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political clash over protests, safety and racial justice. joe biden will directly take on the president this hour. this as president trump prepares to visit kenosha, wisconsin. plus, the uproar in congress after the director of national intelligence decides no more in-person briefings on election security just weeks ahead of the 2020 election. and the fda chief now says he may fast track a coronavirus vaccine before phase three trials are complete. is it safe? is it doable? we've got the latest on the race for the vaccine. >> welcome to monday. it's "meet the press daily." i'm steve kornacki in for chuck todd. you are looking live at pittsburgh. that is where joe biden is expected to speak in just a few

minutes. there are those biden expected to condemn president trump as a leader, inciting violence. biden will rebuke president trump for failing to call on his supporters to, quote, stop acting as an armed militia. biden's speech will come a day before the president is expected to travel to kenosha. this is a trip that the democratic governor and kenosha's mayor are urging him to postpone but president trump isn't changing his plans. tweeting this morning, quote, if i didn't insist on having the national guard activate and go into kenosha, wisconsin, there would be no kenosha right now. i will see you on tuesday. the president is also once again blasting the mayor of portland, oregon, and seemingly threatening to send federal forces into that city where over the weekend a man was shot and killed an hour after pro trump supporters clashed with

counterprotesters. the leader of patriot prayer said the shooting victim is a supporter of his group but it's unclear if the shooting was connected to the protests. here to start us out of, we have our own mike memoli, he's in pittsburgh where joe biden will be speaking. monica albin, erin mclaughlin is in oregon. mike, again, in the next half an hour or so we expect to hear from the former vice president. what is the message he's trying to convey here? >> steve, joe biden just touched down at the airport nearby here in pittsburgh, a place of great political significance to him. it was the place where he held his first rally of this 2020 campaign and where he has always kicked off the general election of past campaigns since 2008, usually at the labor day parade, but obviously something different here at the time of

the coronavirus. what the biden campaign wants to do and hoping to accomplish is looking over the last few weeks, especially in the wake of the republican convention, not abiding by what they have seen from the trump campaign, which is trying to take the pictures of public demonstrations, violence in american cities, and using that as a warning sign of what they say would be in biden's america. as the biden campaign points out, this is all happening on donald trump's watch. so we'll hear the former vice president in his remarks today talk about donald trump as somebody who sows chaos and cannot stop it because he's fomented it. they see the narrative building without evidence on the part of this democrats that this law and order message from the president might actually be taking hold. we haven't seen a lot of polling since the conventions to really evaluate what kind of bounces

we've seen, but the biden campaign is eager to have the former vice president nip this in the bud quickly. take this message of law and order and say it is a sign of weakness on the president's part that he has to resort to this. as biden will fgo on to say, he has not dealt effectively with the coronavirus and the economic fallout. this is a time in our country's history where we're seeing less optimism about the future. biden wants to build on that message talking about being an ally of the light, to put forward a positive message for the country about what they will in fact see in joe biden's america, steve. >> mike, i'm curious about a point you were making about what's taking place, what's being said, what the apprehensions are inside the biden campaign. we've heard a lot from republicans and on trump's side that they think this issue of public safety, of order in the street, they think that is something that's going to resonate with exactly the

electorate that they are trying to reach here. you mentioned the idea here from the biden campaign's standpoint is to nip this in the bud. what are the conversations like in the campaign right now about this issue, about strategically how they think this is playing or might play? >> steve, i'll just mention as you were talking about, i see the biden motorcade arriving. so not something we often see in the biden campaign, on time. we were expecting his remarks at 1:30. perhaps we're on track for that. joe biden announced his candidacy last year, last april, by pointing to those scenes in charlottesville. the public demonstrations of the white supremacists marching in charlottesville and the peaceful protests that were against it. that was joe biden's opening argument, that this is a battle for the soul of america. so they're a little con founded by the fact that people see this law and order message on the

part of the president and see that as effective because that has been joe biden's response all along. they also point out joe biden was as busy in the 2018 midterms campaigning on behalf of democratic candidates as anyone. as he kicked off that campaigning here in pittsburgh in 2018, what was the concern late in that campaign? it was donald trump running on this idea of an immigrant caravan, that that might limit democratic gains in the midterms. what did we see? democrats won back the house and made gains in the senate as well. so this is the response from the biden campaign, let's not forget our recent history here. >> mike memoli is where the former vice president will be speaking shortly. let moo bring in monica alba. donald trump is by all indications set to go to kenosha, wisconsin, tomorrow. what can we expect from the president on that visit? what kind of message is he planning to bring? and also i know there's been some conversation, some

suspensisuspens suspense, i guess. has there been outreach to jacob blake's family from the white house? is there any possibility of a meeting between the president and his family? what's happening on that front as well? >> steve, we're learning a lot more about that. it does appear that chief of staff mark meadows has reached out to the blake family's pastor. we're told they had a couple of different conversations, but so far no call or meeting has been set between president trump and the family of jacob blake. now, it's significant because a couple of hours ago you had benjamin crump, the family attorney, telling our own hallie jackson there hadn't been outreach to him in terms of trying to get in touch with the family on behalf of the white house. so a couple of questions about how that arrangement is being made, who actually has been in touch. they're hopeful that could come together as soon as today in terms of what we may see. but tomorrow the president is headed to kenosha and there is no meeting on the schedule at this time. we're told by the white house instead the focus is really

going to be on law enforcement and surveying damage. it comes after calls not just from the wisconsin governor, but other local officials to really rethink the visit. in the words of the governor, they're worried that the president being on the ground there could hinder the healing process. but the white house wanted to proceed with the visit saying he absolutely will be going forward. there were a lot of questions raised earlier when kaleigh mcenanmc mcenany said it is being efforted. it is notable as the president goes to wisconsin, the trump campaign feeling very confident that a law and order message is something that's going to be critical. they even held a campaign press call on that earlier today, similarly knocking former vice president joe biden's expected remarks in pittsburgh later this afternoon, steve. >> let's go to shaquille brewster in kenosha where the

president will be tomorrow. shaq, set the scene for us as to what the president will be walking into. we saw businesses burn, the national guard called in. now a week later, what will he be walking into tomorrow? >> reporter: steve, right now there is a big divide over president trump's planned visit to kenosha on tuesday. when the white house announced this visit on saturday night, by sunday you had opposition to this trip from kenosha's mayor. you had opposition from the attorney general of wisconsin, who is currently leading the investigation into the shooting of jacob blake. and you had a letter from wisconsin governor tony evers expressing -- or asking the president to delay and postpone this trip. part of that letter says i, along with other community leaders who have reached out, are concerned about what your presence will mean for kenosha and our state. i am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing. on the other hand you have many republican leaders in this state still inviting the president,

saying that it is important for him to come to survey the damage as he plans to do, to meet with members of the law enforcement community. you know, things here in kenosha remain tense. there's still that mobilization of the national guard. there is still that curfew that starts at 7:00 p.m. each night. although there have been peaceful protests the past couple of days, the concern among local officials is that that may change with the presidential visit. steve? >> thank you for that, shaq. let's go to portland, oregon. erin mclaughlin. an ongoing story portland has been this summer, erin, flaring up again now. what can you tell us about this man who has been shot there? >> reporter: it's still very much the subject of an ongoing homicide investigation, steve. meanwhile the war of words between the president and the mayor of portland, ted wheeler, continues today. president trump tweeting out, calling portland a, quote, mess, saying that it has a joke of a

mayor. hinting that he could send in potentially more federal forces if the situation he says doesn't get under control. ted wheeler just yesterday in a press conference firing back at the president saying that it was his rhetoric that is creating the violence and the division that we've been seeing for days now in portland. last night no exception. clashes on the streets between police and protesters. the protesters hurling projectiles including eggs and rocks. 29 arrests were made last night. a number of items seized, including two loaded handguns and a knife. this following the shooting that happened on saturday. as i said, still a matter being investigated. no arrests have been made and the victim has yet to be named by authorities. >> all right, erin mclaughlin in portland, oregon. thank you. mike, monica, shaq as well appreciate that. the question for who is responsible for the unrest in

american cities and whether voters think they'll be safer with joe biden in the white house or donald trump for another four years is shaping up to be a key issue this november. for more i'm joined by craig gilbert, the washington bureau chief for "the milwaukee journal sentinel." thanks for joining us. i'm looking forward to talking to you because you have a better grasp of the politics of wisconsin, the demographics, the politics, the political geography than most folks out there. politically right now, this seems like a very key question folks are trying to get a grasp of. you have republicans saying that the events in kenosha, the events in cities around the country are redounding to the president and other states like it. democrats are saying, no, no, no, donald trump is the president while all this is happening. i'm curious to get your sense of how this is playing right now. >> people are trying to answer this question in a state that's both in the epicenter of this

and of course the epicenter of the presidential campaign. we don't have an answer to that question right now. there's a lot of talk, there's a lot of expectations, there's a lot of speculation. there was a tantalizing bit of pre-kenosha polling done by the marquette law school in august which showed that support for the protests over policing had declined from about 60% to a little under 50%. and a lot of that decline was among republican voters and a lot of it was kind of in small towns and rural counties. but that didn't come with any real improvement in approval of the president's handling of the protests. it didn't really come with any change in the horse race between donald trump and joe biden. so we just don't have the kind of hard evidence yet for how this is going to play politically. >> let me ask you from this standpoint. wisconsin is critical to donald trump's electoral college map.

he's got to win wisconsin and do some other things too. if his folks are saying an issue like this in their view will help him in the state, where does he need help in wisconsin right now? what are the voters who are there for him in 2016 who have been missing so far? >> there's traditionally been a suburban rural coalition in wisconsin. what happened in 2016 is that he blew the doors off when it came to his performance with rural voters. we'd never really seen anything like it. but he did underperform in the suburbs and even in the republican suburbs. so obviously not much of a cushion having won that race by less than 0.8 of a percentage point. i think his path to victory starts with kind of trying to replicate that rural route that he produced in 2016. that's a challenge because there are parts of wisconsin -- there are rural parts that are purple and have a history of voting

democratic and are very swingy. so it's not an easy bar to get over again. and also trying to do something about his suburban problem. you know, in the suburbs, the republican suburbs outside milwaukee, these are mostly republican voters and he's more popular with republicans today than he was four years ago. but we've had two or three election cycles in wisconsin in the erosion of the republican vote in these republican suburbs. >> we just heard mike memoli say the biden campaign is not seeing numbers right now that suggest what the republicans are forecasting in terms of the effect of this is happening, but the idea with joe biden making this speech is to nip this in the bud. i'm curious what you're hearing from democrats in wisconsin. is this something they're apprehensive at all? are they seeing any numbers? how do they view the political potential here? >> i don't know if it's based on

numbers, but there is appear hen appe it would be worrisome for a variety of reasons but also because it takes the focus off their most effective arguments going to things like the president's handling of the pandemic first and foremost. so there was some apprehension. there was also some urgency about joe biden getting out on the campaign trail after not coming to milwaukee for the convention. democrats are traumatized still by what happened in 2016. you can't compare the clinton campaign to the biden campaign. the biden campaign is spending infinitely more money in wisconsin than the clinton campaign did, but that hangs over there. >> craig gilbert from "the milwaukee journal sentinel," thank you for time. appreciate it. >> great to be with you.

joe biden has arrived at the location in pittsburgh where he'll give what we are hearing will be a fiery speech. once he begins that address, we will bring you those comments live. also, the director of national intelligence says no more in-person election security briefings for congressional committees, this 63 days before the election. i'll talk to a member of the house intelligence committee about what happens now. to severe psoriasis,

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welcome back. only weeks before the presidential election, one that has already raised election security red flags, the office of the director of national intelligence has announced that it will no longer hold in-person briefings to the congressional intelligence committees on foreign election interference. in a letter to lawmakers, dni john ratcliffe said the change was an effort to keep intelligence from leaking to the public and from becoming politicized. leadership on both sides criticized the decision, including senate intelligence

committee acting chair marco rubio, who said this. quote, the situation we now face is due to the willingness of some to commit federal crimes for the purpose of advancing their electoral aims. however this does not keep the intelligence committee to do their legal requirements. they call it blatant politici politicization and accuse him of trying to bury russian interference on behalf of the president. joining me is democratic congressman from illinois, a member of the intelligence committee. congressman, thank you for joining us. let me start with this. the justification of this that we're hearing that's being said here, the in-person briefings have led to leaks. is that a legitimate concern? >> we're all concerned about leaks. we don't want any leaks to happen. we need to hold people

accountable if they leak. this has been a standard white house response whenever career public servants of the intelligence community are allowed to tell the truth about what's actually going on with regard to foreign security threats. in this particular case, i'm not looking at a leak, i'm looking at a press release from the office of the director of national intelligence from early august which says that only russia right now is interfering in our elections and doing so persistently and doing so in a way that is different than what happened in 2016 and potentially much more extensive than before. >> has the dni, or anyone in his office, communicated to your committee any specific leaks that they say concern them and lead to this decision? >> no. and in fact i wish that the

trump administration would send officials to our committee and talk to us about these potential leaks before going to fox news. instead of going to fox news, it would be more productive if they actually discuss the matters with us. i think that goes to the pl politicization of the matter at hand. these public servants have detailed information about the ongoing threat that russia poses to the 2020 elections and this information is vital for the american people to know, steve. it's not information that belongs to donald trump. it's information that's collected by the intelligence community that the american people paid for and deserve to know right now. >> so you've got john ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence now, your former colleague, saying we will do what is required by law. so he's saying do what's required by law without having these in-person briefings.

a, do you agree with that? can they meet the letter of the law by doing it this way? and b, do you have a sense what that will look like? >> i think that written briefings are a start, but those in-person briefings, steve, are crucial because what you see in those written briefings are kind of legally wordsmith descriptions of what's going on. we don't have a chance to question the assumptions underlying the written materials, and we don't get a sense of the urgency or tenor with which those warnings are being delivered by intelligence committee officials. most importantly, we don't have a chance to ask those career public servants what additional resources do you need to combat the threat from russia and other foreign actors that seek to interfere in our current elections. >> what i'm getting at there, you're making a case for why the in-person briefings are preferable from your stand

point, superior from your standpoint to anything written. are there legal issues there that might give you grounds to seek a subpoena to try to compel in-person testimony? is that something that's on your radar? is that something that might happen here? >> possibly, yes. obviously we need to see what the written briefings look like. but up till now, they usually don't possess the level of information that you need to really be fully briefed. i just want to add one other thing, which is disturbing, which is we know that donald trump doesn't want these career public servants to tell us what's going on with the russian threat. what's more disturbing would be if the russian -- i'm sorry, the trump administration did things to prevent these intelligence community officials from dealing with those threats or trying to stop them from dealing with them. and that would be among the questions that i would want to ask, which would not be

addressed in these written materials that would be produced to us. >> very quickly, we just heard the house oversight committee says they are going to have -- they have subpoenaed the postmaster general. what are you missing from him? what are you trying to get there? >> well, what we found out last week in questioning mr. dejoy is that it turns out he didn't produce all the materials in his possession with regard to the impact of operational changes on service delivery standards. and we only received some vital information before the hearing from whistle-blowers. and so that's why we presented the subpoena to make sure that we got all the materials we need to assess. what did the usps know about the impact of their operational changes before they actually put them in accomplice. that goes to their motivations. it also goes to how do we reverse the damage that's been done by these operational changes for the american people. >> all right, congressman.

thank you for joining us. appreciate that. >> thank you so much. ahead, the latest polls show president trump has his work cut out for him, as we approach labor day in an election year. plus, you see it on your screen right there. we're waiting to hear from the former vice president, joe biden. this hour he'll be responding to the president's attacks that americans won't be safe with biden as president. also, will the third time be the charm for louisiana's largest school district, trying to reopen amid this pandemic. the struggle that they're facing and what it might mean for other schools across the country. ntry

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at walmart, target and other fine stores. welcome back. as president trump pledges to have a vaccine by the end of the year, the fda head he may bypass the approval process. he is prepared to give emergency authorization for a vaccine before phase three clinical trials are complete. as long as experts believe the benefits outweigh the risks. hahn says any decision will be based on science, medicine and data and not on november's looming election. joining me for more on the vaccine race is nbc news medical correspondent dr. john torres. doctor, thanks for joining us. always appreciate talking to you. take us through the idea of you've got a trial that's in phase three. they're still testing things out there. and then there is an emergency authorization for use.

how commonly is something like that done? >> steve, great to be here. it's not very common that this happened but it's also not very common that we're in the midst of a pandemic. let me explain approval and authorization. approval is what the fda does. they go through years and years of trials, phase three trials, gather data, analyze the data, then they submit to the fda for approval. that's the full approval the fda does. in times of emergency, they can do an emergency use authorization. so it's not approval, it's an authorization to use in times of emergency saying that the benefit outweighs the risk. and so they have a different standard they meet here. when they do this, what they're saying is it seems to be safe and it seems to be effective. we don't have all the data in yet, but the data so far is shows us that and that's what they're looking at here. the concern is they're jump starting it a little bit. they're not waiting for the end of the phase three trials. now they're saying we might do it before phase three is over and that's what has a lot of

experts concerned going, wait a minute, we want to make sure we have that data because we want to make sure it's safe, we want to make sure it's effective and that it's going to do what we want it to do, steve. >> so if they were to go in that direction, if phase three were still under way and they have an emergency use authorization, practically what would that mean? would that mean millions of people very quickly are getting the vaccine? would it go to only a select group of people? how would it work practically? >> what they're talking about now is the emergency use authorization is probably what they're going to need to do regardless of how they do this or when they do it over the next year or so. to get those trials typically takes 4 to 11 years. we don't have that time right now with the pandemic. what they're saying is even before those phase three trials are over, let's go ahead and start giving it to people who mostly need it. those will be front-line workers, essential workers, those with pre-existing medical conditions. the people with the highest risk from coronavirus might benefit from this vaccine and then start

working with other groups once they get further through the data and further through those clinical trials. that's a bit different than before because usually it's approved for everybody at a certain stage. now they're saying let's approve it for those who need it before we have ought the data back and then we'll look at the data and see if it works for other people. >> the race for this vaccine, it's a global one. we've been hearing from back in march or april the potential for a vaccine to come out of england. so there's astrazeneca that has teamed up with the lab and keep saying they're optimistic about it. the palm beach post is saying the fda is considering using the data from those uk trials to authorize this astrazeneca vaccine. is that something that would be very unprecedented or do things like that happen sometimes? >> steve, this would be unprecedented because typically the fda uses data that the fda

gathers or gets submitted from testing products here in the united states. instead what they're saying is the uk has been testing it for a while, let's go ahead and use their data and go ahead and do this emergency use authorization based on that. but at the same time we're getting information. for example, the university of wisconsin is saying they're going to start tomorrow with their phase three clinical trials. they have recruited a couple thousand people. they're going to start injecting people with the vaccine tomorrow to make sure it works so we're hearing two different messages. one is we might use the uk data and the other is let's start our trials. we're not sure how that will play out at this point but they're trying a bunch of different angles to try to get this vaccine as soon as possible. the hope is among experts is they're not doing this for political reasons, that they're doing this for science, for data, for medical reasons. >> dr. torres, thanks as always. appreciate that. >> you bet. now some more coronavirus headlines at this hour.

total coronavirus cases in the united states have now surpassed 6 million, hitting that number over the weekend. just about three weeks after confirming the 5 million confirmed cases. the midwest has seen its serve day moving average of new cases hit a record high for five straight days. new cases in north dakota are up more than 60% over the last two weeks. hospitalizations in iowa have returned to early june levels. meanwhile, "the washington post" is reporting that scott atlas, a medical advisor to the president, is pushing the white house to embrace a herd immunity strategy. it could lead to hundreds of thousands of fatalities. atlas denies "the post's" reporting. in pennsylvania, 40% of renters are at risk of being kicked out of their homes as the commonwealth's eviction moratorium expires today. some estimates say it could impact as many as half a million people. coronavirus cases are continuing to climb at the university of alabama in tuscaloosa. with more than 1,000 students

testing positive for the coronavirus since the start of on-campus classes earlier this month. turning now to another school in the south in jefferson parish, louisiana. today is the third time they have tried to reopen school in what is the state's largest school district. joining us from outside bisonette elementary school, they are hoping three times is a charm. tell us what it's looking like today. >> reporter: yeah, hey, steve. the first day of school brings out a whole lot of emotions for anyone, especially a lot of emissions antds every type of emotion for parents, teachers and students right now. some parents and teachers, they're excited and happy to have kids back in the classroom, be that in person, virtually or a combination of the two. others, parents and teachers,

they're nervous, fearful for the health and safety of staff as well as students. frustrated and even angry about what they feel like are inadequate reopening plans within the school district. our cameras were allowed to go inside this elementary school just in the last hour. inside we saw classrooms redecorated for social distancing, water fountains blocked off. every student, every staff member wearing face masks. in recent weeks we have also seen protests in this school district. parents as well as teachers pleading with school officials in jefferson parish to delay reopening until after labor day, saying that they simply are not prepared, ready to keep students safe. most of the parents that we spoke to were excited to have their kids back almost as soon as we got to this elementary school. we saw a grandmother walking to the front of the school with her grandson. he is in the fifth grade, his name is jaden. she wanted to get a photo of his first day of school.

jefferson parish has delayed three times, but that grandmother and her grandson, they both said they are ready to be back. >> it's been delayed a couple of times and i know like most parents, they have some concerns or whatever. but i for one, i'm excited because i know we have to be inside with the virus and stuff, but i'm excited because they need to interact. you know, we've all been home, inside for so long so now we need to get out and interact. if we protect ourselves, wash our hands, social distance, i think everything will be fine, so i'm excited. >> reporter: the numbers in louisiana have improved of late related to covid-19. but recently the governor has said he is worried because they had to temporarily -- >> we have the former vice president. we're going right to that. in the recent days we've had a lot of talk about who's going

where. i've decided to come to pittsburgh to talk a little bit about what's going on right now. in the early days of world war ii, franklin roosevelt told the country, and i quote, the news is going to get worse and worse before it gets better and better. and the american people deserve to have it straight from the shoulder. straight from the shoulder. the job of a president is to tell it straight from the shoulder. tell the truth. to be candid. to face facts. to lead, not to incite. that's why i'm speaking to you today. the incumbent president is incapable of telling us the truth, incapable of facing the facts and incapable of healing. he doesn't want to shed light, he wants to generate heat and he's stroking violence in our cities. you know, this is a tragic fact of the matter that about his perilous hour and how he's dealing with this perilous hour in our nation.

and now we have to stand against violence in every form it takes. violence we've seen again and again and again of unwarranted police shooting, excessive force. seven bullets in the back of jacob blake, knee on the neck of george floyd, killing of breonna taylor in her own apartment, violence of extremists and opportunists, right-wing militi militias. >> sorry, folks -- let's go back. >> the senseless violence of looting and burning and destruction of property. i want to make it absolutely clear so i'll be very clear about all of this. rioting is not protesting. looting is not protesting. setting fires is not protesting. none of this is protesting. it's lawlessness, plain and simple. and those who do it should be

prosecuted. violence will not bring change. it will only bring destruction. it's wrong in every way. it divides instead of unites, destroys businesses, only hurts the working families that serve the community. it makes things worse across the board, not better. no, it's not what dr. king or john lewis taught, and it must end. fires are burning and we have a president who fans the flames rather than fighting the flames. but we must not burn. we have to build. this president long ago forfeited any moral leadership in this country. he can't stop the violence because for years he's fomented it. you know, he may believe mouthing the words law and order makes him strong. but his failure to call on his own supporters to stop acting as

an armed militia in this country shows how weak he is. does anyone believe there will be less violence in america if donald trump is re-elected? we need justice in america. we need safety in america. we're facing multiple crises. crises that under donald trump have kept multiplying. covid, economic devastation, unwarranted police violence, emboldened white nationalists, a reckoning on race, declining faith in the birth of the right american future. there's no reason why we can't just do so much more than we're doing. the common thread, the incumbent president who makes things worse, not better. an incumbent president who sows chaos rather than providing order. an incumbent president who fails in the basic duty of the job, which is to advance the truth that all of us know, that we're all born with the right to life,

liberty and pursuit of happiness. that's right, all of us. the moms and dads in scranton where i grew up, who have worked and scraped for everything they have ever gotten in life, the autoworker in michigan who still makes the best automobile in the world, the single mom in ohio working three jobs just to stay afloat, who will do anything for her child, retired veteran in florida who gave everything he had to this country and now just wants us to honor the promises made to him. the lord & taylor salesperson who just lost their job, a store closing after 194 years in business. nurses and doctors in wisconsin who have seen so much sickness, so much death in the past six months. they wonder how much more, how much more can they take, but still they muster up the courage to take care of those patients

in this pandemic while risking their own lives. researchers in minnesota who woke up this morning determined to find a breakthrough in treating cancer and will do the same thing tomorrow and the day after and the day after but she'll never give up. white, black, latino, asian american, native americans, everybody. i'm in this campaign for you, no matter your color, no matter your zip code, no matter your politics. when i think of the presidency, i don't think about myself. it isn't about my brand, it's about you, the american people. we can do better, and we have to do better. i promise you this, we will do better. you know, the road back begins now in this campaign. you know me. you know my heart. you know my story, my family's story. ask yourself, do i look like a

radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? really? i want a safe america. safe from covid, safe from crime and looting, safe from racially motivated violence, safe from bad cops. let me be crystal clear. safe from four more years of donald trump. i look at this violence and i see lives and communities and the dreams of small businesses being destroyed. the opportunity for real progress on issues of race and police reform and justice being put to the test. donald trump looks at this violence and he sees a political lifeline. having failed to protect this nation from the virus that has killed more than 180,000 americans so far, trump posts an all caps tweet screaming law and order to save his campaign.

one of his closest political advisers in the white house, doesn't even bother to speak in code. she just comes out and she says it. quote, the more chaos, violence, the better it is for trump's re-election. just think about that. this is a sitting president of the united states of america. he's supposed to be protecting this country, but instead he's rooting for chaos and violence. the simple truth is donald trump failed to protect america, so now he's trying to scare america. since donald trump and mike pence can't run on their record, that has seen more american deaths to a virus, this virus, than the nation suffered in every war since korea combined. since they can't run on their economy that has seen more people lose their jobs than any

time since the great depression. since they can't run on the simple proposition of sending our children safely back to school, since they have no agenda on vision for a second term, trump and pence are running on this and i find it fascinating. quote, you won't be safe in joe biden's america. and what's their proof? the violence we're seeing in donald trump's america. these are not images of some imagined joe biden america in the future. these are images of donald trump's america today. he keeps telling you if only he was president it wouldn't happen. if he was president. he keeps telling us if he was president you'd feel safe. well, he is president, whether he knows it or not. and it is happening. it's getting worse and you know why. because donald trump has fueled every fire. because he refuses to even

acknowledge that there's a racial justice problem in america. because he won't stand up to any form of violence. he's got no problem with right-wing militia and white supremacists and vigilantes with assault web armed than the police. often in the middle of the violence at the protests and aiming it there, and because tens of millions of americans simply don't trust this president to respect their rights to hear their concerns or to protect them. doesn't have to be this way. when president obama and i were in the white house, we had to defend federal property. we did it. we didn't see it. you didn't see us whipping up fears. around the deployment of secret federal troops. we just did our job. and the federal property was protected. when president obama and i were in office, we didn't look at cities as democratic or republican run.

these are american cities. but trump doesn't see himself as president for all of america. frankly, i believe if i were president today, the country would be safer, and we would see a lot less violence. and here why. i have said we must address the issue of racial injustice. i have personally spoken to george floyd's family and jacob blake's family. i know their pain, and so do you. i know the justice they seek, and so do you. they have told us none of this violence respects or honors george or jacob. i believe we can bring these folks fighting for racial justice to the table. i have worked with police in this country for many years. i know most cops are good, decent people. i know how they risk their lives every time they put that shield on. and go out the door. and i'm confident i can bring

the police to the table as well. i would make sure every mayor and governor had the support they needed from the federal government, but i wouldn't be looking to use the united states military against our own people. if i were president, my language would be less divisive. i would be looking to lower the temperature in this country, not raise it. i would be looking to unite the nation. but look, if donald trump wants to ask the question, who will keep you safer as president? let's answer that question. first, some simple facts. when i was vice president, violent crime fell 15% in this country. we did it without chaos and disorder. and yes, we did it with democratic mayors in most of the major cities in this country. the murder rate now is up 26% across the nation this year

under donald trump. do you really feel safer under donald trump? covid has taken this year just since the outbreak, has taken more than 100 years -- look, the lives, think about it. more lives this year than any other year for the past 100 years. more than 180,000 lives in just six months. an average of 1,000 people dying every day in the month of august. do you really feel safer under donald trump? mr. trump, you want to talk about fear? do you know that people are afraid of in america? afraid they're going to get covid. afraid they're going to get sick and die. and that is in no small part because of you. we're now on track to more than 200,000 deaths in this country due to covid. more than 100,000 seniors have

lost their lives to the virus. more cops have died from covid this year than have been killed on patrol. nearly 1 in 6 small businesses closed in this country today. do you really feel safer under trump? what about trump's plan to destroy the affordable care act? and with it, the protections for pre-existing conditions? it impacts more than 100 million americans. does that make you feel safer? or how about trump's plan to defund social security? social security administration is chief acchatuary released a report saying if the plan like the one trump is proposing goes into effect, the social security trust fund would be, and i quote, permanently depleted by the middle of calendar year 2023, with no ability to pay

benefits thereafter. put it plainly, trump's plan would wipe out social security, period. you feel safer and more secure now? the fear that reigns under this president doesn't stop on our shores. the kremlin has put bounties on the heads of american soldiers. and instead of telling vladimir putin that there will be no putting up with this, that there will be a heavy price to pay, they dare touch an american soldier, this president doesn't even bring up the subject in his multiple phone calls with putin. been reported the russian forces just attacked american troops in syria, injuring our service members. did you hear the president say a single word? did he lift one finger? never before has an american president played such a

subservient role to a russian leader. not only dangerous, it's humiliating and embarrassing for the rest of the world to see. it weakens us. not even american troops can feel safer under trump. donald trump's role as a bystander in his own presidency extends to the economic plan and pain, the plan he doesn't have and the pain being felt by millions of americans. he said this week and i quote, you better vote for me or you're going have the greatest depression you have ever seen. does he not understand and see that tens of millions of people who have had to file for unemployment this year so far? the people who won't be able to make next month's rent payment, the people who lost wages while the cost of groceries have gone

up dramatically? president obama and i stopped a depression in 2009. we took a bad economy that was falling and turned it around. trump took a good economy and drove it back into the ditch. through his failure to get covid under control, the failure to pull together the leaders in gr congress, his failure to deliver real relief to working people has made our country's economic situation so much worse, so much worse than it had to be. we talk about safety and security. we should talk about basic security of being able to look your child in the eye and tell them everything is going to be okay. don't worry, honey. we're not going to lose our home. we're going to be able to put food on the table. it's going to be okay. it's the job of a president. i have laid out an agenda for economic recovery that will restore our sense of security

for working families. we won't just build things back the way they were before. we're going to build them back better. with good paying jobs, building our nation's roads, bridges, solar rays, wind mills. with investments in our health care and child care workers. so they get the pay and dignity they deserve while easing the financial burdens on millions of families. with a clean energy strategy, that has a place for the energy workers right here in western pennsylvania, i am not banning fracking. let me say that again. i am not banning fracking. no matter how many times donald trump lies about me. this future, the future, that's what this is all about. you know, we hear donald trump's self-centered rants and rifts, but the voice of americans should be heard. the one you should listen to is

julia jackson, the mother of jacob blake. hers is a voice of courage, character, and wisdom. you are looking at the damage that has been done in her city, she said, quote, the violence and destruction doesn't reflect my son or my family. these are the words of a mom. a mother whose son had just been shot seven times in front of his children. badly injured. paralyzed. perhaps permanently. and even as she seeks justice for her son, she's pleading for an end to the violence. and for this nation to heal. she said she was praying for her son. then she said something to me that surprised me. she said she was praying for all police officers. she said she was already praying for america, even before her son

was shot. she's publicly asked all of us to examine our hearts. citizens, elected officials, the police, all of us. and then she said this -- quote, we need healing. more than anything, that's what we need to do as a nation. we need to heal. our current president wants you to live in fear. he advertises himself as a figure of order. he isn't. and he's not been part of the solution thus far. he's part of the problem. the problem i as president will give you my all resolve to stop. i'll deal with the virus. i'll deal with the economic crisis. and i'll work to bring equality and opportunity to everyone. we have arrived at a moment in this campaign, we all knew including the press in front of me, knew we would g