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Meet the Press
Meet the Press NOW — June 25
00:49:46
Mamdani-backed congressional candidate Brad Lander (D-N.Y.) joins to discuss progressive wins in New York primary elections and the future of the Democratic Party. The Supreme Court hands the Trump Administration two major victories on some of the administrations hardline immigration policies. Rescue teams head to Venezuela as the country recovers from a deadly 4.4 magnitude earthquake, after two historic earthquakes yesterday.
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Laura Jarrett
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Melanie Zanona
Welcome to meet the Press. Now I'm Melanie Zonona in Washington where the Trump administration scored a pair of legal victories in its efforts to enact hardline immigration policies. The Supreme Court allowing the White House to remove legal protections from tens of thousands of immigrants from Haitia Haiti and Syria. In a separate decision, the court also making it easier for the Trump administration to deny asylum seekers entry at the U. S Mexico border. The court voted 6, 3 along ideological lines. In both cases, the decision allowing the Trump administration to vote revoke the legal status of Haitian and Syrian immigrants who had been granted temporary protected status, also known as TPS, which means roughly 350,000 Haitians and and 6,000 Syrians could be deported. White House border czar Tom Homan touting today's decision the right call.
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Donald Trump
You know I've been doing this since 1984. TPS has never been temporary. The problem is no administration has had the guts to actually follow that statute.
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Melanie Zanona
President Trump has the guts to follow the law.
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Donald Trump
So temporary means temporary.
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Melanie Zanona
When the condition that country gets better,
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Laura Jarrett
they need to go home.
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Melanie Zanona
Now it's worth noting here that both Haiti and Syria are on the State Department's do not travel list for Americans. With the State Department warning Americans quote do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest and limited health care. And separately warning quote no part of Syria is safe from violence. Today's ruling paves the way for President Trump to continue the aggressive immigration enforcement that was one of his key 2024 campaign promises and included Mr. Trump spreading lies about Springfield, Ohio's Haitian community in the months before the election.
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Donald Trump
How about in Springfield, Ohio? They had 32,000. This is a little beautiful town. No crime, no problem. 32,000 illegal immigrants come into the town. 32. So they almost doubled their population in a period of a few weeks. Can you believe it? And you know what? They've got to get much tougher. What the hell is wrong with our country? No, no, we're getting them out of our country. They came in illegally. They're destroying our country. We're getting them out. They're going to be brought back to the country from which they came. I will protect our country.
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Melanie Zanona
Today's TPS decision, along with the ruling that a person cannot claim asylum if they present themselves to US Officials while standing on the Mexico side of the border, represents clear wins for the White House and its immigration crackdown. And they come as we are still waiting to see how the Supreme Court will rule on one of the Trump administration's most provocative policies, the effort to limit birthright citizenship. Joining me now is NBC News senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett and NBC News senior senior Homeland Security correspondent Julia Ainslie. Thank you ladies so much for joining us to break this all down. Laura, I do want to start with you, though. So walk us through what the court decided today, particularly when it comes to TPS protections for Haitian and Syrian immigrants.
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Laura Jarrett
Yeah. So, Melanie, these are protections that have been in place since 1990. And Congress basically set it up as a system of humanitarian aid for people who are fleeing war torn places or natural disasters, like in the situation of Haiti and the earthquake there, people come over, they're allowed to work, they're allowed to live with legal protections, not worrying about having to worry about being deported. Until the Trump administration started to roll back those protections, canceling TPS for a variety of different countries, not just Haiti and Syria as we have here. And so today the court saying essentially when the Department of Homeland Security makes those designations about which one's off, which one's on, that is unreviewable by a federal court. And it's because the actual statute says there is no judicial review of any determination of the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to that designation or termination. So they're pointing to that part of the law saying, look, we're not going to get into this once the secretary makes those kind of determinations. But the court actually took it a step further and said, not just that, but if we look at the statements that the president and the DHS secretary has made about Haitian immigrants in particular, we think there are non racial reasons for them being against TPS in those cases. And so therefore it doesn't violate the Constitution. There wasn't the Constitution. There wasn't some sort of racial discriminatory purpose at the court found.
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Melanie Zanona
Melanie so could today's decision be applied to other immigrants, especially in the future, or does it only apply to immigrants from Haiti and Syria?
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Laura Jarrett
It applies to any TPS decision that the DHS secretary decides to invoke or withdraw. As Julie has been doing reporting today. You can see the other countries that have been designated in some cases canceled. Those people obviously also trying to sue, saying that those designations had been arbitrarily withdrawn. But today it makes it very clear to the lower courts they are not supposed to intervene when the secretary makes that type of designation and cancels TPS for immigrants in those specific countries.
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Melanie Zanona
Melanie Laura, explain this other decision today about asylum seekers.
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Laura Jarrett
Yeah. So this has to do with where are you physically located if you're trying to cross the US Mexico border? Are you on the Mexico side? Are you on the US Side? For those who cross over to the United States, you can still claim asylum if you meet certain very restrictive circumstances. For those who are still remaining on four foreign soil, the Supreme Court today saying if you are on foreign soil, you are not here for the purposes of invoking those immigration protections and therefore the Trump administration can turn you away. I think you should see both of these rulings and sort of the larger rubric of the Trump administration really trying to crack down in every possible locale on where they can, and people coming over and really just now adding to another sort of feather in their hat, if you will, in their effort to turn people away.
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Melanie Zanona
And I mentioned that we're still awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on the Trump administration's effort to limit birthright citizenship. So do today's decisions give any hints about how the court might rule in that case?
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Laura Jarrett
Those are such, you know, these are such distinctive issues. And I know people want to look for trends. They want to read the tea leaves. I think it is perfectly possible and plausible that in these particular cases, the high court, the conservative majority, could hand the Trump administration a win and then we could see something very different when it comes to birthright citizenship. Of course, that's his effort, using an executive order border to try to upend and roll back protections that have been enshrined in the 14th Amendment to our Constitution, giving people the right to have citizenship if they are born here, even if their parents are undocumented immigrants. The Trump administration wants to upend that. But the justices, Melanie, very skeptical about that plan. An oral argument doesn't necessarily mean that they won't agree with him, but we'll see what they do. Decisions coming more on Monday.
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Melanie Zanona
And I know you'll be watching that very closely for us. Laura Jarrett, thank you so much. I want to turn now to Julia Ainslie, who's on set with me. Just break down for me what is going to happen for Haitian and Syrian immigrants who are currently already living in this country right now under this protected status.
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Julia Ainslie
Well, this now gives the executive branch its authority, really pulling the power away from the courts to say that they can now end not only their work authorization, but the protection that they had to stay in the United States. This was a fear under other administrations that they could pull some of these things back because it is so squarely fit within the executive branch. But Congress had even taken some action, although it didn't pass through both houses houses, to try to protect especially people from Haiti, given the unrest, the political unrest in that country and of course, in Syria as well. What this means is that those people could be arrested and deported as soon as today, as soon as tomorrow. They no longer have the protections. Temporary protected status is always extended a little bit by a little bit. But that had really been extended especially for Haiti since 2010 with the earthquake there. And then when the civil war broke out In Syria, it's 2015. So in many cases, these are people who have been part of their communities, living, working, raising their children here for more than a decade.
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Melanie Zanona
Yeah, that was a point that actually Republican Mike Lawlor made. What about asylum? Can they still appeal for asylum?
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Julia Ainslie
That can be difficult depending on how long you've been in the the country in order to apply for defensive asylum, which protects you from deportation, that is usually done within the first year of coming into the United States. And so while they had tps, they could have applied for asylum to try to have a more that would be affirmative asylum. That would give them a longer period of time to be able to stay here and perhaps put them on a path to citizenship. But if they haven't applied already, it's really hard to see how that window could be open to this specific population.
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Melanie Zanona
And just big picture here, how does this all really fit into the administration's broader enforcement agenda?
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Julia Ainslie
Well, we've seen time and time again this administration try to show the power of the executive branch when it comes to immigration. And as Congress has failed to act over so many years, as you know, to pass any kind of comprehensive immigration reform, each administration pushes that power to some to make things easier for immigrants, some to make things harder for immigrants. And so this really fits into the power. These were critical wins today about what the White House and DHS by extension can do when it comes to immigrants and that they do not have to give a reason for why these people are now ending tps. It's not up to a judge to say it's not safe there anymore. They can just dismiss that designation without explanation.
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Melanie Zanona
Switching gears just a little bit here. The Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General announced two new investigations into ICE's handling of detained immigrants. What is the focus of those investigations?
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Julia Ainslie
Yeah, it's interesting. There are two new investigations. One is to deaths inside ICE custody. We've written about that here. A rise in deaths and suicides in ICE custody. They're also looking into use of force, that being by people who are responsible for securing and detaining those immigrants. There's been a lot of calls across the country, even some very public protests about conditions inside. The IG says now they want to look at these two specific issues. But Homeland Security Secretary Markway Mullen was asked about the deaths in ICE custody today. And he really pushed back on there being a rise in the. Take a listen to what he said.
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Greg Meeks
Does DHS have any official specific internal
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Melanie Zanona
goals or policies to reduce deaths in custody? Ma', am, your numbers just aren't accurate.
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had 54 total in the President's President's time. Those are dangerous accusations you're making, Secretary. Those are dangerous accusations that she's making
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because in the state of Illinois, they're
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Vanessa Herrera
twice as
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to die in a state penitentiary of Illinois than they are.
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Melanie Zanona
You are invited to this committee.
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Greg Meeks
This is my time.
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And you need to be informed by what you're saying.
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Julia Ainslie
Just to add a fact check on that, we did speak to an epidemiologist who's looked through the death rates and he says that it has increased. It's not just a matter of having more people in detention. There has been an increase in the death rate and side eyes detention.
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Melanie Zanona
And Julie, you also have some new reporting on that now. Former CIA officer who was found with more than $40 million of gold bars. But now apparently investigators say he may have received additional money that they're looking for. Tell us about that.
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Ali Canal
Yeah.
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Julia Ainslie
This is a story my colleagues and I have continued to cover because it feels like it's the next movie, you know, out of Hollywood when you hear about some of these details. This is David Rush. He was a longtime CIA officer. He was found with $40 million in gold bars in his home. And now we understand the investigators are looking for much more in either money or in other goods like Rolexes that have been sent around the world. Perhaps he requested these and now they're unaccounted for.
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Melanie Zanona
Are they in another property? He may.
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Julia Ainslie
Are they? Have they been sent somewhere to another country? That's all up in the air. The other thing that we should now that we've learned that we should now note about this case is that David Rush allegedly had an affair with a woman who became his supervisor. The CIA, of course, raising questions about could this activity that he engaged in have gone unchecked because of the relationship he had with his supervisor. So we will continue to keep you updated with every twist and turn of this wild story.
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Melanie Zanona
Please do. A crazy story that just keeps getting crazier. Julia Ainsley, thank you. Turning now to a surprise move on Capitol Hill as Republicans look to smooth things over with the White House. Last night, Senate Republicans reversed course on a rare rebuke of President Trump, reflecting rejecting the latest war powers resolution during a late night vote. That U turn came after a rather contentious closed door launch on Capitol Hill yesterday during which Senator Bill Cassidy admits he lost his temper while pressing the president on his Iran war strategy. Cassidy, along with Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, switched their votes last night after previously voting in support of that resolution. Earlier in the day, the president abruptly canceled plans to sign bipartisan housing legislation, refusing to sign the bill until Congress passes the Save America act, legislation that would require ID and proof of citizenship to vote. That demand, though, now causing gridlock on Capitol Hill with some of those House Republicans saying they'll oppose all procedural votes until the Senate passes that bill. In an effort to break the logjam, House Speaker Mike Johnson went to the White House today to meet with the President. Julie Cirkin is at the White House and joins me now. Julie, what do we know about that meeting between the president and Speaker Johnson today? And is it still going on?
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Julie Cirkin
It is still going on, Mel. It's been going on for more than two hours as far as we know. And it could keep going on for a little bit more. So it begs the question of what could they possibly be talking about? Because when Speaker Johnson was leaving the Capitol, he said he's going up here to talk to the president about the Save America act, that voter ID piece of legislation that would act more requirements to voters when they're going to cast their ballots, but it would also do some other things like require all states to turn over their voter rolls to the Trump administration. And that is ringing alarm bells among specifically Senate Republicans who have told the president who have shown in their votes they will not pass that piece of legislation. And still the House remains gridlocked because Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna said she will keep the House floor locked until the Senate manages to pass that Save act, which we know just will not happen. So Speaker Johnson up here right now, he's been up here before this month, meeting with the president, trying to figure out how to move things forward, especially when something as important as that housing piece of legislation hangs in the balance. Just ready for the president's signature, Julie,
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Melanie Zanona
as I mentioned, Senate Republicans, it at least looks like they're trying to maybe smooth things over with the president following that closed door lunch yesterday by defeating the latest War powers resolution. What, what more can you tell us about that late night vote? And how is the White House reacting to that vote?
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Julie Cirkin
President Trump taking a victory lap, saying it's great that that vote was defeated because earlier in the week, Senate Republicans joined with Democrats in actually pushing over the edge a non binding version of that bill that would have restrained the president's future military action in Iran. While the president said he didn't care about that vote, it didn't matter. It didn't do anything. He sure spent a lot of time criticizing the handful of Republicans that voted for it. And it turned out that Senator Bill Cassidy actually spent the night in THE SITUATION Room getting a rundown from Steve Witkoff, who is one of the top negotiators from the White House and in Iran trying to bring an end to that war. After that meeting, Cassidy ended up switching his vote, voting with the rest of Republicans against that War Powers Resolution. And certainly the president in a late night post on Truth Social, very happy about that as they are still in the middle of negotiations with Iranians now.
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Melanie Zanona
And Julie, before I let you go, we are hearing from the National Park Service about the reflecting pool lining that the president claims was cut with a knife. What are they saying?
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Julie Cirkin
Yeah, the president claimed that for some time without evidence and now for the first time as a result of a court ruling, a battle where a nonprofit is trying to stop construction and further rehabilitation of that $16 million project. You see it there on your screen. And the top official, the National Park Service, is saying that a razor or knife was used to make that gash in the reflecting pool. That happened on June 19th. And again, it's the first time the administration, anybody from the administration is providing details and specifics and evidence of what the president has been claiming. The president also said, Mel, that six people were arrested for that vandalism. There's been a lot of back and forth over the algae that we've seen in the reflecting pool. After that, a $16 million renovation was almost complete. The president wanted this open for July 4th forth, but it doesn't look like they'll make that timeline.
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Melanie Zanona
Mel. Julie Cirkin, thank you. Coming up, progressives prevail. I'll speak to New York City Democrat Brad Lander on the heels of his primary victory over two term incumbent Congressman Brad Goldman. As Democrats grapple with deep divides on key issues. Plus, a pair of historically powerful earthquakes rock Venezuela, killing close to 200 people and injuring more than a thousand. We're live in Caracas where frantic search and rescue efforts are underway. You're watching Meet the Press. Now.
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Melanie Zanona
How does America stay so beautiful at 250 years old? By getting its Beautyrest this year. Enjoy huge savings at the Beautyrest July 4th sales event. Save up to $1,000 on Beautyrest Black mattresses and adjustable base sets featuring pocketed coil technology for our most advanced motion separation. Limited time offer. Visit a beautyrest retailer today. People at their best get their beautyrest. Welcome back. Parts of the Democratic Party are doing some soul searching today after a trio of progressive victories in New York City Tuesday night, including two that ousted Democratic incumbents. Joining me now is Brad Lander, who won the Democratic primary in New York's 10th congressional district. Sir, thank you so much for joining us. I'm sure you've had a busy week, but I do want to start with your reaction to Tuesday's victory. What message do you hope that your win sends the Democratic establishment?
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Brad Lander
Democratic voters are clear. They don't want candidates who take corporate PAC money from Wall street and crypto and AI and apac. They want leaders who put their bodies on the line and fight hard for working people on the things that matter, on housing and health care. And they don't want to compromise on anyone's humanity. They're tired of spending their tax dollars for Netanyahu's wars.
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Melanie Zanona
Yeah. And you don't think the Democratic establishment has been living up to that?
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Brad Lander
Look, there are some fights that Democrats have had over the past year making clear that the making the budget shutdown fight about health care, I thought that was good. Next year I hope we'll do that again, but carry it through to the end and say we're only going to pass a budget that restores people's health care subsidies on the exchanges. That's what it looks like to be fighters and not folders. And that's where I think the line really should be. It doesn't have to be progressives versus moderates. It can be fighters versus folders. Let's be the party that fights for working people.
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Julia Ainslie
Yeah.
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Melanie Zanona
Well, speaking of fighting, I do want to play something that Congressman Meek said about yours and other progressive victories on Tuesday. Let's take a listen to that. Well, I am concerned about the words
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Julia Ainslie
that have been utilized in the past
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Melanie Zanona
and some of the words that was
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Julia Ainslie
utilized in the campaign. I'm concerned about dividing the Democratic Party and dividing Americans.
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Melanie Zanona
I want to be and think that
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Julia Ainslie
we, once we get in this House, have to be in the business of bringing people together.
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Melanie Zanona
And you said in your victory speech that you may have been insurgents in the primary, but now it's time to build unity within the party. So how do you plan to do that and ease some of those concerns like those of your future colleagues like Congressman Meeks?
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Brad Lander
Look, primaries are where we work out differences we have about the future of the Party. The general election election is where we go build unity and support each other. So I'll be out working for Kate Connelly up in the Hudson Valley and Pat Ryan. You know, I knocked doors two years ago for Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen out on Long Island. I joked I did it in like, you know, mustache and glasses so I wouldn't hurt them. So there's been plenty of times when I have supported more moderate candidates. I want the same in the other direction. You know, part of why Representative Goldman lost is that he didn't support Zahran Mamdani when he was the Democratic nominee for mayor in the general election. There are candidates like Randy Villegas out in California who are progressive Democrats running against Republicans. And I hope moderates will show up for them as well. And then we should show voters what we're going to fight for. I think health care is such a great example. That's not progressive or moderate. Everybody needs health care and maga. Republicans took their subsidies away on the exchanges. Let's let voters know we're going to fight for them. Now. There are some places where the party has to move, and I do think the US relationship to Israel is one of them. Democratic voters are speaking loud and clear that they don't want to keep paying for Netanyahu's wars. So I want unity, but it needs to be around not compromising on anyone's humanity. Of course, that includes not compromising on the humanity of. Of Jews like me who deserve to be safe. But it also has to mean not compromising on the humanity of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. And that is part of the message Democratic voters sent loud and clear Tuesday night.
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Melanie Zanona
So you said you're willing to campaign for more moderate colleagues in New York like Connelly and Suozzi. Do you think that, though they're willing to have you come campaign for them in their districts?
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Brad Lander
I mean, look, I campaigned for. For. For Swazi and Laura Gillen and Pat Ryan. I. A couple of years ago.
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Ozempic Ad Voice
Yes.
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Brad Lander
I mean, you know, I think people, how you reach out to voters is by knocking doors and texting and making phone calls. When you do that, you give the message of the candidate you're helping. And, you know, I respect that. Candidates have to represent their own districts well and their volunteers, when they come, help them get that message out. That's what I ask people to do in New York 10. And of course, that's what I'll do for any candidates I'm supporting elsewhere.
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Melanie Zanona
The progressive momentum was, of course, undeniable. In New York City this week. But do you believe that the progressive message is the right one anywhere in the country?
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Brad Lander
Well, the job of being in the House of Representatives is to represent your district. It's a diverse country and of course, different messages. You know, people want things, you know, in different places. I will say progressives have been winning across the country, not just in New York on a Lillian Mejia in New Jersey, Chris Raab in Pennsylvania, Randy Viegas, as I mentioned in California. But I don't really think the line is best thought of right now as, you know, progressives versus moderates, it's fighters versus folders. You know, to give the example of somebody like Pat Ryan up in the Hudson Valley. He works with, you know, Democrats to his left like aoc. He works with Democrats like Governor Oklahl. They're welcome in his district. But what he shows his voters is here's how I'm fighting for you. I get matters in your daily life and I'm going to be out there fighting for it. And if we can unify the Democratic Party around that core idea, that is far more important than, you know, the, the, the, the labels that get put on different candidates.
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Melanie Zanona
Do you think that in a battleground state like Michigan, for example, that Abdul El Sayed he can actually win in a general election and beat someone like Mike Rogers?
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Brad Lander
What matters most is to have candidates who are authentically themselves, who inspire people, who let folks know who they're fighting for. There are a lot of different ways to do that. I think Abdul El Sayed is a great candidate who's inspiring voters in Michigan. James Talarico did it differently in Texas, but that really inspired people. Zoran did it here in New York City. That really inspired people. There are different models, but again, it's really more how are you showing people you're listening and you're fighting for them? That's what our party should be about.
- [26:36]
Melanie Zanona
And I know you've said that you're going to support Hakeem Jeffries for speaker, but some of your future colleagues, like Dariel Lisa Avila Chevalier, who I interviewed yesterday, said that's going to be a conversation she's going to need to have with her coalition. So let me ask you, first of all, do you plan on encouraging her to back Jeffrey primaries? And if so, what is going to be your message to people like her who may be skeptical of his leadership?
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Brad Lander
Well, look, I look forward to building my relationship with Darieliza, who ran a really impressive campaign. The voters up there decided that they're excited about what she's going to bring and the energy she's going to bring. You know, primaries are a time for having these debates about what changes we want in the party. The speaker vote is a moment when unity is needed. There's a long time until then. But yes, you know, I've worked with Leader Jeffries for a long time. I am excited to vote to make him speaker. Now I'm going to be with the kind of Democrat who holds a leader accountable. I give the example of aoc. She voted for Nancy Pelosi when she got elected and she went with Sunrise and sat in her office and said we need action on climate and that's why we got the Inflation Reduction Act. So, so there are times to build unity together because we're standing up to a fascist in the White House and ICE agents abducting our neighbors. And there are important times to push and say our voters are acting, asking us to be bolder. They want us to stop taking corporate PAC money. They want to reset in the US Relationship with Israel. Let's listen and build unity around those ideas, too.
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Melanie Zanona
Brad Lander, thank you so much for your time and congrats on the winner.
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Brad Lander
Thanks so much.
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Melanie Zanona
Joining me now is our panel. Jeff Mason, White House correspondent for Bloomberg, Ashley Etienne, Meet the Press contributor and former communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris, and Jesse Arm, vice president of External affairs and polls are at the Manhattan Institute. Thank you all so much for joining us. There is so much to dig into here. But Jeff, I do want to start with what we just heard there from Brad Lander saying there has been this clear shift in the Democratic Party. Do you see it that way? Do you think the Senator Senate center of gravity is really shifting in the Democratic Party?
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Ozempic Jingle Voice
Well, there's certainly a clear shift in New York. I think the question that we will be watching in the next weeks and months to come is if that shift has also manifested throughout the country. There are definitely those tensions in the party throughout the country. And that's interesting at a time when Democrats probably would prefer to be putting any and all focus about conflict on the Republican Party and on President Trump and on a year when they want very much to reclaim and get back their control on Congress. But there are divisions. There are divisions in the Democratic Party in the same way that there are divisions in the Republican Party and that is manifesting itself there.
- [29:27]
Melanie Zanona
Well, speaking of those divisions, I've been hearing from Democrats, including Greg Meeks, we played some of that interview, that they're concerned that some of these candidates are coming in and they're going to be more troublemakers than problem solvers. Do you think that is a legitimate concern?
- [29:40]
Greg Meeks
I think the real concern here is that there is a growing divide between Democratic leadership in Washington that's living in a very small bucket and what's actually happening on the ground among Democratic based vote voters. I agree with the soon to be elect congressman here and his point is that we should unify around ideas and not around creating division around titles, rules. It's all semantics. The reality is the problem is the Democratic Party doesn't have a vision for itself. It does not have a proactive agenda. Each of these candidates that are now winning these primary races, they have a proactive agenda. They're talking about ideas, what they're going to do that directly impacts people's lives. That's not what you're hearing coming out of the national Democratic Party. The large majority of it is anti Trump, but they're not giving the voters something to actually vote for. And I've been harping on this issue of the party needs to by summer roll out a proactive affirmative agend that contrasts itself with what Republicans are offering and then lays out a vision for how they're going to move the country forward on issues that people are most concerned with. So this is not an issue of policy. This is an issue of tactics and vision.
- [30:50]
Melanie Zanona
And Jesse, in the Republican Party obviously we saw the rise of the Freedom Caucus. We've seen the squad come in. But AOC made the point today that there was concerns that they were going to be sort of the version of the Freedom Caucus on the left. We haven't exactly seen them play out differently. But I mean, do you think that Democratic leadership could have some problems here?
- [31:08]
Ozempic Jingle Voice
Well, look, I think Ashley is about 80% right. Okay. I think that Democratic leadership in Washington D.C. is certainly not for much of anything. It's really hard to define what their program is beyond being anti Trump and that's not mobilizing voters. The problem is that the Democratic coalition, at least as you understand it in 2024, everyone who voted for Kamala Harris, plus everybody who voted, voted for or calls themselves a Democrat, is actually much more moderate than the media Democratic politician in Washington D.C. and yet what do we see out of New York in these races where the agenda is sort of set Party leadership comes from New York. Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries breathing down their necks are these Democratic socialists. And Democratic socialists are even in an intra far left fight. Okay? They just beat the Working Families Party in New York when they took out with Claire Valdez's win over Reynoso's win in one of those districts and they took out the Congressional Progressive Caucus member and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Espaillat in Chevalier's victory up in the Harlem and Columbia area. Okay, so all I'm going to say to close this out is that these Democrats have a real problem because they are getting specific on the policy. The leftists are from the DSA faction, but their program is abolish police, abolish prisons, abolish border. I don't even know what it means to abolish the border.
- [32:32]
Greg Meeks
Let me interrupt you here. I disagree with this. But what I will. Well, the left and left of left and where they are. Here's what I would say I think is another factor that we're not considering and this is what we saw globally, which is incumbents are losing all over the world dating back to 2024. And all the people that lost, the folks who have lost are part of that incumbency. They're part of the old guard. Even if you are a member of the Progressive Caucus or even the chairman of the chc, you still represent the status quo. And so what voters. Let me just finish my. We're talking about sbi. Let me just finish. And not the only one that's in other places too. But let me just finish my point, though. The reality is, is that voters on the right and the left are over the status quo, which is why Trump won the times that he's won, because he redefined the Republican Party. He moved the Republican Party to where voters are. So now what you're seeing in the Democratic Party is now the socialist move. What you want to call it is moving the party closer to where the voters actually are and hold on. And both parties can be better for it.
- [33:31]
Melanie Zanona
Yeah. Jeff, looking forward, though, I mentioned the Michigan Senate race. Do you think that a candidate like EL Sayed can actually win in a competitive purple state like that if he goes on to the general election?
- [33:42]
Ozempic Jingle Voice
Well, it's, I mean, it's not for me to say whether or not I think he can win, but the dynamics are certainly interesting and he certainly has a chance. I mean, and the fact that he's getting some mainstream, mainstream support in addition to the more left leaning Chris Van Hollen. Chris Van Hollen, Exhibit A is interesting and also a sign that there is, you know, that these changes and that the trends that Ashley is referring to are bubbling up among some people who are already in power and no doubt want to hold onto that power and. Or just plain win.
- [34:13]
Melanie Zanona
Yeah. And Ashley, I know you just wrote an op ed about ways Tell Rico can shore up the black vote in Texas. You wrote about how the community is really disillusioned with the Democratic Party right now. Do you think progressive wins like the ones we've seen this week hurt or help people like Talarico?
- [34:28]
Greg Meeks
I think each race is local and I think that's what the future congressman was making, the point he was making. And that's absolutely true. The issue with Talarico, though, is there's a sort of, you know, he's at a crisis point. It's in a crisis mode right now. You've got a backlash among black women voters. You've got a situation where Jasmine Crockett, who happens to be one of the most popular black elected officials in the country, who's withholding her support, he's polling only at 60% among black voters. He said himself that he cannot win without black voters. So what I decided to do is to say, listen, you've got an opportunity before you, sir, to really redo or create a new playbook on how to reach disillusioned black voters. Cuz what we're seeing happening in Texas is actually the mood of black voters all across the country. So if he can figure it out, I think it's a roadmap for 2028 that we can employ and actually win big. And I will say the one other thing I said in the op ed is Georgia is your North Star. Georgia did this incredibly well, which is why Georgia now is a battleground state. If you can make investments early in the black community, if you can meet them where they are, if you don't treat them as a monolith, if you get outside the four walls of the church and actually create a modern ecosystem, media narrative ecosystem, where you're reaching people, young people, people, where they are, you can actually flip Texas. Flip. Not just flip Texas, but put it on the path to being a battleground state like Georgia.
- [35:53]
Melanie Zanona
And Jesse, I do want to turn to the Republican Party right now. Mike Johnson's at the White House meeting with Trump trying to disfuse this impasse over the SAVE Act. Is there any concern among Republicans that some of this push for the SAVE act could be a distraction from some of the issues that voters really want to see, at least in the midterms?
- [36:10]
Ozempic Jingle Voice
Yeah, some. I mean, the president got a bipartisan housing affordability bill passed by Congress and canceled the signing ceremony yesterday. I think you probably go through with that. Look, the SAVE act is still popular. Right. Voter ID as a policy proposition is very popular in this country, including among Democrats. So I think that Congress should find a way to pass the SAVE Act. But the boats don't appear to be there at this moment. But to the extent there are frustrations or tensions within the GOP at this moment, I think there is some, some confusion about why those are taking place. Right. We have, there's a lot of talk about this, you know, resolution that was passed that a couple of Republicans voted for regarding the Iran war in Congress. But I think what people sometimes miss is that, well, it's not a rejection.
- [36:55]
Greg Meeks
The war powers are right, but it's
- [36:56]
Ozempic Jingle Voice
not a rejection from a Republican standpoint. Let me just finish point. It's not a rejection of the war. The Republicans that voted for it are voting for it as a rejection of the MoU, as a rejection of prematurely running into a mere.
- [37:09]
Greg Meeks
People are rejecting the president on the war. Well, Peter Meyer underwater on the economy.
- [37:13]
Ozempic Jingle Voice
Well, Peter Meyer had a really good former Republican congressman Peter Meyer, who is far from a MAGA Republican, voted to impeach the president had a really good piece on this in the Daily Wire where he made this point. I think it's really easy to imagine a scenario where if the pundits and political prognosticators are correct. Right. And Democrats do win back both houses of Congress this November. The president has been saying consistently throughout this process and consistently throughout this MoU negotiation that the vice president has been spearheading that if the Iranians don't play ball, if they screw around, we'll hit him again. And it's very easy to imagine a scenario where the Democrats are going after Trump in terms of investigations through Congress and also going after the domestic policy agenda, tying things up on that front. And the president turns his attention back to the legacy defining stuff, taking out the despots and dictators that dominate Iran as well as Venezuela, Cuba, Cuba and making foreign policy legacy.
- [38:11]
Greg Meeks
I appreciate it. That's all fantasy.
- [38:13]
Melanie Zanona
We're gonna have to leave the conversation there. Thank you for a robust and lively discussion. All up next, state of emergency. We're on the ground in Venezuela as the Trump administration vows to surge humanitarian aid and rescue teams immediately after powerful back to back earthquakes struck the nation. Stay with us. This is MEET the press. Now.
- [38:41]
Greg Meeks
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Julia Ainslie
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Greg Meeks
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Ali Canal
Yes.
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Greg Meeks
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- [39:08]
Melanie Zanona
Terms and conditions apply. He loves it freezing, she loves it hot. The pod by eight sleep ends the argument for good with independent temperature zones that keep both of you sleeping deeper. Try it@8sleep.com at Strayer University, we help students like you. Go from Will I to why not? For over 130 years we've been innovating high education to make it more affordable, accessible and attainable so you can reach your goals. Go from thinking can I? To Yes I can and keep striving. Visit strayer.edu to learn more. Strayer University is certified to operate in Virginia by Chev and its many campuses, including at 2121 15th Street north in Arlington, Virginia. Welcome back. Turning now to breaking news out of Venezuela, where another earthquake struck today after two massive back to back quakes yesterday. It's not yet clear Whether the new 4.4 magnitude quake is its own seismic event or an aftershock from yesterday's. Yesterday's historically powerful ones, which were magnitude 7.2 and 7.5. They struck less than a minute apart in highly populated areas. You can see here people running into the streets in a panic as well. Buildings crumbled to the ground. Rescue teams are digging through the rubble desperately searching for survivors. The Venezuelan government says at least 188 people are dead and over 1500 are injured and those numbers are only expected to rise. Earlier today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US has already deployed American search and rescue teams to Venezuela with more help on the way.
- [40:52]
Ozempic Jingle Voice
The airport there is badly damaged, so we'll have to rely on the Department of War to deploy assets there. And then we're also helping them with some overhead imagery, especially in coastal areas where they don't have full visibility over what the damage has been and what the impact has been.
- [41:06]
Melanie Zanona
NBC News Reporter ON A Vanessa Herrera joins me now from Caracas on a thank you so much for joining us. I just mentioned how There's a new 4.4 magnitude earthquake that was reported in Venezuela this afternoon. Just take us on the ground. What's it like in Venezuela right now?
- [41:22]
Vanessa Herrera
Well, people are still shaking from all these aftershocks and the aftermath of what happened this Wednesday. I have been talking to a lot of people since very early in the morning and they all feel the same way. They are shocked and they're saddened. They're really saddened that this is happening. And also some of them who are volunteering to accelerate the rescue efforts are telling me that things are moving way too slowly for them to be hopeful, to find people alive under the remains of the buildings that collapsed. So what I have behind me is one of those buildings. I am standing right now in one of the affected areas of the capital city of Caracas. And here so many bystanders just wanting to help because the efforts of those who are prepared to do so, the first responders, firefighters, the police, it's not enough. This is a devastation beyond unimaginable. And they understand. Even they told me, firefighters, firefighters told me that they were not ready for an event like this.
- [42:33]
Melanie Zanona
And what is the impact of the new quake on the already complicated search and rescue efforts on the ground?
- [42:41]
Vanessa Herrera
So far we have not received information of any further impact of this new quake. But a lot of people are fearing that this might go on. We have felt, I have felt the aftershock several times during early in the morning and now. So you can only imagine how everyone right here is just hoping that something like the events they lived on Wednesday will not be repeated. But again, we do not know if this is going to add more people to the already unstable system that Venezuela has. For example, I am hearing from first responders that hospitals are overwhelmed with people seeking medical aid. Remember, Venezuela has one of the weakest health systems in the region. So whatever you see and feel here, it's tripled when it comes to Venezuela.
- [43:39]
Melanie Zanona
Ana, Vanessa Herrera, thank you so much for that reporting. And please, please stay safe.
- [43:44]
Vanessa Herrera
Thank you.
- [43:45]
Melanie Zanona
After the break. New data shows surging oil prices pushed the cost of everything higher last year month as President Trump lashes out saying gas prices are not falling as fast as they should. You're watching MEET THE PRESS now. Welcome back. New economic data shows a key inflation number rising to the highest level in three years. The personal consumption expenditures index, which includes all consumer spending and goods, goods and services, rose to 4.1% in May. The inflation was pushed by high gas prices fueled by the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is improving with oil tanker traffic climbing to 25% of pre war levels. That's led to a significant drop in both oil and gas prices with the national average for regular gas dropping to 3.92 per gallon. But President Trump says the prices at the pump aren't dropping fast enough and that he's directed the Justice Department to investigate oil companies.
- [44:54]
Donald Trump
We should be, in my opinion, at $2.25 right now at the pump and we're higher than that and we are doing a big investigation on it. They're not reducing the prices commensurate with what what's happening.
- [45:12]
Melanie Zanona
The Justice Department has not confirmed any such probe is underway, but told NBC News in a statement that the price of fuel is not only a national security issue, it impacts the wallets of every American. We will always commit to ensuring affordability in this nation. Joining me now is NBC News business and economy reporter Ali Canal. Ali, thank you so much for joining us. Talk to us about these inflation numbers and what does this indicate about the overall economy right now? Now, yeah, Mel.
- [45:41]
Ali Canal
Well, this report shows that inflation is still running hot, a lot of that tied to oil prices, what's happening in the Middle East. But even if you strip that out, inflation is still running significantly above the Fed's 2% target. That's a level that we haven't seen in the past five years here. And it's coming at a really important time, too. As we head into midterm election season. Affordability is top of mind for many Americans. We're still seeing tariffs have an impact. There are further questions around the AI buildout, whether that that could possibly add to a lot of these cost pressures that we've been seeing as these tech companies spend billions of dollars building out these data centers, competing for chips, electricity. So all of that is a factor here. And I think today's report just highlights that it's going to take some time to work through a lot of the inflation pressures. And we've been seeing and it's going to make it that much harder for the Federal Reserve to eventually cut interest rates.
- [46:40]
Melanie Zanona
And we mentioned how more ships have been passing through the Strait of Hormuz, but there was a tanker struck by Iran today. How are shipping companies responding?
- [46:48]
Ali Canal
Yeah, we're seeing those ships get through slowly and somewhat unevenly as well. So one of the world's largest shipping companies, Hatbag Lloyd, says all of the vessels that it had waiting in the Persian Gulf, that was a total total of four tankers that they have now safely departed after carefully assessing the security situation. But like you said, not everyone is moving here. There's still thousands of ships that are trapped in the area. The International Maritime Organization temporarily paused part of its evacuation efforts due to that tanker that was struck, saying it wants to reassess safety conditions before going ahead and moving more ships. So while some oil and cargo tankers are beginning to beginning to flow again. We're still ways off from the levels that we were seeing pre war when hundreds of ships were passing through the strait every single day.
- [47:36]
Melanie Zanona
I want to turn to what the president said about gas prices. He said they should be $2.25 a gallon. Is that realistic? And how are oil companies responding to this potential probe?
- [47:46]
Ali Canal
Yeah, not based on where the market is currently trading. So if you take a look at where gas prices are today, we're at around $3.92 a gallon and that's down roughly 60 cents from its recent peak. So drivers are seeing some of that relief. But gas prices don't fall as quickly as crude does because refineries, distributors, retailers, the actual gas stations, they're all working through fuel that was purchased at those higher prices. And there are still those concerns about supply coming out of the Middle East. One other interesting data point for you is that US crude is trading around 72 bucks a barrel. The last time oil was around that level, Americans were actually paying more for gas than they are today. So while prices could continue to ease of crude continues to lower. Today's pump prices are relatively low compared to where they've been historically with crude at this level.
- [48:36]
Melanie Zanona
Ali Canal. Thank you. Up next, President Trump addresses the deadly attack on an Iranian school that the US Is suspected of being responsible for during the first days of war. We'll hear those comments next. Keep it here on MEET the Press now. Welcome back. Almost four months since the U.S. launched its military campaign on Iran, President Trump is now casting doubt on reports that the US Was responsible for a deadly strike on a school in southern Iran on the first day of the war. That strike, which killed more than 170 people, most of them children, has been under investigation by the Pentagon. And preliminary findings suggest a US Munition was likely responsible for the attack. Despite that, here's what President Trump said about the investigation yesterday. Have you seen the report into the Minab School attacks? Can you tell us?
- [49:35]
Donald Trump
I have that chin. And why not at some point? Well, I have to wait for it to be complete. I don't know that they're ever going to solve that problem. And you could ask Pete, but I don't know that they're ever, they're going to say it was one of our missiles, Pete. I don't know that they're ever going to solve that problem. In terms of whose fault was it because there were missiles flying all over the place and it's horrible what happened, but there were missiles flying all over the place and somebody said it was our missile. Well, maybe it wasn't army, so. But I've seen nothing to lead me to believe it was. I mean if you come up with the right answer. I don't, I don't think it's going to be us. I don't think it was us.
- [50:14]
Melanie Zanona
Joining me now is NBC News senior national security correspondent Courtney Kuby. Courtney, thank you so much for joining us for the fact check here. It seems like the President has said it was Iran at one point. It was the US we might not ever know. Just break this down for us. What do we actually know about the strike?
- [50:31]
L
Okay, so it is is possible for the US to have a very high degree of certainty about who was behind this missile. And the US already does know. Now it has not been released publicly, but we know US Central Command who was doing the investigation has provided those findings to very senior levels of the US military. They're reviewing them right now and that at some point it will be released to Capitol Hill. Now one huge caveat here is members of Congress who we spoke to about this in recent days are very concerned that Secretary Hamilton Hegseth is going to classify the report. So those findings will never be made public. But the reality is every indication that we have had again as this is nearing its end is that the US Was responsible for this. We just don't know how it was that they were able to carry out the strike against that specific location.
- [51:13]
Melanie Zanona
Do we have any sense of timeline for when that report is going to be released?
- [51:16]
L
It should be any day now that it goes to the Hill. But we are hearing a lot of concern that nothing will ever be released publicly. And I should say the CENTCOM commander, Admiral Brad Cooper, he testified before Congress that he would release everything he could. But Secretary Hegseth has the ultimate authority about classification or not.
- [51:34]
Melanie Zanona
Yeah, there's also some turmoil in the pentagon right now. General Chris Donahue, the last U.S. soldier to leave Afghanistan, he's being forced to retire. What can you tell us?
- [51:42]
L
Yeah, so he's been leading US Army Europe for about 18 months or so now. It's generally a three year gig. But he is changing command next week July 2nd and then he changes over his second hat on July 2nd 9th. The big question is because once you're a three or a four star general, you have to have a job you're going to or else you're basically forced into retirement. There's no job he's going to. We aren't getting any real clear answer about why it was that he was that he's being pushed out of his job early. Other than a number of officials who we've spoken to are saying this is a longstanding thing, that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has wanted to get rid of him because of his association with the withdrawal from Afghanistan, because of his association with the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Mark Milley. But we haven't gotten any of that on the record. No one is really talking about it at this point. It's not clear what job he could go into. So it does appear he's going to be forced into retirement. Mel, this is not sitting well with people in the US Military. This guy was revered by a lot of US Soldiers, especially in the special operations community. So we have seen now a string of these fire or these people who are being moved out of their jobs without explanation that are just increasingly causing more and more consternation, not only in the military, but also on Capitol Hill. The question is, is it going to lead to any change with Secretary Hegseth's behavior? And we have no indication of that at this point.
- [53:00]
Melanie Zanona
Courtney Kubey, thank you so much for that reporting as always. We're back tomorrow with more MEET THE PRESS now. And there's more ahead on NBC News.
- [53:08]
Ali Canal
Now.
- [53:32]
Melanie Zanona
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