor whitmer at all or do you think that's not at all? >> gretchen whitmer is co-chair of this campaign. she is a strong team player. she likes what she's doing now, being governor of this state. i love her. she's one of my dearest friends. she would have been as qualified as any other woman. she's going to be out there working with kamala harder than anybody. she will lead this state. >> tell me, look, the district

you represent, the district your late husband represented, that part of southeast michigan, that's where you saw the first signs that some long time democrats were thinking about voting trump and you saw it, right there in southeast michigan. i have family there in monroe. you could see it. what do you see now four years later? >> we're not going to get monroe county, i'll tell you that now. >> that i know. i'm aware of that. >> i'm a realist. i am still debbie. i was feeling really good three weeks ago in that i still have a debbie downer reputation to live up to, but i do think the selection is not over. i am starting, you know, i'm just listening. we have to campaign hard. we have to turn out every single vote. nobody can afford to stay home, for two reasons. we need all of those votes. donald trump is playing in quiet

ways in the monroe counties of the world, but we need to win by large numbers so nobody challenges the integrity. >> one thing i'm curious about, want to bring mike memoli back, get more folks back in the conversation. i heard whispers from the left that there will be hand wringing on the left if it is kamala harris. there's this idea she is not progressive enough or whatever you want to do. mike, how is the campaign anticipating some of that on the left, what are they trying to do to mitigate criticism. >> i think what you have to consider is the attitude of the biden campaign all along, both to take criticism of the former vice president seriously, the ideological divide there's a concern about. they spent a lot of time this summer working to manage and make sure that progressive wing of the party felt included.

it's also not to overestimate it, not to take it more seriously than they trust in their own polling in the vice president's own gut that it is that serious. when you talk to the campaign about how the decision comes together, you're not going to hear as much conversation about the ideological divisions you might expect. i think what's been consistent throughout, biden set the tone himself more times than anybody cared to listen, perhaps, he wanted somebody he felt he could work with. we're seeing that already, what is one of the first images the campaign is putting out at this point, chuck? an image of joe biden at his desk, kamala harris at her desk having a virtual conversation. it is an image you can perhaps expect to see a lot more over time. and listen, i think we spent a lot of time trying to figure out meetings. have they happened in person or virtually. knowing joe biden, covered him a long time, there are a lot of informal conversations. probably a lot of meetings that

didn't qualify as a vice presidential interview. and i wouldn't be surprised if one of the moments was that picture we're seeing now. for all of the questions about the divide of the party, and specifically what kamala harris tried to do against biden in the campaign, try to dent his support with african-american voters, i think what's important to realize at this point is that the party is so united behind the idea of beating donald trump and i think the campaign was always confident that there might be a messy couple days, no matter who the choice is, but they have a whole convention next week, and they're going to carry on into the fall feeling confident that the party is together on this. >> you know, claire mccaskill, i was just thinking about this. in a conventional year with the convention coming up, if there were sore feelings on the left, there would be a lot of reporters kind of bored next week that would find plenty of delegates to say disparaging things about the ticket. guess what's not going to happen next week.

>> right. >> it is one of those things that is, you know, it is the nature of the current beast we're all dealing with, but that might end up being helpful in making sure that story line never gets traction. >> yeah. i'll give up the balloon drop in exchange for journalists not being able to find people on the floor who are not happy about who the nominee is or who the vice president is. you know, this party is probably as united as i've ever seen it. yeah. there's some differences of opinion about a few things, and kamala is somebody that started as a courtroom assistant d.a., then worked her way up to the boss of that district attorney's office, and then to the attorney general's office, running an office of over 7,000 lawyers. she has executive experience. during that time she did do criminal justice reform.

there are important things she did about finding jobs for drug offenders or geds for drug offenders as opposed to putting them in prison, so she's got things to talk about in terms of criminal justice reform, but she also is going to be reassuring to a lot of suburban women who maybe aren't as far left as some in the democratic party. maybe a lot of suburban women that voted for donald trump for whatever reason. so i think she's a great combination and i do think you'll see less sniping particularly because we're going to be working remotely and there won't be an opportunity to stir that up. >> i really think that's a huge, if you're anita dunn, kate beddingfield, not missing that aspect of the convention and how that worked. donna edwards, you have concerns about how the campaign treats --

a lot of conversation about how will the atmosphere of the campaign treat this historic moment. what are your concerns? >> well, i have fewer concerns about the campaign than i do the coverage of the campaign. i mean, i think it will be really important for all of us when we're asking questions and expecting responses from kamala harris and from the biden campaign that we treat her as an equal, that she is a person who brings a lot to the table, that she will be able to go toe to toe, answer questions around policy, but i don't want to hear questions about ambition or is she aggressive or, you know, is she angry. all those things because to me, those things will be signals of sexism yet again injecting itself into the campaign. so i actually am looking forward to a very positive biden/harris

ticket. one that speaks to unity of the democratic party, bringing in all comers who are tired of the trump presidency. i think that kamala harris adds a layer of energy to the biden campaign that we are going to need over, speaking of democrats, that democrats need over the course of time between now and november. and what's really interesting to me is because we know so much of the campaign is going to be virtual, kamala harris, i have been at some of her virtual events, she comes across like she's sitting in your living room. i think that's going to serve the campaign really well. >> kasie hunt, speaker pelosi, we get word speaker pelosi was a fan of val demings, karen bass, wanted to see them both involved

in the process vetted. it is certainly from my perspective, both got elevated in this here. now you're thinking val demings, oh, there's the most formidable potential next gubernatorial nominee for the democrats in florida in 2022. karen bass looks like maybe she wants to be speaker, heir apparent to speaker pelosi, not saying she's going anywhere. it did seem in that sense biden did party build. >> he definitely did, chuck. i think speaker pelosi plays the long game, always has. i think karen bass' name came up as somebody who was a potential future as speaker of the house when there were some questioning pelosi's leadership. now bass herself never indulged in that kind of talk. it has been clear she was somebody that was held in that kind of high stature. there was a great nugget in "new

york times" recently about veep stakes generally speaking. said biden talked to pelosi on the phone, she told him simply to pick someone that will help him win, that's always pelosi's bottom line, the way she looks at the world. doesn't care what people say about her if it is in service to winning a seat to her majority in the house. that's how she looks at things. to pick up on an earlier point, too, i spent a lot of the convention in 2016 talking to the diseffected bernie delegates at the convention, a night aimed at them, and they have not been happy. heard from a lot of them in text messages and twitter dms in the course of the last year. i think senator mccaskill's point is the right one, that they're not necessarily front and center the way they were before. that has to do with the moment we're in, that the democrats are running against donald trump, and that's a much different

setup than when hillary clinton was running against him in 2016. i think it also speaks to the way that biden has carefully worked to try to bring people into the fold who are leaders of that movement. he has gone out of his way to do some things an act in a way towards bernie sanders that's different than hillary clinton interacted with bernie sanders, they have a stronger personal relationship. i think that contributes to the dynamic as well. >> let's bring in perhaps former vice president's biggest supporter in the united states senate, certainly from his home state, senator chris koonts. you have been in the biden world. give me your perspective why kamala harris makes sense in the biden orbit. >> chuck, i'm excited about the announcement this afternoon.

as claire said, it has been hard to keep it a secret. i think with this decision joe biden doesn't just change the trajectory of the race and future of the nation, he and kamala harris will make history. he has chosen someone that will be great to campaign and govern with. as a colleague, she's someone that's shown on the judiciary committee she can ask tough questions and get answers. as someone elected three times statewide in california, most populous stateme populous state, she's a proven vote getter. and responsible for 7,000 attorneys statewide. i think joe found someone that's got the compassion, heart, the ability to engage that he values. he has chosen someone that's shown real skill and talent and shown someone who's tough. it is a bad day i think for donald trump and mike pence.

i will have more than he can handle on the debate stage. >> people were whispering there was divide in the biden campaign about kamala harris, raw feelings about the debate performance. appears to me now maybe, look, i've always, there's still carter and kennedy staffers still angry at each other from the 1980 democratic primary. i get that staffers don't get over things, but clearly didn't bother the bidens, did it? or did it take some time? >> clearly didn't. i spoke to joe a few moments ago and she and joe have made a decision that comes from their heart. they know that kamala was a close friend to their treasured late son, beau biden. they have gotten to know her very well in recent years. she's someone that has their trust and confidence. she's going to be the vice presidential candidate of a unified party, a party with a strong ticket and party with a

strong platform. and frankly, the advice that speaker pelosi gave joe, make sure you win, is important advice in this moment. i think joe biden has chosen a running partner for the campaign and the future. they're going to take on a big challenge governing. we're in the middle of three crises at the same time, global public health pandemic, a recession brought on by bumbled response to the pandemic by the trump administration, and renewed focus on racial injustice in our country. senator harris will be a great partner in responding to all three those challenges. joe knows what it means to become vice president in the middle of an economic crisis. he knows his plate will be full and he found a trusted partner in senator harris. >> want to ask you about work or lack thereof in the united states congress now. is there any sign of any renewed

talks here? we saw the president acknowledged he can't do a $400 payment, it is down to 300. not clear how that -- how quickly it can get into the hands of folks, whether it can be done. do you sense any movement on capitol hill to jump start talks or do we think the government funding bill where you have to make sure the government doesn't shut down before the election, is that the final place this goes? >> chuck, one good test of whether or not president trump's executive orders meet the moment and needs of the american people is that the republican chairman of the national governor's association of maryland, larry hogan, said they can't make it work. there are states scrambling to see if they can partner with the trump administration, but frankly, everything i read so far suggests executive orders fall flat and fall short. there are some explorations,

members talking to each other, i reached out to some of my republican colleagues, i know leaders of our caucus and speaker pelosi, caucus in the house, have been trying to restart, but frankly as long as the trump administration refuses to back off their firm position they won't increase the amount they're willing to provide in support for safe reopening of schools for health, they won't try to take away health care for millions of americans through attack on the affordable care act, they won't fund the election safely and won't fund state and local governments having record shortfalls, i don't see how these conversations renew in a serious and substantive way. >> senator chris coons, appreciate you joining the conversation for a few minutes. we brought up this sort of issue here that we haven't gotten the funding done. check in with shannon at the white house.

you have one eye on the briefing room. we are hearing from the president in a little bit. what can you tell us on what he's saying so far and is there any movement yet? is the white house ready to move at all on talks? >> reporter: you know, interesting the president is giving his opening remarks now at the press briefing. he spent a considerable amount of time again talking about protests in cities like portland and seattle and talking about the crime that's happening in big cities to fund the police movement. this is the same time his campaign is trying to characterize kamala harris as someone who is for the de-funding of police, which she said she is not, or someone that would be soft on crime, even though she's a career prosecutor. the president going back to the theme of crime and law and order that we hear from him again and again. really no update at all from the white house on talks. this is the second day we have been hammering away at white house officials, trying to find

out if there's any update, any communication. so far there's not. i will add earlier today, the white house sort of back pedalled on one of the executive actions that the president took over the weekend. the $400 added unemployment insurance benefit. they're saying that will now only be 3 hunl$300 of how state use existing funds. people can only expect a $300 check. but they're saying people should be actually seeing that since they don't need folks to step up, don't need states to step up and contribute, they're going to go it alone with $300 a week from the federal government. they're trying to get a win on that front of the actions while apparently making no progress so far with congress. >> actually, let me go to kasie hunt. that news today, to me it was like one of the now you're shrinking the number. that's going to make some, i assume will make some republicans on the ballot

nervous. i have been surprised at the lack of urgency on capitol hill. have you? >> it surprised me a little bit, too, chuck. i think it speaks to the level of animosity right now. mitch mcconnell when he did one of his weekly newsers, he said we're closer to an election this time. one of the effects that's had is to divide the republican conference. you and i talked about this, between those running for re-election in moderate swing states, and those looking at running for president in 2024. it is this weird side effect of the fact that many of them feel they're looking at a post trump republican party and are trying to angle for their own place in it. that means that the incentives are a bit off, and mitch mcconnell took a back seat. he let the white house go forward, said i can't pass anything if the president doesn't sign off on this.

but talks have been complicated by mark meadows, and that wing of the party's voice is being amplified in negotiations in a way it wasn't before. mcconnell has said repeatedly he wants an outcome and he's really boxed in here because it is his majority that's on the line, his power on the line. so i don't yet see how the stalemate gets broken. there's a lot of risk for everyone and dire consequences for people that need help. >> that's the point. my gosh, we're staring at a financial cliff here. that's where i'm surprised on that. we have ali vitale who is outside the condo where kamala harris resides when in washington, d.c. i assume it is an unusual busy situation at a time in d.c. when we don't see traffic any more.

>> reporter: yeah. you went from having basically no traffic to now i have a good amount of friends standing here with me. we have seen a little movement inside the lobby of the building. obviously if i make sudden movements, i will bring you into the conversation if it were to happen. but chuck, i have been listening to you have the conversation about what progressives' reactions will be. we know joe biden managed to coalesce a lot of members of the democratic party, even skeptical ones that may have supported bernie sanders or elizabeth warren, bringing them back into the fold of the democratic party. this pick was always going to be something that people were going to have a reaction to, whether it is progressives that feel the work that kamala harris has done maybe isn't progressive enough or is just right for them, but it is also something that people in the party wanted a ticket reflective of what the democratic coalition is. and by putting a woman of color

on the ticket with him, joe biden is making history and basically saying to black voters who elevated him during the primary, i see you and i hear your concerns and i'm listening. on that front, this is clearly a step in the right direction. i would say throughout the veep stakes, we knew it was going to be a woman. it has elevated a whole new number of women to the national consciousness. yes, people may have been aware of elizabeth warren. they may have been aware of gre gretchen whitmer during this pandemic but there are a lot of new names now of the democratic and national consciousness. i know we're talking about kamala harris being the future of the party but there are a whole lot more names now that are in the conversation about the party as democrats look like what the bench actually looks like. >> a very important point. we're getting more reaction to

kamala harris from some of her colleagues. garrett is on capitol hill. so garrett, help us out here. have you gotten any reaction from progressive members? what are you hearing from the republican side? >> well, progressive members are saying all the right things. you look at california, interestingly enough could theoretically be in line to inherit the senate seat should this ticket win, praising the pick here on twitter. i'm really interested in what republicans are saying. and it is interesting to see how republicans who want to go after this pick are still struggling to find a handle by which to attack kamala harris. over the next couple weeks we'll hear the state of california used as a pejorative attack against kamala harris in the same way san francisco liberal was used by republicans to go after nancy pelosi. i have no idea if that attack still carries any water with many people in this country

right now. but i expect to hear it a lot. i saw it from david purdue. attacks on tom cotton, a close ally of the president. he took an interesting tack while using the same line about harris being a captive of liberals. they shared a story from "the new york times" talking about the mismanagement of her campaign saying that she wouldn't be qualified to be president. wouldn't be qualified to lead because she was not capable of handling her campaign. the one who might know her best is lindsey graham. he tweeted out a statement calling hear worthy opponent. praising her but also with a back handed, that she's totally bought in on the liberal agenda. i think the republicans in the senate, to the degree they are working the trump campaign on this, they continue to be this desire to run against bernie sanders. and the run against a hard core

liberal ticket whether they get one or not, that's what they're running against. i think we'll see it in the republican response to this as they formulate how they'll respond to this ticket. >> i saw that difference between lindsey and cotton. i would say it's the difference between someone who suddenly has a tough re-election fight in a state a bit more diverse than tom cotton's situation in arkansas right now. >> sure. >> mike, today is a day that the biden campaign also wants it to be a big fundraising day, a big organizing day over the next couple days. walk us through what have we learned so far, tactically, what they think they can do with this, what they hope to accomplish this week this pick. do we have an idea, where will she make her first -- what's her first geographical stop that

isn't delaware or california? >> reporter: well, chuck, in the last couple hours, the biden campaign aide told me in the last few days, they've added hundreds of thousands. that was as specific as they would get. hundreds of thousands of new supporters on to their various channels. their twitter feeds, their text and email lists. it is significant in any campaign but especially in a campaign where all the voter outreach would you typically, especially for a democrat candidate, do door to door, will have to be virtual. so now they've gotten that much more information they can use at their disposal. we will see the two of them together in delaware tomorrow. no indication of what the campaign itinerary will look like after that. one of the questions is also, when will we see, where will we see the democratic vice presidential choice in terms of the convention? that's something being left on the table depending on who the

choice is. obviously the party would still love to have some presence in that battleground state of wisconsin if they can help it. in terms of the campaign preparations at large, it is interesting that they announced the team that will support the candidate. it includes a number of staff who had been really key and loyal partners to the former vice president, worked with him in the white house, guided him through the 2012 re-election campaign. they know difficulty of being number two on a ticket. being a surrogate. obviously the most important national surrogate for someone not yourself. so that's an interesting sign. and the chief of staff. it is interesting how they've begun to roll it out as well. in the moments after we knew the decision was made, before the pick was announced, there was a concerted effort for mvp on social media. madam vice president. they've always just referred to

her as her. so there has been a lot of preparation, as you would expect for this moment. dave plouffe referred to it as putting a soldier on the field without training. like getting on a moving train in progress. so a moment the biden team has been preparing for for some time. >> and it is why what joe lieberman didn't have, the campaign experience when he got put on the ticket in 2000. we are getting the first reactions. not yet from president trump but from kamala harris' debate opponent, which is vice president mike pence. tell us what you've heard from the vice president. >> he is speaking right now in utah. he welcomed kamala harris to the race and said he would see her at the vice president debates. his response echoing what we have heard from the campaign. it is a stock response. that the campaign could have used or would have used against any of the democratic rivals. which is the attempt to tie they

will to the far left wing of the party. so regardless of which vice president for the democratic side they were going to choose, the campaign had this real strategy all along trying to link them to the bernie sanders and the amp ocs of the party. of course, bernie sanders and aoc are not on the ticket so they continue to try to make joe biden, a former vice president that many people know, and now kamala harris, a senator, who people know from her presidential run, to characterize them as being in that further left wing of the party. so i think that's the theme they're hammering away at right now. we heard it from the vice president. they're also continuing to link her to the defund the police movement. that's something she is not for and of course, she comes with some really strong police credentials to undercut their narrative of crime ridden cities you understand a biden presidency. >> donna edwards, preview kamala harris, mike pence debate for

me. >> wow! i think that kamala harris brings so many skills to the table. we've seen her in front of the judiciary committee. we've seen her throw a punch but also then throw a big smile. so i think that she will have a way of debating against mike pence that he hasn't seen before. to challenge him on his standing up for the leadership of donald trump. and i think what you see in front of the judiciary committee, what you saw in the debate stage, during the primary season, we're going to see that and more from kamala harris when she faces mike pensice. she will be incredibly prepared. we know that about her and she will be pointed. and that i think she'll have a way of carrying a message of the campaign and what joe biden wants to do as president, and at the same time, really countering this disaster of a presidency

led by donald trump and mike pence. i think that he doesn't know what he's up for. >> kasie one had the final few moments we have. i think we just heard from president trump. he called her his number one pick. but let's big picture here. is this, you know, we've all heard the whispers. a lot of democrats said biden needs some juice. you heard jim clyburn say to me, he has all the compassion. i need the passion. and he would do it in that clyburn voice. is this the passion? >> chuck, i think they've made the bet that it is. i think if you've seen kamala harris on the campaign trail, if you watched that event that she did when she launched her own campaign and she packed supporters into that massive event, you can see that she does

bring something to the table that perhaps contrasts with what joe biden brought to the table during the campaign. i think it is important that we remember that biden really mounted a remarkable come back. he was down and out through iowa, new hampshire. he left early, went to south carolina. was resurrected by the very voters that kamala harris really speaks to. we saw her at the sorority events at historically black colleges. i think they realize exactly what you're saying. >> well, kasie hundred, thank you. thank you to all my colleagues and our great contributors. that was a packed one hour of the biggest moment we've had so far on the campaign trail. there will be a bunch of big ones coming up in this general election but this was the first