trump's gains with lack voters ahead of the election. some suggest trump had more black support for president right now than any republican in decades. but this weekend in the swing state of michigan, trump held campaign events that reinforced how profoundly cynical, if not delusional, his idea of black outreach truly is. yesterday, the former president went to a black church in predominantly black detroit three days before juneteenth to tell a mostly nonblack audience that black neighborhoods are desolate and black led cities are corrupt. a common theme for the former president, who followed that up by keynoting a known white supremacist where trump told an overwhelmingly white right-wing audience that there black and brown friends in the u.s. are hurting because of immigrants. so we start on the campaign trail of both the biden and trump camps. joining me from los angeles is msnbc's white house correspondent aaron gilchrist, and from detroit in d.c., 2024 campaign embed j trailer. jake, let's start with you. you were in the room yesterday with former president donald trump addressing black voters during an appearance at a church in detroit. it was a roundtable destruction featuring local leaders. the trump campaign also launched his black voter coalition group yesterday. the clearest effort yet, one that has overwhelmingly supported democrats in past elections. talk to me about how effective has the trump campaign been regarding this outreach. >> yeah, reverend. it was a bit of a busy time on the campaign trail this father's day weekend. a big part of that was his pitch to black voters in west detroit, michigan. trump really attempted to differentiate himself from biden, specifically on the economy. he touted low unemployment for black americans in his administration. he also went after biden for his involvement in a 1994 crime bill that ultimately led to mass incarceration and disproportionately affected black communities. the largest claim that i want to note that trump said yesterday afternoon to that afternoon was that he was the best president for black americans since abraham lincoln. i want to give our viewers a chance to quickly listen to words that he said at that church in detroit yesterday. >> we are going to get your children jobs, we are going to make it possible for them to work. we are going to stop illegals from coming in. your biggest threat are the illegals taking the job. threats as to security, too. so many of them come from prisons and jails, from mental institutions, and even insane asylum's. this is open knowledge that is being affected very badly, the back community. they're taking your jobs. >> reverend, we know that michigan is a key decider swing state. trump carried it in 2016, it's going to be key to an electoral victory for both of these candidates, and it indicates a really tight race come november. seeing trump launch the black americans for trump coalition is just an indicator of the efforts that are going to come as these candidates attempted to come over this key voting block in this crucial swing state of michigan. >> aaron, we are not unaccustomed to the former president saying things that aren't true. but unemployment other donald trump went nine or 10 points over what it is now. the lowest rates in the past century are under biden during the pandemic, that trump mishandled. lack unemployment went over 16%. what is he talking about? >> well, i -- yeah, that is something that we frequently see from the former president. they are claims that don't necessarily match up to what is actually true. as you said yesterday, this wasn't specifically branded as an event toward the black community, but it very much was going into this community, a predominantly black community and attempting to outreach to these voters. just because those might be the facts, it doesn't necessarily mean that's what we are always going to hear from the former president. >> i just wanted to press that point. also, i looked at some of the views, the shots that it was not a mostly black audience that he was talking to in the black church. that also i wanted to note. let's go to los angeles last night. president joe biden and former president barack obama shared the stage for a record-breaking democratic fundraiser. amongst the company of other mega celebrities, the campaign has said it raised some $30 million. president biden offered a reminder of what is at stake in november, especially when it comes to the supreme court. take a listen. >> the next president is likely to have two new supreme court nominees. two more. two more. he has already appointed 2 that have been very negative in terms of the right of individuals. the supreme court has never been as out of kilter as it is today. i mean, never. i taught constitutional law for 9 years. this guy knows more about it than most. the fact of the matter is, this has never been a court that has been this far out of step. >> aaron, tell us about the highlights of that fundraiser and if there's any untruth said that you picked up. >> the q&a with former president obama really was the centerpiece of this celebrity packed event last night. they raised about $2 million more than originally expected. there was also a lot of comparison, as you might expect, to former president trump as he tried to make the case for why he should stay in the white house. he told this crew of a listers in hollywood the trump doesn't care what happens to ordinary people. he asked the two presidents about a wide range of topics. immigration, election interference, healthcare, among other things. the clip you played i think really was a key moment in this conversation with president biden effectively saying that putting trump back in the white house threatens freedom, reproductive health, threatens same-sex marriage, all trying to drive home his frequent message the trump is a threat to democracy. >> back to you, last night, donald trump also appeared at an event sponsored by a far right group, turning point action, for the people's convention they called it. what was the reception to the former president at this event? >> i think you can probably guess what this reception would be for this group. turning point has become this really strong arm of the far right conservative side of the republican party, that specifically also attract a lot of young republicans. over the past weekend, this commission took place. everyone that spoke was essentially trump and everyone in trump's corner. the main focus across multiple speakers, including the former president, was touting election interference in 2020 and continuing to talk about how the 2020 election was rigged. were also a lot of ambiguous calls to ensure the 2024 election is not rigged or stolen as a said happened in 2020. trump was obviously really well- received at this convention. but this is his bread and butter who, for the most part, do not believe in the legitimacy of the 2020 election. >> today believe in the legitimacy of the guilty verdict and 34 felony counts? >> right. the former president was quick to bring that up. i will note this, too. he on the campaign trail is frequently referencing this guilty verdict and often talking about what he says -- being indicted himself so other supporters are not indicted. he is saying he is a sacrificial lamb in their place. yesterday, trump was really specifically talking about the way he says, since he has been indicted and convicted in this criminal hush money trial, his polling has gone up, and as you said earlier, regardless of the truth of it or not, he's in trying to frame this as, the more he's convicted, the more he will continue to fight. that's the message he shared yesterday, and his supporters very clearly received that message. >> we can argue that his polling has not gone up. aaron, what is the vibe coming out of the biden campaign after last night's event and heading toward the heart of the campaign season? with the debate under two weeks, and we expect to hear more from president obama? >> i would say the campaign is very pleased with the money that it brought in last night. you noted $30 million adding to this war chest that we learned already exist, $192 million that the democrats have going into november to win in november. the hall that we heard about from yesterday really helps to add to the 150 campaign offices it already has. it helps to add staff, it helps to add to this growing library of media efforts to reach potential voters in battleground states and beyond. while we know that the president is about to hunker down to start to prep for the upcoming debate that you referenced on june 27th, there is another big fundraiser that is set for the very next day with the campaign wrapping up pride month in new york city with an lgbtq gala. we haven't heard specifically about the former president obama's appearances with the campaign. but he had said in the past that he fully intends to support the biden re-election effort and we will likely see him out on the campaign trail at bigger events potentially as we get closer to when voting will start in some places in september. >> thank you. aaron gilchrist and jake trailer. and while both campaigns are in full swing, we are less than two weeks away from a highly anticipated first presidential debate set for june 27th. can we bring in my political panel, former democratic senator doug jones of alabama? he is now a distinguished senior fellow for the center for american progress and former republican congressman from pennsylvania. he is now the senior adviser for our republican leg. doug, donald trump has gone from his full-time trial and criminal conviction to full- time campaign. his attorneys are now fighting to terminate the gag order in the hush money case before the first presidential debate. and yesterday, judge eileen cannon set a date for 3 days before the first debate to hear arguments on jack smith's request for a gag order in the classified documents case. doug, you are a lawyer. how unusual is it that trump may not be able to talk freely at this debate? >> it would be very unusual, i think, around this point. i wouldn't be surprised if the judge in the new york case, at a minimum, modify the gag order a little bit. because what the real problem is now, is that you all don't want to see the president calling for direct physical violence against any witness or anyone else. the fact is, everyone knows what michael cohen testified to, everyone knows what stormy daniels testified to. quite frankly, from a political standpoint, i would say if the former president wants to spend all his time dogging the two witnesses that a jury believed, so be it. let him do that. as long as we don't cross that line and get into some kind of threats. that's where the judge has the biggest concern, is someone would do harm to a witness or court personnel or a juror. >> the problem and the difficulty with setting the precedent, is that it is a precedent. we now have a convicted felon running for president as one of the candidates of the leading bodies. the challenge in the coming days, president biden will unveil a new executive action that will protect thousands of undocumented spouses were married to u.s. citizens. what do you make of this? it is a strong showing of support as biden courts the hispanic vote? >> now, i tend to think joe biden knows he is in a very vulnerable position on border security. the number of people who have crossed the border unlawfully are seeking asylum has just been staggering. he knows he has a problem with the american public, and obviously he is getting a lot of pushback from his own base because the most recent executive action, he did take on asylum. so i think this was a move to show that he is compassionate, and he's trying to help these partners, these spouses of people who are in this country. not sure that it's going to do a lot of good. he is really trying to straddle this issue as best he can, it remains a real political vulnerability for joe biden no matter how you slice this. i believe his detractors may appreciate this effort but are still going to be unhappy about the other executive order. >> donald trump continues to search for a running mate. senators marco rubio, tim scott, katie vance, and tom cotton are at the top of the shortlist. but names like ben carson, and congressman -- congress members byron donalds and elise the phonic are still being thrown around. let's listen to one of the top contenders, doug bergen, from earlier today, who recently had a change of heart on donald trump. >> would you ever do business with donald trump? >> i don't think so. i would -- i just think that it is important, and you are judged by the company you keep. >> since january, when we endorsed him, when we dropped out of the first, we had a chance to spend a ton of time with him since january. i wish every american can see him the weight katherine and i have got to know him in the last six months. he's committed, he's smart, he's funny. he is nothing like he is portrayed in the press. absolutely i would do business with him. >> how well is he doing kissing up to trump? do you think he will be chosen as the vp nominee? >> you know, i think trying to get into donald trump's head about who he wants as a second fiddle, and remember -- this is going to be someone who cannot possibly upstage donald trump. i think it's anybody's guess. i think it is really rather sad to see folks like governor bergen really do that kind of flip-flop, just so badly wanting to be on this ticket and to run for vice president. but they will do just about anything. arco rubio is doing the same thing. jd vance. it is just -- it is really kind of sad to see how people are just groveling for this job as opposed to touting their experience and touting what they could bring to the republican party that could stabilize the republican party that has gone so far back for donald trump. >> let's take a listen to some other vp contenders from earlier today. senator tom cotton and congressman byron donalds. >> if the president asked me to serve in any capacity, i would entertain it. >> we will see what president trump decides. i'm going to support whatever he does. >> byron thinks that joy reid and i were tough to deal with. wait until he meets kamala harris. but among any of the names being floated around or not, would you think stands the best chance of being selected as trump's running mate? >> well, that depends on what donald trump hopes to get the vice presidential nominee. if you won't support hispanic voters more than he is now, you might select marco rubio. if he wants to make a greater play with african-americans, he may secure tim scott or byron donalds. if you wants to go after the female vote, we simply don't know. he might want to go to somebody like jd vance if he rents to really doubled down on the working class without a college degree vote. that is the maga base. he could move in that direction. it's unclear what trump wants out of this vice president. i suspect it will be a very politically driven selection. of course, the candidate will have to be completely subservient to donald trump, donald trump is probably trying to figure out which candidate, which prospective candidate helps in the most with the constituencies he needs to improve. that's what i think right now. i am hesitant to make any prediction about who that would be, it would be one of those folks depending on which constituency he needs to help in november. >> i have to ask both of you this. you know how donald trump operates. he likes to deal with the element of surprise, and particularly if it keeps him out front. suppose he chooses somebody that we are not even talking about. is that possible? are there any names you can think of? >> you know, with donald trump, anything is possible, i think. he makes decisions. if you look back over in history, he will make snap decisions, announce those decisions, and sometimes will make those decisions and have to walk everything back. i will not be surprised at all that someone could pop up that has not been mentioned, except maybe in the farthest reaches, who that might be is anybody's guess. again, i just think it is very difficult to try to figure out what donald trump wants from moment to moment with his vice presidential pick, with his campaign, or with anything else he is doing on his agenda. >> charlie. >> well, look. i can't get into donald trump's head on this. i think he will select somebody from the list of people you have already identified. i would be shocked if you went beyond that list, given the process. i get the donald trump is a ragged and undisciplined, but his campaign this time compared to 2020, 2016, seems to be a bit more disciplined. the campaign is more disciplined, so i think they will stay to the list that we have identified already. i would be shocked, frankly, if you went off that list. away from that list. >> thank you for being with us. coming up, my juneteenth this year is an important event as ever. my take on it will be right back. back. ♪ ♪ have you always had trouble losing weight and keeping it off? 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