Meet the Press NOW — August 6

Summary

Meet the Press NOW — August 6, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode, hosted by Kristen Welker in Washington, centers on the evolving political strategies as the midterm elections approach. It examines how President Trump and Republican leadership are pivoting their messaging from touting past achievements to focusing on attacks against their Democratic opponents, particularly casting progressive victories as evidence of “creeping communism.” The episode covers the White House's legislative and executive moves on manufacturing and immigration, notably President Trump’s new executive orders limiting birthright citizenship and “birth tourism.” The episode also features discussions on the war in Iran, the economy, and key House races, plus a roundtable deliberating on the effectiveness of these campaign strategies and the energy on the progressive left.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. GOP’s Midterm Messaging Shift: "Communism" as a Rallying Cry

• President Trump and Republicans are increasingly branding Democrats—especially progressives— as “communists,” moving away from issues like the economy or their legislative record.
• Trump, in remarks from Nevada and echoed by GOP leaders like House Speaker Mike Johnson, repeatedly accused Democrats of seeking to turn America communist. (“They want to skip socialism. They want to go right down to the bottom of the barrel. That's communism.” – Trump, 01:49)
  • Visual rhetoric: Johnson posted a graphic of a donkey above a hammer and sickle (02:11).
• GOP strategists and officials argue this "contrast election" will mobilize their base through fear of radical change. However, some panelists question whether “communism” resonates with voters as a meaningful threat (07:46, 52:47, 53:26).

2. Economic Headwinds and Public Opinion

• Despite Trump’s positive framing of economic performance—including claims of historic manufacturing growth and lowering inflation—polls show his approval ratings are low, and voters remain dissatisfied due to high gas prices, cost of living, and the war with Iran (03:11, 05:34).
  • “Gas prices are above $4 a gallon... some of the numbers just aren't where the president wants them to be.” – Yamiche Alcindor, 05:49
• Republicans would prefer to run on economic achievements, but the messaging has reverted to attacks due to the “disconnect between the message and the reality,” as acknowledged by both allies and analysts (07:46, 09:28).

3. Progressive Victories and the GOP Response

• Recent wins by progressive Democrats in primaries (e.g., Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan) are fueling Republican accusations of a “radical left” takeover.
  • “They have Marxists who are trying to take over the party...” – GOP Strategist, 02:53
• Progressives like William Lawrence defend their crossover appeal and platform, citing popular stances on local issues (AI data centers, ending wars), but face pushback from GOP opponents emphasizing their past affiliations with the Democratic Socialists of America (40:14, 42:22).

4. President Trump’s Executive Actions: Manufacturing and Immigration

Manufacturing

• Trump touts achievements in onshoring chip manufacturing, tariffs, and “the golden age of America,” claiming tariffs have boosted domestic industry without raising inflation.
  • “Tariffs are bringing us hundreds of billions of dollars...with no inflation, by the way.” – Trump, 15:15

Immigration: Birthright Citizenship & Birth Tourism

• Trump announces two executive orders—
  1. Narrowing birthright citizenship: Targeting children born to foreign diplomats, “alien enemies,” and those born via “birth tourism.”
  2. Banning birth tourism: Visitors coming to the US for the purpose of childbirth to secure citizenship for their child.
  • “As of the signing of this order, [birth tourism] is hereby banned...it keeps American citizenship sacred.” – Stephen Miller, 18:50
  • The administration claims authority under Section 215A of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Anticipates legal challenges.
  • Fact check (33:19): U.S. is not the only country with birthright citizenship; more than 30 others do.

Notable Quotes

• “They’ve taken birthright citizenship and made a joke out of it.” – Trump, 19:46
• “This should have happened years ago. But we're taking care of it now.” – Trump, 22:47

5. War in Iran & Security Issues

• Trump maintains a defensive tone regarding the economy’s link to the war in Iran and claims imminent progress towards peace (25:42).
• US munitions stockpile is discussed amid concerns; Trump claims the US has massive supplies, but “we need more all the time” (28:48).
• On Ukraine and Russia, Trump laments casualties but says the US is “not involved from the standpoint; we're separated by an ocean” (31:10).

6. Key House Race: Tom Barrett (R) vs. William Lawrence (D)

• Barrett draws sharp contrasts between himself and progressive challenger Lawrence, emphasizing DSA affiliation and progressive aims:
  • “He's been a progressive socialist activist...He was a founding member of the Green New Deal alliance in Michigan...” (40:14)
• Lawrence pushes back by highlighting his program's local appeal, especially regarding tech infrastructure and opposition to wars (42:22).
• On the economy, both acknowledge prices have risen since the Iran war began; Barrett says domestic policy can only mitigate, not override, global factors (45:15).

7. Political Roundtable: Will "Communism" Messaging Work?

• Nicholas Wu notes GOP is “hitching all of these swing state candidates to the most far left elements of the Democratic Party” (51:48).
• Malik Abdul (R) expresses skepticism that “communism” as a label will resonate, but expects attacks tied to DSA-aligned policies (52:47).
• Heidi Heitkamp (D) argues that while the GOP’s “communism” messaging is thin, Democrats have yet to persuade swing voters on bread-and-butter economic issues (53:31, 54:43).
• Discussion also turns to the energy in the progressive base and the challenge of moderating messages for the general electorate (56:16).

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• Trump on Democrats: “They want to skip socialism. They want to go right down to the bottom of the barrel. That's communism.” (01:49)
• On Birthright Executive Orders: “It is probably...in the top three in terms of importance, because it ends what has been one of the gravest and most egregious abuses of the American system, and it keeps American citizenship sacred.” – Stephen Miller (18:50)
• On Economic Messaging: “We have made serious improvement to our economy...I'm not going to pretend that the work is done.” – Tom Barrett (46:17)
• Panel Reflection: “I'm not sure if framing it as communism is itself going to get us the win.” – Malik Abdul (52:47)
• Progressive Energy: “If you talk to Republicans and if you talk to Democrats, they'll both say that progressives are by far the most energized in the election.” – William Lawrence (56:16)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• GOP Messaging on Democrats as Communists: 01:18–03:11
• Trump Speaks on Economy and Manufacturing: 03:47–07:06, 13:13–15:15
• Trump's Oval Office Briefing and Executive Orders: 12:40–22:47
• Panel Discussion: Roundtable on Messaging: 50:10–59:18
• Michigan House Race—Tom Barrett Interview: 38:44–49:21

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Structure & Flow

The episode moves from policy analysis and political strategy (GOP messaging, economic challenges), to live coverage of Trump’s executive orders and policy achievements, and back to panel discussion and local implications in races like the Michigan House contest. The overall tone is brisk, analytical, and focused on the interplay between political messaging, legislative action, and voter sentiment.

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Conclusion

This episode highlights an election season defined by partisan framing and contrasts: Republicans aiming to energize their base with warnings about a “communist” Democratic Party, while Democrats must confront both Republican attacks and internal divisions as the progressive wing gains influence. Meanwhile, headline policy moves—especially on immigration—underscore both the scope of executive power and the inevitable legal battles ahead. The panel underscores that, for all the heated rhetoric, economic realities and voter turnout remain the likely deciding factors in November.

Transcript

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[Kate Snow]

Hi, I'm Kate Snow, NBC News anchor and host of the NBC News podcast the Drink. This month I'm sitting down with the hilarious Leslie Jones. We chat about her remarkable journey from her childhood to family hardships to the unexpected, almost accidental road that led her to comedy. From her unforgettable years at Saturday Night Live to her new show, Roast My Rental, about vacation rentals gone terribly wrong. It is a funny, candid conversation and I hope you'll give it a listen. Join us for the Drink Listen and follow now wherever you get your podcasts.

[Kristen Welker]

Welcome to Meet the Press.

[Kate Snow]

Now.

[Kristen Welker]

I'm Kristen Welker in Washington, where in the face of tough political headwinds on the economy and Iran, the president and Republicans appear to be seizing on a new midterm message, one that is less focused on their record and more focused on their opponents. It comes as an insurgent progressive left racks up more wins in Democratic primaries all across the country. President Trump is using those progressive victories to brand the Democratic Party as communist, which he did more than 20 times during remarks yesterday in battleground Nevada.

[Donald Trump]

The communists want to take their ruinous and deadly ideology of misery and squalor to every state in America, but we're not going to let them. They want to skip socialism. They want to go right down to the bottom of the barrel. That's communism. They want it to be a communist country. Together, we will defeat communism, socialism and Marxism in America once and for all.

[Kristen Welker]

Now, that message also coming from party leadership. Yesterday, speaker of the House Mike Johnson posting a picture of a donkey above a hammer and sickle. In Michigan, where three progressive candidates will be facing Republicans in key midterm matchups, Republican conference chair Lisa McClain urged her party to mirror the president's rhetoric. As Speaker Johnson told Politico he believes the fear of, quote, Marxists will drive turnout in the midterms. You gotta stop using the word socialism and socialists because that's not what they are. They're Communists. This is going to be a contrast election, and I say it's going to be a contrast for America.

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

They have Marxists who are trying to

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

take over the party that benefits our side in the short run, it's a challenge for the country in the long run.

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

There are two things that motivate people in the midterm.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

One is anger, of course, Democrats have that.

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

The other is fear.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

And this is a real fear that

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

people have that Marxist are taking over our government.

[Kristen Welker]

The messaging shift comes as the president and his party struggle to break through on their record. The president's approval rating is significantly underwater in recent polling, and more Americans say they'll support Democratic candidates in November. Driving those numbers frustration over the economy and the war against Iran. A majority of Americans say the war hasn't been worth fighting. They also give the president low marks for his handling of inflation, the cost of living and the economy overall. Even as the president tries to convince voters that he is delivering results.

[Donald Trump]

The tariffs have made us rich. We're bringing down prices and we brought down prices and nobody can believe what's going on. And when gasoline, when oil goes down and it's going to go down very rapidly and it's happening very soon, already happening. We've done a great job in reducing prices. We're delivering the largest prescription drug price cuts in the history of our country. That alone should win us the midterms because that has an impact on everything.

[Kristen Welker]

Joining me now is White House correspondent and chief Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles. Thanks to both of you for being here. So you mish, look, this is not the first time we've seen President Trump dip into this playbook of trying to paint his opponent as radical. He did something very similar against Kamala Harris. What are officials telling you about this strategy?

[Yamiche Alcindor]

In a lot of ways, this is, frankly, who President Trump is. He is someone who started his political career painting his perceived enemies as radicals as anti American. And this is where President Trump is continuing to be, especially now as we're seeing progressive Democrats and Democrats who are calling themselves socialists and Democratic socialists. The president is seeing that and saying that he can use that as an opportunity to then drag it over and make it the false claim that they're communists. So the president really does see this as part of his playbook. It's a playbook that he believes is a winning strategy given the fact that he was elected twice to be president of the United States. We expect that the president is going to continue to use this language. And I should tell you, it's really something that's also being echoed by people around the president. Just yesterday, the vice president was going after Abdul said, calling him someone who would undo a lot of the wins that he saw. This administration make. So you're really seeing a really a full throated effort by every part of this administration to paint Democrats as communists and radicals, Kristen.

[Kristen Welker]

And you may show the president was pretty positive when he talked about the economy, and yet he's underwater on his handling of the economy. Gas prices are above $4 a gallon. Are officials concerned that there's a disconnect between the message and the reality?

[Yamiche Alcindor]

It's a key question, Kristen. And as I was just talking to some White House officials, they continue to say that this is an economy that President Trump is proud of, that there are, of course, some challenges for Americans. You think of the gas prices, you think of the prices at the grocery store, but that overall the president is still feeling very good about where things are, even if obviously some of the numbers just aren't where the president wants them to be. But this is a president that's going to continue to try to really put a positive spin on things. We've seen him do that, of course, in California, but he's also been doing that in places like Georgia and Pennsylvania. So the president, as he gears up to really start campaigning even more as the midterms get closer, the president is really feeling like he can still lean in on that messaging.

[Kristen Welker]

Kristen, so you what are you anticipating from this president from now until November? Is he going to be a frequent presence on the campaign trail?

[Yamiche Alcindor]

My understanding is in talking to White House officials that he has been traveling and he will continue to travel. And the idea is that he will likely do that traditional kick up of traveling that we've seen president presidents do and President Trump himself do as the midterms get closer. We know that this is a president who has been using his social media and his voice everywhere he can to really tout the people that he believes should be in office, including whether that means backing someone who's even going up against an incumbent. In some cases, what the president is seeing is the Republican Party really continuing to be made in his image. And as a result, he wants to be part of that. He also believes that in some of the tough spaces that that Republicans might struggle. And he believes his presence can and will make a difference. So we expect, and I expect to see the president out there on the campaign trail talking especially to battleground states about candidates that he believes are really good for this country.

[Kristen Welker]

Kristen, thank you. Yamiche starting us off at the White House. Ryan, let me turn to you on Capitol Hill. So we heard the messaging from top Republicans painting Democrats as socialists or communists does leadership on Capitol Hill believe that this is going to be a winning

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

strategy in some respects, Kristen, it feels it's like the only argument that they have. They normally would like to be front and center with a message of success as it relates to the economy, with prices tumbling, with taxes going down, with kitchen table issues being something that most Americans feel positive about. But poll after poll shows us that Americans are weary about the state of the economy and they don't want to own that. So as you heard and that soundbite from Speaker Johnson, they're pivoting to fear. They're trying to harken back to a time where communism was a threat that many Americans felt was at the front door. The Cold War ended, last I checked, 40 years ago, this year, 1986. It's hard to imagine that the vast majority of voters share that same level of extreme worry about that. And then furthermore, whether or not that extends to some of these candidates who are self avowed socialists, whether or not their policies actually enter into the realm of communism in a way that voters can understand and equate, I think is the open question. So there's certainly a lot of anxiety over the overall message that many of these Republican candidates have going into this election. And listen, Kristen, under any circumstance, it's difficult to run for reelection on the same party line with a president whose approval rating is hovering in the low 30s.

[Kristen Welker]

Well, you know, I'm curious just to follow up on that point, the poll numbers, the economy, we know that this is still the number one issue for voters, the economy, affordability. Do Republicans want the president to try to stay focused on messaging surrounding the economy?

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

I sure, I'm sure they do, Kristen. But I'm also pretty it's also been made very clear to me that they understand that there's nothing they can do to convince President Trump to do anything other than what he wants to do. I think if you asked the average Republican running for office up for reelection this fall, they far would have enjoyed a economic message that was built off the big beautiful bill, no taxes on tips, this housing bill that they recently passed, that they'd be able to go to the American people with this tangible evidence of the idea that they've done things to rein in inflation and keep down gas prices. But when you have the war raging and the complications that are connected to that, and then you also have the president's obsession with these changes to the voting laws, which really have nothing to do with these kitchen table issues, it's just a very difficult message to send. And there's no Doubt that the president fires his base up when it comes to issues like that. You know, 30% of the United States, right, where the President's approval rating is, are ride or die with the president. And if he says it's the most important issue, it'll be their most important issue. Unfortunately for Republicans up for reelection, 30% is not enough to win in many of these swing districts. And I think that's what's complicating the argument that they're make going into the fall.

[Kristen Welker]

Let me ask you about another story I know you've been following. Congressman Max Miller. Of course he's facing these allegations of abuse from his ex wife. He denies those allegations, but there's growing pressure on him to resign. What are you hearing, Ryan?

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

Everyone that I talk to, Kristen, that has any level of a connection to Miller or his campaign tells me that he isn't going anywhere. Now, separately, they also say that things can change very fast. We saw that with Chuck Edwards in North Carolina, where it didn't look like he was going anywhere. And then at 3 o' clock in the morning, he decided that he was not going to seek reelection. The one person who has not publicly called on Max Miller to resign, who is the most important person in this conversation is President Trump. He said repeatedly that he likes him, that he feels bad that he's going through this. He admits that it's a bad situation. But Trump has stopped short of telling Miller that it's time for him to get out. There is a growing chorus of Republicans calling on that. Now, both sitting senators, obviously Senator Moreno has a personal connection to this because it is his daughter who is Max Miller's ex wife who's accusing him of, of this, of these abuse allegations. But the other Senator, John Houston, who's up for reelection in the fall, has said that it's time for him to step down. There's some confusion over the timeline, whether the deadline's already been passed to put a new Republican on the ballot or if they have until August 10th. So that is also weighing into this conversation. But at this point, Max Miller says he's not going anywhere. And until he himself says something different, we have to assume he's going to be on the ballot this fall.

[Shaquille O'Neal]

Kristen.

[Kristen Welker]

All right, Ryan, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. And President Trump speaking in the Oval Office. Let's dip in. We're going to talk to Representative Tom Barrett in just one moment. We'll ask him to stand by and we're going to go to the White House. The Oval Office, where President Trump is speaking. Let's listen.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

Okay?

[Tom Barrett]

Me or are you getting

[Child or Mom]

trade and tariff actions or threats? Howard can speak more to the details, but polysilicon is incredibly important in the chip making industry and a number of other industries as well. And like many of your previous trade actions, sir, this is intended to ensure that we're on shoring manufacturing capacity, that we're on shoring our own supply of critical products, and that we're protecting American industry from malign foreign actors in that space.

[Donald Trump]

Thank you.

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

So polysilicon is sort of the foundational product that makes silicon wafers that become the AI chips and the chips that are in our phones and everything. So the president's policies have brought 50% of production into America, but we need the foundational products made here. Otherwise, you know, we're making the products here, but we need the supply chain here. So this will bring the supply chain here. We're setting prices so that the Chinese can't dump anymore, and we're setting tariffs to say, build it here. We've got the industry here. It's too small and it's going to explode.

[Donald Trump]

Under your leadership, and we're having massive numbers of, I guess you call them factories or plants built, having to do with the manufacturing of chips, more than we've ever had before. Intel, we're very proud of. They've done incredible. They've really been an incredible company, but we're doing some unbelievable business. Chips will have a big percentage of the chip business by the time I leave office, which could be a long time, who knows? But it could also be fairly quick. They say two and a half years, we're going to find out. But I just want to say that it's an honor to have worked with a very smart group of people, and we're bringing the chip business back into the United States in a very big way. Jamison, do you have anything to say about that, Sir?

[Tom Barrett]

I think you need to put this in the context of everything else that's happening. Manufacturing productivity is the highest it's been in years. We haven't seen any growth like this for forever. Under President Biden, the last part of his presidency, he lost 220,000 manufacturing jobs. The president has stabilized this. Now the manufacturing jobs are going up. So all of these indicators on manufacturing are happening. It's because of tariffs, it's because of trade actions, it's because of the investment credits you've given people, the tax credits, everything you're doing, the energy policy, all of it is bringing manufacturing back here. Protecting American workers and American jobs.

[Donald Trump]

Well, tariffs are bringing us hundreds of billions of dollars worth of dollars. I mean, just money. The money that we've never seen anything like it with no inflation, by the way, everyone said, oh, there'll be inflation. We have very low inflation. We brought inflation way down. I inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country. They say 48 years, but I say the history of our country and from the Biden administration and. And we're bringing it way down. So the numbers that of. I mean, beyond the money being brought in, the number of factories being built in our country is more now than we have ever seen before. There's never been anything like it. And you're going to see the results. And you see the results already in construction jobs because they're being built all over the country. But in another year, as they start to open, there's never been. We call it the golden age of America. And that's what it is. Now, if we could talk, Steve, maybe you could discuss what we're dealing with on birthright citizenship. We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright. It was close, but a very, very unfortunate decision. So we're making adjustments because it's very unfair. This was done for a different reason. This was done right after the Civil War. This was for the babies of slaves. And what's happening now, people are building businesses around it from wealthy people are building businesses around birthright citizenship. That's not the way it was supposed to work. It's a disgrace. They're buying their way in, and we're not going to let it happen. So, Steve, if you will, please.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

Yes. So today the President signed these two executive orders here relating to birthright citizenship and birth tourism. As the president mentioned, the 14th amendment was passed exclusively in the aftermath of the Civil War. So to ensure that the children of slaves would be citizens. It had no other meaning and purpose outside of that. And that's been clear, obviously, since the day that it was passed. You can go back, you can read the congressional debates. This is not something that's even seriously contested by anybody. The President is using his authority as Commander in Chief to sign first an executive order using the new ruling the Supreme Court issued to expand the definitions of people who are ineligible for birthright citizenship. That includes, for example, alien enemies of the United States, members of foreign terrorist organizations, and large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments. And so with taking this action, it ensures that large numbers of people who wrongly would be getting birthright citizenship will no longer be eligible for those benefits. The second action that he's taking, which is especially historic, is for the first time ever in American history, to ban birth tourism. So I want you to really let that sink in. This has been something that people have talked about not only for years, but for decades. The idea that people come here, pretend to be a tourist, pretending to be a visitor, saying they want to go to Disneyland, they want to go visit a monument or go to a national park, but the real reason they're here is to have a child, to make that child an automatic citizen leave our country and then have a US Citizen child. It gives them access under this broken system to welfare benefits, ultimately to the voting booth and all the other rights and privileges that belong solely to Americans. So that practice of birth tourism is, as of the signing of this order, hereby banned. And what that means is that no one in the world is any more allowed to obtain a visa for this fraudulent purpose. It is probably. And President Trump has done many historic things on immigration, too many. Until this now sealed the southern border shut. Record deportations, record integrity, stopping foreign terrorist entry, record reduction in drug seizures, dismantling criminal cartels, dismantling the gangs. Everything he's done that has been so unprecedented. I would put this in the top three in terms of importance, because it ends what has been one of the gravest and most egregious abuses of the American system, and it keeps American citizenship sacred.

[Donald Trump]

Thank you. Okay, Mr. President, big stuff. That's a big deal. Thank you.

[Tom Barrett]

On the Bureau Tourism Executive Order, what

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

are the plans for enforcement in terms

[Tom Barrett]

of cracking down on tourism? Hotels as common in parts.

[Donald Trump]

So we're cracking down very big, very big, big crackdowns. And this will give us the right to do it in a much more forceful manner. But they've taken birthright citizenship and they've made a joke out of it. And we're actually the only country of. Of size, I think just about the only country, period, that does birthright citizenship. I thought we were going to win it at the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, we had a bad decision. Very unfair decision. Our country suffers because of it, and we're ending it a different way.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

Mr. President, at the Supreme Court, John Sauer, the Solicitor General, did not have an answer as to how many individuals

[Donald Trump]

take advantage of birth tourism. Is there a number that I'll tell you right now? Hundreds of thousands. Okay. Hundreds of thousands. You have one man came in with a family head, said he had 56 children. Another one came in, they said they had 98 children. This was not what it was for. This was meant for the babies of slaves. It was, it was right after one week or two weeks after the Civil War ended. This wasn't for wealthy multimillionaires, billionaires coming in and bringing 15, 20, 30 children along with them. It's become a big business, and we're ending that business. Please.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

What makes you confident is president, that this will pass constitutional law?

[Donald Trump]

I think it will. I think, in fact, I asked a very talented person named Will Scharf, who's standing right behind me. Do you want to discuss that, Will? You felt pretty sure the law is

[Child or Mom]

absolutely clear what we're talking about. As Steven said, with respect to birth tourism, something that used to happen, incidentally, where somebody who happened to be on vacation here went into labor early and had a baby. This was sort of a, you know, a relatively small problem. What we've seen in recent years, though, is organized rings, at times criminal rings, setting up a system whereby tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people can come to this country in an organized fashion and give birth here purely for the sake of obtaining birthright citizenship. This order takes a number of different actions intended to combat those sorts of organized practices. We look very heavily at denying visas to people that we have reason to believe are coming here for that purpose, visas both for putative parents, but also for the people organizing these rings. There's also, obviously, a law enforcement component. We'll have a full fact sheet released on this soon. But what we're doing is taking legally validated means that are clearly within our disposal and targeting them square on to this birth tourism industry. There's absolutely nothing in here that runs afoul of any of the Supreme Court's opinions on the subject. This is, frankly, it's action that's overdue. And I'm thankful that President Trump is finally taking decisive action to combat this issue of birth tourism, now that it's been queued up in the way that it has as a result of the Supreme Court's opinion.

[Donald Trump]

This should have been done a long time ago. This should have happened years ago. But we're taking care of it now. Please. Thank you.

[Kate Snow]

Can you help us understand how you decide, distinguish between a tourist and a birth tourist?

[Donald Trump]

Well, I'll let you discuss it. Please.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

Happy to. And so, by the way, that's an excellent presentation.

[Donald Trump]

Thank you, Stephen.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

The. For those, yes. For those of you who want to do your, your research on this, Section 215A of the Immigration and Nationality act gives the President this authority. 215A of the Immigration and Nationality act, very rarely used, probably one of the strongest laws in the entire federal code gives him this power. That's not the only. But it's the main statutory authority that's being used in this order. So birth tourism is by definition a fraud on the American system, on the American taxpayer, on the American visa. If you're coming here and again, your state of purpose is that you're a tourist, then by definition you are here to come for a few weeks, look what we have, engage in commerce and leave. So if you're telling a consular officer you're here as a tourist, but your true purpose and intent is to go to a baby mill, give birth, and try to mint an American citizen while you're here, then you're committing a fraud against the American government. And by definition, that visa can and should and will be now denied.

[Kristen Welker]

Mr. President, there is a report that you told donors that they need to get J.D.

[Kate Snow]

vance elected in 2028.

[Kristen Welker]

Is that your official endorsement?

[Donald Trump]

No, it's. I heard about it a little while. I think he's great, but we're way too early to even be thinking about that. Okay.

[Kristen Welker]

And Mr. President, Republicans are arguing a lot right now about affordability. What is your message on affordability going into the midterm?

[Donald Trump]

Well, that's a good question, but it's sort of simple to answer. I inherited the highest prices ever. I inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country. And we have done an amazing job. And oil prices now are coming down very rapidly. If you look at what's going on, it's down to 75. When I started the very important excursion into the Islamic Republic of Iran, it was a very important excursion because they can't have a nuclear weapon. Otherwise the whole world would get blown up. We're not going to let that happen. Not only us, not only in the Middle east, the whole world would have been. It would have been catastrophic. We had no choice. We had oil down to less than 2. In many places like Iowa, oil was down to gasoline, was down at numbers that people hadn't seen in years. $1.85, $1.95 past two. Say I was in Iowa at a stop and we had 195, another one, 185 a gallon. And we'll see those days pretty soon again. Based on everything I see, as soon as the war ends, and I think it's going to end pretty soon. I don't think they can go much longer. Yeah, please.

[Kate Snow]

Has a deal in reach to reopen

[Kristen Welker]

the Strait of Home.

[Donald Trump]

Well, I don't want to say it has been. It's sort of open right now. You know, we have a thing called the blockade headed up by the US Navy and we control it. And now we control it. But they can always shoot something, they always have something. Or drop a mine. And if you have one mind sitting out there, you sort of mess things up because people don't want to take their billion dollar boats and accidentally get hit by a mine. But I think we're doing very well. I just, you know, I'm involved in the negotiation. I think we're doing fine. It could be said. Yeah.

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

Mr. President, have you lobbied any of

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

the undecided Republicans who will vote tomorrow on Todd Blanche's nomination?

[Donald Trump]

I will lobby if I need to. I will lobby very, very diligently because he's outstanding, he should be good. I mean, I can't imagine he's as good as there is in the country. People have such unbelievable respect for Todd Blanche. So hopefully that won't be necessary. I would. I spoke to some people. I did. But hopefully it'll all work out very well for the country because you're not going to find better than Todd Blanche.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

Will you reach out to Senator Murkowski, Senator Cassidy, for instance?

[Donald Trump]

Let's see if we need anybody. I'll reach out to whoever I have to. But anybody voting against him would be doing a great disservice to the country. Please.

[Tom Barrett]

Mr. President, the deadline for Representative Max Miller to withdraw from his race is coming up next week. Do you believe he should withdraw?

[Donald Trump]

Well, I'm not going to get involved in that. It's a very sad situation, and I know Max very well, but it's very, very sad that a situation like that takes place. Yeah.

[Kristen Welker]

Do you think the DOJ should prosecute Dr. Fauci?

[Donald Trump]

Well, you know, they prosecuted Peter Navarro and they prosecuted Steve Bannon. Two very decent people over something that essentially was never prosecuted before. And there are sort of telltale signs of similarity. And they went to jail for a number of months over something that they. I saw one of the analysts said they used to laugh at it in the Justice Department when something like that was referred. But Merrick Garland prosecuted two very decent people and sent them to jail. I wasn't president. I would have given him a pardon in two seconds, but I wasn't. It was after I left. They waited till after I left, and then they prosecuted these two people and they ought to be ashamed of themselves. So when you see that happen, you sort of say, maybe he should what he did is far more serious than a lot of crimes, frankly. But they prosecuted two people where nothing like that has ever taken place before.

[Kristen Welker]

President, on munitions, you posted overnight that the US Has a massive amount, and you denied that there were any shortages.

[Kate Snow]

There is a supplemental request for $21 billion to restock.

[Kristen Welker]

So why is that request still there?

[Donald Trump]

Well, because we need more all the time. I mean, we need more. Look, we gave tremendous amount to Ukraine, the Biden people did, and they were given free of charge. No. No charge. No charge. Billions. Hundreds of billions of dollars. And fortunately, I built up so much during my term. I rebuilt the military and also loaded it up with a lot of stuff. We have certain types of munitions that are very powerful, that we have unlimited, virtual, unlimited supply. We have others where it's a little bit tighter, and we're getting them in on a daily basis. As you know, our defense companies are building more plants right now than at any point in history. They're building plants for the Patriots, for the Tomahawks, for everything. But we have certain types of munitions which are very. They may not be as accurate. They may not be. You know, they're not as elite. We have Elite two, but we're. We're watching that very closely. But we have certain types which are very powerful and very good. And we have an unlimited supply. And so we're in great shape. But with that being said, we always want more. We have to have more. We have other things maybe come up, maybe come up and maybe don't come up. Hopefully nothing else does come up. But we're in very good shape. We have literally massive amounts of ammunition. Yeah.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

Mr. President, on Ukraine, President Zelensky says his country desperately needs long range missiles or those Patriot missile batteries. Is that something?

[Donald Trump]

Well, I mean, we want missiles too. You know, we. When Biden gave him so much, Biden gave $300 billion worth of ammunition. You know, when I left this, it was full and he gave a lot of it away. Now we're rebuilding it and we're using munitions that are very powerful, very good, but we wouldn't have been using them. We could have used something else, but these are a little bit older type, equally as effective. And it's things that we have so much, plus we have supplies of munitions all over the world that if we ever needed them, we take that. We're supplied all over the world, but we have, we're in very, very good shape.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

Russia seems to have increased their attacks on.

[Donald Trump]

I know, I know that must be a concern. Look, we're not involved from the standpoint. It's we're separated by an ocean. But I hate to see 25,000 young people a month get killed. And that's what's happening between Russia and Ukraine. They're losing on average 25,000, mostly soldiers a month. And you know, we're working on it, and I think we're making progress. But it's a violent, very violent war. There's a lot of hatred in that war, a lot of hatred between the two leaders. I settled eight wars. I thought this would be maybe one of the easier ones. And it turned out to be the most difficult. But progress is being made. Thank you very much, everybody.

[Yamiche Alcindor]

Thank you.

[Donald Trump]

Thank you very much.

[Kristen Welker]

And you've been listening to President Trump answering reporters questions in the Oval Office. He touched on a number of topics, from Iran to Max Miller to the munitions that are being used to fight the war. We will get to some of those topics in just a moment. But first to the big news at the top of that Oval Office briefing. President Trump signing two executive orders aimed at narrowing access to birthright citizenship. After the U.S. supreme Court effectively knocked down President Trump's attempts to end birthright citizenship. One of the orders would end birth tourism. Effectively. The president, you heard describe it. There are people who come to this country under the guise of traveling and then have a child here. That's how you heard the president and his top officials there describe it. Of course, the big question will these two executive orders be immediately open to legal challenges? Will they stand the legal test? Let me go to Yamiche Alcindor, who's been watching along with us at the White House. Yamiche, before we get to those other headlines that President Trump made way in on these two executive orders and worth noting, that the president said, while the United States is the only country that has birthright citizenship, in fact, 32 other countries have birthright citizenship.

[Yamiche Alcindor]

That's right, Kristen. And right before the president started speaking, I got some new details from the White House specifically on these executive orders. Pardon me while I look at my notes here, because you need them on a day like today. They're going to be for only future births tied to four categories, children born to foreign diplomatic staff working on behalf of another government while in the US there's also me children of people who are classified as alien enemies, including those who belong to federally declared terrorist groups. There's also those born in the US Terror, but only, he writes, if Congress changes the law to end automatic citizenship there, think Puerto Rico and other places also children born of mothers who expressly and deceptively, the president says, enter the US for the sole purpose of having children here. So that, says, you said, is another attempt by the president to try to get at birthright citizenship. There is a second executive order that directs the secretary of state and Homeland Security to issue rules and guidance to stop birth tourism, as you said, and target the industry at home and abroad. The president was very, very angry in June when the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship. The president said today when he was asked specifically, do you think that this is constitutional? He believes it is. You also had one of his top aides, Stephen Miller, reading from U.S. code and U.S. rules, saying that he believes the president has the authority to do this. But Kristen, this is surely going to be challenged in court and this might end up back at the Supreme Court for all we know. What we do know is that the president was very angry because that that decision was a 6, 3 decision earlier this summer with Amy Coney Barrett as well as Brett Kavanaugh, two people that the president put on the Supreme Court bench along with John Roberts, who is, of course, the chief justice appointed by a Republican president. They sided with justices that were appointed by Democrats to uphold birthright citizenship. So the president very mad at that and very interesting now and in some ways a little bit of what we thought was going to happen because the president was so angry in June when the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship. Kristen?

[Kristen Welker]

Well, we will watch the legal battle unfold there. Yamiche let's take through a couple of the other headlines. The president asked about this reporting that he told donors that he did, in fact, want to see his vice president, J.D. vance, become the Republican nominee. He was asked about that. He said, I think he's great, but also said it's way too early to talk about that, so would not confirm that reporting. He was asked what his message should be on the economy. He talked about the fact and made the case that he's improved the economy. He also claimed that he inherited the highest inflation rate. It's worth pointing out that when he took office, inflation was at 3%. It's now at 3.5%. So it's actually ticked up since he took office. He was asked if he's close to getting a deal on Iran. He said it could be soon, but also said he didn't want to weigh in on the details, said he would be open to lobbying any undecided senators on the confirmation of Todd Blanche, his pick, of course, to serve as attorney general, including Lisa Murkowski. Who has signaled she's a no on this. He was asked about embattled Congressman Max Miller, of course, who's facing allegations of abuse, which he denies, would not weigh in on that. He said, I do not want to want to get involved. And then finally, she was asked about reports that the United States is actually dealing with concerns about its munitions stockpile. He said, we do need more all the time making the point that the United States has given a number of weapons to Ukraine, but also said, quote, we have a massive amount of munitions. You. What else stood out to you?

[Yamiche Alcindor]

Well, I want to just maybe talk a bit more about that last point when it comes to munitions, because NBC News did have that exclusive reporting that the president himself called the deputy defense secretary and was angry about this munitions and the weapons stockpile, and at one point even suggested a source told NBC News that the deputy, the deputy defense secretary should be fired if he doesn't figure out a way to fix this issue. So I think that that's very interesting to hear the president weigh in on that, because that is something that is definitely deeply concerning him, especially with the war in Iran continuing to drag on. One other thing that really pointed out and that was interesting to me in this exchange with the president reporters, is Dr. Fauci, a reporter asked him, should the Department of Justice prosecute Anthony Fauci? Dr. Fauci, who of course led the coronavirus pandemic response and was, of course, working for President Trump, he said essentially maybe he should be prosecuted and pointed out that he believes that Democrats wrongly prosecuted other people. So I think we should also be watching that space very closely. As we know, lawmakers have at least moved already to vote, to vote to hold Dr. Fauci in contempt, and they've said that they would also give that over to the Department of Justice. So definitely a space to watch because the president weighed in, essentially saying, yeah, he would be. He would be for that, which I think is. Which would be, of course, very newsy given the fact that Dr. Fauci has been the face of a lot of attacks by President Trump and his allies. Kirsten?

[Kristen Welker]

It certainly would be the president arguing that his former top aides, Peter Navarro, Steve Bannon, of course, did face charges from DOJ. But it's worth noting Dr. Fauci did actually appear at the hearing, whereas Navarro and Bannon refused to recognize the subpoenas that they were faced with. Yamiche Alcindor, thank you so very much for sticking with us to break all of that news down. Really appreciate it. Joining me now is Michigan Congressman Tom Barrett, who is now locked in a big race for reelection. Congressman, thanks so much for your patience and sticking with us. We appreciate your being here.

[Tom Barrett]

Yeah, thank you so much for having me on. I really appreciate it.

[Kristen Welker]

Well, we appreciate your being here. We're going to get to your race in just a minute. But I just want to get your reaction to what we just heard from President Trump announcing that he's going to sign those two executive orders which effectively are going to be trying to limit birthright citizenship. Do you think that they will withstand the undoubted legal tests that they will face?

[Tom Barrett]

Well, they certainly should.

[William Lawrence]

Right.

[Tom Barrett]

I can't speak to what a, what a judge may or may not do, but I think that they absolutely should withstand the legal scrutiny. When you talk about, obviously, a problem that Americans can recognize of people who come into our country with the express and sole purpose of having a child here so that they can have an American citizen born in the United States when they have no real ties to the United States beyond coming here as a visitor, I think every American should stand up and say, yeah, that's an abuse of the immigration system. That's an abuse of our laws and the protections that we have and we shouldn't allow that to continue. Certainly that is something that I think we ought to all respect as, as, as we debate other immigration policy. I think that's one that we should clearly all agree on.

[Kate Snow]

All right.

[Kristen Welker]

Well, let's get to your race. You will be facing William Lawrence, who won his primary on Tuesday. He is, of course, progressive. In a post on X you said you won't underestimate him. I wonder, how do you see this race? What is your strategy for winning?

[Tom Barrett]

Well, my strategy is conveying to the voters the work that I've done for the last year and a half serving in elected office as our representative in Congress, representing my family and the families across my district and really pointing out the contrast between my record and my opponent's record record. He's been a progressive socialist activist. I know in your segment before I came on, you were talking about how, you know, these Democrats are increasingly becoming further and further progressive to the left. Well, my opponent just yesterday in an interview admitted that he was still a card carrying member of the Democratic Socialist Party of America until last month. So he hadn't even canceled his membership there until last month. And he couldn't disavow a single one of their positions and actually praised them for all of their positions that they hold. That means unlimited illegal immigration into our country. Amnesty for every single person that is here, even those on the terror watch list, people who came over and have committed terrible and violent crimes against American citizens. They would all get amnesty under my opponent's plan. Every single facet of the Democratic socialist platform is one that he fully embraces and fully endorses. He was a founding member of the Green New Deal alliance in Michigan, which means all of our auto manufacturing jobs would be put in jeopardy. The two General Motors plants that are in our district where men and women work hard every single day to produce vehicles that are putting people on the road and fueling our economy, would be put in jeopardy by the policies that he stands for. He would grant Medicare coverage to every single illegal immigrant in our country, putting our senior citizens Medicare coverage at risk as well as. And the list goes on from there. So there are very. There are a countless number of contrasts between myself and my opponent. And my job for the next 89 days is conveying that to the constituents in my district, earning their trust and earning their vote this November to go back to work for them for another two years.

[Kristen Welker]

Well, let me ask you, because I was able to interview Mr. Lawrence yesterday on this same program. He argued that his message does have some crossover appeal with Republican voters, particularly on the economy. Take a listen to a part of that conversation.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

You know, saying no to AI data centers is an issue which is dramatically popular with Republicans and independent voters. Stop in these stupid wars. I mean, I talk to people every day who are Republican voters and they say, I believe Trump when he said he wasn't going to start any more wars. And look at where we are now.

[Tom Barrett]

An utter catastrophe in Iran that is

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

causing gas and groceries to go through the roof. And Tom Barrett just voted to fund it.

[Kristen Welker]

What is your reaction?

[Tom Barrett]

Well, you know, I would encourage my opponent to actually do some research. And perhaps you're aware if you just Google Tom Barrett, Iran, you will see that I was one of four Republicans, one of the very first Republicans to break ranks and actually vote against or vote rather in favor of the War Powers Resolution that was brought forward by the Democrats. I believe strongly that any, any combat authorization needs to originate and have authority from Congress. That is a position that I've held very sincerely. You know, while my opponent was trying to shut down auto manufacturing in Michigan through these green New Deal scams, I was actually deployed in the military. I spent 22 years of my life serving in the military. He talks about war. I've actually seen war and the devastating effects that it has. I take that very seriously. And for him to characterize me as some warmonger is, is absolutely patently false. There are only four Republicans that stepped up to vote in favor of the War Powers Resolution to put, you know, really into effect the congressional authority around the use of force, that when we're deciding to send men and women into combat. This is an issue that I take very, very seriously, and I think it has to have the highest and foremost level of constitutional scrutiny applied to it. My record on that is clear, and I welcome the debate from my opponent.

[Kristen Welker]

Well, let me follow up with you on that, because we have seen gas prices go up now above $4 a gallon in the wake of the war with Iran. Do you believe the President bears responsibility for those prices?

[Tom Barrett]

Well, I think certainly the war in Iran has led to higher fuel prices. That's, that's, you know, not really in question. I think even the President acknowledged that in his remarks in the Oval Office today. So when you have geopolitical factors affecting things, that certainly brings about higher fuel prices. I mean, my opponent would. Would ban gasoline engines. So let's start with that. But secondly from there, if you look at what we've done aside from foreign policy, we have done everything we can to increase domestic energy production here in the United States so that we are less and less reliant upon foreign adversaries for the flow of energy that we rely on here in the United States. Now, oil is still a world commodity and will be, you know, into the foreseeable future. But I think we have to also acknowledge that putting ourselves in the best position as a country so we're not held hostage by foreign adversaries is something that we should also work to do while we're figuring out our way through these foreign policy concerns that we have.

[Kristen Welker]

So, Congressman, you acknowledge that prices have gone up since the start of the war. Yesterday, President Trump said prices.

[Tom Barrett]

Absolutely. I mean, I didn't think I'd ever taken a position that gas is cheaper today than it was before the war in Iran. That would be absurd.

[Kristen Welker]

Well, and President Trump yesterday said in an interview he thinks he should be given an A plus on the economy. What grade would you give him?

[Tom Barrett]

Well, I think if you look back at what we did through the working families tax cuts to bring about tax cuts for families, an increase in permanent child tax credit that is going to enhance that ability for working families across my district and across America. That's a very positive thing. No taxes on tips and gratuities for people who are working in the service industry, and no taxes on overtime. For the people that I talked about that are working in the auto manufacturing space in my district or the people that I visited last week in my district, paving roads through the infrastructure investment that we've made. Those are all very, very positive things. No taxes on Social Security for our seniors.

[Kristen Welker]

Do you think he deserves an A plus, Congressman?

[Child or Mom]

What?

[Kristen Welker]

Great.

[Tom Barrett]

I would say that we have made serious improvement to our economy. We took over in a very, very challenged time. But look, I'm not going to pretend that the work is done. We've got a lot more ahead of us that we need to do. I wouldn't be running for re election if I thought there were there. There was no work left to be done. I'm ready to get back to Washington and work hard and continue to push for the economic policies that are going to put every American in the best position possible. And I'm not going to, you know, assign grades to myself or somebody else. I know what you're trying to do to wedge me in a, in a pocket talking about that. What I'm talking about is the things that I voted for, the policies that I support in the contrast with my opponent and the economic absolute despair that would arise from his socialist policies that he's pushing for.

[Kristen Welker]

Congressman, President Trump says you have his complete and total endorsement. You appeared with him last month in Michigan. Do you want him to campaign with you from now until November?

[Tom Barrett]

I welcome and appreciate the president's endorsement. And, you know, if you want to contrast that with the endorsement of my opponent with the Democratic Socialists of America and the platform that they stand for, then certainly that's a contrast I'm very comfortable taking on.

[Kristen Welker]

And do you welcome him out on the campaign trail with you?

[Tom Barrett]

Yeah, we just had him in my district last week, as you pointed out.

[Kristen Welker]

Okay. And I don't believe the DSA has actually endorsed your opponent, but I want to let me ask you as a

[Tom Barrett]

member of their organization, last week or two weeks ago. So. All right, I guess he's endorsed them. I don't know. He's the one on the ballot.

[Kristen Welker]

All right. Let me ask you about another point that your opponent, William Lawrence, raises. The issue of data centers. As you well know, it's become a big issue in your district. Politico actually notes there are six data centers in your district and six more planned. Your opponent is calling for a federal moratorium on construction of these centers. Would you support a pause on these data centers?

[Tom Barrett]

Well, what I support is not making these decisions for data Centers in Washington, D.C. because if you support a federal policy on local control of data centers, then you're opening up the door to allow Washington to force data centers into local, local communities that don't want and don't support them. That's absolutely something that I do not support. I respect local control. I respect the decision making of our local governments and our local constituents to make these decisions for themselves without the, without the federal government coming in or without big corporations stepping in to force them into that decision. One thing I will point out to you, I was one of the Republicans when I was in the state legislature that voted against the corporate welfare incentive deals for these data centers going back to my very first term in the state legislature. This is again another point where I have credibility on the issue of not giving away corporate incentive in state and federal tax dollars to incentivize big corporations to come in and do this. I don't want to see the federal government forcing data centers in local communities. I want to see these local communities able to make this decision for themselves and be able to make a decision that works for them and for their community without the federal government telling them what they have to do.

[Kristen Welker]

All right, Congressman Barrett, thank you so very much for joining us. We will be watching your race very closely. Please stay safe out on the trail. Thank you.

[Tom Barrett]

Thank you for having me.

[Kristen Welker]

We have much more news and politics ahead. You're watching MEET THE Press. Now

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[Kristen Welker]

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[Kristen Welker]

Welcome back. As we mentioned, top Republicans are making the threat of creeping communism, as they say, central to their midterm argument. Now doubling down on their attacks against Democratic candidates on the heels of major progressive wins in Michigan this week like that of Abdul Al said House Speaker Mike Johnson posting that Democrats are embracing the, quote, deadly path of communism and saying we must take a stand and fight to protect the greatest nation in the history of the world from being overrun by many Mamdanis, referring to New York City Mayor Zora and Mamdani, of course, Mayor Mamdani responding to Johnson's comments.

[Stephen Miller or White House Official]

First, I'd just like to congratulate Dr. Abdul El Sayed on his victory. He ran a campaign where it was best described by his words of money out of politics Money in your pocket, Medicare for all. And if those simple commitments and beliefs are what drives Representative Johnson to these kinds of conclusions, I think it shows you how deeply out of touch the Republican Party is with the concerns of working class Americans.

[Kristen Welker]

Joining me now is the panel, Nicholas Wu, congressional reporter for Semaphore, former Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Republican strategist Malik Abdul. Thanks to all of you for being here. Nicholas, take us inside your conversations about this strategy we're seeing unfold from Republicans. Essentially fear tactics saying that you should be very afraid of these Democratic candidates trying to argue they're all kinds of communists. In fact, they are not. But what do you make of this? Is this because of what we're seeing with the economy and the president's poll numbers?

[William Lawrence]

Republicans really see this as their most effective strategy heading into the midterms, in part because of the overall climate that makes it harder for them to run on specific achievements. So that's why, you know, with the rise of some of these more progressive candidates, like Abdullah said in Michigan, you know, William Lawrence in the House race in Michigan too, you have Republicans thinking that now you can hitch all of these swing state and swing district candidates to the most far left elements of the Democratic Party. But the question is whether or not that will actually be successful when voters are going to be deluged in millions and millions of dollars of negative advertising anyway.

[Kristen Welker]

You're right. I think that is going to be the key question. Malik, let me read you a post Speaker Johnson made on social media yesterday. He wrote, quote, it's America loving versus America hating communists. And today's Democratic Party has shown us who they really are. He included this photo with the hammer and sickle as you can see there. What do you think? Do you think this is going to be effective? Do you think this is going to resonate with voters?

[Malik Abdul]

I'm not exactly sure if leaning in on the communism angle is something that will work because it's kind of people don't necessarily understand what that is. I do think that some of the things that what Republicans are doing running on this idea of democratic socialism or this demi, this d, these DSA aligned candidates, we're definitely going to run after that because there are a lot of those policies that many middle of the road moderates, not just Democrats, but independents themselves, simply don't support. So you can count on Republicans to double down on this communism thing. I'm just not sure if framing it as communism is itself is going to get us the win.

[Kristen Welker]

Senator highkimp what do you think and do you think it could resonate this type of message in a state?

[Kate Snow]

Like first off, I don't remember the last time an administration took and basically bribed a corporation into making them give them a portion of the corporation to the government. Right. So let's talk about what communism is and you talk about this administration, state supported communism or socialism is really what this administration's been all about, which is taking a look at getting those stakes or that share of those corporations that if you want me to do this, then I'm going to have to take some of this for the government, really. And I think when you look at who is the swing voter, who is going to be the voter that shows up in the polls and when you simply put a label on it like communism, it's not very persuasive. And the governor, the president had an opportunity again to address affordability in that press conference. He dodged, he dodged, he dodged and he lied about gas prices. The people who are going to determine what happens in the midterms are people who are disaffected by this economy and they're looking for something different.

[Kristen Welker]

Do you, do you think, Senator, though, that Democrats need to have a robust response? What do you think the counter strategy?

[Kate Snow]

Well, I think the counter strategy is exactly talking about what this administration has done that is communistic and just hit and run. I mean, my whole theory of how you do this, you punch and you pivot and how you punch is you say, look, that's not what this is. This is talking about real problems for real Americans. It is an opportunity for us to have a conversation. Let's have a conversation and let's compare your record. I think it's interesting the Post had a story I think today about, oh, you know, this is going to be our agenda. Well, they're in charge. Why aren't they pursuing that agenda today? And that's the problem when you say, you know, there hasn't been a record of accomplishments for the American people economically and so they have to use these scare tactics.

[Kristen Welker]

Well, this is a little bit, Nicholas, of what leaders Thune had to say. I'm going to play this and get your reaction on the other side. Take a look.

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

The Democrats, the money, the resources, the energy, the volunteers is all on the

[Tom Barrett]

far left of the Democrat Party.

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

I mean, the progressive wing of their party, the liberal far left wing, is ascendant in politics right now. And of course Chuck Schumer's got to say that. But when you got the DSA and people out there advocating openly for those types of policies. I think American people are going to say a big fat no to that come November.

[Kristen Welker]

Bill, are you anticipating that progressive are going to start to moderate their message? You saw that clip that I played with William Lawrence where he argued his message does have crossover appeal. Tom Barrett obviously disagreed with that point.

[William Lawrence]

The funny thing about the midterms right now is that if you talk to Republicans and if you talk to Democrats, they'll both say that progressives are by far the most energized in the election. And so the question for a lot of these folks now is what they'll do to moderate. And what I something I thought was really interesting about Will Lawrence was how he's talked about how he's let his DSA membership lapse. He's not affiliated with them anymore.

[Republican Strategist or Analyst]

Right.

[William Lawrence]

He's trying to say, like, look, you know, I have this crossover appeal now. Now, whether or not Republicans will let that slide when it comes to the millions of dollars that I'm sure will be run against him is another question altogether.

[Kristen Welker]

Do you get the sense that some Republicans are underestimating the level of enthusiasm that we're seeing around some of these progressive candidates? And of course, the big question for the general is their actual crossover appeal. But what we know is that there is real enthusiasm.

[Malik Abdul]

I don't think that Republican politicians, members of Congress themselves, even governors, I don't think that they don't realize this. It may be more so operations within the White House who may not realize, really tapped into how the American people actually feel. So that's why you see a lot of these local candidates talking about local issues, because that's what will decide a race. If you look at a place like Texas, yes, that's going to be a nationalized race to itself. What Paxton has to do is to talk about why they elected him, because the Talarico campaign is going to talk about the impeachments and all the scandals. You have to talk about what you're doing on a local level because the national race is going to really accompany really of the what the discussion is.

[Kristen Welker]

Senator Heitkamp, let me put up this post from Governor Whitmer today saying Michigan Democrats are united and there you see them. But what I'm so fascinated by is what is this going to actually look like? How do they get united? There are some real divisions, I don't have to tell you that, particularly over the issue of Israel and whether the United States should continue to send arms to Israel. I mean, does united look like getting on the same page with a policy difference like that, or is it simply just turning out to support.

[Kate Snow]

I think it's turning out to support a change in Washington, in the Congress. And that's the unifying message. And the unifying message is actually results for affordability for the American people. It's the American people's turn to be on front row and center. Not corporate America, not big money America, not big tech America. And you see that with the data center debate right now. And so this is a message of bringing the Democratic Party back to kind of a New Deal message. Like you're suffering. We have record income and wealth disparity in this country. How are we going to address it? These are the unifying messages for the Democratic Party. And the one thing I do want to say is there's just a lot of attention on the Lawrences and on all of this. But the bottom line is I could point to 20 candidates who are moderates just like I am in the Democratic Party who are going to be running with a completely different message.

[Kristen Welker]

All right, great conversation, guys. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Nick, Senator Heitkamp and Malik, thank you all for being here. We're back tomorrow with more MEET the Press now. There's more ahead on NBC News. Now.

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