Youre not here tonight because youre afraid of being on the stage and defending your record. Youre ducking these things. Thats Chris Christie with a direct attack on donald trump. And christie wasnt the only republican president ial candidate to address the former president s absence from last nights debate stage. There werent that many other attacks, though. But well bring you that and other big moments from last night. Donald trump actually wasnt watching because he was instead on a stage by himself in michigan speaking to a crowd of mostly nonunion auto workers and criticizing the union strike against detroits big three. And meanwhile in washington it appears that farright republicans in the house are ready to shutdown the government over one key funding item. Well tell you what that is just ahead. Good morning and welcome to way too early on this thursday, september 28th. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us. Weve got a big show ahead, and we begin this morning with the second republican president ial debate, which began with a Video Montage questioning the state of todays gop and a very direct message about donald trump. 40 years after reagan pfsz landslide reelection, the Republican Party faces critical questions. What does it mean to be a conservative . We fight for the truth. We are not going to worry about what the left and the media say about us. What is the key to a economy . America can do for everyone what shes done for me. Well stop the spending, stop the spending, stop the earmarks. What is americas role in the world. We need to build a military fitted to the widening challenges. Sometimes to avoid war by showing your tough. And the country faces even more challenges. Would reagan even recognize the country in which we now live . Last night some of those candidates went on the attack against trump who once again decided to skip the event. During the Trump Administration and its 7 trillion 7 trillion in national debt. Donald trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record. Donald trump hides behind the walls of his golf clubs and wont show up here to answer questions. Youre afraid of being on this stage and defending your record, youre ducking these things. And let me tell you whats going to happen, you keep doing that no is going to call you donald trump anymore, were going to call you donald duck. Donald trump said Vladimir Putin was brilliant and a great leader. This is the person who is murdering people in his own country and now not having enough blood hes now going to ukraine to murder innocent civilians. He should be here explaining his comments to try to say prolife protections are a terrible thing. I want him to look into the eyes and tell people who have been fighting this fight for a long time. Im not sure that donald duck line really worked. In a fight for relevance the gop candidate spent plenty of time yelling and talk over each other with the debate stage at Times Devolving into complete chaos repeatedly throughout the night. Gentlemen, youll have your turn. Everybody knows that. If i may just i actually agree with ron desantis. A high level of discourse there. Thank you for speaking while im interrupting. Joining us now julia manchester. Shes in simi valley, california, this evening. Julia, thanks for staying up late for us tonight. Lets start with broad strokes. We know the polls. These candidates are all well, well behind donald trump and desperate for some sort of moment, break out moment or momentum. Give us an overview of a cup of winners and losers of last nights debate. Yeah, jonathan i think its sort of unclear who the winners and losers were according to a lot of people i chatted with in the republican world. One consistent winner ive heard was nikki haley. Nikki haley is someone in the last debate she did it i think i would argue last night. She presented herself as the only adults in the room essentially trying to rise above the fray. She didnt speak as much as maybe some of the other candidates, but she had some of the more memorable knock out moments particularly against Vivek Ramaswamy. There was that moment he was defending his decision to join tiktok despite candidates attacking him for his past business ties to china. She said listening to you essentially makes me feel dumber every day. That was certainly a moment. Ron desantis himself i dont think he had a bad night but i dont know necessarily think he had a knock out night. He didnt do poorly, but he didnt get a lot of fuzzy moments like nikki haley did. And i guess the verdict is still out on donald duck, but people are still talking about that moment from Chris Christie, and tim scott also coming in and not holding back any punches, really trying to get out of his comfort zone, be a bit more assertive. Remember in the first debate he seemed to fall out of the fray, but this time he was very much trying to get himself out and center. Scott was more or less invisible the first time around, and youre right a couple of republicans texted me overnight, too, saying they thought haley was the best. Maybe she wasnt quite as good the first debate, but one wonders if shes going to be the never trumper and seems to be a consolidation of support around her. Trump, his presence was felt last night. He was a couple thousand miles away in michigan, and some candidates did take him on in terms of his lack of presence last night and a little bit on his record. But did you see anything there thats going to move the needle in terms of these polls . I dont think so. One thing i think gives maybe desantis supporters home is that he was more aggressive in attacking donald trump publicly and on stage, talking about him, essentially dodging the debate stage, not being on the stage and talking about his record on abortion. This is something the Desantis Campaign has really been hating donald trump on. And i know donald trump arguably was a huge player in overturning roe v. Wade. His recent comments about the Electability Argument around abortion and not embracing a sixweek ban has made him receive some ire from the right so ron desantis trying to capitalize on that. I think a lot of his supporters were happy on him taking a more aggressive tone against the president. Theres been questions and open speculation on desantis once considered the frontrunner to unseat trump, they dont even make it to iowa, certainly his team has to hope last nights debate halts his slide. Lets talk about Vice President pence for a moment. How do you think he did last night . Hes another one betting on iowa. He struggled to get much in the way of traction, though. He has been willing to take on his former running mate. How do you think he fared . I think pence like the other candidates probably had a better night during the first debate in wisconsin. You know, i think he performed much better than expected. This time around, though, he did try to land some punches. But this time, though, i dont think they stuck the same way. There was an awkward moment at one point Chris Christie was trying to piggyback on insults Chris Christie talking about her status and talking about how the president has been sleeping with a member of the teachers union. Pence tried to awkwardly say, well, ive been sleeping with a teacher for the past 30 years. It was a weird moment, and that moment is what i think a lot of people are talking about right now when theyre asked about pence. I dont think thats necessarily he wants at this point. Yeah, that was deeply cringy moment to be candid. And it does seem like at any sever cycle theres one candidate on the debate stage the rest of them dont like. It was so clearly Vivek Ramaswamy this time around. Thank you for bringing us firsthand reporting from the debate. Donald trump of course was absent from last nights debate and delivered a speech instead to hundreds of supporters in michigan. Trump focused on union jobs and the biden administrations effort to transition towards electric vehicles. That issue, of course, has been a key part of the United Auto Workers strike against general motors, ford, and stellantis. The union is also debating higher wages, but trump told them theyre picketing for the wrong thing and then asked for their endorsement. To the striking workers, i support you and your goal of fair wages and greater stability. And i hope you get a fair deal for yourselves and your families, but if your Union Leaders will not demand crooked joe repeal the mandate, it doesnt matter what hourly word you get, it doesnt make a good bit of difference because in two to three years youll not have one job in this state. In other words, your current negotiations dont mean as much as you think. I watch you there with thepicts, but i don think youre picketing for the right thing. You can tell them i said it, although i have a feeling they ma be watching tonight. Not much applause for those remarks. Lets be clear last nights speech for trump took place at a nonunion Auto Parts Company in detroit. He addressed an audience of 300 that appeared to include only a few striking auto workers. Trumps speech came after biden made history, becoming the first sitting president in modern times to visit workers on the picket line. Trump did not visit striking works. Still ahead here on way too early, an update on the case that could strick donald trump and his sons of their ability to operate businesses in New York State. Plus well bring you a preview of the first Impeachment Inquiry Hearing into President Biden and the possible strategy for House Republicans. Well also take a look at the president s major speech on democracy thats coming later today. All of those stories and a check on weather and sports when we come right back. On weather and come right back. Power e trades awardwinning trading app makes trading easier. With its customizable options chain, easytouse tools and Paper Trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. E trade from morgan stanley. New emergenc crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. And who doesnt love a good throwback . [sfx video game] emergenc crystals. Welcome back as we turn to some of the mornings other top headlines. The new york judge who could potentially shutter Donald TrumpsBusiness Operations in New York State says he is not yet ready to make a decision on that matter. A lot of speculation about this. In a Pretrial Hearing yesterday judge Arthur Engoron declined to elaborate on the real world ramifications of the ruling he made on tuesday in a case brought by the new York State Attorney generals office. That ruling found that trump, his two oldest sons, and his company were liable of committing fraud over the course of many years. The judge has already granted attorney general Letitia James one punishment she sought which was to strip trump of his Business Certificates in the state. As a result the former president could be forced to give up all his new York Properties including the signature trump tower, his home of many years. Now, whether or not that happens will be decided by the same judge during a nonjury trial set to begin next week. Now today in just hours the republican led House Oversight committee will hold its first Impeachment Hearing on president joe biden. The New York Times reporting that top House Republicans are eyeing potential impeachment charges of bribery and abuse of power while trying to tie the president to his son Hunter Bidens foreign Business Dealings. Thats according to some senior house officials familiar with their plans. The times points out, however, that the lawmakers do not have evidence of either potential charge. And House Republicans have really struggled to link any of Hunter BidensBusiness Dealings to his father or get anywhere close to revealing proof of high crimes and misdemeanors which is what impeachment is supposed to be about. Elsewhere on capitol hill democratic senator bob menendez and his wife have pleaded not guilty to accusations of taking part in a bribery scheme. This as a the number of Democratic Senators calling for him to resign continues to grow. Nbc news correspondent has more. Reporter Holding Hands with his wife nadine Senator Menendez left Federal Court in a crush of protesters. Earlier they pleaded not guilty to charges they took part in a bribery scheme. They got these gold bars, piles of cash and a mercedes in exchange. The senators released on 100,000 bail, his wife on 250,000. Sources familiar with the matter say the fbi is investigating if Egyptian Intelligence Services played any role in the alleged bribe scheel in an effort to get nonpublic from menendez then chair of the Foreign Relations committee. Still silent on the Muden Nez Case Twhiel dick durbin added his name to the growing list of democrats calling for menendez to resign. Chuck schumer criticizing menendez but not calling on him to step down. For senators theres a much, much higher standard and clearly when you read the indictment Senator Menendez fell way below that standard. Thats nbcs jonathan dies reporting. Well have a glance at Major League Baseball and an incredible feat by one of the games best players. And the biggest story line in the nfl has nothing to do with anything happening on the field. You probably can get whats were talking about. Well explain all that next. S were talking about. Well explain all that next. Th. But im protected with arexvy. Arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower Respiratory Disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. Rsv can be serious for those over 60, including those with asthma, diabetes, copd, and certain other conditions. But im protected. Arexvy is proven to be over 82 effective in preventing lower Respiratory Disease from rsv and over 94 effective in those with these health conditions. Arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. Those with weakened Immune Systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. The most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. I chose arexvy. Rsv . Make it arexvy. There it is. He did it a 4070 season and a season unlike any other in Major League Baseball history for ronald akuniya jr. Take a base and take a bow number 13. Hes the Founding Member of baseballs 4070 club becoming the first player ever to hit 40 home runs and swipe 70 bases in a single season. Hes also on one of my championship teams this week. They beat the cubs 65 in ten innings and clench a first home run buy. Meanwhile that loss for the cubs dropped chicago into a tie with the Miami Marlins for the third and final wild card spot. To seattle now. The Houston Astros took a big step towards their seventh consecutive postseason birth extending their lead over the mariners, that 83 win in front of a Rough Seattle crowd moves the astros. And in toronto the New York Yankees are eliminated from the playoff contention, but ace garret cole is still vying for his first cy young award. A game shutout to finish the season with an al best. Lets move to the nfl now where sunday nights game just outside New York City could have millions of new Football Fans watching nbc. Why . You know why. Thats because taylor swift will reportedly attend the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the new york jets. Swift was at the chiefs game in kansas city on sunday adding fuel to the rumors she and chiefs tight end travis kelce are starting to date. Prime time match up in new york. No wonder the nfl didnt flex this game out of the Sunday Night Spot even though the chiefs are going to crush the jets. Week four of the nfl season kicks off tonight in green bay. Angie lassman is here. Angie lassman is a lions fan but more importantly a resident taylor swift expert. What do we make of swiftkelce . I listened to his pod cast yesterday with his brother to see what he was going to say about taylor swift. He didnt say much, but it was cute the tidbits he gave. And they just got a whole lot of new viewers, right . Well see what happens with that. Were also going to see what happens with this rain unfortunately going to get back into the picture for folks in the north east and midatlantic. I know thats not what you want to hereafter we just finally got some sunshine yesterday. Youll have a bit of dry skies early in the day today but into the evening hours well start to see a low shift further to the north, and that means we add in rain chances across that region here as we get into the day tomorrow and saturday, dryer skies will on tap by sunday. Well have the potential for Coasting Flooding and really strong onshore winds. How about this . A little treat, september super moon. This is also known as the harvest moon. This is something youll want to take note of early into the morning hours. Early morning say 5 00, 6 00 a. M. , thats when youll have the best viewing and were looking at the middle of the country to see really clear skies. That will also be the case out nest so a bit of a treat. Its the last super moon so a bit of a chance for 2023. Still ahead back into the top moments of last nights republican president ial debate, plus the outgoing chairman of the joint Chief Of Staff responds to Donald Trumps suggestion that he should be executed for his communications with top chinese officials. Well show you what general mark milley had to say when we come right back. Ey had to say when we right back welcome back to way too early. It is coming up on 5 30 a. M. On the east coast, 2 30 out west. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for being with us. The outgoing chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the nations highest ranking Military Officer and advisor to the president , general mark milley is now speaking out after former President Trump suggested that milley deserves to be executed for treason for communicating with his chinese counterpart at the end of the trump atration. Trump made those comments in a rambling post on his truth social platform that reads in part this. This is act so egregious that in times gone by the punishment would have been death. Take a listen to general milleys response. Look, im a soldier. Ive been faithful and loyal to the constitution of the United States for 44 1 2 years, and my family and i have sacrificed greatly for this country. My mother and father before them, and, you know, as much as these comments are directed at me, its also directed at theintsitution of the military. And theres 2. 1 million of us in uniform, and the American People can take it to the bank that all of us, every single one of us from private to general were loyal to that constitution and well not turn our back on it no matter what, no matter the threats and humiliation, no matter what. If were willing to die for that document and deploy to combat, willing to lose an arm, a leg, an eye to support and defend that document and the American People, then were willing to look for it, too. So im not going to comment directly on those things, but i can tell you this military, this soldier, me, well never turn our back on the constitution. Was there anything inappropriate or treasonous on the calls you made . Absolutely not, none. And to assure china that the u. S. Was not planning to go to war. Joining us now former aide to the george w. Bush white house and State Departments our friend elise jordan, she is an msnbc political analyst as well. So lets start there with general milleys push back, and i think this is a moment that we shouldnt just let slide by what donald trump said, calling for execution of the nations highest ranking. Its unbelievable, and we absolutely need to cover this. We need to cover it in all seriousness. We need to take him seriously and literally because he is calling for the execution of the former head of the Armed Services. Its dont want to say egregious because its worse than egregious. Its borderline treasonous to approach using his power in such a way as that he would execute an american for a crime that wouldnt be on trial, and again what it says about the Armed Service and the relationship between donald trump and every institution is so profoundly disturbing, he thinks that he alone is supposed to dictate and mandate. Right, that they serve him rather than the constitution. And we know from personal experience some of trumps supporters take what he says seriously, and there have been threats that come from that. And milley would be the latest. And this is whiwe need to cover this as a threat, as taking on the american constitution. He is not running a campaign. Hes waging a battle to stay out of jail at this point given all the indictments that are raining down on him and getting his Business Future stripped in New York State. Yeah, we should take him at his word when he said theres going to be retribution. So this would have been you think a place that other republicans could have delivered some blows to donald trump last night on the debate stage. They could have said the former president is calling for the execution of the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. That didnt come up the fact trump had his businesses taken away from him in New York State. You did watch the debate last night. Those were left unspoken, but what were some ofioyour takeaways . How do you think they did . Maybe some freak event happens and bumps donald trump from his throne, but given what i saw last night theres not going to be anyone to stand up with any force and within the gop electorate save some dramatic freak event. You didnt see any candidates who were really willing to attack him. They attacked his lack of showing up, but otherwise they attacked him a bit on the wall and how little of it got built, but you didnt see any other attacks on his legal problems that are going to cloud a general election and harm his electability. Yeah, it seems thats an argument to make. Yeah, we all like him but cant win well have more of your debate thoughts then. Thank you for joining us now. Coming up here on way too early, were going to turn to business news, and cnbc joins us with the stories that are making headlines this morning. And some insight on the markets which are back in the red again ahead of the opening bell. Its been a bad month for wall street and get a sense whether thats going to continue. Thats all straight ahead. Goine thats all straight ahead. Theres something going around the gordon home. Good thing gertrude found delsym. Now whats going around is 12hour cough relief. And the giggles. The family that takes delsym together, feels better together. It aint my dads razor, dad. Ay watch it its from gillettelabs. This green bar releases trapped hairs from my face. Gamechanga . While the flexdisc contours to it. So the five blades can get virtually every hair in one stroke. For the ultimate gillette shaving experience. The best a man can get is gillettelabs. Time now for business, and for that look who it is. Lets bring in cnbcs Juliana Tatelbaum live from london. Less great where wall streets been. A lot of days in the red. Stocks mixed red yesterday, futures barely budged. What can we expect today after a week of what has been really steep losses . Well, john, it is indeed great to see you. But as for markets it has been a lot more down beat. As you said u. S. Stocks and government bonds are on course for their worst month of the year, so both bonds and stocks have been suffering losses recently. Yesterday we saw continued selloff in the bonds market. U. S. Equities, though, a little more resilient. We the s p, the dow, and nasdaq and A Little Change in session. This morning more of the same. U. S. Futures muted at this stage. One sector to watch today, energy. Energy yesterday put in the strongest performance among the sectors amid the surge in the price of oil. Overnight one story weve been following evergrande shares were suspended. This of course the embattled Property Company in china. One stock that did perform yesterday was pale ton, one of the darlings of the early pandemic. Its shares saw 15 spike. What do we think prompted this . A huge move in Peloton Shares, and it seems to be tied to an announcement yesterday between peloton and lulu lemon. The two companies are coming together for a fiveyear global partnership. Under the deal lulu lemon is going to make Cobranded Clothing Peloton will sell online, on its website, and its fitness stores. I wasnt too familiar with this product but its an interactive smart active device thats struggled to get off the ground with it, but for now theyre going to start offering Peloton Content on it. For Peloton The Partnership will help to drag traffic both to its website and in terms of sales of its hardware. And as you said Peloton Shares soared on this news. And lastly weve obviously been talking a lot about cars in the context of the uaw strike. And two pager car makers are recalling more than 3 million vehicles. Tell us about it. Weve got kia and hyundai recall recalling. Tern Brake Fluid Leaks could lead to an electrical fire. They have seen dozens of reports related to his issue. So far neither has to any reported crashes or fatalities relate today the recalls. Theyre clearly concerned and theyre telling the owners of these vehicles to park away away from structures. If youre the owner of any kia or hyundai vehicles, so do check it out if you own any of those models. All right, we appreciate that heads up. Cnbcs julianna tatelbaum, live from london, talk to you again soon. Still ahead here on way too early well turn back to politics, the latest on the looming shutdown. The Funding Fight for ukraine aid, well be right back with the lawmaker next. E lawmaker ne. D fizz when you throw them back. And who doesnt love a good throwback . [sfx video game] emergenc crystals. My most important kitchen tool . My brain. So i choose new neuriva ultra. Unlike some others, it supports 7 brain health indicators, including Mental Alertness from one serving. To help keep me sharp. Try new neuriva ultra. Think bigger. bobby my store and my Design Business . Were exploding. Neuriva ultra. But my old internet, was not letting me run the show. So, we switched to Verizon Business internet. They have business grade internet, nationwide. vo make the switch. Its your business. Its your verizon. New emergenc crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. And who doesnt love a good throwback . [sfx video game] emergenc crystals. Every day, businesses everywhere are asking is it possible . With comcast business. It is. Is it possible to help keep our Online Platform safe from cyberthreats . Absolutely. Can we provide health care virtually anywhere . We can help with that. Is it possible to use predictive monitoring to address Operations Issues . We can help with that, too. With the advanced connectivity and intelligence of global secure networking from comcast business. Its not just possible. Its happening. Welcome back to way too early on a busy thursday morning. Congress appears no closer to a solution to fund the government with less than three days to go until a shutdown begins. House republicans yesterday squashed the bipartisan funding plan from the senate with hard line conservatives criticizing it for having aid for ukraine. Meanwhile the house gops pushing forward with a plan to appease hard line conservatives with steeper spending cuts, which is likely to fail in the democratic led senate even if it were to somehow pass the house. This all comes as republicans in both chambers are playing the blame game. Despite beginning this process with a deal already in place between House SpeakerKevin Mccarthy and President Biden on how to fund the government. The house is working on passing 73 of all the appropriation bills, and the job were supposed to do by thursday. Were bringing up on friday the ability to fund the government, but at the same time secure our border, so, yes, were doing our job. So what does the president have to do with that . If he wants to sit and hide in the white house and put the government into a shutdown, thats on him. You have 6. 2 billion for ukraine. They do nothing to secure our southern border. That is just a nonstarter. The senate needs to get real. Youve all seen the images of the southern border and it has to stop immediately. This government should not be continue funding it in order to secure our border. This is a huge mess, and here we are at midnight, the night before an exam, and we just started this study, and there was really no need for this to happen the way that it went down, and ive been frustrated by the process. I thought we would be better than this, and here we are scrambling and no one knows whats next. Mr. President , a vote against a standard shortterm Funding Measure is a vote against paying over A Billion Dollars in salary for Border Patrol and i. C. E. Agents working to track down lethal fentanyl. Joining us now democratic congressman seth moulton of the commonwealth of massachusetts. Hes a Combat Veteran who served four tours in the marines. Thank u r being here this morning. Theres new polling that suggests americans would basically blame everyone, 32 say everyone is blamed equally and another 29 say its the gop, 14 democrats. But as many have noted, there was a deal already struck between mccarthy and the speaker and President Biden a few months ago. Now it seems like the gops gotten cold feet. Whats your assessment where things stand . And is there any way the government is not shutting down in a few days . Look, it really is up to republicans and up to republicans in the house because in the Senate Democrats and republicans came together 7719, so a lot of republicans and democrats the overwhelming majority of the Senate Voting to fund the government, theyre sending that bill over to the house. All we need to do is under Speaker Mccarthy take up that bill and have a bipartisan vote on getting it passed. And you would see a lot of republicans and a lot of democrats in the house doing exactly what happened in the senate and averting the shutdown. The issue is infighting in the Republican Party. The people who wont even let Speaker Mccarthy take this bill up for a vote because they say hell lose his job. So this is completely bickering among republicans, and unfortunately for those of us democrats who want to do the right thing, who want to join with republicans to make sure our government gets funded, theres not much we can do and Speaker Mccarthy wont even put that bill on the floor. What do you make, congressman, where things stand with funding to ukraine . Theres support in the senate but two thirds of the house yesterday voted to have it in, but they are of course very loud voices in the gop opposing any and all. How concerned are you about where that stands . Look, i think its concerning because funding ukraine is incredibly important to our National Security. I said on the select committee on china, and when we look at the deterring War In The Pacific sending a message to china, they should not start a war over taiwan, the number one issue is how we respond to ukraine. So investing in ukraine now is an investment in our National Security now and into the future. And the reality is that most republicans behind closed doors know this. As you pointed out even when faced with a public vote last night, there were two amendments to strip ukraine funding out of the bill. And an overwhelming majority of democrats and republicans voted to keep it in, to support ukraine funding. I sit on the house Armed Services committee. When we have doors briefings, classified briefings, the republicans are almost unanimously supportive on ukraine. Then they get on tv and Say Something different, play to their base. Just like Kevin Mccarthy is subservient to this extreme, dangerous wing of the Republican Party thats against ukraine. Thats why we have this quandary. Its not because they dont believe in it, they dont have the political courage to say it. Lastly and briefly, please, the Impeachment Inquiry Process into President Biden is beginning today in the house. There seems to be no evidence yet of any wrongdoing. What do you expect to have today . Whats the pushback . When you see ken buck, one of the most conservative republicans i know, writing in the Washington Post that this Impeachment Inquiry is completely bogus, theres no evidence to support it, theyre obviously just playing politics and cant even get the government funded in the process. Democratic congressman seth moulton of massachusetts, thank you for being here this morning. Hope you come back soon. Take care. Up next on way too early, more from last nights Republican Debate, including the final responses that centered on a candidate not on the stage. Coming up on morning joe, one of the debate participants, republican contender Chris Christie, will be a guest. Also, republicans on the House Oversight committee are set to lead the Impeachment Inquiry into President Biden. Two democratic members of the panel will join the conversation. Plus, a look at what was behind a surprise jam session by Secretary Of State antony blinken. Singing the blues last night at the state department. Yes, for those listening on the radio, that is antony blinken, the Secretary Of State. Morning joe a few moments away. Ning. The golden hour of cold and flu symptoms. Im feeling better. Cough . Congestion . All in one and done with new Mucinex Kickstart. Aaaaah ah hated that. Headache . Better. Ah fever . Body pain . Better now. Aaaaah new Mucinex Kickstart gives all in one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. Its not cold and flu season. Its comeback season. Welcome back. The final question of last nights Republican Debate centered around donald trump as he continues to maintain a strong lead in the polls. Heres what Florida Governor ron desantis had to say about it. Polls dont elect president s. Voters elect president s. Were going to take the case to the people in these early states. Were going to do it in a state by state direction. Why . As reagan said in his day, this is our time for choosing. We are not getting a mulligan on the 2024 election. Joining us now, Communication Strategist and former aide to House Speakers ryan and boehner, brendan buck. Great to see you. We heard the governors pushback, but polls say what the polls say, and donald trump is way ahead. Did you see anything last night that changes the trajectory of the race . It was interesting that they at least started to go a little more directly at donald trump, but it felt far too little and far too late. I think weve known for a while that donald trump is going to be the nominee, but these debates seem to only cement that further. There is a narrative going into these debates that, you know, this is the kitty table, and it certainly felt that way. There was a lot of shouting, a lot of name calling. You could hardly hear what each of them was saying at times. Certainly, nothing that would draw donald trump back into this debate. I think that was ultimately what they needed to do last night, and i think they all failed. They need donald trump to feel compelled to show up to a third debate. If youre donald trump, certainly no reason to do that at this point. So we are on Cruise Control it feels like at this point, and nobody had a big moment. Nobody really changed the direction that were going. I dont know that that was possible in this debate, but this is, once again, another two hours in which we leave sitting there thinking, i dont think any of these people can really catch up to where donald trump is. Yeah, kind of a chaotic outing with some sloppy moderating and a lot of interrupting. You know, nikki haley got a lot of buzz coming out of the first debate, that she was the breakout star, and she seemed to do pretty well last night, too. Do you have a sense here, as the clock continues to tick, that if there is an effort to coalesce around one nontrump candidate that, at this point, it might be haley rather than desantis . I dont know weve seen it yet, but shed make the most sense. She polls the best headtohead against joe biden. A lot of those people who are not supporting trump this time around have made the argument that he is not electable, they want someone more mainstream, and she, poll after poll, seems pretty far ahead of not just donald trump but ron desantis and others in a headtohead matchup against joe biden. She says all the right things that perhaps you might see donors shifting to her, but i got to think at this point, its a pretty big, risky play to jump to somebody other than donald trump, to be quite honest. Its a hail mary at this point because it is very unlikely that anyone is going to catch up to him. Now, she seems the most likely to hit the right notes for those people who are looking for somebody else, but i think a lot of donors at this point are sitting there thinking, i dont know that it is worth my investment to jump on anybody elses band wagon. Good point, not going to throw their money away. The third Republican Debate is set for miami in early november, more than a month away. We have no expectation that donald trump will be there, and i think his aides were saying last night, like, why show up . We dont want to be dragged into this. But for these other candidate sz , the ones who are on the stage, if you were advising their campaign, what should they focus on the next five, six weeks before the debate . I think you have to focus on donald trump. I know we bang that drum a lot before, but so much last night with them running against joe biden, thats just not the race theyre in at this point. You had more people going after ramaswamy than you did going after donald trump. I get it, it is risky at this point. Youre so far behind, do you want to drive up yur negatives, like Chris Christie has done, by going after the most popular person in the party . Its not in their interest. But if your goal is to change the direction of this race, any time not spent talking about donald trump, i think, is wasted, if that is your goal. Maybe for some of them, that isnt the goal. It may be out of reach. Look, this seems so fundamental, it is odd we have to talk about it, but when youre ignoring the frontrunner, youre doing so at your own peril. That is what we have seen. They ignore him. Every week, we see new polls of him higher and higher in the race. Theres been speculation that some of them might be playing to be his running mate, playing for the vp. Trump in michigan Last Night Mused that he didnt see anyone on stage who could fit that. Tensecond answer. Do you think the fatigue the polls show between trump and biden, is there a spot for a thirdparty candidate . Were too divided as parties for an opening there, but i think a thirdparty could be a spoiler. No one in the third party is getting elected president , but they could elect one of the others by accident. Many people in the white house feel itd hurt the president rather than donald trump. Br