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Meet the Press
Meet the Press NOW — July 6
00:49:47
President Donald Trump confirms he asked FIFA to review U.S. soccer player Folarin Balogun's red card suspension. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor discusses the upcoming NATO summit in Turkey. Graham Platner says he’s considering “the best path forward” after denying an accusation of sexual assault reported in POLITICO. Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss the state of the presidency as America celebrates 250 years.
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- [00:00]
Charles Barkley
It's Charles Barkley here with Wayfair. And let me tell you, game day is serious business at my house. If I'm grilling, chilling and watching hoops, my outdoor setup better be ready to play. That's where Wayfair wins. From patio seating and umbrellas to grills and grill accessories, Wayfair's got it all and it shows up fast. I'm talking fast and easy delivery. So level up your grill game and your outdoor chill game and head to Wayfarer.com to get your outdoor space ready for the season.
- [00:28]
Ryan Nobles
Wayfair.
- [00:29]
Sahil Kapoor
Every style, every home.
- [00:31]
Kate Snow
Hi, it's Kate Snow, NBC News anchor and host of the NBC News podcast the Drink. And this month, I'm having mojitos with comedian Eric Andre. Was I a little bit worried he might prank me? Absolutely. But he promised he'd behave. Mostly did. Here at the Drink, we are all about the journey, and Eric's journey to success is anything but typical. We talk about his childhood, his brief run in music, and the decade he spent hustling in New York City before his hit TV show changed everything. A conversation peppered with humor, but also a real look at the path behind his larger than life Persona. We hope you'll join us for the drink. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:23]
Ryan Nobles
Hi there and welcome to MEET THE press. Now I'm Ryan Nobles in Washington, where President Trump is, you could say, seeing red, red cards, red scares and Russia's red lines, starting with Russia. The president is set to head to Turkey this evening for a crucial meeting with NATO leaders. High on the NATO summit's agenda, the ongoing Russia, Ukraine war in its fourth year with no end in sight, despite the president's stated belief that both sides are getting close. Here's some of what he told reporters today in the Oval Office after speaking with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend.
- [02:01]
Donald Trump
He wants to end it and Ukraine wants to end it. And we're in talks and we'll see if we can get it ended. It's a terrible thing. We're getting much closer than people realize. And President Putin wants it to end. I will tell you that very strongly. Good call. And President Zelensky actually wants it to end now. And we're going to be going to NATO and we're going to be talking about it. And I think we're going to get it. I think we're going to get it ended. It's been a terrible situation.
- [02:30]
Ryan Nobles
The president making those remarks after ringing Wall Street's opening bell from the Oval Office to mark the launch of Trump accounts, the Tax Advantage savings accounts for children under the age of 18. The President also confirming he kicked up some unique controversy on the world stage by personally intervening in FIFA's suspension of the U.S. s top goal scorer over a questionable red card just in time for tonight's knockout game against Belgium, who is coincidentally part of the NATO alliance. We're going to have more on that in just a moment. It all comes after the president's weekend of addresses marking the nation's 250th anniversary, where he telegraphed the White House's midterm strategy, tying recent primary wins by candidates associated with the Democratic Socialists of America to the entire Democratic Party and trying to stir up fears of a communist takeover.
- [03:20]
Donald Trump
Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty. It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl harbor, or even 9, 11. We resolve and swear for all to hear that the citizens of the United States of America will vanquish communism quickly. Don't let them take too much of your time. You know they're wasting your time, don't you? America will never be a communist country. Won't happen. Communism is a loser and it always will be. The communist system is the opposite of the American system, and the communist system has never worked. We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins. It's like a cancer. You got to cut it out. You got to cut it out fast. The Stars and stripes cast the hammer and sickle into oblivion before and we will do it again if necessary.
- [04:25]
Ryan Nobles
NBC's Julie Serkin is at the White House for us. And with me on set, senior national security correspondent Courtney Kuby and former US Ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor. So, Julie, let's start with you. The president is set to leave for Turkey in just a few hours. Where is his head right now and what is he looking for out of these NATO meetings?
- [04:42]
Julie Serkin
Well, his head right now, Ryan, is on domestic issues. Most notably and importantly for the president is the creation and launch of the Trump accounts. Money for American kids. That's what he's been holding events on all day long here in the White House. But he also took many questions from reporters on all subjects surrounding his upcoming travels to Turkey. He said that the only reason he accepted the invitation was because Turkey's President Erdogan is hosting this summit. And that is the first meeting we expect the president to have when he lands there. So with a friendly face, before he gets into rooms with some of the NATO allies he's been having issues with. He said he's demanded actually that NATO allies be more forthcoming with the US that they spend more on defense. So far, most countries in Naito have been spending 5% of their GDP on defense. They've been giving weapons to Ukraine, buying them from the U.S. but one thing they have not done that the president has been very angry with them on is Iran. They have not helped, they have not sent troops and they have not helped with the Strait of Hormuz. And also the president, Ryan is going to come face to face with Giorgia Maloney of Italy, who he had a very public dust up with in the G7. The President's saying she wanted a photo, Maloney saying she did not, and then the president posting a meme of her suggesting he needs a restraining order just yesterday.
- [05:52]
Ryan Nobles
Ryan, that should make for an awkward conversation. Let's get back to Ukraine. How big of a focus do we expect it to be in this summit and is it something that President Trump wants to be a focus of these meetings?
- [06:04]
Julie Serkin
Absolutely. The president, according to a senior White House official, is meeting with Zelensky, not a NATO member, the president of Ukraine. But they're meeting anyway on Wednesday to discuss the very pressing issue of ending this war in Ukraine. President Trump was asked about it just today, Ryan. He said that at this point, Zelensky and Russia's President Putin both want to end the war. I'm told for Zelensky's part, he's going to go into this meeting with the president stressing the need and importance for those defense capabilities, more of those missiles like the Patriots, a system that the Ukrainians have been begging for for the last couple of months, one we saw overnight in that attack against Kyiv they could have used. So that's definitely going to be a focus for the president. But as many people have been wondering over the last few months, the president's attention has been split with everything going on in the Middle East. He's also set meet with another non NATO member, the president of Syria, Al Shara, according to that White House official. So President Trump is going to be extremely busy on Wednesday trying to handle all of these issues as he has been over the last few months, Ryan,
- [07:02]
Ryan Nobles
and he'll leave with a whole host of domestic issues in front of him. It comes after a Fourth of July weekend where he made the big focus of the country's 250th birthday, attacking his political opponents, calling them Communists, warning about a dire future if they were. What does that tell us about his message ahead of the midterms.
- [07:21]
Julie Serkin
Ryan, both the speech at Mount Rushmore on July 3rd and the speech to mark the country's 250th birthday on Saturday night, at times unifying, but at other times extremely sharply political. You played a large amount of what he had to say on communism. But I also want to point out something else he said, which is the need to pass the Save America Act. It's his controversial voter ID proof of citizenship bill that in some cases would require states to submit their voter rolls to the Trump administration. There just aren't the votes for yet. He set up his speech calling on Republicans to pass that because he said it could lead to consequences in November, like them losing their election, suggesting that communists and others that are pouring into this country, as the president said, are going to vote for candidates that are not going to be the Republicans. So very political in his messages on Saturday, certainly previewing what he cares about heading into the midterms here, Ryan.
- [08:12]
Ryan Nobles
Okay, Julie Serkin, thank you for that. Let's turn now to Courtney and the ambassador, who are with me on set. Courtney, let's start with you. It's interesting that we have these potential talks happening at the NATO summit with the goal of maybe trying to calm the situation there, because we've seen actually a major escalation in aerial strikes between Russia and Ukraine. What does that tell us about the posturing ahead of what's going to happen at this summit?
- [08:36]
Courtney Kuby
So it's not surprising that Vladimir Putin would decide to do something right before a meeting of NATO. His whole goal is to create chaos, to sow instability and potentially try to do anything that he could that would break apart an alliance. So a major attack on Kyiv isn't particularly surprising on the eve of this summit. We even actually heard today from NATO Secretary General Marco Ruta, who said, he said that this showed that actually Russia was in a weak position, the fact that they launched off these 23 ballistic missiles. What we have to remember, though, is this was an enormous attack on Kyiv and Ukraine wasn't able to intercept any of those missiles. That does show that despite the fact Ukraine has actually been making advances on the battlefield for several months now. Much of 2026 actually has been marked by even some sometimes small and sometimes slow advances on the battlefield. It has been Ukraine and Russia has taken tremendous losses. But this does show that that Putin still can hold the capital city at tremendous risk.
- [09:38]
Ryan Nobles
Ambassador Taylor, it's interesting. It feels as though this is Groundhog Day a little bit with the situation in Ukraine. As Courtney says, incremental gains, but Russia's taking huge losses. It feels like we've been having that same conversation for four years now. What type of expectations should we have heading into this summit? Do we think an actual breakthrough is possible?
- [09:56]
Bill Taylor
So I'm not looking for a breakthrough, Ryan, but I would disagree with the groundhog analogy. As Courtney just said, the Ukrainians now are taking more territory back from the Russians than the Russians are taking from Ukraine. That's a change. That's a big change. The Ukrainians are killing more Russian soldiers than the Russians can recruit. That's a change. The Ukrainians are going very deep into Russia against refineries, against factories that are making those missiles that the Russians are lobbying on Kyiv. That's all those things are a change. The Ukrainians are isolating Crimea. They are cutting off the supplies, fuel, food, ammunition, going into Crimea. Crimea is going to be indefensible for the Russians at some point. So that's a change. This is not groundhog.
- [10:45]
Ryan Nobles
But is it enough to move Vladimir Putin to actually get to the point where he's willing to negotiate?
- [10:51]
Bill Taylor
We'll see. That's the goal. It's to put enough pressure. And Trump said that Putin's feeling the pressure.
- [10:58]
Ryan Nobles
Yeah.
- [10:59]
Bill Taylor
If Putin feels that pressure and he knows that the Americans are there and the Europeans are there and the Ukrainians are therefore good, he'll have to find another way.
- [11:10]
Ryan Nobles
Well, you mentioned, Courtney, this issue of the Ukrainians missile defense system being for the most part nonexistent. President Zelensky sent out an urgent plea over the weekend. He said that missiles for the Patriots are a priority. And of course, we understand that the political will of the United States of America would certainly be enough to make up for the shortage of Patriot missiles, these defensive missiles. But so far, such support has been insufficient. Is this something that the United States military could even do if there were the political will to make it happen?
- [11:45]
Courtney Kuby
So right now, remember, the way that this is, this is set up is the United States is providing those missiles to NATO allies, and the NATO allies are providing them to Ukraine. It's this new construct that started under President Donald Trump. And what we're talking about here is not the Patriot systems. The US Actually started giving the systems to Ukraine in December of 2022, not long after the war started. We're talking about the interceptors, the PAC 2, primarily PAC 3 missiles. And the issue right now for the United States and frankly for the world is these things take a long time to build. So it can take months if not years at the current rate, for them to resupply PAC3 missiles for the United States. And the US just expended somewhere between 40 and 50% of the US stockpile during the war with Iran. Keep in mind, we don't talk about this very often, but last summer, last June at this time, when the US was helping to defend Israel against the 12 day war against Iran, the US also expended a huge number of interceptors and air defense systems during that as well. So they were already at a lower point than they wanted to be. Right now, given the fact that the US it's still plausible that the US Restarts major combat operations against Iran, they're ready to do so. It's hard to imagine that they are looking to send dozens or hundreds of them to any of the US Allies who could then provide them to Ukraine. That's the problem. It is just a backlog in the need to produce more. And allies around the world who had been providing them to Ukraine. The interceptors aren't able to do so. And right now, the United States doesn't have a lot of them either.
- [13:13]
Ryan Nobles
All right, so, Ambassador Taylor, I want to talk more broadly now about NATO itself and whether or not these European allies are willing to step up and provide defense spending at the levels that President Trump has been asking for. I want to play for you a little bit of what I asked the ambassador from the United Kingdom about this topic last week. Take a listen to this. I'm sure the White House is happy with the increase in funding, but I think their argument would be that it is still less than NATO's 3.5% defense spending goal. What is keeping the United Kingdom from reaching that mark?
- [13:42]
UK Ambassador
Well, it's not less because it puts us on the path to that 3.5%. So the 3.5% is by 2035. And this gives us a clear trajectory towards it. All countries are on that trajectory. The challenge for every democratic country is that's a trade off. And we have schools, we have hospitals, we have voters who are saying they need local services. And that's the difficult democratic decisions any government has to make.
- [14:07]
Ryan Nobles
I think President Trump would hear that and say the reason that you can spend money on hospitals is because the United States is helping defend you. Is that going to be enough to pass the Trump smell test, that they're on a path to 3.5% spending?
- [14:17]
Bill Taylor
So, right. I think the Europeans are stepping up, yes, to some degree because Trump has been asking for it. But really they're stepping up because The Russian threat. The Russians have invaded a European country, have invaded Ukraine. The Europeans know that Ukraine is defending them, is really defending them from the Russians. And so that's why they're stepping up. They're stepping up because Russia invaded, but they're also stepping up because they're not sure they could count on the Americans forever. And this is what we're seeing right here. So the Europeans, on financial basis, you know, that $105 billion loan that they provided to the Ukrainians gets them through two years of fiscal breathing room. All these, the pearl support coming from Europeans, from American factories into Ukraine, that's dwarfing what we're doing right now.
- [15:08]
Steve Patterson
Okay.
- [15:08]
Bill Taylor
All right.
- [15:08]
Ryan Nobles
Ambassador Taylor, Courtney, thank you guys both for being here. We have to talk about the World Cup. Now, the drama surrounding that. US Star striker Florian Baligan will be eligible to play in tonight's round of 16 game against Belgium. This after FIFA reversed the one game ban for the red card that he earned in last week's match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The news came as the president, who has a close relationship with FIFA's president, Gianni Infantino, said he personally called FIFA to review the call.
- [15:39]
Donald Trump
I understand sports really well, really well. And that wasn't a foul. That wasn't even an infraction. He gave him a red card. I didn't know what that meant. I didn't think it meant much. Then I started hearing that that means he can't play in the next game. How do you penalize him for a game that hasn't been played yet? It's very unfair. You can't do that. So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I'm good at this stuff. I didn't think it was a foul, and I think the referee's call was horrible. And nobody talks about that. They talk about the red card like it's fine. Nobody talks. The referee's decision to red card. I didn't know what the hell a red card was. When I found out, I said, you got to be kidding. All I did was ask for a review. I didn't say, you have to do this. This man is a smart, tough man, Johnny Infantino. We're gonna have a full team and Belgium's gonna have a full team. And you know what? If they beat us, then they can be really proud the other way. If they beat us, we'll say it was. I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020.
- [16:40]
Ryan Nobles
Well, in a statement today, Infantino acknowledged that he spoke with the president, but insisted the decision to reverse the red card, which is the first time it's done so during a World cup since 1962, was made independently. The decision has stirred up even more controversy over what some argue was a controversial red card to begin with today. FIFA rejecting an appeal by the Belgian national team ahead of tonight's game. And the US And Belgium are set to kick off in Seattle tonight at 8:00pm Eastern, as if the whole world weren't already watching that game. Joining me now from the White House is NBC's Kelly O'.
- [17:14]
Richard Engel
Donnell.
- [17:15]
Ryan Nobles
Steve Patterson is in Seattle ahead of tonight's game. So, Kelly, NBC is reporting. The administration inserted themselves into this basically as soon as the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina ended. Just walk us through the timeline here and explain just how much the White House was involved.
- [17:31]
Kelly O'Donnell
Well, it appears the White House exerted some degree of presence, if not interference. It really depends on how you read the president inserting himself clearly. He talked about the fact today that he is a sports fan, knows a lot about sports, and then also acknowledged he wasn't sure what a red card was, wasn't sure what the call meant. And so the president, as he often does, uses the force of his personality and the strength of his relationships on various situations. And that's clearly part of what was at play here. Also, Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, was there in real time shortly after the incident, the collision of two great athletes happened. And there's been a lot of discussion by people who know a lot more about this than me. That collision was not necessarily malicious, might not have in other circumstances resulted in a red card. I'll leave that for others to decide. But that's some of the background and the context here. Then the question comes, well, what happens? And so a top US Player would have been out for a game, a critical game tonight. And now the questions are really about was the president as head of state, and of course, the US Being the host country for the entire tournament. Was the president's use of his contact with his good friend, the head of FIFA, was that a step too far? The president says he couldn't tell him what to do, but clearly the president made it known the outcome that he wanted and that is the outcome that he got. But are the steps in any way questionable? And as you pointed out, the FIFA president also says there's a separate judicial process that handles this kind of thing. FIFA has been accused of not always playing by the rules in the past. That's part of this whole background here. And of course, there's a lot on the line with. With the game tonight and the impact of what it can mean. So that gives you a sense of where we are right now and fans will make some decisions themselves.
- [19:25]
Ryan Nobles
First of all, you've got to give yourself a little credit there, Kelly. That was a pretty good explanation about what happened there on the field.
- [19:29]
Kelly O'Donnell
That was pretty steady, Ryan.
- [19:30]
Donald Trump
Yeah.
- [19:31]
Ryan Nobles
Let's get back, though, to what you mentioned about FIFA. This is an organization that in its own right has battled corruption within its ranks for some time. Is there any concern from the White House that intervening here could at the very least be bad optics?
- [19:47]
Kelly O'Donnell
Nothing that's discernible. The president was certainly asked about that, knowing that there will be fans around the world who will question it. Clearly Belgium questioned it and was determined they didn't have standing to make this complaint. According to FIFA, they are the opponent tonight. And so there will be those who will put an asterisk after this game, whichever way it goes. The president tried to sort of pump the brakes there by saying if Belgium wins, then they will have the pride of knowing they went up against the best US Team with a star player being included and on the field tonight. But no indication from the White House that they think the president interfered too much. Again, this is really classic President Trump using relationships, his close ties to FIFA, using the strength of being the host country and all the US has done to welcome FIFA to make it a well organized and successful tournament thus far. Still a ways to go. So no hint that that's an issue. Others will say it and it'll be left to those to decide what is the outcome of the game. Did it have an impact and might it change other attempts to police the action in some other way? Ryan.
- [20:53]
Ryan Nobles
Okay. Yeah. Kelly, thank you for. Let's get to the ground. On the ground, I should say, in Seattle, where Steve is standing by. Steve, you've been talking to fans all day. I have to imagine you've heard a lot of hot takes. What's the latest from the fans there? And also, how is the team preparing for tonight's game with the news now that they could have their best player in the lineup?
- [21:14]
Steve Patterson
Yeah, a lot of hot takes, as you mentioned, Ryan, but most of them really sort of divided.
- [21:19]
Jesse Arm
Right?
- [21:19]
Steve Patterson
There's a lot of people, of course, elated, excited, happy that one of the star players, the leading scorer, the guy that has scored in every single match of this World cup so far, happy he's going to be on the pitch, but sort of divided in the fact that they didn't want it to be like this. White House intervention, possibly putting an asterisk on a possible victory. I also, as you mentioned, spoke with one of the players, Sebastian Berhalter, as this news was breaking in large yesterday. He said, as you might imagine, the classic sports answer, they are laser focused on the action on the field. They can't control what happens off of it. But I asked him about the moment he heard, and I want you to hear the reaction. Listen to this.
- [22:00]
Sebastian Berhalter
No, to be honest, I think that's something that, you know, maybe the red card shouldn't have been there in the first place. So, yeah, I think we're super excited for him.
- [22:07]
Steve Patterson
Did you guys hear as a team?
- [22:08]
Sebastian Berhalter
Yeah, it was like we just got on the bus of training and then we just saw social media, like, started to pop off. And then, yeah, everyone's asking Balo and he was like, yeah, like, I'm in. And everyone just, like, got hyped and we're just, yeah, pumped for him.
- [22:20]
Steve Patterson
Big cheering moment.
- [22:21]
Sebastian Berhalter
Yeah, like, yes and no. Everyone was just kind of thought there was no. Like, we were confused, you know. And then I think, like, over the next 30 minutes, like, everyone kind of bits and pieces found out.
- [22:32]
Steve Patterson
Meanwhile, everybody's excited for the game. We're here at the Seattle waterfront. You can see fans heading into this fan fest. You can take it for a little bit. You can see the game, Portugal and Spain in the background. People watching, of course, ready to cheer on the United States. Again, a lot of the reaction we heard divided. We even heard from some Belgian fans who thought that red card should have never existed in the first place. So back and forth.
- [22:55]
Ryan Nobles
But what about. Do we know for sure that Baligan is going to be in the starting lineup tonight? As the team said that. What do we know about the decision making process there?
- [23:05]
Steve Patterson
Great question. We just saw the team release their starting roster about an hour and a half ago or so. That thing is usually ironclad. He's in the lineup according to the latest listing. Of course, that could change, but we hear intervention at this point is a moot point because FIFA has ruled that that appeal is essentially not effective. It will not take effect today. Of course, again, you know, we've seen so many miraculous and things we've never seen during a World cup in this sort of burst of news. So anything could happen. But as far as we know, he will be on the pitch.
- [23:39]
Ryan Nobles
Okay, now all we have to do is play the game. All right, Steve Patterson, thank you for that report. Coming up, breaking news. A bombshell allegation. A woman who says she once dated, Graham Platner is publicly coming forward with rape allegations against the main Democratic Senate nominee. Platner is denying the accusations, but says he is weighing the future viability of his campaign. Plus, a surprise announcement out of Michigan's Senate primary tees up a high stakes fight between Democratic moderates and progressives in a battleground race that couldn't end up determining control of Congress. You're watching Meet the Press now.
- [24:19]
Joy Bauer
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Ryan Nobles
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Nicholas Wu
Visit today.comstart for full offer terms and details.
- [25:03]
Kate Snow
On all of It With Me, Alison Stewart will talk about art, music, theater, literature, history, food.
- [25:11]
Ryan Nobles
Well, all of It.
- [25:12]
Kate Snow
Hear in depth, insightful information, interviews with authors like Zadie Smith, musicians like Steve Earle, actors like Kate Winslet and beyond. You never know who you'll hear next on All of it, but it's always worth listening. That's all of it available wherever you get your podcasts.
- [25:31]
UK Ambassador
How does a banana trigger a CIA backed coup? Do AirPods herald the arrival of a new global order? What do LED lights say about about the future of humanity? I'm Ed Conway and in each episode of my new podcast, Stuff Matters, I take an object, crack it open and reveal the world shaping forces hidden inside. This is economics told through the things we think we understand. Search Stuff Matters on your podcast app to listen and follow.
- [26:03]
Ryan Nobles
Welcome back. We're turning now to some breaking news in Maine's Senate race and a warning that some of these details may be difficult for some to hear. Politico is reporting a woman who dated Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is accusing him of rape, saying he forced her to have sex unprotected with him five years ago despite her repeated objections, something Platner has denied. The woman, a 41 year old Maine resident named Jenny Rayquote, detailed the allegations in a series of interviews with Politico. Politico also spoke with an unnamed former boyfriend and reviewed documents from her therapist in which she discussed some of the allegations on why she is only coming out now publicly. Rayquote told Politico, quote, one of the reasons I didn't come forward sooner was the huge moral conflict that I had between supporting his politics but not supporting him as a person. She went on to say, I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person. Now Platner is denying the accusation in a video message that he released just moments ago.
- [27:09]
Bill Taylor
Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins.
- [27:26]
Ryan Nobles
Joining me now is our panel, NBC News senior national political reporter Sahil Kapoor Nicholas Wu, congressional reporter at semafor Amisha Cross, a Democratic strategist and former Obama campaign advisor and Jesse Arm, the vice president of external affairs and a holster at the Manhattan Institute. And Sahel, I think we should start first with what Platner is saying here, and that is it seems as though he's giving serious consideration to dropping out of the race even though he denies the allegations in this report.
- [27:54]
Sahil Kapoor
Yeah, absolutely, Ryan. This is the latest shoe to drop on Graham Platner and it's a big story. A 41 year old woman on the record, someone he dated several years ago. The allegations she made go back to 2021, that he came to her home uninvited one night, forced himself on her despite her telling him to stop. She says he grabbed her and forced himself on her. And in her words, he was really forceful. The corroboration in this political story includes emails to her therapist and messages to an acquaintance warning her of Graham Platner. Now, in terms of the response from Graham Platner, he's faced many controversies so far, a whole bunch of stories that he's that he's denied some of some transgressions that he's accepted. But yes, there's a line in his latest denial that sticks out like a sore thumb. He says, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement that I belong to and the goal of defeating Susan Collins. That is the first admission that he's taking a look at whether to continue his candidacy, something that he has defiantly done all this time through all these previous presidents.
- [28:56]
Ryan Nobles
And there's a timeline here right I mean, absolutely, if he wants to get out of the race, what's the scenario in which he could be replaced?
- [29:02]
Sahil Kapoor
So the date that every Democrat interested in this race and everyone really around the country interested in this race should circle on their calendars is July 13th. The law in Maine says he's allowed to drop out by then. At which point the state party in Maine, the Democratic state party in Maine, can choose a replacement by July 27th. Now, this would be a disastrous situation for Democrats to deal with from the outset because it would be someone who likely got zero primary votes, someone who, you know, never went through the process, and it would be someone who basically gets picked in a back room. But they have to decide here whether Graham Plattner is going to be their candidate or not. If he waits past the July 13 deadline, the law says he can only get off the ballot because of things like a catastrophic illness or death, something that incapacitates him. So now is the moment. The next week is crucial for Maine Democrats.
- [29:45]
Ryan Nobles
So, Nicholas, what do you think Democrats are thinking right now? I mean, obviously, he has been able to push off some of the other scandals, and they were significant scandals. The admission of a Nazi tattoo that he had to have covered up. There were other allegations about his behavior as a boyfriend and a romantic partner. This seems to take it to a new level.
- [30:05]
Nicholas Wu
The kind of quiet murmurs we've seen from a lot of Democrats in recent weeks since these stories came out might emerge into something much more forceful and louder. Like, a lot of Democrats were somewhat privately critical of Platner previously, but said, you know, they still wanted to support a Democratic candidate in Maine. You know, regardless of who it was, they wanted to talk about Platner by name. But now this is going to be something unavoidable for Democrats, especially those in other swing seats, who might now have to face uncomfortable questions about supporting Platner.
- [30:31]
Ryan Nobles
So, Amisha, is it time for him to go? You're the Democrat here.
- [30:34]
Amisha Cross
I think he's in a very tough position. We watched this happen with Eric Swalwell as well, where he had a lot of information from former girlfriends or whomever come out later. I think sexual assault and allegations of rapism takes you to a very different place. That's why his response now is a little bit different. As a Democrat and looking at the tea leaves, seeing that he had so much of the vote and so many people behind him, my caution to Democrats is that he steps out now or he does it. By that deadline, you're gonna have people who obviously don't believe in and didn't vote for somebody else. So you're going to have the issue of Democrats who may stay home, Democrats who see that this is a throwaway race. It is what it is. Democrats who are also going to question the pushout when we have a president who was adjudicated for sexual assault.
- [31:16]
Ryan Nobles
But let's stick on this because it's Democrats that have been preaching the idea that we should always believe women in this case. And it was one thing before when there were anonymous allegations against him. This is a woman on the record detailing very specifically an incident that she says happened. Shouldn't Democrats be the one leading the calls for him to step down as a result of it?
- [31:38]
Amisha Cross
I think Democrats have already made their decision. Unfortunately, that happened before he actually before this came out.
- [31:43]
Ryan Nobles
I'm saying now, timing wise, if you're someone that's endorsed him or you're someone that's backed his campaign. Now that you know this new information, wouldn't it behoove Democrats to say it's time for you to go?
- [31:53]
Amisha Cross
I think some will, and likely the ones who will are the same ones who didn't want to see him be on the ballot anyway. But for the most part, I think that there are some Democrats just like there are some Republicans who believe so much in the policies and the things that he stood for that it's still going to be a hard thing to overcome. With that being said, an accusation is not an evidence of criminal activity. So again, I think that it's up to the voters. And at this point, they already made their primary decision and it's going because of the short timeline they have, it's going to be very hard to get a level of faith that he had in another Democratic case.
- [32:24]
Jesse Arm
Yeah, the woman he allegedly raped is one of those people who shares all of his priorities on political matters. Look, the Democrat who polls best against Susan Collins is named Generic Democrat. So whether people in the progressive activist class in Washington, D.C. like it or not, this is actually a blessing to them. Platner is going to exit this race. We don't need to quibble about this. The line that Sahil mentioned in his video message just now is the tell. He'll try to advocate for it to be someone on the more hard left end of the party, the more radical socialist end of things. That'll be his bargaining chip for stepping aside peacefully. But he's going, this is bad stuff.
- [33:05]
Ryan Nobles
So what you're arguing is this is actually not good news for Susan Collins, that whoever the replacement could be may be A more formidable candidate than Trump.
- [33:11]
Jesse Arm
No, I mean, look, the big revelation here is that people who get Nazi iconography tattooed on this chest, on their chest, tend to not be very good people. So I'm not exactly surprised by these developments. The thing with Graham Platner, Republicans were salivating over the notion of running a general election campaign against him with milquetoast moderate pro choice Susan Collins, who voted against Trump's nominees for the Supreme Court. Because Platner is the guy who was the Hodgkiss kid who sold himself as working class. He was the guy who said, I'm a peacenik hippie type, but I also went to go kill people for Blackwater for money. He's also the guy who sold himself as an oyster farmer, but actually only had one customer, and it was his mommy. So Republicans had a massive oppo file on this guy that they were ready to run with. They're gonna have a tougher race against generic Democrats.
- [33:56]
Ryan Nobles
Okay. All right, let's move on and talk about FIFA, which is the other thing that everybody has at the top of their lips. You know, Sahil, I think often about bad calls. As a lifelong Buffalo sports fan, I know a thing or two about bad calls. I've desperately wanted a president to intervene and take back some of those bad calls that never happened. What do we think and what do we make of the president's decision to intervene here with FIFA?
- [34:19]
Sahil Kapoor
Not surprising that he's trying to get involved in this. He has been wanting to get involved in cultural touchstones and entertainment events and lots of sports lately. What's a little bit surprising is the fact that he's leaning into it so much, and his allies are leaning into the fact that Trump got this red card reversed, which is not how any of this is supposed to work. And there's a statement now from the FIFA president denying that one phone call led to this. He said there's a process, there's a panel, but the smoke is there. The perception is there. That's not going away at this point.
- [34:47]
Ryan Nobles
Yeah. What do you think, Nick? Do you think that most Americans are gonna embrace this idea? Is it gonna split Americans? I mean, it feels like everything splits Americans in this day and age, but.
- [34:56]
Nicholas Wu
Well, it seems that this is the kind of thing where, for the Americans that are paying attention to the World cup, this is maybe another something that fits into everyone's priors already about President Trump. If they were already supporting the president, they would support this decision. If not, they'll view it the other way. If anything, it's kind of a black mark on FIFA who already had all their own issues with corruption and cheating scandals prior.
- [35:18]
Ryan Nobles
Jesse the one thing that frustrates me a little bit about this was I felt like the, the World cup was the one thing where everybody seemed to be on the same page. By inserting himself into this, does President Trump take away a little bit of that?
- [35:30]
Jesse Arm
I'm not sure this is right. I got a group chat here filled with Democrats who voted for Kamala Harris, who are big sports fans and are ecstatic at the news that the US Is getting their best player back for this. Look, Axios reported that President Trump had a call with the president of FIFA, who he's friendly with, to inquire about this rule, whether the process could be appealed. The FIFA president let President Trump know that a review was already going on. I think if you're an American, you should be excited about the fact that America has their best player. It's actually a cultural divide between us and the Europeans. I think the Europeans oftentimes want to do anything they can to get a competitive edge. Keir Starmer, the head of the UK just put in a call to FIFA the other day to try and not get England's game time moved up because he thought it would unduly negatively impact the UK team or the England team. But look, at the end of the day, I think Americans are just going to be really excited to see their team play at full strength. Americans like to beat their opponents at full strength. And I know I am not going to be looking at even a Belgian waffle between now and 8:00pm tonight. I want to see America win.
- [36:33]
Ryan Nobles
What about you, Amisha? Do you think it taints it at all? Is there going to be an asterisk next to this game forever as a result?
- [36:37]
Amisha Cross
Well, I think only a small group of Americans actually care about this. Many believe that.
- [36:41]
Ryan Nobles
But the World cup is getting as good a ratings as NFL playoff games are right now.
- [36:45]
Amisha Cross
Oh, yeah. They find it entertaining and they're getting involved. But in terms of all of the asterisks that exist for the wrongdoings and the questions about Trump and his putting his finger on so many different scales, at this point, this one ranks pretty low.
- [36:59]
Ryan Nobles
Oh, I see what you're saying.
- [37:00]
Amisha Cross
Okay, so at the end of the day, no. Do we root for the American team America all the time? Absolutely. Especially considering the long term history of men's soccer. We're gonna go ahead and root for our team.
- [37:08]
Ryan Nobles
Yeah, I love it.
- [37:10]
Jesse Arm
See, we're bringing people together Bipartisanship.
- [37:12]
Joy Bauer
Yeah.
- [37:13]
Ryan Nobles
All right, let's turn now to. To Michigan. We've got a little bit of time to talk about this. We thought this was gonna be our biggest story today, but things have changed. And we have Mallory McMurraw, who was at one point considered to be a rising star in the Democratic Party. She may still be, but she has decided to drop out of this race, leaving Haley Stevens and Abdul Al Said to be the two remaining candidates. Amisha, since you're the Democrat at the table, give us your assessment of this. Does this put Democrats in a stronger position heading into this primary? Because I know Republicans view Michigan as one of their biggest pickups up opportunities.
- [37:42]
Amisha Cross
I think it puts the Democrats in a stronger position. To be fair, I think that McNamara had a very strong showing in the outset, and as the months went on, it kind of dwindled. I don't think that anybody saw out of the gate that El Sayed would be where he is right now. He has invoked a lot of spirit, I'll say, in terms of individuals who probably wouldn't have even come out in the primary. He has diversified the base and he's definitely one to beat in this race. And I think that he's shown himself to be a very formidable candidate. It will she have a future that's determined by time. But I think she got a little bit more milk toasty in the end and started sounding like the same type of Democrats who many voters actually don't want to see an elected office at this point.
- [38:19]
Ryan Nobles
But Nick, she did have some pretty significant backers on Capitol Hill. We're talking about Senator Warren, Senator Murphy. Where do those supporters go now?
- [38:26]
Nicholas Wu
That's kind of the question of the hour since what we're seeing this race become now is very much a binary choice between the more progressive candidate and the more kind of establishment backed one.
- [38:33]
Donald Trump
And.
- [38:33]
Nicholas Wu
And one might think at first blush that McMorrow's folks might go over towards more towards Haley Stevens. But we got to remember that this is a candidate who came from a somewhat more TV friendly, progressive background. And those are voters that might end up going with someone more like El Sayed who has that kind of appeal.
- [38:50]
Ryan Nobles
Jesse, you were saying Republicans were salivating for the chance to run against Graham Platner. Are they salivating for the chance to run against El Sayed?
- [38:57]
Jesse Arm
Well, nobody tops Graham Platt. But I do think Republicans, Republicans definitely want to run against Abdul El Sayed. I know that for a fact, talking to a lot of operatives around Washington. Look, Michigan is my home state and I can tell you that Mallory McMurra was a really powerful progressive communicator. She rose the ranks and it's not often that state legislators breakthrough in national media. But consultants led her astray. They told her that she needs to split the difference between the more establishment mainstream faction of the Democratic Party and the faction of the Democratic party that has greater sympathies for Islamists and communist adjacent politics. So that's gonna be a problem.
- [39:36]
Ryan Nobles
Sahil, you get the last word on this? Where does this go?
- [39:38]
Steve Patterson
What?
- [39:38]
Sahil Kapoor
McMara reminds me of Elizabeth Warren, 2020 boxed out by a candidate on the left who consolidating the left and a candidate, a centrist candidate who was consolidated in the middle. She thought she could pluck from both. Every time she tried, she just angered the other. The leftist thought she was too centrist, the centrist thought she was too leftist. And she ended up in no man's land. Now a Source close to McMorrow told me that she was partly outgunned by about 30 million in outside spending on behalf of Haley Stevens. That established her in the mainstream lane before McMurrah could really get in on this. Her fundraising wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough either. And now it's a one on one
- [40:09]
Ryan Nobles
conference, especially in a big expensive state like Michigan. I would also say the overall theme of the Democratic primaries have been underestimating the power and the energy of the progressive left. And I think that's what we saw play out here. Great conversation guys. Thank you all for being here. Here, Sahil, Nicholas, Amicia and Jesse. Up next, the deadly heat wave and extreme weather impacting July 4th celebrations. This holiday weekend could just be the beginning of a months long period of weather chaos in America. Oh joy. We have so much good news today. You're watching Meet the Press now.
- [40:42]
Nicholas Wu
Hey guys, Willie Geist here reminding you to check out the Sunday Sit down podcast. On this week's episode I get together with Tony and Grammy winner and Academy Award nominee Leslie Odom Jr. As he returns to the role that made him famous as Aaron Burr in Hamilton 10 years after the original run. You can get our conversation now for free wherever you download your podcasts.
- [41:11]
Ryan Nobles
This is Telemundo de Portes in Luiso Martabia wondering who who you should root for at FIFA World Cup 2026. Listen to my new favorite footballista wherever you listen to podcast.
- [41:23]
Courtney Kuby
Honey, did you invite the minions over?
- [41:25]
Ryan Nobles
Well, you know how we talked about getting WI Fi from Xfinity? Yeah, I ordered it this morning, was online in minutes.
- [41:31]
Sahil Kapoor
Then they showed up.
- [41:32]
Courtney Kuby
So they just came over to use the WI fi for what?
- [41:38]
Ryan Nobles
Better not to know.
- [41:39]
Courtney Kuby
Get on online in minutes with same day wi fi from Xfinity plus lock in your price for 5 years and see Minions and Monsters only in theaters. Xfinity Imagine that restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. Learn more@xfinity.com SameDayWiFi
- [41:56]
Ryan Nobles
welcome back. The death toll from this weekend's historic heat wave has reached 25 as more than a dozen cities reported record highs on the Fourth of July. Among those cities right here in Washington, D.C. where first responders and members of the National Guard received assisting people overcome by heat during the Salute to America 250 Festivities on the National Mall. The danger now severe storms and flash flooding with millions of Americans from as far south as Norfolk to as far north as Nantucket under flood alerts right now. NBC News meteorologist Bill Cairns joins me now. So Bill, talk to us about the areas or cities that saw record breaking temperatures. And is there another heat dome that we need to brace for?
- [42:38]
Bill Cairns
Yeah, this could be the summer of heat domes, Ryan. And the one that's set up over was pretty unprecedented and we did set some all time big numbers. So I 95 corridor, everyone hit 100 which is pretty rare for everyone to get involved in this. Even New York City was 100. Philadelphia, by the way, it was the first time in their recorded weather history, which goes back about 150 years, that they hit 103 days in a row. Boston also hit 102 days in a row, first time they did that since 1944. So this wasn't just your normal ish heat waves. But we're getting a break in the east now, of course, we're dealing with a lot of the rain, the humidity and the flash flooding. And now the heat is going to build in the west where we already have new advisories and warnings that are up. And eventually, as we go throughout the next week, this is just going to continue to grow. Today already going to be hot. Tomorrow in areas like Phoenix, it's going to be 115 degrees and then it's going to be in the spread through Utah and up through Colorado and doesn't go away either. Even as we head towards the weekend in this desert southwest, you're just going to be well above 110. Phoenix and in Vegas. And then this is the map for mid July. So this shows you the probability of how warm it's going to be. And when you see this, that's the heat dome. The probability is for much above normal temperatures. And there are hints, Ryan, that this is going to start over the Rockies and then slide into the middle of the country and it could be with us right through much of July.
- [44:00]
Ryan Nobles
Okay, Bill, I'm glad my air conditioning is working. That's all I can say. Thank you so much for that. After the break, rallying around the floor, NBC goes inside Tehran, where millions are gathering for the funeral of the nation's supreme leader who was killed by the US at the start of the war. Keep it right here on MEET THE PRESS now. Welcome back. The massive funeral procession for Iran's former supreme leader who was killed by US Strikes is underway. Large crowds filled the streets of Tehran today to mourn Ayatollah Ali Kamala. The procession, which began Saturday, will end Thursday when he's buried in his hometown. Not seen today, Khomeini's son, Mudaba, who took over as supreme leader but has yet to be seen publicly since the war began. NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel is in Tehran and filed this report.
- [44:53]
Richard Engel
Right now I am in the center of Tehran in Azadi Square, Freedom Square. It is one of the most iconic locations in all of Iran. This is where the Iranian revolution was centered in 1979. And organizers say this is the biggest event in this city since then. Millions of people have been coming to Tehran today and over the last several days to pay their respects to the supreme leader. This is a religious ritual, but it is also a political rally, a way for the government to show that it is spiritual. Still in charge. We've been hearing shouts of death to America, shouts of revenge, revenge, revenge. Some people have said that President Donald Trump must be killed for the war that he launched with Israel against this country. So this is both a funeral procession and something of a victory parade for this country. It is a major event and government officials say that so far they consider this to be a tremendous success. Things have changed radically in this country just over the last several months. Before the war started, the people who you saw in the streets here were opposition. They were demanding the downfall of the regime. Now it is full of regime supporters, people wearing waving government flags and expressing their solidarity with the Islamic clerics who are running this country alongside the military.
- [46:23]
Ryan Nobles
Thank you, Richard, for that reporting. Still to come, culture wars. Why the Trump administration is taking aim at one of the most popular and well regarded museum complexes in the United States, threatening to overhaul the Smithsonian's leadership as America marks its 250th birthday. Stay with us on MEET THE PRESS now. Welcome back The Trump administration is now targeting the Smithsonian Institution, calling its leaders radical activists and warning President Trump may be prepared to install his own team. The attacks coming in. A report released by the White House Domestic Policy Council on Independence Day saying the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Museum of American History in particular, under its current leadership and current interpretive ideology, cannot be trusted to tell America's story honestly and in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic. The Smithsonian pushing back, saying it's severed. It served, I should say, the U.S. with nonpartisan and independent scholarship for more than 180 years. And in an exclusive interview with Kristen Welker recorded before the release of that report, Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian, touted the lack of partisanship in his organization.
- [47:44]
Lonnie Bunch
I think the Smithsonian in some ways is the glue that helps hold the nation together. Right. You look at who visits the Smithsonian. Everybody. Red states, blue states. Whatever your politics, you come to the Smithsonian.
- [47:55]
Kelly O'Donnell
Why?
- [47:56]
Lonnie Bunch
Because you want to understand who you are.
- [47:58]
Donald Trump
Right.
- [47:59]
Lonnie Bunch
It's about celebrating, but also understanding. And in some ways, what I think the country could use, what the Smithsonian provides is we spend as many Americans, we look for simple answers to complex questions. The Smithsonian gives you ambiguity. It helps you understand complexity, nuance, subtlety, debate. And I think that that's a major contribution. If you could help people feel comfortable with ambiguity, it then you could help a nation move forward.
- [48:31]
Ryan Nobles
I'm joined now by presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. Douglas, I want to get your reaction to the White House's assessment of the Smithsonian's leadership and what potential perils could pop up if President Trump attempts to install his own leadership team.
- [48:46]
Douglas Brinkley
Well, the White House is going after Lonnie Bunch, who in my estimation, has done an amazing job of explaining the multicultural dynamics of America. Anybody who goes Smithsonian will feel American exceptionalism writ large, whether it's the history of the railroads or Neil Armstrong going on the moon. But what Trump is trying to do is talk about its ideological capture, that the Smithsonian is really working on the other side with Democrats and liberals. And instead, he'd like to see the museum whitewashed, get rid of the sense of the plight of indigenous people. People don't talk about Andrew Jackson's trail of tears, don't talk about slavery much, talk about the emancipation of slaves a lot, but not slavery. And so it's part of the Trump White House's attack on what they call woke culture. The Smithsonian's tried to play above board working with the White House, but this report tells you a war is looming and that war will be Trump issuing an executive order yet again of some kind to get rid of leadership at this esteemed national institution.
- [50:05]
Ryan Nobles
President Trump also has now taken to calling Democrats godless communists. I want to play a little more of what the president said about communism during his Fourth of July address on the National Mall. Take a listen.
- [50:17]
Donald Trump
America will never be a communist country. Won't happen. Communism is a loser and it always will be. The communist system is the opposite of the American system and the communist system has never worked. Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America. We're not going to let it happen. We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins. It's like a cancer. You got to cut it out. You got to cut it out fast.
- [51:01]
Ryan Nobles
This isn't the first time we've seen communism used as a political cudgel. What are the potential long term dangers, though, of vilifying your political opponents with this kind of rhetoric?
- [51:12]
Douglas Brinkley
Well, Donald Trump's trying to create a 1950s style Joe McCarthy Red Scare on steroids. After all, McCarthy was, McCarthy was only a senator from Wisconsin, and yet he did a lot of damage to people's lives and careers by innuendo and false accusations and witch hunts. Now you're seeing President Trump, who has the power of the bully pulpit of the White House, trying to reverb McCarthyism and making it as a central premise for what he's trying to do with his legislative act coming up, you know, Save America act and the midterm elections coming. If you're on the left, you're a communist. And you know, he's been affected labeler of people like the squad that are progressives. Now he's going to call Bernie Sanders AOC Mandami, not progressives, but communist. And that's the GOP playbook in the coming months. And Trump simply launched at a couple of speeches over the Fourth of July weekend.
- [52:19]
Ryan Nobles
And then before you go, the Supreme Court has granted the executive branch sweeping new authority not only to this president, but it is effectively be for future presidents. How much do you think the power will change the office of the President going forward?
- [52:33]
Douglas Brinkley
Well, it's going to change it mightily and already has. I mean, we are living in the age of maximalism and presidential power. The, you know, Article 2 of the US Constitution is quite vague about what is presidential power beyond certain things like the ahead of the armed forces commander in chief in a few things. But, you know, we've seen a ever growing larger presidency, particularly FDR issued 3,000 executive orders during the Great Depression and World War II. Trump likes the EO. You sign it and it makes the news that night and you get all of this, you know, media coverage around the world. But alas, things get booted to the courts. It might be slow, but a year later, many of Trump's executive orders are deemed illegal. But he doesn't care about building a legislative record as much as he does using EOs to stay front and center of the TV cameras and public discourse everywhere.
- [53:36]
Ryan Nobles
Yeah, of course, it requires the other two branches of government to assert themselves as well to check presidential power, which we haven't seen too much of that over the course of this past administration. Douglas Brinkley, it's always great to have you on. Thank you for bringing us your expertise. We appreciate it. We're back tomorrow with more MEET the Press, but there's more news ahead right now on NBC News Now.
- [53:54]
Kate Snow
Hi, it's Kate Snow, NBC News anchor and host of the NBC News podcast the Drink. And this month, I'm having mojitos with comedian Eric Andre. Was I a little bit worried he might prank me? Absolutely. But he promised he'd behave. Mostly did. Here at the Drink, we are all about the journey. And Eric's journey to success is anything but typical. We talk about his childhood, his brief run in music and the decade he spent hustling in New York City before his hit TV show changed everything. It's a conversation peppered with humor, but also a real look at the path behind his larger than life Persona. We hope you'll join us for the Drink. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.