June 21 – Sen. Cory Booker and fmr. Sec. Mark Esper

Summary

Meet the Press – June 21, 2026 | Senator Cory Booker & Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper

Podcast Overview:
This episode of NBC’s Meet the Press tackles the political and geopolitical fallout from President Trump’s recent peace deal with Iran, with host Garrett Hake (filling in for Kristen Welker) leading in-depth interviews and a roundtable discussion. Key guests include Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and former Trump Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. The show explores whether the Iran deal constitutes triumph or capitulation, shifting dynamics within both parties as the midterm elections loom, and the risks for US allies and domestic democracy.

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Main Theme

Topic:
The episode examines the aftermath of President Trump's memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran to end the war, analyzing its implications at home and abroad. The discussion centers on the political, strategic, and ethical ramifications of the deal—including internal party dissent and what it reveals about the limits (or lack thereof) of presidential power.

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Key Interview: Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)

Iran Peace Deal and Trump’s Leadership

• Senator Booker’s Critique:

  • Strongly opposes the Iran deal, labeling it an “abject surrender” and “cataclysmic failure” by President Trump.
  • Claims the agreement gives Iran “billions and billions of dollars of benefits,” leaving America to “carry the bill” and weakening US leverage.
    • “It’s almost as if American dollars, American resources are now going to be used to help rebuild Iran while we are continuing to carry the bill for it.” (04:39)
  • Insists bipartisan criticism highlights the severity of the administration's failures.

• Alternative Options:

  • Blames Trump for getting the country into the war and “surrendering all our leverage.”
    • “What the world needs now is leadership... [Trump] is a danger to the world.” (05:05)
  • Urges Congress to assert stronger checks and balances on the presidency.
    • “Shame on Congress. It’s time we get a Congress that will stand up to this president.” (07:13)

• Credit to Trump?

  • Dismisses the idea, using the analogy:
    • “That’s like giving somebody credit for literally an arsonist starting a fire and getting credit for running out of the burning building.” (06:18)

Israel, Allies, and Global Standing

• Trust in Israel as a Peace Partner:
  • Calls Iran and Israel’s leaders “two criminal presidents,” both embroiled in corruption, and expresses deep skepticism toward their roles in any peace initiative.
    • “[We have] two failed world leaders... Yes, we should be very worried about both of these leaders continuing to upend any kind of viable pathway to peace.” (08:29)

Domestic Politics & Democratic Strategy

• Reflections on Biden & 2024:

  • Avoids relitigating Democratic infighting over Biden’s decision to run in 2024.
  • Stresses urgency of supporting candidates nationwide to win back Congress.
    • “My urgency and my focus is not looking at the past. It’s doing everything I can in the present...” (09:53)

• On Maine Senate Controversy:

  • Addresses the problematic Democratic candidate (Graham Platner) without endorsement, focusing efforts on regaining Senate control for accountability.
    • “He certainly has a lot of issues and a lot of questions to answer and address. And I think the people in Maine are going to give a lot of examination...” (10:49)

Supreme Court Reform

• Reform Agenda:
  • Advocates for massive reforms across all three branches due to “normalized... corruption.”
  • Proposes:
    • Banning unlimited gifts to Supreme Court justices.
    • Imposing 18-year term limits so every president appoints two justices per term.
      • “My plan is very simple. Two things. One, stop Supreme Court members from accepting unlimited gifts from billionaires... And number two, put term limits on Supreme Court members to 18 years.” (12:12)
  • Does not commit to expanding the court, suggesting his plan would address needed reforms. (13:22)

Personal Reflection

• On Father’s Day and Caregiving:
  • Shares an emotional tribute to his late father’s struggle with Parkinson’s and dementia.
    • “His struggles... broke me apart. Like the millions, tens of millions of Americans right now who are caring for a father or mother who is struggling with this disease... We need a national movement that really supports families...” (14:04)

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Key Interview: Mark Esper (Former Secretary of Defense)

Iran Peace Deal: Assessing the Risks

• Support for the Deal:

  • Sees positives in the ceasefire and opening the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Expresses concerns that “too many of the incentives... have been given upfront” and warns of potential strategic setbacks if Iran exploits its control over shipping lanes.
    • “If Iran can still open and shut the strait at will or charge fees... that would suggest a strategic setback.” (19:11)

• Iran’s Leverage and the Strait of Hormuz:

  • Warns Iran has a “nuclear tool” in its ability to disrupt world shipping—a reusable economic weapon.
    • “It has presented a nuclear tool, if you will, that they can threaten to use... that they can shut down the global economy...” (19:59)
  • Notes this emboldens Iran and demonstrates their resilience against US and Israeli attack.

• Israel’s Exclusion from Negotiations:

  • Acknowledges Israel wasn’t a key negotiator, but stresses their unique existential threat and public support for military actions against Hezbollah.

• Outcome Assessment:

  • Questions what tangible gains the US achieved relative to the cost; Iran receives major economic and strategic benefits.
    • “When I look at the MoU, I see Iran getting a number of things and what we get is one paragraph...” (22:38)
  • Expresses doubt that 60 days is sufficient for resolving outstanding nuclear issues.

• Risk of Iran Using the Money for Aggression:

  • Agrees with concerns that unfrozen funds (approx. $100 billion) are fungible and could be used to arm proxies and further regional conflict.
    • “Money is fungible... whatever they free up can go to rebuilding their military, can go to Hezbollah... can go to their other proxies...” (24:09)

• On Trump’s Unpredictability:

  • Points out how Trump’s views on war swung "back and forth like a pendulum," which could be either strategic or destabilizing.
    • “His views on the use of force swung back and forth like a pendulum... rarely gave us much at all.” (25:05)

• Was the War of Choice or Necessity?

  • Suggests initial justification existed, but the administration’s grand expectations led to escalation and Iran’s fierce resistance.

• On Loyalty in Trump’s Inner Circle:

  • Questions whether current advisers prioritize loyalty to Trump or the constitution, reflecting on his own removal for insufficient loyalty.
    • “I don’t see that the president is always getting good advice... Is the president getting the best advice with regard to these strategic matters?” (28:28)

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Panel Discussion Highlights

Iran Deal Backlash Across Party Lines

• Susan Glasser (The New Yorker):

  • Describes the deal as “very favorable to the Iranians,” potentially an “unconditional surrender” on the US side. (30:53)

• Nia Malika Henderson (Bloomberg Opinion):

  • Notes the political risk for VP J.D. Vance, who now “owns” the deal with both MAGA and hawkish Republicans dissatisfied. (32:18)
  • Highlights Vance’s lack of experience and inconsistent positioning, which could be liabilities.

• Jeh Johnson (former Homeland Security):

  • Echoes President Obama’s critique that the US may be “worse off” after a costly war with little to show.
    • “Any objective analysis... leads one to conclude that we’re worse off than we were the day before this war started.” (34:50)
  • Adds that Iran’s economic leverage over the Strait of Hormuz could be a bigger deterrent than the nuclear program.

• Sarah Fagan (Republican Strategist):

  • Warns Republicans’ opposition may increase if the deal doesn’t remove key threats, such as missiles or nuclear material, especially if Iran retains the right to close the Strait.
    • “If the Strait of Hormuz becomes an economic weapon... that is strategically very problematic.” (37:42)

Limits of Presidential Power and Congressional Response

• Panel Consensus:
  • Trump’s unchecked power, highlighted by his own quote: “There are no limits.” (03:16)
  • Dems likely to use Trump’s audacious use of executive power as a prime campaign issue, advocating for more robust checks from Congress and the courts. (40:35)

Obama Presidential Center & Legacy

• Jeh Johnson recalls Obama’s achievements and honor in office, contrasting with the present era.
  • “He and his family served... without a misstep, without any hint of scandal, and represented a major step forward for our country.” (48:19)
• Susan Glasser observes the gathering of ex-presidents as a potent contrast to Trump's leadership style. (49:40)

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Noteworthy Quotes

• President Trump: “There are no limits.” (03:16)
• Sen. Cory Booker: “That’s like giving somebody credit for literally an arsonist starting a fire and getting credit for running out of the burning building.” (06:18)
• Mark Esper: “It has presented a nuclear tool... that they can shut down the global economy.” (19:59)
• President Obama (panel replay): “Fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars... and it feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse off.” (34:28)
• Jeh Johnson: “Any objective analysis... leads one to conclude that we’re worse off than we were the day before this war started.” (34:50)
• Susan Glasser: “It’s Donald Trump’s sort of erratic and chaotic decision making here that is increasingly at issue.” (38:46)

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Key Timestamps

• [03:16] President Trump on the absence of limits to his power.
• [03:33–15:08] Interview: Senator Cory Booker.
• [17:01–28:47] Interview: Former Secretary Mark Esper.
• [30:31–43:48] Roundtable panel discussion.
• [34:28] President Obama’s assessment of the war's outcome.
• [40:13] Panel on the concise nature of the MoU and skepticism about a quick resolution.
• [46:21] Panel turns to midterm election prospects and the Democratic advantage.
• [48:19] Jeh Johnson reflects on the Obama administration’s legacy.

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Summary

This Meet the Press episode serves as a critical forum for both Democratic and Republican perspectives on the Trump administration’s contentious Iran peace deal. It highlights a rare convergence of bipartisan criticism, questions the deal’s strategic merits, dissects the broader implications for US global leadership and domestic power structures, and frames the agreement as a pivotal issue for the rapidly approaching midterm elections. Through spirited interviews and roundtable debate, the episode captures the sense of crisis, division, and opportunity defining American politics in 2026.

Transcript

[Shannon Maldonado]

My name is Shannon Maldonado. I'm the founder of Yaoi, a gift shop. From the lens of artists and handmade objects. I chose Shopify because when I was testing other platforms it was definitely one of the most user friendly. It was important to me to think about where we would be in the future. All of the tools for reading your sales, like planning inventory, they're just right there on your dashboard. For anyone starting a small business, the biggest thing I can tell you is it doesn't have to be perfect. Shopify can help you build upon it. Start your free trial on shopify.com I

[Garrett Hake]

started Ornod in 2013 and we make bike apparel. The best part of Shopify for me is our ability to run the business as essentially non technical people. We're able to admin everything on the back end, front end and sell things online easily. If Shopify were a bike accessory, I think it would actually be the bicycle. It's the thing that you do the thing on. We run the business on Shopify. Start your free trial on shopify.com this Sunday. The Price of Peace President Trump strikes a deal with Iran to quickly end

[President Donald Trump]

the war and it's a memorandum of understanding. If it doesn't get done in 60 days, it's all right, we go back to bombing.

[Garrett Hake]

But as Iran stands to gain access to billions in economic relief. Did the president give away too much? Iran's left stronger.

[Mark Esper]

I think sending billions of dollars to

[President Donald Trump]

Iran is a mistake. If it works out, I'm going to take the credit.

[Garrett Hake]

If it doesn't work out, I'm blaming J.D.

[President Donald Trump]

you better be careful, J.D.

[Garrett Hake]

i'll talk to Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Plus Chicago Hope President Obama opens his presidential center as former presidents come together in a divided America.

[Mark Esper]

I hope this center will serve as

[Jeh Johnson]

an affirmation of just how special, how precious our democracy truly is.

[Garrett Hake]

Joining me for insight and analysis are Susan Glasser, staff writer for the New Yorker, Nia Malika Henderson, political columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, and Republican strategist Sarah Fagan. Welcome to Sunday. It's Meet the Press from NBC News

[Jeh Johnson]

in Washington, the longest running show in television history.

[Kristen Welker]

This is Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.

[Garrett Hake]

Good Sunday morning. I'm Garrett Hake in for Kristen Welker as she recovers from a medical procedure. She's doing well and plans to be back soon. This morning, a fragile peace appears to be holding between the US And Iran just days after President Trump signed A memorandum of understanding to end the conflict, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and remove the U.S. blockade of Iran. You signed the MOU? It's signed. We signed it in Versailles. There are conflicting reports about whether the strait is open or closed. After Iran accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire agreement by continuing its strikes against southern Lebanon. Overnight, Vice President J.D. vance arrived in Switzerland to continue talks with Iran. For his part, President Trump says the lesson he's learned from this war, there are no limits to his power. What have you learned about not just the exercise of power, but the limits on your power as a result of the conflict?

[President Donald Trump]

There are no limits.

[Kristen Welker]

No limits.

[President Donald Trump]

No not. I haven't learned that lesson yet.

[Garrett Hake]

I know there are, but, you know

[President Donald Trump]

there are no limits. We defeated them totally militarily.

[Garrett Hake]

And joining me now is Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. Senator Booker, welcome back to Meet the Press.

[Senator Cory Booker]

It's good to see you here on national TV and not the halls of the Senate.

[Garrett Hake]

I think we can agree on that. Let's start with Iran. You voted eight times to end this war.

[Kristen Welker]

The.

[Garrett Hake]

The memorandum of understanding ends the war. Do you support it?

[Senator Cory Booker]

Yeah. I'm proud to be leading the effort to stop Donald Trump from leading our country into further and further disaster. But the way he is trying to bring us out of this war not only speaks to the failures of the war in total, but it also speaks in a bipartisan way to how bad of a leader he is. When you have Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and progressives all coming out talking about capitulation, surrender, catastrophe, you know how bad this deal is. Iran gets all of the benefits, literally billions and billions of dollars, and America continues to hurt and see the losses from the $100 billion we spent in the war to every American citizen seeing their costs skyrocket. This has been a cataclysmic failure of his making.

[Garrett Hake]

But if you support the deal, but you also think it's a capitulation. I guess I'm confused. What's the alternative?

[Senator Cory Booker]

No, no, no, no. Let's be clear. I do not support this deal that he made, which was an abject surrender. This is a guy who said he's a great negotiator, but right now, Iran has billions and billions of dollars of benefits. It's almost as if American dollars, American resources, are now going to be used to help rebuild Iran while we are continuing to carry the bill for it.

[Garrett Hake]

So what is the alternative, then, to ending the war?

[Senator Cory Booker]

Well, the alternative is not having a president that led us into this war, that surrendered all of our leverage that is giving Iran everything they want and achieving none of the specific goals that he said he wanted. We have a disaster for a commander in chief who's leaving us with less and less good choices. What the world needs now is leadership. But from our Middle east allies to our NATO allies, I'm hearing over and over again, your president is a danger to the world. And obviously, we at home are paying the cost of that.

[Garrett Hake]

There has been some Democratic reaction to the president's decision that was a little bit more positive. Democratic strategist James Carville said this this week.

[Mark Esper]

Listen, we started a war and we surrendered.

[Garrett Hake]

Let's be very clear about that. And let's give Trump credit where credit. So he did what Lyndon Johnson did not do in Vietnam. Just get out. I think the best thing Biden ever did was just leave Afghanistan. Well, I'll give Trump credit. He saw this thing was going the

[Mark Esper]

wrong way, and he just quit and got out.

[Garrett Hake]

And sometimes you got to do that. So there's a lot to chew on there. But does President Trump deserve any credit for trying to end this war now rather than escalate it further?

[Senator Cory Booker]

That's like giving somebody credit for literally an arsonist starting a fire and getting credit for running out of the burning building. This president has led this nation into a disaster. We have surrendered our power. We have capitulated to the enemy, and they now are mocking us. Look at everything that's coming out of that country, from their internal dialogue all the way to what they're saying publicly. They know that they've won this, and they know Donald Trump is perhaps on the world stage right now, the biggest loser with egg on his face. We need to curtail this chaotic, corrupt, and cruel president. We. We need to have checks and balances on his power. I am really sorry that Congressional Republicans, from the start of this war, has allowed him to do everything he wanted to do, and now they're crying foul because they don't like the results. Shame on Congress. It's time we get a Congress that will stand up to this president.

[Garrett Hake]

We've certainly heard a lot more pushback from your Senate Republican colleagues to this deal than I think we're used to hearing to actions the president takes. Do you think this could be a turning point in his relationship with his own party?

[Senator Cory Booker]

God, I hope so. Again, this is not left or right for me. It's about stopping a president who has taken health care away from millions of Americans, who's jacked up our prices, who's caused considerable pain, letting billionaires Continue to be more bigger in polluting and bigger in getting all of the tax breaks while we are. We, we as Americans as a whole are paying more and more and more. We need an America that stands up to this president. And I don't care if it's a Republican or a Democrat, that Congress needs to start being strong now. I don't expect that from the kind of leaders in the Republican Party in Congress. That's why this midterm election is so vital. This midterm election is not about left or right. It's about right or wrong. It's about stopping a president that's out of control and hurting Americans.

[Garrett Hake]

Want to talk about the midterms more in a second, but I have one more question for you about this peace deal. NBC News is reporting that U.S. intelligence officials are warning that Israel could take steps to undermine the emerging Iran agreement. Israel was a US Partner in the conflict. Do you see them as a reliable partner in the peace negotiations?

[Senator Cory Booker]

Look, look, between Israel and America, we have two criminal presidents. Ours who's been indicted overexcuse me, convicted over 30 times for criminal convictions, and theirs who's embroiled in his own corruption, his own trials. These are two failed world leaders. And yes, we should be very worried about both of these leaders continuing to upend any kind of viable pathway to peace in the Middle East. These are both failed leaders that I cannot wait until they're off the world stage.

[Garrett Hake]

All right, let's talk a little bit about the Democratic Party. I know you and most Democrats would prefer to move on entirely from the 2024 election. But former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has reopened the debate about what went wrong, weighing in on former President Joe Biden's decision to run for reelection.

[Nia Malika Henderson]

Listen, he made a terrible mistake. He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy and for the country. I believe if he had kept to that plan and said in, say, the late summer of 23 that he wasn't going to run, that he was going to pass the torch to the next generation, we would have had a real contest. And very sadly, I believe whoever emerged from that contest, whether it was the vice president or a governor or a senator or anybody else, would have beaten Donald Trump.

[Garrett Hake]

Do you agree with that assessment, Senator?

[Senator Cory Booker]

Look, this is what I believe in, and this is what my unyielding focus will be until November because we have five months left. This week alone. I'm going to be in Texas for Talarico. I'm going to be in Ohio for Sherrod Brown. My urgency and My focus is not looking at the past. It's doing everything I can in the present to secure the a better future for America. And that's getting as many new leaders elected as possible so we can take back the House and the Senate.

[Garrett Hake]

One of those opportunities to elect a new leader is in Maine. We have a competitive contest. Democrats just nominated Graham Platner despite past offensive comments about a tattoo associated or past offensive comments. He's got this tattoo that's associated with a Nazi symbol. He also said he didn't understand its meeting. He's covered it up. And he's also faced allegations from former girlfriends of abusive behavior with which he denies. Do you think Graham Platner has the character to serve in the United States Senate?

[Senator Cory Booker]

Well, this is what campaigns are for. He certainly has a lot of issues and a lot of questions to answer and address. And I think the people in Maine are going to give a lot of examination to this going through in this election. For me, I certainly hope we pick up a seat here for me and people of the state of New Jersey, dear God, we need to get the Senate back so we can start checking this out of control president. And that's why again, I'm going to be doing everything I can all over over my state of New Jersey and everywhere I can to help candidates across this country to get to that end, which is Democrats regaining control of the House and the Senate so we can check and balance a president that's chaotic, cruel and corrupt.

[Garrett Hake]

Well, you mentioned Texas and Ohio. Will you campaign in Maine?

[Senator Cory Booker]

I don't have any plans to campaign there now.

[Garrett Hake]

All right, fair enough. I want to ask you about one of the issues that will surely come up in this midterm and probably come up again in 2028, and that's the Supreme Court. After the Court's recent ruling limiting the Voting Rights act, some Democrats, including former Vice President Harris, have issued calls to expand the court's nine seat bench.

[Nia Malika Henderson]

Listen, I absolutely believe that we should

[Shannon Maldonado]

be exploiting that and the idea of 13.

[Nia Malika Henderson]

I agree because there are 13 circuit courts, 13 justices.

[Garrett Hake]

You're on the Judiciary Committee. Do you support the idea of expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices?

[Senator Cory Booker]

So here's what I believe. We in America now have normalized a level of corruption in all three branches of our government that cannot stand. It is a cancer that is corroding our body politic. All three branches of government need massive reforms. The Supreme Court, if municipal court people in New Jersey did what Supreme Court members are doing now, they would be let out in Handcuffs. So my plan is very simple. Two things. One is stop Supreme Court members from accepting unlimited gifts from billionaires who have interest in matters before the court. And number two, put term limits on Supreme Court members to 18 years. So we normalize a system that is actually fair, that says every time we elect a president, they get two people on the Supreme Court. We stop people hanging on well past the and make sure that we have a court that operates with the kind of integrity and fairness that America deserves and should be a fundamental expectation from every citizen.

[Garrett Hake]

So your policies are clear. But I just want to be clear also. Would you rule out trying to expand the court?

[Senator Cory Booker]

I think the plan that I have is, would actually solve the problems that people who want to expand the court are trying to achieve. Give term limits of 18 years and put ethics laws on them. You would see quick changes to our court, many of whom have been on for more than 18 years. And you would actually have a court that serves the people and not the interests of the extraordinary billionaires that are showering members of those courts with everything from RVs to tuitions to gifts.

[Garrett Hake]

All right, Senator, before I let you go, it is Father's Day. You've written about helping your father through his struggle with Parkinson's disease. How has that experience shaped what this day means to you?

[Senator Cory Booker]

I have to say, I hurt every Father's Day now. I miss my dad. It's a hole that will never be filled. But his struggles with dementia and Parkinson's broke me apart. Like the millions, tens of millions of Americans right now who are caring for a father or mother who is struggling with this disease. The one thing about these things that shatter us is actually they open us up and give us more points of connection. We are a nation that does not do enough for us, for people who are at home caring for others, we need a national movement that really supports families that are dealing with Alzheimer's, dealing with dementia. We can do so much better as a nation. And it now is a personal driving cause of my life for us to give more dignity to those people who are caregivers and to those people who are in their final years. And to all the dads out there, to all the men, even who are not dads by biology. Thank you for stepping up for our children. This nation needs strong men, and strength is measured most by how we love and care for others.

[Garrett Hake]

All right, I'll echo that. Senator Booker, thank you for sharing that story, and thank you for joining us this morning.

[Senator Cory Booker]

Thank you for having me.

[Garrett Hake]

You bet. When we come back, Former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper joins me next.

[President Donald Trump]

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[Shannon Maldonado]

My name is Shannon Maldonado. I'm the founder of Yaoi, a gift shop. From the lens of artists and handmade objects, I chose Shopify because when I was testing other platforms, it was definitely one of the most user friendly. It was important to me to think about where we would be in the future. All of the tools for reading your sales, like planning inventory, they're just right there on your dashboard. For anyone starting a small business, the biggest thing I can tell you, it doesn't have to be perfect. Shopify can help you build upon it. Start your free trial on shopify.com.

[Garrett Hake]

welcome back. And joining me now is Mark Esper, former Defense Secretary during President Trump's first term. Secretary Esper, welcome to Meet the Press.

[Mark Esper]

Morning. Garrett, good to be with you.

[Garrett Hake]

Thanks for being here. Let's pick up right with this memorandum of understanding with Iran. Do you support this deal?

[Mark Esper]

Well, look, I like the fact that we've extended the ceasefire. I like the fact that the strait is being opened up. That will provide economic relief to a lot of people. And I like the fact that we're getting into nuclear talks. But that said, when I look at the MoU, there are many of the points that I have serious questions about and concerns about. So, you know, I think in many ways it's a wait and see. My principal concern has been that it appears that too many of the incentives in my view have been given, have been given upfront instead of later in the deal when we've seen much more progress on the nuclear aspects of whatever potential agreement comes from this.

[Garrett Hake]

Do you think the administration is too trusting of the Iranians by structuring the deal?

[Mark Esper]

In that way? Oh, I don't. I don't believe so. You look at many of the players on the team, they're experienced in foreign policy for some time. I don't think they trust the Iranians. Nobody trusts the Iranians. I think they put a deal on the table. I think, as the vice President said, let's give it a shot and see if it works. In that regard, I'd say, yeah, there's a lot more of this football game to play out where maybe only in the second or third quarter, we have to get through the opening negotiations today. Lebanon will continue to be a spoiler and threaten any talks. But at the end of the day, I think this will ultimately be scored on two things. What is the deal we get with the Iranians with regard to the nuclear framework, the nuclear aspects of this deal? And secondly, does the Strait of Hormuz return to the status quo ante? And I think those are two major questions right now that sit before us. And in fact, on the second item, I'm concerned about language in the MoU that suggests that maybe after the 60 days, Iran would retain some type of ability to impose fees on shippers.

[Garrett Hake]

Well, I mean, let's dig into that a little bit more, because on the strait this morning, even it's not totally clear if the strait is open or closed. If Iran can still open and shut the strait at will or charge fees on it, does that mean this agreement is worthless?

[Mark Esper]

Well, I think it would suggest a clearly a strategic setback. We cannot allow the Iranians to control the Strait of Hormuz, much like we can't allow others to control the Strait of Malacca or the South China Sea or the Suez Canal. I'm sorry, not the Suez Canal, but the Babam. And so we cannot allow that to happen. And that's why I say this needs to play out. And there's been some suggestions that there have been side agreements or gentlemen's agreements. We need to know what those are. But I think we need to let this play out a little bit and see what actually happens with regard to the strait after the 60 days.

[Garrett Hake]

Well, to that end, on the kind of strategic picture here, Iran's deputy Speaker of Parliament has said, and this is a quote, the straight of Hormuz is Iran's atomic bomb. Do you worry that one of the legacies of this war will be effectively arming Iran with a more powerful weapon than they had before?

[Mark Esper]

Yeah, no, I certainly. I certainly am. Look, in many ways, I don't want to suggest it is a nuclear weapon because we cannot allow them to get a nuclear weapon, but it has presented a nuclear tool, if you will, that they can threaten to use it and it is a reusable tool, unlike a nuclear weapon, that they can shut down the global economy, that they can coerce the Arab Gulf states, even impose, even to threaten the United States with regard to our military action. So in that way they have discovered that they have a tool that they can use and that they are willing to suffer the pain and that maybe we are unwilling to suffer more pain than what they are.

[Garrett Hake]

Is that a strategic defeat for the US

[Mark Esper]

I think a strategic setback would be if that is indeed the case. And secondly, my other fear, my other concern, probably a reality, is that the Iranians have learned that they could survive the brunt of US And Israeli military attacks. Despite how very successful they've been, the regime has been able to survive and withstand them. And that's going to embolden them going forward.

[Garrett Hake]

You mentioned Lebanon earlier. I think that's one of the interesting parts of this. Israel was not included in the crafting of the memorandum of understanding. They continue to bomb Lebanon despite the ceasefire agreement that was signed last week. Do you think it was a mistake to exclude Israel from the negotiations that are happening now?

[Mark Esper]

Well, it's hard to say. We don't know to what degree they will consult it or not. I think it's clear that we cannot obviously speak for what Israel's position will be going for. They clearly have a right to self defense. And the difference here between the United States and Israel is that Iran and Hezbollah present an existential threat to Israel and so they have the right to defend themselves. And the other factor here, of course, is that the political dynamics on both sides are very different. Whereas in the United States, 60 to 70% of Americans don't support the conflict, 60 to 70% of Israelis do support attacking Hezbollah. In fact, it's well over 70%. So you have different political dynamics at stake at a time when both leaders, President Trump and Bibi Netanyahu have important elections coming up in the fall.

[Garrett Hake]

Right. I mean, there's a lot of different possibilities for different regimes to be in charge of all three of these countries going forward. I want to talk some more about some of the specifics in this deal. On paper, it does reopen the Strait of Hormuz. It ends the US Naval blockade, removes US Troops from the proximity of Iran after the final deal, and we'll see what that ultimately means. And this is a quote, will maintain the status quo of Iran's nuclear program pending further negotiations. So what did the US get out of this war that it didn't already have have before it began?

[Mark Esper]

Well, that's going to be the question, Garrett, at the end of the day as we assess this. Again, we're in the middle, the beginning of the negotiations, the middle of this conflict. Maybe we're going to have to assess when it's all said and done, what it looks like. But as I said earlier, when I look at the MoU, I see Iran getting a number of things and what we get is one paragraph that speaks about the entering of the framework discussions for the nuclear and it says one specific item with regard to enrichment that they would down bled their enriched uranium as a minimal process going forward. So I get concerned about the other parts, about stockpiles, the duration of the agreement, the allowance of inspectors into the country, permitting snap inspections. There are a lot of details are going to have to be worked out in the 60 days of negotiations which to me seems difficult to achieve within 60 days. So I've seen this really in two phases. The economic phase, which is beginning now, leading up to certainly before the elections. And then there'll be a strategic phase where the talks will continue beyond the elections to resolve all the thorny issues, the details with regard to whatever nuclear agreement comes out of this.

[Garrett Hake]

On the economic phase. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Roger Wicker, Republican, said in a statement, quote, the Iranian regime has not renounced its ultimate goal. Death to America, death to Israel. The regime will invest every penny it receives to further that aim. Do you agree with Senator Wicker that this deal could allow Iran to spend that $300 billion just spreading more terror and rearming.

[Mark Esper]

Well, of course money is fungible and we've agreed up front now that the MoU is implemented to unfreeze funds which are total around $100 billion. We've allowed the license free sell or the sanction free sell of oil. So the fungibility of money means that they can not only put that toward humanitarian stuff, but whatever they free up can go to rebuilding their military, can go to Hezbollah in fact, and can go to their other proxies to support this conflict. And look, I talked about this conflict. I know we've been focused on the last, what, three, four, five months. But in my view this began on October 7, 2023 when Hamas entered Israel and slaughtered, murdered over 1200 Israelis. It was the next day that Hezbollah attacked Israel. And all of this was funneled, fueled, inspired, supported by Iran. So this conflict goes back more than four months, certainly back to October 2023. And in my view, knowing this, history since 1979, 47 years.

[Garrett Hake]

Yeah. And that's the way the president frames it as well. Mr. Secretary, I want to read you something that you wrote in your book. You write, quote, this was one of the mysteries of Donald Trump as commander in chief. Sometimes he would express concern about being drawn into a conflict, and he was always talking about getting out of the endless wars. In the same vein, he would call off strikes we'd already agreed to. At other times, like now, he would complain we were not being tough enough and would want the most aggressive options possible. His views on the use of force swung back and forth like a pendulum. Even though a pendulum has some predictability, this president rarely gave us much at all. You obviously saw President Trump as an unpredictable commander in chief. Do you think that has been an advantage for him or a disadvantage for him?

[Mark Esper]

Predictability can certainly be an advantage when you're dealing with your adversaries. That's true. And one thing I concluded as well, I wrote about is that he was sincere with regard to not wanting to get involved in the war. So I question now whether advisors or others are recommending something different or recommended something different which launched this attack in late February. But he's been true, as my experience with him was to not get involved in foreign wars. He just really despised conflicts, extended conflicts, and was much more keen on how do we improve others economies, how do we improve the United States economy, how do we find a big deal that benefits everybody? That was more of his thrust and his push.

[Garrett Hake]

Well, with that being said, then do you think this war with Iran was a war of choice? Did he choose this war or was it a war of necessity?

[Mark Esper]

Well, I saw in the early days, when the president first launched this in late February, I saw a strategic opportunity. Clearly, the administration saw that Iran was rebuilding its air defenses, rebuilding its missile and drone stockpiles, and doing other things that I think warranted, at least suggested that would made sense to attack Iranian military facilities, sites and so on. I think the challenge was we kind of got over our skis with regard to the expectations of the conflict, talking about regime change, talking about unconditional surrender, talking about picking the next ayatollah. All those things I think, set up in the minds of the Iranians, at least, that this was all or nothing, that this time around we were going to go after completely wiping out the regime. Their backs were put against the wall. And of course, when you face that situation, which for them meant their lives, their livelihoods, everything that they were going to fight to the bitter end and pull out whatever plugs they needed to stay alive. And in this case, it meant threatening and blocking the Strait of Hormuz, which

[Garrett Hake]

is exactly what we saw. You also wrote in your book that you were fired for not being loyal. The chief of staff at the time told you, quote, the president's not happy with you. He feels you haven't been supported. You haven't supported him enough. And added, you aren't sufficiently loyal. Given what happened to you, do you think that those serving the president right now are putting their loyalty first to the president or to the Constitution?

[Barack Obama]

Well,

[Mark Esper]

that's a tough question, I'm sure. Find what's going on and answer those questions, but I have no insights on that.

[Garrett Hake]

Do you trust that the president is being given advice by people who think their loyalty is to the Constitution?

[Mark Esper]

I don't see that. The president is always getting good advice. And so I think that's the question to ask. I think Republicans on Capitol Hill have asked that same question. Is the president getting the best advice with regard to these strategic matters?

[Garrett Hake]

All right, Secretary Esper, we have to leave it there. Thank you for coming on. Thank you for joining us on Meet the Press today.

[Mark Esper]

Thank you.

[Garrett Hake]

And when we come back, President Trump is facing criticism from both the right and the left over his new Iran deal. The panel is next.

[Nia Malika Henderson]

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[Kristen Welker]

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[Senator Cory Booker]

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[Garrett Hake]

Welcome back. The panel is here. Susan Glaser, staff writer for the New Yorker, Bloomberg opinion columnist Nia Malika Henderson, Republican strategist Sarah Fagan and Jeh Johnson, former secretary of Homeland Security under President Obama. Welcome to you all. Susan, I'll start with you. You heard me talking about the war and its potential endings and alternatives to some of our guests. Was this ultimately the only way to end this war?

[Susan Glasser]

Well, look, Donald Trump started out the war a little bit more than 100 days ago saying that he was going to obliterate the Iranian nuclear program that had already been obliterated. According to him. He said he was going to change the regime. He said he was never going to end it except with unconditional surrender. What's remarkable is that in Washington across the Middle east this week, the question is whether it was the United States itself that engaged in a form of unconditional surrender. The terms of this agreement, we can talk about them essentially are very favorable to the Iranians. They come away with it with far more ability to control the strategic territory of the Strait of Hormuz. They come away from it with both Israel and America's partners in the Gulf being extremely concerned that they've empowered America's enemy. And by the way, the United States has spent billions of dollars, tens of billions of dollars on the conflict in order to get us to a place that arguably is much worse than where

[Garrett Hake]

we started when you heard Secretary Esper say we may only be in the second quarter of this. So there's more still to come. Nimalika, this has now become JD Vance's problem to solve. You heard the president as he was leaving the G7 earlier this week, joking, maybe not joking that he would blame Vance if ultimately this turns into a failure. How much of a political risk is this for J.D. vance? And we're 33 minutes of the program. This will be the first mention of Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, who's been nowhere near this.

[Nia Malika Henderson]

Yes, strategically, I think in some ways, Marco Rubio has, has not been anywhere near this. The president sounded like he was joking. This is something that he said in April as well. It's also something that the conservative chattering class has picked up too. If you watch Fox News, a few folks on that network have talked about Vance giving bad advice to the president. I think the problem for Vance with this is that MAGA did not like the war. Right. You have this fracturing and then you have GOP hawks who also don't like the settlement, the surrender as some people are calling it. We'll see where it lands. But here you have Vance, who is trying to be the heir apparent to Donald Trump, now taking on the mantle of, I think, what might be Donald Trump's biggest strategic blunder as president. I think it also underscores traits that JD Vance has as a politician that aren't great. Right. He is seen as a shape shifter. He has in fact been one. Changing his position to amass more power often. The other thing I think about J.D. vance that folks pick up on is that there's a kind of mansplaining quality to him when he talks about any number of things. I mean, he's sort of mansplaining to the Pope, even about a faith. And here he is sort of mansplaining to Republicans and to the American public about why this deal has been a good thing so far. Again, we'll see where that goes. But this has just not been a good, I think, position for him. His people will say, well, listen, if there is in fact a peace deal and he is the broker of the peace deal, that'll be good. But it's hard to see that. And I think it really exposes he isn't a very experienced politician either. And so I think all of those things are going to be exposed, exposed over the next many months.

[Garrett Hake]

High risk, high reward. This brought out criticism from both sides of the aisle, Jay, including from your former boss, President Obama, who does not weigh in on every day to day political story. But he did here. I want to play a little bit of what he told Craig Melvin about this deal. Let's listen now.

[Barack Obama]

Fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military. A lot of people have died and it feels like we're back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse off.

[Garrett Hake]

Do you agree with that assessment?

[Jeh Johnson]

He's right. Susan's right. Any objective analysis of this 14 point deal has to lead one to conclude that we're worse off than we were the day before this war started. We're worse off than we were when the JCPOA was in place. The deal outlines that Iran reaffirms use of the word, reaffirms its pledge not to procure or develop a nuclear weapon. They had pledged that before. The deal includes $300 billion in reconstruction funds for Iran, presumably from the Gulf states.

[Garrett Hake]

That's right.

[Jeh Johnson]

The U.S. agrees to take the sanctions off all Iranian funds. 13 service members died. Let's not forget that there were over 100 schoolchildren who were killed on the first day of this war, apparently by a US Missile. And perhaps most significantly, Iran has discovered this new muscle, the use turning the straight on and off with the flip of a switch, which in my judgment, has greater potency than any prospect that they might develop a nuclear weapon in the future. And it's obvious to me that at some level, President Trump realized that this war he got us into, he needed to get us out of on any terms possible. He will certainly claim victory here. But you look at this thing objectively and you realize that this has cost us a lot more than it's benefited us.

[Garrett Hake]

Yeah. And I think the president's read on the political expediency of getting out now is certainly a big part of this. Sarah. There's been obviously significant, what amounts to significant Republican criticism of this deal, too, including this from some Senate Republicans.

[Senator Cory Booker]

Let's listen.

[Garrett Hake]

Iran's left stronger. Everything I've heard about it causes me concern. And I think, unfortunately, the president is receiving some, some really bad advice on this deal. I wouldn't want to give Iran any money. That's not going to go down in history as the most strident political criticism ever. But from Senate Republicans to this president, it's pretty strong. How far do you Senate Republicans are willing to go to push back on this deal?

[Kristen Welker]

I think a lot of it depends on what happens in the coming weeks as we get into this negotiation. You know, if it turns out that. That Iran really does get rid of its enriched uranium or it gets rid of missiles and Israel is not as much at threat as they have been to date. You know, perhaps the administration has some room to run with that. This is going in a good place. However, we have been dealing with a regime that has lied to us for nearly 50 years. If the uranium remains in the country and has the prospect of becoming a nuclear weapon, if there are missiles, which there's no mention in this agreement about Israel.

[Garrett Hake]

No. In fact, the president said on Wednesday he's fine with them having ballistic missiles still.

[Kristen Welker]

Well, that puts our neighbors and allies at risk. And I think to Jay's point. And I think if the Strait of Hormuz becomes an economic weapon, which it had not been previously, and they have the right to charge passage or turn it on and off, that is strategically very problematic. And Republicans will continue to criticize if that is the case, and they should.

[Garrett Hake]

This all comes as we're learning more about the decision making process that got into this war in the first place. There's this great new book from the New York Times, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, that talks about the process to get here. And I want to read. SUSAN I'll read you an excerpt here. They're right. Several administration officials believed early on that Trump's presidency would be over if they allowed themselves to be drawn into a conflict with Tehran. Were that to happen, at least one of those officials vowed to others that they would resign. SUSAN so how do we think this war has changed the Trump presidency? I don't know that we've seen that resignation.

[Susan Glasser]

Yeah, please don't hold your breath because I would be concerned about you.

[Garrett Hake]

Thank you for your concern.

[Susan Glasser]

The bottom line is, you know, you play these clips of these Republican senators, they're concerned, they're worried about it, they're watching it. You know, we're familiar enough with this dynamic tenures in, you know, the Republicans are not going to in a meaningful way provide a check on Donald Trump. That's the lesson of this, whether they're serving inside his administration or on Capitol, Capitol Hill. And I think it is really remarkable to hear this sort of, you know, oh, if only the czar had better advice. The bottom line is it's Donald Trump's sort of erratic and chaotic decision making here that is increasingly at issue. And I think it's one of the reasons that, you know, you've seen Trump's numbers just absolutely crater, including from many Republicans, Republican leaning independence right now. You know, it's that political pressure he faces because people are looking at a now 80 year old president and wondering how is it possible that this man who claims that he has unchecked powers is going here. Just one final point on the negotiations. You know, again, it just as it's unlikely that Republican senators are going to en masse, you know, sort of draw a line here and say, absolutely, you cannot pass with this deal. Still, it's extremely unlikely and we should not be credulous to think that there's going to be some miraculous settlement of the Iranian nuclear program. It took two years of intensive negotiations, remember, for Obama to get that JCPO right.

[Garrett Hake]

I mean, we're looking at like A two page outline here. I mean, this is not a lengthy deal at the end of the day to that point about the President saying he has basically unlimited or unchecked power. You heard it in the sound bite there at the top. What do you think this war has done to, to show what the limits or not of his power is? On the one hand he totally ran over Congress. On the other hand, he's watching his approval numbers plummet.

[Shannon Maldonado]

Yeah.

[Nia Malika Henderson]

And listen, I mean, looking for a check is essentially what Democrats will run on.

[Susan Glasser]

Right.

[Nia Malika Henderson]

Checking this President. I think his comments there, if you're a Democrat, you should run that in a campaign ad because it speaks to, to what this President is lacking. Right. There is no check, to Susan's point, from Republicans. The courts have done some of that and you've seen that happen over, over the last couple of weeks in many different scenarios. But he has greatly expanded his use of power the way he uses it in ways big and small, from compelling Coke to put cane sugar in their product. Obviously what he's done at the Kennedy center, some checks there as well. You saw Joyce Beatty make a move against him. But yes, I mean, I think we have seen a president has used his power in an expansive way and in a huge and massive way that we haven't seen in our lifetimes.

[Garrett Hake]

He's also willing to flaunt it in ways we're not used to seeing, like the Qatari Air Force One plane that was unveiled this week. I think we have some pictures of the President checking it out. I mean, Jay, is this an appropriate use of a couple hundred million dollars worth of taxpayer resources here?

[Jeh Johnson]

Well, in fact, the two 747s that the president uses as Air Force One are 35 years old. Right.

[Garrett Hake]

I don't think there's any debate that those needed to be replaced and there

[Jeh Johnson]

are new ones on the way. This very Trump like 747 is supposed to be a bridge between now and when the new U.S. government paid aircraft come off the line. But it, you know, this is, this is a, this is a gift not to the US Government. This is a gift to President Donald J. Trump. There's no doubt about that. And in my judgment, it violates the spirit, if not the letter of the emoluments clause in the US Constitution which says no US Government official should accept a gift from a foreign government. You mentioned something earlier to Cory Booker about a turning point and Republican attitudes to all of this. I really do think with their objections to the weaponization fund, with the endorsement of Ken Paxton over John Cornyn, who was very well liked in the Senate. Republicans, and we're seeing this now, are beginning to speak out, object to a lot of some of this, some of what President Trump's doing.

[Garrett Hake]

That's a perfect setup. Sarah, I want to get you to react to that. I mean, do you see this as a potential, any of this as a potential turning point, Any of this as a bridge to far.

[Kristen Welker]

Well, I think the closer you get to elections, you know, when things look tough, the more likely you are to see members of Congress start to look around and be more critical of their incumbent president. We see that on both sides of the aisle. We experienced this in 2006 when we were in an also unpopular war and Republicans were up in a tough situation, started to become much more critical of President Bush at the time. So it's normal and so you would expect it. And this deal that is, has a lot to be determined.

[Garrett Hake]

Right.

[Kristen Welker]

Gives them something, you know, certainly to talk about.

[Garrett Hake]

Well, then stay tuned. We have got more to talk about. Our panel is all sticking around, but when we come back, all the living former presidents gathered in Chicago for the opening of the Obama Presidential Center. We look back at Barack Obama before, before he reached the White House. Our Beat the Press minute is next. Welcome back. This week, the Obama Presidential center opened to the public in Chicago, a lasting tribute to the nation's 44th president. But long before the White House, Barack Obama was a little known Illinois state senator who burst onto the national stage with his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Just months later, after winning his election to the US Senate, Obama joined Meet the Press to talk about a theme that would come to define his political career. Bridging divides and finding common ground.

[Barack Obama]

I absolutely think that it's possible for us to find common ground. You know, the president called me this week. He was extraordinarily gracious in congratulating me. We both agreed that our wives are sharper than we are, which was nice. And my sense is that if we can disagree without being disagreeable and if we're not involved in the sort of slash and burn politics that I think has become the custom in Washington, but we seek out common ground on the enormous challenges that we face ahead, whether it's the global economy that Karl Rove just mentioned and how we make sure that the middle class is in fact sustainable in this global competition, or we're talking about how we provide the education that our children need so that they can succeed. Those are issues where we all share, I think success and one of the things I told the president was that we all have a stake in seeing him have a successful presidency. I don't think that the Democrats succeed by rooting against the president in office. But we have to be honest where we disagree with him and he's got to make his case where he's presenting issues that, that we're skeptical about.

[Garrett Hake]

And when we come back, new signs. Democrats may be gaining ground in the fight for control of Congress. More with the panel is next. And welcome back. The panel is still here. We're going to talk about the midterms. I can't believe it. We're only four and a half months away. I keep saying six months like we're frozen in time, but it's moving. And this week the Cook Political Report moved six Republican held seats in Democrats favor. What's the Democrats just have the inside track here. What's your assessment?

[Nia Malika Henderson]

I think they do. And I think they've had the inside track for a while, even given the redistricting, which does give the edge to Republicans at this point, they're about six points ahead on the generic ballot. That's about where they were in 2018. 2018, it was a gain of 40 seats. They're not going to get 40 this go round. They obviously only need three. So I think, I think the House, they'll do well. The Senate is the open question.

[Kristen Welker]

Right.

[Nia Malika Henderson]

And you sort of see why, given Cory Booker's response, Right. When he talks about whether or not he's going to, he's going to campaign for Platner in Maine, it sounds like a no. And so this I think is going to be a real weakness because I think Democrats chances to the Senate certainly run through Maine. And Susan Collins, as Democrats have seen time and time again, is a real tough out. So that's what I, you know, maybe 35 to 40% chance of taking the Senate, but I think for the House, much better chances.

[Garrett Hake]

So, Sarah, if Republicans are going to keep the House, how do they do it?

[Kristen Welker]

Well, I think structurally it's just really, really difficult. I mean, you would need this Iran situation to get resolved quickly and gas prices to plummet and a bunch of other economic factors to change quickly. You know, the average midterm loss for an incumbent president is about 26 seats. And Democrats have their highest enthusiasm gap since 2006. There's other parallels to that period of time. I remember them painfully well as sitting in the White House as political director, an unpopular war, structurally sound economy, but maybe GDP weakening unemployment strong, but consumer confidence weakening. I mean, you see these parallels, housing market, market problem, problems. And it's just structurally hard to see how. It's a great night for Republicans.

[Garrett Hake]

We have just a little bit of time left. But, Jay, I'd love to get you to reflect on the Obama presidential center. You know, speaking of 2006, what it was like to sort of relive those moments.

[Jeh Johnson]

I was with Barack Obama from November 2006 when he asked me to join his campaign, even before it started to January 20, 2017, the end of his administration. I actually was a holdover that day. Seven hours, 32 minutes because I was the Designated Survivor from where I sat in the Department of Defense and DHS. We degraded AQ's ability to launch another large scale home attack on the homeland, began the destruction of isis. Took out bin Laden, the leader of aq, took out Awlaki, the leader of aqap, repealed the dreaded Don't Ask, don't tell law with Nancy Pelosi as leader in the House and created DACA in 2012, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which to me is quintessential American values. DACA recipients today are in law school, some of the nation's leading law firms, and elected a president of color, something I thought 2008 I'd never see in my lifetime. He and his family served in the White House for eight years with honor, class, dignity, without a misstep, without any hint of scandal, and represented a major step forward for our country.

[Garrett Hake]

Susan, can you, in 30 seconds, tell me what it was like to see those four former living presidents together?

[Susan Glasser]

Yeah. You know, nobody had to mention the name Donald Trump for it to be obvious that this was the contrast that we were seeing. And by the way, just personally, I. I am totally there for the Michelle Obama, George W. Bush.

[Garrett Hake]

It's everyone's favorite buddy comedy. I think you could sign them to Netflix and it would be a huge success. All right, panel, we're gonna leave it all there. Thank you so much for coming in on this Father's Day weekend. Thank you for a great discussion. And before we go, I want to remind our viewers that Kristen will be sitting down with award winning actress, producer and mental health advocate Taraji P. Henson for the first ever Meet the Moment Live event later this month in New York City. Right now, we have a special offer for our viewers. If you use the promo code Moment50 to get $50 off your ticket while supplies last, you can scan that QR code you see there on the bottom of your screen or head to meetthepress.com for tickets and details. That's all for today. Thank you for watching. Wishing all the dads out there, including my dad, watching at home, a very happy Father's Day. We'll be back next week because if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.

[President Donald Trump]

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