good morning.

11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific, i'm jose diaz-balart. we are officially two weeks away from election day 2024, but 50 million voters have already cast their ballots in this critical election, as early voting begins in four more states today. among them, battleground wisconsin, a key state for both presidential campaigns. this afternoon that's where you can catch governor walz alongside former president obama, stumping for the harris campaign. senator vance will campaign in arizona and former president trump will host a round table for latino leaders here in miami. joining us now nbc news senior white house correspondent kelly o'donnell, she is in wisconsin, nbc news correspondent garrett haake is in north carolina, also with us tara set mayer, the ceo of the seneca project, and basil smikle, democratic strategist,

also professor of practice at the school of professional studies at columbia university and an msnbc political analyst. kelly, let me start with you. early voting begins in wisconsin today. what's the harris campaign's focus there? >> reporter: well, good to be with you, josé. wisconsin is voting now, so it is really under way, it's from turning expectations into real action, trying to get voters, especially in communities that are building the blue wall the democrats need for the vice president if she is to win this election. here in madison the state capital, it is known to be a stronghold for democrats and so part of the strategy is trying to reach out into the suburban areas and to try to trim some of the rural support that they know typically goes to former president trump. so today at this venue later this afternoon we're here early, the former president, barack obama, will be here with governor walz and part of that

message is for obama to tell the harris/walz story in a way that can be effective and i've been on the trail with the former president and he talks a lot about donald trump and what barack obama says is his unfitness to serve another term. so that is part of what we expect today. when it comes to trying to fortify among those voters in the suburban areas, one thing that the harris/walz campaign points out is among all the types of voter blocks, those voters who.live in the suburbs, a bit more mature, mortgages to pay, kids in school, are concerned about a whole range of issues, that they are reliable voters. they don't sit home typically. so they want to make sure they are trying to convert any of the voters who might have been interested in nikki haley, for example, as a republican, those disaffected republicans, as well as shoring up the democratic base and turnout. certainly barack obama has been

talking to african american men and men broadly because of course we know there is a joineder gap in this race that has been borne out by polling showing that donald trump is more effective among men and kamala harris among women. harris of course also strong among college-educated voters. this of course is a college town as well. jose? >> thank you, kelly. basil, we have new nbc reporting that some democrats are concerned about the harris campaign's ability to win what's called the blue wall of swing states. the vice president needs to win an election, senior campaign official tilling nbc news, quote, there has been a thought that maybe michigan or wisconsin will fall off and stressed that the bigger concern is over michigan. also how critical are these states? >> they're very critical, but i would also acknowledge that because the vice president has raised tremendous amounts of money over a billion dollars or more, that she has multiple paths to victory that they probably did not have back in the summer.

but that doesn't mean they're not going to contest everywhere. you know, when i talked to a lot of voters, when i talked to a lot of organizers particularly over the last few days they've got bus loads and bus loads of volunteers going into these states, pennsylvania in particular, but also out into the midwest. a lot of those -- a lot of those volunteers, part of the conversation isn't just about door knocking and telling people to get out to vote, it's also about giving them talking points to be able to really explain with some detail why it's important to vote for the harris campaign. so there is in my experience, in my almost 30-year experience in this business, there is a lot more -- there is a lot more granularity, a lot more detail, a lot more intentionality around not just where they're going to get out the vote but what they're saying to voters when they get there. so i guess the overall message is there is no stone unturned and they are contesting everywhere and nothing is going

to be sort of pushed off and slumped off and written off in this cycle. >> you know, basil, i've just been wondering about -- you know, using your 30 years of experience, when is the point or is there a point of super saturation, for example, on campaign ads? i was just speaking with someone this morning who was saying i just can't stop getting ads and i'm, quite frankly, tuning them out. is that where -- is there a super saturation period? >> that's an interesting point. i have a lot of friends that sometimes will send me pictures of 30 to 40 mail pieces they've gotten in a short period at the end of the cycle. look, i think sometimes voters do get a little fatigued by so much of the -- so many commercials, so many text messages because that's, you know, a certain change from when i started, before it was mail and it's still mail. people do still get a lot of

that. yeah, i mean, i do think there's fatigue, but ultimately what happens at the end of all of this is somebody going to your door and pulling you out and saying you've got to vote, or you seeing somebody on the corner. ultimately that actually can make all the difference because, yeah, some people will throw out some of those mail pieces, but at least you know who that candidate is and at least you know even a little bit about what that candidate stands for and actually that's half the battle right there. >> garrett, meanwhile, you are in greensboro where trump is set to hold a rally tonight. he was campaigning there yesterday, too. is the trump campaign concerned about north carolina? >> reporter: well, josé, the trump campaign never admits to being concerned about anything. in fact, it's part of their strategy to project strength everywhere and suggest that they will win in every state. sort of invite people along for the ride for that. but their actions undercut that narrative. donald trump was supposed to be giving a speech tonight to the nra in georgia, but last week

canceled that speech to add this rally here in greensboro. only about 80 or 100 miles from his event last night. now, part of the reason to do that is so capture early vote, which is well under way here in north carolina, i'm at an early vote location right now and you can't quite see -- i won't even try to show you, but just farther down, maybe 100 yards behind me is the beginnings of the line for this trump rally tonight. so the opportunity exists for them to try to lock in some votes in a county that has been a bluer lean of late, but where this morning i found one perhaps a little bit shy i read him as a trump voter talking about the issues that will decide the election for him. listen. >> what issues are most important? >> the economy and the problem with illegal immigration and the high crime. >> do you have confidence that this election will be fairly decided? >> i sure hope so. i have some confidence, not 100%. i guess we'll see. >> reporter: josé, that last bit

i think is so important, the we'll see. i have heard some confidence, some skepticism from voters of both parties that i've talked to in this state since we got here yesterday. you know, the way in which trump continues to lie about the 2020 election has been pervasive among voters in both parties. i think everybody is looking over their shoulder as they cast their ballots be it now or on election day to make sure things get counted and counted properly. >> meanwhile, nbc news is also reporting that the harris campaign is feeling a little less bullish about winning north carolina. they say hurricane helene's destruction and the disinformation that followed could weigh against the harris campaign. how much of an impact do you think this could have? >> well, in an election as close as this one is it could have an impact. i mean, last time around covid had an impact and people were upset about some of the rule changes for voting and that

created some of the chaos that the trump campaign took advantage of after the election last time. this time we're dealing with a natural disaster that trump is south there spreading misinformation, fema workers are being threatened. it doesn't give me confidence that we're going to have a smooth election in north carolina, especially when it comes down to a few percentage points. that was the closest state that biden lost in 2020. i do think, though, that north carolina is set in play for kamala harris and that, you know, what's happening there is a further -- it highlights really just how important it is that every vote counts, whether it's north carolina, whether it's michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, and even georgia. we also need to be careful with the disinformation campaigns there, given that mike whatley who is now the head of the rnc was part of the election denying

efforts by the trump campaign and he runs the rnc now. there needs to be a hyper vigilance around that as well. >> kelly, yesterday vice president harris was joined on the campaign trail by former republican congresswoman liz cheney. what does the campaign feel they're getting out of that? >> reporter: well, they certainly believe that liz cheney can speak to republicans who are turned off by donald trump, independent voters and she's been making the argument that there's time to have policy disagreements, to debate vigorously over different ways the government should act in our lives, but she said that can only happen when the underpinnings of a secure democracy are in place. she talked about unless that is secure that you really can't have the debates about how to spend the government's money, what to do about social security, and so she said from her view, liz cheney's view, she believes that kamala harris will be loyal to the constitution,

will act on the nation's interests and not her own interests. she made that argument. then she also made one about cruelty and she talked about the fact that donald trump in big and small ways has given more reasons for cruelty. behaves in a way in words and in actions that leads to cruelty. she very sharply made that observation that in all sorts of ways in people's lives, who would they hire to work with their children? who would they want to be a teacher in their schools? who would they work with in a community organization? would they surround themselves with someone who speaks and acts in ways that she deems to be cruel? she said, no, you wouldn't. so he should not be president of the united states. so she made very forceful arguments to try to appeal to voters who probably their whole lives have thought of themselves as republicans or maybe independents or not necessarily pro kamala harris but not wanting the things that she says

would come from donald trump being back in office. josé? >> and, basil, i mean, in just a couple of hours former president obama will join governor walz on the campaign trail in madison. what does he bring to the campaign? >> to this day he's still the democratic party's best spokesperson, the most gifted orator and can make the case against donald trump in no way -- in no better way than anybody else, except maybe for michelle obama. he is an incredible spokesperson, knows exactly what's at stake here and the framing becomes really important. particularly for those midwestern voters when you have barack obama, liz cheney and a lot of the organized labor that kamala harris has at her -- at her back, i mean, this is -- it's an articulation of campaign rational that i don't think could be done any better in this cycle. and the one thing that i will also say, there are a lot of

african american voters in those states and what i think barack obama has really been able to do is do something that i've thought about very early on, which is as a black man what does this race mean to you? what does it mean that this incredibly qualified african american woman is being attacked by so unqualified a white male in this cycle? as a black man what are you going to step up and do? that's the kind of charge that i think he can bring to a great many voters in this cycle. >> kelly o'connell, garrett haake, tara setmayer and basil smikle, thank you all very much. happening now donald trump is meeting with latino leaders in miami. we are monitoring that and will bring you any news as we get it. up next, new details about the possible ceasefire deal that israel is considering. plus the harris campaign is making a last minute pitch to latino voters.

and we have breaking news, abercrombie's former ceo arrested on sex trafficking charges. we're back in 90 seconds. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. e. but who has the time to clean? that's why i love my swiffer wetjet. it's a quick and easy way to get my floors clean. wetjet absorbs and locks grime deep inside. look at that! swiffer wetjet. my moderate to severe crohn's disease... ...and my ulcerative colitis symptoms... ...kept me... ...out of the picture. now... ...there's skyrizi. ♪i've got places to go...♪ ♪...and i'm feeling free♪ ♪control of my symptoms means everything...♪ ♪...to me♪ ♪control is everything to me♪ and now... ...i'm back in the picture. feel significant symptom relief at... ...4 weeks with skyrizi. skyrizi is proven to help deliver remission... ...and help visibly improve damage.... ...of the intestinal lining at 12 weeks and 1 year. don't use if allergic. serious allergic reactions,...

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nbc's tom winter is with us this morning. tom, good morning. what do we know about this? >> good morning, josé. new details now that the indictment has been sealed. michael jefferies is charged with matthew smith and james jacobson with, quote, operating an international sex trafficking and prostitution business from 2008 to 2015. now, they face in total 16 charges, 15 related to 15 alleged john doe victims, one is a separate charge tied to sex trafficking. basically what prosecutors allege through this indictment is that the trio hosted or arranged what they call, quote, sex events that took place in new york city, france, italy, morocco, st. barts and other locations for the trio wells, quote, and others, according to the indictment. it says the three, quote, employed coercive, fraudulent and deceptive tactics in connection with recruitment, hiring, transportation, obtaining and maintaining

solicitation and payment of the men to engage in commercial sex. the heart of this allegation here, josé, is that they would tell these men that they would be going to these events, would not tell them the types of things that would be going on at these events and said it could help their modeling opportunities with abercrombie or by not complying with requests for certain sex acts at these events it could harm their careers. the allegations and some of the details are quite lurid, difficult to discuss. one of the things that comes up in this is that of these alleged victims in this case, that they suffered physical and psychological damage from being forced to engage in sex acts that they otherwise wouldn't if, of course, their careers had not been on the line. that's what's been charged here in this particular case against 16 counts in total, jefferies and one of the other men will be in front of a judge in federal court in west palm beach today and then there will be an additional court hearing in the midwest, either wisconsin or

minneapolis, still trying to get details from one of the other of the people charged here. eventually the case will come up to new york city and long island where the trial will potentially be held in islip. the next time the men are expected to be in court up here will probably be sometime in the next couple of weeks. we're awaiting a press conference slate nod begin a little over 40 minutes from now for federal prosecutors for the eastern district of new york which brought this case. >> and so these guys are free? i mean, they're not being held? >> they've been taken into custody and they will be appearing in front of a judge. at that time they will talk about whether or not they will be detained pending trial and then that is something that will continue to be worked out in the process. given the fact it's a sex trafficking charge sometimes those individuals are held without bail, but we will have to wait and see how those court hearings go later this afternoon. >> tom winter, always a pleasure. i thank you very much. and turning now to the middle east, new details this morning about a new push for peace. israeli officials are weighing an egyptian proposal for a

small-scale ceasefire with hamas as a potential step towards building momentum for a larger deal according to an israeli official. that news comes as u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is in israel meeting with top officials including prime minister benjamin netanyahu. joining us now nbc's raf san schez from tel aviv, also with us nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent and the anchor of msnbc andrea mitchell who is traveling with the secretary. raf, what's the latest on the ground in gaza? >> reporter: well, josé, we are seeing a spiraling humanitarian crisis in northern gaza right now. israeli forces are laying siege to the jabalia refugee camp all the way up in the north of the strip, an area where israeli troops have been time and time again over the last year, but they say that hamas fighters are regrouping there and they have no choice but to go in and to try to flush them out. but the united nations is saying that siege means that israeli

forces are not allowing food, not allowing medicine into the area. they say the few remaining hospitals which are still functioning are at this point totally overwhelmed. our gaza crew was inside one of those hospitals yesterday when a group of nine civilians who were killed by israeli shelling according to hospital authorities were brought into the emergency room and then taken on to the morgue there. we asked the israeli military about this shelling, about u.n. claims that people who were trying to get out of harm's way are being killed by israeli forces. the israeli military says they have put in place designated safe routes for civilians to flee, but, josé, all this have just underscores the urgency of secretary blinken's trip here to the middle east. >> and, raf, israel meanwhile carried out a major strike in lebanon's capital this morning. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. this is one of the deadliest

strikes we've seen israel carry out in beirut. the lebanese health ministry is saying 18 people killed, including four children in this israeli strike which took place here a hospital. one of the hospitals towards southern beirut. we don't know exactly what the target of that strike was. we've asked the israeli military, we haven't heard back, but they've been carrying out a series of daytime strikes throughout the day here. israel saying that hezbollah very heavily embedded in these areas of southern beirut and one of the claims we're hearing from the israeli military is that there is, in fact, a bunker underneath one of the other hospitals in the south of the lebanese capital. they are saying hezbollah has some $500 million in cash and gold hidden inside of that bunker underneath the hospital. they have not presented any evidence of that bunker, but hospital authorities in beirut

are saying those claims are false, they have been allowing news crews to come into the hospital and earlier today they actually evacuated patients because they are deeply concerned that israel might carry out a strike there. josé? >> and, andrea, meanwhile, tell us a little bit more about the secretary's trip. >> reporter: well, raf has just laid out what the crisis is here and that is exactly what he is addressing, secretary blinken was expected during a two and a half hour meeting that concluded about an hour ago with prime minister netanyahu and his closest advisers to stress that the u.s. as the president said last week in germany wants to get food and aid into that area in northern gaza where the siege has been taking place and where people are starving. the u.n., the world food program, cindy mccain leading that program, have said it is an absolute disaster. israel said that they got some trucks in, 28, the other day,

which is a fraction of what went in before the war, the 700, 800 a day, but at the same time the 28 or so that got in never got to the people who need it because israel kept attacking that area in northern gaza. so the president, the secretary of state are saying that attack has to stop as the defense minister gallant who is meeting with blinken right now has said in the past the war in gaza should be over and now it should be reconstruction, figuring out governance for gaza, but first and foremost getting the hostages home. i talked to a former hostage, she was held hostage for 51 days, she gave me graphic descriptions of what took place, but her husband keith, 65 years old, is still being held. this is her plea, she will be meeting with other american hostages with secretary blinken tonight. this is what she told me. >> what do you want secretary blinken to do?

>> i want to tell him that now is the time to push and he's got responsibility. keith is an american and we need keith home. it can't be only words, talking and talking and talking, it has to be that keith and the hostages all come home. >> reporter: a viva siegel, the other americans will be meeting with secretary blinken, that will be the last thing on his schedule tonight, later tonight, before he heads to some of the arab neighbors, first to jordan tomorrow, but the situation is dire. also on his agenda is to talk to israel about iran, stressing that the retaliation that they expect, the u.s. expects israel to retaliate against iran for its attacks against israel that is correct it should be proportional, it should not be so strong as to cause an escalation, they also want to stop the attacks in beirut that

raf was describing and what you saw. josé? >> raf san schez and andrea mitchell who 25 hours ago was anchoring her broadcast on msnbc and is now in a very windy tel aviv to be a witness to history is something she has been doing so extraordinarily for so many years. thank you both for being with me this morning. at least six people have been killed, meanwhile, in cuba after hurricane oscar made landfall on sunday according to the cuban regime. it made landfall as a cat 1 hurricane along the island's eastern end but before the storm even hit millions across the island were plunged into darkness in the worst widespread blackout the country has seen in years. the regime says power has been restored to parts of cuban capital havana. and you're looking live at donald trump holding a round table with latino leaders in miami. we're going to bring you any

news out of that as it comes out. but up next, we will head back to battleground wisconsin, this time to a county critical to vice president harris if she wants to win that state. and still ahead, the battle for control of congress. the races we're watching that will determine who controls the house. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. é diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. humana medicare advantage plans. carry this card and you could have the power to unlock benefits beyond original medicare. these are convenient plans that offer all of the benefits of original medicare, plus extra coverage and benefits. with a humana medicare advantage plan, you could get doctor, hospital and prescription drug coverage in one convenient plan. most plans include routine dental, vision, even hearing benefits. there's also a cap on your out-of-pocket medical expenses. that's more than you get with original medicare. and humana offers zero-dollar or low monthly plan premiums. so,

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at a round table with latino voters here in miami former president trump has been speaking about all kinds of issues, but mostly his focus has been about the upcoming election and especially his opponent. here is part of what he has been saying. >> -- election is a choice between whether four more years of total failure, because what's going on now, we are a nation in decline. we're a failing nation. we're laughed at all over the world, no matter where you go, they laugh at us, they can't even believe what's happening. i will tell you what, she's worse than he is, and they do lie. i was just saying to rick, you know, the lies -- >> well, that's part of what former president trump has been saying here in miami. that event is still under way. meanwhile, early voting is happening now in battleground wisconsin and both vice president harris and former

president trump are focusing a lot of resources and time on the badger state, which president biden won by just over 20,000 votes in 2020. this afternoon democratic vice presidential nominee tim walz will be campaigning with former president obama in madison, wisconsin. nbc's shaquille brewster is joining us this morning from milwaukee. shaq, good morning. how are things looking there so far? >> reporter: josé, i will tell you milwaukee election officials pointed us to this location because they said it would be one of the busiest in the city and on the inside i will tell you it is packed, but look at the line that you're seeingout side, i will send you along the line, a reminder this is for early voting, this is the first day of early voting, we saw people here lined up well over an hour and a half before the voting started. i want you to listen to what people told me when i asked them why, why did they come up for this first day of early voting. >> this is my first time voting early. >> why did you do it this year? >> because it's so important. the issues that's on hand, to be

represented is very important. >> it's different because it's a black woman that's running to be president. this is something that has never happened before so this is a milestone for everyone. >> she out there for those that they needed her. we needed her. we didn't need trump. >> reporter: just as i was giving that report some people yelled out we're here because it's crucial. we need to be here. you even see that people have drive up voting where election officials hand folks the ballots, they can vote from their car if they have medical issues and can't walk in. people are excited here, josé, and you're seeing that in the lines here. >> shaquille brewster, thank you very much. with us now ruth conif editor and chief of "the wisconsin examiner." thank you for being with us today.

president biden won wisconsin by about 20,000 votes in 2020, trump won the state by roughly the same amount in 2016. how is it looking this time? >> you know, nobody knows who is going to win, but we know that it's going to be very, very close because that's just the way that it goes in wisconsin. it comes down to turnout because it is -- it is very difficult to tell. i went to a polling summit with some of the top pollsters in wisconsin in the country last week and their consensus was we don't know. we don't know what's going to happen. it's all within the margin of error. they are going to be really tight races both for president and u.s. senate here. >> nbc news has new reporting that the harris campaign is somewhat concerned about being able to win all three of the blue wall states, michigan, pennsylvania and wisconsin. the most recent "wall street journal" poll of wisconsin voters shows a tie, you were referencing to that between harris and trump. how concerned are wisconsin democrats about the vice president's ability to win that state? >> well, you know, it's kind of

interesting in wisconsin because the background to the election this year is that this will be the first time that we have an election for state legislative seats under new maps. wisconsin has been -- according to one federal judge -- the most gerrymandered state in the country with republicans controlling two-thirds of the u.s. state even though it's a 50/50 closely divided state. there are democrats running in democrats around wisconsin they even hadn't tried to field candidates in before. there's kind of a sense that democrats could really make some gains in wisconsin down ballot and the state party chair thinks that that could have a reverse coattails effect. that it will drive voters to come out and vote for democrats in places that had been so solidly republican that they had been really just discouraged before. >> and, ruth, i mean, what are the major ballot initiatives this year? >> there's one major ballot

initiative, you know, of course they're always local referendums for school and municipal funding, but there is one constitutional amendment on the ballot that would bar non-citizen voting which of course is already a federal crime, it's a felony punishable by deportation and prison time, but the constitutional amendment that's on the ballot would make it impossible basically for localities to allow non-citizens to vote in local school board races and other local elections. that hasn't happened here but it's sort of an effort to preempt that and really to keep immigration at the top of mind for vote sneers ruth, let's talk a little bit about what you just briefly mentioned, the issue of the senate race in that state. how is it looking? >> so incumbent senator tammy baldwin is running for her third term, she was previously in congress, and she is an interesting candidate because she often wins in very republican districts in wisconsin. she has worked really hard on dairy farm issues which are a big deal in wisconsin. she has been sort of at the

forefront of the affordable care act, actually wrote the provision that extends coverage for children on their parents' insurance until they're 26, a big fighter for women's health rights has proposed to bill that would codify roe v. wade. that's a very big deal in wisconsin because women lost abortion rights for more than a year here under an 1849 law after roe was overturned. it's a tight race like every race this year. her opponent is a bank owner and he is running sort of on the trump message. he tries to connect her to the border, to undocumented immigrants, to -- he is an anti-abortion candidate. they had a debate on friday where it turned very personal, he was calling her a liar and baldwin was mostly sticking to the policy issues that she's long been deeply in the weeds on including the farm bill and he actually said during the debate that he doesn't know what's in the farm bill so it was kind of

an interesting moment. i guess the question really is whether as in previous years baldwin will be able to get out split-ticket voters, people who might vote for donald trump but have voted for her even in republican rural areas of the state because she has been deeply involved in helping farmers and these policy issues that matter a lot to her constituents in those areas. >> let's continue our conversation at least for these next two weeks. i appreciate your perspective and appreciate your time. >> yeah, great to be here. thanks. >> thanks. up next, vice president harris' new plan to win over latino men. we will talk to congressman robert garcia co-share of the harris/walz campaign about the important of the latino vote is this season. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports" on msnbc.

43 past the hour. here in miami right now former president trump has been holding a round table with latino voters as vice president harris rolls out a new agenda focused on latino men that includes investments in career opportunities, small businesses and home buying. it comes as latino business ownership is growing at its fastest rate in over a decade, according to the u.s. small business administration. latino businesses have been making up a huge part of the growth in our economy for years now. joining us now congressman robert garcia of california, national co-chair for the harris/walz campaign.

congressman, always a pleasure to see you. i thank you for being with us. now, donald trump just moments ago had this to say about vice president harris, take a listen to that. >> there's something wrong with her, too. she's slow. low iq, something, i don't know what the hell it is, but they lie. i've never -- we don't need another low iq person. we had one for four years. we don't need another one. >> how do you respond to this kind of thing? >> i think we can all agree that donald trump is unfit to be the president. he is a disgrace. that's another shameful comment the way he disparages people, the way he disparages women and all of us should be ashamed that someone like that is on the national stage running for president. that was supposed to be a round table where he's trying to reach out to different communities. so we're talking about the issues, we're focused on the vice president's agenda,

particularly today, for latino men, while donald trump is focused on just attacking people over and over again. he has shown himself to do nothing but just attack and attack and attack and we've got to move forward, that's what kamala harris is doing today and for the rest of the campaign. >> look, there is no doubt that words matter in any and every case, right, but today's focus on latino men by the harris campaign comes the day she sits down for an interview with my friend and colleague, the anchor for telemundo with 14 days prior to the election with states already voting why the focus on latino men now? >> first let's be really clear. kamala harris has been a supporter of the community, opportunities for latino men her entire career as a u.s. senator, as attorney general here in california, obviously we are a huge part of the population. but this agenda is really exciting, it's being rolled out today. there's a lot of components.

we should highlight a couple. she's looking at doubling the amount of home ownership for latino men to 600,000 a year by providing $25,000 in down payment assistance. she's looking at supporting new latino men that want to be small business owners, by providing $20,000 in direct loans for these business owners. she wants to strengthen the construction trades. a lot of latino men actually make up construction trades and construction workers in this country. she has a whole agenda for that work, wants to uplift this work. and that includes, by the way, subsidizing the purchase of tools, of construction tools, for those that are working out in so many projects across the country. she also wants to make sure that we strengthen apprentice programs, that we're focusing on access to health care so that those of us can take care of our parents that oftentimes are part of our home and our families. so she has a real agenda that she's rolling out today for latino men. obviously she's been a candidate foreign just a few months here,

so every day she's putting out more policy. i'm very excited about this agenda today. we're going to continue to talk about it all the way through election day. i think it's going to resonate very strongly with latino men in particular. >> you know, congressman, when you were saying that the vice president has been supporting latinos not just as vice president but also as a senator, as an attorney general n what ways? >> first i think it's important to recognize she has been a supporter of the community since her first day in office. i remember also by the way when she got elected that the senate, her very first press conference, very first meeting was with the latino community expressing her support to ensure that they knew they had an advocate for health care, an advocate that would respect them in their community. i've seen her reaching out to the latino community and latino men her entire career. she's championed the things that matter, supporting us as small business owners, supporting us as homeowners, making sure that

we have health care not just for ourselves but for our families. the one thing that's important for our community in this election especially is this election is not just about us, it's about our families. so what we should be voting of course for us and our interest for our family, let's also think about our mothers, let's think about our sisters, let's think about our -- making sure they have health care and access to reducing the cost of their insulin. all of those things donald trump wants to attack and take away. he wants to take away health care for our families, he wants to take away health care for our mothers and our parents. he wants to ensure that the cost of health care rises for our sisters and our aunts and people in our family. i think in this election it's important to also not just focus on an agenda for latino men, but think about what is going to impact our families. >> congressman, there was one thing trump has been very clear on since day one, i mean, i'm thinking when he announced that he was going to run in 2015 when

he came down that escalator. he's clear on what he thinks of the border wall, what he thinks of undocumented immigrants and he's been clear that if elected he would create the largest deportation force in history. setting aside that border bill that trump killed in congress, how different is the vice president's policy? >> couldn't be more different. and let's think about what donald trump has said about our community. he has called us essentially criminals and rapists, he's said that immigrants like myself and like my family have poisoned the blood of this country. he wants to separate families. he treats migrants like subhuman. this is a person that has been no friend of the latino community, of the latino community, no friend of immigrant communities. he attacks us constantly. as a community, we should rally behind the person that has always supported us. donald trump has been the most

anti-latino president, the most tine-latino political figure of the modern era. he has stoked fear and anger toward our community and continues to do so every single day. today, we have a new agenda, an economic agenda for latino men while donald trump continues to attack our community every single day. i will say one other thing. i was just in las vegas. i talked to a lot of latino men out there. what they want is they want issues and agenda that's going to help themselves and their families and parents. they are excited about the opportunities for themselves and their families. we will continue to promote them and remind folks the difference between donald trump and his attacks on our community. >> congressman robert garcia, thank you very much for your time. appreciate it. up next, battle for control of the house. he would will break down the most important races. you are watching "jose

diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. mc

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that i'm going to walk you through are not ones we typically talk about, because they are battlegrounds on the house level but not presidential level. we will start west. look at a place like alaska, which i spent a lot of time in in 2022 when this race was first on the map. you see it all the way down here. it's in blue, in large part because the congressman was able to take advantage of the fact that she's a more bipartisan member. when she was running in 2022, a rank choice voting system allowed two republicans on the ballot to split their vote and the democrat was able to eek out one critical seat for the party. then, of course, you work your way west. we often talk about and rightly so, the state of california as this pen draws all over the map. the state of california, critically important to democrats and republicans as they try to keep control. then you move over to new mexico. this is an area where both republican and democratic

leaders have spent a lot of time. it tells us it's critically important for republicans to flip and democrats to hold on. you make your way over, you see pennsylvania on the map with two key seats that we are looking at. then, of course, new york, which is arguably the state that gave republicans control of the house back in 2022. it's going to be critically important again. i've been spending a lot of time reporting there in the hudson valley. to bring you over to the balance of power itself. at the end of the day, it's just going to be a question of democrats flipping four seats. this pen is not cooperating with us today. it's going to -- >> what's going on with that pen? >> i know. >> come on. >> the chaos of the house races to be extended to the audience on this. we are just working with such slim margins here, my friend. >> that's really the key. it's great seeing you. thank you very much. appreciate it. stay with us. i will be right back in just a few seconds. we will stay with us for the

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