Meet the Press NOW — October 15

0:00At Fanatic Sportsbook, we're talking real fan cash on every bet. Spend it on jerseys, tickets, collectibles, and more. Rewards hit different here. New customers can bet and get up to$1 ,000 in fan cash over 10 days. Fanatics, the only sportsbook to reward every bet. Must be 21 plus. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET. CT, call 888-789-7777. MA, call 800-327-5050. NY, call 877-8HOPE-NY. MD, visit mdgamblinghelp.org. Offer not available in all states. Terms apply. See Fanatic's app for details. This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like All I Want.

0:40Right. Okay, we can afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms.

1:10Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Kristen Welker. We are just 19 days to the midterms and the economic headwinds appear to be intensifying for Republicans as the president blitzes the campaign trail, repeatedly telling supporters his economic agenda has been a triumph. Today, the Labor Department announcing wholesale prices spiked last month by more than 6 percent compared to a year ago. That's the biggest increase in four years. It comes the day after a separate government report showed overall prices for consumers rising by 3.7 percent, which was faster than expected. Speaking in Montana last night, the president tried to convince voters inflation does not exist.

1:50We had the greatest economy in the history of our country in my first administration. We are going to blow it away in this administration with 88 all time stock market highs. Your 401ks are up 50, 60 thousand dollars each. They're up at numbers that have never been seen before. Everyone, we're all having a good time. We're going to knock this Iran thing off fast. It's going to be over very quickly. We don't have inflation and tariffs don't cause inflation. You know what they cause? Wealth. They cause wealth. We're richer now. we're making more money there than we ever we have more jobs than ever before.

2:27Remember that?

2:30And a new poll shows the president remains deeply underwater on his handling of inflation, the economy and tariffs, an issue Republican candidates in key races have increasingly distanced themselves from, including the Republican Senate candidate in Michigan, who spoke with my colleague Tom Yamas from the trail yesterday. Look. I've called an end to the Iran war. I've called for an end to wrap up these Canadian tariffs. Is the president wrong with his fight with Canada? Well, there are some things that Canada does that's absolutely unfair to Michiganders and the rest of the country. I've been a targeted and temporary tariff guy to correct those things.

3:11I thought the broad sweep was too much, and I'd like to see it wrapped up. The president is set to continue his October travel blitz tomorrow with a stop in Battleground, Georgia, and with more swing states on deck for next week. Today at a Rose Garden event with first responders, the president spoke about his packed schedule. I didn't get too much sleep, come to think of it. I'm supposed to be sleeping now, but I'm not. I'm not a big sleeper. But we had some we have some great rallies. I guess a lot of you have seen them. last night, Montana. During the day, Arizona, we went to Texas. We went to everything.

3:49We're going to Michigan big. We're going to Iowa big. We're going to Kansas big. And we got a lot of them left. The crowds are unbelievable, actually. And I think we're having a big impact. Joining me now is our NBC News team senior national politics reporter John Allen has the latest from the White House. With me on set, Chief Capitol Hill Correspondent Ryan Nobles, business and economy reporter Ali Canal, and at the big board, senior national political reporter Sahil Kapoor. John, let me start with you at the White House. So we saw President Trump, of course, campaigning in Montana overnight.

4:27You just sort of make a reference to that. What are you anticipating in the coming days? Well, I think he's going to keep hitting the trail as hard as he can, and he's going to keep telling Americans what they don't currently believe, which is that the economy is doing well. And what we've seen from the president so far in terms of approval ratings and in terms of conversations I've had with voters across this country, they're not believing him. They don't find him credible. Every time he says that there's no inflation, not only does it hurt his credibility with them, but they remember that he promised that there would be no inflation under him.

5:01One of the common complaints I've heard from multiple-time Trump voters on the on the campaign trail this year is that they believe he broke his promises. And so it's not clear how much he's going to be able to help these candidates by showing up for them. I think to some extent with turnout among their base. But he is not the not the candidate he once was, even in that way, even in terms of turning out the MAGA base. Well, and John, you, of course, have been crisscrossing the campaign trail. We know that it was notable and kind of picking up on your point. He's really tried to downplay some of these economic headwinds.

5:36Based on your conversations with Republican sources, are they concerned that could backfire, particularly against some of these candidates who are locked in really tough races, John? Very much so, because every time the president goes out there and says that the economy is doing well, it puts these Republicans in a bind of having to either agree with the president or agree with the voters, most of whom think that the economy isn't doing well. Well, look, you don't have to be an economist to know the prices are higher than they used to be. You don't have to be an economist to know that things are tougher than they used to be.

6:08And by the way, we saw this in the last presidency with Joe Biden. He went out and said inflation was transitory. People said, what the heck does that mean, transitory inflation? What they found out is it meant inflation throughout the rest of the Biden term, not some sort of simple thing. And so Biden also lost credibility with voters. And you saw that in the way he polled during the latter months of his presidency and for the time period in which he was in the presidential election and even acted as a drag on Kamala Harris. I want to play, John, a little bit more of what we heard from the president last night.

6:40Get your reaction on the other side. Take a look. I've won my election. I'm here whether we win this or not in terms of the Republicans in the Senate and in Congress. but I will tell you, I think there's a great thing happening and the people see what we've accomplished with this never been the golden age of America and the Iran war will end very soon. Johnny continues to insist the Iran war is going to end very soon. Yet another promise. We'll have to see if it comes to pass. What's the reaction been? Yeah, I mean, people don't believe it right now. They'll believe it when they see it. That's that's about it.

7:18So look, he's he's said before that he is the greatest cheerleader for the United States in the economy. He even said that during COVID when the economy was sliding during his first term. And so, you know, that's the way he sees this. He's going to go out there and sell the economy, sell America, sell Republicans and hope for the best. All right. John Allen for us at the White House. John, thank you so much. I want to turn to the table now. Ali Canal. Ali, let's talk about these new numbers we got today, these wholesale prices up the highest they've been in about four years. What are the implications for the broader economy here?

7:51Yeah, so wholesale inflation, this tells us what businesses are paying in order to produce the goods that they eventually sell to you and me. And this comes on the back of those consumer price numbers that we got yesterday. So that's what everyday Americans are paying. Now we get the business side. And we like to look at wholesale inflation because it's a pretty good indicator of what's to come for consumers. As you just said, the highest level in four years here. Energy was a major driver. As we know, there's been higher oil prices, diesel, other fuel costs since the war with Iran began. But what was concerning about this report, and we saw this a bit in the consumer numbers as well, is if you even strip out energy costs, inflation is still sticky.

8:29So that suggests that inflation is spreading and broadening into other areas of the economy. And that's a concern. Well, so you take me to my next question. I mean, what can we glean from these numbers about inflation overall? It means it's going to be a lot harder to control these numbers here, especially when you have inflation that's spreading beyond just these energy sensitive areas. You can make the argument if you believe that this was just energy related, that once these geopolitical wars and oil prices come down, inflation will abate. But this isn't just an energy story. We have tariffs.

9:02We have trade war. We have the A.I. build out that's making certain technologies and component costs more expensive. So this is a much broader story and it's affecting both businesses, consumers, and it puts the Fed in a really difficult situation because it can raise interest rates to cool demand. But raising interest rates doesn't solve all of these supply chain disruptions. It doesn't solve these wars that are happening overseas. And that's the tricky part here. Absolutely is tricky. Ryan, you are just back from the campaign trail as well. What did voters tell you about prices, about the cost of goods?

9:38I was in Michigan and people were bringing up the issue of affordability unprompted. Kristen, you and I have been covering campaigns for more than 20 years and there's no single driver of a way that a person votes than the economy. It is the number one issue election after election. It's like rinse and repeat. You know, there are some years where some of these social and cultural issues will have an impact. But the economy is the baseline. If voters do not feel comfortable about the economy, they often lash out at the party in power. And that's exactly what we're seeing in the polling. It's exactly what we're seeing in the conversations we have with these voters on the ground.

10:11They're angry in part because of what President Trump promised them. He set an expectation that prices were going to come down, that their overall quality of life was going to get better. After almost two years, they feel exactly the opposite. And that's one of the reasons that Democrats feel so bullish about the results in November. Well, let's talk about part of what's fueling that bullish fervor, which the polls. But take us inside how these polls are being viewed. You have House Speaker Mike Johnson saying they're going to be wrong. We're going to hold on to the House. So this, I feel, is like the classic spin, right?

10:45This is how, you know, you read between the lines when you start talking to operatives on both the Republican and Democratic side. And I've gotten this spin from both Republicans and Democrats, depending on the environment. Well, you know, the polls don't look good for us, but man, there's a bunch of factors at play here that you need to look past. You know, I think it's easy to just downplay what the polls are telling us. Certainly, it is more difficult to poll in 2026 than it was in 2006, than it was in 1996. But that doesn't mean that these trend lines should be ignored. When you have poll after poll after poll telling you the same exact thing, it's difficult to imagine that there's some massive polling error that's baked into basically the same results that everyone is getting.

11:26And on the other side of that, I mean, do Democrats run the risk of being overly confident heading into Election Day? Candidates will say, no, we're running like we're behind. And that may be the case. But overall, is there a sense of confidence? There's definitely two ways to look at this. There's the individual candidate by candidate race. And I don't think there's a single Democratic candidate that's already declared victory and is not going to run through the tape. But this is a two tiered system that we're working on here. You have the individual campaigns and then you have the support that they're receiving from the campaign arms here in Washington.

11:57And what we are seeing is the Democrats, for instance, pulling out of their efforts in North Carolina because that looks like an eight point lead for them right now. And investing in places like Iowa and Ohio, that would indicate that they think that the majority is in reach and they want to go for it. But do you risk taking your eye off the ball in the last two weeks in a state that looks very positive for you in North Carolina and extending into places like South Carolina, which, you know, even though Democrats feel pretty confident about that, if they were to win South Carolina on election night, that would mean it was a massive night for Democrats.

12:30That would be extraordinary for sure. Sahil, Ryan's point takes me over to you because it's all about following the money right now. And you, Sahil, have been tracking where the money is going and where it's being taken out. What are you watching? Yeah, that's right, Kristen. Let me set the table first with a generic congressional preference number. This is the NBC News polling average of which party voters would rather see in control of Congress. Democrats lead by eight points. Don't take my word for this. Don't even take the pollster's word for it. Republicans are telling us with their money that they see a blue environment.

13:02I'll show you exactly what I mean by that. They are pulling money away to the tune of millions of dollars away from two multi-term incumbents, Tom Kane in New Jersey 7 and Marionette Miller-Meeks in Iowa. This is ad impact data analyzed by NBC News showing Republican shifts over the last week. I'll give you a hint as to why Republicans may not feel so confident about Marionette Miller-Meeks. This is 2024 in a red environment. She won this district by fewer than 800 votes. Republicans are signaling maybe she can't win this time. Why? Because it's a bluer environment. From there, we can see the districts that are currently held by Democrats where Republicans are pulling money away from, again, millions of dollars here.

13:40This is interesting. South Texas and Cincinnati suburbs, both these districts were redrawn by Republicans to become redder, maybe not red enough because they're pulling money away. They don't sound particularly confident or look particularly confident they can win. And Susie Lee, Las Vegas area, she's one of the Democrats in this area. The Republicans had felt confident that they could take down, particularly after President Trump won Nevada and made gains among Latino voters. Turns out they're moving money away from that. They don't sound particularly confident that they can defeat these Democrats.

14:10It's just fascinating. So Sahil, that's where the money is being taken out of. Where are Republicans plugging more money into? And this is where it gets even more interesting, Kristen. These are the Republican candidates, incumbents. Most of them were Republicans are pouring money into trying to shore up, sending in the cavalry, millions of dollars here in every case. And these are the margins that Republicans won the district by. In the cases of these two Michigan seats, these were always expected to be core battlegrounds. Not a big surprise here, but these were not expected to be core battlegrounds.

14:39These are the numbers by which Republicans won these districts in 2024 quite comfortably. This one, by the way, former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan's home district in Wisconsin. It's long been safe read. This one I find particularly fascinating. Brian Fitzpatrick getting a shipment of nearly$5 million in Pennsylvania's first congressional district. He is someone who Republicans, many House Republicans see as their most talented political athlete because here, this is what he did in 2024, a district that Donald Trump lost the last two elections. He won by 13 points. This time he faces the Democrat Bob Harvey, who the party leadership is much more confident can take down Brian Fitzpatrick after many years of the party trying and failing to do that.

15:23Finally, we go to the Democratic-held seats where Republicans are spending money. And here you'll see, again, lots of money that they're spending. And this is what is the most revealing part. These were districts that Republicans in Florida and Texas redrew. Trump won these districts by 10 points, yet they feel they need to spend millions upon millions upon millions of dollars trying to hold them. The last one here, Marie Gluzenkampere, as her congresswoman MGP, as she's known on the Hill. This is a district that Trump won. There's a reason Republicans feel confident that they might be able to pull it off this time, because in 2024 and 2022, she faced Joe Kent, who she successfully portrayed as an extremist.

16:00This time, she's got a different opponent, John Braun, who Republicans feel maybe can defeat her where Joe Kent could not. Kristen. All right. Well, we're going to keep following the money. Sahil, thank you so much for that great breakdown of what we're seeing in these final weeks. And Ali and Ryan, thanks to both of you for your great reporting. We really appreciate it. Coming up, Trumping the Pentagon. The president says he has reversed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision to live stream the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter, despite initially supporting the idea. What went into the president's decision to shut it down next?

16:37Plus, new strikes in the Middle East and in Russia and Ukraine as Kyiv's frustration grows over President Trump's energy deal with Putin and major disruptions to Starlink's satellite service, critical to Keeve's defense efforts. We are covering all of it. Stay with us. You're watching Meet the Press Now.

16:59If identity isn't secure, nothing is. You need identity specialists who understand your environment and protect it across the entire attack lifecycle. Detecting threats fast, stopping attacks early, recovering cleanly, and staying in control. Sempris helps stop identity attacks before they become a business crisis. Achieve identity resilience. Visit Sempris.com to learn how. If you like YouTube, you'll love YouTube Premium. Hi, I'm Sean Evans from Hot Ones, and I want to tell you about YouTube Premium. It has offline downloads, so you can watch without Wi-Fi. Background play, so you can lock your phone, and it still plays, baby.

17:41Oh, and it is completely ad-free. Yes, I said it, ad-free. Try YouTube Premium for two months free at youtube.com slash premium. Trial eligibility varies, terms apply, cancel anytime. Your call is important to us. Please hold for the next non-existent representative. Ever get a pit in your stomach when you realize your afternoon is about to become a bureaucratic cage match over a bill? Someone will be with you shortly. Skip it. Save time by letting Experian negotiate your bills and look for new deals and savings opportunities. Get started in the Experian app now and see how much you could save.

18:18Results will vary. Not all bills eligible. Savings not guaranteed. Available with eligible paid memberships. See Experian.com for details.

18:29Welcome back. President Trump is walking back his support for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's decision to live stream the execution of the Fort Hood shooter, Nidal Hassan. In a post on social media, the president said streaming the execution would have been a strong deterrent, while also saying, quote, he will die as scheduled by firing squad. But this event will not be streamed. It comes after the administration received widespread pushback from lawmakers to the idea of streaming the execution. Despite initially supporting it, the president notably softened his stance on the idea in recent days.

19:05Look. I have to authorize or approve the execution, the live stream execution of the board. Did I approve? Did you approve? Absolutely. There are two thoughts. Don't show it and show it. Because, you know, by showing it, maybe other people won't be doing what he did. So I'll make a decision ultimately. I know what the military would like to do, but we'll make a decision. with me on set is nbc news national security reporter gordon lubold gordon thank you so much for being here this is a pretty extraordinary about face what are you learning happened here well we know and thanks to our colleagues gordon cubby and monica alba for reporting also that this is was a surprise to president trump this whole plan he approved the firing squad he did not approve necessarily this idea to live stream it.

19:59You know, the president did kind of was struck by the idea for some days and debated it internally, thought maybe there was some merit to it, like the idea of this kind of strong signal. But in the end, backlash from Republicans, from Democrats, eight out of 10 Americans, according to a poll from ABC and Washington Post, saying this is like a bad idea. It was not core values. Also handed a propaganda a device to terrorists around the world if you're going to broadcast the shooting of this man who is paralyzed from the 2009 thing. So I think it was not out of sympathy for Nadal Hassan. It was just a bad idea.

20:33And the backlash was bipartisan. It was robust. The reporting that you have is just fascinating. Gordon, let me ask you about another issue that we're tracking very closely, this uptick in attacks from the Houthis in Saudi Arabia. Why now? And What do you anticipate the reaction is going to be? So I just think this is a targeted opportunity for the Houthis taking advantage of the situation in the Middle East. We're in a stalemate with the U.S. and Iran in a stalemate. This, again, was kind of brought on by the upheaval with the war between the U.S. and Iran. Houthis taking advantage of this. you know, I think the president is still debating how much more support, if any, the U.S.

21:21would provide the Saudi government in fighting the Houthis. He's still debating it because that's a big step if he was to take any overt action against the Houthis on behalf of the Saudi government. Absolutely would be. I want to play something that we heard from President Trump. Get your reaction on the other side. Take a look. Have you made a decision on striking the Houthis? They're behaving very badly. What are you going to do about that? I mean, if I told you I made a decision, that would be good. The Houthis have acted very badly. The Houthis have acted very badly. You just heard the president say, what does that mean?

22:00What could a strike from the U.S. side look like? Well, the Houthis are having a lot of impact on the Saudi, on regular Saudis. attack on the airport in Riyadh on Saturday, killing 13 people. It's constrained a lot of the activities that are happening for Saudi and the economy is at issue. I just think that there's limited options for the president now to support the Saudi government in going after the Houthis. As we can remember, a year or more ago, Trump decided to go after the Houthis and, you know, So he declared a victory. We didn't. The problem kind of went away briefly. But like we've got with the Strait of Hormuz in Iran, that's constrained.

22:44The Baba Mandeb off Yemen's coast is now a problem. And it's it is a problem, but it's a hard one to solve. Well, we will continue to track it. I know you will, too. Gordon, thank you so much for covering so many angles for us. We really appreciate it. Good to see you as always. We want to turn now to the ongoing war in Ukraine, where the energy ceasefire that President Trump unilaterally announced appears to be over. In an interview with the Financial Times, President Zelensky saying Ukraine is, quote, done and will resume strikes on Russia's oil refineries. It comes as in recent days, President Zelensky has expressed his disappointment with President Trump's handling of the war.

23:23Do you feel betrayed by what has been happening?

23:30Really, yes. really between us. And you found out that President Trump had done this deal with Putin 21 days after new sanctions. What was your immediate response to that? It's a pity that we are losing. We are losing strong partner. Powerful words there. We're losing a strong partner. Zelensky also expressing his frustration with sudden Starlink restrictions impeding Ukraine's military defenses, calling the decision a, quote, big mistake that will bring a lot of human loss. Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX runs Starlink, blamed those restrictions on the White House. A senior U.S. official saying no such request was ever made by the president.

24:14Ukraine's defense ministry saying the system has now been restored, but overnight cities across Ukraine were hit by Russian missile and drone attacks. Joining me now is NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel. Richard, as always, thank you so much for joining us. You've obviously been on the ground covering the war with Ukraine. What exactly are the implications of some of these decisions by the Trump administration, including this unilateral decision to call an energy ceasefire? So let's just start with that. These recent quotes from President Zelensky that you were airing a short while ago.

24:50They really are quite extraordinary and worth focusing on. I've interviewed President Zelensky a number of times. You've interviewed him a number of times. And, you know, he's very cautious with what he says, particularly when he speaks in English. And he generally and I've interviewed him maybe close to 10 times by now. He doesn't like to go there criticizing President Trump directly, expressing his frustration, saying that he believes the U.S. is betraying Ukraine, that the U.S. is making a mistake, that he's losing an ally. These are always rubicrons he didn't want to cross because you don't want to bite off the hand that feeds you.

25:33But I think at this stage, just listening to what he's saying and what other Ukrainian officials are saying and telling and telling me, the Ukrainians are very concerned that the U.S. isn't their partner, that this administration isn't on their side and is now pursuing oil deals with Vladimir Putin to buy diesel, blaming Ukraine for the war, saying that Ukraine can't hit targets in Russia, particularly oil facilities. while Russia hits the energy sector and the power grid in Ukraine on a daily basis. Just the other day, knocking out power and key for about 600 ,000 people. And that's why Zelensky said he's done.

26:17He's not saying he's done with the United States. He's not saying he's done with negotiation efforts. He continues to call for a ceasefire and say that the first ceasefire he'll do is a energy ceasefire. If Russia stops and Putin stops hitting Ukraine's energy sector, he'll stop targeting the Russian energy sector. But Russia never did stop. And then there is this mysterious outage of the critical communication system, Star Shield, which is a upgraded military version of Starlink that the Ukrainian military is utterly dependent on. It went out or a lot of its capabilities were reduced. It was throttled, to use the term that the Ukrainians are using.

27:01So their ability to use air defense systems to communicate with their soldiers, for units to coordinate among themselves, targeting information, all that was severely curtailed. And Elon Musk said he didn't do it. Talk to the Pentagon. The White House, according to a U.S. official, says that President Trump wasn't responsible and he didn't tell them to throttle the system. So who did it? And the Ukrainians are not directly accusing anyone in particular. They're not directly accusing the U.S. publicly because they don't want to have an open fight. But when you listen to what President Zelensky is saying and listen to the tone of the way he's saying it, they are clearly very fed up, disappointed, angry that their most important ally doesn't seem to be behaving like an ally.

27:56Well, and Richard, I think you highlight such an important point, which is that we are seeing a clear shift in tone from President Zelensky. This is undoubtedly some of the most direct language, the most direct language that we've heard him use toward the United States, toward President Trump. Richard, I wonder what your sources are telling you about what the weapon stockpile looks like that Ukraine currently has. What's the status of their capacity to fight this war? — It's looking good on the offensive side. They are expanding their drone capacity rapidly. They are in this dogfight in what they call the kill zone, which is an enormous stretch of territory inside Ukrainian territory that is the extended front line.

28:41And it is an active battle zone called the kill zone, because if you pop out of your foxhole or your bunker or whatever it is that you're hiding in and are seen, you are probably going to be killed. And it is enormous, vast wasteland of territory. That's fighting. Their long-range attacks into Russia are continuing, but their defensive systems are depleted. They are not able to stop ballistic missiles. They're not able to stop so-called Russian glide bombs, which are big bombs. And they're not able to stop these jet-powered drones that are targeting Kiev effectively unopposed. All right. Richard Engel, as always, we really appreciate your being all over this story.

29:25Great to see you, Richard. Thank you. Coming up next, meet the candidate. My next guest is a Democrat running to oust a five-term Republican congressman in a key house race in Battleground, Pennsylvania. That interview is next. You don't want to miss it. Keep it right here on Meet the Press now.

29:46If identity isn't secure, nothing is. You need identity specialists who understand your environment and protect it across the entire attack lifecycle. Detecting threats fast, stopping attacks early, recovering cleanly, and staying in control. Sempris helps stop identity attacks before they become a business crisis. Achieve identity resilience. Visit Sumpris.com to learn how.

30:40Crowd eligibility varies. Terms apply. Cancel anytime. Your call is important to us. Please hold for the next non-existent representative. Ever get a pit in your stomach when you realize your afternoon is about to become a bureaucratic cage match over a bill? Someone will be with you shortly. Skip it. Save time by letting Experian negotiate your bills and look for new deals and savings opportunities. Get started in the Experian app now and see how much you could save. Results will vary. Not all bills eligible. Savings not guaranteed. Available with eligible paid memberships. See Experian.com for details.

31:16Welcome back. As Democrats look to flip the House in November, they're eyeing a Pennsylvania House seat. Republicans won by nearly 13 points last election. Five-term Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick is facing a challenge from Democrat Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvey in Pennsylvania's 1st District. As we mentioned earlier, it's one of the districts where Republicans have surged millions of dollars in the final weeks before the midterms. And joining me now is Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvey. Commissioner Harvey, thanks so much for joining me. Really appreciate it. Oh, thank you, Kristen.

31:49It's my pleasure to be here. Well, it's great to have you. Let's talk about the state of play now. Less than three weeks to go. The Cook Political Report moved your race from likely Republican to lean Republican. So slightly in your direction. But I don't have to tell you this. This is a district that Congressman Fitzpatrick won by 13 points last election. Republicans are spending big to try to get him to hold on to the seat. Why do you think you can flip this district? Well, a lot has changed over the past 10 years. Brian Fitzpatrick's been in office. Notably, he has changed a lot in the 10 years he's been in office.

32:26He isn't the person that people sent there 10 years ago. This district has also changed. People are suffering right now, and they're really hurting because of the policies that Brian Fitzpatrick has voted for and this president supports. Not to mention the fact that I'm a county commissioner in this county, which makes up 90 percent of this district. I flipped it blue in 2019 for the first time in almost 40 years. And we've kept it bluer and bluer now than ever. Well, I want to play part of a recent ad from Congressman Fitzpatrick and get your reaction on the other side. Take a look. I've called out both parties when they're wrong, and I will work with either party when they're right.

33:03I've protected our community, no matter what the political costs. He is clearly targeting moderate, independent voters. He has broken with President Trump and with Republicans on legislation. What's your plan to win over those swing voters who you are going to need if you're going to win on Election Day? Well, you know, Brian Fitzpatrick is singing the same song he's always singing, which is, you know, don't pay attention to what I do in Washington. Just listen to what I say. This is the man who voted for the Affordable Care Act tax credits to be cut. He voted to gut snap, got Medicaid. He voted in favor of the war in Iran multiple times.

33:44against releasing the Epstein files multiple times, in favor of Trump's tariffs multiple times. He is no moderate. You know, I actually have an over 95 percent bipartisan voting record as a county commissioner. So when it comes to fighting for people and reaching across the aisle, I'm the one who has the evidence of that. We should note just a couple of things. This is analysis from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Congressman Fitzpatrick has actually voted against the White House and his party more than any other House Republican. He voted with the president 70 percent of the time, 70 cent, 7 percent of the time with his party.

34:18In terms of the war with Iran, he's voted three times for war powers resolution to limit President Trump from taking military action in Iran. He's also broken with them on the ACAs. I mean, are you prepared to break with Democrats? Where's an area where you would break with Democrats? Well, you know, my role is, as I'm running for it now, and the role I have now as county commissioner is to serve the people of this county. I want to serve the people of this district. My focus is going to be doing on what's right for the people here. And so when it comes to, for example, fighting for affordability issues, that's where my priorities are going to be.

34:56Certainly, there are some in my party who want to focus on impeachment. Should we take back the House? Or I should say when we take back the House, my focus is on making people's lives better. and making sure we can do things like break down the cost of gasoline and diesel, make health care affordable, bring down the cost of groceries. Those are the things I want to focus on. You raised the issue of impeachment. Let me ask you, because as you know, there are people within your party, Democrats, who say yes, that should be one of the focuses of Democrats if they were to win back the House. Would you support, would you vote yes on impeaching President Trump?

35:32As I just said, my focus is on making people's lives better. Focusing on impeachment doesn't lower the cost of the food that people are suffering right now. Would you oppose impeaching President Trump? Where are you on this? Well, right now there are no articles of impeachment. And certainly, you know, when we talk about what we want to focus on. And, you know, Leader Jeffries was just in my district over the weekend talking about the need to focus on the things that matter to people. And that's the affordability issues. What will you do? You're talking about the affordability issues, and you've obviously made that a major issue in your campaign.

36:10What's one piece of legislation you think you can pass that would make life more affordable for Americans? Well, there's a number of things we can do. First, we can start by ending the war in Iran, which is causing economic pain throughout the world, not just in this country, not to mention the 21 lives lost. We can roll back the tariffs. Congress has the power to do that. They've chosen not to exercise that power. We need to restore the Affordable Care Act tax credits for working families, small business owners, so they can afford to keep their family healthy and not have to worry about skyrocketing premiums.

36:46Let me ask you about gas prices. The average price of gas is above$4 a gallon. As you know, Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle, also of Pennsylvania has introduced legislation that would effectively suspend the federal gas tax anytime gas surges above$4 a gallon. Is that something you would support? I'd certainly be interested in talking with Congressman Boyle about it. I mean, I think it does make some sense. And I know some states have done that as well. So you're saying it does make some sense, but you haven't come to a determination yet about whether you support halting the federal gas tax, suspending it when gas does go above$4 a gallon?

37:27Well, I think we need to talk about a sliding scale at some point, but certainly it's setting some kind of trigger point where once prices go over a certain level as a national average, that, yeah, we should definitely consider ending the gas tax temporarily. So you would consider it, but you haven't made a final determination yet on whether you would support suspending the federal gas tax? I haven't been elected yet, so I'll get a chance to do that once we get into the weeds after November 3rd. All right. Let me ask you big picture about the Democratic Party right now. As you know, there are a number of candidates who call themselves progressives, some who call themselves Democratic Socialists who are likely to be elected in November.

38:09Their priorities include abolishing ICE, Medicare for All. Do you believe Democratic socialists have a place in the Democratic Party, in your view? Well, look, the Democratic Party's always been a big tent. You know, we need to work with everybody to make this country better. You know, I've worked with Republicans here as a county commissioner to try and do what I can to make life better for people here in this county. I'm going to continue to do that. I'm willing to work with anybody who has an idea that I think is going to make life better. And on that issue of abolishing ICE, as you know, that's a big one.

38:44Is that something that you support? I don't think we need to abolish ICE. We certainly need oversight. Certainly, we need to have investigations into this agency and the acts of violence that we've seen all across this country over the past year, especially. But we certainly need to be focusing on a lot of issues. And certainly, the oversight of government agencies that have been running amok has to be up there. All right. Bob Harvey, thank you so very much. We will be watching your race very closely in these closing weeks. We really appreciate it. Sure. Thank you. And we have much more politics to get to with the panel next.

39:22And you can dive deeper into the 2026 midterms with access to polling, early voting data, expert analysis and much more exclusive content. All with an NBC News subscription. Just scan the QR code on your screen now or visit NBC News dot com slash subscribe. We will be right back with a lot more. Meet the press now.

39:48welcome back as republicans struggle with how to address concerns about the economy and cost of living ahead of the midterms democrats are seizing on the issue in new ads like this one from mississippi's democratic senate candidate look the price of beef continuing to go up you know you have so many proteins to choose from pick another protein she i'd rather pick another senator instead. Pick another protein. She done lost her damn mind. I'd rather pick another senator. Pick another protein. What the? Pick another senator instead.

40:29Joining me now is the panel Dan America, anchor of The Washington Post's early brief newsletter, Ashley Etienne, former senior advisor to Vice President Harrison, a Meet the Press contributor, and Lonnie Chen, fellow at the Hoover Institution and also a Meet the Press contributor. Thanks to all of you for being here. Dan, you got to hand it to the folks who came up with this ad. It's one that sticks. It's gone viral after all. Talk a little bit about what it says about where we are in this campaign. I wouldn't want to replace us. But like if you had those three Americans at this panel, it would probably be like a more fun conversation.

41:06It would be a more fun conversation, I think. behind this affordability question. It's super relatable. People know that they've gone to the store and have looked at the price of beef and thought, do I need to make burgers for my kids or should like this mac and cheese just work? You know, like that is a real conversation Americans are having. And I think that's why ads like that are so relatable. It's obviously very simple. It's just to the point. It says so much with so little. I mean, we are at this triage moment in this race where Republicans and Republicans are really having to move money around, decide what races to invest in.

41:38Democrats, you can tell, are feeling this energy behind them by putting out ads like that. They feel like they can take a risk, that they can swear in an ad, that they can take a little, you know, push the envelope a little bit. And I think that's what that ad says. It also protects a lot of confidence. It does. That phrase, pushing the envelope, Ashley, President Obama has endorsed the Democratic candidate, Cologne. We should say the ad was against the Republican candidate, Cindy Hyde-Smith. This is going to be a tough one for Democrats, even with an Obama endorsement, though, right? What are you hearing about the strategy in this Mississippi district?

42:09Well, they're throwing everything they've got at this particular race. Folks are feeling really good about Scott Cologne, feeling really good about his chances. Not only did Obama endorse him, Warnock was there, I believe, just yesterday doing an event. But the interesting thing about this ad is it's not just funny. It also taps into Mississippi culture. It also makes a larger point about who Eli Smith is, which is she's willing to sell out Mississippi cattle farmers, including her own family, her family's cattle farmers, in order to prop up Trump's failed policies, his tariff policies. Diesel fuel is up.

42:42He's importing Argentinian beef, which is really gutting all of Mississippi's cattle ranchers across the state. So not only was it affected, it was in culture, but it also drives the point that you cannot trust Hyde Smith. Lonnie, how do you think it's playing? Could it have have an impact in this uphill battle for Democrats? It's a great ad. We're at the phase of the campaign. We come to this point, you know this, in every single campaign where one side talks about expanding the map. And the reality is, you know, you can pretend like you're going to expand the map. But the reality, in my view, is that there's some basic gravitational rules in every campaign.

43:19I think Mississippi is going to be very difficult. I feel the same way about Texas. I know there's a lot of conversation about that Senate race. I feel that way about Kansas. I feel that way about Iowa. And I think the question really is, where do Democrats have the best chance to pick up seats? I think Ohio is a very real race. And I think that's an opportunity for them. I think Alaska and Maine is just tough to pull both states. So if I were Democrats, that's where I would be focusing because there are just some basic rules in campaigns and basic demographics they got to pay attention to. Democrats are focusing there, but don't lose sight of the fact that some of this is a long game.

43:54People were saying the same thing about Georgia. Now we're about to potentially flip Georgia from top to bottom. So really, for Democrats, it's a long play to make the point that we can play in this in the South. And the South is up for grabs for us. Well, I was going to say, I think Lonnie raises an interesting point, Dan, that this question that we've been asking throughout the course of this campaign, is Texas really in play? Is Kansas really in play? I mean, what are your sources telling you? And based on the money, the flow of money, which we've been talking about throughout the course of this show, I mean, do you think these states are in play or do you think they're just going to be read?

44:27Yeah, I think you got to follow the money. You know, you're kind of like the pit level of this campaign where it's like a hospital situation. People are running around and triaging everything because Republicans are pulling money out of places like North Carolina and committing it to states that Donald Trump romped in two years ago. Double digits. Yeah, by double digits. So that tells you a lot. It's also happening in House races as well. I think there is a lot of belief that an upset, a surprise could happen in a state like Kansas and a state like Mississippi and Texas. You're absolutely right, Lonnie, that Democrats are also just banking on the states that they know they have a better shot in.

45:02Maine is a great example of that as well. But I think there's some real belief. And I do think that while Democrats know they need to focus on the states that they've won before in, There is this almost swagger that I think goes out to voters across the country when parties are feeling like they're doing well, that actually makes it more likely for a party to get behind a voter to get behind them at the ballot box. I do think there is something to that as well. Yeah. President Trump's been out on the campaign trail. We know that it comes as we're getting new polling from Fox News. Take a look at this.

45:36Thirty six percent approval rating. The lowest Lonnie Chen in this Fox News poll. It's pretty low. How what kind of a backdrop does that create? Here we are less than three weeks away again. He's crisscrossing the country, mostly in red states, reliably red states. Well, and that tells you a little bit about the strategy. Right. There has to be massive turnout from Republicans if they want to have any shot at certainly winning some of these marginal seats, but also defending in states like Mississippi and Kansas, where Democrats, frankly, have no business being competitive. I think for Republicans, the bigger challenge, of course, is you've got President Trump's overall approval rating.

46:14His numbers on the economy are even lower. And if you look at the cost of living issues, that's really where Republicans are getting hit hard. And that's an issue, frankly, that will be definitional for voters as they think about who they're going to support on November 3rd. So let's look at the numbers on the economy. Lonnie just raised them. And in this new Fox News poll, you can see just how underwater President Trump is in his handling of the economy. I believe we have that poll as well. Inflation net approval, negative 55. The economy, negative 41. Ashley Etienne tariffs, negative 39. Those are big negatives.

46:53Can I quote Lonnie?

46:58But do Democrats. So we've been talking about this phrase, hopium. You know, I mean, the Democrats have a lot of hope. Is there a risk of being overly confident when you see numbers like that in the president's approval rate? Absolutely. There's always a risk you run when you're overly confident. And my advice to any candidate is always run like you're running from behind. I think Trump does that incredibly well, which is why you see him going to these red states. Now, the asset that he brings to the table is that he can turn out those low propensity voters in a way that no other Democrat, no other Republican can.

47:29And so that's his value add at this point in the particular race. But but I will say the message that I'm hearing from inside the party is that we need to tamp down enthusiasm about double digit wins, winning the Senate, winning the House. And part of the problem is and I just want to push back a little bit on what was said a little earlier, is that you do want people to come out and turn out for you. If they feel like it's a foregone conclusion, you're going to win. You're going to have those low propensity voters, the ones who are less likely to turn out, who aren't going to come out for you in places like Texas.

48:00You can't win without the low propensity. I think what campaigns think, though, is that those numbers are the motivation that voters need. I've spent a lot of time on the campaign trail. I was in Maine recently. Voters need no urging to come out and vote in the Collins-Jackson race. There are a lot of people who are mad at Susan Collins who are very eager to come out and cast that vote. That's what I think candidates are. It's not the polling that's turning people out. It's the economy. It's the pocketbook. It's the feeling. Absolutely. Dan, I want to follow up with you because you were in Maine.

48:28You spent a lot of time on the trail. We have a big debate in Maine, the final of four debates between Susan Collins and Troy Jackson. What are you going to be watching for tonight? I think there's been a familiar pattern in all. They've had three debates so far, four debates in two weeks, a lot of debates. But we're happy about it. There's been a familiar pattern where Susan Collins is running on her ability to, for lack of a better term, bring home the bacon to Maine. She uses her chair as appropriations committee to bring home money to a relatively small state. She's running for a sixth term.

48:56She's arguing you don't want to get rid of that experience, what that power comes with. And Troy Jackson, the Democrat, is basically arguing that the pain that the Trump administration has caused is way more impactful than any money that she's brought home. The tourism dollars that aren't coming to Maine, the tariffs that are impacting everything from the lumber to the fishing industries in Maine, that all supersedes what she's actually bringing home. I'll be looking to see whether he's able to push that argument even more. They've been pretty kind of timid affairs. I'm wondering if this one might be a little bit more of a fight because it's the last one.

49:32And for the final minute we have left, Ashley and Lonnie, what are you both going to be watching for tonight? I'm going to continue to watch to see how far she continues to distance herself from Donald Trump. I think that's going to be interesting. That's how she wins this race is can she create enough distance between her and Trump to continue to engender trust? These elections come down to trust. Who do you trust that's going to handle the economy well and handle your pocketbook issues? So she's going to have to create that. I think the dynamic in Maine is the opposite of what we see in Texas.

50:01In Texas, the demographics and the fundamentals favor Ken Paxton. Frankly, in Maine, they favor Troy Jackson. And this is why it's so important for Susan Collins to craft this independent identity. That is the only way that she wins in that state is if voters think they're pulling the lever not for Donald Trump, but for Susan Collins. That's the only way she can win. She's proved that she's a strong closer. So we'll see what happens in these closing weeks. Thank you for a fantastic conversation, Dan, Ashley and Lonnie. Still to come, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife appear in a Manhattan courtroom to face new federal charges.

50:37We have the latest on that story. Stay with us on Meet the Press now.

50:48welcome back in manhattan federal court earlier today former venezuelan president nicolas maduro and his wife celia flores pleaded not guilty to a new indictment accusing them of torture prosecutors added the charge to a drug trafficking case that was brought against the couple earlier this year they alleged the two developed and oversaw a government-backed torture system where regime opponents, including three Americans, were physically and psychologically abused. The U.S. military seized Maduro and his wife during a nighttime raid of their home in Caracas back in January. Joining me now is NBC News correspondent Stephen Romo.

51:24Thanks so much for being here, Stephen. So this new indictment really builds on the drug trafficking case against former President Maduro and his wife. What are you learning about these new charges? Yeah, Kristen, these new charges in the superseding indictment really going a lot farther than we originally saw in the original indictment, which were mostly to do with drug trafficking and weapons charges. Now, these new charges to do with torture, these accusations against Maduro and Flores. In court today, a bit of drama. Maduro did not directly enter a plea himself when asked by the judge. Instead, he gave a little bit of a rant talking about how uncalled for this indictment was, how false these allegations were.

52:05Eventually, the judge interrupting him and entering that not guilty plea on his behalf. Flores, meanwhile, she pleaded not guilty in this case. And these charges that they're accused of are pretty disturbing, a systematic system of torture to really stop dissent and the methods used in these accusations, electrical shocks and sexual assault, just to name a few of the barbaric accusations here. Meanwhile, we know that there were a bit of changes in the trial date. It has just been pushed back a little bit, still set to happen in June of next year. But before that, coming up on December 17th, there's a hearing in federal court to decide whether or not the judge will move forward with this motion from the defense to dismiss the case based on the fact of a sovereign head of state that Maduro and his wife had positions in the Venezuelan government.

52:56So their defense team's argument is that they should not be tried in this situation to begin with. Obviously, there'd be a lot of legal challenges to that. But that's something that's coming up in December ahead of that trial, which is moving forward to happen in June of next year. Kristen. Wow. OK, well, a lot of twists and turns there. Stephen Romo tracking the very latest with the trial of the former Venezuelan leader. Stephen, thank you so much for that reporting. Really appreciate it. We are back tomorrow with more Meet the Press Now. And we're always streaming free 24-7 on NBC News Now. Watch us wherever you stream live, including YouTube, Roku, and on the NBC News app.

53:35There's much more ahead on NBC News Now. Real talent is defined by what people can do, not where they learn to do it. So by stopping at the education section of a resume, you might throw away the perfect hire. Skills First Hiring helps you see talent others miss, like more than 70 million stars, skilled through alternative routes. Let their story unfold and gain a competitive advantage because hiring managers who start with skills are 60 % more likely to find a successful hire. Hire skills first. Learn why at tearthepaperceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council.