Rattled: Trump runs from Project 2025 as Harris turns up the heat

>> AMEN. WELL PUT. THANK YOU. >> HAVE A GREAT SHOW. >> SEE YOU SOON. OUR THANKS TO NICOLLE WALLACE FOR THE HANDOFF. WELCOME TO "THE BEAT." OUR TOP STORY IS THE HARRIS CAMPAIGN ON OFFENSE WITH THIS NEW AD HAMMERING TRUMP FOR PROJECT 2025. WE'LL SHOW YOU SOME OF THAT AD IN A MOMENT. IT RE-ENFORCED THE ATTACK THE CAMPAIGN HIT NIGHTLY AT THE CONVENTION WHICH IS TRYING TO TAKE WHAT IS NOW POLITICALLY SEEN AS WIDELY A VERY TOXIC PROJECT 2025 AND TIE IT TO TRUMP. BRAND HIM WITH IT. LINK HIM TO IT. YOU CAN EVEN SAY THE HARRIS CAMPAIGN WANTS TO YOKE 2025 AND THE TRUMP/VANCE TICK FRT THE REMAINING DAYS. AND TO SHOW VOTERS THE TRUMP CAMP HAS EXTREMIST VIEWS ON EVERYTHING FROM POINTS HARRIS IS EXPLICITLY HITTING ON THE TRAIL THIS WEEK. >> HE PLANS TO GIVE BILLIONAIRES MASSIVE TAX CUTS AND TO CAT CORPORATE TAXES BY OVER A TRILLION DOLLARS, EVEN AS THEY PULL IN RECORD PROFITS. HIS PLANS WILL ADD MORE THAN $5 TRILLION TO THE NATIONAL DEBT. HE ALSO WANTS TO IMPOSE WHAT IN EFFECT IS A NATIONAL SALES TAX. AND THAT IS ON TOP OF THE $2 TRILLION TAX CUT. WE KNOW HOW TO COUNT. WE KNOW HOW TO COUNT. >> AND IF YOU'RE COUNTING, HARRIS HAS HAD A PRETTY BUSY SCHEDULE AS COMPARED TO TRUMP LATELY. WHILE JD VANCE IS DOING A RALLY IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA, AT THIS HOUR, AS YOU SEE HERE, SOME OF THE PREPARATIONS, WHILE HARRIS' RUNNING MATE WALZ WILL BE DOING HIS RALLY IN PENNSYLVANIA. PREPARATIONS UNDER WAY, PEOPLE GATHERED. IF YOU'RE COUNTING, WE'RE JUST FIVE DAYS OUT FROM THE DEBATE IN PENNSYLVANIA. HARRIS HEADED THERE FOR PREP TODAY. SHE ARRIVED IN PITTSBURGH AND WAS GREETED BY SENATOR FETTERMAN AND HIS WIFE. HARRIS IS PRACTICING WITH A DEMOCRATIC OPERATIVE PLAYING TRUMP IN DEBATE PREP, ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2016. HE IS KNOWN FOR GETTING INTO CHARACTER. HE WEARS A RED TIE. HE DOES THE TRUMP LUNGE-INS. HE DID THIS FOR HILLARY CLINTON. AS FOR THE 2025 ATTACK, MANY DEMOCRATS WANT HARRIS TO ADVANCE THAT ATTACK ABOUT PROJECT 2025 ON THAT HIGHLY WATCHED DEBATE STAGE. I MENTION THAT NEW HARRIS AD WHICH IS RUNNING ON TV AND THE INTERNET. HERE'S A CLIP. >> TRUMP'S PROJECT 2025 AGENDA WILL GIVE HIM UNCHECKED POLITICAL POWER WITH NO GUARDRAILS AND WOULD TAKE BLACK AMERICA BACKWARDS. PROJECT 2025 WOULD STRIP AWAY OUR VOTING RIGHTS PROTECTIONS AND ELIMINATES THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. IT WOULD ALSO REQUIRE STATES TO MONITOR WOMEN'S PREGNANCIES. IT BANS ABORTION AND WOULD RIP AWAY HEALTH COVERAGE FOR MILLIONS. >> TRUMP OFFICIALS INSIST THEY DO NOT BACK THE 2025 POLICIES. SEVERAL OF THEM HAVE TOLD US THAT RIGHT HERE ON "THE BEAT." >> WHY DO SO MANY PARTS OF THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM OVERLAP WITH 25, AND WE CAN PUT EXAMPLES ON THE SCREEN, INCLUDING AS I THINK YOU KNOW, ABORTION? >> IT'S VERY SIMPLE. PRESIDENT TRUMP SAID HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH 2025. THERE ARE GROUPS ON THE RIGHT AND LEFT WHO COME UP WITH POLICY INITIATIVES. >> WHAT DO YOU SAY TO PEOPLE WHO READ THESE TWO THINGS AND SAY TRUMP AND THE PLATFORM ARE BASICALLY 25 ON ABORTION? >> LOOK, I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT PROJECT 2025. >> PROJECT 2025 HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PAST, PRESENT, OR FUTURE. PRESIDENT TRUMP AND PRESIDENT TRUMP ALONE WILL MAKE HIS OWN POLICIES. >> HERITAGE DOES SUCH AN INCREDIBLE JOB. THEY'RE GOING TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK AND DETAIL PLANS FOR EXACTLY WHAT OUR MOVEMENT WILL DO. >> AND THAT'S THE HISTORY. TRUMP HAS GONE FROM TOUTING HERITAGE, WHICH WROTE THE THING AND SAYING THEY WOULD DO THE BLUEPRINTS TO DISTANCING HIMSELF FROM IT, AND HIS AIDES SAY THE SAME. HE'S BEEN CAMPAIGNING ON ECONOMIC ISSUES IN NEW YORK TODAY, AND TRYING TO ENERGIZE THE BASE WITH THIS TOWN HALL ON FOX NEWS WITH SEAN HANNITY THAT AIRED LAST NIGHT. I CAN TELL YOU IT DREW A STRONG 3.2 MILLION VIEWERS LIVE, BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY NOT EVEN THE MOST WATCHED HOUR ON FOX LAST NIGHT. TRUMP USED THE APPEARANCE TO HIT HIS CAMPAIGN THEMES. HE TALKED IMMIGRATION, FOREIGN POLICY, HE DID KIND OF A PRE-ATTACK ON ABC'S FAIRNESS FOR NEXT WEEK'S DEBATE, SOMETHING I WAS TOUCHING ON WITH NICOLLE WALLACE A MOMENT AGO. THEN, DONALD TRUMP BROUGHT UP HIS CONCERN AND HIS OBJECTION TO THESE ATACTIONS THAT HIS RUNNING MATE IS WEIRD. >> JD IS NOT WEIRD. HE'S A SOLID ROCK. I HAPPEN TO BE A VERY SOLID ROCK. WE'RE NOT WEIRD. WE'RE OTHER THINGS PERHAPS BUT WE'RE NOT WEIRD. WE'RE NOT WEIRD GUYS. WE'RE VERY SOLID PEOPLE. >> WE'RE NOT WEIRD GUYS. WE'RE NOT WEIRD. WE'RE NOT WEIRD. IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE DONALD TRUMP FOR WHATEVER REASON AND EVERYONE CAN DRAW THEIR OWN CONCLUSIONS, BUT KIND OF BREAK ONE OF THE FIRST RULES OF COMMUNICATIONS AND PR, WHICH IS IF YOU'RE BEING ACCUSED OF SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE NOT, YOU DON'T REPEAT THAT THING, WEIRD OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE, THREE TIMES OVER. BUT THIS IS DONALD TRUMP, MAYBE HE IS OFF A STEP, MAYBE HE IS TIRED. HE CERTAINLY HAS FEWER EVENTS. OR MAYBE HE'S JUST FEELING AN INSTINCT TO SAY OVER AND OVER HE'S NOT WEIRD, NOT WEIRD, NOT WEIRD. IF PEOPLE IN THE HARRIS CAMPAIGN CELEBRATE THE IDEA THAT CALLING THEM WEIRD HAS THEM SAYING THE WORD WEIRD, SO BE IT, IT'S POLITICS. THIS DEBATE MATTERS A TON. YOU DON'T EVEN REALLY NEED TO BE CONVINCED OF THAT. WE JUST HAD A SINGLE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE IN THIS CYCLE, AND IT UPENDED EVERYTHING AND CHANGED THE NOMINEE AND LED TO THE LATEST EXIT OF A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WHO WAS IN THE WHITE HOUSE EVER IN AMERICAN HISTORY. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COME BACK FOR THE NEXT DEBATE AND IT'S FALL, MORE PEOPLE ARE FOLLOWING POLITICS THAN IN SLEEPY AUGUST. SO HARRIS' APPROACH WILL MATTER, AND DONALD TRUMP, MAKE NO MISTAKE, HAS DONE EFFECTIVE WORK IN MANY DEBATES PREVIOUSLY, AND HE'S DONE MORE NATIONAL DEBATES THAN HER, AND IT'S NOT UNLIKE ANY OTHER DIFFICULT THING. PRACTICE IS RELEVANT. HARRIS HAS HER OWN PRACTICE, NOT AGAINST TRUMP, NOT ON THE NATIONAL STAGE IN THE SAME WAY, BUT ON THE DEMOCRAT STAGE. SO TAKE A LOOK AT HOW SHE HAS PREVIEWED SOME OF WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO NOW THAT SHE HAS THE BALL. THIS WAS BACK IN THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN CYCLE AT A 2019 DEBATE. >> FIRST I HAVE A FEW WORDS FOR DONALD TRUMP. YOU HAVE USED HATE, INTIMIDATION, FEAR, AND OVER 12,000 LIES AS A WAY TO DISTRACT FROM YOUR FAILED POLICIES AND YOUR BROKEN PROMISES. I PLAN ON FOCUSING ON OUR COMMON ISSUES, OUR COMMON HOPES AND DESIRES, AND IN THAT WAY UNIFYING OUR COUNTRY. PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU CAN GO BACK TO WATCHING FOX NEWS. >> TA-DOW, THAT WAS AN ABC DEBATE IN THE PRIMARY. SHE'LL BE BRINGING SOME OF THAT ENERGY TO THE DEBATE FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION NEXT WEEK. WHAT A DIFFERENCE FIVE YEARS MAKES. THERE'S ALSO CONCRETE MEASURES OF HARRIS' MOMENTUM. YOU CAN LOOK AT THESE NATIONAL POLLS IF YOU WANT. WE DON'T COVER THEM ON "THE BEAT" BECAUSE THERE IS NO NATIONAL ELECTION. THERE'S AN ELECTORAL COLLEGE. YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE STATES AND OTHER PIECES OF EVIDENCE. FUND-RAISING IN MODERN AMERICAN POLITICS MATTERS AND IT'S ALSO A CLUE ABOUT ENTHUSIASM AMONG THE BASE, WHICH MATTERS FOR VOLUNTEERING AND FOR TURNOUT. HARRIS, WE CAN TELL YOU, IS RAISING OVER $300 MILLION IN AUGUST ALONE, ACCORDING TO WHAT SHE'S TOLD NBC THROUGH HER CAMPAIGN. IT DOUBLES TRUMP'S EXPECTED HAUL. NEW REPORTING SHOWS THE MOMENTUM ALSO HAS FORCED THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN TO FIND DIFFERENT AND NEW MORE CONSERVATIVE OR MORE SAFE APPROACHES TO THE ELECTORAL MAP BECAUSE, QUOTE, THE TRUMP PATH TO VICTORY IS NARROWING, AXIOS REPORTING HIS CAMPAIGN NOW PULLING BACK FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE, MINNESOTA, VIRGINIA. AND INSTEAD REFOCUSING ON NORTH CAROLINA, ARIZONA, NEVADA, WHERE HE HAD SIGNIFICANT POLLING LEADS BEFORE HARRIS MADE THEM COMPETITIVE. END QUOTE. LET ME GIVE YOU THE VERY CLEAR TRANSLATION. NUMBERS HAD SHOWN DONALD TRUMP COULD BE WINNING THOSE STATES OVER BIDEN HANDILY. NOW, THOSE SAME STATES, ACCORDING TO THIS NONPARTISAN REPORTING, ARE QUOTE, COMPETITIVE, TO THE DEGREE THAT HARRIS MIGHT TAKE SOME OF THEM. A COMPETITIVE CLOSE RACE IS THE MARKER FOR THE INTENSITY OF THIS DEBATE. AND THAT'S A TOUGHER ENVIRONMENT FOR TRUMP THAN THE LAST DEBATE WHERE HE AND HIS AIDES SEEMED VERY CONFIDENT ABOUT HIS CHANCES AGAINST BIDEN AND WERE LITERALLY PUTTING RESOURCES AND ENERGY INTO THOSE OTHER THAT'S THAT NOW, AN INDICATION OF STRATEGY, THEY'RE PULLING BACK FROM. THAT DOESN'T MEAN HARRIS IS GOING TO WIN. I DON'T WANT YOU TO RUN OUT AND SAY, HEY, I SAW ON THE NEWS, THEY SAY TRUMP IS PULLING BACK, SHE'S WINNING. IT MEANS THE STRATEGY IS CHANGING, THAT HIS MAP IS NARROWING, BUT DEMOCRATS ALSO KNOW THEY HAVE A NARROW MAP. YOU HEAR A LOT ABOUT THE BLUE WALL BECAUSE THEY SEE SOME PATHS HERE AND THERE, BUT THEY DON'T SEE TEN DIFFERENT WAYS TO WIN. THIS IS A TIGHT RACE. TIGHTER THAN IT WAS WHEN BIDEN WAS THE NOMINEE. THAT'S BAD FOR TRUMP. BUT STILL VERY, VERY TIGHT, WHICH IS A CHALLENGE FOR HARRIS. AS SHE THINKS ABOUT WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO, THERE ARE ALL THE ECHOES OF 2020. IT'S TAKEN FOR GRANTED SOMETIMES THAT KAMALA HARRIS IS PART OF THE WINNING BIDEN/HARRIS COALITION. SHE MET THE COALITION IN 2020 THAT WAY, SHE RAN ON THE NATIONAL STAGE AND DID FIGHT THE MAGA MESSAGE AGAINST THEN INCUMBENT VICE PRESIDENT PENCE. >> I'M PRO-LIFE, I DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR IT. >> I WILL ALWAYS FIGHT FOR A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO MAKE A DECISION ABOUT HER OWN BODY. >> I COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD TO SERVE AS VICE PRESIDENT TO A PRESIDENT WHO STANDS WITHOUT APOLOGY FOR THE SANCTITY OF AMERICAN LIFE. >> IT SHOULD BE HER DECISION AND NOT THAT OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE VICE PRESIDENT. >> KAMALA HARRIS THEN BEFORE SHE ASSUMED THE VICE PRESIDENCY, TAKING ON THE VICE PRESIDENT, AND SHE WAS EFFECTIVE, AND PENCE FOR HIS PART, LIKE TRUMP, HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN AT THAT POINT DOING THESE DEBATES AND SUCH, BUT SHE GOT WHERE SHE NEEDED TO GO. AND ANOTHER POINT AS WE LOOK TO WHAT SHE MIGHT DO IN NEXT WEEK'S DEBATE, THERE HAS BEEN MANY ARTICLES WRITTEN AND THE CONVENTION SHOWED SHE DOES NOT TALK UP HER OWN IDENTITY A LOT. SHE DOES NOT SAY VOTE FOR ME BECAUSE I'M A MEMBER OF THIS OR THAT GROUP. AT THE SAME TOKEN AS A FORMER PROSECUTOR, SHE DOES NOT SHY AWAY FROM HARD CONVERSATIONS. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH KAMALA HARRIS' IDENTITY THAT DONALD TRUMP APPEALS TO WHITE SUPREMACISTS IN GENERAL. HE'S BEEN DOING THAT LONG BEFORE SHE WAS A NOMINEE, AND SHE DOES NOT MINCE WORDS WHEN IT COMES TO THE FACT THAT DONALD TRUMP THROUGH PROUD BOYS, THROUGH WHITE SUPREMACISTS, THROUGH HIS WELL RECORDED DOCUMENT OF STATEMENTS THAT THAT IS FACT, THAT THAT HAS TO BE CONFRONTED WHEN YOU'RE AT A DEBATE. >> WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AN ELECTION IN 27 DAYS WHERE LAST WEEK THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TOOK A DEBATE STAGE IN FRONT OF 70 MILLION AMERICANS AND REFUSED TO CONDEMN WHITE SUPREMACISTS. AND IT WASN'T LIKE HE DID