Morning Joe - Morning Joe 8/31/23

Episode Date: August 31, 2023

Idalia leaves southeast with mass power outages

Why did you decide to evacuate? This surge right here, man. If we had been in our property, we would have got flooded in. We wouldn't have been able to leave. Didn't know what I was going to do until these guys showed up. I was going to actually stay and swim in my house. My heart just dropped out of my chest when they called and said the house was on fire because we prepared for a flood, not a fire.

Those are some of the firsthand accounts from people impacted by Hurricane Adalia, the first major hurricane to hit Florida's Big Bend in more than a century. We'll have the latest on the storm's path, the destruction it has left behind and where the storm is this morning up into South Carolina and North Carolina. Plus, another unsettling moment for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell while he was answering questions from reporters, how his team is responding to growing concerns about the Republicans' health, including from some leading Republicans. Also ahead, Rudy Giuliani's lies about the 2020 election are catching up with him legally and financially. We'll explain yesterday's ruling by a judge. Meanwhile, two of Donald Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case now are requesting separate trials. We'll have the latest on a possible timeline in that case. Good morning. Welcome to Morning Joe. And it's Thursday, August 31st. I'm Willie Geist.

With us this morning, the host of way too early, White House Bureau Chief at Politico, Jonathan Lemire. And we do begin again this morning with tropical storm now, Idalia. Weakened overnight, but still making its way through the Carolinas, dropping massive amounts of rain, flooding streets, causing widespread power outages. Charleston, South Carolina, recorded its fifth highest tide ever as the storm surge there exceeded forecast, reaching more than nine feet. The city also experiencing significant flooding as peak tides swelled over the seawall for some time. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service is warning tornadoes and storm surges in some areas of North Carolina.

Over 300,000 people across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas are without power this morning. And while the Carolinas will bear the brunt of a dahlia today, the storm is forecast to move offshore in just a few hours. One death has been reported so far. A man in Florida who crashed his car into a tree while driving during those extremely rainy and windy conditions. The state inundated by rain with Clearwater Beach and Chiefland both seeing more than nine inches. Officials say they've inspected and cleared every bridge affected by the storm, adding search and rescue teams are making good progress finding and helping people trapped by floodwaters. Let's go right over to meteorologist Angie

Lassman. Angie, good morning. So what's the latest on where this storm is and what damage it might still do? Yeah, good morning, Willie. We're continuing to see this system weaken, but you know those images from yesterday, they're hard to miss across social media and beyond. We've seen, of course, the wind damage, the water damage, the storm surge now starting to, of course, subside in places like Florida. But we're still dealing with this system. It hasn't completely weakened or moved offshore just yet. We've got a tropical storm still with winds at 60 miles per hour as of the top of 5 o'clock this morning. Northeast movement still 21 miles per hour. It's dealing with a little bit of vertical wind shear. What does that mean? It means that it's trying to weaken. We don't have great conditions for it to continue to maintain its strength, but we're only going to see gradual weakening from here through the next couple of days.

The good thing is we're eventually going to see this thing move offshore, but we've still got to deal with the heavy rain that's in place across parts of North Carolina and even stretching into Virginia this morning. Moderate to heavy rain, really closer to the coast. You can see stretched back towards Greenville, some lighter rain and down towards Wilmington. Notice, though, we still do have a tropical or rather a tornado watch in effect at this time, and it's going to last until 7 a.m. So we have a little longer for that to be in effect. You can see it outlined there in the pink Cape Hatters in that bullseye of that area as we still have a little bit of spin in that atmosphere as the center starts to continue to move farther away.

Meanwhile, the flood alerts continue as well. Flash flooding, especially coastal areas. We're still dealing with heavy rain working through and the potential for some of that storm surge. I'll show you some of those latest numbers here in a moment. But we could see isolated numbers or isolated rainfall totals up to six inches here as we get through the rest of the day today. I think it's only going to be a couple more hours that we'll have to deal with this heavy rain in this region. So you'll finally be able to get out and see exactly what's happened across coastal areas of North Carolina here. But elsewhere, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, we're looking at big improvements. The flood risk will still be there for the same region that's dealing with the rain right now. And here's the latest numbers on the storm surge. I know this

was a big deal across parts of the Big Bend yesterday, parts of North Carolina and South Carolina yesterday, but we're still seeing the potential for some of that coastal flooding for residents in these areas here as we get through the day today. Eventually, this is going to move offshore later today and we're going to see the winds go with it as well. Willie, we'll see quieter conditions settling in for folks in this region. And the cleanup, of course, will begin. All right. That's some good news they need. Angie Lastman. Angie, thanks so much. Let's go to Moorhead City, North Carolina.

That's where we find NBC's Julia Ainsley down along the Crystal Coast. Julia, what does it look like there today? What kind of damage are they seeing? Winds are certainly picking up right now, Willie. We're really in the remnants of the storm. But as you mentioned, that flooding in Charleston, that's the fear here. They're worried about storm surges up to four feet. Last night at high tide, we saw a lot of water come across these roads here. And as we look at throughout the Carolinas, we know that nearly 60,000 people are without power. They're still urging people to stay off the roads. They've canceled schools here today. They've canceled schools even as far east as far west as Raleigh. And what they're

telling people here is that they should stay inside and that they're still under this tropical storm warning, that they are still waiting for some of the worst to come through this area today as this storm weakens and heads out to the coast. We've seen a lot of flooding throughout the Carolinas, and that remains the biggest fear here. There was some wind, wind that even toppled cars on the highway in South Carolina. But really, the fear here is that storm surge. Luckily, their high tide was last night. But as these rains continue to come through in bands, sometimes it's unpredictable. It can be calm and dry one minute, windy and pouring the next. That's what they're worried about now.

Further flooding, especially if people try to get on the roads, Willie. And that's why they're urging people to stay home in this area. All right. Let's hope everybody stays safe there in North Carolina. NBC's Julia Ainsley. Julia, thanks so much. President Biden says the federal government will play a key role, of course, in helping states to recover from Hurricane Adalia. Biden said he has spoken with the governors of all affected states, adding responding to this hurricane is not about politics. A sentiment later echoed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Believe it or not, I know that sounds strange, especially how the nature of politics today. But, you know, I was down there when the last major storm. I spent a lot of time with him walking from village to from community to community, making sure he had what he needed to get it done. I think he trusts my judgment and my desire to help. And I trust him to be able to suggest that this is not about politics, it's about taking care of the people of the state. We have to deal with supporting the needs of the people who are in harm's way or have difficulties. And that has got to triumph over any type of short-term political calculation or any type of positioning. This is the real deal. You have people's lives

that have been at risk. We don't necessarily have any confirmed fatalities yet, but that very well may change. And then you have people whose livelihoods have been turned upside down. And so they need support. So we're going to work together from local, state, federal, regardless of party, to be able to deliver results for the people in their time of need. So, Jonathan Lemire, it has to be said, if these numbers hold up, if there's only one death and a traffic-related death in this storm this powerful, that is extraordinary and speaks to the preparation, the warnings, and the response that 75 percent at least of the rescue and recovery efforts have been made. The 300,000

people that their power restored. Florida knows how to do these things. And you saw adult behavior, frankly, on both sides from President Biden and Governor DeSantis over the last couple of days. Yeah. And first of all, and we should know the storm, of course, still going, but not as bad as fear and at least the impact in Florida. Sort of fortunate that it hit an area that is not nearly as densely populated. And the population in that stretch of the Big Bend doesn't live necessarily right on the coast. There's a lot of marshland in between the surges of the water and people's homes. So that is good news indeed. Florida obviously has had a lot of practice going through storms like this, including that devastating one in Fort Myers last year. And that's what the president was

talking about. He went and met with Governor DeSantis there. He also, we should note, the year before met with the governor when there was that building collapse just north of Miami that killed many people. So these are political rivals and they're sharply critical of each other at times, but they can set that aside for moments like this, which is refreshing to see. And we should note the White House has made clear they're going to spend as much federal response there as they need. The FEMA director, who I know we're talking to a little later in the show, is in Florida. Unclear yet if the president would travel. That's a decision that gets made days later because, of course, we know what a diversion

of resources it is any time a president travels to an area where there has been a natural disaster. And, of course, this will be an issue of some debate with disaster relief funding when Congress returns in a couple of weeks. But at least so far, it's good to see politics being set aside. And let's hope the storm impact in Georgia and the Carolinas also less than expected, like it was in Florida. And a statement about the state of our political times that we have to stop and note adult behavior during a hurricane. But there was some. So we will come back to the story. Of course, we're going to be looking more at South Carolina, talk to some

mayors of cities affected up through the coast and down into Florida as we assess the damage from this storm. We will turn, though, to Rudy Giuliani, a federal judge ruling yesterday that Giuliani defamed two election workers in Georgia following the 2020 election. The ruling means he is liable for damages, which will be determined at a civil trial. Former poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shea Moss sued Giuliani over his baseless claims they committed election fraud. Both testified to the January 6th committee that their lives were turned upside down by those false allegations. Now I won't even introduce myself by my name anymore.

I get nervous when I bump into someone I know in the grocery store who says my name. I'm worried about who's listening. I get nervous when I have to give my name for food orders. I'm always concerned of who's around me. I've lost my name and I've lost my reputation. I've lost my sense of security. A lot of threats, wishing death upon me, telling me that I'll be in jail with my mother and saying things like,

be glad it's 2020 and not 1920. Were a lot of these threats and vile comments racist in nature? A lot of them were racist. A lot of them were just hateful. Giuliani conceded in a court filing last month he had made false statements about Freeman and Moss. He also failed to produce any evidence during the discovery portion of this case, leading to the judge's defamation ruling. In a statement, Freeman and Moss said the ruling brings them one step closer to rebuilding their lives. Spokesperson for Giuliani says he has been quote, wrongly accused. Let's bring in NBC News

justice and intelligence correspondent Ken Delanian and political reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Greg Blustein. Guys, good morning. Greg, I'll start with you down there in Atlanta. And just to remind our viewers about the allegations Rudy Giuliani made against these two poll workers, suggesting they were passing some kind of a drive with votes on it between them. Turned out that was a breath mint. And that led to things like people coming to homes of their relatives, looking for them, trying to push their way into the house, looking for these two people that Rudy Giuliani had villainized falsely. Yeah, well, it was absolutely heart wrenching testimony that we just saw. And it just reminded

me of of going through all that in 2020. These were not public officials, right? This is bad enough when our publicly elected officials and high-ranking politicians get targeted with this sort of vitriol. These were just rank-and-file election staffers, the cogs of our democracy, the people working in elections offices to make sure that we have timely and accurate election results. And they were being accused by Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies in terms of Rudy Giuliani in a legislative hearing in the Georgia Capitol of doing something nefarious when, as you mentioned, there was no sort of USB drive.

It was a gingerment that Ruby Freeman and Shea Moss were passing to one another. So let's talk about this case then, Ken, and the liability now that Rudy Giuliani faces and why he's facing it. He wouldn't produce documents for discovery. He says, well, the FBI took my phone. I don't have access to a lot of that stuff. Why didn't he provide that information? And what happens from here? What are some of the consequences?

They're huge, Willie. And first of all, I should just say this is such a profound example of the human impact of these election lies, really the most egregious that we've seen. And we could all hear the racist overtones in the allegations that were made against these women. And Judge Howell here in Washington, D.C., just decided that Rudy Giuliani was playing games with the process. He was refusing to engage in what's known as civil discovery, where if someone sues you, the judge rules the suit is legitimate, and you have to start turning over documents,

including secret financial documents. And he just wouldn't do it. And so finally, you know, she gave him extension after extension. And finally, she imposed really what is the ultimate penalty, which is that she entered a judgment saying that he was essentially liable for defamation, for civil conspiracy and for punitive damages. And there were a couple of really interesting lines in her ruling that I wanted to read to you. She said, just as taking shortcuts to win an election carries risks, even potential criminal liability. Bypassing the discovery process carries serious sanctions. And she also said, donning a cloak of victimization may play well on a public stage to certain audiences,

but in the court of law, this performance has only served to subvert the normal process of discovery. So the bottom line here is that these women do not have to prove their case anymore. It's proven. It's been established. Now there will be a trial about how much money Rudy Giuliani has to pay them. And he already owes them $90,000, according to this judge, for their legal fees. So it's a big blow to Mr. Giuliani. Of course, it's one of the long line of things that he's facing, including criminal liability. You know, there are reports he's got a debt of three million dollars in legal fees. So his life essentially is falling apart. He's losing his license to practice law.

But just add this to the list of legal woes for Rudy Giuliani. So, Greg, let's talk about some of those other legal woes. He, of course, was just indicted a few days ago about that in that matter in in Georgia, a steep fall from grace indeed for a man once known as America's mayor. So talk to us a little bit about, though, how this matter in Georgia, this case here with the finding that he defamed these two election workers. How could that impact the criminal trial that he faces also in Fulton County. Yeah, and this is front page news in Georgia because it hits obviously so close to home. Those allegations, those lies and conspiracy theories that Rudy Giuliani promoted doing three separate hearings, two in person, one virtual in the Georgia state capitol in December 2020 are kind of at the root of all of this. He is being accused of being part

of this far-reaching criminal enterprise that Fannie Willis laid out, the district attorney laid out in her 51-count indictment. And it is very closely watched here in Georgia. And ostensibly, we're thinking anything said in open court could also be used in these ongoing proceedings here in Georgia. So that is why this case is particularly being closely watched, not just because it's, of course, a local case, but also it could directly pertain to the criminal indictments. So, Ken, let's talk about the timing of this case from D.A. Fonney-Willis down in Fulton County. You have Sidney Powell now filing a motion, the former attorney for President Trump, who was really at the center of all these false allegations in this attempt to overturn the 2020 election, filing a motion to sever her case, just like Mr.

Cheesebrough did, and to go earlier and to go alone, saying she has no connection to these other 18 co-defendants. How is this all going to shake out? I mean, you have Fannie Willis saying, all right, we'll just have everybody, all 19 of you. We'll go quickly. Speedy trial. Here it is. How is this going to play out with 19 defendants? Well, that's not going to happen, Willie, because Donald Trump and others are going to resist having this super speedy trial as soon as this fall. And they're probably going to win on that point. And that really actually presents a devilish problem for the district attorney down there

because then she's confronted with the prospect of having to put her case on and give Donald Trump a preview of it, essentially. Having multiple trials and having these early defendants go first, she has to essentially present the case. Then Donald Trump gets a crack at all the witnesses. He gets to hear what they're going to say. You know, there was a really interesting op-ed in The New York Times the other day by an Atlanta lawyer who was really sort of criticizing the way this case was structured, saying that it was

overly complex, that some of these charges really were sort of marginal, and that it puts the case in peril, or at least it's going to make it take a really long time. It really contrasts with the streamlined case on the same set of facts that Jack Smith brought here in Washington, D.C. against only Donald Trump. You know, again, we'll have to see how this plays out. There's a racketeering case in Georgia, as I think a lot of people know, where they're still picking a jury after eight months. So this one could take a while, particularly to see Donald Trump in a courtroom down there.

So as difficult as it is to keep up with all this legal trouble around Donald Trump, let's add this to the mix. A federal judge has ruled against former Trump White House advisor Peter Navarro and his claims of executive privilege when he ignored a subpoena to turn over documents and testify before the January 6th committee last year. The ruling now sets the stage for Navarro's trial on charges of criminal contempt of Congress. Navarro, who has written and spoken extensively about his role in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election, had claimed Trump told him to invoke executive privilege over any potential testimony or requests for documents.

Judge, though, said there was no evidence presented that Trump directed Navarro to cite privilege. So he ruled Navarro cannot make that argument to a jury. Navarro's trial is set to begin next week. He faces two criminal contempt charges. He has pleaded not guilty to both. If convicted, Navarro could spend up to two years in prison. So, Ken, let's remind everyone who Peter Navarro is and what role he played. What was the play called? Green Bay Sweep. The Green Bay Sweep, where they were going to they had a whole play design and he was very explicit about it. This wasn't like a secret memo. He went on TV and talked about this plan to overturn the election. How much trouble is he in now? Significant amount, Willie. And let's remember, like many people in the Trump administration, Peter Navarro was sort of, I mean, he was considered a bit of a fringe economist, but kind

of a, I mean, somewhat mainstream, right? He was a China hawk. And remember, he played a significant role in the Trump administration's pandemic response and even got some praise for doing that. So he's not, you know, a wacko, but now he's finding himself absolutely under the criminal spotlight here. And what's remarkable about what the judge ruled here is that, you know, did these people think that they could just claim executive privilege without Donald Trump ever telling them to assert it? And how difficult would that have been for Mr. Trump to just say, yeah, please don't testify. I'm asking you to invoke executive privilege, except he never did that. So he left these people completely exposed in their decision, you know, not to, Mr. Navarro's decision not to provide any documents or testimony

to the January 6th committee. And so now he's facing, you know, felony charges that could land him incarcerated for some period of time. You know, as we all remember that Steve Bannon was also convicted for the same, on the same charges in the same set of circumstances. It's not a hard case to prove. And now Mr. Navarro is going to go on trial starting next week. And we'll see what happens. So the Green Bay sweep, John Eastman was Vince Lombardi, I think, in that case. They needed Mike Pence to take the ball and do his thing.

And he refused to carry out this plan from Peter Navarro. Bart Starr was the quarterback of the Packers back then. Very good. Lead running back. Paul Horning? Yeah, I think that's right. A dated reference, perhaps, for the Trump White House there. But to Ken's point, first of all, we have seen now a number of occasions where their claims of executive privilege has fallen apart. Like that Trump tried to Trump and his allies tried to really exert it in a blanket way that was not deemed acceptable and nor were they given permission from the actual executive, Joe Biden, now the president, to retroactively use any of that. But it's also just a reminder of how the rot here was so deep within the West Wing in terms of nearly every

person involved, with few exceptions, around Trump, who were there in the last months of his term, played at least some role in this plot to overturn the election. We know about Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who's become a central figure on and have made a number of court appearances in recent days. We know that by the end, a lot of these so-called grownups had left the administration, either just before or after the election, or had been sidelined because of a COVID outbreak that had swept through the offices there. And those that were left were the Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell's, Rudy Giuliani's, and Peter Navarro's, who were pushing forth this scheme. And we are seeing now, some years later, that

that is catching up with them in a court of law. The bill is coming due. NBC's Ken Delanian, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Greg Blustein. Thank you both. We appreciate it. Still ahead this morning on Morning Joe, Senator Mitch McConnell freezes again while speaking to reporters in a moment that, frankly, is difficult to watch. New questions today about his health and how lawmakers in his own party are now reacting very openly. Plus, new reporting from NBC News on Congressman James Comer,

the Republican leading the probe into Hunter Biden, and new details we're learning about his political ambitions for higher office. Now, that connects to what's happening with Mitch McConnell right now. Morning Joe's coming right back. ideas live picture of wilmington north carolina where the remnants of idalia are dropping some rain some heavy wind along the coast there we'll have an update at the top of the hour on what's going on up there in the carolinas joining us now msnbc contributor mike barnacle and u.s special correspondent for bbc news caddy k people are going to think i'm making this up but jonathan

lemire you'll back me up mike Mike Barnacle walks into the studio. Spontaneous slow clap of applause. Respect for the legend, Mike Barnacle. Yeah, it started here at the table, but the entire crew joined in. It was a remarkable moment on the last day of August. We actually were booing, but then the crew broke into applause. I think the applause was from the fact that I was actually walking. You can still get to the chair.

Yeah. Well, we're happy you're here, Mike. Let's turn back to Washington now. New concern again this morning about the health of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell after the Kentucky Republican appeared to suffer a medical episode during a news conference yesterday. It's the second time just over a month this has happened. The longest serving leader in Senate history froze while fielding questions from reporters in his home state. What are your thoughts on running for reelection in 2026?

Running for reelection in 2026? I'm sure. Did you hear the question, Senator? Running for re-election in 2026? Yeah. All right, I'm sorry. You all in a minute? It's difficult to watch. Yesterday's incident came on the heels of a similar one in late July on Capitol Hill, where McConnell froze for about 20 seconds during a press conference. In both instances, a spokesperson for the senator chalked up the freezing to lightheadedness.

Exhaustion, dehydration were some of the words we heard. And a later added yesterday, the leader, quote, felt fine, but would be consulting a physician before his next event as a prudent measure. In March, the 81-year-old McConnell suffered a concussion and a broken rib after falling at a hotel in Washington. Mike, it gives no one any joy to see these moments. In fact, it's painful to watch. We've seen this with Mitch McConnell now in the last couple of months, and there are calls now from some Republicans that he step aside. We'll see if that happens, similar to the calls we've heard even from some Democrats about Senator Feinstein in California. Well, it's more than painful to watch. It's disturbing to

watch. Obviously, you don't want to make any judgments on what's going on because we don't know what's going on. But Jonathan, twice now in five or six weeks, this has got to raise questions within the Senate about the succession to Mitch. He is 81 years of age. There's Dianne Feinstein on the other side of the aisle. Elderly people in a situation like that, in powerful jobs, you've got to pay attention.

Yeah, and it's sort of been discussed around Washington for months now that after his fall, Senator McConnell does seem sort of diminished, moving slower. His aides acknowledge that, that his schedule has been really pared down. And there are questions about whether he can maintain his leadership position. Senator Thune of South Dakota is seen as his likely heir apparent, but that's not settled yet. They're likely, there potentially would be a bit of a leadership fight that even, but there's some calls from Republicans,

even if he's not to resign his Senate seat, but at least maybe should step away from the leadership post. But Katty Kay, that would have major implications. And there's an unlikely place that really wants Mitch McConnell to stay where he is. And that's the White House. McConnell was, of course, such a villain,

a public villain for Democrats for so long. But he and the president have an actual friendship that dates decades. Moreover, the White House views McConnell as sort of a a bulwark to sort of the more Trumpian forces in the Republican Party, as well as a key ally on Ukraine funding, which is about to become center stage again. Talk to us about the implications if McConnell isn't able to continue in that post. Yeah, it was interesting yesterday, wasn't it, to hear the president say, look, he's my friend, and then understanding that the audience might say, yeah, really, Republicans and Democrats aren't friends anymore in Washington. He said, no, really, seriously, he is my friend, and I am going to try and reach out to him. And they do have this

relationship, and particularly on the funding in Ukraine when it comes to policy, and the occasions when Mitch McConnell has stood up against Donald Trump, which takes, you know, a certain amount of independence, if you want to put it like that, in this Republican Party. The White House certainly appreciates that. But the reality is, I think this raises something that perhaps might be less comfortable for the White House, which is it raises the issue of age all over again. There was just this poll out in the last couple of days, this Nork poll, where they asked a free and open question of Democratic and Republican primary voters, you know, what do you think about both of the candidates? And the issue that came up for Joe Biden was the issue of age, age and how and how, you know, mentally competent,

how, you know, how firm he was and how physically competent he would be and how whether he was frail. And 69 percent of Democrats basically said that age was a problem for them when it came for Joe Biden. So I wonder whether having Mitch McConnell and having these incidents, as Mike just said, there has to be questions when somebody is 81 and in a position of power, you have to question whether they are competent and able to do the job. And do incidents like this just re-bring up the whole question of age in a way that might not be that comfortable for the White House at this particular moment? Yeah, that AP poll Katty's mentioning 77 percent of Americans believe Joe Biden is too old for a second term. And as she said, almost seven in 10 Democrats believe he is too old for a second term, though.

On the follow up, they say, yes, of course, we'll vote for him if he runs against Donald Trump. Let's bring you the conversation. Senior congressional reporter for NBC News, Scott Wong. He's got new reporting about the political future of another Kentucky Republican House Oversight Committee chairman, James Comer. And how that fits into this conversation about Mitch McConnell. We'll talk about that in just a moment, Scott. But let's start here with Mitch McConnell. What are you hearing, perhaps privately on Capitol Hill among Republicans about concerns for McConnell's health and what may happen from here? We're hearing a lot of silence, in fact, on Capitol Hill.

That is not unusual. In the last episode with McConnell's freeze up moment, we saw much of the same things. His allies are sort of rallying behind them and and maintaining this sort of wall or cone of silence. What we do know is that a number of his leadership team did reach out to him yesterday, spoke with him on the phone. They're all sort of saying the same thing, putting out the same talking points that McConnell is fine, that he sounded himself. We saw that a Senate hopeful from Indiana, Jim Banks, the congressman, posted a picture on X yesterday meeting with McConnell. This was the second event of the day that McConnell had and said he looked forward to working with McConnell on issues that affect their state. So they are putting up a united front. So far, there's not a whole lot of rumblings behind the scene about folks making

moves, trying to succeed him. We do know that the three Johns, Thune, Cornyn and Barrasso, are people who are seen as potential successors, most likely John Thune. But right now, there are no outward signs of jostling to try to replace McConnell at the moment. And as you say, there was actually a rush to project that he was OK. John Thune, the senator from South Dakota, of course, the minority whip, said the leader sounded like his usual self and was in good spirits after a phone call following that incident. Some Republicans, some of the people you might expect, some of the bomb throwers saying things publicly that it's time for McConnell to go and privately some of these other people suggesting they have to at least look at his leadership position. Let's talk about your piece

now that's up this morning about James Comer leading the GOP Biden probe, says the headline insists he's bipartisan as he flirts with higher office. Does he have his eye perhaps someday, maybe someday soon, even on Senator McConnell's seat? Well, we have to remember that James Comer is a very ambitious man. He ran for governor back in 2015 in the primary against Matt Bevin, falling just 83 votes shy of winning that primary. If not for those 83 votes, he very likely could be the sitting governor of Kentucky today. And so that's sort of the backdrop. I spoke with him before the McConnell episode. And what he told me, I asked specifically, are you interested in running for governor again? Are you interested in running for Mitch

McConnell's seat whenever that becomes available? And he would not rule that out. He says, well, I can't predict the future. You know, who knows what's going to happen in the future? And so very clearly, he is not shutting the door on that. I spoke with a number of Democrats who know Comer well from his days back in Kentucky. And what they told me was he was seen as somebody who was bipartisan, who was pleasant to work with, who reached across the aisle to Democrats to work with them on parochial issues affecting the state of Kentucky, including an effort to legalize industrial hemp, which was one of his sort of pet projects. And so they said that has all changed, of course, in the in the wake of his becoming the oversight chairman.

And as he has led this investigation into Hunter Biden and the Biden family, James Comer really pushed back on some of these Democrats saying that he had lost his bipartisan touch. He rattled off a litany of of record, you know, touting his bipartisanship over the years, including saying he wants to work in the future on ethics reform legislation with progressives on his committee, including AOC and Ro Khanna, which was very surprising to me. Yeah, it's hard to see Democrats accepting that he could still be in any kind of bipartisan position after his Hunter Biden investigation. I just don't think they're going to buy that. Can I ask you, just Scott, one more question on Mitch McConnell? I mean, who is it?

I'm starting here from Republicans a little bit that they're frustrated that they're not getting more information out of the leader about his health conditions. And I was wondering if you're hearing that. And if so, who is it he's talking to? Is it people in Kentucky who would have a better idea of actually what's going on and what his doctors are saying? Yeah. In fact, his his spokespeople yesterday said that he would consult with the physician, not going so far as to say that he would actually go see a physician. That was interesting to me. You know, right now, what we're hearing from senators going back to that previous July episode and in this episode is that Mitch McConnell has been ceding some of his responsibility as he has been dealing with some of these health issues. And specifically, we may not be seeing that in the public, but behind the scenes and some of these closed door meetings, the weekly lunches that they have on Capitol Hill, where they all gather and discuss the week ahead. He has been ceding some of those responsibilities to folks like John Thune and his top deputy,

you know, John Barrasso, when it comes to answering questions about policy from the rest of the GOP conference. And so we're seeing more and more of that. A big question is going to be when they come back next week, will Mitch McConnell, you know, be front and center at their weekly press conference? Will he field questions from the press? There's going to be a lot of questions about his health and whether he can remain a leader of his conference going forward into this Congress. Yeah, those are painful moments to watch. We'll see how things go forward here. NBC News senior congressional reporter Scott Wong. You can read his new piece

about James Comer at NBC News dot com. Scott, thanks so much for bringing it to us. We appreciate it. Coming up next, New York's attorney general accusing Donald Trump of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars. We're digging into some new court filings and what it means for the former president's legal troubles. And we continue to follow the path of Tropical Storm Adalia. We're joined by the mayors of Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Savannah, Georgia, to talk about the impact of that storm. Morning Joe's coming right back. And he hits a high fly ball, right center field. Brent Throw is back. He's at the wall and is gone. Bryce Harper hitting his 300th career home run yesterday.

A big milestone with a two-run shot to put the Phillies ahead of the Angels in the eighth inning. But the Angels spoiled the party, scoring three in the ninth to beat the Phillies 10-8. In Denver, the MLB-best Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 7-3 to set a franchise record for home runs in a season. Orlando Arcea's two-run shot in the eighth marked the team's 250th home run in a season. Orlando Arcea's two-run shot in the eighth marked the team's 250th home run of the season.

The brace of 30 games left to play, including a big test against the NL West League Dodgers this weekend in Los Angeles. A little playoff preview there, maybe, where the Dodgers in L.A. racked up their 24th win of the month last night, beating the D-backs 7-0. Got a chance to match the overall franchise record tonight for wins in a month against

the Braves in the opener of a four-game set. Meanwhile, in Seattle, the Red Hot Mariners closed out the winningest month in team history yesterday by beating the A's 5-4. The Mariners went 21-6 in August and first place in that tough AL West. Mariners are a mere percentage point ahead of the Houston Astros. The Astros completed a three-game sweep of the Red Sox yesterday, while the Texas Rangers dropped to third place in the division with a loss to the Mets last night.

Rangers having a good season, John, but slumping a little here at the wrong time. That's a great division. A great division and potentially sending three teams to the playoffs. The Rangers have really cooled off. They lost, I think, seven or eight in a row earlier this month. The Astros had also hit the skids. But, Mike, they got healthy at Fenway Park, where it seems like the Red Sox fleeting playoff chances

were finally extinguished the last couple of days. Yeah, not a surprise. Not a surprise at all. The Astros are very strong. They have pitching and hitting, defense, all things that the Red Sox lack. Don't have. Yeah, but the Braves and the Dodgers,

those two clubs stand out, at least to me, as the two best clubs in Major League. Yeah, I mean, that certainly looks like an NLCS preview. You could argue that between the two teams, they have the four top candidates for, three or four top candidates for MVP with Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Matt Olsen, and of course, Ronald Acuna Jr. I mean, those are some of the best players in baseball.

That's going to be a really fun series this weekend. And don't look now, but the Yankees get hot at the right time. Just cutting a torch and a path through Detroit. They've shaved their deficit to 18 games in the AL East. If the season went through Thanksgiving, the Yankees would have a chance in the wild card. Only 10 games out of the wild card now. They're cutting guys on TV. It's just, oh my gosh. They're bringing up the Yeson Dominguez. I know, I know. The Martian. Yeah. Youth movement there in the Bronx. There he is.

And I feel pretty confident that the Yankees will overtake the Red Sox in the fight for fourth. Well, you know what? It has captivated this set, if nowhere else. They're only three and a half behind the Red Sox right now. We hear footsteps. And they have a big four-game set at Fenway against the Red Sox in two weeks. This is a deeply sad conversation. No, it's really sad.

We're fighting over who's going to be in last place in the ALE. Fight for fourth. Okay. How about be in last place in the ALE. Okay. How about the scene last night in Lincoln, Nebraska? This is incredible. The Nebraska Cornhuskers set a world record for attendance at a women's sporting event yesterday. And it was a volleyball match. 92,003, for good measure, fans gathering at Memorial Stadium to watch the school's five-time NCAA champion volleyball team beat Omaha.

Oh, my God. What a spectacle this was. Incredible. That's a, you know, I don't know what you want to compare it to, John, but it's like Alabama football, Nebraska volleyball. They've got a great program. But the support by the fans, and they had to build a new arena. They sell out anyway.

But to get 92,000 the equivalent of you know a Nebraska Oklahoma football game in that stadium last night yeah I mean Nebraska is the top women's volleyball state in the country it has been for a while and they they went into this like let's set a record and they did with ease they filled that stadium which is 90 plus thousand and a remark I mean there was a rout. How did you know that? I did some research before the last couple of days for the show. That is great. I do my homework.

That is great. 92,000 for women's volleyball. Great season. That is a great, great season. And they did it upright. They had a good walk-in with the whole thing. So, congratulations to Nebraska, their fans, and to that great volleyball team there. Still ahead this morning, we'll have an update on the areas dealing with the remnants of now tropical storm Adalia this morning. Plus,

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy makes a Trump-like claim about how he would handle relations with Russia. We'll show you what he said just ahead on Morning Joe. Live picture of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Looking pretty good so far this morning as the sun comes up there. Let's take a look at the morning papers in Maryland. The Capitol reports on a massive sewage spill in Annapolis Creek after a nearby sewer pipe broke. More than 300,000 gallons of sewage poured into the waterway. The city's public works department says the pipe was fixed again in working order. A portion of the creek where the spill occurred expected to remain closed to the public until Saturday. In Louisiana, the Daily Advertiser

reports on House Majority Leader Skeve Scalise's cancer diagnosis. Scalise, who represents the state, said in a statement yesterday he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare type of blood cancer, after irregularities were detected in his blood work. The congressman adding, although treatment will be challenging, his outlook does appear to be good since doctors were able to detect the cancer early. And we certainly send our best wishes to the congressman. And an investigation by the Detroit Free Press revealed two Republican state

lawmakers had errors in their caucus biographies about their education background. State Representative John Roth's campaign website notes he graduated from Northwestern Michigan College, but records indicate although he attended the school, he never earned a degree. Meanwhile, state rep Gina Johnson's online bio reportedly listed both a bachelor's and master's degree from Wellesley College, but a spokesperson from the school said

Johnson obtained just the bachelor's degree. So now you know that.