we begin with kelly o'donnell at the white house. >> reporter: a saturday swing in battleground country [ chanting "we love you" ] stops in four states including circleville, ohio >> ten days from now we're going to win this great state, and we are going to win four more years in the white house. >> reporter: the president began this day as a voter briefly wearing a required mask to cast his ballot in palm beach county >> i voted for a guy named trump. >> reporter: next, north carolina where he boasted about the security of in-person voting after months of undercutting mail-in ballots. >> i went there and voted. there is no way you get away with anything sir, please, could i see your identification no, i'm the president. no, sir, i have to see. here's my passport is that good enough? >> reporter: turning his fire on joe biden, the president seized on biden's statements against the fracking process used in the oil industry while biden says he would not ban fracking >> joe biden supported every wretched betrayal of the american worker. how about fracking >> reporter: as spreading covid in

and we begin with kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: tonight the fight for a second term starts in michigan president trump trying to defend what was his surprise and narrow victory in the rust belt battleground. >> 17 days from now we're going to win the state of michigan. >> reporter: sprinting toward election day, polling behind, the president's run hard strategy looks to recapture that outsider candidate persona. >> suburban women, you're supposed to love trump i don't have time to be nice. i've got a lot of work to do for you. >> reporter: the president's michigan stop follows joe biden's detroit drive-in rally friday night. biden has no events today. >> motor city, usa >> reporter: honking replaced crowd applause to keep a covid social distance. >> we don't panic! he panicked! [ honking and his reckless personal conduct since his diagnosis has been unconscionable the longer donald trump is president, the more reckless he gets >> reporter: many americans like these north carolina voters already casting ballots. with 43 states and the district of columbia offering early options. the pre

we begin tonight with kelly o'donnell at the white house. >> reporter: tonight, president trump making a new claim about his own covid recovery. saying he tested negative in an audio message to supporters. >> we're in great shape. tested totally negative and really in good shape. >> reporter: the white house physician has not reported the president tested negative for covid. in a memo late saturday, the wrote, he is no longer a transmission risk to others. today in a fox news phone interview, the president claimed he is protected by immunity. >> the word immunity means something, having really a protective glow. it means something. >> reporter: the doctor's memo indicates the president may have had more recent fever and lingering given this wording, fever free for women over 24 hours and all symptoms improved. the president's health injected in a campaign ad. >> president trump is recovering from the coronavirus and so is america. >> reporter: the trump campaign used an old interview clip from dr. fauci. >> president trump tackled the virus head on as leaders should. >> i can't imagine

this is also a way for him to be his own communications director jose >> kelly o'donnell outside walter reed, thank you very much. i want to bring in nbc senior medical correspondent dr. john co torres to much to unpack. the president is on remedesavir. the next 48 hours are critical what do we make of all this given all we know about coronavirus? >> jose, what we can make of this, coronavirus, covid-19 can follow several different trajectories the president went from no symptoms to mild symptoms to sounds like moderate symptoms, even requiring oxygn a very short time period his doctors say he is doing well today in the president's case, it's possible the treatments he has been given has started to work. but we also know that coronavirus can be tricky with people getting better only to get worse again. and like president trump's doctor said, looking at that seven to ten-day time period is critical to finding out how he is going to do in the long run >> the president's medical team said they were concerned about the, quote, clinical indications he was displaying on thursday afternoon. wh

>> kelly o'donnell, thanks. let's bring in senior medical correspondent dr. john torres. the president's doctor revealing his president levels dropped twice. on friday he was given oxygen about an hour, yesterday they dropped again at the hospital. how concerning is all of that? >> kate, this is a respiratory virus. the the fact that he went on oxygen, went off of it and the oxygen level drop for the record a certain period of time is concerning because that means it's affecting his lungs. if that continues and gets worse, it could be dangerous. >> doctors started the president on a drug called dexame it. hazone. isn't that reserved for the severely ill? it seems they're trying a lot at once. >> it does, but dexamethazone is a steroid and is recommended only for those on a ventilator or those who need supplemental oxygen. it's unusual that they're using that medicine on the president given the symptoms and treatments that they're actually telling us about. >> dr. john, they were asked about the president's lungs. doctors said there were, quote, some expected findings, but

>> kelly o'donnell at the white house. thank you. >>> as the president plans his battleground blitz, joe biden is already out on the trail and he's reacting to the president's controversial rally today. ali vitali is in erie, pennsylvania with the former vice president. >> reporter: tonight joe biden addressing the president's return to rallying. >> i think it's important that he make it clear to all the people that they should be socially distanced, they should be on the lawn, that's fine, but in fact they should be socially distanced and wearing masks. >> reporter: and taking his own safety precautions. >> before i came out again today to go somewhere i had another test. this morning. and i'm clear. >> reporter: this morning his sixth negative test in just over a week. necessary, biden says, before stumping here in western pennsylvania. erie county, a former democratic stronghold, fell to trump in 2016.>> you'r challenges right now and the last thing you need is a president who exacerbates them.ter: the t with union work

>> kelly o'donnell, thank you so much for that. kelly, you may want to take a listen to what i have as well. this is coming to us from our colleague hallie jackson, who is reporting that her sources tell her that the president of the united states, here is the quote, is still not on a clear path to a full recovery and there is more that the vital signs of the president over the last 24 hours were very concerning and that the next 48 hours will be critical. so that is information, kelly, that was just coming to us as you were speaking to us with your report. on the heels of that news, let's bring back in dr. natalie azar. i would love your comment on this. it falls in sync with what you suggested earlier to us, that a man by the description of president trump, his physique, sbanlg the like, there are a few days yet we should consider before he gets the all-clear and can leave walter reed. >> absolutely, alex. a few things that were missing from dr. conley's report that i would have wanted to know about was specifically if or how much

we begin with nbc's kelly o'donnell who is at the white house. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, peter. today president trump will play a role that comes around only once in this long election cycle. he gets to be a voter and his campaign is turning that into an event. he had requested an absentee ballot but says he has not completed that. instead will be in person voting in florida today and that before he goes on to pick up his fast-paced rally schedule. a double rally day in florida. under the stars in pensacola. >> we are going to win my home state of florida. >> reporter: under the hot sun at the huge retirement community known as the villages. >> not all of you are seniors. i see a lot of you that are very young in this group. and i see a lot of people that are young at heart, right? >> reporter: president trump's two day visit to florida gets personal today casting his own early vote. >> i'm voting here as opposed to sending it in. i like being able to vote. i'm old-fashioned, i guess. >> reporter: laying out the election as a

ali vitali is in nashville ahead of the final presidential debate, and nbc's kelly o'donnell is covering the white house on this wednesday. ali, i'll start with you. as joe biden focuses on the debate, getting a big assist from president obama. it is his first appearance on the trail this year. what should we expect today in philadelphia? >> his first appearance on the campaign trail and joe biden bringing out the closer. obama one of the most popular figures in the democratic party heading to philadelphia, the place where we saw him give his convention speech just a few months ago. now that's going to be his first foray into the 2020 campaign trail going for a drive-in rally. the hallmarks of the pandemic all still evident as obama makes this pitch. he's in philadelphia because that's a city that, frankly, shifted the makeup of the state's electorate in 2016. turnout there was significantly lower than it was for obama, for hillary clinton. that's in part because black voters did not turn out in the numbers they had before. so key to president obama's pitch is making sure that black vote

kelly o'donnell. >>> there say wave of voting procedu procedures.res are making it harder as opposed to easier. my next guest says it the supreme court makes it difficult to trust your vote. kes it diffit to trust your vote ok, just keep coloring there... and sweetie can you just be... gentle with the pens. okey. okey. i know. gentle..gentle new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database so you can start hiring right away. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home. and remember the moment that things, for one strange time in our lives, got very quiet. we worried over loved ones, over money, over our planet, and over takeout. let's remember this time when so many struggled to feel secure, and build a future where everyone can. because when the world seems like it's standing still... that's the perfect time for us to change it. smells more amazing than ever. fl

willie. >> kelly o'donnell starting us off at a rainy white house this morning. kelly, thanks so much. chuck todd is nbc's political director and moderator of "meet the press." good morning. good to see you. the debates are behind us. we rounded the turn. there's some 60 million ballots already cast in this election. nine days to go now. what will you be looking for over the next week and change? >> look, it's following them on their travel schedule a little bit. you know, one of the things you can hear campaigns tell you where they're focused or you can watch where they go, and the travel schedule tells you more about either where campaigns are feeling confident or where they're nervous. i think this will be the week that the travel schedule will reveal where they're nervous. look, you have a donald trump who is looking for a new path to 270. if michigan and wisconsin don't come through, he's searching for new states. suddenly, they're trying to get minnesota. i'll be curious to see, do we see him go back there this week? joe biden has decided to go to georgia th

kelly o'donnell is at the white house for us. kelly, good to talk to you.hank you for joining us on this. let's talk about the polls in new hampshire. a survey monkey poll has joe biden up by the president in double digits there. so talk about what we were hearing from the president as he spoke about 90 minutes or so in new hampshire. >> reporter: it might seem a curious destination for the president to go to new hampshire and maine today, and that polling suggests it might be a waste of the president's time. but four years ago, he lost the state narrowly, and when i say narrowly, i mean a fraction of one percentage point. there is a republican governor in that state and an independent spirit in that state, and that's what the president was trying to reach. at the same time, the union leader, one of the powerful newspapers there, with a many-generation republican-leaning editorial page endorsed joe biden. so it is striking that the president would invest some of his time there today. now, he is just on his way to ban go bangor, maine, and that's interesting

nbc's kelly o'donnell is traveling with the president in las vegas. kelly, good morning. >> good morning, willie. with polling, both nationally and in battleground states showing a consistent lead for joe biden, the president is trying to use a different metric right now to show his strength. lots of rallies that attract thousands of voters. and he'll do that again today in nevada. on a three-day battleground tour, president trump arriving in las vegas late saturday. after chilly stops in the midwest, a rally in wisconsin. >> we win wisconsin, we win the whole ball game. >> another in michigan. >> nobody told me you could have 40-mile-per-hour winds today. >> the president taking on michigan's democratic governor gretchen whitmer after federal authorities foiled a plot to kidnap her. >>. >> and she blamed me. she blamed me. and our people were the ones that worked with her people. >> the crowd launched into chants of "lock her up." and the president joined in. >> lock them all up. >> governor whitmer responded. this is exactly the rhetoric that has put

>> kelly o'donnell getting us started right outside walter reed medical center in bethesda, maryland. kelly, thank you very much. >>> those mixed messages that we heard yesterday unfortunately were not surprising given this white house's history of being less than candid with the public. >> i came here, wasn't feeling so well. i feel much better now. >> president trump now hospitalizes at walter reed. >> about 48 hours ago the president received a special antibody therapy. yesterday evening he received his first dose of remdesivir. >> yesterday the white house's doctors offered contradictory updates, his doctors debating key questions about the president's condition. >> he's not received supplemental oxygen? >> he's not on oxygen right now. >> you keep saying right now, you but should we read into that he was? >> yesterday or today, he's not on oxygen. >> and "the new york times" reporting that not true, the president did receive supplemental oxygen on the white house. his chief of staff contradicting doctors on fox news. >> yesterday we were concerned with that, he had a fever and bl

kelly o'donnell covering the white house for us on this friday morning. ali, i'll start with you. what do we know about how the biden campaign tries to build on that last debate there in music city usa in these final days? >> reporter: craig, they're going to be hitting the states that matter and continuing on with that cohesive message that hinges on getting the country back to normal by handling the pandemic. consider the next two days. today we'll see joe biden in wilmington, delaware, giving remarks on how he would get the pandemic under control. tomorrow he goes to pennsylvania, bucks and lucerne county, two places where you can consider them a one-two punch. barack obama was in philadelphia trying to energize voters who may not have turned out there in 2016, and now his former running mate, joe biden, taking it to the suburbs, trying to appeal to those voters and trying to get all the coalition out across the country, but definitely in these states and counties we know are going to matter. there's a contrast coming over the course of the next 11 days. yes on style and substa

>> kelly o'donnell getting us started right outside walter reed medical center in bethesda, maryland. kelly, thanks very much. those mixed messages that we heard yesterday, unfortunately, were not surprising, given this white house's history of being less than candid with the public. >> i came here, wasn't feeling so well. i feel much better now. >> president trump now hospitalized at walter reed. >> about 48 hours ago, the president received a special antibody therapy. yesterday evening, he received his first dose of iv remdesivir. >> yesterday, the white house and his doctors offered contradictory updates, his doctors evading key questions about the president's condition. >> he has not received any supplemental oxygen? >> he is not on oxygen right now, that's right. >> you keep saying "right now," but should we read into the fact he had previously -- >> yesterday and today he was not on oxygen. >> not true according to "the new york times," who says he received it on friday at the white house. his chief of staff contradicted doctors on fox news. >> yesterday morning, we were real co

kelly o'donnell, thank you. dr. patel, thank you as always. >>> this morning at least one of the men charged in what investigators say was a plot to kidnap michigan's governor, gretchen whitmer, one of those suspects appeared in court. of the 13 suspects arrested, six are facing federal charges. the fbi says those six met several times to hash out their plot as early as june. the other seven suspects are facing separate state charges, accused of helping plot and also accused of having ties to an extremist group known as the wolverine watchmen. tom winters closely following this. tom, take us through what we're learning act these suspects and what officials are saying about their motives? >> reporter: importantly, the six charged in the conspiracy to kidnap the michigan governor, they did not -- the federal authorities didn't assign them to a particular militia or group. but the people that they enter abilitied with at a certain point in their plot to try to kidnap michigan governor gretchen whitmer, they were involv

. >> i'm joined by kelly o'donnell outside the white house, monday that alba in greenville, and steve kornacki at the big board. ali, on the news out from the biden campaign, kamala harris off the campaign trail for a few days. what can you tell us? >> we just got off a phone call with the biden campaign where they were explaining the reasoning behind this, effectively two people traveling with kamala harris last week around the vice presidential debate have since tested positive for coronavirus. one of them a flight crew member, the other her communications director, liz allen. they say kamala harris is going to be off of the campaign trail now. she was supposed to do stops in north carolina and ohio in the coming days, but they're going to pull her off the campaign trail until sunday. they say out of an abundance of caution. i want to read to you a piece of the statement where they explain effectively what's going on here. the campaign says kamala harris was not in close contact, as defined by the cdc, with either of these individuals during the two days prior to their positive test

i'm hallie jackson in washington, allie baa tallty, kelly o'donnell, and shane gold mocker an andrea mitchel will join us momentarily. allie, let me start with you. you're in the debate hall, but the biden campaign down for the day putting its focus in philly where president obama will be today picking up where he left off in philadelphia after the 2016 in person campaign event on the eve of election day four years ago for hillary clinton. >> not to mention also the place where barack obama gave the dnc speech from and so now he's going back to that place, and this is a highly anticipated moment for many democrats who wanted to see obama get on the campaign trail. you talk about bringing in the closers. if joe biden is doing debate prep, there's no one better for his voters to hear from than the guy he was number two to in washington d.c. while barack obama is on the campaign trail, there's another messenger for biden. kamala harris campaigning in north carolina today. i was there with joe biden. trump, of course, there again today. they're going to be getting a lot of foot traffic f

joining me now outside the white house is nbc's kelly o'donnell. also with us maria tracy kumar, msnbc contributor, and republican strategist brad todd, but let me start with things at the white house. kelly o'donnell, i know the president just got done announcing that suh dan is the latest country to join what is the abraham accords and officially recognizing israel, so i know that's the news of the hour, if you will. there's a lot of confidence coming from the trump campaign today about that debate, and there's a lot of talk about a state that none of us has been talking about -- minnesota. >> well, chuck, the campaign has been focused on minnesota today in conversations with reporters and stressing that they have 60 paid staffers on the ground, that they're watching the balloting, those who voted early and knowing where ballots are and which ballots have yet to come in, and so they're trying to focus on that. if you remember, of course, four years ago that was a state the president did not win, but they came very close, and they're trying to cla

. >>> meanwhile, the president mocked nbc's own kelly o'donnell yesterday, as she asked him to authorize the release of information on whether he took a covid test before the last debate with joe biden. watch. >> will you authorize your doctors to tell you when you tested negative last before the last -- >> is that really important to you? >> yes, it is. >> you seem to be so intent. but if it's so important to you -- why is it so important to you? >> because we want to know how long you may have been -- >> why? >> we want to know if you followed the rules -- >> i know, but why is it so important to you? >> will you authorize your doctors -- >> yeah, my doctors have already given it. you know, my doctors have given more information than has been given on any human being in the history of the world. >> will you authorize them -- >> his doctors have not given us that information, by the way, that my colleague, kelly o'donnell, is asking for. the president said that he would be tested before the debate on thursday, although he also claims that he is now free of the virus and immune. >>> on c

nbc news kelly o'donnell has a look tonight. >> reporter: tonight the fight for a second term starts in michigan. president trump trying to defend what was his surprise and narrow victory in the rough belt battleground. >> 17 days from now we're going to win the state of michigan. >> reporter: sprinting toward election day, polling behind, the president's run hard strategy looks to recapture that outside candidate persona. >> suburban women, you're supposed to love trump. i don't have time to be nice. i've got a lot of work to do for you. >> reporter: the president's megs stop follows joe biden's detroit drive in rally friday night. biden has no events today. many americans like these north carolina voters already casting ballots with 43 states and the district of columbia offering early options. the president let his anxiety show last night in macon, georgia. >> i'm going to say i lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics. >> reporter: senator david purdue up for re-election appeared to mockingly flub the name of his senate colleague, kamala harris. >> the most insidiou

nbc's kelly o'donnell has more. >> reporter: president trump making a new claim about his own covid recovery, saying he tested negative in an audio message to supporters >> we're in great shape. tested totally negative and really in good shape. >> reporter: but the white house physician, sean conley, has not reported the president tested negative for covid in a memo late saturday, dr. conley wrote, "he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others" in a fox news phone interview, the president claimed he is now protected by immunity. >> you know, the word "immunity" means something, having -- having really a protective glow. it means something >> reporter: the cdc guidance says being cleared from isolation does not imply immunity the doctor's memo also indicates the president may have had more recent fever and lingering symptoms, given this wording "fever-free for well over 24 hours and all symptoms improved". the president's health injected in a campaign ad. >> president trump is recovering from the coronavirus and so is america. >> reporter: the trump campaign used an old interview

let's begin with kelly o'donnell at the white house. >> reporter: the vice president's mask. tonight an outward sign of another covid hot spot at the white house. >> north carolina is true country. >> reporter: at least five pence associates are covid positive, mark short, said to have mild symptoms. >> i think he's doing well. hopefully the prognosis will be really good. >> reporter: marty oaks and others unnamed. despite close contact, pence is not in quarantine. aides say he and the second lady tested negative again today. so he headed to north carolina. top white house officials descend that choice, calling candidate pence an essential worker. under cdc guidance, essential workers should wear masks and keep distance, but are not required to stay home 14 days. >> an essential worker, we're talking about people going out to vote. we're talking about people, essential workers going out and campaigning. >> reporter: today the president got up close with many maskless voters at an apple orchard in maine. >> it's great, isn't it? >> reporter: while in new hampshire -- >> do you

we have two reports beginning with kelly o'donnell with the president. >> reporter: an unusual start to the campaign day. >> our president, donald trump. >> reporter: making a return visit to this las vegas evangelical church. nevada, a key battleground where joe biden leads in polling. prayers centered on the president's re-election. >> the lord said to me i'm going to give your president a second wind. >> reporter: prrnl president trump made a personal donation and a direct political appeal. >> get out there november 3rd or sooner and do your thing. >> reporter: fallouts amid his comments over michigan's governor. >> get your schools open. >> reporter: audience members chanted "lock her up," with regard to their governor. >> she was threatened. and she blame immediate! >> reporter: today, governor whitmer pushed back. >> the president is at it again, inspiring and incentivizing and inciting this kind of domestic terrorism. it is wrong. it's got to end. >> reporter: but campaign advisers brushed it off. >> i think the fact of the matter is that many residents of michigan are pretty

trump administration with some of vice president mike pence's top aides testing positive nbc's kelly o'donnell has more >> reporter: the vice president's mask an outward sign of another covid hot spot at the white house. >> north carolina is trump country! >> reporter: at least five pence associates are covid positive including his chief of staff marc short, said to have mild symptoms >> i think he's doing well so hopefully the -- it will be really good. >> reporter: long-time outside political adviser marty obst and others unnamed despite close contact, pence is not in quarantine. aides say he and the second lady tested negative again. so he headed to north carolina top white house officials defend that choice, calling candidate pence an essential worker. under cdc guidance essential workers should wear masks and keep kidistance but are not required to stay home 14 days. >> an essential worker, we're talking about people going out to vote. we're talking about people, essential workers going out and campaigning. >> reporter: the president got up close with many maskless voters at an apple orch

here's is nbc's kelly o'donnell with the latest. >> reporter: the world's most-watched covid patriot made a surprised move, the masked president in the back seat driven by secret service to wave at supporters gathered outside the hospital a brief visit he previewed in a new video message. >> i'm about to make a little surprise visit. >> reporter: the president returned to his support suite hours after his doctors provided a dose of transparency the president's doctor acknowledged he had not revealed key information about danger signs in president trump's condition. >> the president has experienced two episodes of transient drops in his oxygen saturation. >> reporter: president trump's blood oxygen did fall to unsafe levels and his fever was deemed high now being given a steroid typically used in serious cases. >> we did initiate dexamethazone therapy and he received his first dose of that yesterday and our plan is to continue that for the time being. >> reporter: mr. trump's lungs may show evidence of covid-related effects. >> we're tracking all of that. there are some expected findi

nbc's kelly o'donnell starts us off. >> reporter: an unusual start to the campaign day >> let's welcome our president, donald trump >> reporter: making a return visit to this las vegas evangelical church nevada a key battleground where joe biden leads in polling prayers centered on the president's re-election. >> the lord said to me, i am going to give your president a second win >> vote. >> reporter: president trump made a personal donation and a direct political appeal. >> so get out there on november 3rd or sooner and do your thing. >> reporter: amid new fallout over his criticism saturday of michigan's democratic governor and covid restrictions >> get your schools open. >> reporter: supporters chanted "lock her up," referring to their governor gretchen whitmer. the president critical even after a foiled plot to kidnap whitmer. >> she was threatened, right she was threatened and she blamed me! >> reporter: governor whitmer pushed back. >> the president is at it again, and inspiring and incentivizing and inciting this kind of domestic terrorism it is wrong. it's got to end. >> reporte

i want to bring in nbc's kelly o'donnell. kelly, president trump keeps offering more and more money for a stimulus deal, but it's absolutely untrue. there's no stimulus deal unless the senate makes a move. how can the president face all of these rallygoers and spout complete lies? >> the president is arguing that he can bring republicans along. the hard part is mitch mcconnell has another view of the senate and believes that taking a vote on stimulus where they don't know the cost, don't know the parameters would be harmful to some of his senate candidates before the election. mitch mcconnell's position is keep the discussion going but don't take a vote until after the election. mcconnell's top priority is certainly getting amy coney barrett put on the supreme court with a vote coming next week and getting his own senate majority to remain in effect for the next term. and that is a question mark with this election season. the president looks at it differently and is trying to say he would be more generous to americans in need

maintained his campaign plans over the weekend with just over a week until the november 3rd election kelly o'donnell has the details. >> reporter: the vice president's mask, tonight an outward sign of another covid hot spot at the white house. >> north carolina is trump company. >> reporter: at least five pence associates are covid positive, including his chief of staff, marc short said to have mild symptoms. >> i think he's doing well hopefully the prognosis will be good. >> reporter: political adviser mar marty ops and others unnamed aids say pence and the second lady tested negative again today so he headed to north carolina top white house officials defend that choice calling candidate pence an essential worker. under cdc guidance essential workers should wear masks but are not required to stay home for 14 days. >> we're talking about essential workers going out and campaigning. >> reporter: today the president got up close with many maskless voters in maine. while in new hampshire -- >> you know who got it i did. >> reporter: the president said nothing about new infections on pence's team while

nbc's kelly o'donnell is at the white house with more. morning, peter. the october sprint is under way, as both candidates are telling voters to get out and cast their ballot, especially as early voting is happening or about to begin in key states like florida. the campaigns look and sound quite different. donald trump is hosting his big rallies, and joe biden is keeping a social distance. president trump defending his red state turf. >> i love georgia. i love being with you. >> reporter: campaigning in macon, georgia, late friday, a state he won easily four years ago. >> can you imagine if i lose? my whole life, what am i going to do? i'm going to say i lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics. i'm not going to feel so good. maybe i'll have to leave the country, i don't know. >> reporter: claiming his political adversaries counted him out when he became ill with covid. >> can you imagine, he won't be able to hold any more rallies. he'll be recovering or worse. >> reporter: venting anger and accusations, the president lashed

nbc's white house correspondent kelly o'donnell is outside walter reed. good morning. >> good morning. at times conflicting messaging from the white house. the president's physicians saying they see optimism and progress in the president's condition while also stressing that he still faces serious risk as he begins his second full day hospitalized here at walter reed. the president himself wanted the public to be able to assess how he is doing for themselves. >> the patient in chief, taking charge of his own message. rele four minute video recorded inside the hospital saturday evening discussing his own prognosis. >> over the next period of a few days, i guess, that's the real test. so we'll be seeing what happens over the next couple of days. >> late saturday a memo from the president's physician while not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic. on fox, chief of staff mark meadows explained that friday doctors were worried about the president. >> we were real concerned. he had a fever and blood oxygen level had dropped. >> at his br

back home in washington along with aly, kelly o'donnell, dara cass, and eugene robinson. aly, let me start with you. joe biden is expected to keep up his messaging on the pandemic, the administration response. talk to me about what your sources inside the campaign are thinking about and how they're feeling heading into today? . >> if you look at the first 40 or so minutes of the debate, joe biden was perhaps the cleanest and crispest we've seen them throughout all the debates we've seen during the primary and in the general election. the key part of the message came in the first few minutes when kristen welker was asking about the pandemic. donald trump drawing the contrast of saying we're learning to live with it and joe biden saying, and many people in this country are learning to die with it, too. clearly showing the life or death stakes as voters head to the polls. that's the message biden is going to keep up as he gets on the campaign trail in wilmington, delaware giving a speech about the pandemic. when it comes down to it, both campaigns could argue they came to do

nbc' kelly o'donnell has a look. >> reporter: the fight for a second term starts in michigan. president trump trying to defend what was a surprise and narrow victory in the rust belt battleground. >> we're going to win the state of michigan. >> reporter: sprinting to election day, polling behind, the run hard strategy looks to recapture that outsider candidate persona. >> suburban women, you're supposed to love trump. i don't have time to be nice. i have a lot of work to do for you. >> reporter: the president's michigan stop follows biden's drive-in rally friday night. >> we don't panic. >> reporter: many already casting ballots with 43 states and the district of columbia offering early options. the president let his anxiety show last night in macon, georgia. >> imagine if i lose? my whole life, what am i going to do? i lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics. >> reporter: that same georgia crowd witnessed a campaign controversy when senator david purdue up for re-election appeared to mockingly flub the name of his senate colleague kamala harris. >> the most ins

kelly o'donnell is at the white house. mike memoli with the biden campaign in vegas. kelly, president trump, he knows he's got to get back on a campaign trail in order to make up ground or at least that's what he believes. does it matter what his team or his doctors say at this point or is he just determined to go? >> reporter: he's certainly the one who steers the course and makes the decisions and in some of the ways we've seen him do that already by taking over the airwaves on our cable competitors and talking about some of these issues at great length. at the same time by using his direct to the public messaging, then some of his advisers, medical team and so forth have to catch up. what we've learned this morning is that kayleigh mcenany, press secretary to the president who was also infected with coronavirus but says he's not experiencing symptoms, says that the president's physician will provide testing information to the team and then we presume that would extend to the public to determine that the president is at a point where he's no longer carrying the virus

nbc's kelly o'donnell has more >> reporter: tonight, president trump making a new claim about his own covid recovery, saying he tested negative in an audio message to supporters. >> we're in great shape, tested totally negative and really in good shape >> reporter: but the white house physician, sean conley, has not reported the president tested negative for covid in a memo late saturday, dr. conley wrote, "he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others. today in a fox news phone interview, the president claimed he is now protected by immunity. >> you know, the word immunity means something, having -- having really a protective glow, it means something >> reporter: the cdc guidance says being cleared from isolation does not imply immunity the doctor's memo also indicates the president may have had more recent fever and lingering symptoms, given this wording fever-free for well over 24 hours and all symptoms improved. the president's health injected in a campaign ad >> reporter: president trump is recovering from the coronavirus and so is america. >> reporter: the trump campa

. >> nbc's kelly o'donnell is at the white house. a good saturday to you, my friend. what will today's event look like and what's the latest on the president's health status? >> reporter: one of the curious things, alex, that we have not heard from dr. sean conley the president's physician yesterday or today, and the last official memo from him said that he expected that the president would be cleared for public engagements beginning this weekend. we have not had any evidence of a test showing the president is no longer shedding the virus or no longer positive himself. of course it has been a tumultuous couple of weeks with the president battling this illness having most cutting edge therapies and treatments anyone in the world is experiencing and is back at the white house and continuing to engage as a candidate now. so it has ban roller coaster for the president and certainly today's event is a really outstanding example of how the president wants to be back, whether that is wise or not is for many others to decide. what we know is that a group that had its own poli

on the diagnosis of the president with covid-19, yesterday kelly o'donnell that debate cluster when the president was preparing for the first presidential debate, in the white house room was the president, governor christie, kellyanne conway, bill stepien, hope hicks, stephen miller -- all covid positive. jason miller tested negative, rudy giuliani tested negative and he did not attend all the prep. she also noted in an unfortunate prep sessionsbate happened to be adjacent to the white house medical unit. you can't get through on the phone lines, try our text line. your first name and your city. mark in olympia, washington. before you tell us about the debate, what is an issue that is important to you? caller: it is more getting the economy moving again. i work for a big company here that builds airplanes and i'm seeing massive layoffs and everything else going on. with the shutdown and everything. so i would like to see an end to the bickering and fighting and put america back to work again and quit using excuses on both sides. you see a bunch of people out there rioting and not wearin

kelly o'donnell has more from the white house. >> reporter: tonight president trump making a new claim about his own covid recovery. saying he tested negative in an audio message to supporters. >> we're in great shape, tested totally negative and really in good shape. >> reporter: but the white house physician has not reported the president tested negative for covid. in a memo late saturday, dr. conley wrote, he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others. today in a fox news phone interview, the president claimed he is now protected by immunity. >> the word immunity means something, having -- having really a protective glow, it means something. >> reporter: the cdc guidance says being cleared from isolation does not imply immunity. it also indicates the president may have not more recent fever and lingering symptoms given this statement. fever free for well over 24 hours and all symptoms improves. the president's health injected in a campaign ad. >> president trump is recovering from the coronavirus and so is america. >> reporter: the trump campaign used an old interview cli

i'm told that our colleague kelly o'donnell is standing by at walter reed. kelly o? >> reporter: good afternoon. we're here along the route where we've seen a greater presence of passersby. there's media here. during the time marine one was landing here, the street was called off to any traffic that would be typical whenever the president is approaching. and many were able to watch as marine one landed just behind us here. and then another group of our colleagues who are a part of the white house pool. on the inside of the walter reed national medical center grounds, able to capture images and be witnesses to seeing the president land, disembark the chopper, get into the motorcade and go into the hospital. so that's the mix with the relief video without journalistic involvement. and then allow the pool to witness it. for to us receive the president on this end in terms of covering it, capturing it. we're able to be independently assessing, how does the president look, what are the movements, the issues around how he's being brought here. so that's sort of the balance

. >> kelly o'donnell at the white house, shannon pettypiece outside the white house, nbc's mike memoli covering the biden campaign, and dr. mario ramirez at hhs, welcome, all. kelly, the president's interviews, the face-to-face interview scheduled for later today on fox, underscore the urgency they feel to get him back on the campaign trail. >> reporter: and he'll be doing what they refer to as a radio rally with rush lump bauimbaugha way for them to do their own assessment on how he sounds, based on the clips you just praised. it is rare for the president to clear his throat or have a cough, that's not something that's an affect of the president. it does appear to be something perhaps more tied to the illness he's been experiencing. getting out on the trail is something the president is very focused on. he's talked about as early as this weekend. however there is always a lot of logistics that goes along with that presidential intent. and so far we don't have any indication of the practical aspects of staging a rally and all the things that are involved in that from white house advanc

kelly o'donnell at the white house. joining the conversation our justice correspondent pete williams, senior washington correspondent andrea mitchell, covered every confirmation hearing since robert bork and former msnbc political analyst claire mccaskill. start in the hearing room. garrett haake. we know that the nominee has taken her seat. pretty close. anything to get us started this morning? >> republicans are thrilled with her performance so far. that moment of her holding up an empty note pad yesterday has already become a meme thinking she's turned in a great performance and pointing to polls showing approval of barrett has been rising. expect to see democrats continue a variation of the same strategy been using. turning the race into a proxy fight over health care. this nomination fight a proxy fight over health care and again i think we'll continue to see today using antonin scalia, her mentor against judge barrett. >> thank you, garrett. and we've been gavelled in. >> -- before her, senator harris, i respect,

kelly o'donnell, welcome. president, as you know, says he is no longer -- he no longer has covid. does that square with what his doctor said? >> the president is bringing his cle cheerleader style to how he is talking about his illness saying he is feeling good and cleared the hurdles of testing and so forth. the doctor's memo indicates the president is not contagious any longer. that's different from not having the virus. medical experts say when people are no longer contagious they may be able to shed dead virus which does not infect others but does not test positive for covid. to get a sense of how the president pushes the boundaries when he is talking about his own treatment and putting the best possible shine going beyond each what the science says here's more. >> the antibody kind of thing that i took was -- i felt -- i felt really good almost after taking it. i know people call it a therapeutic. but to me, it's a cure. okay? to me, it's a kurm i think it is much more than a therapeutic. and i want to ge

nbc news white house correspondent kelly o'donnell confirming moments ago that a fifth staffer of viceike pence's team has tested positive for coronavirus. that's one additional staffer including the veep's chief of staff to test positive for coronavirus in the past 24 hours. as you can see, the vice president remains on the campaign trail. he is in north carolina right now. we're told that he has tested negative for coronavirus. more to come. we will stay on top of those developments for you. >>> you know, we talk a lot about how divided we are as a country. it's actually one of the few things on which americans overwhelming t iningly agree. polling by the associated press find an overwhelmingly 85% of registered voters feel the nation is fundamentally divided. and that division has consequences, including very real threats of violence. threats like the ones against gretchen whitmer, the governor of michigan. the fbi arrested a dozen men in a plot to kidnap her and start a civil war. and just this week, a 42-year-old maryland man went before a judge, accused of writing a letter in whi

we begin with kelly o'donnell in butler, pennsylvania. good morning. >> good morning. today, it is all about pennsylvania with significant prize of 20 electoral votes. from pittsburgh and philadelphia, president trump will put on his campaign show four times. he's just coming off visits to three battleground states where he had to fight to hold one of his rallies at all. >> for the crowd-sized can't dade. >> is there any place better to be than a trump rally? >> a new twist on president trump, defiance. i said no way, i will never abandon the people of minnesota. >> visiting rochester, minnesota, he fuelled up the feud. >> i will not forget you. you've been given a very, very hard time by your so-called leaders. >> complying with a 250-person limit. fewer people, shorter speech. just 23 minutes instead of the usual hour plus. but the president made a side trip to greet an overflow of supporters denied entry. >> thousands of people all because the governor wants to play games. >> hello, wisconsin, we are back. >> in green bay, the president down played the dangers of co

and the president seemed to mock nbc's kelly o'donnell yesterday when she asked him to authorize then on whether he took a covid test before the last debate. take a listen. >> will you authorize your doctors to tell when you tested negative last -- >> is that so important to you? it's so important to you, why is it so important to you? >> because we want to know long it's been. >> why? >> we want to know if you followed the rules. >> look at the dedication. yeah, my doctors have already given it. you know my doctors have given more information than has been given on any human being in the history of the world. >> you know, michael steele, it's -- i guess it's not surprising that he would behave that way. the president said he would be tested before the debate on thursday, though he claims he's covid free and immune. but the question still remains did he go to that first debate knowing he was positive with covid? nobody knows the answer to that just another way this white house doesn't care about transparency but even more so doesn't seem to care about the health and wellness of other

this is being flashed up and here are some of the things interview.rom the kelly o'donnell from nbc reportinghat when it comes to the change in the debate, a virtual format, he says, changing the debate format to virtual "is not acceptable to us. i am not going to do a virtual debate. he said when it comes to his own condition and how he feels, he says -- i do not think i am contagious at all. another reporter saying -- adding, i feel like i am better. i wanted to do a rally last night. to the first point as far as the president not to the debate, the interview is still taking place on fox business as we are doing this show. we will find out more and get back to you. host: taking your calls, todd is in michigan on the undecided line. good morning. caller: good morning. what did i get from last night's debate? not much. just the same old diversion tactics. it barely touched on the stimulus. people care about putting food on their table, receiving unemployment when they can't find a job. these people are out of touch or completely apathetic and that is all it is about. money talks. people are w

>> kelly o'donnell outside walter reed again this morning. n dr. thomas frieden. he was the director of the cdc during the obama administration and is now the president and ceo of resolve to save lives. that's a global health initiative. dr. frieden, thank you so much for joining us on this really important morning. we want to get your perspective on how important it was, the decision to move president trump to walter reed. how important will that be to his recovery, do you think? >> well, there's no doubt that the responsible thing to do. we all wish the president and his family well and for a speedy and full recovery. the fact that he received the monoclonal antibody cocktail yesterday is an experimental treatment, but it's a very promising one, particularly when given early in the course of disease. it was probably expected that he would receive remdesivir, as well. remdesivir, there's some evidence will delay or shorten the duration of illness and may improve outcomes. because the president is 74 and because of his weight, he is in an incr

she died at home in washington at the remarkable age of 108 nbc white house correspondent kelly o'donnell: remembering an american matriarch. >> my wonderful mother, roberta, mccain roir her life an extraordinary 108 years and eight months a joyful spirit. >> you have a choice my choice is to look on the bright side of life and to be very grateful and thankful or what i've been given. >> reporter: a navy wife to a famous wartime admiral, a mother who outlived her son, senator john mccain. his widow, cindy mccain, announced roberta's peaceful passing on monday, recalling roberta was the liveliest presence in every room she graced megan mccain thanked roberta for living life on your own terms, with grit, conviction, intensity and love >> roberta mccain gave us her love of life, her deep interest in the world. >> reporter: mrs. mccain's irrepressible spark became a political asset, active on the campaign trail in her 9 0s. >> i think he's going to win it because he's the only qualified in the entire lot. caused that scandal, to clean that up, it's not even -- again, it's not a subject. >> th