right now on "andrea mitchell reports," riveting new details within special counsel jack smith's filing in response to the supreme court resuming that donald trump has immunity from some actions taken during his presidential term. we will bring you the highlights in moments. vice president harris hitting the campaign trail with liz cheney to make a pitch to republican voters on the fence about four more years of donald trump. we will talk with a senior advior from the campaign.

president biden tours florida and georgia hit hard by helene. the death toll in western north carolina continues to rise. the world is on edge waiting to see how israel will respond to iran's missile attack. the white house arguing against targeting iran's nuclear program. joining me this hour, former defense secretary leon panetta on the crisis across the middle east, former dls second jeh johnson joins on domestic terror threats and the anniversary of the october 7th terror attacks in israel, four days away. ♪♪ good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. we are 33 days from the election. for the first time, we have former vice president make pence's own words under oath about donald trump's alleged attempts to discount votes and overthrow the election. yesterday afternoon, judge chutkan unsealed a legal filing

in the 2020 election interference case. the 165-page document is special counsel smith's response to the supreme court immunity decision, sending the case back to the lower court to determine which conduct is protected as official acts, which conduct is trump's alleged private criminal conduct. for the first time, smith including aspects of the only known testimony from mike pence. prosecutors detailing the times pence spoke with trump trying to coax him into face-saving options. smith says the two conversations had as running mates, not in their official role of president and vice president. donald trump wants more time to file his response, pushing it past election day, while criticiing the timing of yesterday's release. >> this was a weaponization of government. that's why it was released 30 days before the election.

it's nothing new in there. nothing new. they rigged the election. i didn't rig the election. they rigged the election. what they do is they rig the election and then they go around getting people and persecuting people and prosecuting people that did nothing wrong. they rigged the election. these are crooked people. deranged jack smith is a prosecutor put there in order to screw up the election for the republican party. it's pure election interference to get an incompetent person like kamala -- she's grossly incompetent. she's more incompetent than biden, to get these people elected. they rigged the election. the election was rigged. i didn't rig it. they did. >> we begin with nbc's vaughn hillyard, nbc news justice core spon end ken dilanian, nbc news legal analyst paul butler and timothy hayfee. this decision to unseal the brief was up to judge chutkan.

jack smith filed -- made his motion filing, he didn't try to push it back. it was her date of september 26. her decision to unseal it. now we are in this window before the election. there's a lot of controversy. donald trump claiming election interference. it was not the justice department's decision. could merrick garland have overruled it? >> under the regulations, it would have to be an extraordinary departure from norm for garland to step in. what people are telling me is there is nothing they did that violated the doj period. this was judge chutkan who unsealed a sealed filing that was made on her schedule. she's made it very clear that she does not believe the election should impact -- >> she told the prosecutor and the defense repeatedly in court, i am not paying attention to anything that's extraneous. >> that's right. >> this is about this case. >> jack smith could have asked

to delay this until after the election. i'm not sure she would have requested that. >> paul butler, the trump response is furious that this is within 33 days of the election. their argument is that it should have been postponed. the counterargument is they caused the original delays, they and the supreme court. >> the counterargument wins the day. the timing is largely a product of trump's very successful strategy of delay, delay, delay. jack smith was ready to go to trial in january, specifically this motion was filed last week. there's a presumption that anything that's filed by the government in a criminal case is public. all judge chutkan -- it was her decision, as ken said, not jack smith. it was judge chutkan's decision to unseal this document. all she was doing was following the law and treating donald trump like any other criminal defendant.

>> tim, let's talk about the real nut of this, which is new revelations about mike pence. mike pence did not testify. he refused to testify to the january 6 committee that you worked on. now we have his sworn testimony to a grand jury and notes. if true, it's devastaing if it can be introduced in a trial. this will go to the supreme court again. there's an argument over whether there's any instance where a president and vice president are acting in an unprofessional -- unofficial role. >> it's meat on the bones that the select committee put in place. we told the story, this narrative of an intentional multi-part plan led by the former president to disrupt the joint session and prevent the transfer of power. the pleading puts an important new meat on those bones. we didn't talk to the vice president. he refused to speak with the

committee. he provides evidence very, very consistent with the theory that we laid out. the president's leadership, his awareness of the fact that he had lost, his incessant pressure on the vice president and ultimately i think the most damning thing is that he launches this angry mob to pressure -- to put public pressure on the vice president on the morning of january 6 in this last gasp effort to achieve his goal. it's consistent with the story that we told but has some really significant steps forward, because jack smith got some evidence we weren't able to get. >> ken, let's go through some of the key points. in one instance, he says you are too honest to pence when pence says, i can't do that. he said, you are too honest, which would indicate intent. if this goes to trial, he is

saying, you are honest by obvious implication, i'm not, when i'm asking you to do that. >> that part we knew. there's some things in this 165-page brief which reads like a novel, that we did -- >> tell us about it. >> a lot comes from five pages of notes that mike pence took that was not available to tim's committee, as admirable a job they did. this is after the election where mike pence was trying to convince donald trump to accept the results. then it describes donald trump turning against pence as it became clear pence was not prepared to block the certification. there's a dramatic moment when it describes, as the capitol riot is unfolding and donald trump is in the dining room watching on fox news, his aides are saying, mike pence is in trouble. this is after trump treated him

failing to do what he wanted him to do. aides are saying, he is in danger, hoping the president would take action. his response, according to this document, was to say, so what? >> so what? vaughn, talk to me about the campaign reaction. >> there's little from the actual campaign. donald trump's social media account calls this a falsehood. of course, as has been the case for the last 3 1/2 years, donald trump is not refuting or disputing the facts or evidence presented across these pages. he is not refuting that he told mike pence that he was too honest. he is not refuting he called up the governors of georgia and arizona andpressured them to overturn the results. instead, donald trump and his legal team are maintaining that he was able to do this not only because he was acting in an official capacity as president of the united states as they will contend in their own filings in the weeks ahead, but

also because as you just heard him say last night there in that clip you started your show with, donald trump is still claiming that the 2020 election was rigged and that he should be in the white house here today. his legal team, they just asked last night to have a five-week extension. their reply to this immunity brief from jack smith, who was scheduled due on october 17th. they requested to have that pushed back five more weeks. this would take us beyond election day. the election is paramount. let's be clear. the way this brief is used by both campaigns is going to be potentially very crucial. if donald trump wins the presidency, he will have the department of justice at his fingertip. he could very well order his attorney general to dismiss this case in its entirety. therefore, the underlying evidence and witnesses who are being presented in this document and whose names are redacted will never take the stand.

>> paul, let's go to this argument that some of the communications with mike pence were as running mates and arguably they also put in this that he specifically says he was talking to him as president of the senate, not as vice president. how do you constitutionally separate that? he is trying to get around the immunity -- limited immunity ruling which a lot of people have criticized from the supreme court. is it possible that mike pence can be -- half of his person can be running mate or president of the senate and not vice president of the united states? >> it's a very fine line that judge chutkan will have to walk. i think she will be able to separate his vice president

responsibilities versus his acts when he was running for president. remember, there was a superseding indictment after the supreme court's immunity decision where jack smith says he took out all of the allegations involving official presidential acts. so everything that's left is about trump's private conduct. the real tension will be when trump's white house aides heard private stuff. for example, there was a comment that an aide heard trump say to his family members, you have -- it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, you have to fight. since a white house aide heard that, trump's defense team will argue that can't come in. jack smith will fight like heck to get it in because it's very incriminating. >> the family members were white house aides as well. >> that's true. you can run for president, and that's what judge chutkan would call a day job. that's not an official responsibility.

jack smith's position is that all of trump's tweets that are named in the indictment, those are his acts as a political candidate and not official acts as president. >> do you think that could stand up on appeal if she rules in jack smith's favor? >> i think it could stand up to the d.c. court of appeals. the supreme court, we found out after the immunity decision, there's no way of knowing. >> paul butler, vaughn hillyard, of course, and ken dilanian, a complicated case. thanks so much. coming up in 90 seconds, a top advisor from the harris campaign joining me to talk about the vice president's events today with liz cheney and the latest hurdles in the race for the white house. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. i'm adding downy unstopables to my wash. now i'll be smelling fresh all day long. [sniff] still fresh. still fresh! ♪♪ with downy unstopables, you just toss, wash, wow.

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after endorsing vice president kamala harris for president, former republican congresswoman liz cheney will campaign with her today in battleground wisconsin in the birthplace of the republican party. cheney was vice chair of the january 6 committee and lost her seat in congress in republican wyoming as a result. she said she will vote for harris, along with her father, former vice president dick cheney. last night the star witness from those january 6 hearings, former white house aide cassidy hutchinson revealed she will vote for harris.

>> kamala harris is from a working class background. tim walz is from a walking class background. those are the people that donald trump claimed to represent but actually exploit and manipulated their support. they cannot be trusted to uphold our rule of law, vance and trump. i look forward to casting my ballot for kamala harris. >> joining me now is spokesman ian sams. what impact do you think liz cheney might have campaigning with kamala harris? do endorsements work? >> absolutely. i think they show that there's building momentum on the republican side of the aisle and among independents to support vice president harris' candidacy. congresswoman cheney and former vice president cheney have come out. we have had endorsements from more than 200 alum of the bush,

mccain and romney campaigns. we have had former congress people, the former lieutenant governor of georgia, jeff duncan. it speaks to the election is a fundamental choice between people who are putting their country first, people patriotic people, people who understand we have our fundamental freedoms and democracy at stake, versus donald trump who just this week we are being reminded left and right of what he did when he was president to try to cling to power and overturn the results of the election, whether it's the facts that we are learning overnight from the recent filing, including his refusal to say anything and just scroll twitter when the capitol was being attacked on january 6, whether he was informed about vice president pence being rushed to safety and him saying, so what. jd vance tuesday night refusing to acknowledge that donald trump lost the 2020 election. people are being reminded about the danger that donald trump

poses to our country and our freedoms every single day. i think it's leading republicans, including congresswoman cheney, who may not agree on all issues or many issues with the vice president, but who are willing to put country first and understand that the character and the commitment to our constitution that vice president harris has means so much that they are willing to speak out and show courage to do so. >> what's your action to donald trump's denunciation of election interference, that it's coming from the justice department and shouldn't be released this close to the election? >> obviously, want to be careful with an ongoing federal case and in terms of the timing, would leave that to the justice department. i think that the facts that came to light overnight are the facts that we have known for years. that donald trump on january 6 did not speak up to stop the mob, that he encouraged his supporters to try to overturn

the results of the election, that he pressured his vice president, that he pressured state election officials to try to overturn the will of the people, something that we have not seen in this country when it comes to the peaceful transfer of power, which is one of the hallmarks of american democracy. that is what is at stake in this election. i think you will hear the vice president talk about this tonight when she joins liz cheney in wisconsin, about the importance of having a president who puts country first, who does not put their own ambitions and political interests ahead of the constitution, ahead of our country. that is such a fundamental difference between donald trump and kamala harris. it's something that i think voters are going to be thinking a lot about over the next 33 days before the election. >> you have 33 days. you have got all kinds of things happening around the world. not in your control. you have the port strike.

you've got the middle east and the possibility of a wider war already. iran making new threats against anyone who helps israel. and divisions in the democratic party over help for israel versus concerns for the palestinians. now for the lebanese being evacuated from their homes as well. all of that as well as the hurricane and the after affect and criticism in two key states, especially north carolina, that the fema response was too slow, also in georgia, states you have to win or need to try to win. how do you combat all of this? these are circumstances, some of which were beyond your control. >> the vice president doesn't see these issues through the political prism. she sees them through the leadership prism. when you think about these sort of instances and events that

occur, it raises the measure of the leader. it says, do we want someone who is serious or do we want someone who is unserious? do we want someone who will spend their time trying to put the country first and solve problems and get help to people who need it and to deescalate conflict around the world? do we want someone who will play politics, who will lie and make up claims that aid isn't going to republican areas, that republican governors have to repudiate, or who spend time with their thumbs on truth social ranting in all caps about chaos around the world while attacking and dismissing injuries of our soldiers when he was president from iran as headaches. these are things that really show clearly the contrast in this election between a leader who is serious, who is working on people's challenges, to try to bring solutions to the challenges that happen, and someone who is only interested in themselves and who wants to take problems and make them worse because he thinks that they are good for him

politically. when you take -- when you see these unforeseen challenges that happen in a moment like this, it really puts in front of the country the choice between the two candidates. with vice president harris, as you have seen, she's trying to rush aid to the states that immediate it most. she's in the situation room working with the national security team to try to deescalate and avoid a broader conflict. she's working very hard to and has worked very hard over the last several years to shore up our supply chain to make sure disruptions don't impact our economy. these are things that she's working on. donald trump is playing politics with it. >> speaking of the politics and the port strike, does the vice president support invoking the taft hartly act? despite what you might expect from the labor movement. >> i think the administration has been very clear and the president specifically about his position on not invoking that.

the vice president put out a statement yesterday, i believe it was, a very, very strong statement about the choice in this election -- >> but why not? >> i think that she's encouraging and working to ensure and working with the administration and the white house to get people to the negotiating take to work in good faith so this can be resolved and we can avoid further economic challenges from it. she's been clear that what's at stake in this negotiation is the right of workers to benefit equally or at least some from massive profits that are going to these corporations, these multinational international corporations and the collective bargaining for these workers is something she believes strong strongly in and come to a resolution that protects and defends workers. donald trump is saying workers should be fired. we know where he stands when it comes to labor, union negotiating.

shawn fain says, he is a scab. vice president harris is trying to bring both parties to a resolution here and actually make sure that the workers are protected throughout this process. it's a pretty clear distinction between the two candidates in this race. >> ian sams, thank you, as always. good to see you. next, the middle east awaiting a response by israel to iran's missile attack. a live report from lebanon. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. but who has the time to clean? that's why i love my swiffer wetjet. it's a quick and easy way to get my floors clean. wetjet absorbs and locks grime deep inside. look at that! swiffer wetjet. my name is brayden. i was five years old when i came to st. jude. i'll try and shorten down the story. so i've been having these headaches that wouldn't go away. my mom, she was just crying.

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u.s. and israeli officials tell nbc news israel is preparing a swift response to iran's missile attack. president biden said this morning, nothing is going to happen today. iran fired a massive barrage of missiles at israel tuesday, nearly all were shot down by israeli and american air defenses. president biden has made is clear he would not support an attack on iran's nuclear sites. today, nbc's monica alba asked him about another potential israeli target, the oil fields. >> would you support israel striking iran's oil facilities, sir? >> we're discussing it. i think that would be a little -- anyway. >> still in discussion. he didn't want to say. in beirut overnight, israel carried out more air strikes, killing at least nine people, according to the lebanese health ministry. israeli defense forces are

stepping up their aerial and ground offense against hezbollah. israel reported eight soldiers died. the state department acknowledged reports, one american may have been killed. joining me now from lebanon is richard engel. iran's mission to the u.n. saying today that any country that provides assistance to israel -- that's obviously, the u.s. -- will be a legitimate target. what could iran do against u.s. targets in your region, u.s. forces in iraq and elsewhere? >> reporter: so, this is a move or seems to be a move by iran to show strength to signal to the united states that it's not backing down, it's a warning delivered by diplomatic representatives. i believe it was the swiss that conveyed it to the u.s. that iran does not want israel to be assisted. if any country, primarily the u.s., does provide israel with

assistance it will be considered a legitimate target and an aggressor and accomplice was the word they used. iran could launch ballistic missiles at u.s. bases in the region. there are several. iran has done that once before after the death of soleimani. i visited that base that was hit. it was in northern iraq. many u.s. military personnel at the time -- there were no fatalities but they described it as a very near miss. a few days ago, during that barrage, we were talking about the flight time and how little warning you get. it's considerably further from iran to israel with a flight time of 12 minutes. iran and iraq are neighbors. to fire a ballistic missile or some other short-range missile at iraq, the flight time would -- i don't want say instantaneous, but very quick, indeed. there are militia groups that iran backs in iraq, in syria.

there are u.s. troops not just in northern iraq but there's the embassy compound. there are many different things that a group that is spread out in the middle east as the u.s. is spread out in the middle east could potentially do. this was a warning, let's see -- we will see how it plays out. i don't think the u.s. will be deterred by this warning. it would put u.s. forces on an even higher state of alert. i think they probably already factored this contingency planning knowing that iran could respond to an israeli response by attacking some u.s. facility in the region. i think that was probably already baked into the mix. >> richard engel, thank you very much. joining me now is leon panetta, defense secretary in the obama administration, a former white house chief of staff for president clinton.

thanks very much, mr. secretary. it's good to see you. first of all, we should point out that on donald trump's watch, there were troops with head injuies with basically bad -- traumatic head injuries from those responses on his watch. something the president -- the former president called headaches. there were more than 100 troops at that base in iraq who did suffer from head injuries. what do you expect israel to do now in this retaliation against iran? >> well, it's no longer a question, andrea, of whether we are in a wider war, we are headed towards a wider war. we are in a wider war, without question. israel's fighting not just on three fronts but possibly a fourth front as well, going

after hezbollah, going after hamas, going after the west bank problems that are there and now the issue is how does israel respond with regard to iran? israel has done a pretty good job, very frankly, at restoring some of its deterrence that was damaged by the october 7th attack. they have gone after hezbollah leaders. they are now pushing a ground war to try to hopefully limited to allow israelis to return to the north. iran's strike of 200 missiles was very ineffective. they were able to knock down something like 90% of those missiles. so the issue really comes down to, what does israel do in response? if israel goes after some big targets, the nuclear targets, if they go after populated areas, then we could have a full-blown

war on our hands. if it's more limited, you know, going after military targets, perhaps some energy targets, then i think the hope is that this could be much more limited. how israel responds now will tell us a lot about the future of this war. >> then there's the future of the u.s./israeli relationship. they are our closest allies and the american response has been to ramp up and have our air defenses also block these missiles, these ballistic missiles from hitting targets in israel. but the relationship is as bad as any time that i have seen in terms of israel not giving the u.s. a heads up about the pagers, about the haniyeh assassination, about the nasrallah assassination. do you expect that the u.s. would be able to persuade israel not to go after the nuclear targets and the oil fields?

>> you know, this is an issue -- i remember when i was secretary of defense, netanyahu threatened to attack iran's nuclear facilities at the time. we convinced him that, very frankly, they really didn't have the capability to really go after those facilities that were very deep in the ground. it's deep in the ground. we were able to convince him that they would be very ineffective in terms of going after the nuclear facilities. i'm sure that right now they're having those discussions. a lot depends on what intelligence shows. if intelligence tells us that iran is, in fact, moving to develop a nuclear weapon -- frankly, that's an issue not just for israel, it's an issue for the united states. both have said, we will not

allow iran to have a nuclear weapon. if the intelligence doesn't show that, then i think it would be smart not to just simply hit those targets without really doing the kind of damage that needs to be done. hit more limited targets and try to keep this war more limited rather than expanding it into a full-scale war. >> the president has said that he does not think they should go after the nuclear weapons. he did not respond to our question today from my colleague monica alba about whether they should also defer hitting the oil fields, which would cause economic chaos. obviously, the election has to be on the administration's mind. this is the last thing they needed. do you think israel would go without u.s. green light or some sort of agreement with the u.s.?

could they do it without us given how deep they are? it would be u.s. weapons, bunker-buster weapons, crossing another red line, which has been crossed before by israel in gaza and elsewhere, and probably most recently in lebanon. what is that dynamic? >> the most important thing right now, andrea, is for israel to decide, what are its objectives? for too long during the middle eastern wars in the last 70 years, it was never very clear what those objectives were. i think if the objective of israel is to somehow destroy the arc of resistance and go after and try to destroy hezbollah in iran, hamas, houthis, then they're going to be in a full-scale war. if on the other hand they have clear objectives, one, to

restore the israelis to their homes in the north and be able to secure that area, that's certainly a clear objective and can be achieved. two, to eventually agree to some kind of cease-fire so we can deal with the refugees and get them back -- or the hostages, rather, and get them back. deal with the refugees and humanitarian problems in that area. try to develop some kind of governing capability for the palestinians in the future. then lastly, go to work on a diplomatic initiative to try to get saudi arabia included in the abraham accords. ultimately, in the long term, the best way for israel to secure itself is to build a coalition of nations in the middle east that support israel in its existence and will work

together to try to establish peace for the future. that, i think, should really be the objective of israel at this point. >> thank you very much, secretary leon panetta, appreciate it. >> thank you. next, for the second day, president biden is visiting the storm zone, this time in florida and georgia, to see the destruction left behind by hurricane helene. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports." this is msnbc. >> woman: why did we choose safelite? we're always working on a project. while loading up our suv, one extra push and... crack! so, we scheduled at safelite.com. we were able to track our technician and knew exactly when he'd arrive. we can keep working! ♪ synth music ♪

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right now, president biden is in florida's big bend region where he is going to get a briefing on the ongoing recovery efforts in the aftermath of hurricane helene. later this afternoon, he will take an aerial tour of georgia to survey the damage there. it has been a week since helene made landfall. more than 200 people have lost their lives. nearly half of those in north carolina alone, with hundreds still missing. crews work overtime trying to rebuild hundreds of roads damaged, washed away. entire communities remain cut off, struggling to get critical supplies. organizations like the world central kitchen are stepping in to help. >> you got so much water at once. unfortunately, those places of heaven became places of hell. those rivers raised so much that put homes away.

unfortunately, many lives away. the good thing is that in the worst moments of humanity, the best of humanity shows up. >> joining me now from asheville, north carolina, nbc news correspondent sam brock. have you seen any improvement there as residents are struggling to find clean water, food, other supplies? >> reporter: improvements, andrea, are hard to find. you talk to folks on the ground. they tell you, it's food, water, electricity, communication. they cannot get in touch with loved ones or friends to make sure they are okay. all of that has been status quo. jose could not have articulated that better in terms of community members relying on one another. we are an hour from nashville. i cannot tell you how many trucks and pickups and flatbeds i saw on the drive down here strapped with giant cases of water and snacks and paper

towels and anything you could imagine or think of, because people are trying to help each other out. whether that's the navy or the motorcycle clubs, we have seen it all. that has helped to lift folks in a dire situation. spoke with a man here on an atv who said he can only get back and forth from his house with that vehicle. otherwise, he is basically isolated. looking over my shoulder, there's a lot of activity on the ground. that's a bridge here that they have been reinforcing with concrete and gravel to try to make sure the structural integrity is okay. you can't see beyond this corner, but down the river to my right, there's a piece of road that just ends. it's like it was chopped off. we were spending time earlier today with a service that offers drone capabilities for governments, for local sheriff departments, even for private companies. one looking for lost employees from the air as they go through the homes and cars and sheds that are all over the riverbed

and trying to locate where people might be. it was fascinating to watch this unfold. as far as the latest numbers, you mentioned this, we have just exceeded 200 deaths. it's 202 i believe. the most recent coming from florida and georgia. north carolina up to 98 fatalities. it was 94 earlier today. right now, the epicenter of this, they will provide an update later at 4:00. we don't have updated fatality numbers yet. we are expecting that to rise. >> sam brock, thank you so much. good luck to you and the people down there. coming up ahead of the anniversary of october 7, and election day, law enforcement is preparing for potential threats. even now with the jewish holidays. we will talk to former homeland security secretary jeh johnson next. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc.

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we've seen the war in gaza, the war in lebanon, the escalating tensions with iraq. the threat level is very high. how well protected are americans both overseas, diplomatic posts, other targets, and here at home? >> andrea, when i was in the dhs chair, sometimes i would write these public statements myself about anniversaries and things and spent a lot of time converting them into plain english. and i think we should be very clear with the public what the threat is, what the threat land scape is, what the government is doing about it, and what the public can do about it, if you see something, say something. it's important to be vigilant on the anniversary of october 7th but bad things don't tend to

happen on anniversaries. so by raising the visibility of the anniversary, i wouldn't want people to become complacent on october 8th or october 9th. this is a somewhat elevated threat environment in the united states and the public has a role, too. >> and in terms of the threats from iran now saying that we will target anyone who helps israel, obviously, we have said, the white house has said we are supporting israel. the american defense from air and sea was very actively defending israel from that barrage. >> if i were iran, the government of iran, i would think twice about provoking the united states directly into this fight. and governments, even the government of iran is capable of making that type of calculation.

when i was at d.o.d., i observed even certain terrorist organizations are sometimes careful about drawing the united states directly into the fight against them. so it is without a doubt a broadening, more dangerous conflict in the united states. we have pledged to support israel as we should, but if you're in iran, you need to think twice about directly engaging the united states. >> i want to ask you about how all of this is potentially impacting the election. this is a middle east crisis. donald trump is trying to make much of it in saying he can solve all these wars in a day. i'm not sure how that actually lands with people. what people are seeing is higher threats, an active war, americans at risk. this is at a time when you have

a longshoreman's trial, a hurricane, criticism of the fema response. what is your response to all these events outside of the control of the united states that are certainly affecting the economy? >> andrea, as you know, foreign affairs, national security, don't tend to play a very large role in the voters' minds around an election. the last time i think national security did play a significant role was probably 2004, three years after 9/11. voters seemed to be focused on the economy, on inflation, we all want to feel safe, obviously. and i think that is a looming concern for the american people. homeless, national security, the elevated threat environment, these are issues that are important. they play a role but they have

not historically played a primary role. but it's up to our government, the national security components of our government, homeless to be vigilant, to be on the lookout, to be in an elevated threat environment. >> jay johnson, former secretary, thank you very much. that's this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." you can get the live highlights on the show. chris jansing reports starts after a very short break. rts sts after a very short break . i need indeed. indeed you do. sponsored jobs on indeed are two and a half times faster to first hire. visit indeed.com/hire

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