no president has ever had to go through this. the supreme court should never have allowed this to happen. what the supreme court did do is say, if it's a fishing expedition, my interpretation is essentially you don't have to do it. so we'll probably end up back in the supreme court. but this is just a continuation of the most hideous witch hunt in the history of our country. we beat mueller. we won at every level in this -- in washington, in d.c., we won at every level. now what they do, they send it into new york so now we have an all-democrat state, all democrats, and they send it into new york. this should never be allowed to happen to another president. this is a continuation of the most disgusting witch hunt in the history of our country. all it is. the supreme court said, fishing expedition. this is the ultimate fishing expedition. nobody has anything. we don't do things wrong. but they'll say, let's go in and

inspect every deal he's ever done, let's get papers from ten years, every paper, every deal he's ever signed, maybe we can find where some lawyer made a mistake, where they didn't dot an "i," they didn't put a comma someplace and then we can do something. this is a disgrace and this should never, ever be allowed to happen again. >> reporter: mr. president, the russian opposition leader navalny was hospitalized, it's reported that he was poisoned. >> i haven't looked at that yet, mike will be reporting to me very soon. thank you very much. >> good day, everyone, i'm andrea mitchell in washington ahead of the biggest night in joe biden's five-decade political career. he has some tough acts to follow, but of course we begin with breaking news this hour. the stunning breaking news you just heard the president discussing. federal prosecutors in new york say former trump white house

chief strategist and campaign ceo steve bannon has been indicted by the feds for his role in allegedly defrauding donors out of millions of dollars through an online crowdfunding campaign promising to build sections of the border wall. >> i feel very badly. i haven't been dealing with him for a long period of time, as most of the people in this room know. uh, he was involved in our campaign. he worked for goldman sachs. he worked for a lot of companies. he was involved likewise in our campaign. and for a small part of the administration, very early on. i haven't been dealing with him at all. uh, i know nothing about the project other than i didn't like when i read about it, i didn't like it. i said, this is for government, this isn't for private people. and it sounded to me like showboating. and i think i let my opinion be very strongly stated at the time. i didn't like it, it was showboating, and maybe looking for funds. but you'll have to see what happens, uh, i think it's a very sad thing for mr. bannon.

i think it's -- >> joining me now, nbc news investigations correspondent tom winter, "washington post" bureau chief phil rucker and nbc's geoff bennett at the white house. geoff bennett just out of the oval office. geoff, i'm going to start with tom on the details of bannon and then come to you because you just had these exchanges with the president. talk to us about steve bannon. what's in this indictment and when will we see steve bannon in court? >> andrea, to answer your last question, we don't have a specific time just yet on when we expect him into court. he is expected to appear in lower manhattan later today. a couple of details that myself, pete williams have been able to confirm, while the president was speaking, that bannon was taken into company without incident. multiple law enforcement officials tell nbc news this morning, along the coast of

connecticut, the long island sound, a 150-long boat, let's call it what it is, a yacht, testifihe was taken into company by the united states postal service without incident, as i said. he was on his way to the courthouse in new york city. then at that time he is expected to, according to our colleague hallie jackson, expected to plead not guilty today in court. what we know about this, you laid it out really well there, which is essentially this was a scheme, according to the charges in the indictment, to bring in money that was supposed to go to a privately-built southern border wall along the border with mexico. instead what happened, according to the charges, that another person, not steve bannon, received the bulk of these funds, and that was wrong because according to the charges, the charity initial said or this fund initially said that in fact that person who was running the fund would receive no money from this at all and

instead, according to acting u.s. attorney audrey strauss, he essentially was able to provide himself a lavish lifestyle. really from a criminal prosecution standpoint, from a criminal theory standpoint, andrea, a pretty simple, straightforward case with quite a lot of evidence that's contained here in this indictment. >> and i want to talk to geoff, of course, about the president's reactions. it was basically, well, i haven't seen him in a while, i don't know him, i feel sorry for him, and in fact in july, the president notably had brought up this whole project and said he didn't like it, although kris kobach, who is of course the kansas former head of the president's ill-fated and failed election security commission back in 2017, had himself said that the president had agreed to this project. >> had agreed to it, andrea, and that the president told kris kobach to tell the media, and that's precisely how we know

about it, because kris kobach gave an interview to "the new york times." it's important to maybe remind people about the space that the space steve bannon occupied in the trump world some two or three years ago. remember, it was him and stephen miller who really created the trump political brain trust. it's steve bannon who was responsible for president trump's nationalist -- critics call it xenophobic america first campaign footing. so we, we went to that oval office spray, the president seated across from the iraqi prime minister. to the president's left were secretary of state mike pompeo, vice president mike pence. i asked president trump about the news of the day, this indictment. and you heard the president there say that he feels badly, that he hasn't dealt with steve bannon in a while, he doesn't know about the project remember call , he called it a sad thing. this is a typical response, when people close to him face legal trouble, are brought up on charges, he minimizes, he places

distance from himself, he diminishes. i asked, respectfully, mr. president, this isn't just about steve bannon, it's about michael cohen, rick gates, paul manafort, michael flynn, the list continues. i said, what does it say about your judgment, what does it say about the culture of lawlessness in the upper echelons of your campaign? the president said, "i don't know about that," then he pivoted to a more comfortable place and attacked the obama administration. he was also asked by jeff mason about the russia bounties issue and the president said he doesn't know if that's true. "the new york times" reports, and i'm preaching to the choir here because you know this better than anybody, the secretary of state warned russia's foreign minister against those bounties, so that suggests, as our reporting indicates, that it's legitimate. >> and just picking up on your previous point about all those indictments and convictions or guilt y pleas from people arou

the president and his campaign, phil, you ran through the list, let's run through the list again, we're putting it up onscreen. this is a litany of people at the top echelons of the 2016 campaign. phil? >> that's exactly right, andrea. steve bannon was the chief executive officer of the 2016 campaign and responsible, credited with being the architect of trump's winning general election strategy. he followed trump to the white house where he served as chief strategist, was on the discovery of "time" magazine, is very much identified with trump's political rise. he's not been living in exile or in isolation lately. steve bannon has been a fixture in the outer trump orbit. through much of the spring he hosted a podcast about the coronavirus along with jason miller who is now the chief strategist on trump's reelection campaign. and my reporting suggests that bannon has been very -- in very close contact with a number of

senior white house officials and has, you know, not been directly advising the trump, but has been in that fold and in that mix and involved in this orbit. so he's not some distant character off on a boat, necessarily. we should also point out, and geoff mentioned that the president had endorsed this project through kris kobach, as kris kobach told "the new york times." but the president's oldest son, donald trump jr., also issued an endorsement statement for this build the wall project and celebrated it as an example of good private enterprise. >> exactly. let's hear from steve bannon because he did speak about this project some time ago. >> what we hope to do in the future is really, you know, since we built the wall here, the first part of the wall, to really augment what president trump is doing. we're kind of the auxiliary force that builds in those places that are either the army corps of engineers has decided not to build or private

landowners have not been in the government program and, you know, we're going to continue this and be very aggressive. >> and tom, i wanted to return to you as well on another legal setback certainly for the president in that their lawsuit against releasing the taxes, his income taxes, has been rejected by a federal district court judge. >> that's right, andrea. this closely tracks what we anticipated from how this case would play out once the supreme court made the ruling and the decision that it did. essentially the judge today rejecting the president's attorney's arguments that the subpoena that was issued by manhattan district attorney cy vance, the judge essentially rejecting that, saying i'm going to toss this lawsuit and there's no reason for your case to proceed forward and those documents should in fact be turned over to the district

attorney's office. already there's a filing in this case to stay that decision and to move forward to the second circuit court of appeals. this was totally anticipated, andrea. and so it's going to be at least weeks or months before we know how the second circuit court of appeals is going to rule on this. there's several processes that could occur between now and election day. so it's unlikely that this is resolved before election day. and it does not appear at this point, although things could change and the case could be expedited, it does not appear at this point that if everything goes in manhattan district attorney cy vance's favor, it would still be a long time coming before we get any resolution to this, andrea. but it is a step forward today. >> i just want to point out before we leave this topic that the president just said this was a fishing expedition, he was very angry about it, and he said

that this has never happened to another president. we should also point out no other president in modern times has refused to release his tax returns. >> that's right. >> thanking all of you for helping us start off on a really busy day, to phil, tom, and of course geoff bennett at the white house. meanwhile, wednesday night's historic speech, as we look ahead to vice president biden's acceptance speech tonight, wednesday's historic speech from kamala harris and president obama's searing political indictment of the trump presidency, with both democrats stressing the urgency of preaching the president from winning another four years. >> donald trump hasn't grown into the job because he can't. the consequences of that failure are severe. >> donald trump's failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods. >> this president and those in power, those who benefit from keeping things the way they are, they are counting on your cynicism.

that's how a democracy withers, until it's no democracy at all. and we cannot let that happen. do not let them take away your power. do not let them take away your democracy. >> president trump's real time responses were as loud as any tweet can be, rage-filled, all caps, rebuking what america was hearing from his predecessor and of course the vice presidential nominee's acceptance speech. so let's shift our focus back to delaware and tonight's gran finale of the democratic national convention as well as one of the president's most controversial comments since taking office. joining me, "weekend today" co-host kristen welker in wilmington, and "washington post" columnist eugene robinson, welcome all. kristen, the vice president hopes to resonate with voters

after all those memorable speeches from the former first lady, his foreamer boss, and kamala harris. >> that's right, former vice president joe biden really developed this speech over the summer and started practicing it in the last two weeks which underscores this is the speech of his political life, as you rightfully point out. what are we anticipating tonight? based on some of my conversations, i'm told that he is going to lay out the case for joe biden, why he believes he is the right person to lead the country through this moment of crisis. will he talk about donald trump? of course. but at the same time, he is going to focus heavily on his own story. of course the core message of his campaign is that he's fighting for the very soul of the nation. and so that will in some ways be at the crux of this speech as well, what he stands for and what he can deliver for the

american people. this is a chance for him, andrea, to reintroduce himself to people. y yes, he's someone who is a household name, but do people know these specific policies he stands for, how familiar are they with some of his past policy positions, and what he sees as some of his greatest accomplishments, including helping president obama get the affordable care act passed. the fact that president obama unleashed that strong attack on president trump, we haven't seen a presidential predecessor being such an attack dog and framing what is at stake, democracy at stake. as you say, joe biden will undoubtedly pick up the torch from there and continue to carry the message forward as he tries to reach not only democrats and energize the base but to try to

reach out to independents and those who voted for trump as well, frankly. as you heard last night, their goal is not just to win this election but to win it big so that there is no confusion at the end over who the winner is, andrea. >> that was also a strong message from hillary clinton last night. it was better than anyone else, as she put it, you have to win by more than 3 million votes, you have to win it big. let's talk, eugene, about something else the president said last night that perhaps has not gotten as much attention as it would have if there weren't the democratic national convention last night. that's when he welcomed the support of qanon, a group the fbi says is a potential domestic terror group. >> yes. it was astounding, an astounding moment that the president of the united states cannot bring himself to refute and dismiss this extremely dangerous and

completely looney conspiracy theory, qanon. he says, they seem to like me so i guess it's okay, that's essentially what he said, and he wouldn't denounce it. that is typical donald trump. you know, we talk about how president obama departed from tradition last night, and i almost want to -- you know, i have almost want to say, give us a break. talk about departing from tradition, donald trump has departed from every hallowed tradition of the presidency that i can think of, since george washington. we've never seen anything like this. and so this will be the speech of joe biden's life tonight. i don't know if he will do it, but i'm curious to see if someone picks up on the news of the day, the indictment of steve bannon and the long and growing

list of close aides to donald trump who have been indicted on federal charges. >> and let's just watch what you're just referring to. president trump yesterday talking about qanon. >> well, i don't know much about the movement other than i understand they like me very much. uh, which i appreciate. but i don't know much about the movement. uh, i have heard that it is gaining in popularity. >> reporter: the crux of the theory is this belief that you are secretly saving the world from this satanic cult of pedophiles and can i balancenib. does that sound like something you're behind? >> i haven't heard it, but is that supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing? if i can save the world from problems, i'm willing to do it, i'm willing to put myself out there. >> eugene, that was shannon

pettypiece who brought this up and questioned the president so vigorously on all of this, if that would be a good thing or a bad thing, i don't know, i'm willing to save the world, that's the paraphrase of what he just said. one of the responses, notably, jeb bush. this is on twitter. why in the world would the president not kick qanon supporters' butts? not jobs, racists, haters have no place in either party. kudos for jeb bush, eugene. >> kudos for jeb bush, but why in the world hasn't every other republican, prominent or otherwise, said the same thing? why are we not hearing that same thing from mitch mcconnell and from marco rubio and from rand paul, from everybody? this is complete looney bin. and it's totally dangerous. it's really dangerous, because people will get hurt as a result

of this qanon crazy obsession that some people have. and it should be denounced and, you know, we should call it for what it is. it is utter lunacy. but the president won't do that. and it's just astounding. you know, you have to go back to what president obama said last night and reread that speech. i mean, he kind of laid it out. that's what we have now. that's where we are, and this is a challenge for november 3. >> and before we leave this, kristen, i just want to make the point, you've followed this so closely. president obama spent the first 3 1/2 years at least trying to be respectful and not respond to every one of the attacks from president trump. but he let loose first at john lewis' funeral, and then of course last night he left

nothing unsaid. >> and it was remarkable, andrea, because former president obama is someone, you're absolutely right, who takes all of those protocols very, very seriously, when he was in office and once he left office. to the extent that you had a lot of democrats saying why isn't president obama saying more, why isn't he going on the attack, and the response to that is that wasn't what past presidents do. i think he if he woufelt compel you say, during the services for john lewis and again last night, to put this into a broader context, because we're so close to the election now and to help frame what exactly is at stake. he felt like he was the right voice to do that. and also, by the way, the right voice to speak about joe biden and what he would bring to leadership and to the oval office, having witnessing it firsthand, andrea.

>> kristen welker, eugene robinson, thanks to both. all this while a russian opposition leader, a key foe of russian president vladimir putin, is in a coma today, his aides say he was poisoned. nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel has the story on that. >> reporter: alexei navalny was taken off a plane from siberia overnight. in a video shot inside the plane, medical assistants rushed to the back where someone, apparently navalny, seems to be moaning in pain. in a series of tweets, his spokeswoman says navalny suddenly and dramatically fell ill after drinking hot tea. she wrote, he was apparently poisoned by an unknown toxin and was unconscious in a hospital. a photograph shows navalny drinking before the flight. it's unclear if this was the

suspected poison. navalny kept up his criticism, in particular of a recent constitutional change that could extend putin's 20-year rule to 2036. >> when president trump was just asked about this in the oval office, he said, "we're looking at it." joining us now, democratic senator chris coons of delaware who is on the foreign relations committee, and will of course be speaking tonight at the democratic national convention. senator, first to russia, alexei navalny is not of course the first putin critic to get sick and die under hard to prove circumstances. there's a litany of them. >> andrea, this is another bracing reminder of the ways in which vladimir putin and the russian government that he leads stops at nothing to silence their opponents and their critics. remember, the incident in the united kingdom in 2018 where russian intelligence services

carried out a poisoning and attempted murder of a defector from russia. there are others who have been murdered on the steps of the kremlin, who have suffered mysterious accidents or died in police custody. this latest incident is just another reminder that putin does not share our values, does not support democracy, and is an active threat to our own democracy. i'll remind you, andrea, donald trump's own director of national intelligence, his own director of the fbi, have testified to congress this year in open session that they expect russian interference in our fall elections. that's why so many of us in congress, democrats in particular, are pushing for more resources to secure our election from foreign interference, in particular by putin's russia. >> and nbc has reported that the president has at least been trying to set up a summit with putin before the election. if he were to do that, what would be your reaction?

>> my reaction would be, as it has been to every time that president trump has ignored the advice of his own intelligence community, of our own national security, military leaders, and has taken putin's word over our own security leaders, which is, this is another example of the ways that trump doesn't listen to experts, doesn't put our security first. remember when he went to the summit in finland and over the strenuous objection of our intelligence community said, eh, i don't think putin had anything to do with interfering in our elections. the senate intelligence committee, chaired by republican senators just this week, released another volume of evidence that there was close ties between senior ranks of the trump campaign such as steve bannon, just indicted today, arrested today for fraudulent behavior, such as paul manafort,

jailed for criminal activity, that there was too close and too frequent a solicitation of help from russian intelligence. frankly, andrea, here in delaware and across the country, what i hear from americans is they're concerned about their health, about this pandemic, about protecting them from preexisting conditions, something the trump administration is still in front of the supreme court trying to reverse. and they worry less about qanon and the latest crazy thing president trump has said about some conspiracy theory or the latest thing that democrats say about there is a threat of russian interference. they want to know how we're going to build back our country better, get out of this pandemic, reopen schools safely, and get back to normal. joe biden tonight at the dnc convention will lay out his argument for why he is the right person to lead this country forward out of this mess. >> now, of course you know him so well, how tough is it to

follow a convention that has featured michelle obama and barack obama and kamala harris with such extraordinary speeches? >> you're right, andrea, those are very tough acts to follow. i am speaking at the convention tonight, briefly, to introduce my friend joe biden to the american people. in particular, to americans of faith. i'm going to talk about moments in joe's life where i've seen him turn to god in prayer for guidance, for comfort, for support. the ways in which i've seen him provide a shoulder to cry on or a partner in prayer for folks who come to him, expressing grief and loss. and frankly, the ways in which he will be a president for all americans, that he respects americans who are people of good conscience but don't practice any particular religion, and americans of all faiths. democrats have long struggled to

speak to how our own faith inspires our activism on social justice issues and in politics, and i'm trying to help my party find their voice on this issue so americans of faith can watch our convention, watch tonight and see a party that welcomes and respects them. >> senator, as always, it's really good to see you, and good luck tonight. thank you for being with us. >> thank you, andrea. and coming up, the historic nomination of kamala harris for the vice presidency and what it means for america. washington, d.c. mayor muriel bowser joins us right here on "andrea mitchell reports." stay with us. stay with us cranky-pated: a bad mood related to a sluggish gut. miralax is different. it works naturally with the water in your body to unblock your gut.

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my mother instilled in my sister maya and me the values that would chart the course of our lives. she raised us to be proud, strong black women and she raised us to know and be proud of our indian heritage. she taught us to put family first, the family you're born into and the family you choose. >> kamala harris, previously known to most americans for her hard-hitting interrogations of brett kavanaugh and william barr

at senate hearings, and reluctant to talk about her background when she was running for president herself, filled in a lot of those gaps with a deeply personal acceptance speech wednesday night. joining me now, mayor muriel bowser to talk about the impact of this. you know her well, you've been in touch with her, since she was nominated. and i've got to think, for the rest of us, it was a stunning speech, i think that she really had more self-confidence and more impact than a lot of vice presidential acceptance speeches. but it's particularly for black women and girls, your daughter, what does she represent? >> well i think so that she represents america. and she shows -- i think her story is truly an american story. the daughter of immigrants, a woman who worked her way through the legal system in politics,

and now as a vice presidential contender. so i think hers is a story of american grit, work, determination, and truly being exceptional at what she does, and that's why she's being recognized. for us, for black women, we see ourselves in her. we see our work in the democratic party recognized in a way that is so powerful. what she should see in us is a powerful force that's going to get her to the white house with joe biden. >> of course last night she -- her husband tweeted out a picture he took of her sitting on a couch, watching the roll call the other night, wearing a howard university -- i guess it was two nights ago, wearing a howard university sweatshirt. she's a proud alumna of howard university which is one of the jewels of washington, d.c. and the country in terms of the

historically black colleges. there's so many connections there. >> absolutely. >> to kamala harris. >> i think there absolutely are so many connections. and i think so many people heard her say -- to voice those connections to her sorority, to her fellow hbcu graduates, and just that is an army of people who heard and saw themselves in her words and see themselves in her actions and are going to fight for her and joe biden to be successful. >> in fact the entire program last night, virtually all people of color. you have to deal directly with what president obama was talking about last night, that is fighting the suppression of mail-in voting and black lives matter, the movement, and the way certainly he is warning people about what president trump is doing, his view that the president is a threat to our democracy.

>> well, i think that president obama certainly has a different vantage point than all of us. i think when he said the words that "i've been in the oval office with both these men," that's a powerful statement. we have only a handful of living presidents now and they really know what it takes to do this job. former first lady obama had a front row seat. she knows directly what it takes to do this job. listen, all americans have seen what has happened in the last four years, and where failed leadership has gotten them. you heard secretary clinton say what this president inherited in terms of, you know, just a booming economy. job creation with continued increases on monthly and annual

basis, pandemic plans already in place. and where we are today is trying to pick up the pieces from a covid pandemic that has run wild in our country and an economic recession that has resulted. we need real leadership and we need it now. >> mayor muriel bowser, thank you very much. thanks for being with us today. >> thank you. of course turning to our breaking news also, more breaking news, this about dr. anthony fauci. the nation's top infectious disease specialist who we've confirmed is now out of the hospital after undergoing surgery to remove a polyp from his vocal cord. fauci, who apparently did have general anesthesia, is home, he's doing well according to a person close to him. his hoarseness has been notable in his many appearances during the covid crisis and so the surgery was planned. it's not clear how long it will be before he's able to speak publicly again. and we'll be right back. >> tech: at safelite, we're here for you

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the last democratic nominee for president, hillary clinton, making the case last night for why it is so important for every american to cast a ballot in this election. >> vote for honest elections, so we, not a foreign adversary, choose our president. and don't forget, joe and kamala can win by 3 million votes and still lose. take it from me. so we need numbers overwhelming, so trump can't sneak or steal his way to victory. >> joining me now, democratic senator and former presidential candidate amy klobuchar. senator klobuchar, you've been such an important advocate for securing the vote, mail-in voting, paper backups. you had legislation, i know it stopped at mitch mcconnell's desk. now what we're hearing in the conversation i believe with nancy pelosi and the postmaster general in advance of his testimony, that he's not

restoring the budget cuts, he's not restoring the overtime that's needed, he's not putting back those sorting machines that have all been taken offline, some dismantled. what can the senate do? especially since tomorrow's hearing will be in front of ron johnson who has been an apologist for the president. >> exactly. let's start with what hillary was saying there. i think she addressed this elephant in the room and made it very forward-looking. she was saying, when she said woulda, coulda, shoulda, it was about all the people who have come up to her and said, i should have voted. our first plea is that everyone votes and we win big, that helps a lot. the second piece is we need to do everything to protect our elections. speaker pelosi is once again showing incredible leadership by bringing the house back. they can simply vote for a bill that puts in standards and then it goes to the senate. and the hearing is important, because you get the postmaster general on the record.

but the most important thing would be, he keeps saying stuff and dialing it back, what the standards should be and putting the funding into the post office that was contained in the hear r heroes act. our plea is, mitch mcconnell, do the hearing, but call the senate back so we cannot only vote on this postal bill but also the heroes act which contains the money for testing, the help for state and local governments, and of course the election funding that is so needed by the states right now. >> but i believe that some of the democrats in fact on the house are reluctant to do anything that doesn't also include extending or enhancing unemployment. and the other aspects of the heroes act that actually get into people's pockets. >> well, they've already passed the heroes act in the congress. >> i mean a standalone bill, for them just to do -- it's tough for them this weekend. >> yes, okay, fine.

but my point of it is that you have to have a functioning post office. you can't have people not getting their documents and their lifesaving medications and the like. and the other thing this coincides with, andrea, as you know, is the release of the intelligence committee's report, warner has been out talking about that. that was really groundbreaking in terms of more evidence of the russian interference and the collusion with the trump campaign and what was going on there. and so my concern here is that mail-in ballots are important not just so people can vote safely, but they're also important because you've got a record of what happened. so they really serve a double purpose, instead of putting ourselves at the mercy of foreign governments. i like the backup paper ballots. about eight estatstates don't h them. we need to have them in every state when people use voting machines. >> one of the other most

poignant, most moving moments last night was also gabby giffords, the former congresswoman grievously injured nine years ago, she's been working for nine years on getting her speech back. it's painful. she actually gave a convention speech, remarkably, with the same message about getting out to vote. i wanted to play some of it for you. >> my recovery is a daily fight. but fighting makes me stronger. words once came easily. today i struggle to speak. but i have not lost my voice. we must elect joe biden. he was there for me, he'll be there for you too. >> it's just remarkable to see her, i've interviewed her before, and to see the progress she's made. but it is hard, it is painful. and this is of course because of gun violence. >> and i've got to spend time

with her because i worked on this issue and with her husband mark kelly who is of course a great candidate for u.s. senate in the state of arizona. and gabby's strength and courage is just awe-inspiring, especially when you're up front and close with her, as you know. the other thing she's saying is joe biden will give voice to her. she's talking about gun violence but also about what you'll hear tonight, which is that there's a whole lot of reasons to vote against donald trump, as michelle obama explained, because he's not up to the job. there's also reasons to vote for joe biden. and that is the competence we need to run this country not only through the pandemic but what i call the day after tomorrow, to start working on these issues like gun safety and immigration reform and climate change and finally doing something about fixing income inequality and raising the minimum wage and all these

things that we're going to do. and what she's saying there is, he gave voice to her, he's going to give voice to so many other people. what i'm excited about tonight is not just the reasons to vote against donald trump. i think joe biden is going to steer us toward where we're going to go in the future. and that's what people, especially in the middle of the country, some of whom voted for donald trump, who really don't like what they bought, are ready to listen to something new. >> senator klobuchar, thank you so much. and something we can all use, time for a blessing, as i talk to one of the faith leaders delivering a benediction at the democratic national convention tonight. (man) $9.95?

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tools, cattle, grain, traded goods. even shells represented value. then currency came along. they made it out of copper, gold, silver, wampum. soon people decided to put all that value into a piece of paper, then proceeded to wave goodbye to value, printing unlimited amounts of money as they passed the buck to the future.

that's why it's time for digital currency and your investment in the grayscale funds. go digital. go grayscale. part of president obama's takedown of donald trump was a repudiation of the president's anti-immigration and racial taunts preaching a message of inclusivity. >> whatever our backgrounds, we are all the children of americans who fought the good fight. irish and italians, asians and latinos told, go back where you come from. jews and catholics, muslims and sikhs made to feel suspect for the way they worshipped.

>> joining us now, father james martin, the editor at large of america media who will be delivering one of the benedictions tonight at the democratic convention. father martin, thank you for being with us. what will be your focus in prayer tonight? >> i'm going to pray for a country that welcomes people, where all lives have dignity and where everyone is loved. and so a prayer of inclusion and welcome. >> and this has been a remarkable time because the president has actually attacked joe biden, who, if he was elected, he would be the second catholic president. president trump has attacked him for not believing in the bible, not being a man of faith. he said he would hurt the bible. he would hurt god. how can biden even respond to that? >> it's very hard to respond to that. i think those adhomonym attacks

the president engages in are really reprehensible, especially to attack the faith of someone. you have no idea what's going on inside someone's soul and to make those claims is really out of balance. and i am not sure how you would respond to that other than by, you know, continuing to be faithful and going to mass and trying to be a good catholic. >> joe biden and i've known him since i first ran for the senate in 1972 has always been a man of faith and that's been part of his heritage. he refers to it often. refers to his family, his parents. how important is that if he is elected to have a catholic back in the white house. all these decades after john f. kennedy? >> i think it will be important for catholics certainly and it's clear that, you know, while he doesn't agree with the church on everything, faith animates his life. he has spoken about it often, and we have to trust that this

is a man who has a relationship with god and with jesus christ and tries to be his -- the best catholic that he can be. certainly, i think catholic social teaching will be a strong influence on him. >> do you think it is -- is it a problem for the church that he has certainly been on the other side of church teachings on the issue of choice? >> it is, especially for, you know, some catholics, for many catholics, but again, there is not one party that fully encompasses church teaching. so the democrats are not very good on abortion and the republicans are not very good on immigration. and so, you know, neither party has a lock on what you might call the catholic vote. and it's up to catholics to determine in their consciences which candidate best reflects their own religious sentiments. but again, neither party has a lock on catholic teaching.

>> and i believe tonight you'll be joined in the benediction by a rabbi and by an imam, so it's going to be ecumenical and another one of those moments tonight at the conclusion of the dnc. thank you very much, father martin. always good have your benediction here verbally for us on msnbc. >> my pleasure. and we look forward to that. that does it for "andrea mitchell reports." msnbc will have complete coverage of the democratic national convention all day and our primetime coverage at 7:00 eastern on msnbc with rachel maddow, nicolle wallace, joy reid, brian williams, a cast of stars. and i'll be on nbc news on your local nbc station with lester holt, savannah guthrie, chuck todd. and chuck todd comes up next for the new time for "mtp daily" right here. stay with us.

♪ welcome to thursday. it is "meet the press daily." i'm chuck todd. we're in the middle of one of those days that will likely be remembered for a long time. steve bannon, the president's former campaign chief was taken into federal custody this morning after a grand jury charged him with defrauding donors as part of a fundraising scheme involving president tr