good day from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. welcome, everyone, to weekends with alex witt. we have lots to tell you about. let's get started. we have breaking news, with now 37 days to the election, and today, joe biden laid out his case against joe biden and supreme court nominee amy coney barrett. biden said the president is trying to throw out obamacare. >> this is about your health care. this is about whether or not the aca will exist. this is about whether or not

pre-existing conditions will be continued to be covered. this is about whether or not a woman can be charged more for the same procedure as a man. this is about people's health care in the middle of a pandemic. >> this all comes as senators on capitol hill are preparing for quite a battle over barrett's confirmation. >> one of the things i want to ask her is will she recuse herself, because if she does not in terms of any election issues that come before us, because if she does not recuse herself, i fear that the court will be further delegitimized. >> i think she should step forward and say she'll recuse herself from any election contest involving this president. >> this is basically just adding more flames, fanning the flames of division in a country that's already divided. it's something i would think and hope we would come to our senses and say, hey, can't we wait until after the election? >> a new poll from "the new york times" and sienna college shows a majority of americans think

whoever wins the election should be the one who picks ruth bader ginsburg's replacement. also new today, our nbc news maris poll shows biden ahead in two crittal states. biden is leading trump ten points, 54 to 4, and these come as we come to the presidential debate in cleveland. let's go to monica alba joining us from washington. we saw the president tweeting a bit earlier today, and it caught senate minority leader chuck schumer's attention. can you tell us what this is all about? >> exactly, alex. democrats are really seizing on the timing of this supreme court nomination, taking particular issue with the president's tweet early this morning, talking specifically about health care. the president writing, obamacare will be replaced with a much better, far cheaper alternative if it is terminated in the supreme court, would be a big win for the usa. we really need to note there

that the president has been promising a complete overhaul to the health care system and a plan he said he would put forward for months and even longer now, that has yet to materialize. we did see what he called his vision for health care, some of the things he would maybe put forward in a potential second term. we should stress his own administration is arguing to overturn the affordable care act, which protects millions of americans with pre-existing conditions. that's not something that the president acknowledges. he's always blurring the lines on that, saying his plan would protect those, while of course, we know currently obamacare, millions with pre-existing conditions are protected. that's why chuck schumer tweeted earlier today, president trump has admitted, essentially, linking his nomination of judge amy coney barrett with his effort to take away hirk and pre-existing conditions for millions of americans. that's why you hear democrats

talking about this vote and this confirmation hearing we expect to take place well ahead of election day is so critical and at stake as millions goes to the polls with democrats and the former vice president, joe biden, arguing that shouldn't happen until whoever is determined to win the election in november is able to do that going forward. take a listen to what biden had to say just moments ago on this exact topic. >> if the people choose donald trump, then the senate should give his nominee a hearing and a vote. if the people do not choose trump and choose me, president trump's nomination should be withdrawn. i should nominate, chosen by a president who has just been elected and by the people to get a very hearing, which would not even occur until early february. a confirmation vote. >> that's how the former vice president sees it, of course, he was very involved in passing the affordable care act when he was

the vice president to former president barack obama. we should note there what he is saying is essentially he wants to honor the late justice ruth bader ginsburg's dying wish, which was that she said in her words, her most fervent desire was that she would not be replaced until a new president was elected and was able to do that. >> monica alba, thank you so much from washington. joining me, pennsylvania congresswoman mary gase scanlon, vice chair of the house judiciary committee. you're someone we definitely want to talk to now given what's happening. as we begin with the reaction that has been pouring in on the president's supreme court nominee, amy coney barrett. a lot of your democratic colleagues, and that includes jie joe biden and house speaker pelosi, are sounding the alarm she could jeopardize obamacare. >> what i am concerned about is anyone president trump would have appointed was there to undo the affordable care act. that's why he was in such a

hurry, so he could have someone in place for the oral arguments which begin november 10th. it doesn't matter what the process is here. what matters is what it means personally to the american people. >> congresswoman, do you share these concerns? how critical is this question ahead of the confirmation process? >> well, i think we have seen where the priorities of this white house and the senate majority are. they haven't stepped up to provide additional relief for our biggest health crisis right now, which is the coronavirus. we have been waiting for months for them to come to the table with a viable proposal, and they haven't. but you know, all we get is crickets. then the second they have a chance to ram a conservative judge through, it's all hands on deck. there's no higher priority. and now the president himself is explicitly linking this to his four, five-year effort now to repeal obamacare. one way or the other. his administration is part of this supreme court case trying to strike down obamacare, and

you know, look, he's had almost a full term. he ran on repiece and replace. he's been promising what replace is going to look like. there's no there there. his health care plan appears to be herd immunity, which would kill 2 to 3 million americans. >> in all seriousness, despite that last assessment there, do you have any idea what the president's health care plan would be? he writes that obamacare will be replaced with a much cheaper and far -- much better and far cheaper alternative if it is terminated in the supreme court, would be a big win for the usa. any faith that you would see a health care plan from the republican colleagues? >> we certainly haven't seen it yet, and they had -- they had several terms when president obama and joe biden were still in office. they controlled the house, the senate, and the white house for a period of time, and they did nothing. i'm afraid that with this president, he has no plan.

if it doesn't fit within a twitter tweet, then he doesn't understand it. and he doesn't know what it takes to move forward with a comprehensive health care plan for the country. you can't have -- you can't protect pre-existing conditions just by flipping your finger. >> so we have the supreme court battle taking shape on capitol hill, taking center stage really right now. do you have any concerns that a new coronavirus relief bill could then fall by the wayside with the focus elsewhere? is there any way that americans will see more relief before the election? >> well, certainly, the house has been pushing for relief for months. we passed the heroes act three months ago. the senate has been unable to come up with anything -- it has been unable to pass anything. they haven't come to the table. speaker pelosi said she's willing to put together another package. she's certainly been talking with mnuchin, but we have a senate that seems to not have any interest in doing its job right now unless it has to do with ramming through judges.

>> let's turn to the election, as we have the president last week not once but twice refusing to commit to a peaceful transition of power. this comes as he's consistently questioned whether the election will be legitimate. let's take a listen to what he said in pennsylvania just last night. >> keep your eyes open, if you see any shenanigans, which you probably will. okay, if you see people like dumping things, flushing things, if you see people dropping them in a waste paper basket. seven or eight right in a waste paper -- keep your eyes open. >> hmm. what's your response to the president as he's just trying to stir election doubts? first of all, do you think his message is resonating with people? >> well, i think people are distressed he's doing this. it's absolutely unprecedented. we use that a lot these days, to have an american president undermining our elections. and doing so with no basis.

the only shenanigans we're seeing are coming from the trump campaign, which unfortunately, at this point, include both the administration and the highly politicized department of justice. the president referenced some ballots that had been thrown away in luzerne county, which is die-hard republican territory, and apparently it happened because of human error, a handful of them. both he and bill barr have repeated over and over that they think they could be fraud in mail-in balloting, but when pressed, i got barr to concede under oath before the house judiciary committee that he had no evidence to support that, and there is no evidence to support that. our elections are safe and secure, and our goal for november 3rd is to make sure that everybody's vote counts. and it may take a while to count them in pennsylvania, but we're going to make sure that the election is free and fair. >> and indeed, you know, from your lips to god's ears, but

that being said, there is an article on the hill that says pennsylvania risks becoming the center of election chaos. this as democrats and republicans wage legal and political fights over voting rules and procedures. the report goes on to say already, some election officials in pennsylvania are warning of a potential for a post-election dispute similar to the recounts in florida during the 2000 presidential election. i mean, are you hearing concerns from local officials in your state about this kind of reality? could this become a reality there as the election nears? >> the concerns are only coming because of the shenanigans that the trump campaign is engaging in. they have filed multiple lawsuits. they have gotten the republican legislators who control both our house and senate in the state to refuse to implement some easy reforms that would make it easier for pennsylvania to get its vote count done early.

pennsylvania's one of a handful of states where you can't start processing mail-in ballots until election day. we know there will be millions of mail-in ballots this year. and that means that we're not going to have a count on election night. so we're just trying to make sure that people are patient, that they understand it's going to take some time to process millions of mail-in ballots, but we're quite certain that the election is going to be secure. there are multiple layers that prevent the kind of fraud that the trump administration is fraudulently saying could happen. you know, they were given an opportunity to present evidence of fraud to our court system, and they couldn't do it because there isn't any. it's going to be a fair election. we may not like the result, but that's the only thing that's up for dispute. >> pennsylvania congresswoman, thank you so much for your time. >> the supreme court confirmation battle over judge barrett could create a big shift in the state of colorado.

that's where the republican incumbent cory gardner is in a very tight race with democratic challenger john hickenlooper, the popular former governor of the state. my colleague vaughn hillyard is in morrison, colorado, for us with a picture perfect backdrop there. vaughn, thanks for joining us. how is this shaping voter turnout there? >> well, i think if we could start with the idea, we're 37 days away, and the question on voter turnout, alex, comes down to the very heart here of a supreme court battle is going to be waged while these voters are actively deciding what their mail-in ballots, how they're going to vote. when you're talking about the republican party, we should note, there's about 13 incumbent republicans still in competitive races. at the forefront, cory gardner. he first won his seat in 2014, running at this sort of colorado independent. two years later, donald trump won the presidency, and a lot of voters we have talked to have

criticized cory gardner, suggesting he has been anything but independent of this president. now they have the option, give cory gardner, the republican, a second term, or vote for their former governor, john hickenlooper. take a listen to a little bit of the conversation we had with a few voters here in town. >> the fact that he wants makes me look at it closer to see how conservative she really is. >> it's not fair because they blocked marek gar lpd errick ga premise they had to wait for the next election. now they completely ignore the same rules when they're in charge. >> the last gentleman you heard from voted for cory gardner in 2014. he and his wife, they're not voting for cory gardner this year. they're not voting for president trump. they told me if i had told them eight years ago they are lifelong conservatives. they would be voting against the republican party, they wouldn't have believed it. the first gentleman you heard from, he said he may well likely vote for cory gardner because he

leaned more conservative and does appreciate having the republican to represent the state of colorado in the u.s. senate, but when it came to donald trump and joe biden, he he could very well vote for the democrat for president, joe biden. alex. >> okay, vaughn hillyard, thank you so much, from morrison, colorado, for us. >> joe biden pleads with republican senators, but will it do any good? but everyone, first, breaking news to share. this is from california. there is yet another wildfire to report. this one from napa county there. it is prompting some new evacuations. it's the glass fire. i'm looking at the san francisco chronicle which reports it has already scorched about 1,000 acres. it has burned structures and forced also hospital evacuations. we'll stay on top of this and get more information. it looks lie it may have started in the calistoga area. we'll get more details and be with that after a break, and much more here on "weekends with alex witt." ♪ limu emu & doug

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giving you some extraordinary pictures here from napa county in california. yet another wildfire has broken out early this morning. this one is called the glass fire. cal fire officials say it has a very dangerous rate of spread, as i look at things here through online reports here, apparently cal fire was first dispatched, it was a vegetation fire, pretty simple, around 3:50 in the morning, but again, this has grown very, very quickly. there was a local church, the crosswalk community church in napa set up as an evacuation center, but look how remarkable these photos are. this fire has been burning now for the better part of six, seven hours. again, the area of, let's see, the mending wall minery, i'm looking at one gentleman's twitter feed, a photo offered by brynn jackson who said this is across the street from our house, behind the minery, and just looking at this photo, it is pretty devastating looking. there is also a community there,

anguine, california, which is being threatened. it's near calistoga. also within anguine, there's the pacific union college. that may be on alert, certainly, so we're going to keep a very close eye on these fires, everyone. but more misery for the just much beleaguered state of california in these really difficult times, as they approach the peak of fire season, and yet this season already has been record-setting. >> we are fielding questions from reporters with joe biden just a short time ago, again pointed to the president's attempt to distract, but he said he's not going to take the bait. >> what i'm not going to do is play the trump game, which is a good game he plays. take your eye off the issue before us. if i were to say yes or no to that, that becomes a big issue. that's the headline here. i am focused on one thing right now. and i really mean it. i'm focused on making sure that

american people understand that they're being cut out of this process they're entitled to be a part of it, and the cutout is designed in order to take away the aca and your health care. in the midst of a pandemic. >> joining me now, shannon pettypiece, nbc news digital senior reporter, and francesca chambers, white house correspondent at mcclatchy. good to see you both. is this an insight into how joe biden may approach his debate with the president? >> it's what his advisers and surrogates would like to see, our reporting indicates. they have warned him not to get distracted by trump's tangents, to stay focused on his message, on what he wants to get out there, and to not let trump rope him into getting off target or going down paths that he might not want to go and to focus on talking to the camera, talking to the moderator, talking to the american people and let trump

essentially do his own thing on the other side of the stage. that's one strategy i have heard. we'll see what happens on the debate stage, but you can kind of hear biden echoing that advise there. >> what your take overall on biden's message today, keeping the message on health care and withdrawing the scotus nomination if trump does not win? >> it is interesting the way the democrats, biden included, have coalesced around the health care argument when it comes to the supreme court nominee. they, of course, are talking about the process, they're talking about roe v. wade, but a lot of increasing focus has been about making this about health care because that's a number one issue for voters. it was a number one issue in 2018 when we looked at exit polls and it remains a number one issue today, particularly as the democrats point out we're in the middle of a pandemic. we're talking about pre-existing conditions. obamacare still polls pretty well. so that seems to be in the

supreme court fight what they have identified as the biggest winning issue for them. of course, republicans would like to be focused and talking about other issues. but this is what the democrats, i think we're going to hear more and more of this in the hearing coming out from them. >> yeah. francesca, joe biden brought up the issue of distraction with my colleague stephanie ruhle in response to the president's refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. what is the reality? is this all about making noise or is there something more to it? >> the president is certainly creating an argument for himself that this election, if he does not win, is somehow fraudulent or was somehow unfair, and we know that the republican party and president trump, who has been known to be very litigious in the past, are preparing for election battles on this, court cases. this plays into the supreme court as well and part of the reason why he wants to get that ninth justice on the court before any election cases and mail-in voting cases come before

the supreme court. >> what about, francesca, anyone from the president's inner circle? does anyone think the president's noncommittal stance is a good strategy? >> well, the president's inner circle has said this week that, you know, that the question in the way he was asked it left wiggle room because he was asked if it was win, lose, or draw, and kayleigh mcenany, the white house press secretary, had got up there and said that he will observe the results of the election, except for, again, they're preparing these court -- for these court battles. they're planning to be very litigious, including on mail-in voting. we can certainly expect a situation in which conservatives take whatever the election results are to the courts. >> shannon, we have heard from a number of senate democrats today. they have all been calling on judge barrett to recuse herself of any election issues that come before the court were she to be confirmed prior to the election. what are the prospects of that happening? >> well, i suppose it will be

something up for her to decide on her own. she does not have to, though, if republicans aren't asking for the same thing, because there are enough republican votes to confirm her. there's really very little democrats can do at this point to slow down this process. this is heading for confirmation a few days before -- a confirmation vote a few days before the election. republicans are unified behind her, of course, as we have seen in the past nominees, a lot can change between now and then, but if things go as planned, this is moving forward, heading to confirmation. there's not much democrats can do. a lot of things we're hearing from them now are messaging and communicating to voters ahead of the election. >> your thoughts on all of this and the fact, democrats, there's not much they can do, but is it possible for them to slow things down? do they have anything in their arsenal to slow things down at least until after the election? >> they can slow it down, certainly, within the committee. however, until after the

election would be very difficult at this point for them to do. one argument that we have heard from democrats such as house speaker nancy pelosi, however, is this is why the elections themselves are so important, that the legislature can serve as a check on the supreme court even if the supreme court rules in ways that liberals and democrats do not like, then those things can be addressed with legislation. so i would look for that argument from more democrats as well. >> okay. ladies, thank you so much. i appreciate your time. so anyone remember florida in the year 2000? there's another state that risks becoming a hot mess in this election for different reasons. we'll tell you why next. lothes that just don't smell clean? what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks? now they can! downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh way longer than detergent alone. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. this towel has already been used and it still smells fresh.

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michigan republicans are suing in an escalating battle over absentee ballots. the state party wants a judge to overturn a ruling that allows though ballots to be counted up to 14 days after election day as long as they were postmarked by november 2nd.

julia jester is joining us from the city of troy, michigan. yu julia, we have more than 3 million michiganders expected to use absentee ballots. are votered concerned about this? >> they are, alex. and that's why we have a long line of cars here at troy city hall, where the clerk set up a drive-through for voters to come in and pick up their ballot and then drop it off at their leisure so that way they can bypass the u.s. postal service and avoid those delays that are critical to that judge's ruling. i spoke with many, and that's exactly what they told me. here's why they came out today. take a listen. >> i like the fact that i can pick it up in my hands and drop it off in their box and not have to deal with any u.s. postal service. >> we just saw on our nextdoor app that they were doing the pickup this weekend, and we just thought, if it wasn't too crazy with the line, we would come up and get ours.

so that we didn't have to depend on the mail. >> i want today pick up my ballot early because i know that there's going to be a lot of pressure on the system, so i figured i could take as much of the pressure off. >> something in your hand is more comforting, so that's why, and it's an easy drive to us to get here. we'll be back home before the football game. >> and alex, this is something that the clerks are really trying to help with. they got a little help from the michigan legislature, which passed a bipartisan bill that allows big cities like troy to process ballots the day before election day. and get that started so that way there's not a huge delay in those results. michigan remains a critical battleground state with a new nbc news/maris poll just out today showing vice president joe biden leading by eight points to president donald trump. so a lot happening here in michigan. and clearly, voters are very engaged. >> yeah, and listen, i love the

guy who said he had to get the vote in before the football game. priorities make sense to me. can i ask you, though, how long is that line? how long do you think people are waiting behind you? >> yeah, so the line is long, but it's moving really quickly. there are 13 election workers here running in, taking ids, matching it with ballot numbers and zooping back out with ballots and folks are on their way quickly. they helped 300 or so so far today, i'm told, and the wait is not that long. folks are jamming out in their cars and participating in democracy. >> and getting back home in time for the football game. thank you very much, julia jester. >> as questions swirl around how election day might play out, the president is sowing doubt about the reliability of mail-in voting. here's part of what he said at a rally in pennsylvania last night. >> all i'm asking is people go out to vote, go out to vote. and stop with this nonsense. because we're going to be counting ballots for the next two years. and i don't want to end up in the supreme court, and i don't

want to go back to congress, either. even though we have an advantage if we go back to congress, as everyone understands that. >> joining me now, nbc news election law analyst ned foley. ned is also the author of the book "presidential elections and majority rule." which makes you the perfect guy to talk to right now about this. what do you make of the president's claims here? is there any legal precedent to back up those claims? >> there's a lot there, and a lot of it is uncertain. i think the key point is to emphasize expectations. we should expect to know the result if not in november, at least by december 14th, because that's the date that the electoral college meets officially to cast their votes. anything that happens after december 14 takes us into new territory that we haven't seen since the 19th century. so that's what causes me the most concern about the president's remarks that you just played, the idea that the

election would be going all the way to congress, because that would take it to january. >> he even said it would last for two years. december 14th, to your point, is sort of a drop dead date there. but you think it could actually pass beyond that? what are the ramifications were it to happen that way? >> well, again, we have many of us have living memory of bush v. gore in 2000. you mentioned that earlier. but again, as much as that was disconcerting for 35, 36 days, it did end before the official electoral college meeting that year. none of us were around back in 1876 for the hayes tilden election, and that's one where the dispute got so contentious that it left the states and did go all the way to washington and congress. and that's just so much more of precarious, and we have to hope it doesn't happen this time, and the expectations should be that it shouldn't happen because the way the system is designed to

work is that each state has its electors. the electors are chosen based on the popular vote. that's the people's choice in each state. so that if we get to december and we get closure resolution that the people of each state have spoken and the electors are based on the people's choice, then the system will have worked even though there may be uncertainty in november. >> there are several states, as you know, ned, that are right now facing some legal battles ahead of the election. we talked about the michigan's gop's lawsuit over a ruling that would allow absentee ballots to be counted up to 14 days after the election depending on when it had been mailed in. you have pennsylvania, a journalist there, who writes the state is at risk of becoming the center of election chaos as both parties wage aggressive legal battles and political fights over mail-in ballots and voting rules. why, ned, have these states become a legal battleground? >> well, they are a legal

battleground because they're a political battleground. the polls are telling us as was true back in 2016 that the electoral college may turn on these states, so then you look at that political landscape and then you look at the legal rules and you compare the chance that you could fight over the result in court versus the voters getting their votes. >> wait, ned. when you say that the first part of your answer was that these are based on political things. are any of these lawsuits frivolous in your mind? do they not have true legal standing? >> well, this year is an explosion of litigation all around the country, the likes of which we haven't seen in previous presidential election years. there's always some lawsuits every four years. you know, in 2004, 2008, 2012, but this year, it's taken to new levels. and again, usually, the lawsuits

are in the battleground states because they can determine the electoral college. this year, we're seeing lots of lawsuits in the battleground states as well as lawsuits in some of the other states. so it's unprecedented. in fact, back to the point you were making about the good news out of michigan, that bipartisan bill that michigan passed, legislature passed, is very important. pennsylvania has not passed a similar bill. although it's in front of the legislature. that would really help pennsylvania potentially avoid some problems and pennsylvania, for a variety of reasons, is a state to be concerned about. >> but ned, that michigan law that was passed, isn't that unprecedented? let's not count florida in 2000. having votes be counted for two full weeks after the election as long as they were properly mailed on time, when has that happened? >> that was a lower court.

i don't -- i mean, i think we'll have to watch that particular lawsuit go up the chain. there's another case actually out of pennsylvania that's going to arrive at the u.s. supreme court really any day now that's got a similar issue. it's not a two-week extension. it's a three-day, if i remember correctly, extension. but it's a similar issue. in both states, the rules on the books say absentee ballots have to arrive on election day in order to be counted. and in both contexts, you have courts saying they're going to relax that deadline and allow ballots to be counted despite the state statute. it's a greater extension in the michigan case, but the one that will arrive at the u.s. supreme court first is out of pennsylvania, and that will tell us something significant for all of these cases. >> you're telling us a lot significant, ned foley. come see me again. you're just the guy i need to talk to in these turbulent

times. >> what joe biden said about the amy coney barrett nomination and why the fight could come down to two words. could come down to two words. ♪ ♪ smooth driving pays off with allstate the safer you drive the more you save ♪ you've never been in better hands allstate click or call for a quote today little things can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream.

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the clear focus is this is about your health care. this is about whether or not the aca will exist. >> democratic presidential nominee joe biden today making the issue of president trump's supreme court nominee all about health care, and joining me now, republican strategist and senior adviser for the lincoln project, susan del percio, and jonathan alter, msnbc political analyst and daily beast columnist. jonathan is also the author of his very best, jimmy carter, a life, which will be out next week. we're excited about that. susan, i want to start with your reaction to what joe biden had to say there. what are your thoughts? >> it's a smart move. it's what really we saw the blue wave come in in 2018. it's what people are concerned about. and it also connects very well to the covid-19 pandemic.

and how the trump team has just been so poor in handling their response. so you add to that that they're going to take away your health care? that's a doozy. and i know donald trump keeps saying he has some secret plan. he does not have a secret plan to handle this. if the court overturns it, the law is gone. >> well, it's clear that democrats across the board are making health care a key issue for the supreme court fight as well as for the election. let's take a listen to what house speaker nancy pelosi had to say about it this morning. >> are you concerned about judge or justice barrett voting to overturn roe v. wade? is that something that you think is seriously on the table? >> right now, what is on the table is a court case that republicans have advocated to overturn the affordable care act. that's the case that's on the table in the supreme court. so that is where our concern is. >> so you saw what happened there, jonathan.

pelosi asked about the fate of roe v. wade, pivots straight to the affordable care act instead. what do you make of this strategy? >> i think they're all on the same page on this. you're going to see in the questioning of barrett that they're going to oftentimes go right past roe v. wade. they feel like most of the american people understand that roe v. wade is on the ballot. what they want to do is explain to them that, you know, their brother who has diabetes, their uncle who has cancer, they will not be protected. they will be thrown to the wolves if the republicans win this election. so trump is going to go into this debate on tuesday, and he's going to say, i just signed an executive order protecting people with pre-existing conditions. that executive order is completely worthless. but it will take, you know, some skillful arguing to sman thexpl that. it's like an executive order that says i want world peace. it's the position of the

government to have world peace. you have to change the law or at least save the aca in order to protect people with pre-existing conditions. and that executive order doesn't do that. and barrett is part of the court that will be hearing this case. in that sense, although there's some disadvantages to the barrett nomination, this is an advantage for the democrats, because it further accentuates that health care is on the ballot in november. >> well, in fact, the president, susan, as you know, was tweeting about this issue of affordable care act and the supreme court. he did it this morning in which he wrote, obamacare will be replaced with a much better and far cheaper alternative if it is terminated in the supreme court. would be a big win for the usa. how long have we been hearing about the president's desire to get rid of the aca, but we have never actually seen a plan. any expectation we're going to see one from republicans? >> no, there is none. he couldn't get it done when he had a republican house and a republican congress.

he has no plan. even roy blunt on "meet the press" today said oh, well, if it's heard, we'll still have time to figure something out. so the senate has nothing on this. but there is one other thing that's coming up that i think we'll hear from the democrats on is, besides the actual hearing and the issues, i think that it should be made clear that donald trump only pushed this through, not because of principles, but because he wants the courts stacked his way in case this election goes to the supreme court. and he is doing it only for his benefit, like he does everything else. so this is not about getting the courts and making and fulfilling a promise. donald trump breaks promises and he lies. this is, in his mind, he believes if i appoint someone, they'll be on my side. he still has not learned that based on previous court decisions. >> so give me a preview, jonathan, with the first presidential debate coming up

two days from now on tuesday night. health care certainly bound to come up. what can we expect? >> well, i think we'll talk initially a lot about covid, and trump, you know, will try to say he's not responsible, which he's been saying all along. i don't think that's going to work very well for him. the good news for joe biden is that the trump people have lowered the expectations by making it seem like he's going to go in there and drool. all biden has to do is be himself, and you know, he'll be fine. he can even make some gaffes. people know that he was a stutterer. they know he sometimes misspeaks, and he'll still be okay. he has to prosecute the case, and the real challenge biden has is every word that comes out of trump's mouth is a lie. if he spends the whole debate fact checking trump, then he's not on the defensive, which is where he needs to be. >> all right, guys. that's a wrap for now. both of you, susan del percio, and look, jonathan, the reading material i have for our

interview next week. good to see you both. former congresswoman katie hill on what she expects to happen next in the fight over amy coney barrett. that's next. on your interests or what's trending. get real-time insights in your customized view of the market. it's smarter trading technology for smarter trading decisions. fidelity. 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.

approaching 3:00 p.m. in the east. we're taking a look at napa county, california. another devastating wildfire. this is called the glass fire. firefighters got word about it around 3:00 a.m. a little bit after this morning. it started as a vegetation fire but it's been swiftly moving and has been deemed as such by cal fire a very fast moving blaze. it's to the east of calastoga. there are a number of things in danger there. it's been forced to stop all medical treatment, transfer all patients out due to the fire.

it's fire season and then some. we have some new questions today about religion and how much of a role it could play in the confirmation hearings for judge amy comey barrett. supporters say it should be off limits. >> you're a catholic. do you think it's appropriate for democratic senators to ask judge barrett about her catholic faith? >> i think it's appropriate for them to ask her about how faithful she would be to constitution of the united states. it doesn't matter her faith or what religion she believes in. does she believe in the constitution of the united states. big welcome to you. what are your thoughts on this.

do you think her faith is fair game for questioning? >> it's not about her faith. it's about whether she's trying to impose her faits h on the american people. when people are asking questions it's whether she has to use her values and beliefs in her faith. a conservative faith into her court decisions. that's the part this concerns me. if she could keep it separate, no problem. >> let's play a clip for you to hear confirmation in 2017. here is that talking about the subject. >> when is it proper for a judge to put their religious views above applying the law? >> thank you, chairman grassley.

let me start with your last question and say never. >> i can't tell you how many nominees have been before us in this panel for the bench and virtually all say the same. i'm following the pres dent. i'm following the law. i'm following the constitution. don't worry a thing about who i am, how i was raised, what my religion is, what my life experiences have been. put it all aside. i don't believe that for a second. >> is it important for her to be more forthcoming about this for exactly what senator durbin was suggesting there? >> i think it's it. people can say whatever they want. look at our president for goodness sake. it doesn't matter when you're looking at the actual decisions. if she comes from this background of believing that women are subordinate for men and she practices that way and believing that birth control is not something that should be allowable or not covered by health care, believing we shouldn't access abortions, all of that is something that we

have seen show up in court decisions and i just don't believe it either that this is not something going to. it's rare we have supreme court judge, especially who have been prop vied provided on a list by evangelical lists whose entire purpose to appoint nominees that are proven to side with their issues on this. it's not about -- it's exactly the opposite of what their espousing in terms of keeping their religious views separate. >> senator richard bloomenthal asked her about her views on roe v wade and she insisted that nominees for appeals should not give personal opinions about precedents but she should now be required to answer this question since she then becomes in a position to decide against upholding a precedent? would that be reason she needs to be very clear.

>> i think she should be asked but i don't believe wh she will say. color me skept. >> caller: -- skeptical. this is the question every supreme court justice is asked. they will say it's settled law but that doesn't mean they will not chip away at every single aspect oift. that's what we're seeing in the lower courts, in the legislatures and wa we have seen in congress and in certainly in the supreme court. she should drill down on the questions. >> joe biden said her nomination is about health care and whether the affordable care act will continue to exist. >> i think for women, young women in particular, we are very, very conscious of the fact that our choices and how our freedom and independence are going to play out for decades to

come are on the line and it's about health care immediately. yes it's about whether the affordable care act will stay in tact. at the end of the day it's about so much more than that. it's about our civil rights, liberty and freedom and what it means for future generations. >> any political blow back for republicans who fast track this. do you think any will pay a price at the ballot box? >> i think we will. cory gardener. i think it's possible. it will energize the democratic base. i think that that doesn't mean they won't push it through in the lame duck session when there's no more political concessioco consequenc consequences. >> okay. always good to ta to yolk to yo. thanks for watching opinion i'll see you next saturday.

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good afternoon. p a lot to cover for you. the president announcing a 5:00 p.m. news conference today at the white house. a day after unveiling his supreme court pick. the democrats dilemma. what to do to stop or just slow down the confirmation of the president's supreme court pick. i'll talk to a democratic senator about just how far they are willing to go. also, two days before the first presidential debate, new polls out today showing joe biden in control. i'll ask anthony scaramucci.

the president is hard at