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it is good to be back with you on this second hour of "chris jansing reports." at this hour, the bombardments around beirut. massive fire balls as israel carries out some of its biggest strikes yet. a live report on that, and the disturbing new comments from iran's supreme leader. plus, he's the governor who donald trump torched as disloyal, bad, and very average: but today, a reunion, four years in the making. will it all be water under the bridge between trump and brian kemp? a blue collar pitch in the battle for the blue wall. we're live on the trail with kamala harris in michigan. and the second to last jobs report before the election is now out, and it is crushing

expectations, we've got the numbers. our nbc news reporters are following all of the latest developments. we begin with nbc's matt bradley live on the ground in beirut. matt, israel carried out one of the biggest bombardments yet. what do we know about what happened, what they were targeting? >> reporter: they were targeting what is essentially hezbollah's second in command. he was the presumed man to succeed hassan nasrallah who was killed a week ago today. this man is a cousin of hassan nasrallah. and he is not actually -- we don't know if he's dead. hezbollah has not said that he is dead. in fact, the israelis just said that they were targeting him. and this is as we have been seeing bombardment after bombardment, front row seats to the horrifying spectacle behind me, to a shiite muslim area south of beirut, and this is a

neighborhood that's also a stronghold for hezbollah. all of this as we're continuing to see israel's attacks against hezbollah in lebanon. their incursion into southern lebanon, and just today, we saw the rare sight of the ayatollah of iran making an appearance. he made an appearance today because of the crisis around the region, and he gave the speech in arabic. normally he speaks in his native farsi, and he warned the israelis they were going to continue their attacks despite whatever retaliation the israelis come up. we haven't seen that quite yet. the entire region is waiting to hear about that. but this is, as the israelis, as we've said, they're taking shots at all of the senior hezbollah officials. now, this man, this presumed successor to hassan nasrallah, he is a cousin of hassan nasrallah. he cuts a similar religious, spiritual, and political profile. again, we don't know if he was killed in this attack but fact

that he has such strong connections to iran, like his predecessor, hassan nasrallah, and of course we don't know if he was chosen to become the successor. he hadn't yet ascended to that position, but the fact that he was the anointed successor shows that the group was trying to continue in the same mold as hassan nasrallah. this man, neither an extremist nor a moderate, and he has a very strong connection to iran, his son, last year, married the daughter of kasim soleimani, the head of the irgc, the islamic revolutionary guard core, the part of the forces, that supervises, and gives money to the aid of the fighting forces they back up, including hezbollah in lebanon. the houthis in yemen, the axis of resistance, so essentially to iran's foreign policy and animosity against israel. as we're seeing israel

continuing to attack hezbollah, they're making one thing clear, that no one can take the senior position. no one can take the place of ha -- nasrallah without being put in the cross hairs. let's go to georgia where donald trump is being briefed on storm damage, with governor brian kemp. nbc's shaquille brewster is in evans, georgia. what's going to happen here? >> reporter: well, chris, we're still waiting on donald trump to arrive here in the state of georgia, but you can see from the supplies that are stacked up behind me what the focus will be. you see some of the water, the paper towels, the baby supplies. we know that when former president trump arrives here in georgia, he'll meet with first responders and volunteers. he'll be briefed by emergency official, and then he will appear right behind me and stand with georgia's governor, brian kemp, and the fact that you highlight this, i think, underscores how rare and unique this is. we haven't seen these two

republicans appear together in person since 2020, and there's a very specific reason for that. donald trump has gone after brian kemp, really, since his 2020 election loss, since brian kemp didn't help him in his efforts to overturn the election here in the state of georgia. you heard as recently as august at a rally, donald trump mentioned or said that brian kemp was disloyal, that he wasn't a good guy, that he was, quote, an average governor. since then, their relationship has definitely thawed out in some sense. you can tell when the two appear behind me, the focus will be on the hurricane recovery as they spend time here in georgia. >> shaquille brewster, thank you so much. let's go to michigan now, where at this very moment, vice president kamala harris is speaking, and then that's in detroit. she'll be on her way. there she is. first of two in the key battleground state after that big endorsement by bruce

springsteen. then she'll be heading to flint, where we'll find yamiche alcindor. i didn't mention liz cheney, another endorsement that kamala harris got yesterday. tell us about her day today, and where the campaign stands right now? >> reporter: well, vice president harris is going to spend this evening in flint, michigan, campaigning in this critical battleground state. as you mentioned, this is part of a midwest swing for her. yesterday she was in rippon, wisconsin, which is known as the birthplace of the republican party. she was there, of course, with former congresswoman liz cheney, a republican, and she was talking about the idea that voters need to put and officials need to put country over party. so we had, of course, liz cheney speaking on behalf of vice president harris. take a listen to what she said. >> i know that president harris will be able to unite this

nation. i know that she will be a president who will defend the rule of law. and i know that she will be a president who can inspire all of our children. and if i might say so, especially our little girls. >> reporter: very interesting, of course, to see liz cheney not just leaning on the idea that republicans and others should really get behind her. >> i'm going to interrupt you. president biden walked into the briefing room at the white house and is speaking. let's take a listen. >> i especially want to thank the carriers, the port operators for reaching this agreement, at a time when the nation has experienced such terrible devastation from hurricane helene. it's truly a service to the american people for all of these parties to come together and respond to our requests, to keep the ports open. we are determined to avert a crisis at this moment because it's a critical moment. if we didn't do this now, we

would have a real problem. i want to thank you my white house team for the work, they worked around the clock to bring the parties together. but today, we've got more incredible news. although the strength of the american economy is -- it's about the strength of the american economy. new jobs report, as you all know, created 250,000 jobs in september. the expectation was for 150,000 jobs in september. which has far exceeded that number. not only the previous two months has revised up 75,000 jobs, and from the are very beginning, we were told time and again the policies we were pursuing, we were putting forward, weren't going to work, including some on the other team are saying it's going to make things worse. we have proven them wrong. we were told our american rescue

plan was too big, and it would crowd out private investment. we proved them wrong. we vaccinated a nation and got immediate economic relief to people in need. triple down economic growing the economy from the middle out. the middle class grows the nation stronger, and a strong union as well. we were told it would work. also determined to do what was in order much too long. the presidents have been authorized since the 30s to be able to spend the money given by congress to spend the money. hiring american workers, and using american products that were available. that's what we did and we were told that was going to be a big problem. all the money i was authorized to spend by the congress has gone to hiring american workers

and using american products. we're told it wasn't going to be -- we were told that was going to be a big problem. but it's working. we're also told our historic laws to invest america and all americans would crowd out private sector investment. that was proven wrong too. we retracted $1 trillion in private sector investment on domestic and foreign companies, investing in america. in america. not the stuff shipping jobs overseas for cheaper labor and bringing back a product, america. we're building it here and sending it overseas. and look at the results across the board, unemployment is down 4.1%, and every month the vice president harris and i have been in office, we have created jobs, every single month. the nation has now created 16 million jobs since i have come to office. more jobs in a presidential term

than any time in american history. our gdp shows our economy grow at 10% under my administration. we're also told inflation couldn't come down without massive job losses or sending the economy into economic recession. once again, outside experts were wrong. inflation has come down. wages have gone up faster than prices. interest rates are down. record 19 million new business applications have been filed for. the stock market continues to reach new heights. we've got more work to do, though, keep getting prices down. like more affordable housing. extending what i've done for seniors, and lowering precipitation drug costs by letting medicare negotiate the prices, make sure that's available to everyone. what we have done so far, just when we brought down the prices for seniors under medicare, it saved the taxpayers billions of

dollars. billions of dollars. saved the taxpayers billions of dollars. that's important to note. because they don't have to pay the exorbitant, irrational prices that the companies are charging. simple fact is we have gone from an economy in crisis to having the strongest economy in the world, and we've got more work to do. we've got more work to do to deal with the things i have just mentioned and we're going to have to deal with unforeseen costs of what this hurricane is going to cost. it's going to cost a lot of money. and i'm going to have to ask the congress before we leave to deal with some of those problems. that remains to be seen. i'll take a few questions before i turn it over. you pick them out. >> yes, sir. >> go ahead, josh. >> thanks for doing this, mr. president. marco rubio described today's jobs report as having fake

numbers. what do you make of that? how worried are you that many americans are hearing that the jobs numbers aren't real? >> look, i'm going to be very careful here. if you notice anything the maga republicans don't like, they call fake. anything. the job numbers are what the job numbers are. they're real. they're sincere. and by the way, just look at how the eu talks about us, how they would like to have an economy like ours. how the rest of the world looks at us and what we're doing. so i, well, i don't want to get going. >> secondly, could you clarify some of your comments yesterday with regard to strikes on iranian oil facilities? what did you mean by them given some of the reactions we're

seeing in the market? >> look, the israelis have not concludes what they're going to do in terms of a strike. that's under discussion. i think there are -- if i were in their shoes, i would be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields. >> thank you, karine, thank you so much, mr. president, for being here. this week senator chris murphy said it's certainly a possibility that the israeli government is not going to sign any diplomatic agreement prior to the election, which is what you have been calling for for so long. potentially, to try to influence the result. do you agree? do you have any worries that netanyahu may be trying to influence the election, and that's why he has not agreed to a diplomatic solution? >> no administration has helped israel more than i have. none. none. none. and i think we should remember that, and whether he's trying to

influence the election, i don't know, but i'm not counting on that. >> you said many times recently that you want to speak to him. that you plan to -- >> i didn't say want to. you're making it sound like i'm seeking to -- i'm assuming what they make the judgment how they're going to respond. we will then have a discussion. >> thank you, mr. president, for being here. what are we advising the israelis to do in terms of their retaliation to iran, and at this point, you still haven't spoken to netanyahu, is it fair to say that you have little personal influence over what he decides to do? >> no. look, our teams are in contact 12 hours a day. we're constantly in contact. i have already had my presidential daily brief. we've already had interface between our military, the diplomats. it's constant contact. they are trying to figure out,

holidays as well, they're not going to make the decision immediately, so we're going to wait to see when they want to talk. >> over the past few months they have defied your administration's own advice. do you believe that the israelis are going to listen to the advice you're giving them? >> what i know is the plan that i put together received the support of the u.n. security council, the vast majority of our allies around the world, as a way to bring this to an end. look, the israelis have every right to respond to the vicious attacks on them. not just from the iranians but from everyone from hezbollah to houthis. anyway, but the fact is that they have to be very much more careful about dealing with civilian casualties. >> how should they respond? you expressed concern about the

attacks on iranian oil facilities. >> we have to move on. >> the election is a month away, i would like to know how you're feeling about how this election is going, and then also do you have confidence that it will be a free and fair election, and that it will be peaceful? >> two separate questions. >> very much. >> i'm confident it will be free and fair. i don't know whether it will be peaceful. the things that trump has said, and the things that he said last time out when he didn't like the outcome of the election were very dangerous. i noticed that the vice president as a republican candidate did not say he would accept the outcome of the election, hasn't even accepted the outcome of the last election. i'm concerned about what they're going to do. >> are you making any preparations, getting security briefings related to domestic security? >> i always get those briefings. >> hi, mr. president, what are

you considering in imposing sanctions on iran, and would you include oil in those sanctions? >> that's under consideration right now, the whole thing. i'm not going to discuss that. >> just all of your comments yesterday on the port strength, you said by the grace of god it's going to hold. is there any reason you think this temporary suspension -- >> there's more to do in terms of the whole notion of -- excuse me, there's more to resolve. >> last night you said that there's still a lot to do to avoid an all-out war in the middle east. first, aren't we pretty close to that definition already, and secondly, what can you really do to stop that from happening? >> there's a lot we are doing. the main thing we can do is try to rally the rest of the world and our allies into participating like french are

and lebanon and other places to tamp this down. but when you have proxies as irrational as hezbollah and the houthis, and it's a hard thing to determine. i got to go. i said i'd take a couple questions. i think she's increasing credibility. >> you're going to be the last one. >> thank you for spending time with us. there have been a number of crises the country has been facing over the past several days with the hurricane, the port strike, the situation in the middle east, can you talk about how your vice president who's running for the presidency has worked on these crises and what role she has played over the past several days? >> i'm constantly in contact with her. she's aware, we're singing from the same song sheet. she helped pass all the laws

that are being employed now. she was a major player in everything we have done, including passage of legislation, which we were told we could never pass, and so she's been -- and her staff is interlocked with mine in terms of all the things we're doing. >> coming back to you, sir. >> go ahead, sir, sir, no, no, sir, i didn't call on you, sir. mandito. >> mr. president, prayer and fasting this monday, october 7th, your reaction? >> i will prayer and fast. >> is that acceptable to you in terms of israel's response, how long are you okay with israel bombing? what is acceptable to you? >> guys, that's it. thank you, everybody. thank you, mr. president. thank you, sir.

thank you. >> president joe biden doing something we have never seen him do before without any warning, he walked in to the white house press briefing room and took questions, after taking what was a bit of a victory lap on the economy. we know that privately he has felt that he wasn't getting enough credit or attention for the changes in the economy, and he laid them out, and we're going to talk about those a little more coming up. but i think two more notable things in the q&a that the president had to say, one is he believes that there will be a free and fair election in november. but i don't know if it will be peaceful, he said, and then he referenced comments that donald trump made after he lost in 2020. and then, on the ongoing and the unrest until the middle east, he was asked about whether or not

bibi netanyahu may be trying to influence the u.s. election. which he answered i don't know. >> i want to bring in former cia director, leon panetta, and i want to play for folks who didn't hear it the first time, the premise of the question to the president which was a comment that was made by senator chris murphy. let me play that first. >> i certainly worry that prime minister netanyahu is watching the american election as he makes decisions about his military campaigns in the north and in gaza. i hope this is not true. but it is certainly a possibility that the israeli government is not going to sign any diplomatic agreement prior to the american election. as a means, potentially, to try to influence the result.

>> mr. secretary, asked about that, again. the president of the united states said, i don't know if benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister of israel, is trying to influence the election. what do you make of that response? >> well, i think the president's being very honest about just what he does and doesn't know about netanyahu's basic direction. i think it's hard to basically, at this point in time, with the crisis that's going on in the middle east, to try to read into netanyahu, what his political efforts are all about. because he's, right now, frankly, i think israel is fighting for its survival, and that's what i think is the principal focus. we have had an awful lot of activity going on in israel in these last few weeks. they have gone after hezbollah

in a big way. they are now involved in a ground war in lebanon. they've had an attack from iran that they were able to protect against. and now the issue is how israel will strike back at iran. i would wager that that is the principle consideration that netanyahu is focused on right now. >> we did hear the president also say, mr. secretary, that he thinks that the number one thing that the united states could do is help rally the rest of the world, and he acknowledged the complications of that when you have, as he called them, irrational actors, like hezbollah and hamas. but also he was asked about the reality of the fact that benjamin netanyahu has defied the administration's in treaty so many times. so realistically, where does that leave u.s. influence and joe biden's influence who he says no one's been a better friend to israel than i have. >> well, you know, all you have

to do is look at history. in the last 70 years of wars in the middle east, the bottom line is that israel has never been able to achieve militarily the goals that it's been after. it's always required some kind of political settlement, some kind of diplomacy in order to resolve the issues. and i think that's true today. there's a lot going on militarily. there's a lot that remains to take place, but we cannot forget, and i think president biden is correct about this. you cannot forget about the possibility that ultimately you have to find a diplomatic resolution that can bring peace to that area. when that happens, who knows, it's difficult to achieve right now. but at some point, they're going to have to focus on that. >> well, let me ask you about

one of the biggest challenges right now, and we heard it from iran's supreme leader today. he does not come out and give a sermon. he has not done it in years, and yet he did today, and among other things, he expressed solidarity with palestinians and hezbollah and he says israel won't last long. what do you read into the reality and the timing of his statement? >> well, look, the bottom line is not whether we have a rider war in the middle east. we now have a wider war in the middle east that's going on. part of this is going to depend on israel and the targets they decide to strike. they could strike at military targets, energy targets and they could strike at the nuclear targets. i mean, those are all

possibilities. and which targets they strike at will tell us a lot about how iran then responds. and whether or not we get into a full scale war in the middle east. so, yeah, there's going to be tough talk on all sides right now. the bottom line is going to be what happens militarily, and whether or not israel can possibly limit its response or whether it goes all out. and if it goes all out. then iran is going to respond as well. we will find a way to limit it in the middle east or we will have a full scale war on our hands. >> and on that dramatic comment, i want to ask about one more thing domestically or go back to the president's comments about the election. one of the questions he was asked was whether or not he's getting these briefings in anticipation of what might

happen surrounding the election. you know a little bit about presidential briefings as the former cia director. he, again, did say he believes the election will be free and fair. he said, i don't know if it will be peaceful and referenced some of the comments that donald trump made in the aftermath of his loss in 2020. what do you make of the president's bluntness on that front. and what is your level of comfort, do you think, with the u.s., with the intelligence community, with the security apparatus. to be able to handle if, indeed, it is not a peaceful election or post election? >> well, i have tremendous confidence in our intelligence capability. and in our national security capability. i think the biggest problem here doesn't rest with intelligence, doesn't rest with the military. it frankly rests with donald

trump and his vice presidential candidate as to whether they're going to be big enough to accept the results of the election, and right now both of them have made clear that are they're not prepared to accept a free and fair election. and just in their words alone and their failure to admit that they would accept a free and fair election, that represents a real problem in terms of how they are going to react to the election results. that's scary. >> do you think that there has been something of a sobering effect on followers who might, indeed, be violent or who might be reactionary, if indeed, donald trump loses because of what happened with the voluminous prosecutions and jail time given to january 6th

rioters? do you think there will be people who may believe, as donald trump has said he believes that if he doesn't win, there's something wrong with the system, that he has been cheated, that he still believes he won in 2020. do you think they will have at least a quieting effect, sobering effect? >> god, i hope so. i hope so. january 6th was a real wake-up call. it was a wake-up call about just how fragile our democracy can be. ultimately, it really is up to the american people, and i really do think that the vast majority of the american people don't want to see january 6th repeated again. that they want to have a free and fair election where their vote counts, and that ultimately

whoever wins will not only -- will not only be clear, but the opponent will admit defeat. and move on. that's the way it's always worked in this country for over 200 years except for what happened in 2020. and i think -- i don't think anybody wants to go through that again. so my hope is that deep down, the american people want to move on, move on to the future. and move on and recognize that the strength of our democracy depends on our ability to abide by the rule of law and abide by the constitution. i believe when it all comes home, we will stand up and do the right thing.

>> former cia director and former secretary of defense, leon panetta, thank you so much for watching the president with us and taking the time to speak with us. much appreciated. always loved having you on the show. >> good to be with you. let's bring in jonathan capehart, associate editor of "the washington post," and pulitzer prize winning author. let me ask you about a couple of things. big picture first, before we get to the specifics of what the president said. i don't want to say this is joe biden unleashed, but this was joe biden a little more relaxed, a little more freed of the constraints of being a candidate, perhaps that's the better way to put it. as leon panetta just pointed out, he said it like it was. he answered tough questions pretty bluntly. >> yes, and this is something i have noticed. you put your finger on it, chris, the president being president and not having to be a candidate for reelection is

free. he is free to say what he thinks, not that that has been a problem for him in some instances before, but free to say what he thinks and how he feels about things. speaking with him, the constraints of national security or not wanting to mess up any kind of negotiations, that might be happening behind the scenes that we don't know about and can't know about and he won't tell us about. this is the joe biden that i think a lot of people wanted to see when he was a candidate. but i think -- i can't remember the last time, chris, president biden went to the briefing room. >> never. >> you've covered the white house. >> never. >> you know when the president goes into the briefing room, it's something big. it's rare. and the fact that -- >> when barack obama walked in, you sat up a little straighter, i'll tell you that much when i was there, and they have never seen this. this press corps covering joe biden has never seen him walk in unannounced to the press briefing room, make comments and

take questions. >> right. although, as you well know, that american flag, if i remember right, is never there. it only appears when the presidents is coming out. so that should have been a clue to the folks in the briefing room that the president was going to come in. but the president came into the briefing room to talk about two big things that are important for this administration, the september jobs numbers, which was much better than the analysts expected, and also the tentative agreement to push off the longshoreman's strike through -- into january. past the election, but also past the holiday seasons of late november into december. any president, whether they're running for reelection or not, those are two big things that they would want to crow about. the fact that president biden decided to crow about it, not just in a press release, not just through his press secretary

karine jean-pierre, but to do it himself, i think is a signal about how good the white house feels, and in particular, how good the president feels about this. >> well, how good he feels, and, again, and i mentioned this that joe biden feels he has not gotten the credit that his administration deserves for what they have accomplished. and i noted, the way he phrased this settlement to avoid this long-term strike, he said he was glad that they were able to respond to our request to keep the ports open, the tentative deal, obviously, had threatened a lot of stuff that people depend on from, as we were saying, bananas so booze, to car parts, and jonathan, you know, he summarized, really, a lot of things. not just the job numbers, which were much better than expected. he said, more jobs, gdp growth high, unemployment low, wages high, interest rates lower, stock market high, he ticked

through the whole thing, and i kept thinking, kamala harris is in detroit right now. you could have done a split screen of the two of them because his arguments in many ways, rights are her argumentings. yes, he believes he's been a better president than maybe he's gotten credit for. but that, the economic numbers are everything to kamala harris. >> right. they're everything to kamala harris, to vice president harris, but they're everything to him. i mean, this was a -- all the things he ticked off today are things he had been ticking off on the campaign trail, and much to his frustration, and the administration's frustration, he wasn't getting credit for it, no credit at all, not in the polls, people were, you know, the vibe was not there. at every opportunity that we have seen president biden speak, now that he is no longer a candidate for reelection, he runs through his accomplishments, his administration's

accomplishments, and especially when it comes to the economy, the more he talks about it, the more it makes it possible for vice president harris, who is running for election as president, gives her the opportunity to also crow about it, because she has been there, she was there, she's vice president. and was part -- is part of the administration that made all of this positive economic news possible. >> okay. don't go anywhere, i want to bring in nbc business and data correspondent brian cheung who also listened to president biden along with us. we keep talking about these good numbers that came out today. so tell us about them, and put them into the big picture for us. >> yeah, chris, i mean the numbers that came out today, this morning, said that this is not anything that looks like a recession. it looks like we have largely avoided one. so if you rehash the numbers, 254,000 jobs added in the month of september. the expectations were something

closer to 150,000. that allowed the unemployment rate to fall to 4.1%. what's so remarkable is it was broad-based. we saw the gains in every energy from leisure and hospitality, bars and restaurants, health care, and construction as well. what the president is trying to take a victory lap over is this economy, with high inflation that spiked in the summer of 2022, it doesn't appear that we got into the recession that many economists were worried about, and you take a look at the overall inflation rate as well, again, we came down from about 9% in the summer of 2022, to 2.5% in the month of august, and during that time, we haven't experienced a spiking of the unemployment rate, as is usually the case when the federal reserve dramatically raises its interest rates. that's another thing i want to point out, the federal reserve is a big factor here. it's the independent central

bank that has the job of using its leverage, borrowing costs to take steam out of the economy when inflation is high, which is exactly what happened, and the federal reserve gets credit for that as well. the president wanting to do a victory lap for the september jobs report, which bank of america ranked it has an a plus. maybe the reason of the unprecedented appearance from the president in the briefing room today. >> one more moment that i want to bring up, and we're talking about the president having been released from the constraints of being a candidate is when he was asked about marco rubio's comments. marco rubio said something to the effect of the job numbers aren't real and the chuckle, the joe biden chuckle, and it kind of reminded me of the split screen that we saw in the debate between kamala harris and donald trump, and he would say something that she just thought was obviously ridiculous, and

she would just kind of laugh. you could see the laugh. you couldn't hear it, and that's sort of what we saw with joe biden. they seem to be taking very similar, strategic approach to some of these things. they're not necessarily going after him and saying, you know, here's a detailed reason why that is preposterous, they're dismissive of it. >> right. when it was the vice president on the debate stage, dismiss it because what the other guy was saying was a lie, and i think for president biden, who served in the senate for 36 years, for him to hear a fellow senator who has been -- senator marco rubio is not a newbie. he has been on the hill for years now, multiple terms, and so for him to say that the jobs numbers, coming from the bureau of labor statistics are fake, the president hears that and i think he just looks, and

chuckles and basically the thought bubble i see is, can you believe this guy? can you believe he is saying something that is patently untrue but also he's saying something that he knows isn't true because of his tenure in the senate. i'm talking about senator marco rubio. and then the big tell for me is when the president started saying something, and then he said, never mind, i don't want to go there. that tells you that he is restraining himself from saying what he really wants to say which might be a couple of expletives. >> yeah, marco rubio's been in politics, i think he was in the florida house like in 2000, so 24 years, he ran for president of the united states. he knows how jobs numbers work. jonathan, don't go anywhere. still ahead, donald trump is set to return to the place where he was in a gunman's sights. his plans for a rally in butler, pennsylvania, tomorrow, including the guests he'll have

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donald trump is set to return to the site where he nearly lost his life, where a bullet from a would be assassin grazed donald trump's ear. now, 84 days later, the former president is returning for what his campaign sees as a major opportunity to boost his campaign in the final weeks of the presidential race. trump is pulling out all the stops, joined not just by his

running mate, j.d. vance, but elon musk says he will be there to support trump. and the family of the firefighter who was shot and killed at that july rally will be there as well. nbc ease dasha burns is reporting from butler, pennsylvania, so what does it mean for the trump campaign that he's going back to butler? >> reporter: former president trump says that he's coming back to butler, pennsylvania, to finish what he started here. those shots rang out just a few minutes into the start of his speech at that rally on july 13th, and he's not the only one coming back. we spoke with some of the people we interviewed when we were here on that day, right in the after math, they told us they too are coming back. it's part of their healing process. so many rally goers, this entire community has been dealing with the aftermath. the family of the man shot and killed, they will be some of the featured speakers at this rally, along with a long list of first responders and other rally

goers. elon musk says he'll be attending. his running mate, j.d. vance, of course will be there, and i will tell you, the security posture here is completely different than what we saw last time around. we spoke with one of the merchandise vendors we can see just behind me here who was here last time. they just arrived on the scene over the weekend. take a listen to what they told us. >> you were here back in july? >> yes. >> so you're coming back. >> yes. >> how different does it feel? >> the security is much tighter. when a normal venue, when you get there before any of this ever happens in july, you could tour the area, kind of get a feel of where the event was going to be. security has been posted at both the entrances to the facility, since we have been here. people have been asked to stay back. >> reporter: and all the agencies from federal to state to local are out in full force. they're going to be using

additional surveillance technology, drones, heavy equipment to block line of sight from outside of the rally. this is a lockdown fortress, as one of the local officials told us. >> dasha burns, thank you. >> and back with me now, jonathan capehart, along with carol leonnig, great to have both of you. the campaign says it sees the visual as an opportunity. we did see him at the rnc kissing the helmet of the firefighter who died at his rally. but a trump ally told nbc they're worried he won't be able to meet the moment, kind of set the right tone. i wonder what you make of his return, including elon musk being there. >> yeah, i understand the campaign viewing this as an opportunity, and if these were normal times, and if donald trump were a conventional

candidate, you could make reasonably expect that a return to a place where you almost lost your life would be a moment of reflection and one of, you know, broadening the tent, but the moment i heard the president was going back to butler, i had the opposite reaction. i was there in milwaukee, i was there in the hall for his speech. the first 20 minutes or so were rather powerful. as he reflected on that day, and then came the turn. then came the angry speech, and that is my concern about tomorrow in butler where that speech, which would deserve reflection, could turn into something very ugly. especially given the rhetoric we have heard from him over the last week, including calling for a day of violence to get a

handle on rampant crime that isn't really there in the country. so the opportunity that some in the trump campaign see about this rally in butler, i think the other people on the campaign who worry that donald trump won't be able to stick to the message or stick to the plan that they have for him, i think, is, you know, that's not an unreasonable worry. we should not be surprised if the languag remarks he delivers in butler tomorrow are no different than the speeches he has given since. carol, july 13th was an acknowledged failure for the secret service, and tomorrow's rally will look like a smaller version of a national security event, where every asset will be used. what does that mean in terms of

what the security posture will actually be that's different than july? >> so many things will be different, chris. you're already seeing, and your reporters are already seeing on the scene that the site is being locked down ahead of donald trump's arrival. very different than the event on july 13th on the same fairgrounds where the shooter, thomas matthew crooks was able to scope out the area and the building where he would later, the next day, clamor aboard with a weapon and begin shooting at trump and at his stage. this site is locked down to keep people out of the actual event, and make sure there's nobody lurking or figuring out the best vantage points. you're going to also see, and i promise you that this will be so tangible and obvious, you're also going to see line of sight blockades, banners, heavy

equipment, trucks, anything to block a person on higher ground far removed from being able to get any kind of clear sight of donald trump or anyone on the stage. you're going to see -- maybe you will, maybe you won't see drones, but they will be in the air, surveilling the location before donald trump gets anywhere close to the stage. you're also going to see, chris, if not see it, you will know about it. there will be secret service agents and offices positioned in a command post with local police sharing communications, almost to the degree that they would for a national special security event, so that there is instantaneous communication about anything that local police see, hear, sense, any spidey sense of trouble that that will immediately be broadcast to donald trump's security detail, to counter snipers that are on the scene.

and to counter surveillance units that were not there on july 13th, but will be there in this coming event to surveil the crowd, in plain clothes, wandering around, looking for people who are acting suspiciously. >> and carol, the first lady, melania trump, former first lady just talked about her own security concerns for donald trump. let me play that. >> the men with me and my husband, they're fantastic. but i feel it's the top leadership that there are some holes, and there are some problems. our team asked many times for more security, more help, and they were denied. >> and in addition, donald trump claimed he could have gotten 60,000 people to a rally last week but the secret service said they couldn't secure it. the service knows they are going to be under intense scrutiny

saturday, not that they aren't every day now, but what is their level of confidence now, carol? >> i think that they've put every possible asset they can, save a coast guard cutter, you know, beside this event. they have put everything that they can pull out of the cupboard to be sure this event is secure. it's not just that this is where a shooting took place. it's that it's symbolic, and that the risk of copy cat is obviously high. very high. i mean, anybody who wanted to become -- who's a little mentally imbalanced and wants to become famous, this would be the place. and so the service knows the importance of this moment. and i think if -- i wouldn't call this the level of protection that president biden gets at the white house, but it is very close. >> carol leonnig and jonathan

capehart to close out a very busy program. thank you both so much. be sure to catch saturday and sunday's show with jonathan capehart, weekends 6:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. that's going to do it for us this hour. our coverage continues with "katy tur reports" next. nues wi "katy tur reports" next. cheddare to clean up the crumbs. come in now for the chance to win four years of free* red lobster. because one bite can unite all parties, at least for dinner. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! ♪♪ ♪♪ citi's industry leading global payments solutions help their clients move money around the world seamlessly in over 180 countries...

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good to be with you, i'm katy tur. we start with politics today. just 32 days until the election. and with so little time left before november 5th, both candidates are in swing states, vp kamala harris is in michigan, specifically the union stronghold of flint, hoping to chip into donald trump's support among working class voters. donald trump, meanwhile, is in georgia, alongside governor brian kemp where the campaign says he will be talking about hurricane relief efforts. again, it is the final stretch