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MTP Daily, Transcript 11/4/2016

Guests: Brad Todd, Stephanie Cutter, Claire Mccaskill, Jason Miller, Hallie Jackson, Elise Jordan, Bob Herbert

Show: MTP DAILY Date: November 4, 2016 Guest: Brad Todd, Stephanie Cutter, Claire Mccaskill, Jason Miller, Hallie Jackson, Elise Jordan, Bob Herbert

CHUCK TODD, MSNBC HOST: Yes, it is Friday. We are in the final countdown to the election. Whether you want to make America great again or simply be stronger together, this is it.

(voice-over): Tonight, it`s all about that bass. The last ad blitz takes a nastier turn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I approved this message.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I approved this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: How the candidates are trying to turn out voters who may be tuning out. Plus, why the upbeat job report could actually be bad news for Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Our economy is poised to really take off and thrive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And after an October full of surprises, should we still be holding our breath for one more November shocker?

This is MTP DAILY and it starts right now. Good evening, I`m Chuck Todd, NBC election headquarters here in New York City. Welcome to MTP DAILY. Guess what? You know, one of my favorite expressions is, every day is a week. Well, right now, every hour feels like a day with four to go.

But here we are, four days to go. Campaigns are framing this race as a choice between a dangerous, sickly, corrupt criminal and an unhinged womanizer that could cause nuclear Armageddon. There`s your choice America.

Both sides are going ultra-negative in the final days of this campaign. The Clinton campaign put out new Web ad today predicting a Trump presidency would set off a chain reaction of domestic crises, economic collapses and global panic. That`s all.

While Trump fired up chants of lock her up on the trail today and then Clinton attacked Trump`s character.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: How can Hillary manage this country when she can`t even manage her e-mails. She`ll be under investigation for years. She`ll be with trials.

CROWD: Lock her up. Lock her up. Lock her up. Lock her up.

CLINTON: Think about what it would mean to entrust the nuclear codes to someone with a very thinned skin who lashes out anyone who challenges him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And if you think that`s ugly, you ain`t seen nothing yet. It`s even uglier on the air waves. Here`s just a sampling of Trump campaign ads airing nationally and in battleground states as part of their closing argument.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hillary Clinton is under FBI investigation again, after her e-mails were found on pervert Anthony Wiener`s laptop. Hillary Clinton doesn`t have the fortitude, strength or stamina to lead in our world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Staggering amounts of cash poured into the Clinton Foundation from criminals, dictators, countries that hate America.

UNIDENTIFLED FEMALE: Hillary Clinton`s border policy is going to allow people into the country just like the one what murdered my son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: But guess what? The Clinton campaign, they`ve thrown the kitchen sink at Trump in their ads. Here`s just a sampling of their most recent spots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Grab them by the (INAUDIBLE). And when you`re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

A person who is flat chested is very hard to be a 10.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was me 1964. The fear of nuclear war that we had as children, I never thought our children would ever have to deal with that again. And to see that coming forward in this election is really scary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to ask Mr. Trump, would my son have a place in your America?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: In this battle of scorched earth airways, Clinton holds a decisive financial advantage and Florida team Clinton is outspending team Trump by a two to one margin. It`s the same story in Ohio, more than two to one. And it`s a two to one T.V. advantage in North Carolina. Same story in Pennsylvania. Everywhere you look, Clinton has the financial advantage.

The only exception, actually, is Wisconsin where Trump has outspent Clinton. But if you want real proof of Clinton`s battleground advantage amid the negativity, look at both campaigns` final schedules.

Trump`s travels through election night suggests his campaign is struggling to figure out the path to 270 because they`re all over the map. It`s Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. So far what we know, it`s possible some of that schedule changes. That happens in the last three days.

Clinton`s schedule is a bit more focused. It`s Pennsylvania, Ohio and just a couple of other states, meaning they think they know how they get to their 270 or at least how they know how to -- they could block Trump from getting there.

But, folks, this historic, ugly finish does create, I think, a huge opening for one of these candidates to attempt to rise above the negativity and try to make the other side pay for it.

[17:05:00] And this just in. We do have our first look at Trump -- at the Trump campaign`s closing ad. Sort of their two-minutes spot. I wouldn`t be surprised if Clinton does one, too. This one from Trump is a $4 million ad buy. It`s a big one, national.

It`s in battleground states and national. It`s a two-minute pitch to voters. It`s narrated by Trump. And, as you know, we haven`t heard Trump, in his own words from the Trump campaign, in a lot of their ads. But this one is all Trump. Here`s a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The political establishment that is trying to stop us is the same group responsible for our disastrous trade deals, massive illegal immigration and economic and foreign policies that is have bled our country dry.

The only thing that can stop this corrupt machine is you. The only force strong enough to save our country is us. We will take back this country for you and we will make America great again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So, that`s the Trump campaign closing spot. We don`t yet know or have a Clinton closing spot yet but I wouldn`t be surprised if we see a similar two-minute version of that. That might air over the weekend or Monday.

Let`s talk about this. Let me bring in two of the top strategists in the business. Brad Todd is a veteran Republican strategist and ad maker. And Stephanie Cutter who was Obama`s 2012 deputy campaign manager.

So, Brad, let me start with you and just get your initial reaction on the Trump`s closer spot. Not upbeat, not humility, it`s more on message on populism. Do you think it is effective?

BRAD TODD, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST AND AD MAKER: Well, I think Trump has had his best days in this campaign, he`s had a cause. And when he`s had worse days, it`s a candidacy about one person.

It seems to me, from the clip we just saw, that there`s -- that leans more towards the cause side. That`s the way Trump could rise above, sort of, the ugly fray that if he goes back and makes the focus about you, the voter, and not him, the candidate.

TODD: Stephanie, one, I`d like your reaction to that closing spot. And, two, what you would advise Clinton to do in their -- I assume, their version of a two-minute closing spot.

STEPHANIE CUTTER, FORMER DEPUTY CHAIRMAN MANAGER, OBAMA CAMPAIGN: Well, I think -- excuse me, my voice. I am losing my voice. But on the Trump`s spot, I think that he is -- he`s effectively laying out the choice as he sees it. And so, you know, I`m obviously not for Trump. I think it`s an affective closing spot.

If I were advising Clinton about what to put on air, I would do something similar. I mean, she has been talking about his being unfit, untrustworthy, divisive and contrast that to her wanting to bring America together. We`re stronger together. And this is a time where we need experience to do the job. And she has a proven record of getting it done.

So, I think their -- both sides are going to laying out the choice in the closing days.

TODD: You know, I didn`t hear from both either of you in this. And I`m curious what your opinion is of this idea which is I`ve wondered if the two-minute spot, for either one of them, if one of them would take it and say, you know what, I know you`ve not like this campaign. I know you have issues with me. You know, whatever.

For Trump, it would, sort of, on the personal -- you know, show some humility. And Clinton, sort of, acknowledgement on trust issues. But it doesn`t seem like this campaign wants to go in that direction.

Brad, let me start with you. Why would that -- would that be a mistake, in your opinion, to have Trump acknowledge any of his own negatives?

BRAD TODD: No, I`ve been waiting all week, but really all three weeks, for one of these two candidates to talk on the elephant in the room, as it pertains to barrier to winning. You have to meet the voters where they are.

And, frankly, to everybody who`s left to decide this election is not very favorable to either candidate.

So, they have two ways to go as a candidate there. You can either try to meet the voters where they are and accept that they`re -- the barriers they have to getting to vote for you, try to help them get over those, or you can just focus on the agenda control and try to keep the spotlight on the one spot in the choice that favors you the most. That`s what they`re doing.

TODD: Stephanie, same question to you. Where are you on this? Should Hillary Clinton, in this case, you know, acknowledge the trust elephant in the room for her side of things?

CUTTER: Well, I think that you`re probably going to hear that on the campaign trail maybe by both candidates, whether or not to put that on the air. Remember, they are going after, right now, a very small segment.

They`re trying to accomplish two things. One, to get their bases out to vote. And those ads are motivating forces to get their vases out to vote.

And then, to convince a very small number of voters left that haven`t made their decision. Most everybody has made their decision. A large portion of them have already voted. So, driving home the choice is really important over the last several days.

TODD: All right, I ask you both to tell us what you thought the best Trump ad was. Interestingly, and I`ll start with Clinton because you both picked the same spot as what you thought was the best Clinton ad of the cycle. Here`s a quick clip of it. It`s called, "Role Models."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And you can tell them to go (INAUDIBLE) themselves. I can stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn`t lose any voters, OK? It`s, like, incredible.

[17:10:03] CLINTON: Our children and grandchildren will look back at this time, at the choices we are about to make, the goals we will strive for, the principles we will live by.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Brad, why did you pick it? And what made it effective?

BRAD TODD: Well, I think -- I think the mirrors added in this ad were sort of the essential movers in her campaign. Although, I`ll tell you, the 60 second version of this ad, which you just played which has a portion of Hillary Clinton at the back end of the spot, I tested that spot in three or four different swing markets. Every time we tested it, as soon as he came on screen, that spot fell apart. It worked great when it was all about Trump. It fell apart when she came on.

Lately, I`ve been seeing a 30-second version that does not include Hillary Clinton. And so, I think their focus group part of (INAUDIBLE) as well. When she`s front and center, voters turn her off.

TODD: Interesting. And, Stephanie, this was the ad you said you thought was Trump`s best ad. And, since I`m short on time, I`m just going to that one here. Here it is. It`s unfit. Let me play a clip and ask you why you picked that one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Decades of lies, cover-ups and scandal had finally caught up with Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is under FBI investigation again after her e-mails were found on pervert Anthony Weiner`s laptop. Think about that. America`s most sensitive secrets unlawfully sent, received and exposed by Hillary Clinton, her staff and Anthony Weiner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So, this is the most recent attack spot from the Trump campaign. Stephanie, why did you think this was the best one they had?

CUTTER: Well, I think for several reasons. Let me first say that the ad is not factual our true. And it`s been panned by fact checkers. But it`s an effective ad in that it`s so hard to break through right now. And the ad wars are so cluttered. And there`s very little information that you can introduce that`s new on both of these candidates.

But if you listen to that ad, the thing that jumps out at you is pervert.

TODD: Right.

CUTTER: And you immediately look up.

TODD: And that`s Anthony Wiener.

CUTTER: And you get the viewers` attention.

TODD: Right.

CUTTER: It`s not true. It`s not fair. But it`s effective.

TODD: Very quickly for both of you. Brad, I`ll start with you. We know the Clinton outspent Trump on T.V. Who bought smarter? You know, in 2012, it was how Obama outbought T.V. spots of Romney. What about this cycle?

BRAD TODD: You know, one thing I think is what remains to be seen is where the upsets happen. You know, if Donald Trump sneaks through a northern strategy of Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, those are places that Hillary`s campaign ignored for a long time. Went (INAUDIBLE) a long time. And they clearly had a monetary advantage.

I think that she will not have bought smarter if not being in those states, cost her those states or, say, cost Russ Feingold his Senate seat.

I think Trump will not have bought smarter if he doesn`t make it, because he didn`t start soon enough. He`s a wealthy man. He didn`t start advertising until very late in the game. And the opinions were already formed. I think he should have started earlier.

TODD: Stephanie, same question to you.

CUTTER: I agree that he should`ve started earlier. He didn`t start until the last several months. And he`s going in fits and starts which, we all know, is difficult. When you`re running advertising, you have to re- enforce that message over and over otherwise people forget it.

I think Hillary has been employing a lot of the data technology that we developed in 2012 and making it that much smarter. And how she`s been purchasing and targeting and really knowing how to target our voters in what they want to hear and in what platforms they want to hear it.

TODD: Well, I have to say, you guys absolutely embraced the professional analyst part of this segment. I appreciate it, from both of you. Two veterans, Stefanie Cutter, Brad Todd, good stuff. Thank you.

CUTTER: Thank you.

TODD: Up next, going into the final weekend, we`ll get the view the two campaigns. Senator Claire McCaskill for team Clinton. And Trump campaign senior advisor, Jason Miller.

And don`t forget MSNBC special coverage continues through the weekend, including a special MTP DAILY on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.

And a couple of airings of MEET THE PRESS as well. And, of course, on Election Day, we`ll have you covered all day and through the night. So, you`ll just have to keep it right here. We`ll be right back.

[17:14:06]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I`m very honored to have Governor Mitt Romney with me today. We are old friends and sometimes enemies.

GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), MICHIGAN: I reminded the Senator of that old line that was given by Fritz Mondale who had the misfortune of running against Ronald Reagan. He said, you know, all my life, I run for president in the worst way and that`s just what I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Well, the Republican Party two most recent presidential nominees, Mitt Romney and Senator John McCain, are spending a second day in a row together. The one-time rivals. And if you remember in 2008, they were rivals. They came together as Romney went to Arizona to support McCain`s re-election bid.

They were ribbing each other a bit, as you heard today, at that business round table lunch. But both today and at last night`s get out and vote rally, they spoke about being rivals who respected each other and came to work together. And though neither mentioned Donald Trump`s name, Romney appeared to be taking some indirect shots at the Republican presidential nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: Whoever becomes president is going to need the -- need the judgement to decide who the right people are for the Supreme Court. A person who understands what Vladimir Putin really is.

Our country needs people of character and integrity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Imagine it`s Donald Trump standing in front of the capitol. And we already know a lot about him, someone who demeans women, mocks people with disabilities, insults African-Americans and Latinos, and demonizes immigrants and Muslims and hits people against each other.

TRUMP: If she were to win, it would create an unprecedented constitutional crisis. What a mess. I mean we went through it with him with the impeachment and the lies. Aren`t we tired of this stuff?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both talking tough in battleground states today. Clinton in Pennsylvania where she`s trying to blunt what may be a bit of a Trump surge. And Donald Trump in New Hampshire. Republic polls have shown Trump pulling more or less even with Clinton.

Well, joining me now from St. Louis is Senator McCaskill of Missouri. A long-time supporter of Hillary Clinton. Senator, welcome back to the show.

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: Thanks, Chuck.

TODD: Let me ask you this. What happened to if they go, we go high. It feels like this is an ugly, ugly close for the Clinton campaign. What do you think?

MCCASKILL: Well, I think they are challenged with what he is doing in what with Comey did. Keep in mind, the ads that you all have been looking at, the closing ads, one, are accusations, innuendos and flat out lies. And the other are his words. They are what Donald Trump has actually said and done. So, I think it`s really important, to the Clinton campaign, to keep that contrast forward in people`s minds.

[17:20:05] And, obviously, I would prefer that we be able to just talk about how great a president she`s going to be because she will be. But I think it`s important to remind people who this man is.

TODD: You know, I`m curious. What -- you brought up Comey. Do you think director Comey has changed the outlook of this race?

MCCASKILL: Well, I certainly think what he did was unprecedented and outrageous. I certainly it damaged the institution of law enforcement in this country. I certainly think it changed a little bit the momentum in the race. I think it blunted some of Hillary Clinton`s momentum.

I don`t think it changed the fundamentals of who is fit to be president.

TODD: Yes.

MCCASKILL: Who we want to be a role model for our children and who is really not prepared to be president. I think those fundamentals are still in place. But I think it -- the margin. He may have impacted of the margin. I still feel very optimistic the American people are going to make the right choice.

TODD: If you -- if Mitch McConnell is still majority leader --

MCCASKILL: No.

TODD: -- on January fourth, do you think that`s due to director Comey?

MCCASKILL: I don`t think he will be. I feel very optimistic and confident about our Senate races. We have terrific candidates. We have a terrific one here in Missouri that is surprising all the people who think they know best by a fresh and different approach.

And I think we`re going to have -- the Democrats and the Senate races are going to have a good night Tuesday night. So, I would be really surprised if Mitch McConnell were majority leader in January. And, frankly, if he were, some of that would be on director Comey`s lap.

TODD: You know, Senator Schumer said he had lost some confidence in director Comey. How much -- have you lost confidence in him?

MCCASKILL: Well, I certainly would like an explanation of why he would do -- I mean, I worked with the FBI for years as a prosecutor.

TODD: Yes.

MCCASKILL: I was a prosecutor and I couldn`t get information out of him. The notion that he would say we`re going to begin an investigation. He had no facts. He had no knowledge about what was in those e-mails when he wrote that letter.

TODD: Why do you think he did it?

MCCASKILL: He had to have known.

TODD: Do you under --

MCCASKILL: I --

TODD: Do you get the motivation?

MCCASKILL: I think it`s suberous (ph). I think he`s worried about how he`s going to look. I think he was not thinking through the consequences. And I think he kind of thought, well, I said I`d do this and let the chips fall where they may. But that`s not what you do to law enforcement. You stay married to the facts.

And this is the thing that`s so frustrating. No one has been investigated by law enforcement more than Hillary Clinton in the history of president politics. There has never been factual evidence to support any criminal activity. But, yet this guy running for president runs all over the country saying she`s a criminal and allows people to chant, lock her up. It is outrageous and I -- really disappointing, in terms of a presidential campaign going the low road.

TODD: Let me go -- one final question here. Would you advise secretary Clinton to deal, as we were talking in the previous segment, deal with, sort of, the elephant in the room for her which is this trust issue with voters? Would you have her tackle that on Monday -- on a Monday night, sort of as a closer?

MCCASKILL: You know, I do know this. She`s got to do what she`s comfortable with doing. You know, authenticity matters. I think she has addressed the fact that people don`t see her as likable. I think she`s addressed the fact that she`s not the best candidate in the world. She`s a policy lonk (ph) at heart. She keeps her head down and does the work. And we all know that hard work is the only thing that changes anything in this country. Bluster and bravado and revenge against your enemies doesn`t do much change.

So, I think she`s got to stick with what she feels she needs to say to the American people. But I certainly it`s important for all of us who are campaigning for her to keep reminding people, there has never been a factual bases to ever support any criminal activity by Hillary Clinton.

TODD: Claire McCaskill, senior Senator from Missouri. Thanks for coming out. Appreciate it.

MCCASKILL: Thanks, Chuck.

TODD: Let me bring in my next guest. Senior communications advisor and senior advisor overall to the Trump campaign, Jason Miller. Mr. Miller, --

JASON MILLER, SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Chuck.

TODD: -- welcome to the show, sir.

MILLER: Thank you for having me on.

TODD: Let me start with the -- where you guys are headed here. There`s some confusion. You know, and I know that travel schedules change. So, you guys are going, it looks like, eight to 10 states. Have things changed or are you -- is Wisconsin still there? Are you adding Michigan? Do you have an updated schedule for us?

MILLER: We`re adding more. So, over this three-day stretch, today, tomorrow, going into Sunday.

TODD: We`ve got a map up here of what we think is your final blitz here of states that you`re hitting.

MILLER: Well, we`re, of course, adding Sunday and then Monday and Tuesday adding more. But Mr. Trump will be in over a dozen states over the stretch. He`ll be barn burner flying around. Some places -- I believe today is three events and then four and five events.

But here is the important part is that we are on offense for the campaign. Yes, we have the traditional battlegrounds of Florida, North Carolina, Ohio where you`re going to see Mr. Trump campaigning. We`re also campaigning in states that have gone blue in the last couple of election cycles. We talk about Nevada. We talk about Colorado. We talk about New Hampshire.

We`re on offense with this campaign. The map has opened up. Mr. Trump will be in Pennsylvania, several times total. It started off today and then also --

[17:25:13] TODD: Let`s talk about this idea of offense. There`s two times -- two time -- two times when you`re in offense. Sometimes when it`s you`re ahead and sometimes when you`re way behind. I checked into last night to the Falcons-Tampa Bay game. It was 40 to 14. And then, Tampa Bay went nothing but offense. Got a couple of cheap touchdowns at the end. Closed the gap but still lost.

And the reason I say this is that your travel schedule looks like Bob Dole`s travel schedule or Mitt Romney`s travel schedule in the last week, where it looks like you guys feel as if you`re searching for one more state somewhere to give yourselves a credible path. Are you short a state, an obvious state, to get to 270? That`s what the travel schedule looks like.

MILLER: No, we have five or six, maybe even seven different paths to get there, to get to 270. And, actually, I think that Mr. Trump will go past 270. And we`re feeling pretty good inside the organization.

You look at New Hampshire, a state where we received four polls over the last 24 hours. Three showing Mr. Trump leading. One showing the race tied. You take a look at Michigan, a state where we have it as a dead heat. Take a look at New Mexico where we internally have Mr. Trump leading. Look at Colorado, a state that`s a dead heat. Iowa, a state I don`t think Mr. Trump gets enough credit for. It has gone blue the last couple of election cycles. And Mr. Trump, we feel very good that he`s going to be able to win it.

But here`s the other thing is you look at the number of absentee returns and early votes in a number of these states. We`re ahead of the pace in a number of these states from where the ticket was four years ago. And so, we`re the ones who on offense, going to blue states. And we have the chance to put them into our column.

TODD: Let me ask you to address a criticism -- sort of a criticism that Brad Todd had which is, sort of, if you come up short, and Michigan is a four-point race, say on election night. And you -- and the question is going to be, should you have done more? Did you make a mistake not trying to campaign sooner, spend more time on advertising and on the ground in Wisconsin and Michigan, in particular? Do you feel like you`ve -- if you could go back into time, change your strategy?

MILLER: No. I think that heading into the final weekend here, we`re exactly where we want to be. I`m going to tell you that there is something that I heard with Senator McCaskill just a moment ago before you introduced me.

TODD: Yes.

MILLER: I have to go back and watch the tape but Senator McCaskill did not lay out a positive compelling reason to vote for secretary Clinton. And I think that`s really remarkable. You know, with the Trump campaign, we just released, I believe just even in, like, the last 10 or 15 minutes, --

TODD: We showed a clip of it.

MILLER: -- a two-minute positive closing message from Mr. Trump going to national --

TODD: I have to say, it`s positive, that`s a loose definition. That`s a different -- it sounds like a contrast add, to me. I mean, you`re showing clips of Hillary Clinton with Chinese leaders. And it doesn`t look like -- it looks more like a contrast spot.

MILLER: It`s laying out Mr. Trump`s positive message. And it goes through and Mr. Trump is giving voters, and not just someone, but something to vote for. As we talk about lowering taxes, making us safe, going into communities that Democrats have left behind. Going to say, we`re going to rebuild our inner cities and bring in school choice and improve our education. There is a positive reason to be for Mr. Trump going into this weekend.

So, when undecided voters wake up on Tuesday, either they`re going to wake up and say, I want to make a change and go for Mr. Trump or there`s a good chance they`re probably not going to show up and vote.

TODD: Let me ask you a similar question I asked Senator McCaskill at the end. I asked her about the trust issues. With Donald Trump, it`s his personal character and humility issues. Why not, sort of, take the -- take some of the criticism head on? And has there been any thought of him saying, you know what? Maybe my rhetoric was too off. Maybe I did demean some people I didn`t mean to demean. Any thought of him doing one of those type of -- Mayor Culp (ph) was considering that those voters at the end, the reason they`re hesitant is personal.

MILLER: Well, I think there are a couple of things. Mr. Trump definitely has taken some of that on in the past and he`s had speeches. And I believe it was in Wisconsin when he did a lot of that. We saw the speech this week with Melania who very much looked like a future first lady. A fantastic speech where she talked about what she would do as first lady. Talked a bit about their family and her love for the country.

But what I think people really appreciate about Mr. Trump, he`s going to tell it like he sees it. He`s going to be straight forward. He`s going to be direct. He`s not a blow-dried politician.

TODD: Yes.

MILLER: And so, if you`re looking for a change, I -- we think you`re going to go in our direction.

TODD: I`ve got to ask you something. Kellyanne Conway, the campaign manager, tweeted a picture of Hope Hicks, herself and Corey Lewandowski. Is Corey Lewandowski a part of this campaign -- of the Trump campaign? I`m -- I thought he -- I thought he worked for a television network. Does he work for the campaign or a television network?

MILLER: He doesn`t work for the campaign. Obviously, he`s --

TODD: What was that -- it was teamwork.

(CROSSTALK)

MILLER: -- for people.

TODD: Is he campaigning? Is he involved? Does he make decisions?

MILLER: No, he`s supportive. And, of course, he wants to Mr. Trump as do millions of Americans around the country. But he`s not a formal part of the campaign. But he`s supportive. I`m glad to have his -- have his vote, hopefully.

TODD: All right. Jason Miller, it`s going to be a long and short four days --

MILLER: Thanks, Chuck.

TODD: -- all at the same time.

TODD: Thanks for coming out. Appreciate it.

Up ahead, this hour, we`ve got more battleground polls. Don`t you love those? Because that`s what we all need, more numbers. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHUCK TODD, MEET THE PRESS DAILY HOST: A lot more ahead. The panel will be here. Lot to chew over. But, first, Josh Lipton with this Friday`s CNBC Market Wrap.

JOSH LIPTON, CNBC TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Chuck. Stocks in the week to the downside. The Dow falling 42 points today, off more than 1 percent for the week. The S&P loses ground for a ninth straight session, its longest losing streak for in 36 years. The Nasdaq finishes off 12, down nearly 3 percent for the week.

The big story today, the October employment report, the economy adding 161,000 jobs last month, fewer than the 175,000 economists expected. The unemployment rate is lower to 4.9 percent. That`s it from CNBC, first in business worldwide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TODD: Welcome back. It`s just after 5:30 in the east coast, we have seen the dodge the Friday surprise on this, the final Friday of the 2016 campaign. However, the same for all of those October Fridays we have just experienced. Let me review, October 7th, the Donald Trump "Access Hollywood" tape surfaces.

October 14th, two more women come forward to accuse Trump of sexual assault. And then of course October 28th, perhaps the biggest one of all, FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to congress that additional e-mails have been found that appear to be relevant to the Hillary Clinton e-mail case.

So, I guess we still have a few hours to go to avoid the final Friday`s surprise, the November surprise. We have at least cleared the business hours here in New York. So let me go to the panel. Bob Herbert, senior fellow at Demos, NBC political analyst and former adviser to Ryan Paul campaign Elise Jordan, NBC News correspondent Hallie Jackson, fresh off the Trump`s trail. So there you go, guys. Relax.

(CROSSTALK)

HALLIE JACKSON, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon in California, man.

TODD: Can anything breakthrough at this point or actually are people paying so much attention that everything breaks through.

JACKSON: If you are at the Trump`s campaign, you are praying that you get no more Friday surprise, that nothing else happens because the Friday surprise that he got last week, seven days ago, imagine -- you know what I`m talking about seven days ago. They don`t want to talk about anything else.

ELISE JORDAN, NBC POLITICAL ANALYST AND FORMER ADVISER TO RYAN PAUL CAMPAIGN: That was such an incredible gift, catching all messages all week. He really -- I feel like it actually did help with undecided voters just because it reminded them what they dislike about Hillary Clinton so much.

BOB HERBERT, SENIOR FELLOW AT DEMOS: To me, Friday`s surprise at this race is still so close the Friday before election day but it is.

TODD: You know, there is a fog of war field to this sometimes as we are talking about that where, you know, on one hand, I look at how Trump is campaigning this week and Romney did it this way. On the other hand, the Clinton campaign is in exactly exude confidence.

HERBERT: I agree. I mean, I think they are actually scared. And I think they have reason to be scared. There is what I think is an important story that has not been covered hardly at all. And that is the transit strike in Philadelphia.

TODD: Yes. I have had some people asking me about how it is going to impact maybe just getting to the polls.

HERBERT: Getting to the polls. But also, people are gonna be really -- transit strike is a hassle getting back and forth to work and we have our election.

TODD: To anger government.

HERBERT: Yeah. And you go back and forth to work and then do you -- after a while, you are just so tired that it was such an effort. Do you then go to the polls or do you go to the polls early in the morning when you are worried about making it to work on time? I think this is a problem for the Clinton in terms of turnout.

TODD: Elise, when you look at this Trump travel schedule, it screams we haven`t found our past. You know, we can get close but we don`t have enough. And we`re looking for something.

JORDAN: It is surprising to me that they are doing more in Wisconsin. I think that they really could have a shot there and ever since I did focus group in Wisconsin back in early September, I really thought that he had a chance of that surprise.

TODD: Look, I think they got chased about Paul Ryan and sort of republican establishment there.

JACKSON: I think of those kinds of states, state like Wisconsin that he would need to do well, Michigan is not a better bed which is why he focused so much on that. I think at this point you talk about Chuck, you look at his travel schedule the next three days, it feels a little like spaghetti at the walls, going everywhere and see where it fits.

TODD: Right.

HERBERT: It`s weird when you throw spaghetti at the wall. He`s got to run the table. Usually when you are throwing stuff at the wall, you are hoping that you can pick up one here, one there, two or three. But he has got to get the whole thing.

TODD: Meanwhile, it is pretty obvious what the final plan is for Clinton`s campaign. Turning out African-Americans. You look at the Philadelphia`s schedule, the Jay Z`s concert in Cleveland. It`s pretty obvious what they are worried about.

HERBERT: Which raises the question -- what`s the deal with Georgia? Do they have a chance? I mean the polls are so close but it is hard for me to believe that, you know, Hillary perceives as a liberal democrat, I don`t see it that way, but perceives as a liberal.

TODD: If she wins, welcome to her governor nightmare. Way to go, Bob.

HERBERT: Can she win in Georgia?

TODD: You know, it`s interesting there. You talk to the campaign and they believe if they work on Georgia for six months, they could have, but that`s enough. The college educated white vote around the Atlanta suburbs is still used to voting republican.

HERBERT: Right.

TODD: And that`s why they think unlike Research Triangle or Charlotte or the Northern Virginia suburbs, Atlanta is not yet a suburban area that democrats can do well in. But the polls are close which could tell you some hint on African-Americans turnout.

JORDAN: Well, the fact that it is a question.

HERBERT: I agree.

JORDAN: In Georgia. The fact that Texas has been discussed, Texas is going to go red, but the fact that this year Trump has put the traditional red states into play says something about of an unorthodox candidacy.

JACKSON: I agree with you on Georgia.

JORDAN: A long-term trend as it goes, that`s what I think republicans are so concerned about. Texas is going purple this early, not necessarily this election, but looking towards 2020, looking down the road when demographics keep changing.

TODD: I want to ask you guys all about these sort of how they`re closing. It`s ugly.

HERBERT: It is ugly but.

TODD: Disparity.

HERBERT: I think with Hillary, they did not want to close this way. But I think after the Comey maneuver, I am not sure if they had any choice. They really have to get the vote out. It is all about that turning out. And so that means thinking about Trump.

TODD: And Trump is thinking of the same thing, thinking about her.

JORDAN: It`s a winning formula for Trump. For her, she isn`t promising anything, just apocalypse if Trump is elected. I think that makes it really difficult for that teenie sliver of undecided she needs.

JACKSON: But as you have said, Chuck, it is not about the undecided.

TODD: What undecided?

JACKSON: It is about trying to -- she`s making the argument that he`s too dangerous. He`s making argument that she`s much of the same.

TODD: This election is a voter that is swinging between whether to gonna vote or not. All right. I will take a quick break. There is a chance I might sing after this next break. We`ll see. We`ll have a little more Tuesday`s prediction ahead in "The Lid." That`s right, I am going to give you the perfect couple of songs to get you through election day. Keep it right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TODD: Welcome back. Tonight, I`m obsessed with just the right song or songs for the final days of the campaign. I do have an election play list. It has been the same play list I have used for a couple of decades. For me, there is nothing better than a perfect song to get you motivated for the big game.

In election day, you know, that my Super Bowl. Of course, I have a sort of pump myself up play list. Hillary Clinton got "Fight Song." Donald Trump got maybe "Proud to be an American." He also uses, you know, "You can`t Always Get What You Want" with the Stones but that`s a whole separate story.

But this time, I have two favorites. For me, it`s the Ramones because 20, 20, 24 hours ago, I want to be sedated. I change it to right now 90, 90, 96 hours to go. And yes, I have to sing it, so I don`t have to pay for it. And I give you one more. From the Les Miserables soundtrack. Yes, I do a little musical here and there. "One Day More." To me, it brings it all home. "One Day More," you know, maybe we are all going to have a revolution or one day more maybe we`ll just all gather at the pub and throw down.

Either way, it is what keeps me going. Hopefully, I have now put those two songs in your head and made hum them over and over again and you will then get mad at me later. Anyway, that`s how I do election night. We`ll have more "MTP Daily" right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(START VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Historically, both under democratic and republican administrations, our goal has been and should be that our investigators and our prosecutors are independent politics, that they are not politicized, that they are not used as a weapon to advantage either sides and partisan arguments. And I want to make sure that we continue with that tradition and with that norm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: That`s quite a phrase there. That was the president in an interview with Reverend Al Sharpton that will air this Sunday morning on MSNBC. Panel is here. Bob Herbert, Elise Jordan, Hallie Jackson. Bob, your reaction to him. That`s a highly charged phrase that is going to be an interesting reaction.

HERBERT: Except that I did not hear because the sound was cut off.

TODD: Oh, for you. My apology. He was talking about the prosecutors should not be used as a weapon. It has to be in a phrase essentially used as a weapon. The banner said the FBI should not be used as a weapon. He did not say the FBI, he said that prosecutors and things like that should not be used as a weapon.

HERBERT: It is highly charged, but I agree 100 percent. And that just flies in the face of everything that I`ve seen in a long career in the news business. And you just don`t use investigations and police powers and prosecutorial powers that way.

JORDAN: I still just feel Hillary Clinton has no one to blame but herself for being in this situation. She shouldn`t have had the server in the first place. So the aftermath of this, just, the problem with Bill Clinton, Loretta Lynch, the airplane, this just only further erodes the electorate`s trust in our institution.

TODD: This gets to our November 9th problem.

(CROSSTALK)

JACKSON: James Comey`s not going anywhere. They`ve got to work with him, right?

TODD: Okay. I don`t know.

JACKSON: That`s a whole other thing, Chuck.

TODD: I don`t know. You`ve got U.S. senators. Senator McCaskill earlier, she didn`t go as far as Chuck Schumer did, in losing confidence, but there`s certainly -- and by the way, it wasn`t that long ago that had a republican saying.

JACKSON: Saying it. Right.

TODD: And I think you do have a virus now that might be on the basis of both parties of distrust. And that`s something that you don`t eradicate very easily.

HERBERT: The republicans are signaling that already. I mean, it`s going to be -- I mean, there`s the constitutional crisis. It`s going to be the republicans and the legislature versus, if Hillary wins, the president of the United States.

TODD: Let me ask you, Elise, you were hired by James Comey right now, crisis management. I mean, you`ve got all of these -- you`ve got political leaders calling you -- you`ve also got, clearly, some FBI agents who were talking a lot to the press, which is, that`s the problem.

JORDAN: Well, he`s got.

TODD: Because it becomes FBI sources.

JORDAN: Well, the internal coup that`s going on, and how do you crack down on those leaks in the Obama administration certainly has been, quite good, at cracking down on leaks. But then when it`s actually the FBI director, who`s dealing with this dissent from within, I just think his initial error was the vague letter. He had to have spelled out a little bit more what exactly they were looking into, and it`s made it so hard in the aftermath for him to clean it up. TODD: I think we`ve all wondered, would he, last week at this time, we were wondering about the pressure on Sunday, would all of this criticism, including now from the president of the United States, it was vaguer criticism earlier, now it`s sort of walking up, using a highly charged phrase, like the idea that law enforcement being used as a weapon. I think we all thought we would see Comey this week. And we didn`t.

JACKSON: Correct. And by the way, what you saw from President Obama, that is quite the walk from we will neither criticize nor defend, which is what the press secretary said when all this first happened. And I think that you`re right. We know where James Comey is, but does he have an obligation to come out.

JORDAN: But -- the strategy of all-out war on the FBI, I don`t think it serves the Clinton campaign well.

JACKSON: But it`s inside the FBI, it seems.

TODD: Speaking of the FBI, one thing we ought to note, it`s been reported earlier, Fox reported that an indictment was imminent and they totally walked it back and Bret Baer went on air and said that was an inaccurate.

HERBERT: And Trump`s been using this in his ads.

JACKSON: And will keep using it.

HERBERT: What could Comey say, once he came out with this vague statement which he never should have done, I think his first mistake was when he went on about what Hillary had done wrong even though he was saying...

TODD: You mean the July statement?

HERBERT: The July statement, yeah. But what can he say now? That we haven`t found anything or -- I mean, I think he`s got a problem.

TODD: Elise, I am curious. It is odd to me, you were talking about the vagueness of that letter, and it was a question I put to Pete Williams. I said, why are we hearing the explanation from you and not from Director Comey? No disrespect to reporting.

We as reporters, we want to get to the bottom of things. But this seems like one of those, like, wait a minute, this should be from the -- we should hear Comey say these things, or read it in Comey`s words.

JORDAN: I agree, he should spell out about as much as he possibly can about the process, about what they are doing, what they are going through. Give as much information without completely destroying the investigation. But I do think that more public transparency was clearly warranted in this situation.

TODD: What is the political impact of this for the next three days? Is this a turnout mechanism for both the right and left?

HERBERT: Well, I think the impact is, has petered out at this point.

TODD: I do too. I wonder if the president reignites it. That`s what I`m wondering. Or, no?

HERBERT: I just don`t think so. I think that -- but who knows what`s going to happen in the next three days, in this campaign.

JACKSON: Is this your Friday surprise?

(CROSSTALK) TODD: Look, it certainly -- I don`t know. I mean, I think it could help inspire some democratic turnout. And I think it could help inspire some republican.

JORDAN: Right. And they need enthusiasm right now. Clearly, Hillary Clinton, the only huge wild card that I see is that people who are supposed to vote for likely voters just don`t show up, because they`re demoralized. She needs those voters to come out.

HERBERT: I think the republican turnout is maxed out at this point. I don`t think you can pump it up any higher. I think the democrats can get more people to the polls and especially African-Americans.

TODD: Well, I think that`s what the weekend is going to be like. As I said, every hour now feels like a day. Okay, 90, 90, 96 hours to go. We all want to be sedated. Bob, Elise, Hallie, thank you very much. You can see Reverend Al Sharpton`s, by the way, full interview with President Obama. That will be tonight. We`ll gonna air it on "All In with Chris Hayes." That`s at 8:00 p.m. eastern. And of course, you`ll see it on Reverend Sharpton`s show later in the weekend. We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TODD: In case you missed it, today is the first Friday of the month, so it is jobs report day. It`s the last snapshot to have the economic situation before election day. Let`s take a quick look. Employers added 161,000 jobs in October, lowered the unemployment rate below 5 percent, 4.9 percent.

Folks, this will just be the third time since 1960 that the unemployment rate on election day will be less than 5 percent. That sounds like pretty good news if you`re the incumbent party, in this case, Hillary Clinton. But believe it or not, we just look at this and this sort of shocked us, here are the two other times that happened. 1968 and 2000.

Those are the last two times that the unemployment rate was lower at election time. You probably know where I`m going with this. In both `68 and 2000, the party in power found itself the party out of power on the inauguration day.

Vice President Hubert Humphrey lost a squeaker to Richard Nixon in 1968. Vice President Al Gores famously lost the ultimate squeaker in 2000 even as he won the popular vote. Good economic number certainly helped. But as you know in a character election sometimes, there are no guarantee for victory. That`s all we have for tonight.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. END