Coverage of national and international news, including breaking stories. Bolder balderson is better on crime and taxes and ordinary issues and the question is whether the trump base will respond to that a oppose to the more personality consult that surrounds trump as an individual. If the numbers froze right now, if the democrats even with an l in this race still have won because it went from double digit down to Single Digits as least as of todays polling. Well, they will definitely spin it as a win. And you could argue that the fact that they are narrowing the gap so dramatically on a race on the seat that has been held by a republican for decades is a big deal. There are lots of other races like that actually more favorable to democrats across the country come november, they only need 23 seats in order to flip the house. So they would probably take this feeling confident, take this game plan to some of these other races. Republican base or certain portions of republican voters, he has galvanized democrats or people who want to vote in opposition to him. So people are taking that energy and they are going into local races, going into off cycle races, going into special elections. All of this is happening in response to the 2016 election when trump won. So it is not just happening in the rust belt or the northeast. It is happening all across the board. And donald trump for as much as hes been helpful to some members of the republican party, he has been the number one advertising poster child for people to come out and vote if you are a democrat or progressi progressive. They mentioned donald trump. They say their opponent is related or connected to donald trump. And the energy just flows from there. Charlie, is it going to be all about white women and how they vote . And then well ask eliza as well. Is that what youre watching there in ohio 12 . Although i made fun of the lebron thing, im actually quite interested to see how white men respond to this. It is a republican District North of columbus, but pretty close to cleveland and lebron remains pretty popular among men who like basketball at least in ohio. And so i wonder how this last minute twist will play there and well find out on tuesday. Your thought, eliza. I think he is right. This race white men are is very interesting as well. But white women i think this is sort of the beginning of a pattern that we will be watching certainly across the country. White educated married women who have tended in the past to vote republican but also might not be strong supporters of the president , might have questions about some of his tweets, some of the things that he says. If they go against him here, there could be an Arltrgument T that could be the beginning of a pattern. And of course the back and forth of lebron james, favorite
son of this state and the president Calling Don Lemon who is interviewing lebron james, he called basically not smart. And that whole thematic here when you look at the state of ohio, that the president would be coming out against one of their favorite sons. Politically that is the dumbest thing that somebody could do right before they go to ohio. But Donald Trumps universe is usually only about ten minutes in front of him. He saw something on television. Reacted to it. And then i dont imagine he thought much beyond that. Going into ohio, that is probably insulting lebron james is probably the last thing anybody would want to do. And going back to that statement from the president and his tweet, he says at the end of it, he says i like mike. By the way, mj comes out and says i actually do support lebron and what hes doing in the community there and that doesnt help because in addition to that, now the first lady
through a statement saying that she does support the efforts that lo Ebron Vamjames and folke him investing back into the community. Did it surprise you, and she might actually go and visited school the project that lebron james is investing in. I think the marriage between donald trump and Melania Trump is continually interesting when we see these divisions. There was the story a few weeks ago when she was watching cnn instead of fox news on Air Force One and her spokesman had to put out a statement that she can still watch whatever she wants notwithstanding a tantrum from trump about that. As someone who grew up in indiana as a chicago fan in the Michael Jordan era, it is noticeable that his statement was tepid. He didnt say he was against trump, just tepidly for lebron. About as weak a statement as he could have made. And what the pictures will
look like when you see the first lady should she go to this very Community Project that lebron invested in. Yeah, this is reminiscent of the child separations that we had earlier this summer where she kind of came out as against that, she went to the border of course that all blew up because her shirt that said i dont care do you, all of the headlines ended up being about that. But that was another division where she decided to go see something sort of dividing with her hufs and tmust and the pres. And of course going to a school that lebron just started does mark a Clear Division between the first lady and the president. All right. Thank you all. There is a new proposal to the white house from special counsel robert mueller. Team trump meeting this weekend to draft a response. What is on the table and what Team Trump Says is offlimits. S, diabetic nerve pain, these feet. Raised a good sport. And became a secondgeneration firefighter. But i couldnt bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. So i talked to my doctor, and he prescribed lyrica. Lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. Tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. Common side effects dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. Dont drink alcohol while taking lyrica. Dont drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. Those who have had a drug or Alcohol Problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. Now i have less diabetic nerve pain. Ask your doctor about lyrica. Why are you dragging it out . Dont you know what you want to do . Sure, i dont want to do it. It is past the july 4th. Where do we stand . We would not recommend an interview unless they can satisfy us that there is some basis for this investigation. We havent yet made a final decision. There is a slight opening. Were still i wont give you a lot of hope it will happen, but were still negotiating. We havent stopped negotiating with them. Lets bring in now editorinchief of law fair and also nbc legal analyst and also former assistant for intelligence at the fbi. Benjamin, well start with but. We played a little bit of the sound of how Rudy Giuliani has gone back and forth. Is there any sort of penalty from going back and forth and from pushing this decision off . Yeah, let me translate that Rudy Giuliani knows quothose
for you. They translate loosely into mr. Mueller, i dare you to issue that subpoena. And the relevant question right now is whether mueller needs the interview enough to take Rudy Giuliani up on that dare. And that would produce a significant litigation. It is one that i think and a lot of other legal analysts think the special counsel would probably but not certainly win. And giuliani and his cocounsel are making the bet that mueller will not pull the trigger. And so the question now is will he or wont he. Is it i dare you, frank, is that what youre seeing too . This is a classic game of chicken. There are two cars racing toward each other and we need to see who will swerve off the path first. And each side is hoping the other swerves. But look, here is my position on the interview. There is no strategic reason for the president to want to sit down and do this. It is all bad. Hes already heard his voice on a Tape Recording Courtesy of michael cohen. He knows there is more tapes out there. He doesnt know what mueller has. If he continues to not be interviewed, he can pretends to be the beleaguered president and Claim Mueller is being unreasonable about parameters and demands. Mueller needs it not legally. Im convinced he does not need it legally, but rather for the court of public opinion. If were headed toward impeachment proceedings, he needs to show the public he is being gray us some enough to hear the president s side of the story. But that is the only reason he needs it. I think ultimately he would go to a Grand Jury Subpoena and try to get that. But this remains to be seen. So what number do you think it will be, were seeing 10 days, could it be 20, 30 . I dont think that you can predict the time frame. The president s lawyers will drag this out as long as possible because the moment they say no in a formal way, they force the issue. And so the longer they can drag it out, the better. And so the question is at what point does mueller either shrug his shoulders and say i dont need the interview, i wont litigate over it, because especially if i win the litigation, the president can just assert the Fifth Amendment and not testify anyway, or say as frank suggested i need to go the extra mile to try to show that ive done everything i can and play that card. And so i dont think that you can play out the time frame. It does feel like it is coming to a head, but it has felt like that before as well. And looking at maybe one of the indicators reporting coming out today from the Washington Post here, and that is that as
the president has been watching the reporting, he is getting more frustrate as of late, he is also worried that his son don jr. Might be next in the crosshairs here. Yeah, this is quite the scenario where perhaps Family Members including don jr. Now criminally exposed and that is leverage that the mueller team could use against the president. And that plays out publicly as well. Because the president may be very concerned not so much about the impact on his family as equally about what this looks like if he is not playing the family man and not protecting his son. So that could come into play here. But i dont think that will be what this Interview Decision is about. I really dont. I just think it is about whether or not the president says im not listening to my attorneys, im going to sit down mantoman and i can do this, by the way that would be a serious mistake, or whether he listens to his attorneys and he does not sit down with mueller. So how might the heat be turned up on don jr. From the previous interactions hes had with this investigation so far . Well, there are questions about testimony he gave to the senate to the congressional investigations. And, you know, you could have a subpoena issued to him. You could have a demand for an interview. So there are lots of ways the investigative temperature could go up. I agree with frank very much that the question of a president ial interview is a different question. And i dont think that is going to i dont think it would be proper actually for the investigation to use leverage against Family Members as a way of coercing the president. And frank, i want to squeeze this in. This is Mariia Butina, the gun rights advocate from russia in
the reporting coming out that she cozied up with a former Trump Campaign aide jd gordon who was the campaigns director of National Security for about six months. Again, the question, compazying to and what cozying means with again an advocate coming out of russia here. The more we learn about Mariia Butina the more she looks like not the Innocent College student. Looks like she is directed, looks like she is trying to penetrate circles. Got the earmarks of a controlled coopt of the intel intelligence services. We saw the comment 3 00 in the morning awaiting further orders. She was getting very close and likely the bureau thought she was getting too dloet iclose to inner tir kein inner circles. All right. Thanks. Republican heavy weight oig are starting to choose sides. Its Pretty Amazing out there. The world is full of more possibilities than ever before. And American Express has your back every step of the way whether its the comfort of knowing help is just a call away with global assist. Or getting financing to fund your business. No one has your back like American Express. So where ever you go. Were right there with you. The powerful backing of American Express. Dont do business without it. Dont live life without it. Experience the versatility of utility, with a range of suvs perfect for any adventure, at the lexus golden opportunity sales event. Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. With no aerosols and no heavy perfumes. So you can spray and stay. Febreze one. Were in a small room. What . welcome. [ gasps ] a bigger room . how many of you use Car Insurance . Oh. Well, what if i showed you this . [ laughing ] hohoho wow. Its a computer. We compare rates to help you get the price and coverage thats right for you. Thats amazing the only thing that would make this better is if my mom were here. What . an unexpected ending
the president blasted the kochs in a series of tweets tuesday calling them a total joke in real republican circles. He also said he never sought their support and doesnt need their money or bad ideas. Trumps attack came after a kochlinked Group Launched an ad targeting the president s tariffs. Were seeing a rise in protectionism. They are doing whatever they can to close themselves off from the new. This is a natural tendency. But it is a destructive one. The billionaire brothers did not endorse the president in 2016 and have since criticized several of his policies. Lets bring in a democratic strategist and former executive of the New York State democratic party, and also a republican strategist and political analyst. Great to see you both. And i guess since were starting with that, well go to the republican friend on the table. And so you your thought about what clicked in the Koch Brothers brains that said okay, we are actively now going to, if you will, go up against this
presidency. Because the Koch Brothers have long been people of principle. Whether you agreed with them or not, they have been very consistent. The president is so insecure because he never knows what policy he is for for how long that of course he would attack somebody else because he fears he has the bigger platform which is nice, but id be very careful if i was the president going toe to toe against the Koch Brothers because they have been in this game a long time and they have also supported a lot of members of the house and senate. And they have a lot of loyalty and as you mentioned, they spend a lot of money. And they do it wisely. They stay on message, they stay on issues, something the president doesnt do. And lets dig a little deeper. Although they are almost omnipresent some might say, were talking about heartland billionaires, the Koch Industry Big Footprint in the south here could have Ripple Effects if those that they support in the heartland decide to push and go
along with them. Absolutely. Now, as a democrat, im not going to stick up for the Koch Brothers here at all. But what i will say to susans point, yeah, they have a tremendous amount of support, snell wa they will wait this president out. They have the money and support to do that. But looking at it from the outside, outside of the republican party, it is a situation where the party itself even the grass roots, even in Middle America is coming to a reckoning. They will have to figure out whose side they are on and whether or not they want to stand up before the Koch Brothers who have been so bad for my party and for my former president in barack obama, or do they stand with President Trump who nobody can and just one quick thing. They went straight to camera. For years they were really quiet, they were behind the scenes. This is personal. They are not hiding. They are saying we have a problem with you and here we are. When we look at what is happening in ohio since weve been watching live pictures
throughout the last hour and a half or two and we expect the president to arrive and get there on the ground, the question might be is the president in a phase where for local politics, he is not a help in some cases, a help in others, or is it a nancy pelosi messaging which is coming from the president as well and republicans . Which is the dynamic . Now that were weaning our way of on of the primary season, in a primary the president is key. He is absolutely helpful. In the trump district that is going to be supportive of donald trump, by fi5 to 15 points or more, the president is bad. In a Swing District, he is toxic , horrible. This is not a Swing District and they lost ten points, balderson did. Ohio 12. It is supposed to be a trump, 15 point trump seat. It is now a one point seat. And that is a clear reflection of the president s policies and more importantly his tone and his messaging and how he deals with people. But not easy for your side either because you remember the headlines from the a. P. That said republicans united, democrats di