let me go back to kristen welker in our washington dc bureau. the white house getting out in front of this very quickly. >> reporter: lester, they sure are. president biden condemning this in the strongest terms possible which is what you would anticipate. he has long condemned political violence. he said this is unheard of. everybody must condemn it. he did say he had tried to speak with the former president who he referred to as donald. he also noted lester that he is receiving thorough, robust briefings from his national security team. from his federal agencies and that with undoubtedly cop throughout the night. the white house will undoubtedly need to keep the public informed throughout the night. it come as you point out, they work to pull down their ads as the trump campaign is in a media blackout and it speaks to the seriousness of this moment. the gravity of this moment. the fact that quite frankly something has just shifted in our american politics. in our country. this act of political violence which as the president said cannot and wi

i want to bring in kristen welker, the moderator of "meet the press." many americans this will be their introduction to vance. >> it's a major moment for vance. as for former president trump, who clearly made this decision from what he believes is a position of strength, given he has a narrow lead in national and battleground state polls. vance is viewed as the future of the maga movement and energizes the trump base but doesn't exactly expand it, all of that underscoring what we're seeing at this convention so far. this is a party that is remarkably unified around mr. trump. compare that to the divided democrats, president biden facing another call to drop out and a new poll today showing 65% of democrats want the president to step aside. all of it adding to a really complicated mix for president biden who, of course, as we

i'm joined by kristen welker, the moderator of "meet the press." kristen, we're seeing remarkable moment or moments playing out on both sides. >> we are, lester. this is an incredible split screen. there is a real opportunity to retool donald trump's message which his crew chief says will be unifying. but the question is will voters who are skeptical of trump give him a second look in the wake of the assassination attempt? a successful night could really set him up with momentum after this convention. now as for democrats, this is just unprecedented. it seems increasingly likely president biden will not be the likely dom nome knee. nominee. democrats i talk to say there is a growing air of inevitability that he'll drop out soon. this is just a sad moment for the party. lester? >> kristen, thank you so much. join us for our coverage tonight from the rnc as former president trump gives his highly anticipated speech. our coverage begins at 9:00 eastern time. >>> well, five days after the attempted assassination of former president trump, the head of th

for this president of the united states, the entire group there gathered and celebarated his kristen welker successes in their eyes with ice cream. >> peter alexander, thank you. >>> joining me now "meet the press" moderate kristen welker. kristen, the president with a long view of history in the speech. standing on his record, history is in your hands. the idea of america lies in your hands, he said. >> lester, that's right. look, this was a speech for the history books, just as lbj announced he wasn't going to run for re-election in 1968. it's the type of speech that will be replayed for decades to come. it's clear that the president wanted to convey that he's come to terms and coming to the conclusion, nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. that includes personal ambition. really stunning to hear that term, and as peter just mentioned, he passed the torch to kamala harris. this speech was his attempt to really write a first draft of how he wants his legacy to be remembered, ticking through his accomplishments and what he hopes to achieve in the next six months. he

kristen welker, thanks so much. l look for more on "meet the press" when kristen is joined by j.d. vance who is on the short list to be former president trump's running mate, and adam schiff of california joins kristen as well. >>> millions of people in texas are bracing this morning as tropical storm beryl takes aim. the storm expected to strengthen into a hurricane again later today as it makes landfall in the next 24 hours. nbc's priscilla thompson is in galveston, texas. priscilla, good morning. >> reporter: yeah, willie, good morning. already we're seeing the waves and the winds out here along the texas gulf coast beginning to pick up. officials and residents are on high alert. we've seen folks emptying the shelves of grocery stores, stocking up on supplies and sandbags and businesses boarding up as some vacationers head home early. beryl is expected to strengthen to a category 1 hurricane by early monday morning as it makes landfall in texas before moving into the tennessee valley bringing with it high winds th

kristen welker moderator of "meet the press" joins me. on friday the president said once he's over covid he will be back on the campaign trail. what changed the calculus? >> reporter: this moment has been building since the debate and reached a fever pitch when democratic leaders from nancy pelosi to hakeem jeffries, chuck schumer privately told president biden they didn't think he could beat donald trump and do jeopardize democrats' chances at holding on to the senate and taking back the house. about you it went beyond democratic leadership, people who support joe biden were protesting outside of the white house calling on him to pass the torch. ultimately the pressure became too great. >> as he throws his backing to the vice president how competitive is she? what data do we have? >> letter, vice president harris matches up against former president trump very similarly to president biden. in our most recent nbc news poll mr. trump leads mr. biden 45 to 43, while trump leads vice president harris 47 to 45. the big question is how duds she

please join me in welcoming kristen welker, moderator of meet the press. hi kristen, as always, great to see you this morning. it's no secret in the last week and a half that democrats are rattled. there are growing calls for president biden to consider getting out of the race in that interview, we saw him, you know, showing denial, really, of trump widening his lead. what's the latest you're hearing? well, kyra, i had a chance to sit down with congressman adam schiff. and i have to tell you, it was a fascinating conversation. he is among those who does not think that president biden calmed the concerns that, quite frankly, the panic among democrats with that interview on abc, in part because he didn't commit to a cognitive test, congressman schiff said both he and trump should actually have a cognitive test, but he was also concerned about he was asked, how would you feel if you lost to former president trump? and president biden said, well, as long as i give it my all. congressman schiff said that was one of the answers that concerned him. the most. so i

we've got hallie jackson and kristen welker. it is so interesting. and we really are in a moment in american history where no one -- we have to have humility about it. no one knows how this will play out. everybody who thinks they can predict and have their crystal ball, throw them out. it's all changed. but isn't it interesting? even eric trump saying he thinks, you know, there could be a real change in the rhetoric on both sides. >> savannah, with eric which is so revealing. he leaned into the idea that, yes, his father is rethinking and has changed in that moment in that assassination attempt, and when you pressed him to respond to president biden to put trump in the bull's eye, and he said that the rhetoric does need to come down for everyone. >> it is interest, because i have interviewed eric and don jr. and a lot of the guy, and it can be combative and they are sitting there wanting to make the points, and this is fine, because that is what people does in politic, and everyone does it, but it is as though, he did not want to go there. >> he tal

joining me now, senior washington correspondent hallie jackson and "meet the press" moderator kristen welker, and, kristen, can you put this historic moment and the president's speech in context? >> well, absolutely, lester, tonight the president will basically right to fry to write the first draft of how he wants his legacy to be framed. it's hard not to see the comparisons to lbj as peter just pointed out, the last u.s. president to use an oval office address to tell the nation he wouldn't run for another term. lbj in that speech touted his legislative accomplishments, expect president biden to do the same tonight. i'll be watching to see how candid the president is about what drove him to make this final difficult decision to drop out. now, it's worth noting a recent poll shows 87% of voters approve of his decision to end his campaign. the final judgment on president biden's legacy, though, may be whether democrats defeat donald trump in november, lester. >> let me turn now to hallie. hallie, talk about how this has changed things for democrats. >> well, from democrats' perspective, leste

we now welcome from washington, d.c, nbc news kristen welker, moderator of meet the press. hi, kristen. thank you so much for joining us on this historic and important morning. this morning, you have exclusive interviews with senators lindsey graham, senator bernie sanders, and you are also speaking to congressman dan meuser, who was sitting in the front row of the rally yesterday when mr. trump was shot. i can't even imagine what's the general sentiment this morning. it's just extraordinary to talk to each of these guests for different reasons. kyra just starting with congressman dan meuser to hear him talk about the fear that he felt when those shots rang out, when he realized that former president trump had been shot and he didn't know how badly he'd been injured, those terrifying moments of confusion and not really understanding what exactly was happening. and he also gives a very powerful call for this country to come together, to collectively find a way to end this type of violence, and that really, i think, was the overwhelming message that we heard from our guests t

he said that nbc should apologize to kristen welker for having ronna on the show, forrest kristen welkerhonest brokers. they are complicit with what's gone on, and i am tired of hearing about it weeks and months and years they do, nicole wallace, not for nothing, i'm not going to shield you from the truth. he walked off your set while you were still talking. >> jesse: you mentioned this to blocks ago, greg. they just sit around and wait for leaks, and then they report them or not. basically conduits for the democrats. >> greg: i guess the real reporters were always local reporters. that follow crime. and once they reach a certain spot, they think, you know what, i'll just surf and rewrite stuff. all these blogs that basically feed off each other. our journalists pick sides, they don't pick stories, and they receive their opinions come almost always, from other people. what chuck said is true. he did know it. it was an open secret. but the other open secret is he was fine with keeping the open secret. now they made their urine-soaked bed, and i don't mind watching them lie in it. the pres

two points really interesting, both made on yesterday's "meet the press" with kristen welker. first was with senator bernie sanders. he said, quote, politics should be kind of boring. if it was up to bernie sanders, he would be talking about issues and policy all day long. and he was trying to get the people to tamp down this rhetoric a little bit. senator lindsey graham, close ally of donald trump, was also on "meet the press" and said something very similar. here's what he had to say. >> i wish i could say i was surprised, but i've been worried about this for a very, very long time. you know, if he wins, democracy is not going to end. he is not a fascist. he represents a point of view that millions share. the rhetoric is way too high. >> reporter: while it's by no means a majority, there are some blaming the shooting on democrats and on the rhetoric of president joe biden. that's includes senator j.d. vance, a potential vp pick for donald trump. frances? >> gary, thank you. >>> the attempted killing of a former u.s. president while giving a speech has raised urgent concerns

kristen welker, moderator of meet the press hallie jackson is our senior washington correspondent, and peter alexander, chief white house correspondent. kristen, let me begin with you. the president, by all accounts, resisted coming off the ticket for days as people lined up to show him polling data tonight. did he seem like a man who was all in on this concept? he did. lester and just taking a step back, this was a speech for the history books, just as when lbj announced he wasn't going to run for reelection in 1968. and we have seen those clips played and replayed throughout time. this is the type of speech that will be replayed for decades to come. lester, you're absolutely right. it is clear that president biden wanted to convey that he had come to terms with the reality of the situation, and i'll just read that soundbite, savannah, that you referenced, because it was a powerful one, he says. i believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for america's future, all merit a second term. but nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. that in

kristen welker will be talking to democratic congressman adam schiff, plus a potential pick for donald trump's vice president, senator j.d. vance. >>> and the other big story today. tropical storm beryl is expected to strengthen back into a hurricane and slam into texas in the next 48 hours. people there are bracing for dangerous storm surge and days of flooding. and priscilla thompson reports from galveston. >> reporter: tonight, residents along the texas gulf coast bracing for beryl's wrath. in galveston, empty store shelves at some supermarkets as residents prepare to ride out the storm. >> are you doing anything extra to prepare? >> we're going to buy some water and go to the grocery store. >> reporter: hundreds of miles down the coast in corpus christi, cars lined up for sandbags. the city running out of all 10,000 in less than an hour. >> going to be putting them in front of the garage and then lining the doors with them. >> reporter: here's why forecasters are so concerned about beryl making landfall. it could bring 4 to 6 feet of storm surge to the texas coast. why is that so d

we have much to cover this morning, joining us here in milwaukee, "meet the press" moderator, kristen welker and senior washington correspondent, hallie jackson. we'll start with you kristen. tonight is a team of rivals, we saw nikki haley, who of course ran against donald trump, ron desantis, and they're preaching unity. >> that's right, savannah, and it was so fascinate to go hear from nikki haley. she said this, i'll start by making one thing perfectly clear, donald trump has my strong endorsement period, a stark difference from what we heard from ted cruz in 2016 when he came out to address the crowd, and said vote your conscience, and the crowd started booing. this is a party that is unified. it is donald trump's party. and the fact that nikki haley was here, her message was to the voters who are still skeptical, who still aren't on board. her voters were going to be critical in this election. >> she didn't receive this invitation until just the last few days. as of last week, she was telling people, i'm not going to the rnc, i'm not speaking there, and she wasn't planning on being here

kristen welker here in milwaukee and our senior washington correspondent hallie jackson. we are watching this for the first time together. let's digest it, both of you. kristen, what do you think of this interview? what do you think the headlines will be? and what was the white house strategy here? they had canceled a civil rights speech in austin but kept this interview in light of recent events. >> i think that part of what the white house wanted to do initially when they agreed to do the interview was to tamp down the growing criticism of president -- >> that was before the shooting. >> before the shooting. in the wake of that debate performance that you heard lester talking about with him. they thought it was important for him to continue with this interview in light of the assassination attempt over the weekend to get that message out that violence in any form cannot be tolerated. it was notable, savannah, because he tried to walk a fine line. he called it a mistake that he told some campaign staffers we should be putting trump in the bull's-eye. basically, he meant l

. >>> we want to turn now to kristen welker and hallie jackson. how are they handling this?mpaign memo, it will continue as planned. the convention will go on essentially. it's hard to imagine how there is not some impact to the rnc after the attempted assassination of former president trump. by that i mean the speaker, the messaging. what do we hear from the former president himself, and the attention around a convention like this. as you know l is an element of having a good time to the conventions. the party faithful gathering to celebrate their soon to be official nominee on the ticket. we know one event in milwaukee has been canceled, and prior to that, 16 hours ago, we had talked about the biggest political story of the day who would donald trump select as his running mate? that is still an open question, still an element we will see next week at the republican convention. i talked to one person who said, it's difficult to see how the president will come. >> kristen, the president made a statement last night where he said there is no place in america for this violence,

. >> and joining me now is the moderator of "meet the press," kristen welker, who of course led thating all this reporting on the joe biden he knows so well. and "the washington post" foreign affairs columnist, david ignatius, of course has written some provocative columns about all of this. so, mike, first to you. your reporting from this weekend as camp david. there was thursday night, all out panic then the team very quickly explained to people who do know the facts of life that replacing someone who is on the ticket, replacing a presidential nominee at the convention is really tough. and what do you do about kamala harris? because a lot of these same people are not supportive of her. can you go around her without losing a huge amount of support? so all of that boiling down to what are the donors saying? and there's no way they all acknowledge unless he comes to this himself. >> that's right. >> that he could be replaced. >> the biggest takeaway from all the conversations we've been having is this comes down to one person's vote. president biden needs to make this decision and has

this is "meet the press" with kristen welker. >>> good sunday morning. is yet another extraordinary moment in the 2024 election cycle. with democrats in a state of crisis after president joe biden delivered a disastrous debate performance that fueled voters top concerns about his age and the ability to serve another four years in office. not since the first nixon/kennedy debate in 1960 has a debate had as much potential to shake up a presidential race. this morning there's widespread panic within the democratic party and questions about whether the president should drop out of the race. >> i think it was [ bleep ] disaster. i think it was like maybe the worst debate i've ever seen in my entire life. >> i do think people feel like we're confronting a crisis. >> the debate will be whether he should continue. >> it was shocking sad, absurd, and by the end, scary. anyone who says that is not a tough call right now is full of [ bleep ] >> on friday in a stunning move, "the new york times" editorial board called on president biden to serve his country and drop

we've seen, what we used to call the meet the press primary, the tim russert primary, now the kristen welker primary. they did well in defending donald trump and twisting themselves in knots to a certain extent in terms of their past positions. >> a lot of republicans have become pretzels. >> doug and dan, ashley and jen, thanks to you and thanks to ryan nobles and mike memoli for starting us off. >>> landfall. an update now on tropical storm beryl from one of the hardest hit parts of texas. that's next. we'll be right back. "andrea mitchell reports" is back in just 90 seconds. you're watching msnbc. 0 seconds. you're watching msnbc. this summer. snacking. just. got. serious. introducing new $3 footlong dippers. the world might not be ready for them... ...but at $3 a pop? your wallet definitely is. >>> 14 million people from the texas coast to southern illinois are under flood watches and a tornado watch is in effect for southeast texas. as tropical storm beryl churns north. the storm made landfall on texas' gulf coast as a category 1 hurricane with winds up to 80 miles an hour. state disast

let's bring in kristen welker, moderator of meet the press and senior washington correspondent hollyare you hearing from washington? the reaction to this tragedy that we witnessed last night. >> i think you heard speaker johnson reflect on part of it which is that something has fundamentally been changed in our politics and potentially an our culture and political discourse. but what will that look like? this all comes on the eve of the republican national convention. thousands of delegates of republicans, democrats, media about to descend on milwaukee where former president trump will officially accept his party's nomination. what will it mean for this week ahead alone? what will the tone be at the convention? those familiar with the planning of the convention acknowledge that, yes, something has fundamentally changed. what would that look like in terms of the speeches delivered? one thing is certain. as you heard speaker johnson say, not only will they look at the security detail of the event last night but undoubtedly looking at the security detail of the convention in the coming

>> these are new details coming into our team, chris, along with my colleagues, kristen welker, mikek. we have learned from sources familiar with the situation at the white house that hunter biden has been by his father's side ever since they were at camp david this weekend as a family where they had some discussions about the president's potential path forward here. and his re-election campaign. and that since he returned from camp david last evening with his father, we understand that hunter biden has even joined some meetings and conversations that have taken place between the president and some of his most senior advisers and senior staff. while we should note that it's not unusual for hunter biden to be at the white house to be in the residence, to be attending certain white house events which we have certainly seen time and time again over the last three and a half years where we have seen photos of him and where he has appeared in public, it is unusual according to the people we spoke with for him to be participating at this level and to have the sort of regularity of some of

please me in welcoming sasha eisenberg, kristen welker. hi, everyone. good evening have to say this it honor and b and go way back to when i was a young, very green journalist here in washington, d.c., philadelphia that's true. that's true. we go all the way back to ia. that's right. and greener even. yes much greener. so this is here. his beautiful wife and daughter are here joining him. creation in addition to this b it ally is a. thank you all for being here. so sasha, let's talk about. oh i think you might have a visitor, someone who wants to be sitting here with you. let's talk about the lie, detectives. why did you want to write this book? why now? and is this to some extent a sequel to thct which was widely regarded as the moneyball of politics. yeah. so. thank you, kristen. so i. i wrote that book and it was about a number of innovations that are taking place in campaigns and it was a largely upbeat story of how people had embd and use of data analytics experiments primarily for the ng vers, increasing participation and tailoring information to

eastern, and our thanks to hallie jackson and kristen welker, thank you for watching. >>> welcome back to "nbc news daily." we'll stick with the republican national convention in milwaukee, let's bring in dasha burns, you were in room where it happened, we know the former president has picked his running mate j.d. vance, talk to us about what we just saw and the reaction in the room. >> reporter: yeah, we're actually right now in the middle of the ohio delegation portion of the floor, you can see the sign just right over here, the delegates here just learned that their senator, the senator from ohio, j.d. vance is going to be the nominee for vice president of the united states. he'll be donald trump's running mate. i have with me here tony, very excited about this. he's wearing his buckeye necklace from ohio and tony, did you see this coming? >> well, i was hoping this would happen. we're thrilled, we're terrifically honored to have our senator the vice president of the united states. >> reporter: why did you see vance as the candidate? >> j.d. vance is a unique combination of qualitie

in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with kristen welker. >>> good sunday morning. >> president biden is in an all-out effort to revive his candidacy after that debate performance last week that raised questions about whether he's capable of beating donald trump and serving another four years in office. one veteran democrat tells nbc news, opinions are hardening in many quarters that action has to be taken, and that action is a different nominee. both democratic leader hakeem jeffries and mark warner are convening groups of their colleagues to discuss a path forward and a growing number of congressional democrats have called on president biden to step aside. >> mr. president, please look at what's happened, recognize that the reality out there may not be the same thing you're hearing from the circle of your closest friends and family, and consider putting our country first. >> the campaign has been very, i think, arrogant in their response. we want to know what their plan is to win this elections and turn these numbers around. if they don't

though our kristen welker did ask him about vice president harris. and this, of course, puts loyal democrats in a spot they want to support. biden but also assure americans our vice president is perfectly capable of leading here, schiff i think the vice president would be a phenomenal president. i think she has the experience, the judgment, the leadership ability to be an extraordinary president should she win overwhelmingly. congressman, i think she very well could win overwhelmingly. but before we get into a decision about who else it should be, the president needs to make the decision, whether it's him. president biden will host nato leaders later this week at the white house. there will be a press conference, which, again, biden supporters have been calling for because it's free form unscripted hour. foreign correspondents say a lot of nato countries, though, are looking ahead preparing for a trump win. trump bullied other nato countries, sometimes literally physically shoving the newest member of nato at the time at a meeting in brussels. it cam

news in washington the longest-running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with kristen welkerod sunday morning. the nation is waking up to a new reality after former president donald trump was injured in an apparent assassination attempt that left one person dead and two others critically injured. the suspected gunman was killed by the secret service. here is the horrifying moment as it happened. >> take a look at what happened -- [ shots fired ] >> get down! get down! [ shots fired ] >> let me get my shoes. >> sir, we have to get you -- >> let me get my shoes. >> watch out. wait. wait. >> the former president posted, quote, i was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. i knew immediately that something was wrong and that i heard a whizzing sound. shots and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. this video shows the body of the alleged shooter on the roof of the building just 150 yards from where mr. trump was speaking. >> we are hearing pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and then everybody's on the ground. everybody's on the floor. >> he had a rif

. >> kristen welker is in washington where you have thousands of delegates as vaughn mentioned, headed to the rnc. it's expected to be a massive security operation and of intense interest. >> reporter: lester, you are absolutely right about that. security had been front and center prior to this shooting at the trump rally in pennsylvania, so now undoubtedly they will reassess. you won't be surprised to learn they will bolster security, but you are talking thousands of people descending upon milwaukee, not just republicans, democrats as well, to deliver the counter point to the speeches we will be tracking every night, and the media, the journalists will be there. so this will be a city that will be brimming so undoubtedly the security again, lester, is going to be critical. we know the republican national convention as well as the democratic national convention the planners have spent a lot of time focused on the perimeters, making sure that they are as strong as secure as possible, that it is as difficult as possible to access where the speakers will become aware the delegates will be

once again, meet the press moderator kristen welker joins me now. kristen, i would imagine that responses are starting to come in from both sides of the aisle. lawmakers are weighing in what, if anything, are you hearing about what this decision could mean? here we are. if my math is right, roughly 17 or 18 weeks out from a presidential election. well again, craig, as everyone has said, this will almost undoubtedly mean a delay in these cases that former president trump was facing. we are getting our first reaction from the biden campaign, craig, and it gives you a sense of their thinking and their strategy moving forward. let me read you a part of what they say. quote today's ruling doesn't change the facts. so let's be very clear about what happened on january 6th. donald trump snapped after he lost the 2020 election and encouraged a mob to overthrow the results of a free and fair election. trump is already running for president as a convicted felon for the very same reason he sat idly by while the mob violently attacked the capitol. he thinks he i

this is meet the press with kristen welker. good sunday morning. it is yet another extraordinary moment in the 2024 election cycle, with democrats in a state of crisis after president joe biden delivered a disastrous debate performance that fueled voters top concerns about his age and ability to serve another four years in office. not since the first nixon-kennedy debate in 1960 has a debate had as much potential to shake up a presidential race. this morning, there is widespread panic within the democratic party and questions about whether the president should drop out of the race. i think it was a disaster, i think it was like maybe the worst debate i've ever seen in my entire life. i do think people feel like that. we are confronting a crisis. there are going to be discussions about whether he should continue. at first it was shocking and it was scary. then it was sad and by the end it was absurd. is the riskiest path sticking with joe biden or is the riskiest path? saying we want someone else and anybody who says that that is not a tough call ri

we'll bring hallie back and have kristen welker savannah? >> all right, gabe. thank you so much.lie back with kristin welker here, moderator " let me start with you, k of "meet the press."risten. what's going on in biden what's going on in biden world right now. the many, many democrats you ld. many democrats you talk to think it's all but done. although apparently he has not made that decision. >> that's right. it's not done until he talk to think it's all but done. although, apparently he has not made that decision. that final decision if he >> that's right.does. there is an air of inevitability right no there is an air of inevitabilit these mounting calls right now given that he has mounting calls for publicly and publicly and privately jon tester becoming the second u.s. senator to call on him to step down privately. john tester calling on him to step down.. i i am told he is increasingly am increasingly reflective and obviously in rehobot reflective. he's obviously in rehoboth with family as he's recovering from covid but i'm also told he's his family. increasingly resentful

want to turn to kristen welker moderator of "meet the press."gressman clyburn gets to listen as we analyze this. here's what i heard. he's sticking with biden but left open the possibility that biden could change his mind, and mentioned that specifically we have until august 19th to make up our minds. i'm looking at congressman clyburn. you can correct me if i'm wrong, sir. to me, he's trying to close the door on the speculation, but he didn't shut it tight. kristin, is that what you heard? >> exactly. i think you hit the nail on the head. i think congressman clyburn would you agree because he said, quote, let joe biden continue to make up his mind about the future. as you say, the congressman had a full-throated endorsement this morning, but that line is going to be significant. it echoed what we heard from former house speaker nancy pelosi who was asked about the fact that joe biden has been clear. he made up his mind. you heard that last night in the press conference. here you have pelosi yet again and congressman clyburn leaving the door ope

very much, and we are grab it here and joining us in milwaukee, and "meet the press" moderator kristen welker and joined by hallie jackson as well here at the rnc and there a lot to talk about and as well from the white house with the president testing positive for covid. and also reporting from nbc news that chuck schumer the majority leader from the democratic party who had a quote blunt conversation with the president saturday and what do you know about that? >> well, the fact that the president has tested covid does come at an incredibly complex time, and we are told in that conversation with leader schumer and president biden was shown the polling, and that is part of what the blunt conversation was about, and in a statement from schumer's office, he said what his democratic lawmakers are feeling about president biden and the concern that he could drag down, and he could drag down the down-ballot races if he is at the top of the ticket, and what ultimate decision is being made, and we will see, because he has been defiant and not stepping down or going anywhere, and another twist to this

discuss, including the next steps with nbc's senior washington correspondent, hallie jackson, and kristen welkerone by one, they all closed ranks around harris. is it all but done? is she the likely democratic nominee? >> it feels that she is the likely nominee, with the caveat that we don't know until we know for sure. look at what happened even just this morning. you have senator joe manchin now saying, after flirting with the idea of perhaps challenging harris, definitively saying that he will not run against her. so all of these folks that have been speculated to take the top of the ticket have come out, many of them endorsing kamala harris. manchin says he believes it should be an open process. i will tell you there is some nod to that, just in my conversations for example, with members of congress, who say, we don't want to make this feel like this is a done deal, like this is done in the back room by top party leaders. after all, voters are the ones who should have the say. there is an awareness that they don't want to rush the process. but it seems like the democrats moved extraordinaril

i want to turn now to kristen welker, moderator of "meet the press." good morning to you. >> good morning. when you look at the events unfolding yesterday, nothing happens by accident. it felt coordinated and calculated, as one by one, news broke of different democratic leaders, calling for the president to step aside. >> absolutely. i spoke to one democratic lawmaker who says it feels like the ground shifting. this does feel coordinated. you have former house speaker nancy pelosi having a tough conversation with president biden, showing him the polls, then revelations that leadership schumer had a blunt conversation, showing him the poll numbers. showing him that if he stays in this race, he could potentially jeopardize down-ballot races. the fact that these big names are coming out at once, and yesterday, congressman adam schiff, a close nancy pelosi ally, savannah, he doesn't come out and say he would call on president biden to step aside without the support of nancy pelosi. so when you take it all together, and the fact that no one is denying these

. >> let's turn to kristen welker, moderator of "meet the press." let's start right there. the republicans had obviously designed a campaign to compete against joe biden. now it's kamala harris. have they figured out how they want to take on this vp candidate? >> savannah, it's so fascinating. we're sort of watching former president trump try to figure out what his attack lines will be in realtime. in some ways, he seems to be throwing the kitchen sink at her and trying to see what sticks and what fits. it's not clear that he's really landed on a clear line of attack just yet. and it comes as polls show, look, she is frankly more competitive against former president trump than president biden was. now, it could be days, if not weeks until the polls really give us a clear sense of the state of this race, but she's got two big inflection points coming up, savannah. of course, her pick of a running mate and the democratic national convention. all of this aimed at reintroducing herself to voters. who might be spectacle of her, savannah. >> i misspoke saying vp candidate. it's o

nbc news senior washington correspondent hallie jackson has more on that, and then nbc's kristen welker for the democratic party with less than a month to go now for the convention. >> reporter: new widespread reaction this morning to president biden's decision to withdraw from the 2024 race. >> i think he's one of the best public servants we ever produced. >> reporter: all of it coming after the president's stunning statement sunday, in which he wrote, in part, while it has been my intention to seek re-election, i believe it is in the best interest of my party and country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term. a short time later, endorsing vice president kamala harris to take the top of the ticket. >> i know he will play a central role in the campaign this fall to make sure that donald trump is not returned to the white house. >> reporter: the decision coming as president biden was home in delaware still recovering from covid. according to multiple sources, the president spent the weekend reflecting on his path forward a

. >> on sundays, "meet the press" moderator kristen welker spoke with senator lindsey graham and askeden. >> how do you think this moment, this horrific act of political violence, how will this impact the campaign more broadly? >> you know, it's a very -- very hard to say. i think president trump, i'll talk to him later in the day, is determined to stay on schedule. he needs to pick a vice president. he wants somebody that is ready on day one and can help him win, that can grow the map. i think the republican base adores president trump. there's going to be a lot of love coming his way. but i'm glad to see my democratic colleagues are saying really good things. you know, this is a moment where america has been traumatized, and it's good to see, i'm glad president biden called him. there will be plenty of time to talk about politics. we just all need to be grateful and mindful of how dangerous -- how could this happen? how could somebody get within 130 yards of the president with a rifle? his secret service team around him, his personal team, great americans who are very brave. but what