May 17 — Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Chris Van Hollen and James Comey

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You're a great leader. Sometimes people don't like me saying it, but I say it anyway because it's true. I only say the truth. As China expands its global power, what did the president actually gain? Plus, cost crisis. The economic fallout from the war with Iran is hitting home as inflation climbs to a three-year high, and the issue becomes a midterm flashpoint. I don't think about American financial situation.

I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. Donald Trump and Republicans don't give a damn. Short-term pain. It's going to be short-term pain. But the pain is much less than people thought. Are Americans paying the press?

My guest this morning Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. And legal pressure. He's a dirty cop. He's a crooked man. Former FBI director James Comey joins us exclusively as he faces a second indictment from the Trump administration. Joining me for insight and analysis are NBC News Chief Capitol Hill correspondent Brian Nobles. Adrian Elrod, former senior advisor to the Harris campaign, and Lonnie Chen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution. Welcome to Sunday. It's Meet the Press. From NBC News in Washington, the longest running show in television history.

This is Meet the Press with Kristen Welker. Good Sunday morning. Overnight, the latest target of President Trump's retribution campaign going down and defeat. two-term Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy losing his bid for re-election to a Trump-backed challenger who advances to a runoff. This, after Bill Cassidy voted to convict Mr. Trump in his impeachment trial during the first term, we'll have much more on that coming up. But first, the president returned to Washington after his two-day summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In historic meeting, the president said strength in ties. between the two nations, but which did not produce a major agreement on trade or a commitment

from China to help end the war with Iran. Mr. President, did the President she make any firm commitments to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the straight of all news? I'm not asking for any favors because when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return. We don't need favors. Meanwhile, tensions intensifying in the Middle East, a fragile ceasefire still holding, but the Strait of Ramos remains closed, and major questions remain about what comes next. Here at home, the economic impact of the war is putting new pressure on American households

with inflation hitting a three-year high this week and gas prices remaining above $4.50 a gallon. President Trump making this striking admission earlier in the week. When you're negotiating with Iran, Mr. President, to what extent are Americans' financial significant motivating you to make a deal? Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody.

I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all. And joining me now is Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Senator Graham, welcome back to meet the press. Thank you very much. Thank you for being here after an historic week. Yeah. Let's start right there with the President's Summit in China. One of the biggest issues discussed was Taiwan just for our viewers. It's a self-ruling democracy that China has vowed to control. Now, Congress voted to approve billions of dollars in armed sales to defend the island. But in an interview after the summit, President Trump would not commit to supporting Taiwan. I want to play you a little bit of $1.00. what he had to say. You're waiting on approving

billions of dollars of weapons for Taiwan. Is that moving forward? Well, I haven't approved it yet. We're going to see what happens. I may do it. I may not do it. Yeah, what's your hinge point? Well, I'm not going to say that,

but I may do it, I may not do it. Senator, can Taiwan be secure without U.S. support? Well, I think it's in our interest to make sure they can be secure. the country for a long time has a one China policy now what does that mean we don't recognize two Chinas we recognize one China with two systems it's been the policy of the United States to help provide military aid to Taiwan we have economic integration with Taiwan so I want to continue

that policy strategic ambiguity what would we do if China invaded Taiwan well we have strategic ambiguity. Trump said, President Trump, it would be up to me and me alone, and he's right about that. What can I do as a member of Congress? We'll be introducing with Senator Dan Sullivan from Alaska hard-hitting pre-invasion sanctions that would put tariffs and sanctions on China if they did invade Taiwan. I want China to know, if you invade Taiwan, try to take Taiwan by force. Here's what happens to your economy, the full weight and measure of, uh, of sanctions and tariffs from the United States will kick in on day one. That's what I want to do to deter an invasion. As to the weapons sales, if the president decides not to prove the package,

I'll leave that up to him, but I hope he will be able to tell the country by saying no to the weapons package, I got an agreement with China that makes Taiwan more secure. We'll see what happens. You want him to send the weapons, though, and does he support the sanctions package you just talked about? I haven't talked to him about it, but I think there'll be overwhelming support in Congress to let China. If we've done this with Russia, if you invade Ukraine, here's what happens to you on day one. I don't think they would invade it. So let's make it clear to China. If you try to take Taiwan by force, here's what happens to your economy on day one.

I'm hoping that the administration would support that. In terms of weapons sales, it's up to the president. I would encourage him to make Taiwan strong so we can deter aggression. If you give an inch on China, they'll take them on Taiwan. I think they'll take a mile. But we're not looking for war. We're not looking for conflict. I want to keep the status quo.

Just to follow up on that point, President Trump warned other countries last year that when it comes to Iranian oil, quote, if you buy it, you're not doing any business with the United States. As you know, China buys 90 percent of Iran's oil. Are you disappointed that President Trump wasn't able. to get China to stop buying Iranian oil during this summit? Well, President Trump said we don't need China. I'm not looking for a favor from China to help to end the Iranian conflict. But here's the soft underbelly of Iran. They're a fossil fuel economy.

As to Russia, we're very close to sanctions being passed by the Congress that will allow the president to put tariffs and sanctions on the shadow fleet in any country that buys cheap Russian oil to price. prop up Vladimir Putin that doesn't help Ukraine can be tariffed. He put a 25% tariff on India, President Trump did for buying Russian oil. They'll come a moment here where China is going to have to be held accountable for what they're doing. And without China buying Iranian oil, their economy would collapse. So where are we with Iran? I think we've hit a wall when it comes to negotiations. Here's what the president said just a couple of days ago. Basically,

I can say this with the, I'm not going to be much more patient. Any sane person would make a deal, but they might be crazy. The president's had it with moving the goalpost. You get a deal the next day they wake up in the president's word. It's like we never had the conversation. So what happens next? I think we had a wall on dealmaking.

I would encourage the president look at reducing Iran's military capability even further. They've been dramatically weakened, but they're still targets that could weaken them more militarily. and I would also keep the embargo on to weaken their economy. And I'd let the Iranians know if you keep terrorizing the region, Kargallon, which is your source of revenue, will be in play. I think that would be the smart next play. You can't pursue a deal more than the people on the other side want a deal. Let me ask you, I just want to be very explicit.

You are saying you think these negotiations have hit a wall. Yes, ma'am. Are you saying, Senator, that you think it's time for President Trump to resume military reaction against Iran? I think you can't get a coherent answer from Iran because they can't be coherent. I think they're so disheeled now. They're so weakened. They agree to things in the next day, they back up. President Trump's very frustrated. So what to do next? I think it's going to be very difficult to get a deal with the current regime. Is there any evidence they've changed? I talked to the CIA director yesterday. Is there any evidence that their crowd in charge now is any less committed to destroying Israel? Going

after us the great Satan purifying Islam? I think the answer is no. So weaken them further and you may get a deal later, but you're not going to get a deal with this crowd until you hurt them more. So you're saying it sounds like you do support more military action at this point. Do you think that's something that will happen? Do you think it could happen in days, weeks, months? I think the status quo is hurting us all. The longer the straight is closed, the more we try to pursue a deal that never happens, the stronger Iran gets. So, According my analysis is there's nothing to suggest that the people in charge now are any different in terms of the regime's goal to terrorize the world, destroy Israel, come after us. So what do you do next? You weaken them further.

What President Trump has done has been amazing militarily, but there's still more targets to be had. And there's things we can do to hurt there. The energy infrastructure is their soft underbelly. If you go back to the fight, I put energy on top of the list. So you're calling for strikes on the energy infrastructure? Yeah, I'm calling to hurt this regime. If you do the same old thing, you're going to get the same result. Hurt them more.

Maybe they'll make a deal if you hurt them enough. But right now, I think they're trying to wait us out. I think they're playing games. And in the words of the president, I think they're crazy. I think he's right. Senator, the goal of this, one of the key goals from President Trump, was to get their Iran's nuclear capabilities to wipe that out. How does the United States retrieve Iran's nuclear material without sending in ground forces?

Well, hopefully you do it diplomatically. But don't you need to send in ground forces if you want to retrieve it, which is what we've heard, Prime Minister. He wants to get the nuclear dust. There's another way to do it. I talked to him about it yesterday. Draw a circle around where we know it's that, call it the circle of death. Anybody goes inside the circle is going to die until we can find a way to deal with this. The goal is to make sure they can't retrieve it.

They can't make a dirty bomb. They can't further enrich. Their enrichment capability has been obliterated at least for a couple of years. All right. Let me turn to the economy and the economic effects of the war, which are being felt here at home. Inflation has climbed to the highest annual rate in three years. Gas prices are at a four-year high. Grocery prices are climbing. President Trump was pressed on how all of these factors impact how he views his negotiations with Iran. Take a look. I don't think about American financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all. Do you agree with the president that he shouldn't be taking Americans' financial situation into account when dealing with Iran?

That's this Churchill moment. When Churchill came into power, he promised blood, sweat, toll, heartache until we deal with the Nazis who are an existential threat to the British way of life. And if Hitler had taken charge of the planet, it would have been the darkest hour in humanity. I believe Iran wants a nuclear weapon. They would use it. So does President Trump. They would use it as part of their religious agenda. They would destroy the Jewish state. They would eventually hold us hostage. So his audience, the Iranian regime, do I worry about gas prices? Yes. But President Trump's right. The biggest threat to dispelity in the world is a nuclear armed Iran. And whatever price we have to pay will pay. What did Churchill say? whatever price we have to pay to beat Hitler we will pay. Same with Iran. So good news, we're inside the 10-yard line. I think if we go back to military activity, weaken them further, then we can end this thing pretty soon. Senator, you take me to my next question because 70% of Americans in a new poll say President

Trump is doing a bad job on the economy, the number one issue for voters. As you know, bottom line, is it worth losing the midterms if the result is a non-nuclear Iran? It's worth losing my job. If I had to give my job up to make sure Iran would never have a nuclear weapon, I would do it. Did you give up the House in the Senate? I would give up politically. The most important thing I can do with the job I've been given is to protect the American people. Now, you don't have to agree with me, but I've been this way for 20 years.

I believe they're religious Nazis in Iran. If they had a nuclear weapon, they would use it. They've been trying to get one. They've been cheating Obama and Biden were jokes when it came to containing Iran. Trump is doing something people should have done a long time ago. But here's the good news. Gas prices will come down when you put Iran in a box. Saudi Israel peace will become possible when you put Iran in a box.

The upside of dealing with Iran is enormously good, but you've got to deal with them. Senator, let me ask you about the news overnight. Senator Bill Cassidy, losing his primary in Louisiana. You worked closely with Senator Bill Cassidy. on a range of different issues, including a plan to replace Obamacare. He, of course, voted to convict President Trump back in 2021 in the impeachment trial. Now he's lost his seat. Are you glad that Bill Cassidy is no longer going to be your colleague, Senator?

No, I like Bill. I thought he's a great senator, but he made a political decision. He tried to, he voted to impeach President Trump, which would have ruined his political life. He could never run for office again. Thomas Massie is on the ballot Tuesday. He votes against Trump all the time. What's the headline? Trump's strong.

Those who try to destroy Trump politically stand in the way of his agenda are going to lose. Bill made a decision. What would LBGA do? Is it natural for a politician to go after people who try to destroy their political life? So Bill Cassidy's lost because he tried to destroy Trump. Thomas Massie's going to lose because he's trying to destroy the agenda. You can disagree with President Trump, but if you try to destroy Trump, him, you're going to lose because this is the party of Donald Trump.

Very quickly, does his defeat send a message if this is the party of Donald Trump that there's no room in the party to break with president? No, I just talked to him a few minutes ago. We have a difference. President Trump, you talked to. Yeah, just a few minutes ago. There's no room in this party to destroy his agenda or to destroy him and his family as a Republican. Democrats do it all the time.

If you align with Democrats to stop his agenda like Thomas Massie does, you're going to lose. If you align with Democrats to drive him out of office like Bill Cassidy did, you're going to lose. I disagree with Trump on president of on occasion. He endorsed me. It's been enormously helpful to me. Thank you, President Trump, for endorsing me. It's helped me in my primary. It's just a reality, and it's a good reality.

I think President Trump's doing a hell of a good job. And if you get, if you try to destroy him, you're going to get destroyed. That's the takeaway. All right. Senator Lindsey Graham, thank you so much for being here in person to discuss a very busy week. We really appreciate it. When we come back, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen joins me next.

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It's great to be with you, Kristen. It's great to have you back. We really appreciate your being here. Let's start with President Trump's summit in China. He really. turned without securing a commitment from China to help broker an end to the war in Iran. I'm curious, do you think that the U.S. needs China's support in order to bring an end to the war with Iran? I don't think we need China's support. I think the fastest way to end the war in Iran is just to stop digging a hole even deeper. And that's what we should do right now. After all, Donald Trump was the candidate who said he was going to keep us out of wars and he was going to focus on bringing down prices. And of course, he's done just the opposite. Gas and other prices are going through the roof. He says he's not

thinking about American finances. And he's gotten into this in this war that's making us less safe. So no, we don't need China to get us out. We just need to end it. Well, you've made it very clear. You agree with the premise of the war, which is that Iran should never obtain a nuclear weapon. based on what you're saying that it's time to just get out of Iran, do you think diplomacy could actually bring about another Iran nuclear deal at this point, Senator? Well, I know if we had people who were willing to negotiate, we could get it done because we got that done when President Obama was in office. We had the JCPOA. The JCPOA prevented Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. It dramatically contained its nuclear enrichment program.

and it had the world's most intense inspection regime so that if they cheated, we could catch them like that. And of course, just last year, Donald Trump told the country that he had obliterated Iran's nuclear enrichment program, taken care of it. And his head of DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, testified that they have no evidence that Iran wants to resume it. So the president got dragged into this war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he'd been waiting 40 years for somebody to go to war with him in Iran. He found a president stupid enough to do it. I blame Donald Trump for that decision. But here we are.

All right. Let me shift gears now, Senator. I do want to ask you about something that unfolded this week on Capitol Hill. This was your heated exchange with FBI director, Kash Patel. It was during a Senate hearing this week where the two of you. sparred over reporting about Kash Patel's alleged drinking habits. We have to stress that Kash Patel has denied all of the allegations against him, but I do want to play a section from that hearing and get your reaction on the other side. Take a look. So there have been no occasions during your

tenure when FBI personnel were unable to promptly reach you? Absolutely not. You can ask my entire workforce. They hear from me at every single hour of the day, as do these great gentlemen here, as do the men and women of the interagency and state and local law enforcement in the White House. And so there have been no occasions when your security detail had difficulty waking or locating you. Is that right? Nope, it's a total farce. I don't even know where you get this stuff, but it doesn't make it credible because you say so. Do you believe that the FBI can function effectively with Director Kash Patel in charge? Oh, I don't. But it's not simply because of this issue. The fact that there's so many reports that indicate that his drinking has meant that he's incapacitated. it many times. As I said, Kristen, I really don't care what he does on his free time so long as he's not

putting the public at risk, so long he's not compromising his important mission as director of the FBI. But beyond this, we also have the fact that he has completely weaponized the FBI. He went after agents who were helpful to investigate the January 6 rioters. More recently, he went after agents who were part of the investigation of Trump's taking classified materials to Mara Lago. They didn't decide to do that. They were following their orders. And by the way, many of them were part of the counterespionage unit with respect to Iran. So he fired them at the very moment we need them most when we have this conflict with Iran. So I think he needs to go for a whole host of reasons. Well, Senator, you took the alcohol use disorders identification test. You challenged Director Kash Patel to do the same.

Do you have any indication that he's actually going to take that test? Or do you think that that was a challenge that to some extent you did just to prove a point? Well, he said in public testimony that he would do it. He's also under oath automatically in the sense that lying to Congress is a crime. So he said he's going to do it. My sense from Kash Patel's conduct overall is he may or may not do it, but I unfortunately won't be able to believe the results, because in that hearing, he did lie several times. All right. Well, I do want to turn to the redistricting battle where Democrats have faced, as you know, Senator, a series of recent setbacks in the courts. Do you believe that Democrats are in danger of losing their fight to win back the House?

I do not. I think the Democrats will win back the House because there's so much momentum. People are extremely upset as they should be with the fact that, you know, Trump has handled the economy in a terrible way. Prices are going through the roof. Life is unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans. he started a war that he promised he wouldn't. And so I think the momentum is very much there. Now, obviously, these decisions, including the more recent, you know, attack on the Voting Rights Act, which was a huge, infamously bad decision, provides some setbacks. But I think the political wins, Kristen, are blowing strongly enough that Democrats will win back the House.

Senator Maryland is actually considering redrawing its state map. after the Democrat-led state Senate previously rejected measures to redistrict, and these new maps would, in fact, eliminate the state's lone Republican representative. Do you support redrawing the lines before the midterms? What do you say to the charges? It's hypocritical. Oh, I do if it's possible. Look, here's my view, Kristen.

I've always supported nationwide, nonpartisan redistrict. We should put on a blindfold and we should draw congressional districts in nonpartisan ways. But Republicans have blocked that legislation at the federal level. Meanwhile, Trump has ordered Texas to engage in redistricting, which they did. So I am very much opposed to unilateral disarmament. I want to thank California for what they're doing, the Virginians for what they did despite their Supreme Court decision. And Maryland and other states should do what we can because the future control, of the House is at stake right here. And we need to do everything we can to prevent a continuation

of what is a complete rubber stamp for Donald Trump. You heard Lindsey Graham. He said this is the party of Donald Trump. It is. It's a personality cult. And we need checks and balances, not a personality cult of rubber stamps. All right. Senator Chris Van Hollen, thank you so very much for being here. Thank you. And when we come back, former FBI director James Comey,

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Verdict. Director James Comey, welcome back to meet the press. Great to be with you. Great to have you here. Congratulations on your novel. We'll talk about it in just a moment. I do want to start with this extraordinary moment in which you find yourself, you're facing a second indictment by the Trump administration. trial in just a few weeks potentially. I know you're not going to comment on the specifics of the case, but I want to ask you a big picture question. The charges against you stem from this Instagram post of seashells that spelled out 8647. You see it right there. The indictment says it was, quote, a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States. Has being under this microscope changed the way you live your life, Director James Comey?

It's made me want to spend more time as a grandfather pushing my grandkids on a swing and not talking to awesome people like yourself. But it hasn't changed how I see the world or my life. Well, I interviewed the acting attorney general Todd Blanche earlier this month. And he said, quote, this is not just about a single Instagram post. This is about a body of evidence that the grand jury collected over the series of about 11 months. Do you know what he's talking about? evidence over the series of 11 months? Yeah, I saw that. As you said, a few minutes ago, I don't talk about the case because the federal court rules require you not. I would urge the

acting Attorney General to bone up on the rules. So, but do you know what he's talking about with I don't want to comment on it because then someone would say I'm commenting on the case. He ought not to be talking about it. I can't talk about it. That's why we have a judicial process in a courtroom. Fair enough. In an interview with Stephen Colbert last year, you did address what you You were thinking when you and your wife were walking on the beach, you said you saw the shells in the sand. I want to just play a little bit of what you told Stephen Colbert. She looked at it and said, why'd someone put their address in the sand? All right.

And then we stood at it, looked at it, trying to figure out it, trying to figure what it was. And she'd long been a server in restaurants. And she said, you know what I think it is? Yeah. I think it's a reference to restaurants when you were 86 something in a restaurant. Right. It's off the menu. Yeah.

I said, no, I remember when I was a kid, you'd say 86 to get out of a place. this place stinks, let's 86 it. And so I said, I think it's a clever political message. And she said, you should take a picture of it. I said, sure. And then she said, you should Instagram that. And boom. Just big picture, director, James Comey, what do you say to those who would argue the former director of the FBI shouldn't be putting political posts on Instagram or social media?

Yeah, I'm a private citizen. I saw a shell in the fall of 2024. where someone wrote an endorsement of Kamala Harris in a big seashell. I took a picture of it, thought it was very clever. And I think I wrote, Ariel understands the assignment, a reference to The Little Mermaid. I'm a private citizen. Again, I'm not going to talk about that particular post, but I use Instagram the way any awkward nerdy dad would. Well, in the past, you've said you have faith in the legal system.

As you face this second indictment, are you confident that you will be clear? one way or another? I have complete faith in our judicial system. It's the genius of our founders. It's frankly, the only leg of our three-leg stool that is still standing in the U.S. government, but it's standing tall and straight. It is the guardian of the rule of law, and I believe in it. And so let's make use of it. And you've publicly posted, you haven't done anything wrong, you haven't done anything illegal. So are you confident that at the end of the day, you'll be cleared in one way or another? All I can do without making my lawyers angry at me is repeat what I said in my initial statement.

I'm not just not guilty. I am innocent and so let's go. All right. You have, if we look back, been in the crosshairs of politicians in the past. This is not new from Hillary Clinton, the email investigation, the Russia probe. Looking back, Director James Comey, is there anything you would have done differently over the past decade? anything. You know, a lot of things in my life as a father and a grandfather and his FBI director. There are all kinds of things that I screwed up. The major decisions that people often talk about, I still see them the same.

But yeah, I would be better in all kinds of ways if I had a magic wand. Yeah, well, let me be more specific because you've wondered out loud whether your decision to reopen the Clinton email investigation 11 days before voters went to the polls. may have helped elect President Trump back in 2016. Knowing what you know now, would you have made the same exact decision again? I think so. The only thing I've wondered is whether I should have dumped that very difficult decision on the Attorney General

on October the 28th. She declined to speak to me, but I could have just sent her a memo saying, here's what I think we have to do. But I decided then, and honestly, 10 years later it feels the same. that would have been a chicken blank thing to do. It was a decision that I had to make

because I had testified all summer that the investigation was done and now it's not done. Do I really conceal that from the American people from the Congress? I can't. And it would have been a chicken thing due to dump it on the AG.

But sometimes when people are unhappy with me on the street, I think, I should have left it for Loretta Lynch. Well, 10 years later, now that you've had all of this time to think about it, Do you think that decision did play a role in the election of President Trump? I hope not. My goal all of that year was to stay out of politics. And having seen two elections after that, where, as they said, the difference the FBI made was late deciding voters broke for Trump in 16. But then they did again in 20 and then they did again in 24 when I was home in my pajamas for both elections.

So I don't think so. But again, we made the decision because it was the least bad option. Both options sucked, honestly, but this was the one most consistent with the values of the department. So as painful as it is, I'd have to do the same thing again. President Trump was indicted twice by the Justice Department. As you know, in public posts, he's now justified going after his political enemies because of how he believes he was treated. Do you view the prosecutions against you? as political payback? Well, I can't talk about the Shell case. Talk about the first one. Absolutely. And we made a motion to have it dismissed as a vindictive prosecution.

The President of the United States cannot use the Justice Department to target people because he wants to retaliate against them. We just can't operate as a republic if that happens. And so there's a powerful argument we made that's illegal.

We didn't get to that because there are all kinds of other problems with the case. But absolutely. Going after John Brennan, after Jim Clapper, after Adam Schiff, all of these things are not about the merits. It's about retaliation. And that is not just wrong. It's a way in which our system cannot operate and be effective. Does it make you and

your family fearful? No, because I know what I'm dealing with. Someone who's announced he's now the hunter. Okay, let's go. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told me earlier this month the evidence that was presented to a grand jury in this latest case, not the government, not the Department of Justice. he said, quote, it's not Todd Blanche that returned an indictment against James Comey. It's the grand jury, part of the judicial process. Does the fact that a grand jury issued this latest indictment undercut any argument that this latest indictment might be political retribution, not that you have made that argument here, but for those who would make that argument? And I'm so tempted to answer that. But can I answer it about the last case, which is now gone?

Please. Same argument was made. A grand jury returned an indictment. Still doesn't change the fact that it can be a vindictive prosecution. And there, of course, a magistrate judge found misconduct of a variety of kinds by the late-breaking appointed U.S. attorney, Lindsey Halligan. And so it's important. The grand jury is an important part of the process, but there's more to follow. As you know, the FBI director is meant to serve a nonpartisan 10-year term. I don't have to tell you that. You're very familiar. with that. Do you think the next president should keep FBI director Kash Patel in his position through his 10-year term? Next president should make an evaluation about whether whoever's in that job come January of 2029 is performing it in a way that's consistent with the American people's expectations for that organization, which is to be competent, honest, and independent. On the current record, it would be a tough continuation for the current director, but I don't know. President,

whoever the president is then, will have to make that evaluation. Let me ask you, because would it undermine the independence of the FBI if the next president doesn't allow Kash Patel to serve out that full 10-year term? Well, again, the values are independence, competence, and honesty. And if by some stroke, Mr. Kash Patel is reflecting all those values

in another two years, then maybe the next president will want to keep him. But I think you have to have a competent, honest, an independent person leading that institution, else its other contributions to America are lost. You've laid out the qualities that you think are necessary to be FBI director. Do you think Kash Patel has those qualities? Has he showcased that? Not for me to say. Expression from law school keeps popping in my head. Recipso loquiter, which is Latin, I think, for the thing speaks for itself. So I'll let others make that judgment. Okay. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says that during the

second Trump administration, so far, More than 200 people have been forced out of the Justice Department. That includes your own daughter, who is a federal prosecutor in New York. Do you have confidence in the Justice Department to serve the people of this country right now? I do not look at from the top level. The people running it, if you're bragging about forcing out career prosecutors and agents because the president doesn't like a lawful investigation they conducted, something is seriously broken at the top.

but I have great confidence in the people down below who are just trying to hang on. And I'm urging them, hang on two and a half years. And then we can rebuild these institutions, but we need good people in those roles. America does. All right. Director James Comey, let me turn to your novel, Red Verdict. Here it is. Great book.

It's the latest in your series, quite frankly, of legal thrillers. It's number four. You write scenes based on your decades of experience inside the DOJ. Do you think your novel still reflect the reality of the people serving in the Justice Department today? Yes, again, I'm going to exclude that top layer and sort of skim that off. Down below, yes. People join the Department of Justice, the FBI, which is part of the Department of Justice, because they want to do the right thing.

And in the overwhelming main, they do. My characters are flawed because they're humans, as I am, but they are good people trying to do the right thing. That's what I love about this writing. and I hope readers, first, the stories are really cool and capture you, but most of all the characters show something that is real and that ought to reassure all of us. Well, one of the characters, the central character,

based on your daughter, you have said, I wonder, what do you hope this next chapter will look like for your daughter, for you, for your family in your actual real life? Well, next chapter for me will be more books, and then once a year I will do interviews, so maybe we'll see each other again. But for people like my daughter, my son-in-law who resigned from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Virginia the day I was charged, they represent hundreds of quality people.

I think they're, I don't want to tell them what their employment situation should be, but I hope they flow back. And I think lots and lots of great people will flow back with the opportunity to rebuild the department, which was what happened after Watergate. Great young people came back to save us, and they will again. All right. Director James Comey, thank you so much for being here. We really appreciate it. Thanks for having me.

Thank you. Great to talk to you. When we come back, President Trump, back from Beijing after a high-stakes meeting with Xi Jinping, 54 years after Richard Nixon opened the door to China in an historic visit that changed the world. Our Meet the Press Minute is next.

Welcome back. 54 years ago, Richard Nixon made history, becoming the first six. sitting U.S. President to visit China, meeting with Mao Zedong, and ending a quarter century of isolation between the two countries. The trip helped reshape the global balance of power and ultimately paved the way for full diplomatic relations in 1979. Speaking with Meet the press more than a decade after leaving the White House, Nixon reflected on that moment. I would say that as people look back on the Nixon administration, they're probably most likely to remember 50 years from now, 100 years from now that it made a difference on a very

major issue. We changed the world. If it had not been for the China initiative, which only I could do at that point, we would be in a terrible situation today with China aligned with the Soviet Union and with the Soviet Union's power. The China initiative hasn't brought peace to the world. We can't be sure what will happen, but without it, we would be in a terrible shape. And when we come back, a Republican who voted to convict President Trump loses his primary. What does it mean for the GOP? The panel is next.

Welcome back. The panel is here. NBC News, Chief Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles, Democratic strategist, Atrian Elrod, and Lonnie Chen,

a fellow at the Hoover Institution. Welcome to all of you. Thank you for being here on a jam-packed Sunday. Ryan, I have to start with you. These results overnight, dramatic. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy going down in defeat, losing his seat to Trump-back challenger,

Julia Letlow, who fell short of winning outright. She would have needed 50 percent plus one in order to win. So she goes to a runoff with Fleming. What does this moment say about the grip that President Trump has over the Republican Party? You heard Senator Lindsey Graham say, it's clear this is the party of Trump. It's impossible to be a Republican in American politics right now and not be 100% in lockstep with Donald Trump. And that's been proven time and time again. Bill Cassidy, when he cast that vote to convict President Trump in the wake of January 6th, he basically sealed his political fate. And there was no chance that Donald Trump was ever going to forget about that. But I have to imagine that there are a lot of Republicans that are running in very tight midterm

elections and swing districts across the country that have to question the decision-making process of the Trump political apparatus to spend so much time. and energy removing Republicans who vote with Donald Trump 90 to 95% of the time. It's a lot of expense. It's a lot of time. And the same applies to what's happening in Kentucky here on Tuesday with Thomas Massie. Donald Trump is on a revenge tour. He often wins those revenge tours.

But what does it mean for the future health of the Republican Party? Lonnie, picked up on that point, the Thomas Massie race, the most expensive primary in history. And the fact that as Ryan is saying, he votes with Trump. over 90% of the time. So did Bill Cassidy, by the way. Yeah, but it's not enough, right? There's two things I'm reminded of here. One is how national our politics have become. It used to be the case. You'd like your member of Congress. There was somewhat disassociated from your opinion of the national party. You like your member of Congress. You don't like Congress in general. We know all these trends from political science. That's not the case anymore, right? Politics is nationalized and there's no

greater national figure in Republican politics in Donald Trump. The second thing I would say is Donald Trump is the sun, the moon, and the stars for Republican voters. He generates a massive gravitational pull. And the reason why his political apparatus is spending so much time trying to oust Republicans who vote with him 95% of the time is because they can find Republicans who vote with him 100% of the time. And that margin is worth it for that political apparatus to be able to have members of Congress who are totally aligned with President Trump. I think the warning signs are there for Thomas Massie for Tuesday night. The survey research suggests. that that race has basically flipped against Thomas Massie over the last couple of weeks.

I think people in Kentucky like him, they like Donald Trump more. Yeah, it seemed like he was going to hold on. It certainly has gotten a lot tougher based on the recent polling. Adrian, let me have you weigh in this redistricting battle. In the wake of these legal defeats that Democrats have suffered, according to Dave Wasserman of the Cook political report, Democrats, he said, initially needed three seats to win back the House. Now he projects it's more like 10. Has this become out of reach? You heard Senator Chris Van Hollen say,

no, not at all. But what are your conversation? Yeah, Senator Chris Van Hollen is exactly right. I mean, look, what happened in Virginia was certainly a setback for Democrats. But Kristen, we're going to win at the ballot box. And we have been winning at the ballot box. I think the stat is 267 out of 297 special elections that have taken place since November 2024. Democrats have either flipped those or significantly overperformed. Republicans in those states. So we are showing that we can win. Trump is underwater on almost every issue from the economy, obviously affordability being a huge part of the economy, the war in Iran, gas prices. He is substantially underwater. So we are winning at the ballot box. And look, we're taking the fight to the states. I think this only underscores the importance of Democrats making sure that we have more state legislative wins, that we win more governor's seats so that we can fight tooth and nail on this redistricting battle going forward. Well, Ryan, pick up on that point because Adrian

talking about the economy's going to be front and center. And here we have these comments that President Trump made as he's departing for China, this historic trip he's pressed on the extent to which Americans' financial situation factors into his negotiations with Iran. He says, I don't think about it. How much is that playing on the Capitol Hill to the campaign trail with Republicans? What are they saying? And you heard Senator Graham doubled down on that point with you today. Listen, President Trump's making a bet. That bet is that the American people, believe a nuclear-free Iran is worth the cost of $5 a gallon of gasoline. And in many ways, he's making the same argument that many presidents have made in the wake of 9-11 during World War II

that Americans understand the cost of national security. I just don't think there's a lot of evidence that the situation in Iran carries the same level of weight that some of these other international conflicts have. And that if you look at the polling, 77 percent of Americans believe that the war in Iran is costing them financially. And if the economy is the dominant issue in the fall election, that is a very serious bet for the president to make. And if things don't improve quickly, and I mean in the next couple of weeks, and those prices don't start to come down, it's hard to imagine how Republicans don't pay that price in the fall. Well, Lonnie, recent polls show 77 percent say President Trump's policies have actually worsened

their economic situation. Is there enough time for it to turn? around even if the war were to end in the next few weeks, say? I think the impressions are pretty well baked. I mean, if you look at, for example, the public's perception of the president's handling of cost of living issues, there's been a 20-point swing between last year and this year. That's tremendous. I think the key issue here is Democrats have a lot of energy going into this election, but they also have the challenge that their image is limited. I think a lot's capped. I think a lot of Americans question, for example, Democrats positioning on cultural issues. They question whether Democrats are really better able to handle the economy.

That's going to go up against this general trend. We see in midterm elections where presidents have a tough time, and the president's image in this particular situation on cost of living issues, the top issue, is severely underwater. So those are the trends we're going to see. I think the redistricting thing has really helped Republicans. The likelihood that they retain the House is a lot higher now than it was before. And I still think the Senate stays Republican.

Atrium? Look, I respectfully disagree. I mean, look, the Democratic Party. brand certainly needs some work. And I think once we get past the midterms and we start focusing on the presidential campaign in 27, 2028, we've got a number of amazing governors who are running. We've got some really strong candidates who are going to come forward, be front and center, and really have an open debate about the future of our country. And I think you will see the Democratic Party brand emerge and improve when that happens. But at the same time, look,

when we're looking at the numbers in the House, it seems almost impossible that Republicans would hold on to it. I mean, we are, they're only down a couple of seats. Or we are Democrats, are only down a couple of these right now. And with redistricting, sure, it's a setback for us. But again, on the issues, Kristen, we are going to win on them. We have been. And we will win at the ballot box again in November. Ryan, final 30 seconds. What are you going to be watching for on Tuesday night? Six states go into the polls. Listen, I'm not convinced that Thomas Massie can't win on Tuesday. Okay. And I think there's a possibility that he bucks a trend. But if he does, I don't think we should overanalyze that. I think he's a unique politician in a unique district. And it doesn't necessarily mean that

Donald Trump doesn't still own the Republican Party. Well, it is going to be an exciting night, that is for sure. Thank you all for joining us. Really appreciate it. And a quick and important programming note, please join me, along with Hallie Jackson and Steve Kornacki and Ryan Nobles as we break down the results of Tuesday's primary elections on NBC News Now, starting at 630 Eastern. You don't want to miss it.

It's going to be a very exciting night. That is all for today. Thank you so much for watching. We'll be back next week because if it's Sunday, it's meet the press.

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