Meet the Press NOW — June 9

Summary

Podcast Summary: Meet the Press NOW — June 9, 2026

Host: Melanie Nona (filling in for Kristen Welker)
Date: June 9, 2026

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Overview

This episode of Meet the Press NOW centers on a turbulent week in American politics, focusing on contentious primary elections in Maine and California, escalating election fraud claims by President Trump and allies, the ramifications of controversies surrounding Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, breaking news in US-Iran relations after a shoot-down incident, challenges to intelligence surveillance laws in Congress, and ongoing midterm campaign battles. The show features on-location reporting, political analysis, and interviews with key players.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Maine Democratic Senate Primary & Graham Platner Controversy

• Background: Graham Platner, expected to win the Democratic Senate primary in Maine, faces multiple personal conduct allegations, including claims of toxic and physically aggressive behavior. Platner acknowledges past inappropriate behavior and PTSD from his military service but denies physical violence.

• Democratic Dilemma: Despite the controversies, many Maine Democrats continue to support Platner, citing a need to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins.

• Voter Sentiment: There is visible discomfort among voters, but a prevailing "lesser of two evils" attitude.

  Notable Quote:

  • “[Graham Platner] is not someone who would be good for Maine or good for the country.” — Genevieve McDonald, former political director (00:57)
  • “Sometimes I feel like it’s the lesser of two evils when you come to these things.” — Maine Democratic voter (03:22)

• Political Analysis (Steve Kornacki): Platner was polling at 76% before the newest allegations; if his vote share drops, it indicates Democrats’ unease and fracture (06:29–08:59).

2. California Primary and Election Fraud Claims

• LA Mayor’s Race: Nithya Raman overtakes Republican Spencer Pratt as mail-in ballots—overwhelmingly Democratic—are counted. The slow count sparks unfounded fraud claims from President Trump and Republican leaders, with Speaker Mike Johnson supporting the rhetoric without evidence.

  Notable Exchange:

  • Mike Johnson: "Some of these efforts are so diabolical ... it's impossible to prove. But I think everybody knows instinctively something is wrong here." (04:27–04:39)

• Impact on Public Perception:

  • Analysts note Trump’s narrative attempts to erode trust in elections, particularly focusing on Democratic strongholds and slow-counting states.

    Analyst Insight (Kelly O’Donnell, White House Correspondent):
    “What we don’t hear from the president is any evidence presented about this. … He is looking to raise those doubts, especially if in an election of any type, primary or general, does not go his way.” (12:59)

3. Maine Voter Voices & Party Calculations

• Firsthand Reporting (Ryan Nobles in Maine):

  • Many Democrats unhappy about Platner’s baggage but ultimately unwilling to vote Republican.
  • Story of “Judy,” a conflicted voter, encapsulates the Democratic base—concerned but likely to “come home” to Platner for the sake of the party (09:53–11:14).

• Republican Strategy: Confidence in Collins’ chances if Platner is the nominee due to his controversies and Collins’ established reputation (11:25).

• Party Dilemma (Ben Kamisar): Democrats may face backlash for supporting a scandal-plagued candidate, risking accusations of hypocrisy, particularly as they criticize GOP figures like Ken Paxton (17:37).

  Notable Quote (Ben Kamisar):
  “The way you win elections is getting the most votes … so I think Democrats are staying steadfast for the time being. If [Platner’s vote share] doesn’t get 60–70% today, it becomes a cautionary tale.” (46:17)

4. Election Denialism and National Security

• Republican Adoption of Rhetoric: Speaker Johnson and others amplify baseless fraud claims, creating a persistent environment of skepticism around Democratic election wins (49:03–49:47).

• Democratic Response (Garland Gilchrist, Michigan Lt. Gov. & Secretary of State Candidate):

  • Trump’s strategy targets “Black cities in particular.” Gilchrist vows aggressive legal action and organizing to defend election integrity in Michigan and beyond (37:37–39:31).

    Notable Quote:
    "This is a generational assault on just votes, voting and voters and democracy around the country. … I won’t tolerate someone trying to usurp the Constitution." — Garland Gilchrist (37:37)

5. Breaking News: US-Iran Tensions & Military Rescue

• Incident: An Iranian drone strikes a US Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz; both pilots are rescued by an unmanned sea drone, a first for the US military (21:07–25:08).

• White House Response (Gabe Gutierrez):

  • President Trump calls for a US response on social media but specifics are unclear.
  • Ongoing peace deal negotiations with Iran add complexity (22:40).

• Military & Technology Insight (Courtney Kuby):

  • Explains the sea drone rescue and notes intensifying danger from frequent Iranian drone incursions (23:59–26:25).

6. Congressional Stalemate: Surveillance Law & Appointments

• FISA Section 702 in Jeopardy:
  • Critically important spy power could expire due to bipartisan resistance against Trump’s acting DNI pick, Bill Pulte, who lacks intelligence experience (29:42–33:56).
  • Speaker Johnson blames Democrats, calling their opposition politically motivated (31:01), but all sides acknowledge the urgent need for resolution before Friday’s deadline.
• Political Uncertainty: No clear path to reauthorization as of the episode’s airing.

7. Other Notable Political Headlines

• DOJ Referral:
  • VP Vance refers Minnesota officials Tim Walz and Keith Ellison for criminal investigation, possibly for political gain (35:19).
• Redistricting and Voting Rights:
  • Gilchrist argues for aggressive blue state responses to attacks on Black representation in Congress (41:00).

8. Panel Analysis: Future Risks and Political Realities

• Maine Race:
  • Graham Platner needs a “commanding” win margin to allay party anxiety (44:32–45:15).
  • His recent polling: 64–76%; anything near just a majority could spell trouble.
• Image Management:
  • Platner’s focus on redemption and transformation may appeal to some, but others are concerned his issues are too recent and serious (47:39).
• California Counting:
  • Calls for faster counts to reduce suspicion, but overall, fraud allegations are an intentional political strategy (51:19–52:00).

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Memorable Quotes by Timestamp

• Genevieve McDonald (on Platner):
  “Graham Platner is not someone who would be good for Maine or good for the country.” (00:57)

• Voter in Maine:
  “Sometimes I feel like it’s the lesser of two evils when you come to these things.” (03:22)

• Mike Johnson:
  “Some of these efforts are so diabolical and so far upstream, it is impossible to prove. But I think everybody knows instinctively something is wrong here, and that's a concern.” (04:31–04:39)

• Judy (Maine Democrat):
  “If I really thought Mills had a chance ... I may vote for her ... just as to give Platner a message that he's not, everybody is really for him.” (09:53)

• Kelly O’Donnell:
  “What we don’t hear from the president is any evidence presented about this. … He is looking to raise those doubts, especially if in an election of any type, primary or general, does not go his way.” (12:59)

• Ben Kamisar:
  “Are we going to see proof? And so far we have not seen that.” (16:01)

• Garland Gilchrist:
  “This is a generational assault on just votes, voting and voters and democracy around the country. ... I won’t tolerate someone trying to usurp the Constitution.” (37:37)

• Chuck Rocha:
  “If you lie long enough about having a horse, eventually somebody will buy you a saddle.” (51:19)

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• Maine Senate Primary & Controversy Discussion: 00:57–08:59, 09:13–11:25, 44:32–47:24
• California Election and Fraud Claims: 04:27–06:25, 12:59–16:24, 49:03–52:00
• Live Reporting from Maine: 09:13–11:25
• US-Iran Military Incident & Response: 21:07–26:25
• Congress: Surveillance Bill (FISA 702): 29:42–33:56
• Panel Analysis (including redistricting and election integrity): 44:32–53:16

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Conclusion

This episode provides a granular look at how scandals and unsubstantiated rhetoric are intersecting with crucial elections and national security debates. The Democratic Party faces a crisis of principle versus pragmatism in Maine, while widespread “election fraud” claims continue to be used as a political cudgel by Republicans, led by President Trump. The episode also breaks down new geopolitical risks and challenges to intelligence authority, underlining major stakes for the upcoming midterms and US democracy.

For more, tune in daily to Meet the Press NOW.

Transcript

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[Melanie Nona]

Wayfair Every style, every home. Welcome to Meet the Press. Now. I'm Mellie's Nona in Washington, and if it's Tuesday, voters are voting and the next couple of months could get increasingly nasty. Right now, four states are holding primary races, including in Maine, where Democrats are grappling with a controversy plagued candidate in a must win Senate seat. Meanwhile, President Trump is ramping up his baseless claims of election fraud, reigniting fears he may not accept the results if his party loses control of Congress in November. Starting in Maine, Graham Platner is expected to win tonight's Democratic Senate primary despite months of controversy dogging his campaign. Yesterday, Platner's former political director, Genevieve McDonald, who resigned in October, slammed her former boss in an op ed saying, quote, graham Platner is not someone who would be good for Maine or good for the country. In that same op ed, McDonnell also raised numerous controversies facing Platner, including recent allegations from former girlfriends of toxic, unsettling and at times physically aggressive behavior. Now, Platner has acknowledged inappropriate behavior in his past and difficulties with PTSD after serving multiple tours in Iraq. But he has denied allegations of physical violence. His rival, Republican Senator Susan Collins, noted these controversies while speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill today. The allegations against Graham Platner are extremely troubling and serious, and he owes the people of Maine a detailed answer. Still, the swirl of controversies around Platner's campaign doesn't seem to be deterring his supporters on Capitol Hill or in Maine earlier today, some voters telling my colleague Ryan Nobles Platner is still the better choice over Susan Collins. It gives me pause. Of course, there's no perfect candidate that I'm gonna be like, yes, you are absolutely the most perfect human being. We have limited choices. And from the choices that I've been given, I feel like that's the best choice.

[Ryan Nobles]

There's this stuff that's come out against him. You know, when you weigh those things, you think that might be better?

[Steve Kornacki]

Well, we'll see.

[Melanie Nona]

You know, who knows what the future will. What we got now ain't working. I hate saying this, but sometimes I feel like it's the lesser of two evils when you come to these things. It's still tough, but, you know, we

[Steve Kornacki]

the good thing about elections is if

[Melanie Nona]

he doesn't own up to it and keep his word to the state of Maine, we can vote again in a couple years. Today's elections come as votes are still being counted in California from last week's primaries. One of the spots in the governor's race still uncalled, but Democrat Nithya Raman did edge out Republican Spencer Pratt to advance to the general election in the Los Angeles mayor's race. The slow process, which we should note is typical for the state, is driving baseless fraud allegations from the president and even top Republicans. The president continuing to rail against California's elections on social media, calling them, quote, rigged and crooked after he walked out of his interview with my colleague Kristen Welker when she pushed him about his fraud claims on Friday. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Republican leaders bolstering those claims with their own skepticism, here's speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

[Mike Johnson]

I think California is playing around with

[Melanie Nona]

this, but what evidence is there to

[Graham Platner]

prove that there is?

[Mike Johnson]

Look, I don't some of these efforts are so diabolical and so far upstream, it is impossible to prove. But I think everybody knows instinctively something

[Steve Kornacki]

is wrong here, and that's a concern.

[Melanie Nona]

Joining me now is our NBC News team, chief data analyst Steve Kornacki at the Big Board, chief Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles on the ground in Maine, at the White House, Chief justice and national affairs correspondent Kelly o'. Donnell. And with me on set, national political reporter Ben Kamisar. A lot to dig into here. I do want to start with Steve at the Big board. Let's get to today's races later. But first, walk me through that call in the LA mayor's race.

[Steve Kornacki]

Yeah, I mean, look, the story since election night itself, when at the end of Election night, Spencer Pratt was in second place. The incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, was he in first place there? The story since then has been that the late arriving, the late counted, late processed vote by mail has been overwhelmingly Democratic. And it's been particularly good for Nithya Rahman. And so each update that we've been getting since election night has been very favorable to Rahman, has been very tough for Pratt. She had a pretty big gap that she had to erase there coming out of election night. But with each update on over the past week, she'd be getting closer and closer. She passed him about two days ago, Rahman Klein, just ahead of Pratt. Yesterday's update, she beat him again by about 20,000 votes in that update. So her margin over Pratt, you can see, has now climbed. It's nearly three points. It's over 20,000 votes. There are still some votes to come in here. But that trend, that trajectory, there's no reason to expect that in the next update as they continue to go through that, that sort of late arriving, that late vote by mail, they. But it's not going to similarly favor Rahman and in fact probably going to open up even a bigger margin between her and Pratt. So enough there certainly for Rahman to advance to that general election against Bass and again probably ends up being by an even wider margin over Pratt than you see right now.

[Melanie Nona]

And Steve, what are you watching for tonight across these various primaries?

[Steve Kornacki]

Yeah, no, look, I think Maine really is the, is the big story here. And it's a question about what kind of message Democratic voters are sending. Remember Graham Platner sort of assumed to be the nominee here, but he does have some opponents on the ballot. David Costello's name is on the ballot. He actually ran as the Democratic nominee for U.S. senate in Maine in 2024. But remember Angus King, the independent running basically with most of the Democratic support, won that race easily. Costello only got a little bit more than 10% of the vote. Janet Mills, that's the big name. She's the governor. She was originally running against Platner in the primary. She suspended her campaign during the spring. But in the last week, pointedly she has made clear to the public that her name is still on the ballot. They are welcome to vote for her if they want. There's also another candidate who is a registered write in candidate. So I think the question really here is say what kind of message are Democratic primary voters sending here? Is there a signal from them that they're squarely behind Platner, that these, that the controversies of the past week have not given them pause or are they using this primary as. As a way of signaling that they have concerns themselves about Platner? So where would you kind of set the bar for this? Well, look, that's. It's a. It's sort of a subjective question, but I think one thing that's worth pointing out is that there was a poll taken about two weeks ago. It was after Mills had withdrawn from the primary campaign, and it was before this latest barrage of scandal around Platinum. What did that poll show? It's from the University of New Hampshire, and it had platner running at 76%. Okay.

[Chuck Rocha]

And then the.

[Steve Kornacki]

The combined other names on the ballot getting just over 20%. So he was getting about three quarters of the vote when it looked like he was on a glide path to the nomination. And the party seemed to be in sort of consolidation mode behind him. So I'd use that sort of. As a. As a benchmark tonight. If he is somewhere in that range or certainly above it, you know, that's a pretty resounding signal perhaps of the party still. Still pretty united behind him. But if his number starts to drop from that. Starts to drop from that significantly, I think that might be an indication that in the final days, final week or so of this campaign, you did have Democratic primary voters moving away from him and sending a signal that they share some of their. Those concerns. And one other thing to note on this race, too, by the way, the early voting did begin about a month ago, and there were tens of thousands of votes that already had been cast in this primary, again before this last round of controversy for Platinum. So he also probably banked some votes in that period, too.

[Melanie Nona]

Really important context. Steve Kornacki, thank you. I want to head up now to Maine where Ryan Nobles is. We heard some of your conversations with voters at the top of the show. But, Ryan, what else have you heard from folks on the ground?

[Ryan Nobles]

Yeah, it is interesting, Melanie, to actually be here in the state and talk to voters about their feelings and their thoughts about Graham Platner. And we definitely sensed a voter base that is conflicted about all of this. They don't necessarily feel comfortable with these allegations against Graham Platner, but they also very much like him as a candidate and his policies. I'm talking specifically about Democratic voters, but we did talk to one woman in particular whose number one concern is making sure that Susan Collins no longer represents her in the United States Senate. She's not necessarily thrilled with Graham Platner, and she was going through a bit of an existential crisis. And as she Walked into the voting booth this morning. Take a listen to what she told us.

[Melanie Nona]

If I really thought Mills had a chance, I. I may vote for her. Just as to give Platner a message that he's not everybody is really for him.

[Ryan Nobles]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, as a Democrat, then, I mean, are you concerned that if he's your nominee that you might have a hard time winning the seat?

[Melanie Nona]

Yes.

[Ryan Nobles]

So if Platner does, it doesn't seem as though he's on track to win. Do you still feel comfortable voting for him in November? Do you feel like, oh, I would

[Melanie Nona]

definitely, yeah, I will not vote for anybody who is not a Democrat.

[Ryan Nobles]

And that woman, Judy was her name, she really kind of encapsulated most of the conversations that we had with Democrats that at the end of the day, they view it as a binary choice. They certainly don't approve of some of the accusations against Graham Platner, but most either forgive him or believe that he's heading toward a road of redemption. And they still like him better than Susan Collins. And I'll tell you, Mel, we talked to Judy as she was on her way into the voting booth. Frank Thorpe, our producer, caught up with her afterwards to find out which way she ended up going. She ultimately voted for Graham Platner because she said it was a choice between sending him a message and sending the establishment a message. She felt it was more important to send that message to the establishment. We'll have to see if. If that's the message that's being sent when the polls close here tonight.

[Melanie Nona]

Absolutely fascinating, Ryan. Looking ahead now, what's it going to take for Platner to beat Collins in November? She's obviously such a proven resilient candidate. Democrats have tried to take her down before.

[Ryan Nobles]

Yeah, and that's the other side of this story, right, Mel? Because the other thing we did was we talked to quite a few Republicans and they are increasingly confident with every single passing day that the more controversies that surround Graham Platner, the easier the path will be the. For Susan Collins. You know, the Republicans we talked to said over and over again, Susan Collins has been doubted numerous times in this state. In fact, the last two election cycles, Democrats thought that they were poised to kick her out of office and she won comfortably. They feel that that is the exact scenario that's being set up right now, that because of the issues surrounding Platner and the fact that Collins is a known quantity who has a very specific and deep connection with the voters here, that that will overcome any negative feelings about the Republicans. Nationwide or any particular connection to Donald Trump that Susan Collins may have. Republicans feel confident about their chances here and that could be a problem for Democrats because Maine is a state that they have to have if they have any hope of winning back the Senate majority.

[Melanie Nona]

No doubt Ryan Noble is on a very tough assignment for us in Maine in June. We appreciate your reporting and taking one for the team there. I do want to bring it now to D.C. where it's not maybe as nice as Maine, but we're having a pretty nice day. Kelly o' Donnell is over at the White House for us. I want to dig into some of these election fraud claims. We mentioned that the President is once again alleging that an election is rigged. Kelly, what does that tell us about the President's strategy potentially heading into November? And do you think this is going to be something that he claims in every race where a Republican loses?

[Kelly O'Donnell]

Well, Mel, it is a well worn playbook for President Trump to try to raise suspicions about how elections are being conducted. And at times we see different levels of that strategy. Clearly here he saw some, some popular support behind Spencer Pratt and when that evaporated as the votes were counted, that brings out that that discussion from the president about there must be something flawed. What we don't hear from the President is any evidence presented about this. He does not to the kind of nitty gritty about the numbers of available voters, what the process is and so forth. What he is looking to do is to raise those doubts, especially if in an election of any type, primary or general does not go his way. What we don't hear from the president is much discussion of troubled elections when his favored candidates do well. The President also talks a lot about mail in ballots even though he has personally used them while he's been president to vote in Florida while here at the White House. But that influx of mail in ballots that Steve talked about that helped to move away from Pratt and in favor of the secondary Democratic candidate. The president has conditioned many of his own supporters against mail in ballots. At least he gives that message. So not surprising to see more Democrats using that tool of how to conduct votes as an individual. So the president well worn strategy applied in different ways. This time we're seeing it in California where he likes to go against especially a well defined blue state and its state level leadership and certainly the city of Los Angeles. There was hope that perhaps there was an opening for Republicans given all of the turmoil related to the fires. Apparently that did not happen as the votes were cast and then counted. The president putting this Right in his sights. The, the larger implication is when the president talks about this, will he take any federal action to try to interfere with elections around the country this midterm year? Of course, states manage elections, not the federal government.

[Melanie Nona]

Mel Kelly o', Donnell, thank you so much. I want to turn now to Ben Kemsar who's on set with me here. Let's pick up where Kelly left off about these election denialism claims that we are still seeing from the President, from Republicans on Capitol Hill. How big of a problem could this potentially be in November, especially considering there are so many competitive House races in California?

[Ben Kamisar]

Yeah, I think Kelly hit the nail on the head kind of with the distinction here. Right. So first off, rhetorically, we've seen this playbook before. We're going to see it again. We're seeing a play out right now. It is not surprising to see the president raise these claims and try to gin up his base, gin up supporters into, you know, casting doubt on an election without sort of that same secondary giving of the proof. And frankly, he has the grip of Republican lawmakers. So it's gonna be hard to see that many of them really taking too much of a step out against sort of the comments that he's been making. But the distinction is, okay, so then what?

[Sahil Kapoor]

Right.

[Ben Kamisar]

So there's the court of public opinion or maybe a court of public opinion on his own side, but then is he going to present evidence in a court of law? Cuz ultimately you need proof in order to actually adjudicate anything and to actually investigate and make these and actually take action here. So I think that's the big question. We're going to probably hear a lot about a lot of talk and a lot of words. Are we going to see proof? And so far we have not seen that.

[Melanie Nona]

I also want to talk about Maine elected Democrats largely sticking by Platner, at least so far. What does your reporting tell you about how Democrats are actually feeling behind the scenes? And do you think there is potentially some red line that could be crossed where they would cut bait with Platner?

[Ben Kamisar]

Yeah, I mean, I think right now we don't see that Platner is in danger. We don't think he's in danger of losing his primary. Right. So there's that piece of it. I think a lot of Democrats want to, to Ryan's point too. It's, you know, a lot of them are trying to weigh this like parlor game. Right. Of well, I really don't want to use their term. I really don't want Susan Collins to my senator. So what's the best path to doing that right now? If Platner is the nominee and, you know, expected to be the nominee and that doesn't change, then a lot of them will probably end up coming home to Platner. The question is, right, this is what we know now in what, early June, there's a lot more, a lot more Runway here for all of the oppo books in Republic, you know, a couple of blocks away from here at the national party headquarters and Republican side. And if this is all that's there, maybe Platner can turn the page here. The question is, what don't we know and how will that play out?

[Melanie Nona]

Yeah, and I'm sure a lot of Democrats asking themselves that very question. By backing, though a problematic candidate in Maine, are Democrats gonna come off as hypocritical, especially as they try to point the finger at Ken Paxton in Texas?

[Ben Kamisar]

It's a good question. We saw this kind of with Al Franken, the former senator in Minnesota. There were allegations against him, him of inappropriate conduct, not to this, not physical violence or not assault. It was making inappropriate gestures and inappropriate touching, I believe, if I remember correctly. And that was coming at the same time as some very different and very serious allegations against Roy Moore, the Alabama Senate candidate. Then some Democrats thought that it would be a good idea to distance themselves from Franken, to not do exactly, to basically say we're going to deal with our own house and look at Republicans over here not dealing with their own house.

[Melanie Nona]

Right.

[Ben Kamisar]

So you have seen that in the past. Ultimately, though, I don't think it's going to matter that much as far as the this goes, because there's going to be so much money, tens, hundreds of millions of dollars spent in these races to fight these fights in the races. I think ultimately it's going to be about the candidates themselves in those states and less about a bleed over effect maybe from one state to the other.

[Melanie Nona]

And quickly, is there a path for Democrats winning back the Senate without Maine?

[Ben Kamisar]

Without Maine? Boy, I don't know. I don't think so. I mean, you have to think about this is a state that Democrats need to win if they're going to need to win states like Maine and then push into small, pretty decently Republican territory, states that Trump won by 10 points. So I don't think that there really is a path. If you take off the low, one of the lower hanging fruits off the

[Melanie Nona]

board, all while needing to defend these seats like in Michigan, which we'll talk about later in the show. Ben, thank you so much. Coming up, President Trump says the U.S. will retaliate after Iranian forces shot down a U.S. army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, leading to the rescue of two pilots. We have the latest on the incident and what it means for the war and peace talks. Plus Speaker Johnson at the White House as President Trump's polarizing pick to lead America's most powerful intelligence agencies puts a key surveillance law in jeopardy. You're watching Meet the Press now.

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[Melanie Nona]

Welcome back. Turning now to breaking news out of the Middle East. President Trump is blaming Iran for shooting down a US Apache helicopter that was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on social media this afternoon, President Trump saying the US Must respond. According to the Pentagon, the two crew members in that helicopter were rescued within approximately two hours by an unmanned boat, a first for the US Military. The Pentagon also saying the two soldiers are in stable condition. It comes as overnight. President Trump once again appeared optimistic that a deal with Iran is imminent. Laying out this new timetable.

[Graham Platner]

We're in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal that will not allow in any way, shape or form nuclear weapons, etc. And the Strait will open up right away. It'll open up immediately upon signing, which could be in two or three days.

[Melanie Nona]

Did you just say two or three days? Or two or three weeks.

[Graham Platner]

Two or three days.

[Melanie Nona]

You'll be signing a piece of.

[Graham Platner]

No, no. We have a good chance of doing it. We should be able to do it in one hour if you want to know the truth.

[Melanie Nona]

Now, we should note the President has been saying for weeks now that the US And Iran are close to a deal. Joining me now to help break some of this down is NBC News senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez and NBC News senior senior National Security correspondent Courtney Kuby. I want to start over at the White House with Gabe. The President said the US Will respond to this helicopter, but do we know what that actually means? Gabe? We don't. Is he willing to put a potential deal with Iran at risk?

[Gabe Gutierrez]

Well, we don't know what exactly retaliation will mean. This all just unfolded over the last several hours with the President posting on social media, as you just referenced, that the US Must respond and we've been asking White House officials about what that could look like. No response so far on exactly what the President might do. But we have heard from him over the last several days and really over the past several weeks, as you referenced, that a deal with Iran is close. He said this repeatedly, over and over again. That timeline very squishy. And last night overnight we heard from the President that it could come in two or three days. Now the President has previously tried to make the argument that these back and forth attacks between Israel and Iran were not a violation of the ceasefire. He viewed them as one offs that did not risk a further escalation. But this is the first time where, you know, now the US is threatening direct retaliation by US forces. So it is unclear where, where we go from here, but we have no indication now that that the White House views this as a major escalation that could restart major combat operations.

[Melanie Nona]

Gabe, I know you'll stay on top of it for us. Thank you. I want to turn on to Courtney who's on set with me. What more are you learning about this helicopter crash and how do these unmanned boats or sea drones, I guess they're called, actually work?

[Courtney Kuby]

So we know that in fact there was an Iranian drone that smashed into this helicopter. That's what brought it down. It's a two seater Apache attack helicopter. It went down in the Strait of Hormuz. And that was when this rescue mission, which fortunately both, both of the soldiers on board are both fine, they're receiving medical treatment. But that was when this rescue mission like turned into something kind of cool. It was one of these sea based drones that the US Military has had operating out of Bahrain now for several years. It's called Task Force 59. The military was able to send these drones out. You can see some of them there. And these aren't tiny little drones like you might think of them. I know that some people probably think it's like a remote controlled little boat on the water. It's not that we're talking about 24, 25 foot.

[Melanie Nona]

Yeah, that's massive boats.

[Courtney Kuby]

Yeah, look at that one. Right? They send them out, they have the ability to basically scan an area. They use artificial intelligence. Well, they were able to find the two crew. They were floating in the water, in the dark waters in the middle of the night of the Strait of Hormuz. They found them, they were able to get on board, take them a little distance away, where a helicopter was able to take them out of the water. And they're now receiving medical treatment. Their injuries are not expected to be life threatening though.

[Melanie Nona]

And this is a first for the US Military. This never happened before.

[Courtney Kuby]

It is using these drones in this way. I mean, generally they're used in that area to establish patterns of life threatening. They watch the water and they figure out if maybe there's smugglers, if there's, you know, potential terrorists that are moving through the area. We got to spend some time with

[Melanie Nona]

them a couple of years ago.

[Courtney Kuby]

And one of the things that they were really watching for then were any evidence of Houthi unmanned vessels that were moving through the area. So this is the first time they've been used to save a couple of soldiers lives.

[Melanie Nona]

How much does the shoot down increase? Concerns about the ability to operate safely in the Strait of Hormuz, especially since that has been such a sticking point throughout these negotiations.

[Courtney Kuby]

Iran has been launching drones in this part of the Strait of Hormuz every single day for days now. So this again is just another one of the incidents that really illustrates the danger that exists right now with these two militaries that are operating so close to one another in that area. If in fact, remember, President Trump himself has said that one thing that would make him potentially move back to major combat operations is if US Troops are killed. So in this case, you know, very fortunately they were both taken out of the water safely. But this is exactly the kind of incident that could have one relatively minor incident have major strategic implications with the US potentially returning to major combat operations. And we are seeing things like this happen every single day with these close calls.

[Melanie Nona]

I also wanna talk to you about this other story that we've been following that you've been covering. David Rush, the CIA officer who had $40 million of gold bars in his home. He's accused of creating a fake top secret intelligence program. Talk to me more. What do we know about this program and how is it that he was able to create it without raising any suspicion?

[Courtney Kuby]

As we peel back the onion of this story, it is just more and more fascinating how this guy was able to get away with this for so long. Not just fabricating his background and getting everyone around him to believe it, but getting to this very a relatively senior level in the CIA. And then now what we're learning, this is according to reporting from Dan Deluse and Gordon Lubald, our colleagues, is that he was able to create this made up special access program that because of the nature of a special access program, basically it's so secretive that only people who know about it are on a need to know basis. And he was able to convince several of his CIA colleagues to be a part of this made up phony program. And then they were able to take millions of dollars, as you mentioned, 300 gold bars, more than 30 Rolex watches, $2 million in currency. They were able to take it all potentially for his own personal. I mean, as we unfold this, it's just remarkable what he was able to do at1 the US's top intelligence agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, for years.

[Melanie Nona]

Wild, crazy stuff. Courtney, thank you so much for that reporting. Up next, why Vice President Vance wants his administration to launch a criminal investigation into his former VP rival. That story's next on Meet the Press. Now.

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[Melanie Nona]

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[Melanie Nona]

Welcome back. Congressional reauthorization of a critical but controversial surveillance tool is in jeopardy right now. Just days before it's set to expire, a bipartisan deal for a long term extension of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance act, which allows the government to spy on foreigners outside the US Without a warrant, fell apart over opposition from Democrats and even some Republicans to the president's appointment of Bill Pulte, a Trump ally with no intelligence experience as acting director of National Intelligence. I think the

[Kelly O'Donnell]

announcement last week really

[Melanie Nona]

complicated our ability to move forward on fisa. I am concerned that we let fisa,

[Kelly O'Donnell]

that events would allow FISA to go

[Melanie Nona]

dark at a time when we need to have heightened intelligence and our ability

[Kelly O'Donnell]

to gather in a way that's going to keep us all safe.

[Garland Gilchrist]

Is Pulte qualified for that position in your view?

[Melanie Nona]

I think that is the challenge that

[Kelly O'Donnell]

we have in front of us and

[Melanie Nona]

why it has caused the complications with bisa. After a meeting today at the White House, House Speaker Mike Johnson would not answer questions about the president's plans for Pulte and instead accused Democrats of putting politics ahead of national security.

[Mike Johnson]

They were working on a bipartisan, bicameral solution to extend fisa. And then political gains began. And so the Democrats are now have taken a hostage on this and they're suggesting that they might not advance it. We're hoping they can get that together. We cannot allow FISA to go dark. It'd be a dangerous prospect. And I think everybody who is reasonable understands that.

[Melanie Nona]

Will he dump horrible dumpling?

[Mike Johnson]

I'm not going to speak for the president or and I'm not going to talk about anything that we discussed privately among the leadership here.

[Melanie Nona]

But NBC News senior national political reporter Sahil Kapoor joins me now from Capitol Hill where he has been following it all for us. Sahil, I want to start with that Trump Johnson meeting. Is there anything more you can tell us about what was accomplished or not accomplished at that meeting?

[Sahil Kapoor]

Mel, I'm told this meeting took place at the White House from late night, morning to early afternoon, that it was a long meeting, that it featured Speaker Johnson, President Trump and some others in the administration. Now, the details are a little bit murky there, but as you just heard, Johnson made the case for extending FISA section 7 or 2. When speaking to reporters after he got back, he said they cannot let it go dark. He called it a productive meeting and he very notably declined to say when asked whether the president will dump Bill Pulte in order to secure the Democratic votes, he called those private conversations. That is a public course. The big roadblock here and the fact that Johnson didn't simply take that off the table, which he likely would have if Trump conveyed as much, says that this is very much a live ball and the administration appears to be considering a whole host of options in order to find the votes to move FISA section 702 to reauthorization ahead of its expiration this Friday.

[Melanie Nona]

And Sahel, as you mentioned, the deadline is Friday. That's just three days from now. What do you expect will happen between now and Friday? And are there any other potential off ramps to prevent this law from expiring?

[Sahil Kapoor]

They need some sort of breakthrough right now, Mel. There is no path to getting it done. Democrats are firmly against renewing this, this extraordinary spying power while the president is putting, even on an acting basis, Bill Pulte, an ally who, as you mentioned, does not have experience in intelligence, he would have essentially the power to oversee Section 702. The House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, called this a hand grenade tossed by President Trump into already sensitive negotiations. As you know, there's been a longstanding tug of war between national security hawks and privacy hawks about Whether FISA Section 702 needs reforms in the form of requiring the administration to get a warrant in order to sweep up any data they collect as part of this process on American citizens. Meanwhile, you've got John Thune, the Senate majority leader Republican, who just said moments ago that he is encouraging the White House to pick a permanent successor to Tulsi Gabbard for dni. He thinks maybe that'll unlock the vote. It's not clear to me right now that Democrats are going to be placated by a potential separate permanent successor as long as Bill Pulte is going to be in there even on an acting basis at this point.

[Melanie Nona]

And Sahil, I also want to turn to reconciliation. The House plans to vote pretty soon, I believe, on reconciliation, which is also the immigration border patrol bill that was passed by the Senate earlier this month. But there was some drama leading up to this evening's vote. Walk us through that.

[Sahil Kapoor]

Yeah. So firstly, the final bill should be coming up for a vote here on the House floor in just moments. And yes, there was a little bit of drama. You know, this is the type of thing you would think is fairly simple and straightforward. This is simply funding ICE and border patrol at status quo levels as part of the appropriations process. No separate strings attached or no ornaments. But in these House margins, nothing is simple and straightforward. They struggle to get the rule passed. When two Republicans, Chip Roy and Tim Burchett, originally withheld their votes, they ultimately got the rule passed by the slender margin of 213 to 211. Meaning on the final vote, with the absences right now, even one Republican. No. Could take the bill down. Now, the upside, Mel, is that five Republicans are not here. They could theoretically come back. So if they fall one or two votes short, they may be able to pass it later this week. But once again, these tiny margins in the House majority creating more problems for Republican leadership.

[Melanie Nona]

To that point, Sahil, very quickly, do you think the bill is actually going to pass?

[Sahil Kapoor]

It seems so because Chip Roy told reporters that his, you know, they were trying to work out some, some issues. They're trying to resolve the problems and he indicated that he's very likely to support this bill.

[Melanie Nona]

Sahil Kapoor, thank you. Turning now to the Justice Department and Vice President Vance urging the DOJ to investigate his rival from the 2024 election, the vice president referring Minnesota governor and former vice presidential candidate Tim Walls to the DOJ for a criminal fraud investigation in connection to social services programs. Vance also pushing for the Justice Department to investigate Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the vice president, saying on social media Minnesota state officials are not above the law and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimidated whistleblowers, they must face justice. Vance says his referral was prompted by a report by the House Oversight Committee published yesterday that claims Walz and Ellison were aware of fraud in federally funded Social Security programs, they did not take steps to stop it. In a statement to NBC News, Ellison said the allegations were unfounded and a political stunt. Walz has dismissed past allegations against him as politically motivated. After the break, meet the candidate. Michigan lieutenant governor and candidate for secretary of State Garland Gilchrist joins me on set as Democrats grapple with issues tied to election integrity and redistricting. Keep it here. This is MEET THE PRESS now. Welcome back. As President Trump makes claims of election fraud in California's primary election without offering any evidence, Democratic candidates fear it could offer a preview of what's to come in November's midterms and are preparing for the possibility that their own races could be challenged. Earlier this year, the president demanded that elections be nationalized and specifically called out Atlanta, Philadelphia and Detroit for holding what he alleged to be rigged and crooked elections offering no evidence of fraud. Joining me now is Michigan's lieutenant Governor, Garland Gilchrist, who is also running for Michigan Secretary of State. Thank you so much for joining us. There's just so much to discuss with you. But I do want to start with the election fraud claims, especially because the president has singled out Detroit before. What is your reaction to hearing these new claims that the president is making in regards to the LA mayor's race?

[Garland Gilchrist]

It's the same old same old with Donald Trump. As a Detroit voter. It is offensive to me that he always challenges election results he doesn't like. And it's not an accident that he targeted black cities in particular. It's part of this broader project nationally, redistricting away black members of Congress. This is a generational assault on just votes, voting and voters and democracy around the country. And we, as you know, Democratic leaders in states, we cannot stand for it. And frankly, as the next secretary of state of Michigan, I won't stand for it. I won't tolerate someone trying to usurp the Constitution to take away our state's authority to manage and oversee our elections and make sure our voters can vote and have it count.

[Melanie Nona]

He also sued Michigan a number of times over the 2020 results. He's warned that legal threats could come in the future. What specific concerns do you actually have about what could potentially happen in the future?

[Garland Gilchrist]

They're certainly going to continue to be creative and aggressive legally. But I'm concerned about the fact that in 2020, Trump, his allies, they were literally banging on the windows and the doors where ballots were being counted in the city of Detroit. And I expect to them to get more violent and more dangerous. We're preparing for those kind of realities with federal agents and just, again, people who are just doing Trump's bidding, coming in and trying to wreak havoc in Michigan.

[Melanie Nona]

How can you stop that? And are you prepared for the possibility of federal agents, for example, being sent into places like Detroit?

[Garland Gilchrist]

We certainly have the most aggressive legal strategy that you've ever seen. And I'll carry that forward to make sure that we can try to preempt any actions that they will take. But we're ready for people, community organizations, attorneys, but also sort of the state police, local law enforcement. We're ready to make sure that federal agents don't take away Michiganders rights by standing in the way of them and their votes.

[Melanie Nona]

Is the legal aspect of this is that enough though to stop something like this?

[Garland Gilchrist]

Yes, we need to meet them wherever they are. So when they brought people to try to, you know, again, bang down the doors for people who are getting their votes counted because they were so worried about how people in Detroit voted, then we have to meet them in the streets too.

[Melanie Nona]

This has become a part of your campaign for Secretary of State. And to be Honest, I think 10 years ago us covering something like a local Secretary of state race probably wouldn't have met the bar for national coverage. But it is because of these continued election fraud claims that the President continues to make. So in the race you've defended the right to vote, but what does that actually look like to you? And how does that differentiate you from the other Democrats in the race?

[Garland Gilchrist]

Well, look, Michigan is a state that matters. We are decisive in terms of presidential elections. And who is running the election in Michigan in 2028 is the person who gets elected in 2026. And I'm going to make sure the Santa offer again votes and voting and voters and our democracy. And what sets me apart from my MAGA Republican opponent is he is a Secretary of State that will do whatever the President says to be responsible and accountable to the President rather than being responsible and accountable to the 10 million people who call Michigan home and responsible to our voters and making sure that they can have their constitutional rights protected. I will defend that legally. I will defend that using the bully pulpit of my office and telling the story and being just more clear and can tell the truth more aggressively than they're going to lie about the elections. We've seen how aggressive this president is lying about the election. He lies about the Detroit results more than any other election. He. He cannot tell the truth, but we can tell the truth more aggressively than they can.

[Melanie Nona]

You mentioned redistricting. There was a Supreme Court ruling that gutted the Voting Rights act, enabling a lot of states, particularly in the south, to redistrict. Do you think that blue shade states should take advantage of that and redistrict in their own states?

[Garland Gilchrist]

I think that blue states have already tried to step up and to meet this moment and this challenge and we have to fight this fire. I mean, they are specifically attacking not just Democratic seats, but black, but Democrats that are held by black members of Congress trying to gut the CBC as well. That is gutting the conscience of the Congress. That is not an accident. This is a moral threat to how our nation moves forward. And so again, election officials have a responsibility. Democratic leaders in blue states have a responsibility. And in a state like Michigan, you know, we're going to make sure we protect our voting rights.

[Melanie Nona]

I want to ask you about Michigan's Democratic Senate primary. There are three very different candidates in the race. I know you haven't weighed in, but there are Democrats who are saying there's concern about electability, general election electability for some of these candidates and that you elect someone too progressive or too far left. It's difficult to win in a state like Michigan. What is your response to that? Do you think there is a risk of elevating someone who's too far progressive and out of step with the general population?

[Garland Gilchrist]

I'm going to support who comes out of that Democratic primary so that we can win in November. And I believe who comes out of that primary is going to be someone who is directly responsive to the needs, concerns and the energy of Michigan voters. So as a candidate for Secretary of State, I won our Democratic convention by pulling together a broad coalition of progressives, of business minded, of young people, of seniors, a more broad coalition than anybody else been able to put together in Michigan. That coalition is the foundation of our victory in November. And that is grounded in the fact that as lieutenant governor, I've been to all 83 counties of Michigan at least three times, listen to people, responding to them, delivering results from them and making sure they know that I'm going to stand up to this president. That is what people want from our candidates up and down the ticket for every office. I'm going to deliver that as Secretary of State and I'm going to work together with all of our other nominees to make sure we win in November.

[Melanie Nona]

While I have you, I do want to ask about AI and data centers. You were a former software engineer, I understand. Would you support a moratorium on more data centers?

[Garland Gilchrist]

Look, I'm the only software engineer who's elected statewide in America right now, and I will be as Secretary of State. And we need to make sure that these companies don't come in and bully our communities. What makes me as upset, the data centers and their environmental impact and the concerns that are real about that is the fact that these are some of the biggest, richest, wealthiest companies with some of the smartest people, but their tactic is bullying small communities and punking them into taking data centers, that is not acceptable. They need to respect the people that live in these communities where they want to put their huge buildings and listen to what they want and their concerns instead of being so arrogant. Like it's an illustration of how corporate power bullies people. And that is unacceptable. We live in a democracy where voters should get to choose how to move forward, not what's happened, just with corporations will.

[Melanie Nona]

So you think there should be a ban, then?

[Garland Gilchrist]

I think we should really make sure that those citizens are not coming to our communities by bullying.

[Melanie Nona]

Lieutenant Governor, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. Thank you for your time. And the panel will dig deeper into the state of play ahead of the midterms. Keep it here on MEET THE PRESS now. Welcome back. Joining me now is the panel, NBC News senior congressional reporter Scott Wong, Democratic strategier and founder of Solidarity Strategies, Chuck Rocha, and Republican strategist Anneliese Keller. Thank you all so much for joining us. We have a lot to dig into, but I want to start with what we talked about at the top of the show, which was Maine. Scott, of course, all eyes on Graham Platner. What are you looking out for tonight? And is there a margin that he needs to achieve in order to have what is considered a successful night for him?

[Scott Wong]

I think his number needs to be overwhelming. It needs to say to voters and to the political community, look, I'm in charge here. I'm dominating this race. I think it's interesting when we look at at polls that have recently been conducted here, there was an internal poll that Graham Platner put out that showed him at 64% over primary challengers. There was a University of New Hampshire poll that put him at 76%. If he's hovering around those 60 to 70% numbers, I think he's in good shape. If it falls closer to a simple majority, 50%, I think he's in real trouble.

[Melanie Nona]

And you think it could spark some nervousness among Democrats?

[Scott Wong]

Well, I think it's interesting that Janet Mills, as we've discussed, has she says, look, I've suspended my campaign, but with a wink and a nod saying, hey, voters, I'm still on the ballot.

[Melanie Nona]

Yeah. And sticking by him, though, Ro Khanna, Bernie Sanders, two prominent progressive lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Putnam and Graham or Khanna. Excuse me, just put out a video. I want to play a portion of that.

[Graham Platner]

What do you say to someone that says, oh, Ro, I. I agree with Graham's policies. I'm glad you're going there. But, you know, after the stuff coming out, I just. My granddaughter, what do you say to someone like that?

[Chuck Rocha]

If you believe in transformational politics, you

[Gabe Gutierrez]

need to believe in the ability for people to transform.

[Melanie Nona]

And I came out of the infantry

[Chuck Rocha]

at a time where, like, you sucked it up.

[Graham Platner]

Were you getting help or no?

[Ryan Nobles]

No.

[Graham Platner]

God, no.

[Chuck Rocha]

Which is why I was self medicated.

[Melanie Nona]

I thought that video was so fascinating. It seemed like it was an attempt to sort of soften his image. But, Chuck, is there a risk for Democrats that it looks like they're giving him a pass for misconduct?

[Chuck Rocha]

I think you weigh that against in winning an election on who he can invite back to the party and who he turns off. Like, I am a pragmatist. I'm paid to win elections. And the way you win elections is getting the most votes and you come up with a scenario to do that. So I think Democrats are staying steadfast for the time being. To Scott's point, if he doesn't get 60, 70, or 80% today, it becomes a cautionary tale because there's a certain amount of the electorate that may be turned off by this. But what we don't talk about is there's a whole group of people that are motivated to vote against or vote for something that's not the establishment, that's outside of the norm. People are tired of doctors and lawyers with good ties and suits, and they're looking for regular people. And guess what? Regular people have a lot of flaws. And I think the one thing that he has going for him is that he's looked into the camera and said, I'm a flawed man, I'm not perfect, and I'm ashamed of what I was back then when I came home from war and I was messed up. There's a lot of people that gravitate towards that. Not saying there's a small group of people that it turns off as well with other things. Those are the two conflicting narratives.

[Melanie Nona]

Do you think he needs to do more, though, than just videos like that?

[Chuck Rocha]

I think he's went and done 80 town halls, and in Maine, that's a lot. As a guy who's run a presidential campaign, as a guy who's run Senate campaigns, If you've done 80 town halls in Maine, that's a lot of talking to people.

[Melanie Nona]

Annelise, obviously, the other factor here is Senator Susan Collins. She's been so hard for Democrats to Beat. So far, though, it's kind of interesting. She has avoided really going after Platner that hard over these allegations. Do you think that as we shift into the general election, that strategy will change?

[Anneliese Keller]

You know, it might. I mean, there's obviously gonna be a lot of outside forces that'll come in and do some of that fighting for her. She hasn't really had to do anything at this point. I mean, he's done it to himself. She's really sat back, you know, and I do wanna go back to that video that you played. He is really deflecting what. But to say this happened years and years ago, I mean, these allegations that we're talking about, this was in his current marriage, that a year, a year and a half ago is when these allegations were coming up. So I think that that is really what's difficult for people to wrap their heads around. I think they understand that people are flawed, but they're looking at this person saying, hey, you told us there was nothing else out there. You're a changed person. You are this transformational candidate. Yet all of these issues, I mean, the. This platform that he was on to solicit with these women, that was active up until a very recent moment. So I think that's the disconnect that he's gonna have to answer for. And while there might be people who are attracted to this, there are a lot of people who are going to stay at home. They're going to say, maybe Susan Collins is not the person that I want to vote for. But they're gonna say, Graham Platner has turned me off and he has too much baggage, and I don't trust his judgment. And because of that, I'm going to just stay away. You know, there's no one. This is not a presidential election. There are people who just generally don't vote in midterm cycles. And I think that that is where I'm going to be watching.

[Melanie Nona]

Scott, I do want to turn to the election fraud, the election denialism. We are continuing to see that on Capitol Hill. I was pretty struck. Maybe I shouldn't be that surprised that the speaker of the House yesterday perpetuated and bolstered some of these claims from the president. I mean, do you think this is something that Republicans should do more to distance themselves from, or do you think at least the leaders, there's no upside for them in, you know, pushing back on Trump?

[Scott Wong]

Well, we haven't seen Mike Johnson show any daylight with the President of the United States. I do think those comments are troubling both from the president and from the speaker of the House to, you know, state without any sort of evidence that there's widespread fraud happening in the California elections. Let's just be very clear about what this is really about. In California, they accept ballots, mail in ballots, or you can drop off your ballot all the way through Election Day. So those thousands and thousands of ballots are being counted. It's an effort to try to expand voting accessibility rather than to restrict it. So I just think it's important to state what the California rules are. And, you know, one conversation I will say I've had recently with a California lawmaker and a state attorney general, both Democrats, they were talking about some of this rhetoric to try to undermine the California election system. And the fear that they stated was that they fear that President Trump in the midterms is going to try to send DOJ in there to seize ballots. This is a real fear that Democrats on Capitol Hill and around the country are talking about, you know, ahead of

[Melanie Nona]

the midterms and the House could come down to California. We've seen that time and time again. Really?

[Scott Wong]

It's gonna be very close. Yes.

[Melanie Nona]

Yeah, Chuck. Speaking of those California election laws, Congressman Ricano, who I mentioned earlier, he posted something on social media I thought was interesting. He said, a close friend of mine is canceling his voter registration today. He is convinced Spencer Pratt was robbed of the election. Regardless, we need to figure out in California how we can get the vote counted faster and results tabulated so it does not drag on. I mean, do you think he's right here or do you think there more needs to be done in order to speed up and trust in the election process?

[Chuck Rocha]

There's always more that can be done. As a guy who looks every night at election night, like tonight on what's come in, where did it come from? We will know as soon as possible. And especially in California, where they have a lot of money and they love to brag about being the fourth largest economy. But there's no saying on the farms where I grew up in East Texas about what's going on right now with Donald Trump. And if you lie long enough about having a horse, eventually somebody will buy you a saddle. And that's what he's guaranteed on, is he. He wants to lie to the people so much that people will believe him. Not everybody, but enough of them. To Scott's point, leading into the midterms. Republicans are going to lose in the midterms. We just don't know how much. But if they lose by a good bit. He wants to turn the camera and be like, just like by election, just like California. It's all rigged. And that's what we're leading into that nobody's talking about.

[Melanie Nona]

I also want to get to South Carolina. There's also primaries there. Lindsey Graham is trying to fend off a runoff. He's up against a MAGA candidate who's really going against him over his support for the war in Iran. Anneliese, what are you looking out for and do you think that Graham can fend off this challenger from his right?

[Anneliese Keller]

Yeah, I'll be watching that race. I'll also be watching the governor's race. I do think Lindsey Graham probably holds on. It will be, you know, curious to watch. Obviously, South Carolina is an extremely red MAGA state. So look, I think that does say something to where he's his policies have been coming down with respect to Iran. But I'm especially watching the governor's race. I'm very curious.

[Chuck Rocha]

Is that where Nancy Macy's running?

[Anneliese Keller]

It is. There's about five candidates there right now. She's pulling low double digits. I don't anticipate her making the runoff. She has not been endorsed by President Trump. She's indicating that it's her support for releasing the Epstein files that has led to, you know, sort of the fracture between her and the president. But I also think it's underappreciated that Henry McMasters has a lot of sway with President Trump. Of course, he's the former lieutenant governor and governor and who I think leaned a lot on President Trump to ensure that his selected endorsement there in South Carolina. So I think Pam, I think she probably has the best shot. But of course it'll be a runoff there.

[Melanie Nona]

One of many races we will be watching tonight. Thank you so much, Chuck, Anneliese and Scott, thank you for joining us. We're back tomorrow with more MEET the PRESS now. And there's more ahead on NBC News. Now.

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