Meet the Press NOW — October 23

I'm Craig Malph, cheers, cheers. I've always been a glass half-full kind of guy. And now, I'm talking to some people who look at the world that way too. Some really fascinating folks who share their good finding moments, their triumphs, their challenge, their stories are funny, and you're my candidate.

So I hope you'll join me each week. Who knows? You might just come away with your own glass half-full. Search glass half-full with Craig Malph and from today on YouTube and wherever you get to podcast.

Hi, it's Kate Snow and DC News anchor, host of the podcast The Drink. This month, I'm grabbing a matcha latte with comedian Taylor Tonlinson. The drink is always about someone's journey to the top, and Taylor's story is remarkable. She tells us all about her unlikely path from performing in churches, all the way to headlining her own Netflix specials like her latest prodigal daughter.

And she opens up about her religious upbringing, what drew her to stand up, and how she feels when she gets on that stage. Hope you'll listen and follow the drink wherever you get your podcasts. If it's Wednesday, the latest bombshell less than two weeks to go, as Donald Trump's former White House Chief of Staff, General John Kelly, goes on the record in a rare interview calling Mr. Trump the definition of a fascist.

Plus, newly unsealed intelligence revealing the potential for Russia and Iran to incite violence in the US following the election, as federal and local officials brace for the potential for turmoil and unrest. On Election Day and beyond. And Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urges Israel to end the warring Gaza, as Israeli strikes pound Lebanon, killing Hezbollah's likely next leader. Welcome to the press now in Kristin Welker in Washington, just 13 days out from the election, if you can believe it.

And with early voting underway across much of the country, we are tracking the fallout from a stunning on-the-record condemnation of former President Donald Trump by his longest serving White House Chief of Staff, retired four-star General John Kelly. Kelly telling The New York Times in a recorded interview that he was deeply troubled by Mr. Trump's comments about using the military against his domestic political rivals, and that in his view, Donald Trump meets the definition of a fascist. Looking at the definition of fascism, it's a far-right authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology who have been characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized hypocrisy, militarism, force the push of oppression of opposition, belief, and natural social hierarchy.

So certainly, in my experience, those are the times that we've been confused. We've worked better in terms of running Americans. We've worked really fast in the general definition of fascist, for sure. Now, Kelly told The Times that during his tenure at the White House, President Trump wanted personal loyalty over loyalty to the Constitution, and that he expressed contempt for disabled veterans, and that he had even praised Adolf Hitler.

He would, in the context of the world, once it, you know, to hit with some good things to the right. So if you, first of all, you should never say that. But if you knew what his trip was all about from the beginning to the end, everything he did was in support of his racist, fascist, life, you know, philosophy, so that nothing you did, you could argue, was good. And we're certainly not done for the right reason.

And, but the even, occasionally, we say that. The Trump campaign dismissed Kelly's comments, calling them fabricated, saying that the retired four-star general had, quote, the clown himself. The Harris campaign today seizing on Kelly's comments as it intensifies its closing arguments that the former president is unfit for office. This is a window into who Donald Trump really is, from the people who know him best.

And it is clear, from John Kelly's words, that Donald Trump is someone who, I quote, certainly falls into the general definition of fascist. Donald Trump is increasingly unhinged and unstable. And in a second term, people like John Kelly would not be there to be the guardrails against his propensities and his actions. So the bottom line is this, we know what Donald Trump wants.

He wants unchecked power. The question in 13 days will be, what do the American people want? As John Kelly said, Donald Trump doesn't understand the Constitution nor does he respect the rule of law. If there was ever a red line, he doesn't have to be prosecuted.

Meanwhile, the former president is ratcheting up his personal attacks on the Harris walls to get including last night in Battleground, North Carolina, baselessly suggesting that Vice President Harris is a substance abuser. Does she drink? Is she on drugs? I don't know.

I don't know. I have no idea. She's a low IQ individual. Remember, she's a stupid person.

She's totally unfit for office. No one respects her. No one trusts her. No one takes her serious.

No one takes her seriously. And something is clearly wrong with her. Something is wrong with her. Something's wrong with her.

And something's wrong with his vice president. He is off. She can't put two senses together. I'm competing against this stupid person.

Now with the race so close, the big question is, will any of these developments move voters, even a small subsection of voters? Our friend Chuck Todd writes in his column today, ultimately this campaign is likely to come down to whether Trump's character is problematic enough for some GOP-leaning suburban voters that they hold their noses and support someone they politically would normally not support. We're going to talk to Chuck in just a moment. One Hill here though is with the Trump campaign in Georgia, and it may be Shausen or is following the Harris campaign in Philadelphia.

But let me start with you and these striking comments from General John Kelly. You've been talking to your sources inside the Trump campaign. What are they telling you? What's the reaction?

This is a candidate in Donald Trump who is really running his campaign strategically and communications-wise, Kristen. And so for his campaign advisors, there is no effort to write soft in the impact of the criticism of his former chief of staff, John Kelly. And what I said is to take John Kelly head on. You referenced a statement from the spokesman that suggested that John Kelly was be clowning himself with his statements about Donald Trump.

But you see from the candidate himself who we are now just seeing for the first time here today and an event down the road not part from where we are in Georgia. Somebody who has a history of lashing out against his former administration officials who had spoken out against him. James Mattis, his former Pentagon secretary, said that Donald Trump wanted to divide Americans instead of unite. You had the likes of another defense secretary.

Mark Esper speaking out against an HR McMaster, his national security advisor. And that's what he's doing. He's a former secretary of state, his former national security advisor, John Bolton. Really though, what John Kelly's words though is really for the first time you hear directly from somebody who worked so closely with him calling him an authoritarian.

And I want to let you listen because I mentioned for Trump and his campaign, this is about responding and making these individuals a part of the campaign. Take a listen at Donald Trump on the campaign stage last night in Greensboro, North Carolina. When Putin saw how weak we were, how pathetic we were, with the stupid million, these generals that aren't even generals as far as I was concerned. What a stupid group of people they were.

Mattis, Millie. We have a great military. They now woke some of the stupid people up top or woke. We have seen Donald Trump speak out against those who have criticized him by suggesting all but they are the ones that encumbered him from being an even more successful first president.

And that he come 2025 will ensure that he is surrounded by campaign advisors and cabinet members who are duly efficient or duly loyal to him and carry out the wishes of the Republican Party in the Magga agenda. So for Donald Trump, this is really a moment here where he is taking some criticism at all at the same time using that criticism to try to galvanize his most faithful supporters to put him back in the White House. And as you've been speaking, former president Trump is talking there in Zebilun, Georgia, where you are, talk about the strategy in Georgia, a place where Trump clearly now feels he's on a bit of defense. What have we heard from him today?

Right, these are the seven battleground states that you're looking at and pulling shows them close everywhere. Georgia and North Carolina where he spent the last two days are really two of those states that he needs to win. If he does not effectively win these two states, it's going to be tough for him to get to 270 electoral college maps on November 5th. But for him, again, when we're talking about Kristen, about the type of leader that he wants to be, part of that message is making the case that he and the use of the executive branch could be more effective than relying on Congress, Mitch may have a Democratic majority, for example, in the House.

When we're talking about immigration, for example, we have heard him talk so much about immigration and pushing back against the criticism that he helped assign me and bring an end to that bipartisan bill up on Capitol Hill here this year. He's gone around the country telling crowds, including just this week, that you don't need a bill, you need a president. And for Donald Trump, that means him and the suggestion is that the White House, and particularly one who is effectively able to use the power of the White House, is the answer to so many of America's problems. That's coming from Donald Trump.

Right, von Hilliard in Georgia for us. Keep battleground state. Thank you very much. Really appreciate it.

Yamiche, let's head over to you in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Obviously the biggest battleground 19 electoral votes. So the candidates will be barnstorming this state between now and election day. And we talk about the strategy in the wake of these John Kelly comments because they really fit into what we've heard from the vice president, these closing arguments, quite frankly, that she's been making, which have revolved around trying to make this argument that we heard when President Biden was at the top of the ticket, that Trump is a threat to democracy and it's striking because obviously reproductive rights Democrats know that's something that energizes their base, but she's really putting the focus on this idea by John Kelly and we're broadly speaking that Trump is a threat.

That's right, Kristen. The vice president and her entire campaign are really seizing on these these comments by former Chief of Staff John Kelly and really wanting to underscore that what he's saying about the fact that former Republican Trump is a threat. And he's saying about the fact that former President Trump fits into the category of a passage that that really is just connected to their overall messaging and that they've been making that's been part of their campaign, which is that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. So we saw the vice president do something that she's really done, which is deliver remarks and really talk about the fact that not only is this problematic and dangerous language here, this from people who know Donald Trump has, but she also made the point that if Donald Trump were to be real elected, he wouldn't have people like John Kelly back in the White House with him.

So in other words, he would be in her mind and in her words more unhinged and he can use the military to do all sorts of things going against the US Constitution. We go for her governor Tim Walz talk about this. He says, as a 24 year military veteran, these comments and this idea of Donald Trump comparing himself and wanting Adolf Hitler's generals to be like the generals in the United States that that makes him quote, six. So they are really, really meaning in all this.

And we expect to hear the vice president and her running a number of campaign surrogates continue to talk about this question. Meanwhile, you mentioned our friend and colleague, Holly Jackson sat down with the vice president yesterday. They covered a range of different topics. What were your key takeaways?

They did cover a range of topics. I think one of the top takeaways from this interview was that the vice president says that any sort of negotiation that impacts women's abilities to really have control over their own bodies when it comes to the issue of abortion is a non-negotiable. Take a listen to a moment where they were talking about that topic. So is a question of pragmatism then.

What concessions would be on the table? Religious exemptions? For example, is that something that you would consider? I don't think we should be making concessions when we're talking about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your own body.

So Republicans like, for example, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, who would back something like this on a democratic agenda. If in fact Republicans control Congress, would you offer them an olive wrench or is that off the table? Is that not an action for you? I'm not going to engage in hypotheticals because we can go on with a variety of scenarios.

Another interesting moment from that interview was that vice president Harris that she thinks that the country is ready for a woman or one of color herself to be president in a topic that she has not wanted to engage in in like in every big way, but a topic that she was very comfortable talking about in this interview, Kristin. Yeah, very different strategy than we saw with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for example, Yamiche. Thank you so much. Do you want to be now on Senator's NBC News Chief Political Analyst Chuck Todd?

Betsy Woodruff Swann, political correspondent for Politico? Sasha Cure, senior advisor to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Republican strategist Doug High, thanks for being here. Betsy, let's start with these comments by John Kelly, obviously getting a lot of attention, but the big question is are they going to move the needle or are they going to bring anyone into the Harris category? I want to play a little bit more of them and get to reaction on the other side.

The only president that has all but rejected what America is all about and in what makes America America in terms of our Constitution, in terms of our values, you know, what we look at everything to include family, government, the only president that I know of it was certainly my surely advice. That was like that. What do you think the impact is going to be? I don't think it's going to be as helpful to the Harris campaign as she and her team are banking on.

There's no question that they see this as an enormous political boon that it's something that Vice President wants to talk about in her town hall tonight, that it's a theme she's been leaning into so hard in these key final days of the campaign. At the same time though, it's very much of a piece with what so many former Trump White House officials have been saying for three years now. The fact that his closest advisors, including his closest national security advisors have said he's a danger. He engages in this type of disturbing activity and rhetoric.

These allegations are part of a long running theme and they're not part of a theme that has resulted in making this race clean cat and easy for the Harris to do you think that John Kelly speaking out encourages other Trump officials to speak out and could that be something that moves the needle when we're talking about the inches of this race. Well, what's interesting and I want to want to piggyback on something that he just said is I think we need to step back and realize how strategic the Harris campaign has been today just about this topic. If you had any doubts about how they were going to close, there should be no doubts. You have any doubts about what the theme of her speech is going to be on the National Mall.

I think I know we just are a preview of it. They decided to close on this match. There's two ways to look at it. It's the one voter that's left that she could get.

This is an incredibly hard voter to get. But you need to work at it, work at it. This is a Republican voter who probably has voted for Trump once or yes. And you've got to get them to do something that perhaps they've never done before.

And not only that, Harris might be more liberal than any Democrat that they have ever encountered. And they're likely, I mean, give you an example, state of Pennsylvania. Bob Casey is trying to win over a Trump voter to win. And now she's basically trying to win over a McCormick voter.

And the reason I bring this up is because this is true both sides. The closing messages for the Democrats down the ballot, Social Security, very curious about my name. But it's fascinating to me. And I know now there's a lot of already, what I'd say, the pre-money, we're fighting morning quarterbacking.

If there's Monday morning quarterbacking, this is the, wait a minute, are you sure you want to talk this quarterback? We're fighting morning quarterbacking here. But it is interesting to me that the Democratic messages down the ballot are all substance. All, you know, mostly two issues.

Social Security is the other one. Actually, it's been bigger. I get tell-fasts has been involved. But it is, but look, whatever we think, we know what they think.

And the Harris campaign is banking on something. But by the way, Trump is also banking on a voter that never shows up, a young male. Okay, so it is interesting to me that both of them in this, I sort of now say we're about a crash land. This is not an election that's going to be clean.

It's a crash landing. And we're going to have to go through the wreckage to figure out who's surviving. Yeah, well, it's a great point and fast pick up on it. Because do you think this is her strongest closing argument?

I mean, as Chuck says, the down ballot candidates are talking about Social Security are talking about reproductive rights, which we have seen in the midterms, energizes voters, Democrats to get out and cast their ballot. I'm not in love with it, but it's revelatory in terms of the closing argument. I'm going to add to everything that Betsy and Chuck have said. The reason why you might want to emphasize Trump as a fear is because you worry that the 81 million votes that were there for Joe Biden are not yet there for compliment.

And what else generate that turnout? Fear of Donald Trump. He might be back. He might be a chaos agent.

He's that close in the final day. So I think as much as you're also talking to the Republican Republican, you're also just trying to generate enthusiasm and excitement to you. Yes, for sure. Oh, for sure.

I would say it does more for the base than it does. Even when we put out the rights? I mean, what it does with this argument, they've decided with the Liz Cheney and appeal is that for people like Doug, who are not always in love with Donald Trump, this might appeal to them. I argue, and I feel like the down ballot show this.

So if you're shared down to Bobby, Bob Casey, you look at Dan Osborne's race in Nebraska, like you're me, Guy, you go in Arizona. What are they doing? They are fighting on issues of corporate greed, prescription drugs, social security, reducing cost of housing. I want to tackle substantive issues to improve your economic lives.

And for that reason, I have much more confidence in where they're going to land at the end of the day than I have right now. I think his point is ultimately they're talking about what voters are talking about. And the coming times we had Donald Trump bombshells that never amounted to anything really. You know, this is not an October surprise because no one's surprised.

We've heard some of this already. Is there anything that we could learn about Donald Trump? No. Bill Simmons has the icing zone.

I think it's a Trump zone. I think it's a Trump zone. What leaked audio of Donald Trump? Oh my God.

I didn't know that. It was eight years and two weeks ago where the Axis Hollywood tape came out on a Friday night. I said, this election's over. The next day it was a rally.

I was a rally at a election we didn't know. I'm in Raleigh, North Carolina at a Richard Burr event. And I said, oh, oh wait, no, they're not leaving him. And that's not changed.

And yet we see down ballot candidates talking about the issues that voters are talking about. Harris seems to want to stay away from those. And I cannot fathom this. Let me read a little bit more of what Chuck had to say in your column.

The simple fact, this is still a jump ball is a reminder that Trump is his own worst enemy. And if the final two weeks of this campaign are more about Trump than Harris, and you believe we are living in an era when the final decisive voters are more concerned with whom they don't want in the White House than whom they do, then Harris may close stronger at the end than Trump. Chuck. It is.

It is. I understand. Like I said, I get their theory. I think it's her only path to victory.

I'm just, it's a treacherous path. It's a narrow path. But you start to look at these intangibles. He's going after a voter.

Again, I always laugh at this. Like he does really well with voters who didn't vote in 1820 and 22. Okay. They didn't vote in 1820 or 22.

The likelihood that they're going to vote in 24. Like how he's connected with young men. He hasn't said what he's going to do for them. He just simply says, Hey, my lunch table schooler than the per lunch day.

Don't you want to hang out here? And they're like, Okay. And I've seen young men go, Oh, he's funny. But it hasn't translated to a vote yet.

And the question is, will it put so much of the focus has been on energizing young male and male voters, African American male voters. That's, that's where I mean women voters as well, obviously, but a real focus on that from both campaigns. Yeah, no question. And it's clear, of course, that if Trump is able to peel off just a point or two in terms of Harris's African American support.

You lose states, you lose congressional districts, you lose the makeup of the House of Representatives. It's existential for Democrats that they just do really, really well with that voting block. Of course, what I find striking is the issues where Harris is willing to compromise versus the issues where she's not. And some of this gets back to these former Republican voters.

She's walked back where she stands on fracking compared to 2019. She's walked back some of the very progressive policy stances that she took in that primary where she's not compromising where she would give an inch is on these reproductive rights issues, even when Halle of course posed it as a religious exemption issue. Very much Halle asking the question where you know Liz Cheney would have wanted to hear one answer and it was not the answer that Harris gave. And that of course is a position that's appealing very much to voters where reproductive rights is the top issue and they don't want to see any compromise.

Yeah, she was the, you know, she, one of her strengths was going to be the change agent. And if you look at how it played out after Project 2025, you know, Democrats are a great job of making sure everyone you brought Project 25 and hated it. And they kind of moved off of that. And in that period of time, what Donald Trump has done is done no tax on social security, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on car loans, no tax if you're active duty, something, something.

And the day he is pulling policy out of his ear and saying something, he's going to McDonald's, he's going to talk to working class, people's going to show up for Steelers game is going to go on some podcast and tell you about all he cares about the direction of this economy. And on the on the Harris side, you have sense much more consciousness. If I had to ask you in the last one month or two months, what new policy have you heard? I would say Medicare home care right that Medicare will have.

How do you get to feed on social security? He's got a no tax on social security in which to most people sounds like a benefit. How do you get to get to that point? The race is tied if you look at the polls and it feels like I was in Pennsylvania yesterday.

It feels like Trump's got a lot of money. I like the weather person. There's the temperature. The fields like temperature.

I always like, just tell me what fields like. They do have a number of times. No, but this is very good weather forecast. I think it's a good weather forecast.

We also see that people are voting already. And when I look at the North Carolina numbers, my home state, what we see is Republican numbers are up, not massively, but they're up. Democratic numbers are way down in North Carolina. And that is very surprising because that's what they tend to do best.

It also tells me whatever happens when we look at the wreckage after the race, voters are safe and secure. They feel that the vote is safe and secure regardless of what happens after the election. Here's the other number. Of course, that's really fascinating is Nevada, where we're seeing Republicans do much better than anyone expected.

And it's especially striking, given that pretty much all the reporting indicates the Nevada Republican Party is a huge mess. Just a mess. But I mean, I take all of those anecdotes and throw them away. I'm going to do too.

No, but here's my with Trump. I'm going to say Republican in the wake of Trump's name. Here's what I promise. I promise you this fact.

There'll be more Democrats that vote on Election Day than in 2020, and there's going to be more Republicans that vote early than they didn't. This is comparing blueberries to apples. If you gave me comparisons to 16, I might be curious. But I think 2020 is such an outlier in how there's a lot of people who are Election Day voters who are also rank and file Democrats who prefer to vote on Election Day.

And they didn't because they trusted their government and worried about health, but they're going to go back. So look, I, you know, it's interesting. Both parties have always different stasis in the last two weeks. Republicans are usually confident to overconfident.

Democrats are usually like my friend, my name, and he goes, I'm not a bad letter, but I have to read this book. Really the Pete. Yeah, okay. We know York.

So there is a little bit of like, and that's why I take all these early vote. I literally just there is there's worthy as the garbage. What about you? Do you take them?

I mean, for lack of a better term, are you getting the sense that people are starting to back? You have to be. Yeah, you're very early and you take the numbers against 2020 and you're like, well, last time the Republicans are actively urged people not to vote early. Not to vote early.

And this was during COVID, which we expanded the accessibility of voting. And so they don't have to take advantage of it. We're more COVID conscious. They don't work.

And so I believe there is so much time left in the early vote. I take all of this with a good song. Just very quickly though, do you think Harris, if she wants to regain the momentum in these final days, does she need to put more meat on the phones? Some of these policies struck about what we're anticipating from our closing argument next week based on what we heard today.

But what does she need to say to voters? Clearly. This is why Harris administration looked like versus Joe Biden. In 2020, I thought Biden did a fine job of making it clear that it was an all of the above candidacy from all the expansion to burn everything in between.

Trump was in power. It was a fire. But you were able to make the clear the coalition believes in my direction. And I do think that now you've gotten a push from Liz Katie, like you need to get the Republican, South Republican votes here.

And you haven't seen him standing with, you know, you name your progressives. But it's not that part. She said Bernie and Biden, up to New Hampshire. Very quickly.

Because I'm getting a wrap. Is Liz Cheney making a difference? Very quickly. I don't know.

But I tell you a comment that would have been stronger from her. And I'm curious what you think of this. What if she had said, I hope this is the last time I have to vote for you? And not being an insult.

But I think for her to be more effective to get Republicans, I think the case you have to make the Doug I is good. This is a one time vote so we can get the conservative party. I think she needs to make that finish the sale. Does she need to tell her message?

I think that's right. And ultimately it's much like with the story that, you know, on Lisa today, these are bombshell things that we all talk about. Your average voter just isn't focused on that. And your average Republican vote.

Not even average Republican voters. Very small. Remember who's left? The people who are left are the least engaged voters because they've waited until now to decide.

Because they're like, I don't want, they're the ones that said, I want to hear it. They tuned us out. They're the ones that turned it off. So they're going to be less engaged by they wanted to be.

And now here we are. Alright guys, amazing conversation. Thanks for starting us off strong today. Chuck, Betsy Faz and Doug really appreciate it.

Ahead, we'll dive deeper into the Harris campaign's closing argument. What we were just talking about and strategy with campaign co-chair Congressman Robert Garcia. But first new intelligence reveals that Russia and Iran could try to foment violent protests right here in the US following November's election. That's next to watching the press now.

Hey guys, Willie guys here reminding you to check out the Sunday sit down podcast. On this week's episode, I get together with red hot stand up comedian Nikki Glaser to talk about the long career grind that has brought her to this starring moment hosting the Golden Globes, killing at the Tom Brady roast and now with another hit special on Hulu. You can get our conversation now for free wherever you download your podcasts. Welcome back to legal fight over the election is already getting underway.

According to a review by NBC News, battleground states have been flooded by close to 100 lawsuits, some of which could shape how votes are cast and counted becomes as NBC reports that state and local officials around the country are taking major steps to protect election officials amid the increasingly hostile political environment. And in a newly unclassified assessment, the intelligence community says it's increasingly confident that Russian actors are considering and in some cases implementing a broad range of influence efforts timed with the election. The assessment also warns that both Russia and Ron may try to incite violence. NBC News Justice and intelligence correspondent, Kendall Laney, and joins me now.

So this is terrifying in addition to everything that folks are concerned about when they think about this election cycle. The idea of having that type of influence from foreign adversaries really unnerving. What are the key takeaways from this assessment? Well, the first thing is it's remarkable that they released this much information.

I've never seen that before. The intelligence community is really trying to lean forward this cycle to get the message out that our foreign adversaries are interfering our politics in a way to try to inoculate the public. If you see a deep fake video, it might be a foreign adversary. But this aspect of they might foment violence.

That is really frightening because millions of people are receptive to the idea that there is election fraud. And what this intelligence assessment says is that Russia and Ron specifically are primed to sort of foment that message and spark protests. And they have a lot of capabilities. They even have the capability to disrupt election networks through cyber means.

But this document says that they don't think that they will do that because there will be a huge risk of the US retaliation. Ken, of all of the concerns, what's the biggest concern, obviously surrounding the violence but within that? Well, there's two. There's also the idea of confusing people about when and where to vote, which could suppress the vote, say, in a key swing state on election day.

Deep fake videos could do that. And then as you said, it's this idea of spewing out disinformation about fraud, getting people to disbelieve the results and sparking violence. And Ken, why was it unclassified now? Well, they've been doing this regularly.

They've been doing regular briefings and they've made a decision in this administration to get this information out as opposed to 2016 when it was all happening behind the scenes. They knew the Russians were interfering, but they didn't give us the details until much later. Let's shift gears a little bit. Talk about what's happening in Pennsylvania, Elon Musk, Trump supporter, billionaire businessman is offering cash giveaways for folks to register to vote.

The Justice Department sending him a warning today. Walk us through that development. That's right. And so the issue here is that to enter this contest, you must be a registered voter in whatever swing state we're talking about.

And some legal experts have looked at that and said, wait a second, it's illegal to pay people to register to vote. And this is essentially a de facto indirect payment to register. Other legal experts disagree with that. It appears that the Justice Department has not completely decided about whether this is illegal, but they've sent a warning letter to the PAC.

It's not clear how the PAC is going to react to that. We haven't seen the letter, obviously, but it's a significant thing that shows that the Justice Department is paying attention. This is a lot of money that is sloshing around these swing states from the world's richest man. Absolutely.

And I interviewed the governor of Pennsylvania this past Sunday, who did suggest that officials look into this. Thank you, Kenton, and appreciate all of your reporting today. Coming up after the break and inside, look at Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign's closing strategy. Campaign co-chair Congressman Robert Garcia joins me next.

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It's more context and clarity from the reporters you trust. Download the NBC News app now and subscribe for more. Welcome back. As we mentioned, Vice President Harris sat down with my colleague, Holly Jackson.

She was pressed to clarify how her administration would be different from President Biden's and whether she viewed his record as a political liability. Are the last four years in obstacle to you in this race? Here's how I look at it. First of all, let me be very clear.

Mine will not be a continuation. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure.

I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm sure. I'm sure.

I'm sure. I'm sure. I'm sure. I'm sure.

Let me be very clear. Mine will not be a continuation of the Biden administration. I bring my own experiences, my own ideas to it, and it has informed a number of my areas of focus. Joining me now is Harris, campaign co-chair Congressman Robert Garcia, Congressman Garcia.

Thank you so much for joining me. Really appreciate it. Happy to be here. So hard to believe, but here we are with just 13 days left until Election Day.

I've been talking to some undecided voters who say they still want to hear more specifics from the Vice President. They want to have a clear sense of how a Harris administration would be different from a Biden administration. Do you think she needs to go even further in distinguishing herself and separating herself from President Biden? Well, I think two things she's made pretty clear, particularly last few weeks.

One of them, she's not Joe Biden. She's a grown person. She has her own ideas. Clearly she has a record as a center that one can look at, which she always set up for working people.

She's been a attorney general of California when she took on big banks and large corporations. I think you'll see a lot of that, Kamala Harris as president. But also she also is in, I think, these last few weeks, especially gone out and talked to numerous members of media, not just of course she on NBC just yesterday, but 60 minutes, so many other formats, podcasts, interviews, one on one. She continues to do so.

So I think there's a lot of questions in the Vice President. She will continue, by the way, to roll out more plans. She just yesterday put a new agenda, for example, for Latino men, for new economic opportunities, new tax breaks, new investments in the construction trade. So her policy proposals continue to come out.

I encourage folks also check out her website. There's a bunch of policy proposals on that site. It must more extensive, by the way, than anything Donald Trump has put out. You know, it's interesting.

Today she came out. She focused on this message, the revelations by John Kelly that he believes that former President Trump is, in fact, a fascist. He talks about the fact that he praised Adolf Hitler. And she's really focusing on this idea that Trump is a threat to the democracy.

That seems to be her closing argument. Is that what we can expect to hear next week when she delivers her actual closing argument here in Washington on the Mall? I think you are going to continue to hear that exact thing, not just from the Vice President, but from former Trump officials, from his former chief of staff, former generals. This idea that somehow Donald Trump wants to have generals and those that follow him like Hitler did is shameful, it's disgusting, it's unhinged.

And I think it leans into this fact that Donald Trump, as Kamala Harris has been saying, is unfit and unprepared to be the President. And at this moment, she is going to make this closing argument. There is a contrast and a choice in the choice between the Vice President that has the support of working people, that has done a great job to President Biden as well as a partner against someone that continues to be more and more unhinged every single day. And as you've reported on this network and other places, Donald Trump's comments continue to become more bizarre and more strange.

That's something that should concern the American people. And I think in these closing days, Kamala Harris will make that argument. You know, I was just talking with my panel here about the fact that a lot of the candidates in down ballot races are more focused on issues like Social Security, like reproductive rights, which we have seen, not only in some cases, but in some cases, but in some cases, but in some cases, we have seen that. We have seen, not only in special elections, but in the midterms, for example, really drive out voters.

Do you think it's a missed opportunity not to focus more on reproductive rights and other issues that really energize voters historically? Well, I think she's focusing on all of them. She's going to be in Texas, as you know, on a huge rally and just about abortion rights in a way that reproductive health care hasn't stripped away from women in Texas and across much of the country. And so she will continue to talk about reproductive rights.

It's one of the top things I hear about when I'm going to travel in the country for the Vice President. And so it's going to be reproductive rights. It's going to be Donald Trump's being unfit for office. It's going to be a tax that he let on January 6th, which I think are going to be highlighted in closing days.

And it's going to be the contrast between what he wants to do and what's backwards and her investments in Social Security, in Medicare, in lowering the cost of health care. So all of that will be part of this conversation. All of that will be part of the closing message. But I think at the end of the day, when people cast their vote these next two weeks, they're going to think about Donald Trump and whether or not he can actually do this job and deserves to do this job.

And I think the Vice President is going to win that argument. And so I think that the Vice President is going to have reporting about concerns within the campaign that the Vice President is on shaky ground in some of the blue wall states. Do you think she can win the White House without winning Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin? Is there another path or does she have to win those states?

I mean, we all know that we've all done the electoral math. Clearly winning those three states is key to the campaign success and key to the win. Are you concerned? Are you concerned about what you're seeing in those states?

I'm actually quite heartened by what I'm seeing in those states. I mean, if you look at the early vote number, for example, you look what's happening in Detroit with early vote. You look what's happening in Pennsylvania with the early vote. I'm feeling quite heartened.

Now, let's be clear. Kamala Harris herself said on day one of this campaign, this was going to be a close election that she was going to run like the underdog. This was always going to be a close election. So, of course, everyone is working hard.

Of course, everyone has concerns that we all want to win. I would much rather be the campaign that we're running and where we're at right now than we're down on Trump. And so, yes, we are going to win those three states that are goal. We're also ensuring that we expand the map.

That's why places like Georgia, which again, the early vote is showing really good news for us is so important. That's why we got to go all in in in places like North Carolina, where I think polls. Most polls now are looking at us tied looking at a place where we are feeling really good about what North Carolina is. And that's why we're working hard to place like Nevada.

So, this is an expanded map. We're going to continue to focus, of course, on those three states. Congress, let me ask you about a key voting block that obviously both campaigns are focused on Latino voters. The latest NBC News, Salamundo, CNBC polls shows Harris leading Trump among Latino voters, but that her advantage is at its lowest level compared to the past three presidential elections.

Why do you think Trump is making inroads with that critical group? I think, look, I think the main thing I hear and I hear this from some of my cousins and and deals as well, there's a lot of misinformation out there. There is a lot of misinformation in the media on social on social media in some of these podcasts, non-traditional media sources are becoming a bigger part of information consumption. I also think we have the work card to always ensure that we reach out directly to Latinos, particularly Latino men.

Look, Kamala Harris yesterday put out her economic agenda for Latino men. It's about doubling homeownership annually, 600,000 home buyers a year and giving down payment assistance. It's about ensuring that small business owners have access to forgivable loans. And I'm the most also excited about her ideas for the construction change.

She wants to ensure that when you're buying construction tools that you get essentially a reimbursement for those tools. We know that so much of the construction industry is also Latino men. She has and put out plans. We're all over this country talking to this critical group.

And the last thing I'll say on this is really important. Latino men are and should be concerned with the women or family, with our moms, with our Balias and how will they have health care, low insulin costs. We put up the health rights. And so at the end of the day, we need to vote not just for our own interests, but for the interest of our family.

And I think Kamala Harris is making that closing argument. Congressman Garcia, I have a lot more questions for you, but we'll have to invite you back. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

Great talking to you. Coming up next, the very latest from the ground in Israel as Secretary Blinken urges Israeli leaders to end. The war in Gaza on his latest trip to the Middle East. Stay with us.

You're watching the press now. A lot more ahead. Welcome back to the Biden administration today making its most forceful push yet to get Israel to end its war with Hamas. Since October 7th, a year ago, Israel has achieved most of its strategic objectives when it comes to Gaza.

All with the idea of making sure that October 7th could never happen again. Now is the time to turn those successes into an enduring strategic success. And there are really two things left to do. Get the hostages home and bring the war to an end with an understanding of what will follow.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made that plea as he left Tel Aviv this morning. It comes as Hezbollah confirms that one of its top officials who was expected to become the group's leader was killed in Israeli strike. Israel, meanwhile, continues to strike Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and as it weighs potential strikes on Iran. MBC's Ross Sanchez has the very latest from Tel Aviv.

Hey, there's Secretary Blinken departed Israel today en route to Saudi Arabia and his parting words to the Israeli government as he boarded his plane was that the U.S. sees it as critical that when Israel retaliates against Iran for that October 1st ballistic missile attack, it do so in a way that does not trigger a new cycle of escalation. The U.S. wants to see a kind of goldilocks strike big enough that it sends a message to Iran small enough that it doesn't trigger a regional war.

That is obviously a difficult calculation to make. Israel's Defense Minister was at an air base here a little earlier today speaking to the pilots who will carry out that long-range strike. And he was saying making very clear it is a question of when not if that Israel retaliates. Israeli government is also signaling it plans to hit back after Saturday's Hezbollah drone attack, which we are now learning, had actually damaged the private residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a little further up the coast here.

That is a fact that was under military censorship in this country for several days. It is seen as an absolutely massive security failure. You can only imagine if a militant group was able to launch a drone that damaged the private house of President Biden in Delaware, the kinds of questions that would be asked. Meanwhile, we are seeing just a spiraling humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza where Israeli forces are besieging the Jibaliya refugee camp.

They say that they are pursuing Hamas militants who have regrouped there. But the UN is warning that food, medicine is not getting them. Hospitals are absolutely overwhelmed. Rescue crews are not able to collect bodies that are piling up in the street.

In just one grim data point, the United Nations today saying it's been forced to call off its polio vaccination campaign in the north of the Strip, because Israel's bombardment is so intense at this point. So that is children inside Gaza who are not going to be vaccinated against polio because of the intensity of the fight back to you. Grim update indeed, rough Sanchez. Thank you so much for that report.

And still a come. We are checking back in with a leader of the Uncommitted Movement, which protested the Biden administration's handling of the war in the Middle East at the ballot box during the primaries to see where she stands now on the presidential race. We're watching at the press now. Welcome back with just 13 days until election day.

Both the Harrison Trump campaigns are bar and storming all the critical battleground states as they make their final push. Among them is Michigan, which is home to the largest Arab American population in the nation and to make criticism over buying and handling of the war in the Middle East. Support from that voting group could determine who wins Michigan in a race that is already razor tight. Joining me now is one of the co-founders of the Uncommitted Movement, Leila Ellebeth.

Thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. Thank you for having me. And I should say Leila Ellebeth, apologies for mispronouncing your last name.

Let's talk about how you feel about this election, your group objected strongly to the Biden administration's handling of the war in the Middle East voted against Joe Biden during the presidential primaries. We are 13 days out from the general election. As you know, have you decided whether you'll support Vice President Harris? At the top of the ticket, I have decided that I will be skipping the top and focusing on candidates down ballot that align with my morals, align with my beliefs that are champions of racial justice, climate change, and end to forever wars.

And so my focus will be on the down ballot candidates here in Michigan. Is there anything at this point that could change your mind? For example, would you accept anything short of an arms embargo in Israel? What I would need to see from Vice President Harris's campaign is a promise that my homeland, my family members, people I care about in my community that have friends and family, not just in Gaza or in the West Bank and occupied Palestine, but also in Lebanon in that entire region, that our family members and our loved ones are going to be protected.

And we just haven't been that. And just to be very clear, would the only way that you would feel that way be an arms embargo? It could look like an arms embargo, or it could just be adopting a policy that is in compliance with our own international laws and our American laws that says we will not fund a foreign government that commits war crimes. And there has been evidence after evidence that Israel has indeed committed war crimes, and we should end that blind support in weapons funding to Israel.

And I think there should be a more diplomatic process to ending the war on Palestinians. Laila, your organization has warned about what you've called the dangers of a Trump presidency, given that why not vote for Vice President Harris and then want to hold her accountable once she's in the Oval Office? First, some of us voting for Harris as a priority to black Trump's extremism is priority. And there's going to be leaders and uncommitted voters that do cast a Harris vote.

But there's also going to be voters like myself who are Palestinian, American and Muslim American. And honestly, a voter who just doesn't want to see my tax dollars used to kill men, women and children, where frankly Vice President Harris unwillingness to adopt a more humanitarian policy, she hasn't earned my vote. I'm curious, what are you hearing from your friends, from your neighbors, from other folks in your organization? Are they also planning to leave the top of the ticket blank?

Some folks are going to be voting for Harris as a way to black Trump, which I think is very important because we know how dangerous the Trump presidency is going to be, not only those who are concerned with foreign policy, but also domestically. I know how dangerous the ones to be to our own domestic policies. But at the same time asking voters, even for myself, watching the images come out every single day from my phone, from my key screen, just the devastation, the violence, for some of us asking who we are going to vote for at the top of the ticket and be strategic about it, is like asking who we're going to vote for while we are at a funeral. We are in a deep state of grief.

And it certainly does put into context how you feel. We only have about a minute left. Given what you are saying and given what you are hearing from your friends, families, colleagues, do you think Harris can win a state like Michigan? I think it's going to be incredibly tough.

It seems that Vice President Harris has decided her campaign, but decided to continue alienating before continuing to carry this again, and decided to win this election in Michigan without the base without her base that, you know, many of us voted for President Biden in 2020. And it seems the signal that we've gotten from her and her campaign is that she is willing to risk that it's a state like Michigan by continuing to alienate young people, Arab Americans, and Muslim. Alright, Layla, thank you so much for joining us. NBC News Now Coverage continues with Holly Jackson right now.

I'm Craig Malef, cheers. I've always been a glass half-hole kind of guy. And now I'm talking to some people who look at the world that way too. Some really fascinating folks who shared their good finding moments, their triumphs, their challenges, their stories are funny, and they're like, so I hope you'll join me each week.

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