Meet the Press NOW — August 19

Foreign. Welcome to a very special edition of Meet the Press Now. I am Kristen Welker, live from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It is opening day of a convention that has been dramatically reimagined to reintroduce Vice President Kamala Harris to the nation less than a month after President Biden withdrew from the race.

President Biden, who arrived in Chicago just moments ago, takes the stage tonight to tout his record and to pass the torch to the party's new nominee. It will be one of the president's final legacy defining moments as campaign officials and attendees look for him to end one era and usher in another. I think we're gonna hear from him tonight to celebrate the work he's done and also pass it towards Tamala Harris. And it's time.

Folks are ready. Folks are fired up. We've laid a great foundation for not just a successful convention, but for a campaign going to move Kamala Harris and Tim Wallace forward as our next president. Vice president.

It was a statesman who came off the sideline four years ago to beat the worst president in the history of the United States, person who posed the biggest threat to the United States and as a statesman who passed and who will pass the baton on to Vice President Kamala Harris to continue to put this country first. Also speaking tonight, Democrats across the party's ideological spectrum and eras. And this first night of the convention kicks off as recent poll show Harris gaining momentum. A new Washington Post ABC News poll has her ahead of Donald Trump by 4 points nationwide.

That's within the margin of error. And battleground polls from the New York Times, Sienna have her narrowly leading Arizona and North Carolina and narrowly trailing in Georgia and Nevada, all within the margin of error. But while party leaders attempt to project a sense of unity, there is a reminder of divisions within the party just a half a mile from where I sit right now, where thousands of prot are gathering, the majority of which are demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Israel Hamas war. Joining me now is our team reporters Kelly o' Donnell is on the convention floor.

Jack Cruster is in downtown Chicago where those protesters are taking place. Dasha Burns is in Pennsylvania where former President Trump is holding an event on the economy. Kelly o', Donnell, I have to start with you. Set the scene.

A big, big night for President Biden, potentially an emotional one. And we pick a spot on the floor where delegate where Delaware delegates will have their moment. And it is prime seating if you are the home state of the same president. And for President Biden, this is a way to connect with the party that at times it's been.

It's been an awkward, sometimes painful relationship. But tonight, it will be about sealing together his history, his accomplishments as he sees them from his years in the White House and how all of that, in his view, sets up Vice President Harrison Tim Walls for success in November. That is so while this will be a night of emotion, reflection and respect, it is also about the future. And trying to thread that is so critical for a man who has been in public life for 50 years and who was in many ways pressured because of his age, in fact, he cannot control.

This is about trying to make the case that the policies he has brought forward and will be celebrated on this floor tonight are the kinds of policies that can, with some tweaking, with some personalization from Kamala Harris's vice president, can go forward. And he will make the case that democracy was at stake in 2020 and is again in 2024. He will talk about his rival and the rival that she faces, Donald Trump, the former president often referred to in the White House as, you know, Kristen, as the predecessor, and to talk about what is at stake here. So if there is energy and emotion tonight, it is a combination of things, reflection and respect and excitement about what can happen.

A number of aids say that there is a feeling that the Harris Walls ticket can win. Everyone know, be tight and tough and a real fight. So tonight is part one of a convention that is in many ways its own sort of peace. And then it will become the Harris convention.

But tonight, Joe Biden is the man at center stage. Kristen. He certainly is. Kelly O', Donnell, and this is his 13th convention.

He's spoken at a number of them. You have covered several Biden speeches at Democratic conventions. Kelly, zoom out for us. Give us that perspective.

The fact that boy for President Biden, he has been woven into the fabric of this party. And he talks now about how when he started his career, he was considered too young. And now at the end of his career, criticism about his age. And he's talked about the fact that being able to see some of the policies through as president is important.

And it's a reminder that change and progress is not often done quickly. It does take time and it takes work overtime. And so he'll reflect. There have been glorious moments when he was the sitting vice presidential candidate and vice president.

Then in becoming president in 2020, a convention so different because of COVID and not having this kind of an arena event. And now as president, bittersweet for sure. But it is also true that being President is a singular role and for the next several months, he is that person. And tonight he will pass things off and then head off to California to spend some downtime.

So it will definitely have emotion. There is a feeling in this convention that they want to have sustained applause for him and they want to read President Biden with some of his own quotes and famous phrases. Spread the faith being one of them. History is in your hands.

So again, not just about looking back, but also trying to make the connection that the Biden transitional presidency, as it may now become one as a one term transition after a long public life, is actually a launch pad to the future. So that's the kind of thread they will try to weave. Ton as Joe Biden gets a moment with his wife and his daughter and family here to take it all in and to say there's still work to do. Kristen Kelly, I know you'll be covering it all throughout the night.

And as you are talking, we are listening to James Taylor, who is doing a sound check, talk about being woven into the fabric of something. He is someone who's obviously woven into the fabric of musical history in this country. Let's listen for one moment and then we'll head outside to Shack Brewster. All right.

And with that, let's go outside to Shaq Brewster, who's been covering a very different mood outside. The protesters chat. Give us a sense what is it like there? What is the mood?

How many people are gathered so far? Yeah, Chris, when you talk about mood, I think outside you're hearing and seeing a feeling of determined. People are determined here. They just had a rally that went on for hours and now they're marching.

They're marching through the streets of Chicago, around the area, the vicinity of the United Center. We know that at one point they will be just a couple of blocks away from the United Center. And that is the goal. That is the entire purpose of this march that they're going on.

That's going on. And when you talk to people here, when you listen to the different groups of 200 groups that are here, there's many different issues that come up. Reproductive rights, immigration, union workers rights. But all of those groups have signed on a pledge essentially with one simple message, that they want the United States to end their military support for Israel.

I want you to listen to some of the conversations that we've been having throughout the day for people who've come from as far away as Washington, D.C. i'm still on the fence and I vote for Harris. I don't know yet, but I need to see an actual shift in her policy proposals. I'm really hopeful.

So there's delegates, they're going to be at the convention. That they'll be able to push our platform, but without seeing meaningful change, that's I'm not going to be able to vote for her. You asked about numbers, and we know that the organizers expected 20,000 people. We know they're far short of that.

But there are definitely several thousands of people who are here to have their voice be heard. And I think, you know, one thing that we noticed is that these are larger than what you saw at the Republican convention. When I've asked folks about that, why did you choose to come to Chicago and Milwaukee? The point that you continue to hear is that it's Joe Biden who will speak tonight and who is in the White House right now.

It's Vice President Harris who is also in the White House, also have the power right now to meet their demands. And that's a message that's been consistent whether you're listening to the speakers who are on stage or talking to people who have traveled to be here today. Kristen. All right, Chuck Brewster, please stay safe.

We are going to be checking in with you throughout the week, that is for sure. Thank you for being out there. Let's turn now to Dasha Burns. Dasha, a big day out on the campaign trail for Donald Trump.

He just wrapped up remarks in Pennsylvania, of course, critical battleground state where Vice President Kamala Harris is showing new momentum. What did you hear from him? What are your key takeaways? His allies say stay on message.

Did he stay on message today? Well, this entire event was designed for him to focus on policy. This wasn't a rally. This was an event at a manufacturing facility, only about 100 people or so, mostly tied to this, to this plant.

And he, for the most part, did stick to the script. He deviated a few times. And he did go after Harris. He mentioned her laugh, he mentioned her father.

All points that his Republican allies have been out there saying, don't go after her personally, go after her on policy. I would say the vast majority of this hour or so that he spoke for was focused on issues like manufacturing, like inflation, like energy production, which of course is critical to Pennsylvania prison. And Dasha, this obviously is a part of a broader counter programming effort that we are going to be seeing throughout the week. President Trump, his vice presidential nominee, J.D.

vance, will be out on the campaign trail making their case for the White House. Talk to us a little bit about what we can Anticipate this week as it unfolds. Yeah, Chris. This is a full on battleground blitz from both Trump and Vance.

This is probably one of the busiest weeks for the Trump campaign that we've seen in this general election. He's gonna be hitting Pennsylvania force today. Michigan, North Carolina. He's headed to the border in Arizona, trying to highlight another issue where he feels he has an Ed Harris, immigration, of course, and then heading to Vegas on Friday.

So this is a massive counter programming effort, trying to push through it in a week and in the last few weeks, actually where the Democrats were, Harris and Walls have really been capturing the headlines, trying to take some of that oxygen backwards. And you know, it's interesting, Dodge, obviously they are engaged in this counter programming effort. They're also paying close attention to the polls which show that Vice President Kamala Harris has made these battleground states competitive. In some places she has a lead over for President Trump.

It's within the margin of error. But you have to think, and if you talk to allies of the former president, it is making them nervous. J.D. vance, though, try to downplay the numbers.

What do you have to say? Well, look, he's been saying that, you know, don't pay attention to the numbers. Look at what we are doing out here on the campaign trail. Look at what we are going to bring to the American people.

But when you talk to his allies behind the scenes, look, they feel like fundamentally not that much has changed in the race just in terms of the issues that the Americans care about. It's still the economy, it's immigration, it's things that they have a bit of a pulling edge on. Of course, now looking at these broader polls, Harris is in the lead in some of these battleground states. So within the margin of error.

And you can see very publicly former President Trump and his running mad Vance struggle to figure out the best line of attack against this new opponent. And honestly a little frustrated with the amount of attention that she's getting as she's riding this wave of a mental person. Yeah, I'm told that the media attention is really starting to get under Trump's skin. Dasha Burns, thank you so much for your great reporting as always.

Really appreciate it. Great to see you. Joining me now is NBC News chief Political analyst Chuck Todd, who will be with me throughout this week, throughout this convention. Chuck, thanks for being here and starting us off.

One of the great privileges in life is to be serenaded by James Taylor sitting next to you. It was a privilege. It is whether you need things. It's sort of like what I love about conventions or the odd moments like that.

I know when everybody sees a TV where you're just like right away, James Taylor on a soundtrack and he did a full rehearsal. Exactly. Let's talk about the other kind of extraordinary thing, which is that we are sitting here, you and I were at the RNC together. Everything has changed.

We were at that point in time, you and I kept asking ourselves, well, Democrats need to union around President Biden. He's no longer at the top of the ticket. How do you see this convention being different than it would have been if he were at the top of the ticket? Look, I think with Biden at the top of the ticket, it would felt like a visit to the dentist's office, something you had to do.

And that was a narrative, done everything. But they weren't excited. Really. Seeing all the polls is she got the Democratic coalition back.

Now she's got a long way to go because the next slice of voters are the ones that decide elections. But she got the Democrats back and they are excited. You know, the question is, are they excited because I think they have a chance or are they excited because of her? I don't think they're excited for her.

I think they want to be. I think this convention's job is to, you know, Doug Sosnik, a long time Clinton political advisor, made a point last week. He said, you know, he noted that Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama created movements. They weren't just campaigns, they were movements.

He said color is an opportunity. The question is, can the convention turn her candidacy into a movement That's a high bar. I don't want to sit here and say that that's going to happen. I think they are polarized times.

It's very difficult to do. But they're going to make her a larger than life figure after this week. And I think that's the job of this convention and that's what I'm going to be watching for. How much does this crowd fall in love with her?

Right now? They're ecstatic that it's not fine because I feel like they have a chance. This convention, if it's successful, means Democrats are alone with their nomination. Well, let me ask you the other big question.

As we were having this conversation, Chuck, we were looking at live pictures. I believe we're going to see President Biden there. I don't see him yet, but I believe we will. Yes, there is.

Exactly. And we will continue to track his developments today. But you know, Chuck, the other big question that you've been grappling with, not just with this crowd. Fall in love with her.

What happens to this bumps that we're seeing? Will she get it? I know you can't answer this, but it's a question of is it possible? We've seen the post convention bump already.

So if you look at the 21st century. Yeah. Campaigns. Right.

Six of the seven, five of the six of the seven by five points or less. Right. You would say, okay, she brought the party back to where it always is. Right.

And he's got and that's where we are. If there's another bump out of here, then you have to start asking yourself that maybe, maybe this coalition to defeat Trump's speaker. I'm skeptical that it is. I think that she's gotten her bump already and I think this is where we are.

And now it's about can you, can you beat the train? One of the things, one of the reasons why Republicans are sort of unscuing the polls is that there is a main phenomenon we've been seeing in the polls released over the last two weeks, which is all of them have had larger Democratic participation than the Republican participation. He led your party ID float. Some of that could just simply enthusiasm happens and it could signal something bigger, that the country is shifting a little bit or it could simply be one side paying attention to the other side isn't.

That's another like I said, I'm skeptical she can get more of a bump. But if she does, then we have to start asking ourselves this is going to be a much different election than we've seen, frankly, in the entire century. Because of course, what we have seen is these incredibly close, narrowly divided we're basically 4848. We're trying to figure out a 4747.

Trying to figure out what? Alexis Christian Co Right. So. And that's the backdrop to tonight's speech by President Biden.

What are you going to be watching for, Chuck? And particularly I ask it in this context because he's officially passing the torch tonight. How does he do that? In a way that emboldens Kamala Harris pays attribute to his legacy and allows her to move forward with this convention in a way that allows her to break a bit.

Well, look, you know, it's interesting. Kamala Harris essentially got handed the nomination. So did Joe Biden get handed the nomination out of because the party elites were fearful that Bernie Sanders might win it and instead they quickly rallied around him. You're referencing what happened in 2020.

So to me the legacy of Joe Biden is he's like a Democrat, that he has been a good steward of the party. He's not somebody that's tried to change the party. Bill Clinton came in and changed the party. Barack Obama came in and changed the party.

They want to move the party in one direction, change its identity in different. Never tried to do that. Joe Biden wanted to be a good member of the party, always being there for whoever the president was, whoever the Democratic leader was. And that to me is his legacy.

And it ought to be what he leans on it. He's been a. And it shows you institutionally the Democratic Party is much stronger than the Republican Party. Yeah, the Democratics were able to push them out.

Never been able to push him out. And it shows you the difference between the two parties. And I think right now. So I'm curious how much Biden leans into the fact that he's been a good member of the party who handed him the keys and he was leader and he finally handed him back, maybe grabbed, but he was still willing to do it.

And I think it says something about how he viewed the presidency that he decided he was presiding as a Democrat, not trying to change it in any one direction. Yeah, he said he was running as a bridge candidate and there he is now. Yeah, he certainly is. Chuck, thank you.

Day one of what is going to be a very busy and exciting politics. It's a very display. It's going to be absolutely fascinating. We'll be dissecting every single second of it with Chuck.

Thank you so much, Chuck. And we'll be looking forward to again more of his expertise all week long. Coming up next at Democrats Push for United front here at the United Center. I'll speak to swing distra Congressman and guberutorial candidate Abigail Spamberger.

And of course, you can watch live coverage of President Biden's keynote speech tonight as part of our special coverage right here on NBC News. Now first, a look back four years ago when Joe Biden accepted his party's nomination during an unconventional virtual convention. It's time for us, for we the people, to come together and make no mistake, united, we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America. We'll choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.

Welcome back to our special coverage of the Democratic National Convention, live from Chicago. As we said, in just a few hours, President Biden will take center stage and officially pass the torch to his vice president as the party's new standard bearer. Joining me now is Democratic congressman from Virginia and gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger. Thank you so much for being here, Congressman.

Really appreciate it. Thank you for having me. It is great to see you in person. So let's set the stage and talk about tonight, a huge first night of this convention.

And as we've been talking about throughout this broadcast so far, everything's different. It was expected just a month ago that President Biden was gonna be the top of the ticket. Tonight, he officially passes the torch to Vice President Harris. What are expecting to hear from him?

Well, I'm expecting him to talk about some of the most consequential laws that he ushered through Congress and the United States Senate. Everything from, you know, an extraordinary investment in supporting veterans facing toxic exposure with the On Airpact act, the generationally important infrastructure bill that's already sent $10 billion to Virginia for roads, bridges, or brought in Internet connectivity. The list was on and on, bringing manufacturing back home to Virginia and the rest of the country with the Chips and Science Act. So I expect he'll talk a lot about those accomplishments that we're so proud of and the reality of what it means to pass the torch, pass the baton to the next generation in him, you know, choosing to step aside and, you know, now supporting his vice president.

Talk a little bit about how it feels to be here. One of the big questions, of course, is about party unity. This party is energized. There's no doubt about that.

Chuck Todd just brought up a great point. Do you feel like the party's energ, you have a chance at winning? Do you look at the polls? Are you energized around Vice President Harris and is this a moment for her to galvanize that type of energy?

So I think energy exist for a variety of reasons. You know, the stakes of this election are extraordinarily important. Representing Virginia. No.

We know also too well what it would mean if Trump advanced, were to send the presidency and vice presidency, the potential firing of thousands of federal employees when they put in place Schedule Fs under Agenda 47 or Project 25. We understand the threat that would exist if they were to move forward with a federal ban on abortion. And so I think that people are motivated, recognizing the kind of dire negative consequences of Trump and Dance winning, but also really excited about the prospects of Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz winning and what that would mean for our country, the policies that they would pursue, building upon what has occurred in the Biden Harris administration. Administration, as you know, the bills I've mentioned.

And so I think the excitement is really across the board for the stakes of this election and the resoluteness, but also the reality for we are. I'm curious, how do you think she builds on this momentum heading into November? And part of the question, Congressman, is that there are so many question marks about her policies. She just joined the top of the ticket.

Does she need to fill in some of those blanks? She just rolled out her economic policies, which I'm going to talk to you about. But do you want to see her talk about very clear plans for what she wants to do with the border, very clear plans for how she wants to tackle things like climate change and obviously reproductive rights, which you just brought up? Well, I'm a policy person, so I do like clearly the process, you know, steps forward.

But I think, you know, even as it relates to an important, important issue this election, which is immigration and border security crisis that we continue to face, it should be very clear the bill that the Senate negotiated in a bipartisan manner, Democrats, Republicans, independent, right, that they were ready to pass, that the president, current President Biden, was willing to support. That was that was sidelined when Speaker Johnson and former President Trump said the bill was down arrival and Trump didn't support it. And so her recognizing the important work that's already happening in the halls of Congress and her recognition that in many cases some of the potential, you know, efforts to deal with some of our country's biggest issues have already been the groundwork has been laid. I think that's helpful.

You know, I look forward to continued conversations about policy. But I think she also recognizes that the House and Senate have great roles in moving that policy over her desk in the first place. What did you make of her proposal to. She laid out a number of different things.

She wants to make housing more affordable, expand child tax credit. She also, of course, proposed banning price gouging of groceries. It was a controversial proposal. Trump said it amounts to communism.

The Washington Post even called a gimmick. What did you make of that? So I think it's important, you know, as a former attorney general and before my CIA days, I was a federal agent. So I have spent, you know, some time looking at the work that she did as train general within California.

And, you know, notably, she went after predatory lenders. She went after some big business interests that were negatively engaging with consumers. And so I look at the proposal in that frame of, you know, in the case that there may be negative or potentially collusion type work occurring in pricing. But it's certainly worth looking at.

But I think overall an attention on the housing market and attention on affordability attainability. And frankly, in Virginia, part of our challenges, there's just not a large enough supply for the people who want to be able to buy your rent. And so getting at all of these issues, they compliment one another. Let's talk about what's happening outside of the convention hall.

Those Protestants protesters, I know that the city is bracing for the possibility of tens of thousands of them and some of them are there because of the Israel, Israel Hamas war. Do you think that the vice president has done a good job of listening to their concerns thus far? How should she respond to them this week? Well, so I know that members of her campaign team and certain members of the administration have met with various leaders in protest movements.

I think that she has been clear in supporting people's First Amendment rights. Right. Like this is, this is the value of our democracy, that when you disagree, you can express that. But I think it's also notable that today Secretary State Anthony Blinken came out publicly saying that now who has agreed to the bridging proposal.

So that's the first step towards a potential ceasefire. And so it's kind of a reminder that this administration of which of course, the Vice President Harris is a key member, this administration is the doing the work of working towards the goals that, you know, understandably, so many people across the country in the world want to see, which is, you know, ultimately an end to hostilities certainly within Israel, within Gaza and, you know, a walk back from some of the work that we have about a more regional conflict in the Middle East. Well, I have many more questions, but we are out of time. Congressman, thank you so much.

Really appreciate you being here, giving us your perspective. My pleasure. Thanks so much. Great to see you.

And coming up next, we will get the view from inside the Harris Walls campaign on its strategy, messaging and policy promises. Him and co chair Mitch Landon will be here on set next. You're WATCHING me the press now special coverage of the Democratic National Convention. Keep it right here.

Welcome back. You are looking live at the scene right now, Democratic National Convention in Chicago as the party gears up for the opening night's marquee address from President Biden. His mission tonight, defending his record and passing the baton. Joining me now is Mitch Landru.

He is a co chair of the Harris Walls campaign. He's also a co chair of the convention right here in Chicago. So no one want to talk to. Thank you for being here.

It's great to be here. It's great to see you. Let's start off with tonight, President Biden has been attending conventions since 1972, 1863. Yeah.

And he spoke at a lot, but never delivered a speech like this. What should we expect to hear from him tonight? Well, think about, think about this man's life story. I think President Biden, Williams being one of the most consequential presidents of our lifetime, when he ran, he said he was going to run.

He was going to build a bridge to the future. Well, we're literally doing that with 14,000 bridges and 60,000 projects. But I think that what he was talking about was something bigger and better. And tonight you will see him pass and talk to generational leaders that he helped curate.

But Joe Biden got lucky when he was 29, you know, that his wife and two of his kids were killed. He got up and went back to work. He had a son that died from brain cancer. He got up and went back to work.

He had a son that had a challenge with addiction like some of the American families. He got up and went back to work. And in this really difficult time, when in three and a half years he actually did eight years of work, he's now going to pass the torch to another generation to celebrate a selfless life. Because the decision he made to stand down for the good of America is one that will go down.

His issue books of being one of the most courageous acts that we've seen in a very long time. The country owes him a great debt of gratitude. You think it's going to be an emotional night for Democrats? Oh, I have no doubt about it.

I think that there's a huge amount of love for Joe Biden. Even people in the country that disagree with his record admitted that Jovan was a good man. Joe Biden believed in faith. He believed in family.

He believed in country. He's a man of deep faith and that has gotten him through all the difficult times in his life. And he always gets up the next day. And right after he said that he was going to stand down, he said, you know what?

I'm going to run the tape. I'm going to finish the next six months in a way that is going to be great. I'm going to pause our conversation for one minute because I believe. Yes, there he is, President Biden doing a walkthrough right now of Convention Hall.

He is likely going to get a sense of the podium. First lady at the podium. First lady. Is she there standing at the podium?

First lady standing at the podium as we speak, as we have this come. There she is right now. We're going to hear from her tonight as well. You know, there's been so much reporting and I have some reporting that the Bidens do still feel to some extent that some in their party were not respectful of his legacy.

To what extent is that part of. Listen, I think honestly I've known President Biden for a very, very long time. I can't. There he is right there.

I adore him and he was, he has been great. But that's a man of incredible faith who has been through tremendous tragedy in his life. That actually dwar dwarfs anything that you go through in your life. Any of us have had six children in lives or relatives that died.

Everything else dwarfs. I think that his faith is going to lead him to have a deep sense of gratitude to the American people for giving him an opportunity to serve. That's the way he thinks. This is not a bitter man.

No, he's human being. You get your feelings hurt from time to time, but it's about forgiveness and it's about getting past it. And he's going to demonstrate to us once again, as he had throughout his life, that the way that you actually deal with the person needs to get back up and you go to work. As we have this conversation, as we watch President Biden and the first lady take a walk through here at the United Center, a lot of people are asking, Mitch, what are the key differences between a President Harris, if she were to be elected, and a President Biden?

Well, here, let's listen in for one moment to the first Lady. She's doing a mic check, check. Okay, my check is over. What's the key difference between Vice President Harris and President Biden if she were to be elected?

Right. Well, first thing, a lot has changed in the last three weeks. One thing that hasn't changed is Donald Trump is the same guy he has been for the past six years. Everybody knows.

And people are tired of both of these individuals. Both Kamal Harris and Joe Biden are lifelong servants. You know that she served as district attorney, she was the Attorney General, she was the United States Senator. She herself.

But they're different people. He's an older gentleman who comes from Irish heritage and is really, really proud of it and wears that on his sleeve all the time. She's a young girl whose daddy's from Jamaica and mother's from India. They grew up as a middle class kid from Oakland.

And, and they, they share the same belief that government in partnership with the private sector and the faith based community can really do great things when we come to together, but there's no doubt that they can be different. She will definitely be her own person. And it's going to be just a wonderful thing to watch her come into her own. Well, and as you say that, as you tell us, there are no doubt there will be some differences.

We see President Biden standing at the podium tonight ahead of tonight's speech in which he will officially be passing the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris after stepping down at the top of the ticket. You see him there gesturing, getting comfortable with his surroundings, big smile as he does this walkthrough. Mitch, you'd say there will be differences. You cannot overstate how incredible it's going to be for him after having gone through three and a half years of presidency, which is as good as eight years of most presidencies, and he's handing over the torch to a younger generation.

That represents the things he's been talking to the country about. How powerful, a peaceful transition, power with elegance and with kindness and with strength. That in and of itself is the idea of what America should be. The other side of the team doesn't really believe in that kind of stuff.

And that's the big difference between us and them. And look, as you and I were discussing when he ran in 2020, he said he would be a bridge. And here we are going to see that tonight play out. But you say there will be some differences as we continue to watch President Biden, who seems like he's really enjoying this walkthrough.

He's savoring the moment. Can you name a difference between President Biden. I'm gonna let that play out. I just want people to be surprised.

There would be no way for anybody to expect two politicians. I was a lieutenant governor in Louisiana for cgsr. Two governors, one Republican, one Democrat. Number two, you know, your job is to try to be loyal and try to make sure that, that the person who's at the top works.

But when you to get your own feet on the ground, when you get your own voice, you've noticed I know about her in the last three or four weeks. Just a sense of I've got a shot now to be and say and do. But her general theory of life is the same. The way she does stuff may be different.

For example, on the child tax credit, she may say, listen, I really think we don't lean into that or the carriage end of the Family Leave Act. I really, really want to think about the way the president approaches this issue, that issue. You can fully expect her without saying that There's a rift between them. There's no way that these two are going to be the same.

And she will be her own person. You bring me to my next question. And here you see President Biden seems to be exiting slowly talking to folks in a very traditional Biden fashion as he walks off. God bless him as he was.

Great to see him. Just for folks who are just tuning in right now, President Biden leaving the stage after doing a poor. There's no question about that. Let me ask you, because you raised a child tax credit, you know, the vice president proposed some initiatives that would make it less expensive to build affordable housing.

All of these things require Congress. And as you know, President Biden tried to expand the child tax credit. He had to abandon that effort because he couldn't get this Congress on board. Why would it be any different?

I know we know the makeup of Congress. The big difference between us and them is they don't care about it at all. Who's fighting for you? You got to really push Congress, you know, to do the things that you think are important.

But it falls into a much broader umbrella, which is this. Kyle Harris believes, as Joe Biden did, but she does us as well, that if you invest in the American people, if you invest in things, if you bring everybody into, then we all grow from the bottom of the top down the other side, tax breaks, if we really don't have an economic plan. And so as you as she thinks about these things, she will continue. We very well may win the House and the Senate and she may have that as well.

So, you know, we'll see how that goes. All right. Mitch Landrew, thank you very much. Really appreciate it.

Appreciate you helping me have this moment. Doing his mic check. Thank you so much. And coming up next, President Biden speech tonight, we're taking a look back to 2004, when then Senator Joe Biden spoke on the final night of the DNC in Boston to endorse his friend and Senate colleague John Kerry for president.

Take a listen to a little bit of that. Nearly 100 years ago, a great Irish poet, William Butler Yates, told us that the world has changed. It has changed utterly. A terrible beauty has been born tonight.

Our country stands at the hinge of history and America's destiny is literally at stake. But we can shape that destiny if we seize the opportunities before us. Welcome back. As we mentioned, just about every single corner of the Democratic Party will be represented on stage tonight.

Names like progressive Alexa Ocasio Cortez, a moderate Andy Beshear, labor leaders like UAW Chief Sean Fain, members of the old guard like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, of course, of President Biden's allies. And of course, we just saw President Biden himself. He was just on stage here at the United Center. Joining me now on set is former North Dakota Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp.

From Illinois, Democratic Congressman Sherry Bustos. And joining us from New York, Mark Short. He worked in the Trump White House and was also chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. He is also an NBC News contributor.

Thanks to all of you for being here. Mark, I'm going to start with these two since they're here with me in Chicago, but we'll get to you in one moment. Let me start with you. We've heard everyone talk about the energy and the excitement heading into this week, heading into tonight.

Tell me how it feels to you. Well, it's, it's, it's dramatic in terms of the change of enthusiasm we're seeing it, and particularly with young people that I spend a lot of time with at the Institute of Politics. You just saw an explosion of interest in the election. Doesn't mean that you should take it for granted.

But it has been a radical change, I think in terms of people seeing someone on the ballot that maybe is more relatable to their age group. Sherry, what are you going to be listening for tonight? When you think about the energy, President Biden is really going to set the tone. He's going to start off this entire week with this speech in which he will officially pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Well, it's our first opening night of the convention, so this will be laying the foundation. I think there's going to be a lot of I love Joe Biden moments. I was on a labor call last week and the love just exuded from all of these labor leaders. You're going to hear for Sean saying tonight, but no, I think there's going to be a lot of moments about what Joe Biden did for this country.

Our path forward was a little uncertain as to whether we were going to be successful in the November election, and he did the right thing and made room for Kamala Harrison. To Heidi's point, the excitement is just off the charts. Democrats are very excited about Tim Walls and about Kamala Harris. How do you think and what are you going to be looking for from President Biden tonight on such a monumental first night?

I think talking about the future and how he laid the groundwork for the future, the Infrastructure act, whether it's chips looking at competition with China, whether it's the work that he did to bring our allies back to the forefront. He's got an amazing story to tell and he is going to get a hero's welcome like you have never seen. This place is going to explode for Joe Biden tonight. With that, let me go out to Mark Short.

A hero's welcome like we have never seen before. Mark Short. And we know that former President Trump and J.D. vance are going to be counter programming this entire week.

What are you going to be watching for both in terms of what we're trying to hear in Chicago and out of the campaign trail? Well, Chris, I think that for Democrats, the challenge will be to try to avoid drama. Clearly, they're choosing conventions out of Chicago where there was a lot of drama in 1968, and there's a lot of disruption with their policies in the Middle East. And so.

So I think that the question will be, can they avoid that drama and keep the focus on Clinton, Obama, Biden and Kamala Harris? And if they do, they'll be able to control the narrative, you know, more successfully. I guess the thing I'm looking at is I think it's hard to think of a time we had such a dramatic change in direction of campaign, 45 days when Republicans came out their convention with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of confidence that they would be sailing the victory. And now I think that you probably have to suggest momentum, certainly behind Harris, and she's probably at this point a front runner.

But I certainly think that the policies that she's rolled out over the last few days, I don't think are helping her. When she rolls out policies, they're simply job killing, rent control, price gouging, now wanting to increase taxes and actually advocate for higher taxes on job creators in America. So her policies, I think if she keeps rolling these out, that plays to Trump's benefit if you actually have a campaign on policy. But that's obviously what the Trump campaign has failed.

So for they actually prosecuting a campaign on the policies, he has been very focused on personal attacks. He says he's entitled to these personal attacks. And to your point, a lot of allies are saying, hey, stay on message. I should say we just got to note that when President Biden was up at the podium, he was asked some questions by the reporters.

One person asked him, are you ready to pass the torch? President Biden responded. Sherry, Yes, I am. You just heard Mark Short talk about the policies that Vice President Harris has rolled out so far.

Things like a ban on price, gadget, grocery, something that's quite controversial. Even the Washington Post called it a gimmick. How do you counter what you just heard from Mark Short, which is what you're going to hear on the campaign trail from Trump, their ideas. And it's getting the ball rolling on ideas.

It's not all flushed out. She's only been a candidate for president for what, weeks now? I think it's great to be part of the narrative. Prices are too high.

Like, we live in our country, right? We want to make sure our family farmers do well. But at the same time, when you're going to the grocery store, something has to happen. So I think it's a way to get the narrative started.

How do your policies do you think play with? Well, let me tell you, this is a smart campaign. She wouldn't have said any of those things if it didn't pull, you know, does it create a differential? Yes, unfortunately, when you look at President Trump's Mar A Lago, where he was at Bedminster, where he had cans of Folgers out, said nothing about what he was going to do, just repeated grievance after grievance, did not give any good ideas.

I'll take that fight. I'll take somebody who has an idea, may not come to fruition, but against somebody who only complains about the future. And so, you know, trust me, those ideas were pulled, tested. They probably pole tested pretty high.

They absolutely were. I want to zoom out and pick up something Mark said. He said that he thinks Vice President Harris is the front runner. Do you think she says she's the underdog, but if you look at the polls, give us the reality check.

What do you really see in the polls? Because some of them, it's extraordinary, the movement that we've seen. She's competitive in these battleground states. She's leading into the states within the margin of error.

What do you mean? I just did an event with Nate Silver, who is kind of the gold standard of looking at polls, and he would say that the edges to her right now and said that. But I will tell you, this is an even race and anyone who thinks she should take it for granted, one of the last things that we should do is be complacent as Democrats. And so she needs to get out there, she needs to sell her agenda, she needs to send our friend Tim Walls to rural America, talking about all the good ideas that the Biden administration has rolled out for rural America and get connected with the folks out there, pick up a few points, and we're on our Sherry, how do you see this race?

It's tight and it will get down to these swing states and those few voters who haven't made up their mind. Even with President Biden getting out, there's still a number of people who don't understand and know who Kamala Harris is. So she still is introducing herself to the American public. But this is tightness going to get down to those swing those swing states in those swing regions of those swing states.

And Mark Short, when you think about the swing states, I think about the vice presidential running mates, think about J.D. vance, who obviously was picked if you talk to folks in Trump world to help with places like obviously, you know, he's from Ohio, but they think he's going to help in the Rust Belt, that he'll help with the blue wall, for example, break that down. And then of course, shifting walls from Minnesota who Vice President Harris believes is going to help him hold on to that area. So what do you see right now in the vice presidential nominees?

It's hard to think that Tim Walls will help protect the blue wall more than Josh Shapiro would have from Pennsylvania. I do think that J.D. vance will see his strength come out more in the debates and the one on one jousting. But at the end of the day, Chris and I think that Trump is such a large personality figure, you have a lot of people voting for him, a lot of people voting against him.

And I don't know how much the vice presidential selections really make a difference this go round. And I would say this, Mark, that would be true if you weren't a distraction about single women with cats, menopausal women, none of that is helping. And so typically I agree with you. But in this case when you're making gaffes, that's not helpful.

Mark, last thought, your response? Well, I agree with her on that. I think that the roll out for Jenna, much of his comments, you know, he doesn't represent really a true conservative. He's more of a populist appeal where the party is gone.

I we now have candidates on our ticket who embrace a bigger regulatory state, who embrace the biggest terrorist we have since Smooth Hawley. So it's not actually a free market conservative ticket anymore. All right. Well, we'll leave it there.

Wow. We have a greeting. We have a greeting from New York to here in Chicago. Hi, Kim Shar.

Thanks for a great conversation. Really appreciate it. We will have much more ahead as the convention kicks off just a short time from now. We're live from the convention floor and what to expect.

You're watching Meet the Press now special coverage of the DNC live from Chicago. Stay with us. Welcome back. We're counting down the minutes until the official start of tonight's program for the Democratic National Convention right here in Chicago.

They are doing sound checks here behind me. Let's head down to the convention floor right behind national report on the Jacob Silver office. Going to give us a very quiet report on the scene on the floor. Jacob, set the stage down there.

I will say christen, it's a beautiful rehearsal rendition of the national anthem. It is a rendition of the national anthem. Nevertheless, now we're hitting the crescendo. It's really actually very exciting down here.

Watch you listen this for one second. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. You cannot beat that. I was going to give you a whole song and dance question about what's like on the floor, but and it's a little bit of a preview of what's come tonight.

Before we go, I just want to show you a little bit about, you know, where the del says a lot about what the campaign thinks about the states and airports. Let me just show you a little bit. My home state, the great state of California is right here. Also the home state of Vice President Harris Brunton.

Center right across from Pennsylvania, of course. And then there's Delaware right over here. The home state of President Joe Biden. And a little something I didn't know about.

Chris. Really cool. There are these phones all over the convention floor. I was wondering where they were.

It rang earlier. It's the boiler room. The secret operation center of the DMC just picked up. I gotta go back to you.

See you later tonight. Stay close to that phone, Jacob. I'll call you right there if we need you back. Thank you.

I'm back tomorrow with more MEET the PRESS now special coverage live from Democratic National Convention in Chicago. But don't go anywhere. We have a full night of programming straight ahead. And my Colle Jackson sitting right next to me picks up our special coverage and thank you.

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