Meet the Press NOW — October 19

0:00This message comes from Wise Business, the only account your business needs to scale globally. You're building a business with global ambitions, but hidden fees are eating into your margins. With Wise Business, you can pay overseas suppliers without exchange rate markups. Have customers worldwide get payment details in 22 currencies so you get more of each hard-earned payment without hidden conversion fees. Be smart. Get Wise Business. Download the app. T's and C's apply. 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.

0:39Right. 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 Monica Alba in Washington, and we are just 15 days from Election Day, as the president kicks off another travel-packed week ahead of the midterms. As new polling from our NBC News decision desk shows voters are not happy with the president's handling of his job or the state of the country. Nationwide, more than nine and a half million voters have cast their ballots in early voting, including in key Senate battlegrounds, where more than 2.8 million ballots have already been cast. Among those battlegrounds, reliably red Kansas, where tonight President Trump is set to campaign for incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall, who faces a significant challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton.

1:51The president departed the White House for Kansas just moments ago, speaking to reporters, including our NBC colleague Garrett Haake. Is it a bad sign for Republicans that you have to go campaign in Kansas today? No, I tell you, I have a man named Roger and you know him very well, Roger Marshall. He's a fantastic senator. He's one of the best. It's a close race. It shouldn't be. And as you know, I won by a tremendous amount, like 25, 30 points. I won by a lot, Kansas, and they should be winning by a lot. So I went to, do you want to listen to me? I went to Alaska and Dan Sullivan is up. I went to Ohio, John Eustadt is up.

2:34I went to Texas and Ken Paxson is up. Wherever I go, they seem to be up. And I have the biggest rallies anybody's ever seen. They have packed houses. We have thousands and thousands of people today. and beyond the House, they're broadcast all over. And my rallies are having a huge impact and a positive impact on the Republican Party. You seem like you're feeling really good about the midterms. Is that accurate? I feel good. I feel good. I mean, I think good. I think it's fake calls. Part of the challenge for the president as he hits the campaign trail this week will be overcoming the political headwinds facing him and his party with just over two weeks to go.

3:13Americans are in a sour mood as they head to the voting booth, According to that new NBC News decision desk poll, 71 % say the country is on the wrong track, the highest mark of the president's second term. Two-thirds disapprove of the job he's doing as president, which is also a new high. And even more disapprove of his handling of inflation and the cost of living. And a majority say that Democrats would better handle the all-important issue of rising prices. My NBC News colleagues have been on the ground in Kansas where the president is heading and in Kentucky, where he campaigned this weekend, speaking to voters about that important issue.

3:51How do you feel about this election? Very disappointed, frustrated, let down, bamboozled, and all kinds of other things. A lot of people are struggling right now, and it's not OK with what's going on. Are you really feeling it in your pocket right now? Exactly, yes. I got another part-time job to help cover costs. You had to get another job. I did. I got to get a tank of gas every week, so I see it every week. And grocery prices, too. Everything's up, and we know it. We feel it. We are in the time of the year we're consuming the most fuel we could possibly consume. So does it hit? Absolutely. I would love it if the gas prices would go down.

4:36Yeah, I think that cost of living is definitely something that's to be concerned about. I think it's affecting everyone right now. And I think it's definitely impacting the way that people are voting right now. Joining me now is our NBC News team. We have chief data analyst Steve Kornacki at the big board with more on that decision desk poll. Julie Serkin is in Kansas ahead of the president's visit there. And Ryan Chandler is on the ground in Battleground, Texas. Thank you all for being here to kick us off. Steve, spell it out for us. What does this poll signal about some of the headwinds facing the president and Republicans in this very moment?

5:09Yeah, you have more polling that, again, gets to the significant challenges that Trump and his party face potentially in this midterm election. Now, this is our decision desk poll. It's a little bit different, casts a bit of a wider net in terms of who's polled, who's included. But looking at this sort of the generic ballot question here, which party would you like to see control Congress? Democrats in this poll with a nine point advantage. Again, this is among registered voters here. You see other polls will have like likely voter models out there right now. But this is registered voters. But I think what's significant kind of one layer deeper into this is they asked in this poll about the likelihood of voting.

5:46Those who said they were definitely going to vote or had already voted, as you've said, some some folks already have. Democrats had a double digit advantage when you got to folks who said they would probably vote. Republicans had an advantage there. And the folks were basically saying they weren't going to vote. There's always a small number of people in these polls who say they're not going to vote, but who end up voting. Republicans with a double-digit advantage there. So it gets to what Trump is doing. You're saying in some of these Republican states, some of these Republican areas, some indications here of maybe a demotivated Republican base and a hope by Republicans that they can somehow get that activated.

6:23They could bring this number down a little bit. But again, nine points overall. the Democratic advantage there in the generic ballot. And again, talking about that Republican base, maybe that motivation gap. How about this split among Republicans? Trump's job performance among Republicans split them into two categories. Those who call themselves MAGA Republicans, those who think of themselves as traditional Republicans. Look at the difference that's emerged here. Trump's approval rating 93 percent with MAGA Republicans, 63 with traditional Republicans. This is a shift that we've seen here, at least in one of these in his second term.

6:58Traditional Republicans at the start of his second term, more than three quarters approved now just over 60 percent. Meanwhile, MAGA Republicans, his number has held basically steady right there. Here's the other shift, though, in the Republican Party. Just that question of how do you identify yourself now? A majority of Republicans in this decision desk poll say they are traditional Republicans. 44 percent call themselves MAGA Republicans. Start of Trump's second term. How did that look? It looked different. It looked the opposite. It was a majority who called themselves MAGA. It was 43 percent who called themselves traditional Republicans.

7:33So, again, it gets to that question. You see a Democratic advantage. You see a very enthusiastic Democratic base, at least some some key portions of the Democratic base. And this is what's going on on the Republican side. And that's one of the things I think the president's trying to trying to address with some of these campaign stops you're seeing in places like Kansas. So interesting, Steve, that migration on the MAGA identity and how traditional Republicans see themselves. We will be following that for sure. Thank you so much for that. And of course, for expert analysis and updates on the midterms all season long, be sure to subscribe to the Data Dive with Steve Kornacki, his weekly newsletter, which is out every Tuesday.

8:09Just visit NBCNews.com slash Data Dive. And Julie, let's turn to you now on the campaign trail there in Kansas. What are you hearing from voters ahead of the president's speech. Yeah, Monica, I just spoke to voters in downtown Wichita. We're in Park City, so it's north of Wichita, and it's a red area, but there are still some blue voters in that city because it's one of the more populous ones in this state. Notably, though, my biggest takeaway was when I talked to voters and a Republican and a Democrat both looked at me and told me they're undecided. Their vote is up for grabs, and it's because they don't really know too much about Roger Marshall, who's been the incumbent senator here for quite some time, And they don't really know too much about his opponent either, despite the fact that millions have been spent to blanket the airwaves.

8:52Take a listen to a little bit of what I heard from voters. What do you think of Adam Hamilton as a candidate? I think he's probably fine. He clearly is appealing to a lot of people. If he's appealing to more people who would otherwise vote for Marshall, that's great. Personally, he's not Marshall, and that's good enough for me. Who are you voting for? I'm actually not for sure yet. I think that this pendulum swing, I think most people say it's too far to the right or too far to the left. And we're trying to correct that. And I think there's never a place where we find this happy medium in the middle.

9:31So I think it's good that we rotate sometimes from Republican to Democrat to this or that.

9:40Monica so Dion there that last voter that I spoke to he told me he likes the fact that Kansas is actually a purple state there's a democratic governor President Trump did win in this state every single time that he ran but definitely this is an election where voters that I spoke to told me maybe it's time for change and perhaps we could see that with the Democrat winning in the end and Julie the Senate race is perhaps surprisingly now in battleground territory But how confident are Democrats that Adam Hamilton can flip this seat potentially? And what has Hamilton's strategy been so far? Well, they're looking at the money that Republicans are suddenly having to spend.

10:18And I think Democrats that I'm talking to are feeling more confident just because of that. The Senate Leadership Fund, spearheaded by John Thune, the Republican leader, dropping even more money there in recent days for more ads. That tells you a lot about how Republicans think control of the Senate could go for them if they lose a place like Kansas. Adam Hamilton is somebody that has impressed a lot of people here that I was speaking to. He positions himself as a moderate Democrat, though Marshall likes to paint him as somebody who would bring in socialism and communism. That's the line I know we heard from the president down all the way through.

10:50Hamilton has a chance to be the first Democrat that Kansans sent to the Senate in nearly a century in this state, just to show you how long Republicans have held on to power in the Senate. But he is using the president's unpopularity on the economy, the Iran war, the corruption issue that I know our poll showed as well. He's hoping to ride that all the way to the Senate as the president defends Marshall and just told our colleague Garrett Haake, as you heard there, that he's heading here because he feels like his support of Marshall could lead him to win in the end. And, Julie, we are more than halfway through this sort of sprint of travel in the month of October.

11:27based on all the rallies we've seen up till this point. What are you expecting to hear tonight? More of the same or anything different potentially from the president there in Kansas? Yeah, Mon, I know you've covered a number of them, too. It feels like it will be more of the same, especially when the president says, look, I went to Alaska and he claims Dan Sullivan, the Republican senator there, was up in the polls after the president spoke there. He says the same thing will happen in Kansas because the president says that Marshall and Hamilton are neck and neck. Again, I cannot emphasize enough how much Republicans didn't expect to spend money here, how they didn't expect to have to defend a Republican stronghold when Democrats have to flip four additional seats and they win the Senate.

12:09So I think the president knows that. I think he feels like his supporters getting them out and voting for him. He often says pretend I'm on the ballot. He feels like that'll be enough. Maybe it will be, particularly for the Republicans who feel like they might just stay home. Julie Serkin in Park City, Kansas. Julie, thanks so much. And I do want to turn now to Ryan there in Texas, where it is the first day of early voting. So what are you hearing from people as they head to the polls? Well, Monica, we've been speaking with voters all across North Texas. And what we hear really feels like a real life representation of what we're seeing in the polling.

12:46Democrats are very enthusiastic. They see more reason for optimism than they've had in this red state. all century long. We were just with James Tallarico at an event at the University of North Texas, and we're speaking with a lot of 18, 19-year-olds who say this is their first election and registering to vote is the cool thing to do on campus nowadays. We saw a lot of energy there. Right before that, though, we were with Ken Paxton in his home county of Collin County, and we found more of a split even among people who showed up to see him speak. A lot of people fired up about his candidacy, but others who say that they are reliable Trump voters, but showed up to see what he has to say because their vote is still up for grabs.

13:30I spoke with one man who said he supports the president and leans Republican, but he's just not quite sold on Paxton yet. And that perspective is representative of the views that could get Paxton in trouble come November 3rd. I want you to listen to a little bit of the conversations we have with voters today. I mainly vote Republican, but I mean, I have reached over depending on the circumstances. And this could be one of those iffy ones. And, you know, Paxton may have his issues personally. I really don't care. What I care about is look at his record. His record, he has been able to do great things for Texas and he'll do great things in the Senate.

14:14We're ready for the whole team, for the Democrats to be in charge because we've seen where the Republicans are leading us down the drain. So we want hope again. We want hope for our families and our grandchildren. We want a better life here in Texas. And it's a big state and we deserve it. Yeah, that woman, a Democratic volunteer there, getting visibly emotional when I asked her about the stakes of this election. It is that enthusiasm contrasted with a little consternation that we heard from Republicans that could make the night on election night. Ryan, you touched on the big Senate race. Of course, we know the president visited two weeks ago to campaign for Ken Paxton.

14:57He may be heading back there next week. And he's also repeatedly attacked the Democratic candidate, James Tallarico, while campaigning in other states. He's been injecting it in his speeches throughout. So how worried are Republicans about this seat? They're incredibly nervous. They are running as if they are behind because all of the indications in polling show Paxton likely is behind. I have never seen Republicans on their heels like they are this year. I was speaking with one Republican consultant last week who said the data he's seeing behind the scenes shows this race is a jump ball. Other people I've spoken with say that they think Paxton is going to become the first Republican to lose statewide office all century.

15:38And I was speaking with Congressman Keith Self over in Allen earlier today who put it bluntly. He said he's a conservative in a conservative area. But this year he's not running against an opponent. He's running against a very difficult environment for Republicans. And now that votes are already in the bank with with long lines we've seen all around Texas, he said it is very hard to change anything about the narrative in voters' minds now that early voting has already started. Brian Chandler on the ground for us there in Texas. Brian, thanks so much. And coming up, bipartisan backlash as President Trump defends his decision to waive sanctions against Russia and Ukrainian President Zelensky tells Meet the Press the U.S.

16:22would be making a historic mistake if it sided with Russia. The president responding to that just moments ago will bring you that. Plus, new fallout after a viral moment on the campaign trail as Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, responds to a question about disavowing the Muslim Brotherhood and asks his own questions in return. You're watching Meet the Press Now.

16:50This message comes from Wise Business, the only account your business needs to scale globally. You're building a business with global ambitions, but hidden fees are eating into your margins. With Wise Business, you can pay overseas suppliers without exchange rate markups. Have customers worldwide get payment details in 22 currencies so you get more of each hard-earned payment without hidden conversion fees. Be smart. Get wise business. Download the app. T's and C's apply. 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.

17:30Right. 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 a 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. At Jared Jewelers, we know it's about more than fine jewelry. It's the moment they open the box. That smile they can't hide. Knowing you chose exactly right. because the right gift can bring a lifetime of meaning, a promise, a milestone, a memory in the making.

18:09Make every moment unforgettable. Find great gifts starting at$250. Jared, make the holiday last forever. Shop Jared Jewelers.

18:22Welcome back. President Trump is facing bipartisan backlash over his abrupt decision to waive sanctions on Russia just days before they were set to go into effect. Remember, this was a sanctions bill named after late Senator Lindsey Graham, and it had passed with bipartisan support, and the president had signed it just last month. It was supposed to impose new sanctions on Russia and target Russia's largest buyers of oil and gas. Several Republicans quickly condemned the move. This war needs to come to an end, but it's not going to come to an end by putting money in Vladimir Putin's pocket. I think we also need to keep the pressure on Putin.

18:58So I would not be in favor of giving a reprieve on the sanctions. We've got to keep the pressure on Putin. He's the aggressor here. Congress voted on this decisively just several weeks ago. And we understand that Putin cannot be trusted. But I told the White House team that we need to talk about it and I think carefully consider the unintended consequences that may ensue from that. Over the weekend, President Trump defended his decision, telling reporters, quote, it's a very good decision and it's going to be a decision that's good for the country and I think good for the world. Meet the Press moderator, Kristen Welker, spoke to Ukrainian President Zelensky yesterday.

19:36He had this warning for the Trump administration. Can Ukraine win this war without the United States, President Zelensky?

19:48Very difficult. You know, it's all about losses. It's true. It's not about prevail or not prevail. It's all about our people. If it's without the United States support, it's very difficult. But if the United States will support Putin, I mean, it's unbelievable. It's tragedy. It's historic mistake and big tragedy. And just last hour, while departing the White House for Kansas, President Trump responded to that. Zelensky says you're on the wrong side of history on this one. Zelensky said it? Zelensky doesn't know what he's talking about. Zelensky is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago.

20:38If he would have listened to me, he would have made a much better deal a long time ago. Joining me now is NBC News White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor on the North Lawn and NBC News senior national security correspondent Courtney Kuby on set with me. Thank you, ladies. Yamiche, I do want to start with you. We just heard from the president talking a lot about Russia and Ukraine. What more did he have to say? Well, the president really leaned into this idea that he believes Russia has been, quote, fine. Those were his words when it comes to this war and that Zelensky is really the problem here, that being, of course, the president of Ukraine.

21:11He talked about the fact that he believes Zelensky doesn't even want to end the war. He also defended his decision when it came to those sanctions that he's waiving. When it comes to Russia, he also in some ways continued what he's been doing all weekend, which is really saying that Russia, Russia is a kind of country that is doing some things for the world when it comes to diesel and that their diesel sites need to be protected. He was really, really angry at Zelensky. And it's really, in some ways, if you back it up, really a remarkable moment for President Trump, because this is someone who has had a personal relationship with Zelensky that's been up and down.

21:42And right now you can tell it's very, very down, Monica. And Yamiche, what do we know about what motivated the president to waive these sanctions? And how does this latest decision by the president fit into his broader strategy when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine war? Well, the president has really been focused on, he said, the national interests of the United States. So he has been defending waiving these sanctions by saying that. He's been talking about the economic consequences here, saying that it's going to bring fuel prices down when it comes to making a deal with Russia for diesel fuel, but also when it comes to waiving these sanctions, because we should remind people that these sanctions were targeting the biggest buyers of Russian oil and gas here.

22:21And if you look at sort of if we could put up for folks, there's sort of a history here that you could walk people through. You have on October 9th, he's announcing this diesel deal with Russia. On October 11th, this unilaterally announces an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine that really never, ever got off the ground. Both of them continue to strike energy sites. And then you have October 16th suspending these new sanctions against Russia. By the way, experts who have been looking at all of these actions, they don't believe that the president's actions, these deals, as well as waiving these sanctions is really going to do anything for fuel prices.

22:50What we have seen is bipartisan backlash from even Darlene Graham, who is someone who is running to keep the seat of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, who the bill was named after. But you also heard other Republicans like Ted Cruz saying that this was a mistake. So the president really here is standing on an island on his own. There are a few Republicans who are, of course, supporting him as they always have. But for the most part, President Trump is saying, trust me, believe me. I want to sort of lean in and give Russia some financial lifelines here. And Ukraine needs to find a new leader. That's been the stance that he's been really articulating all weekend.

23:20Monica. And Yamiche, before we let you go, the Wall Street Journal had some reporting about the possibility of a trilateral summit about the war. But that wouldn't include Ukrainian President Zelensky. Instead, it would include Russian President Putin and Chinese President Xi. What did the president have to say about the likelihood of that and where that might take place? Well, President Trump didn't confirm that he would do this, but he did say when asked specifically about this, he said that he would be open to having a trilateral meeting between himself, Russia and China. He said that they would be talking about denuclearization, but also could be talking about ending the war in Iran or ending the war in Ukraine.

23:57The president said if they were to have this meeting, it could possibly happen in China because he is likely going to be there at the end of the year for this meeting with President Xi. But overall, it's still sort of up in the air. But remarkable to hear the president say that he'd be open again to meeting with Russia without Zelensky to talk about ending a war that is, of course, happening because Ukraine was illegally invaded by Russia. So the president here making it very clear that he doesn't need Zelensky at the table in order to continue negotiating here. Monica? And if it does happen, it wouldn't be the first time since, of course, he met with President Putin, just the two of them in Alaska last year.

24:31Yamiche Alcindor, thank you so much for all that reporting. Courtney, I do want to turn to you, and I want to play something first that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said over the weekend. Let's listen to that. Star Shield is a defense product, a military product. And as I said, I mean, that is something that we have a military, United States military uses. It's not at this moment available to Ukraine, and that's under conversation. I know Ukraine wants access to Star Shield. They do not have Star Shield now. They've asked for access to it in order to conduct deep strikes inside of Russia. They do not have access to it at this moment.

25:07So that was interesting, right, Corp? Because that was not necessarily our understanding or what other parts of the administration have indicated. So what is he talking about? We don't know, actually. And I don't know if he is just being very particular with his language by saying they don't have access to Star Shield right now, whereas they had it before and they don't have it. I don't know. The best that we've been able to understand this, and we have been trying now for days, Ukraine did have access to both Starlink, the commercial version, and Star Shield, which is the Department of Defense military version.

25:39It's more encrypted. It's the kind of thing that they could use for more confidential or particular conversations and communications, right? So they did have access to that. In some way, that has been disrupted. But it's really not clear because we know that it was disrupted for a time last week. We were under the impression it was being restored both from U.S. and Ukrainian officials. But now we have Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio saying that they don't have access to it. And now we have President Zelensky on social media today also saying the same thing, that there have been continued disruptions.

26:17Now, he's explaining it as something that is causing where the disruption is specific to speeds of certain systems like drones. U.S. officials are just they're not they're not explaining exactly what is going on here. And it is getting more and more confused by the day, Monica. And the president continues to deny that he had anything to do with potentially slowing it down. But maybe somebody in the White House did. He said he wants to look into that. He has questions about who that might have been. But on another important point here, we know there have been strikes on Kyiv just today. President Zelensky says that he feels that the Ukrainian military didn't get enough of an early warning from its partners.

26:56So does that also tell you that there's a continued concern here about intelligence sharing and the status of that between the U.S. and Ukraine? Where does that stand? This is another one that we just don't have good clarity on. Here's the facts that we know. The U.S. says that they are continuing to share intelligence with Ukraine. President Zelensky is saying that there are times where they are not getting the early warning that they have been getting for years now from the U.S. military. Now, what it could be is that it's both are true. The U.S. is still sharing intelligence, but there have been also disruptions in that, hiccups in that.

27:31So then the question is, who is causing those? who is calling for these possibilities? Is it a potential technical glitch or is there someone who is intentionally withholding at times some kind of information with Ukraine? What we do know here is the consequences are catastrophic. President Zelensky tweeting today a photo of a dead one-year-old baby girl in her stroller because of one of these strikes. I mean, it is, there is no question that whatever is going on here, it is killing Ukrainian civilians. Those lives as young as one year old hanging in the balance. Courtney Kuby, thank you so much for that very important reporting.

28:12More questions on that that we will stay on top of. But up next, the Buckeye battle. I will talk to a Democratic congressman from Ohio trying to hold on to a seat that's on Republicans' target list this November. You're watching Meet the Press now.

28:31This message comes from Wise Business, the only account your business needs to scale globally. You're building a business with global ambitions, but hidden fees are eating into your margins. With Wise Business, you can pay overseas suppliers without exchange rate markups. Have customers worldwide get payment details in 22 currencies so you get more of each hard-earned payment without hidden conversion fees. Be smart. Get Wise Business. Download the app. T's and C's apply.

29:29gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. At Jared Jewelers, we know it's about more than fine jewelry. It's the moment they open the box. That smile they can't hide. Knowing you chose exactly right. Because the right gift can bring a lifetime of meaning. A promise. A milestone. A memory in the making. Make every moment unforgettable. Find great gifts starting at $250. Jared, make the holiday last forever. Shop Jared Jewelers.

30:04Welcome back. Republicans in Ohio were hoping the state's redrawn congressional map would net them a few more seats come November. But that effort now risks stalling. Last week, the Cook Political Report moved one of those districts, Ohio's first, to likely Democrat. That move coincides with the decision by Republican groups to shift funds away from the race. And joining me now is Democratic Congressman Greg Lansman running for reelection in Ohio's first congressional district. Thank you so much for being with us today. And as we just mentioned, the Cook Political Report did move your race from lean to likely Democrat last week.

30:40How confident are you that you can hold on to your seat despite these redistricting efforts to boost your opponent? Fairly confident. You know, there's a couple of weeks left, so it's all about turning out voters and it's an aggressive two weeks. So you don't know what's going to happen until all the votes are counted. But, you know, it's it's a good sign that Trump and congressional Republicans pulled out of this race. This is a district that Trump won by several points in 2024. They obviously wanted to win this seat. They worked the redistricting process to make this district even more difficult for me.

31:20But so far, it's been an uphill battle for them. And Congressman, just building on that, your district was redrawn to include more of those rural areas that did support President Trump, who you have said is, quote, unfit to be president. So what has been your strategy to reach out to those voters who may have supported him in the last election, but who you may need now in this one? It won't surprise you, but it's pretty straightforward. You just show up and you do as much as you possibly can to be part of people's lives, which we prioritize in our office, which is, you know, do a lot of town halls, a lot of community conversations, a lot of roundtable discussions.

31:59when the district changed and had all of this new territory, I did these listening sessions immediately, I mean, last year. And we picked up a ton of work, work that we're doing with those communities. And more than anything else, people want their elected officials to show up and work on the things that they say are the things that matter most. And that's one of the things we prioritize. I want to play something that Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had to say recently about Democrats' priorities should they retake the House. And as House Democrats, finally, we are certainly committed to combating the unprecedented corruption that the Trump cartel continues to unleash on the American people.

32:46And our promise to the country in the new Congress is that beginning on day one, we're going to hold the crooks accountable. Do you agree with that? And should investigations into the president, his family and members of the administration be a day one priority for Democrats? Yeah, you got to fix the economy. And part of that is cleaning up government. You got to get money out of politics. You got to hold folks accountable. I mean, the corruption has been blatant and it's been costly to the American people. So, yeah, you absolutely have to say, you know, we're going to do everything in our power to clean this up.

33:25And that that includes, you know, Congress and ending the stock trading. No member of Congress should be trading individual stocks. You've got to get folks out of these predictive markets. You've got to tighten up controls around how the presidents use crypto, you know, in large part because you have all these people who've lost a ton of money. And he's made, what, a billion dollars on his on his crypto venture. So I think when you tie it back to the economy and getting people their money back or at least stopping this kind of grift. Yeah, it's really important to the American people. Everyone hates what's happening.

34:02They hate the economy and they hate how politics has become so divisive. But also the fact that you have all of these people, including the president, who've made so much money, billions and billions of dollars, while most of the people I represent are struggling. They hate it. And what about impeachment specifically of the president? Should that be on the table? He wants it. So, you know, Democrats have to be very careful because he wants to be the center of attention. He, you know, it's always been his go to when, you know, he's lost some popularity or, you know, he's he's sort of worn, you know, he's he's wearing on people.

34:40You know, he likes when folks come after him and he can play the victim. So it's got to be it's got to be something that Democrats take very, very they have to be very careful. Now, going after Hegseth and what he's done, going after RFK and others who have really undermined the American people and slowly but surely saying this administration has to be held accountable, especially as it relates to making your life better. Yeah, those things are really important. But be very careful about how you pull him into something because he does like that stuff. I do want to ask you about affordability and what you just mentioned.

35:20Can you name or suggest one piece of legislation that Democrats can realistically pass to make life more affordable for Americans? Yes, I'm going to name a couple. You got to end the tariffs. We could do that in a single vote and that would reduce prices. You can pass a meaningful data center reform bill where they data centers are paying for everything and they're serious penalties. If they are not paying for everything, that will reduce people's utility costs and getting their health care back. I mean, restoring these health care cuts and pursuing the Affordable Care Act subsidies so that we are reducing, dramatically reducing health care costs in this country.

36:00Those are three things we could do immediately. Congressman, there are a number of Democrats with ties to the Democratic Socialist Party who are likely to win in November. They've called for ending aid to Israel and abolishing ICE, among other things. You were quoted in a Fox News article as saying about these DSA candidates, quote, having a diversity of opinions is one thing, but some of what some of them think is beyond the pale. It's just outrageous. So do Democratic Socialists belong in the Democratic Party, in your view? You know, it's it's a different party in my mind because it's a Democratic Socialist Party.

36:36It's not the Democratic Party, so it is different. You know, they're going to have to decide, like all members of Congress when they come, do they want to be part of getting things done? Or do they want to, you know, you know, win the argument or go online and pick fights? And not every member of Congress decides that they want to work on getting things done. I would hope that all of those folks who care deeply about the folks who are marginalized and who have been left out will lock in and work really hard with as many people as humanly possible to get as much done for those folks as they can.

37:15That, to me, is how you have the most impact. Congressman Greg Lansman, we need to leave it there. But thank you so much for your time today. We really appreciate it. And we will be speaking to your opponent, Republican Eric Conroy, on the show tomorrow. So look out for that. You can always dive deeper into the 2026 midterms with access to polling, early vote data, expert analysis and 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'll be right back with more Meet the Press now.

37:55Welcome back. We are turning now to Michigan, where Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's campaign is leaning into a pretty viral moment from a town hall that El-Sayed held this weekend when a member of the audience asked if he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. Here's some of the exchange that the El-Sayed campaign is amplifying on social media. I have one simple question. Will you disavow the Muslim Brotherhood? Yeah, absolutely. But I want to ask the question that you're asking. Why are you asking the question? Well, because they're a terrorist group. Okay. No, no, but what are you implying?

38:28Do you assume that I wouldn't? Yes. Why not? Because I have not heard you disavow them yet. Have you disavowed them? I haven't heard you disavow them yet. Great. But here's the thing about it. You're asking the question because implicitly you assume that I'll have dual loyalties. Right? You assume that somehow I wouldn't disavow. or that I'll have some higher order allegiance than to the Constitution. Correct? Tommy, is that what you imply? I swear an oath to the Constitution of the United States. And that Constitution guarantees us all the right to practice whatever faith we want or no faith at all.

39:05And now, you assume, Tommy, that because I am Muslim, that somehow I would have some allegiance to something that is not our Constitution. That's your assumption. That's implicit in the question. Are you a man of faith? I am. What faith do you practice? I am. And the reality of it is this. I'm never going to tell you what faith you can or can't practice. I want to protect your right to practice your faith as you choose, as a Christian man. Do you disavow any attempt to read any religious doctrine into the laws of our country? I do not. You don't disavow that? So I think it's you who needs to understand the Constitution.

39:47Yeah.

39:51And joining me now is our panel, Francesca Chambers, White House correspondent for USA Today, Taryn Rosencrantz, founder and CEO of New Blue Interactive, and Mark Bednar, Republican strategist and principal at Monument Advocacy. I thank you all for having this conversation. Obviously, Francesca, that moment going viral and the El-Sayed campaign leaning into it. So what does it tell you about their closing message in this homestretch? Well, when you look at the closing message also of the Republican Party, President Trump referred to him by Mohammed. His name is Abdul. The other day, he said that his values are not of those of America as they try to win this, you know, very competitive U.S.

40:34Senate race in Michigan right now. We're seeing Democrats flooding the state right now, Monica. You've got Raphael Warnock who's coming. You've got Kamala Harris, who's coming, just about every Democrat that they can send there. You also have the Republicans doing the same thing. President Trump heading to the state as well. So, you know, both sides see this as a must-win race, and it's getting very, very, very feisty. Absolutely. And Mark, in an interview over the weekend, we did see Mike Rogers claim that El Said actually had not disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood. Let's play a little bit of that exchange.

41:10So he said, yes, sure. Challenged the voter and said the voter only asked him because he's a Muslim. So Hassan Piker, who really came to the state, he had him here multiple times, five different events, took him to college campuses. This guy is full of hate and vitriol, not only for Jewish Americans, but for black Americans. You listen to his comments. This guy is as vile as they come. He has said he was excited about his answer because he did not disavow the Muslim brother. He didn't disavow it. He goes on this word salad trying to get around the fact that he can't do it. It's an ideology. It's not about him being a Muslim.

41:49So, Mark, is that how you would have advised Mike Rogers to address this? Does that move voters in his direction with just two weeks to go? Well, with that clip aside, there's a lot of a little bit of back and forth confusion about he said that he did this, that there's a lot of who's saying what. That being said, the point that Roger's really getting at is that al-Sayed's response was rather tepid. So if he really denounces the Muslim Brotherhood, will he also denounce the thousands of dollars that he's received from campaign contributions from people affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood? Will he denounce the tweets that his sister has made, basically saying that their family has been affiliated with them for a long time?

42:26So there are bigger questions here about what does Abdul al-Sayed really believe? He did, though, disavow it, right? He did. And it's his half-sister, we should mention, in those social media posts. But you're saying Mike Rogers was right to focus on that? Yeah, I think that's important. Abdul, I'll say that, is largely, you know, we don't know a lot about him, Michigan voters. We know that he's deleted tweets of stances that he's previously taken about things like defining the police. He's never explained why he actually did that or if his beliefs changed or why. So for Mike Rogers to open up the field and say, here's what Abdul actually believes based on the tape, based on the record, that's totally fair.

43:06Taryn, it is clear that El-Sayed did want to make this larger point that it didn't seem like a good faith question, that the questioner wasn't coming from that place. But as a candidate, when you call out something like this as bad faith, does that attract more attention to it than maybe just answering it and moving on? What's your take on that? I think that they were going to probably not let it go no matter what. And he wanted to make this larger point. I think if I was advising him as a political consultant, I would say the debate in a time like that, a town hall, you know, it's just not the time to make this larger point.

43:38And I get why he was probably feeling attacked and upset about it and wanting to set the record straight. But when you do that, you want to do it quickly, which he did do. But he just didn't do it in a manner that didn't open the door for more misinformation and for them to continue to fan the flames, which they I think is a very clear strategy that they are trying to do. to keep this in front of voters instead of talking about the fact that Michigan families need grocery costs to come down. They need the price of the pump to come down. So they're coming and talking about this instead and making it about that instead of the economy.

44:08Francesca, let's talk about the very busy week that the president has ahead. He has rallies every single day. He's going to be traveling probably over the next two weeks. And he's trying to boost Republican candidates, right, and their credentials. But some of his other messaging about the candidates has drawn a lot of attention and people can probably figure out why. Let's take a listen. He's going to be a perfect man. Now, I needed somebody good. And this guy walks through the door. I said, look at this beautiful guy. He shook my hands. I stood right over here and I examined his ass. I never did that.

44:45No, I never did that with a man before. I examined his ass. Somebody said, he's a good looking man. I don't think he's a good looking man. I actually think Mike Collins is a good looking man.

45:02And he's old man. He's old man. I'm not sure about us. So we're allowed to have big, strong, handsome soldiers now. We want strong soldiers.

45:16Francesca, so what does the White House think about this kind of stream of consciousness, shall we say, as a closing message? To be honest with you, you know, I haven't asked the White House directly about what the president thinks of the physique of many of the candidates. But as far as, you know, these rallies go, I mean, look, they've long made the argument that the president's the best messenger for the Republican Party, for his own message, that this is, you know, a turnout operation, that he needs to fill these rallies to the hill, you know, get as many people as they can in there, because this is all going to be based on whether the base or MAGA turns out, whether or not, you know, they feel like there's something in the last two years that they still need to do from him and not just feel complacent.

45:59And Mark, the president's meandering message during a rally, that's nothing new. We have seen that for years. He calls it the weave. We could call it something else. But do Republicans need to see something a bit more focused from the president, given so many people are worried about affordability and about their cost of living and expenses right now? Well, a Trump rally, if you've never been, it's like a rock concert. It's like it's fun. It's raucous. It's crazy. It's like for a million different reasons. And so for him to throw in little jokes, little jabs, you know, over the duration of a 70, 80 minute rally, you know, that's a good thing.

46:31Keep the crowd lively. But of course, the fact that he's doing these rallies to begin with, you know, Republicans have been super excited for a long time that post the midterm convention that he would actually get out there and make sure that get that low propensity Trump voter to turn out these midterms. That's a good thing overall. There is a very loud playlist. I will give you that in terms of a rock concert vibe. But actually what we've seen, and I was just in Georgia on Friday, is there have been some smaller venues, arenas not necessarily packed to the rafters the way that we have seen over the last decade.

47:01So Taryn, what does that tell you about maybe where the president's audience, his most ardent supporters are or aren't right now. Yeah, I mean, he, you know, he's very much wishes he was on the ballot, I think, right now, but he's not. And that is going to prove a problem for them as the country continues to face some serious issues that he is not addressing. You know, he can play with the distractions all he wants to get us to change the topic and the conversation back to male's physique, but it's not going to change what he has to face, which is a very unpopularness. And I think a waning popularity even among his most devout followers.

47:36Francesca, talk about where else the president is going this week and what you're going to be looking out for. Well, today he's going to the great state of Kansas. I love any opportunity to talk about Kansas as I can as a Kansan. But today he is going to Kansas. I mean, that's a really interesting one. You know, that Senate race is one that became a toss up in the Cook Political Report. That is something that I think many Kansans would have never expected to, you know, have happened this year. But here you are, You also have the same that you're seeing with Iowa. Interestingly enough, the president going to North Carolina this week, Vice President J.D.

48:08Vance also in North Carolina. That's one that many in the GOP had written off. We saw the president's PAC, you know, pull its money from there because Roy Cooper is expected to win. It's likely D, likely Democratic at this point. President and vice president both going there this week, though. Mark, in our last few seconds, anywhere he should be going that he's not? The more he's out, it's not a matter of location. Sometimes it's just a matter of time. The more he's out there, that's not just about the rallies. It's about getting voter data. It's about getting people, you know, text somebody, here now you get$5 donation in low propensity voters, also low propensity donors.

48:43And they will be out there trying to do that in the next two weeks. Thank you guys so much, Francesca, Taryn, Mark. Thanks for being here. And up next, peaceful protesters turn to massive riots in France. We will have a live report from Paris. You're watching Meet the Press now.

49:02Welcome back. France is on edge as it grapples with some of the worst unrest it has seen in years. These are just some of the images from over the weekend as rioters set fire to a city hall building in central France that survived two world wars. Stunned onlookers watched its blaze tore through the building's roof. And these protests began about a month ago with thousands of students demanding better school conditions amid crumbling infrastructure and overcrowded classrooms. But it has since grown into a nationwide protest over anger about soaring prices and the cost of living. In an address to the nation, French President Macron expressed his anger and shame after the weekend's unrest and blamed, quote, troublemakers from far left fringe groups for the violence.

49:47Joining me now is New York Times international correspondent Catherine Porter, who is in Paris. Catherine, what have you been seeing on the ground there? Describe the scene for us. Well, tonight, for the first time since I've been in Paris, there is a curfew in certain parts of the city. They have banned also any kinds of gathering or protest in certain parts of the city, and that is incredibly rare here. I think that Paris and other cities in the country are still in a state of both shock, disbelief and mourning. The damage was enormous in terms of the number of stores that were smashed and looted, as well as graffiti and damage to public buildings.

50:42as you can see in these pictures there was a lot of infrastructure that was set on fire those sort of free bike those those bikes you rent around the city were often the targets and so there's just a sense of living through a night that people didn't expect so many questions that we're hearing and accusations questions of what were the police doing? Where were they? And also, who are these looters? And what happened that night? So it, as you mentioned, it was supposed to be a very large series across the country of regular protests, and in which, in some cases, that's what happened. In fact, it was kind of like a split screen, particularly in Paris, where you saw people marching and singing songs and chanting.

51:34There were bands playing along the route of the protest that you see all the time here as a country that loves to protest for change. And then on the other split screen, you saw these scenes here of people attacking the police, fighting directly with them, them being pushed back and then targeting both stores and also public institutions. And we learned later that in among this mess that was happening, people saw a chance to come and loot. And they ran down to different areas, not just in Paris, but in Bordeaux, in Nice, in Lille, in many other cities, and took the opportunity to go and get free things, so-called free things.

52:26And Catherine, these protests come as France is set to hold elections in about six months. How is that playing out politically? I mean, how is the far right party seizing on this moment as they seem to be? Yeah, this is a political blame game right now. So you have the government under Macron and his prime minister, as well as ministers who are saying that the far left party under Jean-Luc Mélenchon instigated this, that they flanned. they fanned the flames and that there were, in fact, far extreme far left groups that were the ones that set off both the attacks of police and the anarchy that we saw at the beginning.

53:07Now, the far left says, no, you know, don't blame us. It's really your incompetence and years of poor management of the country. That is that is the cause of this. and into the breach has stepped the far right party, the Ressentement Nationale. For them, they say, look, the country's clearly out of control. We need law and order. This is a party that not only wants to push out immigrants, but wants law and order. And let us rule. We should we'll solve the problem by electing us. Catherine Porter, we have to leave it right there. But thank you so much for your reporting from Paris. We really appreciate it.

53:48And we will be back tomorrow with more Meet the Press Now. There's much more ahead on NBC News Now. At Jared Jewelers, we know it's about more than fine jewelry. It's the moment they open the box. That smile they can't hide. Knowing you chose exactly right. Because the right gift can bring a lifetime of meaning. A promise. A milestone. A memory in the making. Make every moment unforgettable. Find great gifts starting at$250. Jared, make the holiday last forever. Shop Jared Jewelers.