March 22 — Sec. Scott Bessent, Sen. Chris Murphy and Cuban Deputy FM de Cossío

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The war with Iran is poised to enter a new and potentially more dangerous phase. The Pentagon announcing it's sending thousands of more troops to the Persian Gulf. As NBC News reports, President Trump is weighing several options, including the possible deployment of U.S. troops inside Iran. One option under consideration? Using ground forces to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil supply. The president was asked Friday about the buildup. Mr. President, are you deploying the additional troops to the region for deterrence or to optimize your operational capabilities? Well, I would say this, that if I told you the answer to that question, my military people would be very happy. But we have a lot of troops. We have unlimited ammunition. We have the greatest equipment in the world. And we are decimating Iran. Back here at home, the economic fallout is intensifying. The stock market down four straight weeks and gas prices up nearly a dollar a gallon since the war began. The administration now moving to ease some oil sanctions on Iran and earlier on Russia in an effort to bring prices down. All of this as the Pentagon prepares to ask Congress for an additional $200 billion to fund the war. As far as $200 billion, I think that number could move, obviously. It takes money to kill bad guys. It's our responsibility right now to end this reckless war of choice, to end the fact that billions of dollars have already been spent, perhaps up to $2 billion a day to drop bombs in the Middle East. We want to be sure, and it's a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top. And joining me now is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Secretary Scott Bessent, welcome back to meet the press. Kristen, good morning. Good morning. Good to have you back. I want to start with the latest of what we're hearing from President Trump. Let me read you what he posted overnight. He says if Iran doesn't fully open without threat, the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one. First, has the president changed his mind about winding down the war, as he said a day earlier, and instead plans to escalate? I think he said he could wind the war down any time he wants. And this is the only language the Iranians understand. But this seems to be an escalation, a threat of escalation, and it seems to run counter to his statement that he, in fact, wants to wind down the war. Again, Kristen, the president's been very clear from the beginning that the goals are destroy the Iranian Air Force in the Navy to... the completely demolish their missile capabilities, demolish their ability to replenish those capabilities, make sure the Iranians can not have a nuclear weapon, and stop their ability to project power internationally. And the president will take whatever steps it takes to achieve those goals. Well, you know, I was on the phone with President Trump a week ago. He told me allies were on the way to help secure the strait of her moves.

Has the Trump administration abandoned that strategy and now chosen to go it alone? Again, what we have done, there has been a campaign to using military assets to soften up. the Iranian fortifications along the strait that's going to continue until they are completely demolished. And Kristen, let me tell you, whether it's this network or the mainstream press, the American people did not have good framing what is going on here. If you were to read what is happening, and I'm sure when Senator Murphy is on, he has come out and said, we are losing the war. That is wrong. We have demolished the Iranian capabilities. Their Air Force is completely destroyed, Navy destroyed, and every day we are taking out their missiles, their missile systems, and the factories that build those missiles, and now the General Kane, Secretary Hegesith, are leading a campaign to destroy all the fortifications along the Straits of Hermose. Just to put a fine point on this, though, is the president in the process of winding down this war or escalating conflict? Again, they're not mutually exclusive. Sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate. Okay, NBC News is reporting that President Trump is considering sending troops into Iran. Will the administration use troops to secure the strait of her moose or for any other reason, Mr. Secretary? Again, as President Trump said during the press break yesterday when he was going out to Marine 1, he's not going to... They give away what we're going to do. As President Trump always does, he's leaving all options on the table. We had a very successful bombing campaign against the military installations at Karg Island, the nexus for all the Iranian oil supply. You know, what could happen with Karg Island? We'll see. And again, just to be clear, the command and control system of the Iranian regime is in chaos. This is Hitler's bunker. Hitler is dead, Himmler is dead, Goring is dead. Most of what you're seeing are lone wolf activities. The mid-range ICBM that was shot off, these two missiles yesterday, that's out of desperation, Kristen. You bring up Carg Island. I want to ask you about your statement. You said it could become a U.S. asset. What exactly does that mean? Could U.S. troops go into Carg Island to secure it? Again, as I said, all options are on the table. Okay, so that's a possibility. All options are on the table. All right. Let me talk about your announcement this past week. On Friday, the Treasury Department lifted sanctions on Iranian oil stored on tankers, a move that would effectively allow Iran to get more than $14 billion of oil revenue. Hold on. Why is the U.S. helping to fund a country that it's currently at war with, Mr. Secretary? Again, Kristen.

Why don't we have good facts here? That Iranian oil was always going to be sold to the Chinese. It was going to be sold at a discount. So which is better, Kristen? Which is better? If oil prices spiked to $150 and they were getting 70% of that or oil prices below 100, it's better to have them where they are now. And to be clear, We had always planned for this contingency. About 140 million barrels are out on the water. In essence, we are jujitsuing the Iranians. We are using their own oil against them. We have a much better line of sight, to be clear, a treasury. When this oil goes to, if it goes to Indonesia, if it goes to Japan, if it goes to Korea, we have a much better line of sight and are able to block accounts that the oil goes into. When it goes into China, it completely gets recycled. So to be clear, that 14 billion number is grossly overstated. Let me unpack what you're just saying. First of all, how much is it? And second of all, I don't hear you disputing that Iran will get some of the money. Iran already gets a huge amount of the money because Iran is the largest sponsor of state terrorism and China has been funding them. So is always part of the plan to unsanction Iranian oil? Again, we unsanctioned the Russia. At Treasury, we plan for all contingencies. We have break the glass plans and to be able this water. This oil is floating out in Asia. And it is our, mostly our Asian allies. The U.S. gets virtually no oil from the Gulf. We are energy sufficient. So when we unsanctioned this, rather than the oil going to China, it can go to Japan, it can go to Korea, it can go to Indonesia, it can go to Malaysia. And it can go to Iran, too. I mean, isn't the point that the sanctions were in place to prevent Iran from getting any of the money? They will have access to some of the money now. Again, Kristen, you're missing the point. So please listen to me. They were getting it from China anyway. All right. Let me talk about the real world impact of this because you're talking about 140 million barrels of Iranian oil. And that's just a little bit more than what the world uses in one day. How much can that really change prices here at home? Again, Chris, terrible framing. Terrible framing. Well, how much can it change prices here at home? Can you talk to consumers? How much will it change prices here at home? Just let me explain 140 million barrels that about 20 million barrels a day...

comes out of the Gulf. About 5 million has been the repurposed by the Saudis by the UAE. So we're at a 15 deficit. About 1.5 is Iranian oil that comes out. So we are at between a 10 and 14 million. deficit on a daily basis. So if you think about 140 million barrels, that's between 10 days and two weeks of supply. And one of the reasons, one of the reasons that prices in the U.S. of West Texas crude are below $100. And we have not seen this massive spike as we did during the beginning of Russia, Ukraine, is because we are well supplied in the market. Whether it is the Russian oil, whether it is the Iranian oil, or it is the largest, the SPR release in history, done by a coalition of 32 countries, 400 million barrels. All right. Let's talk about the Russian oil, which you just raised. The administration did use oil sanctions on Russia earlier this month. You had initially defended imposing those sanctions calling Russian exports, quote, oil that funds the Russian war machine. If the point of the sanctions was to stop funding the Russian war machine, why is the administration effectively rewarding Russia now? Again, Kristen, you're missing the point. Which is better? Does Russia get more money if oil goes to 150? And they get 70% of that, that's 105, or if oil stays below 100. So they're getting less money. Our analysis shows, our analysis shows that the maximum extra amount the Russia could get would be $2 billion, which is one day of the Russian Federation's budget. But understood, but they wouldn't have gotten any of that with the sanctions in place. I don't know. But would they have done any of that in place? Whoever does your research, you should get rid of. because they were getting it. It was going into China. China was buying over 90% of the Russian oil. But what's the point of sanctions, if not to punish Russia, if not to punish countries? Again, it... We have no ability to do that to China. If China wants to be a bad actor, but we were substantially able to degrade their exports. Their exports have dropped about 25% when the rest of the world isn't buying it. So exports are down, but there was a lifeline into China. Now we've opened up that to everyone else. Okay, just to be clear, though, you did defend imposing those sanctions in the first place. Let me ask. Just to be clear, it is a maximum of $2 billion. So let's have good framing on this. Okay. Let's talk about the overall cost of this war. The administration's asking Congress poised to an additional $200 billion in additional funding for this war. Some Republicans who could cast key votes.

on this are expressing hesitation or outright opposition. Take a listen to them, and then I want to get your reaction on the other side. Are there any initial red flags for you? No, maybe. It's a lot of money. I'll go through it, see what they need. I am a no. I've already told leadership. I am a no on any war supplementals. I am so tired of spending money elsewhere. Should President Trump have gone to Congress on the front end of this war? if he was going to ask for Congress's help now for more funding. Again, President Trump was within his authorities, under the War Powers Act, to initiate this action. And we actually, now we have plenty of money to fund this war. What we are doing is this is supplemental. President Trump has built up the military as he did in his first term, as he is now doing in his second term, and he wants to make sure that the military is well supplied going forward. Would the administration ever raise taxes in order to fund this war? Again, Kristen, the terrible framing, I think that they... Well, it's just a question. It's a simple question that I think a lot of people have. Well, it's a ridiculous question. Well, what, can you answer it? Why would we do that? That the, that we have plenty. We have a trillion dollars. The, uh, in this year's budget for the military. And President Trump, even before the conflict started, had said that he would like to further build out the military. So just is raising taxes under consideration at all? You're saying you have plenty of money. Not at all. Okay. Let's turn to how all of this is impacting consumers. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is now planning. He says to cut flights. and is planning for oil to go as high as $175 a barrel, with prices potentially staying above $100, a barrel through 2027. This is according to him. All of this could potentially mean higher prices for consumers. What do you say to Americans who feel they were promised lower costs, and now they're getting the opposite? Chris, I think the American people understand that in any 50, I'm not going to put a time on it, but let's just pick. 50 days of temporary elevated prices. Prices will come off on the other side for 50 years of not having an Iranian regime with a nuclear weapon. The American people are beginning to understand thanks to President Trump that there is no prosperity without security. I heard you say 50 days. Are you saying that prices could start to come down? What's the time for? I was just... Picking a point. I don't know whether it's going to be 30 days. I don't know whether it's going to be 50 days. I don't know whether it's going to be 100 days. But to have 50 years, a peace in the Middle East and know that the Iranian regime is defanged. Because, Kristen, what we had before was the illusion of security. Imagine.

This regime, if they had had another year or two years to build out their missile capabilities, they would have built a shield around themselves, and it would have been impossible to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon. All right. I want to ask you a different topic about a post by President Trump from yesterday responding to the death of former special counsel Robert Mueller. He posted this quote, Robert Mueller just died. Good. I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt. innocent people. Do you think it's appropriate for the president of the United States to celebrate the death of an American citizen, someone who's a Bronze Star, Purple Heart recipient, and who served in Vietnam? Kristen, I was with the president in the green room at Davos, and there was a video playing of... what may have been an illegal raid on his home at Mar-Largo, they are going through his wife's wardrobe. And I watched the look in his eye, and I think that neither one of us can understand what has been done to the president and to his family. But to the question of the president's post, I mean, Robert Mueller didn't order that raid, is it appropriate for the president to celebrate the death of any American citizen, Mr. Secretary? Again, I think that given what has been done to President Trump and his family, it is impossible for either of us to understand what he has been through. So you don't think that there's anything wrong with the post, say, good Robert Mueller's day? Again, I think that we should all have a little empathy for what has been done to him and his family. All right. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent. Thank you, as always for being here. Really appreciate it. Thank you. When we come back, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy joins me next.

Burlington knows you cannot forget Mother's Day. And be real, texting your sibling to add your name to their card isn't enough. Instead, head to your newly refreshed Burlington, where it's easier to shop for deals that'll make Mom proud. Find fragrances from perfume to candles or opt for a brand name bag. Plus, your store had a glow up, so it's more fun to shop for those special women in your life. Mom is Wow upside down after all. Burlington, deals, brands, wow. Welcome back and joining me now is Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Senator Murphy, welcome back to meet the press. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for being here. I want to start with Iran. The Pentagon, as I was just discussing with the Treasury Secretary is planning to ask Congress for more than $200 billion in additional funding for the war. Most Democrats have vowed that they're not going to approve this funding request. But... By opposing this request, are you risking potentially leaving American forces vulnerable? I thought that was a really scary appearance by the Treasury Secretary. This administration has totally lost touch with reality. This war is spinning out of control. Prices are spiking for millions of Americans. There's a new war breaking out between Israel and Lebanon. Oil assets of our allies are continuing to be hit in the region. There's no end in sight. The Secretary of Treasury just said, we're going to escalate. in order to de-escalate. It's like they've never read a history book. That's exactly what our war leaders said in the middle of Vietnam and the 20 years of mismanagement in Afghanistan. We need to end this war. The only way you are going to get prices down here in the United States, the only way that you are going to bring peace to the region is by ending this war. And it may be that the quickest way we can do that is by denying them the funding that they need to perpetuate this war, which is increasingly out of control. Well, let me ask you, though, because the war is underway. You have argued, and I'll put this quote, we need to end this war right now. If the U.S. ends the war right now, as you're arguing for, could that leave Iran with a more extreme anti-American regime and even lead to a potentially larger conflict for the next administration? But the administration has already said their goal is not regime changed. They are perfectly satisfied to leave in charge of Iran a regime that is going to be worse for American interests than the previous regime. What we know is that the minute we stop bombing, this new regime is going to start rebuilding their missile capacity and their drone capacity. The estimates are that it will only take them a handful of months to reconstitute that threat. So what did we get at the end of this war? We're going to waste millions of dollars. We're going to get dozens, if not hundreds of Americans killed. We're going to start new conflicts in the region. And when it's all said and done, a more provocative regime is going to be in charge with the same military capacities. This is nonsensical. This is what happens when you put real estate developers and talk show hosts in charge of American national security. Just to be very clear, you are a no on any funding request. I'm absolutely a no in any funding request. I mean, every single day.

This war makes less and less sense. We're going to give Iran $14 billion to fund this war with the United States. We're going to give... Russia, billions of dollars to fund their war with Ukraine. We're literally putting money into the pockets of the very nations that we are fighting right now. Like, we've never seen this level of incompetence in war making in this country's history. And frankly, we've had a lot of incompetence in war making. Well, speaking of my conversation with the Treasury Secretary, he said all options are on the table when I asked him about ground troops. Is there any scenario where you would support? putting U.S. boots on the ground in Iran. Never. Never. That would be a mistake of colossal proportions. And the American public doesn't want this war, right? If we're going to spend $200 billion, they want that money to be spent. on them. Think of what we could do with $200 billion here at home. We could make sure that none of the 20 million Americans that are getting a health insurance increase because of Trump's policies have their premiums raised. We could rebuild schools in every neighborhood across this country. The fact that this president is so focused on Iran and Venezuela has no interest in helping people here at home. It's absolutely heartbreaking. You heard me ask the secretary about the decision to loosen oil sanctions on Iran and Russia. He said that money was going to go to China. anyway, he argues these are temporary moves that are ultimately going to bring down pressure on the supply of the global oil markets. Are you supportive of those moves if ultimately they do, in fact, lower the cost of oil? The only way to lower energy prices is to end this war. I mean, what he told you is that Iran was getting discounted prices previously from China. And we are now removing sanctions so that they can get premium prices. So we are literally putting billions of dollars into the very regime that we are fighting. Again, no matter how badly we fought the war in Iraq or Afghanistan or in Vietnam, I don't think at any point during those wars. We were literally handing the enemy cash with which to fight our troops. I mean, we've just never seen anything like this, the quickest way. to lower energy prices is to end this war and get this president focused on this country. Well, let me talk to you about the shutdown. President Trump is threatening to put ICE agents in airports as early as Monday as we're seeing these long TSA lines as TSA agents call out sick or don't show up to work because they're not receiving a paycheck amidst this partial government shutdown. Does that threat make you more inclined to end this shutdown? Why don't they just reopen TSA? Why don't we just reopen the Coast Guard and FEMA? Democrats have been clear. We are willing tonight to provide the votes to open up every part of the Department of Homeland Security while we resolve our narrow differences on how ICE is terrorizing our communities. So almost every single day last week, Democrats went to the Senate floor and said, let's open up ice.

Republicans said no. Let's open up the Coast Guard. Republicans said no. They want to hold TSA hostage so that they can continue getting Democrats to fund the illegality happening at ICE. Let's just isolate our difference. Let's not hold TSA hostage any longer. Well, during the previous shutdown in the fall, you criticized the eight. Senate Democrats who broke ranks to negotiate an end to the shutdown with Republicans. You said they capitulated and lost the, quote, political advantage. Do you see this shutdown ending in the exact same way with moderates effectively saying time to end this, time to make a deal with Republicans? Well, I hope the Democrats stay together on a very simple principle, which is we swore an oath to the Constitution. uphold the law. And right now ICE is operating lawlessly. No matter who's in charge, they are rounding up. legal immigrants denying them their rights. They are still terrorizing American citizens. They are abusing protesters who are standing up to this illegal activity. So until we get commitments from the administration that ICE is going to behave legally, yes, I believe the Democrats should stand together. I think we have an obligation to not fund an agency that is acting this lawlessly. And to the point, leadership is, of course, leading the charge here. And there's a lot of focus on Chuck Schumer right now. The Wall Street Journal reporting that there's growing frustration with Chuck Schumer, which spurs talk of replacing him. Senator, do you want to replace? Leader Chuck Schumer? Well, I think we are united right now as a caucus. There's always a lot of focus on Chuck Schumer and Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Those are very hard jobs, especially at a historic moment like this. That's not a yes. Well, no, we are united as a caucus right now. Let me just be clear about that. We are united in ending this war. We are united in reigning in the lawlessness of ICE. And we're going to be united in winning the election this November. So right now, we are together as a caucus. So if you do win the election, would you vote to keep him? leader? Well, listen, I think he has a very tough job, and right now you are seeing the Democratic caucus united. That's really important. Very quickly. Your reaction to President Trump saying he's glad? Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller is dead? I mean, it's just disgusting. It's so heartbreaking that we have a president who's... cheerleading the death of American citizens. The fact of the matter is Robert Mueller is amongst many who have been trying to hold this president to account. He's the most corrupt president in the history of the country. And of course, he is going to wish for the death of the people that are trying to hold him accountable to the law. But that doesn't make it any less disgusting.

All right. Senator Chris Murphy, thank you so much. Thank you for being here. No, you're here working in Washington. Appreciate your being here in person. When we come back, President Trump threatens to take over Cuba. I'll talk exclusively to the Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba. Carlos Fernandez DeCosio next. July means you're halfway through the year, but there's still time to reach your 2026 wellness goals with half off an annual subscription to the Start Today app. Hi everyone, I'm Joy Bauer, the Today Show's nutrition expert. And as part of the Start Today family, we offer easy to follow meal and fitness plans, and we support you with simple, realistic tools that keep you inspired to reach your goals. Go to today.com slash start and download now because it's never too late to start today. Subscription automatically renews each year at 6599 plus taxes and peas until canceled. Offer ends July 31st, 2026. Price is subject to change. Visit today.com slash start for full offer terms and details. Welcome back. On Saturday, I spoke with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba, Carlos Fernandez de Cosio. Thank you so much for being here. I do want to start off by playing for you, something that President Trump said about Cuba just this week, speaking from the White House. Take a listen. I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba. That'd be good honor. That's a big honor. Taking Cuba. Taking Cuba in some form, yeah. Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it. You want to know the truth. Mr. Deputy Foreign Minister, what was your reaction to hearing that? Is Cuba bracing for the United States to take it in some form? Truly, we don't know what they're talking about, but I can tell you this. Cuba is a sovereign country. and has the right to be a sovereign country, and has the right to self-determination. Cuba would not accept to become a vassal state or a dependent state from any other country or any other superpower. Well, let's delve into this a little bit more deeply. Cuba's president released a statement that read in part, quote, any external aggressor will clash with impregnable resistance. Do you believe any action by the United States would escalate into a military conflict? We hope not. But what our president expressed is what any country respects itself. would convey if there was a threat to try to take over a country or to try to dominate or control it anyway. But we truly hope that there's no military action, and frankly we see no reason. We see no justification for it.

military action against Cuba. Cuba is a peaceful country. We're not an enemy of the United States. We don't pose any threat to the United States. In fact, we wish, and we said it openly, that we would like to have a friendly and respectful relationship with the United States, with its government, and we've been developing it for a long time with the people of the United States. And yet you heard those words by President Trump. So I'm wondering, is your military preparing for a potential engagement with the United States? Our military is always prepared. And in fact, it is preparing these days for the possibility of military aggression. We would be naive if looking at what's happening around the world, we would not do that. But we truly hope that it doesn't occur. We don't see why it would have to occur, and we find no justification whatsoever. Why would the government, the United States, force its country to take military action against a neighboring country like Cuba? So this is a remarkable statement that you've just made, that Cuba is, in fact, preparing for the potential possibility of a military engagement with the United States. Can you be more specific? What do those preparations look like?

Our country has historically been ready to mobilize as a nation as a whole for military aggression. We truly always see it as something far from us. We don't believe it is something that is probable, but we're naive if we do not prepare. That's what I can tell you. The U.S. and Cuba have confirmed that they are talking but have given very few details. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading those talks for the United States. Here's what he had to say from the White House this week. Take a listen. So they're in a lot of trouble. And the people in charge are, they don't know how to fix it. So they have to get new people in charge. So is the United States insisting on regime change in order to give Cuba economic relief? I don't know what they're insisting among themselves, but I can tell you in conversations with the United States and in dialogue with the United States, the nature of the Cuban government, the structure of the Cuban government, and the members of the Cuban government are not part of the negotiation. That is something that no sovereign country negotiates. I don't know how many examples are there of countries that negotiate with a foreign power. their system of government or the nature of the government. I'm sure the United States is not ready to negotiate with another government, its constitutional system, its political system. Now, the U.S. government knows that the problems our Cuba faces are, in a great, great measure, the result of policies of the United States aimed at causing as much harm possible to the Cuban economy. to Cuban society and to the people of Cuba, which makes any government, makes it for any government very difficult to manage things and to get good results when a superpower is exerting such level of pressure, above all economically, on the country. Are you saying that regime changes off the table? Absolutely. Mr. Deputy Foreign Minister, NBC News has been on the ground in your country all week long. Our crews have seen people who haven't worked in weeks, kids who haven't gone to school, food and energy running dangerously low. President Trump says he believes that Cuba will collapse on its own. Is your country currently in a state of collapse? What does on its own mean when it's being forced by the United States? It's a very bizarre statement. And it's claimed by most U.S. politicians repeatedly that Cuba will collapse on its own. Then why does the U.S. government need to employ so many resources, so much political capital, so many human resources to try to destroy the economy of another country? Evidently, it implies that the country does not have the characteristics to collapse on its own. But is your country in a state of collapse, Mr. Deputy Foreign Minister? It is not in a state of collapse. We're being as creative as possible. We're mustering all our creativity, our ingenuity, to try to find ways in which we can cope with the reality that we did not choose, of which we are not responsible, and that would help our people go through this with the least pain possible. But pain is there.

Have no doubt. You say you're not responsible. Putting this blockade aside, though, Mr. Deputy Foreign Minister, human rights groups have reported that nearly 90% of your citizens live in extreme poverty. Nearly 80% of your citizens intend to emigrate. Has your system of communism failed the people of Cuba? I don't know which are your sources and which are the human rights organizations like claims such. But I'm sure, and I can quite accurately guess, that the majority are either financed directly by the U.S. government or by proxies of the U.S. government. Now, people are hurting in Cuba. There's no doubt about that. But you cannot put a question mark on the system of socialism or communism or the system of government that we have in Cuba, whichever way you wish to call it. If the U.S., the most powerful nation in the world, has had to dedicate almost seven decades to try to destroy the system of government and yet failed. Mr. Deputy Foreign Minister, just finally, what is your message to President Trump this morning? Cuba has no quarrel with the United States. We do have the need. and the right to protect ourselves. But we are willing to sit down. We're open for business and we're open to having a respectful relationship that I'm sure the majority of Americans would support, and I'm sure the president of the United States would support if we could sit down and talk meaningfully about it. All right, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cocio. Thank you so very much for joining us this morning. We really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. And you can watch my full interview with the deputy foreign minister at meet the press.com. When we come back, we look back on the beginning of the U.S. Cuba standoff that began with questions about democracy and power. Our Meet the Press Minute is next.

Welcome back. President Trump's threats to take over Cuba are the latest flashpoint in a decades-long standoff, one that began in 1959 when Fidel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista. Months later, Castro sat down with Meet the Press and was pressed on what moral authority Cuba had to speak about democracy as his government-backed revolutionary movements across the region. The right to speak about in the same way that you in the United States speak about democracy. I in the same way speak about democracy because I believe in democracy and I think that it's not just that some country be under blood tyranny like Santo Domingo and another country. That is an ideal. Sir, do not a fire, not an intervention. I'm against all kinds of intervention in the internal matter of other countries. Because we, the Latin American country, were a long time struggling for the principle of no intervention. When we come back, the costs of war are mounting. Is President Trump preparing to send in ground troops? Our panel is next.

Welcome back. The panel is here. Courtney QB, NBC News, senior national security and Pentagon correspondent. Jonathan Martin, Politics Bureau Chief and senior political columnist for Politico, former communications director for Vice President Harris, Ashley Etienne, and Mike Dubke, former Trump White House Communications Director. Welcome to all of you. Court, I have to start with you because you had new reporting this week that President Trump is, in fact, considering potentially deploying ground troops into Iran. And then you just heard Secretary Scott Bessent say all options are on the table. Where do things stand? Yeah, so basically right now, we're in an escalate. de-escalate or escalate to end the war situation. The president weighing several options, and they're kind of in three buckets right now. The first one is addressing the most immediate problem that we're hearing the most about, and that's the Strait of Hormuz. The idea is the U.S. could send in the military to a couple of small islands in the Persian Gulf, Abu Musa and the greater and lesser tombs, and then a couple of ports in the region. And the idea is the way that the Persian Gulf is the depth, you have to send large ships through these islands. Iran has put a ton of military. equipment on them, and they have spotters. The spotters alert the Iranian Navy. Hey, the ship is coming here. They send out these fastboats, their mosquito fleet, and they directly threaten shipping coming through. The U.S. military could put troops there. They could stop the mosquito fleet. And ultimately, it could help reopen the Strait of Hormuz in conjunction with all of these military strikes we've seen. The second one is the oil and gas, Karg Island, which we've heard a ton about, including from the Treasury Secretary this morning. The U.S. could send troops there. They could not only cut off the revenue stream for the regime by doing that, but they could also then use that as leverage if there were some sort of a peace negotiation. And then the most dangerous option would be to send U.S. troops for securing the highly enriched uranium. And that would take the most troops. You would need a huge perimeter of security. And it would be a dangerous and difficult undertaking to get all those cylinders out. Remember, the U.S. military struck those facilities. It's not clear if they've been damaged. There may be poisonous gas. The one benefit to all of these options, which all carry tremendous danger, by the way, is the fact that the U.S. is air superiority, meaning they own the airspace. That means when Iran would... almost certainly try to unleash drones and missiles and things, the U.S. could have some defenses against that. That's one of the questions we're watching so closely that matters to Americans. Another one. The impact on consumers, J-Mart, of all of this, gas prices have been skyrocketing. Energy prices have been skyrocketing. I talked to Secretary Scott Bessent about that. John Allen, our reporter this week, was out in Pennsylvania talking to voters. Here's what one voter had to say. Take a look. If you could say something to President Trump and he was going to hear you right now, what would it be? You're a worthless pile of . And you voted for him? How many times? Three times. That was my bad. Apparently, I'm an idiot.

What do you think the White House thinks when they hear that? Well, brevity is the soul of wet, as Shakespeare said. She was to the point, wasn't she? She sure was. God love the American voter. The White House is consumed with this issue. They're consumed with the price of gas, with the daily gyrations of the market. Look, there's nothing that impacts the American voter, like pulling into a gas station, looking up at those big numbers and seeing a four as the first number. And then... God forbid seeing a five. Gas prices have gone up a dollar 02, according to our friend Gas Buddy, on Twitter in the last month. We're now at four bucks a gallon nationwide. If we get to five bucks a gallon in the next couple of weeks or next month, it's going to be a crisis point for this White House. That's why this president is gyrating on a daily or hourly basis about whether or not to climb down from this war or to double down because he is so himself, Christian, driven by the market. every day, and the gas prices every day, because that's how he judges himself as a tool of his political success or failure. What are the markets say? And I think it's driving him crazy today. Well, I mean, pick up on that point, Mike, and the fact that, of course, the backdrop to all of this... is the midterms. You heard the Treasury Secretary say maybe it could be 50 days, maybe it could be longer or shorter. But even if the war ends tomorrow, gas prices don't come down overnight. How are Republicans watching all of this plan? Well, I think you're absolutely right. The White House is consumed by this, and they should be. Gas prices don't come down overnight, but they're probably, they fluctuate more than the price of eggs and milk and other. other items. So I do expect gas prices to come down, but they need to be concerned about it because gas prices were the one thing that this administration had going for it in terms of inflation. So those prices will directly affect the midterms if they stay high. The bigger concern I have with the midterms is if we don't... look at affordability, and if this Congress doesn't get on the ball of making it easier for prices to come down, mortgages to come down, all of that, we're going to have a midterm election without Donald Trump on the ballot, which has proven for Republicans to be bad in 2018, 2022, possibly in 2026. And so we're running into this bit of a buzzsaw, and we're running full on with gas prices at four bucks, five bucks. They'll come down, but we need to get that under control. Ashley, how do you see all of this playing out for Democrats? I'm not sure that the gas prices are going to come down. Iran is digging in its heels. And I think the administration has underestimated their resilience when it comes to this particular issue. But when I was watching Senator Murphy, one word that stuck out to me, that Democrats need to hit home, which is this. incompetency. The American people are watching as this war continues to escalate, it starts to spread now, starting to spread all over the Middle East. President Trump has opened Pandora's box with no sort of clear appreciation for the risk that he's running. We could have a situation like Iraq 2.0 where we're spending billions of dollars losing lives for an unjustified war. You got prices, as we've just said, prices are going up from the gas pump to the grocery to groceries. And the last thing I would say is,

is that, you know, this message for Democrats has to be very simple and has to be kept very simple, is that this administration thus far has been a disaster for the American people. The American people are paying the price, and this war is only going to exacerbate their pain. Quick final zip around to all of you. Court, in my conversation with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba, he was very defiant. He said regime change off. the table, what are your sources telling you about how the Pentagon is watching this? Yeah, I mean, the military plans for everything, right? So I wouldn't be surprised if there are military plans or some sort of an invasion of Cuba. But the reality, as the new head of Southcom said this week, that they are not actively planning or exercising for any kind of a ground invasion of Cuba. And in fact, military officials, they say, look, the economy is struggling. We just saw the electrical grid basically collapse. They have this oil embargo. All of that and the continued protests, the government there may fall without any kind of. U.S. military intervention. Well, Jamart, the president has said the government is going to fall on its own. But you talk about Cuba. Iran, Venezuela. President promised to get the U.S. out of foreign wars. His MAGA base still largely unified around him. But can that last? Well, it can last if gas prices do come down. I think that's the best marker as to whether or not there's patience among the American voter, no matter their politics on this. Look, I think it's very clear. The president is determined to find a long-term legacy. He thought he could do it with the Nobel Peace Prize. The Scandinavians didn't want to give him that. So he's choosing Door B here, which is the Lindsey Graham door. which is we're going to do regime change around the world. And it worked so well. in Venezuela, that he got emboldened and thought, well, if I can do it in Caracas just like that, boy, I can do it all over the world. And it turns out Iran is different than Venezuela. Okay, I was very negative in my assessment of where Republicans are, but I will say this, at least they're not the Democrats. So the Democrats, with that means, I'll tell you what that means. They are underwater with their own popularity and job approval with Democrats. So 42% of Democrats approve 48% disapproved. The Democratic Party against the Republican Party is underwater as well. So the Democrats haven't proven that they have an agenda or a message that works. And, you know, Republicans can hang their hat on that. But here's what's working to our advantage. NBC poll just recently showed that Democrats are up six points ahead of Republicans. We've flipped 28 seats thus far. So the trend is headed in our direction. The challenge, though, is you have no counter agenda to counter. counter where this president is headed. You know, the key with the issue in Iran and others is that this is an appeal to independent voters. It's not a base vote appeal. And that's who's going to flip these seats come the midterm elections. Great conversation, guys. Thank you. That is all for today. Thank you for watching. We will be back next week because if it's Sunday, it's meet the press.

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