Meet the Press NOW — September 17

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1:03Learn more at ittakesenergy.com. Welcome to Meet the Press. Now I'm Kristen Welker in Washington, where the President is signaling he's fed up with the Federal Reserve. After the nation's central bank defied his demands by hiking interest rates in a bid to rain and inflation. The President slamming the rate hike as he hit the campaign trail with his party facing significant political headwins on the economy and the Iran War with less than two months until election day. Casting blame on the fed's board and baselessly claiming it was conspiring against him. He also said he personally gave his new chairman, Kevin Worsh, the green light on How To Vote. Interest rates are too high. They're not appropriate. And I told, I talked to Kevin and I said, you might as well vote with the board because it's not going to matter. The board is very hostile. They're very political.

2:06They're raising the rates to, they're raising the rates to make Trump do as bad as they can possibly do. The only problem we have is that interest rates are artificially high. Interest rates in the United States should be 1% or less. Lower the interest rates for the United States of America and FAS because we can grow at a level that nobody's ever grown before. Now more rate hikes are expected as the war with Iran continues to drive up energy prices. Oil closed above $100 a barrel for the sixth day in a row. And the national average for a gallon of gas has spiked more than 20 cents in the last week far above pre-war averages. Diesel spiking new highs as well with voter frustration growing. Yesterday Vice President J.D. Vance and Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson tried to assure voters they understand the economic pressures they're facing. There's a lot of good that's been done, but there's a lot of work left to do. Don't give power to the people who cause the problems that we're fixing.

3:08Give us another chance or give us another couple of years to continue to work on the amazing things that we've been doing for the past two years. And the second argument I'd make is even if you don't agree with us on every issue, the other party is consumed by craziness. I think we'll be entering a new phase. What our candidates are doing is they are on the ground in their districts, talking to the people with authenticity and frankness. Of course gas prices are too high. There are candidates who are addressing that. And they are again reminding the American people of the extraordinary record of success that we have done. We still have the challenge of the Iran conflict not being fully resolved, but I believe we're on path to do that. And that will make the final difference. The question that every American has to ask in what our candidates are saying on the campaign trail right now, is they're asking their constituents to ask themselves that question. Which parties policies are better for me? The Vice President's plea for a second chance comes as polling shows the President deeply underwater when it comes to the cost of living and the Iran war.

4:10And Democrats holding an edge over Republicans when it comes to a broad swath of issues with voters. Joining me now is our NBC News team. Monica Alba is at the White House, senior national political reporter, silica pours at the big board. And politics reporter Alan Smith is on the road in battleground, Pennsylvania. Monica, I'm going to start with you at the White House. Let's talk about these interest rates. The President seems to want to put some distance between his pick for Fed Chair and yesterday's rate hike, which is pretty interesting. Do you think that that goodwill is going to last if rates get hiked again? That's a very good question, Kristen, because we have sort of in some ways seen this movie before, certainly with Jerome Powell, who the President also handpicked some years ago to lead the Federal Reserve, of course, that relationship's soured pretty infamously. And the question is, could that be the same fate for Kevin Warsh? Right now, the President seemingly trying to say that he likes Kevin. He likes his pick. He's going to give him a little bit of breathing room here and really blaming the board overall

5:13and casting them as hostile as you played there in the introduction. I think the question and the operative kind of sense here is that these things can go downhill, but the President also right now is giving it a little bit of time. He's saying very interestingly that he's having these conversations with his Fed Chair, which is also of significance here. Essentially, bringing into question all of this about a perceived independence with the Federal Reserve, but we know that that had sort of gone out the window over the last year and a half, as the President has been very clear about what he wants to see the Fed do. And the administration today hasn't been shy about it either, Kristen, really kind of talking about this decision as an unfortunate one, a negative one. And I think you can expect the President to keep talking about that broadly before he maybe criticizes Kevin Warsh more specifically. Yeah, I think you're absolutely right about that, Monica. The President also last night, last out on an issue he has spent a lot of time talking about focused on trade. I want to play a little bit of that and get your reaction on the other side.

6:15We're carrying almost every country in the world and that really cannot go on that much longer. I'm letting them know I'm going to say, let can't do that, we just can't do it. But all we have to do is say, you know what? We're not trading with you anymore. We don't need anything they have. We have cars, we have lumber, we have food, we have everything. Monica, based on your conversations with your sources, what are you hearing about the status of talks between the US and Canada at this moment amidst this? What's really become a trade war? They are non-existent, Kristen, which tells you so much about the status of this relationship. And in fact, Canada is now talking about potentially becoming an associate member of the EU after the EU Commission Chief made that overture. In the last couple of days and so you have this kind of alliance between Canada and the EU with the Prime Minister Mark Kerney saying earlier today that he's not really interested in another global block, but maybe perhaps one that will have better manners, a dig and not so indirectly at President Trump.

7:20And this has really been a tit for tat back and forth. And it's unclear what will force the parties back to the negotiating table, but we should point out that just before the end of this month, before the end of September, an additional round of retaliatory tariffs are set to go into effect, which will continue to put economic pain not just on the US's Northern neighbor, but on some of these key states here at home that import a lot of those Canadian goods as well, Kristen. Oh, absolutely. Monica, good preview and good thing to keep in mind as we look ahead. Thank you so very much, Monica, starting us off at the White Hill. So let's go to you. So the President won in part in 2024 because of the economy. Of course, he built this pretty broad coalition. How is the strength of that coalition looking right now? By the numbers, Kristen, we are seeing real cracks in the Trump coalition that powered him to a decisive victory in 2024. What I'm going to do here is zero in on four demographics that shifted toward Trump between his 2020 defeat and his 2024 victory.

8:20And then we're going to look at what they think of him today based on the latest New York Times, Sienna College, poll of registered voters. Let's start with Hispanic voters. We see here a 14 point swing toward Trump from 2020 to 2024. This was hugely helpful to him in key swing states. What Hispanic voters think of him now in terms of the approval rating? 30% look at this. He's well below his 2024 margin. He's even below his 2020 margin. Let's go here to voters under 30 young voters moved toward Trump by seven points. Many of them were unhappy about the economy, unhappy about the cost of living. They traditionally vote Democrat. They thought, let's give Trump a chance. What are they thinking now? They're not happy with Trump. 21% approve of Donald Trump, which is much lower than what he got in 2024. We also have voters earning less than $100,000 a year. This is a huge share. This is about 59% of the entire electorate. So even small margins can have huge consequences here. An eight point shift toward Trump among these working class voters from 2020 to 2024. He even got 51% of majority of them, which is highly unusual for a Republican to do.

9:21What do they think of him now? 31%. That number has crashed. That is well below what he got in 2024. That is not where Republicans want it to be. And then finally, non-white voters who didn't go to college, another Democratic stronghold. They still voted for Democrats, but look, they moved eight points toward Trump in 2024. This is helpful to him. Trump didn't need to win every demographic, but this is how he won in 2020 by peeling out voters who typically vote for Democrats. What do they think of him now? 22%. This number has fallen precipitously as well. So bottom line Democrats are going to be looking at all of these numbers and say, this election is a referendum. If you're unhappy with Trump, vote against the Republican, vote for the Democrat, vote for change, whereas the Republicans are going to say, yes, we get it that you're unhappy with the cost of living, with the cost of gas, the cost of food. But they're going to argue that this is a choice between a Republican and a Democrat. And in the words of Vice President Vance, give us another chance. So let me ask you about another subset of voters because obviously Latino voters were critical to President Trump's reelection in 2024. Where are a couple of places where the Latino vote could make a big difference?

10:25Absolutely. So let's start with Texas. About 26% of the electorate is Latino. This is hugely consequential. They could be divisive in Texas. Ken Paxson defeated John Coran and this is an open seat. He's going to be facing the Democrat James Tallerico. Democrats feel very bullish about Texas. It's been a white whale for them. Could this be the year? Could Hispanic voters be decisive? Let's look over here in Colorado, the eighth district outside Denver, outside Boulder, Gabe Evans won for the first time in 2024. He's a freshman. This district is about 40% Latino. He's going to be facing, as is upon a Democrat. Many root now, Gabe Evans is going to have to do a lot better than that Hispanic voter approval number for Donald Trump. Finally, California 22 and the Central Valley, David Valadeo, the sole surviving Republican and the House of Representatives who voted to impeach Donald Trump after January 6th. This district is about 70% Hispanic. Democrats redrew it as part of their gerrymandering push to make it a little bit more democratic, but not dramatically. This is still a competitive district, but David Valadeo, who has overperformed in recent

11:25cycles, is going to have to dramatically overperform the number with Latino voters in that Hispanic heavy district in order for him to beat this. He can't do this with Hispanic voters in order to win that district. And that's the dynamic we see all over the country, Kristen. Wow, just fascinating. With less than two months to go, Sahel from the Big Boards. Sahel, thanks so much. Great breakdown. Let's turn now to NBC Politics reporter Alan Smith. Alan, thanks so much for being here. So you have been crisscrossing the country, Alan. You're currently in Pennsylvania, but you just wrapped up a trip to Battleground, Michigan, where progressive Democrats are the party's standard bears in a pair of must-win races. What were your key takeaways? Well, Kristen, it was really interesting when I was there earlier this month. Will Lawrence was holding a round table with only a few data center activists. It was very small and intimate or a small town diner. And then I went and saw Abdul El Sayed later on in the day, and he was in a massive expo center taking questions from dozens and dozens of voters.

12:28The campaigns look a little different, but they're trying to achieve the same goal. Wind Battleground races as candidates who kind of originated from the party's left flank. Abdul had told me in an interview that was very interesting, was when I was asking what the comparison between running against the Democratic establishment and a primary, and what might be different than running against Republicans in a general election, he said, look, you've got to be doing the same thing. So you really shouldn't expect to see that much of a pivot here as November nears. Interesting. Well, Al Sayed's, of course, past campaigning with progressive streamer Hassan Piker has been a big issue in this campaign, this fight for the Senate seat, a central line of attack for Mike Rogers, who's of course, his Republican opponent. In an interview with Axios yesterday, Piker said he believes the US conducts more terrorism than al Qaeda. He's not really doing Al Sayed any favors here. Rogers is calling for Al Sayed to condemn him. What are you hearing? Do you think that's likely?

13:31So, Chris, and with Dr. Al Sayed's response to those comments from Hassan Piker, he's doing what he's done a couple of times since the general elections opened up, which is put some distance between himself and Hassan Piker, but not do a full condemnation. Now, what his statement was in light of Hassan's latest comments was, I don't agree with this statement on al Qaeda, in order I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer. So, on one hand, he's separating himself from the remarks, but he's also trying to delegitimize Piker as a campaign issue in this race, as Republicans really have elevated him, such in the last couple of weeks. He's been trying to delegitimize this as an issue, but it keeps coming back to him, particularly now that Hassan Piker continues to speak out. It doesn't seem like this is going away, is it, Alan? You know, and it's one of those things, and Michigan specifically, Abdul is trying to win over skeptical Jewish Democratic voters. Some of them really do not have fond feelings for Hassan Piker. So, that's the tightrope he's trying to walk right here,

14:34and you know what I asked, I asked him earlier this month about how he is trying to win over some of those skeptical Jewish voters. I think it's fundamentally about reminding people that we are committed to the safety of all people. You know, make my commitment to the safety of the Jewish communities the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids. There are some people who are going to disagree with my outcomes. They're going to say, well, I disagree deeply with your position, I'm not sure if that's a non-starter. That's their choice to make. But if you're committed to the future of our democracy, standing up to people like Donald Trump, making sure that we are standing with audience and providing health care, and protecting against the onslaught of a kind of hate that we've seen Trump and Trump as a frame that I hope the Kulak arms around those things. Alan, what was your takeaway from what he said there? You know, he actually has made a huge effort since the primary wrapped in trying to win over some of those voters, and something that was really interesting at his town hall earlier this month. The very first question asked was by a gentleman who said, look, I've got a lot of Jewish friends who are Democrats and really are concerned about you.

15:39I've been struggling to convince him to vote for you. What can I do? What can you do that will help me convince them to turn out for you? So obviously a huge issue that he's contending with as November nears. Absolutely. Alan Smith, not ready for a lot of sleep between now and November. I appreciate your taking time to share your reporting and your interview with us. Thanks, Alan. Thank you so much, Kristen. Coming up, artificial intelligence, real concerns meet the House Democrat helping to lead the charge on shaping AI policy in Congress as policymakers and the companies themselves grapple with how to combat the technology's most urgent threats. Plus, the United Nations says the US may have committed war crimes in Iran, citing a deadly attack at a school in the earliest days of the war. The report and the response is straight ahead. You're watching Meet the Press now. Hey, listeners, I'm Ash and I'm Alina and we are so excited to have joined the Sirius XM family.

16:46And you know what, if you want to keep hearing new episodes of Morvid Add Free, subscribe to Sirius XM Podcast Plus on Apple Podcasts or visit SiriusXM.com slash Podcasts Plus to listen with Spotify or another app of your choice. Let's go. Summer's still going strong. Make a stop at Total Wine and More for White Wines beer and ready to drink cocktails. Just know you're getting the lowest prices. Keep the Summer celebrations going at Total Wine and More. Spirits are not sold in Virginia and North Carolina. Drink responsibly. Be 21. I'm pretty confident talking into a mic. Hey, I'm doing it right now. But home projects, I second guess everything. Is that noise normal? Is that water damage? Who do I even call? That's where Thumbtack comes in. Just upload a photo or voice note and it uses AI-powered search to match you with the right top rated local pro. So instead of guessing, you get clarity and can hire with confidence. For your next home project, try Thumbtack.

17:48Higher the right pro today. Welcome back. We want to turn out to the very latest warnings on artificial intelligence. Open AI announcing it discovered at least six new incidents of unexpected or concerning behavior by its latest models, along with a new framework to better track and report future incidents. It comes as concerns about the industry and the debate over regulating AI are front and center politically. Today, Pennsylvania governor and potential 2028 presidential hopeful Josh Shapiro called for immediate action to address some of those concerns during a conference in Pittsburgh. Here's what he said just moments ago. I want to be clear. I am not a doomer. I don't think it is inevitable that AI is going to take over the world where that someone will misuse it to kill us or to do harm. But I do have real concerns as do many Pennsylvanians and many Americans.

18:50And I don't think that the very real concerns of our neighbors that they overwhelmingly express about this technology is a hoax as our president has called it. Here in Washington, the House began its recess without taking regulatory action and an effort in the Senate yesterday to pass legislation requiring companies to build a so-called kill switch into their models who is blocked. Scientists Jeffrey Hinton, the so-called Godfather of AI, issuing this warning after holding a bipartisan bicameral briefing on the Hill yesterday. If you look at predictions for one with that super intelligence, it used to be maybe 30 years, maybe 50 years, then it came down to maybe 10 years, maybe 20 years. Now people are saying a lot of the researchers are saying only a few years, there's only a few more years because AI is now

19:53reached the point where AI is designing better life. That's called recursive self-enraigment. And that's, we're reaching that point. It is going to get out of control unless we do something. Terrifying to hear that warning. Joining me now is Congressman Don Byer, Democrat from Virginia. He's co-chair of Congress's bipartisan caucus on artificial intelligence and has gone back to school to pursue a master's degree in machine learning to understand more about AI. Congressman, thanks so much for being here. Really appreciate it. Yeah, thank you, Kristen. It's a really important topic. I'm so glad you're paying attention to it. It is a critical topic, Congressman, and we're grateful to have you here to talk about it, and it's remarkable. You've actually gone back to school to learn more about it, given your educational pursuits. What do you make of this moment in the latest warnings over AI? What we just heard? Well, I'm so glad that we're finally paying attention. It seems in the last couple of weeks

20:55with first anthropic mythos model that President Trump put on hold, and then hugging face incident where those thousands of agents got lost from open AI, and then the resignation of that anthropic computer scientist last week. My heart will agree with what Jeff Hinton said yesterday. Earlier, it said, give us an example of something time when a less intelligent creature managed a more intelligent creature. It just doesn't happen in nature, and yet we're going hell-bent on building something smarter than we are. Well, let's talk about what Jeff Hinton said, in addition to what you're talking about, he also said that Congress has maybe a year to get ahead of AI, to get ahead of this issue. Do you agree with that assessment in that timeline? I agree with Jeff on the Congress part of it. In the meantime, we do have to acknowledge that the large labs, like anthropic open AI, Gemini, they are also very much aware that

21:57their business model will fail, and maybe the whole world will fail if they don't do something right now. So they are trying to put together their own internal safety mechanisms. We do have a safety institute at the National Institute for Standards and Technology that Biden created in Donald Trump has kept, but we're going to need ultimately a federal regulatory agency, and that we should do soon. Do you have confidence that Congress can and will act within the next year, and I guess as a follow to that, what should regulation even look like, congressman? I do. I'm not optimistic. Will Kristen, that we'll get it done before the end of this year? We should. We've done some bipartisan letters to Speaker Johnson to please bring us back so we can do it, but we definitely will do it next year, especially if control and the chambers changes. What should it look like? A lot of people have looked at various federal institutions, whether it's the FDA or the FDC, Demis Asabis, who is the one the Nobel Prize with Jeff Hinton, said we need

23:00something that the industry puts together so they can get good, they're very best talent and act quickly, but have federal oversight and federal punishment if things aren't kept up. Well, let me ask you because we're probably going to send it around, Paul, actually blocked a so-called kill switch bill yesterday. I'm going to play a little bit of what he had to say about AI and get your reaction on the other side. Take a look. Are there dystopian possible futures? Yes, and I'm one that thinks most dystopias come from government, so I think we ought to be very careful what we let government do with AI as far as surveillance and interference in your business, but I think just cutting off a technology or trying to kill a technology before we truly understand it's a mistake. What do you make of his argument, Congressman Byer? Well, I'm glad that he acknowledges that there is an existential risk from AI, and my sense is that Senator Paul misunderstands what the kill switch bill does. All that does is give government the ability to shut down a model that is an imminent danger to its people. That's really what

24:06Donald Trump has been trying to do in the last couple of weeks to, is saying if these things like mythos is going to get at a control, he's been prohibiting it. But what we need to do is not have something that's the whim of one person. There should be investigatory verification organizations that are looking deeply in each of these models and know when you have to quit it, when you have to stop it. Well, let me ask you big picture a little bit about the fight for Democrats to take back the House. How big if Democrats do win, do you think the margins might be come November after election day? Well, Cristal, I'll be happy with one or two, but I think that could be bigger. Certainly, I'm in Virginia, we have three or four seats that we could flip from Republican to Democrat. We have so many candidates right now, we think could win a Democrat's beating Republicans, unlike anything I've ever seen. It's still a week is a long time

25:08in politics. We're still 47 days away, so a lot could happen. But right now, young people can't find jobs. No one can afford a house. Grocery prices are high. We're up for a new gas shock on the next couple of days. And we just raised interest rates yesterday. The economy's a mess, and people are very pessimistic. We need to give them hope. And maybe a new Congress dedicated to doing something. We're coming off the least productive Congress in our nation's history. It's right for change. As you say, a lot could happen between now and election day, a lot of states dealing with redistricting. There's a big debate, Congressman Byer, about whether there could in fact be a blue wave. When you look at some of the latest numbers, what do you think? Well, there's Chris and there certainly could be a blue wave, but we still have to acknowledge that this is a divided country. And just two years ago, Donald Trump won all seven battleground states. So we Democrats can't relax and say there's a blue wave. We have to run through the tape. And we have to

26:10continue to make the argument that we will restore the health care cuts that came in the big ugly bill that we will fight to bring down grocery prices and electricity prices. And then we will fight the corruption that exists in the White House right now. And just finally, just finally, Congressman, I want to switch gears here a little bit. Democrats sounding the alarm. They say that word, President Trump plans to actually demolish the Kennedy Center and out of the courts, have ruled that his name cannot be on it. Images overnight showed the President reviewing a poster board on Air Force One that appeared to include plans to demolish the Kennedy Center. Are you concerned? And do you think Congress can do anything to prevent any action by the President like that? Chris, and there's a lot of things the administration's done that I thought have been foolish and the tariffs the war in Iran. But tearing down the Kennedy Center even though it wouldn't change our lives would be just heartbreaking and a great sacrilege. And dishonor not just John Kennedy,

27:15but the whole notion of our commitment to the arts. All of this so that he can have his name on the building. I hope that no Democrat and no Republican thinks that this is behavior appropriate for President of the United States. And to that question, can Congress do anything? Does Congress have any recourse? Well, I know Joyce Beatty, who's a member of Congress from Ohio. She's been in court today trying to hold the President and contempt of court trying to make sure that the justices stop him. If it goes to the Supreme Court, they've been doing the right thing recently. I'm I'm sure that the Supreme Court, even the Supreme Court with Clarence Thomas and Alito, would stop tearing down the Kennedy Center. All right, Congressman Donbier, thank you so much for your time and your perspective. We really appreciate it. Yeah, thanks, Kristen, very much. Coming up next, the United Nations Human Rights Council releases a new report documenting its findings on alleged war crimes in Iran since the war broke out days before world leaders descend on New York for the UN General Assembly. Keep it right here. I'll meet the press now.

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29:18responsibly be 21. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start, Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin, or what that clonking sound from your dryer is. With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the app. Download today. Welcome back, turning now to developments in the US War with Iran. A new report released by the U.N.'s top human rights body says it, quote, found reasonable grounds to believe that the United States committed war crimes during a pair of air strikes which killed at least 178 civilians, including women and children. One of those strikes involved hitting a school in February. The Pentagon has previously said the incident was under investigation when asked about the strike in June, President Trump confirmed the administration was reviewing what happened and told reporters, quote, nobody did that on purpose. The second strike in question

30:19was also carried out on the same day, hitting a sports complex and residential area according to the report. The Pentagon has also denied responsibility for that strike. The White House last hour responding to the report in a statement saying, quote, in part, the only party in this conflict that has committed war crimes is the Iranian regime, which has murdered thousands of its own people, killed Americans overseas, executed acts of terrorism in the Strait of Formuse, promos, and launched indiscriminate attacks against its neighbors in the region. Joining me now to discuss this is NBC News, Senior National Security Correspondent Courtney Cuby. Courtney, thanks so much for being here. So what were you learning about this UN report? So it seems that they believe, based off of their investigation, that some of the claims that this strike, yes, while it may have been US Tomahawk missiles that actually carried out this strike, that it may have been an accidental hit. So in other words, they were trying to go after something else. This was a known Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps cruise missile site and base, and they may,

31:20the question had been for months now, whether they accidentally hit the school when they were intending to hit other buildings and structures on that facility. This report is now calling into question, whether that's true. And instead saying it appears that the US was trying to hit this location with this strike. Now, we should know, as part of this, they also found that the Iranians were responsible for crimes against humanity. The real question is, will any of this have any actual impact on the US based off of the statement on the White House? It doesn't seem like they're taking it very seriously. Yeah, you're absolutely right. That is the question. Does that have any teeth? You know, I want to ask you a big picture about the war of the president kind of casting this moment as a crossroads. He told Axia's about next steps, quote, I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them, the Iranian regime, or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me. Obviously, he's made similar threats before, but Courtney, what is your reporting tell you about what the president's latest thinking is? What he thinks his next steps are here? What's not clear is why now? What has suddenly changed? Because it has

32:24really been status quo there for some time now. The Iranians are still firing off sometimes some cruise missiles, some drones into the straight-of-formers. The US is still shooting some down. But for the most part, there is still a trickle of activity going through the straight-of-formers, and the US is really there as a blockade, and it's somewhat of a stalemate. So what now is this to break the blockade or break the stalemate or not? It's not really clear. What is clear is the US military continues to have this huge presence forward, enough way more than they need for their current operations. So if the president were to decide he wants to restart combat operations and he wants to do something like he suggested in that interview and go in and take out the Iranian regime, the reality is the US military has a lot of firepower there and they could carry out a lot of different operations for him for a relatively extended period of time, too. Well, that's certainly notable. And speaking of the status of the Pentagon, there's new reporting that you have that the Pentagon is considering potentially pulling out as much of a third of US forces from Europe. Why?

33:26And how seriously are they considering this? It's very seriously under consideration. So this is something that we've been hearing about for some time. It's not really a surprise based off of the past comments that we've heard from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, his had policy person, Bridge Colby. They've talked about the desire to, the way they put it is they want Europe to take more of a stand for its own security. But as part of that, the idea is that they would pull back US forces. So we're talking about not only potentially 25 plus thousand US troops of the roughly 80,000 that are there, but also pulling that capabilities aircraft, maybe even potentially leaving some bases entirely. President Trump has also signaled that he wants less, Europe to rely less on the US military for their own security. So the real question now is, will this, some sort of a plan be accepted? And then of course, there is still the National Defense Authorization Act and the NDAA, which is the US cannot go below 76,000 total troops there. So the

34:27question is, could they do some funny Pentagon fuzzy military math here to make this work or not? Some of the options are going to be presented as early as tomorrow to Secretary Hegseth. I know you're going to be all over it. Please come back and update us. Court, you can be great to see you. As always, really appreciate it. Coming up after the break, the race to replace retiring Senator Mitch McConnell. I go one-on-one with the Democratic candidate vying to flip the deep red Kentucky seat blue for the first time in decades. Keep it right here. I'll meet the press now. Okay. Welcome back. We want to turn out to the Senate race to replace retiring Senator Mitch McConnell in Kentucky with Democrat Charles Booker taking on Republican Congressman Andy Barr, who is endorsed by President Trump. Booker is looking to flip Senator McConnell's seat as Republicans battle headwinds on the economy and the war with Iran. The last time the state elected a Democrat

35:30to the Senate was over three decades ago in 1992. Joining me now is Democratic Senate candidate for Kentucky Charles Booker. It's great to see you in person. Thanks for being here. Of course. I don't know to be here. Well, let's talk about the state of play here and start right there. I mean, you heard it. Democrats haven't won this seat in three decades. What makes you think you can flip this seat now? Well, Kentucky's are hurting. They're looking for leaders who will stand up and meet the moment for them. The prices of gas and groceries is breaking the backs of a lot of people and they're frustrated with a status quo that's been filled with broken promises from Donald Trump. And I've done a lot of organizing over the years from the hood to the holler. And what I know is people are sick and tired of a status quo that Mitch McConnell built and they're looking for leaders who will fight for them. And that's why we're building so much support. That's why polling shows us already within single digits and when a position to win this race. Polling shows you in single digits. If you look at the spending advantage, though, that your competitor Andy Barr has, it's not insignificant. According to our files, you have 2.3 million

36:40compared to 9.9 million that Andy Barr has. Is that something that you can overcome given that clearly he's got the cash advantage, the ad spending advantage? Well, this campaign truly is a grassroots people-centered campaign. And so we're not afraid of Andy Barr and his big money from Wall Street. And the fact of the matter is he's funded by Wall Street throughout his career 14 years in the Congress. He did nothing for Kentucky but sell us out for the big banks. That's why he's in his penthouse, hoping to get more power for himself. And while we have been outspinced, even in the primary, we were outspinced 4-1 in one by double digits because we know the power for organizing. But we still need to build some support too. Well, and talking about the support that you need to build, Democrats are investing in some of these Senate races that are hotly contested Texas, Alaska, Florida, Ohio. Do you need more support from the National Party in order to get this race over the finish line? Well, this races of national importance. So absolutely, we do need that support.

37:45But one thing that's clear, people of Kentucky are ready for real change. That's why people who voted for Trump are organizing with me. People who've never voted before are organizing with me. We've built some real infrastructure because people are sick and tired of Mitch McConnell and the corruption in Washington. And so we're in a position to win. And that's why I'm asking everyone to join us and go to trossbooker.org to help us out. Let me ask you about what your opponent is saying about you. Andy Barr refers to you as a socialist and the quote mom Donnie have Kentucky, of course, referenced to Mayor mom Donnie. You've been very clear that you're not a socialist. Where do you differ from the Democratic Socialism of America? Well, you know, I've never subscribed to any of those labels because they've never really spoken for the challenges that we've seen in Kentucky. We got to come out of our corners. And that means stepping out of the Washington labels and really fighting for the people. Because as I've mentioned, whether you're a Democrat, Republican or independent, we're all being screwed. So I'm finding to make sure that everyone can afford to have the medicine they need and keep a roof over their head.

38:48Finding to make sure people can be safe in their homes and in their communities. Finding to make sure we have our pursuit of democracy protected. And I don't care about the labels that Andy Barr throws at me. We're standing up for the people. But just to be very clear, where do you see differences between yourself and the Democratic Socialists of America? Well, the main thing that I see is that we need to build coalitions and we need to make one for everyone at the table. And so that's why leaning into a Kentucky first platform that says whether you are a lifelong Republican, whether you are a Democrat, whether you are independent, we are here together based on our common bonds. And where there are disagreements, let's find ways to build together. This is how I was able to pass my personal legislation in the House, a state house. And that's why we'll do it in the Senate too. Let me get your reaction to something that Vice President JD Vance told Republicans in a meeting this week. I'm going to read some of it to you. Get your reaction on the other side. He said, if you're one of the few Republicans who's running against a Democrat who's not that crazy, then just talk about Abdul Al-Sahed. He's got enough material for the whole country. What do you

39:52make of those comments? And do you think Dr. Abdul Al-Sahed is potentially hurting Democrats in tough races? Well, what I can say is in Kentucky, the national narrative is not hurting our chances of making history because we're poised to do it. Because the one name that everyone is pissed off in Kentucky is Mitch McConnell. His unfavorable rating is over 80%. And so I know there's a lot of national discourse. And I've been laser focused on Kentucky because I know we have a chance to win, not based on national narrative, but on meeting the needs of the people. And when we flip Kentucky, we're going to flip the US Senate too. When you look forward this week, former Vice President Kamala Harris is poised to campaign with Abdul Al-Sahed. Would you welcome her on the campaign drill? You know, I'm open to anyone who earnestly wants to lift up working people across Kentucky. Excited to see folks coming off the sidelines because this is a moment that requires all hands on deck. We have to take back the Senate. We have to repair a lot of the damage

40:54that Mitch McConnell has caused. The Supreme Court, for instance, the fact that we have a gutting of the vote rights act is because of Mitch McConnell. So all of us do need to step in and find ways to lift our voices. And I'm asking folks nationally to look at Kentucky too. So given that, would you welcome Vice President Kamala Harris campaigning with you? Well, I'm welcoming anyone that's interested in lifting us up. Our team has been very diligent in our endorsements. And I know a lot of folks support Vice President Harris and can take it there. A lot of folks who have expressed opposition to. So we're being very diligent in building our coalition, but our coalition is for everyone. When you think about 2028, she said she's considering another run. Do you want to see her run? Do you think she should put her hat into the ring in 2028? Well, I certainly believe that she has earned the right. She's broken a lot of barriers and has earned the right. And I know there are a lot of folks that are looking at 28, but the fact of the matter is if we don't stand up in 2026 and take back the Senate and clean up the mess in Washington, conversations about 28 really become moot. And so I feel a great sense of

41:55urgency, a desperation coming from one of the poorest zip codes in Kentucky to fight for my family to protect our pursuit of democracy. So we can talk about 28. All right. Well, we are going to track your race very closely, Charles Booker. Thank you so much for being here in person. Of course. Thank you. Great to see you. Still to come. Give us another chance more on the Vice President's message to voters with just 47 days until the midterms. Plus, brand new NBC reporting on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's potential political future in 2028 and beyond the panel digs in. That's next day with us on Meet the Press now. Welcome back. New reporting today on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's plans for the future. Two people familiar with the matter telling NBC News Rubio has said privately what he said publicly that he has no plans to run for president in 2028. Those sources, though, say that Rubio has acknowledged that 2028 could be a tough political

43:00landscape for Republicans, suggesting the 55-year-old Secretary of State could campaign in 2032 or 2036 instead. The new reporting shedding light on the Secretary of State's role tied to the war and his political future. Joining me now is today's panel veteran political reporter Molly Ball, Joe Payne, Democratic strategist and former senior A to Hillary for America, and Jesse Arn, Vice President of External Affairs at the Manhattan Institute. Thanks to all of you for being here. Molly, I want to start with you. I find this reporting to be so fascinating and quite frankly, I find Secretary of State Marco Rubio's posture to be so fascinating right now because we've seen and heard a lot more from Vice President J.D. Vance than we have from the Secretary of State when it comes to the war with Iran. What do you make of this mix that we're watching? I too found this fascinating because it answers a question that I personally have been thinking a lot about, which is where is he? There's a lot going on in the world. We have undertaken this this war that has now been going on longer than the President

44:00predicted. And the Secretary of State has not been super visible on any of this stuff. And so this reporting was very interesting. He seems to be positioning himself a little bit outside the spotlight, which you could see as potentially a political calculation, particularly given that the war is unpopular. And while Vance has been more out front, he has also sought to distance himself from it a little bit. So you could see this as trying to stay away from a decision that he might not want to be associated with down the road. You could also see it as the worst of both worlds, right? It's hard to distance yourself too much from an administration you're such an important part of. And by not being visible, it does raise questions about what kind of role he's playing and whether he is an effective Secretary of State. So beyond the whole presidential calculation, which frankly, I don't think you can ever put any stock in that kind of answer, right? People change their minds all the time. All the time. And we have a way to start. But I was very intrigued by what this story said about sort of how he's thinking about his role in

45:02all of the conflicts that we're facing. It is pretty fascinating, Joel. Obviously not your party. But how are Democrats watching this play out? And do they see a Secretary of State Marco Rubio as potentially a tougher match than Vice President J.D. Vance, who has been quite frankly out front more so on the world with Iran? I'm struck with two observations. One, where's the constituency for Marco Rubio? I don't know if there is a majority constituency in the current Republican Party, Republican coalition that exists for a Neocon, somebody who is from a different generation, someone who's run for President before, unsuccessfully. I'm not sure if that constituency comes together, as easily as maybe Rubio or his advisors or as any circle would think. I think the future of the Republican Party is probably going to look closer to J.D. Vance, closer to Donald Trump's vision of the party than Marco Rubio's. But we'll see. I'm just a lowly Democrat. So to take what I say with the greatest thought, the second thought that I have is if you have the moment to take the reins,

46:07history has told us you should do it. I mean, Barack Obama took the moment in 2008, Chris Christie waited, Hillary Clinton waited, Mitt Romney, John McCain, those folks did not strike at the right moments. And I think history has proven that when you have the moment, you got a strike while the yarn is hot. And I think it would be a mistake if Rubio thinks that his time is now to think he can put it off for another four or eight years. That's an interesting historical perspective. Jesse, I want to play a little bit of what we've been hearing from the vice president and get your reaction to that. Take a listen. Give us another chance or give us another couple of years to continue to work on the amazing things that we've been doing for the past two years. What do you make of this messaging from the vice president? How do you think it plays into his potential calculations? Is he considers a potential run in 2028? I think Vance is trying to test the midterm message that comes from Bill Clinton's circa 1992 into 1994, right? This feeling of, I feel your pain. It's a softer touch message than what the president is running with.

47:08The vice president said that. He gave a very good speech at the RNC convention, midterm convention that happened the other week. But the president is hammering more on this message of left wing radicalism. The Democrats are now captured by an ascendant socialist faction. And it is the case that even as we see generic ballot tests and these big polls showing a democratic advantage, socialism, at least according to the New York Times, Sienna Poll is still under water, something like 20 points. To that point though, let me follow up with you. Do you think that's going to be effective in this climate when affordability is still the top issue for voters? When you hear the president make and the vice president making as well, that argument. Do you think that's the most effective argument? I do. I think affordability is going to be a constant for every president moving forward. I think economic anxiety is going to be a constant. I think that this was something that dominated the Biden era. Inflation is down from that peak. But this is still something that voters are concerned about. And what I will say is that I think that when Republicans position themselves against radicals and the other party,

48:10that is where they tend to be doing best, this cycle. In Maine, in Michigan, even in Minnesota, at least if you trust the big polls. Joel, the president is an effective messenger. And he's effective at hammering a point over and over again and then having it stick. Do you think this idea of trying to paint all Democrats as socialists and crazies? Do you think that that could turn some of these battleground districts and states? Well, I mean, the polling that we've seen shows that. Also, if you just anecdotally look at what people are saying, I mean, I'm sure, Kristen, you saw this ad that Maria O'Vara Salazar put out and Florida that essentially is running away from Donald Trump in the district that he won by 15 points. You can't outrun people's lived experience. And I'm sure you want to play that. Ask and you shall receive. I don't think this is important. We have the tape. Let's play it. Congressman Salazar criticizing Donald Trump's immigration policies. Let's take a look at everyone's reaction on the other side. It's a president. Some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far. In July,

49:1150% of the 50,000 people that were detained had no criminal record. The same Hispanics will help you get to the White House in 2024. Feel patriotic today. That's pretty powerful. The same Hispanics who helped to get to the White House feel betrayed today. She says, Molly, what do you make of this and does it underscore that there may be some cracks forming in the megapastes? How do you see it? Absolutely with the Hispanic vote, which we, which is a swing vote now. You see in polls that Trump has lost a lot of ground. I believe you touched on this earlier in the show. The problem is there's only so much you can do to outrun a bad dynamic. And as Joel and Jesse were talking about, this is a real divergence between the President and Vice President. Trump's strategy is always to say, don't believe you're lying. Eyes, everything is actually great. And you have vans trying to actually acknowledge that maybe people are not happy and that the and trying to position the administration as in touch with that. But you know, the question voters are going to ask when you do an ad like Congresswoman

50:13Salazar is, well, if I'm not happy with this administration, why should I keep you in office? Why should I keep a Republican in office who is coming out and saying that she has failed to persuade the President not to do the things she's criticizing him for? Jesse, what do you make of this video by Congresswoman Salazar? Do you think and are Republicans concerned about what the implications might be? I'm part and I think it speaks to Salazar running a campaign that meets the ideological priors of the area in which she's running. The Democratic Party is an under-institutional. There's an over-institutionalized party and the Republican Party is an under-institutionalized party. The Republicans have a boss. His name is Donald Trump. He sets the rules and then there's a lot of ideological diversity that is willing to fester within the ranks. Okay, you were just pointing out earlier that JD Vance and Mark Garuvio don't necessarily see the world on the exact same playing field. That may be the case. Susan Collins certainly doesn't see the world the same way that Ken Paxton does. But if you kiss Donald Trump's ring, you're basically allowed to run with a bunch

51:16of different messages. It's not allowed in the Democratic Party where the NGOs run the show and everybody's got to say they support eight kids under the age of 18 being allowed to get a sex change. What? What? What? What is Donald cornered about how much festering Donald Trump allows within the big tent of his party? I mean, Republicans have been smacked down from this. I do think the reality of the political cycle is meeting all Republicans and Donald Trump in his political operation because they don't have the hammer to enforce the type of discipline within their ranks that they previously did. I appreciate you trying to speak that into existence. What about the Thomas Massey primary? What about Marjorie Taylor Green? Do you see people aren't returning to Congress because they are able to enforce that camera? Yes, and by the way, the proxies and cornerers example of that too. Great. Great. I mean, run with Donald Trump. I think that's not demonstrating itself to be a good example. The point is that we're not all Trump where it works and you don't where it doesn't. And that's a wise choice. It's going to be a lot of not working. Molly, what do you make of this debate that's playing out? And I mean, it is true people who've disagreed with Donald Trump have found themselves on the way out and yet there does seem to be space for

52:19a Congresswoman Salazar. Well, we'll see if she wins her election. Yeah, I mean, that's ultimately worth the rubber muse. The road and that is what she is trying to accomplish here is to say to her constituents who she knows very well, right? She's a former TV anchor. So people have a lot of comfort with her and they trust her a lot. But the question is, will they be willing to believe her when she says that they should continue to support her and another Republican? Jesse, just very quickly with the fewer many moments we have, I mean, part of the issue is is there an erosion of support amongst Latino voters? Is there enough time to win what Molly has described as these are now swing voters back? Yeah, politics is a pendulum these days. So there's going to be probably an erosion of support everywhere. Donald Trump won by a very large margin in 2024. People have an appetite for change. That's relatively natural. The question is, how do you tell them that the kind of change the Democrats are now offering? The center left doesn't have much of a spine. Can't articulate what therefore the DSA is the alternative. All right. Thanks for a feisty conversation.

53:20Guys appreciate it Molly Joel and Jesse. We are back tomorrow with more meat the press now. There's much more ahead on NBC News now. Do you remember in school when your teacher had a favorite of everything? A favorite marker, a favorite element? And yes, even a favorite student who wasn't me. So let's move on. I want to talk about their real favorite thing. Kleenex tissues. According to teacher lists, Kleenex is the number one facial tissue trusted by teachers. They're silky soft to help prevent skin irritation. And now with Kleenex snap and go, you can take them anywhere. Stock up on the ultimate classroom favorite. For whatever happens next, grab Kleenex.