Letting us into your homes during these extraordinary times. We are grateful. The beat with Ari Melber starts right now. Hi, ari. Hi, nicolle. Thanks so much. Welcome to The Beat. Im aarri melber. It is tuesday, exactly one month out from the election. I can tell you off top one of the most common maga Talking Points about Kamala Harris that youve probably heard is taking a hard fall today. Trump has been arguing that she wasnt doing any or enough press interviews. And youll remember when she first stepped up as the nominee. It was a frenetic stretch where she launched a new campaign, a convention, a fundraising operation, and picked a running mate. All of that over several weeks, faster than anyone in history because of the switch. And trump and his allies had been hammering that she wasnt doing interviews then or enough. Theyve been hammering this line of attack. Well, the harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all. As Jimmy Cliff famously put it. Respect. Because that would apply right now. This maga Talking Point is taking a hard fall as harris steps up to journalistic interviews while trump ducks them, like on 60 minutes. And harris also leading a Media Blitz this week from classic forums like The View. I havent seen trump on there recently. To Howard Stern, which ill get to in a minute. To these new media podcasts where shes engaging with different independent media hosts and their sometimes younger audiences. So that Talking Point has taken a hard fall. And here is just some of the harris tour. Kamala harris has been a candidate for president for just 2 1 2 months. We are thrilled that joining us right now for her very first Talk Show Appearance Vice President. Alex. Welcome to call her daddy. It is good to be with you. Please welcome back the next President Of The United States. Im here on a special day. I was supposed to have a day off. Id only come in for the Vice President of the united states. A whole lot of women out here who, one, are not aspiring to be humble. We just played prince all night long. We danced, we sang his songs. When you become president , will you come back on The View . Of course i will. So thats just some of whats been happening on this ongoing tour. And these are the mainstream outlets which many campaigns court. And harris is using them to of course take the hard questions sometimes. Also get her message out. She talked a range of policy and took the questions again on the forum that most nominees usually go to, both Party Nominees. Ill get into why Trump Wasnt there. But these are the kind of questions that this cycle she is the only Nominee Answering on 60 minutes. So what kind of gun do you own and when and why did you get it . I have a glock. Was it a mistake to loosen the Immigration Policies as much as you did . Its a longstanding problem. And solutions are at hand. But were dealing with the real world here. But the real world includes how are you going to get this through congress . You know, when you talk quietly with a lot of folks in congress, they know exactly what im talking about. Thats some of the back and forth. The interview ran about 20 minutes. Again, trump was not there. Those would be fair questions for him as well. How are you going to get something through congress, this congress, which has had multiple republican speakers has not been super effective in terms of passing a lot of domestic legislation. I dont say that as a burn, just an observation. But trump didnt take those questions. And so what the nation saw and i dont have to remind you a lot of voters still watch 60 minutes, was an explanation of why Donald Trump claimed he would do the interview and then misleadingly backed out while harris was there. This is what people heard last night. This year Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump accepted our invitation. But unfortunately last Week Trump canceled. The campaign offered shifting explanations. First it complained that we would factcheck the interview. We factcheck every story. Later trump said he needed an apology for his interview in 2020. If he is not going to give your viewers the ability to have a meaningful, thoughtful conversation, Question And Answer with you, then watch his rallies. You will not hear about how hes going to try to bring the country together, find common ground. And bill, that is why i believe in my Soul And Heart the american people are ready to turn the page. So thats just some of this playing out on 60 minutes. But theres also a larger dynamic. If this were a oneoff about one show, even a great classic wellwatched News Show like 60 minutes, you might say okay, the candidate has an issue with that show. Lets not make a whole meal out of it. But im going to show you the evidence that there is a whole meal here even if some of the ingredients are toxic and people have to make up their own mind about what they want to ingest. The information we ingest can be as damaging as other things we put in our body. But the theme here is something i told but last night. Its bigger than 60 minutes or any single show. We are seeing Donald Trump Run And Duck from any place where he thinks he might be held accountable or factchecked in real time. And that includes places he used to go all the time. Which brings us to the Shock Jock himself, although hes evolved over the years. Howard stern. What does Howard Stern have in common with a venerated News Magazine Show like 60 minutes . Well, theyre both places that were trumps stomping grounds. Remember, trump previously went on 60 minutes and did it last cycle, and we mentioned that. Trump and stern go back many years. This is actually a picture of then the Shock Jock and then the real estate magnate, or pretend magnate, depending on which financials you believe, together at one of trumps weddings, his first. Donald trump has gone on Howard Sterns Show Dozens of times. Politico has a whole breakdown on that. So this is exactly the kind of thing that Donald Trump would use on his way up, if you want to call it that. And he used to be able to handle questions from Howard Stern about a whole range of topics. Now what we have is Kamala Harris going on Howard Stern and Donald Trump Running Away. So his only interviewed this week have been on fox and on a conservative Radio Show where he thought he would get a certain type of treatment. On Howard Stern, again, like 60 minutes, a big platform that reaches millions and not all of them are automatically bidenharris administration supporters, Kamala Harris used this interview while trump runs and hides to discuss her approach. Why shes engaging these different forums. And also put it in the context of what i told you is larger than just beef with one show. The larger theme which you and i may know about and people who follow the news may know about but in october as other people tune in the fact that Donald Trump has a problem with the courts, independent journalism, and any other independent Power Structure that might hold him accountable, which raises questions about what his second term would be like. He says hes going to be a dictator on Day One. What do dictators do . They jail journalists. They put people who are protesting in The Street in jail. He said he thinks he wants to go after jimmy kimmel, a comedian. He wants to go after Stephen Colbert and seth meyers. Now, if jimmy kimmels not safe, whos safe . It would be a laughing matter except it isnt. Because those instincts which Donald Trump is not disavowing. The guys literally running for president. If you believe these state polls, he seems tied. And even in that context where the political benefits might run the other way he still has to blurt out dictator for some of the time, abuse of power some of the time, prosecute his enemies maybe. So this is serious stuff. Harris is using this broad swath of different approaches, forums and media to reach people. That includes the journalistic outlets which do factcheck. It includes these Radio Shows that trump used to go on when he wasnt running scared. While trump is burroing deeper into what you might call his own selfimposed content tunnel. The candidate who as i reminded you at the top of the show accused his opponent of ducking hard questions is the one actually avoiding all the hard questions, whether thats from Howard Stern or 60 minutes, and then seeking refuge on fox. The harder they fall. Foxs outlet, which broadcast so many proven election lies that after Donald Trumps loss in 2020 it broadcast those lies and then had to pay a record Defamation Penalty, so this is not exactly a 60 Minutes Level Interview here or even a Shock Jock interview. Historically this has been a Safe Space for maga snowflakes. Their terms, not ours. But the Defamation Penalty was so costly that i can show you tonight how this is even changing things over there. Even Maga Allied Hosts are doing some Fact Checking of trump in real time. So to set up what im about to show you i want to just show a basic fact. Amidst these terrible hurricanes and all the risk we are facing Kamala Harris visited North Carolina yesterday. Now, thats not a big deal one way or the other. Its what you might expect a sitting Vice President or major Party Nominee to do. I can tell you both candidates, trump and harris, have been talking about these threats and have visited some of the affected areas, although on the facts they have a different approach. But that public observable fact is known. So when Donald Trump went on Fox Lying and claiming the opposite about harris, Laura Ingraham corrected him in front of The Fox audience. But she shouldnt be there anyway. She should be i would say North Carolina is so bad. And she should she was there today for three hours i believe. Kamala harris. Now, that is not how many Fox Evening hosts handled trumps election lies last campaign season. It is a shift. And notice it comes amidst what im telling you about, trump Running Away from these other forums i mentioned because of Fact Checking, because of any adversarial effort to hold him accountable is something that right now he would rather avoid and run from even if It Squares the circle and shreds his own Talking Points about the other team doing the thing hes doing. The point im exploring here with you tonight is not chiefly about ideology or partisanship, not about whether people vote for one party or the other, which is a rich tradition in our country and you should do your Homework And Vote for whoever you choose. Im not speaking in partisanship, which comes up plenty in campaigns. Im speaking about a deeper Fault Line, which i also reported on last night. Its a Fault Line over facts right now. The Maga Gop increasingly uses lies as a litmus test. You have to support the lies for trump to be in good standing with the party. And trump awaits a federal trial about Election And Coup lies. And it does not usually stay neatly contained to just some lies for the leader or just one topic. Those are the kind of rationalizations weve heard even right here on this desk from some trump allies or former allies. The lies and disinfo, for example, are spreading now to the federal Governments Response to Hurricane Helene and hurricane milton, which is barreling toward florida. And they have consequences. Emergency response officials say the misinformation is confusing residents, who could be in danger. There are echoes here of what it was like when Donald Trump was president. You remember the covid response, the many lies, the disinformation, the bleach. People have memory holed that, but that matters. Thats the person in charge, how they wield the awesome authority they have in office. Bob woodard now revealing new scoops about trump sending Covid Tests to putins regime back then. Theres echoes of President Trump doing the disinfo he did in real time when he infamously doctored a Hurricane Map with a sharpie. The mayor of tampa, which is in the hurricane path, is not making a political or campaign point today. But in a preview of what could be a more serious problem if trump were reelected, pleading with residents to please, for your own Safety Focus on the facts from the credible sources including emergency responders, not political propaganda designed to gain power even if it endangers your life. Please dont get political on this. This storm is going to affect everybody. And we are getting the help that we need from all of the different governmental officials. Hate to break it to you, but a lot of what you see on Social Media is not factual. Stick with the facts. Still with the facts. And those kinds of officials and authorities generally avoid going further to stir up even more partisanship by saying theyre responding to maga lies or Donald Trump. Theyre trying to do this in as clear and straightforward a way as possible. But honoring those facts sometimes does require being clear with the public, clear with you about whos doing the lying. This is not a drill. This is not a movie where we imagine a hurricane or a pandemic or Foreign Policy issues that turn on Life And Death outcomes to illustrate what we need. This is really happening. Its Life And Death. And Kamala Harris amidst taking the questions that trump is ducking also confronting this today. Its profound and it is the height of irresponsibility and frankly callousness. Yeah. So lives are literally at stake right now. And the idea that somebody would be playing political games for the sake of himself. But this is so consistent about Donald Trump. He puts himself before the needs of others i fear that he really lacks empathy. You and governor desantis have been going back and forth. I have called and talked with, in the course of this crisis, this most recent crisis, democrat and republican governors. Hell take your call when youre president. Yeah. [ cheers and applause ] heres the thing you should know on that point. And when im president i will continue to call him to see what he needs for help. The spirit there of outreach Emergency Response Sans Partisanship even against partisan actors. That is also up for the voters to assess right now, that model of leadership versus what Donald Trump said. I told you before, politics is often too important to be left to politicians. Tonight i will update that with Something Else that is basic but sometimes i share with you basic straightforward things and repeat them. The truth is way too important to be left up to political liars who do not seem to care whether you the public live or die. We have two special guests here, Juanita And Melanie when were back after our shortest break in 90 seconds. Break in 90 seconds e. Wow, phones are going to be flying to verizon. At verizon, new and existing customers can get iphone 16 pro, on us. Trade in any phone, in any condition. Only on verizon. Where ya headed . Susan where am i headed . Am i just gonna take what the markets gives me . No. I can do some research. Ya know, thats backed by j. P. Morgans leading strategists like us. When you want to invest with more confidence. The answer is j. P. Morgan Wealth Management i am so happy to be campaigning in whatever Swing State im in, which i will just refer to as wisconsipennsylvageorgia. Because i am going to protect your vageorgia. Oh, my god. I havent seen that. Do you like it . Do you like when people do you like it . Its fun, right . Maya rudolph. Shes so good. She had the whole thing. The suit, the jewelry. The Vice President meeting, so to speak, her impression there. We are joined as promised by one of your taller democratic strategists, author of a more perfect party. Full disclosure, i have blurbed it. And melanie za doana, senior congressional reporter with punch bowl. Juanita, theres nothing new about these fact Fault Lines but we just explored why Theres Something larger. The Vice President says this is when it goes back to governing. This is not just for Homework Fact check types journalistic types. This matters. It matters about what type of leader and the character of a leader. Take Donald Trump at his word when he says he wants to be dictator on Day One. He looks up and idolizes dictators like putin. Which that covid Test Handoff was just very strange to read about today during the Peak Height of the pandemic. But it comes back to what you stated at the top. Look whos hiding now. And as Vice President Kamala Harris is out there making a very important pitch to the voters to understand what they would get with a second trump presidency. Donald trump has lost the narltive. He is nowhere near the coverage today, and that allows for the Vice President to dominate and set the frame about what people should be thinking about as they cast their ballots. And i say that knowing that the election is happening now. Early voting started two weeks ago. People are casting their ballots with this front of mind. And i will say in talking to some of trumps allies, some of his supporters they will tell you at least privately that the more trump talks the more he hurts himself. Kind of ironic, given that the gop Talking Point thats been that democrats want to keep Kamala Hidden Away and she wants to stay in these controlled environments. But if you look at It Trump has failed when hes been in these settings where hes confronted or being asked tough questions or being held accountable. Look at the first debate even. His performance was actually pretty terrible. It was just overshadowed by joe bidens performance and all his problems as a candidate really came to the forefront with the last debate, which by the way he is still complaining about if you look at his rallies or Social Media. Exactly. Not surprising that he declined to go on the 60 Minutes Interview. But it does speak to i think what he sees as some of his weaknesses as a candidate. Right. And that may explain some of the shift. We showed not only he used to go on stern but even in this recent era he was on 60 minutes. The rallies are decreasing. Its almost like a Trump Campaign long Distance Relationship Strategy now. If you keep him away and they only see him occasionally maybe they will remember him more fondly than what hes currently like. We could show the rally chart. Because its a huge contrast when you look at the evidence. From 16 where he used those and twitter to sort of barrel into the conversation. Can you believe what he said now . And here, fewer rallies and fewer of those sort of moments. As for the governing, take a listen to new from harris on Howard Stern discussing what president s do including appointing Supreme Court members. The strength of america includes that we have been committed as americans, its part of our spirit, to the expansion of rights. Right. And for the first time were seeing a restriction of rights. And understand if Donald Trump were to get another term most of the legal scholars think that theres going to be maybe even two more seats that will be up. Melanie . Yeah, that is a central argument that youre hearing from democrats up and down the ballot, is something theyre also using in congressional races, right . Theyre saying this is why It Matters to have a democraticcontrolled senate, because there could be another supreme Court Seat that is up for grabs. And we have seen the realtime effects from the Donald Trump presidency and the Supreme Court justices he appointed. Roe vs. Wade of course was overturned. That is something Kamala Harris has been a really strong messenger on. Shes continuing to beat that drum, as are democrats up and down the ballot. And theyve also been making the case that perhaps they need to change the senate rules in order to codify roe v. Wade. So that is something that is permeating races up and down the ballot. On the 60 minutes of it all, juanita, do you think that its a net win for harris to have so many people see oh, Trump Wasnt there . Or as some people worried