Meet the Press NOW – August 22

Welcome to a special edition of Meet the Press, now live from Milwaukee, where the debate stage is officially set for the first Republican presidential debate tomorrow night. And a very good day to you. I'm Chris Wilder reporting for our NBC station, wtmj, right here in Milwaukee. Eight candidates have met the Republican Party's polling and fundraising thresholds and signed a pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee.

Four candidates will not be on stage, and all four are taking issue with RNC's requirements. But the biggest absence on tomorrow night's stage will be the Republican front runner, former President Donald Trump, who cited his commanding lead in the race as a reason not to attend. He also refused to sign the RNC's pledge to support the eventual nominee if it's not him heading to debate. Here's what several candidates are saying about Mr.

Trump's absence. Everybody should debate. Everybody has a responsibility to earn people's votes. Nobody is entitled to anything in this world.

Less of all, the Republican nomination for president. He's been on that debate stage countless times. He's also the US President for four years, so he wants to skip the first couple of them. I have no issue with that.

But I do think he should be on the debate stage at some point throughout the course of this year. I think it will be a vigorous exchange even though Donald Trump will not be there. He's obviously a topic of some of the conversation anyway, but we're going to contrast the ideas for the future that Americans want to be able to focus on. Former President Trump's absence will be a major wildcard tomorrow night as candidates try to appeal to Trump voters while Mr.

Trump is counter programming first with his immediate interview, then with his surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday. Whether the debate or the arrest will shake up the four president status as front runner remains an open question heading into the debate. I spoke to a Trump supporter in Iowa yesterday who, like many Trump supporters, told me his mind is made. He said he voluntarily, I should say.

The team around him has said he has no plans to go to the debate because he so far had the polls. Do you want to see former President Trump on that debate stage? I think it'd be nice to see him there, but also I think he's so widespread on social media and everything else that we know where he stands. The people behind him are 100% behind him and we wouldn't rather have it any other way.

Additionally, new numbers out today from our NBC News Des Moines Register Media Comp Poll serve as a stark reminder of where Republican primary voters stand on the former president's actions tied to the 2020 election. 51% of likely Republican Iowa caucus though or say they believe former President Trump's false claims that he won the 2020 election. That number rises to 60% among self identified Republicans. Joining me now are reporters Blaine Alexander outside that Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta and Sasha Burns is here in Milwaukee with me.

But Blade, let me start with you for President Trump says he'll surrender to that Fulton county jail on Thursday. What can we expect? And walk us through what the terms of the bond agreement are. Well, let me start crystal with terms of that bond agreement.

$200,000 bond has already been set. And the one thing that's notable that we've certainly seen when we talk about what he has to do in order to basically abide by those terms, he can't make any sort of intimidation, can't make any sort of threats against codependents, against witnesses, against the public. And that includes social media posts. That is certainly notable.

Prison, of course, because we know he communicates a lot on social media. We also know that that's language that was included in the formal president's bond agreement that we haven't seen in any of the other bond agreements that have been agreed to so far. So that's what we can expect from the former president. A couple of developments though.

This really is kind of just an interesting flurry and cadence of people who have been turning themselves in or or negotiating the terms under which they will surrender. So it's an interesting kind of dual screenshot here at the Fulton County Courthouse and at the Fulton County Jail. But just within the last hour or so, we heard from attorney from Mark Meadows that they issued another filing. We know already that he had been trying to remove his case from Fulton county court to federal court.

Well now he's asking the judge to basically hurry up and grant a hearing to have that move or to block the Fulton County DA from arresting him. So we're getting a very clear indication that the da, if these co defendants have not turned themselves in by Friday at noon, will very likely issue arrest warrants. I want to show you a little bit from that filing, if you have that graphic. But basically they're saying that they spoke with the DA earlier today and she's made it clear that she's not granting any extension, saying I gave two weeks for people to surrender themselves to court.

Your client is no different than any other criminal defendant in this jurisdiction. Two weeks was a tremendous courtesy. She writes in her email and says at 12:30pm on Friday. Friday I shall file warrants in the system.

So very much making it clear this is our first sign person of what they plan to do if people do not surrender by this deadline. Person. Fascinating. Blaine, question for you.

Going back to the terms of the bond agreement that you mapped out in terms of former President Trump. What happens if he breaks that agreement? And that's a great question. I mean, I think that we're already kind of seeing, just from what I just laid out in the Meadows filing, just the posture that the DA is taking all of this in terms of making sure that, yes, the deadline is abided by, that the terms of the bond agreement are abided by as well.

We know that there's something that she specifically signed off on also Trump's attorney specifically signed off on that. So as to what the penalty would be if he breaks it, we don't know what that is, but she's certainly signaling that she plans to take action in other ways if people don't abide by the deadlines that she said. And Blaine, we saw the first of 18 CO defendants surrender today. John Eastman.

What did he have to say when he came out of the jail? He was only there for about 90 minutes, which was certainly interesting in of itself. He spoke to our Ali Batali and she asked him the question that certainly a lot of these codependents are in the beginning. Does he still believe that the 2020 election was stolen?

Here's what you have a sec. Take a look. Do you still think the election was stolen? Absolutely.

Still no question. No question. So that's what we said. Absolutely no question.

Leave. It was stolen despite the fact that there's no evidence to show that it was stolen and evidence only to the opposite. So that's hearing from John Eastman. You know, I will say, though, that we can expect in the coming hours to see more people surrender to the Folsom County Jail.

As we've seen the terms of the consent bond of agreement worked out here, that really is an indication that surrender is imminent. And so we're watching that very closely. I know it's a busy time for you, Blaine Alexander. Dasha, let me turn to you.

That's the backdrop for tomorrow night's big event here in Milwaukee. The debate stage is set for President Trump not expected to attend. What are you going to be watching for tomorrow night, Dasha? Mr.

Trump's not gonna be on the stage, but he's certainly still gonna be front and center, right? Well, that's exactly right, Kristen. And look after the dog days of Summer, for a lot of voters, this is really the first time they're gonna be tuning in, really listening. But this is again another major Republican event that the former president has snubbed and yet he is looming over the whole thing.

It is absolutely playing out under his shadow. He has counter programmed, he's creating a split screen moment little while all of the other candidates are on the stage. He's got an interview with Tucker Carlson that has been pre recorded. He's turning himself in.

In Atlanta, the following the hosts of debate are going to be asking the candidates about former President Trump. And as I've been out on the campaign trail, I've been watching these candidates struggle to find their footing. How do you talk about the former president? How do you create that contrast without alienating his voters when he's pulling so far ahead?

We've seen that Iowa poll that we put out how far he's pulling in and how dedicated some of his supporters are. And some of those will need to be peeled away in order for any of these candidates to make it through here. And so particularly that issue that is at the center of the environment in Atlanta and the federal debate as well, the issue of the 2020 election. You know, this is where you see candidates like for the governor, Rhonda Santis, in my interview with him, it took multiple follow up questions for sending to get him to say Trump lost the 2020 election.

Well, that's exactly why, because so many voters, Republican primary voters in particular, these candidates are trying to win over. The majority of them believe that Trump won the 2020 election despite there not being any evidence of that. And they're going to really have to face that challenge head on on the biggest platform they've had so far tomorrow night. Kristen.

You know, Josh, it's so interesting because there are four candidates who did not make the debate stage. Some of them say that they plan to challenge the RNC on that. But look, I've been talking to going back to Iowa, I've been talking to some caucus goers in Iowa who don't support former President Trump and who say, look, if you didn't qualify for the debate, it is time to drop out. What are you hearing about that?

What are you hearing from these campaigns? Well, this massive field is a problem. If you are going to have a trouble alternative, they need to consolidate around 1. And that's what we've been hearing from strategists and frankly from voters who do want to turn the page on the former president.

They want to see somebody really come out of the woodwork as that person that they can get behind. A lot of folks still considering Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the majority of people I've been meeting in states like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina that aren't hardcore Trump supporters, their minds are still open. So I do think that tomorrow night is a big opportunity. The person who has perhaps the most to gain or lose is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

We know the knives are going to be out for him. If he can shine, if he can weather the storm, if he can bat away the potential attacks and really show the strength there, he could gain a lot of momentum. At the same time, if he doesn't have a great night, that could show some peril for his candidacy that has had a lot of struggles in recent months. Also an opportunity for others to have some moments with Trumping out of there.

But a big night, but it'd be tough for folks to get out from under the former president's chat out of there. Kristen, it sure will be. It is going to be a critical test for all those candidates, that is for sure. Dasha and Blaine beforehand, thank you both so much for your great reporting.

I now want to bring in Charles Benson, anchor here at WTMJ Milwaukee, and Stephen Hayes, editor and CEO of the Dispatch and an NBC News contributor. Thanks to all of you for being here. Charles, thank you for having us in your beautiful studio at newsroom. We appreciate it.

Let me start with you. Set the stakes for tomorrow night. What are voters here in Milwaukee and across the state going to be watching for? What are you going to be watching for?

Well, I think people in Wisconsin probably more focused on who's going to be how well Jordan Love is doing as the quarterback. But since there is this big debate in our backyard, people would ask me, do you think the former president will be here? And I think that's a trick question because I was thinking that maybe he would be here but maybe not on the stage. So he's still going to have a presence.

He's still very popular among the Republican Party in Wisconsin. But I do think this is a chance that a lot of Republican voters are going to say if not Donald Trump, who? And so they're going to see those other eight candidates. And how does he compare, knowing how well they know the former president and his message.

So that's where I think Republican voters are going to lean in tonight. Say, who are these guys? And the one woman candidate, female. And whether or not they can be the next president or the one that they want to act.

Steven what do you make of that? And you know, Dasha talked about the fact that this is a chance for a breakthrough moment, a viral moment. You almost need a viral moment at this point because you're seeing how high up former President Trump is in the polls. I mean, what do you think these voters, these candidates need to do to break through the voters?

The very first thing they need to do is provide some contrast to Donald Trump thus far. What's been the most remarkable thing about the Republican primaries, most of them are running to win that 40% of people who are hardcore Trump supporters already Ron DeSantis has built his campaign around trying to peel away some of those voters rather than focus on the 50 plus percent of Republican voters who are gettable. Some of them like Donald Trump, some of them thought he was a good president. Some of them can't stand Donald Trump.

There are a lot of voters. There are NBC poll of likely caucus goers in Iowa. 41% want Donald Trump to remain the head of the Republican Party. 57% if you take the other two categories are potentially gettable.

And you have campaigns other than Chris, Christine and Ace Hudson Wilhard who won't be on the stage that are built around going after the 41%. My big question tonight is who drives the contrast? We know Chris Christie's do it. We know Asia Hutchinson is going to do it.

Does anybody else take a step away and say, I'm taking on Donald Trump? What do you make of the fact that we are seeing Ron DeSantis inch closer to trying to make that sharp contrast? Over the weekend, he referred to Mr. Trump's supporters he appeared to as being listless, kind of doubled down on those comments.

What do you make of the fact that he seems to be sharpening his own. Is that a sign we could see him sharpen his tone at debate? We'll see. I mean, he made the comments that you said and then his campaign went on and blamed it on the left wing media for misinterpreting what he said.

Misinterpret what he said. They just reported what he said. And what he said was particularly Donald Trump supporters in Congress were these listless vessels and for following a cult leader, they weren't conservative. Now, if Ron DeSantis decides to make the argument that Donald Trump wasn't conservative and saying that Ron DeSantis is conservative, pointing to people like Chip Roy and others in Congress who have endorsed Ron DeSantis, then you might start to see some of that contrast.

But unless and until he does that, and until he points that out. He shouldn't leave it to us to interpret what he's doing. Oh, I think that might have been a shot at Donald Trump. He needs to say it.

I know it's a national audience, but in Wisconsin, if you look at one poll back in June, which now seemed like ancient history on Marquette, when voters, Republican voters were asked between Trump and DeSantis, DeSantis moves well ahead of the former president in that one poll. So I think a lot of voters, because They've heard about DeSantis, he's been on the ground here a couple of times in Wisconsin, they're going to see how does he handle the stage with all these other contenders. I also wonder about Mike Pence, who has had trouble sort of grasping or getting some traction. He's a guy who spent a lot of time in Wisconsin for the former president.

So I'm curious to see if he has a breakthrough moment as well, knowing that Wisconsin voters know him pretty well. What do you think Wisconsin voters want to see from Ron DeSantis? Do you think they want to see an get tougher, as you point out? Were President Trump still pretty popular in the state or do you think they wanted to focus on his policies?

So that's what I keep one. I still think policy is the most important at the end of the day. Look, when I talk to Republicans, they do not believe or are buying in in Biden nomics, we saw the president here last week, the vice president here. They're selling their economic policy and Republicans are not buying it.

They don't see the benefits of that. So if the census is going to try to talk about a governor who's done something in a state, I think that might be his talking points. And keep in mind, Stephen will know this when you look at Republican history in Wisconsin, sort of the breakthrough names Paul Ryan, Scott Walker. Right.

Principled conservatives. So does he try to appeal to those folks who voted for those two guys or does he need to make have a break album? And we're going to hear from Scott Walker a little bit later on in the hour. Pick up on that point.

And also I think the question of former Vice President Mike Pence is a fascinating one. I was talking caucus Flores in Iowa who said, boy, he showed so much strength on January 6th. Obviously, once he don't support former President Trump. And yet I'm still not ready to support him.

I've been talking to the Pence campaign and they say the former vice president is going to view this as a chance to reintroduce himself to voters. How fascinating. He's the former vice president. Yeah.

He's probably come closest to this balance. On one hand, you have Chris, Christine, Ace Hutchinson and others who are going there. They're gonna take every opportunity to pound Trump. On the other hand, you have the group that's mostly echoing and amplifying Donald Trump's arguments.

Mike Pence has not done that. He's taken this open to January 6th that his actions on January 6th has given him and made an argument about it like he didn't win the election. I had to do what I had to do. Will he find a way to make an appeal to those conservatives, to Paul Ryan conservatives, to Scott Walker conservative?

The risk is, of course, Trump and others will say, oh, this is why Pence, the establishment, which is, you know, a toxic thing to be called party. But I think if you stick to policy arguments, there's a lot of support for, for the lower taxes, the bold reforms and Scott Walker introduced in Wisconsin. Charles, final point to you, Is there any scenario where you see the decision to skip this first debate backfiring against former President Trump in this state or in any other state across the country? So to me, it would be something that the former Governor, Scott Walker would say because he was on the debate stage with Donald Trump.

He knows as a prize fighter. Right. A guy who can land the knockout punch. But tonight, there's something happened in a key moment in a key exchange that he gets the knockout and isn't there to defend it.

I think that will be the next morning. Regret. The question is, is it in any one of these other eight candidates to pull that off? Great question.

We'll leave it there. Fantastic conversation. Thank you both. Great to see you.

Thank you again for hosting us. We appreciate it. Charles and Steven, great conversation. Coming up, the third rail of a third party ticket.

I'll talk to Green Party candidate Cornell west about his bids for the White House. I mean, growing anxiety among Democrats that a third party challenger like him could spoil President Biden's election chances in 2024. But first, the special programming announcement. Make sure to tune in tomorrow night for a Meet the Press special following the Republican first Republican debate with live analysis, reporting, interviews and much, much more.

That's 11pm Eastern right here on NBC News now. We'll be right back with more Meet the Press now live from Milwaukee. Welcome back. Depending on where you live, the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees probably won't be the only big names on your ballot next November.

As we've reported, the group no Labels is gaining ballot Access across the country and is considering running a moderate third party candidate if President Biden and former President Trump are the Democratic and Republican Party nominees. Joe Manchin and John Hunson have both been floated as possible independent candidates on that ticket. And Cornel west, professor, political activist and former Bernie Sanders presidential backer, is seeking the Green Party's presidential nomination. And joining me now is Green Party presidential candidate and Union Theological Seminary professor, Cornell West.

Thank you so much, professor west, for being here. Really appreciate it. What a blessing. And I salute you and this wonderful new job.

So very well deserved. It's beautiful to see you flowering and flowering and flourishing all the yard now. Meet the Press. That's beautiful.

Thank you, Professor West. I appreciate that so much. Thank you. And thank you for being here.

We do want to talk to you about your candidacy, which has gotten a lot of attention. And I want to start off by asking you about it in this context. Your longtime political ally, Senator Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat, but he did, as you know, run twice in the Democratic presidential primary. So let me just put the question to you.

Why have you decided to as a third party candidate rather than a Democrat challenging President Biden? Yes, I mean, Bernie Sanders, as you know, was my very dear brother. I have a deep love for him. We have disagreement at this historical moment.

I'm thoroughly convinced that neither party is speaking to the pressing needs of poor and working people. And so the two party system itself is becoming an impediment for the flowering of American democracy. We've got too many fellow citizens, 63% living paycheck to paycheck. It made us know exactly what that means about how big or small a check actually is.

And so in that sense, I must say that it's hard to view oneself as a spoiler when there's increasing rot in the system with two parties connected to big money, Wall Street, Silicon Valley and militarism abroad. And we need and really the hands of black people lift every voice. We need many more voices. And the two parties that we have are too narrow at this point.

Well, I'm curious because you say this is a moment you're not necessarily seeing eye to eye with your good friend Senator Bernie Sanders. Have you spoken to him about your candidacy? As you know, he's already endorsed President Biden. No, no, we've had no dialogue.

I can feel his love at this, and I hope he can feel my love at this. But no, we've had no dialogues about it. As you know, I was very close to him for two, two campaigns and I just don't think Democratic party treated him fairly. They didn't treat him just.

The Democratic Party was too anti Democratic. And I think both establishments in the Republican Party and the Democratic Party they are undergoing a slow erosion. I think one reason why you get a Trump is because the Democratic Party establishment has eroded. I think you're going to see it in many ways in the debate tomorrow night.

You know, we just don't have the high qualities and you end up with a lot of pied hyper language of Trump. But he's in so many ways beneath mediocrity, God bless him. And then with Biden you've got milquetoast mediocrity. Where are the great visionary states persons to come in and intervene?

As this country is undergoing polarization and gangsterization in the name of integrity, honesty, decency and generosity, we have got to have new voices on the scene. That's why I'm running for president. Let me ask you about your past position. In 2004 you signed a letter of former Ralph Nader advisors urging progressives in swing states to vote for John Kerry.

I'm going to read you a little bit of this letter that you signed, quote, quote, this year we earned support for Kerry Edwards in all swing states even while we strongly disagree with Kerry's policies on Iraq and other issues. For people seeking progressive social change in the United States, removing George W. Bush from office should be the top priority in the 2004 presidential election. Progressive voters for John Kerry and swing states may prove decisive in attaining this vital goal.

If you believe that in 2004, Dr. West, how do you rationalize your third party candidacy this time around? Well, it's a wonderful question because as you know, I supported brother Biden, given my profound disagreement with Biden, as architect of mass incarceration, as supporter of invasion occupation of Iraq. Why?

Because I was thoroughly convinced that what the Republicans were presenting was so dangerous. But the sad thing is now, now is that as dangerous as a second Trump term would be, if we don't break out of the corporate duopoly, we're going to be doing this for the next 10, 20, 30 years. I don't think the American project can withstand it. The shift from Democrats to Republicans, Democrats feeding Republicans, Republicans feeding the Democrats and yet poor people, working people finding themselves pushed to the margin.

It could be cop city, both parties support it could be expansion, military budget, both parties support it could be policies that have advantageous to Wall street, both parties support. And as you know, this is the sixth anniversary of the Martin Luther King's great speech. And I've always viewed myself as my own humble calling, trying to keep alive the great legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker and Diane Nashley.

And that tradition has to continue on and on. I think of Les McCann's big classic compared to what? 1969 compared to what at this point with these parties? Let's try something new, Dr.

West. As you know, though, if you look back throughout history, third party candidates have at times made the difference in presidential elections, including in 2016, when in some key states, Jill Stein, for example, seem to make a difference. Would you be okay if at the end of the day the vote totals came back, you stayed through the entire race and it was clear that your candidacy helped deliver former President Trump another term in office? Well, the vast number of voters who would vote for the Green Party and myself either would not vote at all or would never, ever, ever vote for Biden or Trump.

And that's very important to keep in mind because there's this narrative, I think the false thinking that somehow they're choosing between Biden and myself. No, not really. They've given up on Biden. What is it now?

48% of our precious fellow citizens do not vote at all? My dear sister, that's not a good sign. And a democracy that's already in decay, that's not a good symptom of democracy already experiencing a kind of decadence. We've got to bring new people in.

And neither party is really interested in speaking to that 48% that has given up on American democracy. What do you say to your fellow progressives, AOC Alexandra Cassio Cortez, Senator John Fetterman, who've expressed their real concerns about a third party candidate? Alexandra Cassio Cortez it's very difficult to swore the very real threat of Republican presidency with the risk of giving up the very small margin of electoral votes needed to ensure that President Biden wins. John Fetterman says, I fundamentally believe that you don't mess around with the kinds of highest stakes we're dealing with.

Can you just imagine what a second term of Trump would be? It's all going to be about revenge. What do you say to your fellow progressives who are expressing deep concerns about a third party candidacy? Well, I think one thing to keep in mind is that 1 out of 8 of the voters for Trump voted for Bernie Sanders.

The Trump followers are not homogeneous and monolithic. If you can speak to their pain, if you can speak to their frustration, they will never vote for Democrats, but many of them would be open to those who are speaking to their needs. They don't have to follow the five Piper's Viper. With Trump, a new vision, a different alternative can convince a significant number of them.

And so again, I'm resisting the notion that somehow it's just a matter of myself and Brother Biden that people are choosing between. No, no. We've got large numbers of non voters who are interested, especially young people. Look at the percentage of young people, only 27% participate at all.

I want to speak to those young people. I want to galvanize their energy. Dr. West, I'm getting a hard rap.

So just yes or no, are you in this until the very end or is there a chance you'll reconsider at some point and potentially drop out? Well, I am a jazz man, you know that. But I intend to be in it to the very end because it's not just about, it's not about this particular election only. It's about a larger movement.

We've got to break the two party system. And to do it is now. And if we don't do it now, we'll find ourselves back and forth, back and forth with the swing between the fascists on the one hand and the neoliberals on the other. All right.

Professor Cornell west, thank you so much for your time and your perspective. We really appreciate it. Thank you. Salute you.

Salute you. You too. Coming up next, Desantis debate drama. I'll talk to one of Ron DeSantis top campaign officials about the governor strategy head into tomorrow night after a leaked memo outlined an attack plan that included defending Donald Trump.

Stay with us. You're watching MEET THE PRESS now. Welcome back to a special edition of MEET THE Press now live from Milwaukee, ahead of tomorrow night's first Republican presidential debate. As we noted, front runner Donald Trump will be skipping the debate, arguably putting added pressure on the field's current runner up, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who will be the next closest thing to a front runner on that stage.

For a preview of what we can expect from governor tomorrow night, I'm joined by deputy campaign manager for the DeSantis campaign, David Polanski. Thank you so much for being here. Really appreciate it. Thank you for having me.

So if you will take us inside. Debate prep. What is the strategy for tomorrow night? Well, look, the strategy is pretty clear.

This is an opportunity for the governor to spend a couple hours talking to the American people and most importantly, Republican primary voters across the country and really introducing himself and most importantly, sharing his proven conservative record, which the beauty for us is I think a lot of our peers and competitors tonight are probably meeting in rooms trying to hash out a strategy of talking points and how they're going to frame and in many cases fake the record. We don't have that problem. So what does a successful night look like for Governor DeSantis? He's obviously number two in the polls.

He's the only other candidate who gets double digits who just really startled Iowa caucus goes yesterday. Does he need a viral moment to kind of break through tomorrow night? What are you hoping happens? Well, not at all.

I mean, if you look to your point, if you look at the Iowa numbers in particular, we're seeing a pretty strong position, especially from historical context. As you might know at this point, Mike Huckabee was sitting in single digits and Senator Cruz was in single digits as well. So we feel like we're leaps and bounds ahead of where we thought and needed to be point at this. So really, his delivery tomorrow night is really introducing himself again and letting people know, number one, he's the only person on that stage have worn our nation's uniforms.

He's the only veteran in the race. And by the way, not just the folks that are going to be on the stage, but some that will be in other states for other reasons. He's the only veteran in the race, and that's a pretty significant element for him. Number two, it's again, talking about his conservative record.

You look at the state of Florida, Republicans across the country know that he's got a strong record. They probably know a little bit about COVID But there's so much more to that record that he's going to introduce tomorrow night, and we're very excited about that chance. He's been getting some headlines for a comment that he made this week. I want to play a little bit of it and just get your reaction.

On the other side. We have a strand in our, in our party that views supporting Trump as whether you are a rhino or not. And so you could be the most conservative person since sliced bread. Unless you're kissing his rear end, they will somehow call you a rhino if all we are is listless vessels that you're supposed to follow.

You know, whatever happens to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning, that's not going to be a durable movement. So we want to be clear today, the governor clarified the comments were actually directed toward members of Congress. But do you worry that that type of comment runs the risk of alienating some parts of the Trump base? No, I think it's a good reminder to all of us that call ourselves Republicans that we need to be bound by principle, conservative principles and not married to an individual but married to the ideology that makes our party, in our case, what we find the most impressive and important elements of our party.

And you know, to that point, I think the governor's also reminding us that we need to be out here today, focus on being in a position to have a candidate that's standing on that stage trying to earn the vote of our party. And in this case, the former president and many of his allies aren't here. They're not here advocating. They're not here trying to earn the support of our party.

They might be elsewhere, preoccupied. I want to play something. I was out in Iowa yesterday talking to voters. I talked to one gentleman who said he really likes Governor Ron DeSantis, but he's starting the cool line a little bit.

Take a listen to what he had to say right now in the poll. I said, Nikki Haley, Ron desantis, desantis had, had had some appeal to us early, but some of his opinions are a little too harsh. I think after the election, we need someone who can unite people. And I see DeSantis is another person who's divisive versus someone who can build coalition and move us forward.

What do you say to that voter and how's Governor DeSantis can answer voters? You say, hey, wait a minute, he's going too far to the right of former President Trump. What I say is, number one, we have to earn that gentleman support. And it's incumbent upon all of us as part of this campaign to go out there and earn it.

And as the governor is traveling, he's ready to hit 38 of 99 Iowa counties. And by the end of this weekend, we'll be at 52 or 53 of them. He's going to have the chance to meet that gentleman and others and have those conversations one on one. Number two, though, I think it's important to point out that in the Iowa Poll, Governor DeSantis has the highest favorability out of any candidate in the field.

And when you talk about, you know, not just vote share, but the opportunity share here, the consider ballot former president is 63% of all voters in that state. We're at 61%, meaning we've got not only a really strong hold on second position, but more importantly, we've got the position and the opportunity to grow significantly. And that's what we're going to see. And hopefully we can earn that gentleman support as part of that growth.

Let me ask you about this memo that came out attributed to the DeSantis Super PAC, which effectively calls for the governor to attack Vivek Ramaswamy but defend former President Trump, which a lot of people thought was a head scratcher. Why would she be attacking Vivek Ramaswamy who's behind Desantis in the polls? He's been gaining momentum though. Is that what we're going to see tomorrow night?

Well, look unsurprising. During today's season you get a lot of advice and counsel. In fact, my text chain is full of my mom's own advice. So this memo was put in a public way, in a public arena.

It was never viewed or read by the governor himself. We didn't see it until the press notified of its existence. It hasn't been a part of our strategy nor is it going forward. Will he be attacking Vivek Ramaswami?

Will he have some sharp words for him again tomorrow night? The governor's mission is twofold. It's to introduce his bio and introduce his record. And I think that alone is a pretty sharp contrast again to everybody that will be on the stage tomorrow night and some that are going to be in other states for other reasons.

All right. Well, it's so great to have you here. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

And we will be watching tomorrow night. DAVID Polanski and after the break, we are live in Hawaii on the heels of Joe Biden's presidential visit to the state yesterday afternoon where he promised to rebuild the community's hardest hit by those historic wildfires. We'll have the very latest from the ground. Do stay with us.

You're watching me, the press now live from Milwaukee. Welcome back. President Biden visited Maui last night two weeks after wildfires ripped through parts of the island. Speaking to the local community, the president pledged long term support for the island in the recovery and rebuilding process.

Watching it know the entire country is here for you. That's not hyperbole. We mean that the entire company country is here for you. We just surveyed the damage.

I want you to know whatever it takes, as long as it takes. I look at your congressmen and senators and governor and lieutenant governor. President Biden's visit came as the death toll from the fires rose to at least 115. Officials revealed this morning that all of the single family homes in the area have now been searched.

The search for the missing continues in multi family and commercial buildings now. Joining me now is NBC News correspondent Steve Patterson from Hawaii. So, Steve, still so much pain there where you are. Walk us through the president's visit and what the response is was.

You know, Chris, I think it's fair to say that there's been a bit of mistrust from residents to leadership and be it local leadership, county leadership, state leadership and yes, federal leadership, a lot of people here felt the president should have said more in the days and the aftermath following that fire. So it was vital that he was giving that message that he gave yesterday. I think a lot of residents reacted positively that seeing the president on the ground in the devastation, talking to family members, interfacing with local, with local leadership and county leadership and state leadership, just important to the optics of what is what will be a heartbreaking, incredibly long recovery and rebuilding process. But I still think there are other people that say we hear you talking, but we don't know what that will transition into when the media attention is gone, when this moves into a different phase where there isn't the same amount of help and attention on our community.

So it's a worry. And I think that is the overall emotion here. People here are just so worried about the future, about the rebuilding, about whether or not they'll get their properties back or rebuilt that I think it translates into that level of mistrust. But the president's visit greatly important to the people here.

Kristen Ste, we have less than a minute left. Very quickly, what is the latest on the recovery efforts? Yeah, quickly, Kristen, as you mentioned, single family residents have been searched. That is 100% done.

Now those search crews are moving into multi story commercial buildings, apartment complexes, condo buildings, nursing homes, schools. You have to think about the level of loss that could be in places now as soon as it to another face. Kristen. Steve Patterson, thank you so much for your reporting.

And still a comm. I'll talk to a former Republican presidential candidate who knows a thing or two about running against Donald Trump. That's when we come right back to with us. Welcome back.

As we mentioned, we're just over 24 hours away from the first Republican presidential debate. Tomorrow night, we'll get to hear eight candidates make the case on why they should be the 2024 presidential nominee. Of course, the elephant in the room is who's not in the room? Front runner, Donald Trump, who is choosing not to attend.

Joining me now to discuss all this is former Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker. He's also president of the Young America's foundation, which is partnering with RNC for tomorrow night's debate. Governor, thank you for being here. Great to see you.

Wonderful to be here in Milwaukee with you. Yes, thank you so much. It's really great to be here. I was in Iowa actually yesterday talking caucas there and talking to caucus who support former President Trump, who do not support former President Trump.

But they agree he should be on the debate stage. What say you about that? 100%. In fact, our America's foundation just did a poll about a week ago of college and high school students.

They said the same thing overwhelmingly. They want to hear from all the candidates. Conditionalism and politics would be so far ahead don't come. But Donald Trump's never been a conventional candidate.

I stood next to him eight years ago on that first debate stage. He took charge, he took command. I quite frankly a little bit surprised if he's not going to be in Milwaukee for that debate. Do you think that voters can get a clear picture of the entire Republican field without him on the stage?

Because as you know, he will still be front and center whether he's physically there or not. I think it does provide an excellent opportunity. Whether it's Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Nikki Records, whomever somebody's going to have or maybe a couple are going to have breakthrough moments. It does the gift them a chance to stand out if they take that opportunity to run with it.

That would be different if he was there. Like I said, I've stood on that stage with him a number of times. It's hard to get worried at Edgewood. It's hard to make a difference.

So in that regard it's helpful. I hope the moderators do a good job. Yeah, they can't ignore him entirely but hopefully the entire debate isn't about that. I hope maybe a little bit about the indictments, a little bit about his non presence but the rest hopefully covers issues people care about.

Well, you take me to my next question. What will you be watching for specifically tomorrow night and what do the candidates need to do to have one of those breakout moments? Yeah, two things, particularly in a state like Wisconsin or battleground state is they got to make a connection and look like they're fighting but not for sake of fighting for people like people watching at home. I filled up my gas tank on my Chevy Traverse this weekend on a quick trip just not to far from here.

And a lot of risks, shocks and gas prices, almost $4 a gallon. For people who are worried about that, for the worried the cost of filling up the grocery car and all these other issues out there, I think they want to hear not just some economic plan, what are you actually going to do that's going to make their life and more important lives of their children better? That's the kind of breakthrough moment that I think at least one, if not multiple candidates make. We are here in Wisconsin, a state that has been so close in the past several presidential election cycles.

Big picture, how do you stand out? You're talking about the economy, which, by the way, Iowa voters are saying that's a tough issue as well. But what ultimately makes a difference at the finish line? Yeah, it's amazing.

Even the economy. That's what we did with young people. Even they listen to everyone, which would defy what we commonly hear. I think that's because it gives up in that it's not just the plan, it's the connection.

I said you got to be bold, but also have believability. One of the big mistakes I made eight years ago in that debate stage was I listened to the D.C. consultants who said, run on your record. You get this bold record.

In some ways similar to Governor DeSantis. People respected what we did as governor, but that should get you on the stage. And so I think one of the key things, whether it's DeSantis or the others out there, they've got to stand up and really capture people's imaginations that, yes, this is what it would be like for the next four years if he or she is the next president. I want to ask you about Ron DeSantis because he recently said there's a strand of the Republican Party that measures if a candidate is Republican or not, by the veracity of their loyalty to Donald Trump.

Do you agree with that statement? And was it potentially a mistake for him to go that far? I think it probably was. I mean, I think, again, as we've said, there are plenty of people who support Donald Trump, even throughout this latest conference, who aren't necessarily dealing with their number 1 pick in 2024.

But like family, you might have a member of your family, not even your favorite member of the family, but when that person's under attack, you tend to gravitate, to surround and support them. And I think that's what a lot of voters feel like. My advice for once has been don't talk about Donald Trump. The only person who can change a voter's mind about Donald Trump is Donald Trump.

For or against. It's not going to alter things. So you look at. I think one of the reason why is because he's just talking about his plans.

He's really not talking a lot. At least not attacking Donald Trump. That's why I think a person who watched the debate is Senator Tim Scott. He's not attacked President Trump.

He's talked about his own agenda and he's going to take risk. I want to have a view. I think people give him credit for things like that. It sounds like you do see some parallels between your campaign and Ron DeSantis's campaign.

And I will. Voter yesterday told me they actually really liked Ron DeSantis, but then felt like he'd been too extreme on some of the issues. How do you think he starts to win some of those voters back? What would your advice be for him at this critical stage in the race?

Yeah. The kicker is, again, think about to be governor and be reelected as governor and then multiply that to a national audience. So he didn't just win a personality, he won because people go, 1, 2, 3. These are the things you get with Ron DeSantis or I did the same sort of thing here in Wisconsin.

So far I've seen that, you know, whether you agree with it or not, eight years ago, Donald Trump said, I'm gonna build a wall. I'm drain the swamp. He had a whole new things that he was gonna do. He talked about the debates, he talked about this stuff.

And every American, no matter who they were, knew what that was. Governor Santos and the other case for that matter, if they're gonna break through and get even remotely close to catching up to the president, have gotta have those kind of moments. We got a new poll number out today. Half of likely Republican Iowa caucus goers believe Mr.

Trump won the 2020 election. Is that something you're comfortable with? Well, I think again, part of it is because they're so frustrated with legitimate problems. They've been identified in Wisconsin and Penny and everyone elsewhere, even though there was no proof of fraud, despite countless courts, a good example in Wisconsin, no dispute over this fact, over 200,000 ballots were cast ballot.

It didn't follow the state law. Now, was it fraud? Part of it was confusions during COVID Part of it were things like here in Walker dancing where they handed out embassy ballots at parks, even though the law says you actually have to ask them in writing. Now, is that enough to change the election?

We don't know. There was no proof of widespread fraud White. But I'm not even arguing about that. My point is there are legitimate things that need to be looked and correct for future elections.

I think it's wasted time for anyway, whether you're on the left or the right. I actually think part of the bad part of the indictment is that the left doesn't want to look back either. Elections are always about the future. They're never about the past.

Very quickly, should the candidates who did not qualify for the debate tomorrow night drop out of the racist. I don't see the other reason why. I mean, the bottom line is if you're not on the debate stage, your chances are next to nail even a bunch of folks that made it may actually be not too far from the tail end either. But the bottom line is you've got to be in a position where you can talk to to the voters, share your ideas.

Now someone who's pulling a little bit lower could move up, but they gotta have that bricks in the moment. Governor Scott Walker, so great to see you. Thank you. Thanks for being with us.

Really appreciate it. Thanks for having us. And thank you for being with us this hour. Chuck is back tomorrow with more MEET THE PRESS now.

And don't forget to tune in tomorrow night for MEET THE Press special after the debate. That's 11pm Eastern right here on NBC News. Now the news continues with Hallie Jackson. Right now.

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