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♪♪ hi, everyone. we did it. it's 4:00 in new york and this is it, election day in america is here. welcome to msnbc's special election day coverage. today marking the end of a presidential campaign season like none other in american history, and as polls close in just a few hours we will await the verdict from the american people, from the voters themselves. more than 81 million people have already voted, that is more than a third of all eligible voters in nine states turnout is already above 50%. all of this meaning that overall turnout is likely to be one of the highest in recent american history. voting is continuing at a brisk pace as we come on the air. here is the scene live in erie, pennsylvania, a critical region

in a critical battleground. as for the democratic presidential candidate, vice president kamala harris, no rest for the weary, as they say, here she is on a radio show this morning reiterating her message of unity. >> i believe in the promise of america. i see it every day. i see it in people who are working hard to take care of their families. i see it in women who are fighting for reproductive freedom and the men who are supporting them. i see it in republicans who have never voted for a democrat before who are putting the constitution of the united states ahead of party. and i'm telling you, just -- i see it around our country. i'm traveling. people are yearning for an approach that is about bringing us together. >> today will be a test of that message and what the vice president has accomplished in her 108-day campaign. ever since president joe biden made an unprecedented act of

political self-sacrifice, stepped out of the race and passed the torch to his vice president, kamala harris, she has assembled a historic idealogically diverse big tent coalition of a scale once considered the stuff of aaron sorkin tv scripts. kamala harris is the candidate who made it possible to put dick cheney and taylor swift in the same sentence on the same side. it's a coalition that vice president harris has assembled for her, but also in opposition to a campaign that is spending its final days circling the drain of the darkest depths of misogyny and racism. at his final rally donald trump called nancy pelosi the "b" word, that's hot on the heels of his running mate j.d. vance calling vice president harris the "g" word, g for garbage, but he used the word trash.

this behavior doesn't surprise and unfortunately it doesn't shock or offend on the scale that it should at this point, but it is a fitting end for a campaign where no smear has been too reprehensible for trump or vance to utter, no claim too false or absurd to make, no conspiracy theory too dangerous to our fellow americans to amplify and repeat and double and triple down on. but vice president harris has given the country a choice. at her last rally in philadelphia harris hit an upbeat note. >> our campaign has tapped into the ambitions and the aspirations and the dreams of the american people. we are optimistic and we are excited about what we can do together and we know it is time for a new generation of leadership in america.

and i am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the united states of america. however, the race ain't over yet, and we must finish strong, and this could be -- this could be one of the closest races in history. and tonight then we finish as we started, with optimism, with energy, with joy, knowing -- knowing that we the people have the power to shape our future, and that we can confront any challenge we face when we do it together. generations of americans before us led the fight for freedom,

and now the baton is in our hands. >> hours to go before the polls close on election day 2024. that's where we start today with some of our most favorite reporters, friends and special guests. here with me at the table for the hour former republican congressman msnbc political analyst david jolly is here, claire mccaskill is back with us, a former missouri senator, the host of msnbc's "how to win 2024" podcast and our friend democratic strategist and professor at columbia university msnbc political analyst basil smikle is here. we get to start today at harris campaign headquarters with stephanie cutter, senior advisor to the campaign. we will worked against each other, we have offered opposing views from two parties that used to have policy divides. you have helped run, i think, the first post partisan

presidential campaign in modern american history where you've been juggling the schedule of the current vice president of the united states and former republican congresswoman liz cheney together. tell me what this campaign is about in its final hours. >> well, first of all, how many election days, nicolle, have we spent together in various capacities? too many, right, to count. >> yes. >> and here we are again. so what does this all mean coming into election day? you know, i think that the vice president said it the best last night where this incredible coalition has come together in support of the vice president, in support of turning the page on donald trump, and circling around this promise of america. it has been an incredible thing to be part of and watch grow over the last several months, and we feel coming into election day that we have had a ton of

momentum, i want to remind everybody that polls are still open, there's still time to vote, if you haven't voted yet, and if you have voted there's still time for you to get your friends out to vote, especially those low propensity voters, and we are -- we are finishing strong. turnout is up in almost every single state. there are projections, for instance, in georgia that we will exceed what our campaign had projected, but even what the secretary of state had projected. we see incredibly high turnout on college campuses across pennsylvania, high turnout in puerto rican neighborhoods in philadelphia. so this coalition is coming together and this is the day where it all matters. it will be a long day, we don't expect this race to be called early, but we are optimistic that we are literally about to be able to turn the page on

donald trump and install vice president harris as the next president of the united states. >> there's such a fixation on the polls because it's the only data point available in an anxious time. that's not a political statement, you know, both campaigns are looking for something so they hang on to the polls, but what each campaign has built in terms of get out the vote by this news cycle is more important. what can you tell us about -- i mean, it's 1:00 in the west, i mean, there's a lot more voting to happen. >> there's a lot more voting. >> tell me about your campaign's gotv effort and what you still need to happen today on election day. >> well, literally we've got poll workers, we've got people driving to the polls, we've got efforts to make sure that the actual implementation of voting is going smoothly. you know, there's more infrastructure being sent to high voting areas that -- where the vote is higher than

expected, for instance, college campuses in pennsylvania. we just -- and you saw the vice president at a phone bank with people calling, encouraging people to get out to vote. we know pretty much who has voted so far, we know who is left to turn out. this was a huge weekend in terms of get out the vote. we had 90,000 people knocking on 3 million doors across battleground states. that's unprecedented. so we need to stay focused. we need people to actually come out and vote. if you are in line, don't get out of line. if you need information of where to go vote, go to iwillvote.com. from anecdotally from what we see happening across the country people are having a good time going to vote. there are deejays, there's dancing, there's that joy that the vice president talks about

happening at polling places all over the country. so please go find one if you have not voted. >> how much have you allowed yourself to contemplate the possibility that jan seltzer is right? >> of what's happening in iowa? >> i mean, i think the bigger -- >> more reflective of what's happening across the country? >> i'm sorry, but you tell me if you think that she may have -- the bigger story may be that she may have identified a flaw in a lot of models. do you think that's possible? >> i definitely think it's possible that there's something going on out there that neither campaign or public polls have picked up and that's women writ large regardless of party, all age groups, coming out and voting at very high numbers. and not just women, but the men that love them, whether it's a sister, wife, daughter, cousin,

neighbor, friend. so it could be reflective of some of the things that we see in early vote and across battleground states. you know, this race sun like any other for a million reasons. from the dobbs decision to the first presidential post covid where people are changing their voting patterns, to donald trump being on the ballot again, to vice president harris being a relatively new candidate. all of this shakes up the framework of the electorate and how you track it. so we think we have a good idea of where our vote is and where we need to meet our goals and we are meeting our goals. if what ann saw in iowa is reflective of what could be happening across other states this will be a very good night for us. >> you choose your words carefully so i want to ask this question carefully. >> yes. >> when you hear a general

describe donald trump as fascist to the core, as someone truly indifferent to and puzzled by and disdainful of the service and sacrifice that men and women of the military make to the country, it's so repulsive to all americans, but it also speaks for itself. how do you calibrate all of the information that sort of flooded the zone in the final days? a comedian in madison square garden calling puerto rico trash. it's all so vile. how do you calibrate and make sure that it speaks for itself and that it gets to the voters? >> in terms of our campaign and the message that we are delivering and the need to both deliver an optimistic message about what the future looks like under a president harris versus what we're turning the page from, it is a calibration. people are coming out to vote for vice president harris, not

just against donald trump. but this is also pretty important information for people to know. it largely reinforced what they already knew about him and reminded them of what life was like four years ago. you've talked about this on your show and people have talked about it for many months now. in the electorate there is a bit of a trump-nesia. people didn't remember how bad it was, didn't remember all of the dangerous things that he did. but when a four-star general comes out and says that he is fascist to the core and another four-star general comes out and says -- and these are the people that worked with him, that know him up close -- that is dangerous and shouldn't come anywhere near the oval office again, these are people that should be listened to. so it was absolutely important for us to communicate that or amplify it, those weren't our words, those were former military who were very close to him. but at the same time we have to

show that, you know, his actions are incredibly dangerous, these messages coming from these four-star generals is literally a 911 to the american people to pay attention. we will amplify that but we also have to talk about there is a better way. there is a need to turn the page, a new way forward and we can, you know -- vice president harris talks about her to-do list in the oval office. donald trump has his enemies list. wouldn't you rather have a president with a to-do list of how she's going to make your life better rather than somebody making an enemies list of how they're going to seek revenge and retribution? i would much rather have a president focus on how she's going to make my life better. that's an important choice for us to lay out in the final weeks this have campaign and i think it registered. i think for those undecided voters who hadn't made a decision yet, i think it made a big difference. >> did you see something in the final days that let's you

predict it to be possible to sweep the battleground states? >> well, i'm not going to make any predictions, but i do think that we finish very strong and if you were making your decision in the last couple weeks of this campaign, i think, you know, by significant margins people were decided for vice president harris. >> stephanie cutter, someone who doesn't take any credit but deserves a lot of the credit for things that go right in any organization. thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. >> thank you, nicolle. joining us now at a battleground pennsylvania nbc's jacob soboroff, he is in philly for us at temple university. tell me, my friend, what are you seeing? >> reporter: nicolle, we have seen almost 700 voters show up here. this is just one -- actually, it's four in one polling location of 1,703 polling in the city of philadelphia.

earlier if anybody was tuned into msnbc you would have seen folks at the beginning this have line have been waiting about an hour and a half. is it true you guys are about two hours deep now? >> about. >> about two hours. how long have you been waiting? >> two hours. >> so you got here around 2:00. >> yeah. >> thank you for waiting. is this your first time voting? >> yeah, it is. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> okay. you're almost there. >> reporter: nicolle, part of the reason is, you know, number one there's extraordinary turnout and you know that vice president harris wants to see that extraordinary turnout in urban areas like philadelphia, especially at temple university. but another part of the reason is that most young people, especially in areas like temple university, have not been participating in the mail-in voting process in pennsylvania. in philadelphia there have been something like, i think -- and, by the way, not even close to the end of the line. everybody doing okay? how long have you been waiting so far? >> over an hour. >> two hours about. >> is this your first time voting? >> i'm not voting, she is. >> i'm voting. this is my first time. >> how come you're not voting. >> i can't, i'm 17 still.

my birthday is literally in three days. >> how cool is that, you want to come out and experience it anyway. >> yeah, did i. >> why? >> i want to experience what i'm going to be doing in the next four years. >> what's your name? >> katherine. >> nice to meet you. >> kalyn. >> nice to meet you. >> reporter: about 200,000 mail-in ballots have been returned in pennsylvania. there's 500,000 people or so they tell me the city commissioners who run elections, nicolle, who have not actually voted yet today on election day and those 500,000 people or so are all going to be participating in-person on election day. look at this line. this is, again, i'm not even close to the end of the line here. we've been here all day and the line continues to grow. everybody doing okay here? >> yes. >> okay. good. i'm glad. >> reporter: there's people that have been bringing food, i've been hearing from people on social media saying they're sending pizzas out here. the line keeps going on and on here in a place that i think the harris campaign, nicolle, is going to be watching very

closely. as you look across the state, obviously this would counterbalance those rural areas where the trump campaign is hoping to drive up the numbers. you see other media is coming out because of the well-attended lines here. you see the groups that are providing stuff like chips and snacks and all kinds of stuff like that. can i stop with you guys and just say hello. i'm spray could be, we're live on msnbc what's your name? >> adam. >> how long have you been in line? >> i don't know, i lost count. >> so they're saying it could be two hours before you get to the end. are you prepared to wait that long? >> sure. i've got nothing better to do. >> some people would say two hours, man, that's a long time. >> well, i guess i have two hours to spare. >> all right. have you thought about who you are going to vote yet? >> yes, i'm certain i know who i'm going to vote for. i feel like the facts are out there, if you choose not to believe them that's your choice. >> do you want to let us in on what you're thinking? >> it's kamala, i'm sorry, y'all, it's facts over opinion. >> what's your name?

>> miles. >> that's my brother's name. nice to meet you. >> reporter: nicolle, it's an extraordinary thing to see, some might be daunted by a two-hour line, waiting for so long, ten voting machines in a precinct that's going to ultimately potentially have thousands of people come the end of the evening today but this is democracy in action. we are an ununited states when it comes to voting, there's many ways and days that we vote in this country. here in philadelphia where the harris campaign is watching very closely, where she was last night, i was at that rally last night, it was spectacular to see. i think that they would say this is a very encouraging sign but not until all the votes are counted will we be able to say that for sure. >> jacob soboroff, two things. if the people handing out snacks are taking donations for their snack supply, please get me a venmo and i will venmo them to replenish the snack line. >> reporter: i will. >> and, too --

>> reporter: nicolle wallace wants your venmo. >> so keep them supplied in snacks for everyone working this shift. >> reporter: nicolle, hold on one second. excuse me for interrupting you, but someone here, i think, that i heard came out when i heard there was a long line here. here he is. hey, paul. paul, i'm live with nicolle wallace on msnbc. paul rudd just showed up because he heard the line was so long. paul, what brought you out. >> i just wanted to give people water, they are waiting in line for a long time and it's a wonderful thing that all these young people are out voting. >> reporter: two hours are saying they are in line for. >> that's impressive. >> reporter: when you heard that did you say right away i have to come out here, get to this line. >> we've been doing lots of stuff today here in pennsylvania and, yeah, we wanted to come out and tell these students that they're doing really great things. >> reporter: good to see you. how are you feeling about the election? >> i feel good about handing out some waters. >> reporter: nicolle wallace wanted their venmo. she wants to give some waters out, too. >> i appreciate it.

>> i have to do better than water. i mean, i will send pizza, doughnuts, i mean, you know, every' worked on campaigns on the day. water is, you know, just gets you -- sustains you. let's get them what they need. figure out who is feeding these folks and we're happy to contribute for whomever they are voting for. i do want to ask you about what the one voter said about facts over opinion. stephanie cutter was on before you talking about, you know, how the campaign really had to calibrate, letting people in their own words communicate what they are seeing and there were so many ex-trump officials testifying to what she was like as president that they didn't really feel like they had to in the final hours of this campaign say too much about him. is that anything you're picking up in these final hours? >> reporter: i mean, that's the sense that i get. maybe i could ask some of you guys. we're live on msnbc. how hard was it to make up your mind in these final hours of the campaign? was it something you had to haggle with or was your mind

ready to go, you knew who you were going to vote for. >> it's been ready to go out of the gate. i knew who i was going to vote for. i didn't need to listen to the people in my ear. >> is it your first time voting? >> it is. >> how does it feel? >> it feels great. it's awesome. feels like i'm ept aring my country, helping out. >> do you want a water from paul rudd? >> yes, i do. >> thank you. may i get a picture. >> thanks for coming out, sure. >> guys, get together. guys, this is a moment. the light is this way, let's turn around. here we go. ready, three, two, cheese. we got it. a nice picture. >> yes. >> thank you very much. >> i love it. >> reporter: nicolle, back to you. >> i wish i was there to help you snap pictures for voters with paul rudd and sugar. tell someone to buy sugar and salt. >> she's got the bars, don't worry. >> i hope that you are available to us all night. there's no one i'd rather talk to. thank everyone for participating in this process, especially folks waiting two hours to do

it. it's really awesome. thank you. >> reporter: i will. okay. nicolle. our panel is clamoring to get in on this. still so much more ahead for us on what is a glorious day for our country which you just saw, that is what it's all about. it is also nerve-racking, right a night we have all been waiting for and to be honest some of us want it to be over. we will go to howard university when we come back, kamala harris' alma mater. also where she will be watching the results tonight. author michelle norris has just joined the msnbc family will be our guest from there coming up. plus over the next two hours we will check in on several of the key battleground states where polls will be closing a few hours from right now, from the blue wall to the sun belt, every state matters. every state is a big huge deal and right now every state is still open for voting. so if you are listening and you haven't voted, i will only say

this once, turn us off, turn us back on in the car, and go vote. stay tuned in for election night coverage here on msnbc all night. in the next hour the very first exit polls start coming in and the great steve kornacki will be here to break them down for us. at 6:00 p.m. the full team picks up coverage, we're led by rachel maddow. there's so much more good stuff ahead for us tonight. the special edition of "deadline: white house" continues after a quick break. don't go anywhere. continues after a quick break. don't go anywhere.

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for more than half of this

country's life women didn't have a voice, yet we raised children, we held our families together, we supported men as they made the decisions, but tomorrow women will be a part of making this decision. today i am holding in my heart all the women who made me who i am. i cast my vote for someone who will be a president for all, for all americans. of course lady gaga there closing it for vice president kamala harris last night. we're back with david, claire and basil. claire, what are you texting? >> first i'm emotional. >> i know. this is the first time i've watched that without crying when she talked about women not being able to vote for half of this

country's history. >> i'm wearing my mom's wedding ring tonight and the woman who was like my grandmother, she is my great aunt but served as my grandmother, i'm wearing her wedding ring tonight. we have not talked a lot about the historic nature of this campaign because kamala harris was disciplined and smart and knew her most important job was to make sure america knew she was prepared and ready and was going to look after them in terms of being president, and her identity was pushed to the background, but i'm feeling it today. i'm feeling very emotional about it. i'm also busy on my phone because i have contacts -- >> it's literally smoking. >> i know. i had a chance to talk to chuck schumer this morning, i have had a chance to talk to my friends that are in tough senate races today. everybody is feeling pretty good, cautious but good. i think the thing that's going to happen tonight that will tell us so much is georgia. it's going to be early. we're going to know early about georgia and also north carolina,

those two will be the first two states we will begin to really get eyes into what has happened. if, in fact, what they're seeing in the data comes true and kamala harris wins georgia and wins north carolina, then i can probably breathe again, but until then i'm going to continue to hold my breath and fiddle with my grandmother and my mother's wedding rings. >> you know, when i went to vote this morning i saw -- i brought my daughter and i saw a mom there with her son and i think they were probably school kids, out of school, there were a lot of kids there and she said -- he said why did i have to come? she said because i wanted you to be here when i voted for the first woman president. i don't know if she was voting in new york in '16, i don't know who she voted for, but it is the voters talk about this not the candidate. i think it comes spilling out from lady gaga and billie eilish, but it seems that the

spol sters if ann selzer is on to something might have missed it, too. that becomes part of a broken craft of polling. what are you thoughts? >> yeah, and the thing that's really interesting to me and i said this this morning on "morning joe," when you are electing somebody has president and vice president more than anything you are electing their judgment because when there is a key moment, you've seen it up close, judgment really matters. and the idea that these two guys, in their very best judgment to win this election felt like they could trash women for the last two weeks of the campaign when that is what they desperately need to come to their campaign, and they call women horrible words, they call the vice president trash, they call nancy pelosi the "b" word. they continue to demean and denigrate women in ways that women see. it's like they think we don't see it. >> it's not like we don't report on their speeches. >> playing it's a man's world at

every rally, we get it, guys. we get it. it's your world. and women are viscerally responding to it in a way that they may not even be talking about and that's what ann selzer may have captured. that's why it might be a night tonight different than all the polls said. >> i'm emotional, too. one of the people that trained me in politics is a woman named jackie ward who has since passed away, she is not around to be able to see this. my friend terrence tolbert did not get an opportunity to see the state go blue for obama. it's an acknowledgment that there are people who have been toiling away at this work for a very long time, not just who is at the top of the ticket but for all of the people down ballot who are doing really good work in communities. you know, over the last year or so i've felt a little ownership of kamala harris' campaign because i was out there saying do not demean this woman, do not bring her down, do not go after her and attack her because we're

going to need her one day. i'm not a press ant as that may presume but she is important to this ticket and the future of this country. it's amaze to go hear the 17-year-old accompanying her friends to the polls. what that suggests to me is that this is a movement, it's not just a candidacy. she wanted to be a part of something and as a friend of mine told me earlier, they want to be on the right side of history. i think that's the feeling that we have and used the term she used early, this nonpartisan election because we want to be on the right side of history. so i look back on how she is -- as you were talking about their campaign, she has comported herself, she told you he at the very beginning i know the type in talking about donald trump and every step of the way she has let donald trump define himself in his own words right up to and including today, yesterday. so you didn't need to hear it from anybody else, you heard it

directly from his mouth and the framing of that contrast throughout these entire five months has been extraordinary. she baited him perfectly. she's run such an amazing campaign and i have friends and family in jamaica calling me, they're watching it right now and watching everything come out tonight. so this is -- it's emotional because it touches on so many parts of who i am and who we are and i think that's what they were going for, right? to be this more inclusive campaign. >> well, i mean, to your point about how emotional it is to see a democratic candidate for president lift up my past bosses. i mean, john mccain is a boo and hiss line. he mocks his injuries from being a prisoner of war. she has surrounded herself with people who know who he is, which is a hero. i think in some ways she holds a

mirror up to not the divisions of our country which is what trumpism is about, right, but to the potential and the possibility that within a household, maybe even one with a trump/vance outside of it, humans, wives, children, husbands, sons, can still think for themselves. and that is at its most visceral level about bringing families back together, bringing communities back together, bringing our politics back together. >> yeah, i think we're going to see the strength of america tonight. i think we saw the strength of america with those students standing in line at temple university for two hours to wait to vote. jimmy carter in his inaugural address quoted one of his high school teachers, shout out to ms. coleman jimmy carter's high school teacher and said we must meet changing times with unchanging principles. for me what i see today and in this moment and we saw it in 2020 is that donald trump

disrupted this path the country was on. donald trump disrupted the principles that we all thought we shared within our households, within our communities, our places of faith, of civic participation, and what we saw, then, in '18 was a complete rejection of that disruption. in '20 you had joe biden, you know -- because donald trump said he was cheated we fail to realize sometimes that joe biden unseated a sitting president by 80 electoral votes. that was a real historic win. in '22 the red wave never happened. >> in the middle of a crisis. >> in the middle of a crisis, right. in '22 the red wave never happened and now you bring in the post-dobbs landscape and i think all of the minutia of data is incredible but the macro view is also so important which is what donald trump disrupted our principles this coalition came out and said in '18 and '20 and '22 we are not going to let you do that. part of that now is the

elevation of women's voices in this moment and i'm fascinated when you two were speaking about the role of women and, i agree, women are going to decide this election neither one of you mentioned reproductive freedom. it's sometimes too easy for us to say women are going to vote in a post dobbs environment because of reproductive freedom. i'm not the best voice for women's issues, i understand that, but it's bigger than a post dobbs reproductive freedom question. women lead us in the direction of decency, back to our founding prime ministers, to a place of community, to a place of national pride. and it is about who we are as a community but what we want to hand to our children. i'm excited about the role of women tonight, but i'm also excited about the country once again after 18, 20 and '22 tonight to reject trumpism across the country. >> there's so much more to say. you have all with your answers raised a million more questions for all of you, so please stay

with us. we have to sneak in a break. but ahead for us when billionaire jeff bezos blocked, stopped, banned his "washington post" from making a presidential endorsement in the 2024 campaign, a wave of top journalists and editors from the "washington post" said we're done. they stepped aside. one of those journalists is michelle norris who, lucky for us, is now an msnbc senior contributing editor. her first assignment covering kamala harris's election night at howard university. we get to talk to her from howard next. don't go anywhere. r from howard next. don't go anywhere. then i found a chance to let in the lyte.” discover caplyta. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta is proven to deliver significant symptom relief from both bipolar i & ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. caplyta can cause serious side effects. call your doctor about sudden mood changes,

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qunol. the brand i trust. the first office i ever ran for was freshman class representative at howard university. and to go back tonight to howard university, my beloved alma mater, and be able to hopefully, you know, recognize this -- the day for what it is, is really -- it's full circle for me. and, you know, if elected i'll be the first hbcu president. >> vice president kamala harris on the personal significance for her in this decision to return to her alma mater, howard university, tonight as she awaits the returns. the vice president will be holding her election night party there later, it's not just significant to her, it is an inspiration to howard students

as well. take a listen. >> it makes me feel proud that i'm able to live in such -- like an amazing place and go to the same school that she did. >> it's like an inspiration to do better, be better and be my absolute best because howard really does give us the opportunity to do that. >> it honestly feels like we're like walking in the footsteps of legacy. >> it will show that we actually are looking for a change in america which we do need. we need a leader. we need someone who is going to help us. and if all americans can come together it will show how much of a strong community and country we are. >> it really does show black excellence. you're watching the impossible be possible and happen. >> this is the change that dr. king, malcolm x and many of the like, fred hampton, this is what they were talking about and i can't wait to see it. >> joining our coverage msnbc's senior michelle editor michelle norris, she is at howard university where vice president

harris will hold her election night event. tell me what your best intuition is about where the country has landed today. >> reporter: well, it's looking like late deciders are breaking for kamala harris and anybody who tells you they know what's going to happen at the end of the night is just making it up because we don't know, but it's possible that with all the polls that we have had that they may have missed hidden voters and they may have missed those voters that are experiencing something akin to the war of the heart. their party line may be i'm supposed to go this way but based on what they've seen and heard, the rhetoric, the nastiness, that they may be pulled in another direction. here at howard there is so much enthusiasm and excitement. we are here in the yard and most colleges this would be called the quad, at howard it's called the yard. nicolle, imagine, imagine if you come back to the place where you went to college and you bring

back an election night party of this magnitude. then imagine on top of that that you're a woman. then imagine on top of that that you're a woman of color. then imagine on top of all of that that your college is a historically black college that was built for black and brown students whose dreams were bigger than the definition held by this nation of who should actually have access to the nation's top jobs and biggest opportunities and here she is coming back here after her 90-day job interview with the nation and bringing all of that energy with her. it's really incredible. to the right here is something called founder's hall, it's a big building with the large sort of coppola on top and when kamala harris became the nation's vice president the bells on top of that building ran 49 times when she became the nation's 49th vice president. so that's the kind of atmosphere that she will be walking into tonight. >> what is on your mind today as

you sort of await -- because you're right, and, i mean, i think all of the folks that i've turned to for the last four years to understand how someone to flagrantly autocratic and impulse and instinct and rhetoric and global associations could build a fan base and a base of support in this country. one of the hallmarks of remaining on the other side of that dangerous line, a democracy, is that nobody could tell you right now what's going to happen. that's the beauty of a democracy. the voters decide and they haven't finished voting so we don't know what will happen. what are your sort of thoughts in the way these two choices have closed? i mean, the vice president didn't even mention donald trump in her final campaign messages, and the vice presidential nominee on the other side said next week we're going to take out the trash and the trash has a name, it's kamala harris. >> reporter: at a time when they know that they need female voters. they need women to show up at

the polls and he was still using language like that. you know me, know the kind of work i do as a reporter. i spend a lot of time looking at the nation's divide. so i'm thinking about the road ahead and the days after the election. elections are moments when america reveals itself and the bridges that cross those divides in america are very wobbly and very rickety right now. i'm actually worried about that, about the work that needs to be done to try to bring this nation back together. you have two choices right now and this is for people who have not yet gone to the polls yet. there's one candidate who actually wants to reach across the aisle and she has said that i will reach across the aisle and work with people who did not vote with me, who may not agree with me. that's also evident in her upbringing here at howard where people were often going into a world that wasn't ready for them and they knew that they would have to cross lines and extend a hand and work with people who may not even want them in the room. so you have one candidate who is willing to work across the line and one who is not, who is all about retribution. so i'm a little bit worried about the picture that is sort

of come into view, like a polaroid as we've gotten closer to election day. as we move forward i'm really concerned about the work ahead and the work that has to be done, not just by the candidates, but by individuals who are going to have to work really hard to figure out how we can coexist in this planet that we all share and this country that we all share. >> it's absolutely right and it should be on the mind of everybody covering tonight because someone will win, the voters will decide who that is and then the next big story is how we got here, where one side thinks they win by calling the other trash. you're absolutely right, as you always are, to point us toward what we really need to be paying attention to and that's not just how we got here, but how we get away from here. it's such an honor. i know all of it was said the other night but it's such a privilege to have you in the msnbc family. thank you so much for joining us today. >> reporter: so glad to be here. >> thank you. thank you so much.

thank you. there will be much more from our panel and correspondents all over this country on historic election day. another quick break. we will be right back. election day another quick break. we will be right back. bone heal. qunol's high-absorption magnesium glycinate helps me get the full benefits of magnesium. qunol. the brand i trust. you founded your kayak company because you love the ocean. not spreadsheets... you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. our matching platform lets you spend less time searching and more time connecting with candidates. visit indeed.com/hire

all week instead of don't go anywhere, i said if they're going to go anywhere, go vote. it feels like a lot of people are voting and waiting in really long lines to vote. >> yeah. i think we're going to have a

record turnout. maybe even 1960 when that was the current record in this country. and wouldn't it be special if we got 75% of the people eligible to vote registered and good for our country. i've got to tell you what's on my mind right now. i can't help but think about the senate, partially because these are my buddies. we all got elected at the same time. bob kasey, sherod brown, john tester. we're close friends. they all four -- they all three are in really, really tough races. >> yeah. >> and -- but i will tell you having visited with folks today about the senate races, you know, you said don't sleep on men the other night. don't sleep on texas. that's where -- >> totally agree. >> that woman dying and it becoming public through pro

publica, it gets at the gut of women's health, i think there might be something going on. wouldn't it be like the whip cream and cherry on top if collin allred beat ted cruz? if that would happen and we would find out tonight, i might get up and dance. >> bring you back together. >> i think david mentioned that we had mentioned reproductive freedom. i think it has transcended a woman's issue. i think emra thurmond is the woman who died because of the draconian bans. she left behind a son. amber thurmond's mother has bravely told her story. josh has been on the campaign trail because of a baby they were wanting. when they miss carried he was taking his wife to the hospital to try to save her life and she became septic, which is deadly.

she survived but is unsure of her fertility. i think that we as a media don't do a good job covering how men feel about their wives and sisters and mothers and daughters being in danger when they're pregnant. there's a lot of anecdotal evidence that being pregnant is a death sentence. >> michelle obama was saying, protect us, to men. it wasn't demeaning or condescending, it was empowering. we were talking earlier in that, you know, a lot of the language that you heard from men after the julia roberts ad when they were saying, i would never want my wife to vote a different way from me, that's tantamount to her cheating on me, now you've created a situation where as men you're saying, i just don't want to be that guy. >> i think say a name. >> i don't want to be that guy. don't cast me in a lot with that guy. that actually is even more empowering. >> yeah. >> that's why i said the campaign was so great.

they knew that these things were there. they knew that these threads were there. all they had to do is pull it out. >> david? >> i agree with everything that's been said and i think on the question of reproductive freedom, a lot of men have had their eyes open post-op as well. that will inform men votes as much as will. i think we also have to pay tribute to the coalition that in 107 days vice president harris has built, one that is just broader than the democratic party. she has been a remarkable thing. >> and the lack of discomfort. i mean, she looks as comfortable alongside liz cheney as she does michelle obama. she truly has not campaigned as a partisan figure. she has never disparaged the trump voter. she has told people to go to trump's rallies. i loved hearing that voter say, facts versus opinion. she's wanted people to see it for themselves. an extraordinary campaign. yes? >> i have to shout out the d 9.

on day one they were there supporting her and have been on the phone ever since organizing. that is what they do. and it is part of the sort of lineage that michelle pulled out in her reporting from hbcus. it's the understanding of history and your place in it. >> david, claire, douglas, i feel like we've been through it. >> yes. >> the last 200 days the last eight years. thank you for being here today. coming up for us, i know you've been waiting for him. the one and only steve kornacki joins us to talk about the first batch of real data. exit polls. that's after our quick break. don't go anywhere. i've always ft most comfortable up here, with the folks that made me who i am. i'm right at home, out here on the land. and i'm in my lane on the shoulder of the interstate. because this is where i come from.

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5:00 in new york and breathe through our gills. breathe in, breathe out. special coverage of election day. millions of people doing the most beautiful thing you can think of in public. exercising their right to have their voices heard in an election with monumental consequences for the very future of our democratic experience. either winner will make history marking the first woman elected president or the second president to be elected to two non-consecutive terms. the statewide poll closures are two hours away. in it one hour we start getting in our first returns. that's the first data, the first sense on who's turning out and what they care about. we'll get you that as soon as they're available to us and we will share them with you. today's election, the culmination of a wild and unprecedented campaign cycle. vice president kamala harris began her campaign just 10 days ago. what we've seen since is harris

centering her campaign on the future, on hope and opportunity and bringing the country together and campaigning alongside democrats and republicans while her opponent, donald trump, a criminally convicted ex-president has spent the last year, frankly the past eight, spewing divisive, violent and at times vulgar rhetoric. here's a taste of their closing messages. >> we are optimistic and excited about what we will do together. and we here know it is time for a new generation of leadership in america. >> for the past nine years we have been fighting against the most sin nistster and corrupt forces on earth. >> i am not going to be a leader who thinks that people who disagree with me should be put in jail. >> our stupid generals, our terrible generals u the guys up top like millie, like kelly, real losers.

kelly was dumb as a rock. >> my pledge to you to always put country above party and self. >> the choice before the american voter today is so stark. as one candidate has openly and embraced and campaigned on autocratic ways and has lied almost too many times for media organizations to keep an accurate count. trump has been very proud of hess installation of three conservative justices on the united states supreme court who enabled the overturning of roe versus wade, an issue now driving many voters to the polls, men and women. voters in ten states today will have an opportunity to enshrine abortion access into their state's constitutions or strengthen protections already in place. donald trump earlier today showed how he feels about an issue very close to voters' hearts and minds. >> about the abortion ban, will you enhance it and also melania?

>> just stop talking about that. >> stop talking about that. abortion. any minute now we will see how motivating abortion access and women's reproductive rights and health care and the ability to get life saving health care from when they are pregnant will be to voters in this race. we'll be getting the first exit poll data. the one and only steve kornacki will break in. some of our favorite experts and friends. co-host of msnbc's "the weekend" is here and msnbc analyst, cornell belcher is putting us to shame. you look so sharp. tom heilman is here. i start with you because you're a person who knows things on these days. what do you know? >> well, let's level set because

i was part of the early exit polls. take it all with a grain of salt. i remember many years back when i was a democrat senatorial campaign staffer, many years back, and we got early exit polls coming in. the we started celebrating because we were going to make senator daschle majority leader that year. senator daschle didn't become senate majority leader. >> early wave. >> early turnout, you have to be careful. more republican like. it's going to look like that red wave, which is when donald trump's going to declare victory. it's going to look like that wave but then you get the more urban areas turning in, you see it become bluer. so just level set. what i will say is that what we are seeing, and i think it holds up, is that women are going to make up a larger share of the electorate this year. and i think if you -- if the -- if she's winning women by the margins that we think she's

winning women by the margins and women make up a larger share than 2020, i think it makes it tougher for trump to get there. >> what do you think? >> i think that i totally agree with cornell about if there was anything i would ever say to anybody, i don't think you can forecast much on the basis of early vote. >> right. >> there are some things in the early vote that are interesting, but they're not going to tell you and the republicans try to game that. would he have so many votes in the bank, it will be impossible. we'll know on election day. we'll know that trump has it in the bag. no. the early exit polls, the one i remember, cornell, 2016, hillary clinton was so far ahead. hillary clinton was so far ahead that i walked over to the javits center and people, everybody was like, this is over. of course it wasn't over. early exit polls are garbage and they maybe tell you a little bit about people's prioritizations about issues but they don't tell

you anything about the vote. i think that the thing that cornell just said is super important because it's the highest level bid, the highest order bid, right. if donald trump -- i'm not going to have a hard time explaining tomorrow if donald trump wins every battleground state. it will be easy. you'll say, popular president. under 40%. she was his vice president. people believe the country's on the wrong track, the economy stinks even though it doesn't and kamala harris became the nominee 90 days out. incredibly hard thing to do. she had to run a foot race with donald trump while also like baking a cake, right? or getting in a boxing ring and getting into a fight while you're trying to crochet a hat. incredibly hard, right? if trump were to win it all, you wouldn't be surprised. any normal republican would be in favor. the other side though, if kamala harris wins all seven battleground states tonight, easily, i won't have a hard time explaining that either because

trump is incredibly unpopular. the most unpopular major figure in politics. it has grown ever are day. he has been political poison and toxic for himself and the republican party ever since. kamala harris ran a brilliant campaign. she had a great convention. she kicked his ass in the debate. she was poised, confident, ended, closed strong while he closed as if he wanted to -- trying to lose the race and most importantly, and most importantly, the most seminal issue in our politics is dobbs. since it happened it has been the politics. it has animated people. mobilized them, energized them, radicalized them. if you step back and look at it from 30,000 feet and kamala harris wins, tomorrow we're all going to say, women saving democracy. >> i feel like there's a t-shirt

in there. steve kornacki's entered the room. let's bring in the man of the hour, the man of the night, hopefully not the whole week. steve kornacki. >> nicole, we call this the first wave of exit polls. they're starting to come in. i've got to give the disclaimer, but it's very important. these exit polls are still being conducted in it the battleground states. in noneastern time zone states. what we have is very big picture, what i'm about to show you. a lot of these numbers are subject to change. there are subsequent waves of exit polls that come in throughout the night. inside of an hour until we get to the first initial poll closings. between now and then to whet your appetite we can look at 30,000 feet. that is not at all where i wanted to go with that. here we go. the most important issue we asked folks chblts single most important issue, this is what's coming through in the exit poll nationally. still being conducted. state of democracy was the most

cited. we give a list of issues to voters. we ask them what the single most important is. a little bit more than 1/3 there identifying state of democracy. just behind that is the economy. then you've got a little further back here, 14% is abortion. immigration is 11%. 4% on foreign policy. you can think of all the different stories, controversies but this is how they prioritize those. we can show you, been a lot of questions here, kamala harris is part of the biden administration. she's the vice president. he was initially running. she's still part of the administration. does that create headwinds for her with this election? we asked again, joe biden's approval rating, folks we've got so far in the exit poll, strongly and somewhat approve, that's a 40%. i don't know if you can read that. that's a 40% approval rating that joe biden has right now. again, that's kind of consistent with what we've seen.

low 40s. it's what scared democrats of having him continue. disapprove, 45 and 14. nearly 60%. that's what we're getting now and pretty consistent with what the polling has been showing. showing you this asking folks what time did they make up their minds in this thing? was it recent? was it long ago? a lot happened in the last week. has that been on people's minds. we asked that question. 92% are telling us it was more than a week ago that they made up their minds in this thing. only 7% saying in the last week. in a close race that 7% can be crucial. i think one of the bigger take aways, it's been a while. people have been locked in and waiting for this moment potentially, nicole. that's about 30,000 feet with all the disclaimers. it's about to get real soon enough but we wanted to share that with you. >> what's so interesting is that the campaign theory of the case is if the stakes could be elevated in in the minds of voters. >> yes. >> if people understood our very democracy was on the line, that

they would do better. i think that's the first time i've seen the democracy on par with the economy as the top issue. >> we looked at each other and said we were so surprised with the democracy number being so high. there's the possibility that some people who are motivated by dobbs are acknowledging that a functioning democracy is necessary in order to protect some of those fundamental rights. since we've poo-pooed the exit polls, that comes on the heels of us questioning polls throughout this. wisconsin 2022, roe versus wade is overturned by the supreme court. then abortion just stops. abortion access stops in wisconsin. they're doing polling. democrats are feeling good. even their own polling was not capturing the number of voters who were newly animated by this issue or the extent to which it was the issue that was able to move republicans -- voters to democrats.

it was the issue that moved swing voters to democrats. it was the issues that got voters off the couch. so i agree with you, and you and you, that we're going to continue to see that as we look at all of these results. >> can i -- can i -- can i completely go back on something i just said ten seconds ago? i've got to completely go back. i'm going to read too much into the exit poll and it's wrong but i'm going to do it anyway. >> okay. >> if you -- >> this is a safe space. >> that makes me feel good. thanks for seeing me. if you look at the last mid-term election and on the question -- there were several questions about what's the most important issue, what issues you're voting on. if you look at the voters who were most animated about democracy, democrats, at least in the congressional battle grounds, democrats won those voters by better than 20 points. >> yeah. >> again, you should throw away early exit voting, but i've got to tell you right now, if that's

such a big issue and given what i think historically democrats have won that by, that's a very good sign for democrats. >> is steve kornacki still here in the studio? i think a question, too, is i'm not seeing democracy on par with the economy a among a general electorate. >> and i still don't believe it. >> that kind of made me gasp. and because it was the campaign's theory of the case all along -- >> yes. >> -- that if the stakes could be raised and if the viewers understood for those of us who understand what it means, to call back into activity, in the white house, i had to follow that, voters are so informed and they're so smart and they're waiting three hours to vote. that's a vote that's not in there. those are people standing in line to vote. >> maybe it's something you told me a long time ago. we're going to define what the race is going to be about. maybe they've done a good job of defining what the race is about. >> that was an aaron sorkin

line. on election day people care about what i tell them to care about. >> i thought it was you. >> great three hours. >> it's always me quoting somebody else. i sit down every day. but it does suggest that, you know, sometimes events are so massive and dobbs may be that event that is so massive. other times campaigns do a very skillful job of pushing issues forward. it suggests that this campaign has done both, realized the massive nature of dobbs and the reaction people don't talk about and go public with the tragic miscarriages, losses, health implications. the messages that were pushed out on democracy got through. >> i think it's also -- one of the things that's tricky about the exit polls, what's the most important issue, if you had asked that, well, i put -- you know, the economy is a little bit above this. the my third thing doesn't matter. it's a very blunt instrument. that doesn't take anything away. alicia said something that's profound and true. a lot of voters are going to

have said -- are going to have said abortion and democracy are kind of the same thing, that they think the supreme court is in the worst standing it's been in a very long time. >> ever. since the question's been asked by gallup. >> and it's seen as a particularly corrupt issue. the corruption of the supreme court is a democracy issue. what this campaign did was campaigned really on two things. donald and dobbs and in the broadest sense, meaning women's health broadly defined, dobbs as a place holder for that, just abortion rights, women's reproductive health, and donald trump. they snap together because people think trump is personally responsible for endangering women's health. donald, when you say we're campaigning on donald. unfit, unhinged, unchecked power. those are -- democracy is the pleasant way we say that, want to preserve democracy. what they campaigned on in a tougher way when they turned very contrasty, they have to say donald trump is a threat to democracy.

what they said was unhinged, unstable, going to be unchecked. then you have the backup of what i think is still really the greatest october surprise of this cycle, was john kelly deciding to call your husband on the phone and say not only he was going to call him a fascist but let mike tape him. generals have been saying these things on the back end. for kelly to go out and understand and quote it in "the new york times" could be dismissed as fake news but his voice on tape couldn't be dismissed is very savvy. obvious in one way but obvious and ballsy. not something we've seen military leaders do. gives you a sense of how much of a threat kelly thought he was. at the moment the harris campaign was making this negative argument, to have kelly drop that thing, i always thought for a year if one of these generals comes out, it could really be important. i think it was really important.

that will be huge. >> i think -- i think that at a time when journalists and journalism was the first institution donald trump sought to tear down, enemies of the people happens in 2015 and '16. >> fake news. >> fake news. 2015, '16. the success of that was what john said, the erosion in the reported out stories. there was some incredible journalism in this cycle. but to the degree that you could break through with any of it, it was hearing john kelly -- i remember asking sarah longwell week after week, what would change, what would break through in her study of the never trump voters to get them not just to not vote for trump but to pull a lever, to fill in a vote for kamala harris. it was the generals, the generals, the generals. as john's saying, as harris sought to articulate with liz cheney by her side, what -- using the american military against what trump describes what the enemies within would

look like, general john kelly pops up on tape and talks about the history and horror of being used in any domestic sense. >> can i add an asterisk to this and pop it over to the actual pollster. donald trump has tried to jujitsu this democracy argument and act as though kamala harris and democrats are the threats to democracy. so i think we are seeing those numbers and viewing them through one lens and i just want to add the possibility that there are republican voters or trump voters who are going and saying that that is their top issue -- >> yes. >> -- and that is why they are voting for donald trump. >> i think that's fair. >> for sure. >> i think what we've also seen to that point, we've seen republicans sort of move into as an issue space but not still the -- immigration, border. >> never trump immigration and the economy for the trump voter. >> it's hard to -- it's hard to break through to a republican if you're not talking about immigration or inflation. >> it's amazing because we've talked a lot about how he has

bungled this in the home stretch. we've talked less about the opportunity costs of him not choosing to close out his campaign and talking about the economy and immigration which are the two things his campaign thought could propel him to victory. >> issue wise those two things, as john said, i think we all are prepared if trump prevails tonight to cover it in that way, that those issues were -- >> i'm not. i'm not prepared to -- >> well. say more. >> maybe not prepared but it's how you explain it. >> if he wins -- the voters decide who wins, not any of us, and i think he's lied on those two issues for so many years that there are people who cannot take in the data about the economy. >> i think it's fair. i was told to wrap. >> keep going. my show. what did you want to say? >> if he -- if he does win, he's going to do something that he hasn't done in two prior elections. he's going to have to get over

47% because we don't see the third party voting. if it you're going to tell me after all that he's now doing better than he did in the prior two elections, that's going to be hard to take, to explain. we are not who we think we are. we are not who we propose to the world we are if that happens. >> now he's telling me to wrap. i wonder why. would be that they heard it not from us, flight they heard it from john kelly. they heard it from mark esper, mark millie. they heard how he was as president from '23 cabinet officials and we will have to rumble with that should he prevail tonight. >> they're not telling you to wrap, you're going to do it? >> madmen at the wheel. keep going. >> we're going to take a quick break. i do want to share one more piece of news. so exciting. all of this stuff coming in.

the secretary of state of michigan said, quote, turnout is off the charts all across michigan, ahhh. she didn't say ahh. the the that was me. >> that's the tweet. >> another of the key battleground states we're all watching. another part of the northern blue wall kamala harris is counting on for her victory. live in wisconsin in a moment. plus, this pivotal moment for america in what is nothing short of an existential choice. the autocratic impulses of a candidate who says he'll be a dictator on day one and a reminder, we're 40 minutes away from seeing our first results at 6 p.m. eastern. that's also when rachel maddow takes the wheel. after a quick belated break. don't go anywhere.

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what was top of mierpd for you when you went to cast that ballot? >> state of my country. the state of the country and the world for my kid. >> reporter: what was at the top of your mind when you went to cast your ballot for the presidential race. >> about rights. all rights. >> reporter: what rights are you thinking about? >> women's rights but one thing would lead to another. >> reporter: when you were doing your research, what were you looking for? >> i was looking up abortion rights and stuff like that and where like abortion rights stand

for women. >> reproductive rights, where they stand, voting for the future. those are some of the things top of mind for voters in battleground wisconsin on this day, election day. let's bring in our coverage to my friend and colleague. shaq brucester in milwaukee which has been the beating heart of so much of the way this campaign has been waged and fought. tell me how it feels today and what you're seeing and hearing? >> reporter: yeah, nicole. i think what was so interesting in what you just played there, that is the messaging you just heard democrats emphasize in the closing days of the campaign. all the visits from the candidates and top surrogates, that is something they were putting front and center in the minds of voters. you're seeing that being reflected, at least when they're coming out of the polling location at this one location here in milwaukee. something i want to flag for you, nicole, we knew that milwaukee's results, once we get to watching them later tonight, once polls are closed and once that tabulation begins, we are

expecting it to be late. we just learned that it might get a little bit later. this is some reporting that just happened the past couple of minutes. downtown at what they call the central count location. it's where they have all the early votes, all the absentee ballots and they're processing through them. we just learned from someone with the mayor's office there, out of an abundance of caution. they are zeroing out the tabulators and will resubmit the ballots. they put that number at about 30,000. of 30,000 ballots they've started processing and working on, they're going to essentially start over and start that process of counting them once more. they say this can delay results two to three hours when we were already expecting results not to come any time here in milwaukee before midnight. so expect a late night of counting, but going back to what we were talking about and the voters and what they've been saying, yes, those issues, what the candidates and campaigns has

definitely been front of mind. >> shaq, was there an issue with the 30,000 ballots that are being recounted or a call from one campaign or the other to recount them or was there a technical issue or is it an abundance of caution? why? why did they say they're doing this? >> reporter: yeah. the phrasing was out of an abundance of caution. this is something a press conference that's essentially ongoing right now. we're waiting to learn a little bit more as to why that is, but just in conversations in reporting that i've been doing here in milwaukee, they are very careful about the entire process. what they do at the beginning of the day, they make sure that they essentially run the ticket from those tabulators to make sure there are no ballots in the tabulators. what they're doing now according to the notes, they're starting that process over for at least one of the tabulators. this is not a double count, anything nefarious, they want to get the count right and get it right before they start reporting it to the public. they're going to at least for

one of these tabulators essentially empty it out and restart the process of submitting those ballots into that tabulator to make sure the numbers that they have match what they need to be, nicole. >> i smell caffeine in your future. shaq brewster, thank you very much for your reporting. joining us now from howard university where vice president kamala harris will be holding her watch party tonight, the president of the national watch network, the host of msnbc's "politics nation, reverend al sharpton. rev, tell me what you're watching for. voters willing to wait two, three, four hours to have their voice heard today on election day. >>. >> reporter: well, i think it is very invigorating and to me something celebratory to see so many people vote. we'll see what the results are. i also think the fact that people are waiting in line shows that people have taken this very seriously, nicole, because you

have probably not seen such contrasting candidates in our lifetimes, probably not since the civil war, that stands for two opposing views on everything from women's rights to voting rights to civil rights going forward. and standing here in howard university, i think that it really speaks to the history of this moment for this is the first time that you had a black college host a presidential watch party. you've never had this in history. we'll see if vice president kamala harris becomes the first woman and first woman of color to be vice president, but she's already made history bringing the world to an hbcu to see who will become the next president of the united states. >> rev, you are the first person

that so many people call in a moment of political crisis. you're also a person that so many of us call when we want to find out what's happening on the ground. in the second hat that you wear, what are you hearing about turnout? >> i'm hearing on the ground a lot of people warmed up late. national action network had a get out the vote tour not telling people who to vote for. i with ent to ten cities ending in winston-salem yesterday and there was a growing sense of urgency. a lot of it invoked by the nastiness of the campaign. people being called garbage and yesterday somebody said reverend al, did you hear he almost called her the "b" word. in many ways where people seemed indifferent as late as two or three weeks ago, people are starting to say, wait a minute,

there's a certain level and certain character that i want with the white house or whoever the occupant of the white house. and then you have those that have real concerns. women's right to choose is more than abortion. it's health. it's preserving people's lives. then the right to vote. then you deal with the question of affirmative action. how do we have an equalized society. i've heard people that have been substantive and people that have been triggered by the last couple of days of ugliness saying, no, no, i might agree on some things but i don't think we can afford to be this nasty and ugly and have that sitting in the oval office. >> i mean, it raises a great question, no matter how this turns out and how trump closed. in '16 he closed with -- trump's best days as a candidate were between the release of the "access hollywood" tape and election day in 2016 which was punctuated -- which was the

longest stretch message discipline. he talked about the wall being paid for by mexico, he talked about the economy. >> china. >> punctuated by the investigation. he -- thank you. he also in 2020 wasn't as disciplined as '16 but was making an argument and a contrast. he hasn't even -- to tom's point, not only has he not advanced an argument, he describes his own self as a weave. i'm going here and here. he self-confesses that he has no point, no message. there's been no effort to drive a message even from the candidate. >> right. >> what do you think that's about? >> i don't know if that's a lack of mental acuity or lack of discipline, but it certainly i think will be an element in the closing days. it's in such sharp contrast to vice president harris's immense discipline. her clarity around her closing

argument, this idea that it is time to turn the page, that there's a vision for the future. her campaign sort of chose not to lean into the history making nature of her candidacy. they watched in part with what happened with hillary clinton in 2016 and decided that was not the way to go. the history of this cannot be underestimated. think of this to the code a to expand voting rights to everyone in this country for the first woman to be elected president of the united states, when black women for years were told to wait their turn, for it to be a black woman and a daughter of immigrants who arrives at that office ushered in by the collective outrage of other women. she is the sum of all the fierce

of the southern strategy. he is the candidate and i think it is very befitting that the sum of all those fears, they're going to beat this guy. i believe they're going to beat this guy who to me is the embodiment of the southern strategy. >> i do have to sneak in a break this time, but being baited is often a test, right? and the person who can be baited is in most instances not the person who prevails. she has never been baited. she has never been reactive. she has never played on his turf. he has every -- i mean, she doesn't even get the words out of her mouth, my crowds are huge. i mean -- i mean, he's -- somebody used the word triggered. we're going to deal with that. reverend al sharpton, i know you're going to be there all night. it's so great to talk to you

tonight. coming up for the past year we have considered an alarming question on this program. we said it out loud. autocracy in america. could it happen here tonight with the results of the election? we'll start to learn the answer. when we come back we'll be joined by our good friend ian bassand who we have turned it on this very question. stay with us. no mask. no hose. just sleep. inspire. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com the promise of this nation should extend to all from new york to new mexico, from alaska to alabama. but right now, people like you are losing their freedoms. some in power are suppressing voting rights. banning our kids books from libraries and attacking our right to make private health care decisions. we must act now to defend these freedoms

and protect our democracy. and we can't do it without you. we are the american civil liberties union, and we're asking you to join us in protecting our democracy at the national level and in communities like yours. call or go online to myaclu.org to become a guardian of liberty today. your gift of just $19 a month. only $0.63 a day will help ensure that together we can continue to fight for the freedoms of all americans, no matter your zip code. if you also believe in the right to vote, the right to free speech, the right to learn, the right to bodily autonomy. please join us now. these are your fundamental rights that people are playing with. and so you need to get involved, because if you don't, then someone else is going to decide whether or not you get to choose what happens to your own body. so please call or go to myaclu.org and become

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>> reporter: what's the biggest issue for you? >> our democracy. i feel his way is going to be really crazy. >> i'm concerned for our country. as a veteran, i'm trying to think exactly how to say this. it's just a lot of things i'm concerned for, and i'm concerned to see us. >> go backwards because i think there's a certain undercurrent and ideology that is permeating, that when you listen to the rhetoric is very clear what these individuals are getting at. so i feel like this is a very pivotal time. i feel like our country is getting close to sort of flipping over. >> i have voted a split ticket and i voted for decency and democracy. >> donald trump? >> no, i was vocal i would never back him again. >> oh, yes. >> when did you vote for him

last? >> i was a delegate to the 2016 convention. i voted for him twice. >> i am anxious. i am worried what if kamala does win? what is trump going to do? am i going to be hoarding toilet paper tomorrow? what if trump does win? what is going to happen? so it's scary. scary. >> in her own words really describing a country on the edge of a knife which is what it feels like for a lot of people. in so many ways tonight's presidential election is unique. quite unprecedented in modern american political history. never before have americans gone to the polls having just experienced the last time around the losing candidate assemble and incite an insurrection with the stated goal of stopping the peaceful transfer of power to the person who won. so we might find it encouraging

during these anxious hours of waiting that from what we have learned so far according to exit polls, voters seem to care about preserving democracy, which has endured for nearly a quarter of a millennia. joining us now to talk about that, co-founder and executive director of protect democracy, ian bass. some trump voters view the democracy, the way it goes in maga world, is because donald trump was held to the same rule of law in america, that that is the threat to dem ra si in donald trump's telling. but there are some republicans who feel like democracy is threatened by a former president being charged with the crimes he is charged with carrying out. but this theme democracy on par with the economy is rather unprecedented. it's something that broke through in the mid terms, but we've not seen this in a presidential election. what do you see in that data?

>> i see the fact that we are at a moment, a turning point moment, and we've been talking about this for months and years, in which not just the united states but the world, is going to decide whether the 21st century is going to be a century of freedom and democracy and greater rights or a century of darkness and a turn towards something more authoritarian. in 2024, it has been the year of elections around the world. so far in countries like poland and france and most recently moldova, the more pro freedom and pro democracy side is prevailing. the question today is will the u.s. turn the corner and really cement those gains? and like everything else in this country over the last couple of years, it's balancing on a knife's edge. i think what we need to understand is that whether survive this moment, this threat to democracy, depends on every little thing. everything matters. we've gotten questions over the last couple of years, you and i have talked about it.

it seems like nothing matters. it seems like anything donald trump does doesn't stick to him, the impeachments, the indictments. what we're seeing today is that every single thing matters, which is why we need to remind people now, polls are still open. if you haven't voted yet, it matters, vote. >> and if you are listening, i never say this, turn us off and go vote. get in the car. if you can find us on the radio, keep listening. but please go vote. i think it's such an important point because the study of autocracy, which as you know is something i spent some of my maternity leave reading about, weaponize despair. thinking that nothing matters is a strategy, not an accident. and what i think is so amazing and john heilman talked about it before, should the pro democracy coalition win, it will be in some ways, we don't know yet, but it appears powered by women and young people, which is how the two examples you cited,

poland and france averted a turn to something more autocratic and the broad ideological control. the confident campaigning a long side republicans like liz cheney. tell me how you see the final messages from the two sides? >> well, look, we've always aspired to being the nation -- the world's first multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-religious democracy where people from different opinions and backgrounds can join as one nation. that is a wild idea in the history of human civilization. we've never actually fully achieved it here in this country. we are on the earning of moving into that world and i think what we have seen in the person of donald trump and the ugliness that he has carried with him is a last-ditch attempt to stop that. i think it all came out in the final week as trump and vance were putting down women. they were making racist sort of

appeals and judgments and really making this ultimately decision, are we going to go backwards and become a racist and less equal country, a more racist, less equal country, or are we going to go forward and try to come closer to that ideal that our founders laid out for us 250 years ago that is up to our generation to finally deliver on. i am optimistic that in the next couple days or even sooner we will find out that we can be that better america. >> ian, in a democracy everyone has a vote and it takes time. we're already learning that some ballots are being recounted in milwaukee to count that vote. we know four years ago from what donald trump did in public, he wanted to stop the voting, the kind of vote that came in early favored him. he is all but certain to repeat past patterns and all that we have from the past is bolstered by things he's already said. he's told his supporters he can only lose if people cheat. he will describe counting or

tabulating or recounts as cheating. what is your instruction from a democracy viewpoint to how to cover him tonight if he falsely seeks to claim victory before all the ballots have been counted? >> well, the great thing about this country is in america the voters pick our leaders. our leaders don't pick the voters. ultimately this is in our hands. we know that voting in this country is incredibly secure. we've had an amazingly secure and smooth voting day. credit to them and we now need to wait and make sure that every vote is counted and trust the process and only listen to the official results. we know donald trump is going to claim victory as a lie before the votes have finally been counted because he's told us he's going to do that. that's a sign of weakness that should be ignored. we wait for the final vote counts. we accelerate the final tallies when they're there. here's the thing, eight years

ago when we gathered a summit on democracy in the early days of the trump administration, the brave russian dissi dant activist who was detained in prison by vladimir putin until he was recently released met with a bunch of american democracy activists and said this. in m your country, the united states, you still don't know who's going to win your next election. that's not true for us in russia. hold on to that with everything you've got. that's what's at stake today. preserving our freedom, our ability to choose our leaders and our ability to not know who's going to win the next election. we're still there. we've got to preserve it. once again, stop watching television. go vote. get others to vote. this is what's on the line, our freedom to do that into the future. >> to embarrass you now. for the next seven months when we have the audacity to cover this as the beat autocracy couldn't happen here, you generously educated us and informed us, and i think gave a

lot of people courage to go out and vote, not just vote, but tell people that their vote is about democracy so thank you for your work. to your point, we have no idea how tonight will work out. if you have not exercised your right to vote. cornell, thank you for being here. thank you for being real and thank you for changing your mind about exit polls on live tv. real men and real pollsters change their mind about data on the air. i love it. >> i didn't really change my mind. >> early exit polls are trash. >> garbage, and they're not each data. >> the third wave. >> i don't know what your network policy is, but we're judicious about waiting until there's enough data. >> when you decide to vote, those are all reasonable. >> holland, thank you. a treat for everybody. alicia's taking the wheel. i have to scoot over to the other studio. you will be in her gifted hands. i will see you in a few moments. >> we will see nicole at the top

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p.m. eastern. joining us now nbc news correspondent gadi schwartz in mesa, arizona. what are you seeing there? >> we are seeing last-minute campaigning happening in the form of food. a little while ago as democrats are handing out churros and right now it's republicans going handing out hot dogs and hamburgers. on the way to polling, don't california my arizona. that is a sentiment that we have heard time and time again from a lot of the people we're talking to that are showing up at the polls and it represents the shifting demographics of mesa, arizona. this was a place that was a long-standing republican stronghold. now those demographics are shifting and we have to talk about arizona's makeup of the registered voters. here it's independents as a huge party, if you will. it's 35% republicans that have registered voters, and then it's about 33% independents and 29% democrats, but over there you've

got a small line that's starting up. we are starting to see lines picking up throughout arizona, but again, right now with so many people heading to the polls that are declaring themselves independent it's still too early to tell what's going to happen here. >> gadi schwartz, we'll be seeing a lot of you. thank you for joining us. stick around, we'll be right back. r joining us stick around, we'll be right back they tell me they pay less out of pocket for everyday expenses like their prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, doctor's visits. with medicare advantage, they get more for less. and i found it's made a really big impact.

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>> thank you so much for being with us. msnbc's special election day coverage led by rachel maddow starts right now. ♪♪ ♪♪ >> good evening. >> good evening, everyone. >> the night is finally here. look at our beautiful map. >> the returns are