they do ask questions, and i think they're objectively -- i think it makes sense why people are asking will he be on some sort of energy drinks or something. >> that was house speaker mike johnson insisting that donald trump's claim that president biden will use drugs ahead of tomorrow night's debate was a joke. we'll dig into those remarks and the new conspiracy theory one republican is floating, which includes, mountain dew. plus, we'll bring you the key take-aways from last night's primaries where progressive democrats in new york suffered a major blow, and republican congresswoman lauren boebert won her race after she switched districts. and also ahead judge juan merchan partially lifts donald trump's gag order in the hush money case. who the former president is now free to talk about and who remains off-limits. good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this wednesday, june 26th. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. and we have a lot to get to this morning. we'll begin here. we are now just one day away from the first general election debate, and the candidates appear to be taking vastly different approaches as to how they prepare. president joe biden and his top campaign aides remain hunkered down at camp david yesterday where they have been for merely a week and are expected to remain through today and tomorrow morning ahead of the debate. as for donald trump, the former president continues to insist that he does not need to take part in any formal debate prep. on fox news yesterday trump's campaign press secretary cited hostile media interviews that trump regularly gives as a substitute for traditional debate strategy sessions. one of those so-called hostile interviews came on the far-right network news max yesterday when trump was interviewed by his own 2016 campaign manager, cory lewandowski. >> i'm proud to announce that i will be there in atlanta with president trump just like i have been for almost every debate he's participated in since he's come down that golden escalator. we've heard how president biden has been preparing for it, and the real question is what have you been doing to prepare for the debate? >> i think they've been preparing for it for my whole life, if you want to know the truth. and i'm not sure you can lock yourself into a room for two weeks or one week or two days and learn what you really have to know. >> such a hostile interview. but we should note while trump was speaking last night on news max, the network ran this disclaimer on the screen, a ciron that read news max accepts the 2020 election results as legal and final. news max is currently being sued by dominion voting systems for airing false claims about the 2020 vote being rigged. meanwhile, in an interview published monday with the conservative newspaper washington examiner, trump said he agreed with critics who said he felt he interrupted biden too much when the two debated five years ago. he also admitted he was likely positive with covid. trump defended by saying biden, quote, lies so much. so one republican has a new conspiracy about president biden's debate prep, warning that it's not drugs he'll rely onto get through his matchup with trump but rather soda. >> yeah, i think, you know, any patient that truly -- or elderly individual or someone that has dementia, they could find some moments of clarity, right? they can find moments throughout the day that they have energy, and i think trump's team should not underestimate joe biden and his team's ability to whether they're going to jack him up on mountain dew or whatever it is, look at the "state of the union" this year he had a lot of energy for about an hour, an hour and a half. but it doesn't mean -- what we're seeing is obviously throughout the day he can't carry that level of energy. >> mountain dew. last night house speaker mike johnson attempted to down-play some of the rhetoric aimed at biden from trump and fellow republicans. >> look, there's a lot of things that are said in jest. of course no one expects joe biden would be on cocaine, but they do ask questions, and i think it makes sense why people are asking will he be on some sort of energy drinks or something. okay, look, his energy levels you can see vary depending on what format he's in or forum. but the question is can he stay for 90 minutes on that stage and go toe to toe with president trump who as you know goes to rally and talks for two hours on end without any break and no notes. it'll be an interesting thing to see. >> the biden campaign hit back on the accusations writing that trump is so scared of being held accountable for his toxic agenda he and his allies are resorting to desperate, obviously false lies. joining us now from atlanta, politics reporter for "the new york times", maya king. maya, good to see you this morning. atlanta will be the center of the political universe tomorrow. we're on debate eve right now. republican and democrats already gathering there. those in the gop you're talking to, those in the trump world is there any nervousness he's at least allegedly saying he's not actually doing any formal debate preparations? >> well, republicans i think pointed out have sought to level set and set expectations as it relates to energy and ability to answer tough questions on policy. the folks i've spoken to in republican circles have had expectations for the former president. they have said repeatedly if donald trump gets on the debate stage and talks about issues like the economy or like immigration, that those are the issues that voters will pay attention to. those are the issues they believe president biden is weakest on and that he can galvanize support and be able to have, you know, a positive performance if he continues a message that is more rooted in grievance, repeats election lies, which is a particular poleant point of argument in georgia where trump did try to overturn the results of the election, that could change the tide and the tone of this debate and possibly provide an opening for biden to talk more about democracy and the political violence implications of this upcoming election, which democrats have said they plan to really hammer in the days and really hours heading into this debate. >> and certainly would not be a surprise if one of the very first questions of the night from the moderator or from president biden to donald trump is -- is mr. ex-president, do you accept the results of the to20 election, who won a couple years ago. you're right to highlight that. there's a new poll out of the state that shows trump up slightly, just outside the margin of error. give us the state of play there. yes, atlanta is home to cnn and they're hosting the debate, so that's partially why the debate is being held there. is the biggest city of one of the battle grnlds on the map. >> that's right. the metropolitan atlanta area is the democratic engine that powered president biden's very thin margin of victory in 2020. a lot of democrats here are, of course, very excited to have their moment back in the sun for atlanta to be, again, the center of the political universe, but they recognize the work they have to do to turn out these key voting groups like black voters, young voters, middle eastern voters. these are all groups that turned out in large numbers in 2020 and powered democrats wins. and again in the 2022 mid-terms where we saw the re-election of senator warnock. all of this comes down to a lot of these key voting groups. and right now i think you're seeing some of that discontent, some of that unwillingness to really engage being reflected in polls that show president trump slightly ahead. i think that republican base voters here in florida right now have the edge on enthusiasm because democrats are looking at the events this week and the days ahead to really galvanize those important voting bases. >> lastly and briefly it was certainly a surprise biden won in 2020 in georgia. six months ago, eight months ago there's a sense in the party the state may be slipping out of reach this time around, but seems like they think they've got a shot here even an uphill climb. >> yes, absolutely. you know, there's still a groundwork that's been laid here by voting rights groups and other organizers to turn out key voting groups and engage groups not only here in metro atlanta but other rural pockets of the state. i feel like democrats do feel like they still have a shot, but they recognize the challenge they have in trying to capture lightening in a bottle as it were once again here in georgia. >> politics reporter for "the new york times," maya king, thank you for starting us off this morning. we'll of course have complete coverage tomorrow night here on msnbc of the debate, and i'll be hosting "way too early" and appearing on "morning joe" from atlanta both tomorrow and friday. meanwhile, donald trump could announce his running mate as soon as this week. the republican nominee says he intends to announce his pick for vice president either before or during the republican national convention last month, next month in milwaukee. but four people familiar with the situation are now telling nbc news there have been high level talks about moving that time line up, though nothing has been finalized. over the weekend trump told nbc he's already picked a running mate, and that person even if that person is not announced yet, will be at the debate tomorrow night in atlanta. among the top contenders are north dakota governor doug burgum and senators marco rubio and j.d. vance. all three of them are expected to be in atlanta tomorrow night. just some election results now. progressive democratic congressman jamaal bowman lost his primary in new york's 16th district last night. moderate westchester county executive george latimer crushed him by more than 30 points with 80% of the vote in. the race, which was the most expensive house primary in history grew contentious with democrat divisions over the israel-hamas war on full display. while bowman has been an outspoken critic of israel, latimer has refused to critique benjamin netanyahu's government. he was also backed by a $15 million ad buy from a super-pack linked to a pro-israel group. and to colorado now. republican congresswoman lauren boebert did win her primary. she emerged out of a crowded field with 99% of the vote reported. she's also heavily favored to win the seat in this november's general election. next up here on "way too early" the surgeon general declares firearm violence a public health crisis. we'll break down the reforms he's calling for in an effort to lower gun violence. plus the trial for detained wall street journal reporter evan gerschkovich began in russia overnight. we'll have the very latest on that. we'll have those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. check on sports and weather when we come right back i know you love your dada. of course he loves you, he just doesn't show it on his face. or with his body language. [ cooing ] ♪ sweet child of mine ♪ [ gasps ] you didn't live this strong, this long to get put on the shelf like a porcelain doll. if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and are at high risk for fracture, you can build new bone with evenity®. ask your doctor if you can do more than just slowing down bone loss with evenity®. want stronger bones? then build new bone; evenity® can help in just 12 months. evenity® is proven to reduce spine fracture risk by 73%. evenity® can increase risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from a cardiovascular problem. do not take evenity® if you have low blood calcium, or are allergic to it. serious allergic reactions and low blood calcium have occurred. tell your doctor about jaw bone problems, as they have been reported with evenity®. or about pain in your hip, groin, or thigh, as unusual thigh bone fractures have occurred. don't let a break put you on a shelf. talk to your doctor about building new bone with evenity®! welcome back. we'll have more of the trump. biden debate preview a little later in the show, but now we turn to some other headlines. there the first time in america's history the u.s. surgeon general, america's top doctor, has declared gun violence a public health crisis. in a video posted on social media yesterday the surgeon general explained his landmark decision. >> as a doctor i've seen the consequences of firearm violence up close, in the lives of the patients i've cared for over the years. these are moms and dadads, sons and daughters, all of whom were robbed of their physical and mental health by senseless act of violence. >> in a 40-page report the surgeon general calls on the united states to ban automatic rifles and introduce background checks as well as a host of other reforms to help lower firearm deaths. none of the doctor's suggestions can be implemented across the country without a pass in congress. there was a string of mass shootings over the weekend that left dozens of people dead. it was the second straight weekend that saw an outbreak of gun violence. nearly 50,000 americans died from gun injuries back in 2022. a poll from last year found 1 in 5 americans say they've been personally threatened with a gun, and staggering 84% of u.s. adults say they have taken at least one precaution to protect themselves or their families from the possibility of gun violence. the national rifle association quickly responded to the surgeon general's advisory writing this. this is an extension of the biden administration's war on gun owners. america has a crime problem caused by criminals. the reluctance to prosecute by biden and many of his allies is the cause of that. this is simple fact. we should note the surgeon general will be a guest coming up later on "morning joe" today. meanwhile, a new report finds that nearly half a million palestinians are on the brink of starvation. the group of experts backed by the united nations says almost all of gaza's population faces high levels of acute food insecurity. nearly 500,000 civilians are facing catastrophic hunger levels. experts believe this will continue so long as the war goes on and humanitarian aid continues to be restricted. the report, however, stops short of saying a famine has begun in gaza because of the war. still, experts say that more than 20% of the people surveyed have gone entire days and nights without eating. this comes as the u.n. estimates the number of aid trucks entering the enclave from october to early may has dropped by about 75%. in recent weeks israeli officials say they have increased the number of vehicles carrying food across the border. while israel acknowledges the hunger crisis, officials accuse hamas of often stealing and diverting the aid. elsewhere overseas the trial of wall street journal reporter evan gerschkovich begins today in a russian court. evan, who is considered wrongfully detained by the united states, was taken into russian custody in march of 2023 on espionage charges. in an interview with the ap, the general counsel for dow jones, which owns "the wall street journal" calls evan's trial a sham with bogus trumped-up charges. the ap reports evan's conviction is almost a certainty with russian courts convicting more than 99% of the defendants who come before them. if he's convicted, evan faces up to 20 years in prison. president biden has said he'll continue to work for his release. of course our thoughts are with him and his family. still ahead here, we'll turn to sports. and yankee's ace garret cole gets bashed by the mets in the start of the first subway series of the season. we'll have highlights from major league baseball. plus we'll give a look how the florida panthers spent their first day with the stanley cup, sports and a check of the weather forecast will be next when "way too early" comes right back. l be next when "way too early" comes right back - so this is pickleball? - pickle! ah, these guys are intense. with e*trade from morgan stanley, we're ready for whatever gets served up. dude, you gotta work on your trash talk. i'd rather work on saving for retirement. or college, since you like to get schooled. that's a pretty good burn, right? this isn't charmin! no wonder i don't feel as clean. here's charmin ultra strong. ahhh! my bottom's been saved! with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort. enjoy the go with charmin. ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. he's going to catch it. that ball deep in the left field. >> it was a rather rough outing for yankees ace garret cole in the second start of the season last night visiting the cross town mets in queens. the reigning cy young winner did not strike-out asial batter and gave up five home runs including a pair you see there that left the yankees trailing 6-0 after four innings. the yankees would rally and close after two with the help of a grand slam hit by the still red hot aaron judge. he's now got 27 home runs in the season but 9-7 with their 11th victory in 14 games of the grimace era. the yankees will try to split back at subway field. they play later in the year in the bronx. to chicago now los angeles dodgers superstar shohei ohtani led off the white sox with that blast, his nl best 24th of the season. tauny has driven in at least one run in his last nine games matching a dodgers franchise record. he added a tiebreaker at the top of the fourth. a major off-season trade that adds yet another alum to the new york knicks roster. mikhail bridges is reportedly being traded across town from the brooklyn nats to the nets which would reunite him with players that all helped the villanova wild cats win two ncaa championships and were the core of a knicks team that reached the championships last career. the knicks will pay big to get him. the fab draft tonight. meanwhile lord stanley's cup is touring its new home in florida where the championship celebrations continued yesterday. the first stop of the iconic trophy was at the home of matthew cuchuk where the team held an after party before taking it to a fort lauderdale bar and playing a drink with his family. the panthers beat the edmonton oilers to secure their first in franchise history. the official championship parade is set for this sunday. time now for the weather and let's go to meteorologist angie lassman for the forecast. how's it looking out there? >> a little busy. severe weather on the horizon today through multiple spots. the first this morning through specifically missouri, but the central plains is where we'll watch this and parts of the midwest. we've already got thunderstorm watches in effect. meanwhile, as we look ahead to later today we're going to focus on the midatlantic, parts of the north east as we gear up for another chance of severe weather. 61 million people included in this risk today. we're going to see the culprit move through basically through the daylight hours and eventually parts of the i-95 corridor impacted this evening. it's really tomorrow night where we see the severe risk of it across parts of the north east. we'll watch for that to move out by the time we get out the door tomorrow morning, but today the hail, the wind, maybe an eisolated tornado all a possibility. 47 million people included in heat alerts. no surprise. we've got temperatures still into the 90s, well into the 90s, even inching into the triple digits in places like atlanta. notice dallas ends up at 110 through the afternoon hours today, and feels like more of the same tomorrow. jonathan, that steamy summer weather will continue for folks across that region. >> angie lassman, thank you as always. next up here on "way too early" a judge has partially lifted donald trump's gag order in his criminal hush money case. we'll talk about what that could mean for the former president as we look ahead to debate night. we'll be right back with that. we'll be right back with that. . then i tried new zzzquil sleep nasal strips. their four—point lift design opens my nose for maximum air flow. so, i breathe better. and we both sleep better. and stay married. power e*trade's easy to-use tools make complex trading less complicated. custom scans help you find new trading opportunities, while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. e*trade from morgan stanley an alternative to pills, voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel, which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine directly at the source. voltaren, the joy of movement. old spice gentleman's super hydration body wash. (whispered) vanilla and shea. 24/7 moisturization with vitamin b3. (knock on the door) are you using all the old spice? oops. ♪ (old spice mnemonic) ♪ welcome back to "way too early." it is now 5:30 a.m. here on the east coast, 2:30 out west on this wednesday morning. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. the judge that oversaw donald trump's criminal hush money trial has lifted some but not all of the restrictions of the former president's gag order. the decision by judge juan merchan allows trump to comment publicly about witnesses and jurors. he is, though, still barred from discussing court staffers, the prosecution team, and their families until he's sentenced on july 11th. the former president's legal team had urged the judge to lift the gag order completely, and yesterday trump's campaign spokesperson criticized the ruling calling it another unlawful decision by a highly conflicted judge, which is blatantly un-american as it gags president trump the leading candidate -- before the debate is the point i'm trying to say. joining us now msnbc legal analyst danny cevallos. let's talk about the ruling, though. why would the judge do this at all, and what's the reasoning to lifting it now and partially? because we should note, of course, this now puts some of these topics if trump wants them to be in play tomorrow night for the debate. >> exactly right. the reason for lifting it now is that the trial is over. for example, when it comes to witnesses the judge reasons there really isn't any need to protect witnesses in the same way that you have to protect them pretrial. taking a step back gag orders are pretty rare to be begin with. while it's true pretrial convictions rooften continued for a victim not in custody, that's pretty common. but since gag orders are pretty rare, dealing what to do with a gag order post trial, post verdict can be a complex thing. it is a little unusual the judge reasoned that, okay, you can go after witnesses now but you can't go over the prosecution, their staff, the court staff or families, things like that, but he did allow trump to speak freely about members of the jury and i thought that was an interesting conclusion and even expressed in his opinion, his order that he would have liked to have continued the protection for jurors but he didn't believe he could based on the record before. >> what this means in practicality trump could go after stormy daniels, michael cohen, and the jurors remain anonymous. and if he were to find out who some were, he could threaten them as well. that's a concern for sure. as the supreme court reconvenes we'll get rulings today, tomorrow, and friday. the biggest one ongoing debate about trump's immunity case remind viewers just what's at stake. >> here's what i think you're going to see. i think you're going to see a decision that neither grants complete absolute immunity to all former presidents, nor will you see zero immunity whatsoever for former presidents. you're going to see something in the middle, and the reason for that is that both sides are not taking those extreme positions. the defense, the trump team is arguing, look, there is such a thing as presidential immunity, but it is limited. purely private conduct can be prosecuted. and on the other hand, the government is arguing, the jack smith team, that they are conceding that there are core executive functions that must be protected for which they don't want to call it immunity, but they have a sort of presidential defense. if you are, say, exercising the appointment's power, the pardon power but even those concessions create all kinds of other thorny hypotheticals, for example, a president who grants a pardon, which is a core presidential function, but he does it for a bag of cash in an act of robbery, these kind of hypotheticals vexed the justice during oral argument, and i'm sure for that reason no one can really predict where they'll draw the line. the parties in this case are only caring about their own facts. as justice gorsuch i thought put it well they may care about the facts but this is decision for the ages. the justices have a very, very difficult test ahead of them. >> and we should note the timing of this if that decision were to come down today or tomorrow, thad would be a big part of thursday night's debate. we have no idea the thought process behind the timing here. lastly, that's the biggest case still out there, but there are a still few other important ones. give us a preview. >> yes, there's an abortion case left. and it's the for idea that people who come to the emergency room the hospital wants to provide stabilizing care. on the other hand, there's an idaho law that says you cannot provide an abortion unless -- almost never can you provide an abortion, and the issue is really it if there's a federal law that says you have to stabilize someone does that mean you have to provide an abortion? and if so, federal law usually overrides state law. also before the court is an oub instruction case that can affect the january 6th defendants, and one of those defendants includes donald trump. and the question is this. is this obstruction statute, is it a general catch all obstruction statute that anyone who obstructs an official congressional proceeding commits a crime, or is this part of the statute defined by the line that comes before in the statute, which talks about anyone who basically destroys documents, destroys evidence, tampers with evidence. so the question becomes is this an evidence tampering statute, or is it a general dragnet catch all, anyone who obstructs congress criminal statute and it involves a lot of the sort of grammar and english language interpretation that is often before the court. but ultimately it will be a very difficult decision for january 6th defendants and donald trump. >> an important matter still before the court. we'll start learning some of the rulings at 10:00 a.m. eastern today. msnbc legal analyst danny cevallos, thank you. i'm certain we'll be speaking to you again very soon. next up we'll go live to cnbc for an early look what's driving wall street after both the nazdic and s&p 500 ended their losing streaks. plus airbus announces it's facing production challenge. we'll dig into those issues and the impact it could have on the airline industry when we come right back. n the airline industry when we come right back - so this is pickleball? - pickle! ah, these guys are intense. with e*trade from morgan stanley, we're ready for whatever gets served up. dude, you gotta work on your trash talk. i'd rather work on saving for retirement. or college, since you like to get schooled. that's a pretty good burn, right? it ain't my dad's razor, dad. ay watch it! it's 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. with the freestyle libre 3 system know your glucose levels. no fingersticks needed. all with the world's smallest and thinnest sensor. manage your diabetes with more confidence and lower your a1c. try it for free at freestylelibre.us power e*trade's easy to-use tools make complex trading less complicated. custom scans help you find new trading opportunities, while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. e*trade from morgan stanley (man) mm, hey, honey. and stay on top of the market. looks like my to-do list grew. "paint the bathroom, give baxter a bath, get life insurance," hm. i have a few minutes. i can do that now. oh, that fast? remember that colonial penn ad? i called and i got information. they sent the simple form i need to apply. all i do is fill it out and send it back. well, that sounds too easy! (man) give a little information, check a few boxes, sign my name, done. they don't ask about your health? (man) no health questions. -physical exam? -don't need one. it's colonial penn guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance. if you're between the ages of 50 and 85, your acceptance is guaranteed in most states, even if you're not in the best health. options start at $9.95 a month, 35 cents a day. once insured, your rate will never increase. a lifetime rate lock guarantees it. keep in mind, this is lifetime protection. as long as you pay your premiums, it's yours to keep. call for more information and the simple form you need to apply today. there's no obligation, and you'll receive a free beneficiary planner just for calling. welcome back. it's time now for business and for that let's bring in cnbc's silvia a amaro who joins us liv from london. s&p rebounded overnight after a rough start to the week. what can we expect from wall street today? >> exactly. at this stage, however, futures suggest it could be a quat start to trading session on wall street, but this is after we saw a very interesting session ones. earlier in the week we had seen investors returning away from tech to some extent. we saw nvidia losing intag, the crown as the world's most valuable company. but all of that changed yesterday, and what we saw was investors piling onto further tech stocks. just to give you an idea the overall tech sector outperformed yesterday. it was up by almost 2%. now, going into today's session let's see what's going to happen. there are a couple of companies reporting, but we're also keeping a close eye on any comments from fed officials. yesterday some of them suggested that they were being quite cautious regarding the outlook for bringing down inflation, and ultimately as i've mentioned to you on other tays, there's a huge question mark among investors about whether we're going to see the fed cutting rates this year and when that might actually happen. >> one of the most important story lines we continue to follow. so airbus is cutting its financial targets this year. tell us what prompted the move, and what could it mean for the airline industry writ large? >> such an interesting story because you remember all the problems that we saw earlier in the year with boeing. and so some analysts suggested the main rival, airbus, could actually profit from some of the problems that boeing had been facing. however, when you look at what airbus announced yesterday, they're clearly struggling with some of the delivery targets. what we heard from the company is that they lowered the deliveries for this year, and on top of that they also announced a hefty 960 million u.s. dollar charge for the space activities. so ultimately, some would suggest airbus is a victim of their own success, and there's a lot of pressure not just on-airbus but the overall sector as well, because we did see shares of their peers also moving lower on the news. and lastly the european union is accusing microsoft of violating anti-trust laws with the bundling of its teams and office products. how will this impact the tech giant and consumers if the charges are confirmed? >> this is a big move because the european commission has been very clear that it does not believe that microsoft is playing by the rule book in the european union. now, microsoft had already unbundled teams from the rest of office. they're saying they're doing that not just in europe but globally. however, that announcement was not enough to please regulators across the european continent. so after what we heard from the european commission in the wake of that, microsoft's president is saying they appreciate additional clarity and they will work to find solutions to address the european union's concerns. let's see what microsoft will do, but no doubt, john, there's significant amount of pressure from the regulators on microsoft. >> cnbc's silvia amaro live from london, thank you as always. next up here we'll take another look how donald trump and joe biden are preparing for tomorrow night's debate in atlanta and what's at stake in this hugely consequential early moment. we'll be right back with that. we'll be right back with that. listen to your heart. talk to your doctor about repatha. repatha plus a statin lowers ldl-c (bad cholesterol) by 63%, and drops the risk of having a heart attack. do not take repatha if you are allergic to it. repatha can cause serious allergic reactions. signs include trouble breathing or swallowing or swelling of the face. most common side effects include runny nose, sore throat, common cold symptoms, flu or flu-like symptoms, back pain, high blood sugar, and redness, pain, or bruising at the injection site. talk to your doctor about repatha. ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. my strategy is very simple. make america great again, that's all. because our country's going to hell, and we're going to turn it around fast. there's no strategy. we're going to turn it around fast. >> that was former president trump talking about his debate strategy or lack thereof while at a cheese steak place in philadelphia this past saturday. joining us now national politics reporter for bloomberg, stephanie lai. good morning, stephanie. so we're a day away from this debate, a historically early general election debate, and both candidates recognize they've got a lot at stake. give us your latest reporting as to what we should expect from both men as they take the stage. >> it's funny that former president trump mentions he's not preparing because in a lot of ways he is. while he might not be at camp david for a couple days at a time, he still has been preparing for several high caliber politicians on policy meetings. his advisers said on a press call just yesterday that they too have been preparing. senior advisor jason miller mentioned that he's been going through all of president biden's remarks for his entire career, actually. and so he's been keeping track of sort of some of president biden's mannerisms, what he tends to rely on in debate, all of which is to prepare president trump to expect what biden might say on stage and to help him find some sort of reaction or react in the moment. and so what we're expecting to see, right, is a -- is both candidates trying to have a strong performance, so for biden that means being able to deliver a strong, cogent performance that can sway voters and also maybe reassure folks whose are concerned about his old age, and for former president donald trump that entails creating a clear message on what his agenda is and also figuring out whether he can respond to claims that, you know, he's a threat to democracy, that he, you know, incited january 6th, all of which how he responds to can play a major role in how we see this general election playing out. >> certainly trump has concerns about age as well and incoherent performance. we know the biden team is preparing the president to go after the former president's conviction, saying he's unfit to hold office again. we know the timetable for trump to announce his vp pick could be shifting all along. they said they would do it either before the convention and now there's some chatter it could potentially come in the next few days. what's the latest you've got in terms of who's leading that race? >> the same names have been cropping up time and time again j.d. vance, senator marco rubio and north dakota governor doug burgum. while senator vance is the favorite among the president's base because of his populous appeal, some say he may have too much fire power and he could outshine the former president. folks like senator rubio and north dakota governor doug burgum could provide a moderating force and that could appeal to independent voters who aren't entirely sure they want to vote for him. those two candidates have made it to the top of that list in recent weeks. >> thank you for joining us. several trump-backed candidates lost that primary elections last night. we will dig in what that could mean for the former president' his party. coming up on "morning joe," we will bring you a live report from the new york congressional district that held the most expensive primary on record and unseeded democratic jamaal bowman. and vivek mutter murthy is coming up. and alejandro mayorkas will be a guest. we will continue to preview tomorrow night's debate. new jersey is just moments away. new jersey is just moments away. with e*trade from morgan stanley, we're ready for whatever gets served up. dude, you gotta work on your trash talk. i'd rather work on saving for retirement. or college, since you like to get schooled. that's a pretty good burn, right? (aaron) i own a lot of businesses... so i wear a lot of hats. my restaurants, my tattoo shop... and i also have a non-profit. but no matter what business i'm in... my network and my tech need to keep up. thank you, verizon business. (kevin) now our businesses get fast and reliable internet from the same network that powers our phones. (woman) all with the security features we need. (aaron) because my businesses are my life. (kevin) man, the fish tacos are blowing up! (aaron) so whatever's next we're cooking with fire. let's make it happen! (vo) switch to the partner businesses rely on. i'm jonathan lawson, here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85 and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54. what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80. what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. options start at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate-lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information, and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling, so call now for free information. power e*trade's easy to-use tools make complex trading less complicated. custom scans help you find new trading opportunities, while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. e*trade from morgan stanley welcome back. we turn back now to last night's primaries. several trump-backed candidates lost their races last night. potentially raising the question of just how valuable the former president endorsement's may be. trump endorsed a replacement for senator mitt romney's seat. trump has never been particularly popular in utah, to be clear. and sherry biggs wins republican not. joining us now to help us make sense of it, msnbc political analyst brendan buck. he was communications strategist and former aide to house speakers ryan and boehner. what do we make of this, brendan? trump's blessing in a republican primary is usually pretty golden. his candidates tend to win but there were a trio of losses last night. should we be reading into anything about what his hold on the party is or a lesson to be learned for november? >> there may be some lessons to learn. look. the former president's endorsement is still very important and members of congress and candidates will bend over backwards to get it, but it, alone, is not sufficient for winning. if you have a bad candidate or you run a bad campaign, you can still lose. look what happened in virginia with the chairman of the house freedom caucus bob good who donald trump made it his mission to defeat as did other people and they threw everything they had at him and barely got him by a couple of hundred votes. the dirty little secret is donald trump's record as it relates to winning primaries is he tends to just pick the person who they know is going to win and it boosts his stats. i think what is actually most important or most notable here is that some of the people -- or the people who lost last night were the more extreme candidates and it may seem like there is sort of a limitless tolerance for donald trump's antics. there does seem to be an outer limit on what republican voters will accept in a candidate, at least down ballot. the people who lost in south carolina and colorado, in particular, were very conservative on social issues. the person in utah, in utah, you have a state that probably abnormal in that it is not very trumpy for a red state, but i think what we potentially can take away from this is the middle of the republican party still exists and we can't ignore it and they are not going to tolerate the craziest far right deservive and it showed up tomorrow night. >> let's turn to tomorrow night in atlanta, the first debate of two scheduled between donald trump and joe biden. let's start with the president's side here. if you were his adviser, what would be some of the things you think he should press in terms of attack lines on trump but also defending his own record? >> i don't think the president should spends too much time to defend his own record. they need top line answers to some of the most pressing questions that people have particularly about inflation. i think both candidates is keeping the other on their toes. if i'm joe biden, i'm trying to debate donald trump into talking about 2020, january 6th. certainly talking about abortion and his record on the supreme court. things that we know are deeply unpopular. but also things that we know that donald trump doesn't have a very good answer for. if he goes into another defense of his explanation for how he won the election and how january 6th was no big deal, i think that is going to be shocking to a lot of people who don't tune in to politics every day. we have to remember the debates like these, these big moments are when people who aren't obsessed with politics are tuning into these things and they see him still obsessed with 2020 i think that would be good for the president. >> how do you anticipate trump responding to these attacks? his aides say he can be disciplined and calm for 90 minutes tomorrow night. we will see. let's say he is pressed on abortion and january 6th and the results of the 2020 election, how do you expect him responding and how bad could it be for him? >> i think he should be on his best behavior and maybe that is obvious. there are a lot of people who will be watching this debate who don't like either of these men. if he shows up like he does at a rally, i think it will turn off a lot of people. there is no shortage of things for donald trump to pivot to talk about joe biden's record that joe biden frankly who still has not figured out a very good answer for inflation. if he can talk about those things and if he can talk about the border is not secure. as much as former president trump tends to use really insidary language. if he sticks to things like that and joe biden has four years and no real good success there, i think he can keep president biden on his toes as well. generally, you know, you typically tell somebody to talk to the issues people are concerned about and tell them how they are going to fix it. i would say tell them about the issues that are concerning and tell them how the other guy is going to screw it up. i think talking about the other person is the best thing they could be do. >> i will be live in atlanta for "way too early" and "morning joe." brendan buck, thank you for being with us. thank you for all of you getting up with us "way too early" on