i am very honored to introduce beto o'rourke. [cheers and applause] mr. o'rourke: joan, thank you.hat was incredibly kind and very important to focus us on the moral issue of this moment right now, which happens to be very close to home for us in el paso, texas. i'm so grateful that all the way from ames, iowa, you are trying to make sure we pay attention to what is happening in our name on the u.s.-mexico border at this moment, and not just now at this moment. we met earlier in the campaign and shared contact information. you've been staying in touch with me in making sure that i am focused on that, and making sure that i bring other americans into this conversation and into an understanding about just what is happening at this moment of truth. so i'm grateful to you and to dan for opening up your home, making sure all of us could join together today, not for candidate, not for a political party, but for our country. that is what has brought us all out at this moment, and so we thank you. i want to thank ross, who greeted us as we came in. ross, are you here? >> i am down here! [l

please welcome beto o'rourke!nd hopeful for tomorrow ♪ tomorrow >> stephen: welcome back to the show. >> thank you for having me back. >> stephen: nice to see you again. the last time you were here you were running for senate in texas, if people don't remember, against ted cruz. and you did not win that one. you did not win that one. what made you go, okay, didn't get senate. let's go for the brass ring here? and go for president of the united states. very exciting campaign. >> right. >> stephen: but you did not win that one. does this one seem easier to you? ( laughter ) >> definitely not. you know, in texas, we got to be something-- or be part of something-- just extraordinarily special. a state that had been 50th in voter turnout. so it wasn't a red state. it was a nonvoting state. turned out at record levels. young voter turnout and early voting was up 500%. we won more votes than any democrat has in the history of the state of texas. >> stephen: it was very close, 2.6% which in texas-- ( applause ) >> we didn

beto o'rourke: >> yes. [cheering and applause] host: before we say goodbye two , minutes for your closing remarks and. [speaking in spanish] beto o'rourke: i mentioned el paso at the outset of beto my comments i like to close with a reference to my community. texas of the first boys high school baseball championship in 1949 and improbably it came from the bears. [speaking in spanish] they entered that competition with their uniforms hand sewn by the mothers, gloves made from scrap material by their dad and one the city championship and when the regional championship and traveled by bus to austin, nine hour trip where along the way they were met by restaurants and hotels and said no dogs or mexicans allowed but in fact, the night before they played that game they slept on the field under the bleachers where they would compete the next day and they won that game and they bring back distinction and honor to el paso into texas into this country and understanding of who we are and i will tell you as they grew in

one democratic candidate is making a surprising revelation to, former texas congressman beto o'rourke is disclosing a very personal connection to the issue of slavery and reparation reparations. correspondent kristin fisher has details tonight from capitol hill. >> to ensure that we know our history, our true story so that we stop visiting stop visiting injustices on future generations -- >> 12020 presidential candidate beto o'rourke announced in april that he supported legislation to study reparations, what he did not know is that members of his own family had a hand in those racial injustices. after an investigation by the guardian revealed that both he and his wife descended from people who own, he wrote last night "i benefit from a system that my ancestors built to favor themselves at the expense of others. it only increases the urgency i feel will help change the country so it works for those who have been locked out of our locked up in the system." but o'rourke is far from alone. last week supports surfaced reports surfaced that mitch mcconnell also had ancestors who own. mcconn

now even though buttigieg has plateaued some, he's ahead of beto o'rourke.oes beto o'rourke have to reclaim that space tonight or say i've already qualified for september and i'll just wait it out. >> i think it's a big risk to wait until september. as we saw in the last debate he's not a brawler by nature. it's not what he's good at. but it's going to be a long summer for beto o'rourke if he doesn't have a moment in tonight's debate. the base that he needs to get back went in large part to pete buttigieg and to some extent also to elizabeth warren. there was a great deal of enthusiasm for beto o'rourke among more educated women who have really swung hard in this race away from him. >> look at the fund-raising that buttigieg has been able to pull together over the last quarter, even after the last debate. he's shown that he is a powerhouse at least on the fund-raising side and continued debates like last time may help him continue to fill his coffers. if he does that, that will help propel his candidacy. we still have a long time until anybody votes and he c

former texas congressman beto o'rourke. and businessman andrew yan. the final draw has four candidates who will be randomly divided into the two nights, july 30th and july 31st. former vice-president joe biden. california senator kamala harris. vermont senator bernie sanders. and massachusetts senator elizabeth warren. here's where tonight's drawings will take place with these three cnn anchors. brianna keilar. victor blackwell. and anna cabrera. let's go to brianna to explain what happens next. >> wolf, cnn is televising the draw tonight because we believe that this process should be as transparent as possible. so in that spirit we are keeping things simple and low tech. so here's what victor, anna and i will be doing. we all have name cards like these ones. one for each candidate in our group. we have the same number of date cards, half for the first night july 30th, half for the second night july 31st. so we'll be putting the candidate cards into one box titled presidential candidates. we'll put the date cards in this other box titled debate night.

>>> former congressman beto o'rourke shot out of the gate as an if early candidate. since then there has been some stagnation and now tonight big, big opportunity for him. joining us now, o'rourke campaign manager jen o'malley. good luck to you tonight. thank you for taking the time. first, do you agree, i've had panels out here all day long saying beto o'rourke has got to make a move tonight or he may not make the next campaign. i don't think that is going to be right. on the poll side you have to start popping in some polls. but he's got so much of a donor base, so much currency nationwide from the cruz race. do you agree with the stakes. >> it is a big night any time you have a debate and the opportunity to tell the american people who you stand for and will fight for and we're really focused on that opportunity. so, yes, it is a big night but this is a long campaign, a long time before people caucus in iowa and we're building the foundation over time that we need to be focused on. >> you do not believe you're living in fear of an early exit. >> we're already qual

beto o'rourke is very, very talented.n, anybody who goes to texas and set texas on fire, ignite the country. a lot of it had to do with ted cruz, let's not get that wrong. she's a -- he's a very, very talented individual. it looks as if somewhat like the stage is too big for beto o'rourke. it looks as if the lights are engulfing beto o'rourke. i know when he came out, he was running because he was born to do this. for a lot of us, we're like wait a minute. >> hold on. >> there's no difference between the positions electorally of you and an drdrew gillum and stacey abrams. there's no difference. being born to do this is presumptuous. you hit a ceiling, boom, it's a dud. after the debate we were expecting a restart. but beto o'rourke has not answered the question. and no one can tell me why is he running for president of the united states. there is no clear answer to that. and it's very hard to go up there and show that out and show that through in a debate if no one even knows why you're running. >> we talked a little abou

what about beto o'rourke? for a moment to really did seem like beto was the guy.e was our bobby kennedy. now he's a joke. while? >> well, i think, they always talk about the glass ceiling for women in politics. i think there's also a glass ceiling for's. there's only so far you can rise. john kerry married two heiresses but he could never reach the heights. he married the only child of a guy worth $500 million. i think he's very soon going to go into his real in life which is son-in-law. >> tucker: [laughs] he's been a good son-in-law. what happened to kirsten gillibrand? >> here's another person, tucker. i'm always a little suspicious of someone who changes their name from when they were in high school or college to weather on the ballot. she used to be, when she was at dartmouth, she was named tina rudnick. now her name is kirsten gillibrand. i just have a suspicion about people like that. she is also somewhat, as you say, she has jettisoned everything she ran for when she was seeking her first seat in congress in upstate new york. you know, you also shouldn't t

that was beto o'rourke staking out a middle ground on health care amid the heated debate over medicare last night. o'rourke has been struggling to gain traction in recent polls. so did last night's performance change that? joining us now is democratic presidential candidate and former texas congressman beto o'rourke. great to have you here. >> thank you for having me on. appreciate it. >> pleasure. so let's just start right there. explain how -- why there seems to be such a divide between medicare for all in which people lose their private health insurance and building on obama care and how you think it's a false choice and you can do both. >> i want to stay focused on the goal and want us as a country to actually get there. what i'm hearing from people is that we want guaranteed, high-quality, universal health care. so the proposal we've made, medicare for america does that by ensuring that everyone who does not have coverage today is enrolled in medicare. importantly those who are insufficiently insured, meaning they can't afford their copays or premiums, they can elect to move to me

in fact our colleague, eric bradner, learned beto o'rourke and his wife sat down and watched the last debate and tried to break down exactly what went wrong. even beto himself described himself as being wooden during this debate and allowed the attacks to come without much of a response. i'm told things will be much different this time around. in their previous preparation, they didn't murder board beto o'rourke, which is hammer him with areas where he could potentially be vulnerable. they did this time around. and they plan to engage, particularly with mayor pete buttigieg, who they feel is one of these candidates that's kind of stealing their lane. one of the things they're going to attack him on, i'm told, is his donations. where he is getting his money from. of course beto o'rourke, his campaign largely fueled by small dollar donations, where mayor pete buttigieg has been willing to take those high-dollar fund-raisers, which many in the democratic field have not done. >> i want to know what his wife said, what beto o'rourke's wife said when she sat down to critique him. >> my wife

yesterday while the president was in korea, beto o'rourke of texas was campaigning for votes in mexicoent to jaurez and met migrants and said american is to blame for all of their problems. watch. >> we know people are losing their lives. they are no longer to process. they are trying to cross in between ports of entry. we put them in this precarious position and caused the suffering. we have the opportunity to make this better and right. >> tucker: it's america's fault you are breaking our laws. if beto o'rourke real or is this actually a right winger doing a propaganda video designed to undermine the left? that has to be the case. watch this. beto went on to stay that america must accept all migrants from everywhere in the world because we are responsible for global warming all of it. >> we have to remember they are fleeing the deadliest countries c compounded not by the fact they are facing droughts caused by us. when you are unable to grow your own feed to feed yourself, you have no choice but to come here. >> tucker: is beto o'rourke for real? that's the question some people are a

tonight -- beto o'rourke -- from "good boys" actress and comedian retta - from "euphoria" actress hunterchafer - featuring the 8g band with fred armisen ♪ [ cheers and applause ladies and gentlemen, seth meyers. >> seth: good evening. i'm seth meyers, this is "late night. how's everybody doing tonight? [ cheers and applause that is wonderful to hear. in that case, let's get to the news well, today, the uk finally answered the question. if your friend jumped off a cliff, would you [ light laughter ] pro-brexit politician boris johnson was officially elected today to become the uk's next prime minister. great. in 70 years, the uk has gone from winston churchill to a roady for spinal tap [ light laughter ] president trump continued his attacks on minority congresswomen today tweeting the quote, "aoc plus three are a nightmare for america. although technically for trump, anything that involves math is a nightmare. [ laughter and applause "aoc plus three, how do you -- how do you add letters to a number?" several bars in washington, d.c. will open early tomorrow so people can watch special co

in 2019 beto o'rourke lost the texas senate rate by only 2.6%.t took a week to figure out that kyrsten sinema ultimately won that election in arizona. my nbc colleagues are back. leann, jeff, and heidi. you also hit capitol hill, so you hear that kind of chatter. let's start with texas. to texas republicans act like they're starting to get nervous? >> well, first of all, we have been having the same conversation for the past at least since 2012 that maybe this is the year that texas is going to turn blue. >> first time i heard it was '88. >> well, maybe. i'll start with 2012 when i'm aware of it. but, so, on the hill, i mean, i think that the senate race is going to have an impact on what happens at the presidential john cornyn is running again. democrats had hoped that beto o'rourke would jump in the senate race. >> would that have been the best candidate? >> i think they got mj hagar. i think that is a very strong candidate and i don't think that they are sad about it. you hit it in your question, though, chuck. is the democratic party prepared

not that important of a rally and when cruz was able to come back and keep the prior apartment, beto o'rourke wouldn't. i don't trust o'rourke. what issues he was standing on or what he believed inother than let everybody and tell him and ted cruz had their debate. will get a response. >> that was a criticism of his campaign, that it wasn't deep into the issues. he did kind of create movement. he created a campaign that people wanted to be a part of. to support anted democrat for quite some time but didn't have that vehicle. he lost by about three points which is the best a democrat has done in texas in a long time. when you were talking about the president i was reminded of a piece from scott jennings who is a cnn political commentator, republican commentator. he wrote a piece about the president's support and how sometimes it oils down to attitude and gratitude and that there are republicans who do like the presidents attitude and how he treats democrats and how he treats the media but there are some republicans who don't like that part of the president but there is gratitude for two suprem

he didn't get close to what you said or beto o'rourke.son is going to run for president of this country never would say something like that. >> juan: anybody who knows american history would say that's reality. the question is. >> jesse: i don't think anybody agrees with that. >> juan: how can you disagree with the idea that the founding fathers said you've got to be a landowning white male. >> jesse: just because something happened at the time doesn't define the founding. >> juan: what are you talking about? >> jesse: just because people had slaves during the founding doesn't mean we are founded on slavery in white supremacy is on. >> juan: i think the fact of our american -- >> jesse: he doesn't define the founding. >> juan: let me finish this point. the left sees this and i think beto o'rourke is reflecting it, he says let's fix it. let's do something. i think they are right, like you, refuses to even say you know it, it's part of the original -- >> jesse: i acknowledged that was slavery. i acknowledged that women or black americans di

beto. i think they both need to get a little mojo back. o'rourke's team seems to be tell grafg that they would relish an opportunity to draw a contrast with pete buttigieg. i'm like is that how beto o'rourke gets his groove back? >> no. you've got to punch up. but i kind of consider them in very similar places. >> they're not nearly the same in polling in that respect. that is why they're calling out mayor pete, because it is like crabs in a barrel. you grab the one who is on the lowest rung above you. >> castro in the last debate i thought did a really good job at frankly punching up in an unexpected way. he said, look, i'm the one that deserves to be on the stage, i've got a command of policy and a record i can stand on and you will find few contradictions in what my public service has been and he went after beto. i thought it was an effective landing and i think beto tonight, along with pete buttigieg, have to think about what is that moment where i get to strike out? >> julian castro not on the stage tonight. he will be on the stage tomorrow. i'm

beto o'rourke in texas, all democrats in the south and they made the calculus that many are making. instead of running to the center and running as a milquetoast democrat trying to win over the centrist republican, run to stoke the democratic base. get hispanics in georgia as well as black voters to turn out. get white liberals to turn out. build a new kind of younger, more dynamic, more diverse coalition and that's the path to victory. that's the case many democrats are making if they want to come back in trump country in the south. >> well, you know, richard haass, it's interesting. let's put up that map again of the actual percentages because as you put that up, you actually see the states where there's at least income -- the

for as one example from beto o'rourke just days after the fourth of july. >> this country was foundedtion and structure that we have in our country still reflects the legacy of slavery and segregation and jim crow and suppression, even our democracy. >> martha: that was remarkable. rich lowry responded to that comment in a new op-ed today writing this. "just in case the newcomers were inclined to believe that they had escaped to the greatest country on earth, and open, dynamic, generous society that whatever their struggles now will afford them opportunities unimaginable back home. beddoe was there to tell them of all its sins. he has made himself into an instrument of woke assimilation. joining me now to talk about this and give us their opinions this evening, charlie kirk and leslie marshall, progressive radio talk show host and a fox news contributor. good to have both to be with us tonight. that is a very striking comment that beto o'rourke made, every single institution and structure in the united states of america still basically finds its footing in a discriminating stomach dis

born better® ♪ [ cheers and applause >> sh: my thanks to beto o'rourke. retta.ow [ cheers and applause ♪ [ cheers and applause >>> kay, can i get one right here right here >> what are you doing? >> give me just one day. one day where you're the star. ♪

. >> tucker: beto o'rourke's presidential bid looks doomed. he's trying to save his campaign by attacking the country. will it work? you know the answer. but it's still fun to watch. we will be right back. k ♪ bold choice, charlie! just tear, eat... mmmmm. and go! try all of my chicken creations! chicken! (sfx:birds singing, distant dog barking) hi hi ♪(whistling tune: "don't worry, be happy")♪ >> tucker: not to brag, but wee predicted a few months ago that beto o'rourke's presidential campaign would be doomed, and in fact we were right.'r he bombed in the debates two weeks ago. pete buttigieg stole his youthful energy. in the democratic party of 2019, beto's skin color and sexual orientation work against him. skateboard tricks and nirvana references are not enough to ck make up for it. his campaign is over, even if h doesn't know it yet. but o'rourke has one card to play before he leaves the race. he met with immigrants in nashville and proceeded to trash his own country. watch this. >> this country was founded on white supremacy and every si

>> well you know, beto o'rourke is proven many times is not that smart.rd. has beto o'rourke ever talked a border patrol agent that spent years in that line and put his own safety on the line? these men and women secure their home every day to defend the nation. we are still in that line. let beto o'rourke or kirsten gillibrand or castro or any of these people put on a uniform and stand on the most dangerous part of the country and come back the next day and tell me you don't think they need a wall tell me you don't think it needs to be fixed. >> talked about fixing it, you say there loopholes for congress to fix what are they? >> we should be able to detain families long to see a judge. we've done that before the numbers went down. we need to fix the trafficking victims. once it is determined you are not a victim of trafficking you can go home. instead of waiting years for hearing. but it is asylum roles. 90 percent of people come across the border claim asylum but 90 percent never get released from the government. we have to get that fix we need that fi

beto o'rourke, maybe pete buttigieg.be some substantive differences that will go forward tonight. biden obviously is not in the debate tonight, he's in the debate tomorrow night. if he had been there, then there could have been a bit more fireworks. but i suspect that elizabeth warren and bernie sanders will try to be as cordial to each other as possible, even though on some of the substantive issues they disagree. she still calls herself a capitalist, as you know. he calls himself a democratic socialist. >> and again, we are watching live pictures there from inside the debate hall in detroit. bernie sanders is joined there to his right, to our left, by his wife, jane, as he is doing this walk-through ahead of this first of two nights. he'll be there in the center of the stage among ten candidates who are debating tonight. wolf, it is interesting to picture senator sanders and senator warren in the center of this stage and as you said make taking some of this ideological incoming from people who don't agree with them on

several of last night's democratic debates weigh, including pete buttigieg, amy klobuchar and beto o'rourketar lineup. >>> joining us, reporter for politico, elena schneider. i want to talk about the candidates' reactions when asked if the party had gone too far left. has the divide between moderate and progressive contenders grown even wider after last night? >> i don't know if the division between moderates or progressives has grown any wider after last night, but, rather, it's played out in front of millions of voters merely tuning in for the first time and getting a good look at that divide. when bernie sanders and elizabeth warren were on that stage defending their positions, taking strong stances, explaining medicare for all, free college, to bring out voters. but they weren't doing it against candidates that they really want to contract with. the biggest moderates on that stage, one of the moderates who made the most time is congressman john delaney from maryland. who is not expected to be someone who may not even be on the third debate stage come september. who they're focusing on a

had moments you think, is beto o'rourke real or is this some kd of sophisticated parity?right-winger doing a borat-style propaganda video, designed to undermine the left? that has to be the case. watch this. he went on to say that america must expect all migrants from everywhere in the world because we are responsible for global warming, all of it. watch this. >> we've got to remember that they are fleeing the deadliest countries on the face of the planet today, compounded by droughts that were caused, not by god, not by mother nature, but by us. man-made climate change, our emissions, our inactions in the face of the facts and assigns.g when it is that deadly and you are unable to grow your own food to feed yourself, you have no choice but to come here. >> tucker: is beto o'rourke for real? that is a question some people are asking! ethan bierman hosts left coast news. he joins us now! as a beto would say. great to see it. pretty close to that saying that there is no scientific evidence that report anything that is morert moron just said. is it legitimate for a president

beto o'rourke has got to show he's strong. i was here with beto o'rourke and pete buttigieg and all the top tier candidates just last week talking about urban issues at the naacp presidential forum, and they have to come out and stand out. they have to fight elizabeth warren. they have to fight against bernie sanders. end of story. they have got to show i am worthy, i am going to make that next round. and this is do or die tonight. >> angela, what are you watching for? >> you know in the infamous words of a famous philosopher, snoop dog, there's a song called what's my name off his first album, and i think there's so many other folks on the fringe who many of us don't know who they stand for, who they are. like who are the rest of the people on the stage? tonight is the opportunity for them to the demonstrate who they are, not only the fact they can take on the other democrats in the primary strongly but they can also stand up against a president who regularly uses a platform on twitter and a bully pulpit from the white house

beto o'rourke knows what the problem is though. not enough money and of course racism. racism!tion plan he says will fix education and perhaps save his doomed presidential campaign. $500 billion. that's the price tag for the plan. his plan would also ban corporal punishment in schools, also pressure schools to replace ordinary discipline with "restorative justice programs," because education isn't political enough already, that would require teacher prep programs to use even more political propaganda to address racial bias and cultural competency. a beta or work as on his way out as a presidential candidate and it really can't happen too fast. never been a more annoying person run for president probably ever in american history. justin haskins is editorial director andto research fellow t the heartland institute in very good at math, he's the man we call to assess some of these programs. he joins us again tonight to do so with this one. so you've read over his education reform plan, what do you make of it? >> i think it's astounding. really quite frustrating. here you have anot

>> beto o'rourke's had a rough start to his campaign and i think he's been looking for something to makedar screen. i don't have a problem with someone drawing on their own personal narrative to help illustrate why they support policies they support. for him to say, look, i feel a sense that my family's history has compelled me more to fight for a more just society and greater opportunities for everybody, i think that's a fine thing to say. i don't know that i would go so far as to call for reparations, but i think that is fine. he's been struggling, and this is maybe a way -- we are talking about him tonight, which we weren't doing last night. >> martha: karl. >> i think it trivializes the issue. if the appeal only urgent about this because in the 1850s, 160 years ago, his forbearers had two slaves? you make reparations for slavery because you feel it's necessary and a moral obligation or not. shouldn't be affected by what is in your background or not. i can think of nothing -- or few issues other than this that could separate this country and once again divide us on the basis of race,

and in texas, biden holds a 10 point lead over the lone star state's beto o'rourke. 27% for biden, 17% for o'rourke. elizabeth warren at 16%. harris and sanders at 12% each, buttigieg and julian castro at 4% each. >>> president trump could win 5 million viewers votes and still secure an electoral college victory. despite democratic changes in california and texas. both are growing more diverse at a faster rate than the rest of the u.s. that are trending towards the democratic party. despite the increase in voters, neither blue california nor red texas would play a pivotal role. trump's 2016 victory relied on michigan, pennsylvania and wisconsin, all three of the ageing relatively white states have a high share of voters with degrees. a group trending over democrats over the long-term. as long as he still picks up every state he won in 2016, would secure an electoral victory with less than 47% o. vote again. joining us, washington political reporter for the washington examiner, emily larson, how could trump's edge in the electoral map impact how the democrats run their 2020 strategy. >>

castro i mentioned earlier he had a moment that he created with beto o'rourke in the first debate. similar way he did with beto o'rourke in the first debate. >> a lot of these candidates are facing a do or die moment. always a pleasure. thank you very much. of course going to be reading axios a.m. in a little bit. to all of our viewers out there, you can sign up for the newsletter by going to sign-up.axios.com. >> that does it for us have. "morning joe" starts right now. >>> someone tried to order a cake for a 2-year-old that said happy birthday lizard, but they misheard them and sent them a cake that said happy birthday loser. meanwhile at the white house, trump was like, why does the cake i ordered for don jr. say lizard? >> good morning and welcome to "morning joe." it is friday, july 26th, along with joe, willie and me, we have the host of saturday night politics, donny deutsch. "new york times" reporter jeremy peters. republican strategist and msnbc

beto o'rourke was the it guy in the race before pete buttigieg took that mantle. my guess is he sees the debate as he's really dead in the water politically right now. why not go at the guy who took your sort of, you know, buzz mantle? i could see that happening and it might benefit o'rourke. buttigieg just needs to be aware of it. >> if you're oremark finally, todd, what are you telling him right now? because you're not on the same stage as castro this time. if you look at his q2 fund-raising numbers they were way down. this guy needs some wind in his sails. how does he do it? >> less spanish, i'd begin with that. >> his spanish is better than mine. >> after that i do think, i agree with chris, i think beto o'rourke has to be-looking to be more assertive and aggressive and i think his target probably is mayor pete because those are the two that seem to be vying for if not this election, future election prominence. i do think they seem to be going after the same sort of voters. now, mayor pete, here's what i think you should look for with mayor pete. he's a pragma

i have given to beto o'rourke for president.id not even give him any money for senate last year. i did volunteer. i plan to do more as we approach the m&a's. lovely, ielections democrats, support but there are a few independents and republicans that i like. by party inun houston. they run nonpartisan elections. host: you said you have donated to beto o'rourke in the past. you do not donate for his senate run. what made the difference? caller: i did not think he needed the money. he raised over $80 million. what a mainly did was give sweat equity. i volunteered and walked about 20 precincts for him. host: for those of us that don't know what block walking is unexplained what it is. explain what it is. go to: what you do is you their house and knocked on the door and say i want to ask you to vote for beto o'rourke, and talk to them a little bit and give them a flyer, tell them where to vote. peopleainly to get interested in the election. host: let's go to john calling from michigan. he says he is not going to volunteer or donate 2

you have beto o'rourke getting the lay of the land.re he'll stand positioning, he knows the rules of the road right now. he's been prepping, this really could be make or break for him. he will be standing outside, then will be playing spy o'rourke and buttigieg. this is a fun moment to be able to see him on that stage ahead of our big cnn debate night. with me now mitch landrieu, serves the great state of louisiana. mr. mayor, a pleasure. so do you have pangs of, i wish i was on that stage. regrets. >> a little anxious and nervous for them. >> who would excite the elector it, who do you think has a chance of beating trump? >> those may be two separate issues. the most important thing is president trump. any time someone's running for office, we have 20, 21 candidates running. this is much more of a derby race. someone will come out of the pack and excite the base. the challenge is how you do that, but position yourself to win the general election. >> who excites you more, between that camp? >> well, there are -- like joe biden, i think

beto o'rourke is not going there. is positioning himself as a somewhat more business friendly candidate i think his hope may be if joe biden continues to have trouble, joe biden had a very rough debate very recently, then some of that moderate vote has got to go somewhere, and beto o'rourke hopes it's him >> john, is this always his position or is this a sort of last-ditch attempt by him, having seen his position in the polls slip what to try to put himself as an outlier? the headline grabbing top income tax rate of 28% is a fractional increase it's very far from some of the other candidates. >> exactly what he is doing, remember he ran in texas last year, which is a very conservative state, against ted cruz he ran as a pro-trade democrat that's one of the other things we talked about. he was for trade promotion authority for president obama, but now says he would be against tpp. that's kind of standard for democrats in a democratic primary. no i think he is trying to figure out what his lane is in this race after bei

have to distinguish themselves from each other. >> yeah. >> so will you have pete buttigieg and beto o'rourkeause o'rourke's -- a lot of o'rourke's support he is he probably would argue have gone to mayor pete. they have to figure out their targets of opportunity. >> and you have the governor of mt. on the debate state your name clearly wanting to make an impact for potential voters. i want to thank everybody. stay with us. we are coming right back with more here, special edition of erin burnett "outfront" as we count down to the debate. we know joe biden will be watching from his home in delaware. we'll look at what you can expect as two of the best known progress he was take on eight rivals in just over an hour. that's just ahead. or to carry ? its show of strength... or its sign of intelligence? in crossing harsh terrain... or breaking new ground? this is the time to get an exceptional offer on the mercedes of your midsummer dreams at the mercedes-benz summer event, going on now. lease the gla 250 suv for just $329 a month at the mercedes-benz summer event. mercedes-benz. the best or nothi

not that beto o'rourke is noticing, he's living in his own private hell. ck in march, things looked very different. beto was on the cover of "vanity fair," a magazine, riding a skateboard, promising to take america back to the exuberance of 1993. he was live blogging trips to the dentist. everyone thought it was great, pretending. then pete buttigieg showed up and wrecked everything. putt was even younger than beto, and even more glib. uh-oh. things started to fall apart. people began to notice that even though he use as bogus mexican nickname he was a rich white guy who went to boarding school in colombia. beto seemed to recognize it himself, maybe for the first time. watch below o'rourke grovel at the thought of himself. >> you're right. there are things i have been privileged to do in my life that others cannot. the systematic foundational discrimination that we have, in every aspect of life, is something that i have not experienced in my lifetime. and i have had advantages that others cannot enjoy. i have me work cut out for me to be a better person and

and then beto o'rourke goes like this at weird times.he quick point, very quickly, what about that? >> welcome to bring seems -- he's really on point when he speaks but he also seems very angry atpe certain times, so he needs to calm his words down in his tone down because his congruency is great, but his tonality seems angry. >> laura: of the punctuation. the punctuation with the staccato gestures doesn't help. thank you so much. we will be right back with my final thoughts. my experience with usaa has been excellent. they really appreciate the military family and it really shows. with all that usaa offers why go with anybody else? we know their rates are good, we know that they're always going to take care of us. it was an instant savings and i should have changed a long time ago. it was funny because when we would call another insurance company, hey would say "oh we can't beat usaa" we're the webber family. we're the tenney's we're the hayles, and we're usaa members for life. ♪ get your usaa auto insurance quote today. >> part of the

you have mary ann williamson, pete buttigieg and the heavy hitters, bernie sanders, beto o'rourke and john hickenlooper and making his debut tonight, steve bullock. in double digits, warren and sanders, talk about how they will handle being up there tonight and shadow cast by the front-runner not on the stage tonight, joe biden. he will be there tomorrow night and will anyone try to bring him into it. garrett, we see the scene being set up behind you there. let me ask you about elizabeth warren somebody last time around sort of on her own when it comes to top candidates in the polling, not on the stage with biden and not on the stage with harris and sanders. again, biden not there tonight. did warren and her campaign, do they like that she hasn't been up there with biden yet and gives her a chance to build her own identity or do they want a shot at that? >> they're a slow build. you can't win the mantle of this race and progressive alternative to biden at this point. each sanders and warren's campaign acknowledge the other will be in this a long time, ideologically aligned. not a lot

and it comes to beto o'rourke or anyone on that stage, doing contrasts on your record is fair game.ing to be talking about the issues, our candidates are going to be talking about the issues. we believe that cnn wants this to be about the issues. and so i think that all of that and showing contrast on the issues is fair game. you won't see name calling, though. you won't necessarily see people going after each other like you saw at the republican debates in 2016. that will be very different between what happened in 2016 with the republican debates and this debate. >> it got pretty fiery in the last one between your friend joe biden and senator harris, for sure. and let me just read you this, because you have joe biden now literally sandwiched between senator booker and senator harris on our debate stage and booker's campaign spokesperson last night tweeted this, mark the date, july 31st, 2019. joe biden finally gets his own senate judiciary commit hearing. how does he most effectively, governor, deal with the race issue between two sitting black senators who have said he's been at t

if he doesn't get the nomination, then it's just beto o'rourke, private citizen, texan. >> you know, p to beto to decide where he fits in best. we're proud of the senate race that he ran. and ultimately, what matters to us is that people make the investment on who should be running in texas and on what issues. again, i want to encourage all the democratic candidates that we're not just talking about the rust belt states, that they have to play to win in all the key states, and especially states of new opportunities, like georgia and here in texas. >> thank you, all. >>> coming up, the democratic candidates spar over their key economic divisions in the country, plans that will have a direct impact on you and the all-important question american voters are asking yesterday, today and will be tomorrow. >> i think when you make that decision, it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? r years ago? same speed to the ford hurry up and save sales event. for the first time ever get 20% estimated savings on select ford models, plus earn complime

you actually had the canadian born senator ted cruz last night tweeting a criticism of beto o'rourke for betraying american values pointing to his parents' heritage as being immigrants who worked hard to make it in america. but there was no criticism to be seen of the president from senator ted cruz, and that goes for really the rest of the party. i mean, there was one texas representative who, you know, levelled sort of a half apology, a half criticism at president trump and said that, you know, his rhetoric towards immigrants was unfair, but then followed up with but i still believe that the democrats who are in favor of keeping undocumented immigrants in the united states should be voted out in 2020. and that was really the lone voice. everyone else who has previously criticized the president in 2016, at least when he -- when his rhetoric was also similarly racially charged, they're either out of office, they have resigned. >> as we march closer and closer to 2020, more and more of this type of thing is going to happen. they're going to be worried about their own reelection bid sd

beto o'rourke.> chris matthews, thanks. and all along for this evening's debate indeed the plot line seemed to be the moderates on stage versus the very well-known liberals on stage. >> i don't understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the united states just to talk about what we really can't do and shouldn't fight for. [ cheers and applause ] >> i think democrats win when we run on real solutions, not impossible promises. when we run on things that are workable, not fairy tale economics. >> i get a little bit tired of democrats afraid of big ideas. republicans are not afraid of big ideas. they could give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to billionaires and profitable corporations. they coucrooks on wall street. so please don't tell me that we cannot take on the fossil fuel industry and nothing happens unless we do that. >> medicare for all is comprehensive. it covers all health care needs for senior citizens it will finally include dental care, hearing aids, and eye

beto o'rourke dropping down one. he's also -- his team taking a look at his debate performance last time around, which i guess will influence what we see wednesday. >> beto o'rourke with any stretch of the imagination, he was lackluster, castro really went after him, and that just came on top of the fact that he's been falling, falling, falling. ever since he entered the race. >> moving on to the top five? >> yeah, moving on to the top five. we have number five, pete buttigieg. if money won nominations, pete buttigieg would be on his way. he's been falling in the polls, only about 5% of the national average right now, can he reach out and win some african-american support. let's see if he uses the debate to do that. bernie sanders was the second candidate the last time around. this time around, he's in a three-way tie for second plates with harrison warren in the polls. he hasn't been able to build on that support. number three, elizabeth warren, very interested to see she and bernien sadders on the same debate stage