appearance in civil court. a live report from manhattan. a big election night for democrats across the country, with governor beshear winning re-election in deep red kentucky. >> it was a victory that sends a loud, clear message. a message that candidates should run for something and not against someone. [ cheers and applause ] ohio voters overwhelmingly voting to establish a right to an abortion in the state constitution. glenn youngkin losing his grip on the state legislature and ending hopes to ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which was his proposal. the u.s. is discussing a proposal with israel and qatar for a pause in fighting of up to three days. secretary of state tony blinken pushes back on netanyahu's potential plans to control security in gaza for an indefinite period. >> no forcible displacement of palestinians from gaza. not now, not after the war. no reoccupation of gaza after the conflict ends. no attempt to blockade or besiege gaza. no reduction in the territory of gaza. ♪♪ good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. ivanka trump takes the stand in new york city, following her father and two brothers in that civil fraud trial. she is not a defendant in the case but was closely involved in making major financial deals that are at the heart of the case. deals she says now she can't recall when questioned. although, she did admit she remembers one of them. new york attorney general james speaking on her way into court earlier this morning. >> ivanka trump secured, negotiated loans to obtain favorable terms based on fraudulent statements of financial condition. she will attempt today to distance herself from the company. but unfortunately, the facts will reveal that, in fact, she was very much involved. we uncovered the scheme, and she benefitted from it personally. >> joining me now, reporter lindsey reiser outside the court, phil rucker, and andrew weissmann, former fbi general counsel. ivanka saying, i don't recall, multiple times. she went through documents. when questioned, she didn't remember. what else is happening inside? >> reporter: stylistically, it's very different. the mood in the courtroom is more relaxed than it was on monday when the former president was here. it was more tense then. she's confident, collected on the stand. soft spoken. the judge having to ask her at least twice to speak up. she has distanced herself or attempted to, saying she hasn't gotten paid since 2017 when she stepped down and became a senior advisor to her father in the white house. we heard about at least one of the properties we knew we would hear about. trump park avenue apartment, which she left this morning. she had an option to purchase one of the penthouses for lower than what it was valued in the statement of financial condition. even though she's repeatedly saying she doesn't recall certain communications involving some of the deals she was involved in, the attorney general's office is still entering these documents into evidence. for example, for her communications with deutsche bank, that they knew they had to have a certain net worth to get the terms that were being offered on the table. again, when it comes to the statements of financial condition, the documents that are at the heart of the case that the ag's office said contained inflated values, she said she had no involvement in those statements of financial condition. when asked if she had any role in preparing them, she said, not that i'm aware of. >> andrew, what stands out to you so far from the testimony? >> i was thinking about what the state is trying to get and what she's trying to get out of the day in court. essentially, what the state has done is neutralized her. their case hasn't gotten any stronger, but it hasn't gotten any weaker, because the documents are the documents. she hasn't added to anything on the documents, but she hasn't taken away from them either. from her perspective, the i don't recall -- which could very much be the case. this is a long time ago. it could be the case she does remember and is not being forthcoming. she's basically distancing herself from the whole center part of the case. i think this is going to basically be a wash. at the end of the day, the state has the documents that it wants the judge to rely on and has a witness who is not rejecting what's there. >> phil, with the testimony today, what is the dynamic now? as she notably went on instagram after he left office saying that she loved him but would be staying out of politics for this cycle, so she's not there, she's not involved in any way in the defense, showing up in court. there's a notable separation. she was the closest to him. she was the only one of the offspring in the white house with her husband as white house officials throughout his presidency. >> it's been a really notable transition for ivanka trump. before donald trump became president, ivanka was seen as the heir apparent to take over. she, of course, followed him to the white house, was a senior advisor, had an office on the second floor of the west wing and was a partner to her father in a lot of the aspects of the presidency. her husband was also a senior advisor in the west wing, was an architect of the campaign strategy in 2016. kushner and ivanka are distant from donald trump's presidential run. they made clear through their social media postings that you just referenced that they were staying out of politics right now and trying not to be involved in the campaign. you don't see them publically really ever at donald trump's side. she is no longer a surrogate at his campaign rallies, for example. that, of course, could change next year as the election heats up. for the moment, they're trying to stay out of politics. it will be interesting to see her in court in a very public setting and even though it's a legal proceeding, a very political setting as well given what's at stake for her father. >> thanks to all of you. forcing the issue. putting abortion on the ballot, burning the gop again. providing key victories for democrats across the country. what that tells us what it might mean for the election next year or does it? that's all next when "andrea mitchell reports" is back in just 60 seconds. stay with us. you are watching msnbc. ay with s you are watching msnbc democrats have a lot to celebrate today after winning decisive victories in elections across the country on tuesday. especially in ohio and virginia, where abortion rights was a major issue. to those off-year democratic victories, do they tell us anything about the chances of biden? joining us, chuck todd, brendan buck and alencia johnson. >> let me see what you left out. >> i want to go to you first. big picture of the overview of the election. what is the importance of abortion? what does it tell us about '24? what about joe biden and some of the numbers we are seeing? >> i think let's take a step back. abortion is the issue that continues to drive things. we are so used to our short attention span society that somehow an issue that's prevalent in the moment fades away. this isn't fading. this is about people's personal rights. it's clearly, this is different. it's what many people thought would happen once you sent this back to the states. politicians have to take a position and put out specifics. when people hear them, they don't like it and they have a specific reason. i think it's pretty clear. i think now you will see a strategy of particularly i think democrats are going to try to get abortion rights protection amendments on as many ballots as they can in '24. i that i could potentially solve the turnout problem among voters under 40, that they have been worried about. the question is, does it -- i think this. i think there's too much celebrating in biden world that this means they have no problems. at the same time, it also -- those -- look, other issues matter here, too. is abortion strong enough to pull biden over the finish line? i think the answer is yes. the question is, is that a way you want to run a campaign? >> the drag that that is -- that other issues are fairly or unfairly. will the republicans failure to win a majority in virginia legislature that the governor -- the trial balloons for a presidential run, really are not as relevant? this is a setback for him. how does the biden team overcome those terrible numbers on whether he is fit to be president? the 29% in the cnn poll. >> i think it's too early to say it's a setback. it's a bit of a setback for glenn youngkin. he is still an attractive candidate. what chuck was hitting on is important. in the most recent midterms, we had the same dynamics that were going on here. joe biden was unpopular. the economy was struggling. we thought it was going to be a big night for republicans. democrats overcame all of that. the same thing happened last night. they overcame all of the things that should be pointing to problems for democrats. it may be a situation where democrats will do well in spite of joe biden being unpopular because of these other issues. credit to glenn youngkin for trying something different. what the republicans have been doing isn't working, which is going to the right and sticking your head in the stand. at least he said, we will try something else. we will frame what we are doing as more of a compromise. voters rejected that. but at least he was trying something different. anything on abortion right now is not working for republicans. chuck is a football fan. if your team can't stop a play, you keep running that same play, and i think democrats will keep running this until republicans figure out how to stop it. they have not been able to do that. >> chuck, you are nodding. what about that? the biden team has to figure out something other than abortion. it has to figure out how to get credit for the economy, to stop talking about bidenomics, that's not selling, and put him out there more. >> you are raising a good point here about the president has a lot of achievements on these issues that are actually winning and turning out the base of our party, not just young people, black voters, latino voters. we have seen some of the voters, particularly in presidential years, being concerned about president biden. i will say this as a communication strategist in the democratic party, sometimes we have a messaging issue. if you talk to voters about the president's agenda, talk to voters about the policies that either he has passed or policies he stands for with republican opposition, the reason we can't achieve some of the wins, they are for those. the gun control, abortion rights, same-sex marriage, climate change, the issue goes on and on and on. yet, there's a disconnect between president biden being the leader for that. i'm hopeful my former campaign colleagues, people working on the re-election campaign, and my friends in the white house continue to connect the dots, that this is president biden's agenda that you are turning out for. he is going to -- if you re-elect him, give him a house, give him -- keep the senate majority, that we can continue along on some of the key issues that young voters and the base of our democratic party are turning out for. >> you know what reinforces this? the same "new york times" polls that everybody is wringing their hands about. the point is, they are winning the argument on substance. i do think that president biden's problem is age. he can't do anything about it. i think when you look at the way he is being judged -- he is weak on the economy. he is weak on this. it's not fair. but i think everything is seen through the prism of age and energy for him. politics isn't always fair. just because that -- that just is. how do you change that? i would put him out there more. let people get comfortable with him. he is who he is. make him grandpa biden and embrace it. rather than sitting here and pretending -- treating him like an egg and making it like -- let it rip. good, bad and otherwise. trump does it. it's why any one thing doesn't always stick to him in some ways. he gets people used to his behavior. this is one of those cases. the white house needs to get people used to who president biden is. he is not going to get younger. >> it was 25%, it wasn't 29% in the cnn poll. 25% think he is not forceful enough. it seems to me donald trump, instead of losing with the trials and everything else that's happened to him legally, the fact he is so combative and forceful, he doesn't have to show he is strong on the stump. >> talk to a democrat. he is a fighter. yeah. is he fighting for you? that's the question. he fights for himself really hard. that gets conveyed. that does have an impact. >> the point of fighting, when kamala harris and people see her fighting, they are reminiscent of her as a senator, people love that. that resonates with young voters and women voters and some black voters. you also want to get out vice president harris as well. >> let me ask brendan about tonight's debate. the battle for second place, is that what this is about? haley versus desantis, who comes out on top? >> they need to go on donald trump. i will say this debate feels more like it needs to be a desantis/haley debate. the only way this changes is if it becomes a one-person versus donald trump race. we have that dynamic. obviously, it doesn't feel like desantis is checking out any time soon. he got a huge endorsement from the iowa governor. i think haley needs to be trying to take some kill shots here and get desantis out of this race. she's clearly the strongest alternative. she polls the best. she has the momentum. as long as desantis is hanging around, it becomes very hard for her to contrast with donald trump and get attention in this contrast. as long as we have this, as you said, race for second place going on, it's hard to change the dynamics. that's what i'm looking for, that fight between the two of them tonight. >> we have to leave it there. andy beshear, that's the way forward for a democrat in a deep red state. brendan, thank you. to chuck todd, my pal, thanks for being here. alencia, it's always great. we like the red, white and blue. we could do a debate. >> we could. coming up, top of the ticket. the issue which did seem to motivate voters. abortion rights, what that means for 2024 next. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. bc warning civilians to clear out, while hamas forces them back. allowing in food and water, which hamas steals. there's challenges, and i love overcoming challenges. ♪ when better money habits® content first started coming out, it expanded what i could do for special olympics athletes with developmental needs. thousands of bank of america employees like scott spend countless hours volunteering to teach people how to reach their financial goals. it felt good. it felt like i could take on the whole world. hi. my name is kim and i am 41 years old. i've been given the opportunity to work from home, so that means lots of video calls. i see myself more and i definitely see those deeper lines. i'm still kim and i got botox® cosmetic. i wanted to keep the expressions that i would normally have, you know, you're on camera and the only person they can look at is you. i was really happy with the results. i look like me just with fewer lines. botox® cosmetic is fda approved to temporarily make frown lines, crow's feet, and forehead lines look better. the effects of botox® cosmetic may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness may be a sign of a life-threatening condition. do not receive botox® cosmetic if you have a skin infection. side effects may include allergic reactions, injection site pain, headache, eyebrow, eyelid drooping and eyelid swelling. tell your doctor about your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. see for yourself at botoxcosmetic.com. 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(carolers) ♪ we tried to tell him but he paid us a lot... ♪ (husband) it was a lot... ♪ mhmmm ♪ (vo) this holiday turn any iphone, in any condition, into a new iphone 15 pro with titanium, apple tv 4k, and six months of apple one. all three on us. it's holiday everyday with verizon. abortion access continuing to propel democrats to big victories in state elections, including virginia. a key bellwether from bother parties ahead of 2024. joining us now is the former virginia governor. >> what a night. >> two nights ago i say you. you said we will win the house and senate in virginia. i said, how do you know? >> you could feel it. you knew women were coming out in record numbers. it was a historic night. the first time in more than 50 years that a sitting governor in virginia has lost a chamber. it was historic. to keep the senate and to pick up the seats we needed in the house. abortion was a big issue. i think what was happening up here with the republicans, the chaos the last couple weeks with the speakership, that impacted virginia. we have military, defense, federal government workers. they were frustrated with what's happening. they didn't want to roll women's rights back. people came out, and it was a great night. look at kentucky. governor beshear campaigns in rural counties on abortion. he ran television ads on women's reproductive rights. people said, we're going to come out, vote so it bodes well for our party. it will help us next year for president biden's re-election. >> in the exit polls, it didn't move president biden's approval ratings. the president put out a statement, people vote, polls don't vote. i'm paraphrasing. the fact is, he is a drag on the ticket. andy beshear did not talk about joe biden. >> next year will be joe biden against donald trump. the abortion issue is still going to be out there. states are passing them. they tried to pass six-week bans. women don't even know if they are pregnant. people have had it. joe biden has been out front protecting women's rights. we are in this chaos because of donald trump, because of his supreme court -- >> do you think he can get out from under that? can he switch his position -- wouldn't be the first time. can he switch his position and the evangelicals will say, it's okay? because it's donald trump. he will get away with it. >> no. listen, trump can't change his position on that issue. >> he did before. >> it's broader than this. joe biden will, next year, talk about the economy. he is fighting two big international incidents, ukraine, israel. >> what about his age? i know he is only three years older than donald trump, but he projects to the people, according to 25% of the polling, he projects fatigue, weakness, whatever. donald trump is the fighter. fair or not fair -- probably not fair -- >> you watch trump. that elevator is not going to the top floor anymore. he is attacking a young law clerk up in new york. >> he is becoming more popular with every one of the crazy trials, misbehavior, whatever you want to call it, his polls go up. how do you explain that? >> elections speak for themselves. we had a historic night in ohio, kentucky. >> he wasn't on the ballot. neither was biden. >> this is joe biden's democratic party. he is the leader. next year, he will be on the ballot. let him talk about job growth that has blown the roof off. people are back at work. you drive on roads today because of biden's infrastructure