Meet the Press NOW — November 5

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0:30I'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.

1:10welcome to meet the press now i'm kristen welker we are following the breaking news on wall street as stocks especially in the tech sector got hit hard today with the dow tumbling significantly after soaring yesterday and the tech heavy nasdaq plunging five percent on concerns the democratic tsunami from this week could put a damper on the AI boom and data center build out. We will get to that news in just a moment, but we begin with the very latest developments driving that news as Washington prepares for a new era of Congress, with Democrats gearing up to face the realities of governing after their midterm tsunami.

1:48While on the Republican side, the fallout is just beginning, with the post-election blame game now escalating. We've seen a number of Republicans, including some 2028 hopefuls, pointing fingers. Just yesterday, Vice President J.D. Vance blaming the president's prolonged war with Iran. And Republicans like Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis similarly blaming the GOP agenda for costing their party. 2026 was not simply a blue wave. It was a blue tsunami. It was an ass kicking. When all the votes were counted, the problem wasn't turnout. Instead, our voters, Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, showed up and vote and rejected our candidates.

2:37Understandably, people were pissed off. And elected Republicans didn't do enough to address their very real pain. This is close to an extinction level event for Republicans in many parts of the country. This was not a positive view of the Democrats. This was a rejection of Republicans in Washington, and Democrats just happened to be the beneficiary. Republicans are also coming to terms with major fractures within President Trump's coalition. But some Democratic strategists are warning their party not to take those shifts for granted, especially among Hispanic voters. Chuck Rocha, a Tallarico advisor and, of course, friend of this show, writing, quote, My party should take caution.

3:21Latinos didn't return out of loyalty to the Democratic brand, but rather to register their deep frustration with President Trump and Republicans. Democratic leaders, meanwhile, are planning a dual track agenda, saying they will pursue aggressive oversight of the Trump administration while simultaneously working with the White House on legislation to drive down costs. Yesterday, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee already laying out his plans for investigations into the president's family and top members of his administration. Listen. First, we should be very clear that the American people have spoken loudly and clearly.

3:58They want change and they are tired of the destruction and the corruption of Donald Trump and this administration. We'll be ready on the very first day to launch a series of investigations and actions that will move quickly. And so that's our job is to move fast and expeditiously. For now, President Trump continues to signal his willingness to work with Democrats, telling ABC News, quote, I think we can get along. It's good for the country if we do. The country has had enough. Joining me now is NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba, NBC News Chief Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles and NBC News senior national political reporter Sahil Kapoor, who's with us at the big board.

4:44But Monica, I'm going to start with you at the White House. How is the White House responding to what we're seeing unfold inside the party, this blame game, these comments by Governor Ron DeSantis, Ted Cruz, and even to some extent, the vice president, Monica? Yeah, I mean, I think this kind of internal finger pointing and conversation that's going on behind the scenes has spilled out into public view. That's what's been so notable here, Kristen. Those comments you reference from people who certainly are posting very lengthy comments when you talk about Senator Ted Cruz, when you talk about Vice President Vance, sort of trying to set up their view, their perspective from this.

5:20But the president ultimately is agreeing with their major take, which is that it is the Iran war that is to blame, at least in part, for the massive Republican wipeout that we saw Tuesday overnight. What's interesting, Kristen, is that the president didn't have anything open on his schedule. We were curious to see if that was going to change. And he did just call the pool of reporters. So we'll see if he has some comments that he makes there. But we should point out we won't have video of that today because it's a day where the White House has not allowed CNN to take part in the typical pool and broadcast that part of it.

5:58So that's kind of another angle to just the whole story of the president wanting to speak out, it seems right now, and perhaps be asked about some of these things. And so we'll have to see exactly what he says. But he seems to be striking that tone when it comes to Democrats that is kind of notable for him instead of really lashing out, claiming he is going to somehow work with them. Kristen. Well, let me follow up on that point, Monica, because you're absolutely right. It has been so striking. It's been very different, quite frankly, than the tone we saw from him after the 2018 midterms where he did lose some seats in the House but did not lose the Senate.

6:35So are you getting a sense of what the president thinks he might be able to work with Democrats on? Yeah, and we've been asking the White House, I mean, what kind of areas, what is he discussing? He has indicated that Democrats have been calling him, but he won't say who that is necessarily, whether it is somebody like Hakeem Jeffries or Chuck Schumer that have been reaching out. It's unclear whether those conversations are happening. He said the president in his own words. He has friends over there in the Democratic Party that have been reaching out to potentially discuss areas that they could collaborate on.

7:10But the backdrop to all of this, Kristen, is what we're learning about what the White House is really bracing for from an oversight perspective and the fact that there is going to be this additional ramping up of inquiries, of congressional probes, investigations that certainly will touch the White House, the administration, top officials, perhaps the president's family, as some Democrats have indicated. And there is a real keen awareness that that is also going to be happening at the same time that the president says he's willing to work with Democrats. But on what, that is still a very open question, Kristen.

7:42All right, well, Monica Alba, let us know if there is any news coming from that Oval Office event that President Trump is holding right now. We'll continue to track it closely, and I know you will as well. Thank you so much for starting us off. Ryan Nobles, let me turn to you here and pick up on the point that Monica makes, because here you have a president who says that he's willing to work with Democrats. Democrats have said they want to work on the issue of affordability, part of how they see their mandate. And at the same time, talking about all these investigations into the president and his family.

8:16How are Democrats planning to work on that dual track? What are your sources telling you about that strategy? I mean, they should be able to, right, Kristen? I mean, Congress is set up in a function where you can do more than one thing at a time. They're going to have more than 260 members, 30 some odd committees, at least on the House side, you know, you know, 50 or so members on the Senate side. So you can have different committees that focus on investigations, that focus on oversight of the Trump administration, and then have committees that are coming up with these bills that would address these affordability issues.

8:45And what I've been told by Democratic leaders is that they have a kind of a legislative plan that they like to put in place. Pass, you know, write and pass a series of legislative bills that are specifically aimed at affordability issues, deliver them to the White House and dare President Trump to veto them. And there's two ways they can go about this. They can try and work with the White House to try and get to a place where President Trump would be comfortable voting for it. But I think that they feel emboldened after last night that they don't need the president's approval to put together a legislative package.

9:17They can come up with this on their own and tell him, take it or leave it, and the American people will respond to that. Well, following up on that point, though, Ryan, let's fast forward two years. If by the next election, the Democrats haven't delivered an actual piece of legislation, haven't found a way to work with President Trump on something he would actually sign, because just as a reminder to everyone, they're going to need his signature. Otherwise, he's threatened to veto it. Could that backfire? It could backfire. And there's a number of ways that it could backfire. And I think back to when President Biden won in the 2020 election.

9:51They had control of both the House and the Senate, and they had big plans for an infrastructure bill. They had a COVID relief package. There were all these different things that they wanted to do. And then what ends up happening in these big majorities, it's not as though everybody, everyone's singing from the same hymnal during the campaign. You get up here and you start to govern, and that's where we're going to see the fissures start to develop between a significant blue dog caucus. We're going to have more conservative Democrats than we've had in a very long time. A growing progressive caucus, more progressive members than we've ever seen.

10:18We have different minority groups that are represented in bigger fashions than they have before. And each one of them have their own priorities and their own agenda items. And what happens is that these legislative packages get bogged down with all the different pet projects that these different groups want. And even though they're all Democrats, that's where they could end up fighting over things that that becomes, it drags down the process and it prevents them from getting something passed. The simpler, the better, Kristen. I think if I can think of one example of something that they could do, put a minimum wage bill on the floor, increase the minimum wage, maybe not even all the way to 15 bucks an hour.

10:52If you did a$12 an hour minimum wage increase, put that on President Trump's desk and dare him to veto it. That could be a legislative when you could take into the 2028 presidential election and say, this is what Democrats fought for and this is what Republicans blocked. Well, and of course, Congress comes back next week. Ryan, what do you think we're going to see in the lame duck session before January? I mean, there's a lot of things they have to do, Kristen. There were so many things that they punted into this lame duck session. The most important example is government funding. It runs out in the middle of December.

11:23So if they don't come up with a plan to move that forward, we could see another government shutdown before the holidays. But there's talk of permitting reform. There is a bipartisan bill on the floor that should easily be passed that they just have not passed for whatever reason. They also have to deal with FISA reform, NDAA. And then Republicans want to get through as many judicial nominations as possible because it's going to be very difficult for President Trump to get judicial nominations confirmed once Democrats take control. The wild cards here, Kristen, could there be a cabinet secretary that they try and push through a nomination for before the end of the lame duck?

11:57And nobody thinks this is going to happen, but I'm bracing for the possibility of a Supreme Court justice retirement. if that would be something Republicans might try and push through because President Trump won't have the opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court justice with a Republican Congress for the rest of his career. That would be significant. All right. Well, there's a lot to watch for between now and January. Ryan Nobles, thank you for laying it all out for us. Appreciate it. Sahil, let me turn to you now. So you've been sort of tracking how this tsunami happened on Tuesday. Walk us through what you're seeing in the numbers.

12:29Yeah, Kristen, I've been looking under the hood of this electoral bloodbath, and I think these five constituencies help explain the disintegration of the MAGA coalition, starting with young voters, never really been a strong suit for Republicans. But Trump hit a high watermark of 43 percent in 2024, made up a lot of ground, and it was very helpful to him. You see how that has fallen. Young men in particular, Trump won them by a point in 2024. They have fallen far away from the GOP since then. Then you've got Latino voters. This was a huge shift in the direction of Donald Trump and the Republican Party in 2024.

13:00They kept the margin with Democrats to single digits. Now it's 34 percent, a minus 30 against Democrats. That's how badly Republicans did with Latino voters. It explains a lot of what happened on Tuesday. Independence, the margin here, 38 percent total. Again, there were minus 20 underwater. Sorry, minus 20 here underwater. That is an electoral death sentence. You don't win an election if you're losing independence by 20 points against the opposition party. Voters earning under 50 ,000. Again, never been a very strong suit for the Republican Party, but Trump cracked 50 percent in 2024. It was very helpful in many parts of the country.

13:36That's fallen to 41 percent. And finally, white voters without a college degree. This is sort of the molten core of the MAGA base. Trump has driven these numbers to levels that many people didn't think was possible in 2016. It's a huge part of the reason he was president. Look what's happened here. It's fallen 66 percent to 60 percent. Democrats have made up by the margin 13 points among white voters without college degrees. And that's about 38 percent of the entire national electorate. These folks punch above their weight. So you see all this stuff adds up and we see a fracturing of the MAGA coalition in ways that Republicans are certainly going to have to worry about.

14:09Is it is it transferable to another candidate? Can it be reconstituted or do they fundamentally have to move in another direction in 2028? That is a significant shift. Sahil, Walk us through some of the shifts you saw in some of those reliably red states that helped Democrats win back the Senate. Kristen, let me just show you one statistic that reveals the magnitude of the shift. The blue arrows are the shift in the direction of Democrats from the 2024 election to the 2026 election. Just blue arrows everywhere. One outlier here is Montana. That was a unique dynamic because you had an independent and a Democrat on the ballot.

14:42Almost everywhere else you see massive blue arrows. And the biggest one I see is Texas. Look at this. This is an amalgamation of everything I was talking about, all those coalitions. There are lots of rural voters, lots of low-income voters, lots of young voters in small towns, many Latino voters in these parts of the country, of the state rather, in South Texas. That's why James Tallarico was able to win a double-digit Trump state by double digits himself, pretty much inverting that dynamic. We can see that dynamic play out in so many different areas. A huge shift here in Kansas from where Trump was in 2024 in the direction of Democrats.

15:16That's Iowa, similarly constituted state. Lots of rural voters. People here were unhappy with the Iran war because it drove up prices. We can head over to Maine. This was one of the outliers where Susan Collins actually did better. You see the small red arrow here? Susan Collins actually did better than Donald Trump did in 2024. But Kristen, not by much. Look at this. It's almost an identical margin. She did half a percentage point better than Donald Trump did in Maine in 2024, which is not a formula for winning Maine because Trump lost Maine. Troy Jackson, for all his flaws as a candidate, was able to tie Susan Collins directly to Donald Trump, convince Mainers that a vote for her is a vote for him.

15:59Yes, she did a little bit better than Trump, but not nearly enough. That's why Troy Jackson is headed to the Senate. That's why Susan Collins was not able to outperform this trend by enough. And that's why she'll be going home after a 30 year career in the Senate. Yeah, a little bit better, but not quite the margins she needed to pull it off. All right, Sahil Kapoor, thank you so much for that look. We really appreciate it. We are continuing to follow the dramatic developments out of Mississippi, where national operatives from both parties are en route ahead of a potentially protracted legal battle over the state Senate race.

16:30At this hour, incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom are separated by one-tenth of one percent. The race remains too close to call nearly 48 hours after polls closed. Both campaigns claiming yesterday they were thousands of outstanding ballots left to be counted. A voting rights expert at the University of Mississippi tells NBC News that state law does not include a trigger for a recount regardless of how close an election result is. NBC's Yamiche Alessandor joins me now from a ballot processing center in Jackson, Mississippi. So Yamiche, you actually spoke to Scott Cologne.

17:06What's he saying today? Scott Colom told me that he feels like Mississippi was betrayed first by Cindy Hydesmith, the Republican that he's trying to unseat, by the voting that she made on health care, on tariffs, on siding with President Trump. But he also believes that the National Democratic Party did not do enough to be competitive in the state and that it took someone like him to get competitive. Take a listen to more of what he told me. Yeah, I mean, first of all, let's not give too much credit. They haven't been trying. Right. I've been in Mississippi 15 years. Most of the time, the Democrats conceded the state.

17:40And my frustration with that is 38 % of the population is African American. They're very loyal Democrats. They vote 90 % to 95 % Democrats. It's a lot of white rural Democrats across Mississippi. That's a shame, right? Because morally, how could you not compete in a state where people are denying folks health care? How could you not compete in a state where folks are getting betrayed on tariffs, farmers getting betrayed, consumers, small businesses? Listen, how could you not compete in a state where voting rights are being attacked left and right? When you say, listen, I can't win those voters.

18:09What you're saying, I don't care enough about those voters. And when you show voters you don't care, they don't show up. So what I did is I showed up. And it turns out when you show up, people start to believe.

18:23And I can tell you, a number of voters told me it was Scott Cullum showing up that changed their vote. One woman told me a Republican, she told me she's been voting Republican a long time, But she decided to vote Democrat this time because President Trump is building a ballroom and she can't afford gas. That's what I'm hearing here in Jackson, Mississippi, Kristen. Well, dramatic to hear from Mr. Colom while he is locked in this wait and see moment in Mississippi. So let's talk about the affidavit ballots or the provisional ballots. How many of those are outstanding? What's the significance? Well, Kristen, if you had told me that I would be standing in a ballot processing center in Jackson, Mississippi, talking to you about Mississippi going blue, I would not have thought that that would be on our bingo card.

19:06But here we are. And the provisional ballots are when a voter tries to vote and an official contests whether or not they're actually eligible to vote. Then there's a review process and then that vote is counted. So right now, that is what's going on across the state of Mississippi. We don't exactly know how many provisional ballots are happening, but I can tell you that the work is happening right here behind me. It's a little secretive, not too secretive, because there are a lot of observers. And I should point out that that's also part of this story. There are civil rights observers from the NAACP, but also Republican lawyers, Democratic lawyers.

19:37Everyone here really trying to make sure that this is fair, but also trying to make sure that there are no shenanigans is what voted for me. Kristen. Well, and what type of legal challenges are both campaigns preparing for, Yamiche? They're preparing for anything. As you said, Kristen, this state does not have an automatic recount law here, so it really would have to be one of the sides contesting it if the race is called for either party. Now, I should tell you, Republican officials, they held a press conference within the last hour. Take a listen to more of what they're saying. We believe if the laws are followed to a T and these 20 ,000 outstanding ballots are counted, that Senator Cindy Hott-Smith will be reelected.

20:17But is there any scenario where you're ready to accept that voters in this state decided to make a different change and the laws are still followed? Listen, I'm always willing to accept a scenario where the voters have spoken and the law has been followed. There is no, let me be clear, there is no election denying going on here. If the laws are followed and the voters spoke, that is it. And Mississippi Republicans will accept that.

20:42Now, Kristen, that Republican official, I pressed him. What exactly are you seeing that is giving you pause? Why are you feeling like there's things that are untoward going on? He said he saw some things that gave him pause but wouldn't go into details. And as I told, as you saw, I pressed him to say, well, will you admit defeat if that happens here and say that the laws were followed? He said, yes, ultimately. But as you can tell, the Republicans are here really trying to push the idea that if the laws are passed, that Cindy Hydesmith will be reelected. By the way, Scott Colum told me today he believes he's already won this election.

21:12He believes that as these provisional ballots come in, that he will eventually be declared the winner, whether it's today or in two weeks. He feels very confident in that, Kristen. All right, Yamiche Alessandor, thank you so much for your reporting from Mississippi. A dynamic situation there. We appreciate your being there. Coming up, I'll be speaking with a winning Democrat who flipped a key House battleground in Virginia. How she did it and what comes next? How does she see the mandate as Washington braces for a new era of congressional control? Plus, stocks rally, then plummet. We'll take you inside a tumultuous few days on Wall Street.

21:46Stay with us. You're watching Meet the Press Now.

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23:03SXM. Outdoor deterrence plans start at$49.99 a month. Visit SimpliSafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. We have an opportunity to chart a new course for our country to bring us back to the center, to civility and to working together. Welcome back. That was Congresswoman Elect Elaine Loria celebrating her win in Virginia's second congressional district. It's a seat she won back after she lost it to her Republican challenger, Congresswoman Jen Kiggins, back in 2022. And joining me now is Congresswoman-elect Elaine Luria of Virginia. Congratulations, Congresswoman-elect. Thank you.

23:47Well, this was the rematch of all rematches. You have now won. Democrats will hold the majority in the House. How do you see your mandate? this was an overwhelming uh victory for democrats across the country and it's a mandate that people want change all across the district throughout the campaign i heard from people day in and day out about the challenges that they have whether that's the cost of living the cost of health care the increased cost of everything people are buying you know the tariffs are adding 2 800 additional dollars to people's expenses every month. And, you know, people want to see an end to this war.

24:28Here in the second district in Virginia, we have the largest naval base in the world right here in Hampton Roads and, you know, thousands and thousands of sailors who are deployed. Three separate carriers. The Ford had the longest carrier deployment since Vietnam. The George H.W. Bush deployed now. The Eisenhower goes back next. And, you know, they want someone who's going to go to Washington, reassert Congress's power, vote to end this war, and put a check on the things that this administration has done that are making people's lives harder. Let me follow up with you on that point, because you have made it very clear that that's your top priority to end this war and also to reverse the president's tariffs.

25:03How do you do that when President Trump is still in the White House? Ultimately, he's the one who's got to sign any piece of legislation. Well, both of those things are within Congress's power, And we have a Republican Congress that has voted time and time again to continue to support those tariffs. And the War Powers Act resolution of Congress passed by both houses would effectively prevent the president from continuing to wage this war. It is Congress's authority to enter into armed conflict. And the president did that without the authority of Congress. And he has continued that and continued that month over month over month.

25:39Our own senator, Senator Tim Kaine, continues to introduce the War Powers Resolution in the Senate. and although some Republicans in the House have supported it in the past, I think that with the new Congress, there will be an overwhelming majority in that direction. And we also have to stand up and ask those tough questions. I served on the Armed Services Committee before. No one in this Republican Congress has asked, what are the true impacts of this war? It's not only the impacts on our sailors and the military families, but on our force, on our readiness, on our ability to potentially face conflicts in other parts of the world.

26:10And when in Congress, The questions, the only tough questions come when there's a president of the other party. It's not oversight. That's just politics. And the Armed Services Committee and looking out for our military and our military readiness is not a game of politics. It's actually a game of doing what's going to make this country safer. Well, your argument is that it is up to Congress to determine whether the country goes to war. But given that the president has already circumvented that, essentially, how do you get him to comply? Well, we have to come to a place where we can work with our partners and allies in the region who themselves are also being threatened.

26:48We see the Iranians no further from acquiring a nuclear weapon. We see that they're continuing to fund their terrorist proxies across the region. The Houthis in Yemen are firing and shipping in the Red Sea. They're firing infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. And we have to come together with our partners and allies in a way that's going to make that region safer. And right now, you know, if we have Steve Whitcutt and Jarek Kushner representing us in those dialogues, we don't have the best voice to actually ensure the security of the American people. And, you know, Congress needs to reassert that oversight power over the Department of Defense.

27:25You know, probably don't have time here to get into that leadership situation. But I think that there is a complete lack of confidence in the leadership in the Department of Defense right now as well. So are you saying to that point, are you saying that you want to impeach Secretary Hegseth? Do you think that should be a priority for Democrats? I think we have to ask the tough questions and make the Department of Defense answer for their actions. I think that the American people are being lied to. We've been told time and again that the Iranian drone and missile threat has been obliterated. Yet we can no longer operate in the Gulf region the way that we have for decades, the way we did when I deployed there multiple times throughout my naval career.

28:04We saw the base in Bahrain be destroyed. No one's asking tough questions about the condition of that base. Where is the fifth fleet commander operating? You know, how are we controlling these forces in the region? What are the logistics and readiness situation and really the cost to our long-term operations and readiness of this conflict? And, you know, those are things that have not been asked of this Congress. You know, the goal of oversight in Congress is to find solutions, you know, in the accountability part. You know, the current Congress may take care of this before we get there, because Tom Massey has sworn that when Congress comes back into session next week, he's going to move forward with this particular issue.

28:42So we'll wait and see. But it is definitely a high priority to make sure that we have, you know, the right leadership that's looking out for our national security and for our military. him. It sounds like you're not taking the possibility of impeaching Secretary Hegseth off the table. Let me ask you about the president himself. As you well know, there's a big debate right now inside the Democratic Party whether to impeach President Trump. You actually sat on the House January 6th committee. You backed an impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Then I want to play what Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters about impeachment.

29:14Take a listen. I haven't had a single member of the House Democratic Caucus talk to me about impeachment. We've been relentlessly focused on affordability and on accountability because the House is a separate and co-equal branch of government. Do you think that Democrats should take impeachment off the table and focus on issues like affordability? I absolutely think we should focus on affordability. We should go to Congress with the mandate that we have from the voters in districts like mine, that people are struggling with the cost of living. We should go fix these issues, work on restoring the funding to Medicaid, work on restoring the ACA premium subsidies, work on ending these tariffs, work on ending this war, getting the cost of gas down, and really all of the policies that we can do to make people's lives better.

30:03That is our focus. That's what we've been elected to do. But would you support impeaching President Trump or do you think it would backfire? It's not our priority. Our priority is to deliver for the American people. President Trump has notably said that he wants to try to work with Democrats. Is there one area that you can identify where you think you can get a bipartisan agreement with President Trump, given that voters seem to be sending a signal they want to see action? They want to see real results in Washington and not just gridlock. Well, I'll work for President Trump on any issue that he's willing to work with us on.

30:46I mean, we're going to have a very large majority in the House. Our responsibility is to introduce debate and pass legislation that's going to be good for the people of our districts. We'll send that over to the Senate if it moves forward through the Senate and lands on his desk. I mean, he said in an interview the other day, he's going to get tired of vetoing things. I mean, he wants to preserve his legacy. He wants to leave office being a president who people say delivered. and we're going to give him lots of opportunities to deliver for the American people, whether that's on health care issues, minimum wage, cost of living.

31:15I mean, the list could be very long. And we will send all of that to his desk. And in my opinion, we should work with him in every way possible to get that delivered for the American people, because that's what the American people need. Let me ask you, you first won this seat back in 2018. You lost it in 2022. You've now won it back again. And what's the lesson that you've learned about how to keep these voters in your coalition that will be critical if you want to hold on to your seat in the next two years? I'm focused on delivering for the people of the district, showing up, listening, holding town halls, understanding what I can do for the district.

31:52I mean, when I was in Congress before, I had legislation signed into law by both presidents. I certainly took things from our district back to Washington to help people in the district. Issues I learned from constituents. I passed legislation to provide tax relief to Gold Star families. I was instrumental in passing the PACT Act, which is for veterans exposed to burn pits, the largest increase in access to veterans care that we've seen in our lifetime. I was instrumental and I stood up to, you know, administration of my own party to increase the defense budget year over year when I was also in the House.

32:23So I think that we have a responsibility to listen to our constituents go to Washington and deliver. And ultimately, it's not a partisan thing. It's what's best for the people in the district. And if the person in the White House is of a different party, you've got to find ways to work with them. If they're of the same party, I don't have any problem standing up to them. So it's really all about delivering. All right, Congresswoman-elect Elaine Luria, thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate it. We will be tracking your tenure closely. Thank you. Thank you. Coming up next, the markets and the midterms.

32:55We do have breaking news. after a roller coaster two days on Wall Street wiping out trillions for tech giants. We'll explain why and what it means for the economy. Keep it right here on Meet the Press Now.

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34:57Welcome back. We have more on that breaking news we brought you at the top of the show. Another tumultuous day on Wall Street with stocks tumbling. The Dow falling more than 1 ,700 points today after yesterday's significant gains. The Nasdaq was down more than 5 % on the day amid concerns Democrats' big election victories could hinder the AI boom. NBC News business and data correspondent Brian Chung joins me now. So, Brian, why has there been so much market volatility over the past two days? Yeah, well, the talking point I've been speaking with investors throughout the day seems to be that they're still digesting the policy implications of a mixed situation down in D.C.

35:35with a democratically controlled Congress as well as President Trump still in the White House. Now, the big story here does appear to be focused on artificial intelligence and semiconductor chips because they have been driving so much of the stock market gains over the last few years. And the big story for a lot of voters going into the polls was a deep skepticism about artificial intelligence. So for that reason, if the Democrats in Congress or in and at a local level decide that they want to try to put strict regulation around artificial intelligence or even pull back on data center construction in the United States, Well, then that could be bad for a lot of these stocks.

36:09And that explains why we've seen this nasty day on Wall Street with the Dow Jones down 3 percent, the S &P 500 and the Nasdaq down 4 and 5 percent respectively for the S &P 500 and the Nasdaq. That is now the worst day that they have had since April 2025, which, of course, was Liberation Day when the president unveiled those big, splashy tariffs in the Rose Garden. So policy does remain the focus for the stock market. Well, just to be clear, why are we seeing that difference between the Nasdaq and the Dow? Yeah, the Nasdaq is the more tech heavy index, which means that when you're talking about stocks like NVIDIA, which was down almost nine percent today, well, that's going to hit those tech heavier indexes more than, say, the Dow, which is more industrial types of companies, Kristen.

36:52And Brian, we know that oil prices fell below one hundred dollars a barrel yesterday. What do you think led to that? Well, that is also related to the policy uncertainty here. The idea perhaps behind some of that drop is that if there is a mixed Congress, there's going to be a little bit more of a check on the president who has been pretty dug in on this conflict with the war with Iran. Of course, we know that oil prices spiked as a result of the war with Iran, as well as some of the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. But maybe with the Democratic Congress, there's pressure on the president to pull back from that conflict with Iran.

37:24That could be good for the supply of oil around the world. So we have seen barrels of oil on crude oil at least go down to around$90. That's a pretty substantial drop from the over$100 we were seeing just a few weeks ago. That, by the way, should point to marginally lower prices at the pump as well, with the average price according to AAA today at$4.10. And Brian, just before I let you go, do you expect a market correction with oil prices? What are you watching there? Well, if I had a crystal ball, I'd be a trader on Wall Street. But look, I think that when you talk about the overall trend line here, prices have been coming down.

37:56There has been encouraging volume of actual tankers coming out of the street of Hormuz compared to the throes of the conflict with Iran when it began in February. And so all of that should point to prices being lower than they were, at least compared to the peaks of this conflict. But again, where it goes towards the end of the year, who's to say? All right, Brian Chung, busy day on Wall Street. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Well, data centers prove to be a driving issue for voters on both sides of the aisle in Tuesday's elections. In nearly every state where data centers were on the ballot, voters backed restrictions on their development.

38:30The results pose a new challenge to the AI boom, which has helped power recent U.S. economic growth. NBC News senior national correspondent Stephanie Goss has more on the sweeping rebuke. In the buildup to the election here in Michigan, the soon to be governor elect told voters, I'm listening. And then she promised a moratorium on data center construction. She was not the only candidate to do so, and now many of them are headed to governor's mansions and the halls of Congress. Data center construction in this country worth hundreds of billions of dollars is now in the crosshairs. An election message sent loud and clear.

39:07AI is, you know, taking over pretty much everything. Voters aren't happy about data centers. I voted to just ban them outright. According to NBC News exit polling, 76 percent of voters said they opposed building data centers in their community. One count found at least 41 jurisdictions nationwide passed bans or restrictions on data center construction. These data centers have got to go. The anger has been brewing. Who wants to live next to a data center? Nobody. Nobody. On display in local city council meetings in the buildup to the elections. You're the biggest liar I have ever seen. And many of the candidates that ran with the anti-data center message are now celebrating wins.

39:52Like Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, who hammered her Republican opponent, Greg Abbott, on the issue. The Greg Abbott corruption tax is why data centers have descended upon Texas. We have more than any other state in America. On the campaign trail, President Trump embracing data centers, touting them at a stop in Ohio supporting Senator John Husted. There's so much money to be made for Ohio. You can't just turn them off. They'll go to China. Houston's reelection campaign defeated by Democrat Sherrod Brown. I do not work for data centers. According to research firm S &P Global, 146 data center projects have already been delayed or canceled in the U.S.

40:37as of August this year, about 75 percent of them due to local opposition. But with the midterm results, is that number set to go up? Elon Musk seems to think so. As the returns came in on Tuesday night, he posted data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now. There are signs that tech companies are listening even before the election. Amazon promised$1 billion of investment in communities where it is building data centers and also vowed to tackle some of the power and water issues in some of those communities. But you did have meta exec Dina Powell yesterday calling the environment now in the U.S.

41:14for data center construction, quote, very challenging and said tech companies may start to look at building outside of the U.S. Back to you. All right, Stephanie Goss, thank you so much. We have much more midterm fallout and changing power dynamics in D.C. and beyond after the midterm elections. The panel's next on Meet the Press Now.

41:39Welcome back. The country's second largest city will soon have a new mayor. NBC News projects that Democratic Socialist Nithya Raman has defeated incumbent mayor Karen Bass in Los Angeles. Raman, a city council member, campaigned on taking on the, quote, broken status quo, criticizing Bass, a former congresswoman who served one term as mayor. Raman's victory also means that three of the country's largest or most powerful cities will be led by Democratic Socialists. Zoran Mamdani is mayor of New York City. And Denise Lewis, George, was elected mayor of Washington, D.C. this week. Joining me now is our panel, Francesca Chambers, White House correspondent for USA Today, Joe Crowley, former Democratic congressman from New York who served as chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and Danielle Pletka, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

42:30Thanks to all of you for being here. I hope you've all caught up on your rest after a very long week. Let me start with you, Francesca, and I'm just going to get you all to respond quickly. I mean, here, the news out of L.A., poised to have a mayor who is a member of the Democratic Socialists. We saw other gains for progressives in Congress. What does that mean for the progressive movement? I think when you look to the mayors themselves, you know, Mom Donnie has demonstrated how you can work with President Trump on some of those issues where there's some commonality. He has not been attacked by President Trump much.

43:06And as he himself said in an interview this week, ended up not being the focus of many of these ads after Republicans said they were going to run against communism and run against socialism. Congressman Crowley, how do you see? What I find is interesting. First of all, this is California, the general election, two Democrats pitted against each other. It's more like a primary. And in the end, the DSA candidate disavowed every position of the DSA. She didn't really know what they were about. What I think of, many of these people use the DSA as a vehicle to help them get name recognition, but they don't really know what they stand for.

43:42And, you know, when you say it's for the government to control the means of production, to get rid of borders, to get rid of prisons, to get rid of ICE and get rid of police departments, they don't get that. And they don't understand that. And so I think it's kind of interesting. I think Karen, You know, a great woman. I served in the House, a lovely woman. She got caught behind with the wildfires over in Africa. And it was just downhill from there. All politics is local, it turns out. Danny Pleko, what do you make of this broader moment where we are seeing members of the DSA, progressives, win elections?

44:16Oh, it's going to be a very interesting time. First of all, these are not easy places to run, right? L.A., New York. your job is to disappoint the people who voted for you because you cannot but disappoint them. And so, you know, OK, they thought we'll move left. They are not going to be satisfied by what the DSA has on offer, whether Nithya Raman knows what it is or not. In fact, one of the questions on the exit poll questions was, you know, what do you think about socialism? And of course, those numbers were not as positive as the giant wave that engulfed the Republican Party. So, you know, what does it mean?

44:52I think the question much more is what does it mean for the Democratic Party? Is it going to become the DSA's party? It is, and it's going to be fascinating to watch, I think, some of those battles play out on Capitol Hill. Let's talk about the broader implications, please. I don't disagree in the sense that they've shown strength. I don't believe we won the House of Representatives because of the DSA. They win primarily in blue districts, with some exceptions. Even El-Sayed has said he's not a socialist. but he's certainly accepted the support of Bernie Sanders and AOC. We won this election because we took seats in middle America.

45:31We won seats in red, 18 plus Trump districts, 12, 13 point Trump districts that we won. And they are central. They are centrist. And I think that's what this beauty of this election is restored my faith in democracy, bringing balance, bringing balance back to America. I think it's what we're missing right now. 75 percent Democrat is not balanced. No, but you said the White House thought is what I'm saying. That's what I meant to say. Well, let's talk about the broader implications and what Washington is going to look like. Francesca, it is an extraordinary moment. And we are actually starting to see finger pointing behind the scenes.

46:09And then you're seeing these what I think are pretty remarkable statements. Vice President J.D. Vance coming out saying, look, it was the Iran war. You have these very strong statements by Governor DeSantis, Senator Ted Cruz. What do you make of this moment and this finger pointing that we're starting to see inside the Republican Party? I don't think most of it's happening behind the scenes. That's an important direction. We're hearing about complete Armageddon, extinction level events for folks like, you know, Ron DeSantis. Some of these folks thinking about running for president in 2028, trying to figure out how they distinguish themselves and differentiate themselves from the president.

46:46whose party just took a pretty big beating over the last couple of days. And so a lot of finger pointing going on right now in the GOP and not a lot of answers about where the Republican Party goes forward from here and how it puts back together that MAGA coalition or a different coalition. You know, you mentioned the vice president. I mean, he said that the MAGA voters showed up. They just didn't show up to vote for them. Yeah. Danny Pleka, what do you make of this moment and what do you make of the positioning that we're starting to see clearly everyone with an eye on 2028? Well, J.D. Vance coming out of the box and picking the issue that 4 percent of voters said was the most important, decisive one for them was really quite something.

47:29It was basically, you know, him saying that the Iran war was the reason that we lost when the president of the United States, his boss, said, I thought we did the right thing. Sure, it was part of driving up energy prices, but I would do it again, he told Fox News. And there's J.D. Vance saying, nah, you made him. Boss, you were dumb. You're a bad commander in chief. To me, that's the first salvo of 28. And it is disqualifying. Do you think voters will see it as disqualifying? I think the fact that J.D. Vance is, A, the author of the diplomacy with Iran that has been a fiasco. B, that he is disloyal not just to every boss he's ever had, but to every idea he's ever had.

48:15Someone compared him to Pat Buchanan to me today. And I said, no, Pat Buchanan was always Pat Buchanan. J.D. Vance has been everybody, a Democrat, a Republican, a leftist, a rightist, a socialist, a capitalist, a Tuckerite. You know, who is he? That's it. It's a fascinating point. And I'm not voting for him. But what's notable, this moment is reminiscent to some extent of 2024 when Democrats congressmen thought we've got to rebuild our entire party. We've got to start from scratch. We've got to figure out what we stand for. This moment seems like a rebuke of President Trump and not as much an endorsement of the Democratic Party.

48:55What lesson should Democrats take in this moment? Well, I think there are a couple of things. One is don't overreach. And I think you hear that after every election, especially when it's a landslide like this. If you overreach, you'll get slapped. The other reason I think you have to address the issues that you did speak about, and affordability is the big issue. Part of that is due to the war, but part of it is because of tariffs, unpopular tariffs. And some of these tariffs are popular within some of the Democratic wing, you know, in terms of the unions. And so we have to really go back and address that.

49:28I think we should also look to try to work with Republicans if we can in some respects. For instance, on permitting reform. You know, I'm not saying we throw out the environment. We have to care for our environment. We have to find a way to build housing in this country again. The cost of living and the cost of housing has become so, we were talking about this before, so expensive because we're not building anymore. And that adds to the economy. But getting those costs down, making life more affordable, that's what we should be focusing on. I wish you were in Congress. The difficulty for Democrats will be, how do you even do that?

50:01I mean, they have the majority, or they will, in the House and in the Senate. But President Trump says he's going to be Mr. Veto. Well, he's also saying he thinks he can maybe work with them. I mean, he's sending some mixed signals. He has said that he can maybe work with some of them on some of the issues such as the debt ceiling. But it is hard to see how he's going to work with them on some of the things Hakeem Jeffries says are going to be at the top of his agenda, such as resolutions to end the Iran war, resolutions to end tariffs. You have progressives, not Hakeem Jeffries, but you have progressives who want Medicare for all to come to the floor.

50:33So we'll have to see how that works. Danny Pletka, do you think there is room for bipartisan agreement? And I mean, it seems like voters are demanding it. It seems like they're saying get in a room and get something done. It's exactly what Joe said. If if members can put aside the red meat, right, the impeachment, the investigations, and they can do some of the things you talked about, there is so much room. There is so much possibility. The problem is, remember when Hakeem Jeffries met with Jared Kushner? He was condemned by his caucus. People need to learn to understand that we win when we get bipartisanship.

51:10I don't think he was condemned by the caucus as much by the party he was condemned. I think he's got the full support of the caucus. All right. Well, great conversation. Thank you all for being here, Francesca, Joe, and Danny. Still to come, breaking barriers from the first black female governor to the first Muslim senator. Meet the men and women breaking barriers next.

51:34Welcome back. NBC's Liz Kreutz has more on the trailblazers changing the face of government. Across the country, a historic night of firsts. In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms elected the country's first black woman governor, invoking her enslaved ancestors as she declared victory. I visited the grave of Betsy Peake, my great-great-grandmother, who was born in 1845, 20 years before emancipation. I know I am standing on shoulders made of steel. Nevada, Wisconsin, and Florida also electing their first black governors. While in Texas, crowds exploding as Gina Hinojosa became the first Hispanic person ever elected to their governor's office.

52:23I can't help but think of my grandmother, Grandma Hinojosa, who used to tell me, no te dejes. Know your worth and fight to defend it. California also making history. Javier Becerra, the first Latino elected to lead the Golden State. And likewise in New Mexico, where incoming governor Deb Haaland will become the country's first ever Native American woman to hold that title. Ohio, Minnesota and Tennessee also electing their first women governors. And in the U.S. Senate, Abdul El-Sayed from Michigan set to become the country's first Muslim senator. And Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, the first male senator to be openly gay.

53:08It's nice to know that love and truth prevailed tonight. Across the country, a sea of new faces in a wave of political firsts. Liz Kreutz, NBC News. And our thanks to Liz for that report. We are back tomorrow with more Meet the Press Now. And a reminder to join me every Sunday for Meet the Press on your local NBC station and on NBC News Now, streaming every Sunday at noon, 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern. There's more ahead on NBC News Now.

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