Meet the Press NOW — July 23

If it's Tuesday, Vice President Harris officially hits the trail at Ballground, Wisconsin, ripping into former President Trump as a fraudster and a predator in her first rally since President Biden stepped aside. Plus, President Biden returns to Washington for the first time since dropping his reelection bid as he prepares to address the nation in primetime tomorrow about the state of the race and the future of his remaining time in office. And resignations reverberate through Washington as the director of the Secret Service steps down in the wake of the Trump assassination attempt. And NBC News confirms that Senator Bob Menendez will resign next month following his conviction in a federal bribery trial.

Welcome to the press now. I'm Garrett Hake in Washington. Vice President Harris of the campaign trail this afternoon for her first event as the de facto Democratic nominee as more Democrats consolidated around her candidacy. As President Biden prepares her address the nation publicly for the first time since withdrawing from the 2024 race today, the vice president holding a rally in the critical swing state of Wisconsin as she seeks to reintroduce herself to the American electorate from her new perch on top of the ticket rally goes clearly fired up as she told them she will be the nominee while pitching her record and attacking Donald Trump.

We have earned the support of enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination. I was elected Attorney general of the state of California and I was a courtroom prosecutor before then. And in those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain.

So hear me when I, I know Donald Trump's type in this campaign. I promise you I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week. Today's event coming as more Democrats rally around her candidacy. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsing Harris at a joint press conference this afternoon.

And more than 2500 pledged delegates have now endorsed Harris. That's the majority of all the delegates to the convention. And we should note these are just endorsements. They're not official until the roll call.

But in a sign of confidence, the Harris campaign has turned its focus to choosing a running mate. A dozen names, from sitting governors and senators to cabinet members have all been floated. But NBC News reports the Harris campaign has requested vetting materials from at least five of those possible contenders, including governors from the so called blue wall states of Pennsylvania and Michigan and other key battlegrounds. Some of those contenders in audition mode as they made the case for Harris today.

I believe that Vikinda Harris has been able to excite and unite not only Democrats, but unaffiliated and Republicans who really don't want to see Trump elected as president. She is tough as nails. She doesn't suffer fools like me. She's been a prosecutor.

She stood up for the rule of law and she has always stood for the people. Donald Trump has spent a career screwing over people. Meanwhile, Republicans are revamping their campaign message. Here's Trump Vice President Omni JD Vance, a rally yesterday in Virginia.

This year we'll remember Joe Biden as not just a quitter, which he is, but one of the worst presidents in the United States of America. But my friends, Kamala Harris is a million times worse and everybody knows it. Don't give her a chance to run away from the Biden record. The Biden record is the Kamala Harris record.

She signed up for every single, single one of Joe Biden's failures and she lied about his mental capacity to serve as president. This all comes as President Biden has now returned the White House for the first time since dropping out of this race and battling Covid. This is ahead of his primetime address tomorrow. He spoke via phone to the Harris campaign and their staffers yesterday.

The name has changed the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn't changed at all. And by the way, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be out there campaign with her with common. I'm going to be working like hell both as a city president, getting legislation passed as well as campaigning.

We'll get out to Wisconsin in just a moment. But joining me now on set is NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd. And down Pennsylvania Avenue is NBC News senior White House correspondent Kelly o'. Donnell.

So, Chuck, also review, that did not seem like a continuation of a Biden campaign event today. That felt like something different in Milwaukee today, did it? Huh? It did.

No, it does feel as if that she's got her voice leaning. Look, just in the last 48 hours, she's been more forward leaning just on the issue of abortion, frankly, than President Biden had been over the last four months. And then you throw in she's more comfortable at going after the convictions on Trump in a way that Biden never was. Whether that's Hunter Biden issues, whether that's the discomfort of sort of the role of the federal government, sitting presidents looking like they're weighing in.

However you want to look at it. He's always been uncomfortable. She you see the upside of not having any responsibilities. That's right.

You know Right. Neither Trump had any responsibility. Biden has responsibilities. Right.

And you have to worry about little things like, oh, I have to, you know, not step into it, the Justice Department, things like this. She has this and this, this room to maneuver. And look, it's a pretty aggressive message in many ways. She's trying.

What's interesting now is Trump was in the position of challenger. She's trying to reposition this race where she's the challenger. That's right. And he's the incumbent.

And that's a fascinating dynamic here and I think a difficult one for the Trump campaign to do it. I'll tell you what, the crowd, Milwaukee certainly responded. So I want to play a little bit more from this racerality, get reaction. I was sent.

America has tried these failed economic policies before, but we are not going back. We are not going back. Not only that, we're not going back. I don't recall seeing that much energy at a Biden rally in this campaign.

Certainly on 2020 when I went to more of them. Is this just pent up energy in the Democratic base or is this a more organic response to her specifically? Look, right now it feels like a cracker's Ritz, okay? Meeting, like, oh, meeting, I'm starving.

And this is. That's not to say this doesn't continue. And you start to say, hey, this is her. I think right now she's benefiting from what you just described.

Going forward, it's on her to keep it going and to make this more about her. I think right now it's more about relief that they have somebody who can. I mean, I hate to be this cynical, but I can put two sentences together without having to cough or interrupt or fix it or say the wrong thing that I don't think we fully realized how, how much they were campaigning with one arm tied behind their back when it came to their inability to message. She's showing in two days what just simple basic campaign messaging can do for your campaign.

The contrast is really striking. Jumping. Come back in a minute. I'm bringing in Kelly now.

Kelly, we're going to hear from the president again in prime time tomorrow. What should we expect? And we're. It feels like it's already kind of yesterday's news.

We know he's out. What more can he add to the story going forward in this speech to Mark? Well, I think he was constrained by Covid and being isolated in Rehoboth and maybe the emotions and the difficulty of getting to the decision that has brought about the conversation. You were just able to have.

And so this is a way to breathe life into the announcement itself and to allow the president a human moment and a moment to also prepare the country for what does it look like to have this new dynamic between a sitting president who will finish out his term and a sitting vice president who is now the candidate. And Joe Biden certainly wants to claim credit for the phenomenon of the moment of Kamala Harris. He chose her. He endorsed her.

He ultimately made a painful choice for him to not run when he had been very clear that he wanted to, and to try to write the first pieces of his legacy going forward. He said, legacy doesn't matter. He wanted to get the job done. So that's a piece of it, too.

He's got six months. There are things he can try to accomplish in that time. Some of it is in his wheelhouse of foreign policy, where he's got important meetings, where he has been so influential in trying to keep NATO working together and expanding in its size. There are a lot of things that will be Joe Biden's a long farewell note to the country and his public life.

And the first part of that happens tomorrow night. He says he wants to be engaged in the campaign, and he can do that in ways where he is emphasizing his base labor and certainly his long relationships and his influence to try to support Kamala Harris. But it's just that she's got to carry the ball forward. So Joe Biden gets to tell the country why he made a decision to defend his decision to remain in office.

There have been some Republicans saying he should just step down altogether. That is not something he intends to do. And it's really just a moment to look the American people in the eye and tell his story of what is in many ways an improbable life in the public space where he had wanted to be president so long, finally got there, wanted a second term, and now he's back to embracing this notion of being a transitional figure, which may be the longer legs of his legacy going forward. If he can have a good six months where he can articulate, where he can send his message, where he can just be Joe in some respects.

If he can do all of that and enjoy the final bit of being a sitting president and continue on his agenda, then maybe he can come to some peace with where is that as well? And will the public give him room to do that? There certainly has been an unlocking of appreciation for him since he made the decision to step aside. But a primetime address for sure.

And Kelly, quickly, it's Too early to know exactly how the Harris campaign might use him. I would say the president can certainly raise a lot of money. Do they run it like he's running for governor in Pennsylvania, where he's already been campaigning a lot. What do we know about their strategy to make use of the president of the United States?

Pretty good asset for campaign. He is an asset, and it is using him in those places. Firefighters, union workers. The first president sitting president to ever be on a union picket line.

We saw that happen. Working the phones, raising money, being in places where he can expand a bit of her reach. He's got strong support in the black community. Certainly Kamala Harris has that, too.

But it may be about amplifying that and just trying to get those core constituencies. And for people who are on the democracy message, that's something that's been a big part of his. His presidency and his campaign when it was under his name, and that may be something he can speak to as well. While she sort of defines herself in new ways and shows us what she's been doing while she was vice president, which people who I have, you know, come to know covering her and those who have worked for her who say she's been doing the homework well, now the American people have a chance to get to see that and to see her tested.

And no doubt she will be tested in this campaign. That is a certainty. She's racing to define herself. Check the Trump racing to define her as well there.

By the way, I'm still going after Joe Biden pretty aggressively. They want to use him as an albatross around her neck going forward. They do. And I think right now it's just out of.

They don't know what else to do. I'll just be honest. I think they're kind of. You can kind of see that the party is kind of split on this House.

Republicans, some of them are ready to move on. Others think, oh, no, use the age thing. You just said it yourself, it's old news and we move on fast in our society. I mean, have you been on social media?

Right. Like, you know, this is so. I don't know if. If hitting Biden is as effective going forward.

Maybe it works for another week or two. Maybe it works. Just talking to your base, I don't know how effective that is. I'm very curious to see how Harris campaigns.

Yeah, I think we'll see Monday night convention, because I can't imagine you don't give him that. The traditional sort of the outgoing president you watch first night. Exactly. The Cold watch speech.

But I am curious to see if outside of fundraisers, where they really would use them. Well, stay tuned. We've got a lot of unprecedented time to go here. And Chuck and Kelly, thank you both.

I want to meet Misha Sundor. She's just outside of Milwaukee, where the vice president spoke at that rally earlier this afternoon. They're packing up the stage behind her now. And Shaquille Brewster is also in Wisconsin, where he's been able to spend the day talking to folks who actually matter in all this, the voters in the battleground city of Kenosha.

So, Yamiche, I'll start with you. You've been following Kamala Harris as she was stepping for Joe Biden for some time now. Now she's out stepping for herself. What stood out to you about this rally as she's kind of stepping into the spotlight here?

Well, as he said, they're packing up the stage, but just an hour ago, this auditorium was filled with people who were cheering her name, who were energized and very excited about her candidacy. And she said she started off her remarks by saying that the road to winning this election goes through Wisconsin. So really putting her sights in, really articulating that. She feels like the state is gonna be critical in that.

And I was reminded by the fact that Republicans were here because I was on the highway getting here late last night, and there was a huge Trump 2024 billboard. And in some ways, it really reminded me that Republicans are also saying this is a critical state. She started off her remarks thinking President Biden talking about his legacy, saying that he was someone that he really respected and really, really praised his integrity and passionate approach to her. And then she pointedly, when after former President Trump, she talked about the fact that he was a fraud, that he was a cheater, that he was someone who was a sexual abuser and a predator.

And she said that as her prosecutor, having a real prosecutor, people that she knew, she knows what it takes to win and to beat him. This isn't just a contract between her and Trump, but she also wants to really focus on the future of America. And that point she was at one point, the crowd was cheering, don't go back. Because she said, we will not go back.

Also, I should say we're cheering, lock him up. Referring to Donald Trump. One of the things she talked about was the middle class putting a real fine point on the idea that she understands that there are people were very frustrated in this economy, that she wants people to be able to survive and thrive in americ So a real, I think Freeview ordered hearing. I think the thesis of her campaign is going to be that I'm a prosecutor, he's a convict.

Who do you want to have in this election? Garrett Yanish. This campaign is days old. Obviously, Harris has run for president before.

She inherits a lot of infrastructure. What does their messaging look like? How much do you get the sense that they are putting the plane together in midair at this moment? It feels like they're putting the plane together in midair.

But for weeks, I've been reporting that allies of Vice President Harris were getting together and getting ready for this moment. They were talking about her path forward, wondering what state she should go through, wondering what sort of campaign staff she's had. Right now. She's saying that she's gonna keep the same campaign manager, the same campaign chair, but it really is in some ways still something that she's got to make up for.

Lost ground here. So there is a sense that they are really scrambling to make sure they get everything together. We've been reporting on the idea that now they are. They put some vetting materials out.

I mean, natural vetting materials, rather from potential Vice president Joel Pick be her running mate. So we have a list of people there that include a number of governors and senators. So there are a number of sort of things that have to happen quickly here. But this is the campaign that also has the infrastructure of the Biden Harris campaign.

So there are already a lot of staffers. There's already a headquarters set up. I will say they're hot off the presses. There were the new signs that said Kamala Harris, but there also some Hamwin signs.

I was there as she was talking to staff members. You can see the people had a scribble in marker saying, hey, I'm still going to be a Kal Harris fan. We have to make sure to get this and quickly slide. Somebody underscores how fast this all came together.

But my sense of it is that she's feeling confident because yesterday she told the staff, we're going to witness we have a very clear and articulate message to give to Americans, and we think we can do that and do that well. Thank you. And Shaq, you know, anybody, Any confident campaign can generate energy in the room, but how about where you are outside of that room? How are the voters you're talking to reacting to this sort of nascent Kyle Harris candidacy?

You know, Gary, it really depends on the type of voter that you're talking to. If you were someone who were going to or was going to vote for President Biden already or you're part of that Democratic base, then you're really excited right now. That's why I've been hearing voters have been saying, yes, there's a deep appreciation for President Biden, but there's a deep excitement and enthusiasm around the vice president, in fact, that they believe she's a better messenger, can take the fight to Donald Trump in a stronger way than Joe Biden. But of course, there are also those who are in the middle, those voters who we talk to who are unthusiastic are undecided for them, they're still taking a step back.

It seems like they're pausing a little bit, assessing the situation, still deciding what they want to hear and listening to see what more they can hear from the vice president. I want you to listen to the range of conversations that I've been having here in Kenosha. I have much more confidence for sure now. Having a younger, more energized candidate helps me feel better about Wisconsin, need better options.

Personally, I am not a fan of Trump. I'm not a fan of Biden. I'm not a fan of Harris. I think that if the DNC would have taken this path maybe two months ago when these same problems existed, I might have leaned towards Kama, our vice president.

You see, the vice president is clearly she was here in Wisconsin. She's clearly making an effort. And for those in the middle, those still trying to figure it out, they know they have time. But you see the effort being made with the campaign schedule.

The scheduling is never fast enough with a dynamic situation like this. You need to. Shaq, thank you both for that reporting. And coming up, my one on one interview with Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin on the Secret Service director's decision to resign and on his party's decision to coalesce around Harris to get the nomination ramps up.

Plus, another major resignation today. Senator Bob Menendez says he will step down next month after being found guilty on all 16 charges in his criminal corruption case. Love that story, too. You're WATCHING ME THE PRESS now.

We're back with some breaking news now from Capitol Hill, where we've just learned that Senator Bob Menendez has delivered his resignation letter to the Senate informing his colleagues that he plans to leave office next month. The Democrat from New Jersey was found guilty on all 16 counts in his federal corruption case. Since then, nearly every Democratic leader, including Leadership Schumer and several House lawmakers, have called on Menendez to step down. My Capitol Hill colleagues of hope, the poor joins me now with more.

So, Sahil, it's up to the New Jersey governor, Phillip Murphy, Democrat, to fill the seat when it becomes vacant. Do we have any idea who he might choose and how do the politics of the upcoming election for that seat impact his decision? Yeah, that's right, Garrett. It's entirely the decision of Governor Phil Murphy, the New Jersey governor who gets to decide who finishes out the rest of this term.

It'll only be a few months, which which obviously becomes part of the calculation here. For Phil Murphy, the one potentially obvious choice is Congressman Andy Kennedy, the Democratic nominee for that seat. He'll face off against Republican Curtis Bashaw in the November election and picking Andy Ken, who's already in favor to win that election. The solidly blue state would hasten the process.

Anybody else would only be serving that seat for a few months. There's nobody else other than Andy can chance of being in that seat come January. So if it's someone, you know, House Democrat from New Jersey, then they would have to give up their House seat to serve only for a few months in the Senate. So there's also some speculation, speculation around New Jersey that it could be a former House member that could be on the legislature.

But the truth is, we don't know. What we do know is Bob and has finally submitted his resignation letter making clear that he will resign and he will do so next month, August 20. Why the delay? Menendez said his letter that he wants to give his staff time to figure out their next move, their next job, and creating a time for there to be an orderly transition between himself and his successor.

He also makes clear, Mendez, that his only legal saga is not over, that he will appeal his guilty verdict, including it up to the Supreme Court if he has to. Garrett Sahil, here you've got a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who's been convicted of corruption involving foreign governments. Is he still going to participate in his committee business? Is he still going to be able to take briefings and take meetings as a sitting senator with that conviction hanging over his head?

That seems problematic. At least it's going to be very awkward if Senator Menendez shows up with drastic votes in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after he's been convicted of taking bribes from foreign governments? It's not really clear that it will. You know, the Senate is in this week, they're in next week, and then they're gone for the entire month of August.

So it's an open question whether shows up to set up Foreign Relations Committee hearings. He has been passing votes all this time while his trials are not going. One of the reasons Democrats did not want to push much as yet is that the guilty verdict or there was no verdict. Now there is so much interesting stuff.

Sahil, thank you for that reporting. And we learned today of another major resignation. That's Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheadle stepping down. This comes a day after heard, frankly, disastrous testimony before the House Oversight Committee about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, testimony that led to a growing chorus of calls for her ouster that included the top Republican and top Democrat on the committee who wrote a letter asking her to step down in the hours after the hearing.

In her resignation letter obtained by ABC News from a senior official, she writes, quote, the scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases. As your director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse. Joining me now is Marilyn, Democratic Congressman J.R. rassid.

He's the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee. And Congressman, I don't know how many times I've seen you and James Comer agree on anything after hearing, but here you both called for Kimberly Shield to resign. Was it the testimony itself that convinced you that she needed to go or should she have hung up even before this hearing? Well, it was a combination of the complete operational collapse on July 13, then with the stunning communication failures that were, you know, on evidence during the hearing.

You know, it was a shocking thing for America to see a near assassination take place. And so that was a major operational failure on the part of the Secret Service. But at the same time, there's another policy failure which is on us, Garrett, which is the very same day that took place, there were two other mass shootings. It wasn't even the worst mass shooting on July 13th.

There was one, Birmingham, Alabama, where four people were killed and 10 were wounded at 11pm that night. And so Congress needs to ban weapons of war like the AR15 in order to secure public places in America like movie theaters and churches and Walmarts and grocery stores and so on. And we sure, we got to take care of the presidents and former presidents, but we'll take care of everybody. You guys did not get a lot of answers in that hearing yesterday.

I'm curious what you think of the most pressing questions that remain in your mind unanswered about the attempted assassination of the former president? Well, there are many of them. But of course, the question on the whole mind of America is how do they leave open a rooftop 150 yards away from where the president was set to speak. And then, you know, even after the police and the Secret Service didn't do anything about that, there were rally goers who were pointing at the gunman who was climbing up the roof and still nothing happened.

They neither apprehended that guy nor did they stop Donald Trump from going out to make his speech. You know, people were also asking the question of how the president, you know, in spite of his well known enthusiasm, why was he allowed to get back up and wave to the crowd and expose himself to the potentiality of another shooter still being out there, because, of course, nobody knew at that point. So there are a whole bunch of questions that need to be answered. Thank God that they did not end up with Donald Trump, you know, enduring worse injury.

But there was a firefighter who was killed on the spot and other people were seriously wounded, just like there were in these two other mass shooting attacks on the very same day. We're now suffering more than one mass shooting every day in the United States of America. And nothing takes place like that anywhere else in the world. And so when you, you know, look at Europe, for example, we've got 25 times the gun casualty rate that they have in the UK Or France or Germany.

And so we really need to bear down this problem of mass gun violence in the country. It does raise questions about the ability of the good guy with a gun theory, of course, that ended the shooting but didn't prevent it in Pennsylvania. I want to ask you, I was the good guys with a gun there that day, but good guys with a gun didn't stop it. I want to turn the other big story of the week.

You may have heard there's a new Democratic presidential nominee or about to be won. Vice President Harris is in Wisconsin today. She was campaign. I don't know if you're able to see much of that rally, but we showed quite a bit at the top of this broadcast.

I'm curious in general if you feel better now about her chances of defeating Donald Trump compared to President Biden. Now there is this change in the works at the top of the ticket. Well, and President Biden is a hero and a great leader, and great leaders make room for great leaders. And he did that in bringing forward Vice President Harris, who is going to be an absolutely charismatic, dynamic and thrilling candidate.

She's electrified our party. I think more than $100 billion has flowed in since the announcement was made. She's already way surpassed the number of delegates she needs in order to win the nomination. And so we got tremendous unity.

We Got tremendous focus, and we're definitely going to win this election. There's no doubt about it. In proof that irony is dead, the Republicans are claiming this is basically a coup against President Biden, that he was forced out at the top of the ticket. How much do you feel like Democrats need to engage with that argument?

Obviously, a lot of Democrats call for Joe Biden to step aside. You came pretty close to calling for him to leave, but didn't explicitly do so. How do you view that argument going forward? And then you digress it.

Well, first of all, I didn't know that my friends across the eye were actually opposed to coups and insurrections. They spent a long time defending one that took place on January 6, 2021. Look, they, they're unfamiliar with the processes of democracy. They are in a cult of authoritarian personality where Donald Trump just dictates to everyone everything that's going to happen.

And of course, people are expecting a monarchical succession with Donald Trump Jr. And other Trumps lining up to take a public office. That's not how we work in the party of democracy and freedom. Of course, there's a discussion and they're all saying, oh, you're going to have 57 ballots or 15 ballots, the way that they did when they were trying to pick a speaker.

And we didn't have a speaker now representatives for more than a week. We had a discussion and we had people with lots of love and encouragement and solidarity discussing what our next steps were. And it worked out beautifully at the instigation of Joe Biden, who is a great president and continues to be the heart and soul of the Democratic Party. You talk about the idea that Harris revitalized and rejuvenated the Democratic Party by taking over the ticket.

You and a lot of other Democrats were defending Joe Biden at 81 years old, his fitness and stamina and ability to run for the presidency until you weren't a few weeks ago. Are you comfortable? Are Democrats capable of now making an age and ability argument against the new old guy in the race, Donald Trump? Well, we don't make arguments ad hominem style against people's age and infirmity and derangement.

The Republicans do that. But they set their own table. They made their own bed, and they have to sleep in it. They were the ones who wanted to talk about age, infirmity and derangement.

And of course, all of the spotlights are on Donald Trump now. They really do need some new leadership in that party. They needed some new leadership for a long time. And Donald Trump has destroyed one major political party.

We're not going to let him destroy our political party. We're stronger than ever and we're standing strong for the American Constitution, the bill rights. And we have in Kamala Harris, an amazing prosecutor who's gonna be able to go all around the country and talk about Donald Trump's destruction of the freedoms and rights of American women. And she will put abortion and IVF and birth control in the center of the debate.

She will put voting rights and democracy at the center of the debate. And we are very excited for the next 100 days. It'll be very interesting to see how the issue set changes with the candidate changing. We've got, as you say, about 100 days to watch it all play out.

Congressman Racing, thank you for joining. You bet. And up Next, no more Mr. Nice Guy.

JD Vance strikes a different tone in his second solo rally as the GOP VP nominee, the Trump campaign trumpets its attacks on Vice President Harris. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will be here on set with his views on the race. You're watching me the Press. Now as the day wraps up, get the scoop on what's been happening with here's the Scoop, a new podcast for NBC News with your host Gaza Soupia.

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Hey guys, Willie Geist here reminding you to check out the Sunday Sit down podcast. On this week's episode, I sit down with one of the biggest bands in the world, Mumford and Sons, as we get the boys together to talk about their new number one album, Prize Fighter and the evolution of that irresistible foot stomping sound. You can get our conversation for free wherever you download your podcasts. Welcome back.

As the Trump campaign intensifies its attacks on Kamal Harris. Donald Trump himself now says he's willing to debate Harris if she becomes the Democratic nominee, as expected. Here's what we told reporters during a Republican National Committee press call a short time ago. Oh, yes, absolutely.

I'd want to. Well, I haven't agreed to anything. I agree to debate with Joe Biden, but I want to debate her. And she'll be no different because they have the same policies.

Joining me now on set is former California Republican Congressman and former speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy. Mr. Speaker, thank you for being here. We play a little bit of the top.

I want to reset a little bit, show you a little bit of Kamal Harris's rally today. And let's I was elected attorney general of the state of California and I was a courtroom prosecutor before then. And in those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds, predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump's type.

You said in an interview last night that basically as she campaigns, she gets worse. So I'm curious, are we seeing the high point of a Kamala Harris campaign in your view? That was obviously very well received in Wisconsin on day two, I guess look out for Kyle Frad watcher. When she RAN For Attorney General 1, she was the weakest of all the Democrats, Republicans actually it took a couple days later to ever decide whether she won or not.

When she ran for Senate, California were the top two. She ran against Loretta Sanchez, another Democrat. She had to retool her whole campaign even though the party was behind her. When she ran for president, she started the strongest, I think one of the biggest crowds rally and then she didn't make it to Iowa.

Now this is a shorter race, so advantage to her. But I just don't see all the Biden policies she owns. She owns the border and others. And of all the people that they could replace her with, she's the weakest of the Democrats.

That's not my words. That's the New York times of the 10 out there. But so I think for the Democrats this is a positive that Biden's not running. The bottom was about to fall out in the polling.

This brings it back. But I still see her as the underdog, as ability to win. You should set the idea here that she owns a lot of the Biden agenda. If you're advising the Trump campaign, how would you suggest they try to get a handle on a brand new candidate that they have to run Against, I would keep the campaign going exactly as you're going, put it on the issues.

And she's got to decide. Now she's got another advantage. She gets to pick her VP Candid after the Republicans already picked theirs. But I don't think she'll play as well in Pennsylvania as Joe from Scranton did.

She's against fracking. This is an energy state, and it really comes down to Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Do you think she changes the map at all? I mean, the blue wall states.

I agree. That's the math. But does Kamala Harris make North Carolina or Arizona or Georgia potentially more competitive in way that Joe Biden couldn't? I'll be looking at who she picks for vp.

She's close to Senator Mark Kelly, so that would be a western play for Arizona and Nevada. Or does she go in and pick Shapiro and going in to go toe to toe with JD Vance in Pennsylvania and Michigan, or does she go off and try to get Pete Buttigieg? I think that's too much of a Biden administration combined to get too many problems. So be interesting which way she picks.

But I don't see an advantage to hers. Arizona, the border is the number one. Nevada, I really already. Arizona and Georgia, I think those are already Trump.

I think the real play here is Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. A lot of your former colleagues in the House really continue to hammer Joe Biden as if he is still a candidate. It's almost like they can't quite quit going after the guy who's at the top of the ticket. Is that strategic?

Is that muscle memory? And what do you think we'll see going forward with the impeachment inquiry into President Biden? How much does the focus politically in this town say on Joe Biden and how much do you think it does shift to the nominee? I think it moves away, especially next week.

You probably don't talk about him. People start thinking about him differently. And the main focus of Joe Biden was what I talked about for the last year. He's just not the same person.

It wasn't until the debate to the rest of America saw it, and that's when you started to collapse. But the real difference will be with Kamala is can she sustain? Can she build a team together? She inherits this campaign team, but is it the campaign team she wants?

She has to view herself as being somebody new, but she's just part of the Biden team now. She's gonna get a lot of money. She's gonna get more enthusiasm for the Democrats, but will it be enough. And I've always said whoever this race is about is the person who loses.

It was always about Biden. So she's got to shake it out. It's still true. Now in this dynamic that was the two candidates who the whole country was very polarized on.

His number one issue is age. So that's out of it. You can't tie that to Trump. He may be older than her, but he's physically.

Nancy Pelosi's older than both of them. He's physically able to do it. So that doesn't play in. But it really will come down to different policies.

Now, can she put a coalition together? We watched black Americans leave the Democratic Party by a high number, up to 22%. Does she bring people back? Hispanics were leaving.

They're getting majority. The youth was getting there. But the one advantage that Biden had that Republicans had was the older voter. Now was that going with Biden based upon his age or will Kamala lose that and that that the older voter turn higher percentage than the others?

It'll be a different mix. Let me ask you what you starting here again, meaning from some of your former House colleagues who've been attacking Harris and becoming her DEI vice president. A lot of people already think that attack line is racist. Are you confident that your party and Donald Trump can stay on the other side of the line and not delve into racially charged or racist attacks on a black female?

I would say two attacks I've heard Republicans give that are totally stupid and dumb to do is the DEI attack. Okay. The other attack I would not do is saying that the president has to resign. Interesting.

That would be an advantage for Conla. Air Force One is very powerful when it lands somewhere. And you know what? Something will happen between now and the election, a hurricane or something else and she'll be able to present herself as a leader.

Or maybe there's some foreign policy that is a mistake for any leader to go out and say that Republicans this dei that seems like a look. I disagree with dei, but she's the vice president United States. She's a former US Senator. These congress men that are saying it, they're rocking their own ass.

All right. Form Speaker Kevin cartoon. We gotta leave it there. A lot of good insight into this race.

Thanks for coming and join us. Thank you. All right. And silicon we're live in Georgia, key battleground state with the very latest from the voters as Harris makes her pitch for the Democratic nomination and the White House.

You're watching the press now. Welcome back. And let's head out now to one of the states that Democrats hope is in play this November, especially with Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket. NBC Priyas PR is in Battleground Georgia, where she spoke with voters and grassroots organizers.

Priya, talk to me. What are you hearing from voters? How are they liking the new de facto nominee of the Democratic Party? Hey, all right.

Yeah, well, it's been a complete game changer. Sit in the mood, if you will, here in Georgia in the last 48 hours. All the national polling things indicate that Biden was trailing former President Trump here, specifically in Georgia, by about two points. And we did get a new Atlanta Journal Constitution poll this week that indicated that Kamala Harris would have trailed the former president by five points.

But it's important to note that that poll was conducted prior to President Biden actually ending his candidacy. So I got an opportunity to speak to many Democratic voters here, and they said that while they're sad that President Biden ended his candidacy, they're very excited about the potential of Kamala Harris, especially the fact that she could break those barriers and be the first woman of color to be elected president of the United States. But they also expressed some concern that that could also be a hindrance to her, perhaps in other parts of the country. I also got Jim to speak to some organizers who said that their phones have just been ringing off the hook since this announcement was made.

Let's take a listen to Latasha Brown, who's a co founder of a group called Black Voters Matter. What I'm seeing is not people just being ignited to her, but I'm also finding that people are actually excited about the possibilities of moving forward. Do you think it's going to be an optical battle for Kamala Harris to beat Trump? I certainly think that it's going to be I think it's more to be I think we're going to we don't have to do the work, you know, But I do think that with this new momentum, I think that the way that women organize in this state, I think it's absolutely not only is it possible, but now I really believe with this new system of energy, momentum lesson of almost 100 days from the election, I think that I think we got a really, really good chance.

And Gary, she typically says that people call her to ask her where they can go vote. And now she's actually receiving many phone calls from people saying that they want to volunteer for the first time. So this is a huge difference that she's saying all Right. Priya, thank you for the pulse on the ground in Georgia, perhaps still battleground this year and still come inside the vice president's search for her own vice president.

It's not a deep episode. We're digging deeper into the Harris campaign. Short, shortless or short list of running maids achieve cements her status of the de facto Democratic nominee. The panel's next.

You're watching Media Press now. All right. Welcome back. Who's ready for Veepstakes Round 2?

Doug Bergam's looking for a job as jockeying begins around Vice President Kamala Harris, 2024 running mate. As we've mentioned, Harris campaign has now requested vending material from five possible candidates. They are North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Penn Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz. Each will bring their own experience and background to the ticket.

And most are from key battleground states crucial to Harris chances of winning this election in November. Joining me now is my panel, NBC, Ali Vitali, my colleague on Capitol Hill, Cornell Belcher, Democratic pulser and NBC News political analyst. And Carlos Corbello, former Republican congressman from Florida, now also an NBC News political analyst. So, Cornell, you' We've got a lot of names floated here.

That list perhaps not exhaustive. Walk me through kind of your view of who potentially helps the most kind of purely electoral basis of Canada 2:70. Well, I'm gonna be. I'm the bad guy here because I don't think that's the way you should look at it.

Oh, I don't. Look, I'm actually gonna agree with Chuck Tyler on this. I think the best tickets have not been one. That's been a cold calculation about what state helps put you in play because ultimately you still vote for the top of the ticket.

If I was doing a cold calculation, I'll pick Roy Cooper from North Carolina because I think North Carolina, again, is one of those states where once upon a time a solid red state and Obama flipped it. Right. And then you've seen it sort of purplish, bluish or purplish reddish. That is an opportunity for again, for us to expand the playing field.

No way to put Republicans on the offensive and states that should be theirs. However, again, I think this should be a thematic pick, Right. So like Bill Clinton did, Al Gordd gave a picture of usefulness and vigor. And I think she needs something like that not play this electoral problem.

Maybe another prosecutor or something to make that maybe another prosecutor, maybe even so, reaching out to someone who's unexpected, maybe Even like a Republican who was one against Trump. Interesting, Carlos. Donald Trump did a pretty effective job of keeping his V sticks in front of people's mind right up until day one of the convention. Is there political utility to that for Kamala Harris at this point to try to draw this out a little bit, or does she need to keep using this metaphor, put the plane together in the middle of the air, like right now?

No, I think there's still enough time where they should draw it out. I mean, look, Trump does know about TV and ratings and I think that was smart and it worked out. Now, there's a big difference between this process and Trump and Trump's process. It was pretty obvious what was important loyalty to Trump and who he liked.

In this case. I think Democrats are being very pragmatic. How do we put together the coalition that we need to win and what really brings balance to the ticket? I think the candidates that they put out there are dangerous for the, for Donald Trump because they bring elements to the ticket that Kamala Harris does not deliver.

So I think they're being really smart about it and they should drag out it. I don't think Harris should have auditions, live auditions, like Trump does with his BP potential candidates, but certainly she should allow us all to talk about it a little longer. As we talk about balance and we look at this graphic and see a bunch of men, Alex here, who literally wrote the book on women running for president. There's one woman on this list.

What do we make about that? And what about balance in a thematic way by perhaps putting two women on a presidential ticket, one woman on this list. And she has been very outspoken about the fact she wants to stay in Michigan. Minds can change, we all know that.

As opportunities look lovely in the south, one would say. But I will say I was reading back through my book because I asked Hillary Clinton about this. As the only other woman who's been in this scenario, do you lean into history and you pick another woman or do you go for balance in the same way that we've seen Obama have to balance with Biden? And now this conversation among women's groups and other activists I've been speaking to about if it has to be a white man, many of them say it's probably best.

But it strikes me what Hillary Clinton told me. She said that it was something that had upside down side the idea that she should lean into history. And at the end of the day she didn't because it was asking a lot of voters. The fact that that says kind of where we are right now.

And I've heard the same from other elected on Capitol Hill sort of tells you everything about this moment. It is a moment of massive progress and yet that little bit of a fear factor about how much the electorate can take is always so little. Also, did you find that Hillary doesn't like Tim King? Right.

It was just that likability thing that's on the teamwork. And she said that she landed there because that's the person who she felt best complimented her. And the other thing on Warren, who would have been the one that she shows her is that her husband really cautioned her about taking someone out of the Senate seat in a state like Massachusetts and also losing that Senate seat. But the fact that it was bandied out in sort of the touchy feeling gender politics way and then also the hard politics way is very much still applying this process you mentioned.

Cooper, do you have numbers that back that up? That seems to me like an aggressive pick. You go on an offense in North Carolina if you're making a state based pick. Right.

North Carolina wasn't part of Joe Biden's winning, you know. No, it wasn't. But it is again, it's part of the power of the Obama continuum and sort of the Dean, how Dean Obama continues is put as many face in place as you want. I know, I remember 08 cloth saying on election night we have to be sitting around waiting for one state to come in to turn who's going to be president.

I think that's how aggressive Democrats have to be. Look, North Carolina's a state that also elects Democrat governors. Right. It has not done so consistently at the top of the presidential elect Democratic governors.

And again, this is a state where if you look at the Republican run for governor right now, there's a lot of extremism up there and lots of anti woman issues right there. I think it's a perfect time to once again spend money in North Carolina. I think you'll see that Harris campaign spend money in North Carolina. Carlos, we have seen the Trump campaign kind of to me like the old school Terminator in the first movie, not the second, not very agile, but just returning to try to destroy this new person in front of them.

What do you make the way in which they have responded to the Harris led presidential ticket? And do you think they need to refine the way they're just gonna throw everything at it right now? It's interesting here because I think everyone saw this coming, including the Trump campaign, but I don't think they were fully prepared for it. Donald Trump was apparently very angry about this because they had invested so much in destroying the person of Joe Biden.

And now they have to kind of like rethink their entire campaign. And I think they were kind of caught flat footed, even though again, this I think was entirely predictable. So this is political targets go. Joe Biden was a pretty easy target for Donald Trump.

This is a very complex target. We talked about all these sensitivities in the electorate. It's a lot harder to attack, attack a woman of color than it is an old white guy. I want to go you on this too, because then you got experience covering Trump as well.

And I touched on this with Tyman McCarthy. There seems to be to me enormous risk here for Donald Trump and some of his allies to go in the perception of the voting public too far and touch, you know, to touch a live wire, essentially how they go after the vice president here. There are guardrails about what the public and what the media will allow in terms of the sexism and racism that candidates who are non white and non male experience. But at the same time, I think that is a real problem for them.

And we've already heard from people on the Hill, Congressman Timberchat, saying that she is a DEI pick. That's something he immediately received criticism for. There were other members of the Republican Congress who did the same to the point where they had to tell them, hey, don't make this about us, just focus on the policy. And in fact, that's all people who want to see more women running.

Want is a level playing field that focuses on policy. But when you talk about this being predictable, I think it kind of was that it would be Harris. But I do not think that anyone could have seen the coalescing around her that we have seen, especially because of the consternation and frustration that I heard consistently about her throughout the first two years in the administration. The way that she has taken on specifically the abortion and Dobbs issue and I have story coming on this tomorrow has really reset the playing field for her in a way that showcases her talents and allows her to now forge ahead.

But I will tell you, the shock and surprise that I have heard even from her allies about the way that this happened is palpable. I talked to two members from the House earlier, women Democrat members, and they were shocked as well, and surprised. But also at the same time they was a side relief because like I said on MSNBC air the day they stepped down, they try to step over her. They've been committing political suicide for the Democratic Party.

They take this an open process, try to step over the first woman of color VP and make someone else. It will be political suicide in a little bit of time. I have left the Trump campaign, which I covered. My other job says that they're going to see a Harris honeymoon here, basically where her numbers are going to look for a week or two.

That's basically a sugar high. What do you make of that argument? What do you think we're going to see on these numbers in the next couple days? I think the race is going to be tight.

Surprise, surprise. We're going to stay tight for several months and it's going to come down to a couple of battleground states where again, pay no attention to the polling because it's going to take time. All right. We'll pay no attention to the polling.

We got to go. Alec Cornell, Carlos, thank you all and thank you all for watching. We're back tomorrow with more meat depressed now. We do it every day when don't go anywhere.

My colleague Hallie Jackson will be joined by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Hallie Jackson now, straight ahead. I'm Craig Melt. Cheers. Cheers.

Cheers. I've always been a glass half full kind of guy and now I'm talking to some people who look at the world that way, too. It's a really fascinating folks who share their defining moments, their triumphs, their challenges, their stories are fun and my candidate. So I hope you'll join me each week.

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