Meet the Press NOW — Oct. 16

[0:14] Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Kristen Welker with 18 days to go. [0:18] President Trump right now is set to make his 12th campaign stop in the last 16 days [0:23] amid even more signs of midterm momentum for Democrats. More than 7 million Americans have [0:28] already cast their ballots nationwide, including 2 million in our 10 closely watched Senate [0:35] battlegrounds. That's according to NBC News data via voter file company TargetSmart. Meanwhile, [0:41] Democrats are reporting massive fundraising hauls last quarter, significantly more than their [0:46] Republican opponents in those key battleground states. That's according to FEC filings. At this [0:52] hour, the president is on one of those battlegrounds, Georgia, where incumbent Democrat John Ossoff is [0:58] facing a challenge from Republican Congressman Mike Collins. As he left the White House earlier, [1:03] the president touted the impact he says he's having on the trail. [1:06] Georgia is just the latest stop on the president's midterm blitz. So far, he's hit 10 states, [1:32] some of them multiple times. And he'll be back in Georgia later this month. One of at least eight [1:37] campaign stops currently on the schedule before Election Day. Notably absent from that list, [1:42] battleground Maine. And in an interview last night, the president's suggesting it will stay that way. [1:47] Take a look. [1:49] There's no real reason for me to go to Maine, I don't think. Although they have a couple of [1:53] interesting races going on, but I think we're going to win those races. But probably not. I'd like to go [2:00] to Maine. I love Maine. But I'm so solid with Maine, too. It's, you know, can't get much more solid. [2:06] It comes as incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson faced off in their fourth [2:14] and final debate last night, where Collins once again sought to distance herself from President [2:19] Trump. In addition, I would point out a major difference between Troy and me. I vote very [2:30] independently. Of all the hundred senators, the studies show that I am the most bipartisan member [2:40] of the Senate. We need more people in the Senate. We don't need more people who are going to vote [2:48] a straight party line. [2:50] Well, Senator Collins likes to have it both ways. I mean, the reality is that 100 percent of the time [2:56] when Donald Trump needs her, Susan Collins is going to be there. That has happened time and time again. [3:02] The votes that she throws away are managed votes that she already knows the outcome. [3:07] And today we got yet another sign of the tough midterm environment for Republicans. Our friends [3:13] at the Cook Political Report shifting 11 races in Democrats' direction, including five likely [3:19] Republican districts now in the competitive lean Republican category. All of them are districts [3:25] President Trump won in 2024, some by more than double digits. Joining me now from Georgia [3:31] following the president is NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba. Chief White House correspondent [3:36] Garrett Haik is at the White House and Aaron Covey, House of Representatives editor for the Cook [3:41] Political Report. Thanks to all of you for being here. Monica, let me start with this breaking news. [3:47] We have to talk about the fact that the newly installed White House press secretary is out [3:51] after only a few days on the job. What is President Trump saying? What are your sources telling you? [3:57] This was a significant development, Kristen. Of course, her very short tenure was marked by controversy [4:04] from that very first briefing that she offered on Tuesday that only lasted under 15 minutes. But it [4:10] was really her resume and her background questions about her credentials. So she had identified herself [4:16] repeatedly as a lawyer, but she did not pass a bar exam after graduating law school that it seems to [4:23] have added to the president's decision making here that she could no longer serve in the role of press [4:29] secretary. Here's a little bit more of what the president had to say when he left the White House [4:33] earlier this afternoon. Well, Katie's been treated very badly by the media, very, very badly, [4:40] very unfairly, I think. And I just spoke to her about it. I said, Katie, is this for you? And I said to [4:47] Katie just two minutes ago, I said, Katie, you know, you don't have to do this if you don't want. [4:52] She said, this is a lot tougher. I said, welcome to the world of Trump. [4:57] It was just moments after the president said that, Kristen, that we were able to confirm that she was [5:04] out of her post. What we don't know yet is whether she will have some other kind of role [5:09] in the administration. Officials are indicating that they may try to find something for her to [5:15] transition to. But interestingly, tonight, she's set to have dinner with Vice President Vance and his [5:20] family at the Naval Observatory. Kristen. [5:23] Well, just a stunning turn of events, Monica. You have been all over it in your reporting. Let [5:29] me ask you, because President Trump's about to speak there in Georgia, that competitive Senate [5:34] seat, the gubernatorial race. What is the president's strategy going to be? [5:41] Yeah, and it's been notable where the president has gone, where he hasn't. And he has spent most of [5:46] the last couple of weeks in those reliably red states, whereas here in Georgia, in a little bit [5:51] more of a battleground. He won in 2016. He narrowly lost it in 2020 and then flipped it back to red [5:57] in 2024. But this is a case where he is trying to boost a Republican challenger, of course, [6:03] in Representative Mike Collins to the incumbent Democratic Senator John Ossoff. And if you just [6:08] look at the cash advantage that Democrats have here, it's remarkable. After those third quarter [6:14] numbers came in, John Ossoff has about 33 million that he raked in versus Mike Collins, about 2 [6:21] million. And so the president is here to talk to voters who we know are loyal to him, but he's going [6:27] to continue to make this case about asking them to pretend he's on the ballot. And in the conversations [6:31] I've had here for voters, they say they feel that message is working. They're telling me that [6:36] their Republican friends who maybe wouldn't have shown up to vote are heeding the president's call, [6:41] have gone even to vote early. And there are record-breaking early voting numbers here in [6:46] the state of Georgia on pace, Kristen, to break the last midterm record of four years ago, if this [6:53] keeps up. Well, we are going to continue to track those early voting numbers, that's for sure. Monica, [6:58] I know you've been reporting on the president's travel schedule, his strategy there, 13 stops in 16 days [7:06] so far. Where's he headed next? And what does that tell you? Yeah. So tomorrow he will be heading to [7:13] Kentucky and then he's going to follow that up early next week with trips to Kansas, North Carolina, [7:20] South Carolina, Florida. And then he's also going to be coming back to Georgia and then two stops on [7:26] the calendar that I think will be pretty critical a little later in the month and early November. [7:31] And that's of course, Michigan and Iowa. There had been a lot of questions about when the president [7:35] was going to head to either of those places. Now we know it will be toward that home stretch. [7:40] But that one place that we haven't mentioned, Kristen, as you nodded to in the introduction, [7:45] Maine, whenever we've talked to our sources and RNC officials about whether he really will go there, [7:50] it is highly unlikely. And we know that Maine Senator Susan Collins has implied that she is not [7:56] expecting him there and doesn't necessarily want him to be campaigning there. So that's the one we're [8:00] still watching for because it was the president who indicated he might go there. [8:04] Yeah. Susan Collins among the Republicans trying to find some distance between herself [8:09] and President Trump right now. Monica Alba, great reporting as always. Thanks for starting us off [8:15] from the campaign trail in Georgia. Gary, let me head to you at the White House. So we've been talking about [8:20] the fact that there were two big Senate debates last night, including in Alaska, where the president [8:25] campaigned earlier this week. What were some of your key takeaways? I know you were tracking all of it. [8:30] Yeah. I mean, as we've seen in so many of these races, the part of the debate last night was focused [8:35] on Dan Sullivan essentially trying to create a little bit of distance between himself and [8:40] President Trump. He went after Mary Peltola in a New York Times story that suggested that she had [8:45] been harsh with staff. When she pushed back asking when he had criticized President Trump for the kind [8:50] of language or derogatory remarks he had made, Sullivan pointed to two examples. He pointed to the [8:55] president's comments about John McCain and the president's comments about Megyn Kelly, both of which were [9:00] from before he became president. And while Sullivan didn't say this, and I don't think Peltola fully [9:04] capitalized on it, that's in keeping with the Dan Sullivan I covered in the Senate, who's not [9:09] necessarily willing to criticize President Trump. Those criticisms were only about candidate Trump [9:14] before he had any power whatsoever. And so that was a theme. So too was discussion about energy [9:19] production, as you can always imagine, is an issue in Alaska. Sullivan pushing back on high gas prices, [9:24] saying that, you know, Alaska just needs to produce more energy. Alaska is already one of the top [9:27] energy producing states in this country. So I'm not sure how far that argument will go. But I think [9:32] it was very telling about sort of the state of this race so far. So, Garrett, I want to ask you, [9:37] because I know that earlier this week you actually spoke to Josh Turek, of course, who's running in [9:43] another red state in Iowa for your podcast. Here's the scoop election edition. What did he tell you? [9:49] Yeah, look, I've been fascinated with Iowa because here's a state that actually does have a history of [9:53] behaving like a more purple state, even though it's been red for the last couple of cycles. [9:57] Turek is in position to capitalize on that. We talked a lot about how angry he thinks people [10:02] are there about the economy, about the tariffs, about the war with Iran. And he told me on election [10:07] night he'll be looking at one key group of voters to see if he's got a chance to win, young voters. [10:13] Listen. On election night, when everyone's nervously watching the results come in, [10:19] what are you going to be looking for to have a sense of if you're going to be going to the U.S. [10:23] Senate or not? I think we're going to win this off of young people being engaged. I think they [10:29] uniquely are realizing that they may be the first generation of Americans that are seeing their [10:35] quality of life not being quite as high. They're looking at a situation where the average age of [10:40] a first-time home buyer is 40 years old. And so I think inspiring them, I think also we're going to [10:46] win this by trimming the margins in rural communities and amongst farmers. [10:49] Kristen, I think that idea about keeping the margins down in rural communities is big, [10:55] not just in Iowa, but it's also something I heard when we talked about the Texas Senate [10:58] and gubernatorial races in a lot of these other Midwestern states or states with large [11:03] rural populations. Democrats don't need to win with those folks. They need to not get blown out. [11:08] And if that's the case, you could see a very blue-hued map on election night. [11:13] All right. Well, it looks like a great interview. We look forward to [11:16] listening and to hearing the entire interview, of course. Here's the scoop. [11:21] Election edition with Garrett Haake. Garrett, great get. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it. [11:26] Erin, let me turn to you now. Let's talk about the Cook Political Report moving 11 districts in [11:32] Democrats' favor. Talk about the implication in this broader environment. [11:37] It looks increasingly like the center of the House battleground is in these districts that Trump won by [11:43] even double digits in 2024. And that includes districts in Ohio, in Iowa, but also in upstate New [11:51] York and southern Minnesota, places that Republicans have done quite well over the past decade or so. [11:56] But these are parts of the country that used to vote for Democrats by wider margins. And it looks [12:01] like Democrats have a chance of making some gains here for the first time in a while. [12:05] Really significant. When you look at where the president is campaigning and then you compare [12:12] that against the map that you all are drawing, what do you make of the strategy that we're seeing [12:18] unfold? He's obviously been targeting largely ruby red states and districts. [12:23] I think that makes sense. I mean, that is where, again, the bulk of these competitive races are, [12:27] particularly for the House. If you have a really competitive statewide race, like in the Ohio [12:31] Senate race and the gubernatorial race, that has trickle down effects on all of these districts. [12:36] And so if you're sitting in a district that Sherrod Brown is winning by several points, [12:40] it's tough as a Republican to defend yourself. But just to be and to drill down on the specifics [12:46] a little bit more, you moved a lot of seats, 30, I believe, over the past two weeks towards Democrats. [12:52] But that doesn't mean that they're likely Democrats. In fact, most of these races are still in the lean [12:58] Republican category. So what do Democrats actually have to do in order to flip one of these seats? [13:04] Because they still, in some of these, are facing an uphill battle. [13:07] They are. I mean, they're going to need to win over a certain number of disaffected Trump voters. [13:11] They're going to need to do very well with independents. But that is quite possible. Our [13:15] current range for what we're expecting for control of the House is that Democrats pick up between 10 [13:20] and 20 seats. And so they'll have a majority regardless on either end of that range. But that [13:26] we've known from the beginning that would require them to play in red territory. [13:29] Okay. Well, so much to watch between now and Election Day. And we'll be watching what the [13:34] Cook Political Report does and says very closely. Erin, thanks so much for being here. Really [13:39] appreciate it. Coming up, an update now next on the absolutely devastating mass shooting at an [13:45] elementary school in Bend, Oregon, that killed three children and a teacher. What we know about [13:50] the victims, the 16-year-old gunman, and the hero bystander who stepped in to save lives. Plus, [13:57] President Trump again denies any White House involvement in a Starlink outage that Ukraine [14:02] says severely impacted its air defenses and calling Ukraine's latest attacks on Russian oil refineries [14:08] a, quote, disgrace. Stay with us. You're watching Meet the Press now. [14:22] Welcome back. We are following that tragic news out of Bend, Oregon, where yesterday a 16-year-old [14:26] shooter opened fire at an elementary school. Officials are set to provide an update next hour. [14:32] Authorities say three children ages 5, 8, and 11 and a teacher were killed in the shooting. [14:38] Another child and teacher were critically injured. Police say the shooter, who has been identified as [14:43] John J. Griffin II, used a long gun to shoot through the school's locked doors. A Good Samaritan [14:50] identified as 36-year-old Caleb Germanico intervened and shot and killed the gunman, likely preventing [14:57] further loss of life. Yesterday, during a press briefing, local leaders reacted to the tragedy [15:03] in their community. I don't have any words for what this community is feeling right now, [15:09] and I don't think anyone does. We are heartbroken. We are horrified. This is the kind of thing you [15:16] hear about in other places, and pray that it never happens here, and it has happened here. [15:21] So my heart is absolutely broken today, and our hearts will stay broken in the days and weeks [15:27] ahead, and my daily prayers will be with this community, with the children, with the parents, [15:34] and with the educators. Today, while leaving the White House, President Trump made his first [15:39] comments about the shooting and noted the heroic actions taken by the Good Samaritan. [15:45] There was a great hero, and it could have been as bad as it was. We had a great hero that went in and [15:51] did the business. He took care of business, and thank God we had him. Otherwise, it would have [15:56] been much worse. It's a terrible thing, but thank goodness for a man that had a gun and knew how to [16:03] use it. Joining me now is NBC News correspondent Liz Kreutz in Bend, Oregon, and NBC News law enforcement [16:10] analyst Jim Cavanaugh. Thanks to both of you for being here. Liz, yet another devastating school [16:16] shooting. What are we learning about the victims and those who were injured? Oh, it's just heartbreaking [16:22] to be here and see another community have to go through a tragedy like this. Kristen, we are [16:28] awaiting hopefully an update on the injured, the two people injured, a seven-year-old child [16:33] and a 54-year-old teacher. Her husband put out a statement basically thanking the community for [16:40] their support and not giving an update on her condition, but we are hopeful that they're okay. [16:44] But authorities did say they were both transported to the hospital with critical injuries. We're also [16:49] working to learn more about those victims, the five, eight and 11-year-old children that have died [16:54] and another teacher as well. The five-year-old's family has confirmed his identity, a little boy, [17:01] a little five-year-old boy named Rome Summer. We've heard from his aunt and understandably, [17:07] the family is absolutely heartbroken. She says she doesn't know if his parents will ever be able to [17:12] speak about what's happened. And we can tell you, Kristen, that several parents have also told us [17:17] that it appears the gunmen went into the special education classroom, which would explain why [17:23] there's these varying ages of the children. Police have not confirmed that, but we hope to get that [17:28] update at this press conference coming up in about 45 minutes. It's just too horrific to imagine what [17:33] those families are experiencing today. Liz, you spoke to a family member of the Good Samaritan. [17:40] What did they tell you? Yeah. So we spoke to the brother of 36-year-old Caleb Giamacco, [17:48] and he confirmed that it was his brother that heroically intervened. In fact, we're standing [17:53] on the road where we believe he drove by. According to his brother, Caleb was driving home for his lunch [17:59] break. He wasn't even planning to come home for this lunch break and kind of on a whim decided to, [18:03] he said, decided to drive by on his lunch break, was driving by the school, heard the gunshots, [18:08] saw the gunman go inside the school and really without even thinking, because this all happened [18:14] within a matter of a few minutes, got out, followed the gunman inside and using his concealed weapon, [18:21] he then stopped him, essentially stopped him and prevented more loss of life. But according to his [18:28] brother, he doesn't want to speak out right now because he's so upset by all of this, so upset by [18:33] what he saw and also upset sadly with himself, because even though he is being hailed as a hero right [18:38] hopefully so, he feels like he's not one that he didn't do enough to save more lives, Kristen. [18:45] It's just so devastating. Jim, let me turn to you on this. Police have identified the shooter. [18:51] What are your biggest outstanding questions? What are investigators going to be zeroing in on at this [18:56] point in time? Kristen, they got to dig into his past. They got to find out the motivation [19:01] so we can use the information to stop future attacks, particularly centered on how he did shoot [19:07] out the lock of the school. It's not so easy to do. You know, in Hollywood, one shot, you know, [19:11] the lock opens up, but it's not really the way it works. In law enforcement, we had to use breaching [19:16] rounds, shotgun breaching rounds to be able to bust through hinges and locks. So I'm interested to see [19:22] if this delayed him at all. Did he have to spend a lot of time trying to shoot out that lock? [19:26] Because we need higher security on locks like that. That's pretty obvious. And reviewing the security [19:35] posture and what makes this guy tick? What's the motive? Why is he taking revenge on his school? [19:41] Words fall short of the cold-blooded murder of a five-year-old, an eight-year-old, an 11-year-old. [19:46] It's just, this case has just really hit the country hard. Everybody I've talked to today is [19:53] just like, you know, just cannot believe it. It's just, it's just so disgusting. We got to do more [20:00] as a country to stop it. Absolutely. Jim, when you hear about this 16-year-old shooter, one of the [20:07] questions, undoubtedly, where did this person get the weapon from? What are investigators going to [20:16] look at in that regard? You know, Kristen, I've worked so many cases over all my 36 years with [20:23] guns and people getting guns and now they acquired them. In these school shooters cases, oftentimes the [20:29] gun comes right from the home. It's taken from the parent's closet, the grandparent's closet, [20:35] or it's given to the child by a parent. I mean, this is the Adam Lanza case in Newtown, Kentucky, [20:42] and others we can cite. Parents give teenagers rifles. They don't, their brain is not completely [20:48] formed. When you're 15 or 16, your brain is not completely formed. You're not an adult. [20:53] And emotional things can take you on rides that can take you to evil places. And that's why you [20:59] have parents who direct you, you know, you can't have your driver's license to your soul. You don't [21:04] join the military to your soul. You shouldn't be, you know, getting a powerful rifle when you're, [21:09] when you're too young. Sure. If you're under adult supervision, you're going on a hunting trip. Of [21:14] course we understand that, but not just, you know, given a child a gun, uh, parents really got to think [21:21] about what they're doing here and they'll all certify that their child won't do it. And every [21:25] child that does it was certified by their parents prior that they would never do it. [21:30] Well, our thoughts are certainly with the community in Bend, Oregon there, Liz Creutz and Jim [21:37] Kavanaugh. Thank you both so very much. We really appreciate it. And we are following this story [21:42] closely. We're going to bring you any updates as we get them coming up next going for the garden [21:48] state. I'm going to talk to the Democrat running to flip a key Republican held house seat in New [21:53] Jersey. It's one of November's most competitive and also consequential congressional races. You don't [21:58] want to miss this conversation. Stay with us on Meet the Press now. Welcome back. House Democrats [22:13] path to victory in November could run through a New Jersey district considered one of the most [22:18] competitive this midterm cycle. New Jersey's seventh congressional district is currently [22:23] represented by Congressman Tom Kane, Jr., who is facing a challenge from Democrat Rebecca Bennett, [22:29] a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot who then turned to a career in health care. Congressman [22:35] Kane's tenure included a four month disappearance from public view earlier this year, which he later [22:39] revealed was because he sought treatment for depression. Now, to give you a sense of how [22:44] swingy this district can be, Congressman Kane flipped the seat red by three points in 2022. [22:50] President Trump won the district, which is home to his Bedminster golf course, by just one point in [22:57] 2024. And Democratic Governor Mikey Sherrill carried the district by two points in 2025. That is the [23:04] definition of a swing district. Joining me now is the Democratic candidate running in New Jersey [23:09] seven. Rebecca Bennett, thanks so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. [23:13] Thank you so much for having me on today. Well, let's get to the state of play. The [23:17] political report moved your race from toss up to lean Democrat last month. What do you think it's [23:22] going to take to win this district to flip it? Yeah, well, you know, as you mentioned, I'm a former [23:28] Navy helicopter pilot. I served in the military for 15 years. I'm also a mom to two girls. And [23:34] ultimately, the reason why I'm running for Congress is because I deeply love this country and care about [23:39] the future that we're going to leave for my daughters and the next generation. And what [23:43] I've heard loud and clear from people across my district is really three things. One, it's taking [23:48] on the cost of living crisis that we are dealing with in this country. Two, it's tackling the [23:52] corruption in Washington. And three, it's putting country over party to move this country forward. [23:56] And that's the message that I've been talking to people about. And it's resonating across the [24:00] political spectrum. And that's why we're going to flip the seat in 18 days. [24:03] Well, traditionally, this has been a red district. Registered Republicans outnumber registered [24:07] Democrats by nearly 20,000 voters. President Trump remains popular in critical parts of the [24:14] district. What's your strategy to reach out to those Republican voters, the independent voters, [24:19] undecided voters who are going to determine this race? [24:23] Yeah, you know, I was serving in the military. We were just there as Americans to get the job done. [24:27] And that's really the mindset that I'm bringing this campaign into office is I will work with whoever [24:31] wants to work with me on being able to solve the issues that we're facing for this country. [24:36] Also, just add, we've been very intentional about going and meeting people where they are, [24:39] both in person and online. And so, you know, I'm a mom, I've got young kids. And so we do meet and [24:43] greets at playgrounds on Saturday mornings, because it's very hard to be able to come to do an event. [24:48] If you've got kids, I refer to, you know, 5 to 7 p.m. in my house at the zoo o'clock. And so we have [24:53] stickers and popsicles and bubbles and make it fun and go to where people are, as opposed to ask them to come to us. [24:57] If you are elected, is there one issue you could name where you see yourself working, [25:02] reaching across the aisle, working with President Trump and Republicans? [25:07] The number one thing that I want to focus on for the district is transportation infrastructure. [25:11] So we have the gateway tunnel in our district. We have got to get one seat ride done to make sure [25:15] that people are able to commute reliably into New York City. You know, Donald Trump held up the [25:20] funding for the gateway tunnel last year. And so I want to make sure that we're getting that gateway [25:24] tunnel done. We're getting the infrastructure funding that we need for our district. And I'll work with [25:27] whoever wants to work with me on being able to make sure we get that done. [25:31] Well, as you know, gas prices are above $4 a gallon. Would you support, would you vote for [25:36] a federal gas tax if you are elected? [25:40] My focus on the, to your point about gas prices, you know, really the reason why we're seeing the [25:45] costs go up is because of the war in Iran, which is really personal for me. You know, I deployed to [25:50] the Middle East in support of the Afghanistan war. And I flew and led missions through the Strait of [25:54] Four News where it was my helicopter between the Iranians and the U.S. Navy. And what we have seen [25:59] is that my opponent, Congressman Tom Kane Jr., has now voted three times to allow this war to continue [26:04] without any sort of congressional oversight. We need to bring an end to the war, make sure we get our [26:08] service members home and bring down the cost of oil and gas. [26:11] And just to follow, follow up with you and I, apologies, I left out the word suspend. But if, if there was [26:17] legislation to suspend the federal gas tax, would you support it? Would you vote to support it? [26:21] It's something that I'm open to looking at, but I want to make sure that we're getting the money, [26:26] to your point about the infrastructure, that we're not taking money away from that. So [26:29] it's definitely something I'm open to looking at, though. [26:32] Okay. Republicans have attempted to link you to progressive New Jersey Democrats, [26:37] Adam Hamaway and Congresswoman Annalia Mejia, who have called for abolishing ICE, [26:43] ending weapons sales to Israel. Are those ideas that you would agree with abolishing ICE [26:48] and ending weapons sales to Israel? [26:50] Well, you know, what I will say is that one of my most prized possessions is the American flag [26:56] patch that I flew with around the world. And, you know, it's got a little bit of grease on it. [27:00] I had to replace it after about 10 years. And so ultimately, my loyalty is to this country and [27:04] to the Constitution. And so, no, I do not agree with a number of those positions. But for me, [27:09] this is about making sure that we are moving this country forward and focusing on the issues that [27:13] I'm hearing from people, which is really cost of living and, you know, corruption in Washington. [27:17] Well, and just to break it down into different positions, abolishing ICE, are you, [27:23] where do you stand on that? Agree or disagree? [27:26] I do not think that we should abolish ICE. I think we need to make sure that we have strong, [27:30] you know, we have strong borders. If there are violent criminals in this country, [27:33] they should be deported. But we also need to recognize that we fail to have meaningful [27:36] immigration reform in this country for 30 years. And so we need to have a pathway [27:40] to citizenship for people like Dreamers. And we need to make sure that we are holding ICE [27:44] accountable, just like any other federal law enforcement agency. And so to me, it's about [27:48] working to make sure we're seeing that meaningful immigration reform and that we're holding ICE [27:52] accountable to the law, just like I said, any other. Because what I hear from, you know, [27:56] police officers is that ultimately they've spent decades building relationships with people in [28:01] the community and people are afraid to go to them now because of what ICE is doing in our [28:04] communities. And so we need to make sure that people feel safe and that we're able to hold ICE [28:08] accountable. [28:09] And would you support any weapons sales to Israel or making them conditional? [28:14] You know, my perspective on this is really shaped from my time in the military. I've seen [28:18] firsthand how important Israel is as an ally to the United States. I believe we need to work [28:22] towards a two-state solution to have long-term stability in the region. I do think that what [28:27] Netanyahu administration is doing is not in the best long-term interest of Israel, just like what I [28:31] think the Trump administration is doing is not in the best long-term interest of the United States. [28:35] And so my perspective and my framework for this is that I think Israel should be held to [28:40] the same standard as any of our other allies. It shouldn't be a higher standard or a lower [28:43] standard. And so ultimately, these decisions should be made in the broader context of what [28:48] is in the best interest of our U.S. and national security interests. And that's the framework that [28:52] I'll use for making those decisions. [28:54] Let me ask you a little bit about the Democratic agenda. As you know, there's a big debate right [28:58] now within the Democratic Party about whether to pursue impeachment against President Trump [29:03] if Democrats do, in fact, win back the House. Is that something that you would support, [29:07] impeaching President Trump for a third time? [29:11] You know, impeachment is a very serious process, and it needs to be treated with the severity of [29:16] the process that it is. And so, you know, I don't think anyone is above the law. We need to make [29:21] sure we are holding this administration accountable for the lawlessness and the corruption that we are [29:26] seeing across this administration. And also, we have got to walk and chew gum. We have got to make [29:31] sure that we are tackling the cost of living crisis. They were able to show people we can really [29:35] bring the costs down for so many things, whether it's child care, health care, elder care, housing, [29:41] energy, groceries. You know, I put out a number of policy proposals and solutions because I believe [29:46] that as Democrats, we have to be for something and we have to talk about what it is that we can [29:51] actually do to make people's lives better. And so that has been my focus and is going to be [29:55] continue to be my focus in office. [29:57] So it sounds like you don't rule out the possibility of impeaching President Trump, but you're not [30:01] quite there yet. Yeah. You know, it needs to go through the process of whatever, you know, [30:06] the proper process for that. And so, you know, don't want to just jump to that. It needs to be [30:10] treated with the seriousness that it deserves. Let me ask you, because you've been campaigning [30:14] on a promise to pass common sense, popular gun safety reform. Gabby Giffords recently came to [30:19] campaign with you. The U.S. has, as we were just discussing, experienced yet another school [30:26] shooting yesterday in Bend, Oregon. What does common sense gun safety reform look like to you? [30:33] Yeah. And first of all, I just have to say that seeing that story yesterday, I mean, [30:37] it just breaks my heart and my heart goes out to all the families that were impacted by that [30:41] shooting. It's just awful. And, you know, I deployed with weapons of war on my aircraft. [30:45] I taught people how to use weapons of war. And I'm also a mom and I've got two young girls. And every [30:50] day when I send them to school, I make sure to leave on a really positive note because I know they may [30:55] not come home at the end of the day. And that's the reality that our families are dealing with right [30:59] now in this country. And it's just unacceptable that we have failed to pass meaningful gun reform [31:05] and gun legislation in this country. And so to your question specifically, what that looks like for me [31:09] is background checks, red flag laws and banning assault weapons. I think there's broad support [31:14] for those things because we have to make sure our kids and our communities are able to live free of gun [31:19] violence. All right, Rebecca Bennett, thank you so very much for your time. We will be tracking your [31:25] base very closely. Really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thank you. And don't forget to sign up [31:31] for our NBC News subscription service to dive deeper into the 2026 midterms, early vote data, [31:37] the very latest polls, expert analysis and much more all at your fingertips. Just scan the QR code [31:43] on your screen right now. You see it right there. Coming up after the break, an investigation is [31:48] underway into dozens of suspicious letters containing white powder sent to election officials [31:54] and congressional offices weeks before the midterms. We'll delve into that. Keep it right [31:58] here on Meet the Press Now. Welcome back. President Trump is lashing out again at Ukraine's [32:12] President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling Kiev's latest strikes on Russia's oil refineries a quote [32:16] disgrace. In recent days, President Trump has blamed Ukraine's attacks on Russia for the rise in diesel [32:23] prices, when in reality, the high price of fuel right now is largely driven by the U.S. war with Iran. [32:28] But it comes as there appears to be a growing rift between the president and Zelenskyy. [32:34] Zelenskyy is a not a good guy for us to deal with. Does that war end before you leave office? [32:40] It should end soon. I think they actually both would like to see it end. [32:45] But I think I find Zelenskyy to be more difficult to deal with than Putin. [32:50] Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy is in Belgium today meeting with European leaders, and he was asked about [32:55] the impact the U.S. domestic politics may be having on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship. [33:02] His personal popularity is very low. Diesel prices in the U.S. are very high. [33:07] And the war that he started in the Middle East is not going the way he wants it. [33:10] Do you think you are being treated as a scapegoat for his own problems? [33:15] This is my answer. [33:33] What a moment that was. We should note President Zelenskyy paused in part to allow for [33:38] the translation of the question. Joining me now is NBC News senior national security correspondent [33:43] Courtney Kuby. Court, thanks so much for being here. Really appreciate it. In addition to [33:47] everything we just mapped out, there's a big back and forth over this interruption to the [33:52] Starlink internet connection in Ukraine. President Zelenskyy saying that it really hampered their [33:57] efforts to fight the war. It has been restored. A lot of finger pointing. Was it Elon Musk? Was it [34:02] the White House? President Trump was asked about it. Here's what he had to say. [34:05] I don't think it was anybody because it wasn't me. And I don't think it was Elon. And from what I [34:13] understand, it's the same as it's always been. [34:15] Now, Senator Tillis is calling for an investigation from the Pentagon into this. Are you hearing [34:21] anything about a Pentagon investigation? [34:23] And others are as well, especially after Elon Musk said, look, this wasn't us. This is something [34:28] that the U.S. government controls. I think the confusion is we talk a lot about Starlink. This [34:33] is actually Star Shield. So this is not the commercial version of Starlink, which provides [34:38] internet connectivity to people all over the world. This is specifically for the U.S. military. [34:42] It provides this encrypted version of communication. The military uses it all over the world. [34:48] And so the big question is, who would have the authority and the ability to curtail its use in [34:54] some way? The answer is we just don't know. We have been asking all week. It's not clear. Yes, [35:00] it has been restored. But this did cause a very, very serious disruption in Ukraine's ability, [35:07] specifically their ability to operate drones at sort of a medium range. And why that's [35:12] important is these were the assets, the drones that Ukraine was using to go behind some Russian [35:17] lines and strike some of their targets. The Ukrainians essentially lost that ability [35:22] for a stretch of time while this service was disrupted. [35:25] All of this is taking place, coordinate against the backdrop of really remarkable [35:30] language that we are hearing the president use to talk about President Zelensky. It started about [35:36] a week ago. You and I were messaging about this. President Trump saying there should be a new leader [35:40] of Ukraine. And you just heard there in the soundbite saying it's easier to deal with President [35:45] Putin than it is to deal with President Zelensky. Based on your conversations, how are European [35:50] leaders, how's the European community reacting to this strained relationship? [35:54] Yeah, I mean, it's not surprising that President Trump is saying things about President Zelensky. [35:59] We've been hearing that since even before Trump was reelected in his inauguration. But, [36:04] you know, the concern right now is the impact that this will have on the ground in Ukraine. [36:10] Keep in mind, Vladimir Putin and Russia today alone have caused disruption to hundreds of thousands [36:21] of people in Ukraine to their power. They are striking electrical grids. And they're going into a [36:28] potentially brutal winter there in Ukraine. Now, when we have President Trump, the president of the [36:33] United States making positive comments about the leader who is carrying out these attacks that is [36:39] killing Ukrainians on a day-to-day basis, how is Europe supposed to respond to that? You know, [36:44] one thing that we keep hearing all about as well on this is the impact this could potentially have [36:49] on the NATO alliance going forward. And it's just not clear where that's going to go. [36:53] Yeah, well, it's just extraordinary developments. Courtney Kuby, thank you so very much. [36:58] Really appreciate it. Turning back here at home, [37:00] the Department of Justice announcing it's suing California, accusing the state of failing to [37:06] review a list of alleged non-citizen individuals on its voter rolls. Earlier this week, the DOJ sent [37:12] California's Secretary of State a list of names the federal government identified as possible [37:17] non-citizen voters. But in a statement yesterday, California's Secretary of State said the Trump [37:22] administration lacked the legal authority for this request and wrote, quote, [37:26] the DOJ's relentless efforts to unlawfully gain access to states' protected voter data and purge [37:32] voter rolls serve only to cause chaos and fuel public distrust in our elections. Joining me now [37:38] is NBC News senior reporter covering elections. Jane, Tim, Jane, thanks so much for being here. So [37:43] what more is the Department of Justice asking California to do in this instance? [37:47] Yeah, DOJ is asking California not to count these ballots they say are likely non-citizens. [37:56] LA got this list on a thumb drive this week, handed over with a post-it note or a piece of paper with [38:03] a handwritten password on it. And they pointed out that they couldn't plug this into their computers, [38:09] that a flash drive without a known sort of source and genesis and security testing was not a secure [38:15] device. So they were unable to even look at the list when it was initially handed over. Very quickly, [38:21] DOJ filed this lawsuit asking them not to count these ballots. It's clear this is going to be a [38:25] central fight of this election cycle, with the president insisting there are non-citizens voting [38:31] and his administrations are trying to find the evidence and then also stop those people from [38:36] voting. We know non-citizen voting is really rare. And the people who typically get caught up when they [38:42] get flagged as a non-citizen are newly naturalized Americans who used to be a non-citizen and no [38:48] longer are. People who often register to vote at their naturalization ceremony. Those people often [38:53] get tagged up in this. And California is clearly setting themselves up for a big fight with the [38:59] Trump administration over this. Well, that's an important fact check there. I want to ask you about [39:03] another story. I know you've been following, you're learning your details about those letters with white [39:08] powder being sent to several senators and over a dozen local election officials. That's according [39:14] to law enforcement sources. I know preliminary testing did show the substance was not hazardous, [39:19] but what more are you learning today, Jane? Yeah, my colleagues and I have been on the phone [39:24] all day tracing down some of these. We're up to the count of 25 state election offices have been [39:30] targeted. Wyoming just confirmed to us that they had one. Many people are intercepting these before they [39:35] reached the election offices, but we now know that it's targeting Republican senators. It's targeting [39:40] congressional offices, state election offices. And while those materials are non-toxic, of course, [39:46] this is very upsetting and threatening to a lot of people. We're seeing congressional offices be shut [39:52] down over suspicious packages as people try and make sure that they are being safe because just because [39:58] the other ones are non-toxic does not mean that everyone can feel confident in that when they get this [40:03] kind of threatening mail. All right, Jane, Tim, thank you so much for bringing us the very latest. [40:08] We'll be right back with the panel and more Meet the Press Now next. Welcome back. Joining me now is [40:18] the panel, Benji Sarlin, editorial director at Vox, Megan Hayes, former special assistant to President [40:24] Biden, and Ashley Davis, former White House official in the Bush administration. Thanks to all of you for [40:30] being here on this Friday. Benji, let me kick it off with you. Let's talk about Texas. Sure. One of the [40:36] biggest Senate races that we have been tracking. President Trump was asked overnight about the [40:40] state of the play there. I'm going to play a little bit of what he said. Get your reaction on the other [40:43] side. If James Tarrico does win in the state of Texas, will you have any regrets about endorsing [40:50] Ken Paxton over John Cornyn? No, because I think Cornyn would have lost. I think Cornyn would have lost. [40:56] Look, the base in Texas, here's the way I look at it. Ken Paxton, some people don't love him, [41:02] but everybody admits he was the best attorney general in the history of Texas, one of the [41:07] best in the country. I dealt with all of them. Pretty defiant heading into this home stretch, [41:13] Benji. How do you see it? Yeah, he's never been the most introspective guy, but I do think [41:18] his comments on Texas in general have gotten a lot of attention because they feel like they're [41:22] pre-spinning a loss a bit, right? Where it's like, well, the other guy would have lost too. And he [41:26] also had a long post on Truth Social basically blaming John Cornyn for not supporting Ken Paxton hard [41:31] enough. So that is notable. I would add one little caveat. Obviously, it's not a great sign for [41:39] your party when it seems like people are already playing a blame game before the elections even [41:44] happened. Especially when that person's the president. Yes, but weirdly enough, the thing [41:49] it reminds me of most is with Trump, where Republicans were lining up right up to election day 2016 to tell us [41:56] this terrible loss that's about to happen to Hillary Clinton, not our fault. We see the same polls, [42:01] we know he's going to lose, and then you never know what's going to happen. So don't accept this [42:06] race is over either. It's still very close. We were all going to lose the Senate then. I remember that [42:09] night. I'm like, I'm losing everything. You all remember that night, not over until election day. [42:14] That's for sure. Ashley, weigh in on this point, though, that Benji's making because you do have [42:18] the president saying, look, if he loses, it's Ken Paxton's fault. It's John Cornyn's fault. It's going to be [42:25] Karl Rove's fault for not getting on board. What do you make of the fact that he seems to want to [42:31] get out there and pre-butt any loss that might be coming down the line? Well, listen, he's put [42:36] himself on the line for all of these races, actually, at the end of the day. And, you know, [42:41] there's a lot of talk now about Speaker Johnson or Thune and who's going to get blamed if we lose [42:47] the House or if we lose the Senate. But at the end of the day, this election, and most midterms do, [42:52] I'm not going to act like they don't, is this is really owned by the president. So the issue with [42:58] Texas, though, which he's right about, is John Cornyn lost by 28 points. I mean, I don't think [43:03] he would have won even if Trump wouldn't have endorsed him. Remember his build on gun control [43:08] that he had years ago, and he never really survived from after that. And so, listen, do I [43:16] think Paxton's the best candidate in the world? Absolutely not. However, let's see how this [43:22] I'm not ready to give up Texas yet, but I may be I'll be back in two weeks and probably say the [43:27] opposite. Well, we have to let it play out. Megan, let me ask you, because James Tallarico is touting [43:32] the fact that he brought in a whopping $64 million in the third quarter. That's a record [43:38] for a Senate race. What do you make of that? And do Democrats, to the point that Ashley and Benji [43:44] are making, do Democrats run the risk of being overconfident in these final weeks? [43:49] Well, we're Democrats, so we're never that overly confident because we're bound to mess [43:53] something up along the way. But I do think the interesting thing here is this is an [43:56] anti-incumbency election, and there are going to be seats that are solid blue seats now that [44:00] Republicans are going to win, and there are seats that are solid Republican that Democrats are going [44:04] to win. Whether it is Texas or Kansas for Democrats is yet to be seen, but I don't want to [44:09] sleep on the governor's races here that are really helpful in some of these really red places like [44:13] Texas. Gina Hinojosa is able to bring a coalition of people that James Tallarico necessarily doesn't have [44:19] and vice versa. So these two people are helping each other. Their money and their ads are also [44:22] helping each other. Yeah. Another race that we're watching very closely is in Minnesota, [44:27] Benji Sarlin. And of course, you have Peggy Flanagan, Michelle Tafoya. This is a little bit [44:31] of a sleeper race in the sense that we haven't been talking about it maybe as much, and yet Republicans [44:38] think this may be a pickup opportunity for them. They had a debate today. I want to play a little bit [44:43] of what we heard from Michelle Tafoya on the Iran war. Obviously, a big flashpoint for Republicans. [44:48] Take a listen. No president of either party should be given a blank check to wage war without the [44:57] okay of Congress and without the buy-in of the American people, and that includes President Trump. [45:03] Now, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, but this has been going on now seven months, [45:07] and Minnesotans and Americans writ large are hurting. The prices are too high. This war does need [45:14] to end, and it needs to end quickly. So, Benji, she becomes the latest Republican to distance [45:20] herself from President Trump in this instance on the Iran war. We've seen Mike Rogers distance himself [45:25] on tariffs, on the Russia deal that the president just struck. What do you make of that strategy? [45:32] Could it work? It certainly is helpful, because if you look at that specific race, which I don't think [45:39] a lot of people expect it to be as competitive as it is. In polls, it looks pretty tight, even though it [45:44] is a state that voted against Trump, even as other Rust Belt states flipped red. And part of that is [45:52] that there is a bit of an anti-incumbent situation going on there. The Democratic nominee is former [45:58] lieutenant governor, which ties her a bit in the eyes of voters to some of the fraud scandals they had [46:03] in the state that forced Governor Tim Walz. He would not say forced, but he decided not to run. It was [46:10] pretty directly tied. So here, with victory potentially on the threshold, all the ads against [46:17] Michelle Tafoya are, she'll do Trump's bidding. Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump. There's real opportunity [46:22] here in the stretch to distance herself, and she's taking it. [46:25] Well, Ashley, how are Republicans viewing this race? Because again, initially, it wasn't necessarily [46:32] high on the radar of a potential pickup. But as Benji lays out, this could be dynamic. [46:37] It is. But here's what I, there's one thing, there's not too, too much money being diverted [46:41] yet, which I always watch. So we'll see if that comes in in the last couple of weeks, [46:45] you know, as some of our money leaves Georgia and North Carolina, is that a place that it goes [46:51] besides Kansas and some of the others. But what Megan said about the governors are very important. [46:56] So you have Amy Klobuchar that could really push the Democrat candidate, Flanagan, over the line. [47:02] But in New Hampshire, I'm not ready to give up on Krista Nunu because you have Kelly Ayotte, [47:06] who's 11 percent up. In Iowa, you have a really popular governor candidate that's extremely ahead. [47:13] Does he hurt Ashley Henson's chances? And so I do think this, I don't think many people do split [47:19] tickets as much as people like to think they do. So we'll see. [47:23] I have to ask you, Megan, because we're almost out of time about the fact that the newly installed [47:27] press secretary, Katie Zachariah, is now out after a rocky first week. Seems like, [47:33] and by her own admission, she wasn't quite prepared for the first briefing. Then, [47:37] of course, there were questions around her qualifications. She acknowledged she never [47:41] passed the bar, but called herself a lawyer. What do you make of this turn of events? And why does [47:45] it matter? Why is the press secretary, as someone who's worked in the Biden administration, [47:49] why is it such an important role? Well, you're the voice for the American people [47:52] and the rest of the world of what the president thinks, what the administration is thinking. [47:56] And you're really the voice out there every day, or you should be out there every day, [48:00] because the president actually shouldn't be in front of the press every single day in the way [48:03] that Trump is. And so it is an important job. It's also a really important job. You manage a team, [48:08] you manage all the stories coming out of the White House. There is a whole second part of that [48:11] job that people do not talk about that is almost as important as the podium job. It is an incredibly [48:16] challenging job. People prepare for weeks, if not months, before they go to that podium. [48:21] Being a pundit on TV for three to five minutes is not the same as being in that room taking [48:25] questions from journalists for 45 minutes. It just isn't. Yeah. Ashley, I'm glad that Megan brings [48:30] up the big picture role of what the press secretary actually does, often fielding a lot of questions [48:35] from people like me throughout the course of the day. No, absolutely. And you look, and also her [48:40] not telling the truth about is really what I think killed her at the end of the day. I mean, [48:44] obviously she didn't do a good job this week, but that's a problem. [48:48] She wouldn't pass a background check. I mean, there's a lot of things there that [48:51] are problematic. But going back to one of the things about her predecessor, even though she did [48:57] do well, whether you agree with her or not, and she was very good at being able to speak [49:01] at the podium. From what I understand, and you can answer this better than everybody, [49:05] she was responsive to the press corps. And she was able to, you know, she was different than what she [49:10] was on TV. She understood how to kind of cut deals. [49:12] She was in the room with the president, and she had the credibility. And that's a really [49:15] important thing. And I don't necessarily think the current press secretary would have had that [49:20] same credibility. Yeah, there's no doubt being in the room. Who's next? What do we think? [49:24] Who is next? We'll track it. Thanks, guys. Great conversation. Benji, Megan, and Ashley. [49:29] We will be back Monday with more Meet the Press Now. And if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press on your [49:33] local NBC News station. I'll have exclusive interviews with Senators Raphael Warnock, [49:38] James Langford, as well as Treasury Secretary Scott Besson, plus Steve Kornacki will be here [49:44] with a brand new NBC News Decision Desk poll. There's much more ahead on NBC News Now.