Meet the Press NOW — October 30

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1:41Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Kristen Welker with just four days until Election Day. And we are going to begin this Friday by going straight to the White House, where President Trump is taking questions in the Oval Office. Let's go. We're doing it for Byron, Donalds, and the whole group, Ashley. But Monday is going to be exciting, but Sunday is going to be a very exciting day. And then Tuesday, we're going to see how it all works out. I think we're doing well. Typically, a president, whether he's good or bad, Republican or Democrat, loses the midterms. Nobody's ever explained why. But I think we have a shot at doing well, maybe very well, but, you know, pretty well.

2:26On the Binance hack, do you think that it should be attributed to that North Korean hacker group? We don't know. We're looking at that. The hack with Binance. We're looking at that. And do you think any of that money will be caught back? Well, they say they're going to get it back and they're saying they're guaranteeing it or something. They are. But no, it was a hack. That's the problem. You know the old-fashioned way when you used to sign a check? Take that. These are different. People never see the money anymore. So I've always felt it was a little bit dangerous. But, no, they say they have it pretty much under control.

3:00We'll see. On Iran, can you say more talks are happening? There are talks. They want to talk. They keep talking. But, look, they're not paying their soldiers. They're not paying their police. You know, they're in a lot of trouble. And we have time, frankly. You know, it's a war, but it's not a typical war. We've been there for seven months. We're spending very little money, relatively speaking. I heard somebody say, you're spending money. I said, well, any money we spent, we've more than made up for in a place called Venezuela, like by 10 times. And I watched this guy, Ro Khanna, who's a lightweight.

3:41And he was saying that President Trump is spending a lot of money. Well, I spent a lot of money in order to get rid of a nuclear weapon, which we've done. But any money we've spent in Iran, we've more than made up for with what we did in Venezuela, taking in hundreds of billions of dollars many, many times. But they don't mention these things. So that's why I like to have news conferences. I can mention when other people forget. They also said it was terrible that they attacked the house of Ilhan Omar, which is not her real name. it was terrible that they would attack her well they attacked my house and nobody brought that up they attacked a place called mar-a-lago nobody brought it up and you know i'm sitting i'm watching they're good people and is that a helicopter oh you do you want to see a nice how do you like the helipad see this that's landing right now i'm gonna have a helicopter Because of Halloween, we had to take a very long drive for the last four days, getting it ready.

4:47So now we have alicot. Go ahead, please. On the Russian Sovereign Wealth Fund, are you considering lifting sanctions on the Russian Sovereign Wealth Fund? Not lifting or not doing anything. But, you know, I was very happy. They wanted me while I was negotiating for you. People, stupid people, wanted me to put sanctions on Russia. If I would have put sanctions on Russia, your sons would have said, that wasn't good. The Russians laugh at these sanctions. I think you hear that? They laugh at the sanctions. He knows. It brings disrespect on that country. How would it have been? I'm speaking to President Putin.

5:24I'd like to get Stephen Hubbard back, Mr. President. And by the way, we're putting sanctions on you right now. Can you imagine? You would have been back. You would have been back. So, no, it was a great honor to get you out, really. And it's a great family. Please, Jen. Mr. Hubbard, did you want to tell us anything about the moment when you learned that you would be free?

5:48I had heard it many times before, and I reached the state where seeing is believing. Actions speak louder than words. I never trusted what they said. Only when they started giving me new clothes and leading me to the exit of the prison. I went out and I saw the car and I was accompanied by a couple of Russians. Then I believed, I finally believed, you know, on the drive from Moscow to St. Petersburg. I'm really going somewhere. Did you think you'd be there for many years? Yes. And you thought your father would be there for many years? I was afraid we were going to lose him there. I wouldn't have lasted another year.

6:30You look very healthy to me. I mean, you have no weight problem. He looks very good. He's been bulking up on the protein. He looks very good to me. Anyway, thank you very much, everybody. We'll see you in a little bit. Thank you. Thank you so much.

6:47President Trump there taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office, standing next to Stephen Hubbard, who is the American recently released from Russia. President Trump asked there if he was planning to put more sanctions back on Russia, and he indicated he was not. You heard Hubbard there say Russia laughs at sanctions. The president was also asked about Iran. He said talks are ongoing. And he was pressed on those recent schedule changes. He had canceled planned events in Iowa and Kansas and has now rescheduled those for this weekend. He said, I wanted to see if I could do tele-rallies.

7:28I got a call from both states, Kansas and Iowa, and from my friends saying coming would be better than a tele-rally. So filling out some of those questions about those changes in his schedule. And to that point, the president has put rallies back on his schedule as Republicans look to stave off Democratic momentum and overcome the headwinds dogging his party. All of it as the president pushes the Justice Department to ramp up its investigation in Alaska as Democrats face allegations of foul play in the state's crucial Senate race. We have breaking news that the Justice Department is set to hold a press conference at any moment in Anchorage.

8:04We expect it's tied to the controversy in the Senate race, and we will take you there live when it begins. And as you heard when the president spoke from the Oval Office, the president is also expected to depart the White House at any moment now to rally with supporters this evening in his home state of Florida. That comes after the White House yesterday canceled those two remaining rallies I told you about in Kansas and Iowa and then reverse course, putting them back on the schedule today with the Kansas event now pushed to Sunday. The White House initially pulled the in-person rallies, arguing the president's time was better spent doing tele-rallies.

8:39We should note, in addition to the explanation the president just gave, the president did lash out at a reporter who pressed him about the cancellations yesterday. Take a look. About 190 IQ to figure out the ballot. They put a ballot down where they're talking about incumbent Republican and the other one. Most people don't know in Alaska and a lot of other states, too. What does incumbent mean? They don't know what incumbent means. And that was not the right soundbite. But let's head to Anchorage right now where that press conference is getting underway. Here's the Justice Department. All right, guys.

9:17Good afternoon. Thank you so much for joining us today. I know we've got a lot of familiar faces and a lot of new faces. And for those of you new to here, welcome to Alaska. My name is Chloe Martin. and I'm the public affairs officer for the FBI Anchorage Field Office. And today you will be hearing from U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman for the District of Alaska, and you will also be hearing from Special Agent in Charge Matthew Schlegel of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. Also joining them today is Colonel Mo Hughes with the Alaska State Troopers. Following the remarks, we will be taking some brief questions.

9:59I appreciate your patience. Thank you. Thank you. I'll follow up with you. Thank you. this.

10:26Hi, good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for joining us here today. My name is Michael Heyman, and I'm the United States Attorney for the District of Alaska. There's been a tremendous amount of discussion and speculation regarding what's happening here in Alaska on the election matters. And so I wanted to take a moment to talk to you personally about what's happening on the ground here locally. You know, a lot of folks have been talking from around the country, Washington, D.C., but I think it's the first time you're going to hear from individuals on the ground that are dealing with these issues.

10:57First, I wanted to point out that I've been the United States Attorney in the District of Alaska since about February, late February of 2025, five, but I personally have not been involved in these matters at all. I was recused some time ago when these issues first came up. I wanted to let everybody know that as of yesterday, though, that recusal has officially been rescinded. And so now I am the lead attorney on these matters locally for the District of Alaska, working closely with the Criminal Rights Division in Washington, D.C.

11:29At the outset, I do want to say that what we've learned recently has been deeply troubling, both from a larger perspective and me as a resident of Alaska. I am a voter in Alaska. Every Alaskan deserves a fair election, and they're going to get one. If you're an Alaskan voter cast your ballot for the individual that you intend to support, federal and state law enforcement, including both the Alaska State Troopers on my right and the FBI on my left, are working to make sure that your vote counts in a way that you meant and intended it to count. Anyone who tries to illegally deceive voters and interfere with the election will answer for it.

12:18we are aware of the recent New York Times reporting regarding the Petola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee that they orchestrated a sprawling conspiracy to recruit and prop up Daniel J. Sullivan as a sham candidate and we are taking that extremely seriously the Justice Department takes every allegation of this sort extremely seriously when it comes to voter corruption or disrupting the integrity of the election process. When credible information comes out, we are committed to pursuing that information to deceive voters, and we will act on it. We are acting on it intensely and swiftly, as I'll talk about in just a second.

13:05Election integrity is belonging to every voter, regardless of party. we have been working closely with our partners both locally and federally as i had mentioned to preserve the integrity of the election election process and this has been going on for several months now it's been going on for several months but recent reporting has obviously resulted in troubling new revelations. This new information has resulted in a significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska, and I have assigned several attorneys in my office to assist in the matter as well. Those attorneys locally are continuing to do the great work that they're doing every day with respect to fentanyl trafficking, child exploitation, other national priorities, but they're going to be working even harder.

14:02As we speak, law enforcement around the country are taking investigative steps with respect to a criminal investigation on these matters. Now, because this is an ongoing investigative matter, we can't discuss the specifics of those investigative steps and who may or may not be involved. This protects the integrity of the investigation, and it protects those who may be the subject or target of those investigations. What I can tell Alaskans is that we will not let anyone or any group undermine this election.

14:41Next, I want to ensure that there is no confusion with respect to the multiple law enforcement and investigative steps that are taking place right now. what i mean by that is there is both a civil investigation and a criminal investigation that are ongoing those are what we call parallel proceedings it's not unusual they are occurring simultaneously and within their own lanes the civil lawsuit is publicly faced and is focused on preserving the ballots versus the criminal investigation on the other side each investigation will follow facts in its own right on the civil side consistent with the national voter registration Act, which Congress enacted in part to protect the integrity of the electoral process.

15:25The department filed suit last week and has filed an amended complaint adding a supremacy clause allegation. That lawsuit seeks to protect ballots. Nothing more for the moment, just protect the status quo. So Alaska can determine whether voters were misled or if the votes for Daniel J. Sullivan could have changed the outcome of the election. The department is not asking, not asking the court to declare a winner or loser or change the votes in any way. It's simply to preserve those ballots.

16:04Within the next hour or so, the United States has a responsive brief due to the motion to dismiss, which you will see. But in addition, within the next hour or so, the United States is also filing a motion for preliminary injunction with respect to the case that's pending on the civil side and is asking for expedited discovery by Monday on the issues surrounding the election that were raised in the civil complaint. This is all about election integrity. I want to encourage everyone with information on whether it be the information that we know about the Dan Sullivan issue or any other election integrity issue to contact the FBI.

16:45And within the last 24 hours or so, we have received a number of new pieces of information that we're following up on. Anybody with additional information should contact the FBI as soon as possible. Thank you.

17:06Thank you. My name is Matthew Schlegel. I am the special agent in charge of the Eckridge FBI office serving all of Alaskans. This is an active investigation, and again, law enforcement is limited in the specific details we can share at this time. I want to ensure the public we will continue to quickly and aggressively follow the facts wherever they lead. This investigation is being handled by some of the strongest law enforcement professionals in the country, committed to the rule of law, all of whom are working in coordination with our Department of Justice and committed to following the evidence.

17:44We encourage any member of the public with information to contact the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI. That's 1-800-225-5324. Or visit tips.fbi.gov. That's tips.fbi.gov. Thank you. Thank you very much. And at this time, we are going to take brief questions. And let's start with, let's see.

18:21Okay. We got... Why don't we just go? Yeah. No, we're not going to do that. But let's start with you. Right here. Yes, it's right. Hi, Keon Long from CNN. Why have you decided to unrecuse yourself, sir? And have you had discussions with the White House about that decision as well as the civil or criminal complaints? Sure. And I want to be clear that I think the term unrecuse is a little bit not accurate. And so, no, I have not unrecused myself. The way the process works is once there is a formal recusal in place, what can happen in there is an internal process by which the Department of Justice can review that recusal.

19:02The facts and circumstances that gave rise to the initial recusal are no longer applicable. That being, as CNN, I think specifically reported, that I was being considered for a judicial nomination position. The White House has nominated someone else for that position. And so therefore, the facts and circumstances have changed and they have decided to rescind, not not unrecuse, but it's called rescinding that recusal so that I can take part in the process now. And the second part of the question, sir, have you had discussions with the White House about that decision as well as a civil or criminal complaint?

19:34I have not had any discussions with the White House about those complaints. I've been in this case now for all of about 24 hours. And so, no, I haven't had any of those discussions. Not that I'm aware of. OK, next question, please. Yes. you said this uh investigation has been going on for months and a lot of us in the stream have talked to people here last year and consider this the most open secret many people do the entertainment uh the sullivan campaign was real but now you guys are citing a new york times report as kind of propelling this press conference today and the urgency now did new york times reporters have more information than federal investigators and what took you guys so long to get to where we are today?

20:12Sure. I'm not going to comment on the volume of the information that we had, but what I can tell you is my first assistant, Tom Bradley here, who's standing next to me, he has been leading the investigation from this office for several months now. Tom here is, we were just talking about this, he's a 49-year veteran, both starting off as law enforcement and then also as assistant United States attorney. And so there's been a tremendous amount of activity that's been going on. Of course, when the New York Times article hit, that's additional information that accelerated what we've been doing. Can you briefly just break down the parallel difference between the civil and the criminal investigation?

20:49Sure. There are specific secrecy rules that we have to abide by under the criminal investigation, right? And so to the extent that there are people on the civil side doing an independent investigation, engaging in civil discovery, and to the extent that there is a criminal investigation, that information is not shared with the civil side, right? There are secrecy rules that are in place, but it's not something that's unusual. We honor that parallel proceeding and we'll continue to do so. Next question here. Yeah, stories on all the CBS. What's the actual crime being alleged here? And also, we're less than four days out from the election.

21:25Why hope this press conference can escalate this now? Why not wait until after the election? Sure. I mean, to begin with, we're not escalating anything except to the extent that a new article came out, Right. This has been going on, you know, sort of quietly for several months with the intent not to escalate anything. But to the extent that there are allegations that are made on the eve of the investigation that can go to the heart of the induction integrity. We are going to take it seriously, even if it is a few days before the investigate the election. The crime. Look, I mean, you're assuming that there is a crime being committed.

21:57And right. And that's what we do is we investigate whether a crime has been committed under several theories. So I'm not going to comment on what those theories are. And I'm also not going to put the cart before the horse. I'm not making any assumptions on whether a crime has been committed or not. That's why we are conducting that thorough investigation. OK, we're going to go to Alaska Zoo source and then to Matt Harris. Tony Heyman, you mentioned that your office is aware of the New York Times report. But my question is, that report is based off of 12 anonymous sources. Are you inclined to believe the facts in that report?

22:27I'm not going to talk about what I'm inclined to believe. We're going to let the investigation run its course. Nat. Yeah, Nat Herz with the Anchorage Press. The lawsuit that DOJ has filed here, the legal underpinning for it, the National Voter Registration Act, is a really specific statute that has to do with voter registration, and sort of legal experts have really dismissed the basis for this case. Particularly the language you guys are citing is actually from the preamble of the legislation, which has no real binding legal power. One of the interveners in the case is asking for sanctions against your attorneys who signed the briefs for this being a frivolous lawsuit.

23:12So can you help sort of draw out for people who are in the public who may not have sort of intimate legal understanding, like how do you guys actually have a case here? I think I'm going to give you a truncated version to that answer, which is I'm not going to litigate that case, you know, in front of the media. As we speak, there are motions that are being drafted and responded to. Judge Gleason will address those in due course, and I think a lot of that will be resolved in the next week or so. And we're going to take one more question. It's Steve Patterson with NBC News. Can you talk about what kind of criminal activity would constitute the jurisdiction of a federal investigation, despite this being a state's election and one in which the Supreme Court has already made a rule?

23:53Yeah, I think I've answered that before. I'm not going to go into the details about what specific crimes we're investigating. Just what types of crimes might be alleged or what types might you be looking into? Well, I mean, it's been widely spoken about conspiracy theories and election integrity, but I'm not going to go into the specifics. And we're going to take one more question, and that's going to Mr. Landfield. What's the relevant criminal statute? Excuse me. I just wonder what your thoughts are on the fact that there's a lot of media here, and this has been going on since June, and it's taken the media, New York Times' case, five months to report on it, but we all knew about it, really.

24:29I'm not going to comment on what the media has or hasn't been doing, but I can say that it is serious now, and you've certainly got our attention. Like I said, there is a surge in FBI resources as well as resources in this office to make sure that the election integrity remains in place. Thank you, everybody. Any follow-up questions, please just come see me, and we can do what we can. Thank you to our individuals. Thank you all. And you have been listening to officials in Anchorage, Alaska discuss the controversy surrounding the Senate race there. You heard U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman say that, quote, this is serious now.

25:13A reference to the fact that he says there's been a surge in FBI resources to make sure that election integrity stays in place. In the wake of a New York Times report, which revealed that allegedly Democratic operatives and officials with the Mary Peltola campaign were involved in an effort to get a second Dan Sullivan, the incumbent, the incumbent senator in Alaska is named Dan Sullivan. So to get a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot, apparently an attempt to try to confuse voters and to give Mary Peltola the upper hand. Michael Heyman saying that we will not let anyone or any group undermine any election.

25:59Also saying that there are both criminal and civil investigations now underway, encouraging anyone with informations to contact them with that information, saying that what we have learned has been troubling. Joining me now is senior justice reporter Ryan Reilly and legal professor and NBC News contributor Travis Crum. Ryan, let me start with you. What were your key takeaways from what you just heard? Yeah, I mean, one thing that he said was that he's you know, he's not even saying that there necessarily was a crime here. But clearly they're putting a lot of resources into this. And just, you know, to step back, this is a really unusual press conference.

26:37You typically have the Justice Department being quiet so as to not impact an ongoing election in these days before people actually go to the polling place. And you're not going to be able to have a redo or sort of have a test case of how that press conference exactly will impact the way that people vote. Clearly, there's going to be a lot of headlines. There's going to be a lot of social media videos about there being this major investigation sort of implicating one side of the aisle here, the Democratic candidate. And so in coming out and doing this press conference, it really is sort of breaking with this longstanding DOJ tradition that we've seen of sort of making sure that the Justice Department isn't putting the thumb on the scale.

27:17You know, it was just a couple of days ago, actually, that very same U.S. attorney was in D.C. where I questioned him about this case. And he was recused, at that matter. So he didn't have any he said he didn't have anything to do with it. That's a very sudden, very quick change to sort of have going on Tuesday to say, I can't say anything about this case. I'm recused to it to go on Friday saying that, you know, we're going to have this press conference. And so certainly we've seen a number of steps from the Justice Department in these final days before the election that sort of break with that longstanding precedent, including an attempt to indict the former White House official Cassidy Hutchinson earlier in this week that ultimately failed.

27:57James Comey was in federal court or his lawyers were in federal court today. There's just been a lot of these activities coming out of DOJ at what has typically, Kristen, been a very quiet time. Travis, let me turn to you on that point, because it seemed like what we were hearing was we are going to ramp up our investigation. But again, underscoring the point that Ryan makes, making it very clear that Michael Heyman said he didn't know if a crime had been committed. Was there anything that officials said that suggested they had a new lead into criminal wrongdoing? What did you hear? Thanks, Kristen, for having me.

28:34So today's press conference is unusual. Typically, the Department of Justice does not make these big grand announcements on the Friday before an election. You would typically wait until after the election to hold this type of press conference. And what we hear today is new in the sense that a criminal investigation is being confirmed in contrast to the civil lawsuit that's already been filed. And I think what they're pointing to that's new are the revelations the New York Times gave us of the alleged level of involvement from the Peltola campaign and other Democratic operatives in putting the decoy, Dan Sullivan, on the ballot.

29:08Well, Travis, what are you going to be watching for next as we wait and watch to see this unfold? So I think you need to pay attention to two different cases. One is the civil case that was filed a couple of days ago. And there, nothing in today's press conference changes my views on that. That is a loser of a lawsuit because the Department of Justice is relying on a part of the National Voter Registration Act that doesn't give it a right to sue in court. And so I don't think that's going to go anywhere. But the criminal charges, we're going to have to wait and see. And I think that there's three big buckets of charges that we could expect to see.

29:44One is a deception charge based upon how Dan J. Sullivan followed out his notice of candidacy. When he filled that out, he said his middle name was S, and that matches the incumbent's middle name. I think that's more likely a state charge, but it's something I would be on the lookout for. The second bucket of charges are what I would call cover-up charges. They're going to be combing through campaign finance records. They're going to be looking for obstruction charges. They're going to be looking for false statements and those types of things. And then finally, I think the big question mark is whether or not you're going to see a charge brought that there's been a conspiracy to interfere with Alaskans' right to vote.

30:21And we don't have a lot of precedent on this statute in a situation quite like this, where you have a candidate being put up with a similar name. Well, we will continue to track it and really appreciate that insight. Ryan and Travis, thank you both so very much. NBC's Steve Patterson has made his way to Alaska for us. You heard him in the room there asking questions. Steve, it was a little hard to hear the questions, but I believe you were asking them, give us a sense of what type of criminal charges you might be looking into. You pressed him. You did a really great job of pressing him. Finally, he did say, well, of course, the possibility of a conspiracy theory or anything that might compromise election integrity.

31:06What was your takeaway, Steve? Well, sure. I mean, part of this is the jurisdictional part of this. Right. I mean, this is a state's election. The Supreme Court in June already ruled that Dan J. Sullivan could be on the ballot, could be on the August ballot. We saw him in the August primary ballot as well as on this ballot. So the question is, what exactly constitutes the federal involvement here, the federal DOJ getting involved in launching a criminal investigation? We simply don't know. They wouldn't tell us what exactly those items would be. You know, we've been hearing, obviously, what they could be, but we just simply don't know what they are.

31:40And I think that's at the heart of the question, especially when you have a press conference four days before an election that determines the entirety of the U.S. Senate. I think those are questions we deserve to have. In the meantime, we've been speaking to voters. We ran here from early voting at the mall about 10 minutes from here. We asked, you know, does this confuse you on the ballot? Just seeing those two Dan Sullivans, did that conflict you? Does that disgust you, so to speak, that, you know, the Democrats or Peltola may have been aware of this? And most of the answers we heard were no.

32:12They're simply here. They knew who they were going to vote for. This hasn't changed their vote. And there was no confusion on filling out that ballot. Christian. And I think, Steve, we have some of the sound of some of those interviews that you did. I want to play a little bit of it and then let's do some analysis on the other side. If the basis is true, then yes, of course, it's very disappointing that it's less than honest, you know. But I think the ungood that's happening now, that overrules, you know, what that that situation that circumstance i didn't feel like it was deception i think there can be people with the same name and could run for office at the same time and i didn't think it was any kind of underhanded practice how did that make you feel especially with this new new york times reporting that alleges there was this whole scheme to prop up another dan sullivan surprised me a bit does it anger you well a lot of things anger me but no it doesn't anger me it It doesn't surprise me at all.

33:13People are going to. There's always manipulation in elections.

33:21You hear the voices of the voters there. We heard several more comments just like that. There were, of course, people who are disappointed that the campaign may be involved here, especially, particularly Democratic Peltola voters. But that doesn't necessarily sway the way they're going to vote. And again, no confusion because there were two Dan Sullivan's. That is not a thing, at least from the voters that we spoke to here, Kristen. All right. Steve Patterson, great job with those voters and great job pressing officials in the room. They're really appreciated. All right. Let me turn now to Gabe Gutierrez, our senior White House correspondent.

33:54He's live in Daytona Beach. So, Gabe, set the scene there and give us your reaction. Obviously, the White House has been focused on this Alaska matter quite intensively. Do you anticipate President Trump will yet again raise it tonight at the rally? Oh, I do, Kristen. And look, I spoke with a White House official yesterday who said the president was making calls on this case. Wouldn't tell me at the time whether he had spoken directly with Attorney General Todd Blanche. But the suggestion was that the president was very interested in this investigation, wherever it may lead. Now, he's already publicly called for Patola to be prosecuted here.

34:32Again, a lot of questions about whether that will indeed happen. But certainly this is an issue that the White House is definitely seizing on. And the president coming here to Daytona Beach, coming here to Florida, his adopted home state, a state he won by about 13 points in 2024. Now, certainly there are a lot of candidates here on the ballot, not as competitive as some of the other states that Republicans are more worried about. Still, though, there is some concern among Republican aides regarding some House races here. Also, the gubernatorial race here is more competitive than you would have thought for a state that the president won by double digits just two years ago.

35:12You have Byron Donalds going up against Democrat David Jolly. And I spoke with some voters here just a little earlier this afternoon about their thoughts on this, what some of their top issues were. Here's what they told me, one Democrat, one Republican. Let's listen. We need somebody in there that is concerned about us. You know, concerned about us being able to live and not live day by day trying to figure out how I'm going to pay my bills. I'm not going to say the usual gas prices or whatever. I know they are what they are. But I think my top issue is security. Having a daughter and three granddaughters, I really feel like I want them to be safe wherever they go bathrooms.

35:53I want them only women in sports with them. They're both athletic. I just don't like what is happening with the progressives pushing their agenda so hard. So, Kristen, something else that's very interesting here, the Republican governor of Florida, of course, Ron DeSantis, earlier today posted on social media something that at least was interesting to me. He was sort of urging Republicans to get out and vote because he acknowledged that Republicans, in his view, were underperforming in Polk County, a county that Republicans won significantly two years ago. And according to early vote totals, and we know that you can't glean too much from early vote totals, but at the same time, the governor, the Republican governor here looking at those totals and is concerned, apparently, according to that social media post, that Republicans weren't doing as well as perhaps they should be at this at this time with regards to how many people of their party have actually gotten out and turned out.

36:52That's part of the reason why President Trump has been coming to these rallies. And again, he's expected here in just a few hours and we're expecting him to leave the White House, where certainly he's already shaken up his campaign schedule in these next couple of days, abruptly canceling those rallies in Kansas and Iowa before suddenly reinstating them today. Now they're going to happen on Sunday. A person familiar with those plans says that at first the president canceled them because he wanted to focus on tele-rallies. And now apparently he will do those tele-rallies on Monday. But the president saying in the Oval Office just a few moments ago that he got calls from some of what he referred to as his friends in those states wanting him to do those rallies in person because they were better than tele-rallies, Kristen.

37:38All right, Gabe Gutierrez, thank you so very much. And coming up, the candidate making waves in deep red Mississippi. Democrat Scott Colombe joins me with his closing message as Democrats try to pull off a once unthinkable Senate seat flip. How's he going to do it? Stay with us. You're watching Meet the Press now. This 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.

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40:02Welcome back. With four days to go, Democrats have their eyes on ruby red Mississippi and a Senate seat that hasn't been won by the party in more than four decades. Democrat Scott Colombe is looking to unseat incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith in a campaign that's put the Republican Party on defense. Earlier this week, President Trump spending precious time and resources holding a rally in the state, but denying Republicans are worried. I'm here because Cindy's doing great, but I just got to make sure I can't take a chance. I can't take a chance. You got no problem. The only problem is sometimes, and this happens in sometimes when you think somebody is doing so well, nobody votes.

40:46Now, ahead of the president's rally, the Cook Political Report moved the race in Democrats direction from solid Republican to likely Republican. Senate Democrats have injected half a million dollars to boost Colombe, the final days of the race and a flurry of high profile figures in the party have descended on Mississippi to campaign alongside him, including an event tonight with former President Bill Clinton. Joining me now is the Democratic candidate for Mississippi Senate, Scott Colombe. Thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. Listen, good afternoon from Tupelo, Mississippi.

41:19Good afternoon to you. Thank you for joining us in this home stretch. So your race has really come into focus. Your party really putting a lot of effort into trying to get you over the finish line. A lot of visits from high profile Democrats, a flurry of last minute spending. You see some of the Democrats there from former President Bill Clinton. He's going to be there with you tonight. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Jim Clyburn. Do you think that's going to be enough for you to win this race in a reliably red state? Absolutely. And because we built it, not just now, but months and months ago, you know, I've done over 60 town halls.

42:00Our junior senator hasn't done one in six years. I've been to the music festivals. I've been to the housing projects with my food truck, you know, so I went and built a grassroots campaign and the people of Mississippi have gotten behind me. So the great thing about this moment is it's not me that's getting the attention. It's the people of Mississippi that's getting the attention. And it's only motivating them more. That's why the absentee numbers are great. That's why whenever we have rallies, we got at least a thousand people showing up. I mean, folks are very, very excited because they know that on the issues that matter, I'm the fighter for Mississippi.

42:31As you know, though, a lot of Democrats are going to be skeptical that you can win in a state like Mississippi, where a Democrat hasn't won a Senate seat there in decades. What do you say to the skeptics who say you can't win in a state that red? You're a Democrat. Well, I would say first is a math and then a moral case. The math case is simple. 38 percent of the population is African-American. They vote 90 to 95 percent Democrat. There's a lot of white rural Democrats. So if you can't compete in a state with the numbers like that, you're not a national party. So you should be asking yourself, what have you been doing wrong where you can't compete in Mississippi?

43:08And then there's a moral argument to it. The reality is our country does not do well when it ignores places like Mississippi. When America makes sure kids in Mississippi have good education, that teachers got the pay that they need to actually teach their students, where we make sure that hospitals are open and that health care is accessible and that we actually live up to our American values, the country does well. When the country ignores places like Mississippi, inevitably it catches up with the country and we all suffer. So we have to understand that the math and the morals of Mississippi have to matter.

43:37Well, let me follow up with you on that exact point, because I had the opportunity to interview Senator Raphael Warnock. I know he was there campaigning with you as well. He told me Democrats are missing an opportunity to invest in a serious and sustained way, he said, in the South. Do you think it was a mistake for national Democrats to wait to invest in your race until this final stretch? Well, I'll say it this way because I don't want to paint too broad of a brush because there are two groups of people. There are people like Warnock and Senator Whitehouse, he's been a champion, also Brooks and Belize Blunt Rochester and others.

44:12They understand that in this moment, we got to be believers in a national party. You can't think, you can't, you can't, you can't lead with doubt. You have to believe, you have to lead with belief. And that's where the power is. When you believe things, you can actually achieve it. And there's some people in the party that they are just treading water, right? What's the path to least resistance to get to 51? Oh my gosh, we did it. That's not the right way to think. In this particular moment, you have to think about how can we win everywhere, because we need to represent working people in a way where we actually deliver.

44:42And if people want that, a fighter like that, go to ScottClone.com. Let's do it together. Well, let's ask and talk about what you're actually going to do if you are elected. You obviously made beef prices a big part of your campaign. You turned your opponent's suggestion to, quote, pick another protein. That wasn't her exact language. which you said there are plenty of proteins to pick from, into a viral ad. But what do you think is the one realistic thing you can accomplish to lower prices if you are elected to the U.S. Senate? Great question. And it's a question that I want Republicans and Mississippians and Independents to hear.

45:19We're going to lower prices by getting rid of these stupid tariffs because you were promised on day one lower grocery prices. Instead, what you got on day one was the greatest increase in sales tax in decades. And if you look at the Constitution, it's very clear that Congress is supposed to determine tariffs. People like Senator Rand Paul, they've understood this. They've consistently voted to get that power back to Congress. I will vote to get that power back to Congress, get low tariffs to make sure we get low prices so people can afford the stuff they need. It also helps small businesses in places like Tupelo, Mississippi.

45:51Well, again, President Trump has been out on the campaign trail campaigning against you. Here's what he had to say about you at a rally in Mississippi this week. Take a look. Scott Collum is a fake, a shameless phony who pretends to be a moderate. He always like I've seen this guy. He's not a moderate, but he sits on the board of an organization that wants to defund the police and abolish all prisons. Something's going wrong with these people. How do you respond to his claims that you're too extreme? And do you want to, as he says, you sit on the board, defund the police and abolish all prisons?

46:28Man, listen, I don't even sit on any boards right now. That's how crazy of a lie that is. It's totally made up. And the reality is everything he's saying is lies. And the reality, he's lying because he doesn't want somebody to hold him accountable to the promises he made to the American people. He's the one that promised America first. But he's delivering Mississippi last. He's only focused on his families and not on our families. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to make him, I'm going to actually fight for lower grocery prices than he promised. I'm going to fight to get us out of another endless war that he promised.

46:56I'm going to actually fight to fully release the F-10 files like he promised. All I'm going to do is hold him accountable to the promises he made to the American people and the people of Mississippi. Well, I do want to ask you one of the big debates that's unfolding right now within the Democratic Party. It revolves around impeachment. House Democrats, if they win back the House, are having this discussion about whether to move forward on a third impeachment of President Trump. You obviously would be elected to the Senate if you were to win. But would you support such an effort to impeach President Trump for a third time?

47:29Do you think that's a good use of Democrats power if they were to win back control of the House? Listen, I'm going to impeach Cindy Hyde Smith. That's the one that's betraying Mississippi voters. She's the one that got tariffs through the roof. She's got gas through the roof. She hurt our beef farmers. She's a cattle farmer. And she betrayed them because she allowed President Trump to import chief beef from Argentina, undermining Mississippi cattlemen. How is that Mississippi first? That's Argentina first. So I'm going to ask you to look out for the people of Mississippi by impeaching Sidney Hyde-Smith.

47:59Do you have an opinion on it? I understand you want to focus on your race, but do you have an opinion on this big debate unfolding inside the Democratic Party? I'm not even aware of that debate. You know, when I talk to people in the state of Mississippi, and I actually campaign, I talk to Trump voters. They're not bringing up stuff like that. What they're talking about is, what are we going to do about gas? What are we going to do about groceries? What are we going to do about health care? What are we going to do about the corruption in D.C. that's ruining our country? So that's what I'm going to focus on.

48:24And as a prosecutor, I commit to follow the evidence and follow the law and do what's right. And that's what I've done as district attorney. Let me ask you about the developments out of Alaska, another Senate race. These accusations against Mary Peltola, the candidate there, the Senate majority could potentially come down to Alaska. We'll have to see how it shakes out. But do you support an investigation into the Peltola campaign after this New York Times report that said her campaign and Democratic operatives were, in fact, aware of the efforts involved in the efforts to get a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot?

48:56And by the way, I should note that Mary Peltola has denied that she was aware of it. Well, I mean, she's denied it. You know, I'll tell you this. There's so much corruption going on in D.C. right now. Let's focus on that. Let's focus on the gift of a private jet. Let's talk about the crypto scheme. Let's talk about the deals to people in the Trump family. Let's talk about the stock trading that is clearly based on inside information. You know, as a district attorney, I've always committed to do what's right. I prosecuted a Democratic sheriff that was involved in sexually assaulting a female inmate.

49:30And those are the type of values I'm going to bring to D.C. I'm actually going to focus on making sure we have a government that we can be proud of. All right, Scott Colom, thank you so very much for your time today. All the very much. All the very best of luck in this final stretch on the campaign trail. Thank you. God bless you. Thank you so much. You too. Take care. Coming up next, Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell joins us with a gut check on Democrats' chances in the state's must-win Senate race. And an important Election Day programming note, after a special edition of Meet the Press Now.

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51:44Welcome back. One of the key races we'll be watching next Tuesday is that high-stakes Senate race in Michigan, where recent polls show Democrat Abdul El-Sayed with a narrow lead over Republican Mike Rogers, though we should note his lead is within the margin of error. Republicans have surged resources into the state in these final days while ramping up their attacks on El-Sayed and his Muslim faith. Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Debbie Dingell of Michigan. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us. Let's set the stakes. You warned us about cracks in the blue wall in 2016. You said Democrats may be taking Michigan for granted.

52:19in 2024. So what's the state of play right now? Do you think Al-Sayed is going to win? I think that the race is very competitive in Michigan, but I think that the ugliness, the attacks on faith, ministers that I'm talking to that have had reservations are feeling, have very specifically said to me, what we're watching now is the racism that we have lived. So I think it's going to be very close. But I think that this hate that we're watching on television is beginning to backfire. And I believe that Democrats will take the statewide offices. Let me ask you, because the big news is that Haley Stevens is set to campaign with Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday.

53:12You told the New York Times you were the one who made that happen. Can you walk us through that? How'd you do it, Congresswoman? I don't want to over, you know, there are two people that want to see. She has said she reaffirmed it on CNN on Wednesday that she was going to vote for Abdul El-Sayed. So she and Jim Clyburn were close and it was an idea that I have. Everything that's happening in Michigan right now gets blown not a proportion. A million conspiracy theories hit. People have got their own personalities. And quite frankly, I wish some days that I wasn't the person I was that tries to bring people together.

53:54But I did. That's how it happened. I think we are got a lot of people trying to overblow all kinds of different things. Here's what I think. I think people are worried about what's happening in Washington. I think that people are worried about the number of people that lost access to health care and the number of people that can't go to the doctor right now. They're worried about hungry children. They're worried about seniors who are hungry and worried about whether they can get their medicine. And I think that that's what this election is about. And that's how you're going to see people vote on Tuesday.

54:29Oh, just to follow up on that, of course, Abdul Al-Sayed is going to need Haley Stevens supporters if he's going to win. This is going to be their first event together in months. Do you believe it's too little too late? Do you wish Haley Stevens had spent more time on the trail with him? I just want to, you know what, have you watched the campaign in Michigan this year? Everybody's doing their own. The governor, Jocelyn Benson, has been in different parts of the state. Abdul has been in different parts of the state. I've been, we've got competitive congressional races. Why is everybody, you're not saying this in other states, why aren't so-and-so and so-and-so?

55:11I think that everybody's working really hard because they're worried about what is happening in Washington. And I think the national media is focused on Michigan. We're always a purple state. There are a lot of dynamics. There's way too much hate in division. But I think we are where we are. But you haven't seen a lot. I go to a lot of events. I see one candidate or the other candidate or the secretary of state or the AG. People are working hard. We are working the hardest I've ever seen us. We've hit more doors. And quite frankly, they're going into small towns. Abdul went up north and went into small towns that people have never gone in before.

55:54Jocelyn's been doing the same thing. So I think everybody here is working for Victory Tuesday and being strong as a broader team and not really doing a lot together. One of the questions is, will Abdul Al-Sayed get the support he needs from black community, from the black community, from the Jewish community? Do you think he has done enough to reach out to those communities, to bring them along, to get them out to vote on Tuesday for him? I think that's a do you be your wife question in a way. I think he has been working hard. I think he's been going into different communities. You know, he's got to talk about the issues that matter.

56:36And he tries to talk about health care and the many things that have happened in Washington, the corruption that has increased costs for everybody, tariffs, which have cost in Michigan. We are the state that's been most impacted by tariffs. It's almost six thousand dollars per family. So I think that's what he's trying to talk about the issues. I think one of my colleagues came in and I said, you know, part of the problem is right now you can't take two feet, walk two feet without running into a national reporter. I want to see us talk about the issues. I think that, quite frankly, a lot of people are trying to create more controversy here when I think the real discussion should be about what's been happening in Washington and how we've got to stand up to what we've seen the last two years.

57:29So let's talk about what's happening in Washington and what you think Democrats should do should they win back the House. First of all, Congresswoman, do you think Democrats are going to win back the House? I think we will win back the House. Talk to enough people across the country. People are not happy with the direction this country is going in. And the momentum is on our side, I believe. And do you think Democrats should. Reach across the aisle, work with President Trump, try to get deals done. Is that a possibility? Should Democrats win the House? I'm going to answer that question differently.

58:06I think where we can, we should be working across the aisle with our Republican colleagues. I think that the second term of the president is very different than the first term. I think we've got to go in. Look, I think we'll have a hundred hour agenda and a hundred day agenda. And we're going to have to reverse some of the very horrific things that happened in the past few years, the cutting of Medicaid. We've got the number of people that are hungry right now in our country is very disturbing. But I also think that we've got to do oversight. And even when I'm out, people talk to us, talk to me and know that the corruption they've seen in Washington has increased their costs.

58:54So we're going to have to do both, quite frankly, system. We're going to have to. And, you know, if we get some legislation passed through the House and Senate with significant numbers, which I think we will, then hopefully the president will sign these bills. Congresswoman, just finally, your reaction to the developments in Alaska and your DOJ just came out. They held a news conference in Anchorage today basically saying they're ramping up investigations in the wake of this New York Times report. What's your reaction to that? And what happens if the Senate comes down to Alaska? I think that the candidate there has denied that she had anything to do with it.

59:39I think the state court said that those names could stay on the agenda. And it's one more example of trying to divert attention on these elections. All right, Congressman Debbie Dingell, Well, thank you so very much for your time. Be safe on the campaign trail. I know you'll be out there. Thank you. Thanks. All right. Well, if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press on your local NBC News station. We have a packed show. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Senator Tim Scott and Congressman Jamie Raskin will join me. We've also got a supersized panel that includes former U.N. ambassador and Republican governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley and former Democratic Congresswoman Val Demings.

1:00:18Plus, Steve Kornacki breaks down our final NBC News poll ahead of Election Day. You can also watch us right here on NBC News Now every Sunday at noon, 1 p.m., and 9 p.m. Eastern. The news continues right now.

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