with "meet the press daily" right now. if it's friday, how low will this presidential campaign go, as president trump unloads at his political rivals in a very unconventional convention address at the white house. both parties making the case that if the other side wins, so does chaos. plus thousands are marching on washington on the anniversary of dr. king's "i have a dream" speech, demanding equality and racial justice. and repairing the damage after the most intense hurricane to hit louisiana in more than a century. at least six dead, thousands without power and untold number of buildings and homes in ruins. welcome to friday. it is "meantiet the press daily"

president trump is trying one of his new small hangar rallies in battleground new hampshire. president trump put an exclamation point on a republican convention that raised the boundaries on presidential power and campaign politicking in a state of the union address hyping what he believes are his accomplishments, mixed in with attacks on political rivals. and then transformed it into a jarri jarri jarring commercial for his campaign. and fact title checkers are calling it false claims with 1,500 people sandwiched together, few wearing masks amid a raging pandemic. but perhaps the most revealing moment of the night is when the president spoke off the cuff.

>> we must turn the page forever on this failed political class. the fact is i'm here. what's the name of that building? but i'll say it differently. the fact is we're here and they're not. >> we're here, they're not. i'm here, you're not. does that not say it all? this republican convention tried to recap and sochften the president's image as they try to retarget voters. but president trump said he sees no softening because he's there and they're not. buckle up for the next seven days as republican try to portray democrats as agents of violence and chaos, which is happening on a republican president's watch and democrats try to portray trump as an

existential threat to the american democracy. good luck, america. joining me from the white house site of the convention festivities last night, my colleague kelly o'donnell and also someone who interviewed the president this week, peter baker, and msnbc analyst. kelly, let's get started. i'm curious how the white house feels last night went. it was teleprompter trump, state of the union trump meets rally trump. meaning it wasn't the rally version of him that can really fire up an audience. >> muted in those ways and you can see where the president seemed to settle in and when off the teleprompters, since we had the prepared text, we could see where he did that and where he had taken in a little oxygen and riffs in the way he did. the clip you showed is really so emblematic. he fused his identity of candidate, president with the real estate here. it's almost as if i ought to be able to kick balloons left over

from last night on the ground here today. the usual cleanup after a convention. here it is at the white house, and the president has fused all of these together. in talking with officials today, they say that this was a successful four days of their convention, in part because separate from the president's message, which they think was on point, they believe they showcased real americans who they believe have been benefited by the president's policies and tried to outline that. that's something we saw in a lot of the earlier speakers of the night in the minettes that were presented. and in the message from the president, they believe he hit all of the points he needed to. and today, as you referenced, going out on the campaign trail, that's very traditional. the bounce coming out of a campaign, if there is any in polling, is at least in momentum in this unusual year with the president going to new hampshire, a state won by hillary clinton four years ago, a battleground to be sure, the vice president in minnesota and michigan today. so part of what trump campaign

advisers are saying is in their words, they smoked out joe biden and kamala harris, who are now doing more in terms of interviews and also the former vice president saying he will travel to some the battleground states, some physical campaigning as a part of this final stretch. it is certainly a case where the white house believes they hit the messages they needed to. they are disregarding criticism quite vociferously of the staging, which had no staging, had 1,500 people, had very few choosing to wear masks. i had a back and forth today with peter navarro, one of the president's top economic advisers, who just would not entertain any questions about the risks there, calling those democratic talking points and not addressing the substance of the question. you saw alex azar, the secretary of health and human services wearing a mask. just a couple of people down from him, another cabinet secretary, who is 82 and

recently in the hospital, choosing not to wear a mask. and that is a stark difference on how they staged this and the message going forward because of it. chuck? >> kelly, have you heard any regret by anybody in that building about using it and the washington monument as a political prop? is there -- i'm sure the president is not worried about it, but are there some in that white house that are a little uncomfortable of the pandora's box that's just been opened? >> none that are saying it publicly. i think it's notable that, for example, the vice president who is sometimes more traditional on these matters, he was at another kind of national park setting with the ft. mchenry part of our national history but not as overtly, that was political in its own way but not an official government building like the white house is. but the roadblocks and

guardrails about this kind of conduct, doing political work while on the grounds of the white house, again, the president is not subject to it but every staffer is subject to those rules, and you have both campaign and white house staff working hand in hand, which again typically does not occur because there's usually a pretty bright wall between campaign business and governor nance. that just doesn't exist here. >> that's pretty clear, that's for sure, kelly o'donnell at the white house for us. kelly, thanks very much. let me bring in peter baker. peter, your interview with the president this week revealed yet another issue for the president that he has not been able to figure out, which is how to articulate a second term agenda. i've got to put up the money quote here. but so i think -- i think it would be -- i think it would be very, very -- i think we would have a very, very solid. we could continue what we've been doing.

we would solidify what we have done and we have other things on our plate that want to get done. i know it was done over the telephone. i assume that is a correct transcript there. i'll tell you, i didn't hear much of what a second term would look like other than, hey, if you like what i did, you'll like what i'll do. >> yes, more of the same basically. he cut taxes, increased military spending, he eliminated regulations, he put conservative judges on the court and he'll do more of that. that's basically what he's saying. there's no new vision of what the next four years would bring other than a continuation of the last four. if you're a trump supporter, that may be fine. that may be what you're looking for. because you're happy with his taking on the establishment, you're happy with his protectionist economic policies. the you're happy with his sort of retreating from the endless wars. but if you're one of president trump's critics and right now there are more on the mcquarrie

polls than the other side, what that tells you is you're not looking for a different kind of president. some people speculate whether he would be a different kind of person after re-election, he's telling us no, he wouldn't. he is what he is. don't expect him to change. if you like him, that's great. if you don't, that's your problem. >> you know, there is something that both i thought biden and trump had something in common in their acceptance speeches, and that is raising the rhetorical stakes of the importance of this election. i have never covered an election that wasn't the most important in my lifetime, however, it does feel as if this time there are more people who believe this phrase, but take a look at the amped-up rhetoric both men used in their acceptance speeches. take a listen. >> this election will decide whether we save the american dream or whether we allow a socialist agenda to demolish our cherished destiny. >> this will determine what america is going to look like for a long, long time.

>> it will decide whether we rapidly create millions of high-paying jobs or whether we crush our industries and send millions of these jobs overseas. >> it character is on the ballot. compassion is on the ballot. >> your vote will decide whether we protect law-abiding americans or whether we give free reign to violent anarchists and agitators and criminals who threaten our citizens. >> decency, science, democracy, they're all on the ballot. >> and this election will decide whether we will defend the american way of life or whether we will allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it. >> who we are as a nation, what we stand for, and most importantly, who we want to be. that's all on the ballot. >> is it at no time before haves faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, who

philosophies, or two agendas. >> the choice could not be more clear. >> peter, there's an unintended consequence to raising the stakes this high, to telling your reporters if the other side wins, it's over. where do we go from here? >> that's a great question. this is a great montage. this tells you what the two parties are saying it's not about convention of policies, what level of health care plan you favor or level of taxes, it's about the very vision of america. and what liberals and a lot of conservatives, not all, have been saying during the trump era is he represents a radical change from the vision of an america, pluralistic society that takes internationalist views in the world and welcomes immigration and free trade and so forth. and what trump and his

supporters are saying is, the other side is out of the mainstream, the main street shifted and we need to advance an america-first agenda and the other side doesn't believe in america as we see it. really there's not a lot of middle ground there. there's not a lot of coming together. it's hard to say these two sides are simply articulating honest differences of opinion. they're articulating a very different view of what this country is meant to be. >> no, and in some ways very different view of what the country has been for 200-plus years, and perhaps where somebody wants to take it for another four. we shall see. peter baker, chief white house correspondent of "the new york times," thank you very much. the goal of any convention is to get more potential voters in your camp, especially those that are on the fence. our own vaughn hillyard spent the morning in kent county, michigan, home of what you might call establishment republicans,

moderate republicans, geri ford republicans, whatever you want to call them. and here's one undecided voter on what he heard and didn't hear last night. >> talk about environmental and renewable energy, i'm not hearing anybody talking about getting rid of carbon emissions in low-income areas, i'm not hearing any talk about financial inequity for people of color and caucasianing people. i'm not hearing any plans to invest in minority communities and develop them up so we can bridge the gap between police and community relations. >> what about last night, donald trump gave his nomination acceptance speech. did you hear any of those things from donald trump? >> not really. >> joining us now from grand rapids is vaughn hillyard. vaughn, we just got through talking about how little issue debate there had been in the conventions. looks like voters are also hearing the same thing.

>> chuck, deandre wrote in bernie sanders during the general election back in 2016, and that's where donald trump not only needs to gain support but he's got to hold on to those various supporters in a place like kent county, went by just 11,000 votes. and just last week our colleague dasha burns talked with somebody who believes instead of voting for trump like last time would be inclined to vote for joe biden because of the pandemic response. but after last night, here's what he says now -- >> i think the american people, whoever's president, is not going to put up with this. law and order does need -- we do need to have some sort of civility. you can't really wontonly go and break into somebody's business, burn it down, maybe generational businesses. i think whoever's president is

going to calm this whole thing down. >> the question, why not joe biden? >> what has he done in 47 years? why now? that's -- i guess that's -- i know it's probably a pretty standard answer. >> then why still consider joe biden? >> because i want to see what may happen over the next 60 days. there's a lot of things happening. >> chuck, you heard jerry use that line, what has he done in 47 years, which came right out of the script of donald trump last night. there's a great many voters, trump voters from 2016 who we talked to over the years who want to have that reason to vote for donald trump, have been looking for the reassurance. and what jerry essentially outlined were those talking points of what has joe done in 47 years. he pointed to the 1949 crime bill. he also pointed to the fact he has hope as donald trump outlined in a vaccine being produced. of course, he listened to the speech last night trying to find a reason to vote for donald

trump and heard what you heard from him, he seemed to walk away with one. >> perhaps, but the fact he still wouldn't close the sale back with trump also is fascinating too. it's a reminder how fickle the whole thing is for him in particular anyway. vaughn hillyard with voters in grand rapids, always interesting. it is two people, but it is interesting. thanks very much. >> coming up -- you're looking live at the national mall in washington, d.c., where the commitment march is under way. the new urgency behind the message of justice and equality in the wake of the most recent police shooting in kenosha, wisconsin. wisconsin.

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welcome back. the conventions are over. president trump blurred the line between the power of his presidency and political campaign. as we begin the final sprint to november's election, let's bring in michael steele, former rnc

chairman, and a senior writer from politico, who's done extensive reporting on mr. trump throughout the decades. michael steele, let me start with you. in many ways while i know you're not flipping -- you're not vacillating between who you're voting for, but in many ways, this convention was designed to win over people like you, disaffected republican, somebody who had been skeptical of him and his behavior but they're trying to remind you why you're a republican. how did they do on that score? and the people you talked with on that fence, does trump still have a chance with them? uh-oh -- >> yes, i'm here. >> there we go. there we go. go ahead. i was just about to cut you off there, buddy.

>> no, no, no. the quick answer is yes, they do, because of the first part of the question, which is the narrative that trump puts out there. look, you saw in the piece by vaughn hillyard, the linchpin that trump is hanging this election on. in 2016 it was they're coming across the border, right? in 2020 it's they're coming into suburbia. it doesn't matter who they are. you layer on top of that given what we've seen over the last six weeks, eight weeks with the protests, the law-and-order piece, yeah, you're going to get those folks who are on the fence, those sort of center right folks who were with trump before are suddenly not so much now thinking just as that gentlemen did, yeah, you know, someone's got to bring law and order back because we just can't burn down businesses and that's the hook right there. now the question for the biden campaign is what's your

counterplay? >> michael cruz, you know, it's interesting, donald trump and the case he's making, i feel like in some ways it's the most repetitive case he's made about any time he has dabbled in american politics going back to the '80s. it's the same note, and even last night, that speech to me felt extraordinarily familiar of donald trump through the decades. >> we struck -- what struck me last night and throughout the convention was both the mendacity, the except of it, and audacity, what he said last night went well beyond the 6,000-plus words he actually spoke. what he actually said was you're telling me i can't use the white house for my political campaign? you're telling me i can't have a

crowd, mostly maskless, in the middle of a pandemic? watch me. i'm currently doing it. what are you going to do about it? and in a way one of the through-lines of his entire life, prepolitical and otherwise, is this -- the more i get away with, the more i can get away with. he asks people to put up stop signs, to create guardrails, to say you can't do this and here's what we're going to do about it. and he's gotten away with it to this point, and he got away with it last night. >> michael steele, you know, that means -- and you saw it last night, the president will do whatever, he will use whatever lever and nobody does in this town know how to say no to him. i guess nancy pelosi has said no to him, and that's why he refuses to speak to her anymore. but not -- no one else around him tells him you can't do that.

they might say you shouldn't do that but no one tells him you can't do that, whether it's messing around at the cdc, fda or monument or whatever. >> yeah, the point is made, and mike just put it out there, that is exactly it, stop me. you can't stop me. there's nothing you can say or do to stop me. you tried it with mueller. you tried it with impeachment. whatever. doesn't matter. i'm going to do what i want to do. if you can stop me, you can try. you're right, nancy pelosi is the one who seems to have been able to get in his craw because in some ways she plays an asymmetrical game like he does. she does come back with the unexpected from time to time. everyone else, the men in this town tend to be more conventional in in their thinking and there's still this -- these two things, one fear they'll get tweeted out by trump or something like that.

two, thinking there's going to be a point where he does confirm just a little bit, just enough to get some things done. the and that's how trump punks them every time. >> you know, michael kruse, what is it about donald trump, and maybe this is a question nobody is capable of answering, is but any other human being under the situation he's in where you might lose your job, this case approval ratings, and you're making the case to keep your job. don't fire me. i want to make the case. i'll change doing this. i will be better at this. there's none of that. he's receiving a c, c-minus from the american public. when your job rating is below, underwater, this is basically a teacher saying, c-minus, i don't know, it's passing but i don't know. what is it about him that he can't even bring himself to pretend he might change something for a second term? >> it what is the lesson he

should have learned? what should have taught him to change his behavior to this point? if you think back to this moment four years ago, he was just a c-minus with the public as he is now. and things were about to get worse, principally with the "access hollywood" tape. did he back down? not really. he became the president. so what has put him in the white house is either what's going to keep him in the white house or he's going to get voted out. that is an open question. anybody who thinks he can't win is delusional. we thought he couldn't win the first time. of course he could win. it's going to be decided almost certainly in very small margins, small numbers of people and small numbers of places. this is what this is going to be. i don't want to bust out the crystal ball because it is such a volatile political environment. who knows how people even commit the act of voting this fall, and how that's going to play out. who's going to be there, who not going to be. i think it's a fair prediction to say donald trump is going to

be donald trump because he's always been donald trump. >> right. and i think the best phrase to use is, he's going to do whatever it takes because he's gotten away with it before, so why not now? >> that's it. >> michael steele, michael kruse, thank you both. appreciate it. good to talk to you both. up next -- here's another look at the nation's capitol. any minute now we're expecting this crowd of people to begin marching from the lincoln memorial to the mlk memorial on this anniversary of "i have a dream" speech.

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thousands have gathered in washington, d.c. on this 57th anniversary of the original march on washington to march again. let's dip in here a second. this is george floyd's brother speaking right now. >> and anybody else who lost their lives, or to evil -- >> george floyd! george floyd! >> george floyd! >> george floyd! >> i got you.

[ crowd chanting george floyd ] >> it's never been clear change right now is happening right now because we demand it. everyone here has made a commitment because they wouldn't be here for no other reason right now. it's hot, and i know it's hot, but as of now, we're here, because we are being fried right now, man. man. the. >> you're good. >> is i'm trying. i'm trying. i got it. i got it. i got it.

>> i can't breathe! i can't breathe! i can't breathe! >> as of now, everybody out here right now, our leaders, they need to follow us while we're marching to enact laws to protect us. man, it's hard, man. it's really hard. i'm so sorry, man. my brother george, he's looking down right now, he's thankful for everything that everybody is doing right now. you all are showing a lot of empathy and passion, and i'm enjoying every last bit of it right now. if it weren't for y'all, i don't know where i would be right now, because y'all are keeping me

running. i have to advocate for everybody, man, because right now jacob blake, it's hard just to talk right now, shot seven times, man with his kids. that's painful. i'm done, i'm done. >> i'm bridget floyd, george floyd's sister. i want you guys to ask yourself right now, how will the history books remember you? what will be your legacy?

will your future generations remember you for your complacency, your inaction, or will they remember you for your empanely, your leadership, your passion for weeding out the injustices and evil in our world. you know, martin luther king stood here 57 years ago, and he told the world his dream. but i don't think you all know that we're here right now and have the power to make it happen! i don't think you all hear me! but we have to do it together! we have to do it together. for our generations to come, our children. my brother cannot be a voice

today. we have to be that voice. we have to be the change, and we have to be his legacy. thank you from the floyd family. >> let me check in with morgan radford. she is reporting within the march there. and, morgan, what have you been hearing? what have you been seeing? and i'll be honest, it's been quite the split screen from last night and fireworks on the mall in trump's name. today, a march that i'm guessing is not very friendly to the president. the. >> wildly different story, in fact. i'm glad you got to hear from the floyd family directly because it's those families, the families that have been affected directly by brutality and seeing their sons and their daughters

killed, they're the heart and soul of this march. while we heard things about black lives matter and this march is calling for reform and criminal justice reform, at the bottom of all of this, chuck, it's about pain. it's about collective pain from this community and they're saying enough is enough and no more. every single perp wson who has e to that podium and every person i spoke to here among the tens of thousands of people who have come out here in this 90-degree heat sweating have come because they don't want to see this happen to anyone else. we don't want to see this happen to our sons, our daughters, our mothers, our fathers. and that's why we're here. and this is happening and we know november is months away. so what do you expect to see happen from this march? they said this is about pain but this is also about policy. they want to see a policy change happen in november. as you and i talked about all week, of course, i was covering the rnc, they said they want to

see specific policies that deal with the plaqblack community an protect the black community. they effectively told me we're always being called upon to show our resilience as a people but why is it incumbent on us to be resilient? we should be protected. and that's what this march is about today, chuck. >> morgan radford on the mall for us. morgan, thank you so much. joshua johnson is also with us, fellow msnbc anchor. joshua, i was thinking today, what would you like to see joe biden be doing with this moment right now in kenosha? >> i think what joe biden could learn from history is the lesson that came out of the 1963 march on washington. part of the point of the march was to mobilize people to demand political change. legislation has been a big theme of this event. you heard the president of the

national urban league earlier today, among those people who called for a number of reforms including the h.e.r.o.e.s. act, which was passed to help people through coronavirus, which disproportionately affects plaque and broblack and brown people, voting rights act named after john lewis to fill the gaping hole left in the voting rights act preventing the federal government from making municipalities enforce voting rights laws, the george floyd justice in policing act which would ban choke holds and remove qualified immunity for police officers. so they're calling for policy. probably the strongest thing if joe biden and kamala harris wanted to win this entire crowd over right now is to say yes, yes, yes. if i was the president right now and he's bills hit my desk, i would sign them into law. that is exactly what folks at this march on washington and the 1963 march on washington advocates. we had a lot to say about the life of john lewis lately. one of the things john lewis

said when he spoke 57 years ago today was about part of the civil rights act. title 3, which allows the attorney general to prosecute cases of discrimination in public accommodations, including people who are protesting in public. john lewis said, unless title 3 -- and i'm quoting -- unless title 3 is put in this bill, there's nothing to protect the young children and hold women who must face police dogs and fire hoses in the south while they engage in peaceful demonstrations, unquote. so even in the original march, and now legislation is the goal. it's not just a matter of saying we need to get people to get their knees off our necks, they're also saying we need to get voters to get their butts in polling places and we need lawmakers to get their butts into conference rooms so they can put legislation together. that was the goal of the original march. that is in many ways the goal of this march. >> so if joe biden were to go to kenosha, how does he talk to the

entire community in kenosha? >> that's a bit of a challenge. tonight in kenosha the common council, like the kenosha city council, is going to have a closed-door session to talk about law enforcement responses to some of the violence that has marred the protests. the kenosha news put out an editorial just today calling for the curfew being enforced, not necessarily to crackdown on protesters, but to deal with violence that's coming in from out of town. even in minneapolis, where george floyd was killed by minneapolis police officers, they're dealing with curfews right now. not even because of the george floyd homicide, but because of another police-involved death that happened this week in downtown minneapolis where they have curfews in place right now and mayor jacob fry has asked for help from the national guard. there are different factions. one saying we want the violence to stop in our community. these people showed up just to cause trouble. get them out of here. worth noting you might say that about some folks looting

buildings and about the young man who decided to bring an assault rifle to guard a boarded-up business. but let's set that aside. you've got that group of people. then you've got the group of people who are saying no justice, no peace. you want us to leave, you got to deal with this issue. so for a candidate like joe biden, who says that he gets this issue to really effectively solve the problem, he's got to find a way to walk that line and speak to both groups, which is a political act of leisure domain that has rarely been pulled off to the satisfaction of both sides, especially in a heated environment like this. not impossible but very difficult. >> well, you're running for the big job, you're trying to be a president, not many people get there. so maybe the expectation is somebody who gets there should be able to do a couple of those things. >> exactly. >> we're going to go back and listen in. this is the sister of jacob blake speaking right now, and we

believe jacob blake's father is also going to speak. take a look. >> black women, you are your brother's keeper. i know it's heavy, but forgive him and him, his manner was taken from him a long time ago, build him up. black children, breathe, learn, grow, and live and question everything. black men, stand up! stand up, black men! educate yourselves! and protect the black family unit period! >> all right, sister! >> great job. great job, sweetheart. >> no justice -- >> no peace! >> no justice --

>> no peace! >> no justice -- >> no peace! >> jacob blake! >> jacob blake! >> jacob blake! >> jacob blake! >> jacob blake! >> jacob blake! >> there are two systems of justice in the united states. there's a white system and there's a plaque system. the plaque system ainblack syst well. but we're going to stand up. every black person in the united states is going to stand up. we're tired! i'm tired of looking at cameras and seeing these young black and brown people suffer. we're going to hold court today. we're going to hold court on systematic racism. we're going to have court right

now. guilty! guilty! >> yes! >> guilty! >> guilty! racism against all of us. guilty! >> it guilty! >> it guilty! racism against trayvon martin! we find them guilty! >> guilty! >> racism against george floyd. we find them guilty! >> guilty! >> racism against jacob blake, abdul due walla. if i said the name wrong, a lll, forgive me. >> guilty! >> and we're not taking it anymore! i ask everyone to stand up, no justice -- >> no peace! >> no justice -- >> no peace! >> i met this man when i was 7 years old. how did i know i was going to meet this man again in these circumstances? i truly did not want to come and

see you all today for these reasons. my father was in town for the first march on d.c. i have a duty. i have a duty to support and understand each one. i love everybody in this crowd. i love you! if nobody told you today, big jake loves you! but we're going to stand up, baby. we're going to stand up together. i need your strength. big daddy's legs ain't that good anymore. i need your strength! no justice -- >> no peace! >> no justice -- >> no peace! >> i love y'all. >> i want to bring attorney ba v

ivory la mon the who represents these families -- >> joshua, i have to tell you, there was something that got me earlier this week and i feel it there in hearing from jacob's father. it was hearing from -- i think it was michael wilbon said this, he says, i'm tired. as a black man, i'm tired. joshua, how do you feel in this moment that you're just sort of tired of this? >> you know, i totally feel where mike wilbon was talking from. you also heard from his sister that spoke and said i don't want pity, i want change. the statement the family made, the the first press conference with benjamin crump you heard various forms of the crowd. big jake, jacob blake's father indict the entire criminal justice system that has left african-americans not just in an

unequal system of justice but visserably and inescapably aware of the system of injustice. you heard jacob blake's mother say america is great when we behave greatly. you heard doc rivers, one of the coaches for the l.a. clippers say, we've been loving this country and the country hasn't loved us back. in a way we're hearing the same things we heard 57 years ago. but we also heard something important from reverend sharpton. and you have heard it throughout all of these protests, which is no justice, no peace. i've said this before, that is not a bumper sticker, it is a warning. it is an if then statement. you're seeing it now and you're seeing this continual push for justice. and in a way, it's kind of remarkable that the push keeps moving forward. i don't think we've ever had an era in american history where you had this many white people saying, yeah, black lives do matter. where you have this many white people saying, yeah, no justice, shouldn't be no peace. let's get some justice.

so that is rapidly becoming a defining issue, not just of this next generation, but in connection with the previous generations like you heard jacob blake's father say, i met you when i was 7. the i didn't expect to be meeting you right now. if anything may give us hope for the propulsion of this movement, it's that. you have these generations who pushed, and now they lived long enough to see that push yield progress. that might also include affecting what happens at the polls this november and what happens at the beginning of 2021. but that remains to be seen. >> i think in some way the sports world showing we had a handful of activists in the '60s, handful of activists in the '70s and now it's entire leagues banding together these days, sending in some ways the same message, no justice, no sports, no peace. and anything like that. joshua johnson, as always, sir, thank you. >> glad to help.

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it's a lot different than it was 48 hours ago. this event has really dealt us a pretty heavy blow. i expected to see some flooding, some trees in the road. we saw that. we saw power lines. what i didn't expect to see was there were literal entire

buildings that had been blown apart. there were fusades of brick buildings that had been around for 100 years blown down. i mean, i was really blown away by the devastation to some of these buildings. >> welcome back. that was the mayor of lake charles, louisiana, one of the communities hardest hit by hurricane laura, the most powerful hurricane to hit the state in more than a century, believe it or not. our own sam brock is with national guardsmen in lake charles as they help residents stranded by the storm, and sam, you're in the back of national guard truck there. tell me what you have seen. >> i'm in a high water vehicle right now, chuck. the national guard has been going out all day today, they did this yesterday as well. on aid and in some cases rescue missions, trying to help the people of lake charles. as you look outside the back of this truck right now, these power poles are still standing. a lot of lines you'll see are down. everywhere you go in lake charles right now, power is down. there's no water out here,

chuck, as well. so people are absolutely strapped for resources. when they see the national guardsmen come in, i cannot tell you the level of gratitude that they express on their face, certainly with their words. what they're receiving are little packages like these that have food in them, chicken, noodles, meat, that are nonperishable. you have canisters that are filled with water as well, even fuel if they need that to get out. and they're going around block to block after the national guard has received phone calls from folks, either a family member is in distress or someone they believe could be there that they can't locate, and these guys have missions. and go out there and try to check on all of them. here's one woman we saw earlier today who had walked a mile just to get back to her house. here's how she described what she experienced. >> it was demons. there was like demons outside of our house. it's devastation. it's sad. there's going to be people hurt. there's going to be people dead if they can find them, if they

stayed. you know, if our house is even going to be here, we walked, and it was like when we came out of it, there was nobody. >> just gratitude there from clara, that was the woman, to be alive and so happy to see those national guardsmen. she gave them a big hug and was crying the entire time. chuck, there's something like 110 missions they did yesterday. their goal is to do about the same today. chuck. >> sam brock, in lake charles, louisiana, it's pretty devastating. it's always rough. always rough to see there. stay safe. how quickly do they think they can get water back? power, you know, people can in some ways not having drinking water can be a lot worse than not having power. >> 100%. the problem that we're hearing from local officials, chuck, is could be at least a week, but the power plant is very, very badly damaged. can they get that back up and fixed in one week?

there's some skepticism about that, but they're saying at least a week before people have clean water around here. >> ouch. sam brock, on the ground there in lake charles. sam, thank you. thank you all for being with us this hour. we'll be back monday with more "meet the press daily" and if it's sunday, it's "meet the press" on nbc. please set your dvr. msnbc coverage continues with katy tur right now after this break. k. and however we connect, whether it's over the phone, online, or in your office, we're here to listen and provide solutions that help you run your business better. because the decisions you make have far reaching implications. and a relationship with a corporate bank like pnc can provide just what you need. as one of the nation's largest banks, pnc brings customized insights and a local approach. to make informed choices now and in the future. it's made for this guy a veteran who honorably served and it's made for her

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good afternoon. i am katy tur. it's 11:00 a.m. out west and 2:00 p.m. in the east. we're watching two stories unfold at this hour. in our nation's capital, 57 years after the first march on washington, thousands have gathered again at the steps of the lincoln memorial. we just heard from the families of both george floyd and jacob blake. we're going to have their powerful comments in just a few minutes. we're also awaiting a press conference from authorities in kenosha, sc