good to have you with us on a busy Monday I'm Joe frier Savannah is On Assignment it is a new week and the election is now 8 days away with early voting now underway in many places across the country President Biden has sat to cast his ballot today in his home state of Delaware joining the tens of millions who've already voted data from Target smart analyzed by NBC news's decision desk shows that almost 43 million people have already cast their ballots breaking the vote down by party 42% of them are Democrats well 40% are Republicans it is slated to be a busy final full week of campaigning for both vice president Harris and former president Trump Harris will hold events today in Michigan well MrTrump will be in the Battleground state of Georgia the former president hosted a controversial rally yesterday at a pack Madison Square Garden here in New York not a Battleground State the rally is making big headlines MrTrump's from s were overshadowed by crude and racist remarks made by several speakers including a standup comic who called Puerto Rico quote an island of garbage here's some of what was said I don't know if you guys know this but there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now yeah I think it's called Puerto Rico okay all right Believe It or Not people I welcome migrants to the United States of America with open arms and by Open Arms I mean like this it's wild and these Latinos they love making babies too just know that they do they do this is Donald Trump's house brother you know something Trump Maniacs I don't see no stinking Nazis in here I don't see no stinking domestic terrorist in here here the only thing I see in here are a bunch of hardworking men and women that are real Americans brother the United States is now an occupied country but it will soon be an occupied country no longer not going to be happening not going to be happening for the latest on the race for the White House we're joined Now by NBC News correspondent Dasha Burns who's covering the Trump campaign and NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba who's covering vice president Harris good morning to both of you Dasha let's begin with you in that Trump rally at Madison Square Garden we just p played some of the controversial comments that were made throughout the day and evening at that rally explain to us the Trump campaign's decision to host an event with just over a week to go in a city that overwhelmingly votes Democratic and just what more you can tell us about these speakers they're questionable REM marks and how the former president's campaign is responding so first of all Joe to that comedian the Trump campaign almost immediately tried to distance themselves saying in a statement that this joke does not reflect the Trump campaign's values wasn't spec specific about which uh joke exactly they are talking about but uh plenty of Republicans also posted their own statement saying that they love Puerto Rico that they disavow those comments uh but you know this is kind of typical at a at a trump rally where some of the speakers earlier in the day in the pre-program will say pretty outlandish controversial and offensive things this is just a much bigger platform and that was the whole point of this rally I mean the former president is a Native New Yorker he's always dreamed of packing in the garden and that's what he did uh but of course that also means that it elevates some of those pre-program speakers and some of those uh offensive comments now the former president himself actually mostly stuck to the script his closing message being the economy and immigration of course his rhetoric also escalatory when it comes to particularly that topic of immigration you played some of those comments he did also lean in to his past controversial comments talking about the enemy from within and he repeated the line that is the sort of big picture closing message for The Campaign which is uh that Harris broke it and he will fix it Joe Monica let's bring you in to talk about the Harris campaign she spent yesterday with supporters in Philadelphia and also unveiled a policy plan aimed at helping Puerto Rico was that done as a response to those remarks we just heard from the Trump Rally or was it already planned and just in this pivotal weekend what was her message to her base and to the undecided voters out there yeah the timing was pretty significant here Joe because actually the vice president rolled that out hours before those comments were made and she had spent time visiting a Rican restaurant and had put out a video about her policies and what she would do for the Puerto Rican community of which there is a large one in a notable one in Pennsylvania in particular and that's where she spent all of her day yesterday going from different local events and going to church and really trying to hammer out her closing message and absolutely you've heard now from the campaign and from a lot of the top surrogates and people like Puerto Rican Superstar Bad Bunny who has 45 million followers on Instagram posting those comments that the vice president had put out about her own plan to try to put the attention in terms of her pitch to Puerto Ricans there as opposed to those offensive comments made at the Trump rally the Harris campaign said but here's a little bit more of her overall closing message which we're going to see every day for sure for the next eight listen we have an opportunity before us to turn the page on the fear and the divisiveness that have characterized our politics for a decade because of Donald Trump we have the ability to turn the page on that same old tired Playbook because we are exhausted with it there is too much on the line and we must not wake up the day after the election and have any regrets about what we could have done so in this final stretch there is definitely a big emphasis on what Donald Trump has said what he's done and you're really going to see that in Stark display tomorrow uh when the vice president speaks at the ellipse near the White House the site of course of where Donald Trump spoke on January 6th before the capitol Riot yeah so we've recapped the weekend let's talk about what's ahead this week Dasha first with you former president Trump slated to host C hold campaign events in several Battleground States places that will likely determine the election what can you tell us about his week ahead yeah he's blitzing prettyy much all the Battlegrounds Joe he'll be in Pennsylvania of course Georgia today Wisconsin Nevada New Mexico but just as he hosted this massive event at Madison Square Garden and notably not a swing state Because he believes these sorts of events are are high impact and they get attention he's also headed on Saturday just a few days before election day to the state of Virginia which he has claimed is in play though it hasn't been in a long time for Republicans it's not uh in play according to the polls but he believes he can win it again those are the sorts of things that the campaign is strategically doing to try to draw a little bit of extra attention to his campaign events Joe and Monica you mentioned the speech at the ellipse tomorrow what all is ahead for vice president Harris as she continues her campaign this week so today she'll spend all of her time in Michigan tomorrow she'll be in DC for that major closing argument speech and then on Wednesday she's going to be hitting Pennsylvania Michigan and Wisconsin all in one day and then Thursday she's going to head out west to campaign in Nevada and in Arizona so exactly right now the the moment is all about hitting all the Battlegrounds in as few days as possible and you're going to be seeing Governor Tim Walls the vice president's running mate doing the same up until the very final day here all right Jo Tasha and Monica kicking us off this hour thank you both speaking of running mates former president Trump's running mate Ohio senator Vance appeared on Meet the Press this weekend he spoke about how another Trump Administration would handle foreign and domestic affairs if elected Vance was also pressed about how deeply his support of the former president ran if it came down to MrTrump versus the Constitution here's moderator Kristen weler hello there Joe this week on Meet the Press I spoke to former president Trump's running mate JD Vance about where his loyalties lie if he has to choose between the Constitution and Donald Trump former vice president Mike Pence said quote president Trump asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States will your loyalty senator be to the Constitution or to Donald Trump well of course my loyalty is to the American people and the United States Constitution but I think the best way the best way to accomplish that loyalty Kristen is to get back to a president who delivered the fastest rising take-home pay in a generation 1. 5% inflation and secure Southern border I don't think there's inconsistency between loyalty to the Constitution and support for Donald Trump that's why I'm out there trying to persuade my fellow Americans that Donald Trump's presidency worked for them and I'd like us to get back to those smart Poli just to put a very fine point on this Mike Pence says Trump asked him to put Trump over the Constitution if you find yourself in a similar position one day will your loyalty be to the Constitution or to Donald J Trump I just said my loyalty Christen is to the Constitution you can see my full interview and a lot more at meet the president . c you can also get more Meet the Press here on NBC news now every weekday at 4 p.
m. all right Kristen thank you so much so if this election is like 2020 then more than 155 million people will vote in the race for president and yet the entire race will likely come down to the ballots of about 200,000 voters across seven Battleground States that's where the candidates are dedicating most of their time ahead of next week's election so you might be wondering how does such a big decision come down to such a small group NBC News Capital Hill correspondent Julie cirin explains good evening Wisconsin and a very special hello to Georgia I love you too we love you Las V of the 50 states that will tally votes this election day voters in just seven of them are likely to determine the next president Arizona Michigan Georgia Wisconsin North Carolina Nevada and Pennsylvania and if you live in one of these so-called Battlegrounds you are at the center of the political universea Harris failed Trump is not fit to be president again with a lot of political power too many ads uh I think we're ought to put a limit on that I hear it every day 24/7 so why does a national race come down to just a handful of states to answer that we need to understand the Electoral College and it's en llarge part thanks to Alexander Hamilton Hamilton and the founding father others couldn't decide whether the people or congress should choose the president they eventually compromised and in 1787 the Electoral College was born every state is given a number of electoral votes equal to its number of house members and senators in congress that totals 538 which is why the candidate who collects 270 electoral votes one more than half claims the presidency it also means a candidate who loses the popular vote can still win the White House it's already happened five times in US history including most recently to Donald Trump in 2016 with polling the campaigns already have a very good sense of how people in more than 40 of the 50 states are going to vote and both sides also know they have to find a few more electoral votes to win it's about a few swing voters in a few swing counties located in a few swing states that are deciding the election so in the 2024 race Trump and Harris have zeroed in on the so-called significant 7 spending Millions on rallies tv ads and texts trying to tip those States in their favor so how should voters in the other 43 States feel going into the presidential election they're probably feeling a little ignored they shouldn't forget about Congress they shouldn't forget about the House of Representatives the Senate Battlegrounds do shift over time so it's not always the same swing States deciding the election they need Florida Florida Florida Florida Florida in the 2000 election it was all about Florida Today the sunshine state is solidly red with places like Pennsylvania and Georgia now in play but in a nation of 350 million people from sea to shining sea this election will hinge on the votes of a tiny fraction this election is down to what about 150,000 to 200,000 voters are going to do across for seven states our thanks to Julie cirin for that report now after 2020 it took a few days of recounts and certifications before the winner was determined this time around officials say several states have streamlined workflows to try and process those early votes some states have also hired more pole workers and increased security well once again social media is playing a major role in this year's election especially on Tik Tok where some political videos are getting more than a billion views our own Savannah s spoke to one researcher who says this kind of content is motivating the nation's youngest voters Jen Z to take action I'm a never Trump guy Trump guy across Tik Tok political content is flooding feeds like never before did you vote are you going to vote will you vote for me posts about vice president kamla Harris and former president Donald Trump racking up 1. 4 and 1.
