Meet the Press NOW — June 22

Summary

Meet the Press NOW — June 22, 2026

Host: Ryan Nobles (NBC News)
Key Guests: Vice President J.D. Vance, President Donald Trump, Keir Simmons, Gabe Gutierrez, Dan DeLuce, Danielle Hamanjan, Kate Santelles, Tiffany Smiley, Arshi Siddiqui, various NBC correspondents and panelists

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on three main storylines:

1. The breakthrough in high-level U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland and shifting U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.
2. President Trump’s live Oval Office appearance fielding questions on Iran, domestic issues, and his prioritization of D.C. beautification (including controversy over the Reflecting Pool).
3. Political developments in the U.K. with the resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and implications for both British and U.S. politics. The show also includes broader political discussion, upcoming U.S. Senate races, and analysis of ongoing Democratic primaries.

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Key Segments & Insights

1. U.S.-Iran Talks: Progress and Caution

[00:56 - 04:24]

• Ryan Nobles summarizes: Vice President Vance has returned from high-level U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland, joined by mediators Qatar and Pakistan. Both sides have “agreed to a roadmap to reaching a final deal in 60 days,” but significant challenges remain.
• J.D. Vance draws an analogy:

  "We laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal. The final deal is the house; we set the foundation. We haven't built the house, but we've laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people."
  (01:22)

• Announcements include a new communication line to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, U.S. temporarily lifting certain oil sanctions, and Iran—per Vance—agreeing to allow UN inspectors into nuclear sites (not publicly confirmed by Iran).
• Vance emphasizes skepticism:

  "You can't trust anybody's words. You have to trust what they actually do… Letting in the inspectors is a big deal, but... we’re going to see what they actually let the inspectors do."
  (02:40)

Notable Moment:

• Despite threats and social media disputes (Iran briefly threatened to close the Strait or walk out), negotiations continued.

  "What we told the Iranians yesterday is when you guys engage in what us millennials might call trash talk, you can't expect the President of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record."
  —J.D. Vance (03:45)

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2. On the Ground in Switzerland

[04:29 - 07:36]

• Keir Simmons describes the tense atmosphere and strict separation from the press, sharing an anecdote about Iranian officials refusing to shake hands on camera.
  • Both sides intent on progress despite "lots of noise in public."
  • Summary: Communication channels for de-confliction (Hormuz, Lebanon) are a positive development; nuclear inspectors’ readmission to Iran is a reset, not a breakthrough.

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3. President Trump’s Oval Office Remarks: Iran, Economy, and More

[07:50 - 17:43]

A. Sanctions & Iran’s Economy

• Trump insists lifted sanctions are tied directly to humanitarian purchases:

  "If the sanctions go out, money is going to be put into this country... the money that we lift is going to go to our farmers, largely to our farmers."
  (07:50)

• On Iran rebuilding its military:

  "They're not supposed to be doing that, so we'll see. But they're supposed to use money to buy food for their people..."
  (08:13)

B. War Risk and Priorities

• "War with Iran could cause a worldwide depression, as you noted. Are you willing to risk economic catastrophe and strike Iran again?"
  —Ryan Nobles
• Trump:

  "Not the way I'm doing it. It's not going to cause depression.... Nuclear weapon supersedes depression. Depression is real bad. Nuclear weapon will cause depression much more quickly."
  (08:41, 08:44)

C. U.S. Leverage Over Iran

• Trump boasts:

  "Their navy is gone, their air force is gone. Their leaders are all dead. Their whole country is a mess... Most of their missiles are gone... their manufacturing capacity for drones and missiles is gone. About 87% gone."
  (10:01)

D. On Israel and Lebanon

• Asked about Israeli PM Netanyahu refusing to leave Lebanon:

  "[Netanyahu] said it publicly in Israel. Well, we're going to take a look at it... It gets solved. I'm a problem solver."
  (12:26-12:34)

• “As long as they respect us... We have total control of the Strait [of Hormuz]... We could set that up again in about 15 minutes... They have a lot of respect... They can never, under this agreement, they'll never even think about building a nuclear weapon.”
  (16:37-17:43)

---

4. Domestic Spotlight: D.C. Reflecting Pool Fiasco

[19:04 - 24:01]

• Trump claims extensive vandalism (slashed lining, fertilizer/algae, letters cut into grass), asserting arrests—though no records or evidence provided.

  "We had vandalism, vandals, you know, we have a... probably a box cutter or a knife... I understand they've arrested five people and they have another five people under investigation."
  (19:10, 24:01)

• NBC independently confirms: No visible gash, no arrest records, Parks Dept. and Interior Dept. have no comment or records.

  "There is no visible 350 foot gashes, he says, which is obvious to see. And he also talked about these arrests that have been made there. So far. There is no specific record of those arrests."
  —Ryan Nobles (29:01)

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5. Panel & Expert Reactions: Foreign and Domestic Policy

A. Iran Sanctions Impact
[30:11 - 34:47]

• Gabe Gutierrez: White House is "optimistic," but calls Trump’s rhetoric “mixed messaging.”
• Dan Delouse: Sanctions relief is a huge windfall—"Iran can sell at the market price... this is the best position they've been in for maybe a decade." (34:43)

B. Intelligence Shake-Up

• Dan Delouse: Acting DNI Bill Pulte moving to slash counterterrorism jobs—an unusual, controversial move, causing bipartisan concern. (35:08)

C. Reflections on the Reflecting Pool [36:52 - 41:44]

• Reporter Gary Grumbach investigates the "vandalism": No official records of arrests; a "nanobubble technology" contract with a Trump donor is noted.
• Panel debates: Is this an issue of national importance or a distraction—Republican strategist Tiffany Smiley downplays its importance, others suggest it's a microcosm of Trump's leadership style.

Notable quote:

"This is kind of a microcosm of the type of thing that President Trump does. He jumps into something headfirst, maybe not with all the relevant information, creates a new set of problems, and then claims to fix those new set of problems."
—Kate Santelles (41:12)

---

6. Political Analysis: Senate Races & U.S. Politics

[45:44 - 49:32]

• Focus on Maine Senate race: Graham Platner receives Planned Parenthood endorsement despite controversy; Susan Collins’s Kavanaugh confirmation vote likely to be a key campaign issue.
• Panelists debate whether the Democrats uniting behind Platner is a risk or a necessity.

---

7. UK Political Upheaval: Starmer Resigns

[51:24 - 56:10]

• Keir Starmer’s resignation marks the UK’s seventh prime minister in 10 years.

  "That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party." (51:56)

• Danielle Hamanjan in London explains the resignation: Weak popular mandate, failure to deliver on promises, communication issues, scandal (Peter Mandelson’s Epstein ties), and party losses in local elections precipitated the ouster.
• Likely successor: Andy Burnham ("the King of the North") seen as probable next leader.

---

8. U.S. Political Primaries Preview

[56:10 - 59:55]

• Upcoming New York Democratic primaries: Affordability, economy, housing, and immigration are top voter issues according to on-the-ground reporting.
• Mayor Mondami’s endorsements seen as decisive in multiple contests.

---

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• J.D. Vance: "You can't trust anybody's words. You have to trust what they actually do." (02:40)
• Donald Trump: "Nuclear weapon supersedes depression. Depression is real bad. Nuclear weapon will cause depression much more quickly." (08:44)
• Gary Grumbach: "There are no court documents in superior court here in D.C. There's no court documents in federal court... we've done it all day. If you're watching from the park police, give me a call." (37:23)
• Kate Santelles: "It's another example... of going in head first and then thinking about the consequences later. We knew that the piping was unsound. We knew that algae was an issue. You throw in, you know, friends and family contractor who's inexperienced, that's a recipe for disaster." (43:00)
• Panel Moderator: "Abortion has proved to be a really galvanizing issue for Democrats. It gets voters excited and it gets them out to vote for them... But it's a little too early to see exactly how this is going to play out." (48:07)

---

Key Takeaways

• The U.S.-Iran talks signal real if cautious diplomatic progress, with sanctions relief and new inspection commitments, but both sides remain skeptical and wary.
• President Trump’s assertive rhetoric on Iran and domestic “beautification” efforts continues to drive news cycles—sometimes eclipsing deeper policy discussions, and occasionally outpacing the facts.
• The D.C. Reflecting Pool saga exemplifies Trump’s highly personalized approach to presidential projects—raising questions about priorities, governance, and transparency.
• Across the Atlantic, British politics faces fresh upheaval as Keir Starmer resigns; his likely successor Andy Burnham could reshape the Labour Party and UK–US relations.
• With U.S. midterms approaching, issues like abortion, candidate controversies, and economic anxieties loom large in both Senate and House races.
• Democratic primaries in New York underscore the growing influence of progressive endorsements in urban politics.

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For Further Listening

• For the latest on the Iran deal and U.S. Middle East policy, follow updates from NBC News and international correspondents.
• Upcoming analysis: In-depth examination of the Reflecting Pool repairs, expenditures, and related controversies.
• Comprehensive coverage of UK Labour leadership transition and potential global implications.

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Episode ends with panel forecasts and a brief teaser for tomorrow’s results-driven episode covering Democratic primaries and continued international and domestic developments.

Transcript

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[Donald Trump]

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[Ryan Nobles]

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[Reporter/Journalist]

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[Donald Trump]

There's a pill version of Ozempic.

[Ryan Nobles]

Hi there. Welcome to Meet the Press. Now I'm Ryan Nobles in Washington where Vice President Vance is on his way back here now after wrapping up the first round of high level U. S Iran talks in Switzerland. The Vice president as well as mediators, Qatar and Pakistan projecting optimism after those talks saying all sides agreed to a roadmap to reaching a final deal in 60 days, but that there's much more work to be done.

[J.D. Vance]

The way that I think about it is very simple. We laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal. The final deal is the house we set the foundation. We haven't built the house, but we've laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people. I think it's important for all of us to appreciate how much was done. But honestly, there is still a lot to do as we continue to make progress on the nuclear talks, on the economic talks, as we continue to de mine the straits and ensure that that flow of traffic continues to pick back up. A lot of progress, but still some work to do and we're very committed to doing exactly that.

[Ryan Nobles]

The US And Iran have agreed to a new line of communication to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz remains open and to deconflict over issues involving the fighting in Lebanon. The Trump administration also announcing today that the US Was temporarily lifting oil sanctions against Tehran on the thorny issue of Iran's nuclear program. The Vice President says that Tehran has agreed to invite UN Inspectors back to its nuclear sites, but Iran has yet to publicly confirm that.

[Panel Moderator/Host]

You've said before that you've been cautious on these Negotiations that you've like always,

[Panelist/Guest]

you believe that people are not always

acting in good faith.

Have things changed over the past 36 hours during your meeting with Iran and the other mediaries?

[J.D. Vance]

No. All I mean is, look, whether, whether good faith or bad faith, you can't trust anybody's words. You have to trust what they actually do. Letting in the inspectors is a big deal, but again, we're going to see what they actually let the inspectors do once they're in the country. That's going to continually be a part of our negotiations. So my point is not that I trust or distrust anybody. My point is that I trust actions. And what the President has asked us to do is verify what they're doing, focus less on what they're saying.

[Ryan Nobles]

There was clearly tension in the room and moments that threatened to derail the talks, including when Iran announced Saturday that it was closing the Strait of Hormuz, accusing the US of violating the ceasefire and failing to rein in Israel's attacks on Hezbollah. In London, President Trump responding, posting on social media, quote, iran must immediately stop their highly paid proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don't, we'll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder. Vice President Vance was asked about whether that threat, plus a report that Iran walked out of the meeting at one point threw a wrench into the talks.

[J.D. Vance]

No, they didn't throw a wrench in the system. The thing with the Iranians, yes, they did threaten to walk out, or at least there were social media threats that they would walk out. But we were negotiating well past one in the morning yesterday, so they didn't walk out. And their technical team is still here in Bergenstock working with our technical team, actually, as we speak. What we told the Iranians yesterday is when you guys engage in what us millennials might call trash talk, you can't expect the President of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record. So when they say things that aren't true, the President is going to respond to it. I'm going to respond to it. Americans are going to respond to it.

[Ryan Nobles]

NBC's chief international correspondent Keir Simmons is in Switzerland and has more.

[Keir Simmons]

Well, Ryan, you can see how picturesque the venue was. The delegates up on the mountain behind the camera there in a five star resort. They had a view like this while they were negotiating at times. And so perhaps this atmosphere helped them to reach the kind of progress that all sides say that they managed to reach. Certainly the media was kept in a separate area apart from those pool groups that were traveling with the vice president or with the Iranian delegation. So there were many, many media, but difficult for them to get any insight except that extraordinary moment where on camera you could see Vice President Vance in the background at one side of the room and then the Iranian foreign minister walk in, talk to the Pakistani prime minister and leave again. And quickly after that, I was told by a diplomat with knowledge of the talks that the Iranians had indeed said that they would not shake the US Officials hands. Vice President Vance, President Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner, his envoy, Steve Witkoff, they would not shake their hands on camera, which I think is an indication of, of just how much animosity and distrust there is between these two sides. Vice President Vance, of course, in his statement alluding to that, but saying that the threat to walk out was made on social media, not in person. The Iranians carried on negotiating. And certainly my understanding is from people who were in the room that while there was a lot of noise in public, in fact there was a deliberate intent by all sides to try to move forward and negotiate in good faith. And that that's what they were seeing. That's what I was being told continually as we heard these ramifications, for example, allegedly of President Trump's posts by the Iranian delegation. In fact, they were really focused on the detail and there is a lot of detail and there will be a lot of detail to look at in the days ahead as these working groups get into it. But certainly, I think what you can summarize in terms of the result, and you're hearing this in different ways from both sides, is that they really built more communication, whether it be the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be Lebanon, which is very tricky because of course, it involves Hezbollah and Israel. Neither of them, of course, were here. J.D. vance saying he did speak to the Israelis while the negotiations were happening. But of course, Lebanon's difficult. But still there's that communication now, they say. Deconfliction, they say, and then those nuclear inspectors going into Iran. Again, you've got to keep saying some of this, a good deal of this perhaps are things that have gone wrong since the war or since President Trump left President Obama's nuclear deal. So, for example, this won't, this isn't historic. It's not the first time nuclear inspectors have been in Iran. They're going back effectively, but still a positive mood from here. Maybe it's in the water.

[Ryan Nobles]

Keir, thank you for that. We do have some breaking news now. We are going to go to the White House. And that's where President Trump is. Is answering questions from reporters as part of an event in the Oval Office. Let's listen in to the president right now.

[Donald Trump]

I have to find out exactly the status, but if the sanctions go out, money is going to be put into this country. All that money is coming back in the form of purchases of food, which they desperately need. They have 91 million people. They can't feed them. So the money that, that we lift is going to go to our farmers, largely to our farmers.

[Ryan Nobles]

Can you ensure that the Iranians won't

[Donald Trump]

use profits from oil sales to rebuild their military? Well, they're not supposed to be doing that, so we'll see. But they're supposed to use money to buy food for their people because right now the people are very hungry and they're buying it exclusively from us. Corn, soybeans. Should be a lot of money. I hope it's a lot of money.

[Ryan Nobles]

War with Iran could cause a worldwide depression, as you noted, Mr. President, are you willing to risk economic catastrophe and strike Iran again?

[Donald Trump]

Well, not the way I'm doing it. It's not going to cause depression.

[Ryan Nobles]

Yes, but if they don't abide by the.

[Donald Trump]

Well, nuclear weapon supersedes depression. Depression is real bad. Nuclear weapon will cause depression much more quickly. The way we're doing it, we have the opposite of a depression. We're doing really well. The numbers are incredible. The oil is at a level that nobody's ever seen before. Oil prices are way down. I think they're very comparable to what they were, Chris. I don't know. Pretty comparable to what they were before we started.

[Ryan Nobles]

They've returned most of the way back down. So if Iran does not abide by the mou, are you still willing to.

[Keir Simmons]

What?

[Donald Trump]

I didn't say it would cause a depression. I said it could cause a depression. Right. And they said that. I don't want to be Herbert Hoover. That's a president I don't want to be because he, you know, he was in charge during the Great Depression, and certainly a lot of bad things could happen. That would be one of the things. I don't think it would. But if it did. But no, if Iran doesn't live up to their agreement or if they're not behaving, I will do what I have to do.

[Reporter/Journalist]

Leverage over you, Mr. President.

[Donald Trump]

Say it.

[Reporter/Journalist]

Does that give them leverage? The Iranians leverage over you.

[Donald Trump]

Oh, you so leverage. You know, their navy is gone, their air force is gone. Their leaders are all dead. Their whole country is a Mess. Their economy is shot. The, you know, the Times, the fake New York Times said, oh, it's about the same as it was four months ago. No, four months ago they had a navy, 159 ships to be exact. It's gone. The whole navy's gone. There are two hundred and fifty airplanes, all gone. Their anti aircraft is gone. Their radar is gone. These guys love radar. Their radar is gone. Everything's gone. Their leaders are gone. Their whole country is gone. And the Times said, oh, they're about the same as they were four months ago. The reason the news is doing so badly, or let's put it another way, the reason that I wanted a landslide even though I got 92% negative press, all fake press, is because nobody believes the press anymore. And they have to start believing when, when the Times and a couple of others, they just, they grasp infrastructures when they say that Iran is about the same as it was four months, four months ago. They had a powerful navy that, a powerful air force. You know, most of their missiles are gone. Most of their launching pads are gone. Most of their manufacturing capacity for drones and missiles is gone. About 87% gone. And then I hear, oh they're in such great shape. No, they're gone. And their first level of leaders, gone. Their second level of leaders, gone. Their third level of leaders. You have to hear the conversations. Who wants to be President? I don't want it. Nobody wants to be president. And then we have to read that they're doing well, they're doing so badly. In the meantime, we're setting records. We have the strongest economy we've ever had. We have 18 to 19 trillion dollars being poured into our country. We're building factories all over the place. We have more people working today than at any time in the history of our country at higher salaries. So when you ask a question like that, it's so stupid. Here's another beauty. What's this one? Well, he's a real beauty guy.

[Ryan Nobles]

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces are not leaving Lebanon.

[Donald Trump]

That is a sticking point. Who did he tell that to?

[Kate Santelles]

You?

[Donald Trump]

He said it publicly in Israel. Well, we're going to take a look at it. Well, what would you do to make

[Ryan Nobles]

sure that he doesn't?

[Donald Trump]

Well, I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to do, but it gets solved. I'm a problem solver. I get problems solved real fast, including with bibi.

[Reporter/Journalist]

Go ahead, Mr. President.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Thank you.

[Danielle Hamanjan]

What's the latest you've heard from the Vice President? Are you happy with his negotiations?

[Reporter/Journalist]

Yeah.

[Danielle Hamanjan]

Can you share a little bit about what Secretary Rubio will be doing in the Middle east this week?

[Donald Trump]

I think that they're doing a fantastic job. Our secretary is fantastic. I think he's maybe going to go down as the best ever. And I thought J.D. vance this morning was fantastic. I watched his news conference and from Switzerland. He's a very smart guy. Did a great job. You know, when I look at the Democrats, I call them the Democrats. They're dumb, the Democrats. When I watched that, where one of them thought it was World War 11, she said World War 11. She read World War II. You know about that. But this is one of their potential leaders, Ilhan Omar, who married her brother to get into the country, by the way, illegally. But when I watch aoc, have no idea on a simple question, what happened when she was over in Switzerland, which probably never went there before, but she was. And then I watched somebody like J.D. or Marco. What? I said, what a difference. What a difference. What a difference a brain makes.

[Reporter/Journalist]

Mr. President,

[NBC News Correspondent]

sir, you've been quite critical of Prime Minister Starmer, and he's now resigned.

[Donald Trump]

Your thoughts, and who would you like

[Keir Simmons]

to see as the next prime minister?

[Donald Trump]

I was critical only from this because I think he's a lovely man. But I said, you do. You're really messing up energy. You have windmills all over the place. In the meantime, you have the North Sea oil, and they won't let anybody drill. It's one of the great fields in the world, and they haven't even found one. You know that the UK buys much of its energy. You know where Norway. You know where they get their oil? The North Sea. The UK has a much better portion of the North Sea. They don't want to do it for environmental purposes. Okay. And I told him, he's a very nice man. I mean, sort of a friend of mine. I mean, he was not good to us with NATO. Pete, Right. He said, we can't use the island to land. That was the first for a couple of weeks. He said, well, but ultimately I gave it to you. Now, that was a bad move. That hurt him badly. But, I mean, I wish him well, but he's got two problems, energy and immigration and crime. But energy and immigration. And he's, you know, he's really hurt himself very, very badly. Please go.

[Reporter/Journalist]

Mr. President, can you tell us about

[Panel Moderator/Host]

your meeting with the defense contractors on Wednesday and what you plan to tell

[Donald Trump]

them the meeting coming up? Because I've met with them before. We're building plants all over the country, they are not allowed to take any more stock buybacks. Do you do stock buybacks for any chance? Not too much, because he wants to invest in product. It's just an artificial way of raising a price if you're running a bad company. So they spent $51 billion and start, you know, on stock buybacks instead of spending them in plants. Now they're spending. They can't do that anymore. Now they're spending a lot of money. We're building many plants throughout the country. They're dealing with General Motors, they're dealing with Ford. But I know General Motors is all excited about building weapons now. They have some plans which they're going to switch over. And we're going to build weapons, including the Patriot, including the Tomahawk and lots of other things. And we're in a big. Really had a big, strong economic push to do the weapons. And some of the car companies, if they have any excess capacity, they're making a deal to build missiles. And the Patriot in particular, we have. We have quite a few of them, but we want to make sure we have always a lot of them.

[Ryan Nobles]

Mr. President of Colombia, the candidate, if you endorse it.

[Panel Moderator/Host]

Thank you, Mr. President. Congratulations on the quantum physics committee.

[Donald Trump]

Thank you.

[Danielle Hamanjan]

Vice President Vance said that there are mechanisms in place to make sure that

[Donald Trump]

there's not escalations with the Strait of

[Panel Moderator/Host]

Hormuz and with Israel in Lebanon. Can you talk about what those mechanisms are? And are you in direct talks with the Syrian leader?

[Kate Santelles]

Yeah.

[Donald Trump]

Look, look, here's the thing. As long as they respect us, I don't want to use the word fear because that's an inappropriate word. But as long as they respect us, we're not going to have any trouble. We have total control of the Strait. You know, we have a navy that had a blockade. I think the blockade was more impactful than dropping bombs, if you want to know the truth. It was like I said, they call it the steel wall. Nobody got through. Not one ship got through. Able to go to Iran. They got through. If we wanted them to go through. And we could set that up again in about 15 minutes, I would say. Pete, one phone call. How long would it take? Maybe half hour.

[J.D. Vance]

You can go right now if you need to.

[Donald Trump]

It will be before we finish the meeting. No, we have. As long as they respect us, we're going to be fine. If they don't respect us, things wouldn't be good. But they have a lot of respect. Don't forget, we had presidents that should have done this for 47 years, nobody did it. Obama. Obama gave them a road to a nuclear weapon. I gave them a wall against a nuclear. They can never, under this agreement, they'll never even think about building a nuclear weapon.

[Ryan Nobles]

Mr. President, on Colombia, they can't.

[Donald Trump]

Oh, El. We know that. A phone. I endorsed him. He was in 10th place. I endorsed him and he won the election.

[J.D. Vance]

Yeah.

[Donald Trump]

No different than this country.

[Reporter/Journalist]

You had a phone conversation with.

[Donald Trump]

I did. I had a great call. What can you tell us about that phone conversation and what do you see? What do you anticipate? You're from Colombia?

[Reporter/Journalist]

Yes, sir, I'm from Colombia.

[Donald Trump]

So he called Great City. He called me last night and he thanked me for the endorsement. He won. He won the election. It wasn't, he wasn't anticipated to win, but he won and he won handily. It's just an honor. He was just a good man. I'd watch him a little bit, speak, and he always speak, you know, when people like me, I like them. It's very simple. It's a very simple formula and I like them. He said really nice things about me and the job we've done in the United States and very, very powerful. And he won an election in Colombia that I don't know. Some people were surprised because he was a little bit further down the pack. But he won easily last night. He won by. Called me at 8:30 in the evening just to thank me very much and I said, you ran a great campaign. He's. Lt Gray, right?

[Reporter/Journalist]

Yeah, yeah.

[Donald Trump]

And what do you anticipate for the relation with Colombia? Colombia Good. Much better. It'll be better. He's going to be a great president.

[Ryan Nobles]

Are the contractors who did the initial work for the reflecting pool, are they to blame for the current condition or.

[Reporter/Journalist]

No?

[Ryan Nobles]

No.

[Donald Trump]

We had vandalism, vandals, you know, we have a hundred. And we have a, I think 290, 300 foot slit right through it. Probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind or we had people lifting up the basic. Some of the. It's not a lot of damage, but it's. We'll probably have to let the water out and refix it. They went in there with, with a knife. I was just told by the, by the people over at parks. They have. Five people are arrested and five people are under investigation right now. And it's a sad thing. In addition to that, they, you know, we put brand new beautiful grass all around. They put these massive letters on the grass. You probably know about that, right? And they said 86, 47. They probably got that from the dirty cop. Call me. You know he's a dirty cop, don't you? Dirty cop. He's a crooked guy. They destroyed the grass, so that's a big thing. But we're going to get it back very soon.

[Ryan Nobles]

National Guard and police have been all over the mall. How would these vandals have gotten so close to do something like that?

[Donald Trump]

Do you have any proof of this? I mean, we didn't have. We didn't have a lot of them then. Who would think that somebody would go into a pool and take a knife and start cutting it? Would you have proof of that?

[Reporter/Journalist]

Yeah.

[Donald Trump]

Yeah. Well, let's put it this way. When you have a 350. I think it's 350, not 250. A 350 foot slit from one end to the other. You think that's proof? Boys have been down there today looking for that slit that you mentioned. Well, you'd have to do is see the Parks Department. They'll show it to you. See, see the secretary. But I saw it. They cut it. They cut it very violently. The same thing with the floor. They cut it and then they lifted it, they pulled it, and that's what it is. And you know, we've done over 50 monuments. Number one, we start with, this is now a safe city. It's the safest, as safe a city as you're going to get in the country. And when I came here, it was a very dangerous city. And number two, what we did is the beautification with the parks and the grass and everything. Removal of all the tents. And this is like a different place. One of the things we did is over 50 fountains and statues, most of which were in horrible shape. All of them were bad, but some were just absolutely horrible graffiti. You couldn't even see the stone. They've all been fixed. We also fixed the reflecting pool. In fact, if you go over there right now, it looks very good. It's up. They put, somebody said, fertilizer in the water. If you put fertilizer in the water, you get algae. But somebody said they might have put fertilizer. They did something to create the algae. But that doesn't matter because that's been purified. It's dead laying at the bottom. They're taking it out. They vacuum it out. They vacuum it very carefully out and it'll be back to health pretty soon. We're going to have to let the water out to fix the one little. There's too little areas, very little areas. Where they were cut and we'll fix that. But it's not leaking or anything. It's got a base underneath.

[Ryan Nobles]

Part of what's curious about this situation

[Donald Trump]

is we stood here with you in April when you first revealed the plans. I said, what? In April, you showed us pictures of what you were going to do when you said you had a guy who was going to do it in a

[NBC News Correspondent]

week for about a million dollars.

[Donald Trump]

Well, it's been two months. Sixteen and a half million. Yeah. Okay, ready? Barack Hussein Obama. Have you ever heard of him?

[NBC News Correspondent]

Yeah.

[Donald Trump]

He spent two years and over $100 million on trying to fix it. You know what happened to. It never even opened. He took the water for the river. You know about that, right. It turned out to be putrid and it destroyed the whole thing. Spent over 100 million. Him and Biden together spent $147 million. You know what happened? Never opened. You don't mention that. Right. I spent. We spent about 10. Many of the. Much of the money we spent are park workers. They're there whether they do this or not. As you know, they work in the park and they're very good workers. They did a great job. So they were going to spend three to $400 million. You know that. And it was going to take four years. I spent. I spent about six, seven weeks. And I spent probably in terms of outside, probably $10 million. Around 10 million, they say 16, but a lot of that workers that work for the same thing. So they were going to spend 400 million. I spent 10. They were going to spend four years. I spent two months, maybe less. And I have a better product now. I can't help it if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up. And we also have pictures of it. You know, we have released the photos.

[Danielle Hamanjan]

Yeah.

[Donald Trump]

At the right time. You'll see it. You'll see it in court. You'll see it in court. But all you have to do is call the Parks Department, call the Department of Interior, and I don't know if their lawyers will allow you to speak to them because, you know, you write fake. You write fake news. But called the Interior Department, and I understand they've arrested five people and they have another five people that are under investigation. Here's the bottom line. We made so much progress in this city, people don't even recognize it. By the way, Memphis, Tennessee, Crime is down 78% in a matter of months. It was a hellhole. New Orleans crime is down 79% and they had Mardi Gras. It was the safest Mardi Gras they've had in 50 years. The governor called me. Governor Landry called me. Safest Mardi Gras they've had in. And by the way, Chicago, which is a shooting field right now, if the governor would call me, Governor Pritzker would call me, I would solve the Chicago problem in three, four months. You'd have virtually a crime free city. We'll remove all of the bad ones. You have criminals, you have career criminals that came in through the border because of Sleepy Joe Biden. Ever hear of Sleepy Joe Biden? Do you ever hear of him? He let people come into this country, and we can never forget that that happened. Guys like you should never forget that that happened. There were murderers, drug dealers, mental patients. They took him out of prisons. They took him out of mental institutions. You should never forget that that happened.

[Panel Moderator/Host]

Mr. President, you're meeting.

[Donald Trump]

Let's leave on a nicer note. You were meeting with NATO Mark Ruta on Wednesday.

[Panel Moderator/Host]

You had Secretary Hegseth review US presence in NATO countries.

[Danielle Hamanjan]

Talk to us about that conversation.

[Panelist/Guest]

Are you?

[Donald Trump]

Well, look, look. NATO, it's NATO. Basically, the question. So we have been a great member of NATO in many ways, certainly the predominant member. We paid trillions of dollars over the years. Not billions, trillions over the years to protect Europe. When we wanted to know, I didn't. We didn't need any help at all. I was more curious than anything else. So I said to Pete, let's see if they'd actually come. So we asked them to come, and they weren't there for us. So we spent stupid that they weren't. By the way, Starmer wasn't there. And you know what? The people of the UK did not like it that he wasn't there. Starmer said no. Starmer said, worse than no. He said, we'll be there as soon as you win. I said, we don't need you as soon as we win. Before I went in, we called him. He said, oh, wow, we'll be there. This was not. Winston Churchill would deal with that, I can tell you. But Sommer said, we'll be there, Red Pete, as soon as we win. As soon as we win, they're going to come and help us. Okay, but you know what? Italy was very bad. Italy was very bad. And other countries. Germany was very bad. So we spent all of this money, probably 600. I think we spent 600 billion a year. Right? I would say that. I think the real number. Think of that. The numbers that we spend are so crazy. Or NATO and They weren't there for us. So I say to Pete, and I say to everybody else, if we're spending all of this money, hundreds, just hundreds of millions of dollars to protect them from Russia mostly. Okay, so we're spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year. You know, the case could be made that we spent all of the money over the years before me. I cut it, I cut it back. But listen, we spend all of this money and then when we want to maybe have help on us, on small stuff. This is small time. This is not the big one. This is small potatoes. They say, no, I'd rather not help. Stupid thing to say. Because we can say that to them if we want, and we might.

[Panelist/Guest]

The one year anniversary of Operation Midnight Hammer.

[Danielle Hamanjan]

If you could go back in time, is there anything you would do different?

[Donald Trump]

No, nothing. The most successful attack that anyone's ever seen with a bomber that totally wiped out their nuclear potential. If we didn't do that, you'd have no Israel right now. Israel would not exist and most of the Middle east would not exist. They were two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon. If we wouldn't have done that, Pete, they would have had a nuclear weapon. You want to say something about that? Yes, sir, I did.

[Reporter/Journalist]

I wasn't aware it was one year.

[Donald Trump]

But you don't have the situation. We have now a position of strength

[Reporter/Journalist]

where Iran's going to give up their

[Donald Trump]

nuclear program without Midnight Hammer, which.

[Ryan Nobles]

No, you've been listening in to President Donald Trump taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office on a wide range of topics. We could spend just about as much time as he was talking, fact checking much of what he said. But just to be very clear about the comments he made about the reflecting pole, which I was just at the Reflecting Pool a few hours ago. There is no visible 350 foot gashes, he says, which is obvious to see. And he also talked about these arrests that have been made there. So far. There is no specific record of those arrests. He said that we should contact the Parks Department. We've contacted the Parks Department, we've contacted the Interior Department, which runs the National Park Service. None of them have been able to tell us any specificity about those arrests. We're actually gonna have a more extensive report on what's happening with the Reflecting pool in just a few minutes. Our own Gary Grumback is down right now, but we will get back to the more pressing issues as it relates to the war in Iran. Joining the conversation now, senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez and NBC News national Intelligence reporter Dan Delouse is on set with me here. Gabe, so let's first start off with you. And as we talk specifically about what is happening about these talks in Switzerland, we obviously heard extensive comments from J.D. vance. Earlier in the day, the vice president was a part of these talks. And now we have this new response from President Trump. The White House seems to be optimistic about where these talks are headed.

[NBC News Correspondent]

Yeah, that's right, Ryan. And look, the president over the weekend, as you have described, he really, you know, there was some, a lot of mixed messaging there with the president threatening the Iranian leaders, the vice president downplaying that in his comments earlier today. Now we're just hearing from the president, as you mentioned right now in the Oval Office. He was repeatedly asked about Iran. And one of the questions that stuck out to me was this idea of, well, today the treasury lifted, at least temporarily, some of those sanctions, allowing Iran to sell its oil. The president was asked what if Iran were to use that money for nefarious purposes. And the president tried to stress, and it's the administration's view that Iran will use that in order to purchase agricultural products from the United States. And the president has said if they don't do that, well, then, you know, the deal could get blown up and, you know, the US could go back to bombing Iran. But the president touting the progress on this, also saying that another thing that stuck out to me as well, he returned to this idea that for him, preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons superseded any economic concerns. I think his direct quote was nuclear weapons supersede depression, in other words, saying he doesn't want to be Herbert Hoover, of course, presiding over the Great Depression, but in his mind it is worth it to run that risk if indeed it prevents Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. So the president, his administration hopeful about where talks are heading. But Ryan, as you well know, the next 60 days, less than 60 days now to discuss some of these thorny issues, including, including the issue of Lebanon. And the president was briefly asked about that as well. What happens with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continuing to fight Iran backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. The president seemed to deflect that question and said that he considers himself a problem solver and he seemed to suggest that he would talk to Netanyahu moving forward.

[Panel Moderator/Host]

Ron?

[Ryan Nobles]

Yeah, and we he also touched on it briefly about Secretary Rubio is set to travel to the region. The president didn't really have much substantive to say about Rubio's trip there other than to say that he might be the greatest Secretary of State in American history. But do we know any specifics about what his goals are in the region?

[NBC News Correspondent]

Well, just a little bit more. You're right to mention that, Ryan, because, yes, the president took that question to be a sort of, you know, which negotiator, which diplomat did he prefer in this situation? He pivoted to talking about how he was watching Vice President Vance's news conference and remarks earlier today. I'm not sure if that's what the questioner was actually getting at. But, yes, you're right, Secretary Rubio, even though Vice President Vance has been the face of these negotiations, as the lead negotiator, the secretary of state, also the national security adviser, he is heading to the Middle east this week for a trip through Thursday to visit several Middle east allies, Gulf allies for the United States, Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain, certainly countries that are heavily involved in all of this. And according to this memorandum of understanding, Gulf allies are set to create this $300 billion reconstruction fund that Iran is supposed to have access to in order to repair some of its damages. Certainly, this is something that Secretary Rubio is expected to discuss with these countries and also something that impacts all of them, the reopening of the Strait of Hormones ride.

[Ryan Nobles]

Okay, Gabe Gutierrez on standby for us on the North Lawn. Gabe, thanks for that. Let's bring Dan Delouse in now. And Gabe mentioned it, but let's expand on that a little bit. And that's these the sanctions relief for Iran that the Treasury Department announced today. This could be a significant financial windfall for the country. What do we know about it?

[Dan Delouse]

Absolutely, Ryan, this is a boom for Iran, okay, Because up until now, for years, they could sell their oil really kind of secretly, illicitly. So most countries didn't want to buy oil from a blacklisted country. And the ones that did, like China, had it at a cheap discount. So now Iran can sell at the market price. They can do it in dollars and Euros. This is really a position they haven't been in in years. And what did the US get in return for it? Well, they got the strait opened, but of course, the strait was open before the war started. So that's kind of a painful compromise.

[Ryan Nobles]

And it's not necessarily open forever. Right. They closed it on Saturday. They could close it again depending on how these talks go. But it is important to point out that this was something that existed before the war started. It was difficult for them to sell oil, and now it's going to be easier.

[Dan Delouse]

Absolutely. This is the best position they will have been in for maybe A decade or more.

[Ryan Nobles]

Yeah. And let's also talk about some other reporting that you have relating to the new acting director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte. And there's plans that he could slash the counterterrorism terrorism office. This is extraordinary given the fact that he is an acting. There are Republican members of Congress who are very uncomfortable with him in this role. And he could at the same time completely reshape the office.

[Dan Delouse]

That's right. So usually a drastic move like that that would be done by the permanent director, it would be consulted with the party that's aligned with the White House, the Republican majority in the Senate. That hasn't happened. As you say, the Republicans and the Democrats on the Hill are very uncomfortable with Bill Pulte, such a partisan hardliner. And he went in Thursday night before he took over on Friday, he sent out a memo, a request to ODNI staff saying he wanted to identify 400 people that could be fired immediately from the National Counterterrorism Center. And that center was created, as you know, after the 911 attacks so that information could be pooled and terror threats could be tracked, you know, efficiently. So that's raised a lot of concern.

[Ryan Nobles]

Okay.

[Reporter/Journalist]

All right.

[Ryan Nobles]

Dan Delouse, thank you for being on top of it. We appreciate it. And we are going to move on now and talk more about this reflecting pool. As we heard just moments ago in the Oval Office, President Trump now claiming without any evidence that vandals are to blame for the mounting problems facing the recently renovated reflecting pool. Overhauling the pool has been a top priority for the president, who has repeatedly promised crystal clear water over new American flag blue base. But despite the $14 million plus price tag that that blue quickly became green with algae. Then last week, as workers tried to kill the algae, the newly repainted pool started peeling. In a social media post this weekend, the president said that the reflecting pool will likely need to be at least partially drained for repairs and alleged the peeling paint was caused by vandals who dumped chemicals in the pool and slashed the coating with a knife. Speaking from the Oval Office just minutes ago, President Trump said that five people had been arrested for vandalism and five were under investigation. But as for proof of the vandalism, the president told reporters it will be seen in court. NBC News legal affairs reporter Gary Grumbach also made his way to the reflecting pool today. He joins us there now. It's interesting, Gary, that the president has specifically said to just look for the court documents. That's basically your job at NBC, is to look for court documents, you usually see them before anybody else. Are there any court documents yet that reflect anything related to these arrests?

[Reporter/Journalist]

There are no court documents in superior court here in D.C. there's no court documents in federal court. He says call the Parks Department for photos. We've done that. We've done it all day. If you're watching from the park police, give me a call. I'd love to chat and find out what exactly the President is talking about here because he says there are five people under arrest, five people under investigation. And the White House says there have been 14 police reports filed about vandalism to this, the reflecting pool, which by the way, since Friday has gotten a lot less green. And that's because of what you're seeing over here. See those white bubbles over here? That is called Advanced nanobubble Technology and that is being put in place by Green Water Solutions, a company that got a no bid contract for more than $1 million. The owner of the company is a big Trump donor in recent years. And there's actually a lot of security here on National Mall too to ensure that there aren't any more vandalism, if there was vandalism in the first place. I want to show you this. This is a place portable camera. These are lining up and down the National Mall. We have seen members of the National Guard out here. You can see them right over here, Charles. Down here you can see members of the National Guard walking past. You've got federal agents from HSI. You've got members of the U.S. park Police, Metropolitan Police Department, federal agents across the federal government here making sure there is no vandalism. But as we've said, we haven't heard any. Ryan.

[Ryan Nobles]

Yeah, and the President also suggested today that the pool might need to be drained again. This is already over $14 million, approaching $15 million. How much more could that cost taxpayers?

[Reporter/Journalist]

Yeah, we're at about a 16.4 last check between the two different companies in terms of how much money we are talking has gone to this project. And that's not including the draining of this pool, the fixing of whatever needs to be done. If there is a 250 foot slash that will need to be redone. Things will need to be redone where that where some of the paint has been peeling off. So that's all going to add up here. And this is all again is taxpayer dollars.

[Ryan Nobles]

And does it feel like the President is all in on this? We've seen him just kind of abandon some of his other beautification projects. The best example being the Kennedy Center. Will he ever just chalk this up as a loss or is he going to keep pouring resources into it?

[Reporter/Journalist]

You know, the president does not like to chalk things up as a loss. Generally speaking, he does like to fight things out. I imagine that's exactly what will happen here. He's fighting it out in the courts at the Kennedy Center. He's fighting it out here in the courts on the National Mall as it relates to the reflecting pool. And he's doing that across the city with different projects, whether it's the ballroom, whether it's the arch over there on Memorial Circle. I imagine this will continue to be a fight. But an important note here about the Fourth of July. He wants this all done by then. First of all, time wise, it's probably not going to be done by then because this took weeks to get to this point. But second of all, this whole area on the Fourth of July is actually going to be closed off because this is where 850,000 fireworks are going to be set up and blasted off from on the 4th of July. So this whole area is going to be closed to the public anyway.

[Ryan Nobles]

Ryan, I can't imagine that will help keep it clean. That's just a guess. I'm not a pool expert. Gary Grumback, thank you so much for your insight into this. And let's bring our panel in now. Kate Santelles is a congressional reporter for Axios. Also joining me, Arshi Siddiqui, a Democratic strategist and founder and CEO of Bellwether Government affairs, and Tiffany Smiley, the founder of Endeavor Pack. So, guys, we're gonna talk about a pool and what the pool means in the grand context of everything. And I know, Kate, it probably seems pretty silly in the grand context of that we're fighting a war in Iran. We have issues with the economy. But it does seem as though this is kind of a microcosm of the type of thing that President Trump does. He, he jumps into something headfirst, maybe not with all the relevant information, creates a new set of problems, and then claims to fix those new set of problems. Is this becoming a larger story now, especially because people could potentially be thrown into prison as a result of this?

[Panel Moderator/Host]

Yeah, I mean, like we've talked about, there have been five arrests so far, and the president is now saying that people that have been arrested for destruction of government property could serve up to 10 years in jail. One of those people that were arrested, we know, is a former U.S. olympian. He's an athlete who was just riding his bike on the mall on Friday and stopped to look at the pool, noticed that a piece of the lining was detached and bent down and touched it, and then got arrested and was detained for over five hours. But the president does seem very occupied with this pool right now. He's continuously posting about it on social media and it doesn't really seem like he's going to be dropping this anytime soon.

[Ryan Nobles]

So, Tiffany, how do you think Republicans are responding to this? I know they generally will give the President the benefit of the doubt when it comes to something like this, but as this continues to mount and become more and more of a thing, especially with everything else that the President needs to deal with, how do you think the average Republican voter is responding to this?

[Panelist/Guest]

Well, I think it's funny that this is the headline in media right now, because I don't think it really should be.

[Ryan Nobles]

But it's Whose fault is that? Is that our fault or is that the President's fault?

[Panelist/Guest]

Well, I think there's a lot of other things we could be reporting on and talking about besides this, because when you look out across America, I don't think they're really worried about this. And I don't think this affects the midterms at all. What is important is there is vandalism. We know someone just recently was trying to mark out 8,647 on the lawn. There needs to be safety. And in a lot of regards, I also applaud the President for giving Washington, D.C. an upgrade. Parks feel safer. D.C. feels safer. It should be beautiful. It's our nation's capital and we're embarking on 250 years. So it needs beautification, it needs a rephrase. And so I applaud him for trying to do that.

[Ryan Nobles]

But is it the media that's making a big deal of it? I mean, President Trump talks about this. I mean, he took, he emptied the pool and drove the beast down and drove it over the empty pool and bragged about this reflecting pool at events that had nothing to do with it. Is it just a media creation or does the president somewhat to blame for all the attention it's getting?

[Kate Santelles]

I think also the reason it is gaining so much traction, you alluded to this is the fact that it's another example and a long litany of examples of going in head first and then thinking about the consequences later. We knew that the piping was unsound. We knew that algae was an issue. You throw in, you know, friends and family, contractor who's inexperienced, that's a recipe for disaster. So I think it is A microcosm. And then also the National Mall is a national treasure. Citizens and Americans and folks from all over the country use that as. And it's a really strong message of who we are as a country. So to create a police state environment is also a problem.

[Ryan Nobles]

And so, Kate, what is it going to take for the president to get out from underneath this? Will it be enough if he is able to bring all these resources together, maybe cost a lot more money to get it done in time for the 4th of July so he's able to show that this worked? Will that be enough? Or could this be something that continues to plague him?

[Panel Moderator/Host]

I mean, that's not entirely clear yet. And like Gary was just saying, there are going to be fireworks in this location anyway, so it's not even going to be seen on the 4th of July. We know that it is a priority of the president to get this done by the Fourth. But I think the larger message of this is that Republicans overall, heading into the midterms, whether or not this affects it, Republicans want to be focusing on something else right now. And the president spending so much time and attention speaking about this is not necessarily helping their case when they want to be talking about other things like affordability.

[Ryan Nobles]

It's a good point, Tiffany. And to your point, I agree with you that perhaps this isn't something that the average voter is thinking about. But Kevin Kramer is, I think, a pretty reasonable senator from North Dakota talks about this a lot. He says he wonders why President Trump is spending so much time on these beautification efforts when the things that people back home are worried about are the price of gas, how much eggs cost. Would it help midterm Republicans if the president made that his sole focus as opposed to these boots?

[Panelist/Guest]

Well, he's the president that can walk and chew gum, which is very different than what we had over the past four years. So he can kind of do it all. He is dealing with Iran. He is working on bringing down gas prices and making our country more affordable. He has secured the border and made it one of the most secure borders certainly in my lifetime or that our country has ever seen. He's making our cities safer. So there are really good things happening. It's just that he can do a lot of things. He, he's a developer. He's a very unconventional president that we are not used to. And so the press, I think, often doesn't know how to handle him or how to deal with him. He'll answer any question. He'll talk about any of this at any point. So, you know, the Republicans are in a unique position where I think they need to go out and start making their cases to the American people about affordability. They need to come up with a health care plan that shows Americans that it's affordable and it's effective and it works in their future will be healthier and happier. That's the opportunity that Republicans have ahead of them and the case that they need to make heading into the general election.

[Ryan Nobles]

All right, Arshi, let's turn now and talk about some of the key Senate races we're going to be watching in November. Obviously, a lot of attention is on Maine, a political reporting now that Planned Parenthood is endorsing Graham Platner. This despite the fact that he's faced controversy over past comments about sexual assault in the military and allegations of physically aggressive behavior in past relationships. He does deny that. What do you make of Planned Parenthood deciding to get behind Platner's campaign, especially in a state like Maine where in the past Susan Collins has been relatively friendly to abortion rights supporters?

[Kate Santelles]

Well, I'm assuming, and I think a part of these discussions are always a back and forth. And so he answered, he obviously answered questions to their satisfaction. And I think that's what this campaign needs to be about. Really tough questions to Platner on, you know, his statements and some of his positions. So I think that's that part is positive. And clearly they came to a conclusion. Conclusion that he answered them satisfactorily and we'll see that play out in the rest of the campaign.

[Panelist/Guest]

Yeah, I mean, it's just the Democrat machine getting behind Graham Platner. They're lining up. They're trying to make it happen. It's fascinating to me that a guy with a Nazi tattoo, he even called Maine families stupid. He has racist, misogynistic comments. And it's fascinating to see what the Democrats will excuse or rationalize to try to win a Senate seat. Even on Fox News Sunday, Congressman Ro Khanna was rationalizing his awful comments. And it's just, it's interesting, it will be interesting to see how this plays out against Susan Collins, who is principled and tried and has delivered for Maine repeatedly.

[Kate Santelles]

And let me be clear on my comments. I think the question is that there needs to be a back and forth. And so if you look at, you know, Leader Schumer and a lot of different Democrats used a lot of political capital to have an alternative to Graham Platner. So there was an effort and the main voters decided differently. So I think that ultimately was the issue.

[Ryan Nobles]

But at the core of all of this, Kate, when it comes to Planned Parenthood's decision to weigh in on this, is Susan Collins's vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Something that she says, even just as recently, that she does not regret that confirmation vote, despite the fact that Kavanaugh was among the group that voted to overturn Roe versus Wade. How is that going to play with moderate voters who maybe in the past didn't always vote Republican, but voted for Susan Collins? Could this be a tricky situation for her?

[Panel Moderator/Host]

Well, that's definitely a comment that Democrats are already starting to seize on. They're making a big deal out of this. I mean, this is also the first time that Susan Collins is going to be on the ballot since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Like you said, she said she doesn't regret voting to confirm Justice Kavanaugh, but she does regret the way that he voted in that instance. But either way, abortion has proved to be a really galvanizing issue for Democrats. It gets voters excited and it gets them out to vote for them. But it's a little too early to see exactly how this is going to play out. But it will be the first time she's on the ballot.

[Ryan Nobles]

So Kate says it energizes Democrats. Tiffany, but are you concerned about how it could energize independent voters in a place like Maine?

[Panelist/Guest]

Well, I think Platner is such a flawed candidate that. And he's going up against Susan Collins, who was loved in Maine and very principled. She comes to D.C. does her job, and delivers for Maine families. So I think it's just a matter of her getting out there and continuing to show who she is. And it's quite the contrast to Platner.

[Ryan Nobles]

And will it be enough, Archie, for Platner to work through these issues that he has and still resonate with Democratic voters and independent voters in a state like Maine.

[Kate Santelles]

I mean, listen, I think the reason the candidate pool that we saw on the Democratic sides was the way it was is because of Tiffany's point. Susan Collins is formidable. There's no doubt about that. So I don't think anybody can count her out. And I think Graham Platner does have to answer questions, and he has to answer them in a way that satisfies voters to get over the finish line.

[Ryan Nobles]

Okay, great. Thank you guys all for being here. Arshi, Tiffany, Kate, as always, we appreciate it. Up next, we're heading across the pond as Prime Minister Keir Starmer Resigns and the UK will soon have its seventh leader in just 10 years. Stay with us. This is Meet the Press now.

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[NBC News Correspondent]

The question my party is asking now

[Keir Simmons]

is whether I am best placed to

[NBC News Correspondent]

lead us into the next general election.

[Keir Simmons]

I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.

[NBC News Correspondent]

Every decision I've taken has been about

[Keir Simmons]

putting the country I love first.

[NBC News Correspondent]

That is why I will resign as

[Donald Trump]

leader of the Labour Party.

[Reporter/Journalist]

Welcome back.

[Ryan Nobles]

That was British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announcing his resignation earlier today. Bowing to pressure from within his own party for him to step down. Starmer led the Labour Party to a resounding election victory just two years ago, promising to be a more steady force for the UK after years of Conservative Party turmoil. His resignation means that Britain will soon have its seventh prime minister in a decade. Starmer's tenure will be the shortest term for a British prime minister this century. Joining me now is NBC News correspondent Danielle Hamanjan. She is in London. So this is quite the stutter, Danielle. I mean, we've seen it coming. But Starmer had really been under pressure for months. Why is he deciding now is the time to resign?

[Danielle Hamanjan]

Yeah. Good evening from a rainy central London Rhine. It was, according to many, a dignified speech, but one that should have come much earlier. It was quite a day in UK politics. Another seismic day. You know, we have seen so many Prime Ministerial resignations. It sort of feels now that it's like tradition, but, you know, might make for a funny headline, but really it begs the question, and many people have asked, why is the UK so ungovernable? But you're right, he won an election, a race, landslide victory back in 2024. Won the majority of the seats in Westminster behind me, but did not win a big share of the popular vote. He only won by 33%. So that was the starting point. He had promised changes, growth when it comes to the cost of living, public services. Many believe that he broke those promises. Quite frankly, he was not a good communicator and many will say that he was dull. Those inside will say that he was quite indecisive as well. There have been a series of U turn policy U turns and a scandal. Peter Mandelson, I mean, that really tarnished his reputation, appointing Peter Mandelson as UK Ambassador to the US and knowing he had links to Jeffrey Epstein, of course, we later found out the extent of that relationship. That really tarnished his reputation. When it comes to foreign policy, I would say don't underestimate the support he lost because of his stance on Gaza. Many labor members say he was not strong enough. And so all that culminating in these local elections we saw in the month of May, that was sort of seen as a litmus test for Keir Starmer. The pulse of the nation, if you will. And hundreds of Labour councillors lost their job. It was a blow to the Labour Party and it was sort of. The official countdown began then, I think, to the announcement that we heard this morning by Keir Starmer.

[Ryan Nobles]

All right, well, I guess the next question is, who's next? And the name emerging is the former Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham. He appears to be the top contender to replace Starmer. Do you expect there to be a full leadership contest or does it seem likely that Burnham could be the only candidate?

[Danielle Hamanjan]

I mean, they're calling it a possible coronation here, but we'll have to wait officially until July 9th. Those who want a shot at the job will need the support of 81 MPs. Right now, we only know for a fact that Andy Burnham is in the race. Who is he in a nutshell? Well, yes, he is the former mayor of Manchester, but he's not new to politics and he's not new to this building. He was sworn in again today. But he has served previously under other Labour prime ministers, as culture minister, as health minister in the Treasury. So he's got experience. He is the political animal, perhaps that Keir Starmer was not. You know, of course, there is the north and south divide here in this country. The north believing that it's been neglected and abandoned by the establishment, the elites here in Westminster. And he has, you know, to earn the nickname, if you will, the King of the north for standing up to Westminster. And many believe that he is now has the momentum and he's really, you know, energized the party. And they believe that not only could he run Manchester, but he could also run this country.

[Panelist/Guest]

Ryan.

[Ryan Nobles]

All right, the king of the North. We'll have to see if he truly is Jon Snow. All right, Danielle, thank you so much for that report. We appreciate it. Let's turn now to elections here at home and a bunch of closely watched primaries tomorrow that could tell us a lot about the direction of the Democratic Party heading into November. There are races tomorrow in four states, but most of the ones we're watching will be in New York, including a challenge to the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Adriano Espailla. This is one of the races where New York City Mayor Mondami is testing his political power. He's angered some members of the Hispanic Caucus by endorsing a challenger to Espail. We're also watching that crowded primary to replace the retiring Congressman Jerry Nadler, which includes two state assembly members, as well as Jack Sloshberg, who is President John F. Kennedy's grandson, and George Conway, of course, the ex husband of a former Trump advisor. NBC News correspondent Julie Serkin joins me now from New York City. So, Julie, for folks who don't live in and around the city, which if you do live in and around the city, you have been just hammered by political ads. But what are some of the races to watch closely tomorrow?

[Danielle Hamanjan]

Yes. Yeah.

[Panelist/Guest]

Not only political ads, but in New York's 12th district, where I am right now, I and tech ads, too, because that's an issue that has taken over this race outside of Grand Central Station. I've been talking to a lot of voters and not voting today. And that's good because the rain's just been hammering us all day long. But that's that open seat that you were talking about in New York 12, where you've got a bunch of candidates. Alex Boris is currently the front runner. He's somebody who's taken a very strong stance against. I want to run through a couple of these races, Ryan, if we can, In New York 7, that's Nivea Velasquez, another open seat. She's retiring after close to three decades in that race. We see one of them. Donnie's, the New York City mayor's strongest endorsements. He put a ton of political capital, but behind somebody who had relatively no name ID just one year in the Assembly, Claire Vasquez. And I talked about this. Excuse me. And I talked to a voter who just spoke to that Mamdani effect. We also have New York 17, where Mike Lawler is hoping to hang on in the general Democrats, a crowded field trying to pick somebody to take him on. He's just one of three Republicans, as you know, Ryan, that won his district in 2024. Those districts won by Kamala Harris. So certainly Democrats want to edge him out in November.

[Ryan Nobles]

Ryan, and you mentioned that you've been talking to voters ahead of the primary. What are they saying about the role that Mayor Mondami has played in their decision on how to vote?

[Panelist/Guest]

Yeah, I talked to a couple of voters, Ryan, who said Mandani really didn't have much sway. For them, it's affordability, the economy, housing, a huge issue here as well, health care, and of course, the ICE issue, immigration enforcement. A lot of people concerned about those detention centers. But certainly you cannot miss the role that New York City Mayor Mamdani is having here. He won last year a decisive upset. The Democratic Socialist Party certainly trying to buoy a couple other candidates into Congress as well, specifically in New York 10. That's where Dan Goldman, the incumbent, sits. He, on paper, very little difference from Brad Lander, somebody who was the city comptroller also ran for mayor here. And yet that Mamdani endorsement is really sealing the deal. They're also sealing the deal for voters In New York 7, Claire Valdez, that I mentioned to you, going up against somebody with a lot of experience in city government. I want you to take a listen to the quick sound bite we have.

[Reporter/Journalist]

What did you vote for, Claire?

[Kate Santelles]

How come?

[Reporter/Journalist]

Well, I consider my politics very close to hers, but I think the kind that the thing that pushed me over was the endorsement. Zoran and Bernie, I really follow them. I like their politics. So give her a shot if they're willing to vouch for her.

[Panelist/Guest]

And Ryan, he even told me that other than that, all those candidates are the same both of them would be good. But that Lambdani endorsement put him over the edge, Ryan.

[Ryan Nobles]

All right. Julie will be on top of it all night. Julie Serkin, thank you so much. We'll be back tomorrow as always with more MEET THE Press now. Thank you so much for watching as always. There's more ahead on NBC News now. Thanks for watching. Hey, this is Jeff Lewis from Radio Andy live and uncensored. Catch me talking with my friends about my latest obsessions, relationship issues and bodily ailments. With that kind of drama that seems to follow me, you never know what's going to happen.

[Kate Santelles]

You can listen to Jeff Lewis.

[Panelist/Guest]

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