right now on "andrea mitchell reports," violent assault. house speaker nancy pelosi's paul suffering blunt force injuries after an attack inside their san francisco home. we will have a live report. we are awaiting a press conference this hour from the city's police chief. back on the trail. former president obama hitting the road to try to help democrats reserve their slim

majorities and avoid the shellacking he experienced in 2010. i will speak to michigan democratic congresswoman debbie dingell about the battle for the house and cheri beasley on whether democrats can pull off a surprise in a traditionally red state. jon meacham will join me. good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. we have breaking news from california where nancy pelosi's husband, 82-year-old paul pill pelosi was attacked with a hammer. he is recovering at the hospital. we are expecting a press conference late they are hour. we will bring that to you live. joining us from san francisco is nbc's jake ward and nbc news terrorist analyst jim kavanaugh.

jim is a retired aft special agent in charge and hostage negotiator. first, jake, this is a violent assault with a hammer against the 82-year-old husband of the speaker in line for the succession, of course. what other details do we know? >> reporter: we know at this point that at 2:27 a.m., the house you see behind me here was the scene of a violent assault against the speaker of the house's husband. he was attacked by a hammer by an assailant who is in custody. police do expect later this hour to give the press more details, presumably, about who that suspect might be and what their motivations might have been. we know at this point that paul was transported to the hospital. that's the critical care and trauma facility of san francisco. he suffered blunt force injuries. sources in the hospital say those injuries were mostly to his face and that they are not life-threatening.

he is expected to make a full recovery. we have been seeing all morning investigators come and go, not just from the san francisco police department but also from the fbi and from california arm of the u.s. capitol police, all of which speaks to the sensitivity around this. spouses of senators, congress women, do not get protection the way that the speaker of the hour does. they do get a little bit of funding from the government to fortify their home and put in monitoring and security systems. it's unclear if this house was protected in that way. we do know certainly that at this hour, the husband of the speaker of the house is going to make a recovery in spite of the terrible assault he seems to have suffered here in his home this morning. >> it's appalling. jim, we do not know the motive of the suspect who is in custody. we don't know if this is political. we don't know if it's any kind of other issue or just what

could prompt anyone to do something this awful. there have been increasing threats against members of congress. it's up 144% since 2017. speaker pelosi is second in line to the presidency. how does an assailant enter her official residence is the first question? how does the security level change when she's not in residence? >> that's right. it changes when she's not there because the law protects her. if she's not there for many months, she's on the capitol, the u.s. capitol police protect her. when she goes to san francisco, the detail goes with her. it's more secure. similar to when the president travels. he gets a higher level of security. members of any federal official's family are protected by law. you cannot assault or attack a federal official's family if you are trying to retaliate against them for their duties or interfere with their duties. that applies to a federal agent

or a member of congress or any federal official. even though there's not protection provided day by day, there is protection under the law. if the assailant's intent was to retaliate against the speaker for her duties or interfere with her duties, that would be a federal crime. it also could be just a crime -- 2:30 in the morning, a man breaks a window. he wants to rob the place. he gets up and fights him. he is struck in the face. this assailant may not have known who lived there. that's possible, too. i think we should find that out at press conference, clearly. the agents and detectives likely already know. if he is a fanatic after the speaker and her family, he won't be able to keep it in. it's like churchill said, a fanatic is a guy who can't change his mind and he won't change the subject. so it will be spilling out of him if that's the case. if he is a street guy with a hammer, broke the window, wanted

to rob the place, it's on a street corner in a city. i worked many burglaries as a uniformed cop. this is kind of like you see, the location sometimes draws the people in. this is right on the corner. a guy passes, he might see an alley, try a window. he might have the hammer, break the window. it could go either way at this point. it doesn't matter. mr. pelosi was still assaulted. this guy has to be charged, whether state or federal, for the burglary and aggravated assault. >> we have learned, the speaker's office put out an initial statement saying this was a violent assault, not a burglary. what does that signal to you? >> is it a violent assault even if it's a state crime. it's a burglary and then it's aggravated assault. the aggravation in the charge is from the weapon. if he punched him, that would be a battery or assault and battery

battery. it's an aggravated assault and burglary under state law. it may be an attack on a federal official's family if that was his intended purpose. either way, he is going to be charged and incarcerated. we're glad mr. pelosi is recovering. it's a dangerous situation. capitol police might have to step up security there. she's third in line to the presidency. she's a top official. i think we probably have to do a better job of making her residence safer. >> absolutely. they have been married more than 50 years. they have five children. he is a well-known figure here and, of course, in california. thank you so much jake ward, jim kavanaugh. we will have updates as the police are announcing exactly what they have got here. we expect around 12:30 eastern. democrats are hoping that president obama's campaign blitz will help them hold on to critical senate seats. in a hot mike moment on thursday

in syracuse, new york, chuck schumer was overheard giving president biden a positive outlook for the senate seats in pennsylvania and nevada. but a downbeat assessment for democrats holding on to the critical seat in georgia against challenger herschel walker against raphael warnock. >> that's chuck schumer. mark murray is joining me,

former florida congressman david jolly and sam stein. importantly, mark, he was saying it looks like we're going down in georgia. but he said the early turnout is huge for democrats. modifying that somewhat. it's too early to predict anything. he is briefing the president on these critical seats. he says, he thinks fetterman can hang on. i know people couldn't hear it. we had the quotes up for those who were not listening in their cars. what he said was, it looks like he is going to hold on despite the debate performance in pennsylvania. and nevada, they thought they could get through. do you agree with that assessment from the majority leader? >> from the hot mike moment, it looks like he is reading the same polls and early vote data we are all looking at. the only conclusion we can draw from the totality of the state polling as well as the national polls, tidbits from campaigns

from democrats and republicans, it's super close, particularly in a place like georgia. in pennsylvania, to me, it still is very early. there has not been a public poll that's come out after that debate performance between fetterman and oz. i think that once -- a week will need to pass before we see if that race is changed. i tell you, before that debate, that was a race that was getting closer and closer. in this stage, these are all close races. early vote matters, but so does election day vote. >> then you have the issue of intimidation. david jolly, potentially in georgia as well as some of the other states. what i was being told in pennsylvania, we just got back from there, is they thought he would hold on because of labor support. as you know in pennsylvania, they cannot start counting that early vote until election day. so they think it's from democratic areas. they think that's a good indicator for the democrats. but they don't really know.

>> sure. mark used the word tightening. that's right. republicans this week feel like the traditional midterm performance of a party out of power is beginning to set in. look, that is not particularly great for republicans. they should be showing themselves way out front and overtaking the senate and other key races and they're not. the tightening where republicans were trailing, republicans are seeing that as well. they are feeling like the last ten days may be on their side. i think the unknown in this cycle, andrea, is we have seen in virtually every special election of the last two years where republicans should have been outperforming. democrats have actually won some races republicans thought they would. we saw the abortion initiative in kansas, for instance, where the pro choice reproductive right community defeated an initiative we would not have expected. republicans feel like this week has been a good week, that they're going into the last ten days in a good position. but this is a different midterm.

the question is, do we see results on november 8 that were hard to measure because democrats truly outperform and defy history? >> i was thinking when i listened to senator schumer, sam, that this is an election without harry reid. you have the unions. but there's also a shift nationally in hispanic voting moving more towards republicans than in the past. we don't know what's going to happen in nevada. that's a very close race. >> yeah, you are right. the reid machine rescued harry reid not so long ago. i don't think it needs harry reid to be there. but there's a comfort level in having him in the state as they vote. whether that can a be replicated, we will see. it looks -- we follow the

twitter feeds. it looks like it's similar to 2018, which was a good year for democrats. the votes are hard -- the data is hard to ascertain or divine what will happen from the early vote. it really does come down to, will democrats bank that registration surge that happened after dobbs of younger female voters? they registered. will they come out to vote? if they come out to vote, you could end up with some of that being historical, a midterm that doesn't break in a wave fashion. i suspect republicans will have a good night come not next tuesday but two tuesdays from now. >> mark, there are a couple of other races closer than you would have thought. new hampshire, maggie hassan

running. they thought she had drawn a good opponent. she was relieved when governor sununu wasn't running. now she's in a close race. arizona, mark kelly, the former astronaut and husband of gaby gifford. >> it's a reminder that environment matters so much. the overall political -- at the end of the day, these are contests, senate, gubernatorial that are fought state by state or congressional district by district. candidate quality ends up mat mattering. mark kelly, who has been out raising and don't nature on the airwaves, would be in trouble as well. we saw this in 2010. sam was mentioning this on back the harry reid machine in 2010. despite a really tough overall environment, you saw democratic candidates like harry reid survive, like patty murray,

barbara boxer. in delaware, democrats were able to win, in colorado they were able to win. you have that overarching type of national environment. but then when you have the battles versus battles, all of a sudden sometimes a good candidate can beat a bat candidate. >> "the new york times" poll, listen to this. does that capture it? >> it captures what our national nbc poll shows. president biden is unpopular. republicans are winning on the economic message. democrats are winning when it comes to abortion. what i thought was interesting about the congressional districts that they showed is that democrats are either ahead or really competitive despite a lot of the headwinds. it's a reminder that these contests are fought candidate versus candidate versus overall

political wins versus national wins that are either coming at your back or that are in your face. >> sam, i want to play the latest comments from john fetterman talking to joy last night. >> all of our doctors believe we are ready to be fit to be serving. one of the things we remind everybody is by january i will be much better. oz will still be a fraud. >> sam, we were in pennsylvania this week. party leaders are confident that what chuck schumer said, that fetterman's support is solid enough to overcome concerns about his performance and oz's comments are not popular with a large portion of the electorate. do you have a take on that? >> this is sort of the inverse of other states. the democrat running for governor will really help fetterman out. you have the top of the ticket

pulling in democrats. mostly, a lot of republicans who don't like doug mastriano, don't want to vote for him. for oz to win, there's going to have to be a fair bit of ticket splitting. that could happen. democrats are hoping it happens in the inverse in other states like georgia. but this is a close race. pennsylvania is a close state. unfortunately, pennsylvania, as you noted, does not count their votes, they don't start to count until election night. we will maybe potentially not have a result until a day or two or maybe three afterwards, which could lead to the same type of election denialism that we have been dealing with for two years. that's my big concern. >> absolutely. i was sent to pennsylvania right after the election last time around, 2020, just because of that. they start counting the vote so late because the republican legislature not letting them count early. that feeds the conspiracy theories when the outgoing president was fuelling all of that. mark, david, sam, thanks to all

of you. joining us now is michigan democratic congresswoman debbie dingell. let me share with you something that's been handed to me. this is approved from a source close to the situation with the pelosis. the assailant was in search of the speaker of the house which puts it into a federal crime against a relative of an officer and now the second in line for the presidency. before the assault occurred, the intruder confronted mr. pelosi shouting, where is nancy, where is nancy. debbie dingell, that's what the intruders going through the hallway were shouting. this is part of the january 6 insurrection toxicity that has infected the brains of people around the country in horrible

ways, if this is accurate. >> andrea, this is part of a pattern. first of all, my heart goes out to paul and nancy, who are good friends. i'm praying paul is going to be okay. this is a trend that we have been seeing even pre-january 6. in michigan, we saw men at state capitol. i was on your show that day or the day after. you said, is it okay? i said, no, it's not. there were men outside my home with assault weapons that night because of what i said on your show. tucker carlson did a diatribe. we saw this happening in school board members. they are wearing bulletproof vests to meetings. it's very dangerous, this hatred, the anger across the country. language that shouldn't be there, bullying. we have to take a deep breath. it's endangering our democracy.

>> just this week, three men who were convicted of trying to kidnap gretchen whitmer, a good friend and colleague. i ask again, what is happening in our country? >> they were members of michigan militias. i was with her when they came down with that verdict of guilty. look, we are human beings. you get scared. one of the men convicted also said on the dark web i should be hung for treason. it's the hatred that is scary. you know what? we have to stand up to it. we have to -- we can disagree. we can disagree in an agreeable way. this hate is -- i think some of it is social media, that was supposed to bring us together and allowed people to have a blank slate saying whatever they want. the violence, people carrying

guns, people attacking people, threatening people, it's not okay. i don't care what party you are. i don't want to see anybody i know, republican, democrat or far right or far left hurt. we have to stand up. if we don't, our democracy is in trouble. >> one person who has been speaking out passionately about this is a republican, liz cheney. she has now endorsed and says she will campaign for a democrat, vote for a democrat for the first time in her life, who is lisa slotkin, the michigan two-term congresswoman from your state. how impactful might that be? >> i don't think this election is broken. i don't believe any of these polls. i kept telling you don't trump was going to win michigan and none of you believed me. he did. i think she's in a tight race. i think our governor's race is

tighter than people think. what i'm hoping is that -- i think it hasn't broken. there are a couple issues driving people. i hope that people are looking at what happened today and saying, what's happening. i think liz cheney and her don't agree. but she tells it as it is. it's straightforward. the person she's running against is an election denier. he is an election denier, the reason liz is coming in. i think everything -- every little thing will make a difference. in a lot of the races, we won't know until the day before which way it's going to break. they are so close. they are one point up, one point down. it could be a lot of little things that decide, i'm going to go to vote, i'm not going to vote. what's happening to our country?

this can go either way. >> how concerned are you about intimidation of voters? we're seeing armed vigilantes in arizona. there's also trouble in georgia again. >> i'm prepared for it. we saw it yesterday in michigan. a candidate who is one of the extreme election deniers in detroit that the only votes that can count are people that went to polls and showing their i.d. trying to invalidate votes cast. i'm hopeful it will be dealt with by the courts. people are -- i'm seeing it in my own state. we are trying very hard to make sure that every vote counts. people should not be afraid. people need to return their votes. every vote matters. the only poll that matters is

the poll on election day. there are a lot of people and i mean republicans, democrats, law enforcement that are going to make sure people are safe across this country on election day. >> congresswoman debbie dingell, thank you so much. stay safe out there. the democratic party has put its overwhelming focus and finances into senate races in wisconsin, georgia, nevada and pennsylvania. but at the expense, until recently, of competitive candidates in some other states. the prime example is north carolina where a recent poll has democrat cheri beasley in a dead heat with her republican opponent ted budd. joining me now is cheri beasley. before we get into your race, i want to ask you about what happened to speaker pelosi's husband in north carolina. you worked as a judge. how concerning is this attack on the spouse of a speaker, second

in line for the presidency? >> andandrea, we have to believn election integrity. i know the foundation of this country is grounded on free and fair elections. those that are administered properly. i believe that they are administered properly, there are not problems with our elections. my opponent is an election denier. he called the mob that stormed the capitol just patriots standing up. even after all that was violence, he refused to certify the 2020 election. when asked in this race if he will accept the results, he is hesitant to say yes. it's critical. certainly, violence and violent acts are not acceptable as folks are trying to exercise their right to use their voices in our democracy by the power of the vote. >> there's been a late surge of money from a political action

committee in line with senator schumer. you were put at a disadvantage. why didn't the national party come in earlier? >> i am so excited about how well we are doing in this race. there's so much energy here in north carolina. we knew early on that this would be a people powered campaign. i have been to all of our counties. people are energized and engaged. they feel a sense of urgency. they are tired of seeing a congressman who is completely embroiled in the pettiness of partisan politics. they have spent millions of dollars in this race to distort my judicial record. i have been in public service for nearly 30 years. i have served as a judge and chief justice of the supreme court of north carolina for over two decades. i worked hard to uphold the law and to respect the constitution and worked hard to keep our

communities safe. i have been working with law enforcement. that's why so many sheriffs and law enforcement agencies are supporting my candidacy. ted budd cannot defend his own record. we have an amazing chance in this race. we will fight hard for every single vote. we knew it would be a tough fight. i have never backed down and i will not back down now. i'm fully committed to running hard to serve the folks here in north carolina in the united states senate. >> it's great to see you. thank you so much. stay safe. >> thank you. i hope fols will get more information. >> thank you. we are awaiting an update from the san francisco pd about the violent attack inside speaker pelosi's home in san francisco. the assailant shout, where is nancy, before the assault. we will bring it to you when it happens. the guiding light on what

abraham lincoln would say about two realities. up next, jon meacham's new book. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc.

with the midterms 11 days away, we are seeing extraordinary challenges with donald trump inspiring denial of the 2020 outcome and armed vigilantes intimidating voters in arizona, our 16th president, abraham lincoln, led a country that was then deeply divided, devolving into civil war. what can we learn from him about demonstrating political courage to keep the union together in a polarized time? joining me now is biographer jon meacham who occasionally advises president biden. his new book is number two on

"the new york times" best seller's list. it's good to see you. >> you too. >> you are a reassuring presence with your historical context and with your understanding of political courage. the role of faith. people can make compromises like lincoln did but come out in the right place in pulling people together. >> without a moral commitment to something larger than your own perpetuation and power, the american republic doesn't work. lincoln was a perfect, we're not perfect, you are closing than i am -- >> hardly. >> the essence of america at its best is a devotion to the principles of the declaration of independence.

standing right over there on march 4, 1865, lincoln stood there and talked about with malice toward none, charity for all, let us bind up the nation's wounds. the war had come, however, because he was convinced that slavery had to die and democracy had to endure. in our own time, we have to do -- to use a popular term, we have to do an inventory. what do we really believe? are we so wedded to a partisan agenda in real time that we are -- we want our way right now, or are just enough of us able to say, i may not agree with the democrats there this case on policy, but you know what, democracy is more important than a marginal tax rate. >> we have 345 election deniers on the ballot across the country in key positions, secretary of state, governor, people who

control election outcomes, according to brookings. how confident can we be -- let's say all of those people win their races and it collapses. how confident can we be democracy does survive? >> we can't be confident. we have to work really hard. this is the gravest test of citizenship since the civil war. this is not hyperbole and it's not a joke. i thought for a long time -- you and i talked about it -- that this was 1932 or 1933 or 1968 where the institutions held. the difference is, hoover didn't say fdr stole the election and put election deniers on the ballot in 1934. humphrey didn't do that in 1968. former president trump has done that.

to a large extent, he is both a mirror and a maker of this paranoia, which is what it is. it's fact free. i think one of the groups that has a moral reckoning to do are people who disagree with president biden and speaker pelosi, whom we are thinking about at this hour, and the democratic party on policy who say they don't appreciate trump but who nevertheless vote republican because of judges and taxes and that sort of thing. all important, of course. but as our friend doris goodwin pointed out, this is not an ordinary time. >> when you reference paul pelosi, i have known the speaker, i have known both for decades.

i interviewed her right after january 6. she talked about the terror her young staff was experiencing under the desk, under the table. we saw the video of people going up and down the hallway. now we understand that this intruder, who in a violent attack, from all the information we are getting -- we are waiting for the police. they may be a little delayed, but we will carry it live when they come out with their report. he was shouting, where is nancy, where is nancy. so this is a federal crime. he was after the speaker of the house. >> yeah. i'm lucky enough, both paul and the speaker are friends. take that in this context. i think they embody public service and love of country. i really do. i don't agree with the speaker on a lot of policy matters, but i don't doubt that she loves this country deeply. paul is a remarkably supportive

spouse and shares that love of country. one of the marks of the end of a republic is the normalization of political violence. it just is. and everybody needs to remember, including us, that what we say matters, that words have consequences and that things that seem improbable one hour can happen in the next. if i had brought you lee harvey oswald on november 21, 1963 and said this guy will change american history, you would have -- >> you are paranoid. >> james earl ray. violent acts can change history. a mature democratic society, lower case d, has to have a way where we mediate our political differences without political violence.

>> you know, january 6th has, despite all the hearings and the evidence, it's treated as a politically -- a motivating issue for voters. here you have the example of liz cheney, one of the only examples we have seen in modern political times, who stood up at the risk of her own future, was then banned from leadership, ran unsuccessfully and is now endorsing and voting for the first time for a democrat in michigan. >> she's the model of this. i disagree with representative cheney on a lot of policy. but she has put the constitution above all. she has put an experiment toward a more perfect union above her own political interests. that's the definition of political courage. that was the book that president kennedy wrote. it's an old joke that it's not very long and one volume, but we need to make room for liz

cheney. >> with malice towards all -- toward none, charity for all. how could i get that wrong? >> we have both done this a long time. both of us -- i don't want to speak for you -- didn't think we would see this. >> not at all. >> where the institutions themselves would give way. the good news is, it's up to us. the bad news is, it's up to us. >> jon meacham, your perspective is so valued. the biographer of george herbert walker bush. his example is top of mind as well. all the presidents you have written about. >> absolutely. imagine a world -- it's as if we are talking about a war, george h.w. bush, he put country above

party. liz cheney has done that. that should give us hope. >> thank you so much. the san francisco police department is about to deliver that update on the violent attack that we have been speaking about against speaker pelosi's husband. we will bring it to you when it happens. new efforts to keep elections and our democracy safe. that's next. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. like #11 subway club. piled with turkey, ham and roast beef. this sub isn't slowing down 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. covid-19. some people get it, and some people can get it bad.

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questions about the security, about what was going on at the house. there was no security outside. don't know whether the alarm was on or off. we believe there was no one else in the house. we are trying to confirm that. this is terrifying. it's a federal crime if it -- if the reports were correct that he was shouting, where is nancy. this is not your garden variety burglary. >> that's right. now we know it's a federal crime, because the assault ant -- the assailant has given us that. we have that evidence that it probably came from paul himself, he is an eyewitness, the victim, and/or maybe security cameras. it could be both. he wanted to assault the speaker of the house. the only intent would be to interfere with her duties or

retaliate against her for her duties. that's clearly a federal crime. title 18, 115a1 prevents. someone attempts to assault federal officials or members of their family in order to retaliate against them or to prevent them from performing their duties. that would hold true for a federal law enforcement agent, retaliation if you caught someone, they went to prison and they wanted to retaliate against you, attack your family, or a member of congress or any federal official in between. this clearly has made the leap now from possible local burglary to a local crime of violence. >> what are the possible ramifications? they have the suspect. they're trying to get him to talk. >> yeah. i would say he is talking. he is singing like he is on "the voice" now. he will be a fanatic. he can't stop talking. he won't change the subject, as

churchill said. that's the only thing he can talk about. he is obsessed with it. he is obsessed with his beliefs, with the speaker. he is radicalized somehow, probably personally, maybe online, maybe through videos in the media, who knows. a person who would do -- think about the act itself, the weapon is a hammer. the attack is 2:27 a.m. at the speaker's home in san francisco. it tells us, we are dealing with some fanatical belief, a man who is not in control of his emotions, his impulses, his mind. he just wanted to reach out and attack someone. he has been radicalized. >> with these threats proliferating to office holders and election -- and candidates in the election, what does the country need to do to make elections safer, to make these public officials and their families safer? you heard from justice alito that there were death threats

against members of the court in the majority on the dobbs decision. >> exactly right. we demonize the other side in the political debate. had you jon meacham on there. we want him to come back. he is so insightful. he talks about president lincoln and how he dealt with the violence in a divided nation. lincoln saw their weaknesses and their failures and their frailties and crimes, but he didn't demonize. he tried to bring the country together. we have to have more of that. we have some politicians that speak that truth. when people demonize our leaders -- nancy pelosi is demonized. on january 6th, the attackers at the capitol were screaming her name. they wanted to kill her then. it's pervasive in the radical right to attack the speaker.

>> mike pence and several former trump national security officials who were under protection still from the secret service two years later because of threats from iran. it's not just domestic. but domestic is the biggest threat. >> that's right. we used to just deal with these threats over the years on law enforcement officials and judges and d.a.s. that went with the territory. we dealt with violent people all the time. we understood that. when it spills into election officials, into doctors and nurses when there's a pandemic. people are reaching for violence for a solution to political problems when there is lies and disinformation. that's so powerful to change a person's outlook. it's the drip, drip, drip of information that they get so long over so many months and years, they cannot see the truth. they accept the demonization of

the officials as being against them. then they reach out and attack them. it's really sad. so glad mr. pelosi was not killed in this attack, which he could have easily been. >> thank you so much, jim calf agnaw. you will stay with us. we listen to the pd. a new report on what is a brain drain of local election experience that focuses on the alarmingly high turnover of election workers in nine states across the country, five of which are battleground states. many of which are under threat. joining us now say member of the reporting team, tile kopin. also joining us is joyce vance. talk about your reporting. a key component of running for office is election security. now it's under threat as never before. we have these election workers, they are volunteers in many cases.

there's a brain drain. >> yes. what my colleagues and i did is we looked at the top administrator jobs in some of the key states, battleground states. what we found is after 2020, roughly one in three of these top administrators who run elections around the country have left. we compared that to after 2016 and found that this isn't normal turnover. this an increased amount. the concern there is, regardless of your political affiliation, regardless of how you want the election to go, you want it to go. you want to be able to go cast your ballot, know your ballot is going to count. but elections are difficult to pull off. when to pull off. when you have this brain drain of experience, when you have difficulty recruiting new people to do these jobs because of harassment, stress, the tremendous amount put on the shoulders of election

administrators, it's jeopardizing all of our ability to go to the ballot box and do that most fundamental act of democracy. >> just last week the maricopa county elections department, the biggest voting bloc in arizona, reported two individuals dressed in tactical gear on site at a ballot box which leads to voter intimidation complaints. i know mark elias and others are filing suits out there in arizona over election security. what do you make of this behavior? the intimidation? >> so i guess this is the history doesn't repeat but it rhymes, because this is the images we're seeing in arizona and other places of physical, armed intimidation of people trying to exercise their vote echoes back to the '60s in alabama. and even later, across the deep south, where well into the '60s and '70s this sort of active voter suppression was something

that we saw, not all the time, but something we saw early in my career as a prosecutor. over the last few decades it's morphed. it's efforts to pass laws that make it more difficult for people to vote or practices that make it more difficult to vote. now we're seeing a resurgence of the violence. as with so much in our political life, this innate tolerance of the denial of peoples rights will explode into violence at some point. it's the sort of thing we need to condemn and it will be important to see the steps that doj takes. they got jurisdiction to investigate and possibly to prosecute this sort of behavior. i would expect them to be in the mix quickly. >> joyce, in terms of these lawsuits and attempts to protect candidates and election voters and the whole process, how much can we have confidence in the judiciary? the justice department is trying

to do something about election security on election day, but that's too late in a lot of states with early voting. >> it's a complicated landscape because most of the pre-election sorts of devices that doj has became much more difficult to use after the supreme court decided shelby county versus holder and gutted section five of the voting rights act. now most of the sorts of lawsuits that doj can file only go into effect after these bad laws are in place. and that's what makes these procedures more difficult to challenge. we'll see a lot of active poll watching in this election, both from doj and other non-partisan sources, and that can be very helpful. hopefully this will serve to put local officials on notice, but there's some real restrictions on putting law enforcement too close to polling places because you don't want to suppress voting or people to feel more

intimidated. this is why "the globe's" reporting is so important talking about these election officials walking away from their jobs because of the fear of violence. we'll need to raise the profile of election workers and make it a part of civic duty and something we applaud and support. >> thank you so much for your great reporting. the elon musk era is officially under way at twitter headquarters in california. the ceo of tesla and spacex began his tenure by firing top twitter executives, opening door for former president trump's feed to go back online. he came in with a sink saying that was a metaphor for him taking over. ben collins joins us now. what are the immediate impacts of this especially during such a polarized time. are the guardrails going to come

down? >> that's probably what's going to happen. the guardrails will come down. he has talked to a bunch of far-right influencers online today saying his first step is basically to get into a room and take the guardrails off the moderation. that's what his plan is. we'll see what this looks like. this is a lot easier said and done especially trying to maintain advertisers for a very expensive purchase. if he's trying to make money with this thing, there will have to be some guardrails. he says he will take off most of them. >> you know, can he turn this around? twitter is not that profitable compared to youtube and facebook. >> no. the answer is no. if he's going to cut 75% of people from his staff, the website will be hard to maintain. this is a website sort of jankily built as it is. it's not very well built as it is. they built things on top of it.

if they're getting rid of all of these engineers, which might be what happens, it's very hard -- they're never going to grow, but it will be hard for them to maintain status quo. and lots of people already left. people are fleeing the platform. it's a grim time inside the company. >> well, ben collins, thanks to you for jumping in there. this is a huge change. the room is starting to fill up for that police update we've been expecting for the last half hour on the attack inside speaker pelosi's home. msnbc will bring it to you live as soon as it gets started. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." chris jansing picks it up after these messages. epression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression

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