Meet the Press NOW — April 7

I just bought a new automobile the same way they did in the 1900s when movies were silent. Wow. Well, I just got this Jeep from Flexcar. All my smackeroo's go to paying off the hefty value this little gas buggy lost the second I chugged out of the dealership. Toot to toot. Okay, well, Flexcar includes maintenance and insurance, and I can switch to an F-150 or Mercedes anytime. What are you high on giggle juice? Buying a car is supposed to be the bum deal you pretend as the Bison's berries. I have no idea what you're saying.

The first and only month-to-month car lease. Flexcar, you drive everything. This summer, Fandu is the best place to bet on goals. Including equalizers? Uh-huh. Walls? Yep. Petters?

Every goal is worth more on Fandu. So, let there be goals. New customers get 350 in bonus bets guaranteed when you bet $5 for seven days. 21 plus and present in Tennessee. First online real money wager only. Minimum $5.5.1st deposit required. Bonus issued as non-witrable bonus bets, which expires seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply.

See full terms at fandu.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call T and Redline, $800-8899-789.

Welcome to meet the press now. I'm Monica Alba in Washington, where the world is waiting to see if President Trump follows through or backs off on his public threat to wipe out Iran and its people, unless Tehran opens the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern time, less than four hours from now. The threat prompting fear from both. both Democrats and Republicans, as well as from world leaders and officials in the Gulf region,

that the war could spiral out of control. Two U.S. officials tell NBC news that the Pentagon has prepared options for the president that include targets in Iran used for both military and civilian purposes. It comes after a stunning post on social media this morning with the president warning, quote, a whole civilization will die tonight if Iran doesn't make a deal by his 8 p.m. deadline. That follows the president's comments yesterday that every bridge in Iran will be decimated and every power plant will be exploding, never to be used again. Today, Vice President JD Vance took a more moderate tone during a press conference in Hungary, suggesting there were multiple off-ramps to avoid catastrophe. I hope that they're smart. The president has set a deadline for about 12 hours from now in the United States. We're going to find out, but there's going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then, and I'm hopeful that it gets to a good resolution.

The President of the United States is a man who recognizes leverage, that if the Iranians want to exact a certain amount of pain, the United States has the ability to exact much, much greater pain. The President doesn't want to do that. I don't want to do that. That's why we're negotiating so aggressively. But fundamentally, the ball is in the Iranians court. We feel confident that we can get a response, whether it's positive or negative, we're going to get a response from the Iranians by 8 o'clock tonight. I hope they make the right response. Iran's state media releasing these images today of what they say are civilians responding to the government's call

to form human chains around power plants and bridges throughout the country ahead of possible strikes. In a brief phone call with NBC's Gabe Gutierrez just moments ago, the president sharply criticized those calls for human shields, calling them, quote, totally illegal and saying, quote, they're not allowed to do that. As the clock counts down, we should note that the president has extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the straight multiple times. It started more than two weeks ago with a post on social media,

saying Iran had 48 hours or the U.S. would obliterate its power plants. Two days later, the president announced a five-day pause on those strikes, citing good and productive talks with Iran. And two days after that, he pushed the deadline another 10 days to yesterday at 8 p.m. And then on Sunday, he moved it back one more day to today. Yesterday, I asked the president about the possibility

that tonight's deadline could, move yet again. Mr. President, since you did move the deadline back a couple of times, are you prepared to move the deadline back again? Highly unlikely. They've had plenty of time. In fact, they asked for seven days. I said, I'm going to give you 10.

But at the end of 10, all hell's going to break out if you don't get there. Joining me now is NBC News, Chief Justice and National Affairs correspondent Kelly O'Donnell at the White House. NBC News, senior national security correspondent, Courtney Kuby, is with me on set. NBC News, Chief International Correspondent. Keir Starmer Simmons is in Riyadh, and also with me is NBC News, Business and Data Correspondent, Brian Chung. Thank you all for being here to start us off.

Kelly, I want to begin with you. What do we actually know about how the president is spending the day today with this major deadline looming? And what are we hearing from the White House about what might come? Well, good afternoon, Monica. And certainly the White House is aware that there is a clock running toward the deadline the president set. And we've seen that the sentry is at the west wing door, meaning the president's

in the working spaces of the West Wing. But we don't know a great deal about how he is processing this information. As you alluded to, our colleague Gabe Gutierrez got him on the phone briefly. And that gave a brief window into his thinking where he was very critical of Iranian citizens who are engaged in protest in advance of this deadline. Now, that is notable in part because there have been many times in the run-up to this that the president has talked about expecting that Iranians would at some point be in the streets to protest their regime. We've gone from Help is on the way, part of a early social media post

before these events unfolded before the military campaign against Iran to today's threat, which has certainly rattled many in Washington, where he's talked about the death of a civilization, quite a bookmark of those two different sentiments. Also, the White House is giving us just a glimpse where Karoline Leavitt is telling us that the deadline is at 8 o'clock tonight. She released a statement where she goes into the specifics here that the Iranian regime has until that eastern time, that's at about 3.30 in the morning in Iran, they are seven and a half hours ahead of East Coast time. And then notably here, only the president knows where things stand and what he will do. And as our colleague Gabe Gutier is trying to assess that, whereas others on our team have been trying to get a sense of

what movements in the preparation planning and conversations may be going on, it is inscrutable at this moment. And we've seen the president in places like this before, where he's made very bellicose threats, and then at times he has carried them out, and at times he has pulled back. And it is just a tense time because of the extraordinary nature of the president's words. And even being asked about what did he mean about that, we've heard him describe some of his most provocative social media posts or comments, and basically saying he's intending to set a message, or kind of leaving it up for everyone's interpretation. And that is, in some ways, a part of the chaotic way

that the president likes to keep adversaries off balance. Monica? Yeah, tense time, Kelly, with such charge rhetoric, I want to ask you about that specifically because the president is getting a lot of backlash from that post where he did say, quote, whole civilization could die tonight. We did see Chuck Schumer call the president, quote,

an extremely sick person. The House Democratic leadership said the president is, quote, completely unhinged for saying that. And even Marjorie Taylor Greene, who used to be an ally of the presidents, called it evil and madness. So is the president or the White House at all concerned about the optics of using that kind of language, Kelly? There's no indication of that yet. And in the 10-11 years of the president being on the national stage, there have been many times when he has said provocative things. What stands out about this is that the range of people responding to it, there is often a lull.

of people letting some of his controversial comments go by the wayside. And in the first term, it was, well, the tweets speak for themselves. Now these posts on truth social or whatever, you have lawmakers who sometimes just don't want to be pressed to respond to it. And in this case, we're seeing a very vigorous response from mostly Democrats, but also notably one Republican House member is saying today that he is concerned about the fact that this is a call for the end of a civilization, that that is not in the American way, that is not a part of American values, and that wartime may be filled with lots of complicating difficult situations, but that kind of rhetoric reaches beyond. So there's definitely pushback to the president's positioning on this.

Monica? Kelly, thank you so much for starting us off. I do want to turn to Courtney now. As we discuss the potential here, there have been so many discussions around whether striking Iran's civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime. What are you hearing about your sources, about what kind of targets are under consideration? And the reason that that's such a topic of conversation is because striking civilian infrastructure can be seen as a war crime. It violates the law of armed conflict. It violates the Geneva Convention. And it's an international against the law internationally. So there are cases, though, where the U.S. and others can make the case that something is a valid military target. And basically, it's sort of like a dual-use facility.

So let's say that it's an electrical power plant that services the civilian population, but also plays a direct and distinct role in supporting the Iranian military, the besiege, the IRGC, whatever it is. And then the question is, will the U.S. find justification for striking some facilities like that? We're told that the Pentagon has already drawn up plans for facilities just like, like that, should President Trump decide to move forward with these threats he's been making. Court, you've been reporting for weeks now about the additional assets. and resources that have been sent to the region.

So what is the sort of current U.S. posture if they do decide closer to this deadline to act on it? They're absolutely ready. If the president decides that, I mean, and the language he has used, we've been talking about this charged language, but it has been charged about the possibility of these sorts of strikes for days now, with him saying that the U.S. would be able to obliterate

all of this civilian infrastructure in a matter of a few hours. Well, that's a tall order. But the reality is the U.S. has so much military might forward that they could do a lot of that. And it's not just that. They can also bring additional assets. We have seen a lot of bombers that have been moving. And these are these big aircraft that carry big, heavy bombs. In some cases, they're massive ordinance penetrators. They can dig down deep and sort of blast through rock and things. They've been bringing them over from the United States for days now and dropping bombs. So if the president decides to go through with this, the military can do

it. And overnight, we saw more action specifically on Carg Island, right? Talk about the significance of that, what was hit, and why was it different or was it not that different from how they were hit the first time? Yeah, I was really struck by when their first report started coming out about potential U.S. military action on Carg Island, because as you know, a couple of weeks ago, the U.S. carried out a bunch of strikes on Carg Island. That's, of course, where Iran has its oil and gas infrastructure, a significant amount of it. The first round of strikes several weeks ago was all against military infrastructure there. And we were told that there were upwards of 100 targets that were struck, and they did a ton of.

damage there, maybe even taking out the vast majority of their military infrastructure on the entire island. So it was a little surprising to hear that they had taken more strikes. Most of these were restrikes. So they went back to the same locations. And in many cases, it's things like bunkers that are buried deep underground. They struck them several times, maybe the first time, over the course of days or even weeks, with intelligence that comes in, and they realized they didn't actually destroy the target. So then they'll go and they'll re-hit them. We were assured that the strikes were all along the northern side of the island. They were military targets like these bunkers and air defense systems.

But I was really struck by when we were asking questions about this, how U.S. officials were so adamant to say they were not targeting Iran's oil infrastructure with these strikes. It was solely going after the military targets. And that continues to be, as of this moment anyway, for 11 p.m. Eastern time, that the U.S. military continues to go after military targets inside Iran as of now. Until that potentially changes again. It's hour by hour right now.

And wait, Courtney and Qibi, thank you so much for your expertise on all of this. I do want to go to the region now to Keir Starmer. And I want to check in and see what is the mood like as we get closer to this deadline where you are, Keir Starmer? Bracing themselves, I would describe it as here in the Gulf. I think particularly I'm in Saudi Arabia, where they have been able to defend themselves pretty effectively, pretty successfully, albeit that, for example, a petrochemical plant was hit today, according to the government. So strikes are having an impact. But I think for countries like Kuwait and Bahrain, Kuwait, for example, closer to Iran.

So just think about it, they have less time to intercept missiles and drones. I think it's a real concern that the Iranians have threatened to respond so drastically and to target civilian infrastructure. Not that they haven't already been doing that. They have been across the region, but that they are saying that they've been, in the Iranians' view, holding back up until now and that they won't hold back any longer. I do think there are questions about just how much capacity Iran has to strike the Gulf after, you know, we've seen weeks of it. And they have targeted, for example, desalination plants. And it hasn't had, you know, a devastating impact.

So I do think there are those questions, but certainly it is a nervous time here. Absolutely, Kira. And we did get some breaking news just in the last hour or so from the prime minister of Pakistan who said that he had specifically asked for President Trump to extend his deadline for at least two weeks. The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News that the president has been made aware of the proposal and that a response will come. So do you view that as a sign that there could be some kind of last minute deal here to avoid major escalation? Is that how you take it? There's no doubt there could be a last minute deal. I think we should keep in mind what the president himself said yesterday, which is that they're having to pass handwritten notes, or at least written notes and not talk electronically, because clearly Iranian leaders will be worried about being struck if they are communicating electronically.

So I think we should be a little bit skeptical about exactly how much progress Pakistan has actually made. That being said, Qatar just talking today, their spokesman, outlining how important they think it is, the Qatar thinks it is, that there is a deal. Take a listen. This is why we have been urging all parties to find a resolution out of this, to find a way of ending this war before it spirals out of control. The continuation of this war in this way will only mean more costs for the people of the region, for the international peace and security, for international international.

economy for international energy markets. And there are no winners in the continuation of this war. There are only losers. And the net of losers is expanding every day as a result of the ramifications of the economic situation.

But I've said it before. I'll say it again. There are two parts to this. One is President Trump's and Israel's threats against the Iranian economy. And then the other is trying to regain. the initiative around the Straits of Hormuz. They are different. And the second point is about the potential for the U.S. to take islands in the Gulf. I think that's still not off the table. Keir Simmons in Riyadh, Keir Starmer, thank you very much for your reporting. We just talked about

the diplomatic path here, potentially. I do want to turn now to the economic side of all of this and to Brian Chung. Brian, markets just closed relatively flat on the day. And as we now wait and see what could happen in the next few hours. What are markets anticipating? What does that tell you? Yeah, Monica, the markets have had a whiplash of a day. If you rewind to earlier in the morning, it looked like we were going to be set for a deep red day on Wall Street,

the S&P 500, the Dow Jay Jones, down about 1% over the concerns that there would not be a resolution by the time we get to that deadline. And then as you see on the screen ahead of you, we actually ended the day positive on the S&P 500, just barely so about one-tenths of a percent, the Dow Jay Jones down only two-tenths of percent. Nothing particularly crazy on that front. But it all seemed to do with the developments over the final hour of trading in just the last hour that you were talking about with all of our colleagues in the last few minutes about the

optimism that perhaps the commentary coming out of Pakistan could at least provide the United States with some sort of resolution before this 8 p.m. deadline. So from the perspective of investors at least, it does seem like there is some hope that there could be some resolution before the market opens tomorrow because, again, market city closed 16 minutes ago. But again, that's a bet, and we'll have to see. And against that backdrop, oil prices do continue to rise. So if the president does follow through on his threat tonight, potentially, what's your expectation specifically for oil futures?

Yeah, well, look, they have continued to rise as kind of the big story over the last few days. But there was some price action even since that Pakistan post that did point to optimism in the oil markets as well. crude oil prices were something a little bit closer to $117 earlier today. You can see on the screen ahead of you, the settlement was a little bit closer to $112. That decline over some of these headlines. But Monica, I mean, this just underscores the volatility that we've seen within the same day. You can see these huge price swings up and down. It's pretty binary. If there is an off ramp to this war, you see oil prices go down and markets go up. If there doesn't look like that off ramp is going to be there, well, then you see oil markets go up. Prices are barrenp. go up, and that also means markets go down. And of course, all that has ripple effects to us at the pump as prices on an average basis do breach $4 a gallon for everyone out there. That's the bottom line for the consumer, Brian Chung. Thank you so much for bringing us that perspective. We're going to have much more on the political fallout from the war coming up, including MAGA influencers now pushing back on the president. But first, if it's Tuesday, it's election day in Georgia and

Wisconsin, where a pair of key races are poised to deliver some new clues about the political landscape heading into the midterms. We're on the ground with a view from voters. Plus, Steve Cornacki is at the big board tracking what to watch for as the results start coming in. You're watching meet the press now. I just bought a new automobile the same way they did in the 1900s when movies were silent. Well, I just got this Jeep from Flexcar. Maintenance and insurance are included, and I can switch cars anytime. What are you high on giggle juice? The first and only months-to-month car lease.

Flex car, you drive everything. There's only one, OZMPIC. Hello, I'm OZMPIC, and I'm other GLP-1s, kind of like him. OZempic, you redid your jingle? Ah, thanks for noticing. Catchy, right? No.

Okay, then. Well, ask your doctor about which FDA-approved uses of me, the OZempic pen, may be right for you. Call 1833-OZempic or visit OZempic. To view the medication guide and learn more about OZempic, somaglite, injection, 2-millimeter. Only Novo Nordisk makes FDA-approved OZempic. There's only one OZMPIC.

I told you was catchy. This summer, Fandul is the best place to bet on goals. Including equalizers? Uh-huh. Wallis? Yep. Petters. Every goal is worth more on Fandu.

So, let there be goals. New customers get 350 in bonus bets guaranteed when you bet $5 for seven days. 21 plus and present in Tennessee. First Online Real Money Wager only. Minimum $5. Wager required. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non-witrable bonus bets, which expires.

seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at fanduil.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem, call tea and redline. One 800, 889-9789. Welcome back. If it's Tuesday, voters are voting somewhere. And today, those somers are Georgia and Wisconsin. In Georgia, it's runoff day in the special election to fill former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's seat. Green resigned from Congress earlier this year amid frustration with her party and the president. The Trump-indorse Republican candidate, Clay Fuller, favored in this deep red district. He's facing Democrat Sean Harris, who advanced to the runoff after a crowded Republican field split part of the vote. Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Democrats are hoping

to bolster their majority on the state Supreme Court one year after liberals won a high profile and expensive battle against conservatives and Elon Musk securing the court's majority. NBC's Shaquille Brewster has more. Wisconsin voters back at the polls for yet another tense Supreme court race in the battleground state. Costs are on the rise. Extremists are trying to eliminate food assistance in badger care. The candidates are technically nonpartisan, but are each backed by political parties and leaning into some of the thornyest political issues. I will simply uphold the law, including Wisconsin's existing 20-week compromise. The judge who wins will serve a 10-year term and could help decide cases on redistricting, abortion, and even potential challenges to the 28,

election. What do you think of my hat? This year's race, a far cry from last years, which became the most expensive state judicial race in history, thanks in large part to President Trump's billionaire advisor, Elon Musk.

He's trying to buy the election. Spending more than $15 million and controversially handing out million-dollar checks to three Wisconsin voters. This is one of those things that may not seem that it's going to affect the entire destiny of humanity, but I think it

Whoa. The conservative candidate lost. Toose it! Locking in the court's liberal majority for years. We need to draw a line in the sand and stop the destruction of our courts. Now, the Republican-backed candidate and veteran judge Maria Lazzar is warning that trimming the conservative minority to two this year would have major impacts. You need three justices to vote to hear an appeal. So if we lose the three on the other side, this court's really just one judicial philosophy.

one point of view, and that's a dangerous thing for a court. But she's being outspent significantly by Democratic-backed judge Chris Taylor, former state lawmaker and political director for Planned Parenthood. I don't think it's ever been more important in my lifetime to have a strong court that's going to stand up for our rights and freedoms, stand up for our democracy, our elections, and make sure that we are resisting this overreach we're seeing from the federal government. Voters responding to both messages, even as early voting trailed 2025 levels. I voted for a czar.

I've followed up on some of her stuff. It's all public record. And, yeah, I think she's going to do a good job. Chris Taylor, because she stands for women's rights. And I want to make sure that women's rights are protected in this state. Still, outside forces in this midterm election year have been a factor. Taylor, earning President Obama's endorsement on the same day his former attorney general, Eric Holder, was campaigning for her in Milwaukee.

We'll learn a lot here that I think is going to be useful come November, and that's one of the reasons why I think this race is ultimately so important. A more muted election still expected to offer loud midterm clues. Shaquille Brewster, NBC News, Milwaukee. Our thanks to Shaq for that great reporting. Joining me now from Georgia is NBC national correspondent Aaron Gilchrist and chief data analyst Steve Kornacki is at the big board. So, Aaron, this did end up as a runoff between a Republican and Democrat, but it's still a heavily Republican district, right?

What are you hearing from voters there? Yeah, you're absolutely right. This is a district that has been heavily Republican for a long time. We know President Trump was able to win this district back in 2024 by more than 30 points, more than 35 points, as a matter of fact. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who used to hold the congressional seat for this district, also beat the Democratic contender back then in 2024 by 29. points and now that Democrat is running again for this seat, Sean Harris, the retired Army Brigadier General, and he, as, along with Clay Fuller, the Republican candidate, both of them together have really motivated voters to get out and vote. The ones that we've spoken to today

have really stood by their convictions, their concerns about the costs of living right now that are going up again, many of them say, but they're also holding to their convictions about who they believe can address the issues that are of importance to them. I want you to hear from a couple of voters that we've spoken to at. this precinct today, which has been pretty busy. Here's what they had to say. I'm not that familiar with him and his politics. I mean, I'm just not.

I know that Trump supports him and that he's the Republican. So that's the way we voted this time. You're always been a Republican. Was there anything in this race that made you think twice? No. Trump endorsed him. That's good enough for me. I voted for Sean Harris.

and what brought me to the polls was I'd been unhappy with Marjorie Taylor Greene and kind of her outspokenness. And so I wanted somebody who was more focused on the issues for Rome. And Sean Harris says that he is focused on rural issues in particular. This part of Northwest Georgia is largely a rural area. And so he says he's been focused on those things that he believes will bring Republicans over to his side. and I'd mention Democrats in independence in this area. Clay Fuller has presented himself as a MAGA warrior, said that he will be in America first member of Congress,

one who supports President Trump 100% across his policies, Monica. And that last voter did mention former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene there, but Aaron, in all the voters you've been talking to, have many of them mentioned her, especially since she's been vocally opposed to the president specifically on the war against Iran? You know, not a lot. As we've been here today, we were here for the special election last month as well, and we would ask people about Marjorie Taylor Greene. And I have to tell you that she doesn't really seem to be a factor in the minds of a lot of people here as though they've, one, moved on from her, but also the people who are supporting the Republican candidates, the 12 of them who were in the field during the special election, the one who was on the ballot today, they have all said that they are still very much supporters of President Trump. And so they have backed the candidates in this race and they have backed a perspective that is obviously different from Marjorie Taylor Greene as her support of President Trump we know has all but disappeared at this point, Monica.

Aaron Gilchrist, thanks so much for your on the ground reporting. Great to have you there. Let's turn to Steve now. And let us know what are you watching for tonight in both Georgia and Wisconsin. Yeah, I mean, let's start there in that Georgia race where Aaron is. So again, you're going from basically the far Atlanta. suburbs here one end of the district. A lot of vote is going to be right down here. This is where the population density is and then stretching all the way up, really into the Chattanooga suburbs there on the Tennessee border. But as Aaron said, look, this is Republican territory. How much so, this is what the presidential race looked like in this district in 2024. It was a 37 point victory here for Donald Trump. Now, in these special elections, we've seen a number of these House special elections since Trump came back to the White House. In all of them, the Democrats

have been doing much better than they did. did in 2024. The average Democratic overperformance in special elections to Congress since Trump came back to the White House is 17 points, meaning if that holds, if the Democrats get their average overperformance, that 37 would end up being, well, it would still be a loss for Democrats. It would be down to 20 points. So I think realistically, as you watch the returns come in here tonight in Georgia, Fuller is the prohibitive favorite in this race. This is just such an overwhelmingly Republican district. There is no district in the country, even remotely this Republican, the Democrats have succeeded in winning in the last few years. But I think it's sort of like

in sports, the point spread, right? I think you'd set this point spread at about 20 points here. If it's lower than that, Democrats are going to say, hey, look, you know, we can't win here, but, you know, we put on a really good performance and it's a bit of a moral victory. If it goes higher than 20, Republicans are going to be saying, hey, all that talk that Democrats have this big advantage in the midterm. Hey, we just, maybe we showed something here. So I think 20 points is kind of the number to keep in mind as you're watching those Georgia returns tonight. Then over to Wisconsin, it's a bit the opposite here. The expectation here is that the Democratic-aligned candidate, Chris Taylor, is going to win tonight and win comfortably. Why is that because in that race?

It's not because of how the 2024 presidential race went. Remember, Wisconsin, of course, it's a premier swing state. Trump won the state, but it was very close. It was a little bit less than a point in the presidential race. The reason Taylor, his favorite is because in that report from Shaq, he talked about that Supreme Court race in Wisconsin last year, spring of 2025, high stakes, court on the line, Elon Musk money. Well, Democrats ended up winning that race. The Democratic-aligned candidate won that race by 11 points. And the reason for that was you saw a huge, disproportionately high Democratic turnout around Dane County. This is where Madison is. This is just a monster in terms of the number of size of

votes that it turns out for Democrats here. But you saw a disproportionate. disproportionately high Democratic turnout. You saw those places, those blue-collar places near the Mississippi River, some Hispanic areas, too, where Trump had done very well and Republicans don't normally do very well, those areas just did not turn out, did not turn out for Republicans last year. So I think the expectation just based on last year is that the Democrats, because of their energized base in a state like Wisconsin, have a clear advantage here. So again, if you were setting the line, like we just said in Georgia, I'd set it around 10 points right here. If it gets inside a Republicans will claim some kind of moral victory if it goes higher than 10.

Democrats are going to say, wow, we really have the energy in our side here. Coach Kornacki, we will be watching that spread. Thank you so much. And Steve, we'll have live special coverage of tonight's election results as they start coming in. Kornacki Kamm kicks off at 7 p.m. Eastern on NBCNews.com. Up next, power, politics, and payback. NBC News speaks to Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, one of the few Senate Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump during his first term as he fights for

his political life against a Trump-back primary challenger. You're watching. Meet the Press now. A flex car, we know podcast ads are annoying, but not as annoying as car salesmen. Sign here, please. Never talk to one again with Flexcar, the first and and only month-to-month car lease. No, submit to my extortion machine. Insurance and maintenance included. Switch cars any time. Switching Bronco to Camry to tell you ride, willy-nilly, oh no.

Oh, yes. Flexcar. You drive everything. Join me, Cindy Lauper, with Chef Michelle Bernstein and Dr. Panico to talk about psoriasis and psoriotic arthritis, the potential connection, and risk of developing permanent joint damage. Kosentic secukinumab is prescribed for adults

with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis 300 milligram dose and adults with active soriatic arthritis 150 milligram dose. Don't use if you're allergic to cosentics. Before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur, like tuberculosis or other serious bacterial, fungal, or viral infections.

Some are fatal. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle eggs, or cough, had a vaccine or planned to, or if inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions and severe eczema-like skin reactions may occur. Learn more at 1844-Cocentics or cossentics.com slash Cindy. You want to get your backyard summer ready, but you don't want to break the bank? Wayfair gets it. Planning on dining alfresco or relaxing poolside. Wayfair has everything you need to prep your space.

Shop now and save up to 70% off during Wayfair's Fourth of July clearance. Score huge deals on outdoor furniture, area rugs, and more. We're talking thousands of products for every style and budget. Plus, surprise flash deals July 6th. Don't wait. Shop Wayfair's Fourth of July clearance now through July 6th at Wayfair.com. Wayfair, every style, every home. Welcome back.

President Trump's grip on the Republican Party will be tested in the coming weeks with a handful of primary races in deep red states, including in Louisiana, where the president has endorsed Congresswoman Julia Letlow in her challenge of incumbent two-term Senator Bill Cassidy. Bill Cassidy was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict President Trump of incitement of insurrection during his second impeachment trial in 2021. Speaking at a town hall in Louisiana last week, Bill Cassidy told NBC News he believes he can still win despite the president backing his opponent. Joining me now here on set is Capitol Hill correspondent Melanie Zanona, who spoke with Senator Bill Cassidy at that town hall event.

Mel, great to see you in person. So I want to ask you, why is Bill Cassidy feeling like he can survive a primary without the president's endorsement? And what makes him confident he could win? Yeah, it's a great question. This primary is going to be a test of just how powerful Trump's endorsement still is in the Republican Party. But Bill Cassidy, he's not leaving anything to chance, both in his. stump speech and his wide-ranging interview with me, he hugged the president very closely. He said, I have voted with the president 90% of the time. We work well together. And he also

interestingly downplayed that impeachment vote, basically talking it up to a disagreement with someone, kind of like you have with a spouse is what he said. Let's watch a little bit more of our interview. In the impeachment vote today, someone asked you about that. You addressed it head on. You defended that vote. Do you think it's a liability for you in the primary? Well, it might be. But I tell people, Hey, you married? Did ever your spouse do something that you didn't really like? And you worked through it. Are you focused on the past? Are you focused on the now and the future? I'm focused on the now and the future. If you want somebody delivering for our state to make Louisiana a place where people move to, set down roots, raise their children and grandchildren,

I'm your guy. If that's what's important to you, vote Bill Cassidy. You know, something else that was talked about today was mail-in ballots. someone was asking, should I be concerned about this? The president is talking about this as a concern. He just signed an order restricting mail-in ballot. Would you still encourage people to utilize that practice? And is it helpful for Trump to be targeting it if you do think it's still something that should be used? A couple of things.

The state of Montana, I'm told 80% of their ballots are by mail. So there is a kind of a good Republican state, very red state. And 80% of their ballots are by mail. As a doctor, I know there are people who cannot physically go to a voting booth. and you want to make sure they can still vote. But I'll proudly say of my state that people do not speak of corruption in my state's elections now. We've put in reforms, even though, or maybe because included in, we have mail-in ballots. There are ways to do this to avoid the corruption.

I am a co-sponsor of the Save America Act, and I do think that you can do that, and for those who cannot go to the voting booth or choose not to. For example, the president mailed in his ballot for the recent election. He's leading the free world. It was hard for him to get down there on that day. I still think it's possible to have both. You've been out campaigning. Gas prices are up right now because of the war in Iran.

How much are you finding that voters are concerned about economic concerns and gas prices? Voters are very concerned about economic issues. We've got to speak to affordability. Probably the price of gas will continue to be influenced by the war in Iran. I would like to think that we can increase production here in the United States, could mitigate somewhat. There may be strategies to do so. When I speak about health care, you weren't seeing the view I did, but when I started speaking about health care affordability, heads nodded. And when I spoke about trying to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, heads were nodding yes, in agreement that that's what we need to do.

And when I spoke about how President Trump, his team had come to my office several weeks ago to collaborate, asking me, need to help write a bill to further control those costs. Again, I think that's well received because we've got to control these health care costs. I'll be making an announcement soon regarding this. I do think there needs to be a Republican plan based around the principles that President Trump has raised. And so I'll be putting something out there soon. And speaking of health care, Bill Cassidy is also facing headwinds from the Make America Healthy Again movement over his support for vaccines and also over his occasional but very careful criticism of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who he did ultimately vote to confirm. But some of those tensions could be on full display later this month

when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is actually going to come up here before Bill Cassidy's very committee. Fascinating conversation, Mel. So we can say pretty safely, right, that a Republican will win there down in Louisiana. But we are getting reporting that the top Senate GOP super PAC has laid out its midterm plan to keep the Senate. And they are going to be spending pretty big in red states in particular, right? What can you tell us about that plan? Yeah. This is a massive investment, over $300 million overall that They're planning to spend this fall in their effort to keep the Senate. But what's really interesting, to your point, is where they are spending, including in several red states, $79 million in Ohio, $71 million in North Carolina, $42 in Maine,

even $29 million in Iowa, and $15 million in Alaska. So that, to me, Monica, says Republicans recognize this is going to be a tough environment for Republicans in the fall. And Democrats are certainly reading that way as well. the Senate Majority Fund, which is the Senate Democratic counterpart, put out a statement saying Republicans are nervous and their battleground map has expanded substantially into deep red states. So it's not certain that Republicans are going to be able to keep the Senate this fall, but they're certainly going to invest a lot of money in trying to do so. It's going to be so interesting to watch that dynamic and what the Trump endorsement really can mean or won't. Mel Zanona, thank you for bringing us that. And after the break, Vice President JD Vance hits the campaign trail in Budapest in a unusual show of support for Hungary's hard right prime minister and Trump ally Viktor Orban.

We're live in Hungary with that story. Stay with us. I'm Meet the Press now. Welcome back. President Trump's threat to blow up Iran's civilian infrastructure has summoned the Republican Party pushing back while further inflaming tensions in his base over the war. Some conservative pundits, MAGA influencers, and former Trump allies say they are outraged. Two notable figures, InfoWars, host Alex Jay Jones, and former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, are now calling for the president's removal via the 25th Amendment. The pushback among Republicans on Capitol Hill has been much more muted. But here's how Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who is a staunch Trump ally, responded to the president's deadline for Iran.

I am hoping and praying that President Trump is this really is bluster. I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure. I do not want to see that. We are not at war with the Iranian people. We are trying to liberate them. Joining me now is our panel, Jasmine Wright, White House correspondent for notice, Antoine C. Wright, Democratic strategist, and founder and CEO of Blueprint Strategies, and T.W. O'Riggy, Republican strategist and vice president at Push Digital Group.

Jasmine, some notable comments there. You don't always necessarily see Republicans speak out and talk about it when the president does have such charged and controversial rhetoric. So do we think that the president here, according to Republicans, has gone too far in some of his comments? Well, I think that you have to ask the Republicans. But I think if you're coming at it from the White House's viewpoint, I think they're putting some of these detainers. tractors in two separate categories, right? They're putting the folks in who they believe are consistently going to be negative about everything that the president is doing, and that includes former representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who some believe have kind of reached the point of

no return when it comes to their relationship with President Trump. And then others like Senator Ron Johnson, who they view coming from more of a principled base, but again, unlikely to really go against the president. So I think they're viewing these two things. And fundamentally, though, when I talk to White House officials, they say that these outside comments are not going to deter the president from doing what he believes is right, which is what he's doing in this scenario. Yeah, and when he's asked about it, he says, well, it's to make a point, right? When he's asked about the profanity and all of that. But do you think we're approaching true bipartisan outrage? Is that a thing that even happens anymore? Well, you have to wait and see. I mean, right now, Congress is not in session. Even Democrats haven't come back to D.C. They're talking about redoing a war powers vote, but we know that they basically pass on doing it just a few weeks ago. And so one, it's going to come down to whether or not they actually get a war powers vote off. Hakeem Jeffries says they only need about two or three Republicans to come to their side, at least for the House. And then, two, it's this question about funding, $200 billion that the Pentagon could come to Congress and ask for. That's really going to be if it happens, where you're holding Republicans' feet to the fire to see if they're actually going to rebuke President

Trump and follow through on them saying that they want to see what the president's going to do on Iran before they give him more money. And that hasn't happened yet. We don't know what the ultimate price tag is going to be. TW, yesterday, the president did indicate and say that he's not losing MAGA, his true supporters, and polling in the last few weeks, has suggested that that is actually true. But we have seen more recent public frustration and outrage from some of those personalities. In particular, I want to play some of what Tucker Carlson had to say in his podcast yesterday. Listen to this. Unless somebody puts the brakes on right away, we're going to wind up in a place that we can't even imagine. Not just Iran, us and the rest of the world. And so that

means, because this is obvious to anyone who's paying any attention, that if you work in the White House, we're in the U.S. military, now it's time to say, no, absolutely not. And say it directly to the president, no. Those people who are in direct contact with the president, need to say, no, I'll resign. I'll do whatever I can do legally to stop this because this is insane. We should note that the president did respond to Tucker Carlson telling the New York Post. He's a, quote, low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what's going on. But what do you make of Tucker Carlson's comments and what they say overall about Republican divisions on this war? Well, first of all, I'm glad that everyone is going at this cautiously, especially when men and women are in harm's way and our

armed forces, we always ought to measure a million times before we ever cut once. And Tucker Carlson has been on the isolationist wing of the party for a long time. But he is openly mused with Ted Cruz in an earlier interview about nuking Iran if we ever heard that they were trying to threaten to assassinate the president, which we know that they actually have tried to assassinate President Trump. But to your earlier point, point, you are correct. Eighty-five percent roughly of Republicans support this. But if you dig down into the metrics, it's pretty clear where the dividing line is. It's the duration and it's boots on the ground. And that is where there is bipartisan consensus. No one wants to see boots on the ground.

And even at the Easter egg rule, President Trump said, I know that people don't want me to do this. But this was a pay me now or pay me later situation for the president in Iran. It was either going to happen now or it's going to happen in six months. And right now, he needs to be clear with the American people give a roadmap and finish this in a short time frame without boots on the ground or else Congress is going to get involved. Well, he hasn't taken boots on the ground off the table. So that's still a possibility here. We don't know anything about the timeline, which has shifted so many different times.

So Antoine react to that. And what do you think it means in terms of a reaction from lawmakers if the president does follow through on his threats tonight? Respectfully, I don't think the president or anyone is taking this from a cautious standpoint. We have the commander-in-chief, the president of the United States, basically saying he's going to order the U.S. military to commit war crimes under the Geneva Convention if Iran does not do what he wants them to do. Full stop. Unprecedented should never happen. Republicans in the Congress have refused to do their job providing oversight to the executive branch, which we Democrats and Republicans historically have always done when it comes to government overreach.

the executive branch. Secondly, the president knows and everyone else knows that words do matter. His words on social media matter. They've had tremendous economic impact. They've going to have further impact. But they're also going to do what I think he wants to do in this moment. And that's continued to harass and jam the news cycle from the real crisis we're facing at home, including the affordability crisis Republicans have created. Well, talk more about that because plenty of Democrats have condemned his language and his social media Post, but do Democrats have any power here? How could they hold him accountable on some of this? Well, the power is in our voice in elevating the seriousness of his words and what they can mean from a

long-term perspective. There will be life after Donald Trump. There certainly will be life after this Republican majority in November when we take over. However, the residue of their words and their actions in this moment could have long-term implications for many Americans beyond their time in office, and I think that's what we have to be level-headed about in this moment. But Republicans have refused to stand up and hold his words and the president's actions accountable. And I think that's where the disconnect is. And depending on what he decides or what happens tonight, we'll see if there's any kind of a reaction to that. Jasmine, I want to go back to you on this idea that foreign policy isn't usually an issue that breaks through or resonates as much with voters. We're

obviously getting closer and closer to the midterms. We're in the midst of some of these key primary election. So do you think we are approaching a point in the war against Iran where it is starting to maybe matter more to people? Are people paying more attention given the escalated rhetoric and what could possibly play out here? I certainly think people are paying more attention. I think that this is breaking through. But I would say that, yes, foreign policy is not, you know, the one, two, three, or four, or maybe even five issue that most Americans vote on when it comes time to go to the ballot box. But affordability is. And the question of affordability is now intertwined with foreign policy because of this crisis happening on the economic, I mean on the energy front,

not just gas prices, obviously, but rising energy prices that people are paying fertilizer shortages that are happening or that could start happening because those go through the straight of her moves. And so I think that that is all now becoming intertwined with this idea of foreign policy. And so it's going to be more and more difficult if this conflict goes on longer and longer to separate out foreign policy with those affordability concerns. And TW, W, jump off on that. Is it the economics of this war that likely will matter most to voters? How are Republicans really going to continue to handle that? Well, to the parents of those who were in harm's way, I think that is the most important thing

in the foremost forefront of their mind, and that is always going to be the overriding factor when Americans are in harm's way. But of course, there is an economic component to this. And before we get too far ahead of what's happening right now, and there's so much we don't know that's happening behind the scenes. And a lot of the rhetoric Donald Trump is saying, as inappropriate as it may be, is being based off things that we don't know anything about or we know very little about. But we talk about the Strait of Hormuz and all the things that go through it. I think the president would tell you the Strait of Hormuz has never really been open because it's always under threat from a terroristic apocalyptic regime in Iran. And let's not forget, it was Hillary Clinton herself who advocated for attacking Iran as far back as 2007. Still 20% of the oil was going through day to day.

And now it's not. Agreed. Agreed. And if they had a nuclear weapon, what would that happen? What would happen? And by many experts, they're saying that was within two weeks to get the energy and within six months to get the actual missile. So there was overriding, you know, effects that the president was weighing and he made a decision. We have to leave it right there.

There is so much more to discuss when it comes to the straight and everything else. Antoine, TW, Jasmine. Thank you all so much for your time and for your insights. Today we will be right back with more. This is Meet the Press now.

So talk to us about the significance of this, the U.S. vice president openly stumping for a strongman authoritarian leader. Well, yeah, as I've been out here in Budapest, I've been trying to find other examples of US or indeed any other Western leaders flying out this late in another country's election campaign to campaign for one of the participants. And I can't really find many examples, to be honest. So this really does break with precedent. And we should be really clear about who Viktor Orban is.

This is a guy who, the EU, of which Hungary is a member, says can no longer be. considered a full democracy and they actually classify Viktor Orban's Hungary as an elective autocracy. That's after he has curved the freedom of the judiciary, of the press, stuffed government positions with his allies. And now Transparency International says that Hungary is actually the most corrupt country in Europe. Now, obviously, you hear the very different message today from JD Vance. JD Vance called Viktor Orban one of the, one of the sort of most, the best statesman in Europe and really criticized the EU in comparison

with him. He said that Viktor Orban is standing up as a sort of lone defender of Western Christian values. Let's hear a clip. We want you to make a decision about your future with no outside

forces pressuring you or telling you what to do. I'm not telling you exactly who to vote for. But what I am telling you is that the bureaucrats and Brussels those people should not be listened to.

And building off of that, Alex, Viktor Orban earlier today talked about some of these areas of cooperation with the U.S. What more did he say about that specifically? Yeah, that was a really fascinating part of his speech because he was talking about Viktor Orban's energy independence. He hailed his efforts to end the, the war between Russia and Hungary.

Now, it's important to note at this point, of course, that Viktor Orban is a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, so clearly he's coming to that from a certain angle. But I thought what was most interesting was Van said, actually, it's not the economic cooperation. It's the moral cooperation between the United States and Hungary that he really wanted to emphasize. That was the cooperation on values, on Christian values.

He references so many times today in his speech and his press conference. talked about family, talked about the faceless bureaucrats in Brussels and elsewhere who are trying to derail what he sort of characterizes a revolution, really, by patriots the world over, really coming together on these values. Fascinating dynamic, also given that the vice president has been a part of some of the negotiations to see what might happen here with the war in Iran. Alex Smith, thank you so much for reporting from Budapest, us tonight. We really appreciate it. Thank you. And we will be back tomorrow with more

Meet the Press now. There is much more ahead on NBC News Now. Snoring, gasping for air during sleep, daytime sleepiness. I'm Shaquille O'Neill, and this shouldn't be anybody's experience. As should doctor about Zepbound to Zepatine. The first and only FDA approved prescription medicine for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea and adults with obesity. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, and obesity to improve their OSA. Zepbound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. Zepound contains chrezepotide and should not be used with other treseptide containing products

or any GLP1 receptor agonist medicines. It is not known if Zepound is safe and effective for use in children. Don't share needles or pens or reuse needles. Don't take if allergic to it, or if you or someone in family had medullary thyroid cancer or if you've had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Stop Zepbound and call your doctor if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction. Severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems. Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes before scheduled procedures with anesthesia. If you're nursing, pregnant, plan to be, or taking birth control pills. Taking Zepbound with a sulfonal urea or insulin may cause low blood sugar.

Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call 1-800-545-9 or visit zepbound.lily.com.