interested in that. apple watch is set to get upgrades and new features as well. >> we'll be watching. i'm waiting for them to be able to come up with a much smaller phone that can do more instead of bigger and more. >> i don't know if the small ones are coming back. >> we'll all be holding ipads soon. >> that does it for us today, i'm ana cabrera are from new york, i'll be back tomorrow ahead of the debate between kamala harris and donald trump. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. good morning, 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. we're less than 36 hours away from what could be a make-or-break moment in the presidential campaign. tomorrow night, former president trump and vice president harris will meet on the debate stage in philadelphia for what could be their only face-off.

the vice president spent the weekend in pittsburgh preparing for the debate. during a radio interview that aired this morning, she talked about what she expected from trump during the debate. >> he plays from this really old and tired playbook, right, where he -- there's no floor for him in terms of how low he will go, and we should be prepared for that. we should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth. and we should be prepared for the fact that he is probably going to speak a lot of untruths. >> for his part, donald trump held a rally in battle ground, wisconsin, on saturday. as both candidates prepare for tomorrow's debate, new polling shows an extremely tight race. a "new york times" sienna college national poll gives trump a 1 point lead over the vice president. the yougov poll of michigan,

pennsylvania and wisconsin show a close but tied race in the battleground states, with the results in the margin of error. with us now, nbc news correspondent, garrett haake, who covers the trump campaign, and bloomberg white house correspondent, kayla. how is donald trump preparing for the debate? >> donald trump's debate preparation is anything but traditional. he looks to do policy sessions. he sits around, as formal as around a table at mar-a-lago, sometimes the chairs on his plane, and refreshes himself on his own record through conversations with advisers and with helpful folks like tulsi gabbard, the former democratic congresswoman who was recently brought into the trump campaign to help trump workshop his attack lines and pivot off them to something that can be a substantiative debate answer. there's no podium. no lights, no one standing in for kamala harris. i think some of that comes from the fact that donald trump doesn't like a lot of scripted

preparation for anything, and some of it comes from his belief, his confidence, some will say his cockiness that he will be the dominant figure on the debate stage as he believes he was against joe biden in june. that's how he was talking about it on the debate stage in wisconsin. >> we're run by stupid people, stupid, stupid, people. and we found that out at the debate with joe. how did that work out? and we're going to find it out again on tuesday night. >> you hear that bravado from trump on saturday. the challenge for somebody like that, the thing that debaters expect you not do is lower the bars so thoroughly for he or she to clear. >> kayla, you're in pittsburgh where the vice president has been undergoing intense debate preps. what have those preps looked like? >> in a hotel in pittsburgh --

>> there we go. >> with trusted aides. it's fair to say that the debate stage is someplace that she's comfortable. she was a prosecutor. she's tried dozens of cases and really rose to national prom in accordance -- prominence with debate officials. it will be more difficult with those muted mics while the other candidate is speaking. the campaign is hoping there could be unscripted moments where they can have an organic back and forth, something like what we saw with biden and trump where they had the back and forth about golf, they're hoping the network could be compelled to unmute those mics. >> kayla, i'm having a whole ton of difficulty. there's some technical issues on your sound, and i apologize for that. but, garrett, in a social media

post late last night, trump said he would vote for an amendment on the ballot in florida that would legalize recreational marijuana use in the sunshine state? what's the reasoning behind this? >> that's right, jose. trump has been flirting with this position for a while. he's talked about this issue going back some time. he takes position at odds with the governor of the state ron desantis, interestingly enough. he have talked about the idea that he doesn't think people arrested for small amounts of marijuana possession should have significant time in jail. he talks about the idea that it's important to get this legalized, done right. there needs to be sufficient regulations and laws put in place so in his view, you don't have people sort of smoking on every street corner. we do half an hour on this show, jose, about the politics of marijuana legalization in the country where you have an interesting patch work of states like south dakota and new jersey agreeing by referendum to legalize cannabis.

you see donald trump presumably not considered a friend of the legalize it movement coming out for exactly that position in florida. his home state. >> garrett haake and kayla gardner, thank you so much. appreciate it. new this morning, vice president harris is getting support from ten retired generals and admirals, including three with four stars. they signed a letter defending harris from republican attempts to tie her to the chaotic 2021 u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. this comes as the house foreign affairs committee released a report outlining what it says are the biden administration's failures on afghanistan. the report says biden administration officials watered down security warnings, they waited too long to launch an emergency evacuation of american and afghan allies and kept a large embassy staff amid a troop drawdown. the report says the vice president appeared to be working in lock step with the president. the white house has said the report is based on cherry picked

facts. with us, is retired major general randy manor, one of the people who signed the letter supporting harris. he used to be acting vice chief of the national guard bureau. thank you for being with us this morning. why did you decide to sign on to this letter? >> well, first of all, all my entire life i have been very apolitical, not only of course required because i was an active duty general and also a national guard officer, it's something where every since 2016 where i have seen what trump has done, how he has treated people, how he has dealt with crises, i have been just absolutely opposed to such a very dictatorial strongman bully type of a leader, and so it was easy for me to add my name to this list of those ten officers and ncos. >> general, what is it about donald trump that you believe disqualifies him from being president again? >> so there's two things, and

the first thing i'm going to do is appeal to every single veteran and military member that's watching this as well as the parents of veterans, the brothers, the sisters, the spouses. never before, not once in our history has there been an american president who has quite frankly called our veterans and militaries losers and suckers. and has turned the hallowed ground of arlington, quite frankly, into a political arena. my father is buried there, perhaps i'll have the honor of being buried there as well at some point in the future. the important thing i want to say is he is not a manager of crises. not only did he set the tone for what happened in afghanistan by negotiating literally the release of 5,000 hardened taliban fighters, which of course president biden had no say in, that was one example of poor management. and then also during covid, he

could have been the hero of the world by creating under the national defense act, creating ppe and ventilators, not only for our own country, but to export. instead, the fact that he did not make certain decisions resulted in the loss of literally hundreds of thousands of americans to disinformation and the lack of available resources. these are the reasons why he should not ever be the president of the united states again. >> general, the house report on the investigation withdrawal said the vice president was in their words in lock step with the president on the withdrawal. what's your reaction to that? >> two things, one is, it's extremely easy to dive into details of things that went wrong. clearly there was a suicide bomber that got through, and that is obviously horrible and resulted in the direct loss of american lives and many after

-- afghan lives. of course that happened and other things happened as well. we have to step back for a second about the comment that vice president harris was in lock stop. in 3,288 pages in that report, harris's name is only called out three times. you would think that if this heavily partisan report would have been generated, they would have sprinkled in a few hundred references to harris to have referred to her more often. of course she was involved in terms of being aware of what's going on. the president of the united states makes the calls, and that's important for every viewer to understand. so i say again, 3,288 pages, her name is mentioned three times. that doesn't make sense. >> and, general, democratic vice presidential nominee tim walz has been criticized by republicans over his record in the national guard and statements that implied that he was in war. and i know that you've got a

very close relationship with the national guard. do you think the harris campaign needs to do more to clarify these issues? >> i believe that the governor as well as the vice president and the white house have clarified these details. this is a highly politicized campaign at this point. quite frankly, there's a lot of wrong information being put out, especially by trump, and also of course by vance. i find it abhorrent that literally any veteran would call someone else's service an act of stolen valor, which is very well defined in the federal statute. there is no stolen valor involved whatsoever. i was the acting vice chief, the number two person in the national guard bureau in 2010. i was the general officer in the pentagon, the army staff, responsible for the alert orders for national guard and army reserve units. the timing does not add up

whatsoever, and, in fact, those are literally all falsehoods that he ran. he served honorably for 26 years as a citizen soldier, and, again, that puts him in the ranks of 1% of all americans who have stood up and said i will do this. >> sergeant major general randy benner, i thank you very much for joining us this morning. appreciate it. >> very well, sir. forecasters have named a new tropical storm that could very well become a hurricane off the u.s. coast. we'll show you where it is headed. plus, thousands flee their home as an unpredictable wildfire burns out of control in california. plus, armed and dangerous, what we're learning about the urgent man hunt underway in kentucky for a accuse man accus mass shooting on a kentucky high. we're back in 90 seconds. you're watching jose diaz-balart

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are now being analyzed and restored using the power of dell ai. ♪ 14 past the hour this morning. following breaking news from two extreme weather systems. just moments ago, tropical storm francine formed in the gulf of mexico. it's forecast to strengthen to a hurricane later this week. meantime in california, thousands of residents have been forced to flee their homes as wildfires rage out west, fuel bid sweltering heat. right now, 15 active blazes are burning across the state.

scorching more than a half a million acres. take a look at this. crews dumping buckets of waters from the skies, flames engulfing entire neighborhoods. joining us now, steve patterson, and msnbc meteorologist bill karins. steve, i know you're close to one of the fires. what are you seeing there? >> we're about 70 miles northeast of the los angeles area. it's less about what i see and more about what i feel because this is not one of those wind-driven fires. it's not going to cut through a bunch of vegetation and possibly homes and then die, which in some respects is good news because firefighters know where it is. it's not moving all of a sudden. the bad news is it's sitting on top of us, which makes the air quality terrible. i can feel it in my eyes, many my nose. clearing my throat every few minutes. for me, and a lot of people

including communities that are dozens of miles away, chaff air quality warnings, it's gross. for these firefighters it is very dangerous. firefighters, though, making progress overnight. it was cooler, humidity a little bit better. they've got about 3% containment on the fire. it is still incredibly hot. it's going to get over 100 degrees again today. those guys are in very very treacherous terrain as well. it's a little bit erratic up there, and pushing in about three different directions with communities on all sides. 35,000 homes still at risk. school districts canceled today. homes evacuated, of course, and three firefighters injured. very dangerous fire. you don't need a lot of wind to make for a dangerous fire. not the only one burning across the state. 15 major fires including this one, including the boils fire in northern california, destroying 30 structures. the bridge fire in angeles national forest. hundreds of acres already burned

there. firefighters have a lot on their hands. because of the heat, zapping the moisture from the ground, when this moves into the fall and those winds pick up. it's essentially match sticks across the state of california. going to be a very dangerous season in the next few weeks and months. >> jose, steve, take care of yourself, put a mask on urgently. that stuff can get to you. >> how is the heat impacting these fires? >> the heat is everything. it's been so hot, so dry, and they are so lucky it's not windy. if you saw behind steve, you didn't see the dead grass blowing around or anything. the fires are creating their own weather. that's how they're moving. they're not wind driven. that's good. i want to show you the current wind gusts in the area. we're at zero. the mountains rolling at 5 miles per hour. the containment numbers should increase. extremely rugged terrain. you can see the valley area where the homes are. that's what they're trying to

prevent. any movement of this towards those neighborhoods. i mentioned air quality programs. most of that taxic air is going to be headed southwards toward the coast. san clement, most of los angeles, today, at least, the winds off the water, keeping you and your air quality a little bit better. as we mentioned, there's fires burning in the west. we have 70 large blazers in 11 different states. this is the peak time of when we expect the fires to burn and burn fast. >> i know you're tracking now tropical storm francine. >> this is going to be a big story in a hurry. this is going to be one that's on top of us before we know it. let's get the latest on the hurricane center. there's an aircraft flying through the storm. they reported back, yes, this is strong enough and organized enough to call it a tropical storm. you can see some of the rain on the, you know, northwest side of the storm. you can't see the other portion of it. it's too far away from the radar. the hurricane forecast has this, making landfall in louisiana,

roughly about 48 to 60 hours from now as a category one hurricane. that cone of uncertainty goes from the beaumont, port arthur area, lake charles, fayette, louisiana, new orleans, baton rouge, these are all areas we'll be concerned with. the heavy rainfall will be the center to the east. i'm not concerned with heavy rain in houston, corpus christi, a little bit in brownsville, texas coastal areas. this will mostly be a glancing blow for you. louisiana, mississippi, that's where we're going to deal with the heavy rain threat, and this will be during the day wednesday and thursday. this slowly dies out as you head along the mississippi towards memphis. mostly isolated heavy rain and tornadoes. everyone wants to pay attention to spaghetti lines. when you see all the lines close together, that's what we call

excellent agreement. we're thinking there's a high probability this storm is going to be heading toward lafayette or lake charles somewhere. that's the center of the storm, and to the east of there would be the strongest winds and rain. it doesn't look at this point like we have any direct storm heading to new orleans. as you know, we have to watch this very carefully in the days ahead. the wind damage, flash flooding, and all through the state of louisiana. if you remember last week, they got drenched, a ton of rain, and this is coming right on top of it. >> there's such low lying areas, the whole area is sea level or less. >> that will be the issue. even with a category one in the area, we will get the storm surge. worst case scenario would be carry 2. that will be an issue when we pinpoint that landfall location. >> bill karins, thank you, my friend, appreciate it. up next, the desperate plea from authorities as they search for man who opened fire on a

kentucky highway on saturday, injuring at least five people. also, a warning from liz cheney who fellow republicans who won't support trump or harris. why she says writing in someone else's name isn't good enough. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. s.

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shooting that injured five people on saturday. an arrest warrant has been issued for 32-year-old joseph couch who police say is a suspect wanted for opening fire on a kentucky highway. listen to an eyewitness who was driving cross country when the shootings occurred. >> we were both in shock about it, you know, because it seemed like we literally dodged a bullet. >> local schools remain closed as police warn the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous. joining us no london, kentucky, is nbc's adrienne broaddus. good morning, where does the search stand this hour? >> reporter: you know what, they're still looking for him, jose. it's entering day three, and these special response teams are using drones and helicopters and even dogs to search for this 32-year-old joseph couch who's a white male described as weighing 154 pounds. here's what we know so far. investigators are concentrating their area on this wooded area

which has been described as forest hike. at one point, authorities had to use machetes to cut through the brush. on the screen is an image of the 32-year-old suspect. they did recover a vehicle that belonged to him, as well as an ar-15 that they believe was used in the shooting. five people seriously injured, one person shot in the face, one in the arm, and at least 12 other vehicles hit. yesterday, churches closed, businesses in the area closed and as you mentioned, schools in the area closed as this search continues today, jose. >> adrienne broaddus, thank you so much. also happening today, jury selection in the federal trial of three former memphis police officers charged in the killings of tyre nichols, the three officers faced charges of obstruction of justice and

violating his civil rights after being pulled over in january of 2023. they have pleaded not guilty to the charges. i will warn you, what you are about to see is disturbing. this case garnered national attention when video was released showing several officers beating nichols. an autopsy shows nichols died as a result of blows to the head and ruled a homicide. former prosecutor, david henry, great seeing you. tell us what you're watching for in this trial, and give us a context of what it is that this trial is all about? >> at the end of the day, the primary thing i'm watching for in the trial is to see what the sentencing ends up being at the end of the trial. this is the reason why. this trial feels right and wrong at the same time. it feels right because if you participate in beating someone to death in public, you should be facing upwards of life in prison. it feels wrong because you and i

have discussed several cases in the past few years where officers have killed an unarmed black person and not faced these citizens. if an ordinary citizen kills someone by shooting them, choking them or beating them, you're not going to see a wide variance in the penalty they are going to see in court. in cases officers shot or strangled someone, they received 20 years. one of the officers pled to 40 careers. it will be interesting to see how they're punished and what it says about state of the criminal justice system. >> there are two former officers who took plea deals in this case, could that have an impact on this trial? >> it will have an impact on the trial. typically what prosecutors will do is when they enter into a plea agreement, they say, listen, you have to cooperate with us. that includes testifying, if you're called to do that in trial. i don't see why you need that in a case where you have such a brutal assault that results in a death that was caught on video.

however, the first person who pled pled the 15 years, that indicates to me, that's the deal of the century, but it's consistent with the types of offenses, the types of punishments that officers were typically receiving in these types of cases. the second plea agreement resulting in the 40-year sentence or at least that's what prosecutors are going to recommend the judge follow lets me know that prosecutors intend to ask for more time than that from the jury. that's why i expect to see significant sentences if the jury convicts based on what the judge provides at the end of the trial. >> and you talk about the video evidence, just, i mean, it's there. but what is the burden of proof needed to show they violated his civil rights? >> to show they violated his civil rights, it's relatively straightforward. he has the right to enjoy things provided by federal dollars including public roadways. this is similar to the ahmaud arbery trial in that regard. he also has a right to be free from searches and seizures,

being beaten to death this a traffic stop counts. those parts of the case are straightforward. what's not clear is how jurors might feel based on what they see and conflicting attitudes about policing. this case seems completely straightforward to me. i don't see how anyone could debate about it. i remind myself and my students, they had to try the man who assassinated medgar evers three times before they received a final conviction, which goes to show who's on your jury matters. >> david henderson, thank you for being with us. dick cheney announced he is going to vote for vice president harris. we go to venezuela, where over the weekend, the presidential candidate who many say won the election in a landslide was forced to leave that country is now in spain. we'll tell you why. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "jose

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35 past the hour. we are following breaking news. just moments ago we got an update on princess kate's health. she had been diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer earlier this year. she's announced she has completed her chemotherapy treatment. kensington palace released this video just moments ago. ♪♪ >> as summer comes to an end, i cannot tell you what a relief it is to finally have completed by

chemotherapy treatment. the last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. life as you know it can change in an instant. and we've had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown. the cancer journey is complex, scary, and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you, with humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything. >> is this filming? >> hello? >> hello? this time has, above all, reminded william and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often

take for granted of simply loving and being loved. doing what i can to stay cancer free is now my focus. though i have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long. and i must continue to take each day as it comes. i am, however, looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when i can. despite all that's gone before, i enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life. william and i are so grateful for the support we've received and have drawn great strength from all those who are helping us at this time. everyone's kindness, empathy,

and compassion has been truly humbling. to all of those who are continuing their own cancer journey, i remain with you, side by side, hand in hand, out of darkness can come light. so let that light shine bright. ♪♪ >> and that is the entirety of this video just released by buckingham palace in london. and now more on the race for the white house.

two major republicans are breaking with their party to endorse vice president harris and speak out against donald trump. over the weekend, former vice president dick cheney said he will vote for vice president harris this november. in a statement, he wrote, quote, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than donald trump. while his daughter, former republican congresswoman liz cheney who has also endorsed the vice president explained her decision. >> i've never voted for a democrat. >> wow. >> and it tells you, i think, the stakes in this election. you have in republicans out there who are saying, well, you know, we're not going to vote for him, but we will write someone else in, and i think that this time around that's not enough. that it's important to actually cast a vote for vice president harris. >> joining us now, victori, and

michael steele, cohost of "the weekend" on msnbc. what's your reaction to the cheneys supporting vice president harris? >> i think it's profoundly important. i think some people look at it and go, oh, okay, it's not going to move the needle. it actually does. i think it affirms the permission structure for those of us who remain in the republican party and those who left have tried to create for republicans and center right independent voters to say it's okay that, you know, it's not a profound stain on your, you know, political heritage if, you know, you vote for a democrat. as liz admitted, she's never voted for a democrat before, and for a lot of republicans, that's a big step, so for both of them, her father and herself to sow -- full throatedly come out in

support of this effort and to say, it's not enough. and this is important. it's not enough just to write in president reagan. because we know, president reagan ain't on the ballot. so don't, you know, make an affirmed choice for kamala harris, and tim walz because the country needs that affirmation at this moment. >> and, i mean, back in 2020, when president biden selected vice president harris as his running mate, congresswoman cheney called harris a radical liberal in an interview with fox. it's a big turn around. how significant is her endorsement, do you think? >> it is a big dole. i think her endorsement and her father's endorsement are a big deal, because i think it really does speak to that chunk of moderate republicans who have been struggling with the direction of the party. that being said, it's not that big of a deal for a whole bunch of other republicans, and having spent a lot of time in texas, i

saw the evolution of the republican party, i mean, this was the land of the bushes where they were essentially royalty, but then you started seeing over the last couple of years, and it was really illustrated in the demise of george p. bush in state politics where the party had moved on. so these elders, the cheneys, the bushes, the romneys, they no longer really connect with a significant portion of the base. so when we say it's an important endorsement, it is, but we need to parse it out in terms of who we're talking about. old school gop or that base that we're staying sticking with donald trump no matter what. i mean, michael, is there an old school gop still around? >> yeah, i'm old g, there we go. right here. you got one on the show. old g. i'm old g. i joined the party in 1976. all of these pretenders, you

know, who've come, calling someone like me a rhino need to step it down a little bit. you haven't done the work. all you did was fantasize about donald trump and create images, idoltrize him in a way that's irrelevant to the political construct. but having said that, i think to the point just made, there is some relevance here. it may not be relevant in a place like texas, but to give that permission structure to republicans and independents and center right independents in wyoming, michigan, arizona, georgia, north carolina, can make a big difference. it's not about grabbing 70%. it's about grabbing 1, 2, 3% more of that vote that otherwise would either write in another name or not participate at all.

and now they can see a little bit of room to do that, and so the only gs like myself were saying, it's okay to stay on this part of the playground. there's room here because the country needs us to be here for it. it's not about now i'm a democrat for kamala harris. no, i'm an american who's going to elect a president who actually gives a damn about the constitution and doesn't want to tear it up, and doesn't want to be a dictator on day one or for just a day because we know that's not real. you go down that road and open up something that's not healthy for anybody. >> victoria, this weekend, speaking of people who are dissatisfied or disaffected, former u.n. ambassador nikki haley said this about trump's candidacy. >> if i thought biden or trump were great candidates, i wouldn't have run for president. i ran because i thought i could

do a better job. >> you don't think he's a good candidate? >> i think he's the republican nominee, and i think put him against kamala harris who's a democratic nominee, for me, it's not a question. >> victoria, what do you hear in these comments? >> one of my favorite pieces of advice that i have gotten is listen to what people don't say. and in that interview, it was very clear what nikki haley did not say, and you can almost see the internal struggle within her where, you know, her argument about there were two candidates that weren't good, and that's no longer the case. i mean, she has made her stand. she came out in support of donald trump. and, you know, she's sticking with, but you can just tell the nonverbal message says it all for me. >> michael, what do you think of that nonverbal message? >> oh, come on, stop it. if you want to be a political

leader for heaven's sake b one. just stop it. there's no comparison between kamala harris and donald trump on any planet. so stop faking it. you made your bed, own it. you know, just stop the noise. just stop the noise about it. own the moment because that's where you are. the rest of us are owning our moment. liz cheney is owning hers, why can't you own yours? >> you know there's no comparison between donald trump and kamala harris on policy, on the constitution, on governance, the rule of law. you know that. one of them tried to overthrow an election. one of them didn't. this is not complicated here. so, you know, i get this whole parsing jose down to, oh, it's about the policy, and name the policy besides tax cuts for wealthy people and three supreme

court justices, what are we talking about? name it. where is the infrastructure policy. the health care policy. where was the educational policy? small business policy? come on, stop it. own it. >> victoria soto and michael steele, thank you both so very much. appreciate it. and don't forget, tomorrow i'll be live in philadelphia for the first trump/harris debate, along with all of my colleagues all day long. and tomorrow night, you can watch the debate right here on msnbc. special analysis beginning at 7:00 p.m. eastern, 4:00 p.m. pacific. right here. this is the place to be. up next, the future of venezuela now that the man who challenged authoritarian leader nicolas maduro has fled for his life. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. e diaz-balart reports" on msnbc.

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it's time to grow your business. create a website. how? godaddy. coding... nah. but all that writing... nope. ai, done, built. let's get to work. create a beautiful website in minutes with godaddy. we are following major developments out of venezuela. more than a month since the disputed presidential election there. the opposition candidate has fled to spain asking for asylum after the maduro regime issued a warrant for his arrest. many countries have recognized

the results of the landslide. the opposition leader posted on x yesterday, quote, let this be clear to everyone, edmundo will fight from the outside and will i continue doing it here alongside you. joining us, reporter from "the washington post." what led to him leaving? >> according to him, a lot of pressure coming from the government and also pressure coming from whatever people were surrounding him. he said on a letter and he said immediately after he arrived to spain that threats against his life and freedom forced him to take, to make this decision. a decision by the way jose that impacted everyone and really wowed a lot of the population.

most of the population because just days before, his lawyer said that gonzalez was never going to leave venezuela, as he said, was supposed to be in as president. >> whereas he was the face of the opposition's presidential elections, it's clear that they put him there because you know -- they didn't let her run. shut down the door of anybody and everyone he could so they wouldn't run against him but his was the face that was finally put in there. what does the opposition do now? >> well that's a very good question. that is still yet to be answered. what she said was that she was going to stay here and fight from venezuela. now what you're saying is true.

he was the face, the candidate, so really other people, this decision while it is a very important decision, it really doesn't impact what the opposition is doing and what the strategy of pressuring the international community i guess maduro. you know, they say he doesn't have to do with that main goal that they have of getting gonzalez sworn in as president in january. but it's complicated. how are you going to do that without the main character in venezuela? we've seen this before. that is part of the great criticism around this decision. >> yeah. you know, we have to put everything in context. let's remember that up to 9 million venezuelans have been forced to leave their country over the past 25 years. hundreds of thousands have made

their way to the united states looking for a new life. and that is something that is very real. the importance of venezuela and what is happening in venezuela has an impact around the world. >> around the world. around the neighboring countries who are really aware and bringing awareness to the fact that if this continues and maduro keeps holding power, then they might be facing another wave of migration. colombia, brazil, and again to the united states. we're talking about over 4 million more. that's the projection. that's the expectations that experts have. >> thank you very much for being with us. always appreciate your time. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up with more news next. ea mitchell pick more news next ♪♪ ♪ that's me. ♪ ♪ standing in the mirror. ♪

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