if your grandpa was acting like this. this. >> reporter: former president barack obama wasn't able to win arizona in 2008 or 2012, but he was successful winning the presidency, of course, any faced major headwinds in this state. in 2008 he came up against senator john mccain who is revered among democrats and republicans. in 2012, he faced senator mitt romney, member of church of the latter day saints. in arizona, there is a significant mormon population. president biden became the first democrat to win arizona since 1996. we will have to wait and see if vice president harris can replicate that success. alex? >> there you have it. we will see you again. in the meantime we are seeing record-breaking early

voting in georgia and north carolina. will michigan be next? see for yourself in just a moment. today to all of you from the msnbc headquarters here in new york. welcome to alex witt reports. we begin this hour with decision 2024. vp harris is talking directly to voters in michigan for the second straight day. donald trump was also in detroit friday. with 17 days remaining in the neck and neck race in the battleground states, trump changed his tune singing the praises of the city. >> detroit has such great potential but the democrats have been wreaking havoc on this place. this very, very -- in many respects, a sacred place. it has been treated so badly and they have been talking about comebacks for so long. we will bring it back better

than it ever was many, many years ago. >> the political events calendar is jampacked. vp harris is joining lizzo this afternoon and later on, with usher in atlanta. former president trump will hold a rally in pennsylvania. of course, the race is neck and neck and both sides are leaving no stone unturned in the quest to rack up votes. >> there are over 100 surrogates out right now just og this weekend. we are all over the battlegrounds. i, myself, am in north carolina. i flew from a redeye from las vegas. we are working everywhere to earn every single vote. >> early voting started in nevada and massachusetts and in 16 states where americans can cast their ballots, more than 12 million have already done so which has broken records in north carolina and georgia. the outcome of this election.

trump is leading harris while the wall street journal has harris one point ahead. steve kornacki has more on how close this race is. >> reporter: in michigan, the average lead for trump is 0.1 point in the average in nevada what you see right here, 0.1 point. take a look here. 255. if it flipped over one point for harris, suddenly harris. >> we have a number of reporters and analysts ready to go over the day's headlines for us. we begin in detroit. harris will take the stage at any moment now to kick off day one of early voting there. the vice president speaking with reporters in the last hour. they call that a gaggle ahead of the event. what did we hear from her?

>> reporter: she started by emphasizing the reason she is here today think she will t encourage people to register to vote and vote early. she says the election is here so that is a central theme of her message and she concerned she will be traveling on monday to states across the blue wall. pennsylvania, washington, michigan alongside liz trainee -- cheney. liz cheney is supporting her campaign. one thing that is interesting though, we saw harris dedicate the most time to questions to characterize former president trump as unfit for office, as unstable. that is something she has been doing throughout the election cycle but in the last few weeks we have seen her increase her characterization of him as unhinged, unstable. here is what she had to say during that gaggle. >> he is becoming increasingly unstable and unhinged and it

requires that response. i think the american people are seeing at, witnessing it in real time and we must take note of the fact this is an individual who wants to be president of united states and i think the american people deserve better than someone who seems to be unstable. >> reporter: alex, what we are also seeing from the vice president is her seizing on recent reporting that donald trump is quote exhausted from the campaign trail and she repeatedly expressed if he is too exhausted to campaign, will he stand up to the top job of president of the united states? that has been fascinating to watch because we all know when joe biden was in office that was a huge attack line and we are seeing the tables turn now. >> 100%. thank you for bringing it up, nnamdi egwuonwu. we will see you again as we stay in the motor city and talk about early voting now underway. campaign reporter emma barnett,

there is a voter engagement event going on? >> reporter: alex, the basketball team here has partnered with the department of elections and they have this event where you scan a qr code and once you are in this venue, you can get your hair cut, your nails done, you can play basketball, like i have been over here. the catch is once you scan the qr code, you have to take an action could be going across the street and casting your ballot. i did that -- spoke with someone who did that just this morning. take a listen. >> the united states does not d have a date we just pause and vote and do our duty as citizens and i do not want conflict with my busy schedule so i wanted to go out early and get it done. >> a lot of people have things to do and places to be so you

don't want to be in rush hour traffic or be somewhere where there is a lot of people. might be claustrophobic or something, so vote early. >> reporter: those were some voters who went and cast their ballot early today in detroit. t it is the first day to be able to vote early in detroit. not all of michigan though. all of michigan will be able to vote on the 26th. early voting in michigan is relatively new. in november of 2022, voters voted to have a constitutional amendment to allow for early voting in this state and it's different than absentee ballot voting, of course. the process is similar to what it would look like on election day it has been interesting here, alex. a lot of people are coming, playing basketball, getting their hair and nails done, and going across the street to vote. alex? >> you said this event is targeting detroit pistons fans? are there any players or

superstars there? he looking at you, this is the superstar playing basketball. >> reporter: i mean, i love basketball. i have not seen any pistons players but there is a concert here tonight and a lot of action happening here in detroit, alex. >> game on. i appreciate you, my friend. joining me now, former advisor to the obama campaign and a former press secretary to candidate paul ryan. good to see you. i want to get your take to the early voting numbers. nearly 12 million have voted so far and we are already seeing record turnout in north carolina. especially georgia, where the numbers there were nearly double the numbers in 2020. republicans are promoting early voting more this cycle but is that message reaching? do you think early votes will be less heavily democratic than they typically are? >> let me start by saying this

is great. it's great when people are participating early and that is a terrific development. i think republicans will vote earlier than we are used to. or excuse me, then we have seen recently in spite of donald trump who continues to get in the way of that but a lot of effort is taken to actually sort of at the state party level and campaign machinery to really try to promote it so i think there will be republicans. it is hard to tell what to make of it so far. i have to say as a georgian, people are voting a lot. there was a lot of attention given to the voting laws recently and a lot of people including the united states president saying it was jim crow all over again. i said so at the time and i'm glad to see people are out voting. it is easier to vote in georgia than michigan. what that means in the long- term, i don't meknow but a lot

early voting for democrats. we will see if republicans have gotten their act together to get in there themselves. >> political reports part of the reason could be gaines as trump has made with black men. one man said trump is described as funny and brave. he is impressed by trump's business experience, adding harris seems to have been given everything in her career. that is a stunningly misguided sentiment. how can the campaign reach black male voters in the next two weeks? >> she is already doing that. she has showcased what are economic agenda will look like for black men putting them towards healthcare concerns that are disproportionately affecting them when talking about things like colon cancer, prostate cancer, things that are diagnosedng earlier and not later. ensuring that they are part of

the homebuying economy personally but i would argue that if there is a sizable difference between the selection in 2020 in the state of georgia, they are the movers when it comes to this election cycle. they voted more in 2020 for donald trump than they did in 2016 and he will probably do the same thing in 2024. black men have a very small difference when it comes to the democratic party. black men and black women are the loyal group for the democratic party and they have been since the civil rights movement. that will not change any time soon. what the campaign is worried about and i think it should be is turnout. this will be a turnout race. a base to base turnout race. she has to make sure younger voters and people of color voters turnout. the bigger fear is black men will stay home. particularly younger black men.

>> brendan, harris has faced criticism from democrats first for not doing enough interviews and then for not doing enough rallies. quote, harris appears to be okay with the collective jitters recognizing democrats fear they might lose and are more apt to show up to the polls to help her win. do you agree with that? 17 days out, how do you see harris' chances as of right now? >> it is a complete coin flip at this point. i think the fear of losing is a very good motivator. there was a period of time it looks like kamala harris was on cruise control and she had this in the bag and that can be dangerous for a campaign. look, i wouldn't want to be in the position she has been in the last few days and weeks where the polling has shifted if toward donald trump. no question, the polling has been at least in the margins

that matter these days, it has been moving towards donald trump and she has to find a way to capture the momentum. maybe the way to do that is to understand the stakes. there is a very real chance donald trump is president again soon and i don't think many people appreciate that and they take it for granted. i think it is better to be scared and overconfident. >> ameshia, michelle obama is headlining a rally with the vice president in michigan next saturday and another one in atlanta a few days later, but why did she wait so long? is she being underutilized, or are they saving their firepower for the home stretch? >> i think it is more of the latter than the former. in the 2020 election cycle, michelle obama came out within weeks of the election day to campaign for joe biden. michelle and barack are the

strongest in the democratic party. michelle has the highest approval rating ever when it comes to a democrat. at the end of the day, we recognize what her power is on the campaign trail and i think she is doing this strategically, being mindful of this is a short window. kamala harris has not been the democratic nominee officially for a long time so she was being strategic with the calendar she was given. it has been proven time and time again folks are not comfortable talking about who they are voting for or thinking about that big decision until a few weeks before election day. >> brendan, to ameshia's point, we saw fiery remarks from obama the other night. how critical is obama being on the trail for harris? she is trying to energize the coalition. is she the one to do that for her? >> look, kamala harris had to spend a lot of weeks presenting

herself as a credible alternative to donald trump, introducing herself, making the case she is not as out of toucho progressive a lot of people feared she might be and i think she has done that. the window for persuasion is starting to close. now is not about motivating people. it's about getting out and casting your ballot. getting people's attention is harder pethan ever. those are two people that can do that and that is the focus here. barack obama is pretty good at lobbying insults at donald trump in really effective ways. he's the best politician in the country right now so that is someone you always want on your side in the closing weeks. >> i will ask the two of you, ameshia and brendan to stick around. how much this will help kamala harris' campaign when we are back in 90 seconds.

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what is the sense from the campaign 17 days out now? >> reporter: alex, it was quite the moment in detroit. the former president's microphone cutting out mid speech in the problem persisting for more than 15 minutes. he remained on stage the entire time at one point going back to the microphone trying to speak and it was not fixed yet. eventually the music did return and he was able to complete those remarks, joking about suing the company and not paying his bill. in terms of the messaging about detroit in general, he took heat from democrats the last time he was in town saying the entire country could become like detroit of harris was elected. yesterday we heard him shift that messaging a bit, acknowledging the history of the motor city and the current situation on leadership, suggesting it is on the verge of a comeback. i want you to hear what he said

about the microphone when they did come back on. take a listen. >> now what happens is i won't pay the bill. i won't pay the bill and they will have a story that trump didn't pay the bill. if they do that kind of a job, don't pay the bill. that's terrible. >> reporter: alex, in terms of his frame of mind 17 days out from november 5th, at least publicly he is expressing confidence and says there could be a landslide victory. he is expected to be here rallying in latrobe in just a few hours and we expect him to hit harris on the typical points, economy, inflation, immigration as he tries to cast her as the incumbent and tries to tie her to the biden administration. alex? >> donald trump said five or

six times he will not pay the bill for the audio technical work done at the rally. duly noted. thank you, jillian. joining me now, a kayla gardner. we saw kamala harris at the dinner thursday. she wanted to start her barnstorming in the blue wall states where she has been talking about housing costs and helping small businesses grow. harris is not taking voters for granted while the trump campaign is confident it will win blue wall states. what is your assessment of the campaign as we hit the final sprint? >> reporter: harris is definitely doubling down on the blue wall and i've heard from strategists that is her best path in pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin, and nebraska. the sunbelt is looking a lot more difficult. she is still visiting these states and spending time in the

west and in georgia as she will this weekend. she has celebrity power with usher and lizzo expected to be on the trail to excite younger voters and to highlight the support they have from hollywood. she had huge momentum when she entered the race. fundraising, social media buzz, and now she is in a much more difficult phase of the campaign where she is focused on undecided voters trying to shake loose people who could be thinking of whether to set out or go to the polls in november. >> the campaign knew that incredible balloon of support would not last. what about in a recent article harris is still struggling to distinguish herself from the former president? how will the president be different? here is both harris and biden talking about the difference between administrations.

>> harris steered clear of criticizing president biden. should she be clarifying any different legislative priorities? >> reporter: i think democrats really cringed at the answer she gave. she said she's not sure there is much she could do differently from joe biden. i have talked to the blueprint, a strategist who focused on this issue in particular. they say harris should separate herself on key legislation. voters feel the country is moving in the wrong direction because of the economy. immigration continues to be a huge issue so those are two issues she could draw a distinction. the issue here, harris shows personal conviction when it comes to criticizing biden and acknowledged that to peter alex alexander. she is clearly

uncomfortable with this and yet democrats say it is something she needs to do to win. >> and look, she has been on a whirlwind media tour. she has appeared on talk shows and podcasts aimed at the niche audiences. how effective has that been so far? is this the new blueprint for presidential campaigns as we are, by the way, watching her take the stage in detroit. >> reporter: she is really targeting voter coalitions here, right? black voters, latino voters, women. she is trying to get into these niche places. the environment is so fragmented and places like podcasts and social media really reach people. this week she did a fox news interview which drew over 7 million viewers which was

really surprising. more than her interview with abc. that was huge to acknowledge she is entering different territory and voters want to hear more from her. they want her to be more forthcoming and i think that was an interview that really stuck with some people, especially undecided people, independence, and some republicans. >> akayla, do me a favor and stick around. i want you to listen to kamala harris. and the t-shirt says detroit versus everybody. let's take a listen. >> as a community, as a coalition, we have the power to make the decisions about the direction of our country and we know this election is about two very different visions for our future. ours is focused on the future,

focused on our young leaders, focused on possibility and understanding the ambitions, the dreams of the american people. understanding, the people of detroit, we have grit, we have excellence, we have history. and it's about looking in the face of a perfect stranger and seeing a neighbor and understanding we are all in this together. we all have so much more in common than what separates us and we will fight for the country we love. we are in this to win it. and we know, look, the race is tight and it will be hard work, but we like hard work. hard work is good work. and we will win. we will win.

so you all are here taking time out of your busy lives and all of your other obligations, and i thank you so very much. >> all right, everyone. what she is doing is reflecting those signs behind her and encouraging people to get out there and vote early. that is the message of the day. michigan voters can vote today. one more question to you, akayla, as we are in the final stretch, harris is increasing her sharp attacks on donald trump and warning of the dangers he poses to this country as the future president. she is airing video clips of trump's most incendiary rhetoric at his rallies. focusing on protecting democracy and showing trump in his own words whatever it is he is talking about. that effectively created an opening with independence and moderate voters. what do you think? >> reporter: we have seen her

ramp up sharp attacks on donald trump and that is not something we have always seen from her. talking about donald trump's comments, she would try to avoid them but that has changed as we get closer to election day but something i have heard is the anti-trump rhetoric does not always work. people think it is politicized. there focused on issues like the economy and how harris will affect their wallets. at the same time she is talking about how she wants to support small businesses and how she sees taxes. these are things she is trying to appeal to. she is doing both here, talking about democracy and talking to young voters. she is doing both things here. >> akayla gardner, thank you so much. in the meantime, you may have heard about an enthusiasm gap but this time around it is for a candidate, not voters.

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