thursday that democrats will carry with them through election day. we will have coverage of that all week long. thanks to you for getting up "way too early" on this tuesday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. good morning and welcome to "morning joe." it is about 6:00 on the east coast on this tuesday, august 30th. we have a lot to get to this morning domestically and also around the world. first of all, the former president, donald trump, is at it again, launching into a crazy, unhinged, online rant targeting the fbi, demanding he be immediately installed as president while trying to rally support from his supporters over the false claim of, quote, criminal election interference. this comes as a new poll shows a majority of his supporters believe the u.s. is headed

toward a civil war. president biden, meanwhile, is expected to address the threat of political violence head on as he hits the road today. the white house says the president will call out the far right for its dangerous rhetoric and challenge the republican claim that it is the party of law and order. we're also following major developments out of ukraine, where officials in kyiv say russian forces are in retreat as ukraine launches a counteroffensive in the south. president zelenskyy says, quote, we will chase them to the border. major news out of ukraine. we'll get to that in a moment. >> boy, it really is something. and you look at the poll numbers. first of all, fascinating it is joe biden's poll numbers that go up, willie, as democrats seem to be doing far better in the midterm elections than expected. the same group of people, donald

trump, lindsey graham, those type of people, who challenged the 2020 election, or with lindsey, went back and forth, back and forth, they're now talking about violence in the streets if donald trump is held to the same legal standard as everybody else. i mean, fact is, for a very long time, he's been held to a lower legal standard. he's being held to a lower legal standard right now. if lindsey graham did half of what donald trump did with the government documents, he'd already be in jail. any member of congress would be in jail if they'd done this. actually, we're already holding donald trump to a lower standard than we hold members of congress and other elected officials. two former directors of the cia, former national security advisers, we're already doing that. now, the things don't seem like they're breaking the trumpists' way, now, we actually have a majority of trumpists believing

a civil war is coming, because what? they don't like student loan relief? they're afraid of jewish space lasers? they're stupid enough to believe the italian guy rigged the election? they think there's bamboo in ballots? really, what is -- what is the reason they want to go to civil war? they own the supreme court, right? they live in their own news cycle. they have got permissive law on guns. they have the most restrictive laws on abortion they've had in 50 years. they have got the most expansive laws that they've on religious freedoms in over 50 years. it is hard to imagine what cultural war, you know, they're not winning.

>> yeah, i mean, it's -- the stakes have been raised with rhetoric, and that's what this is. you talked about the media bubble, that media ecosystem after the fbi executed a lawful search warrant on mar-a-lago a few weeks ago. that night on tv on the most watched programs, the most listened to podcasts and radio shows, there was talk of war. this is war. this is what we've been warning you about. the deep state is coming for you. the fbi is against us. justice department is against us. biden is unleashing everything we thought to be true, it's happening. of course, as i said, they were executing a lawful search warrant on a president and an administration that took a bunch of classified documents casually to a country club in florida. but that's why you hear talk of civil war, because people are using that language. they're saying, these are the stakes. this is war. we've got to fight back. you mentioned lindsey graham. he tried a little bit yesterday to clarify those remarks from sunday, when he predicted there would be riots if trump were to be prosecuted for mishandling those documents.

here's a reminder of what senator graham said, followed by the way he tried to temper them a bit yesterday. >> most republicans, including me, believes when it comes to trump, there is no law. it's all about getting him. if they try to prosecute president trump for mishandling classified information after hillary clinton set up a server in her basement, they literally will have riots in the street. i worry about our country. if there is a prosecution against president trump based on mishandling classified information after what happened with hillary clinton, there will be frustration, and i fear violence. i reject violence. i'm not calling for violence. violence is not the answer. >> too late, right? it's out in the atmosphere. he's already said it. and he's not alone, joe. >> yeah. >> again, is lindsey graham or others, are they okay -- it's a question that should be asked. we can't get them to come on

this show, but it's a question that should be asked -- are you okay with any president of any party taking 15 boxes of classified documents with him or her from the white house to their home, their private residence? are you okay with that? that's what you are arguing for here, that he shouldn't be prosecuted for this. and it is a warning, of course, to merrick garland and the justice department, hey, don't forget about january 6th. if you prosecute this president, if you indict him, there will be violence. >> you know, willie, the thing is, this is so important for everybody listening this morning. understand, when we show polls, over half of trump supporters supporting civil war, you hear lindsey graham talking about riots in the streets, that the republicans, donald trump supporters, will riot in the streets if he is held to the same legal standard as lindsey graham and everybody else. first of all, it is fascinating because what did they tell us? oh, no, republicans don't riot. donald trump supporters don't

riot. that's aantifa. now, we have lindsey actually saying, "we're coming for you. we're going to riot. republicans will riot. trump supporters will riot if he's held to the same legal standard that lindsey graham or any other member of congress would be held to." he tried to temper his remarks a little bit. like you said, too late. he says, i reject violence, but there will be violence. >> right. >> there will be violence. >> right. >> if a guy that took boxes of top secret material, confidential material, secret material out of the white house is held to account like any other american. it is fascinating. i will say, willie, and, again, perspective, perspective, let's have perspective, you look at the numbers out there and you see a majority of americans believe the investigation should move forward. 55%, 56%, 57% of americans believe that donald trump should be investigated for this.

that was after the fbi search for all of those documents. one other thing, though, that's fascinating. there is a growing awareness inside the republican party. there is a growing awareness on the right that donald trump is the same president that sneaked into the white house in 2016, ten days after -- donald trump said it wouldn't have happened on any other day. it happened on this one day. we could have had elections ten days in a row. i would have lost nine days. this was the day i could win. then republicans lost in 2017 in local races. they lost in 2018. they lost in 2019. they lost in 2020. he's the only president since herbert hoover who lost the house, the senate, and the white house in one term. now, he's anointed candidates that are going to lose pennsylvania, that are going to lose arizona, that are backing

away from him also right now, fascinatingly enough. it is making ohio a really cam competitive race. yesterday was interesting. you had ben shapiro, one of the most powerful voices on the right, telling republicans they needed to wake up. that donald trump was -- he was not the magic man that was going to win election. in fact, he motivates democrats to vote. he motivates independents to vote. there is a reason democrats are eager to keep trump at the center of the conversation, ben shapiro says to his conservative listeners and followers. half of independents say trump is a major factor in their vote, and they are breaking 4-1 for the democrats. republicans shouldn't play that game. if they do, they're cruising for a bruising. >> wow. >> exactly what happened. willie, later, brit hume came out and basically said the same

thing. you know, you lose with trump. if you are the republican party, you probably win without him. yet, you have this ever-shrinking base that seems to be more focused on violence, this ever-shrinking base supporting donald trump, even within the republican party which, of course, puts the rest of the republican party just in the losing position. >> yeah. this is something, what ben shapiro said, brit hume and others are saying now, something mitch mcconnell has been saying privately for a very long time, and we've seen it spill out into the public in the last couple weeks, saying, we've got bad candidates. the subtext is, we have bad candidates because of the ones hand-picked by donald trump. also, having donald trump at the center of the conversation, talking about an election that happened two years ago is not helpful to a party that believes it has a weak president on the ropes with low approval ratings. those are coming up, and his support is increasing for joe

biden. they believe this is fertile territory. as you said many times, joe, republicans should win in a wipeout just based on historical precedence, approval ratings for the president and everything they have going for them. >> huge year. >> they may lose the senate. they think they have it in the grasp. the margin in the house is going to be tighter, potentially, than they thought it would be. >> yeah. >> one other thing, mika, that plays along with that, and willie is right, this should be a massive, massive year for republican. you look historically. you look at inflation. you look at a lot of the -- you look at what people are saying about the economy right now. this should be a massive, historic landslide year for the republican party, much like 2010, 1994, 1980. this should be historic. it's not working out that way, and it is not working out that way, for the most part, because

of donald trump. he's at the center of attention. just where he wants to be. as long as he is at the center of attention, he can raise money, republicans. he can raise money off of your backs. he can raise money while you're losing elections. that's what it is all about for him. he wants the money. what's it about -- and the attention. what's it about for you? well, you're going to decide over the next several months. you know, mika, it's something that the republican party should have figured out a long time ago. they didn't figure it out. one other thing, too, and ben shapiro talked about this, as well, talking to conservatives again, talking to conservatives, he said, the dobbs decision is having a much bigger impact than anyone expected. i've got to say, it is having a much bigger impact than i expected. because it is usually pro-life voters that are one single issue voters. pro-choice voters are concerned

about the environment. they're concerned about other issues. they aren't a single issue voter. that's changing this year. all you have to do is look at the results in kansas to see that, actually, republicans have two problems now. one of them is, of course, that a fundamental right for women has been taken away after half a century. we don't handle that well in america. >> no. >> that's the first thing. we just don't. you don't take fundamental rights for women making decisions about their bodies, about pregnancies. you don't have people running for governor in michigan talking about forced pregnancies for 14-year-old girls who are raped by their uncles and have people in michigan go, "yeah, that's cool." no, they're not going to do that. voters in ohio won't be cool about a 10-year-old girl who was raped, and she had to flee the state because the state was going to force her to have the

rapist's baby. not cool about things like that. so you have that going against democrats. you have some extreme positions following uvalde going against republicans. then, of course, you have donald trump, who is the biggest problem now because, you know, if they got the right candidates, they could have finessed some of the issues better. that'll offend people, but that's what good politicians do. they know how to finesse issues. they don't just run straight into political fire, which it seems all the people that donald trump has anointed in these states are doing right now. >> right. >> republicans are paying for it. >> at this moment in american history, president biden is on the right side of these issues in terms of where americans are. we're going to be talking in a few minutes about exactly how he plans to frame that. he's going on the road. and also about the issue of democrats running for

re-election, whether or not they want to be seen with him. often, they don't want to be seen with an incumbent with low approval ratings. and whether or not they have the ability to prognosticate and see the president's wins of the past month, and perhaps do some math, and see those approval ratings may change, and get on the right side of it, instead of being shallow. >> they're changing. >> they are changing. >> 45% now. >> i know. >> by the way, you can check this on your google machine. this is not a pro-biden statement. it's just a statement of fact. you go back 50 years, only two presidents have had higher approval ratings at this point in the gallup poll than joe biden. those were the two bushes following two wars. >> let's bring in u.s. special correspondent for bbc news, katty kay. and pulitzer prize-winning columnist at "the washington post," eugene robinson. good to have you both with us

this morning. i will say, just backing up on the problem for republicans, joe, donald trump, if we don't get ahead of this, nobody needs to get ahead of this. of course, there are huge questions of national security perhaps being put at risk by whatever these documents are that were in mar-a-lago. they certainly were labeled in a way that seems that national security could have been put at risk. but having them at all, donald trump does not deny he has them. >> yup. >> donald trump was working with the national archives and trying to give some back, but maybe stuffed 184 random pages in 15 different boxes, maybe to muddle it, maybe they were just there. maybe he didn't know about it. doubt it. he had them. and if you stay right there, you have to ask the question, and i think lindsey graham and other

republicans who are sitting there, still shilling for trump, know in the back of their minds, this former president took documents with him to his club in florida. those documents were in argument with the national archives, with the u.s. government, and donald trump did not claim executive privilege months ago when they were arguing about this. he didn't claim he needed a special master months ago. now, the tactics that the former president is using appear to be to delay, delay, delay the obvious. he should not have had these documents. is there any scenario on eartha that he should have had these documents ask there was a reason to take these? >> none. >> everyone knows this. >> he's not saying it. lindsey graham isn't saying it. none of donald trump's defenders have come up with a good reason

why. >> so they jump to violence. >> why he took these documents out of the white house. these government documents. lindsey graham knows, katty kay, all of donald trump's defenders in congress certainly know because we're all given the briefing when we are given intel briefings, regardless of what committee we're on. we know the consequences of even getting one document that is classified, taking it home. people don't do that, katty. this guy has taken box after box after box. lindsey graham knows that. every member of congress knows that. not one of them have come up with a good excuse on why this president did what appears to be -- well, why he broke the law. >> really, the only excuse you

hear from republicans is the excuse you hear constantly on the campaign trail. it is not an excuse, it is a kind of rational for why they're kicking back against the fbi. the deep state, the fbi, out to get their guy, and so none of the normal laws of justice apply because everybody knows that the justice department will do whatever it wants to attack donald trump. that's, in brief, what you are hearing repeatedly, not just from people who support donald trump, but also people in positions of authority who should know better. that is all they can come up with. you haven't heard a single senior republican say, "oh, actually, it was okay for him to have the documents" or "maybe he didn't have classified documents." they haven't really come to any sort of defense, other than, "well, the fbi is always trying to attack donald trump." that just doesn't wash.

if you take classified documents, joe, we would have heard about it. sandy berger tried to take classified documents. we heard about it. hillary clinton had a server she shouldn't have had. we heard about it. we reported about it for a very long time. you also hear this from the right, which is, "well, we would have been speaking about it if it was hillary clinton. why wasn't the press reporting it?" we reported it month after month about the server. it is disingenuous to say it is only because it is donald trump. there are things in the documents that could compromise allies' own security apparatuses and agents. that's a real concern. you know, what is it in the document that is about emmanuel macron? the french would very much like to know. >> willie, they all know.

members of congress, they all know. if lindsey had taken two or three, he would have gotten in trouble like former directors of the cia. two former trekter directors of got in trouble. a former director -- a national security adviser to president clinton got in trouble. you just don't do it. they certainly didn't do anything on the scale, it appears, of what donald trump has done. what are people saying out there, defending him? franklin graham, i saw a clip of franklin graham yesterday say, he wouldn't take anything he wasn't supposed to take. if they did, all they had to do was ask him to give it back and he'd give it back. i don't know. perhaps that's franklin graham's way of sort of, you know, bluffing donald trump and

preparing his followers for the bad news that, actually, the fact is what we already know, that donald trump wasn't supposed to take those documents. they kept asking him for the documents back. they kept pleading for the documents back. he kept haggling them. he didn't return all the documents which is, of course, why the fbi said they needed to search his premises, to get the rest of the documents. >> the national archives asked and asked and asked, going on a year and a half and, ultimately, they had to threaten they'd go to congress with this before they got some back. even then, they didn't get them all back. they had to execute a search warrant through the fbi. gene, when you listen to lindsey graham who, as usual, knows better, throw around casual language about violence and riots, this loose talk of civil war, given a country that's coming out of january 6th and grappling with that, given a country where we've had threats and attempted violence against the fbi and irs, public health

officials, you're responsibility, as an understatement, especially senator graham, who knows the consequences of talking that way, to an audience who is prepared for violence, and some of whom have shown they will carry out violence on behalf of donald trump. >> i used to think the same thing, willie, that lindsey graham knows better. i'm starting to wonder if he actually does know better because he keeps doing this sort of thing and saying this sort of thing. you have to wonder. lindsey graham is not making a lot of sense these days. he certainly threatened violence. in his clean-up, he threatened violence again, which is just astounding. you know, for trump, certainly, it is all about stoking the grievance of his hard-core base. that's the way he raises his money. he feels that protects him

somehow from the consequences of his actions. in this case, his action is stealing property from the united states government. none of those documents, none of the presidential records belong to donald trump. none of them should have been taken to mar-a-lago. they all belong to the american people. even the famous, you know, weather map that he drew on with his sharpie, that is a presidential record. that belongs to you, me, and the american people. it does not belong to donald trump. he stole stuff. there are consequences when you steal stuff, and there are especially consequences when you steal highly, top classified documents that could get our agents killed or our sources killed, that could reveal our methods of gathering

intelligence. it is outrageous that lindsey graham, who does know that or did know that, would take trump's side in all this and just say, "well, yeah, maybe he did this, but, you know, we're going to riot if you hold him to account for it." it's insane. it is dangerous, but that's where we are right now. lindsey graham with donald trump stoking the base. >> gene, what it used to be, pre-january 6th, you know, there would be times where people would say, "well, you know, this means war." >> yeah. >> like bugs bunny, "of course you know this means war." 20 years ago, you didn't have to explain, of course i'm talking about political war because we're against fighting. there would be these rhetorical flourishes. now, as willie said, now, post

january 6th, with half of donald trump's supporters saying they want civil war, or they expect civil war, this is -- these aren't just heated, rhetorical, political flourishes. these words have very direct consequences as we learn from january 6th. >> they do in a heavily armed nation, with some of the most heavily armed people in this nation being trump supporters. it is incredibly dangerous. it only takes a spark. trump is down there at mar-a-lago, you know, ranting and raving on his little itty-bitty social media network about being reinstalled as president, i guess by the grand high installer. i don't know who that is these

days. but just ridiculous stuff that is, again, meant to stoke this feeling of grievance, that we are being persecuted by everybody else. trump is being persecuted by everybody else, and we have to fight back. just a spark is all it takes to -- >> donald trump does things out in the open, and, you know, at this point, he is not denying it. he hasn't denied that this has happened, that he took those documents. and this is as serious as it gets. as we close the block, i'll just say, there are reports he might have some information or might have some papers with information on the french president. just knowing and studying donald trump and having known him in the past, that is exactly who he would be obsessed with. just on a personal level, you can just tell that that's something he would be very interested in because that's the kind of person he would be

completely obsessed with. having said that, this is far more serious than gathering gossip, and republicans know it. >> yeah. up next, president biden -- >> real quickly. >> yeah? >> the problem is we look like we're not reliable allies to the french. >> no, i get it. >> like angela merkel found out that her phone was being tapped. >> i know. >> just like countries that helped us in the war against terror had their support of the united states, again, outed. again, we don't look like reliable partners if our allies are looking and saying, "well, will the next president just take whatever the hell he wants to take?" what happens is, then you can't -- when you're having the conversation with a current

president, you're like, wait a second, is everything that i'm saying now going to be shouted from the mountaintops four years from now? again, there's so many ways this is bad for us, bad for our allies, bad for our reputation. >> it's why there has to be consequences, so we can say no. up next, president biden today will argue the democrats that are the true party of law and order. mike memoli joins us with report on that. also ahead, the latest on the fallout from the fbi's search of mar-a-lago. the justice the president sa de review of seized documents is already done. meaning, trump's request for a special master could have come just a little bit too late. plus, ukraine's military has started its long-awaited counteroffensive to retake the first major city that fell into russia's hands. we'll get a live report from the war-torn country. also ahead, tennis legend

serena williams isn't ready to retire just yet. we'll have the highlights from her first round match at the u.s. open. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. lily! welcome to our third bark-ery. oh, i can tell business is going through the “woof”. but seriously we need a reliable way to help keep everyone connected from wherever we go. well at at&t we'll help you find the right wireless plan for you. so, you can stay connected to all your drivers and stores on america's most reliable 5g network. that sounds just paw-fect. terrier-iffic i labra-dore you round of a-paws at&t 5g is fast, reliable and secure for your business. welcome to allstate where anyone who bundles their home and auto insurance saves.

isn't that right phil? sorry, i'm a little busy. what in the world are you doing? i'm in the metaverse, bundling my home and auto insurance. why don't you just do that in the real world? um, because now i can bundle in space. watch this. i still don't get it. save up to 25% when you bundle home and auto with allstate. click or call for a quote today. republicans in congress call them "entitlements." a "ponzi scheme." the women and men i served with in combat, we earned our benefits. just like people earned their social security and medicare benefits. but republicans in congress have a plan to end so-called "entitlements" in just five years. social security, medicare, even veterans benefits. go online and read the republican plan for yourself.

joe biden is fighting to protect social security, medicare and veterans benefits. call joe biden and tell him to keep fighting for our benefits. the unknown is not empty. it's a storm that crashes, and consumes, replacing thought with worry. but one thing can calm uncertainty. an answer. uncovered through exploration, teamwork, and innovation.

an answer that leads to even more answers. mayo clinic. you know where to go.

it's the all-new subway series menu! 12 irresistible new subs... like #9 the champ. rotisserie style chicken double monterey cheddar. the champ is truly made for a champ. gee, thanks chuck. who said anything about you? it's subway's biggest refresh yet. ♪♪ 34 past the hour. president biden will be in pennsylvania today. he'll be just outside of scranton this afternoon, where he is expected to argue that democrats, not republicans, are the real law and order party. highlighting the recent rhetoric surrounding federal law enforcement from some members of the republican party. he'll tout his administration's,

quote, safer america plan, which calls for increased funding and training for 100,000 new police officers. he is also expected to talk about money from the american rescue plan that local governments have used for law enforcement, as well as the bipartisan gun safety law. then on thursday, president biden will hold a primetime address on, quote, the soul of the nation. the president will speak at independence hall in philadelphia, where he is expected to lay out his argument that america's freedoms and democracy are at stake, something he argued when he first announced his presidential run. >> we are in a battle for the soul of the nation. everything that's made america america is at stake. limit it to four years, history will treat this as an aberration. but if there is eight years of this administration, i think it will forever and fundamentally change the character and the trajectory of this nation.

>> a white house official tells nbc news, quote, he will make clear who is fighting for those rights, fighting for those freedoms, and fighting for our democracy. joining us now, nbc news white house correspondent mike memoli. he is in wilkes-barre, washington, ahead of biden's address there today. mike, give us a sense of how the president is really framing his accomplishments and putting them in perspective with what this country has been through over the past four to six years. >> well, mika, obviously, we've been talking about these midterm elections for months, but this is a white house that understands that when students return back to the classroom, labor day approaching, that most americans are really, for the first time, tuning into this question that's before them in november, about who is going to control congress and governorships across the country. even if president biden isn't going to be necessarily campaigning with every democrat across the country, you're

really seeing him ramp up efforts to frame the debate, frame the discussion for the country as the midterms approach. as a top biden political adviser laid out to me, there is a two-track strategy here for the president. the first, he understands that kitchen table issues, the economy, concerns about inflation, are going to be one of the top issues this fall, and he is going to talk about promises made and promises kept. talk about the american rescue plan, the infrastructure law, the chips act, some of the recent string of wins that, really, democrats feel gives them a real story to tell this fall. then you have a second track, which is the concern about the fact that americans' rights and freedoms are at stake, are at risk here, have been taken away here. and the re-emergence, or maybe it is better to say the persistent presence of donald trump has, in the view of the president's advisers, given democrats a real gift here. politics 101 is that if you are the party in power, if you control, as democrats do, the white house, the house, the senate, you want to make the

midterm elections a choice between two parties, not a referendum on what they've done here. the looming shadow of donald trump, the way he's shaped the candidates who are on the ballot this fall, has allowed president biden really to do a rerun of his 2020 campaign strategy. to talk about the fact that this is, as he so often put it, a continued battle for the soul of america. you'll see him do that today, just outside of scranton, talking, trying to flip the script on this law and order message. talk about the fact that democrats have boosted funding for law enforcement. you'll hear him say a version of what he said recently, you can't be pro-insurrection and pro-cops. outside in philly, talking about the founding principles that are at stake in this election, talking about the soul of america. as the president often said, our standing in the world, our knock

democracy is at stake, and he'll lay out who is fighting for the freedoms and who is on the other side of the fight. >> mike memoli, thank you so much. greatly appreciate it. soul of america, of course, trademarked by jon meacham, the use of that term, without the express written consent of jon meacham, it is strictly prohibited. or maybe not. maybe it is okay if a president uses it. katty kay, it is fascinating, we would say here, and i think most political analysts would say, if you just speak generally about democracy, saving democracy, saving freedom, that's the sort of thing that doesn't reach voters the way pocketbook issues reach voters. talking about inflation, the cost of groceries, the cost of gas, the cost of education. obviously, things have changed so dramatically. let's go back to dobbs. where a right to privacy, a right for a woman to make a decision over her health, over

her body, over her future has been taken away after 50 years. suddenly, there is a concern because of what thomas wrote in a concurring opinion, that that could extend to one right to privacy after another right to privacy. nothing guaranteed. suddenly, the white house sees the political upside of giving this sort of speech. i guess it really shows you how dramatically things have changed in the last three or four months. >> yeah, and it is no surprise that he is giving it in pennsylvania, where you currently have a democratic governor. if the republican, doug mastriano, wins in november, then pennsylvania potentially loses the right to have an abortion. it would become one of those states where abortion is banned. it is really ground zero in some ways of this battle over a women's right, it's why he is

speaking there. the issue of abortion, whether democrats can now make this the single voting issue, the energetic voting issue that it has been on the right of american politic for decades, will be tested in this election season. it looks like it is working for democrats to drive people to the polls. it looks like it is galvanizing their supporters. the economy has been a huge issue. it is the drag on the administration. if gas prices were to pick up again from now to november, you would see the kitchen table issues and gas prices reemerge as a major campaign issue. at the moment, this is the abortion election. women and independents, the nbc polls showing independents are breaking for democrats atbreaki issue. this is what is driving them to the polls. it is motivating democrats in the same way 2020 is motivating

trump's hard-core base. this is motivating democrats, but it is also motivating independents. the numbers are just bigger on that side than they are on the trump base side. >> absolutely. we have much more ahead about president biden's plans to hit the campaign trail ahead of the midterms, while some democrats aren't ready to share the stage with him. we'll dig into the political wisdom of that choice. plus, a man who nearly came face-to-face with senator chuck schumer during the attack on the capitol is headed to prison. we'll tell you who he had to say about the big lie right before he was sentenced. and up next, we're going live to ukraine for an update on a major military campaign to push russian forces out of a key part of the country. "morning joe" is back in a moment.

time. it's life's most precious commodity, especially when you have metastatic breast cancer. when your time is threatened, it's hard to invest in your future. until now. kisqali is helping women live longer than ever before when taken with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant... in hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's proven to delay disease progression. kisqali can cause lung problems, or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain... a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills, or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding.

avoid grapefruit during treatment. your future is ahead of you, so it's time to make the most of it with kisqali. because when you invest in yourself, everyone gets the best of you. for adults with generalized myasthenia gravis who are positive for acetylcholine receptor antibodies, it may feel like the world is moving without you. but the picture is changing, with vyvgart. in a clinical trial, participants achieved improved daily abilities with vyvgart added to their current treatment. and vyvgart helped clinical trial participants achieve reduced muscle weakness. vyvgart may increase the risk of infection. in a clinical study, the most common infections were urinary tract and respiratory tract infections. tell your doctor if you have a history of infections or if you have symptoms of an infection. vyvgart can cause allergic reactions. the most common side effects include respiratory tract infection, headache, and urinary tract infection. picture your life in motion with vyvgart.

a treatment designed using a fragment of an antibody. ask your neurologist if vyvgart could be right for you.

47 past the hour. after months of preparation, the ukrainian military says it has launched a counteroffensive to retake russian occupied kherson in the south of the country. ukrainian officials yesterday said fighting has sharply escalated in the region, and their military has, quote, breached the occupier's first line of defense. officials also said ukrainian forces destroyed a large russian military base, a claim nbc news has not been able to independently verify. joining us now, nbc news correspondent josh lederman, live from central ukraine. josh, what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, mika, there was a lot of skepticism that

this long-promised counteroffenively ukraine might have been a head fake. it didn't seem to materialize for weeks. now, according to ukraine's military, that offensive has begun. ukrainian military officials saying this morning that over the last 24 hours, they were able to damage about 30 russian military assets in the area of kherson, including an s-300 anti-aircraft system. now, russia has not confirmed whether that's the case. in fact, russia's military has said that they, as they were trying to repel the ukrainian counteroffensive, were able to kill several hundred ukrainian troops. another claim that can't be verified. there have clearly been multiple explosions in the area of kherson over the last 24 hours, signaling that this fight is really moving to the south as ukraine tries to start to

wrestle back some of the territories from moscow, that russia claimed early on in the war. a concern is still the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant with the iaea inspector on their way right now. i am here now. the inspectors arrived in kyiv in the last 24 hours. they are going to be making their way to spend several day on site at the power plant. not only inspecting the damage that has already been done to parts of the power plant earlier in this war, but hopefully getting a sense of whether the safety systems and backup mechanisms, like off-site power, are still in tact to run this nuclear plant safely. they're also hoping to get a read on the ukrainian nuclear workers who have been working under duress there, under russian occupation for months now. there is a lot they're not going to be able to do, frankly, like stop the shelling at the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant or force russia to hand the site back over to ukraine, something

that the united states has been calling for. the white house also calling yesterday for there to be a complete shutdown of the nuclear plant for safety reasons. russia has rejected those ideas, but the hope is that, having independent eyes and ears on the ground at zaporizhzhia will bring some sense of stability to this situation that has been really escalating in the last several days with local officials in the zaporizhzhia region now dolling out iodine tablets to people who live within 30 miles of the power plant, just in case there is a radiation spread. >> wow. nbc's josh lederman, thank you so much for your reporting this morning. we appreciate it. still ahead, after recent comments about candidate quality, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is making a new effort to boost some republican candidates in key battleground states. we'll play for you what he is saying now. plus, we'll run through the new signs. we might not see a red wave in november? "morning joe" is coming right back.

when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis persists... put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable,... i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. check. when uc held me back... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc got the upper hand... rinvoq helped visibly repair the colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting, steroid-free remission. and a chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check. check. and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin cancer; death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older... with at least 1 heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq... as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. put uc in check and keep it there, with rinvoq.

ask your gastroenterologist about rinvoq. and learn how abbvie could help you save. if you're turning 65 soon or over 65 and planning to retire... now's the time to learn more about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare and get help protecting yourself from the out-of-pocket costs medicare doesn't pay. because the time to prepare is before you go on medicare. don't wait. get started today. call unitedhealthcare for your free decision guide.

it's the all-new subway series menu! 12 irresistible new subs... like #9 the champ. rotisserie style chicken double monterey cheddar. the champ is truly made for a champ. gee, thanks chuck. who said anything about you? it's subway's biggest refresh yet. who said anything about you? after my car accident, wondnder whahatmy c cas. so i called the barnes firm. i'm rich barnes. youour cidedentase e woh than insurance offered? call the barnes firm now to find out. yoyou ght t beurprpris

ci had no idea how muchw i wamy case was worth. c call the barnes firm to find out what your case could be worth. we will help get you the best result possible.

♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ [ applause ] five minutes before the top of the hour. serena williams is not done yet. the 23-time major champion winning the first match of what is expected to be the last u.s. open and final tournament of her professional tennis career. the straight set victory marks her 102nd at arthur ashe stadium, the most by any player since it opened in 1997. extended her record for grand slam wins by a woman to 366. williams will face number two seed kontaveit in tomorrow's

second round. meanwhile, it was a memorable first wta tour for ukrainian daria snigur, who upset simona halep, then struggled through tears to explain what the victory meant to her family and war-torn country. >> i want to say thanks to the fans today. thank you. of course, this for ukraine, for my family, for all the fans who supported me, for -- thanks. i want to say thank you, all. thank you. >> beautiful. gene robinson, your thoughts on serena's -- at least the last phase of one part of her, what will be, very long career. it'll just change. >> it'll just change, right. seena williams is going to be, i hope, a prominent person, and

i hope we hear her voice. it'll be fascinating to see what she does after tennis. meanwhile, she's still got some tennis to play. i watched that match yesterday. she was pretty good. i know she's playing a high seed in her next match, but don't chalk that one up just yet to go according to form. serena may be on a mission. >> all right. coming up, new reporting on the documents recovered from mar-a-lago, and what it means for donald trump's bid to keep them from the fbi. plus, an update on yesterday's scrubbed lunar mission. what nasa officials are saying about the next available launch window. we'll be right back.

okay season 6! aw... this'll take forev—or not. do i just focus on when things don't work, and not appreciate when they do? i love it when work actually works! i just booked this parking spot... this desk... and this conference room! i am filing status reports on an app that i made! i'm not even a coder! and it works!... i like your bag! when your digital solutions work, the world works. that's why the world works with servicenow. only at vanguard, you're more than just an investor—you're an owner. we got this, babe. that means that your dreams are ours too. and our financial planning tools can help you reach them. that's the value of ownership.

it's the top of the hour. live look at new york city on this tuesday morning. it is august 30th. can you believe it? a lot to get to this morning. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell tries to walk back his comments that bad candidates may cost republicans the senate. but is it too late for that? we'll have another case in point from arizona. but much of the focus today is on pennsylvania. president biden travels to the key battleground state this afternoon, where he is expected to discuss public safety. it appears some democrats who

once tried to avoid the president are now trending a little closer as his poll numbers creep up.y are rising. josh shapiro is expected to appear alongside joe biden today, while democratic senate nominee tim ryan of ohio is expected to appear with the president at an event on friday. katty kay and eugene robinson are still with us. joining and conversation, we have msnbc and nbc news national affairs analyst, executive editor of "the recount" and the host of the "hell and high water" podcast, john heilemann. and the host of "way too early" and white house bureau chief at "politico," best-selling author jonathan lemire. >> best-selling author. john heilemann, last hour, we were talking about it, we have a couple, as always, some pretty wicked cross-currents going on in american politics right now. you've got a poll that shows over 50% of people who support donald trump believe a civil war

is coming. this makes a lot of sense because several people that we've been with this summer, mika and i, who have supported donald trump but who know not to talk politics around us, because we don't like talking politics at home. you know, you offer them a hamburger. if it is a little too rare, they mutter the words "civil war" under their breath. so they've been talking about it. i will say, they have. i've had two people mutter the words "civil war" randomly out of nowhere this summer. i'm like, what? i mean, okay, so i don't grill out really well, but seriously? 53% of trump supporters believe there's going to be a civil war in america over the next decade. 32% unlikely. for the ka catastrophists in the

audience, i'm sorry i let out a chuckle. you certainly have a lot of independents and people who would like to vote republican deeply troubled by january 6th. deeply troubled by what trump did in mar-a-lago. deeply troubled by what the alito court has done. we were talking last hour, also, though, about some things that are happening on the right. the prospects of this red wave in november, which should be massive, but looking like it is going to be a bit more tempered. some prominent voices on the right are starting to sound the alarm about exactly what donald trump is doing to the republican party. in a series of tweets, i found it fascinating, ben shapiroshap prominent conservative commentator on the right, warns that the more republicans talk about trump, the worse they're going to do electorally. ben writes in part this quoit, if americans want to vote against biden, they have to

campaign against him. not against the fbi or the deep state or whether trump had the right to have boxes of classified documents in his closet. there is a reason democrats are eager to keep trump at the center of the conversation. half of independents say trump is a major factor in their vote, and they're breaking 4-1 for the democrats. shapiro criticizes the republican party for continuing this crazy focus on donald trump over a handful of perceived weaknesses for democrats, including president biden, the economy, the education system, and america's very, very messy withdrawal from afghanistan. at the end, he goes, a mystery wrapped in an enigma which, of course, neither ben shapiro nor, yesterday, brit hume are suggesting it is much of a mystery at all. if republicans want to win, they have to, like, cut the umbilical

cord between them and donald trump. >> so, first of all, joe, all these people muttering civil war at your summer barbecues, what are you serving? >> i'm not that bad a cook. >> what are you serving with the burgers up there? >> exactly. >> look, i feel like i rarely do this, but a certain former republican congressman from florida, i've been listening to you say this stuff about trump for, you know, couple years at least, certainly since november 2020. just in terms of -- forget about the -- put aside the issues of, like, the normative issues about what you think of trump and is he a danger to national security? he is. danger to democracy? he is. just talk about the political piece of it and the thing you're talking about right now. i think, you know, the day has come, joe. you've said for this period of

time, when will republicans wake up and realize donald trump is political poison? i think it's starting to happen, you know? and i think it took all of this, the thing you and i have been talking about for the last couple months which is, you know, all that historical -- the historical headwinds for the in-power party plus inflation plus all the things that we're teeing up this year to be a good year for republicans, then seeing it all kind of fall apart. we don't know what the outcome is going to be. however republicans ultimately do in november, it has fallen apart in their hands. the notion of the red wave over the course of these last few months, that is no longer present in anyone's mind. no honest republican think they'll win 40, 50 seats in the house or win four to six seats in the senate. that dream is gone. it is obviously largely to do with the fact that donald trump -- he'd already done the thing democrats most hoped for, right? he'd become the center of the conversation in the 1/6

hearings. talked about the presidential race. those things were going to give the democrats a way to make the race about trump and make him the poster boy for what they want the race really to be about, republican extremism. across the board, right? guns, abortion, democracy, everything, right? the only thing he could have done that would have made it worse was to do what's happened now around mar-a-lago, which is to give every national security republican and mainstream republican in the country a reason to think that trump may have committed a violation of the esionage act and is likely staring down the barrel of an indictment. >> yeah. >> i think it may be too late in this cycle for republicans to cut the umbilical cord to trump. they're too tied up with him at this point. they can't just pivot out of that in the next couple months. the time is too short. it's a long-term question for the party, though. if they're going to wake up, they should wake up at this point and go, we already blew

this cycle in some sense. we have to start thinking about 2024 and cutting the cord before then. >> you know, if they -- john, if they picked a certain candidate in pennsylvania, they would have won pennsylvania. >> yeah. >> if they picked dolan in ohio -- mccormick, dave mccormick, you know, dina powell would have been picking out the curtains. >> i don't think she would have been doing that. >> it's an expression. i'm joking. >> i don't know whether that is true. that race probably would have been a very tough contest between john fetterman and dave mccormick. what it wouldn't have been is a race where mcconnell and the senate leadership, big money in the party is looking at pennsylvania and writing it off. that would not have been happening if dave mccormick was the nominee. >> i was about to go on a roll, then i was going to go to ohio.

dolan in ohio. >> oh. >> somebody who wasn't a crazy -- i can't say it on air. >> don't say it. >> in arizona. >> ah. >> you are right in a sense, that there are some things, candidates in individual races could see what ben shapiro is saying, other people are saying, and fine-tune their campaign. but in arizona, you've got blake masters, who is, my gosh, just not going to win. mitch mcconnell knows it. at least that's who mcconnell's people think. oz isn't going to win. ohio should be a walk in the park, given how red it's turned. now, that's up. you know, that's up for grabs. they're pour money into there. suddenly, with this political environment, you go to wisconsin and ron johnson is in trouble up in wisconsin. herschel walker in trouble in

georgia. donald trump has picked -- other than ron johnson, he picked himself -- but donald trump has picked the worst candidates, anointed the worst candidates for these general elections, just like he lost georgia and the senate for republicans in 2020. he's doing his damndest to make them lose in 2022. john, he's not stupid. he's got a know that these candidates he's selecting are the weakest candidates in general elections. >> i certainly think he just doesn't care. look, trump obviously knows the power of his endorsement to win on the gop primaries. he picked the right candidates who, with his help, could win in a lot of primaries. that's a fact. i just don't think beyond getting the candidates who venerate him most, who bow and

scrape, who massage his ego, he doesn't really care. what is the evidence you'd cite, joe, over the time that donald trump has been in politics, that he's given a rat's patooty, the gentle word, about the strength of the republican party, its durability? what is the evidence? i've never seen any. >> there is no evidence. mika, it is almost like he doesn't want any strong leaders to emerge in the republican party. i always found it fascinating. if you had two democratic senators from the same state, they didn't like each other. if you had a strong democratic governor from a state and a strong democratic senator, you know, the two staffs would fight all the time. same with republicans. you look at what donald trump did in georgia in december of 2020. it looks like he purposefully lost that race for republicans. he is doing the same thing now in 2022. the question is, again, what

republican out there, what conservative out there is thinking, yeah, this is the guy i want to cliff for another election? >> well, mitch mcconnell is appearing to walk back those comments he made only a few weeks ago, the ones where he downplayed the likelihood that republicans would perform well in this fall's elections in the senate. here's what he said two years ago. >> there's probably a greater likelihood the house flips than the senate. senate races are just different. they're statewide. candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome. >> this past friday, mcconnell held a fundraiser for senate candidate ted bud running in north carolina, herschel walker, the party's nominee in georgia, and dr. oz, who is running in pennsylvania. yesterday, mcconnell was asked directly about oz's chances.

>> senator mcconnell, you hosted a fundraiser in louisville a few days ago for candidates dr. oz, herschel walker and ted bud. why did you do it for those three candidates specifically? >> morgan, you may remember, i do this every august. i had a different set of candidates in last august. this event was scheduled about sixs ago. i pick out candidates i think have the best shot of winning. i thought these three were in critical states had a good chance of winning. >> what level of confidence do you have in dr. oz's ability to win the race against fetterman? >> i have great confidence. i think oz has a great shot at winning, and i -- just to get back to morgan's question, i don't think i would have had him here if i didn't think that. >> jonathan lemire, is mitch mcconnell right?

it's early. maybe oz could win. >> we have to give the minority leader credit for his poker face there. despite his, quote, great confidence in, publicly in dr. oz and, yes, of course there's seven weeks to go, it is not a sentiment shared by most republicans. they feel like oz has run a terrible campaign with a lot of self-inflicted wounds that we have detailed at great length on this show. not being able to take advantage of a candidate who was battling a major health crisis and unable to campaign for a while. glad to see john fetterman back on the campaign trail now. there was an absence where oz could have done well and he didn't. there is great pessimism among the gop there. other state, arizona, another one where they also fear -- they're not writing it off yet, but there is deep pessimism there, as well. the others they feel are in play. herschel walker, a disaster, but other trends seem to be favoring republicans in georgia right now. governor kemp opened up a decent lead over stacey abrams for his

re-election bid. i think both democrat nervous a her chances there. you may see herschel walker be in a close race. in ohio, yes, a strategist say it is far closer than they want it to be and closer than they think it should be, but they feel it is a state that's still becoming a pretty red state in recent cycles. they think vance probably can survive over tim ryan. at minimum, they'll have to put a lot of resources and time there, which they didn't expect. what is clear is this, a few months ago, we thought the republicans were going to potentially walk to a win in the house and pull off a tight win in the senate. odds favoring the democrats in the senate for sure. now, the house seems like it is a toss-up. democrats feel good about chances. with two months out, they have the wind at their back. >> pennsylvania and arizona, so interesting. arizona is interesting because, suddenly, you have blake masters, this candidate who

looked like he was doing well, now rewriting his agenda and his beliefs on his website. the latest to say that, actually, perhaps the 2020 election wasn't stolen after all, which will not endear him to donald trump one tiny bit. that is the litmus test for trump and loyalty. gene, picking up there on what john was sawing about the house, it looks like the senate is in trouble for the republicans. if things hold thenext seven weeks, we'll see what happens with gas prices, et cetera, but what about the house? is this democratic confidence trickling down into the house? i know that some -- you have some democrats, moderate democrats, abigail spanberger perhaps in new jersey, who are doing better than we thought they were going to do. but are democrats who are starting to mutter about perhaps keeping the house being overly optimistic at this stage? >> i think democrats are almost at the dare to dream phase now, and we'll see if that holds. i mean, structurally, the house

should not even be in question this year. you know, midterm election, right after a president has been newly elected, the other party always wins, except for twice in the last, like, 50 years or more. so it's still a long shot, but they are at that dare to dream stage. because republicans are underperforming, and the intensity that we're seeing from democratic voters, specifically -- especially around the dobbs decision, is to mobilize democrats in a way that strategists hoped and a lot of people, you know, thought was unlikely. it's definitely happened. you know, it's within shot. it's within reach, potentially.

don't put that in the bank yet, but this is -- there is a question now about the house. that's just astonishing. there should be no question about the house. kevin mccarthy should be measuring the drapes in the speaker's office. he can't do that yet. there's some races they really have to worry about as this election becomes nationalized around dobbs, around trump. that's good for democrats. >> let's bring in senior national political reporter for nbc news, sahil kapur. you have new reporting on the specific signs republicans hope for a red wave are receding ahead of the 2022 elections. what are those signs? >> mika, it has been a stark shift from last fall and earlier this year. remember after the virginia election, republicans stormed to victory in the governor's race with youngkin. they nearly won a stunner in new jersey. they were optimistic and bullish

about a red wave. now, you have to squint very hard to see signs of a red wave, as you've been talking about on this panel. the signs are everywhere. the recent one, special election in hudson valley, north of new york city. that's been a bellwether district that tracked the national mood for years. democrats should have no business competing there if it was anything resembling a red wave climate. the democrat, pat ryan, won against a republican by a larger margin than president biden won in 2020. something is going on. our poll shows persuaable voters are trending toward democrat. they were in favor of republicans by six points earlier this year. now, it is democrats by three points, which is unusual in an election year for the party in power. we see the republican enthusiasm gap shrinking. 17 points earlier this year to 2 points now. mcconnell downplaying expectations in the senate. he had the moment of candor, talking about candidate quality.

mcconnell has frank moments but walks them back. he has to remain optimistic about pennsylvania and georgia. he is not majority leader if republicans lose the seats. there is the fact that republicans have to spend even a penny in ohio, that state voted republican by 12.5 points more than the country as a whole did. that should be a wide open layup this year, in a year like this. yet, republicans may be fumbling the ball. they have to go in and prop up jd vance, rather than him coasting to victory. everyone is looking at the supreme court abortion decision. that's been huge. that has galvanized democratic voters. that's woken up a number of abortion rights supporters who had taken this for granted maybe over years, decades. declining gas prices have a lot to do with it. that's a reason president biden's approval went down in the first place. of course, the re-emergence of trump reminds independent voters who are alienated by him that he is out there and reasserting his

dominance over the republican party. he is still controlling this party to a large degree. it is making it harder for republicans, like mcconnell, to make this a referendum on president biden. it is playing into democrats' hands in a sense of making this a choice between democrat, the party in power now, and the maga/trump republicans. add it up. republicans at this point shouldn't feel too pessimistic. they have a lot of opportunities given the slepdslender margins take control of congress, but you can certainly see a road where they end up losing the possibility of capturing the senate and keeping it very close, if not losing the house. >> sahil, hey, it is heilemann. i know you know that there's not even a trace of cynicism in my body, so i would never suggest anything like mitch mcconnell held this series of fundraisers because he was getting blowback from republican donors who are mad about the fact that's been so much leakage out of mcconnell's world and him giving up on certain candidates. i'd never suggest that. i'd ask this question, and i

know you're dialed in. i'll ask you, on the base of all your reporting, everything you know right now, among the five important senate races we've been talking about, where republicans thought they were going to be able to win all five of these, ohio, pennsylvania, north carolina and georgia, arizona. which of those is mitch mcconnell in his heart of hearts truly most pessimistic about and most optimistic about? >> most optimistic is easy. north carolina, ted bud is doing well there. republicans have avoided the traps in north carolina, let's say, they've fallen into in other states. nevada is one where republicans are cautiously optimistic because they got the candidate they want. adam is not a rookie or first-time candidate. he is not someone donald trump plucked because of a celebrity status or friendship. they believe he can do the job,

and nevada structurally seems to be trending, this year, toward republicans if you look at registration advantages they've picked up. in terms of pessimistic, i would say probably pennsylvania. the fact that dr. oz has been trailing by double digits in some polls is stunning. in a state as tight friendly to republicans in a year where democrats are in full control. think how well they did last time a democrat was in the white house. beyond that, it is easy to see blake masters is struggling in arizona. i would put that in the somewhat pessimistic category. then georgia is a little difficult to tell. republicans feel the fundamentals in georgia are pretty good for them. herschel walker is a candidate mcconnell advisers didn't want him to be the nominee early on. they were public about the fact he has a problematic past that will be used against him. we see that happening right now.

i'd put georgia in the, how do you describe it, not optimistic, not super pessimistic. i would say georgia is probably a coin flip to them. >> senior national political reporter for nbc news, sahil kapur, thank you so much for being on this morning. still ahead on "morning joe," it's been just over a year since the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. we'll be joined by a retired army green beret who led a mission to rescue americans and afghan allies who were left behind. plus, not everybody has to run for president. that's the headline from one of our next guests. we'll talk about that and how outgoing congresswoman liz cheney plays into it. also ahead, severe weather is impacting much of the country, from tornado-force winds in the midwest to heavy flooding across the south. we'll have the latest from mississippi, where the governor has declared a state of

emergency. as we go to break, an update from nasa, which has yet to reschedule the launch of its artemis i mission to the moon after the agency scrubbed yesterday's launch because of an engine issue. nasa said, a liquid hydrogen line did not adequately chill one of the rocket's four core stage engines. the next available window for launch, there are several, this friday and next monday. nasa says it is unclear if the issue will be resolved by then. we'll be right back.

republicans in congress call them "entitlements." a "ponzi scheme." the women and men i served with in combat, we earned our benefits. just like people earned their social security and medicare benefits. but republicans in congress have a plan to end so-called "entitlements" in just five years. social security, medicare, even veterans benefits. go online and read the republican plan for yourself. joe biden is fighting to protect social security, medicare and veterans benefits. call joe biden and tell him to keep fighting for our benefits.

i look back with great satisfaction

medicare and veterans benefits. on my 32 years of active duty. i understand the veteran mentality. these are people who have served, they'e been in leadership positions, they're willing to put their life on the line if necessary and they come to us and they say, "i need some financial help at this point in time." they're not looking for a hand out, they're looking for a little hand up. my team at newday usa is going to do everything we possibly can to make sure that veteran gets that loan. it's the all-new subway series menu! 12 irresistible new subs... like #11 subway club. piled with turkey, ham and roast beef. this sub isn't slowing down time any time soon. i'll give it a run for its money. my money's on the sub. it's subway's biggest refresh yet. it is half past the hour. we turn now to an incredible rescue story about a group of american veterans who came together to save a former

comrade in the chaos of america's withdrawal from afghanistan one year ago. the new book entitled "operation pineapple express" out today tells the true story of lieutenant colonel scott mann, who had numerous deployments. he built a team built out of basements and living rooms across the united states, to organize an escape route out of afghanistan for a young afghan soldier named nazan nazami. nazami had been part of the first group of american-trained commandos, and he helped fight the taliban for over a decade alongside u.s. special forces. now, he was receiving death threats from the taliban, saying they knew where he lived and they were coming to kill him. operation pineapple express

chronicles the courageous mission to get nazami to safety. joining us now is the author of the book, "operation pineapple express," lieutenant colonel scott mann. he served as a green bernat. over 22 years of army and special operations experience around the world. we thank you for joining us this morning. congratulations on the book. congratulations on the mission. tell us about it and the title. >> thanks so much. it's a real honor to be here. you know, it was really one of those things that none of us really expected to be doing. as a 54-year-old storyteller, that's really what i do for a living now, i wasn't exactly a top draft pick for personnel recovery. when my friend reached out to me, it was just clear that nobody else was coming. we needed to do what he had to do to get him out of there. it was just a small team, is what we started with, of active dutybernats and veterans. we helped him move through the

city and the airfield. >> tell us a little bit more about his story and what the conditions were like when you were there. it's been a year since the american military evacuation. those initial days, you know, really tumultuous, a lot of violence, of course the suicide explosion at the airport really stick with americans. what'd you see when you were over there? >> we did this whole thing remote. everything we did as far as the recovery, we worked it remote, using cell phones and a signal, then connected to them. it was guys like him who moved the family through the crowd of 10,000 people. what i will tell you that was consistent was that we knew who they were. we knew where they were. they trusted us to help them move. we were able to use technology to drop pins and things like that. the thing about nazam, this is a guy who took a bullet through the face for his afghan special forces -- or teammates. warned them of an ambush, shot through the face.

two week later, he was back in the fight. this was the loyalty and teamwork we had almost 20 years in afghanistan. when he called for help, it was, without question, something we jumped into. he was always there for us. >> on this show, we don't let questions get eluded or evaded. mika asked a question about the title, and i need to understand the title. i'm a fan of the movie "pineapple express," and i'm guessing it is not the same thing. >> appreciate you bringing it back to that. nothing to do. so within 4 feet of the marines, we called in. they were about to toss him out of there. we get no paperwork. we called into a diplomat who was behind the airfield perimeter and told the story very quickly. he was a little agitated. phone was getting blown up, as you imagine. he was a green beret, had been through our qualifiation course, shot in the face defending us. the diplomat said, i was a green beret before i was a diplomat. tell your buddy to say "pineapple" and say it now. he did. next thing, we got a selfie of

him on the other side of the wire. the pineapple means starting to fly. >> that's a good story. glad we didn't let that go. >> thanks for not letting that go. >> great story. first of all, thank you so much for your service to america. we're so grateful for that. i'd love for you to explain to our viewers personally what these afghan heros who helped americans for 20 years, just what they mean to you, what they mean to your brothers and sisters in arms, and how your hearts are still with those that are still stuck in afghanistan. >> yeah, i appreciate you asking that. they mean everything. i mean, these are the men and women, a lot of us are here today because of how they stepped up for us over the years. you know, there is a narrative out there that perhaps the afghans didn't fight. i can tell you, the afghan commandos, the afghan special

forces, pineapple dunkirk and other groups like moral compass worked with, they're family. as green berets, you're taught never to leave a member on the battlefield, no matter where or who they are. to this day, we've worked through the winter to help keep them alive, to pay for their safe houses. you have veterans who are using their pensions to move these afghan refugees from one location to another. we'll never stop. i have a friend, george, who is 82 years old, green beret from vietnam, and he is still pulling out of vietnam. we don't believe partners behind, and we never will. >> i want to ask you this, i don't know what your answer is going to be to this, so just for viewers, if i get blind-sided here, i don't usually ask questions i don't know the answer to. but you were there. so i want to know, i get irritated listening to commentators talking about how

our years in iraq and in afghanistan were a complete waste, a total waste. that our troops did nothing but get over there and get shot up and get killed. that is just not what i hear from men and women who served over there and were proud of what they accomplished. i will say, again, you look at iraq, yes, it was chaos, but by 2008/2009, you had people like dexter filkins of "the new york times" saying it transformed so much, he didn't recognize it. that i going through difficult times now, but iraq has a fighting chance. talk about afghanistan. obviously, a far different culture. talk about the things that u.s. troops accomplished in afghanistan and the seeds that were planted that may one day grow. >> yeah, i really appreciate that question. i agree with you, actually, that what our men and women

sacrificed for 20 years, i lost 23 friends over the course of this war. what i tell their families, and i look them in the eyes and say, what they did, it mattered. there are 8 million young men and women who attended school, who existed under, you know, relative democracy. we haven't heard the last of them yet. i'm telling you right now, keep your eye on afghanistan over the next few years. keep your eye on the former commandos, the afghan special forces, those young girls who attended school and who had the opportunity to lead at various levels. i think they've still got a stand to make, and i think we'll see them make it. i think it was the sacrifices of our men and women and the nato forces over a 20-year period that held space for them to do that. i wouldn't count them out just yet. >> i wouldn't count them out just yet. the lessons learned in afghanistan. the lessons learned in iraq. over 20 difficult, difficult years. well, the ukrainians right now, in part, are doing as well as they are because of the lessons

our troops learned on the ground just like you, colonel. we greatly appreciate your service. >> thank you. >> thank you so much for being here today. we're honored. >> it is my honor. >> the new book is "operation pineapple express." lieutenant colonel scott mann, thank you. >> thank you. the efforts to overturn the 2020 election in georgia lands a legal win. we'll tell you which prominent republican will now have to testify to a grand jury. plus, we'll dig into another angle of the documents seized from mar-a-lago. there is new reporting that the former president has been bragging that he has dirt on a foreign leader. also coming up, a look at a potential crisis for tens of thousands of people in mississippi following heavy flooding there. we'll be right back. go to safelm you can schedule service in just a few clicks. it's so easy. and more customers today are relying on their cars advanced safety features,

like automatic emergency breaking and lane departure warning. that's why our recalibration service is state of the art. we recalibrate your vehicle's camera, so you can still count on those safety features. all right, we're all finished. >> customer: thank you so much. >> tech: thank you. don't wait--schedule now. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ there's a monster problem and our hero needs solutions. so she starts a miro to brainstorm. “shoot it?” suggests the scientists. so they shoot it. hmm... back to the miro board. dave says “feed it?” and dave feeds it. just then our hero has a breakthrough. "shoot it, camera, shoot a movie!" and so our humble team saves the day by working together. on miro.

as someone with hearing loss i know what a confusing and frustrating experience getting hearing aids can be. that's why i founded lively. affordable, high-quality hearing aids with all of the features you need, and none of the hassle. i use lively hearing aids and it's been wonderful. it's so light and so small but it's a fraction of the cost of the other devices. they cost thousands less. it's insanely user friendly. you take the hearing test online, the doctor programs in the settings. you don't even need to go into an office. they're delivered to your door in a few days and you're up and running in no time. it connects via bluetooth to my phone. you can stream music and you can answer phone calls. the audiologist was so incredible

she's full of all kinds of little helpful hints i love it. they're a game changer for me. i feel like i can take on anything. it feels great to be in control of my hearing. better hearing has never been this easy. try lively risk-free for 100 days. visit listenlively.com

42 past the hour. first lady jill biden has tested

negative for covid-19 after a rebound case. she had cold-like symptoms the first time around and was treated with the anti-viral drug paxlovid, which can trigger a rebound case in people several days after a negative test result. biden has been isolating in delaware where she traveled after recovering from her first case before testing positive a second time. a spokeswoman for the first lady says she plans to return to the d.c. area today. the biden administration has announced it'll provide around $11 million to support production of the monkeypox vaccine at a facility in michigan. it'll help buy additional equipment, bolster personnel, and speed up production. more than 200,000 doses have been administered in the country. the announcement comes as signs of monkeypox cases are declining in some large cities, including san francisco and new york. a public health crisis is unfolding in jackson,

mississippi, where residents face a boiled water notice for the fourth straight week, amid concerns of a lack of clean drinking water. nbc news correspondent stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: in jackson, mississippi, drop-off is for the kids and the water. the city is facing a boil water notice again. >> don't wash your hair with the water. don't brush your teeth. >> reporter: she worries about her 8-year-old. >> she going to go to the water fountain and drink from it? >> reporter: signs are up at the middle school. they have been there a listening time. >> reporter: you can't remember when the kids could use the water fountains in the school? >> i can't remember. honestly can't remember. >> reporter: george stewart taught here six years. a predominantly black, low-income school. on top of the other challenges, water quality and water pressure are a constant battle. >> one point, we had it shut down two weeks. >> reporter: when? >> maybe a year or two ago.

>> reporter: in the middle of the pandemic. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> reporter: class went virtual. kids fell further behind. >> we have many students who are considered some of the most vulnerable students, who virtual learning does not help them at all. >> reporter: the problem here, like so many other places, is failing infrastructure. this is one of two water treatment facilities in jackson, and the one largely to blame for the most recent city-wide boil water notice. officials still can't tell people when the water will be safe to drink again. in 2020, an epa report cited a long list of problems with the water system, including failure to replace lead pipes, faulty monitoring equipment, inadequate staffing. >> there's been a failure to recognize this as a unified problem, you know, as a problem both on the state and even, at times, the federal level, understanding that we live in aging america. >> reporter: jackson's mayor. if i could write you a check right now to quick the problem,

how big would the check have to be? >> for the water system lone, an excess of more than $200 million. >> reporter: pastor cj roads, father of twins, have seen many lose faith in their leaders. >> our congregation isn't the only one that feels that way. you talk to people across the city, they're livid and want to vote people out. >> reporter: there are concerns racial inequities could be to blame. >> i am concerned about my city, filled with residents that look like me. i think this is an opportunity to change the narrative of what mississippi is known for. >> reporter: that can start, he says, by providing the most basic of needs, water. stephanie gosk, nbc news, jackson, mississippi. >> nbc's stephanie gosk with that report. thank you. up next, pulitzer prize-winning journalist and best-selling author joins us with his new biography on the life of american sports icon and

olympic trailblazer, jim thorpe. "morning joe" will be right back.

it's the all-new subway series menu. twelve irresistible new subs. the most epic sandwich roster ever created. ♪♪ it's subway's biggest refresh yet!

this is the grand grabson of chief black hawk, destined to become the world's greatest iron. he scores 25 touchdowns, 198 points in a single season. >> news reel footage of legendary athlete jim thorpe who, in addition to football, was the first native american to win a gold medal for the united states, taking home two in 1912. he would go on to play professional baseball and football, being named the president of the american professional football association before it became the nfl. considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time, thorpe played professional

sports until the age of 41. thorpe originally had his olympic medals stripped after it was discovered he had been paid to play minor league baseball over two summers, a violation of olympic rules. last month, more than a century later, the international olympic committee reinstated thorpe as the sole winner of those 1912 olympic events. joining us now, author and journalist david maraniss. his new book is entitled "path lit by lightning: the life of jim thorpe." >> david, i'm so excited to have you here, and -- >> thank you, joe. >> and so excited to hear you were writing a book about jim thorpe. i want to start with the question, you know, to paraphrase paul simon, where have you gone, jim thorpe?

when i was growing up in rural mississippi, we were taught about jim thorpe. native american jim thorpe. and among my classmates, among my friends, it was known, jim thorpe was the greatest athlete ever. it was jim thorpe and babe ruth. those two names were always mentioned together. as these two athletic giants. kids never learn about thorpe now. it seems that he sort of disappeared from -- from public consciousness. what's happened through the years and why did you get interested in writing about this incredible man, this incredible athlete? >> you know, he was a great athlete 110 years ago. and with the attention span of people today, you know, even michael jordan is being forgotten now, right? i think that has a large part to do with it. when i told people i was writing this book, so many of our

generation, joe, said oh, i read about him in fourth grade. i wanted to write about him in a different way, both the man and the myth. i sort of consider this the third book in my trilogy of sports figures who are larker than sports. what i'm looking for in each case is not just the drama and action of athletics, but a way to use that life to illuminate american history. so jim thorpe did things unparalleled in american athletics, but also i talked about the obstacles that indigenous people faced throughout that period. >> david, what did you learn about how jim thorpe negotiated those obstacles as a native american? was he -- what was his attitude?

he must have been aware, obviously, of the discrimination, of the history, of persecution, the genocide. how did he -- how did he process all of that and how did it affect his life? >> well, at the center of the book, gene, is the indian boarding school system. he started going to boarding schools when he was a boy, and he was run away from both of them. understandably so. finally at age 16, he was sent to the industrial school in pennsylvania where he gained fame. we would not have known about him if he had not gone there and become a great athlete that went on to win the olympics. but that system was totally dehumanizing. the motto of the school was to kill the indian and save the

man. they would lose their religion, language, culture, cut their hair and dress them in uniforms of the u.s. cavalry. so jim thorpe had mixed feelings about all that. as he grew older and his athleticism deminished, he became more strongly identified with the native american experience. partly because of what happened when he lost his gold medals. and then in hollywood where he ended up in 1930, and he became sport of a spokesperson for native americans in the movie industry, who wanted to get the jobs that were being given to white people dressed in war paint opposed to real native americans. >> david, congrats on the book. you just started to go where i wanted to take you, the idea of his later years, where he achieved this remarkable fame

and celebrity at a time not many athletes, maybe ruth, a couple others were famous, but didn't reap the same sort of reward. tell us about -- a little about his last decades, what that life was like for him. >> it was a very difficult period. partly of his own doing in that he had trouble with drinking and was not around his family so much. he had three wives in the end, seven children who often couldn't see him. but he was constantly persevering. after his athleticism diminished, he took jobs in 20 different states. at one point he was digging ditches in los angeles. he was working on the fringes of the movie industry, being a greeter in taverns. but he never stopped trying to get the stability that he thought he deserved and to get those medals back that he thought he deserved. so in some sense, his life was considered a tragedy. but i view it in a larger sense

as an act of perseverance against all obstacles. >> the new book is "path lit by lightning: the life of jim thorpe." author and journalist david maraniss, thank you so much for sharing this with us. congratulations. >> thank you. still ahead, republican senator lindsey graham of south carolina tries to clean up his prediction of riots by former president trump. >> he went from saying republicans were going to riot if donald trump were held to the same standard that lindsey and everybody else would be held to and now he's just saying they're going to commit acts of violence. republican violence if no one is above the law. think about that for a second. plus, new poll numbers from trump supporters who believe the country is headed for a civil war. also ahead, what we're learning about joe biden's new message for the nation ahead of a primetime speech this week.

"morning joe" is back in two minutes. ng joe" is back in two minutes. with xfinity internet, you get advanced security that helps protect you at home and on the go. you feel so safe, it's as if... i don't know... evander holyfield has your back. i wouldn't click on that. hey, thanks! we got a muffin for ed! all right! you don't need those calories. can we at least split it? nope. advanced security that helps protect your devices in and out of the home. i mean, can i have a bite? only from xfinity. nah. unbeatable internet. made to do anything so you can do anything.

sit the top of the third hour of "morning joe." welcome back. it is tuesday, august 30th. >> wait a second. >> what? >> it's august 30th? >> yes, sir. >> we need to play more than a feeling. i woke up this morning and the summer was gone. >> i know. what happened? it was -- it's a weird, fast summer. >> fast, exactly. we have so much to get to this hour. joe biden travels to pennsylvania today, where he's expected to challenge the republican claim that it is the party of law and order, and call out the far right for recent threats of political violence. it comes as a new poll show as majority of trump supporters believe a civil war in the next decade is likely.

jonathan lamere is still with us. >> that is, jonathan, that's 53% of about 36% of the nation. >> yes. these are diminishing returns for republicans here. also, let's point out the calendar. joe biden not a joke, folks, he's gone to pennsylvania three times in a week, which shows you how bullish democrats feel about that state right now. it looms large in 2024, but they feel good about the chances to win that statehouse and senate seat. he'll be back there for his soul of the nation speech and on monday for the labor day parade in pittsburgh, which is a significant totem for joe biden. he marched there in 2015 just before he opted not to run for president in 2016. he marched there again in 2018 as he was considering running in 2020. he went forward with that, and i

think a lot of people will be looking on monday for clues as to what he has in mind for 2024. >> yeah, you look at the issues that he's talking about. if you're a democrat right now, it's far different than it was even six months ago. if you're a democrat now, and he's going to talk about gun violence. he's on the side of 90% of americans who believe in universal background checks. he is on the side of overwhelming majority of americans who believe that 18-year-olds should not be able to go in and buy weapons of war. he's on the side of the majority of americans. it's not a huge majority, but he's also on the side of the majority of americans who believe that weapons of war should be banned. again, i think that's more of a

65% proposition. but that is still pretty big. i've got to say too, if you look over the weekend, just reading a tweet from the news with shepard smith from yesterday, there was another violent and bloody weekend across the u.s. 180 people were shot and killed and 57 others injured by guns. gun violence is an epidemic. joe biden's going to be talking about it today. over 180 people shot by guns this week. this has been happening in urban centers for years. it's been happening in chicago. and there's one party that wants to do something about it, one party who doesn't. that doesn't mean take away guns. i own guns. i have a carry permit. i mean, i'm not talking about taking away america's guns. i'm talking about the things

that most republicans, most members of the nra support, universal background checks. and making it a lot tougher for criminals and mentally challenged people to get a gun in their hand and shoot people. that's all. >> well, the president is on the side of this issue that most reasonable gun owners and americans across the country are on. they want reasonable background checks and reforms for gun safety. they don't think weapons of war need to be out there across america, as they are right now. and this is just one of many issues where joe biden finds himself, i'm sorry, on the right side of history where the american people are. not on the side of crazy. speaking of, republican senator lindsey graham seems to be trying to clarify his remarks

from sunday, when he predicted there would be riots if trump were to be prosecuted for mishandling classified documents. here's a reminder of what he said, followed by how he tried to temper his comments yesterday. >> most republicans, including me, believes when it comes to trump, there is no law. it's all about getting him. if they try to prosecute president trump for mishandling classified information after hillary clinton set up a server in her basement, there will be riots in the street. i worry about our country. if there is a prosecution against president trump based on mishandled classified information after what happened with hillary clinton, there will be frustration and i fear violence. i'm not calling for violence. violence is not the answer. >> i mean, it really is incredible. >> unbelievable. >> it's really uncredible.

threats of violence and conflating donald trump's situation with hillary clinton's situation. but saying there would be riots in this country, and mika, at a time when you have people listening to lindsay graham and donald trump, and their threats of violence. talking about civil war. >> look, it's beyond irresponsible, and i used to be shocked, but i'm not anymore. here's the new poll we've been talking about. in the latest survey from the economist, 43% say it's likely america enters another civil war within the next decade. 35% say it's unlikely. among those who voted for donald trump in the last presidential election, that belief is even stronger. 53% of trump 2020 voters say a civil war is likely in the next ten years. including about 1 in 5 who say

it's very likely. >> mark me down as very, very, very unlikely. let's bring in professor from fordham university christina greer, phillip bump, and staff writer at the atlantic, mark liebervich. that doesn't mean there won't be violence. we have seen that donald trump got people coming to washington on january 6th. tweeted something else out in the middle of the night. so he started fanning the flames and created the violence on january 6th. mark, you wrote an entire book about people like lindsey graham. he was one of the main characters this there. thank you for your servitude. you talk about how these people will do anything to be on the right side of donald trump. i find it fascinating when you have people like ben shapiro, huge conservative voice, telling

republicans, well, what we've been saying for years, what they should understand, you can't win with donald trump at the head of your party, at the head of your parade. it didn't work in 2017, in 2018, it didn't work in 2019. it didn't work in 2020. there's a reason ben shapiro writes that democrats are eager to keep trump in the center of the conversation. half of independents say trump is a major factor in their vote and breaking 4-1 for democrats. republicans shouldn't play that game. if they do, they're cruising for a bruising. lindsey graham knows this, right? brit hume was tweeting it out. brit hume has gone along with donald trump for so many things, saying the same thing. mitch mcconnell is saying the same thing privately. why go out and talk about republicans rioting in the

streets? why talk about trump supporters rioting in the street it is donald trump is actually held to the same standard lindsey graham would be held to if he took boxes of top secret documents. >> this was an utterly bizarre chapter. i don't know what lindsey graham was thinking, and he was sporadically known as being one of the reasonable ones. he was certainly a full throated critic of donald trump a few years ago. and so all of a sudden he says this. i don't know what he was thinking. it was a bizarre thing. not only did he say it, donald trump immediately tweeted out or truth socialed out, whatever it's called, these comments yesterday to try to amplify them. you know, donald trump loves this as the center of his messaging. and republicans say oh, democrats love to be talking about this. yeah, guess what? someone tell that to donald

trump or lindsey graham, because it keeps happening. you mentioned frustration. the level of frustration with republicans i've been talking to in the last few weeks over not only how trump has been responding to mar-a-lago, but some of his closest acolytes has been sort of responding to it has only amplified it even more, created this sense of disorder that has become a front and center item at a time when republicans obviously, at least most republicans that i talk to, would like to be talking about inflation, about biden's approval ratings, you know, any number of other things than what's happening now. so yeah, it's bizarre that lindsey graham would bring this up now and would, you know, basically spend a day trying to walk it back. >> yeah, phillip, it's like republicans are trying to stand in front of this red wave that's about to break. they're standing in the way of history, which favors them. they're standing in the way of

joe biden's approval ratings throughout most of the year, which favors them historically. inflation, at the highest level in over 40 years. gas prices spiking at the highest level in years. they have somehow worked feverishly to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. and here's lindsey talking about violence. talking about, if you hold donald trump to the same standard that you would hold any member of congress, any cia director, any government employee, we republicans, lindsey says, are going to riot in the streets. >> yeah, right. there's a huge divide right now between how people peel about joe biden, which suggests republicans should do well in november. but the ballots show democrats have a slight lead. election is not over yet, but it

doesn't seem to be going the way the republicans would have expected based on historic trends. i think it's important to remember that lindsey graham, first of all, his comments were mostly about rationalizing. he events this idea that something completely untoward could happen, he mentioned the russia probe, and he says basically those justify people being so angry they're going to riot in the streets, which is a subtext that gets lost here. but it's also important to remember that the republicans are having isn't with donald trump, it's the base. the base is much further to the right, and they're very agitated and angry and feeling these things that politicians now, past the primaries, have to try to renegotiate for the general election and figure out how to get the base to come out and vote in november while not alienating modern voters. it's not necessarily about donald trump. donald trump is being a conduit

for that anger. that anger is the problem. >> so christina, your thoughts on this and the fact that joe biden now is headed to pennsylvania and he will be looking to grand the democrats as the party of law and order. >> yeah, i absolutely agree there that this is a conversation about the base, the republican base has moved so far to the right. now we see republicans really scrambling to kind of come up with a message that's unifying and somewhat cohesive and moderate, and they cannot. we look at some of these senate races where the more extremist republican candidate won the primary and republicans thought they would have a senate race in the bag, and they probably don't. the fact that joe biden is going to pennsylvania, we know that this is his safe space. he's going to try to create not just a unifying message, but

contextualize things, reminding parents about safety issues and concerns. you know, making sure we -- as joe said earlier, joe biden is not trying to take away guns. he's trying to make it such that we have safer cities. that goes with the larger law and order conversation. african americans, asian americans, latin americans, those groups have lots of family members who are in law enforcement, who are police officers or civilians who work in police departments. so it's a larger conversation, a collective conversation that if joe biden can hit it, and hit the right tone, he not only gets democrats, he gets independents and weak-kneed republicans, as well. >> mark, let's talk about how quickly things have changed. you had in 2020, republicans running around going, democrats want to defund the police, never mind the fact that i've had

nancy pelosi and chuck schumer on say do you want to defund the police? no, it's a stupid slogan, but that stuck. that bumper sticker attack on democrats stuck. since that time, americans, independents, people who are swing voters who decide elections, the people who, you know, voted for barack obama twice, then voted for donald trump, then voted for joe biden, they look at somewhat happened on january 6th. they see what's happening in these committee hearings. they understand that donald trump was getting calls from kevin mccarthy and republicans, begging them to help. they understand now that mike pence's secret service detail was calling to say goodbye to their family members, because they thought they were going to be killed inside the capitol that day. and the republicans excuse it, the republicans forgive and they

won't even agree to a bipartisan, bicamerial commission on it. and then you have lindsey graham coming out, talking about threats of violence because donald trump stole from the white house government documents that are marked top secret and secret and classified. and then you have all of the shootings across america, and republicans refusing to do anything to stop gun violence. refusing to do anything to -- except i've got to say for the ten republicans in the senate that actually went along with a bipartisan bill. we salute them. but suddenly, you add all of this up and donald trump and lindsey graham talking about republican riots in the street. 53% of republicans say yeah, yeah, we're going to have a civil war. who is the party of law and order? >> it's more than just defund

the police, too. donald trump and this whole story is essentially -- the mar-a-lago story has become a story of disorder, right? and it's also -- you talk about this being about the base moving so far to the right and the republican party. i would just quibble, i assume you would too, with the notion of this being a base moving to the right. there's nothing conservative about this. there's nothing -- >> nothing conservative. >> nothing conservative about rye gotting. politically, just in the sort of conservative temperament, and also just from a -- from a dispositional, you know, perspective of what you want to run on, right? and this is not a safe or sort of compelling or even coherent place for republicans to be if an election cycle like this, where people are still looking for a sense of calm after the pandemic or as the -- hopefully at the end of the pandemic. at a time when there are a lot of indicators that are very troubling to a lot of american families. >> yeah.

and jonathan, add to that, man, i forgot, the defund the fbi calls. republican members of congress calling the premiere law enforcement agency in america the kastapo, calling them communists, calling them thugs. talking about defunding the fbi. calling them the enemy. newt gingrich, who is not an elected republican, but certainly former republican speaker, calling fbi proud men and women, who protect our country, protect them from drug cartels, protect them from al qaeda attacks, from isis attacks, from -- from -- from human trafficking. these people who work every day to keep us safe in this country, former republican speaker of the

house calls them wolves, saying they want to devour americans. republicans calling for riots. lindsay graham suggesting we're going to have riot it is we enforce the law in america. i'm not scared of that. talk about riots all you want, people that take part and break the law, i don't know, maybe consequences follow that. look at january 6th. republicans have -- this is, as kevin williamson wrote a year ago, this is the republican party's hippie moment. they're freaks. they're crazy. they're talking about riots. they're talking about defunding the fbi. they're talking about -- calling law enforcement agents the castapo. that is chaos out there in the republican party. i think that's one of the things that ben shapiro to mitch

mcconnell to brit hume are looking at, saying okay, enough is enough. we have got to start focusing on inflation, gas prices and joe biden. >> yeah, among those republicans, prominent republicans, calling to defund the fbi, the former president, asking for exactly that. saying the fbi is conspiring against him. and phillip, that's where we are right now. we have a republican party, the idea that they're beholding to trump and some of his radical views. one of those issues is, they keep looking backwards and talking about 2020. in fact, trump has said we should have a do-over on that election nearly two years later. that's not going to happen. you just wrote about arizona, and how there is an effort there to try to de-certify the election results.

walk us through that, but also when the republicans are stuck talking about the past, that means they can't talk about things like inflation, gas prices, biden's approval rating, whatever else it may be, and that will hamper them this fall. >> yeah. i mean, i think it's important to remember, though. one of the things that donald trump highlighted and pulled out of the republican party that made him successful was the sense that they were being wronged. this is a fundamental part of everything donald trump has done in politics. he's been -- always cast himself as being subject to all these slings and arrows. when you talk to trump supporters, the thing they feel very often is he really is standing between all of these elites that are attacking the right and them, that donald trump is basically fielding all of that. he's built this strong sense of community around all of them being oppressed. he's leveraged it, exacerbated it, and when we get to the 2020

election, it's very fertile territory. donald trump has spent years after the election claiming it was stolen. and so we see that manifester in arizona, where kari lake ran a successful primary campaign on this idea that something went wrong in arizona and the election was stolen. for months, they did all these things to suggest this isn't what happened. but it's very powerfully politically. so donald trump continues to leverage it for his own benefit. you have those people, the mitch mcconnells and so forth, who understand this suspect useful, who understand this isn't the way to win political elections. but for that core far-right fringe that loves donald trump, they just gobble it up and keep gobbling it up and it makes them successful in primary contests. >> it's not new. somebody retweeted out an old

abc news story from 2016 that looked at donald trump quotes from 2012. the night mitt romney lost the election, donald trump was talking about mitt romney's election being rigged. that democracy was dead in america and actually tweeted out that there should be a revolution in the streets of america. back in 2012. he ended up deleting that tweet. and what he said in 2012 he said in 2016, he said in 2020, and he's saying in 2022. and lindsey graham is talking about that same revolution from republicans. republican rioters in the street it is we enforce our laws and protect classified documents. >> and christina greer, some of these candidates that seem so

far right, so fringe, so iv dren by trump, will win. what are the risks and opportunities that most importantly the risks for democrats moving forward toward the midterms? >> yeah, incredibly worried that some of these candidates could win in november, because it sets up for a dangerous moment moving into 2024. we have secretaries of state and gubernatorial candidates who believe in the big lie, who want to do what lindsey graham is doing, to speak to an audience of one, which is donald trump, who come with the followers who will do whatever he instructs them to do. so it's important for the democrats to galvanize their base. i think it was said a lot of republicans are looking backwards. it's imperative that the senate candidates and joe biden really contextualize what we have to

look forward. it's not just about inflation and gas prices, it is the soul of democracy. in this instance, this is the most important election. if we don't get 2022 correct, we don't get 2024 correct. because as kevin mccarthy and lindsey graham have already said, if the republicans gain control of one or two parties, impeachment proceedings start. who are we impeaching and why? it doesn't matter. it will be lots of hunter biden and emails and laptops, it will be hillary clinton all over again. we've seen this time and time again, so we're seeing it even more. so it's really important if we want to actually move forward on policy, we need to make sure that some of these extremist candidates who have won their primaries are not elected in november of 2022, definitely not in november of 2024. >> christina greer, phillip

bump, and mark liebervich, thank you for coming on this morning for this conversation. still ahead, the latest from ukraine as the military there makes a new push to take back a major city from russian control. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. oe." we'll be right back. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. it's the all-new subway series menu! 12 irresistible new subs... like #6 the boss. pepperoni kicks it off with meatballs smothered in rich marinara.

don't forget the fresh mozzarella. don't you forget who the real boss is around here. it's subway's biggest refresh yet.

after months of preparation, the ukrainian military says it's launched a counteroffensive to retake russian occupied kherson in the south of the country. ukrainian officials said fighting has sharply escalated

in the region and their military has breached the occupier's first line of defense. officials also said ukrainian forces destroyed a large russian military base, a claim nbc news has not been able to independently verify. joining us now, nbc news correspondent josh letterman, live from central ukraine. josh, what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, mika, there was a lot of skepticism that this long promised counteroffensive by ukraine might have been a head fake. the ukrainians had been talking about it for weeks. but now, according to ukraine's military, that offensive has begun and ukrainian military officials saying this morning that over the last 24 hours, they were able to damage about 30 russian military assets in the area of kherson, including an s-300 anti-aircraft system. now, russia has not confirmed whether that's the case.

in fact, russia's military has said, as they were trying to repel the ukrainian counteroffensive, were able to kill several hundred ukrainian troops. another claim that can't be verified. but there have clearly been multiple explosions in the area of kherson, over the last 24 hours, signal thing fight is really moving to the south as ukraine tries to start to wrest back some of that territory from russia that moscow had claimed early on in this war. but the other big focus here in ukraine today is, of course, the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, with those iaea inspectors on their way to central ukraine, where i'm at right now, to be able to inspect the nuclear plant. those inspectors arrived in kyiv in the last 24 hours. they're going to be making their way to spend several days on site at the power plant, inspecting the damage that's already been done to parts of the power plant earlier in this war, but getting a sense of whether the safety systems and

backup mechanisms like off site power are in tact to run this nuclear plant safely. they're hoping to get a read on the ukrainian nuclear workers who have been working under duress there, under russian occupation for months now. but there's a lot they're not going to be able to do frankly, like stop the shelling at the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, or force russia to hand the site back over to ukraine. something that the united states has been calling for, the white house also calling yesterday for there to be a complete shutdown of the nuclear plant for safety reasons. russia has rejected those ideas. but the hope is, having independent eyes and ears on the ground at zaporizhzhia will bring some sense of stability to this situation that has been really escalating in the last several days with local officials in the zaporizhzhia region now dolling out iodine tablets to people who live near the power plant just in case there's a radiation spread.

>> wow. nbc's josh letterman, thank you for your reporting this morning. coming up, one of our next guests has a friendly reminder, not everybody has to run for president. he says we need to learn how to admire people without thinking they ought to aim for the white house. he'll explain that just ahead on "morning joe." joe biden and democrats in congress just passed the inflation reduction act to lower our costs. the plan lowers the cost of healthcare and medicine and lowers our energy bills by investing in clean energy. that's more savings for us. ♪♪ subway's drafting 12 new subs for the all-new subway series menu the new monster has juicy steak and crispy bacon. but what about the new boss? it looks so good it makes me hangry! settle down there, big guy the new subway series. what's your pick?

for decades, i've the new subway series. worked at the intersection of domestic violence and homelessness. so when prop 27 promised solutions to homelessness, i took a good, hard look. it's not a solution. 90% of the money goes to the out-of-state corporations who wrote it. very little is left for the homeless. don't let corporations exploit homelessness to pad their profits. vote no on 27. man 1: have you noticed the world is on fire? record heat waves? does that worry you? well, it should. because this climate thing is your problem.

man 2: 40 years ago, when our own scientists at big oil predicted that burning fossil fuels could lead to catastrophic effects, we spent billions to sweep it under the rug. man 3: so we're going to be fine. but you might want to start a compost pile, turn down the ac. you got a lot of work to do because your kids are going to need it. some pretty wicked cross currents going on in american politics right now. you've got a poll that shows over 50% of people who support donald trump believe a civil war is coming. this makes a lot of sense, because several people that we've been with this summer, mika and i, who have supported donald trump but who know not to talk politicians around us, because we don't just like

talking politics at home. you offer them a hamburger. and if it's a little too rare, they mutter the words "civil war" under their breath. they've been talking about it. i've had two people mutter words "civil war" just randomly out of nowhere this summer. i'm like, what? okay, so i don't grill out really well, but seriously? 53% of trump supporters believe there could be a civil war in america over the next decade. 32% unlikely for the catastrophists in our audience, i'm sorry, i let out a chuckle. so somewhat's happening? you've got that on one side. you certainly have a lot of independents and people who would like to vote republican deeply troubled by january 6th, deeply troubled by what trump did in mar-a-lago, deeply troubled by what the alito court

has done. we were talking last hour about some things that are happening on the right. when the prospects of this red wave in november, which should be massive, but looking like it's going to be a bit more tempered, some prominent voices on the right are starting to sound the alarm about what donald trump is doing to the republican party. in a series of tweets, ben shapiro, very prominent conservative commentator on the right warns -- the more republicans talk about trump, the worse they'll do, writing --

>> neither ben shapiro nor yesterday brit hume are suggesting it's much of a mystery at all, if republicans want to win, they have to, like, cut the umbilical chord between them and donald trump. >> so, umm, first of all, joe, all of these people muttering civil war in your summer barbecues, what are you serving? >> i'm not that bad of a cook.

>> umm, look, i feel like i rarely do this, but a former republican congressman from florida, i've been -- he listened to you say this stuff about trump for, i don't know, a couple of years at least, certainly since november of 2020, just in terms of forget about the issues. put aside for a moment the issues of what you think of trump, is he a danger to national security or a danger to democracy. just talk about the political piece of it, and the thing you're talking about right now. the day has come, you've said for this period of time, when will republicans wake up and realize that donald trump is political poison? i think it's starting to happen. it took all of this, what we've been talking about for a couple of months, which is all that historical -- the historical

headwinds for the in-power party, plus inflation and all the things teeing up to be a good year for the republicans and seeing it fall apart. however republicans do in november, it has fallen apart in their hands. the notion of the red wave over the course of these last few months, that is no longer present in anyone's mind. there are no honest republicans right now who think they are going to win 40, 50 seats in the house or win four to six seats in the senate. that's gone. that dream's gone. and i think it's obviously largely to do with the fact that donald trump -- he had already done the thing the democrats most hoped for. he had become the center of the conversation in the 1/6 hearings. those things were going to give democrats a way to make the race about trump, and make him the poster boy for what they want the race to be about, which is must be extremism across the board, on guns, abortion, demo

-- democracy. the only thing to make it worse is what's happening in mar-a-lago, to give every main stream republican in the country to think trump may have committed a violation of the espionage act and is likely staring down the barrel of an indictment. look, it's a very -- i mean, i think it may be too late in this cycle, too late for republicans to cut the umbilical chord to trump. they are too tied up with him at this point. they can't pivot out of that in the next couple of months. time is too short. it's a long-term question for the party. if they're going to wake up, they should wake up and go, we blew this cycle in some sense. we have to thinkable 2024. coming up, the assistant director at the secret service is stepping down. he's the same official who became a central figure in the january 6th investigation.

what it means in the push for accountability, just ahead on "morning joe." "morning joe." joe biden and democrats in congress just passed a law to lower the cost of medicine. the inflation reduction act lets medicare negotiate lower prices with drug companies for the first time. that's more savings for us. the tenth pick is in the new all-american club. that's a “club” i want to join! let's hear from simone. chuck, that's a club i want to join! i literally just said that. i like her better than you the new subway series. what's your pick?

age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. this? this is supersonic wifi from xfinity. boost® high protein also has it's fast.nts so gaming with your niece has never felt more intense. incoming! hey, what does this button do? no, don't! welcome to the fastest internet on the largest gig speed network. are you crying uncle ed? no! a little. only from xfinity. unbeatable internet made to do anything so you can do anything. with xfinity internet, you get advanced security that helps protect you at home and on the go. you feel so safe, it's as if... i don't know... evander holyfield has your back. i wouldn't click on that.

hey, thanks! we got a muffin for ed! all right! you don't need those calories. can we at least split it? nope. advanced security that helps protect your devices in and out of the home. i mean, can i have a bite? only from xfinity. nah. unbeatable internet. made to do anything so you can do anything. a recent poll found that majority of latino voters feel they are largely ignored by both democrats and republicans. the poll also found that 60% of latinos feel the country is heading in the wrong direction. a number which was higher under former trump. when roughly 72% of latino voters said the nation was heading down the wrong path. this as another survey by npr,

harvard you've and the robert wood johnson foundation found that 48% of latino households are facing serious financial problems. due to pricing increases, as a result of inflation. as a recent "new york times" siena college poll found democrats tied with republicans among hispanics on the generic congressional ballot. but during the 2018 midterms democrats had a much wider edge with hispanics. joining us now, and the award winning journalist and contributor maria hinojosa, her new book "once i was you, finding my voice and passing the mic" is now adapted for young readers. and we welcome you back to the show. and love the concept here because you're hoping that all latinos and younger ones coming up into the world will become

active members in a democracy. what are you hoping that they will hear? >> so, mika, it is great to be with you and be back in the studio after two and a half years. >> i know. >> so it is all around great. listen, i decided to write this book once i heard and understood the statistics about latinos and latinas and i kind of repeat this. latinos and latinas are the second largest voting cohort in the united states. if you care about democracy, you have to think about what lotts are thinking about in terms of their participation. and then there is this data point, over the last decade it is now ten to 11 years old, that is our median age in the united states of america. hence why i had to write a book for 10-year-olds. because we get, when i was growing up it was the civil rights era, and it is a very similar time right now. and i want kids to understand that they have a voice and that

their impacted by history. but that they could impact history too, with using their voices. >> and as we look at -- you said it is important to know what latinos and latinas are thinking about. what are they thinking about? what are the issues that are important to them and how does that play out between democrats and republicans, because i think it is very interesting, you kind of -- it is hard to pinpoint but are there any prevailing issues. >> well, it is a challenging question. look, i think if i would say that there is a challenging issue, it would be -- and it is not exactly a political one that politicians could take on but it is invisibility. latinos and latina as feel invisible and over trump he created a image, we're not anything that he said we were. so that is kind of writ large. i think what i would say is that get ready for the complexity of

latino and latina voters and i've been saying this for decades. we are not all just democrats or radical or socialists, or anti-communist or republican, we are really a community of voters that is very in tune but also the parties are just not talking to them. although the republicans are making a bigger effort, i would say. >> that is exactly where i want the to go with you next. congrats on the book. not a monolith. voting population, but we have seen polls suggesting if donald trump did better than expected in 2020. we've seen that repeated in a few other local elections too. you just said, republicans are doing a better job taking their message to the latino and latina voters how are they doing that? >> they're doing it in multiple ways. on a community level, free food

giveaways, like basis things and connecting with people there. there is a lot of, yes, misinformation that is being in terms of latinos and latinas in terms of what's app, but when i talk to voters and finally i'm back out and doing that kind of reporting, it is not as easy to say democrats have got this locked in and i'm always critical of the democrats because this is theirs to lose. there is so much that they can be doing in terms of guesting this community to feel enthusiastic and i feel yet again, they'll come out and vote for us because they're not going for the republicans and this is it. what is the future of democracy if latinos and latinas are the send largest voting cohort. we grew over 50% of the total population growth was because of latinos and latinas in the united states having babies over the last decade. so if we are tending republican, it says a lot about what the

future of this country is going to look like. >> maria hinojosa, thank you so much. her book, "once i was you, finding the mic" now adapted for young readers. thank you for coming on the show and doing this book. and coming up, we'll go live to the white house as president biden kicks off the first of several upcoming visits to battle ground pennsylvania. what it means for the midterms, next on "morning joe."

♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discover card.

it is the top of the fourth hour of "morning joe." welcome back, everybody. >> a beautiful shot of l.a., mika. >> it is a beautiful shot of los angeles. yeah. okay. >> city of angels. i'm not going to do a ron burgundy. >> please don't. >> l.a. looking beautiful this morning.