June 7 — President Donald Trump

Summary

Meet the Press – June 7, 2026

Exclusive Interview with President Donald Trump
Host: Kristen Welker, NBC News
Panel: Carol Lee, Mark Short, Ashley Etienne
Main Theme: U.S.-Iran War at 100 Days, Domestic Politics, and Trump’s Controversial Policies

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Episode Overview

This episode marks the 100th day since the U.S. launched strikes against Iran, with Kristen Welker sitting down for an exclusive, storm-interrupted interview with President Donald Trump in rural Wisconsin. The discussion spans the state of U.S.-Iran tensions, domestic economic pressures with midterms looming, Trump’s handling of January 6th aftermath, and ongoing claims of election fraud. Analysis and commentary are provided by a panel of political and security experts. The tone is at times combative, especially as Trump faces pushback on his record and controversial positions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The War with Iran: Definitions, Status & Negotiations

100 Days into the Conflict

• Welker opens by confronting Trump on whether the U.S. is at war with Iran, given Secretary of State Rubio’s claim the war is "concluded," and recent Iranian attacks (03:51).
• Trump: Refers to the campaign as a “military exercise,” minimizing the scale – “It's not a big war for us… Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, their anti aircraft is gone.” ([03:51])
• Acknowledges a naval blockade, but resists labeling it war: “I don’t consider that a war, but if you want to define it as such, I guess you can.” ([05:08])

On Troops and Red Lines

• Trump is reluctant to send troops home: “It costs us very little to keep them there. I don’t consider them in danger… I think we’ll keep them there until such time as we have a completion.” ([06:57])
• Red lines: “Certainly [Iran killing more Americans] would be something that I would think about very seriously. But my red line would be if I think I wasn’t going to make a deal or if I wasn’t going to make a deal fast enough.” ([08:00])

State of Negotiations

• Trump claims Iran’s leadership is decimated and the country is “virtually decapitated.”
• On nuclear terms: Iran has agreed not to develop, “purchase, acquire, or buy” nuclear weapons ([10:39]); Trump insists these clauses are vital because “that’s not developing.”
• Talks are reportedly close, but Trump won’t commit to a timeline—implying days, but possibly much longer ([10:39], [18:01]).
• On regime change in Iran: “It's the third group we've been dealing with… you could say it’s regime change, actually, because these are very different people. I find them to be more rational, very smart.” ([08:00])
• Discusses the son of the former Supreme Leader, Khomeini: “Younger, I think more rational. Injured. He’s pretty badly injured. So there’s a certain bravery there…” ([10:09])

Nuclear Arsenal and U.S. Military Claims

• Iran’s capacity reduced: “Maybe 21, 22% of their missiles [remain]. It’s a lot of missiles, but it’s not what it was when we first attacked.” ([14:23])
• Sites are said to be heavily damaged: U.S. “can read your first name on your lapel” with space cameras over nuclear structures ([15:14]).
• On removing nuclear materials ("nuclear dust"): If there’s a deal, “we’ll go together… take it out and destroy it.” If not, “we’re going to take them out militarily, very harshly.” ([17:01])

On American Hostages and Regional Players

• Trump admits no one has a comprehensive list of American detainees in Iran, but claims to be pressing for their release ([20:11]).
• On Israel and Lebanon, Trump is at odds over Israel’s strategy, preferring “more surgical” strikes and hints at Syria’s improved cooperation ([21:12]).

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Domestic Pressures & Economic Strategy

No New Wars Campaign Pledge

• Welker presses Trump on breaking his long-standing promise of “no new wars” ([24:05]).
• Trump: “I had to stop a country, very powerful, very dangerous country, from having a nuclear weapon because they'd use it. They’d blow up the world… But you cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon or they will blow you up. There will be no Kristen, there will be no NBC. There will be no Meet the Press.” ([24:05], [28:52])

Economic Impact of the War

• Despite positive jobs reports, farmers and voters feel economic strain, especially with gas and fertilizer prices rising ([31:02]).
• Trump’s defense: “We’re going to have higher gasoline, we’re going to have a little higher fertilizer… But I’m going to get rid of a nuclear weapon in the hands of very dangerous people.” ([32:08])
• Predicts prices will “drop like a rock” once the conflict is resolved ([33:45], [31:40]).

Federal Reserve and Interest Rates

• Welker asks about Trump’s new Fed Chair, Kevin Warsh, and the potential for interest rate hikes ([34:01]).
• Trump: “There’s no reason to raise interest rates… Growth is the greatest thing you can have and growth does not cause inflation.” ([34:17])

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Controversy Over January 6th “Anti-Weaponization Fund”

Trump’s Response to Payout Proposal

• Welker asks about the blocked $1.8bn fund for compensating those claiming government “weaponization” ([36:36]).
• Trump: “If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve. People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed. Many suicides… I think the weaponization fund is a great idea.” ([37:19])
• On those who attacked police: “I wouldn’t be inclined to say so, but I have to see it. I can tell you this. 97% of those people… they were being ushered into the building.” ([38:44])
• Repeats unsubstantiated claims about “dirty cops,” including Comey, and insists there’s evidence of government malfeasance ([39:00], [39:21]).

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Continued Claims of Election Fraud

• Persistently asserts elections were “rigged”: “All I have to do is look. All I have to do is look.” ([41:30])
• Dismisses the absence of presented evidence, doubling-down on accusations of voter fraud and media bias ([42:01]).
• Ends the interview abruptly, accusing Welker and Meet the Press of dishonesty: “You know that these elections are rigged. Your network knows that they’re rigged. You know that I won an election in a landslide… Meet the Press is crooked…” ([42:01], [42:48])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the nature of the Iran conflict:
  “I call it a military exercise because people would rather have it called that. It’s not a big war for us.” – Donald Trump ([03:51])

• On accountability for January 6th rioters:
  “If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve. People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed.” – Donald Trump ([37:19])

• On elections:
  “All I have to do is look. All I have to do is look.” – Donald Trump ([41:30])
  “There’s no evidence of that.” – Kristen Welker ([39:00])

• On breaking the “no new wars” pledge:
  “I didn’t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world? ... I had to do this country, this world, the Middle East, Israel, everybody a favor.” – Donald Trump ([25:18])

• On U.S. military achievements:
  “We took over Venezuela in a matter of minutes. We destroyed the capabilities of Iran in a matter of days. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it.” – Donald Trump ([25:57])

• Weather-related interruption (adds human color):
  “Is that rain?” – Kristen Welker
  “A lot of rain. A lot of rain.” – Donald Trump ([16:44])

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Key Segment Timestamps

• 03:51 – 09:00: Iran war status, U.S. military strategy, state of negotiations, Iranian leadership
• 10:39 – 14:26: Nuclear deal sticking points, missile stockpiles, U.S. surveillance
• 17:01 – 21:01: “Nuclear dust” removal, hostages, role of U.S. forces, red lines
• 24:05 – 30:25: “No new wars” pledge, rationale for Iran intervention, avoiding a quagmire
• 31:02 – 36:36: U.S. economy, jobs & inflation, farmers’ woes, Fed policy
• 37:03 – 42:48: January 6th “weaponization fund”, claims about law enforcement, election fraud accusations

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Expert Panel Analysis & Reactions

Pressures and Uncertainties (Carol Lee)

• Noted Trump’s repeated references to Vietnam’s duration vs. his own approach, but highlights Trump’s “little clarity” on timelines or ultimate resolution.
• Draws attention to the significant missile stockpile that remains with Iran.

Political and Voter Response (Mark Short)

• Calls for more direct communication to voters about the costs and timeline of the conflict, warning of overpromising.
• Notes Trump needs to provide solutions for hurt sectors, esp. farmers.

Frustration and Disconnect (Ashley Etienne)

• Sees Trump as “disconnected from the reality of what people are going through,” and more focused on political grievances than economic pain.
• Urges Democrats to proactively address economic challenges as voter frustration rises.

Trump’s Focus on Personal Grievances (Carol Lee)

• Observes Trump’s passionate defense of the “anti-weaponization” fund, despite opposition from both parties, and how the issue centers around his own narrative of grievance.

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Final Thoughts

The interview, shaped by tough weather and an increasingly combative tone, offers a window into President Trump’s approach to the ongoing Iran conflict, his rationalization of economic pain at home, persistent allegations of election fraud, and controversial policies regarding January 6th. The discussion underscores growing anxiety, uncertainty about the road ahead, and deep divisions over both foreign and domestic policy.

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For more analysis or to view upcoming guest details, visit Meet the Press.

Transcript

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[Donald Trump]

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[Kristen Welker]

this Sunday, Turning Point. My exclusive interview with President Trump as the war with Iran reaches the 100 day mark.

[Donald Trump]

I don't like these endless wars. This is not an endless war.

[Kristen Welker]

What makes you so sure this won't become a quagmire?

[Donald Trump]

We're not going to be there.

[Kristen Welker]

As pressure grows on the economy, with the midterms approaching, as soon as that's

[Donald Trump]

complet, prices are going to drop like a rock.

[Kristen Welker]

Plus his controversial plan that could give payouts to January 6th rioters.

[Donald Trump]

Look, it was up to me. I'd pay them the kind of money that they deserve.

[Kristen Welker]

And his continued claims about election fraud?

[Donald Trump]

They're cheating on the election.

[Kristen Welker]

Do you have evidence to support that?

[Donald Trump]

All I have to do is look.

[Kristen Welker]

Joining me for insight and analysis are NBC News National Security Managing editor Carol Lee, Mark Short, former director of legislative affairs for President Trump and Ashley Etienne, former communications director to Vice President Harris, welcome to Sunday. It's MEET the PRESS

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from NBC News in Washington, the longest running show in television history. This is MEET the PRESS with Kristen Welker.

[Kristen Welker]

Good Sunday morning. Today marks 100 days since the United States launched the first strikes against Iran. Midterm pressures are growing with no clear end to the war in sight. On Friday, President Trump took his case to rural voters in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin at the invitation of the White House. We joined him at Custer Farms and had a wide ranging interview that was unfortunately interrupted multiple times by the stormy weather overhead. President Trump, welcome back to MEET THE press. Thank you, thank you so much for being here. We are going to talk about your visit while you're here in Wisconsin. But I'd like to start off by talking about the major issue that you are focused on every day, which is Iran. Sunday will mark 100 days since the first strikes. Your Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the war had concluded. And yet just this week, Iran attacked US Allies in the region, calling it retaliation for a set of U.S. airstrikes. Is the United States at war with Iran?

[Donald Trump]

Well, they've been largely decapitated. And I call it a military exercise because people would rather have it called that. It's not a big war for us. It's not. We have the most powerful military in the world. I built it, frankly, I built it in my first four years and I'm using it a little bit in my second four years. Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, their anti aircraft is gone. They might have built it up a little bit over the last four weeks during this little ceasefire that we did at the request of some very good people, very, very fine people from actually from numerous places, as you know. You know, there are a lot of people involved, but from Pakistan in particular, the field Marshal and the Prime Minister. And we're very close to having a deal. And if we don't have a deal, we'll do it one way or the other. Either way, we win.

[Kristen Welker]

I do want to talk about the terms of any potential deal in just a moment. But the, but let me just follow up with you. You did post on social media just this week my final negotiations to end the war with the Islamic Republic of Iran. There is a naval blockade in place, which technically is an act of war under international law. So is this a war as long as there's a naval blockade in place?

[Donald Trump]

Well, we have a blockade. It's been extremely effective. And the reason we have it is they try to blockade and now we Blockaded them and as you know, they're losing 4 to $500 million a day. It's not sustainable for them. They have an economy that's shot in addition to everything else. Their leaders are gone, their generals are gone, their first tier and second tier are gone. Much of their third tier is gone. But they put up a blockade. And so we blockaded them and we have the ultimate blockade. I don't consider that a war, but if you want to define it as such, I guess you can.

[Kristen Welker]

Well, how do you define.

[Donald Trump]

I don't define it at all. I don't think about it. I just do what I have to do.

[Kristen Welker]

But if you're not specifically calling it a war, would you consider sending some of the troops who are stationed there, who were sent because of Operation Epic Fury, their home? Would you consider sending them home? If it's not technically a war, we

[Donald Trump]

don't need as many troops. I think it just like it's on the terror on the side of caution.

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[Donald Trump]

a lot of people there, they're very safe. You know, if you think we beat Venezuela, we lost nobody. We took over the whole country, we lost nobody. We have a great relationship, by the way, with Venezuela. Venezuela is doing very well, but we lost nobody.

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We've lost 13 people here.

[Donald Trump]

And that's a lot. 13 people too many. But if you look at Vietnam, where hundreds of thousands of people were killed, if you look at any one of the last seven or eight wars where many, many people were killed, we lost 13. And again, 13 is too many. I don't want to lose any, but 13 is less than anybody's ever even envisioned. I think we're doing a great job, but.

[Kristen Welker]

So are you saying you would consider sending some of the troops home, sir? Some of the 50,000 troops who were sent there as a part of operation,

[Donald Trump]

it costs us very little to keep them there. I don't consider them in danger. We have the best defense anyone's ever seen. We have the best offense anyone's ever seen. So I don't consider danger. I would say it would be foolhardy to do that because maybe we may use them. It's unlikely, but I think we'll keep them there until such time as we have a completion. And when we have a completion, you will see things like you've never seen. The oil will go down. The stock market already, as you know, it's at an all time high. Even in the midst of it, it hit all time high highs. We had 73 all time highs in a short period of time that I've been in office, which is a record, by the way. And, you know, we're doing very well. But the main thing is we can not let Iran have a nuclear weapon. Can't do it.

[Carol Lee]

What is.

[Donald Trump]

And we won't do it.

[Kristen Welker]

You just referenced the 13Americans who were killed. And I want to know what your red line is. What would trigger you to restart military action? Would it be Iran killing more American citizens?

[Donald Trump]

Certainly that would be something that I would think about very seriously. But my red line would be if I think I wasn't going to make a deal or if I wasn't going to make a deal fast enough. So we're having very good negotiations with the people that are leading the country now. It's the third group that we've been dealing with, and they are different. And you could say it's regime change, actually, because these are very different people. I find them to be more rational, very smart.

[Kristen Welker]

Who is that? Who's leading the country?

[Donald Trump]

Well, I don't know the names, but you know who they are. They're leaders. They're respected. Respected by the people that have to respect them. They are calling the shots. We know that because we see it through various tests that we've given. It's a little bit strange because you have leaders that have been there for a long time and they get wiped out. Then you have leaders that you also know the second tier and they get wiped out. All of a sudden we're dealing with different people. But no, I think that we'll either have something done fairly quickly or we'll finish it out militarily.

[Kristen Welker]

Are you talking about the son of the supreme Leader?

[Donald Trump]

Well, he's a part of it, yes.

[Kristen Welker]

He has not been seen in public. What is his status? Have you talked to him directly?

[Donald Trump]

I do believe they have great respect for him. I have. I see it. I mean, they want to get his concurrence. They've said to me, they've said to others that they're looking for approval and he is part of the approval process. Absolutely.

[Kristen Welker]

Have you spoken to him directly? You said you want to meet with him.

[Donald Trump]

No, I have not. I would if he'd like to, but I have not spoken to him directly.

[Kristen Welker]

Do you know where he is?

[Donald Trump]

I will tell you. They do.

[Kristen Welker]

How he is?

[Donald Trump]

Yeah, they do pay homage to him. I would tell you if they didn't. They seem to. Based on what I see, they seem to respect him a great deal.

[Kristen Welker]

Do you know where he is? Do you know how he is doing physically?

[Donald Trump]

I Don't want to say whether or not I know where he is, but there's a good probability that I do.

[Kristen Welker]

Is he inside Iran?

[Donald Trump]

I'd rather not say that.

[Kristen Welker]

Okay. He is the son of the last supreme leader, who is obviously hardliner. Is this younger Khomeini any better for the United States than his father was?

[Donald Trump]

Younger, I think more rational. Injured. He's pretty badly injured. So there's a certain bravery there. A lot of people, if they were injured that badly, they wouldn't be talking about, you know, how we doing with the United States that have other things on their mind. So there's a certain bravery there, but he is very seriously injured. Yeah.

[Kristen Welker]

What is the status of talks exactly in this moment? How close are you to making a deal? Are we talking about days, weeks, months?

[Donald Trump]

Mr. President, we're close. We have a couple of points. They don't even seem like big points. They've conceded the fact that they will not have nuclear weapons. We had a clause in there that we will not develop nuclear weapons. And everybody was very happy with it, except. Except me. And I said, well, what happens if

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they

[Donald Trump]

not develop, but they go out and purchase? They acquire. I want to put the word. If they buy or purchase or acquire. You know, you've got to have that in there, too, because that's not developing. So they don't have the right to develop or purchase, acquire or buy.

[Kristen Welker]

Have they pushed back against that? Is that one of the sticking points?

[Donald Trump]

A little bit. And then they didn't. Okay.

[Kristen Welker]

You have been Saying for months, Mr. President, that Iran is begging to make a deal. They are so desperate to make a deal. Why haven't they made a deal with you yet?

[Donald Trump]

Because they. It's a very hard thing for them. They've had great independence. They've dealt with very weak and ineffective leadership on behalf of the United States and other countries, frankly, that were. That allowed them to get away with murder. And I don't. I think they can't believe they're in the situation where they've been virtually decapitated.

[Kristen Welker]

But if they're so desperate, Mr. President, why haven't they said yes to the terms you're proposing?

[Donald Trump]

They're proud. There are things they never thought they'd be doing that they're going to have to do. They've got no choice. And it takes a little while. You know, you're talking about 47 years of getting away with whatever they wanted. I mean, we should. This should have been done long ago. This should have been done by other presidents or Other countries, doesn't have to be us other countries, but they were very close to having a nuclear weapon twice. That was when I terminated the Iran nuclear deal, which was a path. That deal, the jcpoa, that deal was tantamount to giving them a nuclear weapon. It was a horrible deal given by Barack Obama and really penned by him. It was a horrible deal. It was, you know, it expired long ago. Had I not. Had I terminated it. But had I not terminated it, it expired long ago. It was a short term deal. It was a road to a nuclear weapon. They would have had a nuclear weapon five years ago.

[Kristen Welker]

But Mr. President, I'm curious because when you were campaigning, you said you would rip up the Iran nuclear deal but negotiate a better deal. Why didn't you negotiate a better deal at the time? Because after it was ripped up, there weren't guardrails and they escalated their production of enriched uranium.

[Donald Trump]

Excuse me. It takes years to do these things. These people have been fighting for 47 years. They've been killing Americans. They've been taken off their legs and their arm and their faces have been hurt so badly and so horribly. I'm moving very fast. I'm into three months. You know, Vietnam lasted 19 years. I'm into my third month. And all I do is say, well, when are you going to win? If I were a Democrat, nobody would be talking that way. But it doesn't matter to me. I've gotten so used to it. Look, we have totally destroyed their military. They have some missiles left, they have some drones left.

[Kristen Welker]

Do you know how many missiles?

[Donald Trump]

Yes.

[Kristen Welker]

Exactly how many?

[Donald Trump]

I don't want to tell you. Can you give me a left? No, but they have. I know, almost to the number. And we know where they are too. And we know where their drones are and we know where their drone factories are. Most of the drone factories have been knocked out. Most of the launching pads have been knocked out and most of the missile manufacturing areas have been knocked out. But they still have capacity. They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say percentage wise, maybe 21, 22% of their missiles. It's a lot of missiles, but it's not what it was when we first attacked.

[Kristen Welker]

So you're saying they have 21, 22% of their missiles left?

[Donald Trump]

Correct? Yes.

[Kristen Welker]

Let's talk about what specifically you are demanding as a part of this short term deal, will the United States agree to a deal with Iran that doesn't explicitly and immediately give up its nuclear enrichment program on the front end?

[Donald Trump]

Well, you know, depending on when you Say immediately, look, it is buried under mountains because our B2s were incredible. The pilots of our B2s were unbelievable. And it's buried. They can't get it. The only two countries that could take it, that have the equipment today have to understand three mountains have fallen in on them. Right. So you understand that because the fake news was going around saying, oh, maybe they didn't hit their target. One o' clock in the morning, pitch black, no moon, no nothing. And every one of those bombs went right down those chutes and blew up. They can't get it, no matter what. I mean, they can get it, I guess, with years of work, but the only two countries that can get it are US and China because we're the only two with the equipment that's capable of doing that kind of work. And it would take weeks, weeks of digging. So the answer is, yeah, we're going to do it immediately. We're going to start looking very quickly and we'll do it with them. If we make a deal with China. No, no, with. We're going to do it with the Iranians. So if we make a deal, that means we'll be friendly, we'll do it with the Iranians. If we don't make a deal, we may do it or we may just watch it. You know, we have cameras on it all over it. If anybody walked there, if you walked over there, I would be able to read your first name on your lapel. And, and these are cameras up in space. It's pretty amazing technology, Space force. We have cameras all over the site. We know if anybody goes there, if anybody went there, any digging mechanism, any truck, any tractors, anything, anybody went there, we would know.

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[Donald Trump]

Is that wind or what?

[Kristen Welker]

Is that rain?

[Donald Trump]

What is that?

[Kristen Welker]

This would be the first of multiple interruptions due to the weather. Rain hitting the metal roof, making it difficult for both of us to hear each other. So as we're having this conversation, we can hear a little bit of rain,

[Donald Trump]

A lot of rain, A lot of rain.

[Kristen Welker]

Let me try to get a clear understanding of how the United States would get the nuclear material out. You've called it nuclear dust.

[Donald Trump]

Yeah.

[Kristen Welker]

Will you. And would you be open to sending in U.S. forces to retrieve the nuclear stock?

[Donald Trump]

The official name is highly enriched uranium and I call it nuclear dust because it seems to be nice and everyone understands it better and it's sort of cute and people picked it up. But the way you do it is if we make a deal, if we make a deal now, we're friendly, we'll go together. It'll be our equipment. We'll take it out and destroy it whether it's on site site or whether we take it off site.

[Kristen Welker]

So that would require U.S. forces.

[Donald Trump]

Well, that will require. We will have a deal. We'll be friendly. In other words, we will have made a deal and we will be at peace and we will go with them or without them, but we won't have people shooting at us. Okay. Now if we don't make a deal, then we're going to take them out militarily, very harshly. And we'll wait till end the we do that before we go, in which case we'll have safety either way.

[Kristen Welker]

Mr. President, I wonder how long are you willing to give Iran to make a deal? How much longer you've been talking?

[Ashley Etienne]

Well, I wouldn't say.

[Donald Trump]

Well, you really haven't. Again, you were in Vietnam for 19 years. You were in Iraq for many years. You were in Korea for many, many years. You were in all the. I won't even talk about war, World War II, because that was the big one and we don't want to ever have that. But you were in all these different wars for many years with thousands and thousands of people killed. We've had 13 people killed, which I hate. We've had 13 people killed and that includes two wars. That's Venezuela and that's Iran.

[Kristen Welker]

But do you have a cutoff?

[Donald Trump]

Why would you keep talking about speed? Chris, you were in Vietnam for 19 years and you tell me about three months and in three months I've demolished the navy, the Air Force, anti aircraft. They have no radar, they have no nothing. I demolished their leaders. Their leaders are gone.

[Kristen Welker]

Do you know where all of Iran's nuclear material is?

[Donald Trump]

Yes. Yes.

[Kristen Welker]

Would you unfreeze any Iranian assets or lift any sanctions up front as a part of any deal? So that would come after.

[Donald Trump]

Comes after. Yeah. If they turned over their job, we started talking. Yeah. Material unlike Obama. Obama flew a Boeing 757A plane I know very well. They took the seats out and they loaded it up with $1.7 billion in cash from the banks in Maryland and Virginia and, and D.C. they emptied out the banks and they gave them 1.7 in green and they gave them tens of billions of dollars. Just kept giving them money and it didn't work.

[Kristen Welker]

Would any again.

[Donald Trump]

That never works.

[Kristen Welker]

But again, Mr. President, you promised that you were going to negotiate a better deal. Do you wish you'd done it in your first term when you ripped it up at that before you ripped.

[Donald Trump]

No, they weren't ready. No, this is much better. This is much better. I would have done it in my first term. Israel wouldn't have been ready. Hear that sound? That sound of thunder? Lightning.

[Kristen Welker]

Is that going to interrupt, guys?

[Donald Trump]

No.

[Kristen Welker]

Okay.

[Donald Trump]

People will understand. We're in a farm. That's true.

[Kristen Welker]

Will any deal you make include the release of Americans who are being held by Iran?

[Donald Trump]

Well, we talk about it and we'll see. Nobody really has an accurate list of who they are, what they are, or if they're being held. But if they're. We've been talking about it. Nobody really has a list. You know that, right? You know, you're asking me about.

[Kristen Welker]

Nobody has a list, but are you demanding a list? Are you demanding to know and saying

[Donald Trump]

they've got to give me the list? I mean, you know, people that we're talking about. If you give me the names, I'll do my best to get them?

[Kristen Welker]

Well, I don't think that's been reported.

[Donald Trump]

Huh?

[Kristen Welker]

I don't think it's all of the people who've been held.

[Donald Trump]

All I'm saying is this. If you have a list of names, give them to me and I will get them.

[Kristen Welker]

But is it something you talk to them about?

[Donald Trump]

We talk about people, if they have them, but nobody knows who they are, just like you don't know who they are.

[Kristen Welker]

You have openly said you've been frustrated by Israel's continued bombing of Lebanon. Are you and Prime Minister Netanyahu on the same page?

[Donald Trump]

Yeah, we are. We get along very well. We've been great comrades. We did a very, very big number on a certain country that was nothing but trouble for 47 years. I disagree with him on a couple of things I'd like to see. I'd like to see Lebanon have a better life. I'd like to see a more surgical attack on Hezbollah. I think it should be more surgical and we can help them with that, or we can recommend Syria. Syria is doing a very good job of cleaning up their act. They have a very good leader. They have a leader that's really done a good job in a short period of time and he would love to help.

[Kristen Welker]

Are you demanding that Lebanon be a part of the short term deal that you're negotiating?

[Donald Trump]

I'm not demanding.

[Kristen Welker]

Okay.

[Donald Trump]

I think they'd like to see it, but I'm not the man.

[Carol Lee]

Okay.

[Kristen Welker]

I wonder if we should. Let me just get a gut check here. Should we pause for five minutes and let this pass? I just want to be able to hear everything he said the rain did not stop. But neither did our interview. When we come back, President Trump on his promise to never start a new war.

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[Kristen Welker]

I'd like to talk big picture now, Mr. President. One of your consistent campaign promises was no new wars going all the way back to 2015. Did you break that promise to the American people?

[Donald Trump]

I had to stop a country, very powerful, very dangerous country, from having a nuclear weapon because they'd use it. They'd blow up the world. They blow up the Middle east, they blow up Israel. They'd come here, they'd blow up Europe. They're nuts. Okay? They crazy people. I deal with them. And very high strung people. Little crazy and get along with them. I like them. But you don't want to let them have a nuclear weapon. And I'm doing the world a service. But I'm doing our country a service. It's America first. I'm doing our country a service. Nice rain.

[Kristen Welker]

It is raining hard.

[Donald Trump]

Okay, but the answer is good. Let's just keep going.

[Kristen Welker]

Let's keep going.

[Donald Trump]

Let's power through it right here.

[Kristen Welker]

We paused nearly five minutes for the rain to pass and then picked up our conversation. So you're saying you didn't break your promise. And yet, Mr. President, in your first term, you held to that promise and it was so fundamental to who you were as a candidate to a first term president. What changed? Because you insisted no new wars.

[Donald Trump]

First of all, I didn't guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world? I built our military. I inherited a terrible military. We had no equipment, we had nothing. I built a tremendous military. Biden gave a lot of it away, but it's still a relatively small portion compared to what I built.

[Kristen Welker]

But you said it over and over

[Donald Trump]

again, this would I build a military now? I didn't want to use this, but I'm doing you and everybody else a big favor in the midst of the greatest stock market in history, in the midst of the most successful country. Because as you know, in the last term we were dead country. Kristen, I know you. You're a big liberal or big progressive.

[Kristen Welker]

No, I'm just a journalist.

[Donald Trump]

We were a dead country a year ago. A couple of years ago, we were a dead country. Now we have the hottest country country anywhere in the world. And at the all time hottest point, which is probably now, believe it or not, you just had all brand new stock market records today. But at the hottest point in the history of our country, I took Scott Howard, I took Pete, I took everybody into a room. I said I have to do this country, this world, the Middle East, Israel, everybody a favor. You have Iran. They're going to have a nuclear weapon. Barack Hussein Obama signed the jcpoa. It was a horrible deal. Horrible deal. Listen to me. It was a horrible deal. It was a path to them getting a nuclear weapon. They were very close to having a nuclear weapon. I terminated the deal. Wait. Then I sent the B2 bombers in about nine, 10 months ago and they obliterated, totally obliterated the site. And I saved it. It. We had a choice. We could let them have a nuclear weapon or we could go along and have some beautiful days. But they would have, you know, it's a judgment. They would have used the nuclear weapon. And you know what? When people hear that whole scenario, when they hear me say Iran is going to have a nuclear weapon, and they're crazy, they say you're doing the right thing. I don't think it's an unpopular. I mean you'll do polls because they're all fake polls anyway, especially yours. But you do polls. I just won a big election. And the reason I won an election is people have confidence in me. I have good judgment. I had to make a judgment. Do I want to go along and have A country that's doing really well, but somebody is going to try and kill us. Or do I want to put out that. That horrible threat? And I did. I put it out. I put it out for many, many years. Now I'm going to put it out permanently. I'm going to do it either through negotiation, where we're very close to a deal, or I'm going to blow the hell out of them, to be honest with you. And it's going to be very easy for me to do. That's actually the easier path. So when you say I promised, I didn't promise anything. I don't like these endless wars. This is not an endless war. We've been doing this for three months. Much of it has been under the form, a pretty good form of cease fire. The blockade has been amazing. Our navy is amazing. Our military is the best in the world. Hey, we took over a very powerful country, Venezuela. Very, A lot of soldiers, big, strong military. We took over Venezuela in a matter of minutes. We destroyed the capabilities of Iran in a matter of days. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. Now, I'm going to finish it, but remember, you were in Vietnam 19 years because, stupid people, you were in so many different countries. Every war you were in for years. Look at, look at Iraq. Look what you were. You were there for years. Listen, Kirsten, we're there for a few months, and the threat is largely over. The. Soon it will be over. But you cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon or they will blow you up. There will be no Kristen, there will be no NBC. There will be no Meet the Press. You will end the Meet the Press string.

[Kristen Welker]

Let me ask you, though, during your 2016 campaign, you called the Middle East a quagmire. What makes you so sure this won't become a quagmire?

[Donald Trump]

We're not going to be there.

[Kristen Welker]

You're convinced this won't become a quagmire?

[Donald Trump]

It's not a quagmire. I just wiped out the military of a very dangerous country and I wiped out the nuclear threat. Let me tell you, if we left tomorrow, if we just said, all right, let's get out, It'll take them 15 or 20 years to rebuild back. But I'm not going to give them even that chance. I'm not going to give them that chance. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. And if there was even a 1% chance that they'd have it, I wouldn't leave. We're almost finished. We're going to either have a deal, a strong Deal, a meaningful deal. Not like the Obama thing. Obama was a path to a nuclear weapon. Mine is the exact opposite. And mine is a wall. It's a wall just like I built a thousand miles of wall on our southern border. And by the way, I took the worst border in history and I made it the best border in history in a matter of weeks.

[Kristen Welker]

And yet, Mr. President, Iran was the closest to developing weapons grade uranium after you ripped up the nuclear deal because there were no guardrails in place.

[Donald Trump]

They were developing it during the nuclear deal. You don't know that. What Iran, when Obama signed that stupid deal where he paid them billions and billions of dollars, he thought he could bribe them. Listen to me. They were developing a nuclear weapon. That's how they got there. They got all of this uranium during Obama. You know that, don't you?

[Kristen Welker]

Let's.

[Donald Trump]

Well, that's how they got. They don't say this. They got there. They developed it during the. Obama, Barack Hussein Obama during his.

[Kristen Welker]

And they've escalated their development after the deal was escalated. Let's talk about the economy.

[Donald Trump]

Let me just tell you something. If I didn't go in there with the B2 bombers, they would right now have a nuclear weapon and it could be that half of the world would be eradicated.

[Kristen Welker]

Let me, let me ask you about the economy. You got a strong jobs report today that beat. Not strong, really strong beat expectations.

[Donald Trump]

By how much?

[Kristen Welker]

Triple 170,000 jobs created. And yet gas is up, diesel is up.

[Donald Trump]

It's all coming down as soon as the war zone.

[Kristen Welker]

70% of farmers say they can't afford fertilizer. What's your message?

[Donald Trump]

Doing very well.

[Kristen Welker]

Let me ask you, what is your message to farmers? Many who support you, but who say

[Donald Trump]

they're struggling, who say there's nobody been better to farmers? You know, I gave farmers last term $28 billion because China took advantage and other people and, you know, paid for it. China, last term, you know, I had a great first term. I had the greatest economy ever. And you know what? What? This one's blowing it away.

[Kristen Welker]

What's your message to farmers though, Mr. President, who say they are struggling, they're struggling to make end. Are you ready?

[Donald Trump]

Are you ready? Am I allowed to talk? You keep asking questions and you don't listen to the answers. I love the farmers and the farmers love me and the farmers trust me. In the first term I had something very similar. China and others were. And Canada, which was brutal. They were taking advantage of our farmers. They don't take advantage of. Of anymore. I gave them $28 billion split up. They never had a payday like that. And the farmers loved me, and they came back and they voted for me in record numbers. You know that nobody's ever even come close now because of the fact that we had a choice. I had a choice to make. I could keep it going. The farmers were doing great. Fertilizer was very cheap. Everything was cheap. Gasoline was very low. Everything was very low. I could have kept it that way, but I said, I have to take a little bit of a turn. The farmer is going to understand it better than anybody. We're going to have higher gasoline, we're going to have a little higher fertilizer, et cetera, et cetera. But I'm going to get rid of a nuclear weapon in the hands of very dangerous people. Excuse me. Wait. It should have been done for 47 years. No president had the guts to do it. I did it, and I've done it. It's almost complete. As soon as that's complete, gasoline prices are going to drop like a rock. You know, I was in Iowa speaking about farms, and it was before we attacked Iran, and I was in Iowa, and The prices were $1.85 a gallon. $1.91 a gallon. What?

[Kristen Welker]

This time it wasn't the rain, but an audio issue that forced us to pause the interview again. Are gas prices going higher or have they peaked?

[Donald Trump]

They're going to come low, very low. They're going to go lower than they were before.

[Kristen Welker]

Have they peaked soon?

[Donald Trump]

Well, it depends. I mean, it depends where the war goes. It could be I'll have to give them a shot. And it could be we'll sign an agreement. If we sign an agreement, they'll go down now. Otherwise, they'll go down after we're finished.

[Kristen Welker]

You have a new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh. His first meeting in the role is later this month after this month's jobs report. Economists now say it's possible the Fed may have to raise rates. Do you think that's possible? And what would your reaction be, sir?

[Donald Trump]

So I'm of a different feeling. I think Kevin is. Kevin's fantastic, and I want him to do whatever he wants. I don't want to have a big influence on him. But we had a great report, we're doing great, and it's unfair that whatever you do great, they want to raise interest rates. It should be the opposite way. You know, if you go back 15 or 20 years, when you had good reports, the market went up. Nowadays, when you have good reports, the market Goes down because they think they're going to raise interest rates. There's no reason to raise interest rates. The country becomes great. We built the country by doing great and having rates low. What they do is when they raise interest rates, they try and kill success. I don't want to kill success. We should actually lower interest rates now if inflation comes, and you know, people live with inflation, but if inflation comes, what happens is you stamp it out. But success can kill inflation just like higher interest rates. What they do now is like, we had great job numbers. You agree, right? They beat expectations, not expectations, like three times. Okay, but you ready? What do they do? They say, oh, let's raise interest rates. It's the wrong thing to do. I would like to see rates get lower because we could build this into the greatest machine that the world has ever seen. But you can't do that when everybody immediately raises interest rates. So we had great job numbers. We're doing great. You know, we're building more factories. We have more money coming into our country right now from other countries and people than ever before. Wait a minute, what happens? I don't want to just kill it with high interest rates. Growth is the greatest thing you can have and growth does not cause inflation.

[Kristen Welker]

Would you be upset if they raised rates? What is your message to them about that?

[Donald Trump]

Living with Kevin, I have a lot of respect for him. But my feeling is that when a country is doing well, they shouldn't be penalized by immediately raising interest rates. They should actually be incentivized. You know, we have debt, we have other things, we have things we want to take care of. I want to go bigger on the military, I really do. If we do what I'm saying, this will be a beautiful, well oiled machine like you've never seen before.

[Kristen Welker]

And when we come back, President Trump defends his controversial plan that could give payouts to January 6th rioters. This 1.8 billion so called anti weaponization fund. It was going to compensate people who say the federal government weaponized the legal system against them. It's been blocked by the courts. Met with opposition from Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

[Donald Trump]

And Democrats, excuse me, mostly Democrats, some Democrats and some Republicans, very few Republicans.

[Kristen Welker]

Just to be very clear, are you backing off the floor fund completely, as your acting Attorney General Todd Blanch has said, or are you looking for another avenue to revise?

[Donald Trump]

Let me explain what the fund is. People have been hurt so badly by radical left lunatics that worked for the Biden administration and Sleepy Joe. They're vicious, they're Violent what they did to people. And of course, they went after me more than anybody else. They raided Mar a Lago and all the other of things. But people have been badly hurt. They've committed suicide. They've lost their jobs, they've lost their families, they've lost their wives. They've lost everything. They've lost everything over a fake weaponization of government. Now, let me just tell you for

[Kristen Welker]

a way to revive it.

[Donald Trump]

Well, look, it was up to me. I'd pay them the kind of money that they deserve. People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed. Many suicides. Think of it. People have committed suicide because a bunch of thugs went after them. You don't so me personally, I think the weaponization fund is a great idea and so do many other Republicans. You have to get it approved. If they get it approved, that's great. If they don't get it approved, I'd be disappointed.

[Kristen Welker]

All right, we're going to motor through this.

[Donald Trump]

But you have to understand, people have. This have been destroyed by crooked politicians and they should be reimbursed for that.

[Kristen Welker]

Do you think anyone who attacked police officers on January 6 should get taxpayer money?

[Donald Trump]

I wouldn't be inclined to say so, but I have to see it. I can tell you this. 97% of those people, you look at them, the FBI or whoever it was, because you had a lot of crooked cops. You had dirty cops. Comey was a dirty cop. A guy like Bolton was a dirty cop.

[Kristen Welker]

There's no evidence.

[Donald Trump]

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Oh, you think Comey was a straight

[Kristen Welker]

cop who pleaded guilty to assaulting police?

[Donald Trump]

Comey was a dirty cop. No, no, but listen to me. They had FBI agents ushering them into the building. They had FBI go into the building. Those people walking around, they're looking, oh, isn't this nice? They weren't in. They were being ushered into the building.

[Kristen Welker]

There's no evidence.

[Donald Trump]

You had a bunch of dirty cops. And frankly, what they did was weaponization of our government.

[Kristen Welker]

Sir, there's. There's no evidence of that. More than a thousand?

[Donald Trump]

No. Well, yeah, no, there's none. You know what you do Try looking at the tapes one time.

[Kristen Welker]

Would you take it.

[Donald Trump]

Look at the tapes.

[Kristen Welker]

But 172 people did plead guilty to assaulting police.

[Donald Trump]

You know why they pled guilty? Because they told they were going to jail for 15 years if they didn't. Should they pled guilty because they were frightened? They went down. They were ushered into a building. Many of them were arrested without even

[Kristen Welker]

going into the building with them. Receiving Taxpayer dollars.

[Donald Trump]

The people were destroyed by dirty cops and by weaponization. Many of those people should be compensated. Now, with that being said, the. As I understand it, the weaponization fund was going to set up a group of people, people that could be picked by anybody, fair people, smart people, and they will go on an individual case basis. Now, I don't know what's going to happen with the weaponization fund. I love the idea because people like you, the fake dirty press, the crooked press, people like stupid Biden, he's not smart enough to know what's going on, but people that surrounded him, surrounded his beautiful Resolute desk in the Oval Office. What they did to the lives of people. They destroyed people. They sent people to jail who did nothing wrong.

[Kristen Welker]

Just, just to be very clear, there's no evidence of what you're saying, but this is about Todd. Blanche, listen to me.

[Donald Trump]

Let's talk about tremendous evidence. There's nothing but evidence. The election was rigged. It was. Was a dirty election. And it's happening again right now in California. Happening right now in California. Right now. It's. Look at, look at what's happening to that. It's four days doing well in California. It's. No, they're not. They're dropping fast because it's a rigged election. Let me tell you, it's four days and they aren't even close to coming up.

[Kristen Welker]

That's how they know why they're doing

[Donald Trump]

that, because they're cheating on the other election.

[Kristen Welker]

There's. What do you have evidence to support?

[Donald Trump]

All I have to do is look. All I have to do is look.

[Kristen Welker]

That's not.

[Donald Trump]

And I listen and I listen to people and let's see what happens.

[Kristen Welker]

But, sir, that's not evidence.

[Donald Trump]

You think it's appropriate.

[Kristen Welker]

That's how they count the votes.

[Donald Trump]

You think it's appropriate that they have an election and five days later, they're nowhere close to picking.

[Kristen Welker]

Local officials acknowledge they are slow. They're urging.

[Donald Trump]

No, they're crooked.

[Kristen Welker]

They're urging the votes to be counted quickly. That's how they voted.

[Donald Trump]

Crooked. Just like you're crooked. Your press is crooked and Meet the Press is crooked.

[Kristen Welker]

To be fair, I'm not crooked, but let's really.

[Donald Trump]

Well, you play right into their hands.

[Kristen Welker]

Let's continue.

[Donald Trump]

You're either crooked or you're stupid. You play right into their hands with this rep. You know that these elections are rigged. Your network knows that they're rigged. You know that I won an election in a landslide And I got 94% bad press.

[Kristen Welker]

But, Mr. President, you know why I got that presented?

[Donald Trump]

Because you have no credibility.

[Kristen Welker]

But you've never presented evidence that it was rigged. Let's keep talking about. I want to talk about Todd.

[Donald Trump]

You have more evidence. There's more evidence than ever presented. Let's talk about your elections. In this country, we're like a third world country. Your elections are crooked and you're crooked and Meet the Press is crooked and so is ABC And CBS and CNN, Mr. President, your one sided crooked network. So let's call it quits because I've had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.

[Kristen Welker]

Mr. President, let's please. I traveled all the way to Wisconsin. I've sat in the rain with you. I know. I sat in the rain with you

[Donald Trump]

for an hour on and off in the rain. And I've given you enough time. You ought to straighten out your press. Because you know what? A country can never be great with a dishonest.

[Kristen Welker]

Listen, we traveled all the way to Wisconsin for this interview.

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[Kristen Welker]

I spoke with President Trump on Saturday and we both acknowledged the complications during the interview. Posed by the rain, he agreed to sit down with me for another Meet the Press interview. Welcome back. The panel is here. Carol Lee, NBC News National Security managing editor Ashley Etienne, former communications director for Vice President Harris and Speaker Pelosi and Mark Short, former Trump director of Legislative Affairs. Welcome to all of you. Thank you for being here. Carol, let me start with you. Obviously a tense ending to that interview. But let's start talk about the start of the interview, which are really some of the most robust comments I think we've heard from President Trump on Iran. What were some of your key takeaways?

[Carol Lee]

Well, you could see there's a real frustration with the pressure he's under to get a deal to bring gas prices down. He said five times that Vietnam took 19 years. I've been at this for three months. There was little clarity on when this might get resolved or even how. You heard the president say there'll be a decision point where there's either a deal or, or I'll resume robust military action or the US Might just watch Iran's nuclear program for a period of time, which raises questions about how big of a threat it is right now. But he didn't answer the question of are we days, are we weeks or are we months? He said, we're very close. We've been hearing that for weeks from the White House that they're very close and still no deal. And at one point he said, kristen, you know, these things take years. And lastly, I would say the nuclear threat is a significant threat threat concern for the U.S. but it's not the only one. One of the chief objectives the administration laid out going into the war was to destroy Iran's ballistic missile stockpile. He said that the Iran retains more than 20% of its ballistic missiles. And that's significant.

[Kristen Welker]

It was significant. And Mark, I noted that as well as the lack of a timeline. And I think it speaks to the fact that he does not see seem in a rush to get a deal here.

[Mark Short]

Well, look, I do think that Iran has been nefarious for 47 years. It's killed and slaughtered a lot of innocent people. And I think that the president has been right in his kinetic actions. I just think there should be an explanation. This is not necessarily going to end and energy prices are not necessarily going to come down immediately and it should be expected. American people who I think are incredibly patient, here's what the cost is going to be to accomplish it and why we're doing it and how this could transform the Middle east for generations to come and actually lower risk premium on energy prices down the road. But I think if you keep saying, hey, it's going to immediately happen, then you set an expectation for voters that may not be met.

[Kristen Welker]

Ashley, your takeaways?

[Ashley Etienne]

No, I mean, I think what was clear to me is that the president is disconnected from the reality of what people are going through in this particular country. You know, he promised voters America first agenda. And now you can see that frustration bubbling over with the president, who's more concerned with his own political, his own political retribution than he is with the economic state and pain of the American people. And the other thing I found very interesting here is that that interview engendered no confidence in the American people on his ability to transform not just what's happening in Iraq, but also the economy. You've got a president who's asleep in the old Oval Office, who says that he doesn't even consider the economic state of the American people when he's dealing with these things. And so what you're seeing now is the frustration not just among voters, but that's boiling over even within the Republican Party on both sides of the chamber. They're pushing back aggressively on this president's agenda. You can see the president mentioned Iowa. You could see the frustration among Iowa voters. He was he won Iowa in the last election by 13 points. Now we're looking at potentially a sweep among Democrats from the top down in terms of the ballot. So this is, this creates a great opportunity for the Democratic Party. My only advice would be you need to roll out a proactive economic agenda to, you know, make clear how you're going to transform where we are.

[Kristen Welker]

Mark, how does it play with the president's supporters in the Midwest and beyond?

[Mark Short]

Look, I think it's hard for the Biden administration officials to question the president's stamina this go round.

[Ashley Etienne]

Did you not see him asleep in the Oval Office several times?

[Mark Short]

I don't think he.

[Kristen Welker]

The White House said he's not sleeping. But they've been showed, those images.

[Mark Short]

You know, if you're Derek Van Orden, for whom he's out campaigning, who's an American hero, a Navy SEAL who's in a tough district, I think you would like to see the president talk about here's how I'm going to win the war, here's how we're going to lower fertilizer costs. And I think that the challenge is that there's a lot of farmers in middle America who have been hurt by the trade agenda too. All of a sudden you can't actually export your products to other nations. You used to because of the global trade war the president has. That's what needs to be done to actually help us. I think that, you know, this is a very difficult cycle and it's a daunting one for Republicans. The best thing we have going is that Democrats seem to nominate, you know, candidates who are Nazi candidates in Maine who are engaging in child sex trafficking or actually In New Jersey, 12 terrorist sympathizers. That's the benefit for Republicans.

[Kristen Welker]

Maine is certainly a big focus. Carol, let me ask, ask you because he did make some of his, I think, most extensive comments defending that anti weaponization fund that a lot of Republicans don't like.

[Carol Lee]

Yeah. And he got very animated about this. And very clearly, if the president had his way, this is a fund that would go forward. And it remains to be seen if there is a way in which he tries to revive the fund or still figure out a way for folks that he thinks deserve payouts to get those payouts. But it was definitely, it's definitely something that he feels very passionate about. He feels very strongly about that. You saw that in the interview. And it's another instance where he's at odds with some of his top officials in the administration who are saying this thing is dead.

[Ashley Etienne]

And that's really the problem, that everything centers around Donald Trump and his administration, his grievances, his tariff policy that he's doubled down on it. That's cost the American people millions of dollars. His focus should be on the economy, but the reality is he doesn't have have any answers to it.

[Kristen Welker]

All right, guys, fantastic conversation. Thank you for being here. We really appreciate it. Before we go, I do want to remind our viewers that we will be sitting down with award winning actress and mental health advocate Taraji P. Henson for our very first Meet the Moment Live event later this month at our venue sponsor, City Winery in New York City. You can scan the QR code on your screen or go to meetthepress.com to buy t tickets. We do hope to see you there. That is all for today. Thank you so much for watching. We'll be back next week because if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.

[Donald Trump]

Foreign.

[Mr. Ballin]

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