biden and former president trump will square off in their first debate of the 2024 cycle. president biden has spent the weekend prepping with trusted advisers. we will speak to his deputy campaign managers shortly about new details we are learning about their eight week strategy. former president trump, meanwhile, has been holding rallies, some supposedly aimed at african-american voters, though his overall message can sometimes be difficult to discern. two candidates face a similar challenge. how they sway voters at this late date amongst the electorate . joining me now is biden 2024 deputy campaign manager linton fowlkes. thank you for joining us. i know your team is very busy this weekend as president biden gears up for a debate. vice president kamala harris sat down for an exclusive interview. the entire interview will air tomorrow on morning joe. i want to play a clip where vp harris talks about the stakes of this election. take a listen. >> i would ask people to really imagine what the world will be like on january 20th. 2025. on one hand, you have joe biden, who has spent his life and career fighting for the well-being of other people, including healthcare. on the other hand, you have the former president, who spent full-time when he was president trying to get rid of the affordable care act. which, if he is successful as president again, mean over 100 million people would be stripped of healthcare coverage. on the one hand, we have joe biden, who under his leadership, bipartisan support for the first meaningful bipartisan gun legislation in 30 years, and on the other hand, the former president when, who when speaking of survivors of rightist gun violence says, get over it, and we will proudly talk about to the nra about how he did nothing on the issue. and i could go on and on. i think the debate is going to make clear the contrast between our president, the current president, who works on behalf of the american people, fights for the american people, and the former president who spends full-time fighting for himself. >> what is your reaction to what the vice president had to say? >> i think the vice president summed it up perfectly. this is going to be a contrast of visions that americans are going to see on the debate stage. one for president biden where he is fighting to protect freedom and rights, and president trump who pledges to be on a dictator on day one, ripping up reproductive freedom for women in this country and continues to promote and express political violence himself. i think americans are going to see that in prime time on the debate stage this thursday. >> tomorrow, your campaign will kickoff a week of efforts to amplify the messages from the debate. these include traditional tv advertising, surrogates, and social media creators. debate watch parties and observation tomorrow of the second anniversary of the supreme court's dobbs decision overturning roe v wade. talk about why these events surrounding the event are so critical. >> look, reverend, voters -- it's a priority of this campaign that they have in front of them ways to be able to see the contrasting vision that the vice president laid out that i mentioned in my first answer here tonight. our campaign is doing everything we can to make sure we are getting in front of these voters where they are and communicating with them. we are very proud of our robust efforts. we just opened over 300 offices. meanwhile, we see none of that on the trump side of the ledger. but it's really important we do this so that american voters were tuning in see the vision, one of revenge, resentments, and violence under donald trump, and one were president biden and vice president harris are fighting for the every single day. >> one of the goals of the debate is to draw a contrast between these two men. and what they hope to accomplish in a second term. that means listening to president biden, but also listening to trump, because he has a lot to say. much of it is so ridiculous, it is tempting to tune him out. here's something trump said last night in philadelphia while supposedly reaching out to black voters. >> i said, dana. dana. i have an idea for you to make a lot of money. you are going to go and start a new migrant fight league. migrants. only migrants. and then at the end of the year, the champion migrant is going to fight your champion, and i hate to tell you, dana, i think the migrants might win. that's how tough they are. >> we don't know what version of donald trump will show up at the debate thursday, and if it is this one, how does president biden respond to something like that? >> reverend, i think president biden has got to have the conversation and take it directly to trump that -- that clip you just saw is demoralizing. it's dehumanizing. donald trump has spent his entire career, his entire life demoralizing people because that's the only way he sees to be able to lift himself up, is punching down on the most vulnerable. we have seen him in his approach to immigration, putting kids in cages. this is an about solving immigration. it's not about being tough on the border. it's a dog whistle. and president biden is going to call him out on that. he has no real policies. his policies are anti-american. that is not who we are, and president biden is going to make sure that he reinforces that on the stage. it's clear that donald trump does not care about anybody but himself. he will do anything it takes, including break the law, to make sure he gets what he wants. i think that's a contrast that voters will see play out on the stage. >> nbc news caught up with former president trump in philadelphia. he said he knows in his mind who his vice presidential pick will be, and they will be at the debate on thursday. now, in nbc news as previously reported, the field has narrowed down to senators jd vance and marco rubio, as well as north dakota governor doug burgum. it does not seem as though any women or african americans are still being considered. in the biden campaign perspective, how much does trump's vp pick matter in this race? >> it's not shocking that there's no african-americans, no women being considered, given who the candidate is. but it does not matter to us donald trump's vp pick is or who he selects. at the end of the day, donald trump is a narcissist. he only wants someone who will stand by his side and placate him, and they're going to stand on the same divisive agenda that donald trump is promoting. one of political violence, one of ripping away freedoms in this country, where they continue to dehumanize and demoralize black and brown people across the country and the globe. regardless of the donald trump pics, our outcome and approach is going to be the same because we are fighting against of the same thing. it's maga extremism at the worst . were going to make sure we draw that contrast against donald trump himself and the vice president looks forward to drying that contrast to whoever he picks for the eventual vp nominee. >> quentin, you are one of the heads of the campaign, or deputy campaign manager, and you are also obviously a black man, and we all know you. how do you look at these black rallies that trump has -- had? detroit, yesterday. philly. these are mostly white audiences that are called black rallies. >> i think it is demeaning. but again, i was going to say the same thing. black people have to show up for these to be black rallies, and trump continues to further were black on things because he thinks that it will somehow fixed his problem. at the end of the day, we are very clear. the african-american committee knows who donald trump is. the only one who went up for was anxiety. donald trump left african- americans more uninsured. he left the more unemployed, and he continues to double down. he continues to say hateful things and have racist dog whistles across his campaign, and we are going to do everything we can to make sure we are talking to americans not just about the vision that president biden and vice president harris have for black americans, but the destruction that trump brought to black america and that he will continue to bring. >> i don't know if you've ever been to trump towers, but it's like the rocky mountains. the higher up you go in the elevator, the whiter it gets. quentin, biden's deputy campaign manager. thank you for joining us. let's turn now to new york state, which like most of the eastern seaboard is in the grips of a heat wave that has lasted for 7 days now. more than 100 million people under heat advisory alerts. joining me now in studio to talk about this and other issues is the esteemed governor of the state of new york, kathy hochul. >> always good to see you. >> pleasure to have you in the studio. what is the state doing right now to help protect people in this intense heat wave, especially seniors and people living in low income areas? >> we are in the throes of a heat wave, the likes of which we have never seen. so we are not just doing something now. we have been preparing for the last 10 days, knowing that this could be a deadly event. fortunately, we don't have any reported loss of life, but our seniors are the most vulnerable, and getting messages out about people taking care of their senior neighbors, checking in on them, making sure that there plenty of water, staying out of the heat. also, it is children and pets. we are ready. we have the national guard on call. we will work with all the local county governments to make sure we support their cooling centers in getting the word out. i have been offered free admission to our state parks and beaches over a couple of days this week. so we are getting through it. but i will say this -- it is not over. this is the new normal. we are always preparing for the worst case scenario, which is why i have intensive incident command center meetings with my entire team to say, what if it becomes 120 degrees? what if we have people overflowing in hospitals? are they ready? we are always prepared for the worst. but i hate to say this -- we better get used to this. the way climate has changed so dramatically, we are feeling the effects in real time. we are experiencing tornadoes. right now, tornado warnings in upstate new york. rather uncommon for this time of year. >> and some still don't believe in climate control. as you are saying, many experts believe the higher temperatures that we are seeing are the result of climate change. you took some criticism earlier this month for pausing congestion prices in new york city, a program meant to reduce greenhouse emissions by discouraging car travel in high- traffic areas and bolstering public transportation. then on the other hand, people were concerned about those that could not afford certain things. what did you make? how did you make the decision, and what is the future of congestion pricing? >> well, since i've been governor, no one can question my commitment to doing everything in our power to stop emissions, to reduce greenhouse emissions everywhere. i am bringing clean hydroelectric power down from canada, wringing wind and solar in from the hudson valley. we are converting our whole grid to clean energy, which is so important. but also, it is what are we doing for our residents, or citizens? we are hearing their cries for relief, putting up an additional cost of $15 at this moment. what people are going to the grocery stores and they are shocked with how much less they can buy with the same amount of money week after week. we received word in new york city, their water rates are going up. the rent stabilization board just went up. how much can we do in state government to relieve the burden of the pain that the citizens are feeling? we cannot be tone deaf to that at this time. my commitment to public transportation is second to none. i orchestrated the bailout last year. we will get these project done, and there's other ways to mitigate congestion, but not right now on the backs of hard- working new yorkers who are just taking it on the chin. >> it's how do we do it both? >> of course we can. there's no lack of creativity. and for people to say there's this effect on our climate tomorrow because we suspended this particular program, i can think of half a dozen ways we can deal with congestion while people are driving. the other issue is this -- we are not fully recovered from the pandemic. no place was harder hit the new york city. now that we have remote work options, when someone says to their employer, i'd rather not spend the $3800 a year to come in extra because of congestion pricing, they may opt to stay in their suburban homes. that is not healthy for our recovery. let's focus on the big picture here, but also, i am committed to our environment, and committed to public transportation more than anyone and will be able to fund these projects and take care of our environment at the same time. they are not mutually exclusive. >> you are working right now with new york city mayor eric adams and others to explore a possible crackdown on masks, especially on public transit. you cited concerns about anti- semitic attacks and crime that we seem that all of us have denounced. while critics have argued a mask band could be bad for public health and could infringe on religious expression and other civil liberties. where does the mask band idea stand at the moment? >> this was a result of just the horror that people ask. to when they saw people with masks coming on a subway chain, threatening and intimidating innocent passengers. but also, i immediately said, if there is to be consideration of a mask band, we of course will make accommodations for health. if people want to wear surgical masks on the subway, go ahead and do that. probably people have less colds, less cases of covid. that's fine. i also said religious exemptions are critical. people have that right to free expression, and i want no one to feel like that is altered. even free speech. we didn't say you had to do a protest. the current law that was suspended just a couple of years ago said you couldn't wear a mask even while loitering. i want to stop crime, i want to make sure that no one can mask their identity, because it is really hard. >> and hate crimes. >> and threats of people. people have a right to be safe on our public transportation, walking down the streets, in their places of worship, and nobody should be able to hide under the cover of almost a full face mask to commit these atrocities against fellow new yorkers. that's where we have to draw the line. >> this year, you signed a bill that would limit children's access to social media feeds based on suggested content, rather than the content they actually follow. you call these feeds addictive and potentially harmful. attorney general letitia james is now charged with crafting the legal language for these rules, which will be challenged in court by major tech companies. why did you take this action, and what could it mean for the future of social media? not only in new york, but nationally around the country? >> this should be a national policy. we could have a healthy next generation of young people who emerged from their teenage years, which are stressful anyhow. but to see in the last few years the number of teenagers -- especially teenage girls -- who are contemplating suicide, they are depressed, they are isolated, and it all goes back to not just looking at social media sites. i didn't say that. i'm talking about the company's intentionally collecting personal information from our children and using it to weapon eyes these algorithms, imparting them with addictive messages that pull them in deeper. we have to stop that. i'm a mom. first mom governor of new york. and so i'm saying this -- we know what it's like to raise children. one i was talking to one of my roundtables said, you got to save us from ourselves. we don't know how to stop. and i said, it's not you. they are doing this intentionally. we are going to help you. >> before i let you go, governor, you are a biden co- chair. and so i'm curious what you would like to hear from the president at the debate thursday, especially on the subject of guns. i know you are quite pleased with the supreme court ruling this week keeping firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers. what do you hope to hear in the debate? >> all the president has to do is talk about how he is the one fighting for public safety. republicans think that they own this message. donald trump thinks he owns this message. but you cannot be serious about fighting crime if you are not serious about getting guns off the streets, which is a high priority of president biden's. also, i'm not going to high- five the supreme court. there never should have been a question in our nation that a domestic abuser would have a right to a gun? my god, what we come to? and they are basing that on a supreme court decision one year ago. donald trump's supreme court said that i, as a governor, don't have a right to have a law that was on the books for 100 years then you cannot have concealed carry weapons in public spaces. they struck down our law. the supreme court is going back and forth on this. who knows what they will do next? they continue to strip away women's rights, and our nation right now, one out of three women live under abortion ban. that is one promise donald trump capped. he committed to undoing the rights we have enjoyed for 50 years under roe v wade. he wiped them out. at this debate, there is so much material for president biden to talk about against donald trump, but he's got a great record of accomplishment through the 50,000 new jobs coming to new york state. and some of our hardest hit areas, because he brought semi conductor businesses right here in new york. projects to help people live a more affordable life. so contrast his record with what we have dealt with in the past, and i think ultimately, the people going to the polling places this november, they need to remember this -- those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. we know what we can expect with donald trump. we should be feeling more liberated than ever to conspire against our democracy, as he said he will do. joe biden is the firewall against our descent into chaos even further. we need him elected. we need to rally behind him, and this fever will break. his excitement about donald trump is going to break as people fight for american values. >> new york governor kathy hochul. coming up, louisiana conservatives are pushing the 10 commandments into public school classrooms. i will tell you why we should all be worried of their cultural warfare. cormack plus, tomorrow, i will be on morning joe for all four hours on the second anniversary of the supreme court's decision to reverse roe v wade. vice president kamala harris sits down with my colleague in an exclusive interview. they are joined by advocate hadley devol. watch morning joe tomorrow starting at 6:00 a.m. eastern on msnbc. start your day with nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. inez, let me ask you, you're using head and shoulders, right? 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