All told, there are six moments of silence this morning, including one for the crash of flight 93 in shanksville, pennsylvania. President obama is making remarks at the pentagon and hes already observed another moment of silence at the white house. We have a lot to get to including the latest on the president ial campaign. Slew of new polls and interviews with jay johnson and one of the bush administrations supporters of the war in iraq that was prompted by the 9 11 attacks. But first, joining me now is tom brokaw who was on the air when he realized america was under attack and here we are 15 years later, president ial campaign in the backdrop. Donald trump and Hillary Clinton are both there this morning. What a difference 15 years makes. Well, it was 15 years ago it became one of the worst days in american history. It unleashed the wrong war in the wrong place. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Its been costly. 4500 americans have died in the war and a cost within the drills of dollars. The early projections will recapture all the expenses from the oil fields. We know that what we have now is a very destabilized middle east. Isis grew out of that and the consequences play out every day, not only that, chuck, it was the beginning of a lot of disarray in america, including the economic situation. 9 11 before 9 11 there was personal harbor day december 7th and i was i thinking where was america 15 years after pearl harbor . There was a sense of we won. Here we are 15 years later on 9 11 and its on going. I think that all the confusion and that distant place for the reasons that are hard for the americans to understand that culture and the political tensions that exist there have made this president ial election what it is. There is a great unsettled feeling and a lot of anger because they say wait a minute, this has not turned out the way we were told it would. We are going to be also pausing for a moment of silence in new york city for 9 03 eastern and marks the moment when flight 175 hit the south tower. [bell rings] tom, this will be the last president ial election where everybody who votes was alive during 9 11. So were now going to have to teach people what 9 11 was all about. How does that conversation go . I think part of the problem were going through right now is there is a great deal of confusion how this one has turned out and we are not only dealing with the middle east but obviously putin is a much bigger player since that time and as we saw in the last four or five days, hes entered this race and what is going on in the ukraine and crimea, all that fuels, i think, the sense of things are not what they are supposed to be. Now what we were told they were going to be. So i dont remember in my 50 years of covering president ial politics, such an unsettled time. Well deal with more of that, more on all of the fallout from 9 11, as well as the current president ial campaign throughout this hour. Earlier today i spoke with Homeland Security secretary joe johnson standing a few blocks north of the new world trade center. Let me start with a new grim poll number. The majority of americans say were less safe today than 9 11. Why do americans feel this way you think . Thats a good question, chuck. Americans have seen the attack in orlando. They have seen the attack in San Bernardino and see what is happening overseas and western europe and france and belgium and elsewhere and they are rightly concerned about our current security environment. Were safer now when it comes to another 9 11 style attack but were challenged when it comes to the prospect of the home grown violent extremists and that requires a new whole of government response and Public Participation and vehicigilance i never categorized as anything of low priority but we have to look at what is high risk and spend our time accordingly. So what does that mean . Is there just some holes that will always be there in our Security System . No, i wouldnt put it that way at all. Weve got people devoted to all manner of threats out there. Invariably the high probability type of threat, another San Bernardino, another orlando is uppermost on our minds. It is the thing that keeps me up at night the most, but weve got threats from cybersecurity. Weve got a mission devoted to the potential for a bio threat, a dirty bomb. Weve got to keep our eye on all of it but obviously, there are things that are higher probability but higher impact and weve got to keep our eye an o all of it. Are you concerned that syria today is as unstable and as much of a safe haven for terrorists as afghanistan was in the late 90s and should that concern us considering what afghanistan brought or what happened inside of afghanistan that led to 9 11, should we be concerned what is happening in syria could lead to a new 9 11 . Chuck, i said in february 2014 that syria had become a matter of Homeland Security. Our u. S. Military along with the International Partners have done a good job o taking back military, taking out the leaders of isil, taking out those focused on external attacks but yes, we have to be concerned that syria could become another afghanistan. Any time a terrorist organization can establish territory, take territory, have a place to head quarter, to train, recruit, thats obviously a big concern and its a big Homeland Security concern, yes, sir. One of the other things youve been having to talk about and deal with lately is the threat or perceived threat to the election system, russia, apparently is trying to infiltrate in someway but are they trying to create actual havoc or are they trying to create the illusion of havoc . Well, the investigation into the various intrusions we have seen including the dnc hack is still under investigation. I will say this, it would be very hard to alter a ballot count in a national election, to change the vote tally, just because our election system is so decentralized. There are some 9,000 jurisdictions involved. Ive been sending the message to state and local officials that we ought to do our utmost to protect their online presence, their internet presence and the department of Homeland Security is in a position to help, if they ask. They have to ask first. Today is your birthday and ive got a cousin who has 9 11 has a birthday, and its i know its awkward for her. How do you handle your birthday . Well, i always take occasion to remember what happened 15 years ago. Im here in new york this year. I was in shanksville last year. I spent 9 11 at the pentagon. I dont celebrate my birthday on my birthday anymore, either the day before or the day after and im not sure ill ever be in a position to celebrate my birthday again on 9 11, given the huge impression this day made on me. Absolutely. Jay johnson, i know its very personal for you. I know you were in new york city on the day of the attacks and its a very emotional day, as well. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me. Thanks for having me on, chuck. You got it. Turning now to the 2016 campaign, a New Washington post poll out this morning has Hillary Clinton with a fivepoint lead over donald trump among likely voters, 4641. We have some new nbc news Battle Ground state polls that well get to a little later but we begin with what perhaps is turning into a rough weekend for Hillary Clinton. Not unusual for the Trump Campaign trying to find itself explaining a controversial statement made by their candidate. Sometimes its a weekly issue for him but this weekend its the Clinton Campaign struggling for words to explain what she meant when she took a shot at trump voters a criticism that immediately drew sharp reaction. You can put half of trumps supporters into what i call the basket of deplorables. [ laughter ] the racist, sexist, ho homophobic. At a fundraiser headlined by barbra streisand. Clinton made the remark clinton hopers voters will never forget. Hillary, they are not a basket of anything. They are americans and they deserve your respect. The Trump Campaign quickly demanded an apology and tried to capitalize. Trump tweeted Hillary Clinton was so insulting to my supporters, millions of amazing hardworking people. I think it will cost them at the polls. There is a history of president ial candidates becoming too comfortable in a crowd. Mitt romney was caught dismissing voters with this line that some republicans believe lost him the election. There are 47 of the people who will vote for the president thats not in 20 08, it was barack obama at a fundraiser talking about how job losses made working class americans feel. Its not surprising then that they get bitter and they cling to guns or this is an nbc special report. Here is lester holt. Good day from new york. Some concerns raised this morning on the well being of Hillary Clinton. Democratic candidate for president after she left the 9 11 Memorial Service at ground zero earlier than expected. They say that it may have been related to the heat and that she is okay. Lets go hallie jackson. A spokesman saying that Hillary Clinton attended a ceremony for just an hour and 30 minutes this morning to pay the respects and glooef some of the families during the fallen. She felt over heated and departed to go to her daughters apartment and is now feeling much better. For about 90 minutes this morning it was unclear what happened to secretary clinton and where she had gone. A small band of reporters were kept at the 9 11 ceremony after clinton left and walked out and apparently has gone to her daughter chelseas house in manhatt manhattan. We do know that its unseasonably hot and humid for the last several days and the folks at ground zero say certainly those are the conditions this morning when secretary clinton was taken away. We want to o go to Andrea Mitchel and the health of secretary clinton has been an issue in the campaign. This has driven a lot of speculation on social media. What can you tell us . Her health is an issue and i can tell you traveling with her nonstop it has been no issue for her and its driven by the opponents and by the Trump Campaign. They in particular have raised the concessions that she has been healthy and she has been in the campaign and the travels have been well, she was breaking up and andrea, the point is taken. Were looking at the still photos and this is about the time well, clearly before she was taken away. She seemed fine and interacting with the other dignitaries and politicians that would gather there for the reading of the names as the country marks the 15th anniversary of the attacks. The Clinton Campaign reporting a short time ago that she was over heated and left after about 90 minutes at ground zero. She went to her daughters apartment in manhattan four or five miles away. She is feeling much better. Thats what we know. Andrea, are you back with us . Back with you. I can just report that she has had no episode of this kind. Not since 2012 when she caught the flu. She had the stomach flu and hit her head and had a concussion. That was the last episode and that was widely reported. At the time there were a lot of speculation, but the doctors reports very complete reports did indicate that she has had some issues as she takes midcases that includes with the blood and previous episodes and nothing thats been of any issue in this campaign other than the criticism from the opponents. We had no indication that she was taken to a hochlt in fact there are strong indications that before the statement she did go to her daughters apartment. We have a picture of the van and thats the same one that she was traveling in ground zero and there it is in front of her daughters apartment in the flat iron just up of new york. Thats parentally where she is. We have no indication that she received any medical treatment from a hospital or anyone there at the scene. Simply went to her daughters apartme apartment. We will continue to follow this story and see you more on nightly news. I am lester holt in new york. Have a good day. Quite trust hillary. Give me a reason why is it donald trump gets credit for being politically incorrect telling it like it is and Hillary Clinton i think some of her supporters are saying shes doing what trump does, shes telling it like it is. We can put aside for a second there is a segment of Trump Supporters which surveys have shown do have believes people can talk about islamic phobic and hes retweeted White Nationalist and this discussion about the altright. It confirms what his supporters already believe, right . Essentially hes this bull work against socalled p. C. Culture. Hes leading the charge against that and they are upset that their concerns are routinely dismissed out of hand as being racist or retro grade and hes the person out there saying no, no, no, youre perfectly normal. Something is quote unquote wrong here and she basically confirmed that democrats dont just think they are wrong but like look down on them. Candidates should not be pundits and not sit there in new york where the fundraisers hold looking down and making gross generalizations not only about 50 but about people. People say repugnant things are complicated and driven by complicated fears and anxiety to sometimes do things sometimes do beautiful things. The true you hate the sin but not the sinner applies to politics. Let me do a pause. Were going to take a break and come right back. And new Battle Ground polls in four states, two from the traditional Battle Ground and two from perhaps an expanded Battle Ground and later, the 9 11 attacks led to the war in iraq. Ill talk to a prominent member of president George W Bushs administration, Paul Mandy ChangMark Lawrence charette Gregorio Manuel ChavezGregorio Manuel Chavez delrose e. Cheatham 98,352 whats that . Gregorio Manuel Chavez delrose e. Cheatham the number of units well make next month to maximize earnings. Thats a projection. No, its a fact. Based on hundreds of proprietary and open data sets folded into a realtime, actionable analytics model. Nine. Eight. Three. Five. Two. Youre not gonna round that up . You dont round up facts. Powerful analytics driving decisions for the worlds most valuable brands. Hewlett packard enterprise. I love that my shop is part of the morning ritual around here. People rely on that first cup and i wouldnt want to mess with that. But when my back pain got bad, i couldnt sleep. I had trouble getting there on time. Then i found aleve pm. Aleve pm is the only one to combine a sleep aid plus the 12 hour strength of aleve. For pain relief that can last into the morning. Look up at a new day. Hey guys now im back. Aleve pm for a better am. Its what the National Debt could do to our economy. If we dont solve our debt problem 19 trillion and growing money for programs like education will shrink. In just 8 years, interest on the debt will be our Third Largest federal program. Bad news for small businesses. The good news . Theres still time for a solution. Ask the candidates for a plan to secure our future. Welcome back. More now on the president ial campaign, we have now nbc journal polls from four states and the results pretty much confirm what weve been seeing over the last ten days. This race is getting closer. Well start with the traditional Battle Ground state of New Hampshire in a fourway race, clinton leads donald trump by a point. 3736 among likely voters in New Hampshire, not much difference, clinton is up by two. 3937. By the way, look at the gary johnson number, the highest weve measured in any Battle Ground state. 15 in New Hampshire. They have a bend to them. Next is nevada, clinton by two points, 4139 but look what happens when you have a likely voter sample, turns into a trump lead. Keep in mind democrats won New Hampshire in five of the last six elections and taken nevada in four of the last six so these should be states that favor clinton. Lets look at two red states in arizona, clinton and trump are tied at 37 among registered voters. Trump is up 3048. Look at the double digits for gary johnson that governed a neighboring state of arizona in new mexico and in georgia, clinton has a onepoint lead among registered voters but among likely voters, its trump who gains. Hes at 4442. Its worth remembering that democrats havent won either arizona or georgia since bill clinton won each once. David brooks, i want to start with a column you wrote about this idea of a realignment is coming. Politics is catching up to social reality. The crucial social divide is between those who feel the core trends of the Global Information age economy at tail ends at their back and those who feel them as head winds at the phase and i can point you to this break down in the poll among College Educated voters, shes up 20. Among noncollege ed vucated voters, hes up 20. For the last 20 years, if you look how people is behaved, you can do huge predictions whether they completed college. How often do they vote . How many friends do they have . Whats their marriage like. It opens up socially and this is the first election we have seen them reflected in the political polling and so my question and this is really a serious worry, suppose one marc party is less head winds and that would be the Republican Party