Meet the Press NOW — November 6

If it's Monday, former President Trump takes a witness stand and lashes out attacking the court and the judge during his testimony as part of a civil fraud case that could end up crippling his business empire. Plus, a five alarm political fire for the White House just one year from Election Day as new polling has President Biden trailing former President Trump across five critical battleground states that Biden won in 2020 and cannot lose in 2024. And Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza, saying they've effectively cut the besieged region in half amid new strikes and growing pressure from the US and other nations for a humanitarian pause. Welcome to MEET THE PRESS Now.

I'm Dave Gutierrez reporting Washington. As new polling shows President Biden in dangerous even though it was likely 2024, rival Donald Trump took a witness stand in a historic civil fraud trial. Former President Trump just wrapped up testifying in New York after spending five hours on the stand spend a day of wild in a time seemingly uncontrolled testimony that's had him repeatedly insulting and clashing with the judge who will be deciding this case. He spoke to reporters as he left the courtroom, continuing his unsubstantiated and baseless claims about the case.

This is the case that should have never been brought and it's a case that now should be dismissed. Everything we did was absolutely right. To think that we're being sued and spending all this time and money and you have people being killed all over the world that this country could stop with inflation and all of the other problems that this country has. I think it's a disgrace.

Moments later, we heard from Attorney General James responding to the former president's comments and testimony. He rambled, he hurled insults. But we expected that at the end of the day, the documentary evidence demonstrated that in fact, he falsely inflated his assets to basically enrich himself and his family. He continued to persistently engage in fraud.

The numbers don't lie. And Mr. Trump obviously can engage in all these distractions. And that is what exactly what he did, what he committed on the stand today, engaged, engaging in distractions and engaging in name calling.

Mr. Trump's testimony was described by our NBC News producer in the courtroom as unrestrained. At one point, he called the judge, Arthur and Goran, a fraud while claiming the trial was politically motivated. Things got so out of hand that the judge instructed Trump's attorneys to, quote, control him.

At the heart of the trial are allegations by New York's attorney general that Trump and his family falsely inflated the value of their assets in order to get favorable treatment from banks and insurers. Judge Goren ruled before the trial began that Trump and other defendants had committed fraud. He's now assessing how much money the former president must pay as a result and whether he'll be barred from ever running a business in New York. But as Donald Trump's legal and financial troubles mount and as he awaits trials across multiple criminal cases, his political standing appears stronger than ever heading into a likely rematch against Joe Biden for the presidency.

Despite all of his legal woes, Mr. Trump leads President Biden in five of six battleground states, according to new polls conducted by the New York Times in Siena College one year before Election Day. We'll dive deeper into those numbers and what they mean for the White House and anxious Democrats at a moment with Steve Kornacki. But we begin with NBC's Vaughn Hillier outside the courthouse in Manhattan.

And also with me is NBC League wing analyst Danny Savalison. Vaughn, we knew that Trump's testimony would likely be combative, but was the tone of his testimony even more heated than expected today? It absolutely was because we know the Donald Trump that has been on the campaign trail and the Donald Trump on his social media accounts gave. But the question here is when you come on to a witness stand, you're testifying under oath.

And in Donald Trump's case, there are serious penalties that he and the other defendants as well as the Trump Organization face if in fact the judge comes down hard on Donald Trump. So it was quite striking when Donald Trump just speed away from that very judge, began attacking him, calling this an unfair trial, attacking the New York Attorney General Letitia James, in that this prosecution is nothing more than a witch hunt. And you saw the judge repeatedly say that he had no choice but to make negative inferences from Donald Trump's quasi tangential, long winded answers to the questions being posed to him by the prosecution. I want to let you listen to an exchange here, David.

I had with Elena Haba, one of Donald Trump's two lawyers on hand here today, about whether she urged her client Donald Trump, to provide more concise answers and not go on the attack, knowing that this judge is the one who could very well strip the Trump Organization of business license here in the state of New York and penalize it with a $250 million fine. Tickle by the judge's statement that President Trump's longer answers that he draws negative inferences from the law. So let's be clear about why the judge said that the judge doesn't like when President Trump explains what actually happens because it's not good for his narrative. So right now we're sitting here doing a whole dance, and the only thing they want are facts that are bad for Trump.

That's why he's silencing him. That's why he's telling him short answers and that's why he's clearly enraged. His red, he came in hot and he doesn't know how to handle him. Donald Trump's two lawyers, Gabe, Lena Haba, who you saw right there, as well as Chris Heist, very much echoing their client, the defendant, the former president, United States Donald Trump from inside that courtroom here this afternoon.

And Vaughn, you've been covering Donald Trump for a while. Aside from the theatrics, is there any value added from today's testimony? There absolutely is for the New York attorney general's office. Number one, they have Donald Trump under oath.

And in one situation, Donald Trump acknowledged that the statements of financial condition, many of which he himself personally signed, as well as own sons, were used in order to secure more favorable loans and tax benefits. Donald Trump acknowledged that he knew that to be true. Of course, Donald Trump also, as it pertained to his apartment in midtown Manhattan, the Trump Tower, he acknowledged that the size of it and the value of it was overstated by about three times. However, for Donald Trump and his defense team, he also mounted his own defense, making the case that the Trump brand was worth something like $10 million and that in fact, there are other properties that were undervalued.

And so for Donald Trump, somebody who is very much enjoys taking the microphone and being his own defense, best defense, felt like he had the opportunity to air out his grievances and his frustrations and his own legal defense over the course of hours in front of the judge that will delay decide his fate. And Danny, I want to get a legal perspective here from that legal standpoint. How did they go for Donald Trump? And I think, Danny, we're having some a tough time hearing you.

I want to go back to Vaughn while we sort that out tactically. Vaughn, I want to back to you from a political standpoint. Did Donald Trump do any serious dam to himself today then for Donald Trump here, he was already found liable, Gabe, in a summary judgment by this judge to have inflated the value of his assets in order to secure those more favorable loans and tax benefits fraud. But now the question is, how can Donald Trump best use this to his political benefit?

Because legally he is facing some serious consequences. Again, that potential $250 million fine, potentially the suspension of the business license for the Trump organization in New York. And that's where Donald Trump really has one outlet at this point, and that is politically one year from now. We're talking about the general election of the White House in 2024 in Donald, Donald Trump not only posting on his social media account today, but also sending out a fundraising email knowing that he was on stand.

He's gone on the attack against the attorney general, suggesting that she purely is a Democrat with political intent, what he calls election interference. And so for Don, we saw this with his mugshot, we saw this with the other criminal in night in city basis. He is trying to make the best of these, I guess, dire circumstances for him in trying to make some political benefit out of convincing millions of Americans that he'll lean on to vote for him in the White House that in fact, this is all about the weaponization of the justice system in the United States today. And Danny, now that we have the audio issues sorted out, I want to bring you back in from that legal standpoint, how did today go for Donald Trump?

Not particularly well. But I think in Trump's mind, he's already concluded that justice in Goran is going to go a particular way, and that's not the way of the defense. So in Trump's mind, he's probably using this as an opportunity to sound off, probably thinking he can't do himself any harm in terms of the substance of his testimony. When it actually got to the substance, there were no surprises consistent with what his children testified to.

It was going to be some variation of two major bullet points. One would be that real estate, New York. Plus, the Trump brand is so amorphous, it's whatever value somebody assigns to it. And then the second prong would be, look, I may have been a figurehead, I may have been the boss, but I relied on other people to handle this.

Yes, I supplied them with information, but it was ultimately someone else's responsibility. The statements of financial condition, other statements, not mine, even though I may be at the top. This was always what he was going to say. It's consistent with what the Trump children said.

Didn't really see anything he could say of substance that would be a benefit to the defense. But in terms of bickering with the judge, Trump really took a chance here and bet that Justice Ngoron wouldn't do more than just admonish him. He might have even sent him to the back of the holding cell. But I think Justice Goran, and no judge, wants to try and deal with the administrative nightmare that would be to try to put a former President behind bars.

Even a four an hour. Yeah. And then I want to pick up on that point. A jury will not decide on Trump's fate here.

The judge will. So how bad of an idea for the former president to pick a fight with the judge who will be deciding his favor? It's a bad idea. And in addition, it's probably not the best idea.

And I just, I'm concerned that Trump's attorneys, the public statements are given on the courthouse steps. They need to be a little careful because the court's ability to punish or sanction litigants is greater for attorneys than it is for parties, for defendants. And that's because we as attorneys consent by virtue of being officers of the court, to the court's jurisdiction in a way that a party who's not there voluntarily simply doesn't. So the courts have said, when it comes to things like gag orders, it's easier to gag attorneys and sanction them and control their speech than it is for a party litigant like Donald Trump.

So the attorneys, I just, I have concerns for them that it may not be a good idea to go out to the courthouse steps and say something consistent with what their clients, and especially when the judge has warned them to get their client under control. I'll just add, too, that, you know, I have some sympathy for the defense attorney when Justice Goren tells them to get their client under control, because anyone who's ever done civil or criminal defense knows that clients do what clients want to do. After all, it's what got them into court, usually in the first place, which is doing what they want to do now, what the lawyers want them to do, and any clients speaking for clients might want to do. Did his conduct today, did Mr.

Trump's conduct today on the sand give you any insight about how he might conduct himself in four criminal trials next year? Oh, sure. I think we're only seeing the beginning of things like gag orders and potential sanctions. And this is a preview as to how Donald Trump will testify when he gets to his arguably more headline grabbing cases.

This is a civil case. There are no cameras in the courtroom in Fulton county. That may be a case that is televised. None of the federal criminal trials will be televised.

At least there is a, you know, maybe a 0.1% chance that some major rule change could happen before them, but I seriously doubt it. They won't be televised, but those criminal trials will certainly be in the headlines 24 7. And Donald Trump knows that. And he knows that what he does on the stand will be reported in real time the way it was today.

To the extent that the court allows real time type reporting by reporters, that's a separate issue. But the bottom line is this is a preview to how combative Donald Trump will be when he takes the stand in any other cases. But there's also the part to be considered that he may never take the stand in any of his criminal cases, which is his constitutional right. We arguably may have seen him take the stand for the first and last time.

Thanks, Vallas Vaughn Hillier, thank you both so much. And as we mentioned, former president's legal issues stand in stark contrast to his political standing. According to new polling, it has some Democrats extremely concerned. For more, I'm joined now by NBC's national political correspondent Steve Carnacki.

And Steve, how worried should President Biden be one year before Election Day? Yeah, I think these polls or this poll, I should say, of various battleground states by the New York Times and CNN is certainly getting a ton of attention, making a lot of Democrats uneasy and I think for good reason. Let's take a look. These are the six battleground states that we all sort of think will decide the 2024 election.

And the Times polled all of them. And I mean you can see in five of the six they have Donald Trump ahead, including by a double digit margin in Nevada. The only one where Joe Biden leads Donald Trump currently, Wisconsin by a slim 2 point margin right there. I think what makes this so striking, I say is it could be a good reason for cause for concern for Democrats is the Times in Siena also did a series of battleground state polls around this time in 2019, basically the fall between the 20 before the 2020 election.

And they matched Biden against Trump. And that polling was very good for Biden. He was leading in most of the battleground states. It became something that his campaign pushed as part of their to Democratic priority voters of electability.

And now basically exactly four years later, the same polling outlet is again polling battleground states and consistently finding a different result. And Steve, where has the president lost round since four years ago in terms of voting groups? Yeah. So what's really interesting in this poll, the write up in the Times really gets to this is they say you remember 2016 when Trump won the election.

It was Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Those were the three industrial states that he flipped and they were responsible for getting him into the White House. But where he's made the biggest gains, at least according to this polling relative to the 2020 election, Nevada is the biggest he's got A double digit lead. That was a Biden State in 2016, 2020.

Georgia, you know, went for Biden six point lead. What they're saying is younger voters, non white voters are showing more of a proclivity to back Trump and certainly more of a ver to Biden than we've seen before and how that manifests itself. Just quickly, we can take a look here, the road to 270 electoral college map. We'll be using this a lot over the next year, but you know, set it back to where it finished in 2020.

Keep in mind, since then we've had reapportionment. Some states have gained electoral votes. Some states of lost. Michigan, for instance, have gone from 16 to 15.

So we factor all that in the same result from 2020 with the new reapportionment. Biden actually starts off with three fewer Electoral College votes. Trump with three more in those three states where he's shown the biggest improvement Trump has according to this polling. If you were to flip them, that's Georgia, that's Arizona, that's Nevada, you can see it would still put him short of 270.

He'd be 268, Biden at 270. So even if he gets those three where he's made the biggest improvement, he still will need to win at least one of those Midwest states, Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin. And Steve Farley, you mentioned changing demographics going for Trump. Is that why you think Biden is slightly ahead in Wis.

But barely? Yeah. And it's the irony because the big strength for Trump originally was that he was able to flip these three states. But Biden right now continues to lead in Wisconsin.

Trump does in his polling have an advantage in Michigan and Pennsylvania. But Wisconsin in particular, all three of those states have older populations. In Wisconsin in particular, not a lot of non white voters in Wisconsin. And actually when you say so if you say what's powering Trump right now to better numbers is surprising support from younger voters and non white voters, that's actually a recipe to struggle a little bit in those upper Midwest states.

And it's more of a recipe to help you in the Sunbelt and the Sunbelt extended. Steve Kornacki, thank you so much. And we'll let you rest up for election Day. All right, coming up, the very latest from the White House and reaction to this growing sense of alarm among Democrats over that poor political standing.

The first NBC News embedded with Israel's military. We'll take you inside its oper. Gaza is the deadly war against Hamas rages on that's after the break. You're watching MEET THE PRESS now.

Welcome back. Turning out to the latest developments in the Israel Hamas war on the ground. Israel says its troops have now encircled Gaza City and reached the coastline, effectively splitting Gaza in two. From the air, the IDF says it struck 450 targets inside Gaza over the last day.

Amid the intensifying attacks, ME is getting a rare look inside Israel's military operations with our correspondent Raf Sanchez embedding with Israeli troops in northern Gaza. We should note as a condition of the embed, NBC News agreed to show Israel's military censors our raw footage, but not our final source. We also agreed to blur the faces of junior soldiers. I've been to Gaza many times before, but never like this.

We're in the back of an Israeli military Humvee following a unit whose task it is to find and destroy Hamas tunnels. They showed us three separate tunnel openings in northern Gaza, one which is in the back of a civilian house. Another they say was in a vacation resort. And they say that's just a fraction of the vast network of tunnels that Hamas has running underneath the entire Gaza Strip.

They say they so far have seen no sign of the hostages, but they're continuing with every tunnel they locate to look for any evidence of where those people might be. We saw no sign of Palestinian civilians except for some spice racks, a few personal items inside a house that was abandoned now full of Israeli forces. But everywhere we've gone, just columns of Israeli tanks as well as digging equipment which they say they're using to destroy not just Hamas tunnels but other fortifications. I can tell you morale is high among the Israeli troops.

They're clear what it is they're fighting for. Many of them are young. They say that they know, many of them know someone who was killed or kidnapped on October 7. They say the fighting here has mainly involved Hamas forces popping up from under these tunnels to fire machine guns, rocket propelled grenades at Israeli troops.

The devastation is just enormous here and it seems even worse inside of Gaza City, inside of the big population centers. And we thank Ralph Sanchez for that reporting inside Gaza. The IDF also says it open a four hour window to allow safe passage to southern parts of Gaza away from the most intense bombardments. But many Palestinians remain in northern Gaza distrustful promises of safe passage or they're skeptical southern Gaza is any safer as airstrikes keep ravaging the region.

Hospitals are overwhelmed. Want to warn you, the images you're about to see are disturbing our NBC News crew in Gaza City. Captured explosions in the distance last night as waves of the injured and killed were rushed to the Alifa Hospital. Emergency doctor describing the situation as catastrophic.

The staff are exhausted, overwhelmed and the situation is very, very catastrophic. Please, I call here all the international communities, all the human rights now we are in catastrophic in the health system. We need your help to supply the fuel and to some medical supply. We are unable to treat the patient.

This all comes during intense and difficult diplomatic negotiations for Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who's in Turkey today after surprise visits to Iraq and the west bank following a visit to Israel on Friday. The U.S. continues to call for a humanitarian pause, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuffed calls for any ceasefire until the hostages are freed. Joining now is NBC national security analyst Clint Watson.

Clint, the IDF says it's cut Gaza into north Gaza and south Gaza. Can you walk us through visually what that looks like and what it means militarily? That's right. They've gone at this for nearly two weeks now.

If we rewound about 10 days, you saw them coming here probably in a very, very much the area that RAF was at, the northern part of Gaza. They established their first assembly area. They started to move down the coast. You can see that there are tanks of formations in this area.

Separately. A week ago they moved in here to the south around Johor. They had major combat operations. You can see satellite images now that show tanks moving all the way up about 300 meters from the coast.

This is where Israel was already built up after the October 7th events. And they made multiple crossings here to assembly area. So they built a cordon all the way around the city. They have really broken northern Gaza off from southern Gaza at this point.

And Clint, the IDF also says that Gaza City is in circle. So how significant is that population center for the Israeli military? Yeah. So the challenge now that you're going to face if you're the IDF is going literally block by block.

You saw those tunnels with a tons of other houses or apartment complexes. This area here all the way through the middle, all the way through this section and right along here, this is all major built up area. This is more vertical than it is even horizontal, meaning it's many stories high. Oftentimes been ravaged now by airstrikes, which means some of the tunnels may be collapsed or broken down.

The Israeli Defense Force will say that those airstrikes are going after the underground command centers and tunnels, channels of Hamas. Even when they get here. It is going to be very slow going in warfare when you're Going into urban combat, urban terrain like this, the pace is probably 25, maybe 20% what it would be in open ground. So it's going to be many days, weeks and months before they even clear what is now Gaza City.

So where do you expect this ground offensive to go next? Israel has focused heavily on the north. When would you expect them to press to the south? Yeah, in terms of the broader Gaza landscape, just looking at how Gaza plays out in the bigger picture, I think the key thing is they're going to try and focus here only in the north, really focus in this area in downtown Gaza, because that's where I believe that most of the Mosk man centers are at.

There have been airstrikes down the south, but I'm not convinced they're going to move to the south at any time until they fully clear the north north. And even then I think they'll be much more selective in terms of what they go after in terms of military targets. Thank you so much. I want to TURN now to NBC's Aaron McLaughlin who joins us now from Tel Aviv.

Aaron, as the area strikes northern Gaza, Israel says it briefly open a corridor for safe passage in the south. So as Israel urges people to evacuate, how much longer will these brief corridors remain an option? Well, it's unclear, Gabe, at this point. Today was the third day that the Israeli military opened up a four hour window and a humanitarian corner for Palestinian civilians to be able to evacuate from the north to the south.

It provided aerial footage that it said it captured showing Palestinian civilians making that journey on foot, making it on foot because many of the roads have been ruined due to the violence. Israeli military continuing to urge civilians to do that. Unclear if there will be another window even tomorrow, but this is being seen as an effort to make sure to limit those civilian casualties. But many Palestinians on the ground there in Gaza telling our team that they are staying in northern Gaza despite those humanitarian quarters opening up for a variety of reasons, one being that they don't trust the Israelis to secure that safe passage.

They also are concerned that they're not going to be able to go back to their homes at the end of this war. And then finally, you're also pointing to the Israeli strikes that have also been happening to the south, although not as frequent, not as severe as what we're seeing play out in the north. Although this weekend there was an apparent Israeli strike in a crowded refugee camp to the south of the Wadi Gaza, which is the waterway that's demarking the north from the south, killing at least 47 according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. We were unable to verify that death toll.

The Palestinians are looking at strikes like that and wondering why they should leave their homes in the first place. Aaron, Secretary Blinken was in Turkey today after surprise visits to Iraq and West bank weekend which we mentioned. But how much of the shuttle diplomacy is focused on that humanitarian situation in Gaza? Have we seen any progress to get more aid into Southern Gaza?

Well, U.S. officials say there needs to be more aid flowing from Egypt into southern Gaza. Today there were 74 trucks that made that crossing. American officials saying that is simply not enough.

And so we're seeing this trip from Secretary Blinken tour the region over the weekend, meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as other leaders. And there does not seem to have been a consensus emerged from that trip. Secretary Blinkin saying he's pushing for these so called humanitarian pauses, the humanitarian pauses aimed at helping facilitate that aid to get from Egypt into southern Gaza, but also to help with the hostage negotiations, thinking how can you release hostages in the middle of all out war? And so the US Is pushing for this.

Still no consensus. The Israeli prime minister himself saying there will be no ceasefire until all hostages are released. It was the subject of a phone call between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu that took place earlier today. According to the reader that call, President Biden once again raising that issue.

U.S. officials say that they're at the very beginning of this conversation. And Aaron, very quickly on Israel's northern border, the IDFs had struck as well as targets in response to rocket launches earlier today. What's the latest on that front?

Yeah, that's right. According to the Israeli military, there was a barrage of rocket fire from Lebanon into northern Israel reaching as far as Haifa. That barrage of rocket fire having been intercepted by the Iron Dome. It's significant because that is the farthest those rockets have reached since the 2006 war.

Seen as potentially an escalation, but also sort of more the same sort of tit for tat violence that has happened across that border. Something that people here in the region are watching extremely carefully, hoping that this is not inflamed into a much greater war, a much bigger problem. Aaron McLaughlin live for us in television. Thank you.

And up next, countdown to election day. We're live in Virginia and the final hours before polls open as the issue of abortion, president's political standing and the fate of a rising Republican governor are all on the ballot. You're watching ME the press now. And welcome back.

It's Monday. There's an Election Day tomorrow, voters are gonna head to the polls in a slate of key races across the country. That could give us some important insights into which way the political winds are blowing for Democrats and Republicans and for key issues like abortion heading into 2024. In Kentucky, Democratic Governor Andy Bashir is against Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

Bashir is fairly popular, but his party and the president are not. Can he hang on in the state that went for Donald Trump by 26 points in 2020? In Mississippi, Republican Governor Tate Reeves is in a tighter, tighter than expected race against Democratic Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presslick, due in part to a multi million dollar welfare scandal. Meanwhile, the issue of abortion access is on the ballot in Ohio as voters will decide on a ballot measure that would enshrine the right to an abortion into the state's constitution.

Ohio is also voting on measures that would legalize recreational marijuana. The issue of abortion is also key across a number of races in Virginia, with state houses up for grounds. And so is Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin's agenda. NBC's Gary Grumbach has more on how the abortion issue is shaping the race in Virginia.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is on the campaign track. His name isn't on the ballot, but his conservative priorities are. What happens when we play? We win.

All 140 seats in Virginia's General assembly are up for grabs right now. The Republicans control the House of Delegates, while Democrats control the State Senate. Youngkin and his allies hope to hold the House and flip the Senate. We are the party of hope.

They're the party of fear. And hope beats fear every single day. Every day. Republicans in control of both chambers would pass Governor Youngkin's legislative agenda with ease, including laws on school choice and abortion.

Virginia is the last state in the south without significant restrictions on abortion rights. And Democrats have blanketed the airwaves with warnings to voters about what's on the line. You don't have to look forward to where mad Republicans want to take Virginia. Just look what's happening around us.

Republicans say they're pushing for a limit on abortion, not a ban. I don't support an abortion ban. Period. At campaign events in the final days of the race, Republicans were not focusing on abortion, but rather the economy, public safety, and education to talk about this abortion.

It's time to talk about things that make a big difference for everybody. But Democrats believe the abortion issue is key to their success. People are scared because they've seen what's happening in other states. You know, starts with one band and a second ban, and they see punishment start to get more and more strict.

Voters of both Democratic and Republican events told us they do have strong thoughts on the future of abortion rights in the state. There's a lot of fear we can turn into a state that is not safe to be pregnant in. I feel like the unwanted baby does not have a voice and everyone else over here has a voice and we have to be that baby's voice. A big Republican win on Tuesday could signal that a 15 week abortion ban is a winning position for the GOP in swing states in 2024.

It could also serve as a launching pad for the term limited governors next year Move something he's been asked about repeatedly. I've been at the Rockingham County Fair, not the Iowa State Fair. I'm campaigning across Virginia and focused on Virginia. Not in New Hampshire, not in South Carolina, not in Nevada.

I'm focused on Virginia and that's where my attention will continue to be. Virginia's healthier elections, a preview of what's to come nationally in 2024. And Gary Grumbach joining me now live from Fredericksburg, Virginia. Gary, we talked to Governor Youngen yesterday.

He framed the abortion issue as a potential unifying issue for Virginia. What do you make of that? So his whole take is that it is a consensus builder, that 15 weeks with exceptions is something that people can support, but polling frankly just shows otherwise. The reason Newport poll out of Virginia and the state of Virginia says that more than 70% of Virginians don't want any changes to the way abortion is right now.

The state apparently is at 26 weeks and a single day. But looking at this nationally, seeing what happens tomorrow could really play a role in what happens national in 2024. Because if Republicans do flip the state senate in Virginia tomorrow, they will have a trifecta for the first time in a decade in this state. And that would be a very big deal not only for the policies that govern put in place things like abortion of relate to education.

Very big on the idea of parents matter and the idea that parents have bigger role to play in their children's life, but it also has a role to play in perhaps Governor Duncan's political future. Gary Grombach, black person in Virginia. Gary, thank you. And turning now the White House where President Biden is facing a growing number of political challenges.

Less than stellar polling, new concerns that his economic message is not resonating and a growing divide within the Democratic Party over Israel. The president was in his home state of Delaware today touting his bidenomics agenda despite concerns of voters Democratic officials and even president himself don't really like the Bidenomics brain. Meanwhile, President Biden is also facing challenges to his foreign policy agenda as more and more Democrats demand a ceasefire in Gaza. Over the weekend, thousands of protesters took to the streets here in Washington.

And this morning the gates of the White House were still covered in red paint from those protests. Joining now is Aaron Gilchrist from outside the White House. And Aaron, how is the Biden campaign reacting to these new poll numbers that show him lagging behind Trump in five out of six key swing states? Yeah, Gabe, I think the Biden campaign, I know Democrats are aware obviously these numbers are not just shrugging them off at this point.

At the same time, this doesn't seem to be a hair on fire moment for the campaign. The reality is we are a year out from the election. And the Biden campaign spokesman told NBC News that predictions more than year out look a little different a year later is a position that they've taken. He says the campaign is now working to reach and to mobilize voters around a choice really to between what he calls the successes of President Biden and what it's labeled as the extremism of MAGA Republicans.

We know the campaign has said that it's using that strategy even this week on the ground in Miami as Republicans are going to be Republican presidential candidates are going to be debating there and the former President Trump is going to be counter programming that event. The Biden campaign we know has a list of surrogates. He's also done some media campaigns on the ground there in Florida that it says is going to be a part of the effort to capitalize on some of the political attention that is focused in that area this week. Veronica Alva also reported that the campaign is hosting some events in Florida around those debate, events that will be focused on Latino voters and black voters at the same time.

So that's a strong part of the strategy going forward that we are obviously going to see this week. But we can expect to see more as the campaign really starts and real person in the White House. Aaron, thank you. And let me bring in now my panel, Leanne Caldwell, co author of the early 202the Washington Post, Simone Sanders Townsend, former senior adviser to Vice President Harris and host of Simone on msnbc and Brendan Buck, former press secretary to Speaker John Boehner and an NBC News political analyst.

Thank you all so much for joining us. Simone, of course you were senior advisor to the flight and Harris 2020 campaign. Why do you make these poll numbers? They don't look good, but it's a year out and there's still time to turn it around.

Polling in 2019, before the 2020 election also did not look great for Joe Biden, but he turned it around. So I do think that they should pay attention because the support has been soft with some key constituencies, young people, black folks, strictly black and Latino men, for example. And that is something that I spoke to Quinn folks, the deputy campaign manager of Alama show yesterday, and they are taking it seriously. But they said they're not concerned about these fol.

71% of registered voters in these swing states say that President Biden is too old. So is that ultimately what some of this might boil down to? It certainly feels like it. And it's not just Republicans who say he's old.

It's independent, even some Democrats who feel like he's old. And I understand the argument that he's only a few years older than Donald Trump, but he has aged more than Donald Trump. I think we need to acknowledge that. I think a lot of voters are saying that if you're Democrats, you shouldn't be surprised by this point.

I mean, Joe Biden hasn't been slipping and been soft for a very long time. That's why this doesn't just feel like some outlier poll they can get rid of. It's been trending in this direction for a long time. As you said, we're a year out, but usually at this point someone will tell you, well, we have an opponent and we're going to define that person and we're going to change the debate.

People know who Donald Trump is at this point and they're still choosing him over to Biden in ways that you would not expect. So very concerning poll if you're here to Biden administration, there is some difference. Leanne, though, if somebody sort of points in the poll, if Donald Trump were to be confused, convicted, then then Biden would fare better. How much of the difference you think that makes over the next year or so?

If Donald Trump just in a sign testifying today and some trouble, he's still got these criminal trials going up. What do you think are going on? What do you think happens if he is convicted and how does that affect the state? It's really the question of the entire campaign, assuming he's going to win the Republican nomination and he's going to be up against President Biden.

Now, you say that people are wanting to find their opponent. People know who Donald Trump is, but Donald Trump for the most part, yes, he's in the news with these criminal trials. But he's not, Democrats will say, not front and center in people's minds. He's not on social media every day, not getting access.

He's not central to the news cycle on every minute by minute basis. And so Democrats are betting that people will be reminded of who Donald Trump is once there is actually a campaign between the two. But Donald Trump's criminal convictions or upcoming criminal convictions, we'll see what happens is going to be absolutely a determining factor in this campaign, one way or another. And the Democrats look at these polls, is President Biden still the best candidate to take on former President Trump?

That's not what the polls say. Generic Democrats. Well, you have Dean Phillips, unknown. Congressman.

Unknown is a big word. But no one else was willing to jump in. And that is the thing. People are looking.

Democrats are looking to 2028. They are skipping 2024. They don't want to upset the Democratic establishment. And so that's who Democrats have as the president.

And Brendan, when Republicans look at these polls as a signal Trump's strength or binds weakness. Well, I think certainly more about Joe Biden if I'm looking at this. The economy more than anything is going to be hanging around his neck. The White House likes to tell dynamics.

And I think that was always a risky play. The inflation is not a thing just goes away and everybody feels better. And they don't seem to grasp that even if inflation has slowed down, it's not like prices have reverted back to what they were before. And there's really no solution for that at this point.

It's probably gonna be painful for a long time. Right. And I want to read something that David Axelrod tweeted over the weekend that has gotten a lot of attention. Tomorrow, only Joe Biden can make this decision.

If he continues to run, he'll be the nominee of Democrat Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise, whether it is in his best interest or the countries. I was speaking with one person familiar with the Biden team's thinking on this. This person said, well, look, it's no real surprise.

David Axelrod has consistently been a detractor of the Biden administration. What would you say? I would also argue, and I love X. But he was also detractor of the 2020 Biden campaign.

I'm not surprised by this, but it's very disingenuous. Democrats, especially Democratic strategists. No Republican strategists. Anyone who is a professional politico, hell, a reporter.

Supporters know Joe Biden is the President of the United States of America. Therefore the head of the party that he is the one to take it up. He is a Democrat. And if the President of the United States of America can.

Is eligible to run for election and decides to do so, that's your nominee, baby. That's how it works. I know that might not sound Democratic, but that is the game. That's how it works.

And so David has. Our comments are kind of crazy because Joe Biden did make his decision. He started a relationship, but was the right decision. Well, he made it, though.

Joe Biden hasn't tried the president since before I was born. Okay. He literally. He's been running for president since 1988.

The idea that he would get the presidency beat Donald Trump, vaccinate America, finally have infrastructure. We make a largest investment in infrastructure since like the people that invented the interstate. And he's not gonna run for reelection, can't run re election is. It would be so painful for the Democratic Party to sort this out that quickly.

And the people that the choices they have are not necessarily gonna make easy for them to win. Okay. So moving to 2024, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is expected to endorse Oregon Ron DeSantis tonight during a campaign rally. And just moments ago, Dasha Burns spoke to her and DeSantis in an exclusive interview.

I want to play a part of what they both have to say. A lot of great candidates that are running for office, I consider them friends. I had the opportunity to campaign with them. I appreciate all of them stepping forward and putting their lives and their livelihoods on the line to have the opportunity to represent this country.

But I have to take a look at everybody as somebody who's a leader. You should one people who are delivering big victories for their constituents, standing up for conservative values, which Ken has done. And it's almost like with Donald Trump, if you don't kiss the ring, you could be the best governor ever and he'll trash you. You could be a terrible, corrupt politician.

But if you kiss his ring, then all of a sudden he'll praise you. Yeah, I wouldn't make those comments. Is this gonna happen? I mean, congrats.

He got the Iowa governor's endorsement. He's still 30 behind. 30 points behind. It's not really a surprise for the last couple of months.

You know, was it several months ago that Donald Trump started lashing out against Stingray because he thought this might be in the cards, but really, will this make any sort of dental? No. I mean, the evangelicals in Iowa have Also publicly evangelical leaders and I should say also publicly admonished Donald Trump moved away from him back to Ron DeSantis. And that is why Ron DeSantis is focusing a lot on Iowa.

He thought he had an opening there. But if the polling is accurate, he there's, like I said, 30 points behind. So I also want to get to something before we leave here. The other problem the president is facing is the divide within his own party over the response to the Israel Hamas war.

Even President Obama wait in it will require an admission of complexity and maintaining what on the surface may seem contradictory ideas that what Hamas did was horrific and there's no justification for it. And what is also true is that the occupation and what's happening to Palestinians is unbearable. And so if you want to solve the problem problem, then you have to take in the whole truth and you then have to admit nobody's hands are clean. Former President Obama, well, look, I think he is saying frankly what Obama has held for a very long time.

Even when he was president, he and Prime Minister Netanyahu had a notoriously frosty relationship because he's abused that he has held for a long time. Look, I think that there is a, there has recently been a generational divide within the Democratic Party apparatus and how older Democrats and younger Democrats, more progressive Democrats view the issue of Israel and Palestine. And you put on top of that now there is a, not just a generational divide, but a divide between folks that are seeing what is happening to Palestinian civilians that are not Hamas and the just the, the brain of fire, if you will. The bombs are being dropped on them by the Israeli government and they see President Biden, who has literally embraced Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly.

Privately, they have pushed back. But you're not going to see Joe Biden, I think, push back forcefully on Prime Minister Netanyahu in public. I think that is going to be a problem for them. Somebody else might, but it's going to be issue.

All right, Simone, Brendan and Leanne, thank you so much for joining us. Instead of come, we're digging deeper into the massive human soul of the Israel Hamas war. You're watching me the press now. Stay with us.

Welcome back in Gaza, food, water and particularly fuel remain in short supplies is really air strikes continue. Gaza's hospitals, some of which are also serving as shelters for displaced civilians, are operating in dire conditions as they reach the bottom of fuel supplies. This morning, Gaza's minister of health said that 16 out of 35 hospitals in more than two thirds of health centers in Gaza are Now out of service. This afternoon, the United Nations Secretary General once again called for humanitarian ceasefire, issuing a stark warning that Gaza was becoming a, quote, graveyard for children.

I'm joined now by UNICEF spokesman Ricardo P. And Ricardo, as we just reported that those are strong words from the UN Secretary General today, he's given that striking warning that this is becoming so dangerous for children. What is yourself use of hearing from its workers on the ground as they try and provide aid to. Thanks for having me.

Again, horrific stories. The situation in Daza is now a nightmare for children. It has been a nightmare for children for nearly a month and it indeed has become a graveyard for thousands of them and it's a living hell for everyone else. They're living through something that no child should ever have to live through.

We are aware that the needs are growing. We have now reached over 4,000 children reportedly killed since the 7th of October. That's a sad number. It's over 400 children an average per day, either killed or injured, reportedly.

It's something that in that scale is very concerning for us, especially because humanitarian aid is getting in. But it's far from enough. It's just a drop in the ocean, as we've been saying. We've been banging the drums and raising the alarm that, you know, children need water now, they need food now, they need medication now, they need access to healthcare now.

And they're not getting that. As you said and you mentioned, the hospitals are collapsing, the hygiene and sanitation systems are collapsing as well. Water is contaminated. Children ended up ending up drinking contaminated water, risking themselves to other sorts of diseases.

So it's a catastrophe for them right now and we really need it to improve. Ricardo, we spoke to you nearly two weeks ago. Specifically, how has the situation in Gaza changed since we last talked? It's worsened.

It's worsened. It hasn't changed in any positive way. The escalation of the conflict has impacted children even more. We're hearing more and more stories of children being missing, seeing their houses collapsing, their parents dying in front of their eyes.

They're traumatized. They were already traumatized by many previous rounds of conflict in the region, and this one seems to be the worst by the numbers we're seeing. So all in all, they're living through a deeper nightmare as they go by. Andrew Carlo, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported there was a strike on a pediatric hospital this weekend.

What information has UNICEF been able to confirm about that strike? We haven't confirmed any information or verified any number of injuries or deaths of children in this strike. But as we know and we've seen through images over these last couple of weeks, health facilities and schools are being attacked. They're either being attacked collaterally as they suffer the damage from another target, or they're being attacked directly.

And these places are sheltering civilians, women, children. If they come under attack, their lives are at risk. And Ricardo, unfortunately, we're running out of time. We'll ask you one question.

This weekend, Secretary Blinken called for more aid, and the EU also announced it was increasing its aid. So what's it going to take for that aid to make an impact? What's going to be the most helpful allocation of that money? Well, compassion and international law have to overcome violence and war right now.

It needs to be agreed between all parts and all levels of diplomacy that it's a matter of death or life or death for children right now in Gaza. And this aid needs to get in. And it's just the beginning of it. We'll need much and much more as weeks and months come through.

Ricardo Pietas of unicef, thank you so much for your time. And that does it for today. I'm Gabe Gutierrez. Gary Hayes back tomorrow with a special edition of Meet the press.

Now live from Miami ahead of Wednesday's Republican presidential debate. NBC News NOW coverage continues with Hallie Jackson right now. Hey, everyone. I'm Dylan Dryer, co host of the third hour of TODAY and mom to three wild boys.

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