Good morning. 11 00 a. M. Eastern. 8 00 a. M. Pacific. I am jose diazbalart live from philadelphia and we are now ten hours away from the biggest night of the Election Cycle so far. Here in battleground, pennsylvania, former President Trump and Vice President harris will have their first debate ever. And this is how the stage is set. It marks the Vice President s first debate as the president ial debate, following the debate in june that changed the entire course of the election. Harris suddenly gained traction in key state polling. This is a Razortight Contest showing 70 of adults plan to watch all or most of tonights debate. Joining us now here in philadelphia, Nbc News White House correspondent, monica alba, Nbc News correspondent, garrett haake, and the Communications Director for Kamala Harris, and former spokesperson for doug burgums campaign. This is going to be one interesting evening either way. How is the Harris Campaign measuring the success, or what are the key points that the Harris Campaign feels have to be carried out tonight . For her, they dont have something to measure it against yet and thats the difference here, and they are trying to lower expectations and saying Donald Trump has done more president ial debates than anybody else in modern history so they are trying to make that clear expectation setting argument, and they are also saying she has a task of trying to really get voters to get a better sense of where she stands on certain issues, so they know thats a high bar for them. According to polling, they feel like they have a sense of what Donald Trump stands for and with her its murkier, so they want to make sure she comes out and makes that case, like shes a prosecutor getting ready for trials, and shes had full mock debate sessions because its been four years since she has been on a Debate Stage and that was at the Vice President ial level. They are hoping she could have moments where shes perhaps, fighting back to something Donald Trump said, and they are preparing for him to bring things up they have all been going through in the practice sessions that could get a little ugly, or at least thats what they are trying to put out in terms of an expectation. When it comes to her own record, she has to walk this really Fine Line between trying to tout the biden Harris Administration, and Thats Something the former president will use as an attack strategy. You spoke with the former President President this morning, and what did he tell you . I asked him about the challenge and he said he didnt know which version of harris will show up and she has taken different Policy Positions and he has to prepare for both. The way the Trump Campaign is hoping to look past that is to say whatever her positions are now or have been in the past they are going to find the most liberal positions she has taken and make her own those positions and both candidates have the same goal, define Kamala Harris, and the Trump Campaign wants to say whatever you think the most liberal version of Kamala Harris is, thats the case they are going to try and present tonight. Monica, essentially in the Harris Campaign they have been running mute campaign setups. How is the former president handling that . This started several weeks ago in maralago where it was trump and his advisers sitting around and chatting and talking about some of his policy accomplishments and sharpen his attack lines. I have been told by those involved in the process that since it has gotten closer he has been more focused, perhaps distracted or nervous, depending on who i talk to, but in the last few days these sessions have been several hours long at a clip, and hes trying to refine the lines. He understands the Stakes Tonight as well as anybody. Ashley, its the Vice President s full first faceoff with trump, but not her first time on a Debate Stage. Heres what she was like in the first democratic president ial debate, which i co moderated. Take a listen to this. Senator Harris Senator Harris we will let you all speak. Senator harris. Guys, you know what, america doesnt want to witness a Food Fight but want to know how we are going to put food on their table. Not a Food Fight, food on a table. Boy, that was just so precise. What should we tell you about what we expect tonight from the Vice President . Dont forget she had that moment up against pence, and she said, im talking right now. I expect the Vice President to really try and achieve three things. One, i think shes going to get out of Donald Trumps way. Hes proven to be bombastic, pedi and small. I think she will allow him that space to do all those things. And the mics being turned off takes pressure off her to rebut every lie, and that will allow her to focus on her own message in conveying that. The second thing is really to the point about conveying her message. She has to lay out a vision. Her most important audience is the 28 of the americans if you look at the New York Times poll that says they dont know her well. Thats the most important audience and not trying to prove Donald Trump wrong or defending Joe Bidens record, and she will use this debate as a conduit to lay out what is forward for the nation. And the third thing is to hold him accountable to his record. That has not yet happened. Thats the way she will needle him, to remind him he over saw the worst economy in modern history and a complete failure on covid response, and racial Violence Tension was at an alltime high when he was president. And thats what i think will get under his skin. I was pelosis Communications Director, and i know more than anything else the one thing that gets him rattled and unhinged is a woman challenging him, so just her presenting herself in a president ial way will unravel him. What do you think the former president has to accomplish tonight and how can he accomplish that . I think garretts reporting says it all. We saw reporting come out overnight that Kamala Harris reported taxpayer funded Transgender Surgery for migrants and wanted to decriminalize things like harris and defund i. C. E. These are all the things that keep coming out about her record. He has to hold her accountable. If you look at the New York Times poll from over the weekend, not only do people know about her but 50 of them think shes too liberal. The former president has to hold her accountable for her record and she was a prosecutor, and she wants to gloss over her time where she was a senator, and she ran for president and crazy leftideas came out, and inflation soared 20 . Its up to the president not to just say that shes not a flipflopper, but that shes disingenuous. It sounds like thats where they are. Do you think thats going to be particularly difficult for the former president or not when he, himself, has taken positions that sometimes are diametrically opposed to positions that he earlier expressed . Let me give you an example. The second time i interviewed him for a Telemundo Network when he was president and running for reelection, and the first out of the gate he told me he would reinstitute daca. This is the same president that eliminated daca during his presidency. Is that kind of disparity going to be a hindrance for the former President Tonight . It would be on the Vice President to try and highlight those discrepancies. The New York time polling is the freshest off the top of my mind, and everybody knows who Donald Trump is and what comes with him and thats why its more about Kamala Harris tonight and the positions she has taken, because a lot of people dont know who she is. Its about defining Kamala Harris tonight. I agree with that. His Role Tonight is to remind people the farleft positions she has taken and shes disingenuous. Monica, do you think the Vice President will have to break or separate herself from President Biden . Independent voters might be attracted to something like that, and i think the other thing that is important in all of this, shes taking a page from Donald Trumps own book in terms of trolling and thats what shes trying to do here today, with her campaign putting up billboards all over the philadelphia area, and bringing outspoken critics of Donald Trump to be in the Spin Room and they are trying to not differentiate as much with biden as with Donald Trump. The Harris Campaign put out a series of ads but a new one needling trump over his positions, right, one or the other. This is part of the ad where, you know, they focused on trumps fixation on Crowd Sizes at his rallies. What do you make of her getting personal with her attacks against Trump Right before the debate, as monica was saying . I think the ads are brilliant. Thats a good one. The one i think is the most powerful is the words of his close advisers, his national Security Adviser and his Chief Of Staff saying hes unfit to be the president and not worry of sitting behind the resolute desk. Thats a powerful message because who knows a leader more than the people that served them and he has 30 plus people that served in his administration across the board that said hes not fit for office. They will continue to advance that message. Then you couple that with the fact that heres a gentleman that tried to cheat the last election, called the Secretary Of State and asked for 11,000 votes and when he didnt get the 11,000 votes he actually had a Tan Drum and incited a deadly violent insurrection against the government. Thats a message she will continue to convey. Thats why you are saying people like Dick Cheney saying i will vote for a democrat for the first time in my life because hes unfit and unworthy to be the commanderinchief. To me thats a smart strategy. Thats the message we have to keep reminding the american people of, despite the lies and polls, you have a person that is a direct threat to everything we represent. Thats Donald Trump. Garrett, garrett just thinking about what she was saying about that, and the fact is a lot of people dont know the Vice President that well and theres a lot of preconceived concepts and ideas already about who Donald Trump is, and what his administration looked like. Is there anything that you think trump is unwilling to approach tonight . This is always the Operative Question with the trump. Theres the Campaigns Plan and what trump decides to do in the moment and thats why the Harris Campaign has focused on needling him. Theres what Donald Trump feels when the pressure is on if he gets frustrated with the Vice President , as i think ashley pointed out, Donald Trump, when he is confronted by strong women, whether its the women hes running against, like Kamala Harris or hillary clinton, or whether its somebody like megyn kelly, he can get frustrated and thats the worst version of Donald Trump. The campaign is trying to put as much structure around him to protect him from that, and the Harris Campaign is trying to remind people of that. Stay with me and my colleagues all day long here live in philadelphia. Tonight you can watch the debate right here on msnbc. Rachel maddow will have the special coverage at 7 00 p. M. Eastern and 4 00 p. M. Pacific. On Capitol Hill, 13 u. S. Troops killed in afghanistan are being honored three years later. Just a couple of minutes, house speaker, Mike Johnson, will present the families with the congressional medal. 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Its a good thing so look, why dont you get the facts like these folks did and see if a Reverse Mortgage could work for you. Call finance of america and get your free, info kit. Call this number. 17 past the hour. This morning we are hearing from voters who will be watching the debate closely tonight. And i met two Extraordinary Americans in miami who just became u. S. Citizens. One of them just 19 days ago. They are registered to vote. They are part of the estimated 3. 5 million people of Voting Age that became u. S. Citizens since the last election four years ago. Heres part of our conversation. Recent citizens of the united states. What does that piece of Paper Mean to you . Translator for me this is not just a paper. Its a victory. Translator this Paper Means everything. It means everything to me as well as to my family, my children and my dreams. What do you see as the importance of participating in the democratic process of voting . Translator voting for me is a great privilege this country has given to me. Its our voices. Its the voices of the people that are being manifested. Translator as a u. S. Citizen, i will be able to demonstrate to this country with my vote i will be able to respect the laws of this country. What are some of the issues that you most want to see explained and debated . Translator i would like them to dedicate a good amount of time on the economy. Translator the economy is one of the most important aspects that both candidates need to present in a clear manner. Inflation is eating us up more every time. Immigration, because i see there are so many migrant families who have been here for so many years and they have impeccable moral conduct and their petitions are delayed for years. Sadly theres a minority who are duh delinquents in our country. Lets call them that. With us now to talk more about this, former senator, claire mccaskill, and both are the msnbc analysts. These women had pride in being americans and 3. 5 million adults who have become citizens since the last election, and they are signed up to vote. That was a wonderful piece, jose. Its heartening to see the enthusiasm and how seriously they take the ability to vote here in the united states. They are going to be crucial, these newly naturalized citizens will be crucial because in a number of the swing states the margins are just so close and the number of dually naturalized voters four out sees the margin we saw when you are talking about arizona, 10,000 votes, georgia, somewhere in that neighborhood. Michigan, 150,000 votes or so. So they are important. Its also important to note that these are democratic votes, and surveys have shown this is a more Split Vote than most people give it credit for. That means that both parties should have an incentive to get out and inform these voters about the candidates and to let them know what they stand for and to try and mobilize and get people out to vote. Thats what i hope is going on. I think democrats have done a much better job of this over the years, the outreach. But these voters, a lot of times, like you heard in that piece, they are a jury and they are waiting to make their decision. Claire, just one of the many things i learned to having a opportunity to speak with them, one said with certain privileges come certain responsibilities. I think they feel the responsibility to participate. The issue, for example, immigration, which is not theres a lot of gray in it. For these particular voters, they were, like, you know, immigration is important. We need to have immigrants but we also need to have the border secure. This is an issue that is, no doubt, going to come occupy tonight, right . No question. Trump has been hammering Vice President harris calling her the failed Border Czar and all of these issues. How do you think she handles this Issue Tonight . First of all, i wish more americans felt that way about voting. It made my heartbeat a little faster. Mine, too. I especially wish the people who are hearing the Trump Campaign marginalize immigrants in a way they are, amplifying stories that are totally made up about immigrants eating pets and things like that, and we should not take for granted, as my colleague pointed out, these are all going to be democratic voters. What she has to do is point out that this administration has, in fact, done everything they can do by Executive Order and the border crossings are dramatically down to a level we have not seen in years after a Record Number came in. After a Record Number came in. Donald trump wanted to not solve the problem because it didnt help him politically. The republicans all know that. My friends in the senate that are republican have admitted as much to me the border bill, for example . The border bill, he single handedly shut down that bill. The Border Patrol endorsed it, and if a Guy Running for president says dont pass it, thats all you need to know about who hes looking after. You were so i mean, in so many ways a visionary. When in the last president ial debates you mentioned the issue that one thing is the word and the other thing is the acts that you carry out. I am just wondering, what is it that the Vice President could do to help define herself maybe differently certainly different from former President Trump, but also maybe differently from the biden administration . Yeah, and i think that shes been doing that well, jose. The polling shows she actually closed the gap with trump in terms of the issues and confidence voters have that each candidate will address this issue effectively. She needs to go out and do two things. First, how is she going to secure the border. Theres order at the border and folks are interested in that. She has the opportunity to differentiate herself from trump, the way the white nationalism he has espoused. I think a majority of americans