If it's Wednesday, President Biden is set to address the nation and his historic decision to drop out of the race as Vice President Kamala Harris hits the trail and sharpens her attacks against former President Trump. Plus, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress vowing to win the war against Hamas and bring the remaining hostages home as pro Palestinian and anti Netanyahu protesters rally all around the capital. And FBI Director Christopher Wright testifies before Congress, revealing chilling new details about the Trump assassination attempt, including how the shooters studied the rally site and searched online, quote, how far away was Oswald from Kennedy? Welcome to Media press.
Now I'm Kristen Welker. With just days until the opening ceremony for the Olympics in Paris, a different kind of torch passing is underway here in Washington. In just a few hours from now, in prime time, President Biden will address the nation for the first time about his decision to withdraw from the race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. Ahead of his remarks the White House this afternoon, previewing what Americans can expect to hear tonight, the president will discuss his historic decision to put the country above all else and about the inflection point we face as a country in this moment.
This is one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make will now will determine the future of our nation. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party's de facto nominee was back on the road after her first campaign rally yesterday for a keynote speech to an historically black sorority focused on social justice. It was. It comes as the Harris campaign has for the very first time outlined what it sees as its path to victory in a new memo focused on a coalition of black voters, women voters and young voters.
At the event this afternoon, Harris outlining her vision for the future. In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation. One focused on the future, the other focused on the past. And with your support, I am fighting for our nation's future.
These extremists want to take us back, but we are not going back. We are not going back. It comes as today the DNC Rules Committee met to formalize the nomination process. With less than a month until its convention kicking off and just two weeks until a virtual roll call of delegates.
The compressed timeline means Harris might have mere days to vet and pick a running mate, as NBC News is tracking at least nine potential contenders in the mix. Meanwhile, former President Trump has had to hold his first rally since President Biden's withdraw from race as Republicans look to sharpen their attacks against Harris, in part by tying her to President Biden as a former president in an interview last night. She was the worst vice president and he was the worst president, by the way. He was the worst president we've ever had.
And her ratings are lower than his ratings. I don't know how she can do well, but maybe she can. It's a crazy world out there. It comes as Republican leadership is reportedly warning against attacking Harris's race and gender after a few House Republicans called her a, quote, DEI hire and DEI Vice president.
House Speaker Mike Johnson's message to his conference this should not be about personalities. It should be about policy. And we have a record to compare. This has nothing to do with race.
Pretty stern words there from the House speaker. I want to bring in our team of ABC News reporters. Mike Memli is covering President Biden as he has been for years. Amy Schelzendor in Indianapolis covering Vice President Harris.
Alex Seitzwald is following the latest rules deliberations inside the dnc. And von Hillier is in Charlotte, North Carolina, at a former President Trump's rally tonight. Mike Memley, I have to go to you to kick things off, set the scene inside the White House. What are sources close to the president saying about tonight?
Was the last time a city president announced he was dropping out of the race? It was Lyndon Johnson with a 40 minute address. Yeah, that's right, Kristen. This was a deeply personal decision that the president made and this is going to be a very personal address.
The president has not been seen only in brief glimpses. We only heard a little bit of him during that visit by the vice president to her campaign headquarters. But the president really did want the first time he would speak extensively in public to be this personal address to the American people where he will explain that decision that he made. He'll also talk about what he wants to be the work of his administration for the remaining six months of his time in office, building on what he's been able to do over the last three and a half years.
We heard it and just came out of the press briefing with Green Jump here. Talk about this idea of an inflection point moment that does speak to the fact that this will be in some ways a political speech. He will lay out the choice that voters will be facing in this election in a more high level way. But ultimately, as I'm talking to people in the West Wing, people close to the president at this moment, they do see this as the beginning of a new campaign of sorts, as the beginning of a campaign to shape his legacy.
Understanding that in so many ways, his legacy will be determined in large part based on whether the vice president is successful in succeeding him or if Donald Trump is the one returning to the White House. It's such an important point, Mike, and obviously that is key to why he made this decision. It'll be interesting to see how much detail he gives us about how he came to this final, what must have been incredibly difficult decision. It's a fascinating moment because it's a moment for Vice President Harris to rebrand herself and in some ways it's a moment for President Biden to rebrand and in a way write the first draft of how he wants to be remembered, right?
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this is a president who has been through a moment similar to this before. In 2015, of course, he announced that he would not run for president in 2016. And when he did so, he said just because he's not a candidate does not mean he will be silent, that he intended to remain engaged in the public debate.
One of the big questions is just how much will he be involved in the campaign going forward. He certainly wants to be out there to help the vice president in her election. But in some way, these decisions are now up to vice president and their team of advisors determine. But the president clearly does view one of the most important decisions he made was selecting Vice President Kamala Harris to serve him in the administration.
And so as we were just speaking with Kareem Jean here, one of the questions is, does she have now an enhanced role within the administration? Does she have a bigger seat at the table? Does she have more of a say over what the administration does going forward? Green Jean here saying they've always been close partners in speaking extensively with one another.
And that will continue at this point. Yeah, undoubtedly it will. And just set the scene there, Mike. We know that staffers were invited to watch this speech.
This has to be a time of incredible emotions there for all of the people who are close to President Biden, given that he has made what was a really difficult decision. Yeah, that's right. So many of the White House officials I've been speaking to have been talking about feeling the range of emotions over the course of these last few days. Some of them shock, of course, at only hearing about the decision, the same way all of us did by seeing that post on social media.
Some of them feeling anger, anger, including at those who they feel in the Democratic Party forced the president to have to make this decision, but also very deep sadness about the end of this 54 year career in elected office. And at this point, though, as one put it to me, there's no real time for sentimentality. They have to keep getting work done. They want us to run through the tape, as Green Jean Pierre said in the briefing, they have so much work to do to support the vice president.
And so at this point, they do feel in some ways a sense of renewal and new energy to see through that task as well. Mike, mentally, as the Biden whisperer, there is no better person to start off our coverage today. Mike, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
Yamiche, let me turn to you, your advice. At President Harris's event today, she spoke to Zeta Phi Beta. Of course, she's a member of another sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Talk a little bit about the significance.
What did you hear from the vice president? Yamiche what was very significant that Vice President Kamala Harris, on day three of her campaign came to five Betas who lay here, a gathering of black women who are going to really be really critical to her winning in November, because these are people that she's going to want to lies and knock on doors and make calls. And as you said, it is a group that's part of the divine as a group of historically black fraternities and sororities. She's a member, of course, of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
And these groups were founded more than 100 years ago and they really are focused on civil rights. A lot of their leaders, including people like Martin Luther King, was from Alpha Phi Alpha, as well as the Parks, who was honorary member incorporated. They were focused on civil rights in this place. Let her speech.
She was talking a lot about this thing, sort of a people centered campaign in her mind, telling them like that at one point, if we mobilize, we can change the nation. If we mobilize, we can move now. And there was really raucous, raucous cheers here. Applause.
It felt like ongoing business, we should say. Throughout her time in public office, she's been bridged members of the dynamics. She's brought them multiple times the White House. She's been held calls.
She's really been in touch with these stories and fraternities. So really a lot of people here felt like this one that they knew and that they now are really energized to fight for her. And it's really a clear sign that she is trying to energize this part of her constituency. And as that memo laid out today, she will be targeting not only voters of color, but obviously young voters as well, and a range of different other parts of the Biden coalition.
Let me ask you, moving forward about what you are anticipating, the strategy. Where do you anticipate she's going to be focused in the coming days? Well, that's really important because now she has to really make up for lost time. And I've been hearing for weeks as they were sort of quietly getting ready for the fact that she might be the top of the ticket.
Of course, that moment is here now. She's literally focused on mobilizing African American voters in the South, I'm told Georgia, North Carolina being key, Pennsylvania being another. Think about Philadelphia being another place that that's really important in her mind. But without also giving out, without also forgetting about the sort of west and thinking about Nevada and Arizona.
I said that she's been hitting the road even more than cherry. What? She's the vice president on the road a lot, but now that she's a candidate, she's really going to be trying to introduce herself to some voters who maybe as vice president Island. She lived in Wisconsin when she was a little girl.
Her mother was a cancer researcher. I've covered her for a while. But the idea that she's got it from the people know her son from California, they're really gonna try to really roll out more for bio. I also was told that they want to, like highlight very easygoing things, including the fact that she loves to cook, so talking about sort of food scenes.
So she's really gonna try to make herself relatable. I know I'll talk about beef steaks, so I'll leave sort of that conversation. But the idea is for her at the top of the ticket, she's really gonna be focused on sort of Chris crossing and barnstorming the country here. Yeah.
We are going to talk to you. 6. You're absolutely right, Yamiche, but that rebranding effort that is underway, as you say, is going to be clearly a critical part of her strategy moving forward. Thanks so much, Alex.
Let me turn to you now. Democrats rallying around Harris, and it happened very swiftly in a very robust way. She's not officially the nominee yet. You've been tracking the DNC Rules Committee meeting today.
What does the process look like? Do we know anything more about the timeline for this? Yeah, Kristen, the process to make her the official nominee is going to look very different from the roll call votes that we have seen and know and possibly love from past conventions where you go around all the states. It's kind of raucous.
Instead, Democrats are going to do something very unusual. They're going to do a virtual roll call vote ahead of the convention. And that's actually been the plan for months to get around a potential legal issue in Ohio. The deadline beyond the ballot there is Aug.
7. The legislature changed it, but they're not sure if it goes into effect. So that had been the plan all along. It was kind of a inconsequential detail when it was Joe Biden running.
But then now with Harris running and potential for other candidates, they revisited that. They decided to stick with it. And just moments ago, the rules committee passed it. So they're trying to get her nomination officially wrapped up by August 7, and then at the convention, it'll be a kind of ceremonial crowning for her.
So, Alex, let me ask you, and this is significant, what you're saying. You're saying they've now agreed that that August 7th date is a go, so they're move forward with that. Is there any room for potential challenger at this point? Alex?
Yeah, good question. There is, but not much. If you want to run against Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination, you have just days to act. You have until Saturday to announce your candidacy, and you only have until Tuesday to get what they call threshold support.
That's where you get 300 signatures from delegates to the commission. So you better move very fast. And the vote on the nomination is gonna happen as soon as August 1st. So this is compressing everything in this timeline.
You know, critics might say to try to squeeze out anyone who might run against her, but it's also clear that she has really consolidated party support. According to R Tally, she has something like 3/4 of all delegates to the convention already supporting her. So I think the biggest impact will be on her vice presidential search, compressing all of that potentially to just two weeks try to get to that August 7th deadline. So she'll have to have it by August 7th.
A little bit. Yeah. A little bit unclear as far as the Democratic Party is concerned. They are delivering the presidential nominee.
They say it's up to the campaign, as the candidate herself, whether she wants to get her vice presidential nominee ahead of that Aug. 7 deadline. Clear. They think that that would be safer to avoid potential litigation, but they have written the rules in a way that give her up until the convention was only August 19th.
So, you know, it's not an enormous amount of time, but it's clear that from what we've heard from sources and the Harris campaign and DNC, they really want to get both nominations by August 7th. So this is going to move very, very Quickly. Right. Well, appreciate you keeping us updated on all these fascinating and fascinating developments today.
Alex, thank you so much. Vaughn, let me head over to you here in Charlotte where we're gonna hear from Donald Trump for the first time since he got a new opponent. I mean, it's just stunning to think about how much has changed in the course of a few days here. What are you gonna be watching for, Vaughn?
Right. I was actually at a Donald Trump's last rally on Saturday night in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was talking to RNC Chairman Michael Watley at that event and there was foreshadowing, what if they do swap out joy at the top of the ticket? How does that change the game for you? Well, I just saw him here again and of course, Saturday night, a few hours later.
We came Sunday afternoon and there was a new candidate who is going to be going mano Manu with tunnel from the top of ticket and ask him about how Kamala Harris changes dynamics of the racist. He doesn't believe it does. He made the case that they are expecting there is going to be what he described a sugar high bump in the polls for Kamala Harrison's Democratic ticket here in the days and weeks ahead. But their effort is going to be to directly tie her to everything that the Biden administration stood for and ultimately the consequences of its border policies and make it clear that it was always the Biden Harris campaign.
There's just one name. It's no longer a part of the campaign, but it is still Kamala Harris. And she takes full responsibility for everything that they were already planning to run against Joe Biden on for the last three and a half years of the Democratic administration. Let me ask you a little bit about deep stakes, Vaughn, from this perspective.
When you and I were covering the rnc, part of what we were reporting on is Trump's pick of J.D. vance. And the big takeaway is, boy, he made that decision from a position of strength. It was not necessarily someone who will help him with the electoral map.
He could in certain places, but he's not going to necessarily change or overhaul the map. Now we have a Kamala Harris, her vice presidential nominee, yet to be named, but there's some real opportunity there. She's looking at the potential governor of Pennsylvania, obviously, Senator Mark Kelly. I mean, she's looking at a number of these key battleground state governors or senators, and that could change the shape of this race.
One, is there concerns that the Trump administration about that right now? The way that again, Michael Watt, RNC chairman, references me, was there 79 battleground states. And just take North Carolina. Actually he was the chair of the Republican Party here in North Carolina.
And if you were to Kamala Harris running a he goes, they could be above a point or two but they still feel confident about their ability to hold the state but believe that it have minimum impact around the country. Yet when you're looking at somebody like a Mark Kelly out of Arizona, I would make the case that suddenly that is part of the extended parameters of what it would take to clinch the nomination. Kamala Harris, worst of your Democrats, you believe the likes of Pennsylvania is perhaps your best pick up opportunity. But if you can add Arizona, suddenly you're getting close to 270.
And one other thing I'll throw out there in 2022, he actually beat Blake Masters in the Senate race by four and a half percent points. And you could say J. Vance was the political brother of Blake Masters back in Arizona in those 2022 SEN races, they were both the ones big dollar donations from Peter Thiel, sort of that techy sort of new right form and he effectively was able to beat him pretty decisively. So that could make our play a rather appealing for the center.
Well, we await this decision with great anticipation. Everything just got shaken up and very interesting. And Vaughn Hillier, thank you so much for kicking us off today. We really appreciate it.
Coming up, we're going to have more of Harris campaign search for running in just ahead. Who will it be, when will we know and what will it mean for the trajectory of this race? The panel's next. But first, an important programming note.
We'll have live special coverage of President Biden's Oval Office address tonight at 8:00pm Eastern right here on NBC News. Now do not miss it and stay with us. You're watching me. The PRESS now.
Welcome back. Turning now to the very latest in Vice President Harrison's urgent search for running mate as the clock ticks down to the Democratic Convention next month and a virtual roll call of delegates before that. Joining me now on set is our panel, Washington Post congressional reporter Mariana Sotomayor, former Maryland Democrat Congressman Donna Edwards. She's also an NBC News political analyst and Republican strategist Brad Todd, who we should note is advising the David McCormick campaign in Pennsylvania, which we will talk about a little bit later on this conversation.
We have to start deep stakes. Mariana, let me read to you what Chuck Todd wrote in his latest column about her search for a vice presidential nominee. This is an opportunity for Americans to get a glimpse at the type of Democrats she wants to run the Country. This isn't just about picking a running mate.
This is about setting a tone for the type of politics she intends to practice. Harris can tees out all of these things through a strategic use of the deep stakes process. Chuck goes on to talk about the fact that she should hold meetings with people like Liz Cheney, with people in the business sector. What is your sense of how she's going to conduct this search?
Yeah, I mean she absolute out there. I think it's so important. Chuck makes this point very well that in 2019 when she was running in her own primary, it was kind of hard to understand who she was. Right.
You asked about any issue, she'd be very dodgy. She was weighing do I appeal to liberal basis. I try to appeal more centrists. Right.
So this is not just a moment for her to try and find a VP who could potentially set the tone for 2028, future Democratic Democratic Party and future elections. But I also think it's a moment for her to define herself and it's something that we're all really going to be finding out because there's been many points in her career where she has tried to shy away. For example, when she was AG and a prosecutor, now she's fully embracing that. So that's something I'm watching for her.
Is is she going to be her authentic self and does that appeal to voters and who's going to balance that a little bit in her vp? It is going to be fascinating. Donna, this is the most consequential decision she will make to date. What are you watching for?
Who do you think she's gonna pick if you had to ve well, look, first of all, I think it is a consequential decision, but it's also one that she participated in and she knows that. And so. And she did that with President Biden and she saw from him how consequential in fact it is. And okay, here's where my money is.
My money is on Tim Waltz, Governor, two term governor, successful governor of Minnesota, former member of Congress, separated Afghanistan veteran, brings a lot to the table. Roy Cooper, North Carolina, two term governor again. So you're not gonna run the risk of having a governor's seat open. And she served with Roy Cooper's in ag, so she really knows him and he knows her and they like each other.
And having that personal relationship can be so critical. Brad, who do you think Republicans are most concerned about? Who would be the biggest threat, do you think, to the Trump campaign? Well, I think we would look at that as look at how she got picked as vice president.
Joe Biden needed someone who was farther left of him because he was perceived as far to the right. So that tells you that her challenges were reverse. She's so far left, she's gonna have to pick someone to her right. But she's a pretty conventional and cautious Democratic politician.
I don't think she'll do anything outside the box. I think Chuck speaks was very smart. I don't think she'll do any of it. I think she's gonna pick people who are conventional Democrats who are too right of her.
It's not hard to be right. That could be Mark Kelly. I mean, you're describing a Mark Kelly. I think it could be.
He's a senator. She knows him. He's been prevented. He'll be deemed acceptable quickly by the political class.
And she is very much a political insider. Will want approval in the political class. Let's take a look at how Republicans are starting to go after vice president. This is an ad by the David Corman campaign.
Let's take a look. Kamala Harris is inspiring and very capable. The more people get to know her, they're gonna be particularly impressed by her ability. I am prepared to get rid of the filibuster to pass the ring of the deal.
There's no question I'm in favor of banning crab. Would you be a householder? Like. Yes.
Abolish mace? Yes. Is that a position we need to probably think about? Starting from scratch?
Outdated. It is wrongheaded thinking to think that the only way you're gonna get communities to be safe is put more police officers on the street. Brad, talk a little bit about the strategy. Well, I think this always comes down to Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn.
I really. Pennsylvania is the most important state. I've heard many people both side say it's a one state strategy. She's uniquely poorly situated in Pennsylvania.
She's already said she come out banned fracking. That's 330000 jobs in Penny Direct. That's a big deal. She said she wants to mandatory buybacks on guns.
That's a big deal in a state where the highest rates conceal carry permits. The other thing I think is a sleeper and a way for Republicans to get some Democrat votes is a lot of unions really negotiated hard for health care benefits. She said she should eliminate private health care insurance. That's a big deal.
People whose parents were in unions. So anyway, I think we'll see Bob Casey, Other Democrats have to wear her record. Donna. How should she counter those inevitable attacks that have Already started concern to Democrats about that.
Well, I think one of the great things that she has going for, and she knows that, is that she actually has an agenda with President Biden that she can run on, where they didn't ban fracking, but got a major piece of climate legislation where they tried to get something first, kind of gun safety that they've had in decades under her and Joe Biden's administration. So I think she actually has the ability right now, for a lot of Americans who really don't know her, to define. For her to define herself. And she started that in the first couple of speeches that we heard.
And I think that you're gonna hear more of her defining her bio so it doesn't get defined for her. Yeah, she's running as the prosecutor against the felon. Let me play a little bit of what Democrats have been saying about Harris as a courtroom prosecutor. 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, Mariana. Clearly that is going to be her line of attack. It's clear, it's crisp, and it's very direct.
Yeah, it's absolutely welcomed by Democrats. I mean, I've talked to so many on Capitol Hill, including those frontliner types are always a little skittish about the top of the ticket, and they're like, yes, talk about how you were prosecutor. Because Democrats for some time, for several years now, have been trying to push back against the Republican attacks on public safety crime. Obviously, this year, they think that having her talk about that will help them on the campaign trail.
We'll see. Because of course, she's gonna get attacked all the time. Republicans on her public safety record and, you know, things that she did in the past where she was attorney general. But it's something that Democrats are very telling you.
She's trying to talk about something 20 years ago instead of the last four years when she was in vice president's office or when she ran for president. That could be a big disconnect with Republicans in the driving home, except that she connects it to her opponent, Donald Trump. And so she uses her history to connect it to what she views as a lawless former President of the United States. And speaking of the President of the United States, a big moment for President Biden tonight.
Donna, what are you going to be looking for when he addresses the nation? Well, I think it's going to allow him an opportunity to continue to celebrate his agenda over the last three and a half years. It's going to allow him to offer a bridge to the future that Democrats have wanted and that they now have with Kamala Harris. And I think the American people are actually looking forward to it because it allows him to make a graceful almost exit from the stage.
Brad, what do you think? I'm going to find it really ironic that a lot of Democrats are going praise and cheer tonight, the same people who were trying to run him out of a job last week. And politics is a pretty brutal business. And so I don't think it's gonna be very eventful night for him.
I think a big moment for Joe Biden on Sunday. Well, and it was, I mean, sort of even though we were anticipating it, I think a lot of people were stunned when they saw it in black and white that here he had decided to actually drop out of the race. I think Mariana, will be fascinating to see how much he gives us a window into how he came to this decision. That's exactly what I'm watching for.
I mean, during the campaign trail, 2020, my coverage, he would talk about being that bridge. Now he's in a moment where he is giving that moment up. And, you know, just talking to Democrats who literally have gotten emotional thinking about these last couple days of words of him. They are very fearful that he could really internalize this and take it negatively and like resentments in the future and moving forward with the party.
And this will be a window to your point, Christian. You know, is he going to be an empathetic character? Not just to people like we have known him to do photos, but he's going to have some empathy for himself. And I think that'll be very telling tonight.
I think for people who've known Joe Biden, though, I think the expectation is that, in fact, he is going to be that empathetically. Well, we'll be watching. Thank you all. Really appreciate it.
Great conversation. Mariana, Donna and Brad. Coming up next, wartime divisions. And in historic address, Israel's prime minister rallies Congress as he faces protests from both inside and outside the Capitol.
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Listen daily on Amazon Music. Welcome back. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered remarks before a joint session of Congress today as he continues to forge ahead with Israel's military campaign in Gaza. This was the scene as Netanyahu arrived at the Capitol building with thousands of protesters chanting for the US to stop arming Israel and others carrying signs calling the prime minister a war criminal and accusing him of genocide.
More than three dozen lawmakers, mostly Democrats but including at least one Republican boycott in Netanyahu's speech over his handling of the war, and one Democrat inside the chamber held up a sign calling Netanyahu a war criminal. In his remarks, the prime minister was defiant, saying that protesters who were standing with the mosque should be ashamed of themselves and blasting the International Criminal Court for trying to, quote, shackle Israel's hands. He also acknowledged the hostage families in attendance this the pain these families have endured is beyond words. I met with them again yesterday and I promised them this.
I will not rest until all their loved ones are home. All of them. As we speak. We're actively engaged in intensive efforts to secure their release and I'm confident that these efforts can succeed.
Some of them are taking place right now. And join me now is Gary Grumbach, who has been monitoring the protests here in D.C. so Gary, I know things are getting a little intense. Set the scene for us.
What's happening as we are we have spent the afternoon at several different, different protests. Some were pro Israel, some were pro Palestine. All of them were looking to bring the hostages home. Many of them, all of them really were anti Benjamin Netanyahu.
This is what's left here outside of Union Station after pro Palestinian protests took place here. There were thousands and thousands of people on the grounds. And this is some of what the graffiti looks like. Free Gaza.
Some expletives here written on the statues in front of Union Station. And as we speak, there's still a skirmish happening on the other side of Tony to step on the ledge here so he can take a look at what's going on. The skirmish between US Capitol Police, NPD and several pro Palestinian protesters. As you can see, some of those officers are on the move right now.
We're certainly a safe distance away from them, but the security around the Capitol has been very intense today. You cannot get into the US Capitol building without specific passes. There is bike racks surrounding the entire US Capitol building, and agencies from across the region and federal agencies are here as well, making sure the folks outside and inside the building are staying safe here. Kristen, it certainly is a dynamic situation there.
Gary, are you expecting protests tomorrow when the prime minister meets with President Biden? So certainly that is expected outside of the White House. This is sort of a much bigger group and gathering that we're seeing here today. Some of these folks traveled from across the country.
I spoke to one person who was on a bus from Florida, came up overnight for this protest specifically. I'm sure if they stick around, they'll be there tomorrow at the White House as well. All right. Please continue to stay safe.
Thank you for that report. We really appreciate it. I now want to bring in Ambassador Dennis Ross, former special envoy to the Mideast and an NBC News foreign affairs analyst. Thank you so much for joining us, Ambassador.
Really appreciate it. I just want to start off by getting your reaction to what we heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu. What are the big takeaways for you? Look, I think the essence of his speech was about trying to reframe the narrative, to remind everybody that October 7th is very much on the minds of Israelis.
I actually often say for Israelis, it's still October 7, partly because the hostages are a daily reminder of it, partly because there's been no real explanation for why the IDF was as slow as it was on October 7th to be able to respond to what Hamas did. And partly because there's been no real accountability for what was the worst day in Israel's history. No accountability on the military, no accountability at the political level. And what he was doing was reminding the world, and certainly the American public, that Hamas did these grotesque things.
And he was reminding them of what Israel was dealing with. And then in few a effect, no one would accept having a neighbor like Hamas next to them and do nothing about it. So I think it was important for him to tell that story. I think he wanted to do one other thing.
He wanted to show who the Israeli military is. You saw several soldiers, two of which are soldiers of color, as a way of taking on this notion of Israel being a kind of white colonial state. This is not who Israel is. And he wanted to show that picture very vividly.
So I think what you're really saying was more than anything else, this was an effort to sort of reshape the narrative on the one hand and to thank the United States on the other for everything it's done, while reminding us that Israel in effect by taking on Hamas, is also taking on Iran, is taking on those who are enemies, not just of Israel, but the United States as well. And of course we heard his impassioned promise to continue to fight to get the hostages home. And of course the families of the hostages are pushing for a cease fire deal to do exactly that. They are saying, we want a ceasefire deal, we want it now, we want it next week.
Can you give us the reality check there, Ambassador? Because there have been so many stops and starts as it relates to these talks. Is it even conceivable that there could be a deal in the near term, in the near future? It is conceivable.
There are two reasons. One reason is that Hamas has made a concession on what had been a condition that they imposed. It was a condition that they wouldn't start this three phase process unless there was a commitment in advance to a complete ceasefire. Now they have walked back to where they were in February.
In February they made a. They expressed the willingness to launch this three way process and not nail down the idea of a commitment to a permanency spire until the second phase. Each phase is to be 42 days. They walked that back and then a couple weeks ago they now went back to the position they had in February.
The other part of this was that Israel made a concession which allowed them to say, okay, there's a linkage between phase one and phase two. Starting on day 16 of phase one, we will begin to negotiate for permanent ceasefire. Even if we don't reach it, we'll go to the second phase. So that means you have almost a guarantee that you'd have at least 84 days of a pause.
So I do think we're seeing something that is different than we've seen before. But you're right. Right. To be somewhat skeptical as to whether or not we're going to see this, I'd add one last point.
I think the key for Prime Minister Netanyahu is there are those leaders on coalition who are prepared to bolt if he accepts a deal. But there he's under enormous pressure from the hostage families and also the majority within Israel itself who understand Israel failed those families on October 7th when hostages were taken. They can't fail them a second time by not allowing, not being able to recover all the hostages alive. The idea that they would get them back but only dead, that would be a second failure.
Such an important and powerful point. You know, this is. There's a lot of questions that you not talk about this. What happens once this phase of the war ends?
What happens the day after Prime Minister Netanyahu says, okay, we now feel as though we have defeated at least the leadership structure of Hamas? Let me play a little bit of what he had to say about that and get your reaction on the other side. The day, the day after we defeat Hamas, a new Gaza can emerge. My vision for that day is of a demilitarized and de radicalized Gaza.
Israel does not seek to resettle Gaza, but for the foreseeable future, we must retain overriding security control there to prevent the resurgence of terror, to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel. Do you think that that's realistic? Would the US With Arab nations, agree to having Israel maintain a security presence there? I think the answer is no.
He used language, though, that was a little bit more artful than that. Talked about Israel retaining overall security control. They don't necessarily have to be in Gaza to maintain overall security control. They can also have an understanding with what maybe air forces that come in in which there would be a set of circumstances in which Israel would only act if there was a threat that was emerging.
So there are different ways to get at what he was suggesting without necessarily implying that Israel stays within Gaza. You are not going to get air forces, whether it's the uae, Egypt, Morocco, or that you're not going to get any kind of international regional presence in Gaza. That would be a security presence so long as Israel remains within Gaza itself. But you can create some artful approaches where there's an understanding if there are threats that these forces can't handle themselves, or if it becomes clear there's emerging threat, it's understood it's not the way to be hit.
All right. Ambassador Desros, thank you so much for your time and your perspective today. I really Appreciate it. Appreciate it.
Still a come the FBI director reveals new details about the timeline of the Trump assassination attempt and the shooter's chilling actions leading up to that day. That new reporting is next. You're WATCHING THE PRESS now. Welcome back.
New revelations today about the attempted assassination of former President Trump as right now the I director Christopher Ray continues his testimony for the House Judiciary Committee after telling lawmakers about how the gunman Thomas Crooks studied the rally site prepared for his attack and access a nearby roof. So in addition, it appears that around 3.50pm, 4 o' clock in that window, so on the day of the shooting, that the shooter was flying the drone around the area. I would say these are relatively, again, keyword, relatively crude devices themselves, but they did have the ability to be detonated remotely. And so to that point, in addition to the two devices that we recovered out of his vehicle, there were receivers for those two explosive devices with the devices.
On July 6, he did a Google search for, quote, how far away was Oswald from Kennedy? We now believe that the subject climbed onto the roof using some mechanical equipment on the ground and vertical piping on the side of the AGR building. In other words, we do not believe he used a ladder to get up there. Just stunning revelations there.
NBC News law enforcement and intelligence correspondent Tom Winter joins you now. Tom, thanks so much for being here. So in addition to everything that we heard, what were your key takeaways? What's the significance of what we heard from Ray?
Kristen, I think it was a couple of things. So one of the things we're trying to understand is how he was able to walk around for as long as he did without being detected that he had a weapon. It's one to be suspicious at a rally. And as you well know from covering rallies, and it's regardless of the candidate, there are individuals that are there because they want to act out politically.
They have something to say or they might not be entirely with the program. And so those individuals around and that happens. And so law enforcement has to understand if they're a threat or not or they're just acting up a little bit and it's ultimately no big deal. What we didn't understand is for somebody that eventually shot at Charlie using an AR style rifle, according to the FBI, how they were able to move around without somebody detecting he had an AR style rifle, which is obviously quite long in length.
The key detail today, I think is that the stock of that was collapsible. What I mean is that the longer end of that rifle was collapsible. Or even detachable. That's kind of consistent with newer models of that.
It's not kind of something that requires a lot of assembly to put together. And so that may have certainly assisted him in walking around without detection, or at least detection on a level of how serious of a threat he might have been. But it's clear he put a lot of thought into this. It's clear he did some reconnaissance.
As you heard the director talk about the use of a drone. And with respect to the bombs, the details on that continue to get worse. He did miss a couple of ingredients. And not to conduct a bomb school class here on Meet the Press Daily.
We'll withhold some of those. He was also probably a little bit too far away for the commercial firework device that he'd hoped to use. But certainly somehow this could have even been worse, I think, is the bottom line for the director today. Kristen and Tom, we have about 30 seconds left.
It's remarkable how much detail we got from Christopher Wray as compared to Kimberly Cheadle, who, of course resigned her post a Secret Service director. Why the disconnect? Well, I think first off, the FBI is more of an investigative organization. They're doing the thing that they always do, which is develop a complete timeline from start to finish, what happened and when.
It's the critical thing of understanding not only what happened here, what this individual's motivations may have been, but perhaps the extreme frustration with Congress that we saw is that the Secret Service didn't have concrete answers to be able to help them in the future. What actually happened, what was missed in the timeline, Kristen, help solve all that. Well, Tom, you've been all over this from the very beginning that this story broke. We really appreciate you bringing us your reporting today.
Thanks so much. Coming up after the break, we are previewing President Biden's historic office address and what it means for this moment, his legacy and the history books. You're watching THE PRESS now. Welcome back.
President Biden is about to deliver remarks for the history books as he speaks from the White House as the first sitting president to withdraw from the presidential race since 1968. That year in late March, Lyndon Baines Johnson delivered this address to the nation. With the Vietnam War raging and tensions high at home, I have concluded that I should not permit the presidency to become involved in the partisan divisions that are developing in this political year. With our hopes and the world's hopes for peace in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office, the presidency of your country.
Accordingly, I shall not see and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president. Joining me now to discuss the moment is NBC News presidential historian Michael Bachelor. Thank you so much for joining us. Michael, let's talk about this extraordinary parallel.
Here we have President Biden about to deliver an address that we can only imagine will be replayed over and over again in the history books. What are you thinking about as we prepare to hear from. Well, I'm so glad you used that LBJ soundbite from 1968 because it shows how unique tonight is. LBJ pulled out but two differences from tonight.
He did it in March, not in July, right before the Democratic convention. We've never seen anything like what we're gonna see tonight. And the other thing is, if I could put a footnote on history, LBJ said he wouldn't run and wouldn't accept the nomination. But I talked to his wife, Lady Bird, who died about nearly 20 years ago, and she told me that LBJ hoped that after pulling out, he could make peace in Vietnam.
And secretly he hoped that despite what he had said about pulling out, the Democratic convention would draft him in thanks. And he might run for another term. Nothing like that tonight. What a just remarkable revelation that is in and of itself.
I was really surprised. It's just extraordinary to hear that. What will you be watching for tonight, Michael? What do you think Biden needs to do and needs to say in this moment?
Well, you know, we know that he's withdrawn. You know, you and I and everyone, all of our friends watching have heard all sorts of explanations of why he stepped aside, but we really don't know yet. So for the first time, we're going to hear what he says. He's going to frame a huge national international event for all of us in a way that we haven't yet heard.
And of course, 1968 was a time that was so tumultuous. Are there parallels that you see between 1968, I mean, the fact that the convention was in Chicago, the Democratic National Convention is going to be in Chicago. It's extraordinary really, to think about some of the parallels. I think that's right.
And I was alive in 1968 as a child, but I can tell you, at least, having lived through it as a child, that was a year. That doesn't even compare to 2024. Because yes, there were horrible assassination, yes, there was tumult 550,000Americans in Vietnam, deep anger, riots in the streets in Chicago and elsewhere. But never during that year was the fate of our democracy in any way in question.
Joe Biden for the last four years has said, I ran for president to save democracy, to try to protect it. And he might well say tonight that he stepped out to give a chance to protect democracy to someone better equipped to do it than he is at this moment. And in some ways, this is really the first draft of his legacy as he wants to see it written. Absolutely.
And I think it's not too much to say. I mean, you know enough about political history and you've seen politics so much close up. Kristen, news alert. Politicians do not like to give up power if they do not have to.
There are a lot of people who could have been president, United States this month who would have said, I've got the nomination, I've got it locked up, and you can't take it away from me. Joe Biden gave up power and did it for his country. Michael Bashloss, we always appreciate your perspective, especially on the big days like this one. Thank you so much.
Thank you. You too. We are back tomorrow with more me the press. Now the news continues with Hallie Jackson right now.
He was a young Marine. She didn't care about convention. They made a life together. Then one night the Marine died.
And then the death investigation took a wild, unexpected and utterly bizarre turn. I'm Josh Matiewicz and this is Trace of Suspicion, an all new podcast from dateline. Listen to all episodes of Trace of Suspicion. Now, wherever you get your podcasts.