who love heard children and put up with a difficult husband is at peace. icult husband is at peace ♪ welcome to "kasie d.c." tonight on a special labor day edition of the show, we're less than two months away from election day. for months the president struggled to define his opponent who's been more and more visible beset by mass deaths of americans and a faltering kmirks president trump failed to wield a new cycle in ways he has for years.

now, the president is trying to put the pandemic out of the minds of millions of americans seeking instead to amplify violence, rioting and looting in a hand full of sections of the cities and even though he's the one in office, he's sought to make it a quote unquote coming attraction of a biden administration. the former vice president had been content to stay home and let the president fall further in the polls, but this moment has drawn him oup, going up with ads and travels twice to meet the moment head on. >> this is a sitting president of the united states of america. he is supposed to be protecting his 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. 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. >> the violence and decisiveness under president trump has been a

motivating force for joe biden. he launched his campaign talking about charlottesville and the president saying that there were, quote, very fine people on both sides. now, a time where we feel more divided than ever by our race, by our class, both biden and trump are trying to seize the moment to their own advantage. but as the pandemic claims the lives of at least 1,000 americans a day with the economy in free fall, with millions unemployed and many on the brink of homelessness and hunger, we have no idea what will happen next, whereas, jake sherman told us last week, time especially in the age of trump is relative. >> the election is 25 million trump years away. i mean, we don't know what we're going to be talking about in a week. >> joining me now, senior adviser for the lincoln project and chief strategist for romney's campaign, chairman and chief

strategists of priorities and hillary clinton's 208 campaign guy cecal and american progress and former senior advisor to president obama and hillary clinton, gooi guy cecil and neera tandon. thank you for being here. great to have down. guy, i'd like to start with you. as somebody that spends a lot of time looking at polling, public, private across the board, weaver seen not a lot of movement in the wake of the conventions but had a lot of nerves from democrats over the course of the past week as they watched the president and we've watched former vice president joe biden step out a little bit further and really try to push back against president trump and the way he's been talking about particularly violence and looting over the course of the past week. do you think that nervousness is warranted? and broadly, where do you think this race stands on this labor

day weekend that really marks the beginning of the final sprint to election day? >> well, in many ways, the race hasn't fundamentally changed from a polling perspective. we've seen slight movement in both directions but essentially, we're still dealing with a six to seven-point race. i would remind folks when you look at those national numbers, the reality is that joe biden needs to win the national vote probably by somewhere around 4% in order to have the electoral college move in our direction. look, i think democrats are anxious congenitally and we're also anxious at what is at stake in this election. i'll say one probably most revealing information around the public polling i've seen is the way that donald trump's attempts at defining joe biden in the context of safety aren't working. i'll just give you one example

in the quinnipiac poll that was just released. when you ask people whether or not they feel more or less safe under donald trump, only 35% actually say more safe. 50% say less safe. every demographic group by race says they feel less safe under donald trump, and so ultimately i don't think these attacks on biden are working. >> neera tan donn, do you agree with that assessment? you've been working in and around the party for quite sometime. >> yeah, i actually think this was a bit of a trap for donald trump. i mean, he moved it to this issue of safety and i actually thought it allowed joe biden to make the argument about personal safety and chaos, essentially joe biden has been saying that trump's chaos is hurting.

this is an example of that. he was very much not just playing defense but going on offense against trump and as you see in the numbers, he had fertile ground because actually people believe that donald trump is making them less safe and the chaos he creates and the division and the anger that he feeds off of where he wants an america where we're all at each other's throats. that's part of the problem for the public. it not part of the solution. >> you know, i'm glad you brought that up because we actually can show our viewers that they're not -- they're essentially saying exactly what you just laid out here, that they think this chaos actually benefits them and they're sort of embracing it in a way that, you know, i hear you saying you don't think is working, but let's watch a couple republicans including the president talk about this chaos question. watch. >> he's a chaos candidate and would be a chaos president. >> the more chaos and anarchy and vandalism that reigns, the better the choice for the public

safety and law and order. >> concerns that could exacerbate tensions and increase violence, do you give any consideration -- >> it could also increase enthusiasm, and it could increase love and respect for our country. >> stuart, i mean, kellyanne was very direct there. she's saying, yes, all of these horrible things that are happening help us politically, functionally. i think in any other world it would be obvious. most other presidential campaigns and income incumbent presidents are in charge. what is your sense of how this plays politically for the president and for biden? >> look, i think this hurts trump. trump is a chaotic human being. everybody knows that he is a divisive human being. i really think they see this as

1968, but he's lyndon johnson and nixon brings it together. the fundamental problem is this is the worst economy in the history of the country. more people died in the last five months than ever died before in the history of the country and they're not addressing that. they are trying to make the race about something else. i just don't think all the king's men and all the king's horses can do that. they have to -- to move forward in this case, trump has to come to grips with reality. you can't just tactically put the pandemic in the past tense. you have to have a plan. you have to address it, and you have to have some plan for the economy. until he does that, he's going to lose the race. >> you know, we -- i was thinking this weekend -- and we were struck by the pictures of president trump in kenosha, wisconsin, and i think we can put a couple of them up on the screen for our viewers because he went to try to highlight and underscore, and there you see him standing outside some of the

destroyed buildings and how that compares to what george w. bush did in the whack of 9/11 where going to a place in the country where there was destruction, devastation, and obviously the scale of these two things are not -- are not comparable, but the way in which president bush unified the country after that difficult moment compared to, stuart, the way president trump is clearly trying to use these images to december extract from exactly what you point out. he has a tragedy of similar skill and trying to use the pictures to turn it around to focus on something else. do you think americans are going to buy that and what do you -- you, i know, worked closely with former president bush. i mean, what are your reflections on seeing those pictures? >> well, look, every three days we have a 9/11 in this country. 1,000 people are dying a day of the pandemic. so he's not protecting america.

it's as if he's ignoring the fact that america is being attacked. it's a complete abdication of his responsibility to preserve and protect, and people know this. i mean, look. this pandemic is to the point where everyone is one degree moved from someone affected by it. it's affecting our schools. our whole fabric of the american life, the friday night lights, the saturdays down south playing football, no michigan/ohio state game, all of this is undergone with trump, and until they address that, i you think the race is going to be very stable and trump is going to continue to lose. >> you're making me sad, but

thinking of michigan losing again to ohio state. this would be the first year in a while we pulled it out. cecal, what do you think are the ramifications for what this administration has been talking for -- about in terms of the politics of a vaccine? we've seen reports that they may be willing to move forward with an emergency use authorization for a vaccine potentially as soon as november 1st, perhaps quicker than they otherwise would. and, you know, clearly i've been talking to a lot of sources who said, well, we're hoping republicans in congress and the republicans in the white house are hoping there's a vaccine in time for election day. that's really the only solution here. what is your sort of take on how that is going to impact how the next two months play out. >> well, first of all, let's be clear. everyone wants a vaccine as quickly as possible, democrats, republicans, we all want a vaccine as quickly as possible because we understand that it's necessary in order for life to return to a more normal

condition, but the fundamental problem here is that donald trump is a liar. his administration is full of liars. they have been deceiving the american people month after month after month. and so it's hard to know exactly what we're going to face over the course of the next two months and whether or not this administration has the capacity to tell the truth about the vaccine. and there are legal implications for that because we want people to have confidence that a vaccine is tested, that it works, and that they should use it. and so the reality is until we actually see it come to fruition, i don't believe anyone should think a word -- believe a word donald trump says about what's going to happen over the next two months because at every stage of the last five months, he's been lying and deceiving the american people about covid-19. >> neera, do you think that's

going to hold? do you have confidence people will look at the president's past track record on telling the truth and it's a very, very clear track record of not doing so and actually apply that in this case, or do you worry that perhaps people will be so hopeful for a vaccine that they may be swayed by it? >> you know, actually what i've been hopeful about is how people listen to public health experts, people are listening to dr. fauci. despite everything, we've seen 80% mask use. public health experts, not political leaders, public health experts say we need so much more infrastructure in place to actually distribute the vaccine. the administration -- it's not that it's neutral. the administration isn't doing anything to prepare for the vaccine, basically telling the states to be ready. i don't think the vaccine will

be ready for mass distribution in the next six months, and when he makes claims -- and it's a tragedy nobody can rely on the cdc anymore, you'll have public health experts say this is not ready and safe and you won't see a vaccine for many, many months. people will see through the transparent political ploy for a vote this is. the only additional point is we need a vaccine absolutely, but we should recognize that other countries have been reopening safely because they had a national plan months ago. we could be in a much different place as a country, everyone without a vaccine if we had a national plan, national leadership that was actually focussed on keeping people safe so that we could safely reopen but the country never did that and i think that is part of the reason why we are where we are as a country. >> we're certainly facing down a fall that is missing so many things we usually celebrate and

heading -- facing the prospect of a pretty dark and cold winter. neera tanden, thank you very much for your time tonight. i really appreciate it. still to come, we'll do a deeper dive into some of the new polling out this week. plus, the great steve kornacki is here, but first the president continues to get better marks on his handling of the economy than joe biden does as millions face looming eviction. that's next. of tide, it was just what we needed. dad? i didn't do it. #1 stain and odor fighter, #1 trusted. it's got to be tide. to deliver your packages. and the peace of mind of knowing that important things like your prescriptions, and ballots, are on their way. every day, all across america, we'll keep delivering for you. with the icon that does the same. the rx, crafted by lexus. lease the 2020 rx 350 for $409 a month for 36 months.

experience amazing at your lexus dealer. [camera man] actually anyone 50 or over is at increased risk for shingles. the pain, the burning! my husband had to do everything for weeks. and the thing is, there's nothing you can do about it! [camera man] well, shingles can be prevented. shingles can be whaaat? [camera man] prevented. you can get vaccinated. frank! they have shingles vaccines! -whaaat? -that's what i said. we're taking you to the doctor. not going through that again. [camera man] you can also get it from your pharmacist! talk to your doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated. my psoriasis. cosentyx works on all of this. cosentyx treats the multiple symptoms of psoriatic arthritis to help you look and feel better. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to.

serious allergic reactions may occur. watch me! learn more at cosentyx.com. watch me! start your day with secret. secret stops sweat 3x more than ordinary antiperspirants. with secret, you're unstoppable. no sweat! try it and love it or get your money back.

welcome back. the american economy, to put it simply, is a mess. more than 20 million americans lost their jobs since the pandemic began, and the number of dead americans has doubled since memorial day as congress struggles to agree on a new coronavirus relief package, millions of americans are struggling to make ends meet. >> so, either i pay rent or i pay gas and electric and don't pay rent because i can't walk sometimes. i can't move, and i have to get back and forth to the doctor's. i have to ask my family to help me, you know. i have to go to food banks. i'm having a really hard time. >> reporter: and what happens if your landlord tells you you have to leave? where can you go? >> to a homeless shelter. >> president trump signed an executive order this week giving the cdc the ability to halt ee vicks proceeviction proceedings

against those struggling to pay housing costs as state programs are expiring. it may not waive debts and leaves open the door for landlords to charge fees or penalties or interest as a result of failure to pay rent. joining me is matthew desmon, author of "evicted" poverty and profit in the american city. thank you for coming on the program tonight. the stories like the one we saw there are just so incredibly heartbreaking, and while it's clear administration is making this effort to halt some of these evictions, it seems to strain the limits of the law and of the act of the cdc, and so far congress has not stepped in. what do you think needs to happen next? >> well, the step the cdc is taking is incredibly important. it gives renters a sigh of

relief. it gives them some protections until the end of the year. but what it doesn't do is take care of the rental debt. when we have already an eviction crisis in the country that's been exacerbated by the pandemic, we need some serious investment in housing from washington. we need rent relief to get going for those tent ants that are behind. >> as part of your research in the book you wrote, my understanding is you actually you tried as best you could to go through the process of figuring out where to live. those lucky enough to not have gone through that or not experienced that, what do you know about families facing this right now are feeling? what are the questions they are trying to answer? what are the options that they have or don't have? >> eviction is one of the most

stressful heartbreaking things a family can go through. you lose your home, of course, but you also lose your possessions, which are taken by movers or piled on the street by the sheriff's department. it can cause you to become homeless, of course, but it can also cause you to move into worse housing in a worse neighborhood. studies have linked eviction to all sorts of health complications including depression and even suicide, and during this pandemic when the home is really our safeguard, the home is the thing keeping us from contact with other people who might be carrying the virus. an eviction can actually expose people to the virus and keep spreading the virus. it incredibly important from a public health standpoint and human dignity stand point and to make sure people aren't cast into homelessness because of this pandemic. >> well, let's talk for a second about the children who often suffer when this kind of thing

happens. in particular, now, student rtt many of them, are trying to attend classes virtually. many of their schools are shuttered if their family gets evicted, they likely have nowhere to learn. are there any policy resources that we have to try and help those kids? >> we're the richest nation in the world. we have all the policy resources we can imagine. there is no reason why the government can't act swiftly and boldly to make sure that evictions stop in this country, to make sure that kids stay in their school, that they form relationships with their teachers and guidance counselors, that they don't complicate school reopenings now as they go from downing up for a little bit from a homeless shelter to another neighborhood. there is absolutely things we can do from a federal level, we just need congress to act.

>> and what in your view is the solution here for both tenants, those struggling and have those living up to safety standards, is the solution rent relief? i mean, what in your view is the answer here? >> the eviction moratorium is an important and first step. now we need to make sure it's enforced rk and we need to make sure tenants know their rights and tennants need to exercise their rights, and we need to make sure the rights are protected. that's an immediate first step. the next step, i think, is rent relief. the plain fact of the matter is many tenants have fallen behind because we've had unemployment levels unseen since the great depression so what does rent relief mean? it means about $7 billion to $12 billion a month to take care of

the rental debt that's accrued. if we don't take care of that, we'll see the eviction crisis come back in january or february. i want to add that this eviction moratorium is not a get out of jail free card for tenants. it demands to keep paying the rent as best you can. when states have moratorium, landlords experienced different levels of rent collection. property owners don't need eviction to get rental income. they don't need this violent tool to run their business. >> very good point. matthew thank you for your insights today. tonight we really appreciate it. thank you for being here. still to come, we have jon meacham in his own words, but first, steve kornacki, large television plasma, screens scintillating election content. don't go anywhere. g election cot don't go anywhere. for bathroom odors that linger

try febreze small spaces. just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. for 45 days. cancer won't wait. it won't wait for appointments to open up or test results to come back. that's why at cancer treatment centers of america, our world-class experts give you the care you need, when you need it. with appointments in as little as 24 hours

and rapid test results to get you a personalized treatment plan. because cancer isn't just what we do, it's all we do. call today. appointments available now. i wanted my hepatitis c gone. i put off treating mine. epclusa treats all main types of chronic hep c. whatever your type, epclusa could be your kind of cure. i just found out about mine. i knew for years. epclusa has a 98% overall cure rate. i had no symptoms of hepatitis c mine caused liver damage. epclusa is only one pill, once a day, taken with or without food for 12 weeks. before starting epclusa, your doctor will test if you

have had hepatitis b, which may flare up, and could cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. tell your doctor if you have had hepatitis b, other liver or kidney problems, hiv, or other medical conditions... ...and all medicines you take, including herbal supplements. taking amiodarone with epclusa may cause a serious slowing of your heart rate. common side effects include headache and tiredness. ask your doctor today, if epclusa is your kind of cure.

both president trump and joe biden are starting to travel the country as summer comes to a close, and where campaigns are choosing to send their candidates tells a loss when it comes to the electoral map. steve kornacki, always great to see you. tell us what you're seeing in terms of strategy this week.

>> all right. kasie, as we head into the home stretch of the campaign, you'll see clearly when it comes to the electoral college battle, one candidate playing offense, one playing defense, trying to hold onto what he got in 2016. biden, you can see the first one we have. pennsylvania. a state that donald trump flipped. no republican won since back in the 1980s. trump flipped it in 2016. new polling has him down by four points. that's the latest we've gotten from pennsylvania. the pattern continues. wisconsin, another one of those midwest states trump flipped. a fox news poll has trump down eight in wisconsin. in arizona, last time arizona went for a democrat clinton reelection campaign 96. a big lead in the fox poll for biden in arizona and also north carolina. another one of those states, trump won it and he won it -- i don't want to say comfortably, but he won it by three or four points. this wasn't a state with a razor thin margin for trump. he had a bit of a pad, but still

you see in the latest poll here, trailing trump is against biden in north carolina. north carolina, certainly pennsylvania, those are pretty close here. wisconsin, arizona a little further out. we'll see how the numbers develop in the states but when you take it to the important battle for the electoral college, let show you what that means. this is where everything landed in 2016. of course, 306 for donald trump. and we've always said the most direct, easiest path in theory for democrats to win this election is simply to flip back those three midwest states. we just showed you the poll from pennsylvania. if biden got that, look at that. he'd be at 252. we showed you that poll from wisconsin. if biden picked up wisconsin, look at that. now he's at 262. there's one in the middle here we don't have any recent data from, but if biden is in a situation where he's flipping wisconsin and flipping pennsylvania, just when you look at the demographics of those states, it probably means he's flipping michigan, too, because michigan is the one of these three where the democrats have felt the most confident the last couple of years.

if biden is flipping pennsylvania and flipping wisconsin and just gets michigan on top of that, if nothing else changes on the map, that would put biden over 278. he'd win the election there. so when i see defense for trump, it means he's got to defend at least one of these states. let's say he held onto wisconsin. let's say he was able to flip wisconsin. that could get him to 270. so it keeps him from losing the election in the midwest, but as those other polls we showed you indicates, it troubles trump not just in the midwest. he's got to find a way to win at least the midwest state. look at the poll in arizona. he's down significantly in arizona. if trump hangs on to wisconsin but loses arizona, he still loses the election. again, let's say he were to pull it out in arizona, we showed you north carolina. if he won arizona but lost north carolina, again, all sorts of scenarios for biden with the polling we're seeing in north

carolina, in arizona, in the midwest. i'll add another one. we haven't seen a very current poll but consistently florida. big, big florida. 29 electoral votes. biden's been leading in the polling we've seen there this summer. if that continues, that is a cliche. that's a game changer. if biden can get the 29 electoral votes, he can start absorbing losses. trump could hang onto carolina. trump could hang onto arizona. trump could hang onto michigan. still biden would be over. if biden could just pick off florida, winning florida for biden basically puts him in position to win one other state basically. florida plus pennsylvania. florida plus michigan. florida plus wisconsin. florida plus arizona. any of those combinations would do it for joe biden. it was 306 electoral votes. a solid number, big number for him in 2016 but the margin for error in the three midwest states is tiny. the trump he's got now extends out of the midwest. goes across some of the big

states in the south and in the west. so, again, he's got to defend them. he's got to win back just not all of them but most of them. and right now, the polling heading into the home stretch here probably would rather be biden than trump, looking at those kasie. >> although, that map, of course, that you're showing us there with the impossible we'd be seeing. guy, let's talk a little bit through what we just saw there from steve. you mentioned earlier in the show that 4% is what biden needs to win by nationally to pull off that kind of an electoral college when if we look at where they're sending joe biden this week as he has emerged on the trail, it's the midwest. is that still the strategy you think is the one they really need to run?

>> well, clearly from what happened in 2016, wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, rightly have gotten a lot of attention. i think the most important thing, though, about what steve pointed out is there are multiple packets to the 270 electoral votes that we see much more as a positive number in arizona, in north carolina. and, really, i think as steve pointed out and i would agree completely, florida could be the game changer here for two reasons. one, it is a huge number of electoral votes but we expect that most of the votes in florida will be counted on election night and so you really could see a game-changer if florida came in for joe biden early on. i would just point out the one caution i would add to all of this is that all of these polls are making projections about who is going to turn out and whose vote will be counted. that's why you see the trump administration, donald trump, attorney general barr, the republican national committee doing everything they can to

suppress the vote. ultimately, if you can't win among the electret you have, you try to choose a different electorate. that's what republicans are doing with voter suppression efforts around the country. >> stuart stevens, let me get you to weigh in on that question. we've seen data that shows in georgia, for example, there's some empirical data that shows minority voters waited for far longer than voters in predominantly white precincts for example, and this is obviously a concern across many states including florida, which as steve underscored is absolutely critical as it always is. do you think that republicans are doing what guy suggests and trying to suppress the vote? >> absolutely. >> look, donald trump, if you said to him, you can be re-elected president, but there

won't be another election in america, does anybody really think he wouldn't say, what's the catch? we've never had a president like donald trump who has such little regard for the law. he doesn't care. we're in, i think, the most dangerous period in the next 60 days since the civil war. we have a ruthless president who is trying to hold onto power. let's take wisconsin, for example. romney loses wisconsin and trump wins by one. romney got more votes. why is that? that's because 40,000 to 50,000 voters didn't show up in the greater milwaukee area. in part, that was due to new voter i.d. laws. i think one of the things that's really happening now is that the protests across the country are protests, but they're also get-out-the-vote drives, and

non-white voting declined in 2016, and i really think if we had an election next week, we'd see record turnout among african americans and that's what democrats really need to put this away. >> guy cecil, quick last word to you. do you think at the end of the day this election comes down to black voters in milwaukee and whether they come out or not? i mean, we know the last election basically came down to wisconsin, and there are, in theory, enough voters there to make that a reality. >> loorks we have an opportunity to build a very broad collision of folks that moved to democrats in 2018 and continued to move to us in 2020. but let's be clear. our number one priority should be turning out the democratic base that begins with african americans. it includes latino and hispanic voters lgbtq voters.

we begin the march to the white house and end it with doing everything we can to turn out the vote. we're investing historic numbers in turning out the democratic vote in the six particular states. so it is job one for democrats. >> all right. guy cecil, stuart stevens, thank you both so much for being here tonight. appreciate it. when we return, actors foreign and domestic are deploying information. when we come back, a look inside some of the things we already learned. me of the things we alr learned. and ballots, are on their way. every day, all across america, we'll keep delivering for you. sprinting past every leak in our softest, smoothest fabric. she's confident, protected, her strength respected. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you. a lot goes through your mind. with fidelity wealth management, your dedicated adviser can give you straightforward advice and tailored recommendations.

that's the clarity you get with fidelity wealth management. and tailored recommendations. (burke)) this? eh, nothing happened. (driver) nothing happened? (burke) nothing happened. (driver) sure looks like something happened. (burke) well, you've been with farmers for three years with zero auto claims. (driver) yeah? (burke) so you earned your policy perk: accident forgiveness. now instead of this being something, it' s- (driver) it's nothing! (burke) get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. they should really turn this ride off. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ your business has an easy choice.t-mobile for business, the largest 5g network... award-winning customer satisfaction... insanely great value. choose. any. three. ready when you are. ( ♪ )

ready to juvéderm it? correct age-related volume loss in cheeks with juvéderm voluma xc, add fullness to lips with juvéderm ultra xc and smooth moderate to severe lines around the nose and mouth with juvéderm xc. tell your doctor if you have a history of scarring or are taking medicines that decrease the body's immune response or that can prolong bleeding. common side effects include injection-site redness, swelling, pain, tenderness, firmness, lumps, bumps, bruising, discoloration or itching. as with all fillers, there is a rare risk of unintentional injection into a blood vessel, which can cause vision abnormalities, blindness, stroke, temporary scabs or scarring. ( ♪ ) juvéderm it. talk to your doctor about the juvéderm collection of fillers. talk to your doctor and mine's unlisted.. try boost® high protein... -with 20 grams of protein for muscle health- -versus only 16 grams in ensure® high protein.

and now enjoy boost® high protein in new café mocha flavor.

redondo redondo redondo redondo going to the poll and voting that way because if it tabulates, they won't be able to do that. let them send it in and let them go vote and if their system is as good as they say it is, obviously, they won't be able to vote. if it isn't tabulated, they will be able to vote. >> they are trying to make the point the validity of the system is not good. if it's so good if you try to vote a second time, you would be caught if you vote in person. >> that would be illegal if they try to do that. >> okay. that was president trump and attorney general bill barr attempting yet again to cast doubt on the validity of election results and mail-in voting.

at the same time, there is new reporting out this week with some alarming findings about bad actors working quietly online to alter the 2020 election. the report says, quote, marginalized groups at great er risk for suppression. social media companies are under pressure to reign in information. it will block political ads in the week leading up to the election and twitter plans to add more context in hopes of clarifying what's trending and why to stop disinformation from rapidly spreading. joining me is senior business reporter. i want to start with facebook news because a week, kwoot frqu frankly, doesn't seem very long in the grand scheme of things when you have millions of americans expected to vote by mail. in fact, north carolina is going to be starting to accept ballots

as the first state to do so and this is going to be a season of voting, not just a single day. what kind of impact do you think facebook's decision will have? >> well, facebook's step to disallow political advertising for a week before the election is a step in the right direction. it's not enough. by then, the goose is cooked in people's perceptions being skewed. definitely the week before will be extremely hot for lots of lies and acquisitions thrown around from all sides. good to see them do something but bad actors work for months if not years to try to manipulate elections. a week is hardly enough to do it. let's not forget, too, also that in 2016 after russian interference was disclosed, russian trolls were actually more active in the weeks and months following the election than leading up to it, so it's never-ending vigilance.

>> so, ben, let's talk a little bit about some new reporting out of the brennan center that gives us additional insights into some of this disinformation. are particular demographics of americans more vulnerable to potential disinformation online ahead of the election? >> absolutely. see, here's the thing. it's easier to trick people into throwing away their vote than it is to convince non-voters or try to get someone to change their voting forum, and bad actors know this and they have a playbook for it. so what they do is target black elderly and young groups for voter suppression, traditionally more marginalized members of society. for instance, the reason why this is effective is the black and elderly have died at higher rates from coronavirus. so they're more susceptible to disinformation claims that cast doubt on in-person safety of voting.

the young understandably are more skeptical of mainstream politics. they are riper targets for disinformation that might attack candidates or promote alternative candidates. >> let's talk about foreign actors because we know that russia tried to explode black lives matter in 2016. what do we know about what they are trying to do this time? should we expect similar efforts? should people be on the lookout for that kind of thing from a foreign country? >> absolutely. the russians and bad actors are trying to exploit the real divisions and real problems in this country and amplify them from beyond reality. we know from online accounts taken down this year and identified as russian actors that that is exactly what they're trying to do. we've seen the trolls impersonate blm activists or people who are against the police or for the police. very -- you have to be very careful when interacting with

online anonymous accounts and also check your sources. where is the source of what someone is claiming it's coming from? it's back to that good old critical thinking ability, and don't say something unless you've checked it out first. we've seen dozens of accounts taken down trying to steal the voice from real black activists tryin tryings to get the word out about real issues. >> i know. i think there are a lot of people that are trying to listen perhaps to people they haven't listened to in the past but it is, of course, such a challenge to make sure that what you're seeing is something that actually is aimed at unifying and expanding tolerance as opposed to a foreign actor who is trying to divide our country for political ends. ben popkin, thank you very much for your reporting and the teem's, we on all of this. ur ree teem's, we on all of this. of knowing

that important things like your prescriptions, and ballots, are on their way. every day, all across america, we'll keep delivering for you.

every day, all across america, well, here's to first dates! you look amazing. and you look amazingly comfortable. when your v-neck looks more like a u-neck... that's when you know, it's half-washed. try downy fabric conditioner. unlike detergent alone, downy helps prevent stretching by conditioning and smoothing fibers, so clothes look newer, longer. downy and it's done. ...to soccer practices...

...and new adventures. you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past... they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. let's help protect them together. because missing menb vaccination could mean missing out on a whole lot more. ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. before his passing, representative john lewis reminded us that voting was the most powerful nonviolent tool that we have in a democracy. faith in our elections has always been imperfect, from the constitution to poll taxes to

threats and intimidation. and the act of voting has come at a high price for millions. now confidence is being shaken once again over mail-in votes, long lines, over conspiracy theories. so what are we to do? here's historian and author of "his truth is marching on," jon meacham in his own words. >> in the twilight, images of the movement would come to john lewis in his sleep. oh, god, yes, i dream about those days, lewis said shortly before he succumbed to cancer. i dream of marching and singing. i hear the music of movement in my dreams. and the sounds of our feet on the pavement one after another. i don't have nightmares, at least not that i remember. i'm not sure why. maybe in my mind, the good forces are always at work.

to lewis, the best of forces, the greatest nonviolent protest was the vote. it was what he nearly died for in selma and what so many fought for. and now that right is under renewed assault. the incumbent president is trying to make it more difficult for mail-in ballots to count, and the john r. lewis voting rights act of 2020 languishes in congress. among other things, the bill would restore the provisions of the 1965 voting rights act, that requires states and localities with demonstrable records of voting to seek clearance before election laws and policies. the house has passed the bill, but the senate has refused to act. add in russian disinformation designed to destabilize our democracy, and we're facing an autumn of discontent. focusing on voting and voting early may then be the most patriotic thing we can do. think of the blood that's been

shed for the ballot. there's the a -- saga of john lewis and so many other black people in the south and then this year marks the centennial of the 19th amendment, which granted women the suffrage. a few months before the second continental congress broke with great big, abigail adams advised john adams to remember the ladies. a human rights convention issued we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal. the drama came in the years of woodrow wilson, when alice paul focused on the ratification of the 19th amendment kept the pressure on. demonstrators known as silent

sentinels stood outside the white house every day. when arrested, they would refuse food in jail, leading to dreaded force feedings in which prison officials would jam milk and mush through the protesters' nostrils, all so that you and i could vote. to the end of his life, john lewis would wake up warmed by his bright dreams and he would think, oh, that was just a dream. then he'd think, but you have to believe that it can be real, that it can be more than a dream. and it can be. >> that was jon meacham in his own words. that's going to do it for us tonight here on "kasie dc." we'll be back with you next sunday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. eastern. for now, from me, good night from washington. makes it brilliant. the visionary lexus nx. lease the 2020 nx 300 for $339 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer.

to deliver your packages. and the peace of mind of knowing that important things like your prescriptions, and ballots, are on their way. every day, all across america, we'll keep delivering for you. a lot goes through your mind. with fidelity wealth management, your dedicated adviser can give you straightforward advice and tailored recommendations. that's the clarity you get with fidelity wealth management. and tailored recommendations. when you drink or eat something that's acidic everyone is at risk for enamel loss. it sucks the minerals out of the tooth's surface. pronamel is formulated to help deliver minerals to the tooth's surface to help reharden and strengthen your enamel. i had enough! it's not getting in my way. joint pain, swelling, tenderness much better. my psoriasis, clearer... cosentyx works on all of this.

four years and counting. so watch out. i got this! watch me. real people with active psoriatic arthritis are feeling real relief with cosentyx. cosentyx is a different kind of targeted biologic. it treats the multiple symptoms of psoriatic arthritis to help you look and feel better. it even helps stop further joint damage. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine, or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. i just look and feel better. i got real relief with cosentyx. watch me! novartis is committed to supporting our community. learn more at cosentyx.com. novartis is committed to supporting our community. around here, nobody ever does it. i didn't do it. so when i heard they added ultra oxi to the cleaning power of tide, it was just what we needed. dad? i didn't do it. #1 stain and odor fighter, #1 trusted. it's got to be tide.

this sunday, vote watch. >> they're trying to steal the election from the republicans. >> with the pandemic leading to more people preparing to vote by mail than ever before -- >> you won't know the election result for weeks, months, maybe years after. >> president trump steps up his fight against mail-in balloting. >> the democrats are meddling by wanting and insisting on sending mail-in ballots where there's corruption all over the place. >> despite a lack of evidence. >> democrats have studied this, republicans have studied this, and no one can find any evidence of rampant voter fraud. >> still, many are concerned. >> if there's mail-in i don't at trust that at all.