i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt and louis burgdorf. all those stories, plus a new champion in the wnba, and we are going to share part of a powerful post game speech you won't want to miss, believe me. >>> first, donald trump and hillary clinton came together last night, this at the annual alfred e. smith dinner, the catholic church's annual event in new york city benefiting children in need, where they were seated on opposite sides of cardinal timothy dolan. the dinner has become a tradition for the candidates to poke fun at themselves and each other in the midst of a heated campaign, and despite the unusually brutal tone of the debates, this year was no exception. >> cardinal dolan and i have some things in common. for instance, we both run impressive properties on fifth avenue. of course, his is much more impressive than mine. that's because i built mine with my own beautifully formed hands. and even tonight, with all of the heated back and forth between my opponent and me at the debate last night, we have proven that we can actuall

good morning, everyone, i'm alex witt alongside louis burgdorf. it certainly was a winning issue for the gop in 2010. now republicans are hoping the new report about rising obamacare premiums will rappel the party to victory once again. donald trump railed against the law for a second straight day yesterday, claiming the average increase in premiums is likely to be much higher than the reported 25%. >> obamacare's just blowing up, and even the white house, our president, announced 25 or 26%. that number is so wrong that it's such a phoney number. you're talking about 60%, 70%, 80% in increases, not 25%. >> you remember the promise that obama made. obama made the promise, you got to keep your doctor, got to keep your plan, and the average family was going to save $2,500 a year. well, you didn't get to keep your doctor. you didn't get to keep your plan, and the average family spends $4,500 more now than they did before. >> donald trump also released a statement saying in part the architects of obamacare knew they were telling us lies because they ar

i'm alex witt. you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. have a good day. i'll see you back here tomorrow morning on "morning joe" first look. i'm not a customer, but i'm calling about that credit scorecard. (to dog)give it. sure! it's free for everyone. oh! well that's nice! and checking your score won't hurt your credit. oh! o dog)i'm so proud of you. well thank you. get your free credit scorecard at discover.com. even if you're not a customer. that's why a cutting edgeworld. university counts on centurylink and why a pro footba teamus chose us to deliver fiber-enabled brdbd to more than 6000 fans. and y a leading car brand counts on us to keep their dealer network streamlined and nimble. businessesount on communication, and communication counts on centurylink. an expression of disgust caused by inadequate litter tidy cats is the cure. an expression of disgust with new guaranteed tidylock ptection, you won't have to face o more stank face. tidy cats. everhome, every cat. there's a tidy cats for that. tidy cats. let's just get a sandwich peoplor something.

i'm alex witt alongside betty nguyen. are set to begin today on the east coast of the united states. as hurricane matthew makes its way through haiti and into the bahamas. the governor of south carolina has activated the national guard and unless there's a dramatic change evacuations impacting about a quarter of the state's population are set to begin around 3:00 p.m. today. airlines are issuing travel waivers and president obama has cancelled plans to campaign in florida for hillary clinton. matthew is leaving haiti behind but not before bringing intense winds and massive flooding. matthew just made contact with the eastern tip of cuba, almost 53 years to the day after hurricane flora killed 2,000 people on that island nation. now the storm is affecting the dominican republic and the bahamas before it makes its way to the eastern seaboard. let's go to nbc's bill karins to get e very latest. where is it now? >> we just got the new update. there's been some changes overnight. some forecasts have improved and some have gott

>> crystal, we have a question from our anchor alex witt.ou mentioned you were seated next to your republican friends and democrat friends, do you think that millennials here no matter their party affiliation will head out to the polls next tuesday? >> i definitely think they are. i think my friends specifically care about the future of this country, at this point. we're all taking the stance of it is country over party. i expect to see a lot of my millennial friends at the polls next week. >> thank you. backing up your report that it is about getting out the vote. thank you so much. >>> the clinton campaign is on defensive today, fighting back against the fbi's surprise announcement that it is reviewing a newly discovered batch of e-mails. in a phone call saturday with reporters, campaign chairman john podesta had harsh words for james comey. >> director comey was the one who wrote a letter that was light on facts, heavy on innuendo, knowing full well that republicans in congress would do with it. it is now up to him who owes the public ans

i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt and louis burgdorf.ld trump tweeted up a storm today. he really did. he he lashed out at a number of republicans, the ones distancing themselves from him. he called paul ryan a weak and ineffective leader and called john mccain foul mouth and said democrats are more loyal than republicans are. he tweeted this. it's so nice that shackles have been taken off me and i can now fight for america the way i want to. this is how he's been behaving with the shackles on? [ applause ] >> good point. good morning. it's wednesday, october 12th. >> shackles are coming off. i'm excited. >> it's about time. >> put them back on. >> we're going to have a campaign worth watching.

i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt, louis burgdorf.ts right now. >>> secretary clinton, now, to ongoing issue for your campaign. wikileaks has been releasing your campaign e-mails. many of which raise some serious questions. >> thank you for bringing up my e-mails, chris. i'm very happy to clarify what was in some of them. i'm sorry, what, carol? i thought i heard my friend, carol. back to your question about the way donald treats women and that is how you pivot. >> so you're just never going to answer a question about your e-mails? >> no. but it was very cute to watch you try. >> mr. trump, in the last week 11 women accuse you of

i'm alex witt along scythe betty nguyen and louis burgdorf.e begin with the speech many people can mark a turning point in the election, campaigning in new hampshire yesterday, michelle obama warned in stark and personal terms against electing donald trump, referring to only to him as hillary clinton's opponent. the first lady called trump's comments about women over the years cruel and frightening. she said she couldn't just continue with the normal campaign speech after the developments with trump after this last week. >> i have to tell you that i listened to all of this and i feel it so personally, and i'm sure that many of you do, too, particularly the women. the shameful comments about our bodies. the disrespect of our ambitions and intellect, the belief that you can do anything you want to a woman. it is cruel. it's frightening. and the truth is, it hurts. it hurts. it reminds us of stories we heard from our mothers and grandmothers about how back in their day the boss could say and do whatever he pleased to the women in the office and e

i'm alex witt, thanks so much for watching.'ll see you at noon eastern when we speak to debbye turner bell. up next on "a.m. joy" the power of comedy in the presidential campaign. the pursuit of healthier. it begins from the second we're born. because, healthier doesn't happen all by itself. it needs to be earned every day. using wellness to keep away illness. and believing a single life can be made better by millions of others. as a health services and innovation company optum powers modern healthcare by connecting every part of it. so while the world keeps searching for healthier we're here to make healthier happen. >> maybe he doesn't want the american people, all of you watching tonight, the know that he's paid nothing in federal taxes. because the only years that anybody's ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license and they showed he didn't pay any federal income tax. so -- >> that makes me smart. >> good morning and welcome to "a.m. joy."

i'm alex witt at msnbc world headquarters in new york.1 past the hour, here is what we're monitoring for you. donald trump's trouble in the polls. trump trails hillary clinton by 11 points for the second straight week. 48% of likely voters now give clinton the nod, 37% favoring trump. let's going to latest from the battleground states now, the trump campaign withdrew resources from virginia to shift its focus to other swing states. last night, trump campaign expanded on the decision saying, quote, in terms of reallocating the resources from virginia, we have finite resources and we know early vote is a priority in north carolina. end of quote. joining me now, kyle condic from the university of virginia center for politics and author of "the bellwether why ohio picks the president." good to see you. let's get right into it. how significant do you interpret this decision to divevert the resources away from your state, keep in mind how limit eed the funds are. >> i thought that virginia was a bad fit for donald trump. donald trump is having

i'm alex witt. coming up on "a.m. joy." impacts "saturday night live" has had on this election cycle. >>> they woke up from the dead and they went and voted. there are 2.8 million people that are registered in more than one state, so we'll vote here and let's right down the road let's vote. maybe they will vote for trump, i don't know. maybe i should be saying it. i may be hurting myself, you're right. you're right. maybe they are going to vote for trump. all right. let's forget that. it's okay for them to do it. >> vote early and vote often as long as you're voting for

i'm alex witt at msnbc's world headquarters in new york. more on hurricane matthew, its path, scope, all of its devastating effects felt in many years. that in a moment. first, to the day's other big breaking story -- donald trump apologizes for comments he made on a hot mike in 2005. it happened during an off-camera discussion with "access hollywohol hollywo hollywood" host billy bush. >>> you know and i moved on her actually. you know, she was down on palm beach. >> she used to be great. she's still very beautiful. >> i move on her and i failed. i'll admit it. i did try and -- her. she was married. >> that's huge news. >> no, no. nancy. no, this was -- >> and i moved on her very heavily. in fact, i took her out furniture shopping. she wanted to get some furniture. i said, "i'll show you where they have some nice furniture." >> i moved on her like a [ bleep ], but i couldn't get there. and she was married. then all of a sudden i see her. she's now got the big phony [ bleep ] and everything. she's totally changed her look. >> sheesh, your g

i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt and louis burgdorf. >> on capitol hill congressional republicans wrestled with what to do about donald trump, this time less than a month until election day. speaker paul ryan said he will not defend his party's nominee saying his focus will be on preserving the republican majority in the house. this led the associated press to begin its report, house speaker paul ryan is all but conceding hillary clinton will be the next president. meanwhile, republican members like dana rohrabacher of california blasted ryan and those abandoning trump as cowardly and gutless. minutes later, ryan got back on the conference call to assert that he was not unendorsing trump, as some other leaders have. in response, the clinton campaign posted on twitter, "ryan is still endorsing trump." later, donald trump himself tweeted, paul ryan should spend more time on balancing the budget, jobs, and illegal immigration and not waste his time on fighting republican nominee. >> a different approach on the other side of capitol hill where majority leader mitch mcconnell is keepin

i'm alex witt. 32 past the hour. here is what we're monitoring. comments from russian president putin talking about the presidential election. the russian news agency says, putin spoke at a summit in india and says he wants to quote said everyone's mind at rest, including our american friends and partners, we are not going to influence the u.s. election campaign, unquote. putin says he does not know what will happen after the election, but says he will work with the next president and that relations between the countries will normalize after election day. >>> as the obama administration sets out to send a message to putin after alleged hacks, rudy giuliani is raising wikileaks for releasing e-mails reportedly written by the clinton campaign. >> i find wikileaks very refreshing. this is the hillary clinton i always knew existed. i never had proof of it. say something private that's different than somebody public. i have always known she was a liar. over and over and over again a phony. >> new this hour, trump is going a step further in his claim th

good morning, everyone, it is monday, october 10th, i'm alex witt alongside betty nguyen and louis burgdorf hillary clinton winning last night's raucous debate 57 to 34, but 63% said trump did better than they expected. the candidates dispensed with niceties like shaking hands and quickly the town hall turned to the leak tape of donald trump talking to billy bush. >> you described kissing women without consent, grabbing their genitals. that is sexual assault. you bragged you have sexually assaulted women. do understand that? >> i didn't say that at all. i don't think you understood. this was locker room talk. i'm not proud of it. i apologized to my family and the american people. certainly, i'm not proud of it, but this is locker room talk. when we have a world where you have isis chopping off heads, and, frankly, drowning people in steel cages. >> just for the record, though, are you saying what you said on that bus 11 years ago, that you did not actually kiss women without consent or grope women without consent? >> i have great respect for women, nobody has more respect for women than i d

i'm alex witt here in new york at msnbc world headquarters. it's just past 1:00 a.m. in the east, 10:00 a.m. in the west. with nine days before the election, the race is growing uncomfortably close for hillary clinton whose lead has evaporated. just one point nationally. the polls are just as close in the battleground state of florida where clinton garners 45% of the vote, trump 44%. clinton has been working overtime this weekend to widen that gap. hosting a star-studded concert in miami last night. hitting an early voting event there just an hour ago. the trump campaign is playing up friday's announcement by the fbi it's reviewing e-mails that could involve clinton. mike pence drove the point home this morning on "meet the press." >> the american people are focusing on the big issues but they have come to the conclusion that hillary clinton is a risky choice to be the next president of the united states. and friday's announcement just reaffirms that. why doesn't she release all the 33,000 e-mails she didn't turn over to the fbi and to the congress initially? the amer

i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt and louis burgdorf. vice presidential debant, senator tim kaine of virginia will debate indiana's republican governor mike pence for a chance to be a heartbeat away from the oval office, only the 10th vice presidential debate in american history, a the long wood university in farmville, virginia. a town 3 1/2 hours south of washington tial population thousa 8,000. nine topics with approximately ten minutes for each. tonight's candidates are little known. a recent poll found 46% of adults could not name kaine, 41% did not know pence. but the two have a lot in common. the men are about the same age. kaine is 58, pence is 57. both had catholic upbringingings and graduated from law school. both have served as governors and worked on capitol hill -- pence in the house, kaine in the senate. both have sons who are active duty officers in the marine corps. both have been preparing. washington's super lawyer bob barnett played pence during kaine's debate prep. he's worked the democrats for practically every major

i'm alex witt here at msnbc world headquarters in new york.et's get to what we are monitoring for you. >>> the battle for mosul is under way. u.s. defense secretary ash carter arrived in the northern iraqi city of irbeale. what do we know about the defense secretary's visit and the fighting updates today? >> reporter: alex, this was the defense secretary's second visit to iraq in as many days. he went to abu dhabi in twendbe a visit to baghdad and now he is in northern iraq. his mission was twofold. he was here to reassure the troops this was a mission worth fighting. the fight for mosul was an honorable one and that the recent loss of a serviceman who died north of mosul, he didn't die in veiain. the iraqi troops are worth supporting. he was here to try to choreograph this very delicate dance among the different security forces. again, this is something that u.s. troops and u.s. policy makers know well. iraq is a very difficult to govern. bringing all of these different security forces to bear around motional and getting them to cooperate has

we have a lot to show you with morning, i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt. the strongest hurricane to hit the u.s. coast in a decade is showing signs of weakening, downgraded overnight to a category 3. the danger, though, has not subsided as the eye wall is just five miles off the coastline. florida residents are bracing for landfall from a storm that is about to push along the i-95 corridor from cape canaveral to jacksonville. after speaking individually from governors along the southern atlantic coast, president obama signed emergency declarations in florida, georgia, and south carolina as the storm approached. the president also spoke with governor pat mccrory in north carolina, activating federal and local responders, but the most massive action has taken place in florida, where wind gusts have reached 88 miles an hour near satellite beach, 71 miles per hour in vero beach, and 74 miles per hour to the north of bear foot bay, which is the first to reach hurricane strength. florida governor rick scott urged the 1.5 million residents in the storm's path to

i'm alex witt here. here is what we're monitoring for you. a powerful earthquake that struck central italy this morning. it had an epicenter around 80 miles northeast of rome. officials say this quake was too much for many buildings that had resisted an august ittumblers. many buildings were destroyed, including a 14th century cathedral. some injuries, no reports of death. >>> back to politlitipolitics. there's a dead heat in the state of florida. hillary clinton is leading by one point. this is a state that could once again determine the outcome of the election. we are at a polling station in florida south of miami. another welcome back to you. you have been talking with the voters there. what are you hearing? >> reporter: it's interesting, alex. in this city of over 40,000 people, i've been hearing and seeing from a lot of hillary clinton supporters. but it was interesting to me in the short time i've been at this polling station here that i've not seen one single donald trump volunteer or supporter. i have seen local candidates who are cam

i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt. with eight days to go, the bomb shell announcement has rocked the presidential campaign. last night the fbi obtained a warrant to begin reviewing newly recovered e-mails as they race to learn if they are tied to clinton's case, an inquiry that was completed in july with no charges filed, despite a stinging assessment that clinton was extremely careless. then on friday comey sent a letter to congress informing them, "in connection with an unrelated case the fbi have learned of the existence of e e-mails. i agreed the fbi should take steps to allow investigators to review these e-mails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as assess their importance to our investigation." soon after law enforcement officials revealed the discovery was from a laptop shared by huma abedin and anthony weiner. the fbi began investigating the former congressman in september for an unrelated case, allegedly sending inappropriate text messages and pictures to an underaged female. we

i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt and louis burgdorf. two weeks left until election day.ew national poll shows donald trump outside the margin of error against hillary clinton. showing clinton at 49% in a four-way race. trump at 44%. gary johnson dropped 4 points to 3%. jill stein at 2 points. in a two-way race, clinton has a six-point at van, 51-45. monmouth university poll shows a deadlocked race in north carolina. trump 47%, trump 46%. in battleground nevada, 7 points separate the candidates in the "las vegas review journal poll," clinton at 48%, donald trump at 41%. donald trump tweeting, major stories that the dems are making up phony polls in order to suppress the trump vote. we are going to win. then later talking to local radio in north carolina and on the campaign trail florida he contended the race is neck and neck. >> i think we're going to have a brexit situation. you know that one was behind in the polls and i guess i'm somewhat behind in the polls but not by much. i think we have a much greater -- a tremendous enthusiasm, much greater enthusiasm than she as.

i'm alex witt in new york. at this hour, 3:00 a.m. here on the east coast, and hurricane matthew has been downgraded to a category 3. but that does not mean it is any less dangerous. battering the southeast with sustained winds, up to 120 miles per hour in some areas. in florida, where mandatory evacuations have been ordered for 1.5 million people. governor rick scott warned residents to take this storm seriously. >> evacuate, evacuate, evacuate. if you need to evacuate and you haven't, evacuate. this storm will kill you. time is running out. >> he couldn't say it often enough, evacuate, more than 213,000, though, remain without power. residents are preparing for more damage, as the eye of the storm is moving closer to the east coast. president obama signed a state of emergency for georgia, as well, where the storm surge could be worse than the one that flooded new york and new jersey back in 2012 with

i'm alex witt along side betty nguyen.e night brought what other debates were missing, at times what could pass for a discussion over specific policy. the night's first section in particular served as a litmus test on key supreme court issues from the second amendment to abortion. >> i will be appointing pro-life judges. i would think that will go back to the individual states. >> but i'm asking you specifically, would you like -- >> if they overturned it, it'll go back to the states. >> i strongly support roe v. wade, which guarantees a constitutional right to a woman to make the most intimate, most difficult in many cases, decisions about her health care that one can imagine. he even supported shutting the government down to defund planned parenthood. indeed, he said women should be punished, that there should be some form of punishment for women who obtain abortions. i could just not be more opposed to that kind of thinking. >> they also discussed their stance on regulating abortions performed in the third term of pregn

i'm alex witt at msnbc's world headquarters in new york.pe, all of its devastating effects felt in many years. that in a moment. first, to the day's other big breaking story -- donald trump apologizes

i'm alex witt. scary ending to a flight last night for those aboard the campaign charter of governor mike pence, of course, the republican vice presidential nominee. around 7:15 last night, his boeing 757 went off the end of the runway at laguardia airport here in new york after spending the day in iowa. it came to rest in some grass at the end of the 7,000-foot runway after plowing through arrester beds designed for just such an occasion, to bring planes to a halt. in fact, as we take a live look now, they have been working on that patch of runway all morning, you can see there, but the incident shut the entire airport down for about 30 minutes. 37 passengers and 11 crew were on board. no one was hurt, and the governor himself seemed to be in good spirits. he stepped off that plane before going to meet with fire crews on site to thank them. pence later tweeting, "so thankful everyone on our plane is safe. grateful for our first responders and the concern and prayers of so many. back on the trail to

i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt.onald trump's campaign continues to wrestlingle with the bomb shell story this weekend in the "new york times" which reported that trump could have legally avoided paying taxes for nearly two decades after declaring a $916 million loss in 1995. three docents were mailed anonymously to the paper last month. t now according to the "times" their authenticity was support by the accountant who handled trump's returns and listed on the new jersey form. trump has not publicly said what information his tax returns contain though he's said as recent as wednesday that he's paid federal income tax. his campaign said in part mr. trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales, real estate tax, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes along with very substantial charitable contributions. trump posted on saturday i know our complex tax laws better than anyone who has ever run for president and am the only one who can fix them. bernie sanders responded for hil

. >>> coming up next, alex witt. yes, alex witt with more news at the top of the hour. go cubs.y. love you. ents itself? american express open cards can help you take on a new job, or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. find out how american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com. "just wanna see if my scorein?" changed..you wanna check yours?" find out how american express cards and services "scores don't change that much. i haven't changed." "oh really?" "it's girls'night. ah huh." "they said business casual." "i love summer weddings!" "oh no." "yeah, maybe it is time. maybe i should check my credit score." "try credit karma. it's free." "oh woah. that's different." "check out credit karma today. credit karma. give yourself some credit." >>> i'm alex witt here in new york. it's high noon here in the east. 9:00 a.m. out west. let's get to what's happening right now out there. a little more than two weeks until election day, a new national poll shows hillary clinton maintaining her double digit lead over donald

i'm alex witt alongside louis burgdorf. the third and final presidential debate of the 2016 season takes place tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern in las vegas. this moderated by chris wallace of fox news. tonight could be more policy focused as the topics are the national debt, entitlements, immigration, and the economy, the supreme court, foreign hot spots, and fitness to be president. but it is once again personality politics grabbing the pre-debate spotlight with the new york times reporting that the clinton campaign has requested that the spouses of the candidates proceed directly to their seats and not cross paths. this comes after the trump campaign attempted to have former president bill clinton come face to face with women who accused him of sexual assault at the last debate in st. louis. the trump campaign revealed some of its special guests, including president obama's half-brother malik, and pat smith, who made a tearful smith at the republican national convention, blaming clinton for the death of her son, shaun smith,

i'm alex witt. >> louis burgdorf. >> "morning joe" starts right now. >> mr.that correctly? >> close enough. >> do you have any awards or commendations? >> i have almost 30 honorary degrees and i did get the nobel peace prize. >> really, what was that for? >> to be honest i still don't know. >> have you ever had to fire anyone? >> no, i usually let s.e.a.l. e anybody? >> i usually let seal team 6 handle that. >> do you have any experience with twitter? >> i have 77 million followers. >> how did you get so many? >> executive order. >> good morning. welcome to "morning joe." with us, we have veteran columnist, mike barnicle. oh, lord. managing bloomberg politics, and mark halperin, and willie, joe, and me. >> how are you doing? >> should i start with the big picture or small picture? >> i want to

this is steve talking with alex witt earlier today about this very story. take a listen. >> don't hate the player, hate the game. and the game is rigged and it's crony capitalism out of washington, d.c. and the tax code, i would argue, is exhibit a in that rotten system and mr. trump wants to smash the current tax code. >> you know, joan, i refer to it often. you wrote a terrific book called "what's the matter with white people" where you talk about the anger of working class white americans who benefited from the new deal, benefited from these government programs but who have this sense that brown and black people are takers, they're taking my money, they're taking many i tax money and they're lay zbli taking my job. >> why is it that somebody like steve cortez could turn around and say "hey, it's great that a rich guy is a taker." >> because the rich guys have kept the tax code just like this. other people have wanted to change the tax code. the work of the great david cay johnson has shown us the way the tax code is a, a, rigged for people by donald trum

welcome, everyone, i'm alex witt here at msnbc headquarters. cal perry has been with us all night and staying through the morning to help us track hurricane matthew. let's talk about storm surge, why that is such a major concern. >> more people are killed in a hurricane by the storm surge than anything else. hurricane katrina was a hurricane category 3 when it came on shore. it's these winds, 70 miles per hour sustained that will push that water inland. that will cause that storm surge. that's what authorities are worried about. when you look at this, this is going to be a model of what could happen. this is a category 1 hurricane. you will see that in blue here. that is up to three feet. category two, more than three feet of water. in morning, more than six feet. as we go to a category 3 storm. this red is now nine feet of water. and it's important to note that the storm surge models haven't really changed. we've ticked down to a category 3 storm, but still expecting possibly category 4 type storm surge. you see what that looks like. this is t

up next, alex witt. more news at the top of the hour.l yousiness be ready wh groh esents itself? american express open cards can help you takon a new job, or ed yourffe find outow amecan exprs cards and rvices can helprereou for grow at op.c. find outow amecan exprs i'm teihe is.olf. but i'd like tke bei terribib alf foas long as i can. new pateed ensure live has hmb plus 20 grs of protein to help reild muscle. for thstngth and e ey to do what you love. new ensure enlive. always byo at cloro2 we've turned ving sins in a science. now pr! watch staiisappearright b. reve times more than deterernt. >>> good day, everyone. i'm alex witt here in new york at msnbc world headquarters. nine days until election day. a number of new polls suggest tightening in one battleground state but a wider lead for one candidate in another key state. these details ahead. >>> in fact -- in fact, it's not just strange, it's unprecedented and it is deeply troubling. >> hillary clinton not talking about the whole of this campaign season, just the latest wrinkle fr

i'm alex witt in new york. it is 9:00 a.m. here in the east. 6:00 a.m. out west.e's what's happening. new polls out this hour, there are some telling numbers that give a sense of how the campaign may be turning. >> we're like athletes. right. so athletes, making it more and more, but athletes, they make them take a drug test. >> donald trump comparing himself and hillary clinton to athletes. we'll look at what exactly he means by that. plus, a new batch of wikileaks e-mails offering some possible insight into the clinton campaign operation. and "saturday night live" with newig

learn more at chase.com/ink >>> good morning, everyone, i'm alex witt in new york at msnbc world headquarters. in the west. here's what's happening, tax hit. a new report suggests donald trump could have avoided paying on his federal income for years. there's new reaction from trump's campaign this morning. >>> nearly a week since the debate, what do the polls show? the take from an expert in the field. >> it hillary knew, she would have done it already, end of story, i won the debate, stayed calm, just like i promised, and it's over. good night, hofstra. >> donald, donald, there's still 88 minutes left. it's a

i'm alex witt here in new york at msnbc world headquarters nine days until election day and new pollsust now suggest tightening in one battleground state, but a wider lead for one candidate in another key state. details ahead. >> in fact, it is not just strange, it's unprecedented and it is deeply troubling. >> hillary clinton not talking about the whole of this campaign season, just the latest wrinkle from the fbi on e-mails. there is new information this morning. >> this is the biggest political scandal since watergate. >> donald trump trying to seize the moment,

i'm alex witt alongside louis bergdorf.onald trump attended the ribbon cutting of his new hotel in washington, d.c., yesterday. it was his second event at the hotel in as many months and the 32nd time trump has addressed the press from one of his properties. the candidate said the project, located on pennsylvania avenue, is an example of the kind of leadership he will bring to the white house. >> we turned a property that had been neglected for decades, and which was losing huge sums of money for the federal government, into a major revenue prucer and job creator. this is what i want to do for our country. i want to go into the inner cities, the poor rural communities, and the failing schools, and i want to work on a national plan of revitalization. i'm tired of the excuses from our politicians. i'm tired of being told what cannot be done. my theme today is five words. under budget and ahead of schedule. that's what we did. >> now, some disputed trump's claim of coming in ahead of schedule. "usa today" posted old trump pres

i'm alex witt. at 31 past the hour, here is what we're monitoring for you.ith 23 days until the election, a new poll out today shows hillary clinton with an 11-point lead over trump. in a new poll, 79% say they are enthusiastic about trump but that's down from 91% a month ago. clinton's enthusiasm support has inched up to 83%. donald trump's message this week, the election is rigged and the media is out to get him, claiming it's all part of a conspiracy to keep him from the presidency. a new article looks at the strategy and talks to four biographers who have written about trump. the headline echos their sentiment. a dangerous man for the next three or four weeks. joining me now is one of the biographers, michael dantonio. michael, with a big welcome to you. let's look at what you and the other biographers have suggested. that is that trump will be dangerous during the final stretch of the election. why? what makes you think that? >> he comes from a long line of flame throwers. this is a person who will reach for any clot of mud available to him and fling it

i'm alex witt here in new york at msnbc world headquarters. it is 9:00 a.m. in the east, 6:00 a.m. west. here is what is happening right now, 16 days to go, hillary clinton stumping with tim kaine in battleground states saying she's focused on the race, not her opponent. >> it is not too late to stage an intervention. friends don't let friends vote for trump. >> while donald trump attacks his accusers while making a big new pitch to voters. >> every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. >> we're going to do so well

i'm alex witt alongside betty nguyen. we begin with this big story from the business world.of wells fargo is out amid the controversy surrounding the country's aggressive sales tactics. john stumpf has retired effe effective immediately after it was revealed employees opened some 2 million accounts in customers' names without them knowing about it. a good morning to you, nancy. wells fargo stock, that surged in the after hours. what about the terms of the departure? what can you tell us about that? >> well, investors definitely cheering this move. there still remain some question marks over the terms, exactly what the outgoing ceo, john stumpf, will receive. the bank has said he will not receive a golden parachute. based on the stock he holds, others are saying he will walk away with tens of millions. but the replacement, who was the president and coo of wells fargo, spoke to cnbc yesterday and said he was saddened by the announcement but john felt that he had become too much of a distraction. so yes, investors were pleased by the move, but politicians not so much. one of th

good morning, everyone, i'm alex witt here at msnbc world headquarters in new york.we'll have more on hurricane matthew, its path, scope, and effects which have

i'm alex witt in new york, the place for politics. 14 hours and counting, the second presidential debateistory on the line. a live look here at washington university in st. louis. gop turmoil. republicans abandoning donald trump by the dozens. the big question, what can he say at tonight's debate to change the narrative or is his fate sealed? >> the day's other big story, record breaking floods. a new look at rising waters chasing thousands from their homes. >>> at the top of the hour, politics first here.

i'm alex witt at msnbc world headquarters in new york. here's what's happening. we begin with an exclusive report from "the new york times" on donald trump's taxes. records obtained by "the times" show trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years. but we can't know if he actually did avoid paying. trump tweeting out this morning, "i know our complex tax laws better than anyone who's ever run for president and am the only one who can fix them." #faili #failing@nytimes. >> he's the first say this. our tax code is an albatross upon america. it is far too complicated. >> it shows what an absolute mess the federal tax code is and that's why donald trump is in the best position to fix it. >> he did pay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes, state taxes -- >> we don't know this until -- >> excise taxes. >> how do we know without him releasing his tax returns? >> because the he didn't he'd be in jail. >> the trump campaign

>>> alex witt at msnbc world headquarters. here's what's happening. new and widespread reaction to "the new york times" report on one year of donald trump's tax returns. >> the reality is he's a genius. he took advantage of something that could save his enterprise and did something we admire in america. >> all of us will do what we can within the law to avoid paying taxes. don't hate the player. hate the game. >> just a sampling. hear more from the trump camp and clinton reaction ahead. nearly a week since the debate, what do the polls show? the latest from an expert in the field. >>> and bracing for a hurricane as matthew spins its way near jamaica. the question this hour, will it track toward the u.s. >>> let's get right to that exclusive report from "the new york times." records obtained by "the times" show trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years. we can't know if he actually did avoid paying. trump

. >> reporter: i'm alex witt in daytona beach. it's after 8:00 in the morning.ds gusting over 60 miles an hour at this point. definitely feeling the force. we've seen debris flying off of buildings. further up, cranes over here moving in the wind. this business here lost one of their plywoods. it hit and shattered into pieces. their sign barely hanging on at this point. you can see the entire driveway here is covered with debris and lost the sign to this hotel and a big chunk of the building next door. [ crowd noise ] whoa. [ gears stopping ] when your pain reliever stops working your whole day stops try this. but just one aleve has the strength to stop pain for 12 hours. tylenol and advil can quit after 6. so live your whole day, not part... with 12 hour aleve. even if you're trying your best. along with diet and exercise, once-daily toujeo® may help you control your blood sugar. get into a daily groove. ♪ let's groove tonight. ♪ share the spice of life. ♪ baby, om the makers of lantus®, ♪ slice it right. toujeo® provides blood sugar-lowering activity for 24 ho

i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt, louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >>> secretary clinton, now, to ongoing issue for your campaign. wikileaks has been releasing your campaign e-mails. many of which raise some serious questions. >> thank you for bringing up my e-mails, chris. i'm very happy to clarify what was in some of them. i'm sorry, what, carol? i thought i heard my friend, carol. back to your question about the way donald treats women and that is how you pivot. >> so you're just never going to answer a question about your e-mails? >> no. but it was very cute to watch you try. >> mr. trump, in the last week 11 women accuse you of sexually assaulting them. do you still deny each of those claims? >> chris, of course i do. i'm completely innocent. i've said this before and i'll say it again. nobody has more respect for women than i do. >> all right. all right. settle down. settle down. settle down, entire planet. settle down. >> another good one. "snl" hitting it out of the park. welcome to "morning joe," everyone. it'

. >> that does it for us on this wednesday, i'm louis burgdorf alongside -- >> me, alex witt. >> "morning joe" starts right now. >> is the last time we're going to have a chance. four years it's over. in four years, you don't have a chance. all these characters that want to run in four years. they can forget it. they're wasting their time. republicans have to finally get smart and come together. this is our last chance. you see what's happening at the voting booths. you see what's happening. the lines are three blocks long. i can't tell you exactly but i see a lot of trump buttons. a lot of trump hats. a lot of shirts. and we have a feeling, don't we, that they're going to be voting for trump. i have a feeling. ♪ >> good morning. it's wednesday, october 26th. what does that mean? >> nicole, you've been involved in campaigns before. i don't know about but every time i see that -- >> i think something i can't say on tv. >> you know what i mean? you see the pumpkin. every time i see it, my god. i got a week. i got to take the kids out for five minutes and then go knock on doors. you see that

i'm mika brzezinski alongside willie geist, alex witt and sam stein helping us with the political impactpresidential race. first, the very latest on the storm's path. a new peak wind gust and strongest hurricane to hit the u.s. coast in a decade. matthew has been downgraded to a category 3 but those dangerous 120-mile-per-hour winds are starting to be felt onshore. a 107-mile-per-hour gust reported at in northethe area. the storm is pushing toward jacksonville. after speaking individually with governors from along the southern atlantic coast, president obama signed emergency declarations in florida, georgia and south carolina. the president also spoke with governor pat mccrory in north carolina who activated federal and local responders with a state of emergency in all 100 counties. the national hurricane center says that would be hurricane moving parallel to the coastline is difficult to specify where exactly the worst impacts will be felt. they say only a small deviation of the tracked forecast could bring the core of the hurricane onshore and that strong winds will occur well inland.

i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >> donald trump tweeted up a storm today. he really did. he he lashed out at a number of republicans, the ones distancing themselves from him. he called paul ryan a weak and ineffective leader and called john mccain foul mouth and said democrats are more loyal than republicans are. he tweeted this. it's so nice that shackles have been taken off me and i can now fight for america the way i want to. this is how he's been behaving with the shackles on? [ applause ] >> good point. good morning. it's wednesday, october 12th. >> shackles are coming off. i'm excited. >> it's about time. >> put them back on. >> we're going to have a campaign worth watching. >> took the shackles off him last night. >> i don't think i want to know about your personal life. >> with us on set, we've got veteran columnist and msnbc contributor -- >> a legend. >> managing editor of bloomberg politics mark halperin. and in nashville, tennessee, pulitzer prize winner jon meacham. less

i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >> i would like to address an important religious matter. the issue of going to confession. or as hillary calls it, the fourth of july weekend with fbi director comey. >> people look at the statue of liberty and they see a proud symbol of our history of a nation of immigrants, a beacon of hope for people around the world. donald looks at the statue of liberty and sees a four. maybe a five if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair. >> good morning. it is friday, october 21st. >> didn't go really as expected. >> you got to know your crowd. we'll have more of that coming up. with us on set, msnbc political contributor rick tyler and political writer for "the new york times" nick confessore. >> reminds me of correspondents dinner that didn't know the crowd and sat there and stared. >> awkward. >> trump started out -- he's not good at that. let's just say that. that requires self-deprecation. >> he had a small hands joke. >> he had a small hands