Hi, it's Kate Snow and BC 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. This Sunday, closing arguments. It's either Donald Trump in there, stewing over his enemies list, or me, working for you like to do this.
We're a dumping ground. We're like a garbage can for the world. With just nine days until Election Day, Vice President Harris and former President Trump make their final appeal to voters. We know what Donald Trump wants.
He wants unchecked power. She's not a smart person, she's a low IQ individual, she is. She is. She's a low IQ person.
Plus, General's warning, Donald Trump's former chief of staff, a retired force armoring general, warns Trump would govern like a dictator and praised Hitler's generals for loyalty. She falls in the middle of the general definition of fascist. Do you think Donald Trump is a fascist? Yes, I do.
And 2024 doubts. You're gonna make it too big to rig, too big to rig, right? Donald Trump still hasn't conceded the 2020 election. What will that mean for the 2024 results?
Donald Trump loses the election, not by the words that I would use. My guest this morning, Republican vice presidential nominee Senator JD Vance and independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, joining me for insight and analysis are NBC News senior Washington correspondent, Hallie Jackson, Jonathan Martin of Politico, Simone Sanders Townsend, former chief spokeswoman for Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican strategist Sarah Fagan. Welcome to Sunday. It's Meet the Press.
From NBC News and Washington, the longest running show in television history. This is Meet the Press, the Kristen Welcome. Good Sunday morning. The closest presidential contest in modern history is entering its final stretch and with just nine days until election day, Vice President Harris and former President Trump are making their closing arguments.
Trump focused on a message of fear. Harris casting Trump as a threat to the nation's democracy. In a series of interviews with The New York Times, Mr. Trump's longest serving chief of staff, retired Marine Corps General John Kelly warned the former president would rule like a dictator.
In a second term. I'm looking at the definition of fascism. It's a far right authoritarian, ultra nationalist political ideology movement characterized by a dictatorial leader centralized on hypocrisy, militarism, force of war suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy. So certainly in my experience, those other times we keep these will keep work better in terms of running America.
So it certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure. Vice President Harris joined by high profile surrogates, including Barack and Michelle Obama, is leaning into a closing argument centered on attacking former President Trump as a danger to the country. An approach campaign officials believe will help her win over the small sliver of undecided voters and motivate her base. Do you think Donald Trump is a fascist?
Yes, I do. Yes, I do. And I also believe that the people who know him best on this subject should be trusted. General John Kelly, Donald Trump's former chief of staff, said that Trump told him he wanted his generals to be like Hitler's generals.
And politics, a good rule of thumb is don't say you want to do anything like it. All of my hope about Kamala is also accompanied by some genuine fear. Fear for our country, fear for our children, fear for what is coming our way if we forget the stakes in this election. Former President Trump on defense was phony stories by a general that got fired and is a wack job, total wack job, but general, it's funny when you fire people, see Biden has never fired anybody, but when you fire people for doing a bad job, they get a little bit angry.
The vice president will deliver a closing argument speech on Tuesday at the ellipse where former president Trump spoke shortly before the January 6th Capitol attack. NBC News has learned Harris plans to contrast Mr. Trump's worst woman in office. And what a second Trump term would look like with what her campaign calls Harris' optimistic vision for the future.
On Saturday, former first lady Michelle Obama appealed to American men, focusing on the issue of reproductive rights. If we don't get this election, right? Your wife, your daughter, your mother, we and women will become collateral damage to your rage. For his part former president Trump will use a rally tonight at Madison Square Garden to deliver his closing argument.
We'll stop the invasion of criminals into our country and I will bring back the American Green for your children and for yourself. This is all you need to know. Kamala broke it. I will fix it.
For more on where the race stands and just who the voters are that the campaigns may still be able to persuade on joined by national political correspondent Steve Cornaki, Steve, this race is incredibly tight in the home stretch. Yeah, absolutely, Kristin. One thing we have noticed in the last couple of days, this is not all of the polls that are out there now, but we have seen a number four in the last four days that have shown very small but in the context of this close race, potentially meaningful movement in Trump's direction. I don't want to overstate it, but at the same time, it's hard to ignore these four.
The CNBC poll came out the other day has Trump ahead by two. The Wall Street Journal poll, Trump ahead by three. These are national numbers. CNN and the New York Times, a tide race.
CNN, a tide race. The significance here is broader movement. Again, we're seeing in Trump's direction. Put this in some context.
Here is our current national polling average. Let me call that up on the screen for you right here. Harris continues to lead nationally. I want to stress that, but we've been tracking this every week on the air here.
A couple of weeks ago, this number was at three for Kamala Harris. Her lead in the poll average now down to 1.2 because of some of the numbers that I just showed you. Of course, the swing states, the battleground states are going to be what decide this election and look at how close those are. We see 1.2 nationally.
Just about all these swing states are even tighter than that. So Trump's certainly a little improvement nationally, but where the race has decided, absolutely, razor thin. But what is happening nationally? What we can show you from the CNBC poll, they picked up on something that our own NBC poll was suggesting recently, and that is a shift in the image of Kamala Harris.
You can see right now in the CNBC poll, 42 positive, 48 negative, higher negative than positive. That's where Trump is, too, largely 39, 49. The significance is about a month ago, when we were polling this, Harris had a higher positive than negative in our poll, in the CNBC poll, in other polls out there right now, you see Harris now with that negative going back above that positive rating. That said, tons of uncertainty and volatility remain in this race.
Check this out. We can show you this morning also from that CNBC poll looking at this question of persuadable voters, defining them this way. How about this 12% in the CNBC poll who currently say they support Harris or Trump say that they could change their minds, though, in this race? Another 6% say they're undecided or currently going to vote for a third party candidate.
That's a persuadable category of 18%. That's getting close to one in five voters here. And the uncertainty is particularly acute for Donald Trump. We tell you, maybe he's made some gains here, but his support continues to run deepest with voters who it is unclear if they're actually going to turn out and vote.
We'll get it this way. From our NBC polling, emerge of all of our data, those who voted in the 2020 presidential election and the 2022 midterms, Harris with a six-point lead, the most reliable block of voters, those who only voted in the 2020 presidential. That's where Trump opens up a lead. And then those who didn't vote in either, that's where Trump has his biggest advantage over Harris.
Are they actually going to vote this time around? Huge question, Mark. Another way to look at it. We ask folks scale of one to 10.
Your interest in this election. Again, look at this. Those who rated the highest nine or 10, races tied seven or eight, pretty high Harris is ahead. Here's where Trump cleans up.
Those who say one to six. So again, Trump relying on a coalition that if they turn out could be powerful for him, Chris, but that's a big yes. Powerful indeed. And those persuadable voters in focus in these final days of the race.
Steve Crenak, great stuff as always. Thanks so much. Thank you, Chris. On Saturday, I sat down with Republican vice presidential nominee, Senator J.D.
Vance in Erie, Pennsylvania. Senator J.D. Vance, welcome back to Meet the Press. Good to be here.
Thank you. It's great to have you. Thank you for sitting down with us. I want to start with some of the news this week.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that North Korean troops are training in Russia and potentially bound for the war in Ukraine. The U.S. intelligence community confirmed that Russia is creating disinformation to so doubt in the upcoming presidential election. Let me ask you this question, Senator.
Do you see Russian President Vladimir Putin as an ally or an enemy? Well, I think that he's clearly an adversary. He is a competitor. But I think that we also have to be smart about diplomacy too.
Because we don't like somebody doesn't mean that we can't occasionally engage in conversations with him. And I think it's important if we're ever going to end the war in Ukraine fundamentally at some level, we're going to have to engage in some sort of negotiation between Ukraine, between Russia, between our native allies in Europe. And that's just a necessary part. Doesn't mean we have to like it, by the way.
It doesn't mean we condone the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But I think that sometimes you do have to engage in diplomacy even with them, maybe especially with your adversaries. I think the bigger problem, Chris, if we step back for a little bit of course, we're on the cuss obviously of a presidential election where I want the American people to select my running mate as an expresident, whether it's the cost of groceries, whether it's the southern border and importantly whether it's the chaos all over the world. I think really the theme of this election is that Kamala Harris broke things in the world in the country and Donald Trump will fix it.
And if we get back to his steady leadership, it's not just going to mean lower grocery prices at home. It's also going to mean a much more stable and peace world. When you say that he's an adversary just to get back to the question, you're not willing to go so far as to call him an enemy. Or not a war with him and I don't want to be in a war with Vladimir Putin's Russia.
I think that we should try to pursue avenues of peace. I also call China certainly a competitor, but we're not a war with China either. I do think though that China constitutes the biggest threat that we have for the United States of America. And I think that we have to be serious about it.
I think we have to be careful about the language that we use international diplomacy. We can recognize obviously that we have adversarial interests with Russia. We can condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. And I have and of course the president has, but we also need to engage in some smart diplomacy if we're ever going to get out of the mess that Kamala Harris has left us in and get back to a posture of peace.
And of course Donald Trump was president for four years while Russia was essentially invading Crimea. Why didn't he come out when he had the chance he had four years? Oh, I think that that's a misunderstanding of the history. I look at that much differently.
First of all, we had a Russian vade another country of sovereign nation during Obama. We had Russian vade of sovereign nation during Bush's term. We had Russia invade a sovereign nation during the leadership of Kamala Harris. The one four year term where Russia did not launch a full-scale invasion against the neighbor was under the leadership of Donald Trump.
We also have to remember just on that point, if Donald Trump had not given Ukraine javelins, the country would not exist as an independent sovereign nation anymore. So the idea that Donald Trump wasn't sufficiently strong on Russia, I think, is belied by the actual history of the period. Again, there was fighting going on for four years. Let me ask you because there are real concerns about Vladimir Putin invading NATO allies under a Trump Vance administration.
Can you pledge sitting here today that the US will continue to remain a member of NATO? Of course, we want to honor our NATO commitments, but I think it's important, Kristen, that we recognize that NATO is not just a welfare client, it should be a real alliance. And this is a strong difference between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Donald Trump wants NATO to be strong.
He wants us to remain in NATO, but he also wants NATO countries to actually carry their share of the defense burden. Under Kamala Harris' leadership, we've actually seen how weak NATO is as a full-scale military alliance. It's effectively the United Kingdom, a couple of other nations, and the United States. NATO's problem is particularly Germany, has to spend more on security, has to spend more on defense.
We can't believe the policemen in the world. We want NATO to be an alliance, not just a dependent of the United States. We want to be unified in defending Ukraine. Just to be very clear, though, you would stay in NATO.
Just a yes? We would stay in NATO, Kristen, but this is important. You're right. NATO has done, some of the countries have done a lot, but actually some of the countries relative to GDP have done very little in Ukraine, and that's important.
We're talking to the American people, of course, and I think a very significant difference between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is Kamala Harris would like to use our tax dollars and our troops to subsidize Europeans not taking care of their own security. Donald Trump wants Europe to step up big time to become a real ally of the United States and not just depend on it. Okay, Senator, let's move on because you talked about the threat from China. So this week we learned that China was behind a broad hacking campaign.
We learned that the Chinese government was in the phones of both presidential campaigns, highlighting the threat that China poses to this country, and yet Donald Trump recently called his domestic political opponents, quote, the enemy from within, and said they are more dangerous than Russia and China. Do you believe that people like Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi are more dangerous than Russia and China? Well, I think what Donald Trump said is that those folks pose a greater threat to United States as peace and security because America is strong enough to stand up to any foreign adversary. You agree with him?
They pose a larger threat to the United States than Russia and China. What he said, and I do agree with this, what he said is that the biggest threat we have in our country, it's not a foreign adversary because we can handle these guys. We can handle foreign conflicts. We can handle, look, under Nancy Pelosi's long life in public leadership.
The United States has gone from the pre-iminent industrial power of the world to second next to China. That, fundamentally, belongs on Nancy Pelosi's shoulders. And if we're going to have a more prosperous country, we've got to recognize our own leadership is why we lost our industrial base to China. Our own leadership is failing to lead this country into peace and prosperity.
And of course, Kamala Harris, look, when I look at the biggest threats to America, Kristen, I think the fact that people can't afford groceries, the fact that we can't meet our recruitment goals in the military, the fact that Americans have a wide open southern border, that's a way bigger threat than any foreign threat, and yes, it's caused by broken leadership. But yet, Senator, as you know, inflation is coming down. Let me ask you about some of what we've heard here. 25% higher, Kristen, than it was when Donald Trump left the Oval Office.
Let me tell you, let me ask you, let me ask you about some of what we've heard in the U.S. If Americans feel like inflation is a solved problem, then maybe they should vote for Kamala Harris. If you feel like the price of groceries, if you feel like the price of housing is too high, if you feel like inflation is not over, then Donald Trump is your man. There's no doubt folks believe that groceries are too high.
Just making the point that inflation has to be. Let me ask you about some of what we've heard here in the U.S. this week. Donald Trump's longest serving chief of staff, General John Kelly, said Donald Trump is a fascist.
He echoed comments made by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Millie, who also called him a fascist, went to four-star generals who worked so closely with Donald Trump, called him a fascist. Why shouldn't voters believe that, Senator? Well, I think that Mark Millie and John Kelly are both disgruntled former employees and very many of the things that they accuse Donald Trump of. People who were in the room at the time some of those comments were made.
They have said explicitly, Donald Trump didn't say the things that he was accused of. And look, Donald Trump was already president for four years. If he was what John Kelly said he was, then why did Donald Trump deliver peace and prosperity? He didn't arrest his political opponents as Kamala Harris and her department of justice have in fact done.
He didn't do the accusations. There's no evidence of that, Senator. The department of justice has not been going after political opponents. Senator, there's no evidence of that.
The current department of justice, under the leadership of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, has absolutely been going after the political opponents of the current Democratic Party. I think that's a disgrace when it's happening. There's no evidence that the DOJ is going after their political opponents. Donald Trump was indicted by federal grand juries.
Let me ask you though, you said that their disgruntled employees, Trump praised both Kelly and Millie. In fact, he said Kelly was, quote, one of the best people I've ever worked with. In addition to those two Trump's national security advisers, two defense secretaries, even his vice president, all say he's unfit to be president. Why should the American people hire Donald Trump when the people who worked most closely with him say that he's unfit to serve?
The people who worked most closely with him, most of them are supporting the ticket. You mentioned one person, two people at disgruntled ex employee, Kristen, who Donald Trump fired. He said something nice about him and then he fired him and now that person's attacking Donald Trump. But I think this is important because I think the American media has to be honest.
Why is it, Kristen, that John Kelly doesn't like Donald Trump? It's not about personality. It's about policy. And I think the American people have the right to know that Donald Trump rejected that John Kelly, the Mark Millie consensus that America should be the policeman of the world.
And because that, these folks hate him. If Donald Trump wanted to start a nuclear war with Russia, I guarantee you that John Kelly and Liz Cheney would be at the front of the line endorsing him. But I think the media misses something really important. This disagreement is not about personalities.
This disagreement is because John Kelly didn't like the peace through strength policy of Donald Trump. I do. I think the American people- If you were the longest serving chief of staff and Donald Trump says he only hires the best people. I got to keep moving though, because our time is very limited.
Former vice president Mike Pence said, quote, President Trump asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution. Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. Will your loyalty senator be to the Constitution or to Donald Trump? Well, of course my loyalty is to the American people and to the United States Constitution.
But I think the best way, the best way to accomplish that loyalty, Kristen, is to get back to a president who delivered the fastest rising take home pan and generation, 1.5% inflation and a secure southern border. I don't think there's inconsistency between loyalty to the Constitution and support for Donald Trump. That's why I'm out there trying to persuade my fellow Americans that Donald Trump's presidency worked for them. And I'd like us to get back to those smartoffs.
Just to put a very fine point on this, Mike Pence says Trump asked him to put Trump over the Constitution if you find yourself in a similar position one day. Were your loyalty be to the Constitution or to Donald J. Trump? I just said my loyalty, Kristen, is to the Constitution of the United States.
Have we talked at all about the unaffordable cost of groceries? Have we talked about the fact that I brought it up? But young Americans can't afford a home. You didn't bring that up.
I brought that up. It's so interesting, Kristen, because I think that Kamala Harris' campaign and unfortunately too many of her media allies are more interested in what Donald Trump has said than what Donald Trump did in office. You're more interested in what Kamala Harris is accusing Donald Trump of than what Donald Trump actually did during his four years in office, which is to deliver peace and prosperity. We're getting a hard wrap.
So on the economy quickly, before I let you go, Donald Trump on Friday again floated the idea of getting rid of the federal income tax. It's just to be clear, are you proposing eliminating all federal income taxes in a Trump bans administration? Trump didn't propose that. He said that as an aspirational goal.
Sounds like you would act as a federal income tax. Well, I'm backing Donald Trump for president. And he said an aspirational goal. And said, look, in this country for a long time, we funded the federal government primarily through tariffs.
In other words, primarily through penalizing foreign corporations and foreign countries from taking advantage of our domestic markets. That's an aspirational goal. What is very real about what Donald Trump has actually proposed to specific policy proposals is that we want to make taxes on tips. We want to make taxes on overtime pay.
That's the Donald Trump policy proposal. He's talking aspirationally about something that he himself thinks is less of a focus than cutting taxes on tips. Getting a hard wrap, so just yes or no, is getting rid of all federal income taxes on the table. It's a possibility under Trump administration.
Is it on the table with the Democratic Congress that we have? I don't think that's realistic, but I do think it's good to set an aspiration of what you want the country to look like. And right now we're working on cutting taxes on tips, cutting taxes on overtime. Okay, so you're not ruling it out.
Senator JD Van, thank you very much for your time. Appreciate it. Likewise. And we should note we did extend an invitation to the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Governor Tim Walz.
He declined to appear with us this morning. When we come back, independent Senator Bernie Sanders joins me next. For every download your podcasts. Okay.
How does it happen? You tell me that a billionaire hanging out with billionaires supported by the richest guy in the world cannot support time and I help overtime for millions of working people. And really you're talking about the messaging here, Senator. So let me ask you about that very topic.
Vice President Harris started her campaign calling Donald Trump weird saying she wanted to restore joy to politics. Obviously, a shift now, casting Trump as a real threat to democracy. Do you think that Kamala Harris is giving voters enough reason to vote for her instead of just against Donald Trump? Well, that's a great question.
Look, protecting American democracy ain't nothing more important than that. Protecting a woman's right to control her own body, which which which Trump opposes nothing, you know, to me enormously important. The fact that Donald Trump thinks that climate change is a hoax in opposition to whatever he scientists who were studying the issue believes is also of enormous importance. But if you're asking me, do I think there should be more focus on economics on the fact that over the last 50 years, there's been a massive transfer of wealth from the bottom 90% to the top 1% to the fact that 60% of our people are living paycheck to paycheck while the billionaire classes that bad it's a good while Donald Trump wants to get even more tax breaks to billionaires.
You know, you talk the moment ago with them about their idea to eliminate all federal taxes. This would be the biggest transfer of wealth in the history of this country. It would mean the billionaire class, the millionaires, no longer paying nickel taxes, but you go to the grocery store. You go on your buyer refrigerate, your working class person, prices are going to soar.
The idea that you eliminate all taxes, replace them by a tariff is insane economics. It will hurt desperately poor people and enrich the very rich. And there is a reason why in Trump's campaign, you got three billion as pouring hundreds of millions of dollars to make sure that he's elected. They know that they get a great idea that they don't have to pay anymore in taxes.
Why we don't raise the minimum wage, the minimum wage. Well, that was going to be my follow up question. So now we can move on to my next question, which is about the Middle East, of course, as you know, as we track the developments in the Middle East, Israel launch retaliatory strikes against Iran on Friday. I spoke with one of the leaders of the uncommitted national movement in Michigan.
Of course, that's the group that led hundreds of thousands of primary voters to cast ballots against President Biden in the primary protest vote for his handling of the war in the Middle East. She told me that she was not voting for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. Take a look at your reaction on the other side. Frankly, Vice President Harris unwillingness to adopt a more humanitarian policy.
She hasn't earned my vote. It seems the signal that we've gotten from her and her campaign is that she is willing to risk that of her state like Michigan by continuing to alienate young people, Arab Americans, and Muslim. Senator, what is your message to this voter to voters like her? And are you concerned that this issue could cost Kamala Harris, Michigan?
Well, I believe that President Biden in many ways has been the most progressive pro-worker of presidents since FDR. The only president to have a walk on a pick of lines to strongly support humans. But I have to tell you, and I've said this a million times, I strongly disagree with their policies on Gaza. Israel, of course, had a right to defend itself against the horrific terrorist attack from Hamas on October 17th.
But they have now gone to war against the entire Palestinian people, you know, 42,000 dead, 100,000 wounded in the destruction of all of Gaza, and now starvation of children. So my own view has been that the United States should not continue to provide financial aid or offensive weapons to Netanyahu's right-wing extremists coming. But what I would say to later, and to all those people who are thinking of not voting or maybe even voting for Trump, Trump is even worse on this issue. I can tell you, we are desperately trying, at the very least, to get humanitarian aid, to feed starving children into Gaza, certainly Kamala Harris and Joe Biden support that.
We can't even get Republicans to feed the kids who are in desperate shape. So on that issue, while I disagree with Biden that Harris said, they are still better, a lot better than what Trump and Vance are talking about. Senator, finally, I have to ask you about some developments related to Elon Musk, the Wall Street Journal reporting this week that Musk is, of course, a major government contractor, someone who has security clearance that gives him access to highly classified information, has been in regular contact with Vladimir Putin for the past two years. My question for you is it appropriate for Elon Musk, a Trump supporter, to have these secret contacts with Vladimir Putin?
And what if anything do you think the Biden administration can and should do about it? No, I don't think it's appropriate. Look, Musk is a very smart, aggressive guy. He is the wealthiest person in the world.
And what really interests me is if, God forbid, Trump would win whether it would be Elon Musk running the government and Trump working for him or the other way around. But the idea that you'll have somebody like Musk must have massive amounts of federal contracts campaigning hard, putting huge amounts of money into Trump's campaign. Man, if there's ever been a conflict of interest, that's it. Alright, Senator Bernie Sanders, thank you so much for your perspective on all of these topics.
Really appreciate it. When we come back with just nine days to go, the campaigns make their final pitch to voters. The strategy is working. We'll take a look at the panel's next.
Welcome back. The panel is here. NBC News, senior Washington correspondent, Hallie Jackson, anchor of Sunday Nightly News. Jonathan Martin, politics bureau chief and senior political correspondent for Politico.
Simone Sanders Townsend, former chief spokesperson to Vice President Harris and Republican strategist Sarah Fagan. Thank you all for being here on a very big Sunday. We are nine days out of Hallie Jackson. You had a chance to sit down with Vice President Kamala Harris.
This week it comes as she and Donald Trump are sharpening their closing messages. What did you make of your sit down and what we can expect to see? Well, let's look at what's happening 48 hours from now. And that is when the Vice President is set to deliver that big closing argument speech on the ellipse.
And interestingly, when you're talking with a campaign advisor, they say, listen, it's not going to be all about January 6. People look at the ellipse and go, okay, that may be the focus. They say that is sort of the stage for a broader speech that looks at Donald Trump. And she has been talking about in recent days as enemies list versus to do list.
They say that she is going to make the case for her own candidacy, the proactive case of why people, these persuadables we've been talking about should sort of cross cross the bridge and back her and said, for President Trump, there's no on the fence. For President Trump, interesting to see your interview with Dady Vance here because he tries to pivot, right, to inflation, to the economy, which are the things that Trump campaign wants the for president to be talking about. His message has been increasingly dark and has been rashing up the rhetoric more and more in these last few days as part of his closing. Absolutely.
And Jonathan, you were just on the campaign post-content. And missing you. How are these closing arguments playing with the voters you were talking to there? Well, they're resonating with their base and there's about three voters left undecided that are going to decide the thing of the world.
I think both candidates are taking risks in the final two weeks of the election. We'll start with Tom. I think she's taking risks by making this about January 6. I think it's going to be a big part of our policy so heavily because so many of the people who are animated by those issues are already in her column.
I'll be curious to see this on Tuesday. How does she pivot to how she would govern and as she govern from the center? I think Trump's also all risking because he is traveling all over the country. It's not just the Garden Tonight in New York City.
I'm now told he's going to New Mexico, New Mexico in the final week of the election. He's also we know going to Virginia, and there's talking he may go to New Hampshire. Guys, those are all blue states and have been for multiple cycles in a row. So he's taking a risk, I think, by leaving the three battleground states, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, which most folks think are going to decide the election.
How fascinating. What do you make of that strategy and the fact that you're frankly seeing both candidates? You saw Vice President Harrison Texas this weekend. Yeah, I think you look at some of the polling out of these states.
And while Kamala Harris is comfortably ahead, being up six in Virginia, being up three or four in New Hampshire means he's winning in these other states. These states move on to continue him. And so he's I think what he's feeling is confident that he can put her on the defensive in some places. She's going to win, but may not win by as much of a margin as she expects this month.
Well, I just would note I'm interested. I think New York is just as much about making this play for voters in his home state as it is about the health races as well. And we spoke to Governor Hupol on the weekend earlier today and she said, well, look, Donald Trump in these house races is not necessarily helpful for Republicans to remind them that in these districts where some of them, you know, very purple-ish type districts doesn't help those candidates that are trying to maybe distance themselves a little bit from Trump. I do think you bring up something interesting, but all of you do, the Trump campaign does seem to feel pretty confident.
I mean, they are feeling in the last nine days and good about where they are. Even with the polling showing, Steve Cornak, and we did it on the top of the show. This is such a close race. I think the Harris campaign looks at that.
They're going to wait a second. I think the other thing is that she has almost no margin for air in those three states. It's issues like the Arab American, though, Michigan, because of more central. How narrow when you hear that vote?
We say it internally here, election season. Let me just go on a Monday. We vote more than 30 million. What's interesting about the Republican vote just in talking with experts about this is number one, it's more in-person than mail-in voting, generally, according to some of the data that we're seeing, which I do wonder is connected to four of President Trump being all over the map on this issue of early voting.
On the one hand saying to do it on the other hand, echoing the election lines he's been telling for years. The other piece of it, there is a question mark. Are these Republicans turning out, are there more of them? Or are these people just time shifting?
But they have come out on election day anyway or something. That is always the question. As you analyze these early votes, but banking votes is always better than that. Yes.
30 seconds. What do you make of the early vote? And to the point that Jonathan's making, the Trump campaign does feel emboldened right now, how he says this is reporting too. What are you hearing from your Democratic sources?
Well, let me just say, I feel like they're going to say they're emboldened either way. They feel emboldened. Donald Trump is laying the groundwork, just as he did in 2020, to say that he won the election, when in fact he did not. I think it's very important that we say that.
And some of these Republican polls, if you will, that have been out there in the ether, are going to help make that case. I think Democrats are going to run their race. I think it's going to be close. I do think it's going to be very close.
And early vote matters, but so does in person. You set us up for our next panel. Hallie Jackson talked to the Vice President about that. We'll delve into it in our next panel.
Stay with us. But when we come back, it's the October surprise Donald Trump's 2016 opponent believes helped the rail her campaign. Army the President is next. Stay with us.
Welcome back. Eight years ago today, then FBI director James Comey met with investigators tied to Hillary Clinton's email case, a meeting that led him to reopen the probe, prompting the biggest October surprise in recent memory. Comey's letter to Congress, making the matter public just 11 days before the election sparked outrage from Democrats. Clinton's campaign manager appeared on Meet the Press just a few days later, confident that this bombshell would not cost them at the ballot box.
I believe this could cost you the election. I don't think so. Look, as I said, we have over 50,000 volunteers out there. We're seeing record early voting numbers in North Carolina, Florida.
Look, I would wager in Nevada. Turn out is so strong among Democrats there. Hillary could build an insurmountable lead in the coming days in Nevada. We're feeling really good about this record turnout.
Over 200 million people now in our country registered, about 50 million of those young people. We're just no to the grindstone and we're going to finish this out. But people should not take anything for granted and we're going to have to work hard to earn this. Well, former Secretary Clinton would later place some of the blame on Director Comey for costing her the election.
When we come back, what happens if the 2024 results are challenged? More with the panel next. Welcome back. The panel is still here.
So, Hallie, you sat down with the vice president. Yeah. And she told you that she is prepared to act if former president Trump declares victory prematurely. Let's play that catch a reaction on the other side.
I'm very much grounded in the present in terms of the task at hand and we will deal with election night and the days after as they come and we have the resources and the expertise and the focus on that as well. So, you have teams ready to go. Is that what you're saying? Are you thinking about that as a possibility?
Of course. This is a person Donald Trump who tried to undo the free and fair election. Hallie, what did you take away from that? Well, just as far as the question, it's not a hypothetical.
The question was framed as this happened in the last cycle. Frankly, we did with the election. Former president Trump came out and declared victory before the votes were counted. And so, to that end, is it something I was curious about?
What is your campaign doing now? Are you thinking about that in possibility? She very clearly is. NBC News has more reporting that back up the fact that her campaign has an apparatus in place.
If this were to happen, which again, it does seem that the former president is laying the groundwork for this moment. Yeah, I mean, I remember standing in the boiler room in the 2020 campaign. I was working as an advisor for the Biden campaign. And we watched Donald Trump go to the East Room of the White House and say he had won when he didn't.
Now, what happened after that is a week long of briefings, frankly, of the campaign being very clear about what their data is answering the questions. I think that that's something we could potentially see from the hairs campaign going forward if Donald Trump declares victory on Tuesday night. And viewers should know, again, this is a matter of process. Some of these states like Pennsylvania and you cannot start counting their ballots until the polls close on election night.
So, it's not nefarious. It's simply a matter of the state law in the state. So, we're probably not America. You have the results of this election on election night and there's nothing to be alarmed about.
And it's such an important point, Jonathan. It's not just the Harris campaign that the public seems to agree. Take a look at these numbers. Well, over 70% of voters, they vice president Harris will accept the election results if she loses almost three quarters of voters believe Trump will not accept the results if he loses.
Sarah, what do you make of these figures? Well, I mean, just based on behavior, you would expect that whole result. But let's also remember what happened. You know, he did leave office.
He left office when he was supposed to. And as we kind of consider this whole argument about him being a threat to democracy and the Constitution, it's pretty clear to me that he's going to get about 90 million votes give or take. And they've already concluded that he's not a threat to democracy. I mean, they're voting for him.
And it's based on the fact that, you know, the Democrats don't have clean hands on these arguments either. They're talking about, they're talking about undoing the filibuster. They're talking about changing the Supreme Court. So, sophisticated.
Let me just say, I'm going to toss it to you. It's important to just point out your sake, he did leave office, but there was January 6th. Of course I never got the agenda. I just want to make the point.
But ultimately, people look back at his presidency and they see that he left office. There was a peaceful transfer of power. And his, did you watch the inauguration? Where?
I was there. I was there. I was there. I was there animated by this because January 6th, I was then vice president elected the United States of America at the Democratic National Convention where there were a live, a liberal national committee where there were live bombs outside.
And the vice president elected to be evacuated. I was there at the inauguration. I saw a vice president like Pence having a moment with vice, the vice president Harris before he left, but who wasn't there was Donald Trump? There wasn't a peaceful transfer of power.
That's just, we just can't say that. But Donald Trump's own judicial nominees blocked his attempts to subvert the outcome of the election. So people look at this holistically and they say, I've concluded this isn't a threat and I'm voting for him. And yet it's that final point that he did, your acknowledging he did try to overturn the results, Jonathan, that's the fact that is challenging and that's why you have the Harris campaign preparing for him to potentially declare victory.
But this was, I think it goes to the foundation of what the vice president is trying to make in this case. And she's not listening. I saw you on the road earlier this week when she was there. The kind of four congress machine he's making the case.
It doesn't matter about the process stuff if the bottom drops out on the Democratic process. The transfer of power was not peaceful. It was all violent. Four years ago.
I think that's where people were. That's what he did. The only reason that this is a competitive race is that the GOP nominated Donald Trump again. So half the country cannot accept him in part because he did not accept the results of the last election.
No matter their politics. That's why this is competitive at all this year at a time of really bad inflation and unpopular and common presence of Trump has made this a competitive race. But yes, he still may win because of the underlying factors going on. But let's be serious about what happened in the aftermath of the last election.
He refused to concede the election. He sought to overturn the election and there was a bloody riot on the steps of the Capitol. And so that is deeply sober. And that's why so many people in this country are dreading the aftermath of this election because people never concede no matter the results.
I think it's incumbent upon good folks and your party's there to stand up and stop that from happening if he doesn't. And that is why I'm the last time. Yeah. And the Republican Party has been that.
But how's the party changed? Since then. Yeah. My gosh, I don't know.
No, no, no, no, Donald Trump said there was also a election. I do think it's important to point out Elon Musk, one of his top supporters, just said last night that January 6 was in the way of violent insurrection. He also claimed that mail-in ballots are a recipe for fraud. So there is a sense of already laying the groundwork for potential discord.
All right. We are out of time guys. Fantastic conversation. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you very much. It's Sunday. It's Meet the Press.