right now on "ana cabrera reports," we are counting down. six days to go. vice president harris delivers her campaign's closing argument, casting herself as a uniter and donald trump as a, quote, petty tyrant. plus president biden sets off a firestorm while addressing racist remarks at trump's new york rally. the white house's big pushback this morning. also ahead, trump's new comments about puerto rico, as controversy overshadows his final stretch. and his fresh attempts to cast doubt about the vote. and later, a warning from nikki haley. her message to trump world about its strategy and the women's vote with days left in this

race. hello. it is 10:00 eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. we have six left days to campaign. kamala harris and donald trump will whole duelling events in a pair of swing states today, north carolina and wisconsin. harris will also stop in pennsylvania, hitting a trio of battlegrounds after last night's speech in front of a huge audience in the nation's capitol. she used that venue, the ellipse, where the events of january 6th began to warn about the dangers of a trump presidency. >> nearly 250 years ago, america was born when we wrested freedom from a petty tyrant. they didn't do that only to see us submit to the will of another petty tyrant. these united states of america,

we are not a vessel for the schemes of wannabe dictators. >> and the vice president also explained how she would lead. >> for too long, we have been consumed with too much division, chaos, and mutual distrust. and it can be easy, then, to forget a simple truth. it doesn't have to be this way. unlike donald trump, i don't believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. he wants to put them in jail. i'll give them a seat at the table. >> but now a new headache for her campaign, after off the cuff remarks by president biden being met with clarifications and pushback by the white house this morning. nbc's mike -- and dasha burns are both on the campaign trail in north carolina. also with us, lincoln project senior adviser and romney

campaign chief strategist, stewart stevens. and bloomberg executive editor, tim o'brien. mike, how is the harris campaign hoping to drive things forward today on the heels of that speech last night? >> well, ana, it may not be 70,000 people and on the national mall, but you can probably hear how loud the energy is here just outside raleigh, just after 10:00 a.m., hours before the vice president is scheduled to speak here, probably already a few thousand people on hand. and what we expect to hear from the vice president is to take that message that she delivered in front of the white house last night here on the road as part of that closing pitch to voters. what we heard from the vice president last night was probably as comprehensive a case as she could make for her candidacy to the american people since we heard her at the democratic national convention. he was biographical, talking about the lessons she learned watching her mother paying bills at the kitchen table growing up, her life as a prosecutor, where she said it's always been her

instinct to protect her fellow americans. she talked about the need to lock arms rather than point fingers to solve this country's problems. it really leads into the contrast with donald trump, as she put it, divisive rhetoric. one of the questions we've seen harris raise the stakes in the closing stages of the race is what happened to that message of joy that had been so prominent at the democratic national convention. she hit on that too in her remarks last night. let's take a listen. >> i pledge to you to approach my work with the joy and optimism that comes from making a difference in people's lives. and i pledge to be a president for all americans. and to always put country above party and self. i love our country with all my

heart. >> now, ana, you mentioned the itinerary for the vice president today. three events in three battleground states. wisconsin and pennsylvania of course critical to the blue wall strategy. but north carolina is also critical for the campaign. this is the best state they think they have to go on offense, to pick off a state trump won four years ago. >> mike, as the vice president made her pitch last night, president biden commented on the puerto rico trump controversy and appeared to insult trump supporters, which has kicked off a new controversy. let's hear the biden comments. >> i heard him call puerto rico a floating island of garbage. let me tell you something. i don't know the puerto rican that i know or puerto rico in my home state of delaware, they're good, decent, honorable people. the only garbage i see floating out there is his supporters, his

team is unconscionable. it's un-american. it's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've done. >> the white house is pushing back hard. they're clarifying that the president meant the comedian and his comments, not trump supporters broadly. walk us through how they're clarifying things. >> well, what you see from the harris campaign all week has been an effort to use the range of surrogates to respond to those comments at madison square garden sunday night. they thought that was an opportunity to highlight the divisive rhetoric. president biden was doing this before a forum targeting latino voters. what the white house is trying to explain was what we heard from the president was specifically referring to when he said supporters, he meant the individual supporter on the stage. the president saying, he referred to his comments as garbage, which is the only word

i can think of to call it. this has created a distraction for the campaign. we heard tim walz saying, yes, the president has clarified his remarks. but that's not how the vice president and i, as you view it, view this race and donald trump supporters. the vice president, as she has hit the road every day, has had a chance to speak with reporters. i expect we may have an opportunity to see that again soon. and president biden himself is scheduled to hold a meeting with the oval office with the president of cypress. reporters will be in that room. there will be another opportunity for the president to clarify his remarks should he choose to do so. >> i believe this is live. we are awaiting the vice president getting ready to head to her event in north carolina. we'll be on board that helicopter shortly. and dasha, you're in your car in line to get into trump's afternoon event there. the trump campaign seizing on these biden remarks quickly, as they're facing controversy for the initial comments by trump's

ally at his rally, which started this whole episode. >> yeah, ana, just a little taste of life on the campaign trail. we were stuck in a very long line of cars trying to get into the parking lot of this event. look, the trump campaign had been fighting a pretty brutal news cycle for 48 hours or so in the aftermath of that madison square garden rally and those racist comments by the comedian. and they have been really targeting throughout this election, ana, latino voters. they felt like there was an opening there. they felt like they could gain some ground. and polling was showing that as well. so, these comments from that comedian were not what they needed in this final stretch. and of course the harris campaign was leading into it. the trump campaign yesterday went to allentown, pennsylvania, where there is a massive hispanic population, a large puerto rican population. they brought out puerto rican supporters, and the former president was making his case about puerto rico to his

supporters as well. take a listen. >> hispanics, latinos. nobody loves our latino community and our puerto rican community more than i do. nobody. it's interesting because i've done more for puerto rico than any president by far. nobody close. >> so, look, they were on cleanup duty, major cleanup duty here. and then you had those comments from president biden. they of course immediately seized on them at that event in allentown. marco rubio came back up on stage. he'd spoken earlier. he came back up on stage and revealed the news to former president. he said, he's talking about border patrol. he's talking about nurses. he's talking about teachers, everyday americans who love their country and want to dream big, saying we are not garbage, we are patriots who love america. the former president seizing on that in that very moment,

recalling the hillary clinton comments from 2016 when she used the term "basket of deplorables." that was another big moment. former president trump has called democrats the enemy from within. he has said, you know, a lot of derogatory language about the other side. but harris has been so careful to not insult trump supporters, so this is not what they were looking for. and this certainly is what the trump campaign was looking for, something to take the attention away from their own fallout, ana. >> dasha burns, good luck getting into your event. mike, stay close, as we way to see if the vice president makes any remarks as she transitions from the held continue tore the plane to go to her north carolina event. republicans have been seizing on these biden comments of course to undermine harris' unity pitch. biden is not on the ticket. he immediately walked back the comments, whereas trump, who is on the ticket, has spent weeks

calling his political enemies vermin. he's called the u.s. the garbage can for the world. how do you see all of this playing outside the maga base? >> you know, i don't -- you know, the maga base may be insulted by this, but the maga base is not the force that's going to decide who gets into the white house over the next week. it's independent and moderate voters in swing states. and the thing that they've been focusing on since sunday is this absolute fright night display at madison square garden. on sunday, you know, trump came into that event fending off accusations from his former chief of staff that he's a fascist, from other members of his administration signed a letter saying the same thing. and came in saying, i'm not hitler. i'm not a nazi. and then goes out of that event having to defend a series of speakers who engaged in the most grotesque forms of racism, race baiting, bigotry, misogyny --

name your -ism. it's interesting this is getting traction now because this has been part and parcel of the themes that have animated donald trump's political agenda -- >> yeah, since he came down that golden escalator, right? >> he said many of the same things then. i think a lot of people regarded him as a cartoon character. people didn't know who he was. we now know who he is. i think the vile and the vitriol that not only animates his statements but animates his policies are being wedded to his ability in a second term to weaponize those things by either using the military or the justice department against his opponents, against american citizens and to introduce, i think, an authoritarian aggression that americans haven't experienced before. >> let's listen in to the vice president right now. >> we had the chance in front of 100,000 people to talk about

what's at stake in this election and to point out that the american people have a real choice and a very important decision to make in six days. and it is about who will not only lead the country, buttock pie the white house, where critical decisions are made that include how we think about who we are as a nation and whether we are going to be a nation of people who attempt to unify and break through this era of divisiveness. or are we going to be a nation of people who, as the president is doing in the oval office, working on his enemy list. and i think it's a strong indication that the american people actually want a leader who is going to bring us together. and that's the type of leader i intend to be. >> president biden's comment last night about garbage? >> listen. i think that, first of all, he

clarified his comments. but let me be clear. i strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for. you heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career. i believe that the work that i do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not. and as president of the united states, i will be a president for all americans, whether you vote for me or not. that is my responsibility, and that's the kind of work that i've done my entire career. and i take it very seriously. >> have you spoken about the comments? >> he did call me last night, but it didn't come up. >> are you concerned about what impact this may have on voters, on the divisiveness of the election, and whether or not it's going to dissuade some people from supporting you because of your affiliation with the president's administration? >> i've been very clear with the american public. i respect the challenges that

people face. i respect the fact that we all have so much more in common than what separates us, and that most people want a president that understands that, that gets that, and approaches the role of leadership that way. i've been very clear from my earliest years as a prosecutor. i never asked anyone are they democrat or republican. the only thing i ask folks is, are you okay? and that's the kind of president i will be. >> on a separate subject, last night -- removing people in the country who are here illegally. what do you mean? that's an immigration statement, obviously. were you referring to people who have come here before illegally? or can you expand on what you meant by that comment? >> what i intend to do on the issue of immigration is we need to fix our immigration system in a number of ways. we feed had to strengthen the border and put more resources at the border, which is why i support the bipartisan bill that

donald trump killed that would have otherwise put 1,500 more border agents at the border, put more resources, and very importantly put more resources into stemming the flow of fentanyl, which is killing people around the country. and when i am elected president, i will bring that bill back and i will sign it into law. i also have done the work and in my policies going forward will strengthen what we need to do to deal with illegal entry through ports of entry. i will do something about ensuring we have comprehensive immigration reform in a way that we allow hardworking people who have earned citizenship a path to actually be able to gain citizenship because they have earned it. and that includes everyone from our farm workers to dreamers. >> do you sympathize with voters

who do feel insulted by the garbage comment? >> i am running for president of the united states. i will be traveling to three states today to do what i have been doing throughout, which is talking with the american people about the fact that, first of all, i get it in terms of the concerns they have about challenges like the price of groceries. second, my highest priority is to address that and to lift them up around their ambitions, their aspirations, and their dreams, which is why i have a very specific and detailed plan about strengthening our economy. leading economists have reviewed my plan and indicated it will strengthen the economy and that donald trump's plan will weaken the economy. so, i am going to be spending full time, as i've been talking with the american people, whoever they voted for last time. and as i've said and will repeat over and over again, i am sincere in what i mean. when elected president of the united states, i will represent all americans, including those

who don't vote for me and address their needs and their desires. >> thank you. >> okay. and the vice president now about to board "air force two" to head to north carolina, addressing the comments president biden made last night that sparked controversy, saying, i strong lis disagree with criticism of people depending on who they vote for. and she said, i will be a president for all americans, whether you vote for me or not. stewart stevens, give me your initial reaction. what do you make of how the vice president handled this situation? >> you know, she's a very good candidate. and one of the interesting things, you know, at this stage in a presidential campaign, candidates really are just trying not to degrade. you're so tired. you're so exhausted. but what strikes me is she's improving. that was an extraordinary event they had last night. it was an extraordinary event

they had in houston. maybe it's because she hasn't been running for a year and a half, so she's fresher off the bench. but i really think we have to compare the quality of the candidates, the quality of the campaigns, and it's indicative of the kind of presidents they'll be. every organization donald trump has ever been involved in where he had a role, it's sham bollic. it's a disaster. and compare that to putting together a campaign under a limited amount of time as the vice president has done. i think it's very impressive. >> and so she just said, i'm off to these swing states. is this whole biden controversy behind her now? >> i think it will be. i don't think this is going to be material for most voters. you know, as stewart was just saying, she's been so impressive. i think, you know, at a moment when you have a democratic -- a crisis and democracy and a lot of cart wheeling going on throughout a really crazy election season, she's really risen to this moment. you know?

she stayed steady. she found her lines. i think one of the best things she said is she has a to do list. trump has an enemies list. she's talking about opportunity and a path forward for americans. >> we even heard her weave in stuff about the economy in the answers to questions related to the garbage comment. >> she keeps getting better. i think she comes across any time she's in a split screen with donald trump as rational, constructive, open minded, and willing to cross the aisle, which is important right now. >> tim o'brien and stewart stevens, got to leave it there. sorry for the shortened segment because of the vice president's remarks today. appreciate your time, as always. and joining us now is democratic senator, amy klobuchar of minnesota. senator, it's good to see you. you just heard the vice president there. you heard her address the comments from president biden, saying she strongly disagrees with criticizing someone based on who they vote for. what do you make of her response? >> she couldn't be clearer. president biden clarified what she was saying, but i think the

most important thing is that kamala harris, from the very beginning, she unified our party, all right, in, like, one day. but then what did she do? she started reaching out to people who had previously supported donald trump. she has reached out to republicans in a major way. she has done event after event with none other than liz cheney with republicans throughout our country and every single state. so, when you look at her as a leader and you look at not just what she said today but what she said last night, people are joining in. this is not a campaign that is turning people off. it is bringing people in. and it's not just a 75,000 people gathered on that mall, what a scene, it's also the fact that her campaign knocked on 1.5 million doors just this weekend, reached 15 million people by calls. so, i see this as a campaign for all of america. it is exactly what she said

because democracy and upholding democracy against a guy that tries to knock it down every single day and divide people, upholding democracy is about bringing in people. and it isn't about everyone's going to vote for you, but you are holding up the sacred concept of democracy. and that's what kamala harris has done from the beginning. >> and senator, obviously what we heard from kamala harris is, you know, more of what we heard last night in her speech. that's what she really wants to be focusing on today. however, does what we heard from president biden just give fuel to her opponent at this point in the race? >> look, at this point, donald trump every single day is throwing out criticisms, throwing out just unbelievable things when you look back at that, it's hard to even call it a rally, but that attack on america. he's going to say what he's going to say. but she has continued this

positive message. i just thought those words last night were extraordinary, pointing out that he is just doubling down on this rage and anger, and she is someone who is moving and leading this country with optimism. he may have this enemies list and wants to seek revenge. she has this to do list, which is about things like, let's talk about housing for all americans, make sure people can afford it. let's do something about this across the board tax that he is proposing. on the other hand she is going to decrease taxes on people making under 400,000. she's going to make it easier for them. and she's going to take on child care and so many of the issues that matter to americans. we have already made movement on prescription drugs by putting in the $35 a month cap and finally allowing medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. she's going to go even further with that. so, i think that comparison of his revenge list and her to do list is a great way to have a

closing argument because everyday americans don't want the chaos and they don't want the divide anymore. whether they voted for trump before or whether they have been blue democrats from the beginning. >> there are heightened tensions right now, just the political atmosphere we're all living through, with days to go before the election. i want to play something from former president trump making baseless claims that the vote is flawed. take a listen. >> because they've already started cheating in lancaster. they've cheated. we caught them with 2,600 votes. we caught them cold. 2,600 votes. think of this. think of this. and every vote was written by the same person. ha, ha, ha. i wonder how that happened. it must be a coincidence. >> so, those are his remarks. less than 24 hours ago, he's seizing on these reports that officials in two pennsylvania counties found what appeared to be fraudulent voter registrations. but to be clear, there's no

evidence of any fraudulent ballots, with those officials saying the fact they were found is proof that security protocols are working. are you worried he's trying to lay the groundwork for chaos or interference with the election? >> that is exactly what he is trying to do, and it's his old playbook because he knows he's losing in these states. so, he is trying to create chaos. and let me just say, we know those rules now. many americans know them. in certain states, they don't start counting the ballot until the day of the election. that includes wisconsin and pennsylvania and a few others. some states like michigan have changed their laws to at least they can start opening the ballots before so they're ready to start counting. many other states, red, blue, and purple, start counting up to the date so they get their results sooner. america is ready for this. but what he has done is again trying to sow chaos. the last election his own cyber

security was the most secure election when joe biden won. trump fired him. his own attorney general, bill barr, said there was no evidence of widespread fraud. time and time again republicans and democrats have accepted results of the election. but this time, unlike last time, i think people are ready. the electoral count act has been clarified on a clearly bipartisan basis with everyone on our rules committee including mitch mcconnell voting for those changes. i chair that committee -- except for ted cruz. we have really gotten the word out to americans to vote early, to get their ballots in. and i just don't think he's going to be able to do this again because people are onto them. that was a part of kamala's message last night. we are the ones that have to stand up for our country. >> senator amy klobuchar. thank you so much for joining us. appreciate it. we have breaking news now from the supreme court, which is allowing the state of virginia to move ahead with a purge of its voter roles.

this is after a lower court found that the purge was happening too close to election day. let's get more from nbc's ken dilanian. fill us in, ken. >> ana, the conservatives on the supreme court are allowing this purge to go forward that not only a federal district judge but the appeals court deemed was illegal under federal law after the justice department sued virginia. the issue is federal law says you can't purge voter roles within 90 days of election. virginia is saying these people are all non-citizens based on a form they filled out at the motor vehicle department. but there have been validated citizens among these people, people who have talked to reporters and showed them their passports. there are u.s. citizens among these 1,600 people. and they have now been purged from the voter roles. the state of virginia says u.s. citizens can register on site, but some people aren't sure if they can do that. this is a significant ruling by the supreme court. they did not explain.

it's a one-page record that doesn't explain where the justices came down on this. but the effect is that these 1,600 people have been purged from the voter roles by the state of virginia, as the election looms. >> ken dilanian, thank you so much for that update. and coming up, more clues the gender divide could be one of the biggest stories of this election, with nikki haley's warning that trump's world strategy could further alienate women voters. >> this is not a time for them to get overly masculine with this bromance thing they've got going. 53% of the electorate are women. women will vote.

welcome back. former president shl candidate nikki haley is practically pleading with the trump campaign to rein it in, reminding anyone listening that women are voting. haley, who is now backing trump,

joined the chorus of critics fuming over racist and misogynistic comments made at the trump rally, laid bear on fox news. >> this is not a time to have anyone criticize puerto rico or latinos. this is not a time to get overly masculine with this bromance thing they've got going. 53% of the electorate are women. women will vote. they care about how they're being talked to and they care about the issues. they need to remember that. this is a time of discipline and this is a time of addition. >> joining us now, democratic pollster salinda lake and -- political journalist for "the atlanta journal constitution." you just heard nikki haley say, now is the time for discipline. but women are already voting in huge numbers, making up 53% of the early vote so far. do democrats hope this warning is coming a little too late? are they banking on that? >> well, we're banking on the

fact that donald trump isn't listening and he's proving it every day. nikki haley is exactly right. she would have been a far more formidable candidate than he is. and women are just -- the madison square garden thing, i think for many women was just not it. we're not going to go through four more years of that kind of rhetoric, division, and chaos. we're ready to turn the page. we're ready to vote for our families. we're ready to vote for control over our own medical decisions. >> your state just smashed a record, early voting topped 3 million as of yesterday. that's 1 million more than at this same point in 2020. based on your reporting, your conversations there, what's driving the enthusiasm? >> what's driving the enthusiasm is people feel strongly about this election. they feel strongly about either their own candidate or voting

against the other candidate. also, this is the first presidential election since georgia's six-week abortion ban went into effect. i think that's scrambling what we assume women are going to do. with very high turnout in republican counties. but of course we don't know exactly how all those voters are going to choose. there is a big gender gap here in this state right now, but it really favors donald trump. he is driving his numbers up among men so high that kamala harris has some catching up to do. if she's relying on women, she really needs those women to turn out. >> nbc news has learned that one week after donald trump had that marathon interview with podcaster joe rogan, j.d. vance is going to go on joe rogan today. we know rogen is very popular with young, male listeners. meantime, harris gave five interviews yesterday ahead of that ellipse speech in swing states including pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin. she also did a spanish radio station interview in

pennsylvania. which strategy do you think will be more effective, joe rogan or a lot of local interviews. >> local interviews are very, very strong with swing women. the older, educated white women who are the swing vote listen and trust local media. and i think harris has been strong on the view and on podcasts, et cetera, that appeal to younger women. as patricia said, this is a battle. we have to win women more than we lose men. and we are on the road to do that with record registration among women. >> patricia, you posted video to x yesterday from trump's atlanta rally. it shows plenty of empty seats there. did the crowd bear out what we've been talking about in regards to men versus women enthusiasm for trump? >> there were a lot of young men there. it was on a college campus at georgia tech. he had a huge turnout, i will say. after an hour and a half of them

talking, those kids have to go do their homework. they're like, i'm for trump, but i'm exhausted. i have things to do. obviously his campaign would love it if he would shorten it up and not have those flafs because people did lose interest. they lost interest. his die hards were there, but they've got to be working on not just getting those young men to come but also to come vote. i talked to a lot of young men on that campus from very diverse backgrounds who were very excited about voting for donald trump. >> salinda, back in july when donald trump defiantly stood up, held that fist in the air, after being shot at a pennsylvania rally, republican vote whisperer, charlie kirk, said this. >> you see a guy that gets shots and fights his own agents and says, fight, fight, fight. let me be clear, if you are a man in this country and you don't vote for donald trump, you're not a man. who are you? you're not going to vote for that? >> we heard patricia telling us that there are signs at least

there in georgia that this bromance strategy may be working for the trump campaign. do you think democrats are underestimating that strategy? would it surprise you if on election day men outnumbered women, reversing the large margins we've been seeing in the early vote? >> i think that's impossible because there are more women in america than men. women vote at higher rates in every democratic group than men. and women are registering in higher numbers. but i think it's going to be a close race. and it's a real battle. but that's insulting to say only real men vote for that kind of attitude. and nikki haley's right. there are a lot of dads out there, there are a lot of husbands out there, there are a lot of fathers out there that don't want their daughters and granddaughters and sisters and mothers to have fewer rights than they had a decade ago. and there are a lot of opeople that want to get moving on. they're sick of this. the madison square garden rally turned off a lot of puerto rican voters, but it turned off a lot of women who said, enough of

this. we're not going to spend four more years like this. we're going to turn the page. we're going to move forward. and we're going to get things going for our country and our families. >> patricia, earlier this month you wrote internal polling shows black men in particular are a weak spot for harris. you talked to one trump supporter who said many black men feel disconnected from the democratic party, which messages heavily to black women and other minority groups and less often to black men. i'm just curious, what did the men you speak with want to hear specifically? what was missing and what's trump getting right here? >> they wanted an economic message. they wanted a message to tell them how am i going to raise my family. they were offended by legalizing marijuana being at the top of her plan for black men. they want to hear, how am i going to raise my family? how am i going to raise my kids? how can i afford all this? she'll win black men by a huge margin. she needs to win by a gigantic margin to win in georgia.

that's what joe biden did. >> ladies, thank you so much for the conversation. a gender gap is one to watch as we move forward. up next on "ana cabrera reports," democrat seine investors -- we'll talk to a top political reporter following this nail biter of a race. >> i think it's important to get out here and vote, just use my civic duty. and this election can affect us for years to come. so, it's important to vote for the candidate who really think can help this country. country. [sniff] still fresh. still fresh! ♪♪ with downy unstopables, you just toss, wash, wow. for all-day freshness. ♪ ylike a relentless weed, moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back. start to break away from uc with tremfya... with rapid relief at 4 weeks.

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ohio's republican senator, j.d. vance, has been everywhere this election cycle, as donald trump's running mate. but ohio's other senator, democrat sherrod brown, is locked in what might be the toughest race of his career. with senate control potentially coming down to one or two seats, all this week we are taking a look at some of the most critical senate races, talking with the state and local reporters who know them best n. ohio, polls show brown leading republican challenger bernie moreno by a hair within the margin of error, even as trump has a sizable lead in ohio over harris. but last night, senator brown told our own ali vitali he's confident there are enough ticket splitters out there to keep him in office. >> i'm not sitting up at night thinking, well, kamala does this or if joe biden does -- no, do.

but i know that -- i know what i need to do to win. i need to do what i've done my whole career, and that's stand up for workers. >> joining us now is matt rascone, joining us live from outside a polling site in cleveland this morning. matt, good to have you here. ohio used to be a pretty purple state but hasn't voted for a democrat for president since 2012. why do you think senator brown is confident he can have enough ticket splitters to get him re-elected? >> yeah. ana, i think it's because he's done it before, right? as you said, since 2012, ohio has consistently voted republican overall. but yet you have someone like senator brown, who has continued to grab the vote. each of those elections, now in his bid for his fourth term, he is once again banking on what has happened over the last several years. although, as you said, this is one that is virtually tied.

i mean, this is a close race in all the polls that we've seen. but in 2018, senator brown grabbed 53.5% of the vote over his challenger. in 2020, president trump had that same amount over president biden here in ohio. i think that he'll be relying on purple counties. as you said, ohio, a red state now, but you still have those pockets of counties that are either blue or even purple. we're here in cuyahoga county in cleveland. this is a reliably blue county. over to our west, you have lorraine county, that was pretty tight in the last couple of presidential elections, a close margin. it will be a county like that. it will be a county like in here in northeast ohio that will help decide whether they're going to send senator brown back to washington. voters, though, that we've talked to, they have been turned off on both sides by how long he's been in office. it has been a long time for senator brown. but then again, that experience, i think, has also played a part

and a role in how other voters view this race. of course he's up against businessman bernie moreno, who has really put his campaign at least in the primaries it was all about the endorsement from former president trump. >> and speaking of former president trump, i know you've been talking to voters about this year's presidential race. so, what else are you hearing related to that? >> well, we are seeing a lot of voter enthusiasm in this election. again, as i mentioned, we're outside the cuyahoga county board of elections. the line for early voting is wrapped around the building. and several counties that we've spoken to, they are expecting record breaking numbers during early voting at least. and then of course we'll have to wait to see on election day whether people continue to show up. so, they're seeing a lot of that enthusiasm. the presidential race continues to be the top race that is bringing people to the polls, those that we have spoken to at least.

but you have a lot of different issues that people are interested in, housing, the economy. state issue one is one that's also bringing people here. that has to do with redistricting, gerrymandering, creating a citizen-led coalition that would create the districts in ohio. immigration has also really crept in to the conversation here in ohio for multiple reasons as well. so, we'll continue to see, you know, how voters are going to continue to show up during this last week before the election. >> we have some sound of yours from previous interviews you've done. let's listen. >> it's been a rough one. it's been a dirty one. >> america first. that's what i'm about. that's what i believe in. >> he's a convicted felon. i mean, we need to be done. i don't want to hear his name again. i don't. >> you know, kamala or trump before they say anything, it should be a fact instead of just a made-up lie. and there are too many of those in this election. people are confused.

>> always good to hear from the voters. you talked about some of the issues that are driving them. i do want to ask you about what we have heard from trump related to springfield, ohio, and at one point he said he was going to go visit springfield, ohio. that hasn't materialized. how has that played there with ohio voters? >> yeah, during those several days, those even weeks after the debate, where this was, sort of, thrown into the spotlight, this was a conversation every day here in ohio. governor dewine made visits there nearly every day to springfield. that's an area he's from. i spoke to governor dewine a couple of times about this. he made this a top issue to rout out any misinformation surrounding haitian immigrants eating pets over there. i think it helped put immigration into the conversation in ohio, which is not super close to the border

with mexico. but it's continued to be a talker at times with governor dewine continuing to try to shut down and make sure that, you know, this conversation does not continue. he's put it out there in "the new york times" and other places, really wants to make sure voters are informed and know that the immigrants in that area have been a benefit in a lot of ways to that community. >> thank you so much for your reporting and your insights. next hour, jose diaz-balart will talk with arizona senator, mark kelly. that battleground has a high stakes senate race as well. with the presidential contest neck and neck there. you won't want to miss that. up next for us, vote watch is one of the most important government agencies doing less to combat the spread of disinformation than in 2020. the warning you need to know about. [child laughing] (♪♪)

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welcome back. election officials across the country are urging voters to be careful where they look for polling information, wary of disinformation that experts say is more dangerous right now than ever before. and now democrats in congress, policy experts, local officials are all raising a red flag, warning that the federal agency with the power to address bad actors online is actually doing less to combat misinformation this election cycle than it did in 2020. and nbc's homeland security correspondent julia ainsley is here with more on this. julia, what are officials doing to combat election misinformation this time around? >> well, ana, as you know, misinformation was already a problem in 2020. now in this year you add in a.i., you also have foreign adversaries using deepfakes more than ever to confuse voters and sow chaos and, objection, americans are spreading this information. we asked the head of cisa what they're doing about that. here's what we learned.

>> just a week before election day, ballot drop boxes on fire, mountains cluttering the internet and sounding the alarm about foreign countries trying to sow chaos. this video just went viral purporting to show someone ripping up ballots in bucks county, pennsylvania. but it's fake, according to u.s. agencies tracking election misinformation. they said in a statement that the video is part of a russian disinformation effort to, quote, raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the u.s. election. the agency leading the charge cisa, the nation's cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency. cisa is tasked with making sure votes are counted, poll workers stay safe, and information like this gets called out for the sham that it is. >> they're looking to sow partisan discord, to pit americans against each other. >> reporter: cisa's director

says the agency is trying to set the record straight on its rumor first reality web page. but they have some limits to their powers, like those ballot drop boxes, not their purview. and the agency practicing restraint when it comes to policing americans' free speech, like earlier this year when about 50,000 new hampshire voters received this robocall from a deepfake, pretending to be joe biden, telling them not to vote in the state's primary. >> voting this tuesday only enables the republicans. >> reporter: it wasn't cisa that jumped in, but the state. >> that messaging was clearly a form of voter suppression. it was illegal. and simply inappropriate. >> reporter: the secretary of state telling us his office blasted out a response on social media, and in press releases. but why would the feds not get involved? why would cisa be reluctant to step in in any situation and why would they rather leave some things to state and locals? >> well, the states, by the

constitution, run elections. >> reporter: other constraints are social media companies, cutting their staff that handle government requests to remove disinformation. a hot button issue. >> obviously the great thing about america is you have freedoms to include freedom of speech. >> reporter: if there is bad information that comes from a american citizen and they're protected by free speech online, do you respond differently to that than if you know it is coming from a foreign adversary? >> we put out specific information about what our foreign adversaries are doing, but at the end of the day, we are just looking to put out accurate information. >> reporter: senator mark warner, a democrat, pushing for cisa to do more. in a letter last month, arguing artificial intelligence has supercharged the threats to election. do you think cisa should be the one to tell the american people when something is fake news? >> i think that cisa hasn't been willing to lean in as much on the fake news definition because you have so many americans

putting out fake news. >> reporter: come election day, if misinformation is swirling, warner thinks cisa should be prepared to step in. >> the most important thing is to get that word out as quickly as possible and that may require a federal response. >> reporter: in america's patchwork election system, cisa may not be able to put out every fire. what should voters do if they seeing some on election day that they're not sure if it is true or not? >> the trusted source is your state and local election official. >> reporter: key for voters to keep in mind as they head to the polls and wait for the results. now, another reason why cisa might be reluctant to step in is what happened in 2020 when then cisa director chris krebs said the election was most secure in american history. that rub then president trump the wrong way and he fired chris krebs. since then, cisa wants to establish credibility as a nonpartisan agency so they don't want to put theirthumb on the scale to say what might be right and what might be wrong and

overstep the authority of the steps. they're much more operating in the space where they are combatting information put out by foreign adversaries than americans themselves. >> thanks so much for shining light on this issue, julia ainsley, appreciate your reporting. and that does it for us today. thank you for joining us. i'll see you back here tomorrow, same time, same place. for now, i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage next. from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage next. whoa! how'd you get your teeth so white? you gotta use the right toothpaste! dr. c?! ♪♪ not all toothpastes whiten the same. crest 3d white removes 100% more stains for a noticeably whiter smile. new personal best. crest.

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