somewhere will be plotting to say no matter where they're from, they're not entitled to become president without going through what we're going through now and so i conclude by saying if you're teaching history in the lower grades or a scholar in the university, if you're catholic or protestant or hindu or muslim or jewish, if you love this country it is no telling wlg you are on this list. it is not a black question. it is an american question. and so let me thank those of us who are immediately affected because of our backgrounds and say that i do hope this is not reported as a black issue. it should be an american issue.

thank you for the work that you do. >> from new jersey, bonnie coleman. >> thank you greg. i want to thank everyone who is here with us and i want to thank you all for covering this. i wanted to say something in response to what representative schiller jackson lee said. why trump didn't answer that question when he was interviewed by the post was because he needed people to come to the opening of his hotel. because for trump, it is only about his business. it is only about what is good for him. so we know, from what we've experienced that trump has acted in a way that suggested he is a bigot. he has acted in a way that suggest he is a liar and presented himself in a way with lack of knowledge and a really strong question as to whether or not he has either the temperament or the intellect to carry on as the president of the united states of america. to paraphase maya angelou, the queen, when he says if someone

presents himself to you the first time, believe it. he cannot continue to walk back from the mistakes as he has made the first time and that is treated as a legitimate action. it is not. he doesn't believe the things he is forced to say now in order to have favor with those who are never, never going to support him. so we stand here because we want our communities, not just our black community, women, gays and lesbians and latinos and muslims and everyone else to understand there is an urgency associated with what we're going to do this november and we need to get about doing it because the worst thing that can happen to the future of the united states of america is to kill it in its tracks with this person as president. thank you. >> from the u.s. virgin islands, stacy placid. >> thank you very much congressman meeks and bringing

us all together. thank you all for being out here. i stand here not only as a member of the congressional black caulk caucus but i stand here as a citizen, as a black woman, i stand here as a mother of five children and i want you all to know that his absence was noted. donald trump's absence was noted at the black women's agenda where he was invited to speak along with hillary clinton this morning. he did not come. he was right here in washington d.c. not far away, and had the time to come, but did not choose to come to speak with the largest voting block that comes out in percentage, black women. hundreds of black women were gathered and invited him to come speech and only hillary clinton showed up. i want to all remind you. he was invited to speak at the naacp. did he come? did he think that our vote was important enough? he did not think we were important nufr then and he doesn't think we're important enough now.

he is only addressing this because he was forced to address this. and did he address it in a manner that shows he was mistaken and incorrect? no, he did not. he has moved on. he is making his money, and he wants to do it off of the backs of all of us. we can't let that happen. in november we need to come out. we need to bring people, bring your children, bring your parents, bring your grandparents, and stop this man from the madness he is taking america through. thank you. >> from the state of michigan, brenda lawrence. >> hello, i'm brenda lawrence from the great city of detroit. you know, donald trump came to my city and the question was asked, what do you have to lose, african-americans? i can tell you today is another example of what i have to lose. the arrogance of this candidate

to have the addasiudacity that values the presidency of the united states because he says so. what happens to your child or my child a reconciles to level of success and leadership in america. is this going to be repeated until he validates our right and our ability to serve as a president of this country? it is not acceptable. i'm wondering when this country is going to a weaken from this reality show, the disrespect, to me, as a woman, to me, as an african-american, to my children, you know, if you're discriminated against as a woman, you should find another job. a woman working is an inconvenience. to say if i'm hispanic then i'm a killer and a rapist until i prove different.

to say, if i'm a muslim, i must be a terrorist until i prove to donald trump differently. this is one man in america but we as american citizens and as african-americans, latinos and women, independents, we have the opportunity to say no. not in this america. we will not be discriminated against. we will not be treated as second class citizens. we, women, latinos, we, african-americans, we, independents, people who choose to worship whichever way we choose, we'll stand up in the best way as the president of the united states say, we're not going to boo, we're not going to cry, we're not going to stand here and say i'm insulted. we're going to vote and we're going to vote and send a message to not only the united states of america, but to the world as that is looking at us and say

this is not the america that donald trump is trying to create. this is the america that embraces all of us. thank you so much. >> from wisconsin, gwen moore. >> my name is gwen moore and i'm from wisconsin. let's be clear. this is disrespectful. it is arrogant. it is an effort to delegitimize the most iconic african-american in the african-american history. let's also recall that donald trump demanded to see barack obama's transcripts from harvard and it is not just a mess dwrag bam brack obama, let's be clear about that. it is a dog whistle. if indeed barack obama is not intelligent. if indeed, barack obama is not

legitimate, then you, striving up the corporate ladder, or striving to achieve something in -- how can you feel good about yourself as a sixth grader if you're an african-american. this is a dog whistle to all other americans who are not african-american to say see, you're all right. don't worry about hiring that black woman or that black man because after all, the most iconic african-american in history indeed, not worthy of the american dream. be clear, this is not just about degrading the reputation of barack obama. it is about degrading the american dream for all african-americans and as martin luther king junior said, when there is a justice dean to one us, there is a justice done to all of us. thank you. from georgia, hank johnson. >> thank you, ladies and

gentlemen, you know, donald trump created the birther issue long before he became a candidate for the republican nomination. he knew exactly what he was doing and he stocked that issue and he put that above the 16, 17 people running in the primary, republican primary. he won fair and square the majority of the republican votes based on the birther issue. and so he became the republican nominee for president of this country and he has continued to stoke the powers based on the birther issue and extend it to other issues and even to this day, 56 days before the election, he continues to par

lay this birther issue to suck everything he can out of it for his own benefit even come to washington d.c. today while the congressional black caucus is hosting its legislative conference with thousands of african-americans in attendance. just down the block. he is still dealing with the birther issue, playing with it, toying with people's sensitivities and blowing the dog whistle to his minions, to his supporters, and america, are we going to let donald trump use this issue you may the way through november the 8th? because i'm going to tell you, that is what he is going to do if you don't think he is finished with it today, then i have land for you in florida. this man is going to parlay, he is going to continue to use this birther issue and all of the other innuendos that derive from

it to divide americans against each other and to keep from talking about the real issues of concern to americans, i mean, here we are today in this policy conference and we're having to deal with donald trump's birther issue and the press, i know that you all were there. he is a master entertainer, it is hard to reresist what he had to offer. so the press has been there, we appreciate you all coming here to hear our views about what is really important for america because what is good for one of us is good for all of us and it is time for us not to be divided. it is time for us to come together, do what is in the best interest of this country, our great democracy, the freedom that we enjoy here is under assault by donald trump and the

forces that would elect him if we let them. so i want to thank everyone for being here today to get the message out that there is more to life than entertainment, than reality tv, reality campaigning which is what donald trump is all about. we're here to take care of the nation's business, to deal with zika, to deal with gun violence, to deal with flint, michigan and lead in the pipes throughout this country to deal with our infrastructure. those are issues that are so important. fundamental and comprehensive tax reform to get the big corporations paying their fair share of the tax dollars so the burden doesn't fall on the backs of middle class people. those are the issues that we should be talking about. those are the issues that donald trump needs to be held accountable to. during this first debate, and on into the remainder of the election. thank you all so much.

>> from texas -- >> i'm sick and tired of donald trump not being held accountable. he has been given a free pass this entire election and he needs to be held accountable he hasn't talked anything about how he is going to bring jobs back into this country. he talks in very general terms. he has absolutely no working knowledge when it comes to foreign policy and he did not apologize to the president for questioning his citizenship. enough is enough. people need to hold this man accountable for what he is doing. people need to tell him that this presidential election is serious when you talk about the real issues that are at hand and it is absolutely disgusting the things he is saying about mexican americans, african-americans, other people in this country. the handicapped, and he has offered absolutely no substance

whatsoever to this race. think of one credible thing that donald trump has said since he has started running that has made any sense whatsoever but he came to washington d.c. today to brag on his hotel and talk about lining his pockets. enough is enough. hold this man accountable for the terrible, nasty, mean spirited things that he is saying. >> and last, the former chief of police in the city of orlando and soon to be colleague here in the united states congress, val democr dennings from florida. >> i had the honor of serving as the chief of police. i've seen the best that america has to offer and i've seen the worst that america has to offer and what i can tell you today based on everything that we've seen and we've heard, donald

trump is not the best that america has to offer. at a time where people are struggling, they're hurting, they're suffering, they're afraid. instead of coming up with solutions that will make people's lives better and improve the quality of life for americans, donald trump is doing everything that he can to divide. he is a hater, he is a bigot, and he is a racist. >> amen. >> and i learned as a law enforcement officer to call it like i see it. we can do better just like americans don't get a pass, we should not allow donald trump to get a pass on this issue. i watched orlando. i was the police chief when president obama was elected and i saw people who represented places from around the world

celebrating his election and you know why? because it was representative that america and all that the promises that it holds had gotten closer to really living the american dream, and for this man, has never, at least what i've seen, proven that he has helped anyone else. to delegitimize the first african-american president to demand he show his papers, we can do better than that and we'll hold donald trump accountable. >> let me just conclude, this is, as many who speak, this is not an african-american issue, this is an american issue and every american should be speaking up about this.

dr. king once said that if you are silent, if if you're silent in times of need, then you repair as guilty as the guilty person. this is an american issue that all must come to the forefront. let's just look at what the candidates have indicated. one comes with, let's make our country great again. when is he talking bg. what period is he talking about? is that a hitting message? let's sm say let's take our country back. back from who? the other candidate says we are stronger together. we are stronger together. and what makes the united states of america the greatest country is that we accept and bring everybody together. that is the example that we want to show.

weapon want to show that you can be of different ethnic backgrounds from different religions from different parts of the world and we come as a democratic society and live a better life and not demonize individuals as donald trump is. so let us be stronger together and make this country a more perfect union. we can do that collectively by not walking, but by running to the polls on november 8th. let's make sure that an individual who is not speaking american values, who is really saying deplorable things throughout this campaign does not let america look deplorable. thank you. any questions? anybody have? we should have made this clear

by now. if there are no questions, thank you. i'm thomas roberts live at msnbc headquarters in new york and we've been watching the reaction of the congressional black caucus pack. this is taking place in washington d.c. donald trump was there earlier today. much hyped appearance about what he was going to say about leading the birther conspiracy theory about president obama. so while you were hearing from those members of congress, donald trump was walking up those stairs after announcing this morning that he was surrendering his conspiracy theory about birtherism. >> hillary clinton fand her campaign of 2008 started the

birther controversy. i finished it i finished it. you know what i mean. president obama was born in the united states, period. now we all want to get back to making america strong and great again. >> all right. there has been much reaction to this. i want to give you a look inside the fairfax virginia event where the first lady, michelle obama will be appearing later today coming in about in about an hour's time. you all remember most likely her speech at the democratic national convention this year where she talked about the personal experience that it has been for herself and her daughters of living through the conspiracy theory the birtherism, trying to qualify her husband, her children's father's validity of being elected. so we may see michelle obama get

very personal today about donald trump's declaration of barack obama being born in the united states. i want to get straight to our reporters on this. we have nbc katy tur, hans nichols and kristin welker. i want to begin with katy tur inside the meeting today for the remarks, katy, this is the new trump hotel where this all went down, a stones throw from the white house itself. from your sources inside the campaign, why would trump surrender his obama birther movement now? >> reporter: aides have said that they believe that donald trump understands now why this issue was so offensive to so many african-americans. that is about the extent of why he would do this today. we've gotten from the campaign, but i will note and you should note as well, that he faced a lot of pressure from his own aides and his own campaign in their public statements, the surrogates, many folks coming out and saying that donald trump

no longer believes this. the campaign releasing a campaign statement saying as much last night. but everyone was noting that this was not coming from donald trump's own mouth. this was coming from his aides. it was not donald trump coming out and saying it. so the pressure got a lot stronger, the voices got louder, and donald trump announced i guess last night that he would make an announcement today here at this d.c. hotel about how he, whether or not he believes president obama was born in the u.s., to put it to rest. you heard him a moment ago saying that hillary clinton started it and he finished it. that is not true. hillary clinton did not start birtherism and donald trump did not end birtherism, after 2011 when president obama came out and gave, released his birth certificate, donald trump continued on with his birtherism and questioning president obama. he tweeted out questioning the

death of the woman who certified the birth certificate. donald trump questioned her death over this. this has not been put to rest by donald trump today. it was not put to rest by donald trump in 2011. he has continued to keep this issue alive and when you speak to a number of voters, be them african-american or whites or latino, this issue does come up and often times you'll hear people say that they cannot vote for donald trump on this issue alone. how dare he question the legitimacy of the first african-american president. you heard the congressional black caucus say as much during the news conference they just held but i will note that many donald trump supporters do believe that president obama was born in kenya, born in africa and he is a secret muslim and donald trump at least until today has done very little to dissuade them from this opinion. >> katy tur reporting for us in washington d.c.

in just a second ago, we were showing donald trump's plane departing from d.c. he is on his way to florida right now. it was interesting because secretary clinton offered her prebuttal in washington d.c. that the is where they krocross paths. how is they reacting. >> she did make is clear, she is not letting him off the hook on this issue, making the point that he effectively led the birther movement for five years. her campaign, coming out with a strong statement, let me read it. trump actions today were disgraceful. after five years of pushing a racist conspiracy theory into the mainstream it was appalling to watch trump appoint himself the judge of whether or not the president of the united states is american. this sickening display shows more than ever on why donald trump is totally unfit to be

president. earlier today, thomas, she was talking to a group of african-american leaders, a leadership symposium and she did have that very strong prebuttal. what is striking today is the fact that you have this collective outrage coming from a broad swath of democrats. not just secretary clinton but the dnc releasing a statement calling trump's comments a disgrace. calling on him to apologize to president obama and to the american people and then, of course, the cbc. it is a preview of things to come. and this comes at a time when secretary clinton is trying to reboot her campaign. we have that sound of her talking earlier today. take a listen. >> there is no new donald trump. there never will be. donald trump looks at president obama after eight years as our president. he still doesn't see him as an american. think of how dangerous that is.

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 a very narrow view of the world. >> and thomas, we will all be listening very closely to when the first lady speaks. of course, i spoke to one of secretary clinton's top aides and i asked if they were going to request that the surrogates bring this up on the campaign trail. the response was, we don't really have to encourage our surrogates to bring this up. this energizes them and quite frankly, energizes the democratic base. few things energize democrats more than this issue of whether or not president obama was born here in the u.s. you could see this as a moment where at least the democratic base, and more broadly independents and women voters are reinvigorated around this issue. >> kristin welker reporting in

d.c. thank you very much. joining me right now is burnell donne donnell. joining me from chicago. it is nice to have you with me. i hope you were able to listen how the pack was reacting in d.c. many of those elected representatives calling donald trump arrogant, decisive, saying this is nothing more than a reality show, this is not america's best. what do you make of donald trump finally admitting to this fact and that this is not a dog whistle. >> i believe that donald trump did today what so many people were waiting for him to do and that is to give our president the respect that he deserves and he told him, he told the world that obama was born in the united states, period.

you know, sometimes, you know, we, as people, we're not perfect. you have people, you get into it with and then you know, everybody apologizes differently. i've had people i've gotten into it perfectly. we apologize with words, sometimes hugs, whienk donald trump did today was a hand shake. it was i a verbal hand shake to our president. >> as an attorney -- as an attorney, i know words are very important to you and i know that that was -- people are going to look at that and say heck, that was no apology. it was 62 characters. we get longer tweets from donald trump about much lesser stuff, so just the line of president obama was born in the united states, period. a lot of people can't shake off five years of a lot of the questions, the racist language that took place and i just want to remind folks, burnell, about where donald trump took this journey, how it began and how it is finishing.

>> what i'll tell you is this -- >> why doesn't he show his birth certificate. i wish he would. i think it is a terrible -- >> i'm starting to wonder whether or not he was born in this country. >> nobody knows who he is until later in his life. >> he may have one but there is something, maybe religion, maybe it says he is a muslim. i don't know. >> i have people studying it and they can't believe what he is finding. >> i would like to see his college records. >> trump comes along and said birth certificate. he gave a birth certificate. whether or not that was a real certificate because a lot of people question it, i certainly question it. >> a few years ago, you led the birther movement. it turned out not to be true. >> according to you it is not true. >> we fast forward to today. president obama was born in the united states, period, now we want to get back to making america strong again. this is all begun by the clinton

campaign he wants us to believe. there is no evidence that clinton questioned the citizenship. >> i'm standing that it was clinton supporters that started it and also, let's not forget, i remember vividly that the candidate hillary at the time was then saying that barack obama, our president, was a secret muslim. so there were some issues back then that were heard from the hillary clinton campaign. >> you voted for barack obama twice, so -- >> i voted for barack obama twice and what i want to tell you is that -- >> how do you explain to folks now as a trump supporter and working with his diversity coalition. how do you explain to voters how you've been able to shift from being a president obama supporter to backing donald trump, someone who has questioned the validity, the citizenship of the president for the last five years. >> what i was saying is being a

donald trump supporter does not make me a barack obama hater. i love barack obama. he is the president, we are proud of him. still proud of him, but what i will tell you is in chicago there, are mothers and fathers signing death certificates. 3,000 death certificates in chicago because of the violence and the killing. what i will tell you is that there are jobs and education that are needed in our cities that are stifling the city and what i'll tell you is this. i'm on the ground every day. i'm in the courtroom all of the time. people on the ground are eating poverty and drinking hopelessness. they are not thinking about a birther issue. what donald trump is fighting against is this very thing. that class of people, the establishment, they come in different colors, they're not just white or asian. they come in the face of black as well. and what i'm telling you is that there were eight years ago, the

people were promised redistribution of wealth. the money would trickle down. the people were promised better school, the people were promised investment into the black communities where black businesses could be flourishing and the black people in different -- >> are you frustrating with voting for president obama two times because you're saying that this was all promised eight years ago, so isn't that a conflict to your votes? >> what i would say is that it was promised and it didn't come through and so though i love president obama, i am not in agreement with his choice to cecede him which is secretary clinton. when you think about her husband signed a 1994 crime bill that affected and tore apart millions of african-american families through disproportionate sentencing and she is calling

our youth super predators and she looks up to margaret sanger, a person who believes in ex-termination of black babies. i have to myself, step back and stop thinking with my democratic loyalty and look at it as a whole as an american. americans are out here starving, choosing between gas and food. they're choosing between rent and child care. the problems of the people are real and i hear about these numbers, median numbers going up with salaries. people want something that they can feel. people want to feel the difference. feel the change in our country and that has not occurred. the people on the bottom are not feeling what the big wall street and lobbyists and special interests are feeling. they got paid. they got what they paid for when they elected our president and the people on the bottom have not been paid what they should have been paid and what was

promised. and so all i'm saying is when you make a promise to the people, you have to keep your word and on the issue of jobs, on the issue of better education, on the issue of making sure/there is economic growth. >> explain why you believe in donald trump. >> it hasn't happened. >> in keeping his word because there will be folks that are part of the birther movement. they will be really upset that he has changed on this issue. also, just so you know in, he told me he had a personal relationship with vladimir putin. he said a few months ago he doesn't have a relationship with putin. what makes you confident that he will keep his word to the people of color in america when he hasn't accepted the invitation of naacp or the nehj or from the national urban league? has not gone to reach out to any

of those communities through the political type organizations to say i'm here for you. i want you to feel the change. >> what i will tell you is that donald trump is running for the president of the united states and he has stated his first and number one priority is the american people. >> the wall. his number one priority is the wall. >> and you know what? let me tell you something, i am an american citizen and i'm telling you, there are literally citizens, americans starving, hurting, hungry while there are persons who are in our country who are here illegally, who are eating and doing well while americans are suffering. and the interesting thing, too, that wall, illegal immigrant is not a race. it is a crime, okay? it is a crime. and the only, mexicans are not the only ones coming through mexico illegally. let's get that the clear. so what i'm telling you, these

are all distractions. >> the highest percentage of illegal immigration is coming from europe. that is the largest. >> that is what i'm saying. >> that is what i'm trying to tell you. it is great to have you on. i want to invite you back when i have nor time. we're under the pressure of the time. >> i want to shout out michael cohen and the national coalition for trump. >> this was really good and i hope we have you back. >> god bless you. thank you, and god bless america. >> you want to weigh in on the microsoft poll question, the question being trump finally admitted that president obama was born in the u.s., do you believe he owes the president an apology? so, head over to pulse, check out for yourself, cast your vote. pulse point msnbc.com. more reaction to trump's latest comments finally saying he believes president obama is a citizen but falsely claims her '08 campaign started the movement. i'm going to ask you to respond to some of the claims that

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i've had tremendous success, i think... those are sacrifices? we cannot become incensive to what he says and what he stirs up we can't just accept this. we have to stand up to it. if we don't, it won't stop. >> there was hillary clinton hitting donald trump and any moment now, we'll see the first lady, michelle obama she will be at her first campaign event for hillary clinton coming up in fairfax virginia roughly in about 30 minutes. we'll see whether or not the first lady responds to the remarks made by donald trump saying president obama was born in the u.s. joining me in studio. christina shocky. you heard burnell donnell jay.

the reaction from the clinton camp on how donald trump wants to move on from birtherism. >> he just can't. he has been the national leader to delegitimize our first african-american president for five years. it is remarkable what we didn't hear today. he didn't take responsible for his role of this act of hate against our president. he didn't offer a reason. he had no regret. no apology for what he did for the president or for the american people. >> what more accountability would you want to see then? do you need to see an apology. >> we certainly think he should apologize to the president or the american people. it isn't enough. >> president obama doesn't care about an apology gl. >> this is not news. he conceded today what every american knows that president obama is an american. he conceded today what everybody

knows but what he didn't do was take any responsibility for his role in this. and let's keep in mind, he came to national prom instance as the leader of this movement. it is similar to how he got started in his career by getting money from his father. without that loan from his father, without the birther movement. he wouldn't be where he is today. so he took no responsibility for his actions and we just thought it was a real spectacle today. >> when it comes to secretary clinton and the origination that she started the birther movement. does the clinton campaign find or hold itself in any way, even with the supporters then of being responsible. >> this is just an outrageous lie. again, he took no responsibility for his role today and it was quintessential donald trump. he tried to blame somebody else and boast and brag that he ended

this, somehow is the judge of the president's being an american. no, this is an absolute lie and once again, we saw why donald trump is unfit and unqualified to be america's president. he doesn't have the values. we saw today what his core believes are and he doesn't have the character to be our president. >> good to have you here. thanks so much. we know it has been rolling with the punches. coming up next, hillary clinton slamming donald trump's remarks on the birther issue but what do those in the so called never trump movement have to say about it? i'll ask independent presidential candidate evan mcmullin. evan joinds me next. ♪ take on any road with intuitive all-wheel drive. the nissan rogue, murano and pathfinder. now get 0% apr for 72 months,

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so he is being billed the conservative alternative dwroiv donald trump but with only 53 days before the presidential election, independent candidate evan mcmullin is the only officially candidate on the ballot with ten states under his belt. this is donald trump enjoying new momentum, surpassing clinton

in some polls. has mcmullin's hope for reaching the white house become an im possibility because of math and exposure. joining me now is evan mcmullin. i have to ask you about the news of the day. we only have plus 53 days until this election, donald trump finally conceding to not being a birther, wants to be a reformed birther now. your reaction? >> i want to clarify, thomas it is good to be with you but we're on the ballot in 11 states and registered as a write in no. another number of states. the total is 21. we'll be at 40 to 45 by november 8th. we're doing well in that regard. most americans will be able to cast a vote for us. with regard to the birther conspiracy and donald trump's comments today, this has been a racist conspiracy that he has done more to promote than anyone else in this country. but what i'm concerned about mostly is that the republican party and republican leaders continue to stand with donald trump even as he builds on that

racist conspiracy and has advanced what i believe is a bigoted, racist campaign for the presidency. he has been supported by the movement which many people are learning about. this is a white supremacist movement in the united states and donald trump has been fueled and signaled to this movement in such a way that they have supported his campaign and even until today, to such a degree that he and mike pence will not condemn the all right movement. not disavow the all right movement. thiv a hard time saying that david duke is deplorable. when i talk to republicans in congress, they acknowledge to me that this is dangerous, destructive for the country, they acknowledge that trump's relationship with putin is also dangerous for the country but they will not disavow trump. they will not speak against him because they're afraid of losing their seats. they're afraid of harming the party and i think this is truly unfortunate because these

leaders are putting the interests of the party and narrowly defined interests ahead of the country. i'm concerned about this, thomas. >> you had a memo out about the way to win the white house and with 11 states, that is good, but will it be good enough. however, in this memo, you said the collapse of donald trump, that hasn't happened, evan. in fact, in some national polls we've seen her edge out the gap. so how do you have a valid path forward or are you just trying to be a spoiler for trump snp. >> no. we're opposed to clinton and trump. actual actually, the reality is the closer this gets between clinton and trump, the easier time we have from blocking both of them from obtaining the majority in the electoral college. if the race is extremely close it could be decided by one state. the voters in that state will hold the key to either giving the election to one of them or blocking them both and electing

me from that state so we go to the house of representatives and the house of representatives makes the final decision. >> so florida. let's talk about florida specifically because you got the nomination for the independent party there. >> i did. >> struck from the ballot by the florida division of elections. how will you change that? >> florida is pivotal to the broader race and we would like to be there but our strategy doesn't necessarily include florida. i would nominated there and we would like to be on that ballot and we believe we deserve to be on that ballot. the state's requirements were not applied evenly, the reform party didn't meet the requirement that the state used to keep me off the ballot. we were told by someone in the state that the governor doesn't like me and what i'm doing and we know that he is a primary supporter of donald trump and is leading the super pac and so i believe this is corruption. this is political corruption of the worst kind at a time when americans deserve to see all their options and to cast votes

for who they like. that is democracy, not leveraging rules unequally from different parties between different parties which is what has happened in florida. >> evan mcmullin. keep us posted about florida and the rest of the ballot initiative again on 11 states now. thank you, sir. >> thank you. i want to give you a live look at what is taking place in fairfax virginia where the first lady will be attending soon to give a boost to the hillary clinton campaign. you can see all of the folks that are lined up there coming out to see michelle obama. she is expected to speak within the next hour. we'll have that for you here on msnbc. the big question is, is she going to address the headline of the day and how donald trump now surrenders to the fact that her husband is a u.s. citizen. there she was at the dnc talking about when people go low, we go high in a direct reference to trump being a birther. i want to give you an update on the microsoft pulse question. trump finally admitting

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when people go low, we go high. joining me from washington for the chicago sun times. somebody who has written senten extensively is lynn sweet. what is it about michelle obama as we look at the gallup polling number, 64%. highest political rating of a political spouse. >> she has spent more than 7 years working on her brand. she has side stepped controversy. she is allergic to controversy and my guess is, tom, she is probably not necessarily wanting to address full heartedly the birther controversy. she might allude to it. she might go full force, i think stuff like that is bee nineteenth he -- beneath her. what makes her so popular, too, is that she is able to do well in a variety of social media

platforms and a bit of a big ham. she just did a hilarious video with ellen. >> life after the white house. >> she is vigorous. she likes to do exercise. she did a sketch in the white house years ago with jimmy fallon. >> what do you think that will translate for hillary clinton though and how -- they had a fierce battle in '08. how do you think that that popularity of michelle obama can translate into enthusiasm for hillary clinton. >> it translates into enthusiasm because i think where michelle obama will be dplocheployed wil with targeted audiences with her job increasing turn out. not dealing with persuadable truly undecided about trump. that means she will appeal to women, millennials. african-americans and what she does that is effective is tell people this is legacy. this is about keeping the work

going that barack and i started with hillary clinton and she will vouch for her even though they were adversaries in 2008, a long time ago. >> we saw her take the stage to vouch for her in philadelphia. a direct reference about the speech. i want to play a portion for it from michelle from the dnc in july. >> this is what barack obama and i think every day as we guide our girls through this unusual life in the spotlight, how we urge them to ignore those who question their father's citizenship or faith. how we insist that the hateful language they hear from public figures on tv does not represent the true spirit of this country. >> so lynn, do you think she will validate the remarks of trump at her up coming event in

the next hour? >> i would be surprised if she says something directly using his name because that would be a departure from her style which i would expect more would be something like what she said in the convention and i bet that her remarks have been carefully weighed by her already and she might not want to -- she is not going to tear up her speech just to give him more attention but i think you'll have an illusion like we did in her speech. that might be as effective as going in more of a less subtle way. she is the first lady, what she said and how she says it, people get. and i don't think she has to use his name to deliver a message. >> people get, people pay attention and obviously by that gallup poll, people love her. lynn sweet. good to see you. have a good weekend. >> thank you, thomas. so, time for one last look at the microsoft pulse question today and we asked with trump timely admitting that president

obama was born in the u.s., do you think he owes the president an apology. here is how you feel. take a look. 80% say yes, 20% say no. the pulse, check it out. pulse.msnbc.com. i'm thomas roberts. indica kate snow is here to pick things up. tgif. >> we'll begin with breaking news at this hour. we're learning that in the first televised debate which will be moderated by our own lester holt, it will be just hillary clinton and donald trump up on that stage. there will not be other candidates included. just the two frontrunners on stage at that first debate. by the way, that debate just ten days from now. can you believe it? it is coming right up. i'm kate snow, at this hour, we're also expecting to see the first lady, michelle obama, hit the trail for the first time campaigning for hillary clinton. we'll have that live for you. it is a traditional kind of event after a morning of anything but traditional campaigning from