We can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons. Were telling them right now that were coming in very soon, the national guard, a lot of people, a lot of very tough people. Thats where real courage comes from. Not from turning on each other, but by turning towards one another. Not by sowing hatred and division, but by spreading love and truth. And were telling right now these protesters, and many should be arrested because these are professional agitators, professional anarchists, these are people that hate our country. So theres a tell of the tape between the 45th president of the United States and the 44th president of the United States. You know, there were some sad, pathetic tools of donald trump who still shamelessly defend absolutely everything he does and think if theyre over the top and bombastic in the attacks against people that tell the truth to you that somehow that will discourage others from telling the truth about donald trump and whats going on in this country. Let me just say, knowing john lewis the way i did, and i knew him pretty damn well, barack obama did exactly what john lewis would have wanted him to do in that funeral yesterday. Good trouble. So if anybody decides that theyre going to attack barack obama or anybody else for speaking the way they did at john lewis funeral, they knew what was going to happen. And if somehow its sleazy to talk about the right of black and white, his panpanic, asianamerican voters to get out and express their choice on election day, if thats sleazy, then you have a different view of john lewis and the overwhelming majority of americans have. Willie, i thought i mean, we have so much to get to. Yeah, its a big day. I thought president obamas words and so many others that were spoken in the memory of john lewis and fighting about voters rights, what john lewis dedicated his entire adult life to, i thought that was extraordinarily appropriate and moving. It was on a day when the sitting president of the United States floated the idea of delaying the election because things arent going well for him personally. You had three United States president s, barack obama, bill clinton and george w. Bush gathered to honor john lewis and you couldnt help but be moved as you look at john lewis in the coffin and above him an africanamerican president. When he crossed that bridge in selma, he wanted the opportunity to sit at a lunch counter with white people, vote like white people and now he saw an africanamerican president of the United States. If you werent moved by what you saw yesterday in that church, there might be something wrong with you. As if president obamas address yesterday wasnt enough to put President Trump on edge, theres also this. He was rebuked by Senate Republicans by suggesting that election day. The Michael Flynn decision was voided. The doj dropped conditions that tried to stop Michael Cohens book. And republican Led Committee slaps down a pentagon nominee. That and most importantly, 153,000 americans are dead on the president s watch over just the past few months. The number is staggering, just 1000 a day and keeps going. We have former chairman of the Republican National committee michael steele, politics editor for the daily beast, sam stein. And nbc news contributor, shana thomas. The tweet came out yesterday after the show, moments after the government detailed the biggest collapse on record, President Trump suggesting a possible delay of the election. Top republicans are flatout rejecting the idea. Never in the history of the country, through wars, depressions, and the civil war have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time. And well find a way to do that again this november 3rd. Never in the history of the federal elections have we ever not held an election and we should go forward with our election. Were in the going to delay the election well have the voting completed by election day. I dont think the federal government can block it i dont know. The election is going to happen in november, period. Speaking to reporters yesterday, the president appeared to walk back the idea of moving the election, but at the same time in his usual style continued his attack on mailin voting. He really knows hes going to lose this fall. Hes sending the message to republican senators im going to lose. After this happened yesterday, well get to this in a minute. After this happened yesterday, republican senators were aghast this was in effect, donald trump throwing in the towel, making excuses already for his loss for an election thats, what, 97, 98 days away, and hes already throwing in the towel . So hes hes already talking about doubting the validity of novembers elections because he knows hes going to lose. Watch this. You know, so many years ive been watching elections. And they say the projected winner or the winner of the election, i dont want to see that take place in a week after november 3rd or a month or, frankly, with litigation and Everything Else that can happen, years, years or you never even know who won the election. I want to have the result of the election. I dont want to be waiting around for weeks and months and literally, potentially, if you really did it right, years because youll never know. These ballots are missing. I dont want a delay. I want to have the election. But i also dont want to have to wait for three months and then find out that the ballots are all missing and the election doesnt mean anything. Thats whats going to happen, steve. Thats common sense. We want to have an election where people actually go and whats your name, my name is so and so, you sign the book. Do i want to see a day change, no. But i dont want to see a crooked election. How sad. Wow. How sad. And by the way, republican senators dont agree with him, and a lot of Media Outlets that have defended him time and time again are actually calling him out for that sad, pathetic display. His Staff Members just beyond themselves yesterday in the white house because donald trump had already asked them, can we delay the election . No. No, mr. President , its constitutional lyset constitutionally set, no you cant. The editors of the National Review, the editors, entitled delaying the election would be grotesque and unamerican. They write this, President Trump outdid himself with a tweet floating the idea of delaying the election. Obviously this is an incendiary and absurd idea unworthy of being spoken or even thought by a president of the United States. This is the National Review. It is a tribute to our commitment to selfgovernment that elections have occurred as scheduled on this day during the worst crises of American History when american troops were in the field against rebel troops who sought to doe troy the nation when the Unemployment Rate was 25 , when the u. S. Forces were engaged in the struggle to save the west from germany and japan. Trump doesnt understand this, or doesnt care. Its another indication of how little hes let the institution of the presidency shape him and how selfishly he approaches his duties. Again, the National Review. And this line from the washington journal editorial board. This is not to suggest that the november election will be rigged as mr. Trump asserts. If he believes that, he should reconsider his participation and let someone run who isnt looking for an excuse to blame for defeat. Willie, these are from two publications who have defended him time and time again over the past several years, even though at times both have been critical as well. Yet both come out with screaming 99 miles an hour fastballs right down the middle of the plate, telling donald trump what youre doing is unamerican and if youre going to keep claiming the election is rigged, then quit right now and let a republican run thats not already looking for an excuse to lose. It was the rare day yesterday, joe where among republicans and conservative media, the president found very, very few defenders on this idea. He painted himself in a corner where fox news is no longer with him, hell attack the washington journal today im sure. Mitch mcconnell and republicans said across the board were not changing the date of the election it will be on november 3rd. There may be still an outlet defending him on this sinclaire. Perhaps. But when you look at the reality of what hes talking about, delaying is one thing, but mailin ballot fraud well say it again, is rare its been going on for generations. Theres going to be a lot of mailin voting this time. Its important for people watching this morning to know what the president is saying about fraud isnt true. There are a handful of cases every election cycle but it is not widespread or rampant as he claims. Willie, i cannot emphasize enough what you just said. Between now and over the next 97, 96, 95 days of this election, we have to we have to continue to insist to the American People that they understand that fact that mailin balloting, mailin voting is legitimate, it is done in at least five states. Every state has some form of it, you know it as absentee ball balloting. I love yesterday the president i love this absentee ballot, but this mailin voting mr. President , theyre the same thing. So you understand an absentee ballot is the same as a mailin ballot. Its the same thing. This is why we got to keep pushing our narrative, which is a constitutional narrative. The one thats been set by the government, set by the American People. We know what the process is, all were looking for now, and this is where Mitch Mcconnell and the leaders on the hill can step up their game is to put the other 3. 6 billion that the states requested so that they could execute the ballot box the correct way so voters have the access, the votes can get counted. We already know youre in the going to have a declared winner necessarily on Election Night. But we dont need to play into the president s scenario, his setup, this is his setup that were not going to be knowing who it is in three months or even years, thats baloney. But you can control the process to the extent you put in place the infrastructure to get the votes counted. So were clear, america, absentee ballot, vote by mail, same thing. It was painful to watch the secretary of state, shana thomas, yesterday allowing this, when he was asked by senator tim kaine about this. We can show it later. Its nauseating actually. But a lot of republicans did step up and i think this is a big moment for republicans, to have a sitting president using the podium of the presidency, the power of the presidency, a sitting american president sowing doubt in the sanctity of the election coming up in november. Is there any parallel we can think of that comes close i have to add this, in this country . Is there any parallel to this . I dont see a parallel. I think thats why you also saw the reaction that we saw on the hill, that we saw amongst lots of conservative leaders about this. I think one thing that really struck me yesterday was the juxta position between trumps tweet and what he said at the podium at the white house and the funeral service. Theres lots of things we can talk about with that and Barack Obamas speech and everything, but just this idea that there were three president s there, clinton, bush and obama, it was this idea this very american idea with all three of them there of a peaceful transfer of power, that we have elections for years, that in the end we still can come together like they did yesterday and honor someone like representative john lewis. Juxtaposed with someone who is trying to screw up one of those very american ideals that weve been able to do, even during world wars and during other huge economic upsets. That juxtaposition was so stark to me and it put President Trump on this island that these other three president s are never going to be on. Hes going to be by himself. Then we saw Republican Leaders make him more by himself. This president has given a lot of people in this country a lot of reasons not to vote for him. A lot of black people, hispanic people, but there are a lot of conservatives than in his economic ideals. A lot of conservatives that believe in pro life and abortion shouldnt be in this country. He found something yesterday to get a lot of conservatives to get off the island with him as well. In some ways thats impressive he found some way to break those chains, but overall, i think just that idea of three president s versus this one sticks out in my head. It does. It really does. Sam, this goes back to really what weve been talking about for a while on this show about donald trump oddly enough taking the 20 in 80 20 issues. Of course, when i was in Congress People would come and go this is an easy one, this is an 80 20 issue. What side do you want to be on . You want to be on the 80 side. Great. So yif you look over the past sx months, coronavirus, thats an 80 20 issue. Donald trump has been on the wrong side of almost everything, masks, 80 of americans do masks. Rushing back by easter, most americans didnt want to do that. You can talk about rushing back to school, he was talking about that back in the spring. Overwhelming number of parents didnt want to do that. Now george floyd, racial reconciliation and the john lewis funerals, those were 75 25, even after the marches and some of the violent outbreaks on the edges of those marches, an overwhelming majority of Americans Still spo supporting that as well. And he just yesterday hes tweeting about pizza and pizza shops and rigged elections while the three president s are saying goodbye to john lewis, an American Legend. Again, thats an 80 20 issue, thats for damn sure at least. Look at this poll out of pennsylvania. A poll that has come out thats in line with a lot of polls that show donald trump getting absolutely hammered in the keystone state and if you look at the philly suburbs, if you look how biden is outperforming in scranton, if if you look at philadelphia william barr all of these states, i will say, i expect arizona and florida to remain close, but i really dont know how donald trump gets close in a state like pennsylvania considering hes completely offended the philly suburbs. Yeah. You know, its two things here. One is, theres always this contention that donald trump is playing some sort of three dimensional chess. In reality i think we have evidence now theres no chess match happening here. This is plain guttural politics that he resorts to time and time again, even returning to the Coronavirus Briefing our reporting showed that he wanted to do it. He felt like him not being out there was hurting him politically. Whenever data point shows the briefings were a lam us the to him. Often time his gut brings him to the 30 range or that 20 range on issues, driven on the belief that theres a silent majority out there that he can tap. And certainly affirmed by the fact he won the 2016 election. He wants to do a replay of that election cycle. In this case, youre absolutely right. It doesnt make sense, electorally, its hampered him. But also step back, everything comes back to his inability to be an effective head of government. He would be in a better situation if he had just handled the coronavirus epidemic from the get go our economy would be better off, electorally he would be better off he wouldnt have to divert attention to rigged elections and mailin ballot frauds and things like that. This is a referendum on his governance and until he recogniz recognizes its his own actions and inability to contain the spread of the coronavirus, he will not fix his Electoral Prospects at all. Still ahead on morning joe, more from im sorry, go ahead, willie. I was going to say to Michael Steeles point about the difference without a distinction there between mailin voting and absentee voting there isnt one. The reason the president is making that distinction, he voted absentee and did in 2018. So he wants you to believe what that was good for him in 2018, is somehow different than mailin voting. Absentee voting is mailin voting. You vote. It is going to take a while to count the votes this time. Tom ridge the former Homeland Security secretary and former governor of pennsylvania said we should be thinking of election week because of mailin votes this time and they take longer to count. So that part is true, but that does not mean there is widespread fraud in that process and that an election day should be delayed. And thats why its so important for Mitch Mcconnell to not block the funding that supervisor of electors across america are asking for and that they need. Were in the middle of a pandemic and Mitch Mcconnell understands that. He understands that people cant amass around polling places in kentucky, and if they do, then theyll die because of it. He certainly understands that. I think most understand that, so they need that funding. But mika, you look at these numbers, i showed the pennsylvania numbers. Word is that the Trump Campaign understands, and weve been talking about this for a little while, that michigan is falling out of reach. New hampshire, heres New Hampshire, joe biden up 13 points in New Hampshire, a state that was close four years ago, a state that donald trump was going to have a rally at a few weeks ago but had to cancel according to state Party Officials talk lg to reporters because of a lack of interest. They couldnt get people to his rally there, so they blamed it on weather, despite the fact it was sunny