legend, willy mays, considered by many to be the game's greatest all around player. and also ahead donald trump's latest gaff with the city of milwaukee where the republican national convention will be held in less than a month. good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this wednesday, june 19th. it is indeed juneteenth. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. today americans nationwide are marking juneteenth also known as emancipation day. the emancipation proclamation freeing enslaved people in the confederate states was signed in 1863 but it did immediately end slavery in places that remained under confederate control. but it wasn't until june 19, 1865, two full years later, that union troops arrived in galveston, texas, and told more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state that they were now free. the news was met with large celebrations, and in remembrance black communities across the country hold events, parties, and parades. the holiday acted as sort of an unofficial independence day for black americans. and then in 2021 president joe biden signed the juneteenth national independence day act, which established june 19th as a federal holiday. joining us now white house correspondent for politico and coauthor of "the play book" eugene daniels. eugene, good to see you this morning. so the president issued a proclamation marking today that today is juneteenth. he said that signing it into law as a federal holiday back in 2021 was one of his most proudest moments, but he also at the white house juneteenth celebration a week ago warned on old ghosts in new clothes threatening some of the rights that were won by juneteenth and beyond could be in jeopardy. tell us more, please. >> yeah, i was there when the president and the vice president hosted kind of a juneteenth celebration on the mall. it's the second time they've done that in their administration, and the entire event from beginning to end was filled with singers and entertainers. you had gladys bell, icons in the black community. it was hosted by roy wood jr. from comedy central. the through line of the whole thing is what you're talking about, is this history lesson reminding people of the pain and the triumph of the black community, but also, you know, the struggle and the journey going from -- going from juneteenth, to how they put it having a black woman as vice president of the united states and they're between the performances that kind of explain those things. and president biden, vice president harris when they spoke they did talk about these kinds of things that are history and the idea that black history is a part of history was something we've heard from them over and over again, but something that isn't just -- just doesn't come easy. it's hard fought just as juneteenth was, just like getting black rights in this country has been. and that has been under attack. the ghosts of the pasts is clear reference to kkk roles, right? that now there's a world in which the roles may be out in public but there's something a sinter through line. >> it comes as a moment when the president struggling with black voters his base and trying to win them back ahead of election day. stay with us here and we want to talk about this story as well. trump is now backtracking on his plan to stay at his hotel in chicago during the republican national convention being held in milwaukee. the about face came after reporters found out that his logistics which reportedly involve trump staying at trump tower in the windy city and commuting about 90 miles north to the host city of milwaukee. trump disputed those reports and told the host affiliate wtmj, that he was planning to stay in milwaukee all along. >> the convention is in milwaukee in four weeks. this would be day two of the convention. there's a report out of chicago that says you may be overnighting in chicago instead of milwaukee. is that the plan? >> well, they have -- probably they think because i have a hotel there, a beautiful hotel there, a beauty, as good as it gets, but i'm staying here. i was always planning on staying here. it's an hour and a half, sometimes maybe two hours. and again, i chose milwaukee for a reason. and just so you understand when the democrats were here, they didn't even hold it. and biden never came. i think he stood out in the parking lot for about a minute and then he left. >> but hours later chicago law enforcement confirmed that they were in fact planning security for a trump stay during the rnc convention and did so as recently as yesterday, just yesterday. they have been coordinating safety measures with the trump campaign both in person and by phone. according to the chair of the city council's public safety committee the trump campaign abruptly changed their minds and communicated with the city of chicago to say we're not coming after all. trump, of course, has been on the defensive about his views on milwaukee after he told republican lawmakers in a private meeting last week that the city was horrible. now he's claiming that he loves milwaukee. meanwhile, during his campaign rally yesterday in racine, wisconsin, trump stumbled in an attempt to mock president biden when he tried to criticize the white house for calling out deceptively edited videos known as cheap fakes which have been circulated by the rnc and right wing allies, but that's not what trump actually called them. take a listen. >> crooked joe and his handlers are insisting that he's sharper than ever, and they say the videos of crooked joe shuffling around are clean fakes. you know what a clean fake is? they're deceptively edited. all the mistakes he's made every day, he can't go any day without a mistake. now if i'm perfect, they say he made a mistake -- perfect. and i don't say clean fakes. they're the fake news. look how many you have out there. they're all over the place. >> so, eugene, we can set aside the mistake there calling cheap flakes clean fakes, but let's talk about wisconsin. it's arguably the most important state on the map or certainly one of the top two or three. president biden's path to re-election runs directly through wisconsin, pennsylvania, michigan, but it seems like trump's, well, not doing himself any favors there with his recent words and this revelation he wasn't even going to stay in the state until called out about it. give us the latest from both campaigns about where they think things are in the badger state. >> i mean, one of the only things you have to do before the convention is not bad mouth the place you're going before the convention. it's a very low bar. and this is so much of how trump operates, right? all of us have seen this for a long time and you know this very well, is that he doesn't really apologize for flubs or things he has done. he seems to be lying here saying we were always going to stay there yet all the evidence shows otherwise. but you have the biden campaign and democrats being like this is -- a flub that is serious, not just something that is small and had been doing everything they can and president biden and vice president harris their twitter accounts and "x" accounts talked about how much they love milwaukee, they continued to do that. there have been bill boards. there have been full ads in the milwaukee journal sentinel, talking about the way biden talks about milwaukee and wisconsin and compares them to the way donald trump does. both campaigns including the trump campaign know it's going to be extremely close, and you can tell because now he's saying how much he likes milwaukee and he was always going to stay in milwaukee. because if he didn't care, if he didn't think the state was going to be close or he was going to have some issues winning there, then he probably wouldn't care. and so it shows you the importance of the state and that that's not going anywhere anytime soon. >> ujean, very briefly as a last question talk about the level of frustration from the white house about the cheap fakes and other means of disinformation? >> yeah, i mean, like aides have been extremely upset about this, partly because you've seen this murdoch verses the white house fight, and also because there's not much you can do about it, right? the kinds of things we're seeing and the things folks can do whether it's cutting a.i., cutting video or having a.i. do things is disturbing for campaigns. they're grappling with something that's been really interesting. they're frustrated. it's hard to overstate how frustrated they are. >> yeah, that came through from the podium, white house press secretary karine jean-pierre earlier this week. next up here we'll bring you more of the top stories including new details of justin timberlakes dwi arrest in the hamptons. and boeing's ceo was grilled yesterday about his company's safety standards and his treatment of whistle blowers. we'll go through that testimony as well as a check on sports and weather, which includes a east coast heat wave when we come right back. a east coast heat wave when we come right back 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. so, i didn't think i needed swiffer. until... i saw how easily it picked up my hair every time i dried it. it only takes a minute. look at that! the heavy duty cloths are extra thick for amazing trap and lock. even for his hair. wow! and for dust i love my heavy duty duster. the fluffy fibers trap dust on contact up high and all around without having to lift a thing. i'm so hooked! you'll love swiffer or your money back! if you have chronic kidney disease you can reduce the risk of kidney failure with farxiga. because there are places you'd like to be. farxiga can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract, or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ welcome back. as we turn to some other headlines now. donald trump plans to continue fighting the gag order in his new york hush money criminal case after the state's top court declined to hear his appeal on the matter. the new york court of appeals dismissed the former president's challenge yesterday this way. upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved. that means the gag order imposed by judge juan merchan will remain in place and trump can continue to face criminal penalties from violating it. the order bars trump from attacking witnesses, jurors, and others involved in the case following his felony conviction last month. the trial judge is now expected to rule soon on a defense request to lift that gag order. meanwhile, pop superstar justin timberlake was released yesterday after pleading not guilty to charges he was driving while intoxicated. according to police the singer was initially stopped a little after midnight in the town of sag harbor on new york's long island for driving through a stop sign and failing to stay on the right side of the road. when asked if he'd been drinking, timber lake responded he'd had just one martini, but police say he then failed field sobriety tests and refused to take a breathalizer. timberlake was taking a break from the north american leg of his world tour and currently scheduled to perform in two nights at madison square garden. he's scheduled to appear on july 26th, a day he has a show scheduled in poland. nbc reached out to timberlake's executives, we've yet to hear back. and boeing facing tough questions six months after a doing plug failure on a max 9 jet. now a new whistle-blower says the company may have used substandard parts. abc news senior aviation correspondent tom costello has the latest. >> reporter: met by chants of shame as he entered the hearing room, boeing ceo david calhoun quickly apologize today the families of those who died in two max 8 crashes overseas and promised boeing is changing. >> our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action, and we are making progress. >> reporter: calhoun came under immediate bipartisan fire. >> this hearing is a moment of reckoning. >> reporter: for the max 8 crashes the max 9 door plug blow out in january, quality control break downs, defective parts and whistle-blower reports of false documents, retaliation. >> it appears boeing has fostered a culture. >> you're the problem and i hope to god you don't destroy this company before it can be saved. >> reporter: a new whistle-blower claims boeing's 737 max assembly line lost hundreds of parts that did not meet boeing specs, which he claims were hidden from faa inspectors and may have ended up in planes and that it could lead to a catastrophic event. >> i have not directly spoken to any whistle blowers. do you think it would be a good idea to do that? >> yeah, i think it would. >> reporter: many family members remain furious at a previous justice department agreement allowing boeing and its execs to avoid criminal prosecution after the fatal crashes. but justice now says boeing has violated that agreement. nadia lost her daughter, samuel stumo. >> he is responsible for 346 deaths and he is free and he has no criminal charges against him at all. >> reporter: she lost her father. >> i've never seen worse acting in my life than david calhoun's apologies or attempt to apologize. >> nbc's tom costello with that report. next up here we'll turn to sports with highlights from game five of the stanley cup finals, and we'll go through the legacy of the great willy mays, maybe the best baseball player of all-time who passed away yesterday at the age of 93. we'll be right back with that. f3 we'll be right back with that. s! with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort. enjoy the go with charmin. 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. 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