of my generation are intent on becoming the change that we wish to see in the world. you know, i have a simple philosophy: if we do nothing, then nothing will change, and millennials are willing to do something. (inspiring music) (inspiring music)

there are now just 18 days left for kamala harris and donald trump to rally voters. >> you better remember i'm here, and she is not. i could've done that, too. >> thou shalt not bear false witness to my neighbor. >> indeed, especially by neighbors election results. >> do you commit now to respecting and encouraging a peaceful transfer of power? >> well, we had a peaceful transfer of power. >> the american people are exhausted with this gas lighting. >> critics say your terrace will end up being like a national sales tax. >> know. >> he thinks that china pays for them. this is the same guy who also thought that mexico would pay for the wall. >> i think the bigger problem is the enemy from within. >> donald trump is running a straightforwardly fascist campaign. >> he refuses to release his medical records. >> watches rallies. he's confused, he's a nearly 80- year-old man. he is ranting and rambling. >> she's done a lot more to take questions than he has lately. >> it is not supposed to be a -- >> in the 50%, are they stupid?

>> oh, god, i would never say that about the american people. >> you talk about unstable, she's a whack job. >> enough, we are ready to turn the page! it evening, once again, and welcome to the nightcap. i'm stephanie ruhle, and we are now does 18 days away from the election and the race for the white house seems to be in a dead heat. in these final days, both kamala harris and donald trump are racing around the country, especially to battleground states, looking to fire up supporters and win over those still mysteriously undecided voters. but that does not mean they are taking the same approach. kamala harris held rallies and set for one-on-one interviews, one after another, from fox news to charlemagne the god. donald trump, on the other hand, cancel or postpone several interviews and attended town hall, including one that was packed with his supporters. and let us not forget, another

one that turned into a 39 minute dance party to his playlist that ended with the song memory from the 1980s musical cats. with that, let's bring in our nightcap crew. washington post national columnist, nancy giles, emmy- winning contributor to cbs news sunday morning. paul rycroft, founder of the independent veterans of america and the host of the independent americans podcast. and samantha barry, making her debut appearance on the nightcap, editor-in-chief of glamour magazine. all right, welcome to you all. i want to start with the week., harris seems that this media blitz she has been on over the last month, every week has a new theme. i sat down with her, jointer on economy week. then she had a week where she was focused on women, when she spoke to call her daddy. this week she was focused on black men in america with charlemagne the god. you can no longer say she is avoiding the media. what you think about what she's doing?

>> you know, it's interesting, we looked at the unwavering black woman voter. if you are a black woman voter in america, you are 98% likely to vote for the democrats. the same can't be said, at least in what way is seen for recent polls for black men. have you seen this push, you thought a week ago when former president obama asked black men to vote for kamala harris, and using it really considered this week with her media strategy, including she is going on those shows like the shade room, she is really appealing to blackmail voters. but also, when she is on mainstream media like the howard stern show, she is mentioned that she's a lewis hamilton van. so there is the media blitz, but also the opportunity agenda for black men . and i agree with you, it is a weekly drive. i'm interested to see what next week's drive is going to be. >> what you thought? >> she's good at this. i think that is the take away. she is good it is. she is a multisport athlete. she can go to different places and do well. and i think it is in contrast

to trump, who had that weird dance fest that makes everybody cringe. and every time she tries a new area she seems to do well. and she is tough. that is the key differentiator. she can show that she is tough, and he is volatile. he's unstable, he is weak, he is a threat to national security. now she is focused on men, and that's where she needs to stay. because she is struggling, especially with non-college- educated white men, independence in places like pennsylvania. and i think that is the key. the two prong strategy of turning out voters, that she has to get those moderates and shave away summit moderate republicans. >> but these reports that she is slipping or the democratic party is starting to slip with blackmail voters, what you think this is coming from? >> i don't know. and i cringe when i hear those things. for starters, black voters, male and female, they are not monolithic. and i think what she is doing that is so smart is not only reaching out to men, i think you're right. being on howard stern was great. charlemagne, that checks that box. >> and charlemagne was hugely

critical of president biden, hugely critical. >> he was. it was not a softball interview, not at all. but today she did a great interview with union people, union members, and keeps underscoring the differences between working-class people and a rich guy who was handed $400 million and went bankrupt six times. i love the fact that she is dipping all over the place. i think it's great. >> she put her head in the mouth of the lion when she went on fox news. i'm wondering, philip, what was your take? and i also want to know, how did fox news speak about it after? because before the interview their entire narrative all day every day was that she was only doing softball interviews, easy interviews. she was never stepping up to the plate. she stepped up to the plate, and how was it taken over on their field? >> yeah, fox news is obviously a right-wing video organization, so -- i hate to spoil it. she goes in there, and we've seen them do this before. but she sits down for an interview with bret baier. it is contentious. he has gotten somewhat of a bad rap. he had a contentious interview with trump in 2023, as well. i think it is worth noting. but what happens when you go on

fox, instantaneously he is followed by laura ingram, jesse watters, sean hannity. they take little pieces of the interview and a dump on it. they spent the entire hour, they invite guests and, and all they do is say here is why this is terrible. see you get this half-hour interview in which kamala harris is trying to talk to these voters who might be watching fox news, who might be like i don't love trump and i don't really know how i feel.harris. the people to whom she is trying to appeal with her liz cheney likes me republican outreach. so you do that for half an hour and then you have three hours of laura ingram and jesse watters saying the worst, most of noxious and false things. >> but they are going to crusher no matter what. and think about this. think about the woman who watches fox news, my mother, and she is watching kamala harris and says well, donald trump says kamala harris is so stupid. she's not that stupid. donald trump says kamala harris is so weak. she is not so weak. so there are a portion of those voters out there, those fox

news voters, who might not like kamala harris's policies, but they are going to watch that interview and at least say well, she has not how donald trump described her at all. >> exactly. and they are going to get bits of information she has never gotten before, because fox does not go into those pieces of information. also, i've got to say, i was amazed that bret baier actually addressed her as madame vice president. he was so hostile compared to how he was when he interviewed trump. he was very respectful, and he interrupted her 30 times. he should, but i am surprised that he did, because he was so disrespectful otherwise. he interrupted her 38 times in 27 minutes. 38 times. and for women that might be watching, they are going to be like you know? i know what that's like. i know what it's like to be silenced and to be interrupted. and i think that might go somewhere. >> is there hope that maybe it is a fox news house, and there is somebody that watches fox news that is never going to not vote for trump? but there are other people tuning in and catching this,

whether it is a daughter, a son, or somebody. is that the hope in going to the fox audience, that you're getting the whole household, not just the diehard fox news fan? >> or, do you think this puts donald trump back in the corner? however she was going to do, this puts donald trump in a corner. they were saying she's junior varsity, she's weak, she can't do it. she put her head in the mouth of the lion while donald trump sat home and just talk to his friends. does this not put pressure on him to do something with a non- friendly audience? >> but he keeps canceling, right? >> yeah, he is exhausted. but she is pressing her advantage. she is putting the pressure on him, and that is what she should continue to do. she is calling him out, saying he is wimpy, he won't debate her. and the further she goes into enemy territory, she continues to show she is tough. that is what she has to show those voters. not everyone who watches fox news is stupid. fox news plays in places like military bases.

and a lot of folks are watching and saying you know, she's not as bad as i thought. i don't like that guy, and i don't like her, but she's better than him. and that is the contract she has to continue to push. she does not have to sell that she is the greatest on earth, just less bad than him. >> and she wants to appeal to everybody. not just going for her quote unquote base. she is really putting herself out. >> and i think it is important to remember the contest, that this race is even. donald trump does not have a do that. he has this base of support, 47% of the electorate that is going to come out and vote for him. and he feels confident. republicans and older voters tend to vote more frequently and consistently, anyway. emily harris is not in that position. all these things we are talking about, all these various things are her trying to convince people that it is worth taking the time to go vote. so, if you can get some of those republicans, some of those generally skeptical republicans, if you can get a few of them to come out and vote. i think this was all that useful? no, i don't. i disagree. i don't think it was terribly useful. those people who watched it then watched laura ingram and so on and so forth. >> you can say, and to anyone,

we keep hearing she speaks word salad, she gave nonanswers. even if you don't like what her answers are, she is actually answering the questions. earlier this week when donald trump spoke at the economic club of chicago to greenberger, he was asked repeatedly do you think google should break up. his answer was about voter rolls in virginia. so you can tell me that you don't like kamala harris. we can say oh, what does it mean when kamala harris talks about holistic economy? you may not like her word choices, but she is actually answering the question. because i am pretty sure whether or not google breaks up has nothing to do with undocumented immigrants outing in virginia. >> the answer to everything is not undocumented immigrants. it's just not. and she is just reaching all kinds of people, and showing

that she is not a more on. i mean, the names he calls her. he is always talking about her lack of intelligence. stop it. >> it is also, i think people have been waiting for policy from her. if you are talking about a month ago, a lot of the questions where i don't know what she stands for, she is doing a blitz. she is talking about reproductive rights, talking about an agenda for black men. she is getting her policy out in lots of different places. >> and she is talking about taxes. she is a democrat saying i will lower your taxes. i think the taxes toughness, i would talk about this before. another key is tim walz, using him strategically. 51% of this country is unaffiliated. not democrat, not republican. and they want to hear taxes. they want to hear the border. i want to hear national security, and they want to hear how you are going to make their life better. she is proving her case and going anywhere, any day, and showing she can handle it. that's what she has to continue to do, so she can be commander- in-chief and she can handle the fire. >> with respect, 40% of the country votes with a party anyway. >> because they don't have a choice. >> well, that's not true. >> when did you have an option to vote for an independent in a

recent election and lexi >> that's what they do. they consistently vote with one party or the other. >> because they don't have an option. >> i mean, perhaps. >> no, absolutely. what independent option to they have in this election? >> well, they have jill stein. >> not valid. >> there are not a lot of people who are actually sitting down and undecided between these motors. it is not the case that 50% of the country is looking at them and saying i'm not sure between kamala harris and trump's. so what you're saying, but my point is there are not that many people who exist in this liminal space between the two parties. most independents consistently vote with one party. if you say it is because there are not other options, fine. but they are still in the habit of doing that, of voting for democrats in voting for republicans. it is not that undecided voters are sitting back and waiting to hear more information about policies. these are the least engaged political actors, and the people who pay the least attention.

they are not the ones that are drilling in the deepest on policies. >> here is my question. there has been tons of noise this week. donald trump last night spoke at the al smith dinner. this is a catholic charities dinner that has existed for 79 years. until last night, both candidates would show up, people from both parties. and it is a fancy mucky muck new york dinner, so you can easily make the argument she needs to be in battleground states, people around the country don't care. but do you think there was an opportunity? i would argue that kamala harris's best night of her campaign was on the debate stage, where she stood next to donald trump. so the argument that she is weak and she can't find her voice, that goes out the window. and that may have been her last opportunity to stand in a room shoulder to shoulder to him. and yes, it is a room of new yorkers who most likely know exactly who they are going to vote for. but that dinner, those comments are all over the country today. do you think there is a missed opportunity that she could have shown america yet again?

is she is arguing right now this guy has missed a step. are you worried about joe biden's age, worry about his age. worry about his 39 minute dance party. question why he is canceling these events. while she is saying i want to see as medical records, was it a chance to say here i am, standing tall and confident, and look at this guy snoozing over his diet coke. >> it was, you're absolutely right. she is great when it is side-by- side like that. but i will say this. i more and more of her rallies she is showing video of him. it is not the same as standing in the same room as him, but boy, is there a contrast with him sort of slaughtering and not making much sense, or calling us enemies of the people, enemy within, yes. those contrasts are there. but yes, you're right. i initially thought she doesn't need to be there. i had some issues with the dinner, offering a guy that is thrice married, and adulterer, wanted to take down the country, stuff like that. problematic. as a lutheran, i will say. but i think you're absolutely right. she shines when she is in the room. she is a prosecutor.

she knows how to handle that verbally. >> what do you think? >> i don't know. i don't know if it was a missed opportunity. look, the debate is a different stage. that is insider new york elite, and it really does not have the same appeal. and the skit with molly shannon, that is what i saw on social today. i was not seeing some of the clips from, that was the main clip i was seeing that was being shared. >> that's really interesting. that is so interesting. i was in the room last night, so i saw the clip for a second, and i did not look on social media. and it is funny that the takeaway was her moment. >> but that's my algorithm, as well. >> as the independent, i was seeing both of them. and the molly shannon thing was a dud. i think she missed an opportunity to go to todd with

him. she has the best comedy writers in the world, she would have shined. i think one thing i take issue with, i don't think her best moment was the debate. i think it was the convention, when she stood up and looked like the president. she was tough, she was strong, she talked about a robust military and lowering taxes. and anytime she is not next of him, he is completely out of the future, and she can show the future looks like where she is the president, she is owning the stage and she is the boss. >> i don't think the dinner has any real effect. i want to make an ancillary point. can we stop calling it a dance party? half the tracks were like opera. i know this isn't your question, but ymca, okay. >> it was a sway party. more swaying. >> totally fair. but let's talk, her theme next week is potentially man week. and she may go on, there is a lot of talk about it, she may go on joe rogan. what is your thought on this? >> i think back to 2016 when people talk about white women

handed trump that election. so, is kamala going after white men? because that is who listens to joe rogan. >> young white men. >> is interesting, what you are saying, i don't think there's a lot of people who are undecided. i think they are enthused. i think what i am interested in in the kamala world, and call her daddy is a part of that, joe rogan is a part of that. can that campaign really turn the tiktok memes and tactual people going to the polls? >> i think the goal there is not necessarily to convince rogan listeners to go vote for harris, as much as it is to say you know what? she's fine, he's fine, voting is a hassle, stay home. i think the play there is trying to mute their interest in trump by saying she seems fine. >> she's got to do rogan. rogan gets something like 20 times the average audience of the show on this network, cnn, or anywhere else.

>> when donald trump went on with the ovine and they had this ridiculous conversation about cocaine that i laughed at for days. i thought this is a disaster for trump. it wasn't. because it almost normalized it. i could hear young men being like he's a g for that. >> the big problem with the al smith dinner is at normalizing. he should not be in a bow tie, he should be in handcuffs. we have them up on stage and it continues to normalize them. rogan connects. rogan moves people. despite what you think, 60% of young people are independent and unaffiliated. they are registered to vote and they are not picking a party. many of them are voting for the first time and they are taking it seriously. they consider themselves patriots. and joe rogan talks about all kinds of tough stuff. he talks about jujitsu and he talks about the military, and he connects with a gut punch of america and she needs more of that. >> but doesn't it silence this?

if she does not show up in that room, donald trump feels that empty space that she is the super woke, she is anti-male, lots of things she is absolutely not. so at the very least she shows up in that room and stops that slow bleed of lies out there that is out there. >> they will still say she is not doing blank enough. it does not matter what she does. but i agree, i think she should do rogan. he may help connect her with the uninterested voters, because still hundreds of millions of people don't even vote. so maybe -- >> and he might endorser. he is going to be more objective than people give him credit for. i've been listening to rogan from the beginning. he is not in the bag for trump. he may give her some praise. he may actually come out of this feeling better about her and giving his audience a positive sense of her. >> has he endorsed anybody? >> no, that he has turned on people.

joe rogan might be a little guy, but he is not in trump's pocket. nobody is going anywhere. when we come back, third-party candidates and the impact they can have a battleground states. that is why we are stopping these two from going at it. we are saving it for later. and remembering the trump presidency. and i don't know why some people choose to forget it. when the 11th hour continues. before bringing food to a tailgate. so check allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. swiffer duster traps 4x more dust, for a clean even mom approves of.

that reach! making hard to reach... so easy. swiffer. wow. the mother of all cleans. love it or your money back!

the itch and rash of moderate to severe eczema disrupts my skin, night and day. despite treatment, it's still not under control. but now i have rinvoq. a once-daily pill that reduces the itch and helps clear the rash of eczema —fast. some taking rinvoq felt significant itch relief as early as 2 days— and some achieved dramatic skin clearance as early as 2 weeks. many saw clear or almost-clear skin. plus, many had clearer skin and less itch, even at 3 years. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin, heart attack, stroke, and gi tears occurred. people 50 and older with a heart disease risk factor have an increased risk of death. serious allergic reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant.

disrupt the itch & rash of eczema. talk to your dermatologist about rinvoq. learn how abbvie can help you save.

with the race tide, third- party candidates, especially in battleground states, could be the spoilers in this election. our nightcap is still with us.

and this isn't one of the elections where we are talking much about third-party candidates. we don't think they are out there. but they are. jill stein is still on the ballot in pennsylvania and michigan. should these candidates be worried about it? >> yes. because this may come down to a couple thousand people in michigan. and if jill stein can capture a couple thousand people in michigan, rfk junior can capture a couple thousand people in michigan they can upset the apple cart in the election. i've been covering this on my show for three years now. i think people have underestimated the impact of rfk. not to win, not even to attract the majority of independence. he is attracting a radical, specific group of people. the same type of people that attract jill stein. it might be enough to tip one or two swing states. independents want and are tired of. they don't want rfk, they don't want jill stein. they are not real independence. right now stein's people have

overtly said their objective is to beat kamala harris. if you want to throw a wrench in the system, you want to protest gaza, do any number of things, jill stein is here for you. but most of all, they are the candidates not of independence, but people like putin, trump, and of disruption. >> what do you think? >> i suppose it begs the question of what you do? if you are kamala harris? exactly what she is doing. >> she is running ads against jill stein calling them out, saying what i have been saying, if you are a real independent, don't waste your vote. don't fall for the trick. it is a wasted vote if you put it towards one of these people. >> are we really focused less on the third parties but more on the newer voters that are coming out, figuring out if they are actually voting for the priorities that they want to. i think one of the bright spots in the early voting numbers was the amount of newly registered voters. i think that is a beautiful bright spot. i don't necessarily share your same view that it is as dangerous as it is having the third parties on the states, but i could be wrong. >> in michigan, we know there is a large arab-american voting base. over 100,000 there voting

uncommitted in the democratic primary. they might not be going out and voting for donald trump, but how concerned should bp harris be about this group? >> i think she should be concerned. i will never forget, in 2016, watching the reviews coming in. in the reviews. it's all theater. watching the exact number of votes that hillary clinton needed to win certain states, they went to jill stein, they went to gary johnson, i think his name was. >> oh, yes it was. >> and i have to ask, what is their endgame? she wants to hurt kamala, but what does she want to do? what do they want to do? i've never figured that out. >> power. jill stein is a grifter. >> often times you are in the grifter zone, when you don't know what money is behind you, you know what foreign powers. >> right. >> and i think the question here about how both campaigns, harris in particular, can

offset those votes, is by making sure she has more voters coming out who she knows are going to support her. new voters, yes. i want to draw a sort of graph in midair, but if you look at turnout, percentage of people who turnout by age, it sort of goes like this. this blip at the beginning when people are 18, 20, then it goes like this and up like that. so, for a long time this end of the spectrum has been the democratic end, where even if they are independence, they are liberals, mostly, and they vote for democrats. so that is where democrats always had trouble, getting those people out. now interestingly this place has a lot of support for harris at the other end of the spectrum. which is good news. she still has a base of people that are less likely to turn out and vote. so yes, they are doing these ads targeting stein and revealing for her she is but they need to make sure they are doing everything in their power to get as many of those people who are even thinking about voting out.

>> police say a base of people who are less likely to vote, are you just saying that yes, we know the diehard maga fans are going to vote all day, every day, yesterday, and tomorrow, and they are going to go to our rally. but just because her base is not as fervent, wearing 16 hats and a flag outside their house, does that mean that her voters are less enthused? >> no, i am talking structurally. structurally it is less the case that younger people vote than older people. their jobs make it so much harder to get away. they don't want to hold them, they move all the time. so they have to reregister to vote and forget about doing so. they are not in the habit of voting. they have less income. all these factors. they just don't know. >> one of the biggest google searches for gen z's about voting is what why where to vote. >> you have to wear the uniform, exactly. >> really? honestly. i'm going to cry. because you know what i thought she was about to say? because i just interviewed a bunch of college students who are saying we can figure out what the policies are. and i thought you were about to say these young people are