Meet the Press NOW — January 2

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Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Kristen Welker in Washington. We begin with President Trump's new threats against Iran hinting at potential U.S. military action there as Tehran cracks down on widespread demonstrations with the latest clashes turning deadly. Over the last few days, protests have erupted in dozens of cities across Iran, sparked largely by the worsening state of the country's economy. Inflation is soaring and Iran's currency has fallen to a record low against the U.S. dollar. These appear to be. be the largest demonstrations in the country since 2022. That's when mass protests erupted over the death of Masa Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested for not... properly wearing her hijab. Human rights groups say at least seven people have died in the recent clashes. And just this morning, President Trump weighed in on the arrest, writing in a post on social media, quote, if Iran violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. The president did not elaborate on those threats, but it does come just days after President Trump issued this warning to Iran. about its nuclear and ballistic missile programs following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And speaking of Iran, I hope they're not trying to build up again because if they are, we're going to have no choice but very quickly to eradicate that buildup. Iran may be behaving badly. It hasn't been confirmed, but if it's confirmed, look, they know the consequences will be very powerful. Maybe more powerful than the last time. Iranian officials are hitting back with a senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei alleging without any evidence that the U.S. and Israel are stoking the protests, posting on X, quote, with the statements by Israeli officials and President Trump, what has been going on behind the scenes is now clear. Trump should know that U.S. interference in this internal matter would mean destabilizing the entire region and destroying America's interests. Joining me now, NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba. And also with us, Iranian journalist, author, and women's rights activist Masi Alina Jod. Thank you so much both for being here. Masi, I'm going to talk to you in just a moment. I am going to start with our reporter, Monica Alba here, who's in studio with me, to set the table here in terms of the White House reaction. They're obviously paying very close attention to what's happening in Iran. What are your sources telling you, Monica, about that post? by the president that very stern warning. Look, this is a president who decides when he wants to engage on foreign policy and sometimes despite maybe some of his own advisors cautioning him, he decides what he wants to put out there, what message he wants to project, and one that I think the administration, the White House would argue, fits into his own approach and strategy here, which they believe is peace through strength, right? They believe in trying to sometimes put out these really heated words, this escalated rhetoric, sometimes using...

this very intense language to send a message, even if it's a threat that may not necessarily have an action that is followed through it on. Though the White House, again, to be clear, has not clarified exactly what the president meant when he said that the U.S. is essentially, quote, locked and loaded and ready to go and could perhaps intervene in Iran, which would be extremely significant to intervene in their own domestic and economic unrest right now. And, Monica, you have that fiery statement by the Iranian official. Is the administration concerned about an escalation in this moment? And remember that we have seen this back and forth, certainly last summer when the U.S. did bomb those nuclear sites in Iran. You did see Iran eventually at some point retaliate on a U.S. base in Qatar. No U.S. service members there were killed, but certainly there was the fear of that in retaliation. And at the time, the president said, if there was going to be retribution against U.S. military members, that that would then be met. with the fiercest of responses. So you can see, obviously, how this can get to a place that is very intense and dangerous and potentially explosive. But at the same time, the White House is being, I think, very careful about what they want to say. They are certainly just pointing to the president's own comments. And he has used language like this before when talking about North Korea and other hotspot areas of the world. You know, it's interesting, Monica, because it does come. after you had President Trump meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was basically there warning the president about his concerns that Iran was trying to rebuild not only its ballistic missile program, but its nuclear missile program as well. And I think that context is essential here. This is a moment where the president seemingly is trying to project this message of what the U.S. can do, its capabilities, not just when it comes to, again, this warning about the protests, but about potentially rebuilding those nuclear weapons capabilities. And also that... ballistic missile program, according to Israeli officials, that seems to be a more immediate concern and one that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed in person to the president at Maralago and the president had very harsh words for Iran, too, saying that if they do build that up, if they continue with this nuclear development, that there will be a very forceful response potentially. All right, Monica Alba covering all the different angles of this developing story. Monica, thank you so much. Great to see you. Really appreciate it. Masi, let me turn to you now. Happy New Year to you, first of all. Thank you so much for joining us. I know that this is a somber time for you because you are paying such close attention to what is happening on the ground in Iran. What can you tell us about what you're seeing and what you're hearing and what the root of these protests really is, Masi? Brave people of Iran, they took back to the streets. And I have to say the forceful message of President Trump showing his support to Iranian protesters, warning the regime if they open fire, then the United States of America is ready to rescue them, gave hope and strength to the people of Iran. And they took back to the street, large number of people right now they are in the streets. You know why? Because this is the first. time in the history that the people of Iran are not seeing that the United States of America's president finally standing in the right side of the history. Because President Obama, when in 2009 people took to the street facing guns and bullet, not only he kept silent, but he sent a secret letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to get a nuclear deal. And President Biden, while people were getting killed, I myself was a target of assassination plot. The U.S. officials were the

of the Iranian regime's assassination plots, President Biden handed out money, billions of dollars, to the same killers. So now this forceful and strong message gave hope to people. This is the time that Iranians really need to see actions, immediate actions. For instance, right now, my sister, the representative of the Iranian regime is here in New York. Or the tweet that actually you showed from Ali Rajani, the senior national security advisor of Ali Khamenei, threatening the U.S. interests, the U.S. soldiers saying that angry, he's angry with President Trump's support of Iranian people, and he's threatening the U.S. interest. How ironic. His daughter lives in America. The children of many Iranian officials right now living in America, they don't deserve to have luxury lives in America while their parents are killing Cheyenne only 28-year-old now got killed right now in Iran. Seven people got killed. So they don't have, they should not be here in New York. The representative of this regime killing innocent people, why they have to have the privilege of diplomacy, while they don't understand the language of diplomacy. So that's why I think this should be the... immediate action that the White House can consider. We are very thankful for the strong message, but we want to see action. Otherwise, innocent people will get killed more and more. And Masi, we should note your bravery in testifying against the people who plotted to kill you. They are now behind bars in jail because of your bravery, because of your ability to stand up to them. You are asking the administration to take action right now. Can you be specific? What exactly do you want the administration to do? You know, if I say that, many people will see this, like, as a radical, radical action, it is not. I want President Trump to target, like, target. Those who order massacre killings. You know, when Gassim Soleimani was removed by President Trump, I remember many, many analysts in the West actually called him national hero. But guess what? Right now, people are burning his statue in the street. So if we don't take out the lives of dictators and terrorists, they will take out the lives of innocent people.

My sister, my heart is broken. You think that when I say that my family are safe in Iran? They are not. But Iranian people, they sending me message and they say that we're not going back home because if we go back home, if we don't win this battle, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will take revenge. He will hang us. He will kill us. So they know the risk. And I believe that President Trump can specifically. Specifically, as I said, send a message by asking Elon Musk to provide Morris Starlings for people because this is the regime that they shut down the internet in bloody November. In three days, they killed 1,500 innocent people. You mentioned about women life, freedom uprising. When Massagina, I mean, he got killed for the crime of just showing a bit of her hair. When people took to the street, they killed more than 700. innocent protesters. Now they opened fire again. And I believe that if they don't see strong action, they will kill more people. So and Iran without Islamic Republic not only benefit the region, but also will guarantee global security. That's why people of Iran are risking their lives. They're not only protecting themselves. They believe that this regime is like a cancer and it will infect the rest of the world. Masi, we only have a few seconds left, but tell me what your message is to the protesters, so many who look up to you and who are inspired by you and everything that you have stood for. I have no message for them because they are my heroes because we got inspired by them. They are the leaders who are leading this uprising within the country and they have a message and they want us to send their message to President Trump. Stand with them, take action and help them to get rid of the Islamic Republic. All right, Masi, Linajad. We always appreciate hearing from you your powerful voice and perspective. Thank you so much for being here. I hope I invite you to my beautiful Iran very soon. Thank you, my sister. We look forward to that. Thank you for being here. We so appreciate it. We do want to turn now to another place where the U.S. is escalating pressure and threatening military action, Venezuela, in a recorded interview that aired yesterday, Venezuela and President Nicolas Maduro says he is open to negotiations with the Trump administration about efforts to combat drug trafficking. The Venezuelan president, though, did not comment on an alleged U.S. ground attack on a dock facility in Venezuela last month by the U.S. Now, in addition to that land strike, the months-long U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuela,

as well as has included dozens of airstrikes on alleged drugboats in the Caribbean and the U.S. seizure of oil tankers, with the White House ordering a blockade of all sanctioned tankers. Joining me now to discuss this is NBCDU's Senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez. Gabe, thanks so much for being here to lead off our coverage in the new year of this issue. So President Maduro is saying he's open to negotiations with the U.S. But what are you hearing from officials there inside the administration? Would President Trump... Be willing to do that? Happy New Year, Kristen. Well, listen, earlier today in an interview, the White House Deputy Secretary said that she knew it was natural for Maduro to want to talk to the administration, but that it will be up to President Trump to decide what he wants to do next. And listen, Kristen, over the last several weeks, President Trump has said he has recently spoken to Nicolas Maduro, although it's unclear exactly when. The White House really hasn't clarified that. But in terms of the president negotiating with Maduro, it's hard to see exactly. how that happens. As you know, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio has really been heading up the policy towards Venezuela. And, you know, White House administration officials say that he really wants to see regime change here, although the administration has tried to argue that its main purpose in building up military in the Caribbean has been to target drug traffickers. But that campaign has extended past the Caribbean also now. to the eastern Pacific. And we're also asking questions about exactly some of the details of these latest strikes on alleged drug boats. We don't have any exact indication where those took place, Chris. Well, you know, you take me to my next question, Gabe, because a lot of people are wondering, what is the president's goal here? I had the opportunity to interview him on the phone a couple weeks ago. I asked him if what he ultimately wants to see is regime change, he would not answer that directly. He said President Maduro knows exactly where he stands, but he didn't rule out war with Venezuela. What are you hearing in that regard, Gabe? What's the ultimate goal here? Well, Kristen, I was listening to your conversation with my colleague Monica Alba a little earlier when she was speaking about Iran. And that is something she brought up the idea of peace through strength. And that's something you hear over and over again from White House officials, not just when it comes to Iran, but also when it comes to Venezuela and was also interesting is the very candid comments we heard from the chief of staff, Susie Wiles, in that recent Vanity Fair interview, where she said, perhaps contradicting. contradicting what the White House has said publicly. She said that the purpose of these boat strikes was essentially to make Nicholas Maduro cry uncle. Now, Nicholas Venduro, we should point out, even though he did have that interview with state television this week, where he said he was open to negotiations, he has not commented directly on that airstrike inside Venezuela, the president acknowledged just a few days ago. So it's unclear where this goes from here, but certainly

the U.S. continuing to ramp up the pressure on Maduro as it continues not only these boat strikes, but we're waiting to hear more information, more details on those strikes inside Venezuela, which the president has said would continue. We absolutely are looking for that. Gabe Gutierrez, thank you for your great reporting. As always, we appreciate it. Coming up, New Year, same health care fight. I'll talk to a House Republican who backed a bipartisan agreement to prevent premium costs from skyrocketing about the political fallout in a high-stakes midterm year. Plus, an aspirin a day. President Trump pushes back on critics for questioning his health, but admits he goes against his doctor's recommendations when it comes to one popular medication. We'll explain. You meet the press now. This is a Monday.com ad. The same Monday.com designed for every team. The same Monday.com with built-in AI, scaling your work from day one. The same Monday.com with an easy and intuitive setup. Go to Monday.com and try it for free. 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. We want to turn now to Capitol Hill where Congress is beginning 2026 confronting the health care dilemma it failed to address in 2025. The House is expected to take up a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies next week after four Republicans joined with Democrats at the end of last year on a procedural method to force a vote. But those Obamacare subsidies have already expired, leaving millions of Americans all across the country dealing with sharp hikes in their insurance premiums and no guarantee of relief that it's... coming anytime soon as both the subsidy extension and the Republican-backed plan without a subsidy extension appear doomed to fail in the Senate. Joining me now is senior national political reporter Sahel Kapoor. Sahel, thanks for being here. Happy New Year. Great to see you. Happy New Year. So talk to me about the state of play as lawmakers prepare to come back. Where do they kick off and do you see a resolution in sight? So here's what I think is likely to happen. The House is going to vote on this bill for a three-year ACA funding extension next week. It should pass the House. It has all the Democrats and it just needs four or five Republicans depending on attendance. And then it's going to go to the Senate where numerous GOP senators tell me it is dead on arrival. This does not have a path in the Republican-controlled Senate. And I think that raises the question. of what ultimately happens next. The vast majority of GOP lawmakers in both the House and the Senate want this funding to go away as they see it. They never voted for the ACA to begin with. They don't like the law. And they don't like the fact that this problem was foisted upon them. Of course, the reality of governing. You don't get to choose which problems are in front of you. But that's a separate story. The funds have expired. premiums are going up pretty dramatically this month. Well, what do you make of the fact that there's been some discussion about bipartisan talks over on the Senate side? Is that real? I mean, obviously, this is a thorny issue we're dealing with the fact that they're talking seems like a positive thing, but the government runs out of funds at the end of the month again. So could we see another government shutdown or do you think those bipartisan talks could produce something? First off, I don't see that. these two deadlines colliding into each other like last time. I don't see Democrats running the same play on government funding as they did in November. Multiple Democratic senators on both ends of that issue have told me they don't expect it to happen because they saw the result. 43 days, the longest ever shut down and Republicans didn't budge, probably going to be the same result this time. So the only question is, can they come up with a standalone bipartisan deal? And there have been talks in the Senate for months about a bipartisan deal. The reason I'm pessimistic about this is that the two sides have moved further apart. Republicans are demanding certain changes. restrictions on the funding, including on eligibility, program integrity, anti-fraud measures, which Democrats are happy to accept. But the new red line that's come up among Republicans is stricter abortion restrictions. That is not going to fly with Democrats. That is a red line. I'm told there are some staffers and members trying to work that out. But no one has come close to a solution. And you still have the fact that the vast majority of Republicans want this money to go away. All they have to do is nothing. What about the fact that there is going to be pressure from their constituents? Absolutely. So this is where the rubber meets the road. As Democrats see it, they either get the win on the policy. They find some way to extend this money, come what may, or they beat Republicans over the head with it politically in the 2026 midterms. This is going to be the gift of all gifts for Democrats.

from a pure political standpoint. We've seen numerous times that when voters are angry about health care of the party on the receiving end tends to get clobbered, whether it's Democrats in 2010 or Republicans in 2018, arguably even 2020. Take a look at this graphic, the professions that are going to be most heavily impacted by this. Take a look at the fourth. point on this. Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers, more than a quarter of them rely on ACA funding and their premiums are going through the roof. This is a heavily GOP-leaning and pro-Trump group. They're already suffering under the weight of inflation and the president's tariffs. Now they're going to have increased premiums as well. This is going to be a real problem for Republicans. All right. Sahel, thank you for laying that all out. Another busy time on the horizon for you. Appreciate your being here. Next, we want to go to California Republican Congressman Kevin Kylie. Congressman Kylie, thank you for being here. Happy New Year to you. Thanks very much. Happy New Year. It's great to have you back on the program. I want to start with this upcoming vote on Leader Jeffrey's three-year clean extension of ACA subsidies. Tell me where you stand, Congressman. Do you plan to vote for it? You know, if I thought it wouldn't move the ball forward at all, I would consider it. The problem is, as Sothill just said, is that this is not a real solution. The Senate has in fact already rejected it. And so the path forward here has always been a compromise that has bipartisan support that provides a temporary extension while instituting reforms and cost controls. So that's what Sam McArdo and I proposed. We have numerous bipartisan co-authors. Josh Gottheimer and Jen Kiggins have proposed something similar. Unfortunately, the leaders of both parties, the speaker and leader Hakeem Jeffries, have refused to endorse any of those compromises. And if either of them did so, then that would break the long jam and we could get policy enacted as soon as we got back. Well, that is the challenge that the bipartisan bills, you were on the program talking about it several weeks ago, haven't garnered that full support. And so I wonder, I want to ask you about your colleague, Mike Lawler, he's been a staunch advocate for these bipartisan solutions, but he told me before the holiday that he does plan to support this measure. He says that it's about. supporting things on a two-prong track. Why do you see him as, why do you disagree with him on this point? I don't necessarily. I think that if I'm bringing that to the floor provides us with a little more leverage and maybe it can induce the speaker to actually put one of the compromised measures on the floor, then I think that's a good thing. But I mean, Mike himself said that this is a messaging bill essentially from the minority leader at this point. If Hakeem Jeffries had endorsed any of the compromised proposals, then those would have come to the floor and passed and had a good chance to pass in the Senate. Unfortunately, he said, no, let's just all.

go and endorse this one bill that has no reforms and that has already failed in the Senate. So I've held the speaker responsible for failing to actually bring a bill to the floor, but I also think the minority leader has played too much politics with this as well. So just to be very clear, you're a no on this bill when it comes to the floor? I haven't decided yet, but I have very mixed feelings about it just because it isn't an actual attempt to make law. What I want is a solution, not just to vote for something for the sake of saying I voted for it. What say you, though, to your constituents, to Americans all across this country who say, look. return and preserve the health care subsidies now and then work out a longer-term solution. In other words, they want action now and they would potentially see a no vote as failing to take action. No, that's what I'm saying is we need action now. So the bill that's coming to the floor that's a three-year extension with no reforms or anything like that, it's already failed in the Senate. As Sahel just said, it's dead on arrival in the Senate. It's not going to happen. No action is going to come through that bill. The action is going to come through. one of the temporary extensions that has bipartisan support and includes reforms as well. And the point you made is exactly what I've been saying all along. What we need to do is provide a temporary extension right now to stop all of these Americans, 22 million Americans, from suffering a massive increase in health care costs. That will give us the runway we need to address the larger issues of health care costs in this country. Let me ask you very quickly, do you want any measure to retroactively... give Americans who rely on these subsidies back pay for the subsidies? Oh, yeah. I want our solution to make people a whole. I mean, better late than never. I think it's a total failure and absolutely unacceptable. that we're allowing these delaps, but it's not too late to actually fix the problem. Because here's the thing, if we don't come up with a solution here, then the 22 million Americans we're talking about are going to respond in one of three ways. They're number one, they're going to have to pay potentially thousands of dollars more, which is going to force very hard tradeoffs for their families, give them less discretionary income. Number two, they're going to decide they can't afford coverage at all. They're going to drop their coverage. That's probably going to be a few million people, and that's going to result in higher costs for everyone, even the 150 million. people in the employer-based insurance market. Or number three, you'll have some people who will say, I'm just going to work less and have less income in order to keep my income below the threshold so I can still qualify. Well, that's not a good thing because they're losing income and we're losing economic activity more broadly. So I'm hoping to really emphasize these points to folks on both sides of the aisle when we get back that there is a real urgency to act on this and to act now.

Let me ask you about President Trump. He hasn't really been heavily engaged in the negotiations, but he did post on social media this week, quote, Republicans, no more money to fat cat insurance companies. The money must go directly to the people to buy their own health care. This has been something he's been proposing for quite some time. What do you make of that? Is that a fulsome health care plan? Is it realistic? Well, I am a supporter of health savings accounts. I think a lot of Americans use them, rely on them. They're great in providing additional options and allowing people to really be able to control costs in their own way. I'd absolutely support legislation to expand health savings accounts. I'm not sure that it solves the immediate problem, though, or that it can be done in a way quickly enough to solve the problem of people going off of this cliff with the expiration of the subsidies. So that's why my view is let's do a two-year extension, let's do it in a smart, viscally responsible way. My bill with San Ricardo actually reforms overpayments to insurers, so they wouldn't do that well under our bill. And then we can use that runway to pursue solutions like health savings accounts and other... you know, major initiatives to be full costs. Well, just to flesh out that point, I mean, the HSA funds largely can't be put towards premiums, but let me ask you big picture about the president. Do you think his lack of engagement is helping or hurting the process? Honestly, I think that the onus lies with Congress to take action here. So the idea that we're just waiting for the White House to come out with a proposal, I don't think that's the way the legislative branch should work. This is a proposal that originated with Congress, and so I think it's up to Congress to come up with the path forward. And so I think that there is a lot. I think that if you put this to a vote in both chambers right now. Do we do a temporary extension with reforms, like I proposed, Sam Ricardo, like Jen Kiggins has proposed with Josh Gottheimer? I think it would pass by a decisive majority in both the House and the Senate, where Bernie Moreno and Jean Jeanne are working on a similar compromise. And I think that if something like that got to the president's desk, I think he would sign it. And then we would have an opportunity to work on things like expanding health savings accounts and other innovations that I think actually there's more bipartisan support for than might be the I at first quest. Well, let me ask you about how Speaker Mike Johnson you have not been shy about at times expressing frustration with the speaker. Do you believe he can effectively lead your party into the midterm elections and ensure that Republicans hold on to the House? Well, I certainly want to see him change the way he has approached the job over the last several months. I mean, usually the speaker is the speaker for a full two-year term. Last term being an obvious exception to that. But I think that he does need to change the way he approached things the last few months where the House wasn't even in session for two months. He canceled six straight weeks of session for the House of Representatives. And there's been far too many issues where the House has not been.

in the driver's seat. And this ACA subsidy issue is a very clear example of that, which I think is a failure of leadership. And I think you're seeing more and more people in our conference who feel that way. That's one of the reasons you see more of these discharge petitions used as a way to get around leadership. So I do think that we need to have the House be a lot more proactive come the new year. I guess we're in the new year. Here we are. All right. Congressman Kevin, Kylie, thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate it. Coming up next, thank you. Coming up next, breaking news in North Carolina, the FBI revealing it thwarted a potential New Year's Eve terror attack accusing the suspect of being inspired by ISIS. That story's next on Meet the Press Now. Monday.com AI agents took over my work. And I absolutely love it. Chasing deadlines, writing status reports, updating stakeholders. Agents handle the daily grind now. I stay in the loop only when it matters. Create your own AI agent in minutes on Monday. Honey, did you invite the minions over? Well, you know how we talked about getting Wi-Fi from Xfinity? Yeah. I ordered it this morning. It was online in minutes. Then they showed up. So they just came over to use the Wi-Fi? For what?

Better not to know. Get online in minutes with same-day Wi-Fi from Xfinity. Plus lock in your price for five years and see minions and monsters only in theaters. Exfinity, imagine that. Restrictions apply not available in all areas. Learn more at Xfinity.com slash same-day Wi-Fi. Welcome back. The FBI announced today it foiled a terrorist plot planned for New Year's Eve in North Carolina. Authority is saying that 18-year-old Christian Sturdivant of Mint Hill, North Carolina, is under arrest and facing federal charges. According to charging documents, Sturdivant was inspired by ISIS and was plotting to attack a supermarket and Burger King where he once worked on New Year's Eve. Sturdivant pledged his loyalty to ISIS and committed himself to commit to killing Americans on New Year's Eve. This investigation unfolded quickly. From the moment the FBI was notified of a potential threat of a terrorist-inspired attack in North Carolina, we went all hands on decked. NBC News Legal Affairs reporter Gary Grumbach joins me now to break this all down. Gary, thank you for being here. So how far along was this alleged terrorist plot that was foiled for New Year's Eve? This is very much on the verge of happening when they arrested him around noon on New Year's Eve. We're talking about several knives, several hammers that were found underneath his bed and really detailed handwritten notes about exactly what he was going to do. He wanted to stop by the Burger King in his hometown of Mint Hill and Kelly set up to 8 p. He wanted to go to the grocery store nearby there and kill several people there as well. And then he fully planned to be caught by police and killed at the hands of police. Oh, how terrifying. What more are we learning about the background of Christian Sturdivant? This is an 18-year-old. This is somebody who just turned 18 mid-December. And this is somebody who authorities say was planning an attack of some kind that was ICE inspired for several years. And he was planning this specific attack for at least a year. So we're talking to somebody who was... Online, he was very much reading ISIS manifestos and reading a lot of information about ISIS and also creating TikToks about ISIS. That's where authorities. found this man. And Gary, he'd actually been on the radar of authority since 2022. What can you tell us about? So there was an incident in January of 2022 when he was 14 or 15 years old at that point where he was leaving his home in all black and he had with him hammers and knives again. And his grandfather stopped him. Allegedly he was there at that point trying to go kill a neighbor of theirs in Mint Hill. He had psychiatric help at that point. And that's where he sort of dropped off FBI's radar for several years until being picked back up again mid-December. when they saw this online chatter. Wow. Well, a lot of people hailing them for being able to stop this terror plot. Carrie Grumbach, thank you for being here. Really appreciate it. Coming up after the break, Meet the candidate will be joined by the Wisconsin Democrat running to be the battleground state's next governor facing a crowded primary and questions from within his own party over his electability. Keep it right here for that conversation on Meet the Press Now.

Welcome back. Wisconsin's Democratic Governor Tony Evers announced last year he will not seek re-election, opening the door to what's become a closely watched primary race for both parties in a critical battleground state. Republicans are eyeing the Wisconsin governorship as one they can potentially flip into the red column after President Trump won the state in 2024. Nearly a dozen Democrats are set to face off in the primary, including multiple state senators and representatives, the current lieutenant governor, Sarah Rodriguez, as well as the Former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes. And joining me now for the very latest installment in our Meet the Candidate series is the former Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin and now Democratic candidate for Governor Mandela Barnes. Lieutenant Governor Barnes, thank you so much for joining us. Happy New Year to you. Of course. Thank you so much for having you. Happy New Year to you and your viewers as well. So let's kick this off. As I just said, you are facing a very crowded primary field. What does your path to the general election look like? Well, I'll tell you, this isn't the first crowded primary field I've had. My race for the U.S. Senate in 22, it was a crowded primary. It was actually the most expensive U.S. Senate primary, at least in the state. So with that said, it goes down to the, or it comes back to the brain and butter. It's about talking about the issues that matter. Wisconsinites are facing an increasingly difficult time has only gotten worse under Donald Trump. And we need real leadership to not just say Donald Trump is bad, but real leadership is going to provide real solutions and a vision to move this state forward. That's what I'm committed to. That's what I'm dedicated to lowering costs on day one, ensuring that Wisconsin is no longer one of nine states that has yet to expand our Medicaid program. program under the Affordable Care Act. Making sure we close the loopholes that allow the wealthy to get away without paying their fair share while working class families continue to struggle. That's what this campaign is about. We're taking that message all across Wisconsin, urban, suburban, rural, or whatever. We're showing up in areas that are represented by Republicans and Democrats alike because this is a message that hits home regardless of who folks have voted for. Well, you know, let me ask you about the politics of this because in 2022, when you challenged incumbent Senator Ron Johnson, you lost by one point the same year Democrat Governor Evers won his reelection by three points. So let me ask you, what do you say to Democrats who worry and don't think you should get another chance statewide after losing that Senate race, which many did view is winnable? Well, for sure, Governor Evers did win his reelection. And, you know, there were people who may have thought it was winnable, but I'll tell you, there was polling that had me down like five points the week before the race. So it was the closest challenge to any incumbent in the entire country that cycle. No incumbent law statewide. And it was the closest U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin in over 100 years. People counted me out from the very beginning, even in the primary questioning, can he win? Can he show up? Can he make it? And I'll tell you, for folks who had that question before, if more time was spent, helping win instead of asking the question, we may be in a different position, but we are here right now, and I'm reminded of a conversation I had with Barack Obama the day after my election, and he talked about the race for Congress that he lost. He was sure to get back to the work that got him there in the first place. He got back into organizing, and that's exactly what I've been up to these last few years, doing the hard work to help lower people's energy costs through the Inflation Reduction Act and also working to increase voter participation.

In many instances, we'll see people go without health care. And unfortunately, many of those same people are going to face an emergency that could very well bankrupt them. And that is not the Wisconsin way. That's not the way we do things. We've led, we've been at the forefront of so many other amazing things, so many other amazing areas in terms of advancing this country. And I feel that it is our rightful duty to do the same once again, regardless of who's president. Let me ask you, Lieutenant Governor, with the minute or so that we have left, you've signaled support for redistricting in Wisconsin. But what do you say to those who argue the redistricting fight is really a race to the bottom? Well, look, I can tell you you've already been in a race to the bottom with these unfair masks. Our congressional delegation does not truly represent the political makeup, the political identity, or interests of people in Wisconsin. It is six to two, and we are a 50-50 state. People are being misrepresented. And it's one of the reasons people like Tom Tiffany get away with shameful votes because he doesn't have to worry about a challenge and a general election. He only has to worry about winning a primary. And winning a Republican primary means you just have to be extreme as you can possibly be so people will take notice and ultimately show up and vote free because you're the only option left. We just want fairness. And we want to be able to advance Wisconsin in a way that ensures that we get the help and support from the federal government that we need. But as long as we're being misrepresented with these unfair maps, we're going to be dealt a bad hand in Wisconsin. It's going to face significant challenges and setbacks. So we're fighting against that. Fair maps means more opportunities for more people in this state. All right. Former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes will follow the race very closely. Thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate it. Thank you. We will have more news in midterm politics to get to with the panel. After a quick break, stay with us.

Welcome back. Joining me now is today's panel, Oriana Gonzalez, politics and policy reporter for notice. Joe Crowley, former congressman from New York, who served as chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and Annalise Keller, Republican strategist and former communications director for former Senator Cory Gardner. Thanks to all of you for being here at the start of this new year. Happy New Year. To all of you. Oriana, I want to start with you. President Trump gave this. really remarkable interview to the Wall Street Journal in which he talked about his health. He talked about some of the questions about the bruising on his hand. He said it's because he takes aspirin. He says he takes more aspirin, actually, than is prescribed. He said, they say aspirin is good for sitting out the blood, and I don't want sick blood pouring through my heart. I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense? What do you make of the president's decision to speak out now and so extensively about his health? I mean, he's trying to get ahead of all the conversation that's already going to happen. We were talking about this actually before we came on. And the question I think now is whether this becomes as big of a topic as it was with Joe Biden. He doesn't have a campaign to worry about in three years. So really, he gets to kind of get this criticism, but nothing out of it. Yeah, Elise, what do you make of it? How do you think he handled these? questions and the revelation, two of them, one that he takes more aspirin, than he says he's prescribed. And two, he says he actually didn't have an MRI. He said it was a CT scan, and he regrets sharing that information because it gave his critics an opening, he says. Yes. Well, I think he was confused. I'll give him a pass on the MRI versus the CT scan. I do think he was confused about that. And I think there's a lot of... fair criticisms of Donald Trump. But I do think he's been pretty transparent and open within his presidency. And I think he's been pretty transparent about this health challenge or some of these challenges that have been levied against him. And that's why he's been talking about this because he wants to get ahead of it. And I completely agree. I had to laugh a little bit when he said that the... The frames of him with his eyes closed were actually just him blinking, not sleeping, reminded me of my husband when we're, you know, watching television and he was just resting his eyes. It's an extensive bleak. I don't know why people need to not just admit that they're sleeping. Congressman Crowley, what do you make of his decision to speak out? And how should Democrats respond? Obviously. There were so many questions about former President Biden's health, and that was one of the big questions looming over. His reelection campaign, as Oriana is noting, of course, President Trump doesn't have to stand for re-election. What do you think Democrats' posture should? I think Oriana is right. I think in many respects, this is about him getting ahead of this. To send the message, he is. able to govern. I'm still on the president. I have all my words about me. I'm healthy. I had the best health report of any president in the history of the United States. It was so beautiful, you know, and I think that sometimes lends to why people question.

what he had, why he had it, because it was always a perfect test. I never failed. There was nothing, there's nothing wrong with me. Look, when you're 79 years of age, you know, inevitably we'll all get to that point, we hope. We hope. And that you're going to have some things start to happen. It's just inevitable. And I think it wouldn't have been as big an issue if it wasn't made such a big issue for Joe Biden. Granted, Biden contributed to some of that himself in terms of missteps and miscues and certainly saw the debate. But, you know, as the president moves now into his 80s, this is not, it's about Democrats making this an issue. You know, as someone said early today, aging is undefeated. We all are going to. And I think there's going to have, there's going to be consequences because of that. Yeah. Okay. I want to shift gears, talk a little bit about the big news out of New York. New York has a new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, Congressman Crowley. I'm going to kick this to you first. I want to play a part of his inaugural address. Get your reaction on the other side. Place the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism. We will govern without shame and insecurity, making no apology for what we believe. I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist. What do you make of his message and how do you think it will play for Democrats who are seeking election or re-election in 2020? Well, one thing is New York is unique. It's a bohemian city. It was over 400 years old, founded by the Dutch. And many of its rules, even today in governing, a unicameral city council stemmed from that. And so I think it is, I don't think you're going to apply what happened to New York to the rest of the country. But I will say. I'm not a socialist. I'm not a democratic socialist. I believe democratic socialism is a different party. The democratic socialists of America are not part of the Democratic Party. They have their own ethos. They have their own manifest. part of which is that the means of production are controlled by the populace or by the state. That's not something that I believe. That's not something many Democrats believe. I believe in free markets with referees. And I do think they're – but look, I wish the best for the city. I love my hometown, and I wanted to be successful. But, you know, we'll see how things go. Yeah, Annalise, Congressman Crowley makes a good point, which is that New York is very different. But will Republicans try to wrap Zohran Mamdani around the entire Democratic? party, even though you're making a valiant effort. I mean, absolutely. I think they've already tried to do that. You know, Trump kind of undercut that a little bit with his really warm meeting with Zohran Mamdani. But, you know, I would say that it seems to me from an outsider's perspective and from a Republican perspective that there are a few more and more of the sort of socialist variety. You saw Bernie Sanders there with Zohran Mamdani. You saw Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez there. You know, and I think a lot of that rhetoric for people who are watching that. and talking about sort of no more individualism or here for the collectivism. I mean, that concerns people who don't necessarily want government or state-run grocery stores and free buses and free child care. And, you know, I think they definitely will try to sort of talk about what that could mean for the rest of the country. Yeah, well, Oriana, there is a question about the practicality of what he has proposed. I mean, here you have the debate over what he's proposing. He has made sweeping promises like...

Free child care, free buses. I mean, how do you see him enacting these policies? Do you think it's realistic? Well, what he will do for the next, you know, for the rest of his term is going to dictate how progressives keep going. Even though, yes, to your point, Congressman, New York is unique. It's under a spotlight right now that he's the poster child of the more progressive faction of the Democratic Party. So, you know, there's a lot of questions of what happens next. I would also say that what I'm keeping an eye on more so now is. The Trump administration has not been shy to go after policies that it doesn't agree with that don't align with the president's agenda. The administration sued Virginia because the universities provided in state tuition to undocumented migrants. So who's to say that there's not going to be any legal action against Zohran Mamdani if his policies do become law from the administration? So that's what you'll be watching for out of New York. What about on Capitol Hill is this health care battle? bruise again whenever it comes back. You know, that's precisely another thing that we were talking about before coming on is exactly what's going to happen now. You know, I talked to Mike Lawler right before they left out of session last December. And one of the things that he's saying, and he feels very confident about is that, you know, it'll pass the House, then it'll go to the Senate, they'll amend it, and it'll go back to the House. That being said, that's a lengthy process, as we've seen happen with this Congress. Whether that happens, it's very unclear. They have a funding deadline coming along and they're trying to juggle all of these. things at the same time. And it's, I'm not exactly sure whether this Congress can do it. Annalise, what do you think? Do you think they're going to be able to get a bipartisan agreement? Yeah, well, I'll disclose that I work on this issue as part of my day job. But I do think that there is, I may be a little bit more optimistic, thinking that there could be something in terms of health care that comes together. There's a group in the Senate, Senator Susan Collins and Bernie Moreno, who are kind of marshalling more of a bipartisan plan. I think that could be another way that this gets solved in addition to what's going on in the House. There's some skepticism, but maybe I have a little more optimism. Huggerson Crowley. I think it's going to be tough. You know, just given the complexity of these issues, getting... The left and the right to agree in both chambers are going to be difficult. And the further it goes on in this political election year, it's going to be really difficult. Okay. Well, we'll be watching it very closely. Thanks for a great conversation to kick off the new year. We really appreciate it. Oriana, Joe and Annalise. Great conversation. We will be back Monday with more Meet the Press now. And if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press on your local NBC news station. I'll have exclusive interviews with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. You don't want to make.

Miss it, there is more head on NBC News Now. I'm Craig Melvin. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. I've always been a glass-half-full kind of guy. And now I'm talking to some people who look at the world that way too. Some really fascinating folks who share their defining moments, their triumphs, their challenges. Their stories are funny and quite candid. So I hope you'll join me each week. And who knows? You might just come away with your own glass-half-full. Search Glass Half-Full with Craig Melvin from today on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.