We will never give you up nor let you down. Tonight starts with 10 words that donald trump uttered today. Words that have been true for 55 years that he has an unwilling to say. Q the videotape. Mr. Trump president barack obama was born in the United States, period. Mark period. That was Donald Trump Holding the event at his brandnew hotel where he delivered something his advisors and family members have been till graphing for several days that trump would repudiate the birth or movement that he wrote to National Political power. For five years he has been the leading voice of the birther conspiracy theorists who claim president obama was ornate kenya and was thus ineligible to be president. Today trump effectively resigned his leadership position. Heres the full statement he made this morning. Mention her into the same breath but Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. I finished it. I finished it, you know what i mean. President barack obama was born in the United States, period. Now we all went to get back to making america a strong and great again. Thank you. Thank you very much. Why did it take so long . Why now . John not taking questions there, still hasnt taken questions. Repudiated his longstanding lie about obama, but said a few other things. Lied about a few other things in the process. This is messy, complicated, and emotional. Where does this leave him in his run for president . Mark where he has been. The propagator of an outrageous, discussing lie disgusting lie about the first africanamerican president of our country that will never go away. Many people like me say this is political theater. He is trying to change the subject, and we should not allow him to because he has done this for years. Long after the birth certificate was produced, he continued to propagate this theory. I understand the politics of what he is trying to do. Whatever the future holds, this stain will be on his legacy forever. John you didnt mark you didnt answer the question i ask you. I believe that he has said a lot of outrageous things in the conduct of his campaign. I dont think anything has been as outrageous as the Birther Movement. No one has come as close to popularizing it. It has inflamed our dialogue and being disrespectful to the president , no indication why he changed today, and by blaming Hillary Clinton and taking credit for forcing the president to release his longform birth certificate, even the way he did it was outrageous. I think it will not change any aspect of the election. I think its a testament to his lack of care about how history will view him, win or lose. John i agree with all of that. I will say that one issue with donald trump is obviously the truth. He has lied about a lot of things. He is lying about Hillary Clinton. Not even Hillary Clintons team. It is the case that low level people in clintons staff in 2008 spread the rumor that obama might be a muslim. Different rumor, and different in an important way, because a muslim can be the president of the United States, someone born in kenya cannot be. And the whole point of this was to say that this man, a black man with his unusual name, was not able to hold office. He was not a legitimate president and that was different from the muslim rumor. Hillary clinton fired the people who started that rumor. They have some small part in that but not in this birther thing. Mark this has been part of the news cycle for 24 hours ever since donald trump refused to answer a question about it. I think at some point he will have to say why he changed his mind today, but it wont be today. John meanwhile, Hillary Clinton was on offense. During a speech she gave to the black womans agenda. Ms. Clinton donalds had the temerity to say he is doing the country a service by pushing these lies. No, he isnt. Barack obama was born in america, plain and simple, and donald trump owes him and the American People an apology. Think of how dangerous it is. And imagine a person in the oval office who traffics in conspiracy theories and refuses to let them go no matter what the facts are. Imagine someone who distorts the truth to fit his very narrow view of the world. Imagine a president who doesnt sees someone who does not look like him and doesnt agree with him, and thinks, that person must not be a real american. Donald trump is unfit to be president of the United States. John so, that was last night. Today, Hillary Clintons Campaign Manager or the put out the following statement. And clinton herself fired off a round of fiery tweets, including one that read then, this afternoon, as Michelle Obama stumped for clinton. It was the first ladys turn to take over with a very clear swipe at trump. Mrs. Obama there were those who questioned and continue to question for eight years, including to this very day, whether my husband was born in this country. Well, during his time in office, i think he has answered those questions with the examples he has set, by going high when they go low. John that soundbite from Hillary Clinton i said was from last night. It was from this morning. So, how do you think the effort has gone . Mark they have been focused and coordinated. They have a lot of allies saying the same thing. I think the tweets they sent on her behalf or strong. The Campaign Manager statement was strong. I dont think they are effectively making him pay a price, simply because, in the end, trump admitted he was wrong, and that is the dominant thing. The other aspects, unfortunately, are too complicated for our political dialogue. John i dont think he said he was wrong. He somehow took credit for forcing obama to release his birth certificate. He did change his position. Thats true. It has not been a very good week for Hillary Clinton, but this has put her back on offense. And i will say, and this goes to the earlier question you asked, she has a problem. In one of the problems she has is enthusiasm among members of the obama coalition. She is getting a High Percentage of the africanamerican vote, but not the enthusiasm they had for obama. This could play to her advantage in the long run. And thats going to matter in the long run, how many africanamerican, nonwhite voters come out. Mark the Clinton Campaign has to decide which part of Donald Trumps rhetoric they want to highlight as they portray him as unfit to be president. How well has clinton executed her donald disqualification plan over the course of this week. John it has been a mixed week for her, obviously. But the fact that Trump University is being litigated, the charities are, they want to make transparency a big issue. That is now being litigated. The attorney general of new york is investigating. News into that. I think reporters are now more receptive to hearing that message than they were a few months ago. Mark i agree. I would say the two things i would be worried about. One is, trump gives them so much to talk about. Even if they have thematic connective tissues its very hard to break through. The other thing is, trump is a street fighter. Trump relishes going toe to toe. That game plays to his strength. She has been doing the psalmist every day, and in the time they have been doing it, trump has caught up. John the reality is, there is a lot of smoke right now around the foundation, around the university. When we come back, the numbers that are suddenly surprisingly bullish on Donald Trumps chances. John we like to say around here, because it is true, that polls are just a snapshot in time, and here is polling for the hillary campaign. It shows trump closing the gap with Hillary Clinton, especially in states previously seen as clinton territory. He is up wife four points in ohio, and she is up by just three points in virginia. She also has a meager lead in michigan. All three surveys were in the margin of error. Trumps rising is causing a huge amount of handwringing, and some spectators are starting to tout the possibility of him, winning, two columnists have twin pieces out this morning, noting that Hillary Clintons attempts are to complete are to paint trump as dangerous. One columnist wrote and rich lowry used his column in the New York Post to echo a similar sentiment, writing so, mark, here comes my twopart question based on those columns. What is the significance of those guys weighing in . And are they overreacting. Mark i think people are overreacting in general, not just those two guys. They are significant voices. They are smart guys who follow things closely and have no love for trump, but well trump is doing better in some ways, he is still making the kinds of mistakes he makes, and yet he has caught up. And states like colorado and virginia, the people were just giving to clinton, these polls now show as much closer. Democrats are really concerned. If Hillary Clinton loses the first debate and theres another disclosure about her and emails, trump will have a much better chance to win, and neither of those things are outside the realm of possibility, obviously. John i agree that democrats are freaking out and they should be freaking out, they can read polls just like we are. However, it appears these are two candidates who are basically with their rockbottom bases right now. She has lost altitude. If you look at voters, they are more likely to be clinton voters than trump voters. If she gets a positive agenda going and gets her footing back, the the opportunity for him and her the opportunity for her to reclaim the votes, its not with ease, but it is within her power. The problem is not the trump is rising, it is that linton is falling. Mark theres a lot she can do to help herself. Well ask the reverend Jesse Jackson about trumps comments today when we come back. Mrs. Obama Donald Trumps president ial campaign has been based on the Birther Movement which he founded. He founded the Birther Movement and i joined the tactic by saying on behalf of american africanamericans by saying we will not elect a chief cricket of the United States of america. Mark members of the black caucus today in washington, d. C. , reacting to trumps statement. Joining us now, a man we like as much as he claims to like this program, the reverend Jesse Jackson. Thank you for joining us. You put out a Statement Today and one of the main points you made was that trump needs to apologize. Given his views, what does it matter if he apologizes . Mr. Jackson it would show remorse. He saw a lie as a victory. He is speaking to an audience he mobilized around fear in the first place. If he were sincere he would apologize to president barack obama for disparaging his name and his family name, to Hillary Clinton, as the case may be, apologize that somehow he invalidated president barack obama that he validated president Barack Obamas americanness. He didnt do that. Barack obamas mother and father did that. John if he did apologize, should the president accept it . Mr. Jackson he has mobilized a force of fear and anger based upon that lie. He tried to take away Barack Obamas legitimacy, to make him illegitimate. He tries to make mexican immigrants illegitimate, to make muslims illegitimate, its the idea of taking away peoples legitimacy and humanity. Its not right, its not fair. All people of goodwill should say no to this kind of discrediting scheme. Mark after the six turner he week, how would you rate Donald Trumps chances of being the next president of the United States . Mr. Jackson i imagine if Hillary Clinton stays on the high road, she will mobilize the people who want america to go another way. It is not an issue of him saying a line and her responding to a line, its the issue of protect in of protecting the right to vote, livable wages, working poor people, temporary workers, student loan debt, bank lending issues. These are the issues that matter and they are not being addressed in this titfortat state. When the eagle flies low in gets caught, its the eagles fault. She should fly high on the issues that really matter. Mark one of the issues we have seen today with donald trump spending time reaching out to African American communities, making the trip to detroit, making the trip to flint, from the perspective of the African American community, does that matter, or does this birther issue overshadow all other issues . Mr. Jackson its not the birther issue. People in flint need water bottles. They need investment in infrastructure. Thats the stuff that matters. He decries poverty in inner cities, but he votes against the living wage being raised and against health care. He decries violence in cities but will not ban assault weapons are supposed or support a background check for guns. It is a contradiction on its face area mark would you have a better, worse, or equal chance of beating donald trump if you were the democratic nominee . Mr. Jackson, thats not a fair question. She is on the playing field. She has the strength of character and a track record. There are some bloodstains. There is some green grass. None of us have clean uniforms. She is a tireless warrior. She has regained her strength after about with pneumonia. I expect her to win. John there was a store in time the other day about research that looked at support for Hillary Clinton among africanamerican voters. The report suggested that she had a problem with enthusiasm, specifically among millennials voters. In your travels around the country, does that ring true . And if it does, why do you think that is . Mr. Jackson it rings true, but she and mr. Trump exchanging attacks and counterattacks does not ring true. In flint, if you have a paint job or you cut down weeds, or you bring down homes they can no longer stand, that brings jobs. Thats a play on. She can plan a program that would inspire everybody. I was hoping she would not continue attacking and counter attacking him on one matter. The stakes are much too high. Given the future of the supreme court, the stakes are too high. John what you wish Hillary Clinton were doing currently that she is not doing enough of . Mr. Jackson focusing on Voter Protection and where the base of support is. She has all the right stuff, all the right credentials, and i hope she will close the gap in these last 50 plus days. Mark we will be watching. Great to talk to you. Up next, we check in on the trump beat with two reporters. John we are joined by political reporter Jennifer Jacobs in washington, d. C. And at Donald TrumpsCampaign Event today. Also with us, the great nbc turrespondent katie who is at trumps new d. C. Hotel , on pennsylvania avenue. Jennifer jacobs, i want to start with you. From your reporting, fill us in how decisions was made about todays event and how trump would handle things. Jennifer i talked to his campaign insiders both before and after todays events. They had been talking about what to do for a couple days now. So the strategy was to get this last obstacle out of the way. They see it as arguably one of the final things that Hillary Clinton could use to attack him, one of the final obstacles for getting voters onboard, including independents and those College Educated whites, they wanted to dispatch with it very quickly. They were still debating what to do as of this morning. There was an hour delay before trump took the stage this morning. That was partly because he was huddled with his advisors still debating how exactly he should handle this. What he did is he collectively asked his advisors including his , campaign c. E. O. Steve bannon, how should i do this and what should i say and asked each , person in the room one by one and the conclusion was keep it short and simple. , thats exactly what he did. He had even talked about even tweeting on this from his twitter account last night and he chose not to because he wanted to quote unquote hold on to some of the suspense. The way he orchestrated this today, it was exactly how he wanted it to go. Mark katy, what questions are begged by what trump said today and didnt say today . Katy two major questions. Number one, he said that Hillary Clinton started birtherism, she did not. He finished it. He did not. President obama released his long form birth certificate in 2011. Donald trump went on to continue questioning where he was born for five years after that. It wasnt until today that he admitted what everyone else has known all along that the , president of the United States was born in the United States. So that question of why now is still lingering. Were 53 days out until the election. Is this just a politically expedient thing to do or has donald trump learned that birtherism was greatly offensive to many millions of americans, not just africanamerican voters which he is trying to court at which he is trying to court at the moment, but also as jennifer , jacobs was alluding to, moderate republicans, soft republicans,