we have our politics reporter jonathan allen with us. president biden and former president trump spoke on the phone. we heard the president address the nation briefly and the biden campaign has pulled all ads and postal communications after the shooting. tell us more about the type of political reaction we are seeing in light of this tragic event that has taken place. >> what your seeing from president biden is what you would expect from him as somebody who has campaigned as a leader who wants to turn down the temperature, who wants to unify the country, and who wants to see civil discourse. we are watching these images over and over, so horrific. a major party candidate for president, a nominee, former president of the united states to be targeted for an assassination, it's hard to watch. it's not surprising to hear president biden say those things and it's not surprising to hear most of the responsible party leaders talking in that way, either like biden in televised remarks to the camera or like those who are put out statements. what

us now live from milwaukee, the site of the rnc is nbc news senior national politics reporter, jonathan allen. jonathan, thank you so much for starting us off this morning. let's begin with vance. we just played a lot of that public criticism, so take us behind the scenes. how did trump make the choice to go with vance? what does that say? and how did he get by all the nasty things vance once said about him? >> well, we know that he was -- donald trump had narrowed down his field basically to j.d. vance, senator marco rubio from florida, and he told his sons last week he was leaning toward donald trump and eric trump junior, he was leaning toward doug burgum and that is when they threw a bit of a fit and shouldn't pick doug burgum. and as once source described it said it, j.d., j.d., j. d. over the last several days trump informed doug burgum and marco rubio, it wasn't going to them, informing them yesterday and rubio had gone to see trump on friday and trump in that conversation all three of them last week and in the case of rubio, rubio himself brought up objections to -- to being a vice pr

joining us now, senior political analyst jonathan allen. we learned donald trump is altering his convention speech to focus on unity. in a new interview he tells "the washington post," the speech i was going to give on thursday was going to be a humdinger, he said. had this not happened, this would have been something. it's going to be a whole different speech now. your reaction to that and what are you expecting from trump now? >> a couple of things, ana. number one, it's interesting that trump is going to start bending toward unity. it's something he didn't do well in 2020. he's often sought to maximize his political strength by playing to his base, trying to energize them often through anger and fear, and so moving in a way where he talks about national unity is something that is different. i think it is, you know -- it is politically valuable for him for a couple of reasons. number one, it may help him reach out to independents. but i also think this is a moment where he has the ability potentially to freeze the playing field. he believ

joining us now reporters matt dixon and jonathan allen. matt, you have that information. reasoning here. >> well, sort of the thought process for wanting to keep the speeches consistent is the people we talked to wanted to project strength. the former president trump didn't want to see the assassination attempt was somehow weakening him or the long planned convention. that i put out the word to everyone, hey, let's keep status quo with your speeches. let's stick with where you were before the assassination attempt, with the exception there will be a few speakers who will address the assassination -- assassination attempt, excuse me. they didn't want every speaker to bring it up. they'll coordinate who's going to talk about it. i think a lot of things are going to remain the same. >> jonathan, president biden spoke out against the political violence. in a new interview trump says he's planning to change his convention speech to focus more on unity. how do you expect this as is nation attempt to change the heated rhetoric of this campaign? >> well, certainly in the short te

we have nbc's gabe gutierrez at the white house and senior national politics reporter jonathan allen in washington, also with us, former democratic congresswoman donna edwards and former advisers to former speakers ryan and boehner. >> reporter: it has to happen very quickly given these top time constraints. she plans to announce her pick by august 7th. you see right there those are the candidates that nbc news has confirmed have already received vetting materials. among them, michigan governor gretchen whitmer, governor tim walls, senator mark kelly and also governor josh shapiro who, as you mentioned, will be campaigning for the vice president a little later today. now, those are six of the eight possible candidates already receiving vetting materials. but some more of them are also on the airwaves. we were over the weekend. let's take a listen to what some of them are saying. >> at the end of this process, i'm going to be out there fighting for kamala harris. she genuinely cares about middle class americans, about fighting for workers' rights, making sure we're guaranteeing a woma

. >> joining us now jonathan allen, pbs news hour co-host and msnbc contributor, and republican strategist msnbc political analyst susan del percio. jonathan, starting with you on this. now that we're seeing he's getting back on the road, he is going to be in wisconsin, business as usual certainly this week has not been business as usual. >> yeah, this has been the worst week in a presidential campaign that i can remember in my lifetime, not only did he have the debate debacle, but the effort to clean it up has been miserable at best. you hear the arguments for why he didn't do well at the debate, that he had a cold, that he was traveling in europe. he'd been back in the united states for 12 days, i don't think any american thinks that they want a president that is home for 12 days from a foreign trip and still not quite himself from the jet lag. so either the white house messaging has been difficult and indeed yesterday as you pointed out, at one moment karine jean-pierre said he hadn't been checked out by a doctor, and then biden said he had been checked out by a dr. one of those thing i

jonathan allen, thank you so much. ali vitali and peter baker appreciate it.ng with public calls from allies, donors and lawmakers for him to step aside, there is a lot of source reporting about what's happening among the influential few who can speak honestly with the president. for more on that let's go to "the new york times" and it reports that a small group of biden's long-time advisers are convinced he will lose in november and they're figuring out how to convince the president to bow out gracefully. "new york times" investigative reporter michael schmidt helped break that story, he joins us now. michael, walk us through what you've been told. >> well, basically people that have worked for the president and alongside him for a long time, and people that have influence with him, have seen what many democrats have seen and that is that biden -- they've come to the conclusion that biden -- the pathway to victory is not really there for him and that their biggest obstacle now is convincing him that he cannot win and that they have to do that. he acknowledged

. >> joining us now is ali vitali and jonathan allen. >> the really nuanced position seth moulton is taking here is not explicitly calling for biden to step down. on capitol hill right now, lawmakers aren't there, but they're still talking and trying to figure out the best political reaction they can have. for some democrats in safe seats, it might be easy for them to come out against the president. there are so many different factors to this. so privately there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes biden knows the hill, knows the way these things come together. though he is defiant publicly and says he's going to stay in this race, maybe the behind the scenes jostling could be too much to overcome. >> how long can this jostling happen? there's a window. the biden campaign can redeem what happened a week ago. what can they do? >> as our great hill whisperer ali vitali says there is bubbling underneath the surface of what we've seen publicly. what a lot of democrats are saying is basically they'll be with him for as long as they can until it becomes too political ly difficul

joining me for morris politics reporter jonathan allen. good morning to you. do you think we will start to hear more interviews like this when he is speaking candidly about the attack? >> absolutely, alex. it's something he wants to talk about. you saw him with that, what is now a co-iconic image, getting up from the ground and pumping his fist in the air. you can see him mouthing fight, fight, fight. this is something absolutely wants to talk about and rallying his base. something that has rallied republicans have felt outside of his base to some extent back to him. it is something that is not only political powerful but something that how could that not be -- a bullet passed through his ear. when he says he should be dead or he is supposed to be dead, it doesn't come a lot closer than that. >> yeah. it may have somewhat rejuvenating effect on him. i believe in this interview with the new york post, senator lindsey graham is quoted as saying, he has been rejuvenated. he spoke with him while he was leaving pennsylvania, and said he seems more enthusiastic than

. >> all right, jonathan allen. thank you so much for getting us early for us, staying up late for us. appreciate it, my friend. >> definitely staying up late. >>> joining us now is california congresswoman barbara lee. great to see you. you have known vice president harris for a long time. how does it feel to see her poise to be at the top of the democratic ticket especially who you campaign for. who was that? >> that was the honorable shirley. and she was the first african american woman to run for congress. as a candidate for the united states presidency. that's how i got involved in politics, and shirley made me register to vote because i was so much like so many young people now who didn't believe that the system and the government was working for me as a young single mother on public assistance. well, she took me to task and turned me around and the rest is history. let me just say thank you for having e me tonight. i want to reflect quickly on president biden. i think we are all that and even though there are

ali vitali and jonathan allen. when you have someone like chuck schumer telling the president he can't win, what was that like, and what was the conclusion of that meeting and that conversation? >> there's a real parallel here. obviously the situations are different, but there's a parallel here to richard nixon after the watergate tapes came out where barry goldwater and other senators told nixon you don't have the votes to survive. ultimately nixon resigned. the difference is there is no vote on whether or not joe biden remains the democratic nominee for president. it's really up to him. but there is a problem democrats are having, which is, their fundraising has fallen through the floor. i know that sounds a little bit esoteric for some folks, but they're not going to be able to run the race if their funders are not giving them money. schumer went there and talked to him. hakeem jeffries went to talk to the president, gave the same message, according to our sources. he's hearing that he needs to step aside, but h

joining me now, nbc news senior politics reporter jonathan allen. jonathan, i will get to you, we have so much pressure, cornell belcher is also with us, msnbc political analysts. jonathan, let's go behind-the- scenes at the white house. there has been so much pressure building. why now? >> i spoke to ron kling, the former chief of staff at the white house just last week. he said that biden was feeling the pressure. i think, he also wanted biden to stay in. i think the reason for why now, it is essentially a couple of things. obviously, one thing absent from that note from president biden is his rationale for saying he should get out of the race but remain as president. we will wait to hear him talk a little bit more white personally he made that decision but i do think from the perspective of the democratic party, we are coming to a place where, you know, for almost a month now, you have basically had chaos on the side of the party who had its main argument against the other side, the main argument against donald trump is that he is chaotic and unst

jonathan allen, thank you very much. >>> next up here, we'll bring you the latest on steve bannon's legalubles as he prepares to report to prison today. >>> plus, doug burgum, one of donald trump's vp contenders, what he's saying about a smooth transition of power four years ago. you won't want to miss that. those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. back i know you love your dada. of course he loves you, he just doesn't show it on his face. or with his body language. [ cooing ] ♪ sweet child of mine ♪ pop! [ screams ] - so this is pickleball? - pickle! ah, these guys are intense. with e*trade from morgan stanley, we're ready for whatever gets served up. dude, you gotta work on your trash talk. i'd rather work on saving for retirement. or college, since you like to get schooled. that's a pretty good burn, right? herbal essences is packed with naturally derived plant-based ingredients your hair will love. and none of the stuff it won't. our sulfate free collections smell incredible and leave your hair touchably soft and smooth. herbal essences. zyrtec allergy

now, nbc news white house correspondent monica alba, nbc news senior national politics reporter jonathan allen, suzanne susan glasser an wiley. is the white house team, the trump campaign team or the biden campaign team reading this as a loss? >> reporter: well, we are hearing from a senior biden campaign adviser first here, katy, and i think that's partially telling as well. we are talking about the politics here, and the white house for its part has been very careful about weighing in on some of these cases that apply to ongoing legal matters, and they want to be really respectful of that, and they want to be sure to be completely independent of that before weighing in on some of this. so while president biden has talked about the court largely and has really said he believes this current court is out of whack in his words and really out of balance he has suggested, they're waiting before weighing in on that side. but from the biden campaign side of things, no surprise here. they weighed in quickly on this by focusing on january 6th and the acts and events that unfolded that day, and they pu

let's begin with nbc's jonathan allen, covering the back and forth between the trump and harris campaigns over the debates. what's the latest there, john? >> well, chris. we had debates scheduled. there was going to be a second presidential debate on september 10th on another net work, and now we've got former president trump questioning whether he wants to do it on that network, whether he wants to do it at all. says he has agreed to debate joe biden but not kamala harris, and i think we got a statement from his campaign that we could show folks. a little bit long. i won't read the whole thing on the screen there, but they're basically saying that the democratic nomination process is not finalized and while that's technically true, it's pretty clear that kamala harris will be the democratic nominee sometime between now and august 7th, as early as august 1st, and the harris campaign, harris herself is accusing trump of back pedaling on his promise to debate. he said he would debate joe biden anywhere, anytime, and now is not, you know, sort of not adhering to that now that there may be a

let's begin with nbc's jonathan allen, covering the back and forth between the trump and harris campaigns

nbc's jonathan allen is covering this story for us. what exactly did he say? >> reporter: well, let me be careful here chris and leave the words of donald trump in the mouth of donald trump rather than quoting him myself. so i think we've got some video of that interview. >> i think they'll walk all over her. she'll be so easy for them. shedding like a play toy, they look at her and they say, we can't believe we got so lucky. they're going to walk all over her and i don't want to say as to why, but a lot of people understand it. how do you think they'll look, president xi's china standing together with her representing -- i don't want her to be my representative. >> reporter: he says i don't want to say why. he thinks that kamala harris would be weak on the world stage or look bad next to foreign leaders like president xi. leaving that to the imagination, but obviously making it clear that he means it on an appearance level. his campaign says that he was not referring to her race or her gender. instead, what campaigns spokeswoman karoline leavitt said harris i

nbc's senior national political reporter, jonathan allen is still with us, nbc news correspondent, gary is with us as well. as the former justice tops spokesperson specializing in espinoza. former fbi official and counterterrorism christopher o'leary is with us and former u.s. attorney who served in the region where the shooting happened harry littman, so thank you all for being with us this early hour. i know some of you have been going for hours and hours and hours now. i appreciate the dedication here, andy, you are one of them, what is the latest we are learning from the investigation? >> welcome to the 20-year-old suspected gunman is being-- they are doing a full background on trying to get to the immediate timeline, leading up to the shooting, but also, as well, kind of the larger lead. some of this will unfold tonight, as shack brewster was out of the scene in bethel park, pennsylvania, where they were conducting searches, including with the atf. and obviously, there is the scene that is being processed in -- at the rally site in butler. there's not a lot we know at this point, b

senior national politics reporter, jonathan allen and senior political editor, mark murray. it has been a crazy week. i know you know that. you have been on the road a ton already. how does the campaign plan to go from here? this has been a momentous outing. a heart can't beat this fast forever. what are they going to do next? >> they're hoping the heart keeps beating this fast until november. what they're trying to do is harness this energy and get people excited to not just sort of vote for vice president harris, but also knock on doors, go out in the field, get their friends, talk to people who maybe weren't interested in politics or turned off by joe biden and donald trump. double haters we spent so much time talking about. now they are in the moment where they are trying to capitalize on the energy and keep it going. you can see it in the fundraising, but also in the zoom calls. of course there was that huge zoom call that kicked this off on sunday, with more than 45,000 people, most of them black women on a zoom call. they raised $1.5 million in three hours. the next d

joining us now yamiche alcindor, and nbc news senior national politics reporter jonathan allen is withas well. yamiche, i'll start with you. vice president harris has previously been critical of israel's handling of the war in gaza. what could we expect from this meeting between her and prime minister netanyahu. >> aides to vice president harris said she will underscore her commitment to ensure israel can defend itself. she will also convey her view that it is time for the war to end in a way where israel is secure, all hostages are released and the suffering of the palestinian civilians in gaza ends and the palestinian people can enjoy their right to dignity, and self-determination. this comes after she delivered a speech in selma, alabama, in march. she said what was happening in gaza was clearly a humanitarian catastrophe and that an immediate cease fire was needed six weeks was needed. recently she released a statement condemning pro-palestinian protesters burning an american flag here in washington, d.c. she said, quote, i condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terror

. >> with us now, nbc news senior politics reporter jonathan allen. ote, "jolted a nation and disrupted a race that has been long viewed as static." how has it changed? >> it's a great question, ana. first of all, what we heard just in the last couple days is a turning down of the rhetoric. you know, i think you've also had a change in this race in terms of, you know, projecting forward a little bit what's going to come in this republican national convention. trump now talking about making his speech about unity rather than, you know, what we've heard from him for most of the last seven or eight years, which is very divisive rhetoric. a candidate who believes in, you know, sort of building his brand through division, through, you know, contrast with his opponents. we'll have to see what he actually does at the convention, but, you know, i think it's changed in that way. but in addition to that, look, when i talked to democrats, they are very concerned, not all of them, but many of them are very concerned that it will be difficult at this point for pres

that way and somebody who tried to kill him today. >> jonathan allen, thank you. saturday, july 13, day that will go down in history in the day there was attempted former assassination of a former president a presumptive nominee of the republican party. the suspect is dead and has been identified. that will do it for me. my colleague will continue are breaking news coverage right after a quick break. quick brea. i'm out here telling people how they can save money with experian. do you have a lot of subscriptions? like the streaming services, music, fitness apps? probably like 6 or 7 around there. i do. i have a lot. what if there was a place where you could see your subscriptions and cancel the ones you don't like, all in one place? experian has that. oh, wow, i love it. i need that. and you could save $270 dollars a year. you're making adulting so easy. get started now with the experian app. (♪♪) the moment i met him i knew he was my soulmate. get started now with the experian app. "soulmates." soulmate! [giggles] why do you need me? [laughs sarcastically] but th

allen. i think the word that comes to mind, jonathan, is apoplectic. it seems that the trump right now with the statements they have been putting out signals perhaps a lot of frustration and anger and disappointment that biden is no longer on the ticket. what is the trump campaign saying about him stepping aside and the potential of running against vice president kamala harris? >> well, certainly they are firing a lot of [ inaudible ]. you heard a lot about it at the republican convention, shots at kamala harris. obviously, president biden was walking a tight rope politically for the last three weeks, so the possibility of a switch has been something that i think the trump camp has been preparing for, but of course, you can prepare as much as you want, but obviously, when the thing actually happens, some of those plans go out the window. we will see how they go after kamala harris, but you know, right now, -- that is if she is the nominee, i have always believed the democrats will come to the conclusion that she is there nominee, whether it takes a cou

jonathan lemire. msnbc contributor mike barnicle. nbc news national affairs analyst and chief political columnist at puck, john heilemann. and co-founder of "axios," mike allen. great team this morning. >> yeah. >> your thoughts on this, what we're seeing, potentially an evolution of thought on the part of president biden on whether to stay in? >> we've had so many momentous days over the last couple weeks. i can't believe there won't be history books that just detail what's happened, maybe over the last three weeks, the last 21 days. it's really dizzying. it feels like when you see documentaries of 1968. the chaos that went on, just one event after another after another. but yesterday, willie, was just a day in and of itself that may be determinative, that may lead to that march 1969 moment when lbj announced that he wasn't going to seek the democratic nomination again. i mean, you think about yesterday morning, we're on the show, and i brought up a series of polls that showed very little movement post debate and very little movement even post the tragedy that occurred on saturday. also, just one democratic pollster after another saying it wasn't the debate