Meet the Press NOW — October 12

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1:10Hi there and welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Ryan Nobles. With just over three weeks until the midterms, the president is hitting the campaign trail again today as he appears to be scrambling for ways to lower fuel prices with cost of living top of mind for voters right now. This hour, the president is set to leave for a midterm rally in Ohio, where Republican Senator John Husted is locked in a tight re-election race against Democratic former Senator Sherrod Brown. It's the president's second visit to the state in just 10 days. He's also set to visit Alaska this week, another red state where the incumbent Republican senator could be in trouble.

1:47If we don't win the midterms, they're going to blame me. You know that if we do win them, I will get no credit whatsoever. It's true. I won't get it. But I'm working my ass off. You better get out there and vote. The president's latest trip comes as he's facing bipartisan backlash over his latest gambit to bring down fuel prices ahead of November. A controversial deal with Russia's President Putin on on Friday, President Trump announced the U.S. would suspend sanctions in order to buy Russian diesel fuel. Now, that deal drawing swift bipartisan backlash and questions about its legality. Over the weekend, a group of seven senators released a statement condemning the move, saying, quote, the administration must immediately reverse course.

2:32One of those senators, North Carolina Republican Tom Tillis, spoke about the deal with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, as other Republicans criticized the decision from the campaign trail. If President Trump wants to end the strain of energy supplies, number one, get things right in Iran, and number two, recognize that it was Vladimir Putin, not Zelensky, that started this war. And it's Vladimir Putin who owns the responsibility for energy prices to the extent that they come from that part of the world. Do you believe the president is breaking the law with this deal with Russia? I believe that he may be.

3:12Not in importing it from Russia. I support the president's decision to import these. I don't support his decision to import it from Putin. The president's doing everything he can to get diesel prices down. But you know what's going to bring diesel prices down? An end to the war in Iran. The backlash not stopping the president from touting the diesel deal over the weekend and calling for Ukrainian President Zelensky to be replaced after he criticized the deal, while also blaming Zelensky for these higher fuel prices. Russia agreed to send us millions and millions of barrels of oil and it's diesel.

3:57That's what we really need. Well, I look at it differently. Zelensky could have settled this war many times, many, many times. And he chose he chooses not to. And he wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers with diesel fuel because Russia supplies a large portion of the diesel fuel throughout the world. And we told him, do whatever you want, but don't hit the diesel fuel because there's a big problem. And what does he do? He goes and hits the diesel fuel. Now, to be clear, it's the war in Iran that's largely causing fuel prices to rise. Diesel's up 67 percent since the start of the Iran war.

4:43That's more than either oil or gas prices. But on the campaign trail in the recent days, the president has insisted that fuel prices will fall as soon as the war ends, claiming the U.S. economy is in its, quote, golden age and blaming former President Biden for Americans' affordability issues. Joining me now, NBC News senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez. He's in Youngstown, Ohio, where the president will speak later this evening. Also with me, senior national politics reporter Sahil Kapoor and former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor. All right, Gabe, let's start with you on the campaign trail in Ohio.

5:16This, of course, the president's second visit this month to the Buckeye State. What are we expecting to hear from him tonight and how much do we expect it to differ from his last visit there? Oh, hey there, Ryan. Well, the president expected to tout manufacturing boom as he sees the economy, jobs. But this is a state that President Trump won by 11 points back in 2024. The polling, though, shows much tighter races now for the Senate and the gubernatorial race. Behind me, you see Trump supporters coming here to this arena to see President Trump again for the second time in just a few weeks here.

5:52We've seen a steady stream of them coming in. And just a short time ago, I spoke with a business, a small business owner who runs a tree service. And I asked him about rising fuel costs. Here's what he said. Do you blame President Trump for the rise in diesel prices? No, I don't. I think he's trying to protect our country. I think every administration before this has said Iran was a problem and nobody's been willing to deal with him. And he took a stance and he dealt with them. and sometimes that's a tough, we've got to take the consequences with that, but I think in the long run it's the right thing to do.

6:37Now, Ryan, just a few moments ago I spoke with Vivek Ramaswamy who was coming in here. He was very glad to have President Trump stumping for him tonight. Again, this is a very surprisingly difficult race for Republicans, according to polling. And Ryan, something else that I noticed, speaking with people on both sides of the aisle, I was speaking with some Democrats who were rallying here outside of the arena, as well as some of the Republicans in line. One of the major issues here, which I know you know a lot about, data centers, a huge issue here in the Ohio Senate race. And it's very interesting when you speak with some of the Trump supporters here in line.

7:11While they do firmly stand by the president, they aren't so sure about his stance on data centers, something that is playing out not just here in Ohio, but really across the country, Ryan. Yeah. In some of the biggest Trump portions of Ohio, that data center issue is getting bigger and bigger. All right, Sahil, let's get the view now from the congressional side of things. How much are Republican leaders worried about Senator Houston's ability to actually hold on to this seat? There's definitely worry, Ryan, much like in Texas, where President Trump recently visited Ohio as a state that President Trump won three times, including by double digits in 2024.

7:44Recent polls show Sherrod Brown, the Democrat, leading John Husted, the Republican, by anywhere between one and six points. It's a narrow lead, but it's a consistent lead in the polls after North Carolina right now. The surveys say it's the Democrats' best pickup opportunity. So this Trump trip is purposefully chosen. He's trying to recreate his 2024 coalition, try to get the low propensity voters to show up. Another distress signal here is that Republicans have upped their spending pretty dramatically in Ohio lately now, by our recent count, outspending Democrats by more than three to one. Another signal is the last Senate vote or one of the last Senate votes that Republicans took before adjourning for the midterms.

8:22Gabe just mentioned it. It's about data centers. It's a major vulnerability for John Husted. The Ratepayer Protection Act, Democrats ended up blocking it. And John Husted wants to go home and talk to voters, try to tell them he did try to do something about this issue. So there are a lot of reasons to believe that Republican leaders are concerned about holding Ohio despite its red tilt. Yeah. And the same can be said about Alaska, right, Sahil? That's where the president's going to head tomorrow. Are we feeling similar concerns for the GOP in Alaska? Quite similar. It's, again, a similar dynamic in that Trump won Alaska three times in 2024.

8:55He won the state by 13 points. Unlike Ohio, though, this is notable. Alaska has trended a little bit bluer. It's been a red state. Republicans haven't lost it at the presidential level since 1964. It's trended a little bit toward Democrats over the last decade, decade and a half. And the message I would expect from Trump is, once again, some version of I'm on the ballot. You have to show up and you have to support Senator Dan Sullivan, who's running for reelection lately over the last year, year and a half. He's done some stuff that we haven't usually seen him do, including break with his party on the issue of ACA subsidies, which is an important thing in Alaska.

9:29Yeah. So, Gabe, let's go back now and talk about this Russia diesel deal. And it's really getting some pushback both from Republicans and Democrats, even some Republicans raising questions about whether or not it's even legal. The president, though, seems to be doubling down on the benefits of it. How can this actually be implemented? Is it even realistic? Well, that is a big question at this point, Ryan. And we just don't know. And this comes on the heels of really Congress, you know, in the wake of the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, who's a big champion of Russian sanctions, passing that legislation and imposing new sanctions on Russia.

10:02Well, the president doubling down on his announcement over the weekend, posting on his social media platform, True Social Today, saying that he believes that he did the right thing for the American people. Again, this idea of America first. He pointed out that Europe, he says, has paid Russia money in exchange for diesel. And he views it as a way what he is trying to do is trying to lower diesel costs here in the U.S. But as you said in your introduction, Ryan, that is driven in large part not by the war in Ukraine, but actually the war in Iran. And, yes, that is drawing some bipartisan pushback.

10:35You mentioned Senator Tom Tillis up at the top of this segment. But certainly, as if this continues, many Republicans who are skeptical of Vladimir Putin's intentions, they may be very skeptical of this for for their part. I asked, you know, Trump supporters here what they thought of it and some expressed reservations. But others thought they trusted the president to figure out some sort of deal deal here to reduce fuel costs. And if it has to involve some type of short term deal with Vladimir Putin, they are willing to give him that leeway. The question will be, one, is it legal? And two, Republicans go along with it.

11:13Yeah. And aside from all the legality surrounding this, the interplay with Ukraine and everything that's involved in that, there's the other central question of whether or not it's actually going to bring prices down in any sort of meaningful way. We're only 22 days away from the election. Do Trump and his allies actually believe that this is something that could sway the vote? less than a month away. Whether they believe that, Ryan, I think they have to play the cards that are available to them, and there's very little that they can actually do to materially bring down the cost of diesel short of end the Iran war, which pretty clear that's not going to happen, at least until after the midterm election.

11:49I think that's the question in terms of whether it's going to have an impact. Is it going to materially change the reality for people on the ground? According to Reuters, two and a quarter million barrels of diesel that this deal could produce is less than a day's supply for the American transport sector. So it doesn't seem like this is going to have a dramatic impact on people's lives. Gabe, is it notable that it seems like the president keeps talking about gas prices in the lens of Ukraine as opposed to in the lens of Iran, where almost every analyst would argue it's Iran that is the reason these prices are so high?

12:22Yeah, you know, Ryan, and it is extremely noticeable. This is something that, you know, we have seen him getting hot and cold towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky really throughout his second administration. And recall early on in the administration that eruption in the Oval Office. Then it seemed like he, you know, Zelensky had figured out a way to speak with President Trump. And for a while it seemed that the two were getting along. And so now this surprise with President Trump over the weekend really calling for the ouster of Ukrainian President Zelensky. and Zelensky, for his part, trying to make the argument that he just doesn't trust Vladimir Putin, but he is willing to have some sort of deal here if the Russians come to the table.

13:02But you're absolutely right, Ryan, to hear President Trump talk about the war in Ukraine as being significantly responsible for this rising crisis when it is the war in Iran, something that the president, who continues to argue he did the right thing by trying to prevent the run from getting a nuclear weapon. It is very striking, especially over the weekend, to have heard that rhetoric, Ryan. Okay. We've got Gabe on the ground in Ohio. Gabe, thank you for that. Sahil in Washington, we appreciate your analysis. Let's go to Ambassador Taylor now to get a view of what's happening in the region and how this decision could impact Ukraine.

13:38Just first, Ambassador, how do you assess this diesel deal with Russia and the questions that some like Senator Tillis are raising about its legality? Well, the legality, Ryan, is one question, and I'll leave it to others to figure out. That doesn't seem to have constrained this administration in many cases. But in terms of the costs and benefits, I mean, I think your previous conversation suggests that this is not going to have a major effect on prices, a major effect on prices anytime soon. But it'll be a talking point that some people will use. as I imagine, that's probably what it is, but it's not going to really have any benefit, any big benefit in the timeframe that we're talking about.

14:20It is, however, going to do damage in the region, as you say. It's going to hurt the Ukrainians because more money goes into Russian coffers, and they use that to fight the war against Ukraine. And as Putin goes after civilians, because he's losing on the battlefield, Ryan, he's losing on the battlefield where his military is not doing well. So the only thing he can do is fire at civilians with ballistic missiles, and the Ukrainians can't defend themselves against that. So it's a real problem for Ukraine. The last thing, though, is it damages our leadership. Maybe that's not important for this administration.

14:57But for us to have allies, we have to be dependable. We have to be credible. We have to be trustworthy. And as you've pointed out, we're changing our policy right now, waiving these sanctions that we have put on, that the Congress passed overwhelmingly, that the president signed most recently, as well as ones that passed unanimously back in 2022. And we've changed all that now in order for short-term political gain. And you mentioned that it's going to give them the ability to buy more weapons. But more broadly, will it just help Russia's economy? Because part of what Ukraine is working toward is trying, and what these sanctions allegedly are supposed to be doing, is trying to cripple the Russian economy so that they at least have some level of retreat in this war.

15:40Could this help their economy? Marginally. Again, we're not talking about great big volumes, but the dollars that go in, the rubles that go in will be used against Ukraine. But you're exactly right. What the Ukrainians have done is go after these Russian refineries and other oil facilities to cut off the flow of exports, because that is the big funder of this war. And the Ukrainians have been very effective. This is actually, Zelensky calls this these kinetic sanctions, and it's been pretty effective at reducing the flow of funds in there. They've got 50 percent of the Russian refineries that have been damaged.

16:21So yes, this is a tactic that the Ukrainians have used very well. And there's obviously a lot, there's a lot at play here, but there's also this energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine that President Trump announced. It seemed to catch President Zelensky by surprise. Is there any chance that this actually is implemented? There's no chance as long as Putin opposes it. And President Zelensky has made this point before, has made this suggestion for an energy ceasefire report. President Trump has made the same point earlier. And in all cases, in every case before, Putin has said no, whether it's on energy, whether it's on grain exports, whether it's more comprehensive, Putin has just said no.

17:05And he has said no this time, or at least has said nothing. Now, maybe President Trump has had this conversation with Putin and Putin told him he was going to abide by it, but he's already broken it. He's already gone after gas stations and fuel distribution centers. So he's already, Putin has already broken this ceasefire. So, no, you cannot trust him to do it. He's not doing it yet. And then finally, we are running out of time, but I want you to just address the relationship between President Trump and President Zelensky. It seemed to be thawing. They seemed to be getting along better. But now he said over the weekend that he thinks that Zelensky should have an election.

17:43He's blaming him for the rise in the price of oil. Is it concerning that this once promising relationship is starting to have a bit of a sour note? It is concerning, and it is on a sour note. However, this administration is not providing the Ukrainians very much. A little bit of military intelligence, which I hope continues. But it's not providing any weapons. It's not providing any financial support, which we used to do. And so we used to have some influence in case. Today, we provide virtually nothing other than that military intelligence. And so what Trump says about about elections has no real relevance and no foreigner has any say, of course, no foreign any say in who's the president of Ukraine.

18:30That's pretty crazy to decide. OK, Ambassador Bill Taylor. Great insight as always. Thank you for being here, sir. We appreciate it. We're going to turn now to some breaking news out of Washington, D.C., where federal agents have searched the home of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. A Justice Department spokesperson says the search was part of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security. And according to a person familiar with the matter, the search was related to a criminal investigation with whistleblowers, documents, and witness testimony. Congresswoman Omar, who was born in Somalia, has been a frequent target of President Trump, who made these crude remarks about her and Minnesota's Somali community during a rally this weekend in Tennessee.

19:14How about Ilhan Omar? She comes from Somalia.

19:23She comes from Somalia. They don't have a government. They don't have police. All they have is crime and squalor. And she comes into our country and she says, my constitution allows me. She's talking about our constitution, what they've done to Minnesota, these people from Somalia, what they've done to Minnesota should never be allowed. And let's see what happens. J.D. Vance and our people are looking at it very strongly. It does appear to be a bit of foreshadowing. NBC News senior justice reporter Ryan Riley joins me now. So, Ryan, tell me, what are federal officials saying about the focus of this investigation?

20:03Yeah, well, normally they're not really allowed to go into details about what an ongoing criminal investigation, especially at this stage. And in fact, you know, there are these rules, especially around elections that we'll get to in a bit. But what they're saying is that this is a longstanding investigation that had been running for years. And, you know, there had been reporting earlier about some sort of investigation into Representative Omar that was closed down during the Biden administration. But I think one of the key things to focus on is that they haven't really said what the urgency was necessarily to do this within this window, within these last few weeks before the election.

20:37I think it's a really critical question that we haven't thus far been able to get a really satisfactory answer to about why there was this pressing need to do this immediately, why this couldn't have waited, say, a few weeks instead of having this overt action right before the election. And what are we hearing from Congresswoman Omar? Yeah, so Representative Omar has a post up. She said, make no mistake, this was an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. For 10 years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.

21:11She said, added, I will not be silenced. And so, you know, this comes amid a lot of these sort of unusual investigations that we've seen into Democratic lawmakers. You know, earlier this year, we had the Justice Department try to indict six sitting members of Congress over a social media video that the president didn't like. There's also that James Comey ongoing criminal investigation and prosecution over photos of seashells that he posted that the Trump administration contends were a threat to the president's life. And so it sort of fits in this broader pattern that I think we've seen out of the Justice Department.

21:45The Justice Department, I mean, usually, I wouldn't say all the time, but typically adheres to what they call the 60 day rule. They take steps to not get in the way or influence an election within 60 days of the election. We should point out Congresswoman Omar is on the ballot in November. How unusual is today's search and is the DOJ clearly ignoring that unwritten policy? Yeah, I mean, you know, there's been this policy that's longstanding. And actually earlier, just a few weeks ago, actually, the Justice Department's inspector general pressed DOJ to sort of clarify what these rules were around the election, saying that, you know, there was a lack of clarity about what exactly was banned.

22:21it mostly spoke to overt actions, meaning this type of search that obviously produces a bunch of news stories. When you have this search outside a member of Congress's home, that's something that people in the community see. And of course, we had people, you know, reporters, including Fox News, was there extremely early. So this is something that would have generated a lot of those headlines and typically would fall into that rule. But the Justice Department, when this IG recommendation came out, they said that they came out with a statement saying that, you know, they knew that they couldn't take any actions meant to influence an election.

22:52Of course, that's not what generally the rule had been about. The rule had been this sort of blackout period for any action around the elections outside of very narrow circumstances. But what the Justice Department was sort of contending is as long as this isn't explicitly aimed towards impacting an election, that it's a-okay. And so I think that there's some discrepancies about how that rule is actually played out, even though that's something that goes back pretty far with the Justice Department trying, especially around that 60-day window, to not sort of put their thumb on the scale and impact ongoing elections.

23:22And the president literally talked about investigating her at a campaign rally the day before. So that's one thing to keep in mind. All right, Ryan Riley, thank you so much for that reporting. We appreciate it. Coming up, deadly attacks in Saudi Arabia. Iran-backed Houthi forces striking Riyadh's bustling international airport, killing more than a dozen people and injuring hundreds in a major escalation involving a key U.S. ally and top oil exporter. Plus, a quick programming note, you can catch up on everything you need to know about the upcoming midterm elections, from the issues to the key races to watch, the key races to watch, I should say, by streaming our NBC News special, Decision 2026 Battlefield Control of Congress.

24:02It's available now on demand. Just scan the QR code on your screen. You might see me. That could be good or bad. You're watching Meet the Press now.

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25:11Trial eligibility varies. Terms apply. Cancel anytime. That's a mouthful.

25:41New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Welcome back. Turning now to the Middle East and the deadliest attack on a U.S. Arab ally since the start of the Iran war. Over the weekend, Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen attacked Saudi Arabia's main international airport on Saturday and Sunday. Saudi Arabia says it faced a new barrage of incoming Houthi fire today and that the Riyadh airport would remain closed. Video shows the moment of that devastating strike on Saturday as people were lined up to board their flights just before the blast.

26:19At least 13 people were killed, including an American citizen, and over 300 others were injured in that attack. President Trump has resisted pressure to join airstrikes against the Houthis, which potentially widened the war with Iran. Here's what he told reporters over the weekend. Have you decided whether to join the Saudi strikes on the U.S.? We may. We're going to look at it. How soon? We just found out about the recent attack. So we'll make a decision. We move very quickly. Joining me now is NBC News international correspondent Raf Sanchez. Raf, President Trump has resisted the Saudi calls for direct U.S.

26:54military intervention in this conflict in the past. But could this time be different? Well, Ryan, it could be. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, has really been urging the president for some time to get involved in the situation here with the Houthis carrying out these repeated strikes against Saudi Arabia. You now have an American citizen killed in that attack on Saturday at the major international airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. But I will say, Ryan, at this point, the president still does seem reluctant to get involved in fighting on yet another front in the Middle East, potentially, especially with the midterms so close.

27:37He has said explicitly that he isn't planning any strikes on Iran until the other side of the elections. And so it would seem somewhat surprising if he was eager to get involved in fighting in Yemen, especially given the justification for the military action against Iran has been about stopping the Iranian nuclear program to start fighting in a different part of the Middle East might be a difficult sell to American voters with the elections coming up. Right. But should this concern Saudi Arabia about the capabilities of the Houthis? Did this demonstrate that maybe they have more muscle than we originally thought?

28:16Yeah, the Saudis are deeply, deeply concerned about this, Ryan. The Houthis have said that they are prepared to target every single airport in Saudi Arabia, with the exception of those which serve Mecca and Medina, those cities that are home, some of Islam's holiest sites. But the Houthis, which are backed by Iran but are separate from them, really demonstrating that they have the ability to strike and strike in a very serious way. Saudi Arabia is a large country. It has a lot of airspace. It's difficult to defend all of it simultaneously. But a lot of these Houthi missiles and drones seem to be getting through now.

28:50You mentioned the airport in Riyadh was hit twice in two days. They hit another major airport in Daman. The Saudis have been fighting against these Houthi militants on and off since 2015 now. But what we're seeing is they really do not seem to have good answers at this point in terms of their ability to protect their airspace, stop these strikes. And Ryan, the Saudis are supposed to be hosting two major summits in the next couple of weeks. One of them is an oil congress. The other is a major investment summit. And right now you've got countries around the world warning their citizens against traveling through Saudi airports.

29:27You did touch on this a little bit, but what would it mean if the U.S. were to join this fight and how could it impact the broader region as well as the war in Iran? So viewers may remember that the U.S. actually was bombing the Houthis in Yemen for three months back in 2025. The Houthis at that point were targeting international shipping that was passing through the Bab el-Mandeb. That's that very narrow but strategic waterway that controls access to the Red Sea. That was helping to drive up inflation because goods couldn't get where they needed to go. So the U.S. launched this three-month bombing campaign.

30:04It certainly did damage to the Houthis, but it by no means destroyed them. And if anything, we see them now stronger than ever, it seems. So if there was to be a new round of American strikes, it would probably look similar. You'd have American aircraft launched off of carriers in the Middle East. But we have seen, you know, the U.S. military stretched pretty thin by these months of fighting against Iran. So to open up a whole new front would stretch that capacity even further. Right. All right. Ralph Sanchez in Israel. Ralph, thanks for that. Up next, Tallarico speaks out. The Texas Democratic Senate candidate is back on the trail and addressing right wing conspiracy theories about his health.

30:44NBC's Phil Prazen joins me in studio fresh off of his interview with the candidate. Keep it right here on Meet the Press Now.

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32:30Welcome back. Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Tallarico is back on the campaign trail and pushing back at conservative conservative fueled conspiracies about what forced his nine day absence from the trail. Tallarico telling our Phil Prazen from our Dallas Fort Worth NBC station that he'd been battling the flu. Yeah, I got the flu and I'm feeling much better. and I'm glad I had a chance to recover. You know, if you don't take the opportunity to get well, sometimes you can get even sicker. And so I'm glad we made the decision to just take the week, get better. And now I'm glad to be back on the trail.

33:05Conservative folks on Twitter and some of Paxton's ally were pushing the idea that you had a stress-induced episode and we're getting treatment for it. What are your thoughts? That's not true. I just had the flu and I feel much better. But it's a good reminder that you can't believe everything you read on the internet. You don't say. Ken Paxton, Tallarico's Republican opponent, and even President Trump, have questioned the nature of Tallarico's absence. Paxton even calling him for him to show proof of life. Well, he provided that to NBC's Phil Prazen, who joins me now on set to talk more about this.

33:38You know, Phil, I was in Texas the day that Tallarico basically had to take himself off the campaign trail. He gave a Zoom interview with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council. He seemed sick then. He did. Yeah. How's he feeling now? And how's he responding to some of this fodder that's being spread by conservative activists? So he looked much different from September 30th, the last time we talked, which was, you know, he was he was coughing. He looked under the weather. I've known state representative James Tallarico since when he was first elected to the Texas House in 2018. And he appeared to me to be kind of normal of how he normally, you know, looks and acts.

34:14And it was just strange that he was off the trail for so long because his campaign and he has always been very open and transparent and very accessible to the press. When it comes to the kind of conspiracy theories of where he was, it's less a story, I think, about James Salarico and Ken Paxton and more a story about how the Internet works in 2026. You know, you have a lot of MAGA influencers, Internet sleuths, keyboard warriors who jump to conclusions sometimes. So they found this plane that went from Austin to Ohio around this mental health facility. Literally could have been anyone. It could have been anyone.

34:53Supposedly there's a James Tallarico who lives in Ohio, not the state representative. And somebody actually called that facility in the middle of the night and recorded the phone call pretending to be Tallarico's extended family, not something recommended to do. And that kind of made it a thing on the Internet so much so that the facility put out a statement saying the state representative Tallarico has never been treated there. And then James Tallarico put out a statement saying he's never even been to the state of Ohio. So it just appears to be not true at all. and you cannot believe everything you see on the Internet.

35:30And it also makes you wonder how Republicans are feeling about their position in this race, if they felt the need to go down this road. Now, you also spoke to Tallarico about the possibility of a debate between him and Ken Paxton. This is something even President Trump is calling for. What did he say? At his rally, President Trump said that Ken Paxton is ready, willing and able to debate. Ken Paxton apparently is not going to at this point. This will be the first time since the year 2000 that the two candidates have not done a debate for a U.S. Senate seat from the state of Texas. So it is rare.

36:06Usually we get at least one. Governor Abbott has not agreed to a debate either. And I think it shows that this is a very competitive race where, you know, there's the saying that you cannot win a race in a debate, but you certainly can lose a race in a debate. And I think that they are just the Paxton folks are being overly cautious and not trying to risk a big screw up. And let's play what Tallarico told you about that debate. I think Ken Paxton should debate the president saying he should debate. Fox News has said he should debate. The people of Texas have said he should debate. And I think it's I think it's mysterious that Ken Paxton hasn't responded to a request for a debate in 85 days.

36:51I hear that people are getting really concerned about the attorney general. And, you know, I've heard rumors that he has a rare medical condition that causes clinical levels of cowardice. So I know Ken Paxton has asked for proof of life for me. I'm asking for proof of spine from him. Ryan, that's a that's a, you know, a shot at what Ken Paxton has been saying, looking for a proof of life. It's looking for a proof of spine. But it seems from your vibe, this debate probably isn't happening. Probably not. All right. Phil Prazen, great to have you in New York. Thanks for being here. And good luck the last 22 days of this campaign.

37:24You might be in one of the more important states. So just a little piece of advice from me. The stakes are high. Yeah. All right. Thanks, Phil. After the break, new developments in the race for Senate control. South Carolina's candidates face off on the debate stage. And Michigan Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed sounds the alarm on what he sees as threats to election security and American democracy. Our panel is next. This is Meet the Press Now.

37:57welcome back as democrats feel increasingly optimistic about their chances to flip key republican held seats to retake the senate majority they're also defending a trio of battleground seats meet the press moderator kristen welker sat down with abdul al-sayed the progressive Democrat looking to hold Democrats' Michigan Senate seat about what Democrats need to do in November. We've got to win by massive numbers. Or else what? Donald Trump has already threatened to do what he did in 2020, which is deny the outcomes of an election. And right now he is president of the United States. He has weaponized ice in ways that are really quite dangerous if you think about the implications for our democracy.

38:39We've got to win by massive enough numbers that it is unquestionable that we won. Joining me now is our panel. Democratic former Congressman Max Rose of New York is with me here on set. And Stephen Hayes, the CEO and editor of The Dispatch. He's also an NBC News political analyst. Congressman, let's start with Abdul El-Sayed's statements there. What do you make of his interview? And do Democrats have to win by massive numbers in Michigan? Can they win by massive numbers in Michigan? Should there be a reason for alarm? Let me make sure I answer your questions in order. They do not have to win by large margins.

39:19They just have to win. But they can win by large margins. Remember, with Donald Trump on the ballot, a highly contested environment, 2024, not the best terrain for Democrats unless the stock in one by 20 ,000 votes. So if we think about this purely as the capability of a Democrat to win by a lot more in a much better environment, sure, it's totally possible. But I disagree with the notion that it has to be a wide margin. All we need is just to win by one vote, take the gavel. Yeah. Stephen, what about you? I mean, where do you rank Michigan in terms of levels of importance on the Senate map? Is it as important as it was a month ago?

40:04Or now that the map seems to be opening up for Democrats, do they have to win there? Are they pulling money out of North Carolina, shifting it to places like Ohio and Iowa? Yeah, I mean, I still think Michigan is very important. You know, whether it's the top tier race that it was a month ago, I'll leave to political experts, the committees to let us know. It's an important race. And I think, you know, one of the reasons that Abdul El-Sayed is saying what he's saying, encouraging Democrats to come out and to come out in massive numbers, is because I think he's unlikely to win many Republicans.

40:36This is one of the states where you're not likely to see a big crossover Republican vote. I think the Republicans in Michigan are likely to vote in high numbers, high percentages for Mike Rogers. He's sort of a standard issue candidate. He's had some, he's been Trumpy. He was for a while, seemed like he was a little never Trumpy. He's now creating some distance between himself and the president. So there are questions, I think, that they'll ask. But Mike Rogers is a candidate that I think Michigan Republicans are likely to show up for and to vote for. And they're not likely to cross over, even if they're frustrated with the president.

41:12Congressman, Kristen also pressed Al-Sayed on some of his past comments, including a comment that he made in the wake of a March synagogue attack. He obviously ran a pretty contested Democratic primary. Jewish Democrats in particular were somewhat uncomfortable with his campaign. Does he need to clean up some of these comments he's made from the past to make sure that he can keep those moderate and Jewish Democrats in the fold in November? Well, he has to continue that conversation. There's no doubt about it. And I'll bet you that when and if he wins, the conversation will continue thereafter.

41:47But of course, his political calculus is much larger than just that one singular issue. What I would tell you is this. It is clear that he is making a concerted effort to make sure Jews understand that he cares about their safety. How well he can then distinguish that from his position on Israel, time will tell. But I think he has done a good enough job at at least impressing upon the Michigan Jewish community that he cares about their safety. All right, Stephen, let's talk about the president's closing midterm message here. He's decided to make this race about himself, said he's going to get none of the credit if they win and all the credit if they lose, all the blame if they lose.

42:32This is what he said in Tennessee this weekend. If we don't win the midterms, they're going to blame me. You know that if we do win them, I will get no credit whatsoever. It's true. I won't get it. But I'm working my ass off. You better get out there and vote. I don't think there's too many people that would disagree with him. I think that's probably true the way that this works out. But isn't that in part because he's made it about himself? Absolutely. Look, this was going to be about Donald Trump, whether or not he acknowledges it's going to be about Donald Trump or not. I mean, but I think the fact that he has gone out and repeatedly campaigned appearances at the non-convention convention that Republicans held in Dallas a month ago.

43:17He is the one who has said, I'm on the ballot. Vote as if I'm on the ballot. My policies are on the ballot. And this will be, in effect, a referendum on me. You have Republican office holders who are not comfortable with that language, and we're seeing them on a near daily basis now trying to create some additional difference distance between their campaigns and what the president is doing, because he's polling, his approval rating is in the low 30s. His approval on various policy issues that he's pushing for is awfully low. And, you know, he's campaigning in these safe red states. He had there was another part of that speech yesterday where he said, look, I'm coming to these states where people love me because I love to go to states and give speeches where people love me, which I think was, you know, the president being very straightforward and honest for that moment.

44:06Well, I mean, maybe drill down on that point, though, Stephen, is there maybe a false impression that the average voter gets about support for the president when they see these relatively well attended rallies, in part because they are in places where he is so popular? Yeah, I mean, and that's the impression, frankly, the White House wants to give. They want to, you know, they love the video of the people in Nebraska last week lining up around the block waiting for hours and hours. We saw this. I mean, Ryan, you know this. You've covered these rallies. I've covered these rallies. There is tremendous enthusiasm still among Donald Trump's core MAGA base.

44:44They will show up. They will do anything for him. They're happy to wait in line. They're eager to see him. They find these rallies exciting. So the White House wants to capture video and present that to the country as if it's more broadly representative. I think what we're seeing, not just in the public polling that we've seen in our NBC polls, but also in the way that Republican candidates are behaving, is that that's not likely to be enough in three weeks. I want to talk about the way the Democrats are trying to expand the map, Congressman. One of those places is South Carolina. I remain skeptical that South Carolina is really in the gettable category.

45:18But I want to show you one of the ways that these Democratic candidates are trying to distance themselves from the party writ large. So control room, this will be the second bite from our South Carolina lineup. But let's play this from Dr. Annie Andrews in her debate last night with Darlene Graham. I told you my opponent was going to call me a socialist and there she's done it again. She's been told to come out here and call me Bernie Ocasio, Mom Donnie. That's what's in her script. I support the Second Amendment. I believe we need a secure border and we need to deport illegal immigrants who break the law.

45:53Will that work? I believe we need a secure border. We need to deport illegal immigrants who break the law, I believe, in the Second Amendment. Are we going to hear this more from Democrats? She's a phenomenal candidate, right? And what she's doing is she's engaging in both policy communication and cultural communication in the wake of these disgusting, crazy lies, none of which are sticking. You know, one clip you didn't show is where she noted that her opponent has recently changed her name, where she has noted that she is just singing off a particular hymn book script that is basically overly simplistic and filled with lies.

46:32What she is doing is something that Democrats have failed to do for years, which is she is tackling the lies head on. There's a generation of consultants that told Democrats just ignore the lies and talk about Social Security and Medicare and the voters will forget about. Thank God we fired those consultants. And now we're tackling these lies head on when the cameras are on and good on her for doing it. OK, we're going to leave it there. Max Rose, Stephen Hayes. Terrific conversation. Twenty two days to go, fellas. We're almost there. Still to come. the view from a rural community in West Virginia struggling to feed the hungry amid steep cuts to federal food assistance programs and rising fuel and grocery costs.

47:11That story's next on Meet the Press Now.

47:21Welcome back. We've been talking a lot about how affordability is top of mind for voters in the midterms. But in places that were already struggling economically, things have gotten harder. Many of those are places that voted for President Trump, but are now being hit hard by some of the administration's policies, like restrictions on SNAP benefits and cuts to food distribution programs. NBC News senior policy reporter Shannon Pettypiece traveled to rural West Virginia and has more on the struggles facing residents there. The crowds have been growing at this food pantry in Logan, West Virginia.

47:55We're barely surviving. Everybody I've work for, I talk to, I mean, it's so poor here. We're barely making it. Across the state, it's been getting harder to put food on the table. Sometimes I just sit down and cry. Like when you're looking at your bills or... Yeah, and then trying to figure out what you're going to eat out of a can or something. In Dunlow, West Virginia, Joanne Girvin is one of hundreds of people who count on this food pantry every month. By the time you pay bills and buy food and stuff, you're broke. Coal mining jobs once built towns like these, but they've been declining for decades.

48:36Now, families here are also paying more for just about everything, cutting into their monthly food budgets. At the same time as demand is rising, the food pantries here say they are getting less food from the Trump administration than they did during the Biden years. West Virginia voted for Trump three times, and many people here still back the president. But some say their patience is wearing thin. I love Donald Trump. He shouldn't promise people things that he ain't going to do, though, you know. Trump said there wasn't going to be no wars. America was going to come down to where people would be living good over here.

49:10They ain't living good. They ain't living good. I know people that's working right now, barely making it. Bill Likens runs the Dunlow Pantry. Each car gets two boxes. which serves 700 to 800 households a month. He says in August, it received about two and a half pounds of food per household. A few years ago, he says it got 20. Bonnie Newsome, a retired school bus driver, used to take Likens to school. Now she's dependent on him to put food on her table. And if it weren't for this food pantry that Bill's doing, we would be in trouble. It's an issue that extends beyond West Virginia. An NBC News survey of the largest food banks across 35 states in Washington, D.C., found that nearly three-quarters said more people are showing up at their doors over the past year, driven by higher costs and cuts to food stamps under Republicans' so-called Big Beautiful Bill.

50:08At the same time, more than 80 percent said the food and funding they received through the U.S. Department of Agriculture has dropped. Last year, the Trump administration cut nearly$1 billion in planned spending by the Biden administration to support food banks. I really thought President Trump would move right on in and take care of everything. He's disappointed me. In another corner of West Virginia, Donna Paterino says the number of families at her pantry has doubled in the past year, while the food she gets from the USDA has shrunk. There are some months you don't get anything, but maybe some canned green beans.

50:49And we're thankful for anything. There may be some times that you just get 48 cans of peaches. The USDA says it has not reduced the amount of food it provides. The White House says the president is uplifting Americans through tax cuts and efforts to boost jobs and business investments. I live by faith and not by sight. Because if I'm looking, I see a bunch of people in Washington who are out of touch. A message echoed by those Paterino is there to help. I mean, it's just like Washington's turned their back on us. That's just what it feels like. Yeah. They've just turned their back on us.

51:34And Shannon Pettypiece joins us now. Now, Shannon, the folks you spoke to say they're disappointed with President Trump, but are they ready to voice that disappointment at the ballot box? I mean, I think that's what we're all sort of waiting to see, Ryan, in the midterms is is does disappointment, frustration in President Trump translate into voting for Democrats? because I did hear a lot of people mention how they feel like, well, you know, they're not happy with the job the president's doing, but it's an improvement over Democrats and the economy that they saw during Democrats. I mean, I will remind everyone, though, that in a place like West Virginia, even though President Trump won it with 70 percent of the vote in 2024, it was only a couple of years ago they had a Democratic senator.

52:21And back in 2017, they had a Democratic governor. So this is a state where Democrats have controlled. And, you know, when I talk to people about that and their feelings about the Democratic Party, they were still a lot of issues and concerns they had with Democrats about things like immigration, social issues around things like race and gender. But there was definitely this dissatisfaction with the president and Republicans and potentially an opening if Democrats can find, you know, that right message and that right candidate to position it in a state, you know, Oh, again, that has had a history of supporting Democrats.

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