another day closer to the election, and the messaging from both campaigns to win your vote could not be any more different. >> now i can be really vicious. i can be really vicious. and we'll start by saying we're going to start by saying that the democrats are trying to rig this election. because it's the only way they're going to win. >> we will need to make sure you have a president in the white house who actually sees you, who understands your needs, who understands the dignity of your work and who has your back. >> fresh today, the latest national polling from fox news shows biden up by five points, sitting right at the margin of error. and as criticism mounts over the president's interview with bob woodward, who encouraged him to do it? we have that answer, and why he was itching to sit down with the famed journalist. meanwhile, the presidential campaigns are far from the minds of hundreds of thousands of

people on the west coast. there was little relief overnight on those historic wildfires. and fears are growing in oregon, as forecasts show strong winds that could help trigger new fires. plus, accusations that trump officials interfered with cdc reports on coronavirus. why alex azar is saying about that. >> also, i'll ask the attorney general of the crucial background state of michigan what's being done to speed up vote counting. >> but we begin with president trump and his efforts to try to appeal to voters in the battleground state of nevada. trump is campaigning in the state for a second day after his rally outside carson city last night. he has multiple events in las vegas before heading off to henderson, nevada, this evening. the latest polling on the swing state from "the new york times" has former vice president biden with a four-point lead over the president. nbc's josh lederman is at the white house and joins me now. josh, he lost the state in 2016. what did we learn from trump's

rally last night about the campaign strategy? >> well, lindsey, if you were to ask me or pretty much anyone in washington a week ago who the trump campaign was really targeting in these last two months of the election, we would have said the president's longtime political base. largely white working class voters who helped to elect him four years ago. but in the last couple days, we have really seen a shift in focus where the trump campaign is now putting a real laser focus, at least for this weekend and the next couple days, on latino voters. one of the reasons is some of the polling that they're seeing, especially in florida, but also in some other parts of the country that suggests that joe biden is actually underperforming with latino voters and there could be an opening there, if not for trump to get anywhere near winning a majority of hispanic voters, to at least do better than he had in the past, change the margins there. but if president trump is hoping to win over more latino voters, he has a funny way of making that case. as he was rallying last night in

nevada, he used several stereotypes about latinos. listen to his rally in mindon. >> for the last four years, i have been delivering for our incredible hispanic -- i love a hispanic community. hispanics like tough people. they like people that are going to produce jobs. joe biden's party continues to attack our incredible border agents. they're incredible people. more than half of whom happen to be hispanic americans. did you know that? i know all of them. jose, how are you doing? juan, how are you doing? >> and lindsey, joe biden and his allies are not ceding this territory to donald trump. not at all. just today, we learned mike bloomberg, you might remember him from the democratic primary, he's going to spend $100 million of his own money in florida, largely targeting latino voters with a mix of spanish and english television and digital ads working to help joe biden win that state. >> just echoing what you said, an interesting way of trying to

reach hispanic voters by using those stereotypes. i have to move on to the next question. today, hhs secretary alex azar responding to the politico report we talked about yesterday that claims trump officials were interfering with cdc reports on coronavirus. what can you tell us about this response? >> nobody at this point is disputing that political appointees at the health and human services department sought the ability to review and make changes, revisions to these mortality reports that the cdc sends out. but what alex azar, the health and human services secretary is saying, is look, the administration listens to all of its scientists, tries to get the best data. azar saying in a statement that president trump has always been receptive to the data and science presented to me and other members of the task force, but of course, the concern here is if the president and his administration are casting doubt on the cdc, who is the american public supposed to believe? >> and finally, we have breaking news to get to. you reported earlier this year on secretary of state mike

pompeo's lavish taxpayer funded so-called madison dinners. and those were happening really until the pandemic ramped up. you have new reporting that those are going to be happening once again? >> that's right. they were shut down during coronavirus, and then after we broke the news about them, two congressional committees launched inquiries into them. they haven't resumed since then, but now, despite the fact that we're in the middle of this pandemic, pompeo is resuming these dinners with the first one scheduled to take place tomorrow. and instead of holding it at the state department, he actually sought to hold tomorrow's dinner at blair house, the presidential guest house, just a few steps from where i am at the white house. officials telling me they only moved the dinner back to the state department because it turned out israeli prime minister benjamin netten uhue would be staying at the blair house. >> i can already hear people invoking the hatch act. >> we want to get to new reporting from the daily beast reporting on events that led up to president trump sitting down

with bob woodward. that interview, of course, included controversial revelations on the president's response to covid-19. it's detailed in "rage" and according to the new reporting from the daily beast, president trump was initially ecstatic to talk to the legendary reporter. but at some point along the way, he had a change of heart, becoming convinced that woodward was using him. trump then began rage tweeting the very reporter with whom he was so psyched to go on the record. i'm joined by one of the reporters on the story. swin, good to see you. what do we know about what transpired that caused trump to go from excited to tweeting out this book was fake and full of falsehoods. >> in the lead-up to him sitting down with that marathon series of interviews with "washington post" reporter bob woodward, trump, according to people we were talking to in and out of the administration who talked to the president directly about this, was very happy and excited to go on the record with him for the new book because for one reason, he didn't get to for the previous trump related woodward book. >> which did not paint him in a

good light, by the way. >> no, absolutely not. and neither does this one as well. but this one, one of the reasons he said privately he was excited to talk to woodward was he felt that woodward had been publicly very fair to him about the russia quote/unquote collusion narrative, and also he was convinced he would be able to charm and persuade woodward to sort of get the book to a more positive terrain for trump and trump world. obviously, that did not happen at l and what the president of the united states did is what he usually does when he goes on the record with adversarial reporters who he pretends to despise, and just word vomited essentially confessions about how he acted and behaved and what was really driving a lot of the policy and the rhetoric at the dawn of the coronavirus crisis. >> and the article, you also talk about now who the white house aides are casting blame over. who convinced the president to sit down with woodward. you write among these pinpointed for the decision was, and this

is something we're hearing from right-wing media as well, senator lindsey graham, a close trump confidante, who wasn't a few short years ago, and graham told you he thought it was smart for trump to downplay the virus. >> absolutely. the moment we picked up the phone and called graham about it, he said yes, of course, i encouraged the president to sit down with this journalist. why wouldn't i? but to be very clear, it wasn't just trump who participated and cooperated. jared kushner cooperated. a whole host of senior officials cooperated with this woodward book, as they have in administrations past. to try to pin this on lindsey graham is funny because he didn't put a gun to anybody's head and make them sit down for over a dozen interviews with bob woodward. trump does this routinely. the last name of the guy does not have to be woodward for president donald trump to want to sit down and gush to these reporters who he likes parrying with or cuddling up to in

certain instances. >> if so many advisers were in the room where it happens, it doesn't make sense that it feels like the administration was blindsided by this news coming out. came out with this defense that, oh, i didn't want to panic the american public so i tried to play it down. swin, very good new reporting. thank you so much for joining us. we turn now to california. a manhunt is currently under way to find the gunman who shot two los angeles county sheriff's deputies last night, and we want to warn you, this video is disturbing. officials are describing the attack as an ambush. it all happened last night at metro rail station in compton. and the video appears to show the suspect walking up from behind the patrol car, firing several rounds inside, and then you see there, running away. those deputies are now out of surgery. they're still fighting for their lives, though. and they both joined the force just 14 months ago. wildfires raging on the west coast have now killed at least 33 people, with dozens more missing. hundreds of thousands forces to

flee their homes across california, oregon, and washington state. blankets of unhealthy smoke have complicated efforts to fight the fires, which have now torched close to 4 million acres of land. nbc's scott cohen is in barry creak, california, nearly 100 mimes due north of sacramento. we have been seeing these apocalyptic images. the one you're at right now, you can see that air quality, how unsafe is it right now? >> yeah, i mean, it's true. you see these images, and this is a fire that has now claimed 12 lives. alongside all these, yeah, you see the haze in the air. that is the smoke. and it's having a number of different effects. on the positive side, it is helping to keep the flames down. letting the firefighters do their work. but it also limits visibility, so it's difficult to see, for people to get out. that's why they're worried there may be more bodies before this is said and done.

and also, of course, this air is extraordinarily unhealthy. >> there's increase in ash and the smoke and the other particulates that are in the smoke. that's one thing. but they're also breathing in an increased number of other chemicals like ozone. and some of the other particulates we normally see with diesel fuel that's burned in diesel engines. this is as serious as it gets. right now, as you know and we have right now the worst air quality in the world. we have to take it extremely serious. we're all in danger of becoming ill from this. and we cannot ignore it. >> forecasters are saying that we could get a little bit of relief as the patterns change and the winds pick up, so that's good for the air. but of course, that's the worst possible thing for the fires. lindsey. >> scott cohen, so scary to see you there with all of that smoke

in the air. please stay safe. thank you. moving now to the southeast. tropical storm sally is shaping up to get stronger in the gulf of mexico. maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour, sally is expected to become a hurricane tomorrow. possibly as a category two when it makes landfall in southeastern louisiana. and there are flash flood watches in new orleans, mobile, and panama city. as well as flood watches in tampa and naples. president trump held another campaign rally last night. this time in mindon, nevada, near lake tahoe, where he promised his audience he will be, quote, vicious toward joe biden as the november election nears. meanwhile, the biden campaign is receiving major financial support from an old competitor. vaughn hillyard is in las vegas, nevada, deepa shivroom is in washington, d.c. president trump holding another rally tonight in las vegas. tell us more about the rhetoric at last night's event and what we can expect tonight.

>> linlwe can't underscore wher are in the campaign, we're 51 days away, and the president of the united states is down in polling. not only in states where he won last go around like michigan and wisconsin, but that is where he's turning his attention to places like here in nevada. that's why what you saw take place last night in mindon, nevada, just outside of reno, was the president of the united states making the decision to gather thousands of supporters in the middle of a pandemic, most all unmasked with no social distancing taking place, together in one area for what? for the purposes of his political campaign. what you heard last night was the president continuing to spread disinformation, factually inaccurate statements over the course of an hour and a half speech in front of those supporters, and consistently denigrating joe biden, his opponent. i want to let you listen to a little bit of the president last night, because over the course of an hour and a half, he only

dedicated about 40 seconds of his speech to wildfires, which are now ravaging through 12 states here in the west and instead focused much on joe biden and the electoral process coming up this november. take a listen. >> did you ever see him with the little circles? the circle? you know why he puts the circles? because he wants to be like correct with covid, but it's not really, because they can't get anybody to fill up a room, so they put these big circles. so he can't get anybody to fill -- nobody wants to go. this is the guy that we're entrusting with millions of ballots, unsoliceded ballots. millions and millions. then we're supposed to win these states. the democrats are trying to rig this election because it's the only way they're going to win. the only way they're going to win is to rig it. >> the first sound bite that you heard there, lindsey, was the president denigrating joe biden's decision to not be holding campaign rallies like himself, except for those in which there was significant

social distancing. and that is where you see here in nevada, a state donald trump lost by 27 votes, he's here for a reason. he's going to be in las vegas again today holding a roundtable with latino voters who he calls supporters of his, and then out in the suburbs of henderson, nevada, for another rally tonight at 7:00 p.m. the second sound bite from the president was him put nothing to voters' minds the fact that this governor here, a democratic governor, was going to somehow manipulate the vote turnout. of course, there is a republican governor back in 2016 when he lost this state. and again, this all encompasses the idea that mail-in ballots will be going to all registered voters in nevada. essentially, the president of the united states is trying to get his voters to question already the legitimacy of this election. >> makes you wonder what the president means when he says he will get more vicious. deepa, we want to go to you, to the biden campaign. and senator bernie sanders is actually refuting reports that you said live on our air yesterday from "the washington post" that he is saying behind

closed doors he's concerned about biden's campaign. here's what he told ali velshi earlier today. >> i think biden is in an excellent position to win this election, but i think we have got to do more as a campaign than just go after trump. trump is a disaster. i think most people know it. but we also have to give people a reason to vote for joe biden. joe has some pretty strong positions on the economy. and i think we should be talking about that more than we have. >> so he's kind of saying a direction that he would like to see the campaign go, but deepa, do you think he's trying to save face here and make it look like the democratic party is united? >> that's an interesting question, lindsey. you can kind of see him say there in the beginning of his statement that he is supporting joe biden. he is backing the former vice president. we talked about this, how he did receive a lot of criticism, bernie sanders, in 2016 for not

immediately supporting hillary clinton. and so he in that statement yesterday and today in his appearance on msnbc very quick to throw his support behind joe biden, but at the same time, you hear him air his concerns. that he does think the biden campaign should be doing more outreach to younger voters, progressive voters, and of course, the latino community. and like josh was saying earlier, president trump is catching up on that outreach, making sure he's reaching out to hispanic voters, especially in states like florida, arizona, nevada. we see the current president putting in that effort and trying to win those voters over. and as these numbers don't look super great for joe biden, that's something that bernie sanders is echoing as well. lindsey. >> we're hearing from another former rival today. a lot of people wondering in this race, where is mike bloomberg? he said he was going to put all this money to help get biden elected but he's been rather quiet. then there's news today, a huge amount of money. how will this money be spent? >> exactly. michael bloomberg coming in with a huge influx of cash here for

joe biden, in a critical state like florida, which in past has only been won by a couple of percentage points, lindsey. you can see michael bloomberg here really trying to put in the effort to put joe biden over the edge here, especially when it comes to latino voters. a lot of that money from michael bloomberg will be funded into ads, some in english, some in spanish, and part of it, nbc's josh lederman reported on this earlier today, it freeze up the biden campaign to spend their money in other battleground states like pennsylvania, wisconsin, north carolina, and states like that. so it's kind of a two-fold thing going on where you see michael bloomberg putting in his support behind joe biden with that financial backing, and it leaves the biden campaign a little open as well. >> forces the trump campaign to invest in that state. vaughn hillyard and deepa shivram, thank you both. >> still ahead, the department of homeland security is firing back at explosive claims in a whistleblower complaint. after the break, reaction from a member of the house intelligence committee responsible for releasing that complaint.

congressman rog gnaw chris numurthy joins me live. >> tech: at safelite, we're here for you with safe, convenient service. >> tech: we'll come right to you. ♪ upbeat music >> tech: you'll get a text when we're on our way. >> tech: before we arrive, just leave your keys on the dash. we'll replace your windshield with safe, no-contact service.

♪ upbeat music >> tech: and that's service you can trust when you need it the most. ♪ upbeat music >> tech: schedule at safelite.com. ♪ upbeat music >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ don't settle for silver #1 for diabetic dry skin* #1 for psoriasis symptom relief* and #1 for eczema symptom relief* gold bond champion your skin gold bond 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.

it's time for aerotrainer, with your weight and health? a more effective total body fitness solution. (announcer) aerotrainer's ergodynamic design and four patented air chambers create maximum muscle activation for better results in less time, al and allows for over 20 exercises. do the aerotrainer super crunch. the pre-stretch works your abs even harder, engaging the entire core. then it's the back extension, super rock, and lower back traction stretch to take the pressure off your spine and stretch muscles. planks are the ultimate total body exercise. build your upper body with pushups. work your lower body with the aerosquat. the aerotrainer is tested to support over 500 pounds. it inflates and deflates in less than 30 seconds using the electric pump. head to aerotrainer.com now. now it's your turn to lose weight, look great, and be healthy. get off the floor and get on the aerotrainer. go to aerotrainer.com, that's a-e-r-o-trainer.com.

they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the services of the post office plus ups only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/try and never go to the post office again.

of bombshells and accusations against the trump administration, the house intelligence committee is expanding an existing investigation into the department of homeland security to address the latest whistleblower complabt that claims top officials manipulated intelligence to aid president trump. a dhs spokesperson has flatly denied what's in the whistleblower complaint, but it echoes the newly launched probe into louis dejoy who has been scrutinized by democrats, aaccused of using his authority to manipulate rules. he asked employees to donate to political candidates and reimburse them through bonuses. joining me is congressman raja krishnamoorthi. i want to get your reaction to

the latest whistleblower complaint filed by bryan murphy. he's the former head of the intelligence branch, and he was instructed to modify intelligence assessments to make sure they matched up with public comments by the president on subjects like antifa and anarchist groups. how is your committee approaching these new revelations. >> well, these are very serious revelations. and allegations in the whistleblower complaint. you know, essentially i believe as probably most of your viewers do that politics should not trump our national security. and in these allegations, basically, mr. murphy is saying, for instance, that the trump administration routinely manipulated and changed reports to downplay the threat of russian interference in our upcoming elections, which is ongoing and serious. and so chairman schiff has now called mr. murphy for a deposition next monday in

washington. and you know, we're going to continue the investigation very seriously at this point. >> let's move on to postmaster general louis dejoy and the controversy surrounding him. you and your colleagues this week wrote a letter to dejoy and wrote how concerned you are that he has millions of dollars in a stock in a major usps contractor. during his hearing last month, he told congress he vetted this with the ethics department. the last time you were on the program, you said there was only a little bit known at the time he was appointed. what concerns you and what can congress do about it? >> well, i think the biggest issue is that he was part of discussions with regard to management and operational decisions which would have affected the very investment in which he had such a large stake. namely, xpo logistics. that particular investment is $30 to $60 million of his

personal net worth, which is a very large percentage of his net worth, and therefore, you know, decision making that he would have participated in would have been forbidden under the ethics codes. and so that is among other things that we're very, very interested in finding out more about, because it just goes to just the very smelly atmosphere surrounding mr. dejoy, especially as he caused these operational changes to delay mail in the run-up to an election where mail-in balloting is going to be a large component of the balloting that happens. >> right, and allegations from "the washington post" that he actually reimbursed employees for donations they made to gop candidates through bonuses. and if this is true, it's also illegal. so congressman, when you say this is kind of all a part of sort of, you know, if there's smoke, there's fire around the postmaster general, if he still has the support of the board of governors, of the u.s. postal

service, and he refuses to resign, what is likely to happen in the next 51 days before the election? >> well, i think first of all, we have to continue to hold those accountable who have made these operational changes, whether it's people on the board of governors or mr. dejoy or both, and we have to get to the bottom of what is the extent of the damage that's been done by these operational changes. you know, the american people and their public pressure following our committee's exposing of what has occurred has really led to the suspension of those very operational changes that delayed mail. now, we have to further expose what's happened, especially because as you said, we only have g51 days until the electio, and we have to put a stop to, quite frankly, the shenanigans, which again, are undermining the service the american people expect from the

usps, similar to what was going on with the department of homeland security. politics is getting in the way of the mission of the usps, just as it did with the department of homeland security. >> congressman, thank you so much for joining us. and as he just mentioned, with mail-in voting expected to be higher than any other time in history this november, states have just two months to make sure they have the systems in place to receive those ballots and accurately count them. leaders in michigan have launched a campaign to pass new voting legislation and try to educate the public to discuss this further, i'm joined by dana nessel who served as michigan's attorney general. attorney general nessel, your governor, gretchen whitmer, wrote an op-ed in the detroit free press laying out what she says needs to happen before the election, and she goes through a series of bills that are right now pretty stagnant at the legislatu legislature. one would allow absentee ballots to be processed before election

day. what do things look like between now and november if the legislature doesn't pass these bills? >> well, it's quite unfortunate because, you know, in 2018 here in michigan, we passed no-reason absentee voting, which turned out to be really fortuitous, because who could have predicted we would also be in the middle of a global pandemic just a few years later. in the primary, we had more people than ever who participated in the process. we had 1.6 million people who voted absentee. that number is likely to be double for the general election. and quite honestly, we just don't have the systems in place to insure that we can have the votes counted in a timely manner. and what's so upsetting about that is that we're seeing representatives of the president say that the election has to be called on election night, when they know very well that there's no possibility that all of the absentee ballots can possibly be counted that quickly.

>> right. already sowing seeds of doubt in case the process lingers well after election day. i want to ask you about something. you and some other attorneys general are taking notice of what the president is saying about double dipping. let's listen. >> make sure you send the ballot in, and then go to your polling place and make sure it counts. make sure it counts. because the only way they can win is by doing very bad things. that's the only way. >> so the president encouraging people to vote twice, go to the polls again, make sure their mail-in ballots are counted, even though many attorneys general say you can track your ballot online. you don't need to show up and expose other people. but we also have the u.s. postal service sending out postcards to households and some are containing wrong information. how concerned are you about misinformation and what can you do about this? >> well, absolutely, it's a concern when you have the president of the united states that is instructing people to do something that is considered to be a crime in michigan and every

other state of the union. you cannot vote twice. of course, you can check the status of your absentee ballot online to insure that the clerk's office has received it. you don't need to go to the polls to do that. if you try to vote twice, you'll be prosecuted, and you'll be held accountable for that, so please, before you listen to the president of the united states, maybe check with a lawyer first. but what we're trying to do here is, you know, myself, the governor, the secretary of state, we're all working together to insure that this election is safe and secure. we're working with law enforcement all around the state to make sure that we don't have instances of voter intimidation or suppression or any threats of any kind, and we want to make sure that whether you are voting in person, at the polls, that you'll be safe, or if you decide to vote absentee that any way you look at it, your vote, you can be assured will be counted. and that, you know, hopefully,

if we are successful with our lawsuit with the postal service, that it will be received in time, but we are cautioning people that best practices might be to actually take your absentee ballot and take it right to the clerk's office or to put into a drop box so you know it's been received because in michigan, it has to be received by 8:00 p.m. on election night in order to be counted, and that's something else that we would like to see changed in the law, and i should tell you that there were 10,000 ballots that were not counted in the primary for that very reason, trump won in michigan in 2016 by just over 10,000 votes. >> dana nessel, you sure have your hands full. i'm sure we'll talk to you again before november. still ahead, the doj takes on a defamation suit, so what are the implications of an intervention by the department of justice in a civil case against the president? we'll break down the legal ramifications with a former u.s. attorney after the break. 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. it only takes a second for an everyday item to become dangerous. tide pods child-guard pack helps keep your laundry pacs in a safe place and your child safer. to close, twist until it clicks. tide pods child-guard packaging.

it's made for this guy a veteran who honorably served and it's made for her she's serving now we made it for all branches and all ranks whether they served one tour or made a career of it. we also made usaa for military spouses and their kids usaa is easy to work with and can save you money on auto, home and renters insurance. become a member today. get an insurance quote at usaa.com/quote usaa. what you're made of we're made for

i got this mountain bike for only $11. dealdash.com, the fair and honest bidding site. an ipad worth $505, was sold for less than $24; a playstation 4 for less than $16; and a schultz 4k television for less than $2. i won these bluetooth headphones for $20. i got these three suitcases for less than $40. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save.

welcome back. attorney general bill barr is standing by the justice department's decision this week to get involved in a defamation lawsuit against president trump. after the announcement tuesday that the doj would take over for the president's defense team in the defamation case brought by e. jean carroll who has accused trump of sexually assaulting her in the '90s, barr downplayed the criticism the move garnered by calling it normal and something done frequently, but according to a new op-ed, the justice department's moves this week are just evidence of the president's continual efforts to stall and delay cases. essentially winning by losing. barbara mcquade, former u.s. attorney for the eastern district of michigan and an nbc news legal analyst joins me now. you lay out the strategy. you say if this is allowed, taxpayers will pay for trump's legal defense, but eventually, the case will likely be dismissed on the grounds of

sovereign immunity. i read the word tort more than once in this article, which is very intimidated to me. can you please explain this point in simple terms? >> you bet, and there's nothing normal about what happened here. there is a process by which when an employee of the government, say it's a mail carrier, gets sued for an accident with his postal truck, ordinarily in that case, the first question that's asked is did the person engage in this conduct that was in the scope of their employment? and if so, then what happens is the department of justice gets involved, and they say, we're going to substitute in the united states of america as the defendant here. we're going remove the person from their personal capacity and handle the case, because they did it on the job. they did it doing the kinds of things we asked them to do. we're going to indemnify them, and because of sovereign immunity, the united states cannot be sued for defamation, so that meanathize case would be dismissed. what's unusual in this case is the idea that president trump was defaming someone for accusing him of rape as part of

the scope of his duties as president. you may know, lindsey, that the president has duties you're familiar with like commander in chief of the armed services or that he has to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. i don't recall constitution that the president can defame people accusing him of rape. >> you also write maybe that can fly for example if he's asked outside of air force one, where he's asked about other parts of the country, but if he gives quotes on the hill, that's his own time, but what would precedent would this set for future administrations? >> it would sweep into everything the president does. even his individual behavior, as under the umbrella of the presidency, and it would mean that the individual would enjoy the same kind of sovereign immunity that the united states enjoys which means you can't be sued. look at the case brought against bill clinton, the paula jones

suit. that was a private case brought against him in his private capacity and he defended, he hired his own lawyers to defend that case. this conduct by president trump goes way back to the 1990s. his defamation occurred while he was president, but clearly, outside the scope of his presidency, so if this were allowed to stand, then the president could never be sued in his individual capacity because he would say, i'm on the job 24/7, so anything i do is by definition within the scope of my job as the president, and the united states must be the defendant, and because of sovereign immunity, you lose every time. >> such an important issue. such important ramifications. i encourage everyone to read your op-ed. thank you. and joining me now to dive even deeper is msnbc analyst and republican strategist, rick tyler. first, i want to get your thoughts on barbara mcquade's points on the doj wanting to defend trump. >> seems to be a continuation of a systematic abuse of power.

we often say, you know, what do you expect from trump or sort of shrug and eye roll about, you know, no one is surprised by this. and while maybe we shouldn't be surprised, we shouldn't be outraged by it because bill barr seems to be acting as trump's personal fixer, someone who is hired to take care of all of his problems like he's the new michael cohen. but bill barr's job as the a.g. is to work for the people, for the people of the united states. that's who he represents. he represents law and order. if you can't trust the top law enforcement official in the united states, then we don't have a system of justice that people can depend on. and there's a lot of reasons we don't, and we're trying to fix those things now, but when the a.g. just can't get simple facts right that this is not a normal circumstance, then it begins to undermine people's faith in institutions. and so the other thing that's going on here, and i would love

to know what barbara thought about this is, i think you have issues of discovery. there's apparently an article of clothing and dna evidence, and that would likely have gone through the newspapers and people would find out more about the details of what exactly happened when this woman claims she was attacked by the president. >> this is another example of barr doing that because we heard him about a week or so ago saying in terms of the president encouraging north carolinians to vote by mail and go to the ballot box to see if their vote counted, he said i don't know if that's illegal in north carolina. before we let you go, there's a new joe biden ad using the widely reported alleged comments from the trump campaign from trump himself calling fallen troops losers and suckers. and this new ad had trump fuming last night at his rally in nevada. let's play a clip. >> he's a pathetic human being to let that happen, where they put an ad like that where i'm

standing over graves and then they say he said this. they put an ad like that up, they're a disgrace. you know the good part? now i can be really vicious. i can be really vicious. and we'll start by saying -- we're going to start by saying that the democrats are trying to rig this election. because it's the only way they're going to win. >> what do you think president trump means by vicious, and will vicious work? >> well, you know, years ago, he talked about october surprises. you know, this revelation would come, it would change the election, and there aren't going to be any revelations. rest assured, there will be no revelations that change the election, because people are not surprised by any of this. now, the reason trump is upset about suckers and losers, which by the way, i believe him, the reason i believe him is because you can just see it in the bob woodward tape, this is a deadly

disease, five times more deadly than the flu, and in public, he's not only saying that it's just like the flu and there's no reason to be concerned, he goes further than that. he actually puts people's lives in danger by bringing them to the rally you just showed where a third of the people aren't wearing masks. and that's how the coronavirus gets spread. the same way that i.c.e. put detainees on a plane so they could move government officials to washington, to usher people away from a church that he wanted to hold up a bible in frublt front of, and somebody died because of this, and people got sick because of that, because of disregard for human life. i have no doubt in my mind he said those things about the american service men and women because it's consistent with everything else he said about the troops. and by the way, he's losing the military vote, which is astonishing, because the military is historically gone to

republicans. it's way overenrolled in republicans. i think it's only 13% democrat. and joe biden is winning that. and it's no wonder. >> well, there's also other polling that shows that donald trump is up by 52% among veterans and military families, but that's much lower than the margins he's enjoyed in the past. i believe you're referring to new "washington post" reporting that these i.c.e. agents were on charter flights with detainees and that led to an outbreak at one of the facilities in virginia. rick tyler, you win skype rooms today. very idyllic. i hope you enjoy the rest of your day. good to see you. >> appreciate it. this week on "the upper hands"... special guest flo challenges the hand models to show off the ease of comparing rates with progressive's home quote explorer.

international hand model jon-jon gets personal. your wayward pinky is grotesque. then a high stakes patty-cake battle royale ends in triumph. you have the upper hands! it's a race to the lowest rate, and so much more. only on "the upper hands." it's a race to the lowest rate, and so much more. that life of the party look walk it off look one more mile look reply all look own your look... ...with fewer lines. there's only one botox® cosmetic. it's the only one... ...fda approved... ...to temporarily make frown lines... ...crow's feet... ...and forehead lines... ...look better. the effects of botox® cosmetic, may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness may be a sign of a life-threatening condition. do not receive botox® cosmetic if you have a skin infection. side effects may include allergic reactions, injection site pain, headache, eyebrow, eyelid drooping,

and eyelid swelling. tell your doctor about your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, and medications including botulinum toxins as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. so, give that just saw a puppy look. and whatever that look is. look like you... with fewer lines. see results at botoxcosmetic.com i have the power to lower my blood sugar and a1c. because i can still make my own insulin. and trulicity activates my body to release it like it's supposed to. once-weekly trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it's not insulin. it starts acting from the first dose. and it lowers risk of heart attack, stroke, or death in people with known heart disease or multiple risk factors. trulicity isn't for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy.

serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with sulfonylurea or insulin raises low blood sugar risk. side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, belly pain, and decreased appetite, which lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. we're committed to helping ensure trulicity is available and affordable. learn more at trulicity.com. the first sunday of this year's nfl season is unlike any other thanks to the pandemic. 13 games are scheduled to be played around the country, but only a couple teams are allowing fans in the stands. including the jacksonville jaguars in florida, the decision to allow fans to attend games in person is not without criticism,

though. just this afternoon, florida health officials reported more than 2400 new cases of coronavirus. they're expressing concerns that in-person attendance at sporting events could accelerate infections. here to discuss is nbc news and msnbc public health analyst dr. irwin redlener. what are your thoughts on allowing fans to attend games in person? does it matter whether the arena has a closed roof? >> yeah, it does matter, lindsey, and so what we're dealing with here is first of all risk to the players for just playing football and being in the locker rooms and all that, in such close contact on the field. for the fans, i'm not that worried about it, if they keep the situation very separate in terms of seating and if it's outdoors it should be okay. in fact, much more worried about relaxation of rules about indoor dining, which is going to be a much bigger problem as we get closer to the winter, and outdoor dining, especially in the north and northeast is not going to be possible, actually. so we have lots of things to

worry about right now in terms of more spread of the disease. >> let's talk about that. so new york city is going to start allowing indoor dining in a certain capacity at the end of the month. there's a lot of areas that have already been doing it. what would make you feel comfortable? what would you have to see happen in order for you to take your family inside a restaurant, if you would at all? >> right. i'd been very reluctant to right now. hopefully, before too long we'll have point of care testing, which we'll need a lab or special equipment. it's a strip like a pregnancy test and people will know who is positive and who is not positive when they walk into an enclosed space. it's still going to be dangerous. we have the tiny particles in the air. we don't know the status of the server staff or kitchen staff. i'm not comfort lable at the moment. hopefully things will change.

we're going to have a terrible fall and winter when it comes to coronavirus. >> basthank you very much. our own joy reid, programming note for you. putting the spotlight on food related crisis unfolding for americans during the pandemic. they look at struggle for thousands of restaurant owners and millions of restaurant workers across the country. food and the pandemic, recipe for disaster airs tonight at 11:00 eastern right here on msnbc. 0 eastern right here on msnbc. adventure. to reconnect and be together. and once we did that, we realized his greatest adventure is just beginning.

(avo male) welcome to the most adventurous outback ever. the all-new 2020 subaru outback. go where love takes you. (avo female) get 0% apr financing for 63 months on the 2020 subaru outback and other select models. pnc bank believes that if an app can help you track your pizza... come on cody, where are you buddy? ...then your bank should have the technology to help you track your spending. virtual wallet® is so much more than a checking account. easily see what's free to spend. and see where your money is going so you can budget even better. okay, he's got to be close. he's six blocks... in the other direction. make a left, make a left make a left... he made a right again. virtual wallet® for digital banking from pnc. it's time to get more from your bank. virtual wallet® for digital banking from pnc. tempur-pedic's mission truly transformative sleep. so, no more tossing and turning. because only tempur-pedic's proprietary material adapts and responds to your body- -so you get deep, uninterrupted sleep. take advantage of our best offer of the year, with savings up to $500.

try nature's bounty sleep3, a unique tri-layer supplement that calms you, helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer great sleep comes naturally with sleep3. only from nature's bounty.

>> techand your car., we're committed to taking care of you >> tech: we'll fix it right with no-contact service you can trust. >> tech: so if you have auto glass damage, stay safe with safelite. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ and when you save up to 60%, let's play! you're always a winner. you got... up to 60% off your hotel! >>but isn't that the only one? you're a winner! priceline. every trip is a big deal.

next weekend, we're expanding our saturday and sunday coverage at msnbc. it's a sharp no no sense approach to news based on her years of international reporting. american voices will air from 6:00 to 8:00. alicia will focus on big stories and the under reported ones that deserve a national platform. the week with joshua johnson. he speaks candidly with news maker, trailblazers and especially every day people. coming up, a tale of two campaigns. president trump and joe biden

spar on the trail ahead of a big week in battleground states. why the worst could be yet to come for residents fleeing those massive wildfires raging through the state. through the state. are you packed yet? our flight is early tomorrow. and it's a long flight too. once we get there, we will need... buttercup! ♪ >> tech: when you've got ...safelite can come to you. >> tech: and you'll get a text when we're on our way. >> tech: just leave your keys on the dash and we'll replace your windshield with safe, no-contact service. >> tech: schedule at safelite.com. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

they're going to be paying for this for a long time. they will, but with accident forgiveness allstate won't raise your rates just because of an accident, even if it's your fault. cut! sonny. was that good? line! the desert never lies. isn't that what i said? no you were talking about allstate and insurance.

i just... when i... let's try again. everybody back to one. accident forgiveness from allstate. click or call for a quote today. accident forgiveness from allstate. i'm a verizon engineer. and i'm part of the team building... ...a powerful 5g experience for america. it's 5g ultra wideband, and it's already available in parts of select cities. like los angeles. and in new york city. and it's rolling out in cities around the country. with massive capacity. it's like an eight-lane highway compared to a two-lane dirt road. 25x faster than today's 4g networks. in fact, it's the fastest 5g in the world. from the network more people rely on. this is 5g built right. only on verizon.

good afternoon. wildfires out west and a growing tropical storm targeting the gulf coast. we're live on the ground in california as the scramble continues to get out of harm's

way. the very latest on timing of the powerful storm taking aim at new orleans. $100 million worth of help. that's the gift joe biden received today. the familiar name and former foe making it happen and how the infusion of cash will be used. cyber attacks on presidential campaigns. it's happening. right now from russia, china and iran. is anything being done about it? let's get right to the west coast where the raging wildfires have killed at least 33 people, left dozens unaccounted for and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes across california, oregon and washington state. on top of the destruction, blankets of unhealthy heavy smoke are really complicating efforts to locate those on the missing list and hampering efforts to fight the fires that have torched close to four million acres of land.