if it's wednesday, senator kamala harris is gearing up to officially become the first woman of color in american history to accept a major party's nomination as vice president of the united states. what this moment means for the campaign and the country. plus, the postmaster general promises no changes to operation until after the election. democrats and some high-profile current usps officials say it's not enough. think to trust but verify on this one. welcome to wednesday, it is "meet the press daily."

i am chuck todd. notre dame is the latest school to reverse its decision to reopen as more schools grapple with outbreaks. the world health organization is warning that young adults are increasingly fueling this pandemic, particularly in this country. and there's renewed pressure from both parties on capitol hill to pass something in the form of virus relief. as the house ready some emergency legislation on the post office, we're going to dive into all of those stories this hour. we're going to begin tonight with the big picture here. it's an historic moment in american politics. years from now we will talk about this day, whether or not kamala harris does become vice president. at the end of the day, we are making history. as senator kamala harris tonight will officially become the first woman of color on a major party's presidential ticket. let's face it, the biden campaign is hoping harris will shore up and energize the voters who stayed home in 2016. that includes black voters whose overall turnout declined in 2006 with drop-offs that were especially notable in places like florida, texas, ohio, michigan, and wisconsin.

teeing up the first woman of color to accept the democratic party's nomination as vice president will be an address from the nation's first black president, barack obama. also tonight, democrats will showcase an address from the first woman nominated by a major party to be president, hillary clinton. so the arc of history will obviously be a major theme for the party, and so will the future of the party. in choosing harris, biden, a 50-year veteran of politics, has signalled that she represents that future in the age of donald trump. in a moment we'll speak with the co-chair of the biden campaign along with another top democrat who was on the vp short list. joining me from wilmington, the heart of the biden operation, center of the political universe this week for sure, is my colleague alley vitaly, she's been following harris since she was a presidential candidate. monica alba, following the trump campaign for us as they prepare for their own convention next week. and she's talking to people in

clinton world about hillary's speech. then president of the center for american progress and adviser to hillary clinton and barack obama. allie, let me start with you. give me a sense, what is the goal of tonight if the biden campaign has a goal of tonight's a success, how? >> i think there's a few things. obviously the theme is uniting america, something that former vice president joe biden talks about a lot. but conventions also a chance for reframings. for joe biden it's a reintroduction for him not as president obama's number two but as his own entity at the top of the ticket. for senator kamala harris, it's a chance for her to step out of the role of just being a united states senator and someone who failed when she ran for president earlier this year. but now stepping into that role of vice presidential contender. and you talk about the historic hall marks all over tonight. the fact that former president barack obama is speaking,

hillary clinton is speaking, all people who broke ceilings of their own. kamala harris doing the same thing tonight. but there's this really interesting double edge that i've been noticing. on the one hand, it's important to focus on the history and the ceilings that have been broken and could be broken. kamala harris is going to focus on that. but there's another thing i've watched her do over the last few weeks where she's tried to frame herself as not unique. one adviser said to us that in her speech tonight she hopes that every american can see something of themselves. so what that tells me is that as much as she's historic, she's also trying to normalize that black women and women of color being in executive leadership spaces is normal. by doing that, it families away some of the risk factor that some voters may see because this isn't something that they've seen successfully done before. regardless of the myth of white male electability, that's something that plays in voters' minds. i think that's something she's trying to do, both introduce herself but also show it's completely normal for women to be in these spaces.

>> we're doing a lot of storytelling throughout this convention. we've not seen a lot of policy, and i'm not saying conventions are known for their -- for being the place for policy rollouts, but if there is an omission so far in this convention, it's been, okay, what are you guys going do in an office? we know what you don't want to do. we know what you want to clean up, we know what you want to fix and restore. do they think that's enough? or do they have to put more meat on the policy bone? >> it's been a lot of lofty ideals so far. you know very well that convention audiences are twofold. it's the people who are the party faithful who is watched this process from the beginning, and then it's also and the party hopes it's people tuning in for the first time to see the introduction thereof ticket and the democratic message writ large. i think that audience, the people just tuning in, they're getting the introduction, they're getting their feet wet

with what democrats are offering in opposition to trump. at the same time, there are people in the party who as much as they care about beating him, they do want to hear about the policy. so tonight, we do expect to hear a little bit more about that. things like climate change, the economy, immigration, the very issues that this democratic primary hinged on for months, now finally coming front and center. i think that's going to be the interesting thing is watching senator kamala harris sort of mold her own policy message now within the framework of joe biden. let's remember, there were differences in the primary. i know that a lot of that goes out the window because you mold these two political entities into one ticket. but at the same time, it's going to be interesting to hear her espouse the values of there ticket and also make the case for joe biden in a policy sense and then also in a lofty leadership sense. >> monica alba, we know the trump campaign has been taking notes, we know the president himself has watched every -- i think he's watched quite a bit of this convention.

have you gotten the sense that they are -- they've learned anything from how to do a virtual convention, are they nervous about the technical aspects, or are they going to want to try to find more live, more opportunities for live? >> well, republicans certainly do have that advantage going second. they're able to take notes and adjust, but really, chuck, they're not going to be having as virtual a remote convention as what we're seeing this week from the democrats. you can expect the republicans to be bringing a lot of people to washington, d.c., which will serve as sort of a hub. and we are going to see, we're learning, some small audiences for some of these speeches. again, completely different from what we've seen so far. so while the republicans and the trump campaign concede that democrats will likely have a boost from all of their programming and everything they've experimented with so far this week, they will be doing a bit more of a traditional convention inasmuch as anything can be traditional this year. we're learning that first lady melania trump is actually going to be offering her remarks next

tuesday evening from the newly renovated rose garden, of course, a major break with tradition already because that's where the president is going to be giving his address on thursday. but this week what they're trying to do to counter the democrats is this counterprogramming, and it seems you finally have the candidate himself a bit more on message, you could argue, that's what allies are saying, as opposed to last week when kamala harris was unveiled as the vice presidential nominee pick, and he was justice attacking her directly and personally. now he's going after her and the biden camp, focusing more on policy. they're trying to do that. but again, there's nothing traditional about what we're seeing this week either in terms of the counter-programming because the president is also for the first time now since the coronavirus pandemic bringing together hundreds of supporters again, which his critics argue could lead to more coronavirus outbreaks. we saw about 1,000 people in an airplane hangar in yuma, arizona, yesterday without much social distancing, and masks were not required.

they were encouraged. but that's another place where really they run a risk with this strategy. if you have outbreaks in these places he's going to, tomorrow he's going to be just outside scranton, pennsylvania, really delivering the pre-buttal to joe biden's keynote address at the dnc, chuck. >> this is -- you know, it's really -- we know that in someways joe biden's been running a front porch campaign, wilmington and front porch campaign is something for political junkie historians goes back to william mckinley. this seems like to actually use the rose garden as your setting for the, quote, rose garden metaph metaphor strategy here, the president holed up in the white house, we know that's not a look he likes. if he's not happy with this convention, how is it going to -- you know, he's somebody when he doesn't like how things go, things don't go well. >> no, he'll be the first to point that out. you can absolutely expect him to

raise that. we've seen him in other events where he hasn't liked what his advance team has done. he's the first to call it out. i think you can expect that. look at also some of the things they're planning for. instead of a traditional balloon drop, the republicans are hoping for fireworks on the national mall. that's something they've applied for a permit for. it hasn't been granted yet. this is a president who really wants all the spectacle even though he can't have the fanfare he once envisioned for the convention and renomination, chuck. >> and mira tanden, let's go back to tonight and the democratic national convention. i had somebody say to me earlier today that, you know, don't get stuck in this idea that kamala harris, you know, is somehow only there to help turn out in milwaukee or florida or detroit. that kamala harris in many ways may be the best avatar yet for the college-educated white woman that is sitting -- that was once a swing voter and is now fired up to get rid of trump. >> yeah.

i mean, i think her support amongst women, suburban women, independent women is really strong. we saw in the polls over the last couple of days that independents support her selection at pretty high levels. these are people who, you know, aren't base democrats by any stretch. so i think the fascinating thing about the next week is that if trump does what he does or republicans do what they did last week which is attack her in very personal terms, i think that is a real vice for them. you know, i think that that very much hurts them with suburban women. and so it will be interesting to see. i think she has a positive message. she has -- she's an advocate. she'll be great at attacking trump. one of her skills. so his ability to maneuver that without being personal i think is going to be really, really challenging. >> what would be some advice you would give her to be careful of?

you know, you may be tempted to do x but don't. which -- which -- look any speaker in a position like this, what's something you're worried that, hey, i hope they don't do x? >> you know, i mean, she's a very strong -- i think one of her skills has been over the last several years in the senate has been to be a very effective prosecutor of a case. and not give them the traditional challenges women have in that role, right. it doesn't create blow back. people -- people welcome it. and i think this has been just one of her skill sets which is to dissect an opponent, to really make a case, and top do it in a way that brings people in. i mean, to me it's really one of her great assets. so i think using that -- and you know, i would also argue she can be an effective advocate for joe biden. not just personally but on

policy, as well. we saw that last week. so i think her advocacy both against trump and for biden are skills she has. >> as you hear about the plans for the republicans next week, neera, and i say this -- what would be your caution about underestimating their -- underestimating them next week? i mean, i think a lot of times i would argue that the democrats have underestimated trump a lot. what do you think they could be underestimated about his effectiveness next week? >> look, trump has never had majority support in the country. so his strategy has always been to destroy his opponent. he's had some challenges with biden because he has spent millions of dollars to go after joe biden on the air, and it hasn't worked so far. but i think they will assemble a

convention which is ultimately about making joe biden and a biden/harris administration unacceptable to people. i'm sure they will lie about it. but i do think people have to be vigilant for those lies because that is -- he is very good at attacking, that is a superpower for him, and i think we have to be vigilant. i do think arguing more in the next two days about how biden's life -- how your life will be better in a biden administration policywise can help inoculate against next week's attack. >> allie, monica, and neera, thank you all for getting us started. terrific reporting as always. louisiana democratic congressman is the former chair of the congressional black caucus but is the co-chairman of the biden campaign. congressman, good to see you back here. let's just talk about tonight. kamala harris, it is an

historical moment. tell me what it means to you. >> well, it means a lot. but i would prefer not to dwell on the historic aspect of it. this race is about our future. and yes, we're going to make history. but we're also going to build back better. and this is not about returning the country to normal because normal wasn't good enough. and so what you'll hear tonight is an ambitious agenda to make sure that when we build back, we build back better. when we restore the middle class, we bring along everybody with us this time. so you will hear a number of things tonight from immigration to sensible gun reform to health care to equal pay for women. and i think that you will hear what democrats stand for, and you're going to hear from a phenomenal, brilliant woman who can absolutely be the executive in this country. and she is a greatni mate to a very authentic and great

man in vice president biden. >> you know, congressman, you almost pre-answered my second question which was -- which was going to be, is tonight the night we're going to start to hear a little bit more of concrete policy proposals? and you just indicated that, yes, tonight you're going to start to hear more about some specifics. look, the first two nights feel as if it was certainly the first night was about the case against trump. second night, the character, the decency of joe biden, having people get to know him on a more personal level. the next two nights, are we -- should we expect a lot more policy, a lot more meat on the bones here? >> well, you'll hear about our ambitious agenda to not only unify the country but move the country forward. but i think it is very important for people to get a sense of who they are electing. and i thought the former second lady, dr. biden, did a wonderful job last night of giving people

a peek into who she is, who joe biden is. and tonight you'll get a peek at who kamala harris, senator harris really is. and so we will continue to talk agenda, and our ambitious plan. but it's also important for the american people to know who they're electing and what they stand for. so it will be a combination of both. but we've laid out very detailed plans, and people can go to joebiden.com, of course, and read them. we've laid out many, many plans. we'll stand on them. but it is also important for people to know exactly who they are electing. >> what should we expect to hear from barack obama tonight? what do you hope his main message or two is? >> well, i think you'll hear from the former president what his fate and his experience with joe biden has been. how smart joe biden is.

how joe biden has a heart to lead. and he has the intellect to go with it. and that he's a man of character. and then i think you'll hear the president contrast those two men, their leadership styles, and maybe you'll hear a little bit about where the country was when the obama/biden team left and left this president with a roaring economy and record job gains. and what he's done with everything he's ever received in his life which is squandered it. so look, i cannot speak for former president obama. he is one of the smartest people i know. most articulate. and i think that when people tune in, they will be happy to hear what he has to say. >> i want to pick up on that point you just made there about that you said you -- you expect the former president to talk about they left donald trump a -- this roaring economy.

you know, the president obviously has repeated this idea that, you know, he built this economy on his own, it was in tatters when he got in and he built it. do you think that democrats have done a good just job reminding people what the state of the economy was in 2016? >> no, i don't. and part of it is because, one, donald trump and the truth don't live on the same planet. i think he's over 17,000 lies in his presidency. what he does do well is he repeats the lies over and over again, and people start to believe them. he was left a robust economy that was moving in the right direction. and he was also left, and this is very important, he was also left with a plan on how to deal with a pandemic. his cabinet members slept through the presentation. he ignored the facts of covid-19. and not only did he destroy the economy, but he cost over 160,000 lives that effected over 160,000 families, over five

million people infected, and over 30 million people unemployed. and i think that it is very important to highlight -- and i would hope the former president touches on that, but if he doesn't, it's our job to remind people that he's just in over his head. whether you like him or not, he cannot rise to the moment. he does not have the intellectual capacity nor the will to lead this country. he just can't do it. >> congressman, cedric richmond, the national co-chair of the biden campaign, appreciate you coming on and sharing the campaign's perspective with us and yours. thank you. >> thank you, chuck. up ahead, the reaction to the news that just broke in this hour yesterday. postmaster general's decision to suspends all those operational changes he wants to do until after election day. and later, the covid crush at colleges and universities just keeps growing. even more schools having to move on line. first, all this hour, we're going to share memorable moments from past democratic

conventions. so let's start in 2008 when then-senator hillary clinton cast new york's votes for barack obama after their rough and tumble primary fight. >> with eyes firmly fixed on the future, in the spirit of unity, with a goal of victory, with faith in our party and our country, let's declare together in one voice right here, right now, that barack obama is our candidate, and he will be our president! [ cheers ] so to breathe better, i started once-daily anoro. ♪ copd tries to say, "go this way." i say, "i'll go my own way, with anoro." ♪ once-daily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators that work together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. do not use anoro if you have asthma. anoro won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms

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welcome back. postmaster general louis dejoy's announcement that he's suspending changes in the postal service has done little to alleviate democrats' suspicion business his intentions. chuck schumer is demanding dejoy put in writing exactly what changes he's rescinding and confirm that election mail will be treated as first class, priority. nancy pelosi is moving forward with the vote on an additional $25 billion to ensure the post

office stays afloat ahead of november's election. president trump meanwhile is accusing democrats of playing dirty, tweeting "why are republicans allowing the democrats to have ridiculous post office hearings on saturday and sunday just before and during our convention? let them hold them now during their convention, or after our convention is over. always playing right into their hands." joining us, leanne caldwell. so first i want to sit here on the post office. are democrats really only going to vote on a post office bill -- when they come back, or does she feel the feed that they have to start thinking about -- the need that they have to start thinking about a modified relief bill for the new negotiations that look like they're about to start again? >> yeah, chuck. speaker pelosi is getting a lot of pressure from her rank and file members, and even some in her own leadership team to not address just the postal service

but also to address the covid relief talks. some are very nervous about the optics that the house democrats are coming back into town from their recess to save and to address the post office and mail-in voting while not caring or not doing something about the unemployed. this is something that pelosi is having to deal with. we're seeing letters by rank and file, especially some of the vulnerable democrats who are -- who have tough races in investigator, sending letters to pelosi asking for covid relief to be done since they are going to be in town. i'm told by a leadership aide that there are discussions that are happening, but anything that does happen on covid relief is not going to happen on saturday. they want this to be focused on the postal service. but they didn't rule out it happening perhaps next week. now senate republicans are also feeling like they have to get in the game, as well. they are floating a new version

of their covid relief bill. it's smaller, it's cheaper than the first trillion-dollar bill they put out. they say that it's another attempt to show that they are willing to negotiate. but it's moving in the wrong direction. what this seems like -- >> yeah -- >> an attempt to get more senate republicans on board and to give cover, perhaps, for some of their vulnerable members who are really demanding action, chuck. >> it is odd that the new bill is even less than what republicans had introduced on the floor a couple weeks ago. i think it was romney and mcsally put a bill down for 500, then 400. that was a surprise. very quickly, back to the post office, what does a verification look like that they know the post office is rescinding this? the board of governors doesn't seem to be a place that maybe that governs some of the regulations there that seems all

that nonpartisan right now. >> yeah. well the board of governors is not nonpartisan. there are six members, there could be up to nine more, all appointed by the president. there's one or two -- there's two democratic members of the six on the board, four republicans. but they play a role here. they have say in what the postmaster general does. just right before i came on the air, senate democratic leader chuck schumer sent a letter to the postmaster general saying that he wants in writing what the postmaster general confirmed about not implementing these changes. so he wants a letter. he wants it in writing, and he wants to be able to have oversight and to make sure that some of those changes are not put in place before the election, chuck. >> leanne caldwell on duty, on capitol hill today for us. thank you. up ahead, wisconsin senator tammy baldwin on the capitol

hill fights and what's about to be a history-making convention night. first, a quick primary election update for you. in the race to represent president trump's home district, last night a far right conspiracy theorist won the republican nomination in palm beach, florida. her name is laura lumer, right wing commentator, been banned from multiple social media formul platforms. she will face an uphill battle against democratic congressman lois frankel in this seat this fall. it is the president's congressional district. the president decided to praise lumer on twitter saying she has, quote, a great chance against a pelosi puppet. again, it's very unlikely. hillary clinton beat donald trump in his new home congressional district by 20 points in 2016. we'll be right back. they will, but with accident forgiveness allstate won't raise your rates just because of an accident. cut! is that good? no you were talking about allstate and...

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welcome back. on day three of the democratic national convention, which was supposed to take place in wisconsin, vice president mike pence will be campaigning in the battleground state working to energize the president's loyal supporters there. wisconsin, 4of course, was key o donald trump's victory four years ago. as we've been saying all week, there's no coincidence that that's where democrats were supposed to hold their convention this week. i don't think there's any state that is better organized than the state of wisconsin. everybody knows how many people are on each side of the aisle. the question is, do they show up

on election day. joining me is wisconsin's democratic senator tammy baldwin, who of course was on joe biden's short list to be vice president. senator baldwin, it is good to see you. i want to ask about tonight. i read something in "politico" last week that i thought was really striking. it was about the significance of the kamala harris pick this time is this -- unlike what walter mondale did with geraldine ferraro or what john mccain did with sarah palin, two candidates who were behind, hoping to, you know, hoping this woman would rescue their campaign, this time a woman isn't being set up to fail was the point of this piece. this time a woman is being set up to succeed. do you concur with that analysis? >> well, certainly i know that the contrast between the two parties and the top of the ticket in both parties could not be starker, and wisconsinites

cou understand that we need change. i certainly think that kamala harris, my friend and colleague in the u.s. senate is an excellent choice as a running mate. not only is she somebody who's had extensive experience in executive branch politics and office holding as california's former attorney general, but obviously she has intense familiarity with the workings of the united states senate. as a candidate for president her herself, she's been tested on the national stage. i think what joe biden is looking for most is perhaps replicating the close working relationship, partnership, that he had with president obama when he was vice president. that that was something that really worked. the vice president had a meaningful role when joe biden

held it, and i believe that kamala harris also will take on very substantial issues. >> i want to talk a little bit about the state of wisconsin. you know, when you won the first time, your path to victory was different than barack obama's. i believe you were on the ticket, but you over performed -- but better than him in some counties and he helped -- i'm not going to sit here -- obviously the ticket helped you in other places. it led me to believe there still were swing voters left in wisconsin, that this wasn't a straight-ticket situation. that was 2012. do you still think swing voters exist in swing, or is this a totally a turnout game by both parties? >> let's look at what happened in 2016 and 2018 during the midterms in wisconsin. i do believe that there's swing voters. we know that we had in '16 people who were obama, then trump voters.

and trump narrowly won the state with just a little over 22,000 votes as the margin. i won re-election in 2018 with nearly an 11-point margin, and that necessarily means that about 10% of my vote were trump/baldwin voters, and i think we can well expect trump/biden voters in this next election. look, what it means, what you do in wisconsin is, first of all, listen. we have some unique challenges here. we also have some challenges that we share with the rest of the nation during a pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis. but it's really important not to ignore those who voted for a republican or trump in the past because really they are focused on the kitchen table issues. the issues of health care, the

issues of an economy that respects hard work, not just wealth, and trump made a lot of promises when he campaigned in 2016. i think that there's a lot of former trump voters who feel like he's broken those promises, especially when it comes to issues like buy america, hire america, we lost manufacturing because of his trade wars. and frankly, it's an issue that i feel very passionately about, especially during a pandemic that we be able to secure our nation by producing the things we need. and biden in his build-back-better agenda is committed to that. >> let me talk about the post office. there's going to be some -- obviously some hearings. a couple of them over the next week. the postmaster announced that he would suspend these changes until after the election. what do you need to see, what do

you need to -- to see, to know, to believe that indeed his words are being turned into action? >> first of all, i don't think suspension of these changes is enough. i think he has to reverse some of the things he's already done like dismantling high-speed sorting equipment. i will tell you that obviously i want him to be transparent and held to account. but i will know very quickly if something's going wrong because i can tell you it was in july when my constituents were informing me that their mail was delayed, that prescription drugs that they need to survive were not getting there in a timely fashion. small businesses telling me that they're using the mail more to send products to their customers rather than opening up, and that they're seeing delays. and certainly when somebody misses a scheduled social

security check or paycheck that comes through the mail, at this particular time it's a crisis. there will be many ways of figuring out whether he's reversed course and restored the standards that we expect from the u.s. postal service. >> senator tammy baldwin, democrat from wisconsin. i think we expect to hear from you tomorrow night at the convention. thanks for coming on today and spending a few minutes with us and sharing your perspective. >> thank you. >> you got it. still ahead, colleges and covid. we're going to look at campuses cases surges as students head back to class. first, let's spill some ink about squid. we couldn't help ourselves. if you watched the convention roll call vote you saw america on full display. each state and territory serving up what makes them unique. but only one state served it fried and with a wedge of lemon. >> the calamari comeback state

of rhode island casts one vote for bernie sanders and 34 votes for the next president joe biden. >> and suddenly rhode island was cast into the seafood spotlight. it went viral. and this time in a good way. maybe it was because of the mollusk wielding masked man in the background. or maybe it was because we were all just craving a late-night snack. whatever the reason in this strangest of times, it was a return to normalcy that was downright at tides ippetizing. the calamari comeback state has a ring to it. o it if your gums bleed when you brush you may have gingivitis. and the clock could be ticking towards bad breath, receding gums and possibly tooth loss. help turn back the clock on gingivitis with parodontax. leave bleeding gums behind. parodontax. with one protein feels like. what getting fueled with three energy

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on line for semester. michigan state is also moving on line for the semester. they haven't even started classes yet. the university of notre dame is pausing in-person learning for at least two weeks because of its rising cases, and at oklahoma state university in stillwater, an entire sorority house has been quarantined after nearly two dozen positive tests. despite the academic changes, several universities are still moving with football season. the university of georgia says it will host more than 20,000 fans at its games this fall, even though, according to "the atlanta journal constitution," the white house says georgia has the highest rate of new cases in the entire country. this as the world health organization warns that goebely it is young adults that are increasingly driving the spread of the virus. here with the medical perspective is dr. patel, nbc news medical contributor, former adviser in the obama white house. dr. patel, i feel like we're -- we're just in a cul-de-sac here repeating ourselves. it seems pretty obvious to every public health official the

concern on the college campuses. we dodged a bullet on the college campuses when the pandemic began because spring break was happening, so we never full y realized the potential threat of this. is this memorial day weekend 2.0? >> yeah, you're absolutely right. hopefully not just 2.0 but maybe the warnings from the schools that have opened can be at least a bit of a kind of clarion call across the country. i'm a little concerned that not only do you have the world health organization as you cited, but we have studies, uc san francisco had a study in july that showed that one in three young adults ages 18 to 25 are at risk for severe effects of covid simply because we have a higher proportion of young adults in that college age range, university range, that are obese and that use things like e-cigarettes. so we already know that now

young people are driving the transmission of the coronavirus. so i am hopeful that people now will hear these warnings, parents who are dropping children off at schools all around the country are just kind of crossing their fingers and hoping for the best, should really re-evaluate and talk to young adults about the consequences of this. and it's serious, it's not just that they can spread the virus, they can suffer very serious effects from the virus itself. >> how would you -- if a university asked you, dr. patel, give us your advice of how -- look, it's clear these universities are feeling a different financial pressure to find a way to open up, maybe it's for tuition, maybe it's for their football programs and the media money that comes with that. this is being driven by some financial pressure. let's accept their financial pressure, and then say how do you do it safely? what would be your recommendations? >> yeah, look, i think the emergency use authorization of

the quote nba bubble test with saliva is a really big game changer. chuck, every time i'm on with you i think we talk about testing. >> i know. >> if you're a university or any environment, chuck, there is now a potentially low-cost, scaleable solution for saliva-based testing, easy to test, low supply chain and reagent dependency. so i would say all those amazing plans and i have talked to universities big and small, and i would say you had great plans, but you can't plan for the chaos of what happens when people come in and don't follow those plans. so you need testing, and you need to think about really creating kind of lubof levels o own with cohorts on and off campus. there has to be a low threshold among staff and students for keeping people out. if you're in the bubble, you're in. you're tested. if you're out, you have to be pretty strict about that. and i think those things are actually doable. but again, to your point, i hope we don't have a memorial day 2.0

because people will listen and try to at least stay safe now. >> so the university of georgia wants to have fans at football games. is there any way to safely have thousands of people in a football stadium if your positivity rate is not below 5%? >> no. simply put no. this is not me being doctor doom and gloom. south korea has opened up fans in person for baseball, you know how big of a deal baseball is in south korea. they did it after their community rates were basically zero. actually zero on one day, chuck. so you can do this if your community rates are low. but it doesn't matter -- trust me, i'm a big sports fan. but it just doesn't make sense when you don't have universal masking and a community rate that is -- i would even argue it needs to be less than 3%. 5% is what we're saying, but it needs to be close to going down to that 1% range to make anybody

in the health field feel comfortable. >> dr. patel, really appreciate you coming on and providing us expertise. like you said, sometimes i feel like we're asking you to repeat yourself over and over again. if folks aren't listening, maybe repetition is what we listening, then maybe repetition is what we need. thank you for that as well. up next, what it looks like when a dictator manipulates an election. and the country itself doesn't buy the results. nbc's richard engle joins us next. >> first, let's go back to 1988 when then arkansas governor bill clinton went on stage and went on and on and on and on. >> i'm honored to be here tonight to nominate my friend, michael dukakis. proud standard bearer for our party. for the rest of the lives of everybody in this great hall tonight -- this is the most important case for the dukakis election. >> you're listening to the

lengthy nomination speech of governor william clinton of arkansas. he's only about halfway through his prepared text, and he should have been done about five minutes ago. >> bill clinton is continuing his speech despite all the efforts of those up here to get him to stop. just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. for 45 days. when you're affected by schizophrenia, you see it differently. it's in the small, everyday moments. and in the places, you'd never expect. a little sign of hope. the feeling of freedom.

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welcome back. the european union now says it will impose sanctions on officials in belarus, finding the country's august 9th

election was, quote, neither free more fair. this continues days of angry protest in belarus as lukashenko refused to step down. he claims he won 80% of the vote. richard engle is in minsk, belarus, and filed this report for us. >> there have been these hit and run protests where protesters, several hundred, if not a thousand or more people will gather. they'll organize using encrypted social media, most often telegram, and they'll move to another location or wait until they are dispersed by police. and the reason they're moving now and the reason they gathered here in the first place is just down this street, hard to see from where i am right now, is the kgb headquarters. and belarus is often described as the last soviet-style dictatorship in europe, and here

the kgb is still called the kgb. also the president of this country harkened back almost to the collapse of the soviet un n union. alexander lukashenko has been in power for 26 years, and people here say it is well past time that he step down and have a transition of power. in specific, they say that the elections that were held just over a week ago were not free and fair. and that there was massive voter irregul irregularity, and today, the eu is coming down on the side of the protesters, saying that they don't have confidence that the last election was accurate, and they say they will sanction belarusian officials who were involved in falsifying the election results and cracking down on demonstrators. but, chuck, there is the major wild card here, vladimir putin. not said to be personally very close with alexander lukashenko,

but certainly, russia sees belarus as a part of its sphere of influence, and not a country it wants to see go. chuck. >> nbc's richard engle in minsk. thank you, and thank you all for being with us this hour. thank you for trusting us here. i'll see you later for night three of the democratic national convention. the live streaming coverage for nbc news starts at 8:00 eastern on nbc news now and we'll see you at 10:00 after that. msnbc coverage continues with katy tur right after this break. 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. an army family who is always at the ready. so when they got a little surprise... two!? ...they didn't panic. they got a bigger car for their soon-to-be-bigger family.

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at no additional cost. no strings attached. good afternoon. i'm katy tur. it is 11:00 a.m. out west and 2:00 p.m. in the east. with just over 70 days until america votes, is the damage to the postal service irreversible? despite assurances from the postmaster general that he will stop changes at the usps, there is no promise to reverse what has already been done.