Senator Claire McCaskill is away this week, so former White House Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri tapped another former co-host to join, veteran GOP strategist and creator of “The Circus”, Mark McKinnon. As President Biden hosts a NATO summit in Washington, all Beltway eyes are focused on whether he has staying power as the Democratic nominee. So, Jen and Mark zero in on how keenly lawmakers and pundits are tracking the shifting winds of that calculation. And NBC correspondent Vaughn Hillyard previews the Republican Convention set to begin Monday, and the many unknowns still hanging in the air—including who is speaking, how strongly they embrace Project 2025, and who Trump will choose as his running mate.

A Note: Next week, we’ll be recording and releasing on Friday so we can break down the  Republican Convention as a whole. In the meantime, we'll be sharing audio of MSNBC's coverage in this feed for people to stay up to date during the convention next week.