of "the new york times" article talking about what's happening in the haitian community right now in ohio was the calling are coming in are overseas.election. it's not just his base but there are foreign agents who come in and benefit from rfk and our divisiveness. as americans, as we head to the polls, i encourage us to exercise our vote. do it early to demonstrate what our values are. >> important conversation. president and co-founder of voto latino, thank you for coming in this morning. thank you for getting up "way too early" with us on this tuesday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. it was horror. this is such a terrible thing to happen twice in our country in a relatively short period of time.

and it's frightening to see violence being threatened and used in a political campaign. i worry about threats. i worry about what's being said online, about many, many people, not just the former president. and he should be doing, if he were really a leader, he should be doing what he can to calm the matters, not try to just continue to throw, you know, red meat out there to get people riled up. >> former secretary of state hillary clinton condemning the apparent assassination attempt on former president trump, and also reacting to trump placing the blame for the attack on president biden and vice president kamala harris. we'll get the latest on the suspect and also the political implications in just a moment. and we'll bring you a report from springfield, ohio, as more

threats fueled by lies from the former president and his running mate force schools to shut down for a third day. good morning. welcome to "morning joe." it is tuesday, september 17th. along with joe, willie, and me, we have the host of "way too early," white house bureau chief at "politico," jonathan lemire. and msnbc contributor mike barnicle is with us. we begin this morning with the latest developments surrounding the apparent assassination attempt against donald trump. according to the federal criminal complaint, the suspect, 58-year-old ryan routh, was in the area of trump's west palm beach golf course for about 12 hours before the secret service spotted him on sunday and opened fire on him. authorities say routh did not fire a shot, nor did he have a clear line of sight to shoot trump. not at all. >> there was misinformation as

soon as this news broke, and it became clear pretty quickly that there was this misinformation. >> right. >> you know, reports trump had been shot at, that secret service knew the direction from where the shots came from. yeah, they did because they were the only ones who fired weapons. >> right. according to investigations, he had a loaded sks semi-automatic rifle along with a scope, and two bags of food. when routh fled the scene, he left behind his phone. authorities say data shows he may have been hiding in the bushes from about 2:00 in the morning until 1:30 p.m. when he was found. the martin county sheriff's office released this video of routh's arrest. he was taken into custody without incident. routh was found driving on the highway nearly 50 miles away from the golf course after police say a witness took a picture of the car he was in.

willie. >> the counts include possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. he could face additional charges next monday in court or as this investigation continues. let's go to nbc news national law enforcement and intelligence correspondent, tom winter. let's start with the timeline and what we know. we learned that the guy never fired shots, he never had a clear line of sight, was too far from where president trump was playing golf. what else do we know this morning? >> we know it was the secret service that saw him kind of moving within the tree line there that alerted them to this person being there, then they saw the gun and the secret service engaged with him and fired at him. that's how this whole event initially started.

there is indication the secret service agent didn't radio first, just took immediate action, firing the weapon, then got on the horn and was telling everybody what was going on. as far as the information that you and mika were referencing, him being at the location for almost 12 hours, july 10th of this year, routh posts on facebook, hey, if you want to contact me, reach out through whatsapp and send me an instant message. the whatsapp is associated with a cell phone number. they found that. federal investigators found that on his facebook page. they contacted t-mobile, his service provider, and said, we need everything about this number. there is a system in place with all the major providers where they can say, "we need everything right now. we'll send you the paperwork. there is a valid warrant, but drop everything and give us the information." they were able to get that. the fbi task team is set up to

find where cell phones are and to get all the information possible about where somebody might have been. they determined he was there in that general vicinity of where he ultimately was fired upon by secret service and seen with that weapon at approximately 1:59 a.m. as you'll remember from yesterday, the shooting happened at approximately 1:30 p.m. he had been there for a significant period of time. how long was the vehicle there? you'll remember from the initial reports, then followed up at the press conference, he jumps in his car and leaves the scene. yesterday, we sent out some of our owning colli colleagues to the area and try to get surveillance video from the businesses nearby to determine that information. the fbi was there within two hours after the shooting. approximately 3:30 on sunday afternoon, the fbi was already pulling hard drives and surveillance tapes from local businesses to be able to derive their own timeline.

>> since butler a couple months ago, the secret service added to its protective detail around donald trump. yesterday, the trump campaign said, we need more, obviously. their argument, there was another guy, in the bushes, didn't get a shot at donald trump, thank goodness, but something has to change given the threats against former president donald trump and, by the way, gets vice president harris, as well. is there a look that people are taking now about changing the way they're protecting donald trump after now two attempts on his life? >> two conversations going on right now. the acting director of the secret service saying we need a paradigm shift. we can't be so reactive. we have to be out there. we have to have a protective front. they're acknowledging that in the secret service. as far as the immediate need, what you're referencing, what the trump campaign is asking for here, is basically to have a presidential detail. we chatted about this yesterday. he's not -- donald trump wouldn't get a communications

package. he's not the commander in chief. he doesn't need the secure com associated with the responsibility. but is there a way to get it closer, where you're locking down more areas, where you're in the instance of the golf course, and it's just a hobby, but it is likely donald trump will want to golf on his own course on the weekends when he's not campaigning. do you lock down the whole area now? of course, you can do all those thing, but the drain on personnel and resources and how much you're relying on local law enforcement is a huge concern. it's not, well, we only have a handful of days left to election day. we're talking about 49 days until election day. if you're going to have that as he crisscrosses the country, that's going to be a significant drain in places that have a sheriff's department the size of palm beach county, in places

like new york city, as you go to smaller communities. >> right. >> this is an ongoing concern of the secret service golf courses. >> sprawling. >> since donald trump came into public office, i would drive past golf courses where i knew he played. including this one. >> yeah. >> the question i had is, why is the secret service letting him go on golf courses? a lot of courses are tucked away. these trump courses are on busy roads. this one especially is on a very busy road. carol linig did reporting, as did our own jonathan lemire, and secret service photos of how yo

shoot long-range photos of him at his club and warned an assassin could kill him the same way. trump insisted the clubs were safe and he was going to keep playing golf. despite the fact that his habit, quote, at the semi-public courses put his life at risk for many years. >> anyone who had any x experience with the secret service know that it is, in a way, i would say, teamwork. the secret service can do what they can do. they also have to warn you as to when their job is harder. >> right. >> or their job is made impossible. if the former president or anybody chooses to take that risk, you know, they can't stop him from what we wants to do. but their ability to protect him goes down in a massive, sprawling golf course surrounded by public roads. >> right. and that's the important thing.

jonathan lemire, you've reported on this. golfing at a secluded, private club at martha's vineyard or a secluded, private club -- >> mar-a-lago. >> a secluded, private club at bel air country club, or you name it. these private secluded clubs are one thing. you've seen this course. it's along busy thoroughfares, and it caused problems, back to when donald trump started running for president. what'd you learn in your reporting? >> senior staff would be anxious when donald trump went away to bedminster or mar-a-lago to golf, because they'd be afraid of which friend he'd run into who would plant a idea they'd have to deal with when he came

back to them, but there were also security concerns. particularly at this course here, west palm beach, a couple miles from his mar-a-lago resort. there's no course at mar-a-lago itself, but this is the closest one. and the one in sterling, virginia. i remember talking to a senior trump aide during his administration. there was an unflattering photograph a photographer had gotten, perched outside of the security bubble, but a photographer had set up a spot and took a picture as trump was playing. the senior aide said, well, the president's reaction to then, the then president, was that he was unhappy that it made him look bad, his swing look bad. but he said, the real concern, as secret service told us, that if a photographer can stand there and take that shot, what is stopping a would-be assassin, not with a camera, but with a gun, taking a very different kind of shot? that has been a concern while he was in office and even more so since then because, as a former president, he simply doesn't have the security footprint he did while he was in office.

this has been a long-running concern. two file notes. when president obama golfed, where he did so for security reasons in part, was at andrews joint force base. they could completely secure it, so there was less of an issue. we heard from president biden yesterday saying, yes, secret service needed help. they need more resources here. senator schumer, the majority leader, said he'll put it in the budget. but house speaker johnson indicated he doesn't think this is a funding issue. it might be a no-go. >> tom, there's one element that's hanging over this thing. it's the threat level posed to public people, the threat level to the nation itself in terms of intelligence. what is the threat level today? >> i haven't seen it this high in the ten plus years i've been in the job. terrorism, the threat from isis-k, from foreign organizations. we have the now constant threats

of, you know -- it's being mocked now because the phrase is so used, but the lone wolf threat. somebody who buries themselves in the internet and finds the conspiracy. it's like a jukebox. they're selecting whatever song appeals to them. whether it's white supremacy, isis, all sorts of ideology. whenever somebody does these events anymore, when they get to the heart of why they did it, it's never just one thing. so we're not talking about al qaeda and going back 23 years ago. we're talking about people that just find something online that gives them the juice to go out and, i want to do something. i want to go after somebody. you have that constant threat which is incredible. what radar was this person on before they were in the bushes outside of trump's golf course yesterday? then you have the more organized threat domestically. you have iran who obviously has an interest in killing former

trump administration officials, if not the former president himself. by the way, that threat will continue if donald trump loses in november. that is something that, again, the secret service will have to deal with. he's a former president so he will get protection. i haven't seen it this way. why i say that is based on people i've known a very long time that are in the intelligence, the terrorism community, that are talking to people overseas all the time. frankly, the cases. you can believe me or not, the people i'm talking to know what they're talking about. just look at the cases we've seen in the last couple of weeks. we had somebody arrested in canada who was indicted on his way to america. wanted to kill jews just before october 7th. obviously, the anniversary of hamas' attack on israel. you've had a person who wanted to -- who had definitive ties to tehran, wanted to try to find somebody here, a hitman, to go after former trump officials. you're seeing these arrests.

you're seeing these cases. it's not just little things we hear in the ether. i think it is an incredibly difficult time. as the acting secret service director mentioned yesterday, this paradigm shift, i think we're in a whole new world. one thing that's occurring that hadn't occurred in elections past, everybody posts everything on social media constantly. now, there's a history of it. so you know where children of presidential candidates are or what they like to do or what these families like to do. if you're in the internet all day and you want to find that threat, it is there for you to find. that's a challenge for the secret service. >> nbc news national law enforcement and intelligence correspondent, tom winter, thank you very much for being on this morning. former president trump is blaming democrats after the second apparent assassination attempt against him. in an interview with fox news digital yesterday, trump pointed the finger at president biden and vice president harris, claiming their rhetoric is

causing him to be shot at. he claimed biden and harris are, quote, destroying the country, both from the inside and out. he later warned on social media, quote, because of this communist left rhetoric -- >> that's not inflammatory, is it? >> and it'll only get worse. jd vance echoed those remarks while speaking in atlanta last night. >> you know the big difference between conseratives and liberals is that no one has tried to kill kamala harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill donald trump in the last couple of months. i'd say that's pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric and needs to cut this crap out. somebody is going to get hurt by it, and it is going to destroy this country, all of us. i promise, i will do my part to tone down the rhetoric, but, in particular, the people telling you that donald trump needs to be eliminated, you guys need to cut it out or you're going to get somebody hurt.

>> well, this is what you would call gaslighting. >> yup. >> of the first order. let's bring in right now ceo of the messina group, jim messina. served as chief deputy staff for president obama. chair of the defenders superpac, whose goal it is to combat republican-led voter suppression efforts. i'm not even going to respond to the hypocrisy. i'll just read from "the new york times" this morning. peter baker, in his latest analysis for "the new york times" titled "trump outrage in the modern era of political violence." bi peter baker writes this in part, "at the heart of today's eruption of political violence is mr. trump. a figure who seems to inspire people to make threats or take actions, both for him and against him. he has long favored the language of violence in his political discourse. encouraging supporters to beat up hecklers, threatening to shoot looters and undocumented

migrants. mocking a near fatal attack on the husband of the democratic house speaker, and suggesting that a general he deems disloyal be executed. mr. trump insists his fiery speech to supporters on january 6th, 2021, was not responsible for the subsequent ransacking of the capitol, he resisted pleas from advisors and his own daughter, other family members, as well, that day to do more to stop the assault. he even suggested that the mob might be right to want to hang his vice president and has since embraced the attackers as patriots whom he may pardon if elected again." jim messina, this is, again, it's barely even worth responding to, and i can say

that on a personal level. you know, him suggesting that i should be executed after he was angry at my covid reporting, which basically was just reading his quotes over six months' time, agreeing that liz cheney should be set before a military tribunal because she endorsed kamala harris. suggesting that violence should be done to others, and his supporters suggesting that the hosts of the abc debate should be imprisoned. >> and he welcomes to mar-a-lago people who have racist beliefs, among other things, who are not -- >> yeah. >> -- democratic in their values. >> we're talking about violence here. again, the real introduction to violent rhetoric in america, in

presidential campaigns, has been unprecedented since trump first came onto the scene in 2016. >> it really has, joe and mika. you're exactly right. look at richmond, virginia, where he said both sides were good people. you know, as they burn their tiki torches and chanted anti-jewish sentiments. jd vance is the latest symptom of what trump started. i mean, he admitted the springfield pet thing was made up by him and others to highlight an issue. now, they're on their third day of not being able to go to school because of bomb threats. and not having a government because of bomb threats in city hall. this is what he has wrought upon american politics. it's now everywhere. his acolytes and his party has become willing enablers of this. we're seeing this all over the place with 49 days left in the election. his supporters have filed over 100 lawsuits around the country

trying to restrict voting rights, trying to restrict early voting, trying to change the laws to favor their anti-democratic movement right as people are going to the polls. we have never seen threats to democracy like these guys and donald trump, and in seven weeks, if we're not very careful, he could win again. >> jonathan lemire, we can take, as joe said, jd vance's comments with a grain of salt. he has to say whatever the puppet master makes him say. but we should point out that he is the elected representative, the united states senator of the people who actually are being put in danger by the rhetoric coming out of his campaign in springfield, ohio. bigger picture here, donald trump says that democrats are the enemy within. he says they are destroying our country. he's called some of them vermin, using apocalyptic terms which send bat signals, as we learned on january 6th and knew before then, to groups of people about how high the stakes are and what needs to be done to stop them.

so thank god donald trump is safe. thank god he was not assassinated in july or this week. but, my gosh, there is no comparison on the rhetoric. >> not even close. to be clear, there's no place in this country for any sort of political violence. there shouldn't be any place for threats of political violence even. but it is rank hypocrisy and truly rich to hear from donald trump, of all people, suggesting that the other side is responsible for inciting violence. now, of course, we don't know what's in the mind of this suspected suspect arrested in florida, nor do we know what happened with the individual who tried to -- who shot at former president trump in pennsylvania back in july. there's sort of incoherent ideologies for both. but what is clear, and we know this, that trump has inspired violence, as we're seeing here on january 6th. the attacker of paul pelosi, which, mind you, trump and his adult sons mocked repeatedly afterwards. trump even in recent weeks has

used the attack on paul pelosi as a laugh line in his rallies. he has dehumanized people. immigrants, yes. also, democratic elected officials with his words. he's called them treasonous, suggested they be executed. no one in our modern american politics has embraced the concept of political violence or attacking others like donald trump. though there are some in his camp who feel like things have gone too far in springfield, ohio, they see the reports of schools being evacuated, bomb threats to city hall, bomb threats to the hospital there. but donald trump himself, i am told, mulling a visit to springfield, ohio, thinks this is a winning issue there and wants to push this one even further. >> jim, there are elements of this campaign that will never end, it seems. given the age we're living through politically, hopefully we live through it, the election

will not be over on november 8th. it won't be over. >> won't be over, right. >> especially if the former president loses. what do you anticipate will happen? >> a couple things. one, they'll go right to the courts and attempt to overturn it. they're already having local county officials in some of the battleground states say they won't certify the election if trump loses. let me say that again. local elected officials are already saying seven weeks before the election they won't certify if trump loses. so this is what we're going to have to deal with. we'll have to deal with it in the courts, deal with it in the court of public opinion, and we'll have to make sure people understand how safe and how actual this system really is and how these inflaming rhetoric of trump is nothing but b.s. it is really troublesome that a majority of republican voters now trust donald trump more than

their local voting officials. as jonathan said on the "way too early" show, these are your neighbors volunteering to do election watching and integrity stuff. they're not some deep state conspiracy here. they're trying to do their job. the trump campaign is setting the stage to contest this. his campaign manager said the other day, this isn't over on election day. it's not going to be over until the day it's certified in congress, and we'll take the fight all the way. they are setting this up to have another january 6th-like protest. >> because, again, they've just clearly said that -- and their words, deeds, and actions are going to drive down the vote. if that doesn't work, they've been planning, like you said, to challenge a democratically elected candidate and tried to, unfortunately, block another peaceful transition. it'd be only the second time

since the civil war. so before we let you go, i want to go over some quick snapshots, just snapshots of polls that have been coming in. yesterday, "usa today" and suffolk poll had harris up three points in pennsylvania. major national polls, which a lot of people don't pay a lot of attention to, but look at the trend lines, several have her up six points. yesterday, we had ann seltzer, "the des moines register" with an iowa poll that had kamala harris within the margin of error there. you look at recent florida polls and recent texas polls. many of those are now within five points. nobody would have ever assumed this. by the way, joe biden was down 18 points in iowa before he dropped out of the race. so i'm wondering what you make of these trend lines and where you see this race right now.

>> look, i think the key word here, joe, is movement. you're seeing movement all over the place towards vice president harris. you're seeing it as democrats consolidate and, most importantly, these suburban women begin making up their minds. the poll that made me the happiest was the pennsylvania poll. every day, we do 66,000 simulations of the election. pennsylvania is the tipping point state in about 70% of those simulations. pennsylvania is going to be the whole battle, along with the other two midwestern states. doesn't mean the other battleground states don't matter. you need backup plans. you need georgia in case pennsylvania slides. you can combine arizona with nevada, et cetera. but what you're seeing in the national polls is movement toward harris and, yet, still a very close race in the battleground states. within the margin of error of every single battleground state. of the seven, all are within the margin of error seven weeks

before the essina group and chair of the democracy defenders superpac, jim messina, thank you very much for coming up this morning. good to see you. still ahead on "morning joe," we'll talk to lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle about a new, bipartisan push to uphold the results of the 2024 election, regardless of who wins. first, "the washington post"'s eugene robinson joins us live from springfield, ohio, as the city faces the growing number of bomb threats after president trump promoted lies about migrants eating people's pets. you're watching "morning joe." we're back in 90 skds. seconds. hipping store. we're the "pack it, ship it, guarantee it" store. we know running a small business takes a lot of grit and hustle. so we're the "stress less" store. and the "we've got your back" store. because when you trust us to pack it and ship it,

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i'm glad donald trump survived yet another attempt on his life. >> absolutely. >> but it's not the first time, of course. he has also given incendiary comments to haitian immigrants for eating cats and dogs. i could go on and on. babies getting killed after their delivery. saying that his opponents were all for that procedure. racist comments that some said maybe weren't intended but came across as that, calling -- >> well, let me -- only reason i'm mentioning any of this is doesn't extreme rhetoric work both ways? and that donald trump himself should be careful with this? >> fox news host neil cavuto in

an interview with a republican member of congress, reminding his viewers of what donald trump has been saying on the campaign trail and on the debate stage last week. as threats continue to disrupt the city of springfield, ohio, after donald trump and senator jd vance's lies about haitian migrants there. two more elementary schools were evacuated yesterday. elementary schools. because of unspecified threats and information received by local police. that now brings the total to six city schools targeted in the past week. it was the third school day now interrupted by threats in springfield since the former president and his running mate spread those lies about haitian immigrants eating pets and wildlife. the state's republican governor mike dewine announced state troopers will be providing extra security for the foreseeable future at the district's 18 school buildings. let's bring in pulitzer prize winning columnist, associate editor of "the washington post," eugene robinson. he is on the ground in

springfield, ohio, this morning. gene, you took a reporting trip there to springfield to see what the impact has been over these last couple of weeks since donald trump and others picked up on this third, fourth, fifth-hand internet meme, that the person who posted the picture originally now says had no information about it, didn't mean to start this and everything that's come from it. what are you seeing there in springfield? >> well, you've just given the report. these threats are an everyday occurrence now. the first thing in the morning yesterday, 9:00, there's a bomb threat or some kind of threat at city hall. eight police cars and officers, they check it out, and nothing happened. it happens, and they go away. but city hall is not able to function in this environment. the schools are not able to function in this environment. two local colleges have canceled

classes because of threats. hospitals have had to be evacuated because of these threats, these unfounded threats that are directly prompted by the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the republican party, donald trump and jd vance. and jd vance, who is one of the senators from the state of ohio, is effectively disrupting the lives and some people feel threatening the lives of his own constituents. it is absolutely appalling and amazing, and i've never seen anything quite like this. >> so, gene, school being canceled in springfield, ohio, that obviously means one or both parents, but certainly one parent is going to stay home with an elementary school child who can't go to school because of all this. >> yeah. >> do you get any sense, while

you're there, have you gotten any sense from people, the level the angst or outrage or whatever they're feeling about what is happening to their family, because of the schools being shut down in their city? >> yeah. i've gotten a sense. number one, i've talked to haitian newcomers. i've talked to long-time springfield residents. the one thing that everyone agrees on is that this is unacceptable. this situation right now is unacceptable and has to end. everybody needs to calm down. everyone needs to reject these stupid, i won't even call them rumors, they're just lies about cats and dogs and geese, and get back to what springfield was trying to do all along.

it's a city that is sort of rebounding after the deindustrialization. it's really coming back. there's some big, new employers around town. more jobs. there's more economic vitality. downtown, there are some projects going on that are bringing life back to downtown. that's what springfield is trying to do. at the same time, it is coping with a very large wave of immigration, of haitian migrants primarily who have temporary protective status, many of them. some of them are longer term residents of the united states who have come to springfield for opportunity. and so that's something that the city is having to deal with and to grapple with. >> mm-hmm.

so i would like to get the bigger picture, gene, since you're there on scene. often, several things can be true at the same time. depending on what you watch our read, you might hear that springfield is overrun with illegal migrants that are causing lots of problems for the system of the city of springfield, and it is overrun. that large wave that you were talking about of migrants who are under temporary protective status, if you could address the problems they are causing for springfield. also, is it fair to make the -- to do this type of math? the words of trump and vance on the national stage have caused this town to basically shut down at times and fear violence, or is it more huddled than that? >> well, that is certainly true, what you just said. the words of trump and vance have caused this town to largely shut down in fear of violence.

that, again, is unacceptable to everybody i've talked to here. springfield faces what i think everyone would agree are challenges. a town of 58,000 or so people that has seen in over the past decade an influx of at least 15,000, some people say 20,000 haitian migrants. they're not all recent migrants from hay haiti, but most of the are. they're not illegal. they have temporary protective status. they have a right to be here. and this is the pattern of immigration in america. immigrants arrive at a certain

place, and a certain infrastructure gets set up. otherscousin, a brother, or a friend, a neighbor who lives in springfield and knows there are jobs and opportunity there, so people sort of cluster. one thing, though, that i did see yesterday, mika, which is so encouraging. there is a very good haitian creole restaurant that opened recently here in springfield. it is thronged with people. it is thronged with not just haitian immigrants, but longtime springfield residents who are going out of their way to patronize this restaurant and to show that this is not about some sort of antipathy or hatred or

othering of haitian migrants. what it is about is adjustment. it has required some adjustment on the part of this community and will require more adjustment in the months and years to come. >> "the washington post"'s eugene robinson reporting for us from springfield, ohio, thank you very much for your reporting this morning. eugene, thank you. time now for a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning. one of the biggest social media companies is moving to ban russian media outlets, including the state-owned television network rt. the move by meta, which owns facebook, instagram, and whatsapp, is cracking down on disinformation online. u.s. intelligence officials said the kremlin is seeking to bolster former president trump's campaign. speaking of russia, the number of those killed or

wounded in that country's war on ukraine has reached the staggering total of roughly 1 million. as "the wall street journal" reports, while it's been difficult to pin down the precise number of casualties, the massive losses will have a profound impact on both countries far into the future. and hip hop mogul sean diddy combs was arrested late yesterday after he was indicted by a federal grand jury. details of the charges weren't immediately announced by prosecutors. combs has faced multiple allegations by women, accusing him of sexual assault, and recently settled a lawsuit with an ex-girlfriend who allegedly suffered years of abuse, including beatings and rape. finally, in brazil, a news anchor running for mayor of sao paulo attacked his opponent with a chair during a live televised debate. it happened after the two contenders sparred over a sexual

harassment case involving one of them. gracious. analysts say the event could reshape the race to lead latin america's largest city. >> i would think so. coming up, we'll take a closer look at donald trump's finances. and why our next guests have dubbed him a lucky loser. "morning joe" will be right back. question. if you can't see what's behind all this, how do you already know, it's jeep? probably the same way you know if a t-rex is chasing a jeep wrangler... is getting away. yep! or if it takes you places that make you say, woah. and their hair looks like this. or someone says, the doors come off. then you just know what it was. what it is. and what it always will be. because when you're an original,

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the game of monopoly could have been invented for donald trump. wheeling and dealing from his office on fifth avenue, surveying his realm from his personal helicopter. striding through his casino like moses parting the red sea. the banks showered him with money. the press almost deified him. but monopoly is a tricky game. when you borrow as much money as donald trump did, nearly $2 billion, and the economy goes into a tailspin and you can't pay the interest on your loans, the bankers move in. and they have. >> that is a 1991 report from nbc "nightly news" with an extended monopoly metaphor there, covering donald trump's financial failures. the events surrounding trump's first bankruptcy, as well as his

others, are covered in the book, "lucky loser, how donald trump squandered his father's fortune and created the illusion of success." co-you thors join us now. they're investigative reporters for "the new york times" and won a pulitzer prize for their reporting on donald trump's finances. good morning. great to have you both back with us on the show. congrats on the book. suzanne, if we could take a 30,000 foot view of this first. obviously, the fact, the idea, i should say, that donald trump is this genius builder, this businessman, it's foundational not just to his personal story but to the reason he was elected president. the guy from "the apprentice." everything he touches turns the gold. but as kamala harris got to last week in the debate, she said donald trump was handed $400 million on a silver platter. what's the truth about the beginning of his rise as a businessman? >> well, he was certainly, to start with, born lucky. he was born into a very wealthy family, and he inherited

hundreds of millions of dollars. but he grew up. his father was an incredibly successful builder in the outer boroughs, and donald trump took over the empire. he was born into luck, and he ended up being able to use his father's connections and his father's money to get his start in manhattan. >> there's so much in this book that gives the reader an incite into how, over decades, donald trump has woven his way into american culture and american life. some of the tells in the book are so glaringly obvious as to trump's character or lack of character. one of them is he's at the military academy, and it's time for the class picture to be taken. donald has earned maybe one or two good conduct medals that

would be flashed on his uniform when the photo was taken, but he has another idea for that day. >> you have a keen eye, mike. so that day is going to be sort of the, for posterity's sake, how you're reflected in the yearbook forever. donald has some medals. all the kids there were given medals for good behavior, for making their bed in the right way. donald had a friend, michael scadron, who had done very well under the system. his dress uniform was covered in medals. donald, the day of the photograph, went to his room and said, "hey, can i borrow your formal jacket today?" that's what he wore. that's the picture you see of him with tons of medals, but. >> narrator: they're not his. >> yeah. >> the medals in the class picture that weren't his, is that what he did to banks in the '80s? how did he do it?

how did he have a relationship with so many banks when he owed so much money and had already filed for bankruptcy? >> i think there was an incredible willingness to lone loan to him. >> why? >> he had his father's backing and they felt he was wealthy. he looked wealthy. you know, i covered wall street for years. the banks will line up to give you money, and then it all fell down on them. but they were taken in. >> i can't get a car loan. [ laughter ] >> i hear you on that. >> jonathan is in washington. >> congrats on the book, guys. russ, talk about the trump comeback, the piece of footage we brought in the segment with. you know, bankruptcy, things took a turn for him. how did he pull this off, where he was able to set himself back up to being a publicly respected businessman, if you will? then a reality tv star. >> that happened kind of all at the same time. he sort of -- after the 1990 collapse when the banks forced

him to sell a lot of his assets or give them back, he was really doing small ball stuff a number of years there. he was trying to get his name on other people's projects. he was trying to build golf courses, some of which he got hung up with zoning boards on. all of a sudden, out of the blue, he gets a call from the hottest name in television at the time, a producer named mark brunette, who had created "the survivor," which was the biggest show in television. another show, "echo channel." this was a new form of game show. they called it reality television. burnette preferred dramality because it wasn't real. his idea was the jungle would be the city now. he called the one person that he remembered, he says, from "the art of the deal," donald trump, to see if he'd do it. he thought it'd take weeks to get an announcement. as soon as he called, trump said, "come on over." that day, they struck a deal.

that began the process of remaking donald trump to look like the consequential, effective billionaire they needed him to be in order for the premise of that show, it was a contest between people to get an apprenticeship with him, to make any sense at all. the process of remaking him not only made him rich but also gave him the image that was so vital to him running for the white house. >> yeah. >> suzanne, has there been any response from donald trump to this book? >> we sought comment from donald trump during the book writing process and did not hear back. on monday, though -- sorry, sunday night, we did hear from him. he sent us a cease and desist letter about the article. there was a big adaptation that ran in "the new york times." he's also warned us about the book. that's all we've heard from him. we certainly wanted to hear from him during the book writing process, and we didn't. >> the new book is entitled --

>> wait, willie has a question. >> go ahead, willie. >> yeah, russ and suzanne, both, i'm curious to get your fact-based take on this. we hear as a refrain from people around donald trump, including his sons, even used when he is prosecuted in lower manhattan, saying, "how could new york city do this to the guy who built the new york city skyline?" that's a line they use. obviously, he has trump tower on fifth avenue. russ, what's the truth about how much he has built and how much he has actually just licensed his name to in new york? >> he hasn't built that much. when you look at the skyline from almost anywhere, you're not going to see donald trump's buildings along there. there are other builders. there are much bigger role in the last 40 years. he built a few apartment buildings early on. most of those were condos. he doesn't own them. he owns the grocery store and the parking lot on the ground floor. in no way did he remake the skyline.

you can see the tall buildings from everywhere. there was a project on the west side he tried to develop for years. he lost tons of money on that. he ultimately gave away control of that. those properties were built by a another company, but he insisted that his name be put on some of them. you see some of that from the west side of manhattan. he didn't actually build those. those were built by another company after he had failed in his plans. >> yet, he stands to make, even with his truth social stock plummeting, doesn't he stand to make a billion or two dollars if he decides to sell in the next few weeks? >> let's see. first of all, the stock has been falling, so that's a real question mark. if he sells, it could crush the company. but these are a lot of unknowns. you know, the other thing we've seen him doing, he is talking sneakers, bibles. these are licensing deals. they're not going to bring in a lot of money. we have to remember, donald trump lost a lot of the licensing deals that he struck when he decided to run for

president back in 2016. now, he's facing potentially crushing fines, hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. just think of the new york attorney general's case. we don't know how it'll play out. that case is on appeal. that bill could be coming due. >> wouldn't that suggest he'd probably sell the stock, even if it did great damage to the company, if he could take a billion or two out of it? >> could be. it'd be a real race against time to sell-off before the thing plummeted. >> right. >> we also just wonder, you know, he's had the luck of his birth that brought him half a billion. the luck of "the apprentice" brought another half a billion. the west side produced money. you have to wonder if something else will come up in his time of need, as happens throughout his life, to sort of give him a rescue. maybe this stock is it. >> all right. the new book is entitled "lucky loser, how donald trump squandered his father's fortune and created the illusion of success." it goes on sale today.

co-authors russ buettner and suzanne craig, congratulations on the book. good luck with the cease and desist. >> i do think he'll most likely sell the stock. it might crush the company, but with the expenses, if he could get a billion, $2 billion out of that, that'll certainly -- that will -- you have to sell a lot of sneakers to get a billion or two dollars. still ahead, more than 30 house members, ncluding a half dozen republicans, signed a letter vowing to respect the certified winner of the 2024 presidential election. we'll break down why this matters now and speak with the democratic congressman josh gottheimer who launched the unity commitment, along with republican congressman mike lawler. "morning joe" will be right back. one thing we know is true: no matter race, gender, ethnicity...

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welcome back to "morning joe." tuesday, september 17th. jonathan lemire and mike barnicle are still with us. the suspect in sunday's apparent assassination attempt against donald trump is now facing two gun-related charges. nbc news senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake has the latest. >> keep walking! >> reporter: newly released body camera video showing the suspect in the apparent assassination

attempt of former president trump as he was arrested sunday in florida. >> what's your name? ryan? >> just driving with the flow of traffic. yeah, i think that he may have thought he got away with it. it was probably the highest profile stop this sheriff's office has ever made. >> reporter: all of it two months after the assassination attempt against trump in butler, pennsylvania, with new questions about how another armed suspect was able to get close to the republican nominee. the suspect in sunday's incident, ryan wesley routh, charged in federal court with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, with more charges likely to follow. >> our fbi agents then attempted to interview him, and he invoked his right to an attorney. >> reporter: according to court documents, routh's phone signal suggests he had been hiding in the bushes by the fence of trump's golf course nearly 12 hours, from 1:59 a.m. until 1:31 p.m. that's when, according to the

documents, while trump was golfing, a secret service agent spotted a rifle poking out of the tree line. the agent opened fire in the direction of the rifle, and the suspect fled. this photo showing what he left behind. including a semiautomatic rifle with scope, a gopro camera, and backpack with ceramic tiles as potential body armor. a suspect saw him fleeing and got critical information that led to the arrest. >> have you briefed former president trump on the findings, and has his campaign asked for changes in his security going forward after yesterday? >> so i've had a conversation with the former president. the president is aware that he has the highest levels of protection that the secret service is providing him. >> reporter: we're learning more about the suspect's background. his north carolina home was searched by authorities. court records show a lengthy criminal history, including a conviction for possession of a machine gun. >> problems with -- i never

thought he'd try to kill the president. >> reporter: routh was outspoken about support of ukraine, visiting in 2022. on social media, the suspect called trump his, quote, choice in 2016, who had since become a disappointment. routh contributed to democrats in 2019 and voted in the democratic primary in 2020. he also criticized trump, writing in april, quote, "democracy is on the ballot, and we cannot lose." trump arguing the suspect, quote, believed the rhetoric of biden and harris, and he acted on it. comments echoing last week's debate. >> i probably took a bullet to the head because of the things they say about me. they talk about democracy, i'm a threat to democracy. >> reporter: trump also used incendiary language against democrats, and authorities have not yet revealed a motive in either incident. vice president harris condemned political violence, writing, quote, i am thankful that former president trump is safe. this from president biden.

>> in america, we resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box, not at the end of a gun. >> nbc's garrett haake with that report. while donald trump and his running mate, jd vance, lays blame on democrats for rhetoric leading to the attempted assassinations, he has continuously used inflammatory rhetoric for years. look no further than what happened at the u.s. capitol on january 6th. more than a month earlier, trump tweeted out, "big protest in d.c. on january 6th," referring to the day congress was set to formally certify joe biden's victory in the electoral college. writing, quote, "be there, will be wild. more than 1,000 americans have been convicted in the january 6th attack on the capitol. 350 trials are still pending. the fbi continues its investigations. in september of 2020, then president trump failed to

condemn white supremacist groups and their role in violence in american cities, calling it solely a left-wing problem. proud boys, "stand by and stand by," trump said. i'll tell ya what, somebody has to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing wrong. problem. even before those comments, trump defended white nationalist protesters in charlottesville, saying there was, quote, "very fine people on both sides." in 2016, he said his supporters were so loyal, he could shoot somebody in downtown manhattan. donald trump's continued use of inflammatory rhetoric spans nearly a decade. >> this is the day we take our country back. so i got a little notice in case you see the security guards.

we have wonderful security guards. they said, "mr. trump, there may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience." so if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? seriously. okay? just knock thehell -- i promise you, i'll pay for the legal fees, i promise, i promise. they won't be so much because the courts agree with us, too, what's going on in this country. we will fight for america like no one has ever fought before. 2024 is our final battle. it's our final battle. we're going to win the battle, turn the nation around, and make america great again. america first. [ applause ] but it's our final battle, the last shot at it. down the road, they've taken it down the road. we have corrupt elections and lots of other thing. with you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. if we don't win on november 5th, i think our country is going to

cease to exist. it could be the last election we ever have. i actually mean that. we don't win, i think this could be the last election we ever have. comrade kamala harris, you're fired! you're fired! get out. get out! she shouldn't be there anyway. she got no votes. she's a threat to democracy, right? that's what they say. they always said, "donald trump" -- you know, it's a sound bite for them, "donald trump is a threat to democracy." no, she's a threat. >> i mean, there's so many, jonathan lemire. there's so many examples where he, you kno -- during january 6th, as peter baker wrote in "the new york times" today, he suggested that maybe mike pence deserved lynching. he's talked about treason and executing chairman of the joint

chiefs, his chairman of the joint chiefs, mark milley. he's talked about being a dictator from day one. he's talked about terminating the constitution, if that's what was required for him to overturn the 2020 election. i could go down the list. he's agreed with the idea that liz cheney should face a military tribunal. actually, when he didn't like our covid reporting and the fact that i was quoting what he'd say during covid, was talking about how i needed to be arrested and executed. you can go down the list. even the abc, the two abc people this past week, his supporters were saying that they needed to be arrested for treason. abc needed to be taken off the air. i could go on for the next three hours. the fact that -- and this is what i see people doing, sometimes in the mainstream media, certainly on some of the pro-trump stations, but, also,

sadly on mainstream newsletters, trying to flatten out the businesses differences and preach this phony message, that the rhetoric from the left and the right are equally inflammatory. it's grotesque. they know they're lying. again, we could keep going down the list. feel free to add on if you'd like. but it's been nine years of talking about beating the hell out of people. it's been nine years about talking about terminating the constitution. it's been nine years of mocking and ridiculing nancy pelosi's husband in his 80s for being brutalized by somebody screaming what they were screaming at the capitol january 6th, "where's nancy? where's nancy?" so they think they can gaslight us and say, "oh, the democrats are really the ones that are

fueling the rhetoric, the violent rhetoric." it's just not true. it's an out and out lie, and i certainly hope democrats are not cowed by this lie. >> it is certainly not true. we are seeing members of the media and republicans trying to work the rest right here, to play this both sides game, when it is simply not accurate or appropriate. from the very beginning of his political career, a political career that was birthed on the back of a racist lie, birtherism, continued with incendiary, offensive language about mexicans being rapists as he came down the escalator in june 2015. ever since, he's embraced a dehumanizing rhetoric and racist rhetoric. he's indeed spurred on his followers to commit crimes in his name, culminating with storming the capitol. he's not done. he threatened there would be a

bloodbath if he weren't elected president this november. this is a hallmark of who he is, and we have seen him inspire in big ways and small. i count myself as among the many members of the media who have been threatened, who have had to have law enforcement involved because of trump's supporters inspired by what he said. there's simply no comparison to what is said from the other said. let's remind ourselves of what biden and harris have been saying consistently the last 48 hours since the assassination attempt was reported in florida. there's no place for violence, none whatsoever. biden called trump yesterday and expressed relief that he was okay. >> mike barnicle, we have a stark example of everything we're talking about in front of us right now. we just heard from gene robinson, who is in springfield, ohio, on the ground there, as two more elementary schools face bomb threats now. six schools in springfield

having to close for periods of time because of bomb threats. kids missing the early days of school. parents having to deal with all that. directly because of a lie that's being told, because of fear being whipped up about a group of legal immigrants, haitian immigrants. mike, we don't have to look far for examples of jd vance, the running mate, senator from ohio, who represents the people that he is putting in danger, of what could happen from this rhetoric. >> no, we don't, willie. we don't at all. every day, it's right in front of us. all day, every day. and what we do know is that the loudest voices in this country, and there's no voice louder than the former president's voice, those voices and his voice are heard immediately in the darkest corners of social media. where we don't know what happens. you don't know what happens out there when someone grasps the

seed of an idea planted by a loud voice, a loud, cantankerous voice. what we do know is there are many, many people in this country who haven't really paid attention to this enough. pay attention, america. pay attention to what's happening around us. pay attention to the anger, the fake anger. pay attention to the false charges made against immigrants and, in this case, springfield, ohio, haitians. >> legal. >> yesterday in florida, the u.s. attorney in charge of the southern district in florida, lapointe, he's a marine corps veteran of the gulf war. he is an immigrant. he was born in port-au-prince, haiti. he's like millions of other americans who live here who are immigrants. pay attention to what's happening around us, please.

>> i want to read -- >> i was reading about him. >> mike, you were talking about the words that are used. i'm reading kevin williamson's extraordinary column in "the dispatch" this week. "the exotic cat-eaters of springfield, ohio." he talks about, actually, how haitians in that community have helped revive the community, actually lifted, lifted that community up financially. then he says this, following up on what you were saying about jd vance and donald trump's lies. words are powerful. words from powerful people are more powerful still. and the silence of powerful people is powerful, too. as of this writing, springfield schools have been closed for two days in a row, bomb threats. city hall was evacuated, bomb threat. other municipal buildings, bomb

threats. an elementary school, bomb threat. two medical centers, bomb threats. meanwhile, donald trump is on truth social posting images of kittens holding a sign reading, "don't let them eat us. vote for trump." then kevin williamson asks, "do you know what the most important word in that sentence is? them." >> yeah. >> them. it's always about them. >> yup. >> kevin goes through this article, and he's talking about exactly what trump and vance are doing. i recommend everybody go to "the dispatch" and read what kevin writes about. because, mike barnicle, he talks about how they are borrowing from european, right-wing

populism, where, you know, it's toxic nationalism, and a healthy dose of racism. again, always us against them. white people against everybody else. that's what donald trump is trying to do. as kevin reports from springfield, as gene reported from springfield, you actually go into springfield, and there are a lot of people, especially business owners, that are grateful. also, kevin points out, that landlords are grateful. houses prices have gone up. they're outperforming other towns nearby because of the influx of immigration. just as i know donald trump and jd vance don't really know much about ronald reagan, but just as ronald reagan said in his farewell address to america, that immigrants, and in this case immigrants who are here

legally, help america grow. that's what's happening in springfield right now. they're being met, of course, with bomb threats from hospitals to schools to city hall. >> well, joe, i mean, in the case of both men, the former president and the candidate for vice president on the republican ticket, we know what they perceive to be the greatest threat to the united states of america. it's not vladimir putin. it's not iran. it's not iraq. it's not anything having to do with the middle east. it's not china. it's the other. the other. >> right. >> as you just pointed out, it's them. for anybody who is concerned about what haitian immigrants are doing or not doing, i would suggest that, again, pay attention the next time you go to a hospital. pay attention to the people who care for many of the patients in that hospital. from labs in the hospital to wards in the hospital, haitian

immigrants. the kindest, most gentle, caring people you'll ever encounter, you'll encounter them in a hospital, working here in the united states of america. another lie that donald trump told during the debate was about the 2020 election. he was asked several times. more than 30 house members signed onto a commitment to uphold the results of the 2024 election, no matter who the group is. a group of 26 democrats and 6 republicans vowed to certify the election and attend january's inauguration ceremony in person. the lawmakers say they want to be a voice for calm and reconciliation and speak out against those who engage in violence. joining us now are members of the unity commitment. republican congressman mike lawler of new york and democratic congressman josh gottheimer of new jersey.

thank you, both, very much. >> thank you, guys. >> for being on this morning. >> thanks for having us. >> i guess, mike, tell us what, you know, the reason of this is for. what's the background? why do we need this organization? >> well, and also, assure americans, if you will, because we heard jim messina have some of the same fears that a lot of americans are having, that the election will not be the end, it'll just be the beginning of another 2020-like battle. how -- i am so glad you guys are doing this. how can you assure americans that we can actually move toward a peaceful transition in 2024 that we did not have in 2020? >> well, joe and mika, obviously, the peaceful transition of power is the cornerstone of our democracy, our constitutional republic. and i have been very clear from the very beginning that joe biden won in 2020.

that what happened on january 6th, 2021, was wrong and never should have happened. i was the first republican in new york to put out a statement on january 6th condemning it. and so my commitment to the american people is clear. i will certify the election on january 6th, 2025, when all of the states have certified their election, and we will move forward. it is not congress' job or responsibility to override the will of the american people. it is their job and responsibility to respect it. and that is my fundamental belief. regardless of the outcome, and i think this is critical on both sides, regardless of the outcome, we have to accept the results. the american people will decide who the next president is, and i

belief it is paramount that all of us as members of congress accept the results, certify the election on january 6th, and show up on january 20th for the inauguration. >> congressman gottheimer, good for both of you and for this group for making a point of this. we know how important it is, given what happened last time around. but it's not the mike lawlers and the don bacons you probably have to worry about in terms of certifying the election results and respecting them. it's some of the more fringe members who already said out loud they're going to help donald trump do whatever they have to do. so what would be your message to them this morning and as we move toward election day? >> first, to join us and what mike was talking about, this commitment we've made to respect the outcome of the election and to ensure calm. right now, i think that's the key word here, is calm. you know, the political violence we've just been talking about and you've been talking about and we've seen over these last years, including the insurrection on january 6th, and, by the way, i was there in

the gallery. that was an insurrection. it was an attack on our democracy and our capitol. the fact is that in the last debate, former president trump still refused to acknowledge the outcome of that election. he's refused to say he is going to recognize the outcome of 2024. of course, we're deeply concerned. i think that's why we're making it clear and many of us are stepping out and saying early, regardless of the outcome of the election, we are going to recognize the next president of the united states. we're going to attend the inauguration, and we will do everything we can to ensure calm. i think we need to start talking about that now. to your point, we can't wait until the night of the election when, you know, i fear that there will be people who won't recognize the outcome and will start ensuing violence, pursuing violence. that's what i'm and many of us are deeply concerned about and want to get out ahead of this, and make sure it clear we recognize the constitution. we recognize our democracy. there's nothing partisan about the election outcome of the actual voting, right? it's not a partisan issue, that

voting is not a partisan issue. we're going to recognize the outcome of the election. >> in a similar vain, a group of bipartisan former governors today on national constitution day pushing current governors to do the same, to certify the results from their states. congressman lawler, though, my question to you is, now the speaker of your party, mike johnson, you know, were he to win again, were the republicans to control the house and he remain speaker on january 6th, speaker johnson is someone who filed an amicus brief after the 2020 election asking the supreme court to essentially overturn swing state results. do you have faith that the speaker, the speaker of your party, will do his part to certify these results? >> yes, i do. look, speaker johnson is a constitutional lawyer by trade. he initiated an amicus brief. it is not something i would have signed had i been there but, look, that is a legal process. certainly, the courts are part

of the process. that being said, we all have a responsibility to accept the results. come january 6th, 2025, it is my firm belief that once all options have been exhausted in the courts, which certainly are legally available to any candidate at a federal level, a state level, a local level, but once the elections are certified, it is the responsibility of congress to accept those results, certify the election, and move forward with the inauguration of a new president. i have confidence that speaker johnson certainly will do that. i've had conversations with him in the past about this. i am certainly confident that he will do that. >> congressman gottheimer, same question to you. you heard your colleague's response. do you think that speaker johnson, after what we saw in 2020, if republicans continue to control the house and he remains in speakership, do you think he would certify a result that would have donald trump lose?

>> i hope mike is right. i hope that conversation has happened. i mean, i'm still in shock that you have so many americans who don't believe, still don't believe that donald trump lost in 2020, still refuse to accept that, including the former president himself. right? and who are prejudging the outcome of this election now and saying, regardless of the outcome, we are only going to recognize that president trump is the winner. you hear people saying that right now, right? questioning an election that hasn't even happened yet. i'm very concerned about that. i'm hoping that everybody does the right thing. you hear mike speaking out, many of his republican colleagues have made this commitment, as well, as well as many democrats. we're going to circulate this and hopefully more sign on in the coming weeks. but the bottom line is, when you hear the rhetoric now, you see the political violence going on already, and we should all be

worried about what happens in november and, of course, what happens on january 6th now, and we have to do everything we can as a country to come together, to put the country first, and to remind people that we may disagree, as president biden has said, we may disagree during the election itself, but after the election, we must come together as a country, recognize the next president, attend the inauguration, and ensure calm. that's a hallmark of our constitution and country. that's what we're all going to be fighting to -- we'll have a fight now over the election, but i'll tell you what my fight will be election night, to make sure there is calm around this country. to make sure we all come together. >> all right. democratic congressman josh gottheimer and republican congressman mike lawler, thank you, both, for coming together on the show this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. all right. still ahead on "morning joe," in his best-selling book "on

tyranny," the author shared the fight for democracy and fight for freedom. in his latest book, he's looking at what exactly it is we are fighting for. that conversation is next on "morning joe." we'll be right back. gum problems could be the start of a domino effect parodontax active gum repair breath freshener clinically proven to help reverse the 4 signs of early gum disease a toothpaste from parodontax, the gum experts. okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. yay - woo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. (♪♪)

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darnell mooney at the bottom. looking right, here's a man, touchdown, drake london!

>> that is falcons quarterback kirk cousins capping a late drive, a touchdown there with just over 30 seconds left in the game. pass to drake landon to give atlanta a one-point win over the philadelphia eagles last night. brutal loss for the eagles. looked like they were salting it away. the falcons got that opportunity after saquon barkley dropped a short pass, stopping the clock with less than two minutes to play. instead of a first down that would have effectively ended the game, philly had to settle for a field goal. atlanta's go-ahead drive took a minute with cousins finding receiver darnell mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays, marching down the field before the tying touchdown. the extra point giving the falcons the win. final pass from eagles quarterback jalen hurts intercepted to close it out. final score, 22-21. the falcons going to philly on a monday night and getting the win. major league baseball, the

national league wild card chase is getting very interesting in queens. starling marte hit a walk-off single in the tenth inning to lift the mets to a 2-1 win over the nationals last night. that win puts the mets in control of the third and final wild card spot, moving a game ahead of the braves who lost last night to the dodgers. joe, the wild card race in the national league is great. the mets get two more with the nationals, which is good news for mets fans. but they have a brutal stretch coming up. they have four games against the phillies coming up. huge series there. then they actually get three with atlanta next week, which could determine who goes to the playoffs. >> let me tell you something, the mets are hoping to reverse their short curse with the atlanta braves, who seem to have, just over the past several years, been out of their mind as far as being great in the second half of the season. this year, the mets seem to be reversing that story line, at least of late. they've been on a torrid streak

for quite some time. they're ahead of the braves now. it'll be fascinating. i have to talk about my atlanta falcons for a half second. that was a heck of a game last night. i will tell you, the thing that, early on, philadelphia decided on a fourth and four to go for it instead of kicking the field goal, this is now the new rage. if you're inside your opponent's 50 yard line, you go for it on fourth and short. you know, the numbers, they claim the numbers add up. they never do. every time that happens, you know, mike, i sound like an old man, but i tell, you know, whoever is around me, i go, take the points. put the points on the board. you're going to have more opportunities. they didn't do it last night. they ended up paying for it. and barkley had a great night. shame he dropped the ball at the end because he was looking great. jalen was running the ball very well. but a big win for the atlanta falcons. cousins looked like he could

walk out there. robinson doing a fantastic job running the ball. >> beating them in philadelphia. atlanta goes to philadelphia and beats the eagles, puts head coach nick sirianni, i'd imagine, on the hot seat. he's having a tough time. tough time last year making decisions, like the one you mentioned. saquon barkley should have signed with the giants, but the giants didn't sign him. there's another head coach in trouble. it's early in the nfl season, but there are a couple of head coaches, jacksonville is another, head coaches who might be hitting the road. >> yeah, no question there. some big-name available head coaches, perhaps, if someone wanted to make a change. we can think of one, in particular, who favors hoodies. joe, big win for the falcons. i was watching for a while, as well. the eagles, they chose not to take the gimme field goal. they could have used the three points the end of the game. a trend we're seeing right now is, i mean, sure, the saints looked good, two blowout

panthers now benching bryce young, number one overall pick a year ago. sure, the chiefs won a couple games close and late. it's just two weeks but it seems like parody is the name of the game. a lot of the top nfl teams have already suffered inexplicable losses at home. ravens lost to the raiders. eagles lose. there was the underrated minnesota team. it seems no dominant team in the early going. >> yeah. i mean, you're right. the eagles, the 49ers, the cowboys, the ravens, they all lost this weekend. looking like parody has really come to the nfl. of course, the mvp thus far, baker mayfield. >> yeah. >> who was on the scouting squad for the rams a couple years ago. >> you were up very late last night. >> i was. >> okay. >> great win. coming up, as the war in ukraine rages on, vladimir putin

is boosting the size of russia's army. the mayor of warsaw, poland, joins the conversation, fresh off his meeting with u.s. secretary of state antony blinken to discuss support for ukraine. a little later, the ranking member on the house intelligence committee, democratic congressman of connecticut, jim himes is our guest. "morning joe" is coming right back. > "morning joe" is c right back

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absolutely essential partner to ukraine, from the moment that putin reinvaded the country in 2022. 25 years ago, when poland joined nato, my very illustrious predecessor, secretary madeleine albright said this, and i quote, "we know that when the democracies of europe and america are divided, crevices are created through which evil and aggression can emerge. when we stand together, no force is more powerful in our stand for freedom." it was true then. it remains true today. we continue to stand strongly together. poland and the united states, for our own freedom and the freedom of others. >> that was united states aekt secretary of state antony blinken discussing the importance of poland's relationship with ukraine and the united states during a visit to warsaw last week. joining us now, the mayor of

warsaw. he is in washington this morning. mr. mayor, i have a lot of questions. i want to start with a sense of people in warsaw and around poland. are they following the election between donald trump and kamala harris? is this something way far away that doesn't mean anything to them, or is this of great interest? >> good morning. good morning, mika. yes, of course, we are following very closely. the whole world is watching. poland, it's crucially important because this, of course, concerns our security, concerns our future, the choice the american people will make. >> and what is the choice as it pertains to the view from poland? i mean, what is crucial about it? >> well, we've heard from president biden when he was in poland, and he was in poland twice recently, when he said every inch of nato territory

will be defended. of course, the policy of the american administration is to keep on helping ukraine. this is incredibly important for the whole world because we are, in a sense, passing a test as a western community. this is very important that whoever wins the presidential election in the united states stays committed to nato and the defense of our common values. >> and is that why you're here? tell us what you're hoping to accomplish here on your visit to washington. >> well, i'm here to talk about what's happening in poland. we keep on helping refugees in warsaw and in other cities in poland. i'm here to talk about the security situation because we need to keep on helping ukraine. this is absolutely crucial. i used to work in the european union, so i'm here also to talk about the problems that we are going to have when succession negotiations of ukraine to the european union will start. we have to prepare for that.

i'm here also to talk about the challenges the european union is facing, the vacuum of leadership. we have to face most of the challenges before us. of course, security is foremost. >> mr. mayor, good to see you this morning. speak to us a little more about the challenges, in your estimation, that face your city right now, that face the nation. that americans who don't follow the day-to-day events in poland should know about. >> well, when the war started, we had 300,000 refugees from ukraine in warsaw alone for quite a few months. now, it is 120,000. of course, we're coping. we're helping as much as we can. we granted them almost citizen-like status so they can have access to free education, free health care. of course, most of them can work and they contribute to the economy. now, if there is escalation in ukraine, when the russians start throwing missiles at western ukraine, then we face a challenge of more refugees coming our way. so we need to be prepared.

we are prepared, but we need to keep on helping ukraine. sometimes we hear there are certain doubts. we need to talk about, loud and clear, that everyone is watching us, and we are passing a test. we need to stay determined. we need to stay focused. >> the mayor of warsaw, poland, rafal trzaskowski, thank you for coming on the show this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you very much. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy posted to instagram last week a video of his meeting with yale professor and historian timothy snyder, who spent over a week in ukraine this month coordinating several events, including a charity run to raise awareness for ukrainian prisoners of war. professor snyder is out today with a new book entitled "on freedom," and he joins us now. thank you very much for coming on the show this morning. we appreciate it. going to ask you about your book, but first, if you would like to tell us about your recent trip to ukraine and what

you were able to accomplish and what you found there. >> well, it's not so much what i was able to accomplish but what ukrainians were able to accomplish. in ukraine, you get used to the air-raid sirens, used to the bomb threat, used to all the missiles. ukrainians are dealing with that, but they're starting new things. i took part in one project which has to do with documenting the war. another project has to do with writing a deep history of ukraine. i was also able to take part in a competitive trial of robots that are clearing mines. there was the nice run for prisoners of war. these are things ukrainians are doing. it's also what you see on the battlefield. i talk to soldiers but they need us to back them up. they're doing the hard part. we have to help them out. >> this was not your first trip to ukraine. you've been there many, many times over the years. ukraine is now on the verge, many people think, it's a country that's slowly being destroyed by russian armaments. it's outnumbered on the field of

battle. they keep throwing personnel at the ukraine army and the ukraine population is far fewer than russia, obviously. people now are beginning to say ukraine, you have to negotiate peace. how do the ukrainians feel about that. >> the basic fallacy in the west is to imagine there is a choice between negotiations and war. that's not how negotiations work. if you want russia to negotiate with ukraine, you have to think, what are the conditions you have to create for that to happen? and the conditions is a sense in the kremlin that ukraine is winning. you have to give the ukrainians what they're asking for. basically, it is common sense in kyiv. >> in your book "on freedom," you write about five essential forms necessary to increase our understanding of what freedom is about. mobility, factuality, solidarity.

linking that to the current status of what's going on in ukraine, the current status of americans thinking about ukraine, let's focus on factuality. do you think, do you think that american people, especially people in school right now, younger people in school, do they know our own history? >> so thank you so much for mentioning the five steps. what the book is trying to do is link freedom to government. the idea of freedom as a positive thing, justifying how we should be governed and without factuality, citizens can't defend themselves on this issue or any other issue. i don't think we're learning our own history. i think that has a lot to do with the problems you were talking about in earlier parts of the if you are not self-critical, then you fall into the us and them. with us and them, democracy goes away. another thing about u.s. history is it teaches you to appreciate

what others have done for us. in this whole discussion of ukraine, i fear we are missing that they are burying the brunt of something. by doing that, they are making it much easier for us to live our normal lives. >> professor, great to have you back with us. this really does tell the story where we are in our book right now as a country. one of the things that jumped out to me, this idea of truth and freedom. and the difference between something being true and something feeling right or feeling good. so that people who serve the information want to make their audiences feel right and feel virtuous and they have their believes affirmed for them. how do we cut through that as a culture, a society, a media? it's so critical to what's happening right now. >> yeah, freedom is hard. and facts are a test. the thing about facts is that they are not what we want to hear, but they make us better

when we can actually deal with them. so the first part is a certain attitude that you have to be ready to be corrected instead of thinking you are always right. the second part, which goes to your line of work, is that we have as a country to make sure we are actually growing the facts. they don't just appear magically. we have to have institutions, laws, ways of supporting the reporters who find things out locally. if we don't have local reporting, people aren't used to truth around them, then they look for national stories and slide every to conspiracy theories and things they read on social media. there is a challenge here but one that can be met. >> all right. the new book, "on freedom," available now, professor of history at yale university, timothy snyder, thank you very much for coming on the show. and for the book. and still ahead on "morning joe," the latest on the man arrested for an apparent attempted assassination plot against donald trump and the charges he is now facing. "morning joe" will be right back.

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the moment i met him i knew he was my soulmate. "soulmates."

soulmate! [giggles] why do you need me? [laughs sarcastically] but then we switched to t-mobile 5g home internet. and now his attention is spent elsewhere. but i'm thinking of her the whole time. that's so much worse. why is that thing in bed with you? this is where it gets the best signal from the cell tower! i've tried everywhere else in the house! there's always a new excuse. well if we got xfinity you wouldn't have to mess around with the connection. therapy's tough, huh? -mmm. it's like a lot about me. [laughs] a home router should never be a home wrecker. oo this is a good book title. snoop he does this great thing where he pretends to know the luminaries in the crowd, one was a reggae star named nicky jam. he is popular. he has 43 million sfolers on instagram. trump didn't know the guy was a guy. >> latin music superstar nicky jam, do you know her? she is hot. where is nikki?

thank you. great to be having you hear. now you have to get -- oh, look. glad he came up. >> look. she is hot. look at this hot bearded lady we have got here. >> still ahead on "morning joe," in last week's debate vice president kamala harris said former president trump was, quote, handed $400 million on a silver platter but then filed for bankruptcy six times. a closer look at donald trump's finances and why our next guests have dubbed him a lucky loser. "morning joe's" coming right back. ming right back ize. subway did what?! any sub? yup! for a limited time. get 20% off when you order in app. hurry and get this deal before it's gone! at bombas we make the most comfortable sock in the history of feet

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it was horror. i mean, this is such a terrible thing to happen twice in our country in a relatively short period of time. it's frightening to see violence

being threatened and used in a political campaign. i worry about threats. i worry about what's being said online about many, many people, not just the former president, and he should be doing, if he were really a leader, he should be doing what he can to calm the waters, not try to just continue to throw, you know, red meat out there to get people riled up. >> former secretary of state hillary clinton condemning the apparent assassination attempt on former president trump and also reacting to trump placing the blame for the attack on president biden and vice president kamala harris. we will get the latest on the suspect and also the political implications in just a moment. and we will bring you a report from springfield, ohio, as more threats fueled by lies from the

former president and his running mate forced schools to shut down for a third day. good morning. welcome to "morning joe." it is tuesday, september 17. with joe, willie and me, we have the host of "way too early," white house bureau chief at politico, jonathan lemire, msnbc contributor mike barnicle with us. we begin with the latest developments surrounding the apparent assassination attempt against donald trump. according to the federal criminal complaint, the suspect, 58-year-old ryan routh was in the area of trump's west palm beach golf course for 12 hours before the secret service spotted him sunday and they opened fire on him. authorities say routh didn't fire a shot nor did he have a clear line of sight to shoot trump. >> there was misinformation as soon as this news broke and it became clear pretty quickly that

there was this misinformation. reports that trump had been shot at. reports that secret service knew the direction from which the shots came from. yeah, they did, because they were the only people who fired the weapons. >> according to investigators, he had a loaded sks semi-automatic rifle with a scope and two bags of food and when routh fled the scene he left behind his phone. authorities say cell candidates shows he may have been hiding in the bushes from two in the morning. the sheriff's office released this video of routh's arrest. he was taken into custody without incident. routh was found driving on the highway nearly 50 miles away from the golf course after police say a witness took a picture of the car he was in. willie? >> so that suspect now is charged with two federal counts,

possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an owe ballotlated serial. he is due in court for a bond hearing next monday. he could face additional charges there or as this investigation continues. let's go to nbc news national law enforcement and intelligence correspondent tom winter. start with the timeline and what we know. we learned from law enforcement yesterday as joe said that the guy didn't fire any shots. he never had a clear line of sight. he was too far away from where president trump was playing golf. >> it was the secret service that saw him kind of moving within the tree line there that alerted them to this person being there. then they saw the gun and the secret service engaged with him and fired at him. so that's how this really initially started. there is some indication that the secret service agent didn't bother to radio first. just took immediate action,

firing that weapon, and got on the horn and started telling everybody what was going on. as far as the information that you and mika were referencing, him being at that location for almost 12 hours, what happened was on july 10 of this year he posted, routh posted on facebook, if you want to contact me reach out through whatsapp and send me an instant message and that whatsapp is associated with a cellphone number. they found that. federal investigators found that on his facebook page, contacted t-mobile, his service provider, said we need everything about this number right now. and there is a system in place for the major providers that the fbi can reach out in instances of an emergency or national security case and say, we need everything right now. we will send you the paperwork. there is a valid warrant behind it. we need you to give us that information. they got that. the fbi team, which is set up to find where cellphones are and to get all the information possible

about where somebody might have been. they determined he was there in that general vicinity where he ultimately was fired on by secret service and seen with that weapon at 1:59 a.m. and then as you'll remember from yesterday that a shooting happened at approximately 1:30 p.m. he had been there a significant period of time. how long was his vehicle there? you remember from the initial reports then followed up at the press conference he jumps in his car and leaves the scene. now, yesterday we sent out some of our own colleagues to try to canvas the area and see if we could get surveillance video from any of the businesses nearby to tie to determine some of that information. the fbi was there within two hours after the shooting. so approximately 3:30 on sunday afternoon. fbi was pulling hard drives and surveillance tapes from local businesses to be able to derive their own timeline. >> so, tom, since butler, which was on july 13th, a couple of months ago, the secret service has added to its protective

detail around donald trump. yesterday the trump campaign said we need more, obviously, their argument being there was another guy in these bushes, didn't get a shot at donald trump, thank goodness. but something has to change here given the threats against former president trump and vice president harris as well. is there a look that people are taking now about changing the way they are protecting donald trump after now two attempts on his life? >> there are two conversations going on. one, the acting director of the secret service saying we need a paradigm shift. we can't be so reactive. we have to be out there as a protective front. so there are he cannaging that as far as the long-term mission of the secret service. as far as the immediate need, what the trump campaign says they are asking for here, is to have almost a presidential detail like. and we chatted about this a little bit yesterday. donald trump wouldn't get a communications package. he is not the commander-in-chief. he doesn't need the secure comms

needed with that responsibility, including the nuclear responsibility. but is there a way to get a little bit closer where you are locking down more areas where you are in the instance of this golf course. it's just his hobby. it's not a political statement. likely that donald trump will want to golf at his own golf course on the weekends when he is not campaigning. do you lock down the whole area now? of course you can do those things. but the drain on personnel and resources and how much you are relying on local law enforcement is a huge concern. and we are not talking about, well, we have ten days left to election day or only a handful of days left. we are talking about 49 days to election day. if you are going to have that, is he crisscrosses the country, that's going to be a significant drain in places that have a sheriff's department the size of palm beach county, it in places like new york city as you go to

smaller communities. >> this is, obviously, an ongoing concern of the secret service golf courses. you know, since donald trump -- >> sprawling. >> since donald trump came into public office, i would drive past golf courses where i know he played, including this one. >> yeah. >> and the question i this is, why is the secret service even letting him go out on golf courses? a lot of golf courses are tucked away. these trump courses are on busy roads. this one especially is on a very busy road. and carol did reporting as did our own jonathan lemire that the secret service showed a new -- president donald trump photos of how you can shoot long-range pictures of him while he golfed at his virginia club and warped

an assassin could kill him but trump insisted the clubs were safe and he was going to keep playing golf despite the fact that his habit, quote, at the semi public courses put his life at risk for many years. >> anyone with any experience with the secret service knows that it is in a way i would say teamwork where the secret service can do what they can do. they also have to warn you as to when their job is harder, where their job is made impossible. and then, you know, if the former president or anybody chooses to take that risk, you know, they can't stop him from what he wants to do, but their ability to protect him goes down in a massive sprawling guac surrounded by public roads. >> and that's the important thing. geoff geoff guac. >> jonathan lemire, you reported on this.

golfing at a secluded private club at martha's vineyard or secluded private club in mar-a-lago or a secluded private club, you know, bel-air country club or you name it, these private secluded clubs are one thing. i know you have seen this course. it's along busy thoroughfares. and so, obviously, it's caused some real concerns for years going back to when donald trump first started running for president. what have you learned in your reporting? >> yeah, covering the trump white house for years, senior staff would be anxious when donald trump would go away for the weekend, whether bedminster or mar-a-lago, to golf in part because they were afraid of what rich friend he would run into, who would plant an idea they'd have to deal with. there are real security concerns particularly at this course here which is west palm beach, a

couple miles from the mar-a-lago resort. there is no course at mar-a-lago. this is the closest one. and sterling, virginia. and i remember talking to a senior trump aide during his administration who showed me what was an unflattering photograph a photographer had gotten perched up side a hill outside of the course perimeter outside of the security bubble but a photographer set up a spot and took a picture as trump was playing and the senior aide said the then president's reaction was unhappy that it made his swing look bad. the real concern secret service told us if a photographer can stand there and take that shot, what is stopping a would-be assassin not with a camera but with a gun taking a very different kind of shot. and that has been a concern while he was in office and even more so since then because as a former president he simply doesn't have the security footprint he did while in office. >> this is a long running concern. two final notes. when president obama golfed

where he did so for security reasons in part was at joint base andrews, a military installation. they could completely secure, there was less of an issue there. and we heard from president biden yesterday saying that, yes, secret service needed help, they need more resources here. senator schumer says he will put that in the budget. but house speaker johnson has indicated he doesn't think this is a funding issue. it might be a no-go. >> there is one element that is hanging over this thing and it's the threat level. public people in the country, the threat level to the nation itself in terms of intelligence. where is the threat level today? >> i have never seen it this high in ten plus years of the job as it pertains to terrorism, the threat from i.s.i.s.-k, a threat of foreign directed terrorist attacks, the constant threat of, you know, being

mocked now because the hrase is so used, lone wolf threat. it's like a jukebox. they are kind of selecting whatever song appeals to them. so whether it's white supremacy, whether it's isis, whether it's all sorts of ideology, whenever anybody does events anymore when they get to the heart of why they did it, it's never just one thing. we are not talking about al qaeda and going back 23 years ago. people just find something online that gives them the juice to go out and i want to do something. i want to go after somebody. so you have that constant threat, which is an incredible threat when you think about it. i mean, what radar was this person on before they were in the bushes at -- outside of trump's golf course yesterday? then the morgue organized threat domestically. then you have iran, who, obviously, has an interest in killing former trump administration officials if not the former president himself. by the way, that threat will

continue if donald trump loses in november. so that's something that again the secret service is going to have to deal with. he is a former president. he will get protection. so i just never seen it this way. and why i'm saying that is based upon people i have known for a very long time in the intelligence, the terrorism community that are talking to people overseas all the time. and frankly, it's the cases. i mean, you could believe me or not, the people i am talking to know what they are talking about. the cases the last couple of weeks. somebody arrested in canada who was indicted on his way to america, wanted to kill jews just before october 7th. obviously, the anniversary of hamas' attack on israel. you have had a person who wanted to, who has definitive ties to tehran, wanted to find somebody here, a hitman to go after former trump officials. and so you are seeing these arrests. you are seeing cases. it's not just little things we hear in the ether.

so i think it is an incredibly difficult time. as the acting secret service director mentioned yesterday, this paradigm shift, we are in a new world. one thing that is occurring that hasn't occurred in elections past, everybody posts everything on social media constantly and now there is a history of it. you know where children f president of candidates are or what they like to do or the families like to do. if you are in the internet all day and you want to find that threat, it's there for you to find. that's a real challenge for the secret service. coming up, how donald trump squandered his father's fortune. the authors of "lucky loser" when "morning joe" comes right back.

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blaming democrats after the second apparent assassination attempt against him. in an interview with fox news digital yesterday, trump pointed the finger at president biden and vice president harris claiming their rhetoric is causing him to be shot at. he claimed biden and harris are, quote, destroying the country both from the inside and out. he later warned on social media, quote, because of this communist, left rhetoric, the bullets ever flying and it will only get worse.

trump's running mate j.d. vance echoed those remarks while speaking in atlanta last night. >> you know the big difference between conservatives and liberals? is that no one has tried to kill kamala harris in the last couple of months and two people now have tried to kill donald trump in the last couple of months. i'd say that's pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric and needs to cut this crap out. somebody is going to get hurt by it and it's going to destroy the country. all of us, i promise i will do my part to tone down the rhetoric, but in particular the people telling you that donald trump needs to be eliminated, you guys need to cut it out or you are going to get somebody hurt. >> well, this is -- this is what you would call gaslighting of the first order. let's bring in ceo of the messina group, jim messina, ran in 2012 re-election campaign,

codefender of the super pac, whose goal it is to combat voter suppression efforts. i am not going to respond to the hypocrisy. i will read from "the new york times" this morning. peter baker in his latest analysis titled trump outrage in the modern era of political violence, he writes in part, at the heart of today's eruption of political violence is mr. trump, a figure who seems to inspire people to make threats or take actions both for him and against him. he has long favored the language of violence in his political discourse, encouraging supporters to beat up hecklers, threatening to shoot looters and undocumented migrants, mocking a near fatal attack on the husband of the democratic house speaker and suggesting that a general he deemed disloyal be executed. while mr. trump insists his speech to supporters on january

6th, 2021, was not responsible for the subsequent ransacking of the capitol, he resisted pleas from advisors and his own daughter other family members as well that day to do more to stop the assault. he even suggested that the mob might be right to want to hang his vice president and has since embraced the attackers as patriots whom he may pardon if elected again. jim messina, this is again, it's barely even worth responding to, and i can say that on a personal level. you know, him suggesting that i should be executed after he was angry at my covid reporting, which basically was just reading his quotes over six months' time, agreeing that liz cheney

should be set before a military tribunal because she endorsed kamala harris, suggesting that violence should be done to others and his supporters, suggesting that the hosts of the abc debate should be imprisoned. >> and mar-a-lago, people who have racist beliefs and among others things. >> yeah. >> not democratic in their values. >> we are talking about violence here. and again the real introduction to violent rhetoric in america in presidential campaigns has been unprecedented since donald trump first came on to the scene in 2016. >> really has, joe and mika. you are exactly right. look at richmond, virginia, he said both sides were good people, you know, as they burned

their tiki torches and chanted anti-jewish sentiments. j.d. vance is just the latest sentiment of what trump started. he admitted that the springfield pet thing was made up by him and others to highlight an issue. and now they are on their third day of not being able to go to school because of bomb threats. and not having a government because of bomb threats in the city hall. this is what he has brought on american pool particulars. it's now everywhere. his accolades and party is willing enablers of this. we are seeing this all over the place with 49 days left in the election. his supporters filed over 100 lawsuits around the country trying to restrict voting rights, early voting, trying to change the laws to favor their anti-democratic movement right as people are going to the polls. we have never seen threats to democracy like these guys and

donald trump, and in seven weeks, if we are not very careful, he could win again. >> our next guest is in springfield, ohio, this morning. the site of donald trump's baseless claims about haitian immigrants. "the washington post" eugene robinson is there for a firsthand look at the community facing the fallout. that's next on "morning joe."

oooh! refill? help yourself man. dude? dog food in the fridge? it's not dog food. it's freshpet. real meat. real veggies. real weird.

he was bad luck anyway. freshpet, it's not dog food. it's food - food.

i'm glad that donald trump survived yet another attempt on his life. it's not the first time of course. he also has given incendiary comments blaming haitian immigrants for eating cats and dogs. babies getting killed after their delivery and saying that his opponents were call for that procedure. racist comments some said maybe

weren't intended, but came across as that -- >> only reason i mention this, doesn't extreme rhetoric work both ways and that donald trump himself should be careful with this? >> fox news host in an interview with the republican member of congress reminding the viewers of what donald trump has been saying on the campaign trail and on the debate stage last week. as threats continue to disrupt the city of springfield, ohio, after donald trump and senator j.d. vance's lies about haitian migrants there. two more elementary schools were evacuated yesterday. elementary schools because of unspecified threats and information recei police. that brings the total to six city schools targeted in the past week. it was the third school day now interrupted by threats in springfield since the former president and his running mate spread the lies about haitian immigrants eating pets and

wildlife. the governor announced state troopers will be providing extra security for the foreseeable future at the district's 18 school buildings. let's bring in eugene robinson. he is on the ground in springfield, ohio, this morning. so, gene, you took a reporting trip there to springfield to see what the impact has been over these last couple of weeks since donald trump and others picked up on this third, fourth, fifth-hand internet meme that the person who posted the picture originally said had no information about it, didn't mean to start this and everything that's come from it. what are you seeing there in springfield? >> well, you just have given the report. there are threats every day now. the first thing in the morning, yesterday, 9:00, bomb threat or some kind of threat at city hall. eight police cars and officers

and they check it out and nothing happened -- happens, and they go away. but city hall is not able to function in this environment. the schools are not able to function in this environment. two local colleges have canceled classes because of threats. hospitals have had to be evacuated because of these threats, these unfounded threats that are directly prompted by the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the republican party, donald trump and j.d. vance. and j.d. vance, who is a -- who is one of the senators from this state of ohio, is effectively disrupting the lives and some people feel threatening the lives of his own constituents. it is absolutely appalling and amazing. i have never seen anything quite

like this. >> coming up, our next guest is working to push back on russian attempts to meddle in the november elections. congressman jim himes the top democratic on the intel committee, straight ahez on "morning joe." e, straight ahez "morning joe." pods biggest sale of the summer is ending. save up to 25% on moving and storage until september 23 and see why pods has been trusted with over 6 million moves. but don't wait, use promo code big25 to save. visit pods.com today.

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have been invented for donald trump. wheeling and dealing from his office on 5th avenue. surveying his realm from his personal helicopter. striding through his casino like moses parting the red sea. the banks showered him with money. the press almost defied him. but monopoly is a tricky game. when you borrow a as much money as donald trump did, nearly $2 billion, and the economy goes

into a tailspin and you can't pay the interest on your loans, the bankers move in and they have. >> that is a 1991 report from "nbc nightly news" with an extended monopoly metaphor covering one of donald trump's public financial failures. the events surrounding trump's first bankruptcy and others, are covered in the book, "lucky loser," how donald trump squandered his father's fortune and created the illusion of success. the authors, susanne craig and russ buettner are with us. good morning. great to have you back with us on the show. congrats on the book. susanne, if we could take a big 30,000-foot view of this. the idea that donald trump is this genius builder, this businessman is foundational not just to his personal story, but the reason he was elected president.

the guy from the apprentices. but as kamala harris got to last week in the debate, she said donald trump it was handed $400 million on a silver platter. what's the truth about the beginning of his rise as a businessman? >> he was certainly to start with born lucky. he was born into a very wealthy family and he inherited hundreds of millions of dollars. but he grew up, he -- fred trump, his father, incredibly successfuler builder in the outer burroughs. he was born into luck and was able to use his father's connections and his father's money to get his start in manhattan. >> russ? >> there is so much in the book that gives the reader an insight it into how over decades donald trump has woven his way into american culture and american life. some of the tells in the book

are so glaringly obvious as to trump's character or lack of character. one of them is he is at the military academy and it's time for the class picture to be taken, and donald has earned maybe one or two good conduct medals that would be flashed on his uniform when the photo was taken. he has another idea? >> you have a keen eye. so that day was going to be sort of the, for posterity's sake, how you are reflected in the yearbook forever. donald has some medals. all the kids were given medals for good behavior, making their bed the right way. donald had a friend who had done very well under that system and his dress uniform was just covered in medals. so donald the day of that photograph went to his room and said, hey, can i borrow your formal jacket today? that's what he wore and that's the picture that you still see

of him with tons of medals on there. but they are not his. he just borrowed them. >> susanne, that metaphor, the medals not his, proving in the class picture he had the medals, is that what he did to so many banks in the '80s going in with false -- how did he do it, have a relationship with so many banks when he owned so much money had already filed for bankruptcy? >> there was an incredible willingness to loan to him. >> why? >> he had his father's backing. they felt he was wealthy. he looked wealthy. and i covered wall street for years. the banks will line up to give you money. then it all fell down on them. but they were taken in. >> i can't get a car loan. >> >> i hear you on that. >> jonathan is in washington. >> yeah, congrats on the book, guys. russ, talk about the trump comeback, the piece of footage we brought in, the segment where this shows bankruptcy, the

things -- things took a dire turn for him. how did he pull this off where he was able to set himself back up to being a publicly respected businessman, if you will, and reality tv star? >> he sort of after the 1990 collapse when the banks forced him to sell a lot of his assets or give them back, he was really doing some small ball stuff for a number of years. he was trying to get his name on other people's projects. he was trying to build golf courses, some of which he got hung up on zoning boards on. all of a sudden out of the blue one day he gets a call from the hottest name in television at the time, a producer named mark burnett, who created the "survivor," which was the biggest show in television. another show, echo challenge. a new form of game show. they caught it reality television. it wasn't really real. and he needed an idea. he wanted to move "survivor."

the city. his idea was the jungle would the city now. so he called the one person that he remembered, he says, from the art of the deal, donald trump, to see if he would do it. he thought it would take weeks to get an appointment. as soon as he called, trump said come over, and that day they struck a deal and then began the process of remaking donald trump to look like the very consequential effective billionaire that they needed him to be for the premise of that show that it was a contest to get an apprenticeship with him. and that process of remaking him not only made him rich, but also gave him the image that was vital to him running for the white house. >> susanne, has there been any response from donald trump to this book? >> we sought comment from donald trump during the book writing process and didn't hear back. on monday -- sorry, sunday night we heard from him and he sent us

a cease and desist letter about the article. there was a adaptation that ran in "the new york times." he warped us about the book. we wanted to hear from him during the book writing process and we didn't. >> coming up, for more than 100 years, the league of women voters has been working to defend democracy. we will speak with the group's new chief executive when selena stewart joins the conversation. "morning joe" is back in a moment. ning joe" is back in a moment like a spectator in your own life with chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month each lasting 4 hours or more. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they start. and treatment is 4 times a year. in a survey, 91% of users wish they'd started sooner. so why wait? talk to your doctor. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away as difficulty

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♪♪ well, there is no doubt women voters will play a pivotal role in determining the outcome of the presidential election. after all, women have voted at higher rates than men in every election since 1980. and this race is expected to be no different. that's why glamour is out with

an interactive election series and a landmark poll surveying 2,000 women about the issues that matter to them the most. and the results were eye-opening. joining us now, glamour editor-in-chief samantha barry along with msnbc contributor and vice-chair of the forbes and know your value summit huma abedin and editor of forbes women maggie mcgrath and samantha, what jumped out in terms of women's voting and tensions to you the most, the issues that matter to them the most? what did you see? >> across the political divide, the economy was the number one thing. there was no surprise there. i think the surprise in the piece that we did, i think often women are looked as this monolith. you are looked at in 2020, black women voters were bringing joe biden and having him win. white women were seen as a big driver for trump winning in 2016.

and i think that we get into the poll is dividing what that looks like. abortion is a big topic this year. but it wouldn't necessarily fall down the party lines the way you expect it to. i think there is a little bit of surprises across. gun legislation and abortion need to be really eked out for us, but the economy was the big one. health care was another one. and but if you look at republican women, right, you would expect them to maybe be anti-abortion. there is a lot of republican women that took this poll that were for abortion and it is an issue that is going to maybe make them change where their votes lie this year. rz. >> i'm curious, this year. >> huma, i'm curious, do you think kamala harris is capitalizing on the issues that samantha just laid out for us, and what is going to be harris' biggest challenge in convincing undecided female voters?

>> i thought there was a lot of reaffirming in this poll, 49 days to go until the election. she had the opportunity at the debate to lay out her plans for the country. a lot of women are going to respond well to what samantha was saying, economy, health care, cost of living. the final thing i'll say aside from the energy shifting, because i know a lot of this information was when biden was still in the race, i do think the storytelling aspect, the power of storytelling, it has benefitted the democrats in every past election. just yesterday this news about this woman dying because she didn't get the care she needed when she lost her baby, and i think that is going to be a really important issue in november. >> samantha, the interactive

series includes several moving stories shared by women across america. one that stood out to me was from emma, a woman from south carolina who shared her heart wrenching abortion story. why did you decide to spotlight these and specifically her? >> it's rare that i cry when reading a piece, but i did when i vote the piece from receive -- stephanie mcneal about emma. this woman was pregnant with her third child at 20 weeks. she figured a medical intervention said there was a lot of abnormalities. she lived in a state where she could not do anything about it, so she traveled to maryland. we talked about her, getting on that plane, what was it like for emma and her husband zach.

it's important to have zach in the story, because we tell stories about women. there's often a man involved. what that travel looked like for her and felt like for her. she's a south african who with her husband built their life in south carolina. she never thought she would be somebody who would have to deal with the issue of having access to abortion, but she did. that really drove home the story for the audience the stories behind the polls. we also went to north carolina and spoke to a family which leaned into the fact that the unwavering black women voters for democrats, so 88% of women in our poll, if they were black, were leaning democrat. we wanted to eke out that. the fourth story that we did was really important, and i think it's a big opportunity for kamala harris and her team. and that came across that young

voters lean democrat. they are not registered to vote in the way the older voters are who lean republican. so out of our poll, only 56% of that 18 to 29-year-old group are registered to vote. that's the opportunity. we spoke to young conservatives and young democrats on campus and talked about this generation being dissatisfied. what you see, again, is 95% of women over 65 are registered, and that's a win for the gop, because they do lean republican. >> this glamour series found that in spite of this group's loud political activism on social media, just 56% of young female voters are registered and intend to vote. and it was the lowest of any age group that "glamour" polled. >> when you look at the great

story in "glamour" and other polls in the last few months, you see a generation 18 to 29-year-olds, particularly women, having to deal with this intense political discourse on campus, the war on gaza, the attack on lgbtq rights, what to say and do about abortion and health care, and so you understand why they feel this, almost this sense of i can't open my mouth, i can't take a side, that it's too difficult to be out there. i think it's why things like this taylor swift endorsement are huge just to get young women to register to vote and participate. again, i think the enthusiasm and having them having something to vote for will bring them to the polls in november. >> 100%. samantha barry, thank you very much for coming on the show this morning. you can check out the entire

series on women in the 2024 election at glamour.com. up next, we're going to bring you the latest on the apparent assassination plot on donald trump as we're learning more about the suspect and how long he was at the golf course waiting for the former president. plus, cnbc joins us with insight on the markets this morning as well as the expected rate cut this week from the federal reserve. keep it right here on "morning joe." ♪♪ people are trying to ban books from public schools and public libraries. yes, libraries. we all have a first amendment right to read and learn different viewpoints. that's why every book belongs on the shelf. yet book banning in the u.s. is worse than i've ever seen. it's people in power who want to control everything.

well, i say no to censorship. and i say yes to freedom of speech and expression. if you do too, please join us in supporting the american civil liberties union today. for over 100 years, the aclu has fought for your rights and mine. including the right to read all manner of books. so please call or go online to myaclu.org. for just $19 a month, only $0.63 a day. you can become a guardian of liberty and help protect all the rights promised to us by the u.s. constitution. make no mistake, this move to ban books is a coordinated attack on students right to learn. this is a clear violation of free speech. that's why the aclu is working to fight against censorship in all its forms. it is so important now more than ever. so please call or go to myaclu.org

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he was bad luck anyway. freshpet, it's not dog food. it's food - food.

♪♪ and welcome to the fourth hour of "morning joe." it's 6:00 a.m. on the west coast, 9:00 a.m. in the east. jonathan lemire and mike barnicle still with us. we start this hour with the latest developments surrounding the apparent assassination plot

against donald trump and the new focus on the political rhetoric of the campaign. we have two reports for you, starting with nbc news senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake. >> reporter: donald trump returning to the campaign trail for the first time since sunday's apparent assassination attempt. he's set to attend a town hall tonight in battleground michigan, overnight praising his protectors in law enforcement for their fast action. >> the secret service did an excellent job, and they have the man behind bars. hopefully he's going to be there for a long time. >> reporter: investigators say a secret service agent monitoring the woods ahead of mr. trump as he played golf on sunday saw a rifle barrel through the tree line and opened fire. >> the subject, who did not have line of sight to the former president, fled the scene. he did not fire any shots at our

agents. >> reporter: a friend was golfing with him. how long did it take the secret service to act? >> seconds. >> reporter: the suspect quickly tracked down by local law enforcement. >> this is probably the highest profile stop this sheriff's office has ever made. >> reporter: ryan wesley routh has a lengthy criminal history including for possession of a machine gun. cell phone records show he had been in place at the edge of the golf course for nearly 12 hours. routh's social media posts paint a picture of a disillusioned former trump supporter who became an advocate for ukraine. >> have you briefed former president trump on your findings so far, and has his campaign asked for any changes in his

security going forward after yesterday? >> i've had a conversation with the former president. the president is aware that he has highest levels of protection that the secret service is providing him. >> reporter: the assassination attempt against former president trump, president biden and vice president harris are urging all americans to lower the temperature, forcefully condemning political violence. >> no place for political violence in america, none, zero, never. >> reporter: the vice president in a statement after the incident saying we all must do our part to ensure this incident does not lead to more violence. echoing her comments after the first attempt on trump's life in july. >> violence is never acceptable. there can be no equivocation about that. >> reporter: a white house official says president biden and trump spoke monday with the president conveying his relief that his predecessor is safe. trump complimenting president biden after their call. >> he called up to make sure i

was okay. he couldn't have been nicer. >> reporter: still, trump is not backing down from inflammatory rhetoric, telling fox news that president biden and harris are people that want to destroy our country. it's called the enemy from within, they are the real threat, he said. trump's running mate jd vance blaming the left for provoking violence. >> no one has tried to kill kamala harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill donald trump in the last couple of months. i'd say that's pretty strong evidence that the left should tone down the rhetoric. >> reporter: elon musk posted on x a question why no one has tried to assassinate president biden or harris. >> over the weekend i saw that president trump suggested he hated taylor swift.

>> reporter: that came after trump sunday morning declared "i hate taylor swift" on his social media site just days after the superstar endorsed kamala harris on her post to her 284 million followers. >> peter alexander and garrett haake with those reports. joining us now, democratic congressman of connecticut jim himes. he is the ranking member on the house intelligence committee. it's good to have you on, sir. >> so i'm curious, congressman, are you -- are you concerned not, not, not just by the violence. we're obviously all concerned by acts of violence regardless of -- or threatened acts of violence. but i'm noticing in the aftermath this false moral equivalency, this flattening -- and i've seen it not just on trump-inspired networks, but also mainstream media saying,

oh, hateful rhetoric on both sides must be tamped down. that was actually a banner headline on a mainstream media network. i just -- as peter baker trib -- described so well, we have nine years of unprecedented hate speech coming from a presidential nominee on the republican side, and it's just -- it's deeply disturbing, this false equivalency as america moves through, unfortunately, a campaign that is just filled with violent overtures towards others, towards haitian immigrants, towards, well, democratic candidates, towards supervisors of elections and people who work for elections who fear for their

lives because of all the unprecedented threats they're under. >> yeah. that's right, joe. thanks for having me. you just saw it in the clip that you played. if your instinct in a moment like this, which is a terrible moment, the second time somebody has tried to take a shot at donald trump, if your instinct is to point the fingers at your political opponents, you are doing this wrong, and you are eroding americans' faith in their democracy, and more to the point, you're raising the temperature. when the president uses the language that he does -- and you cataloged it there -- it's been going on forever, the enemy within. if 1% of 1% of americans hear that and say, oh my god, we've got the enemy from within and they have easy access to firearms and they're not tied up with other people such that they can't be picked up by law enforcement or the intelligence services early, the level of

violence will increase. and, no, it's not a symmetrical problem. americans are at no -- they have no confusion over who has permissioned violent rhetoric. you just played vice president harris and president biden being unequivocal and unconditional about no violence. president trump has a long history of telling police officers to not be too gentle with suspects, et cetera, et cetera. i don't have any hope at all that he's going to change or jd vance is going to change. but america needs to see this for what it is, which is inflammatory, dangerous and divisive. >> even yesterday, it's shocking what, what he's saying, what vance is saying. willie, let's read the peter baker -- part of peter baker that -- the heart of the day's eruption of political violence is mr. trump, a figure who seems

to inspire people to make threats or take action both for and against him. he has encouraged supporters to beat up hecklers. as i go through this list, i would love for somebody to give me a parallel of the democratic nominee in any year making such suggestions. encouraging supporters to beat up hecklers, threatening to shoot looters and undocumented migrants, mocking a near-fatal attack on the husband of the democratic house speaker and suggesting that a general he deemed disloyal be executed. while mr. trump insists his fiery speech to supports on january 6th was not responsible, he resisted pleas to stop the assault. he even suggested the mob might be right to want to hang his vice president and has sinced

embraced the attackers as patriots, whom he may pardon if elected again. willie, it's just like this cat meme and they're eating the dogs, they're eating the cats. donald trump keeps bringing up january 6th. everybody on these trump right stations, trump brings up january 6th. he has fundraisers for them. he has fundraisers for people who beat the hell out of cops, people who stormed the capitol, people who defecated on the capitol, people who were very clear their plan in this riot was to stop the constitutional counting of electoral votes. >> i think there's a choir too. >> and he, of course, a choir of rioters and people that beat the hell out of cops that he calls patriots. willie, i do want to go back to that day, because while they

will lie now through their teeth, while they will claim january 6th was nothing, one of the things a lawsuit against another cable network showed was the discovery of the people who were the biggest apologists for january 6th actually in realtime begging donald trump to stop the rioters, to call it off, because they knew he had the power to do so. it wasn't just his daughter, one of his sons doing it through third parties, hosts on fox news, some of his biggest supporters begging him to stop the rioting. he just wouldn't do it. >> yeah, joe, let me observe -- >> sorry. >> two quick things. look, with donald trump, the violent rhetoric, the rage, it's a feature not a bug. you know, you see that from everything from the t-shirts worn at his rallies where the t-shirts read f your feelings, it's a feature.

people love donald trump. they think he knocks over the apple cart and makes the libs cry. it's a feature, not a bug. the what-aboutism is one of the most corrosive elements of our political conversation. every time something happens, every single time, the immediate instinct is for jd vance or donald trump or mike johnson or kevin mccarthy to say, well, the democrats do it too, which by the way is, generally speaking, not true. what a failure. we don't accept from our 2 and 3-year-old children the what-about defense when they hit their brother. the strongest defense for outrageous behavior is they do it too. somebody's going to find some back-bencher 25 years ago who --

>> congressman, i said find a democratic nominee for president -- >> i heard you, but -- >> because you and i both know -- he's a current member of the house, a former member of the house, you can find crazy people on both sides. i mean the injecting into the political veins, the discourse of the entire party, because the leader of the party himself is saying this. >> no question about it. but my point about what-aboutism still stands. you know we're in a fact-free zone here. there's never been a democratic leader or candidate for president who has used rhetoric like telling proud boys to stand back and stand by, never. i promise as we speak your social media feed is filling up with back-benchers and state assembly people from oregon who have said unwise things.

if we succumb to the destruction of moral discernment that comes with a reliance on the what-about defense -- somehow it is the defense in american politics. >> january 6th is the most glaring example. but right in front of us we have springfield, ohio, where the running mate of donald trump, the man who represents the very people in springfield, ohio, spouting this lie, amplifying some strange meme that someone found on the internet, a photo they found from a different city and putting people's lives in danger with schools being threatened with bombs, hospitals and everything else. i do want to ask you something else. we are so glad and relieved that president trump is safe. there is no excuse for political violence. his campaign has asked for more

protection from the secret service. do you worry about the strain on the secret service and what more can be done to protect not just former president trump but all of our political leaders? >> yeah, of course i worry. i'll say two things about that. number one, protecting an individual is a pretty technical operation, right? it involves snipers and overwatch and drones and observation and everything. and there's a special committee that's been assembled in the congress to look at the clear failures in the pennsylvania attempt. we'll see what happened in this most recent event, but of course whatever resources are needed to make the former president safe, those resources will be made available. we use the term lone wolf. if somebody is communicating online, if there's a conspiracy, a plan, a foreign nation involved, which there's no evidence that there was in either of these cases, if

there's a lot of sort of information flowing around, our people are very good at discovering that. if you're sort of a lone wolf who's a weirdo, who's not communicating with anybody, that is almost impossible for law enforcement or security services to pick up. you know, the attack on the congressional baseball team, again, lone wolf, easy access to firearms, not communicating with people, that is an extraordinarily difficult problem to solve for the secret service. >> congressman, before you go back to comedy central, otherwise known as washington, d.c., let me ask you, are they going to shut the government down? >> i don't think so, mike. we've seen this movie over and over and over again. the last shutdown threat was kevin mccarthy, who lost his job because of the compromise he made on keeping the government open. we've seen this over and over

again, lots of gnashing of teeth from the republicans. there's always a little bit of appetite for chaos on that side. but i think for those republicans who are in danger of losing their seats, they are going to be speaking loud and clear in this next week about not creating more chaos. >> congressman jim himes of connecticut, thank you so much for being on this morning. we appreciate it. so lawyers for tiktok's parent company bytedance asked a panel of federal judges to decide by december 6th whether an april law forcing the popular video app to be sold should go into effect. the law, which is effectively on pause while tiktok's legal challenge works its way through the courts would require the

platform to be divested from bytedance and sold before january 19th or face a ban in the u.s. according to the "new york times," two of the judges expressed some skepticism around tiktok's arguments that congress lacks the authority to pass such a law and its defense that it was being unfairly singled out. however, the court of appeals legal experts expect the losing party will appeal the decision to the supreme court. >> that certainly looks like tiktok -- you very rarely want to read into what judges are saying from the bench when they're going through oral arguments, but yesterday most of the observers there said it was as clear cut a defeat for tiktok as possible. i suspect this will be appealed. they will be appealing it to the supreme court. the international brotherhood of teamsters, one of the largest unions in the country, could endorse a

candidate in the presidential race as soon as tomorrow. this comes after members met with vice president kamala harris yesterday in what the "new york times" describes as a tense meeting, where she defended the biden administration's labor policies, while also promising that she would win the presidency and treat the union fairly with or without its backing. most major unions have already endorsed harris, including the united autoworkers union and the aflcio, which represents 60 unions. the teamsters have historically endorsed democratic presidential candidates, but since its president shawn o'brien took over, he made it clear that the union would endorse the candidate who presented the best option for working families, even if that meant bucking decades of tradition. >> so jonathan lemire -- >> that's a cliffhanger. >> cliffhanger, yeah. kamala harris went in there, answered the tough questions, said she'd supporting the union

whether they endorsed her or not. we know shawn o'brien, boston guy, and you know you and barnacle do, tough guy, we like him. but he has -- he and the teamsters have a difficult decision to make. they supported reagan. they supported nixon before. you know, the biden administration has been about as pro union as any president in quite some time. and yet shawn o'brien has a lot of members who are going to be supporting donald trump. so highway is this going to work out? >> yeah. that is the split screen here for a lot of these unions, not just the teamsters where a lot of the rank and file have broken for trump in the last couple cycles. o'brien spoke at the republican national convention. he didn't speak at the democratic national convention.

people in the harris campaign believe they likely will get this endorsement in the days ahead, but they also recognize there is a limit to what it means in terms of votes. it's emblematic of how the republican party has wooed away some of the white working class voters in recent cycles. the harris team is pledging to continue what joe biden has done and be pro union, but i think likely it will be a fracture in terms of the actual vote count of members. >> the teamsters said they would speak in prime time at both conventions. republicans invited them to. democrats did not. obviously that's something that's weighing on the teamsters' mind as well. coming up, it's national voter registration day. since its inception more than 5

million people have registered to vote. plus amazon has a new message for corporate workers. it's time to come back to the office. >> we, we, we talked about this a couple of weeks ago that we were noticing -- >> more and more -- >> yeah, more and more companies bringing people back to work five days a week, and the real estate markets in places where people moved out of new york are starting to flatten a bit, because some people are going to be having to go back to new york or other major cities where the campaigns are five days a week. >> we'll bring you details on this corporate crackdown on remote work. that's all straight ahead on "morning joe." ♪♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ this one is for you.

you have millions of gallons of water pouring down from the north with the snowcaps in canada, all pouring down. and they have a, essentially a very large faucet, and you turn the faucet. it takes one day to turn it. it's massive. it's as big as the wall of that building right there behind you. and you turn that, and all of that water goes into the -- aimlessly into the pacific. and if they turned it back, all of that water would come right down here and right into los angeles. they wouldn't have to have people not use more than 30 gallons and 32 gallons. they want to do that, you know. they're trying to do that. and you have so much water. and all of those fields that are right now barren, the farmers would have all the water they needed. >> i don't -- i -- what would --

i don't even know what to say about that. >> maybe you need to rake -- >> -- hostage listening to this drivel? >> if you rake the forests, as he said, that's why they don't have forest fires in norway or something. i don't know. >> does he have a speech writer? >> willie's been interpreting -- >> does anybody help him? >> willie's been interpreting the weave for quite some time. >> this is sort of like a trump speech right now. >> he knows the weave. >> explain the weave. >> our weave decoders are still working on this one. they're underground at 30 rock. they shovel coal into the furnaces and they just keep it moving. it's like "war games" and

matthew broderick and they're hitting big buttons and trying to figure out what's going on here with the a.i., something about getting water into southern california. i'm not sure. there are important issues about that, of course, and experts who could explain it, but i don't think he's one of them. his comment a few years ago was all you have to do is sweep the floors of the forest and you'd never have another forest fire. >> exactly. of course, when we're talking about water conservation, i find nothing in drought-ridden california speaks conservation than a lush, green, 18-hole golf course. >> you've got to keep those greens soft, joe. you know that. come on. >> it takes a lot of watering. >> a lot of chemicals. a lot of things that kill cats,

actually. i used to live in an apartment on a golf course and my cat died because of the chemicals on the golf course. >> your cat died because a german shepherd aid it. >> that was another cat. i do blame the golf courses. he got a big tumor and then we had to put him down. golf course chemicals. >> what's today, mika? >> i shouldn't have let him out onto the golf course. >> it's national voter registration day, a civic holiday with the goal of getting americans to vote. it's taking place at public libraries, college campuses and communities across the country with individuals canvassing their neighborhoods door to door. >> they have helped register more than 5 million americans in time for their next trip to the

ballot box. joining us, ceo of the league of women voters celina stewart. it's great to have you on the show. thank you for coming on, celina. >> thank you. >> could you talk a little bit about some of the challenges impacting voter registration, turnout and overall voter engagement? what are some of the challenges at play? >> first, i'm sorry to hear about your cat. >> thanks. it was a long time ago. thanks. >> thoughts and prayers. >> there are efforts across the country to remove voters from the rolls. of course, we want clean rolls everywhere, but there's a process in how you do it. so we want to make sure as folks are heading into the election cycle that those barriers are removed and lessened so people have access to the ballot. and we also just see things like, you know, misinformation,

disinformation traveling around the country in terms of when people can vote, how people vote. the league is really working to combat that by putting out accurate information for voters to use as they make their voting plans for november. >> since 2020, there was an effort by a number of republican-led state legislatures to make it harder to vote in some places, to throw up some impediments, some obstacles. how is your group trying to circumvent them? >> it's not that far off in terms of where we were in 2020, unfortunately, but the thing is that we have -- voter registration is critical. people turning out to vote to ensure that the folks that represent their community are elected are the most important actions we can take at this time. so people who are in office make the rules, whether that's at the

state or the federal level. this is such a key day across the country to make sure as many people eligible to vote can register and make sure they're showing up on november 5th. >> ceo of the league of women voters celina stewart, we appreciate your coming on the show this morning. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up, the aircraft maker boeing is now freezing hiring and considering temporary layoffs to cut costs. we'll bring you those latest developments as the strike by more than 30,000 of its workers enters its fifth day. plus, the federal reserve september policy meeting begins later today with many anticipating the fed's first rate reduction in years. we'll get a live report on what to expect next on "morning joe." to expect next on "morning joe."

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♪♪

beautiful live picture of the rockefeller plaza outside our building at 30 rock. 9:37 in the morning, 6:37 as you wake up out west. in a pivotal week for the american economy, the federal reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates for the first time since 2020. the move would mark a major milestone both for the central bank's long fight against inflation and, of course, for all of you dealing with the higher cost of living. frank, we expect this to come at the end tomorrow of the two-day meeting of the fed. >> right. >> what are the betting odds on how low they will go? >> good morning. the big debate on wall street is, is it 25 basis points or 50 basis points. about two-thirds of traders surveyed believe we're going to get that 50-basis point cut.

it's been fluctuating in recent days. investors are going to be watching and trying to interpret. many others believe a 50 basis point cut could scare the market. today we have retail sales. that's the last report before the decision. it comes in tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. you can watch it on cnbc. >> it's a foregone conclusion there will be a cut. the question is what will it be and how many more will we see. let's turn to amazon, ordering its corporate employees back to the office now at amazon five days a week. how are they going to implement this? what are the implications? >> five days a week starting in

2025. from a new memo from the ceo who said it's all about productivity and really just a return to pre-covid policy. he added amazon will reduce its number of managers, saying in part in that memo that having fewer managers will flatten the organization more than they are today. the company seems pretty adamant in getting everybody back in the office to increase productivity. >> just one of the major companies kind of pulling back from that work-from-home environment. boeing announced a hiring freeze and labor cuts. >> it's a broad cost-cutting plan as the company continues to try to negotiate. they're facing a strike by 30,000 workers in the machinist

union. they're trying to save cash during this strike. an analyst on my show estimates a 30-day strike will cost boeing about $3 billion. the company is also considering temporary furloughs. executives in the union are reportedly continuing to negotiate a new contract, but they remain far apart on pay. >> we will keep a close eye on that and of course on the fed as it ponders that cut coming up tomorrow. frank holland, thanks, as always. we appreciate it. coming up, mary louise parker joins us. she's starring in a new film about the mysteries of time travel. about the mysteries of time travel

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your name is -- you work in a lab. i know the future. i know everything that's going

to happen. >> how many fingers am i holding up? >> three. now the middle finger. now your cat is going to meow. and you're going to ask me, is this really happening right now, and i'm going to say, yes, it is. i only have five days left. >> i think i know somebody who can help us. ♪♪ >> are they going to be okay? >> they'll be okay. >> a look at the new movie "omniloop." mary louise parker joins us now along with the film's writer and director bernardo brito.

what a premise. we're talking about time travel. you find yourself as your character caught in a time loop. also, you have a black hole in your chest. i'll let you take it from there. >> a little light film making. actually, in all honesty, i feel like the only person who could ever describe or distill this film is bernardo, because it's so complicated and there are so many realities and sub realities going on at once that i feel like i'm a fairly well-prepared actor and there were times that i didn't know which area of the future or the past we were in. so it's pretty complex. but she's basically trying to go back in time. she's a scientist. so she can solve time travel and she won't have to die. >> bernardo, you wrote the

screenplay for this. >> i did, yeah. >> tell me what goes through your mind writing a screenplay about time travel and someone dying. death and time travel. what was going on in your mind when you sat down to write this? >> dying and traveling through time is kind of what i was going through. yeah. i think those are the things that i won't say worry me -- i'll say freak me out, just thinking about the permanence of death, also time, aging, how we move through life. those seem like the big, meaty questions. any time i have a feeling about something but i can't quite wrap my head around it, that seems like when i should jump in to try to write about it, yeah. >> your character is attempting to enlist the help of a bright physics student.

>> you think if you can break it down, you'll be able to tweak it. >> i do. and i can actually go back, back to when i was your age before i gave up and settled. >> before you had a black hole growing inside your chest. >> i want to do all the things i always thought i would. i want to figure out what's in the pills. i want to figure out what makes them work and make it so i only have five days left so i have 20, 30, 40 years, i have my whole life. >> all right. let's solve time travel. >> so mary louise, i'll let you talk a little more about time travel, because as you said, we all sort of live that way.

if you stop and think about it, it doesn't have to be about quantum physics. you go back in your life and question decisions you've made. it looks like such incredible chemistry there between you. >> yeah. i felt really, really lucky to have her and have the relationship that we had. it felt really kind of perfect. i feel like it's something that we all do unconsciously or not all the time is think, oh, how could i have said that differently, or maybe that's just me, but going back over little things, not just the kind of big, you know, watershed moments in our life, but also just little kind of big, you know, watershed moments in our life but little exchanges like i wish i hadn't done that or i wish i had said that. so this is kind of, like, a macro version of being able to redo everything, but at the same

time having to live through it again, which in some ways seems like a great opportunity, but also seems like a certain kind of torture, you know? >> mary-louise just put her finger on something that is universal in life, looking at life through the rear view mirror. time travel. again, you wrote the screenplay, how long did it take you to write the screenplay? >> it took me a long time. i started writing in 2016, so i was, you know, 26, 27 years old then and i think i was at a place where i was look forward and thinking about -- it was the first time i felt like my decisions were becoming permanent in a way, it was like the person i'm with, that might be the person i end up with and where i live, that might be where i live and i was doing a lot of thinking about the future and saw must paren my parents a friend's parents, and i thought those are interesting sides of the same coin and that's kind of

where the ayo and mary-louise of it all comes in, i am someone that is always questioning what am i doing and am i doing the right thing right now, being here on this show, answering this question, is this a good question? i hope so. and then i'm sure when i go home i'll be, like, what did i do, did i do a good job? yeah, i think it is just an eternal loop as they say. >> yeah. >> no time travel needed, bernardo. that was a great answer. don't worry about it when you get home. the concept is fascinating and the cast is really incredible. it is called "omni loop," the movie premieres in theaters, on demand as well this friday. co-star mary-louise parker, writer director bernardo breedo, thank you, both, and congrats on the field. appreciate it. we'll be right back with more "morning joe." eciate it. we'll be right back with more "morning joe." ient, apoaequorin, originally discovered in jellyfish and found only in prevagen. in a clinical study, prevagen was shown to improve memory in subgroups of individuals who were cognitively normal or mildly impaired.

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we're learning new details this morning about the titan submersible which imploded in the atlantic ocean last summer during a sight-seeing dive to the wreckage of the "titanic."

nbc news senior correspondent tom costello has details. >> this morning, this newly released photo shows the tail cone from the titan submersible resting on the ocean floor, not far from the wreck of "titanic" and new details of the final moments. >> there were no transmission which indicated trouble or emergency aboard the titan. >> reporter: the coast guard releasing this showing titan's descent while messaging with the support ship above, the polar prince. among the crew's last words, all good here. but then at 10:47, titan messaged it was dropping weight, which could suggest it needed to surface. suddenly the support ship lost contact. >> the polar prince continued messaging the titan two or three times per minute, with no response. >> reporter: four days later, search teams spotted titan's wreckage, not far from the "titanic." months later, human remains. lost in the disaster, at

monday's coast guard hearing, the engineer who helped design titan said he refused to get inside. >> he asked me, they wanted me to be a pilot that runs the "titanic" missions. and i told him i'm not getting in it. >> reporter: tony was among dozens of engineers who warned the ceo that the carbon fiber hull would not withstand extreme diving pressure. but he said he was pressing ahead. >> i would like to be known as an innovator. i think it was general mcarthur said you're remembered for the rules you break. >> reporter: the coast guard report titan may have been hit by lightning, experienced dozens of issues during dives in 2021 and '22 and exposed to extreme cold in newfoundland before the fatal dive in '23.

the former finance director says the company was in trouble. >> we basically didn't have any money coming in, except for from investors while i was there. >> reporter: on the water front in everett, washington, a simple stone marker to remember those who were lost. >> all right. we'll be turning back to politics now. democrats are optimistic the party is building support in the deep red state of texas. recent polling shows a tight race between incumbent senator ted cruz and democratic challenger congressman colin allred. a survey earlier this month from emerson college and the hill had him four points behind cruz. another survey late last month had the pair only two points apart. a democrat has not won a senate seat in texas since 1988. allred is already getting

support from an unlikely ally, former republican congresswoman liz cheney. she was in texas yesterday to help raise money for the democrat. she told "the dallas morning news," we don't agree on every issue, but i know colin is going to do what he thinks is right and i know ted cruz is going to say and do whatever serves ted cruz's political interest and that includes what we watched him do after the 2020 election, which was basically put together this effort that would have resulted in throwing out the votes of millions of americans. jonathan lemire, of course liz cheney mincing no words. >> mincing no words and cheney looms large there in texas. that's where her father originally was from. texas has been a white wale for democrats for a long time. they keep getting close but can't get there. they point to demographic

trends, maybe it is four, eight, 10, 12, years that texas could be a blue state, it is a red state, but they see an opening here where ted cruz is not particularly popular at home. colin allred, a strong resume and there is at least a chance. the question is how much resources can the party pour into this race. it will be an uphill climb but the dems feel a flicker of hope. >> and candidates matter. and colin allred is a very good candidate. he's moderate. he's got the football legacy. but not just about football. it is that he's running a good campaign against a guy who even in texas isn't terribly popular. >> well, i think if he wants to win, he is a great guy, he's a great candidate, he should make it all about football from here on out in texas. >> yeah. there's that. all right, that does it for us this morning. we'll see you tomorrow morning bright and early, 6:00 a.m., right, willie, we're so excited. it is going to be so good. >> let's do it. see you tomorrow. >> all right, ana cabrera picks up the coverage right now.