Meet the Press NOW — October 14

If it's Monday, our new NBC News poll shows former President Trump and Vice President Harris deadlocked in the race for president as headwinds hit Harris and both campaigns head to the one state that could decide it all. Plus, Democrats' new effort to shore up a key constituency. Harris unveils a new agenda aimed at black men. These polls show her support with black voters lagging.

And new escalations in the Middle East. Israel vows retaliation for a drone attack that killed four soldiers and injured dozens as U.S. plans to send Israel an advanced air system and U.S. soldiers to operate.

Hi there, welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Ryan Nobles in Washington with just 22 days till Election Day. Both candidates are heading to the swing state that could decide it all, Pennsylvania. And as our new NBC News poll shows, both former President Trump and Vice President Harris are now tied among registered voters 48 to 48.

The five-point edge that Harris had last month is now gone. And these new NBC numbers suggest the biggest obstacle for the Vice President might just be the current president. By 43 to 41 percent, more voters say that they're concerned about Harris continuing President Biden's policies over Trump continuing policies from his first term, with people more likely to say that the Biden administration policies hurt them and their families compared to the policies of the Trump administration. And my NBC colleagues report that the Harris campaign is now weighing how and where she can distance herself from Biden.

It comes after Harris struggled to answer how she would be different than Biden during multiple interviews last week. Would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past four years? There is not a thing that comes to mind in terms of, and I've been a part of most of the decisions that have had impact. But even as voters worry Harris will continue Biden's approach, they also say she better represents change than Trump.

Though that number is down from nine points in September. All of it comes as both candidates are hitting the all-important battleground of Pennsylvania tonight. Former President Donald Trump is campaigning outside of Philadelphia in the suburbs there, while Vice President Harris holds an event in Erie, Pennsylvania. Joining me now is our NBC News team.

Steve Kornacki has more in our latest poll from Where Else? The Big Board. Sahil Kapoor is on the ground in Erie, Pennsylvania following the Vice President. And Dasha Burns is in Oaks, Pennsylvania following the former president.

Steve, let's start with you. As we mentioned, this gap between Harris and Trump in September has now closed. Tell us what's changed. Yeah, I think one of the big things kind of underneath the hood, you see the overall 48-48 tie.

But take a look at this. This is the basic perception voters have of each candidate. We asked, do you have a positive or negative view of the two candidates? And you can see right now Trump's 43 positive, Harris is 43 positive.

Trump's 51 negative, Harris is 49 negative. It's virtually the same. That is different from where things were in our poll a month ago. When Harris was leading nationally, this is what it looked like in terms of the image of the candidates.

Trump was still very negative. But look at this. Harris a month ago was 48 positive, 45 negative. She had a higher positive than negative.

And the story we were talking about a month ago was that Harris had opened up an advantage on likability on perception on image over Trump A month later that advantage is gone And Steve how do the issues that voters care about play into what we seeing in this head matchup Yeah, so we asked this question about issues a little bit differently this time. Really trying to get at, you know, are some issues particularly motivating to voters? And what we did was we asked, you know, excuse me, show these first, then I'll tell you what we did. These are the advantages that the candidates have on some of the issues.

Trump's biggest advantage, you see, it's on immigration and the border by 25 points over Harris. Harris's biggest advantage is over Trump on abortion, 19 points. By that margin, voters say they think Harris would be better on the issue of abortion than Trump. Now, let me get to that question I'm talking about in terms of what we asked voters.

We said, Art, is there an issue that's so important to you it could be the sole basis of your vote? We asked it that way. And you see here abortion was mentioned more than any other issue. More than one in five voters said that abortion is potentially that important to them as a deciding factor.

Immigration in the border is up there as well at 19 percent. But certainly for Democrats, that's their big hope. That abortion motivates voters to a degree that other issues don't. Perhaps it results in around the margins, but critically a turnout advantage for them.

That's their big hope. And again, immigration in the border continues to be for Trump. His biggest single advantage issues was as close as it could possibly be. Steve, thank you for that.

Let's turn to Sahil now, who's on the ground in Erie, Pennsylvania. And Sahil, considering those numbers that we just looked at with Steve, how important are counties like Erie for the Harris campaign with just three weeks to go? Well, Ryan, there's important and then there's decisive, crucial make or break. I would put Erie County in the latter category simply because of the record it's had over the last four years.

Let's take a look at this. In 2008, Barack Obama won Erie County. In 2012, Barack Obama won Erie County. In 2016, Donald Trump won Erie County.

And in 2020, Joe Biden won Erie County. What all these have in common, the winner of Erie County won Pennsylvania statewide and became the president. Pennsylvania is now the quintessential bellwether state. At least that's how it looks.

And Erie County is the quintessential bellwether county within that. One person speaking here at this rally with Harris is Senator John Fetterman, who in 2022 won Erie County by nine points. He told me that this is a microcosm of the state. And if Harris is going to win Pennsylvania, he's got to be able to sell her message here.

This is an industrial hub that used to vote to all the Democrats, but it's trended purple. As some voters here like former President Trump's message, his right-wing populist message. So that's her task. Can she win Erie County?

It might be the key to everything. And Sahil, one of the ways she may try and do that is distancing herself from the current President Joe Biden, who she serves with. Where do they think that she can do that? And should we expect to hear some of that tonight?

Well, if we will, the campaign has not telegraphed that she will convey that tonight, Ryan. Our colleagues Monica Alba and Carol Lee have reported that within Harris's team, there have been discussions about how she can convey that difference. Again, to make sure, as you pointed out, that she maintains that advantage on change. That's important because if she's seen as too close to Biden, that advantage could go away.

So she's tried with some policy proposals that are authentic to her. For instance, the price gouging, empowering prosecutors to bust price gouging. She's a former prosecutor with her Medicare long-term plan. She talked about how she took care of her mom when she was sick.

That's something that's, again, unique to her. But beyond that, it's a very, very delicate balance. I mean I was at a rally that Joe Biden held just days before he dropped out The supporters were chanting screaming don you quit don you quit He has a very passionate base still within the party and she cannot afford to upset them and alienate them Especially in a state like Pennsylvania where Joe Biden has a pretty deep connection The other strategic move that the Harris campaign is making is that she's going to do an interview this week on Fox News. Does that reflect a concern within the campaign, or is it an effort to reach out to some of these voters that maybe past Democratic campaigns have just ignored?

Well, a couple of things, Ryan. It's a desire to turn the page on the early narrative that's heading with her campaign. Remember, she's had just three and a half months to run this campaign. She basically had to fly the plane while building it, and she did not do interviews at the outset.

Now she's doing more interviews. And now she's doing them sometimes in unfriendly and hostile spaces. That's the point of doing this interview with Fox News, where she's going to sit down with Brett Baer on Wednesday. Meanwhile, she's arguing that Donald Trump is now cocooning himself in safe spaces in the right-wing bubble, that he's refusing to do 60 Minutes, that he's refusing to do mainstream media or any consensus interview where he gets asked tough questions.

So they're trying to portray her as a candidate who's fitter, who is more agile, who's more able to take tough questions than to handle them, while portraying Donald Trump as the sleepy old guy who is losing his marbles in their due. And today, of course, this comes ahead of a blue-wall swing for the Harris campaign. They're actually going to focus on mobilizing black male voters. We saw President Obama speaking to black voters last week.

What's the campaign strategy here? Yeah, this is a very important focus, Ryan, simply by virtue of the fact that any Democrat, in order to win 270 electoral votes, in order to win the presidency, has to not just win black voters, but absolutely crush it with black voters. And the Democrats have seen some signs of softness and enthusiasm among black men in particular. Not only are some of them Trump-curious, some of them are what people in Harris' world call couch-curious.

They might stay home because there's not enough enthusiasm. So, Kamala Harris, what is she doing? Just today she outlined what she calls an opportunity agenda for black men. On the screen there, it includes a million fully forgivable loans for black entrepreneurs and others starting a business, money for education and training programs, protecting cryptocurrency, a health initiative for sickle cell and other conditions that disproportionately impact African-Americans.

And, of course, legalizing recreational marijuana to boost the industry. There's going to be a full-court press here because Harris cannot afford any backsliding with black voters if she wants to pull this off. All right, we covered a lot with you, Sahil. Thank you for that.

Let's move southeast now to where Dasha Burns is on the other side of the state. Dasha, what should we make of the location where you are and what we expect to hear from the former president? Well, both sides of the state are so important, Brian. And I got to say, I also love Erie County.

It's one of my favorite places because it is just such a microcosm and so telling. Now, the former president, though, does quite well in western Pennsylvania. That's where you get a lot of those rural and exurban areas, former industry towns that have felt abandoned by the Democratic Party. Where he's going to really have to work a little harder is on this side of the state in counties like Montgomery County, where I am right now.

These collar counties outside of Philadelphia, the suburbs of Philly, where you've got some of those more moderate voters. And so it's going to be really important for him today to sell his message to those voters. This is a town hall style. He'll be getting questions from the audience.

We are hearing that his fundamental message is going to be about the economy. But I'll also say, given the comments he made about Detroit when he was in Detroit just a few days ago, it'll be interesting to see how he talks about and paints the city of Philadelphia. He been on this trend lately of really painting a bleak grim picture of these large American cities And I seen Republican candidates in these areas kind of use Philadelphia to try to bring up issues of crime of immigration of economy in those suburban areas as well trying to get to the safety issue that they feel suburban women for example, are concerned about running. And how is the former president and his team reacting to these latest poll numbers?

Do they see a close race as a net positive versus some of the concern we're seeing from Democrats? Yeah, I mean, look, there was some concern and consternation on the team when we saw that honeymoon period that Harris was having. The vice president, though, those poll numbers They're showing a bit of erosion of that at this point. And now it is so neck and neck.

And they're feeling like, hey, if the national numbers are so close, then they feel extra good about where they are in some of these key states like Pennsylvania, like Arizona, like Nevada, like Georgia. They are still in the mindset of trying to run from behind. But they feel pretty bullish about their chances, especially looking at some of the demographics that he's doing better with this time around than he was in 2020 or 2016. Like the Latino vote, like black men and the young male vote as well.

really trying to target those, boost those numbers, and looking to bring in more voters into the polls. The team has been talking about new Republican registrations are up in Pennsylvania. Democrats had a big advantage over the last several years in terms of pure voter registration numbers. They're closing that gap now and feeling pretty good about it, Ryan.

OK, Dasha Burns just outside Philadelphia, 22 days to go. Dasha, get some rest. It's going to be a sprint to the finish. We appreciate you being on.

Coming up with three weeks to go, we'll hear from a Democratic lawmaker and Harris campaign surrogate about the deadlock race and concerns that the vice president doesn't have the support she needs from black voters. Plus, former President Trump tells Fox News that, quote, the radical left is more dangerous than America's foreign adversaries and floats using the military to target his domestic enemies. You're watching with the press now. Welcome back.

While polls show Vice President Harris is winning a large majority of black voters, a key Democratic constituency she isn't winning is the share of black voters that Biden won in 2020, which may explain today why the Harris campaign is rolling out a new initiative specifically targeting black men. As Sahil Kapoor reported just a few moments ago, the vice president's, quote, opportunity agenda for black men includes fully forgivable loans to black entrepreneurs, a focus on education, training and mentorship programs, regulatory framework on cryptocurrency, a health equity initiative focused on diseases that disproportionately afflict black men like sickle cell anemia and a push to legalize marijuana at the national level. This new agenda, and it's late in the campaign timing, may come up tomorrow during a town hall the campaign is holding tomorrow in Detroit with radio host Charlamagne Tha God. Joining me now is Rhode Island Democratic Congressman Gabe Amo, who's of course a supporter of the vice president.

And Congressman, thank you for being here. Vice President Harris rolling out this agenda specifically tailored to black men. It's about three weeks before the election. There are many states that are already voting.

Is this an admission that the campaign is struggling with black men compared to recent Democratic campaigns? No, I rather I think this rollout today of an opportunity agenda for black men is coming at just the right time, right? Black men have a tremendous opportunity to be the closers in this election. And what the vice president is doing is lifting black men up and their issues as we have people making this critical choice on what vision to choose, because we know that Donald Trump is only worried about himself.

This is an inclusive vision that the vice president is putting forward so that black men and all of America rises. I want to show you some of the numbers, Congressman. A New York Times Siena poll of black voters shows that Harris is up 78 to 15 percent with black voters. Our exit polls in 2020 had President Biden defeating former President Trump 87 to 12.

There's a bit of slippage there when you compare those numbers. Is it safe to say that there's a little less enthusiasm that's pronounced among black voters than in 2020? And if so, why do you think that is? Well, this election was always going to be close.

And I think at this point, the vice president is honing in on the key messages and leaving no stone unturned in trying to reach out to core constituencies, especially black men. Look, it's time for us to focus on things that provide economic opportunity, that really call attention to the rights that we need to protect. And of course, the long issue of lowering costs. That message needs to be clearly articulated.

It's why the campaign is doing the work of going directly to black men across this country, having huddles with black men to talk about this vision. And, you know, the vice president has not been a candidate for a long time. But throughout that time that she has been a candidate for the presidency, she has acted with great precision in contrast to what we see from the former president who only wants to do things like move our country backwards. All right.

I want to play something that we heard from former President Obama say last week. Take a listen. We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was talking. That seems to be more pronounced than the brothers.

I'm speaking to him directly. Part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren't feeling the idea of having a woman as president. And you're coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for it. What do you make of what the former president had to say there?

Is that accurate? Do you think there's some concern among black men about just the idea of voting for a woman? No. Rather, I think what you see from former President Obama is elevating black men and saying you can make a difference for someone who has shared life experiences to you, someone who is spending her career looking to empower black men.

So I think President Obama very, very firmly put the power, the agency in the hands of black men. And I think with the policy rollout today, we see the campaign meeting the moment and addressing the needs and priorities of black men across this country. I want to talk a little bit about some of our reporting from some of my NBC News colleagues. And they write that Vice President Kamala Harris's team has been discussing ways to clean up her responses to questions this week about how she would differentiate herself from President Joe Biden.

The discussions within Harris's team have included how she could put more distance between her and Biden, the people familiar with the discussion said, as well as what that would entail in the final weeks of the 2024 race. Why do you think that this is happening now? Why do you think that she feels the need to separate herself from President Biden? And is it enough at this stage of the race Well a big part of the vice president campaign is putting a new way forward in front of the American people And so articulating that is part of what she will do As she has said already, she has a different life experience than the president.

And the president has an overwhelmingly powerful life story, but so does the vice president. We need to hear more of that, her career as a prosecutor, her work to combat big banks. She has done real things that have moved this country forward. So we'll hear that.

Additionally, she's going to put forward policy physicians that are moving the ball forward in a way that we aren't able to because of the end of the Biden-Harris administration and hopefully it turns to the Harris-Walls administration. So, for example, we heard her policy on home care coverage for Medicare. That is a very strong policy point that addresses the concern of so many people across this country. And we'll hear her articulate her vision for how she'll lead and how she'll make that new way forward a possibility, not just the possibility, but our reality.

But is there some effort that she needs to make in terms of actually removing herself from some of the specific policies that are already in place? Because our polling shows that 45 percent of the respondents said that the Biden policies actually hurt their family and that they're concerned about the way that those policies were enacted. So it's not necessarily about new policy proposals, but does she need to distance herself from any of the specific policies that have already been implemented during the Biden administration? Well, look, I refer to your same polling that shows her winning on being the change agent in this election.

People see her as a change agent. So she will continue to articulate her vision for leadership and why she is a continuation of the great things accomplished in this administration, but a pathbreaking leader in her own right. And I know she has a town hall on the books for later this week. She's going to do this interview now with Fox News.

You know, at the beginning of the campaign, she wasn't doing many interviews. What do you think make of this strategy as we get closer to election? Is it a sign that they're worried that she's falling behind or is it an effort to reach out to as many people as possible? Well, I think she has reached so many Americans.

Just look at last week. She was on Howard Stern, Call Your Daddy, Stephen Colbert. While on the other hand, we saw former President Trump in hiding again and not being transparent with his medical records, certainly hiding from 60 Minutes. The contrast is very clear.

The vice president is out there. She is having massive events. She is talking to press in every form from disaffected Republicans to rallying the base. She is doing it all.

And the organization is built to keep going and talk to voters in every segment of our country so that we have a successful election day. All right, Congressman Amel, thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it. Thanks for having me.

All right. We're going to turn now to some new developments in the ongoing hurricane recovery efforts in North Carolina. Some FEMA operations in the state were forced to pause over the weekend following reports of armed militia making threats to federal responders. NBC News has not been able to confirm those reports, but one man was arrested on Saturday for making threats to federal responders.

According to the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, that man was acting alone. The operational pause comes after several weeks of misinformation about FEMA spreading online in right-wing circles and false claims being espoused by former President Donald Trump and his running mate Senator J Vance Joining me now to give some insight on those operational pauses is NBC News senior investigative producer Laura Strickler Laura what do we know about FEMA pause over the weekend and how has it affected the recovery efforts Sure so thanks Ryan So the good news here is FEMA says while they made some operational adjustments, they were back to work the same day and all of the state officials I spoke to were adamant that they're focused on the recovery effort. They see the misinformation online can stir up these problematic responses and to be clear, state officials told me they have found no evidence of truckloads of armed people hunting for FEMA workers. And what role does this recent misinformation around FEMA have to play in all of this?

So these rumors, for example, that FEMA is only giving out $750 per household, is just false. For some families, it might be as high as $40,000. The worst part here is that FEMA says this kind of misinformation has made some people less likely to apply for FEMA support that they deserve. So the agency is pushing back and strongly encouraging people to apply online as soon as possible.

And one man in Rutherford County, as we mentioned, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly making threats towards FEMA workers. What more do we know about him and his arrest? Right. So we did confirmed that on Saturday, a man was overheard at a store in western North Carolina, allegedly saying threatening things about FEMA workers.

A soldier in the area reported to a local sheriff, reported that to a local sheriff. And then later in the day, a second person called in a report about the same man with more details, including a license plate. So the sheriff's office in Rutherford County went out and arrested him. He was charged and released after making bail on Saturday night.

OK, Laura Strickler, thank you for that update. We appreciate it. Up next, campaign crunch time. Trump's red hot rhetoric raising new concerns.

Plus, Harris trying to steal the spotlight on her put the spotlight, I should say, on her rival's age and health. Our panel is next. You're watching The Press Now. Welcome back.

With three weeks till Election Day, former President Donald Trump is continuing to use inflammatory and over-the-top rhetoric when referring to his political rivals. Take a listen. I think the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people.

We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they're the big. And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by a national guard or if really necessary, by the military because they can't let that happen. We have two enemies.

We have the outside enemy and then we have the enemy from within. And the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries. Joining me now on set is Mariana Sotomayor, the congressional reporter for The Washington Post. Asante Golar, a Democratic strategist and a president of Emerge.

And Hogan Gidley, Republican strategist and former Trump campaign press secretary. So, Mariana, this talk isn't uncommon for Trump, specifically in this campaign. You've been traveling around the country talking to voters in some of these key House districts. Are they paying attention to what the former president says on a daily basis or is it just added to the pile at this point?

It depends on who you ask. Listen, I mean, it was fascinating. I was out on the West Coast and hearing a lot of the misinformation on the hurricanes, for example, was something that was front of mind for a lot of voters who probably have never experienced a hurricane before. So that's just one example of just how much a lot of what Trump says or a lot of what his surrogates are promoting do end up reaching certain voters I mean when it comes to what he said at least in these remarks it nothing new but it works for the Republican base And the reason why is something that I sure you have heard from Republican lawmakers even over the past year privately them saying just how the Republican base is so attracted to the fact that Trump protects them.

That's how they see him. He constantly has said on the campaign trail, if it weren't for the government coming after me, this weaponization of the government, they were coming after me, they'd be coming after you. And that is something that very much resonates with a lot of voters, including those who at the moment are undecided. And Trump is trying to win over.

I'm not sure if he will, with a lot of the independent voters who might be wondering why he's talking about potentially using the government. And Hogan, it seems like it was just last month when it was the former president was accusing Democrats of ramping up the rhetoric, even suggesting that perhaps that was the reason that he faced that assassination attempt. Now he's describing what he calls the enemy within, saying that Democrats are more dangerous than perhaps some of these foreign adversaries like China and Russia. How do you square those two things?

Well, look, I think it's pretty obvious over the course of Donald Trump's presidency, people were working from inside the government to try and take him down. There were all types of stories and lies about Russia collusion. Of course, Wuhan lab leak theories, a whole host of things on COVID and other things that worked from the inside of government to try and undermine the president of the United States. Not to mention many Democrats saying he was illegitimately elected, not really the president, the whole thing.

This is still going to come down to the issues that matter for the American people. You just asked whether this is just thrown on the pile as more information. I would argue, yes, it is. But the American people still face difficulties.

They can't afford gas and groceries. The border's wide open along the south. We have wars breaking out all over the world. That's what's actually going to determine this race.

The rhetoric has always been ratcheted up on both sides of this. Conal Harris on a debate stage just lied about his position on abortion, lied about a whole host of issues on the bloodbath lie, the Charlottesville lie, his stance on Project 2025. And no one says a word about it. It's just part of the rhetoric that we face in this country today And I wouldn't say it's a good thing, but that's just part of politics I don't know, but explain to me what you mean by Project 2025 lie She said he supported Project 2025 He doesn't She said that he was for a national abortion ban He isn't She said that he said the things about good people on both sides That had been debunked Come on, that has been debunked multiple times He was not talking about white supremacists, that is clear She said that the country was going to face a bloodbath He was talking about the automobile industry All of those things aren't true, and they continue to say them Not to mention threats to democracy One elected official said he should be eliminated, for heaven's sakes These things are part and parcel with a ratcheted up rhetoric situation in this country.

And the American people really do want change. That's why they're looking to go to a president who has shown them a proven record of success versus Kamala Harris, who has given them all the problems they face in their lives today. OK, so, Shanti, the Trump and Harris campaigns seem to have different media strategies right now. Trump campaigns spend a lot of time criticizing the vice president for not doing interviews.

Now she's doing interviews and he's not doing interviews. So what do you make of that shift in strategy from both sides? So I continue to say it is a brilliant strategy on the vice president's part. I am not the demographic for Call Her Daddy, but it was all in my social media feed.

It was everything that people are talking about, even what she's continuing to do this week. She is meeting voters where they are. We continue to talk about how the political landscape has changed. So that means you have to change the way that you are reaching voters.

Not everyone is watching the news all the time. There are those people who think about it for five minutes. the day. So you've got to catch them on their local news.

There are the young people. They love to stream. So you've got to find them on YouTube. That's why I love that the Oprah event was streamed live on YouTube and podcasts are important because in this day and age with so much miss and disinformation, you have to go to those people that you trust.

And those are very trusted people. It continues to be extremely effective. I'm glad she's going to continue to do it. And I'm looking forward to hearing what's going to come out of the wonderful interviews that she's doing this week with black men.

Okay, Mariana, let's play something that Trump said over the weekend in California. I'll have you respond to that. We're going to take care of your water situation and we'll force it down his throat and we'll say, Gavin, if you don't do it, we're not giving you any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the forest fires that you have. It's not hard to do.

So these remarks come after the former president baselessly accused the federal government of withholding aid in North Carolina because of politics. Now, that wasn't happening, but that was an accusation that he made. Now, did Trump make that accusation because he thinks it's politically inbounds now? What do you think the basis of this is?

I mean, what he just said is something that I actually heard from a lot of Republican voters out in California. Even him talking about water is such a local issue. I listen, I don't know why he tends to say some of these things that he does or doesn't. But I mean, like you just said, it is misandisinformation.

It's not true that the Biden administration is only sending money to Democratic constituents or Democratic areas that have been hard hit by these hurricanes. But it is that sentiment is something that is resonating among voters. And it's fascinating to even hear it from parts of the country, again, that haven't necessarily faced any of these natural disasters. Is that a fair thing for him to say, Hogan, to suggest that he's going to withhold disaster aid to specific states or specific governors because he doesn't like their politics?

Oh, look, I think Gavin Newsom has a history of not cleaning up the underbrush out there in California. which is why you see a lot of those wildfires that go on for days and for weeks and cause people to lose their homes. It's a real problem, and they do that all under the auspices of some type of love for the environment instead of doing what is necessary and protecting the people by cleaning up your messes. Gavin Newsom has failed on those fronts.

But as far as North Carolina is concerned, look, I've been there. I've been in the state. I have family there as well. There's no question that this administration failed in preparing to do what it needed to do for the hurricane.

The assets weren't moved into place. Anytime you see a big hurricane barreling down in New Orleans, in Louisiana, for example, Baton Rouge, Katrina, you saw miles of trucks, and they just holed up at all these hotels. When that last raindrop fell, they were in there to get the transformers back up. But do you think the Biden administration did that because they were red counties?

I think they do that because they're incompetent and they're not good at their job. And if you ask the people on the ground there, they want assets and they need those things. But no one expected Asheville to be under six feet of water after that. I mean, none of the forecasters predicted that, right?

Of course they did. Many of the models, even on this network, you saw all kinds. Look, I did weather, local weather, a long time ago back in the day. Turns out there's satellite images.

Turns out there's spaghetti models that tell you where this thing's going to go. And the assets weren't put in place. And now the administration has to play catch up because while these people are suffering, still being rescued in many instances, no clean water, no housing, nothing like that. They can't get there to help them out at all because the roads were all washed away.

No one was ready to run You can answer my question though but is it responsible for him to suggest that disaster rates I mean you can argue about the political decisions made and what lead to natural disasters but holding a disaster to people that need it after they been impacted by that is that a responsible position Look the federal government and state government always comes through with the resources that he needs over some time He's suggesting they don't. Well, plenty of citizens would say they don't get what they need from the federal government, and they don't get what they need from the state government either. The problem with California, as we just pointed out, is the fact that they continually do things that perpetuate these disasters on themselves. And so when there is a fire, instead of it being able to be contained, that underbrush is all in there and it allows it to spread.

It's a real problem. Ashanti, I'll let you weigh in on this. I mean, do you think that this is a responsible position for the former president? It's absolutely not.

You have to care about all people when there is a disaster. People are hurting. People have died. They just want relief.

They want to know that their government cares. And it should not matter who they vote for in order for them to get the things that they need. If we need more relief, then we need for Congress to vote to give the money to give those people relief. It's one of the reasons why Vice President Harris has been so effective, that she's been going out, traveling, talking to people about the hurricane.

She's there for people. You see that empathy. They know that she cares. And that's the type of leader that all Americans deserve.

She's been playing politics in the word go, arguing with Ron DeSantis. ever in disaster relief. Even Joe Biden said we're working fine with him and they're getting everything. Congress has given 20 billion dollars for this relief effort, and it's up to the administration to put it out there, and they have not done so.

They're complaining about more money to take. They spent two percent of that 20 billion dollars. OK, we're going to leave it there. Mariana Ashante, Hogan, thank you all for being here.

We appreciate it. After the break, we're heading to two battleground states, Michigan, where the war in the Middle East is top of mind for voters, and Arizona, where abortion could be a deciding factor. You're watching The Press Now. Welcome back.

Michigan isn't just one of the most closely contested races in the race for president. I should say states in the race for president. It's also home to one of the most closely watched Senate races this year, as Republicans seek to regain control of the upper chamber. Tonight, Democratic Congresswoman Alyssa Slotkin and former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers will swear off for their second debate.

It's one of three Senate races that the Cook Political Report races as a toss-up. A Quinnipiac University poll conducted earlier this month shows the two tied. And with Michigan home to the largest Arab-American population in the country, as well as a large Jewish American population. The escalating tensions in the Middle East are a big part of this race.

NBC's Julie Circuit is part of our fantastic team covering Congress. She spoke to Alyssa Slakin and Mike Rogers both, and she joins me now from Detroit. Julie, how much is the presidential race impacting what you're seeing in the Senate race? Well, a lot, Ryan, because unlike other swing states like Arizona, for example, that we just were in last week covering the Senate race there, or even Pennsylvania, you're really not seeing either candidate here running away with the race or performing differently than the top of their ticket.

When you look at what's going on on the ground here, it kind of mirrors what we're seeing nationally in terms of the polls. Even our latest NBC News poll that found Trump and Harris essentially in the dead heat That's what's going on here in Michigan. And it is exactly what is happening on the Senate level as well between Rogers and Slock. And so when you're also looking at the issues, you're talking to voters here.

A lot of the things that people care about nationally and are impacting the presidential race, people also care about here on the ground. I talking about the economy I talking about immigration the border even abortion even though this state was able to codify that procedure until law two years ago All of those things are critical for voters and both candidates are vying essentially for the same group here So are these candidates are they embracing or are they trying to run away from the top of the ticket Well, they're both in our interviews at least sticking close with the tops of their tickets. Remember, for Mike Rogers, for example, Trump is really helping him get those MAGA voters, that MAGA base, and eat into those Republicans that Rogers historically maybe didn't align with as closely. He didn't endorse former President Trump for a long time.

Trump now endorsed him, and he endorsed him back. But when you look at Salkin, for example, she described Harris entering the fold as a sea change. Take a listen to more of what she and Rogers told me. Listen, I'm not running Donald Trump's campaign.

I'm running Mike Rogers' campaign for the United States Senate. Yesterday in Detroit, the former president criticized the city and called it, quote, a developing area, hell of a lot more than most places in China. Democrats from Harris to slot into other officials in this state are jumping on that. Do you agree with what he said?

Listen, I didn't hear what he said. How has it been for you to have Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket versus President Biden? Yeah, I mean, look, it was a sea change when she fleeted up to the top of the ticket. But I think now that we're in the fall, it's the same as it always is in a swing state, and particularly in Michigan.

It's about those independent voters, those swing voters, those voters who make their decisions very late. We're competing for a very small group of people who decide Michigan elections, and they are still making up their minds. You heard Mike Rogers there at the top of that soundbite, being very careful not to be critical of former President Trump while saying that he is running his own race. He also told me he believes he can get those split ticket voters.

He said you will see Harris Rogers support because he's zeroing in on those key voting groups that we keep talking about. Black voters, auto workers, a big blue collar population here in the state, a working state. And when it comes to slot in, of course, she said that they're after those modern and independent voters. This race was actually once leaning Democrat.

They're all they're vying for the open Senate seat of Debbie Stabenow that held this seat for nearly 25 years. So it's really interesting to see the dynamic shift in this race. As now, Slocken and Rogers, as you see on your screen there, are neck and neck tied. And Julie, we definitely need to talk about how the conflict in the Middle East is particularly prominent in Michigan.

It is home to the largest percentage of Arab Americans. It also has a significant Jewish population. How are the candidates navigating this issue? And also, Ryan, the largest percentage of Lebanese Americans.

Of course, that's notable when you see how this conflict in the Middle East has been changing and expanding in the last couple of weeks. This is something that's certainly front of mind, not only for Slocken, but for Rogers. As I press both of them on this issue, Slokin has really been trying to sort of balance how she's handling the crisis here in terms of her private conversations with the communities, saying she's not giving public advice to the administration for how they should handle it. There's a large uncommitted vote that we saw here.

So, again, Roger saying that he believes he can edge into that. Some of the victorious groups the Democrats have historically been victorious with. And we'll just see what happens. All right, Julie Serkin, excellent reporting as always.

Thank you, Jules. Turning from Michigan now to another closely watched battleground, Arizona, a state that President Biden won by about 10,000 votes in 2020. Now it's one of 10 states where abortion is on the ballot this November. And Democrats are hoping that motivates their voters to the polls.

According to our new NBC News poll, when asked if there is one issue that is important enough that you would vote for or against a president just on that single issue alone, abortion tops the list. NBC News correspondent Liz Crutz has more from Phoenix Well hey there Ryan No surprise We are hearing from women and young voters here in the state who tell us that this issue is an extremely motivating issue for them and a mobilizing one as well We are inside the headquarters for the group that is supporting this abortion access measure Prop 139 It would expand abortion access here in the state and also enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. This group has been out here for months gathering signatures, getting out the vote. They are hoping to knock on a million doors by Election Day in this final stretch right now.

And come over here. You can see on the wall they have this number, more than 800,000. This is the number of signatures that this group got to get this measure on the ballot. This is more than any other measure in Arizona state history.

So, Ryan, it just shows you how significant this issue is and also popular this issue is. But here are the numbers. The New York Times-Siena poll shows that this measure is likely to pass. It is polling at 52 percent right now compared to 33 percent who oppose it, 14 percent who are undecided.

That does mean it's more popular than Kamala Harris in the state right now. The poll, that same poll shows her at 46 percent compared to Donald Trump at 51 percent. And that is consistent with what we've seen in our own reporting and our NBC polls that show that, yes, this is a mobilizing issue. Yes, this could give Kamala Harris a boost.

But there are other mobilizing issues like immigration and the economy. And there are folks who say, yeah, they're going to come out and support this measure, but still back former President Trump. Right. Ms.

Quartz, thank you for that. We appreciate it. Up next, the U.S. Embassy urges Americans to leave Lebanon as Israel vows to retaliate for what they say is a deadly Hezbollah attack on Israeli soil.

You're watching the Press Now. Welcome back. The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon is strongly encouraging U.S.

citizens to leave the country as violence between Hezbollah and Israel intensifies. Israel says that four of its soldiers were killed by a Hezbollah drone attack overnight inside Israel. More than 60 other people were injured. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Red Cross says that an Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in northern Lebanon, killing at least 21 people.

And the U.S. is deepening its involvement in the conflict, agreeing to send a powerful anti-missile defense system to Israel. NBC News correspondent Hala Garani joins me now from Tel Aviv with more. Hala, what do we know about that deadly drone strike against Israeli soldiers and the escalating tensions there?

Well, it was one of the deadliest incidents inside of Israel against the Israeli military. Since October 7th, four soldiers were killed, but dozens more were injured. This happened in the northern part of the country. A Hezbollah drone was not detected, by the way, by the Iron Dome system in Israel and made it in.

And the Israeli military is saying it needs to learn from this incident. But this is something that certainly is going to be a cause for concern. There is never, of course, 100 percent protection from these missiles, these drones and these rockets. And this, as you mentioned, is as the United States is getting ready to send that THAAD missile defense system to Israel in anticipation of a strike from the Israeli military against Iran.

And this is in retaliation to Iran's retaliatory strike against Israel for the killing of the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah. You really sense that this city, Tel Aviv, where I am and the country in general, there's a feeling that people are a little bit more tense than when I was here during my last visit about a month or so ago, because there is anticipation that this conflict could escalate and become more intense. And all of this is happening. as the attacks, the Israeli military attacks in Gaza, especially northern Gaza, are killing and maiming hundreds of Palestinians just in the last few days with one of the worst attacks on a tent city in the middle part of Gaza at the Alexa Martyrs Hospital where people were quite literally burned alive as an Israeli strike hit a tent city.

So there is a lot of tension, a lot of bloodshed, and some people are worried that worse may yet still be to come. Brian, back to you. Okay, Hala Garani, who's live for us in Tel Aviv tonight. Hala, thank you so much for that report.

We appreciate it. And before we go, we do want to take a moment to mark the holiday known in many cities and states as Indigenous Peoples Day. The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American reservation in the U.S., but many of the people who live there don't have access to running water. NBC News contributor Alyssa London recently traveled there to report on the efforts by Navajo leaders to push Congress to fix the problem.

On Navajo Nation, Darlene Narviso is known as the Water Lady. Four days a week, she fills a tanker truck with 4,000 gallons of what in this part's region is considered liquid gold. Then makes the rounds, distributing that water to households in need. What are some of the best parts about hauling water out to various households?

Well, I love my job because I know everybody and they're depending on me. Navajo Nation's president says an estimated one third of homes on the reservation lack running water. It's their way of life. Some have underground cisterns that attach to an indoor sink, but the tanks must be frequently refilled.

Do you ever run out in between? Yeah, we do. What do you do in that case? We try to communicate, call them, ask them that we're out of water.

Life in remote areas of the reservation doesn't come with all the modern amenities, But a safe and steady source of water isn't a modern amenity. Many say it's a right. Whether you're a Republican, Democrat, you care about making sure that when you live in America, you should be able to have access to clean, reliable drinking water. Navajo Nation President Boo Nigren is working with Congress on historic settlements to determine water allocation for homes and economic development on the reservation.

Two settlements aim to bring urgently needed water to both sides of Navajo Nation the Arizona side and the New Mexico side In the proposed Arizona settlement Navajo Nation along with the Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes would get guaranteed water from the Little Colorado River Basin and billion for infrastructure projects. A second New Mexico settlement would increase funding to bring San Juan River water to Navajo Nation and other communities in the northwest part of the state. Right now, some of the purified water in the safe public wells is supplied by St. Bonaventure Mission.

There's about 5,000 people altogether that get water from us in one fashion or another. But a Navajo community leader told us some families skip the long and expensive drive and go to closer wells instead, including wells that their test show are contaminated with uranium. A lot of family members take the water home, boil it, and then they think it's safe to cook with it. The uranium site is only two miles away and it goes into the water.

Nigren believes the U.S. government's demand for the toxic uranium nearly a century ago is one more reason lawmakers need to pass the water settlements. And he's hoping they get congressional approval before President Biden leaves office. President Biden's always been very instrumental in Indian country, and hopefully he's listening to it.

I want him to make some phone calls. Water is life. Water. Nothing happens without water.

And the Navajo president, who you saw in that piece, says that the water settlement talks are personal. He grew up hauling water for his family and that his first indoor shower was when he was a freshman in college. He says he's working for a future generation of Navajo children to have better access to clean, reliable drinking water. Our thanks to Alyssa London for that reporting.

And we're going to be back tomorrow with more Meet the Press now as we count down to Election Day. It will only be 21 days until Election Day when we're on the air with you tomorrow. But the news continues right now with Hallie Jackson, right now on NBC News Now. Hey, it's Kate Snow, NBC News anchor and host of The Drink.

This month, Demi Lovato is my guest. The global superstar tells me that she is the happiest she's ever been right now. But getting there, it wasn't simple. Demi opens up about starting in Hollywood young and why she now thinks she may have started too soon.

She talks about recovery, her new marriage, and the deeply personal reason behind her new cookbook. The Drink is always about the journey to the top, and this was an honest conversation about what that takes. Hope you'll listen and follow The Drink wherever you get your podcasts.