Maggie Haberman weighs in on the state of the Trump campaign

THREAT TO DEMOCRACY, RIGHT? AS LASER NEW YORK TIMES SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, MAGGIE HABERMAN IS HERE AND ALSO A CNN POLITICAL ANALYST. >> YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING HE COMES BACK TO A LOT. IT IS HE'S LIKE A GRIEVED FOR JOE BIDEN. IT'S PROBABLY THE ONLY TIME HE AND JOE BIDEN MAYBE HAVE HAD LIKE A VENN DIAGRAM OF AGREEMENT BUT I DO THINK THERE IS A CONCERN OF IF HE IS MOVED ON TO THAT, HE'S FACING HARRIS IN THIS RACE, NOT JOE BIDEN ANYMORE? >> YEAH. JONATHAN SWAN AND I WROTE ABOUT THIS THIS WEEKEND. IT'S LIKE HE'S TRYING TO WILL THIS INTO EXISTENCE AS IF HE'S TRYING TO GET JOE BIDEN BACK IN THE RACE AND IT TRIED TO RUN THE RACE THAT HE WANTS IT TO BE. AND WE HAVE SEEN HIM DO THIS BEFORE WHEN THINGS HAVE NOT WORKED WITHOUT THE WAY HE WANTS THEM TO. THIS IS WHAT HE DID DURING COVID IN 2020 WHEN HE WOULD REPEATEDLY TALK ABOUT HOW GREAT THE ECONOMY WAS, HOW GREAT IT WAS, HOW GREAT IT WAS, HOW UNFAIR THIS ALL IS. OKAY. WELL, BUT NOW YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT FUTURE IN FRONT OF YOU AND YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT AND THEY ARE WASTING TIME. HE IS WASTING TIME, I SHOULD SAY. I THINK HIS TEAM CLEARLY HAS MORE OF A SENSE SO HOW IT WANTS TO RUN AGAINST HARRIS HE SEEMS TO BE ALL OVER THE PLACE AND WANTS TO ATTACK HER PERSONALLY AS WE GOT TO SEE WHAT WAS BILLED AS AN ECONOMIC SPEECH EARLIER TODAY AND HE ALSO SAID THAT BY PUTTING HEARTS TOP OF THE TICKET THAT IT HAS DEFRAUDED THE PUBLIC, THAT SHE'S DEFRAUDING THE PUBLIC BY DOING THAT. >> WHEN YOU HEAR THAT, THOUGH, I KNOW EVERYONE TRIES TO SEPARATE OUT WHAT TRUMP MEANS AND WHAT HE ACTUALLY INTENDS TO DO. BUT I DO THINK IT RAISES THE QUESTION OF IF HE INTENDS TO SAY THIS WAS AN UNFAIR ELECTION, IF HE LOSES, BECAUSE IT WAS SOMEONE DIFFERENT AT THE TOP OF THE TICKET, HE'S ALREADY SAYING A TON OF THINGS THAT SUGGESTS TO ME THAT HE IS SEATING THE GROUNDWORK FOR SAYING IF HE IF HE LOSES THESE ARE THE VARIOUS REASONS WHY WHETHER IT IS BECAUSE THERE WAS A CHANGE IN THE TOP OF THE TICKET AND HE KEEPS SAYING THEY BROKE THE RULES, THEY BROKE THROUGH. THERE WERE NO RULES FOR THIS. THIS WAS A TOTALLY NEW SITUATION. NOW, SHE WAS ON THE TICKET WITH JOE BIDEN, SO SHE ACTUALLY DID GET VOTES. SHE JUST DIDN'T GET VOTES AS THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE. BUT HE IS GOING TO BLAME THAT. HE IS GOING TO BLAME THE LEGAL CASES AGAINST HIM. REMEMBER, HE'S GETTING SENTENCED NEXT MONTH ARE SCHEDULED TO IN NEW YORK. WE'RE ALREADY SEEING HIM TALK ABOUT THAT. SO YES, I THINK HE IS HE IS WORKING THE SOIL AND WHEN WE HAVE SEEN HIM DO THIS BEFORE AGAIN, MAN OF FEW MOVES TO SAY, THESE ARE ALL THE REASONS WHY I LOST IF HE DID WITH THE NEW YORK THING. I MEAN, HE WAS POSTING ON TRUTH SOCIAL TODAY THAT BECAUSE THE JUDGE HASN'T LIFTED HIS GAG ORDER OR RECUSED HIMSELF, THAT HE'S NOT ALLOWED TO TALK TO REPORTERS AND SAID THE MUSKET US SUPREME COURT INVOLVED NEW YORK IS TRYING TO STEAL THE ELECTION, RIGHT? >> EVERYBODY IS TRYING TO STEAL THE ELECTION. EVERYBODY IS TRYING TO STEAL THE ELECTION BY DOING THINGS THAT HE DOESN'T LIKE IN HIS, IN HIS TERM, IN HIS TERMINOLOGY. LOOK, I MEAN ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE SEEN DONALD TRUMP DO OVER AND OVER AGAIN HAS COMPLAINED ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE NOT FOLLOWING RULES WHEN HE HIMSELF THEN DECIDES WHAT ROLES HE WANTS TO ABIDE BY OR WHAT NORMS HE WANTS TO ABIDE BY. AND THAT'S PLAYING OUT AGAIN AND IT WAS CERTAINLY INTERGENIC IN THAT SPEECH TODAY, HE WAS WHEN HE WAS SAYING THAT SHE'S FIRED LINE REPRISING HIS APPRENTICE ROLE J.D. >> VANCE WAS OUT ON FOX NEWS EARLIER. THE SENATOR WAS ASKED ABOUT TRUMP'S MOOD, HOW HE'S ACTUALLY REALLY FEELING. AND THIS IS WHAT HE SAID I THINK HE FEELS EXTREMELY CONFIDENT ABOUT HOW WE'RE DOING IN THE ELECTION. I THINK HE'S VERY EXCITED ABOUT GETTING TO WORK IN SOLVING THE PROBLEMS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. >> BUT HE'S JUST HAVING A GOOD TIME. HE'S LAUGHING, HE'S TELLING JOKES. >> HE CALLS PEOPLE AND JUST WANTS TO, YOU KNOW, SHOOT THE BREEZE AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE COUNTRY DOES THAT MATCH UP WITH WHAT YOU'RE HEARING ABOUT HOW HE'S ACTUALLY FEELING. KNOW. I MEAN, IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT HE'S NOT HAVING PHONE CALLS THAT ARE LIKE THAT AND IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT HE'S NOT HAVING MOMENTS WHEN HE'S LIKE THAT BECAUSE HE HE IS CAPABLE OF BOTH EVEN WHEN HE'S IN A BAD PLACE. AND I THINK HE GOT INTO A BETTER PLACE WHEN TIM WALZ WAS PICKED. HE WAS FEELING BETTER ABOUT THAT THAN HAD IT BEEN JOSH SHAPIRO OF PENNSYLVANIA BUT NO, I THINK THAT HE'S, HE STILL IS CLEARLY DISORIENT AND NOT SURE WHERE HE WANTS TO GO. I HAVE TO SAY THOUGH, JUST IN TERMS OF THAT CLIP FROM J.D. VANCE VANCE HAS BEEN ACTUALLY PERFORMING NOT JUST THE WAY THAT THEY HAD HOPED THAT HE WOULD IN TERMS OF BEING AN ATTACK DOG, WHICH IS WHAT THE VP NOMINEE IS SUPPOSED TO DO HISTORICALLY, BUT HE'S ACTUALLY DELIVERING A MORE COHERENT MESSAGE THAN TRUMP IS ABOUT HARRIS AND ABOUT RETURNING TO THE DAYS OF TRUMP, WHICH POLLS GENERALLY SHOW THAT VOTERS LIKED ASPECTS OF LIKE THE ECONOMIC MESSAGE TRUMP TALKING ABOUT THE ECONOMY TODAY IS WHAT HIS ADVISERS WANTED HIM TO DO BECAUSE THAT'S AN AREA THAT HE DOES WELL ON. AGAIN, SINCE TERRORISTS STILL SHE DOES BETTER THAN BIDEN DID AGAINST TRUMP. BUT THAT IS STILL ONE OF HIS CALLING CARDS. AND HE STILL WOULD PREFER TO ATTACK. YEAH. >> ADVANCE. MEANWHILE, TODAY WAS TAKING QUESTIONS AUDIT, RELATION TALKING ABOUT YES, IT WAS. THERE WERE GOOD NUMBERS FOR BIDEN TODAY, BUT WHAT IT MEANT OVERALL FOR VOTERS ON THIS ISSUE, TRUMP IS GOING TO DO ANOTHER PRESS CONFERENCE TOMORROW FROM A DIFFERENT PROPERTY, NOT MAR A-LAGO. IT HE'LL. BE DOING IT FROM HIS BEDMINSTER CLUB WHAT IS YOUR SENSE FROM THE CAMPAIGN OF WHY HE'S DOING THESE THESE PRESS CONFERENCES, BUT NOT REALLY DOING A LOT OF RALLIES. HE'S ONLY HAD ONE THAT WAS IN MONTANA LAST WEEK. THINKS SOME OF IT IS ABOUT NOT SPENDING MONEY. I THINK SOME OF IT IS ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS IS AN EASY WAY TO CONTRAST WITH HER AND THAT'S THE MAIN ONE. ON HER BEING KAMALA HARRIS IN TERMS OF ANSWERING QUESTIONS, THEY ARE VERY, VERY FOCUSED ON THE FACT THAT SHE'S NOT DOING INTERVIEWS AND SHE'S NOT DOING PRESS CONFERENCES, WHICH IS AN ISSUE THAT STRATEGISTS CARE ABOUT, AN ISSUE THAT ALMOST NO VOTERS CARE ABOUT WHATSOEVER. AND SO THAT'S FINE IF THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT AND IT GETS HIM A LOT OF FREE MEDIA COVERAGE AND BREAKING INTERMEDIATE COVERAGE HAS BEEN A BIT OF AN OBSESSION OF HIS AND TRYING TO BREAK UP HER MOMENTUM. LOOK, SHE IS LIKELY TO HAVE ANOTHER AT LEAST TEN GOOD DAYS. WE ARE HEADING INTO THE CONVENTION. IT IS GOING TO GO THROUGH THE WEEKEND AFTER THIS ONE THAT HAS BEEN VEXING TO HIM. HE LIKES INSERTING HIMSELF IN THE NEWS CYCLE AS WE BOTH KNOW. WELL, CAN WE TALK ABOUT MIRIAM ADELSON BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO REPORTING SHE IS A MEGADONOR OF MEGA-DONORS. >> HAS SUPPORTING TRUMP WAS OTHER REPUBLICAN CONVENTION BUT SHE'S GOING TO MAR-A-LAGO THIS WEEK MEETING WITH TRUMP ARE GOING TO BEDMINSTER THIS WEEKEND MEETING WITH TRUMP AFTER HE HAD HAD THE AIDE WHO PRINTS OUT ALL OF HIS ARTICLES AND GLIMPSE AND GIVES THEM TO HIM, FIRE OFF SOME PRETTY HARSH TEXT TO HER. >> SO AGAIN, THIS STORY OF THE JONATHAN SWAN AND I DID OVER THE WEEKEND, WE HAD REPORTING IN THERE THAT PART OF PART OF TRUMP'S ANGER AND HOW HIS ANGER IS SEEPING OUT AND THIS SORT OF ERRATIC BEHAVIOR THAT PEOPLE AROUND HIM ARE SEEING AND SEEING DURING TIMES OF STRESS HAS BEEN IN THE FORM OF HAVING HIS AIDE KNOWN AS THE HUMAN PRINTER, NATALIE HARP BECAUSE SHE CARRIES AROUND A WIRELESS PRINTER SEND TEXTS TO MIRIAM ADELSON, WHO IS FUNDING A SUPER PAC TO THE TUNE OF TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS CALLED PRESERVE AMERICA, SAYING THAT IT'S BEING RUN BY RHINOS AND I JUST WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THE POINT THAT ONE OF THE PEOPLE RUNNING IT IS GOVERNOR ABBOTT OF TEXAS IS ADVISER. HE'S NOT A RINO SAYING HER HUSBAND NEVER WOULD HAVE TOLERATED IT. THIS CAUSED A LOT OF CONCERN THAT SHE'S GOING TO SCALE BACK HER GIVING HER ADVISERS FOUND OUT THAT IKE PERLMUTTER THE FORMER CHAIRMAN OF MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT, WHO IS A TRUMP ALLY AND RUNS A DIFFERENCE OR IS INVOLVED IN A DIFFERENT SUPER PAC, HAD BEEN GINNING UP THESE ATTACKS AGAINST HER. IT'S A MESS AND IT'S A MESS THAT FROM WORLD WOULD LIKE TO NOT BE DEALING WITH. XI WILL BE AT BEDMINSTER TOMORROW. THEY ARE GOING TO MEET PRIVATELY. CLEARLY, IT'S NOT IMPACTING HER GIVING, BUT THIS