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Meet the Press NOW – March 5
00:56:58
President Donald Trump says the operations on Iran are “far ahead of schedule” as the U.S. and Israel continue to carry out strikes with fallout spreading throughout the Middle East. Trump fires Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and nominates Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) as her replacement. GOP leaders call on Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) to end his re-election bid after admitting to having an affair with an aide who later died by suicide.
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- [00:01]
Kristen Welker
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Courtney Kuby
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Kristen Welker
Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Krista Welker and that was the closing bell on Wall street on day six of the US War with Iran, markets ending lower with the Dow at one point plunging more than 1100 points, but came back to close roughly down 800 points amid growing uncertainty and the price of oil surging again. It has now gone up roughly 20% since the war began less than a week ago. In just a few moments, we are expecting an update on the war from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the top US Military commander for the Middle east region. We will bring you that press conference when it begins, but we begin with breaking news and that major shakeup in the Trump administration, the president announcing on his social media feed this afternoon that he's firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and naming Oklahoma Senator Mark Wade Mullen as his pick to replace her. Senator Mullen was attending a Senate lunch when he got a call from the President telling reporters he was not expecting that call today. Take a look.
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Gabe Gutierrez
Listen, I am super excited about this opportunity. It came at a not a complete surprise, but it came at a little bit of surprise for us. Department of Homeland Security has a very
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broad jurisdiction and I think there's a
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lot of work that we need to
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do and I'm excited about it.
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Senator Fetterman says he's going to vote for you.
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Kristen Welker
Do you expect other Democrats to vote for you?
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Gabe Gutierrez
John already text me. And of course you guys know John
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and I are friends too, and so I don't know we're going to try
- [02:43]
to earn everybody's vote. I want people to understand I'm not when I go into this position.
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Yes, I'm a Republican. Yes, I'm conservative.
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But Department of Homeland Security is to keep everybody regardless if you support me,
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if you don't support me, regardless of what your thoughts are.
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Kristen Welker
Now, the move comes, as several sources tell NBC News the president was unhappy with Secretary Noem's testimony this week before House and Senate committees, including this exchange.
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Iranian Foreign Minister
The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently.
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Julie Cirkin
Yes, sir.
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Kristen Welker
We went through the legal processes. Did it correct? Yes. Yes. And one thing, Senator, I think would be helpful to know is how effective
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Julie Cirkin
that communications has been that overwhelmingly.
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Iranian Foreign Minister
Well, they weren't given your name recognition. I mean, I personally just, I mean, to me, it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot.
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Kristen Welker
Now, before announcing her firing, the White House today was pushing back on Noem's claims, saying, quote, potus did not sign off on a $220 million ad campaign. Absolutely not. Joining me now to break all of this down, NBC News senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez and NBC News senior Homeland Security correspondent Julia Ainslie. Thanks to both of you for starting us off today with this big breaking news. Gabe, let me start with you. Based on my conversations, this was not just one factor that led to her ouster. Basically, there were a number of issues that just started piling up and became too great.
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Gabe Gutierrez
Well, certainly, Kristen, and the first indication today was a statement you just read. Absolutely not. It's rare that you get such pushback from the White House, specifically after Secretary Noem was on Capitol Hill earlier this week. And that really got to the president. $200 million for an ad campaign that tries to make her look good. Certainly the president seeing this and didn't want to be associated with it, the White House pushing back that he did not approve of it. But just in the last hour or so since this story has broken, Kristen, we've also gotten a statement from an administration official we are hearing and sharp pushback on what the reason, or excuse me, la out the reason for Noem's firing. An administration official tells us that a culmination of her many unfortunate leadership failures, including the fallout in Minnesota, the ad campaign, the allegations of infidelity, the mismanagement of her staff, and her constant feuding with the heads of other agencies, including CBP and ice. Christie's drama sadly overshadowed and distracted from the administration's extremely Popular immigration agenda, which will continue in full force. What a scathing statement from an administration official. Clearly, this must have been in the works, but there was some fury here. And you know, we're also learning too, that there was a contentious call earlier this week between Corey Lewandowski, a top Christi Noem aide, and the President himself.
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Kristen Welker
Right, and those two go back so far.
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Well, Julia, I mean, just an extraordinary statement. I mean, I've covered the White House for more than a decade. I can't remember the last time a senior administration official released a statement like that against a cabinet secretary. Julia, you have more on these mounting frustrations.
- [06:09]
Yeah, that's right. And that contract had so much focus, that so much attention during the hearings of the $220 million contract that Gabe reported on. But also, we're reporting on another ad campaign. We understand that Kristi Noem hand picked those same companies who worked on the ad campaign to give $100 million contract for an ICE recruitment campaign. And that came against the wishes of San staff at ice. And we understand their jobs were actually threatened when they went against the secretary. We have internal communications and three administration officials. So a lot of people coming out of the woodwork at this point, as they often do, to say, I have a story as well, sharing how this one ad campaign was really indicative of a larger problem, because as we heard so much during those hearings, it was Corey Lewandowski and Kristi Noem who had the authority to approve any contract over $100 million. And so things started to really fall within their purview to hand pick to decrease the competition on what should be a competitive bidding process. And it got harder and harder for Noem to defend those decisions going forward. And this, of course, comes after her very quick reactions after the deaths of Alex Preddy and Renee Nicole. Good. And after that, that's when we already started to see some of her power fade.
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Yeah. And some internal criticism really bubbled up at that time. Julia, what about that luxury plane? That became a real flashpoint. Yeah, break that down.
- [07:30]
It was interesting. I mean, we first had those pictures here at NBC News, and those were put on about every poster board. We could see those hearing rooms here. You see that bed Kristi Noem said would be ripped out and replaced with seats for deportees, which was a tough answer for some to swallow on these committees.
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Of course.
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Why not just get a regular plane where you could fit 100 people? I've been on those planes before. They look like any commercial aircraft. But instead, she was asking for $70 million for this plane, which she said would be used for a dual purpose, for cabinet level travel, meaning for her and for deportations. And of course, that was something that DHS said would be a costly saving measure. Again, these things got harder and harder when she was faced with Congress. I will say, as far as the members both from Senate and House, I don't know if you all were struck by this as well, but so many of these hearings have just been a time where we don't get a lot of news. We don't get people asking the hard questions. We feel like they haven't read our reporting. It's really just political showmanship. And this time these people came very prepared.
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Gabe Gutierrez
And Republicans too.
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Kristen Welker
Absolutely. Yeah. Like Kennedy and Tillis.
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There were bipartisan fireworks. And anytime you get that, you have to stop and take notice. Julia. You're absolutely right, Gabe. Julia lays out this picture of the fact that Secretary Noem had really lost the confidence of some of her own staffers. Let's turn to Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. This is President Trump's pick to replace Secretary Noem. He has to be confirmed. I'm told that that confirmation process will move quite quickly. Talk about the support that he enjoys in the Senate. Is he expected to get confirmed?
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Gabe Gutierrez
Well, certainly he enjoys a lot of goodwill in the Senate and that probably was part of the calc for why President Trump decided to choose him. Now, you know, we're also getting some interesting reporting from our Capitol Hill colleagues. Melanie Zenona, who is speaking to a senator, he was at a luncheon today and apparently he got some phone call, rushed out of the room very quickly with his hand over his mouth. And you know, you heard him there speaking to reporters. He hadn't spoken to his wife yet earlier in the day. This was a very, this was surprising to him. But certainly this is seen by the administration as a pick. The president called him a MAGA warrior in that post. Certainly this is someone who the president thinks can further his immigration agenda, who will be loyal to him. And with these thin margins in Congress, you know, who will get, you know, confirmed by the Senate.
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Kristen Welker
Yeah. Well, we'll watch that process play out very closely. Julia, let's talk about the backdrop to all of this, which is the fact that DHS is effectively shut down right now over this funding battle. Democrats say they're not funding DHS until some big changes are made, particularly to these ICE operations does come in the wake of the deaths of the two U.S. citizens that you cited. Do you think this changes the equation at all? In other words, could this lead to the government reopening? Will this be enough to appease Democrats?
- [10:26]
I think that's certainly the hope and probably part of the calculation in picking someone like Mullen. Trump knows he's heading into midterms. He doesn't want a lot of drama. There hasn't been as much of a shakeup, really. No shakeups in this cabinet. Think about what a change that is that covered five DHS secretaries under the first Trump administration. And so in this case with the DHS shutdown. And what became clear during that hearing, too, was that it was Noem who chose what areas to shut down of DHS to make those decisions, to shut down CISA and TSA and Coast Guard but keep CBP and ICE still operating, that was also in the spotlight. And so now there could be more of an opening as people think that Mullen might be more willing to listen to them. Also, some news that went unnoticed is that they're ending a plan in El Paso, Texas, where there have been four deaths of ICE detainees who are going to shut down that detention center. We just had that news last night. So these are small steps that are being taken behind the scenes as this administration, I think, is trying to get closer to a point to reopen dhs. No word yet on what they're going to do with the masks, though. That's also been a Democrat sticking point.
- [11:31]
Yeah, the masks have been one of the big flashpoints for sure. Gabe, stick around for us. Julia, thank you so much for your great reporting as always. We are waiting for that update any minute now from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the war against Iran. It, of course, does come as major questions remain about the decision to launch launched the war and the plans for the next phase of the conflict. Earlier today, NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Yamas spoke to Iran's foreign minister in an exclusive interview and asked him about the possibility of US Troops in Iran.
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Keir Simmons
President Trump has not ruled out boots
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Gabe Gutierrez
on the ground in Iran. Are you afraid of a US Invasion in your country?
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Iranian Foreign Minister
No, we are waiting for them.
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Gabe Gutierrez
You are waiting for the US Military to invade the ground troops?
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Iranian Foreign Minister
Yes, because we are confident that we can confront them and that would be a big disaster for them. And we are prepared for any other eventuality, even, you know, a ground invasion. So our soldiers are prepared for any scenario.
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Kristen Welker
Tom also asked about whether Iran could win this war against the U.S. yes. Here's what he said.
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Gabe Gutierrez
The Pentagon says America is winning decisively.
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Keir Simmons
Do you think they're wrong?
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Iranian Foreign Minister
Well, I think, you know now six days after the war, it is clear that the US has failed to achieve its main goal, which was clean, rapid victory. They failed to achieve that. And now they are trying to justify why they did attack us. And they have, you know, presented so many different reasons, but none of them worked. And now they are talking about, you know, plan B. And I believe that, you know, their plan B would be even a bigger failure. Can Iran win this war?
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Gabe Gutierrez
And what does winning look like for Iran?
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Iranian Foreign Minister
Well, there is no winner in this war. Our win is to be able to resist against, you know, their achieve illegal goals. And this is what we have done so far. So they have failed to achieve their goals and we have been able to resist against them, to stand against the most powerful army of the world, as they claim.
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Kristen Welker
It's really a rare glimpse inside Tehran at a moment where the country is facing a massive leadership vacuum following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many other top officials. According to the New York Times, the Assembly of Experts, the body charged with selecting the new leaders, is considering announcing Ayatollah Khamenei's son as a successor. And in an interview with Axios today, President Trump saying he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader and called Khamenei's son a, quote, lightweight. Here at home, the economic consequences of the war are starting to be felt. As we noted, stocks fell today as oil prices continued to surge. And for everyday Americans, gas prices are on average $0.27 compared to a week ago. Today, the administration trying to ease concerns with the White House press secretary posting on social media. The president and his team are, quote, all over it. Meanwhile, on the ground in the Middle east, more countries are being dragged into this regional conflict, including in Azerbaijan and Lebanon. Back with me now is NBC News senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez, NBC News senior national security correspondent Courtney Kuby, NBC News senior business correspondent Christine Romans, and NBC News chief international correspondent Keir Simmons. Thanks to all of you for being here. Gabe, let's talk about the justification and what is actually happening with this conflict. There's been a lot of mixed messages about whether this is actually a war. What is the administration saying?
- [15:22]
Gabe Gutierrez
That's right. It really is incredible when you hear Republicans really contorting themselves trying to make this sound as it's a military operation, not a war. The president himself, though, over the last several days, he has called it a war, even saying yesterday when he was heading to another event, oh, I got to go look at the in this particular case, Kristen, look, the administration is trying to project an image of strength. You saw it with Secretary Hegseth earlier this week in his news conferences. You see it with the President in his interviews today, speaking with Reuters, with Axios, also with Politico. You know, as you said, trying to make it seem like he wants to be involved in the selection of the next leader of Iran. The Iranian foreign minister in his interview with Tom Yama saying that, you know, that won't happen basically. But the President really sees this as, you know, trying to project this image of strength. And it goes back to what you hear from White House officials every time you talk to them. Oh, why is the US getting involved? The idea of peace through strength, that's a refrain we hear over and over again. The President again trying to make the case that this was justified and that he doesn't see. You know, in one interview today he referred to an unlimited stockpile of weapons. You know, that's just the President really trying to get the American people to buy into to his explanation, which has at times been contradicted by some of his top officials.
- [16:42]
Kristen Welker
Well, it is just extraordinary the contradictory messages. Courtney, we know that the Defense Secretary is gonna be holding this press conference today. He's been holding regular press conferences. You're usually there pressing him for answers. What are the top questions that are outstanding as we go into this yet another day of conflict.
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Courtney Kuby
So there's a lot of questions. I don't think we'll get most of them answered here, frankly. He's gonna be with Admiral Brad Cooper who's the commander of Cent, and we're hoping to get some actual facts out of him about this. I mean a couple of things that are just really open ended right now is just how many more, where are we in this war? So they taught, they've, they've been pretty open about, you know, they've hit more than 2500 targets at this point. But one target could be, it could be 10 different targets at one location. So that doesn't really give us a sense of the scale and the scope and how far along they are in this conflict. Also, why haven't they had any of the nuclear sites? Is that on target?
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Kristen Welker
Interesting.
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Courtney Kuby
And you know, if so, is that going to be later in the campaign? We've got almost no information about what the Iranians have been able to hit. We know that they have targeted US military installations all throughout the region as well as civilian infrastructure, but we don't know a whole lot about what they've been able to actually destroy. At the military bases. So those are just some of the basic questions that we all have in addition to just a daily update, operational update about what they've even seen just today.
- [18:00]
Kristen Welker
Yeah, absolutely. It's such a fluid situation. And Gabe, it comes as one of the big issues looming for the White House. And frankly, one of the big questions for the White House revolves around this issue of gas prices. When you ask Americans what's their number one issue, they say affordability and kind of the core of that is gas prices. You have gas prices and groceries. Right. What are your sources telling you about the level of concern about the fact that gas prices are up?
- [18:27]
Gabe Gutierrez
Look, at least publicly, the president is trying to shrug off the concern. He's saying in an interview with Reuters who's saying if they rise, they rise, essentially trying to make the case that any short term rise in gas prices will not be a long term, you know, long term effect. And the administration is trying to make the case that this be a short operation, short war, whatever you want to call it. But what we have been hearing to your previous question about this mixed messaging here, you notice the president, at least in the last couple of, you know, the last day or so, he really hasn't talked about the Iranian people rising up and trying to topple this regime. The administration is making the case they keep stressing these four objectives, which he did mention briefly in that initial social media post on Saturday. But you know, they've been now stressing that as those are the military objectives. Bigger question is the political objectives, what happens with regime change. But now you hear the president talking about that he doesn't want to be involved in picking the next leader. So which is it? Is it these four military objectives which we have been hearing about and we keep hearing this potential four to five week timeline, or does the president want to be involved in regime change? Obviously something much more complicated and something that could take who knows how long.
- [19:41]
Kristen Welker
Absolutely. And the president acknowledging regime change is incredibly complicated. Courtney, let me go back to you because Reuters is reporting that President Trump said he'd be, quote, all in for a Kurdish offensive. What exactly would that look like and how would that fit into the broader strategy? Understanding, as you say, there are major questions about the strategy every day.
- [20:04]
Courtney Kuby
Yeah. So there's a couple different ways it could unfold the most likely way. And I have to say even with the president's comments on we officials are insisting to us that no decision has been made to actually do this. So we don't think that at this point there's anything imminent about this. But the most likely way is that the CIA or some intelligence agency would provide weapons to an opposition force. Now, there are times where the US Military will get involved, usually special operators. That's often when they need some training as well, or they need some sort of, like, support. We've seen that in places like Syria, right, with the Syrian Democratic Forces and others. Interestingly, in that Reuters interview, the president was asked if the US Would provide some sort of air coverage as part of this. And he said, well, I'm not gonna tell you that. So, you know, President Trump, Gabe, knows better, you both know better than I, that when President Trump says he doesn't wanna say something, that often means there's something to it.
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Gabe Gutierrez
Hours before we struck Iran, he said, oh, I don't wanna tell you that.
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Kristen Welker
Exactly. So there you go.
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Courtney Kuby
Exactly.
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Kristen Welker
It's potentially confirmation, Gabe, you know, Iranian Foreign Minister Abasarachi, in his interview with Tom Yamas, said he's confident that Iran can counter a US Ground invasion. First of all, it's just remarkable that we're talking about the possibility of a ground invasion at all. It's not something the White House is moving forward with certainly right now. But what is their reaction to that sentiment from Iran's foreign minister? Pretending it's just coming in.
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Gabe Gutierrez
I did reach out to the White House in the last several hours since that interview became public. They have not responded directly to that assertion by the foreign minister that he, you know, essentially almost daring the US to come in and, you know, come in with a ground force. So we don't have an official response from the White House thus far. You know, publicly, they have repeatedly said, you know, they haven't ruled out ground truths because they don't like, you know, putting the president in any sort of box here. But, you know, politically, if you speak with White House officials, you speak with the administration, there is some acknowledgment that there is not a whole lot of appetite in the country for any sort of ground forces in there right now. So it's hard to see how, you know, in the short term, how, you know, the administration can move in that direction. But again, you know, President Trump, if he's talking about potentially being involved in the changing of this leader, hard to see how that doesn't happen on some level without some sort of ground force. But, you know, we're waiting for a White House response to the Iranian foreign minister who, you know, may be looking for some sort of an escalation here to try and, you know, refer, speak to other neighboring countries to try and make it seem like the US Is the aggressor here and with some sort of ground force.
- [22:43]
Kristen Welker
Yeah, no doubt. And Courtney, Gabe lays out well just how complicating putting ground forces would be. What are you hearing about that? And just from an operational standpoint, how much more challenging would it make getting out of Iran?
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Courtney Kuby
So there's also scales of, just like there are scales of airstrikes and phases of this. There's the potential for scales of troops on the ground.
- [23:08]
Kristen Welker
Right.
- [23:09]
Courtney Kuby
So we don't have to have 130,000 troops invading, like, in Iraq going into Iran. There is the possibility that after the U.S. conducts this military mission. Right. So these four objectives they've laid out of destroying the Navy, the Air Force, the ballistic missile program, and then still not really clear if they want to destroy the nuclear program or just somehow ensure that they won't pursue another nuclear weapon. But it's not unreasonable for the administration to be considering putting some ground troops in, in the later phases of this to ensure some of these missions have been accomplished. Again, no one is talking about that at this point. They're not taking it off the table. But I think we have this sense of boots on the ground as being. Being this massive ground invasion and people kicking indoors like we saw in Iraq. And that doesn't have to be the case. They can all. And they can also, we keep talking about this. They doesn't have to be boots. It could be sneakers. It could be special operators. It could be, you know, intelligence officials.
- [24:05]
Kristen Welker
All right, Courtney, Gabe, thank you both so much. And again, we will dip into that press conference when it starts, and we'll probably come back to you Court. Appreciate it. Christine Romans, let me turn to you. I want to play more of what the Iranian foreign minister said to Tom. This relates to the Strait of Hormuz. Take a look.
- [24:23]
Gabe Gutierrez
If this war continues, will Iran try
- [24:25]
Iranian Foreign Minister
to close the Strait of Hormuz? But we have not closed is the ships and tankers who don't try to pass through the, to cross the strip because they are, you know, concerned about being hit by either side. So we have no intention to close it right now. But as the war continues, we will consider every scenario.
- [24:55]
Kristen Welker
So, Christine, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which is typically jammed with oil tankers, has actually dropped nearly 90% compared to last week. What are the implications if Iran closes the strait altogether?
- [25:08]
And every one of those red dots you're seeing, there are ships that are just, just stuck there. I mean, a big insurance conglomerate told us There are a thousand ships, vessels that are basically parked in the Persian Gulf region trying to figure out what to do next. So if you were to physically close it, it wouldn't be any different than it is today, which is essentially a self closure. You're not really seeing ships go through there. And this is a really important waterway for 20% of the world's oil supply supplies. Now, we're told that in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, these producers, they're running out of storage facilities for the crude oil that they are pumping right now. So at some point you're not moving the crude oil and then you can't pump as much either. And that starts to have like an echo effect in the market.
- [25:54]
That echo is higher prices. Well, okay, so let's talk about the higher prices because it was notable President Trump downplayed the fact that prices are going up. He said, look, they might go up right now, but they're going to come back down again soon. Is that the case? How tough is it for prices to come down once they have gone up, Christine?
- [26:11]
Well, we're in the moment right now where there is an expanding war in the Middle east and that's why you are seeing oil prices rise and gas prices rise quickly. You've got gas prices rising as fast today as they did back in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. And that was the beginning of a prolonged period for other reasons as well, but a prolonged period of inflation and high energy price. What's interesting about this is the president until recently has been actually taking credit for lowering energy prices and using it as an example of how his policies have defeated inflation. Today you have markets telling you they see the opposite happening here. They see a prolonged problem without an off ramp right now. And that's what markets are telling you here. And for American consumers, I mean, a jump of 27 cents in 20 just a few days, that is a notable budget shock. So the president in that Reuters interview, very interesting, saying he's not concerned about higher gas prices for right now. He's saying that what they're doing, it's far more important what we're doing here than to have gasoline prices go up a little bit. I mean, if this war were to resolve overnight, would prices come down eventually? Potentially, unless you have some other I mean, this is, this is why diplomacy and this is why presidents have been very, very careful to not do what this president has done because of the unintended consequences of kicking a hornet's nest that really drives up, really drives up gas prices and disrupts international Oil supply
- [27:45]
and we know that in a midterm election season, gas prices one of the biggest factors. Christine Romans, thank you so much for that great reporting. I want to go to are Keir Simmons now in the region here. What's the latest there? You've been reporting on the fact that there are not supposed to be explosions where you are and yet there have been. How has it been overnight there?
- [28:09]
Keir Simmons
Yeah, well we actually just saw some defensive fire in the distance in that direction. Air defenses over in Abu Dhabi about an hour and a half drive from here all the way. Also inside the uae, smoke pouring from a world famous marina, the Yas Marina. Some pretty swanky boats and yachts there and we don't know what the damage is there. Just I just thought actually listening to you and Christina talk, it's interesting that the way that Iraqi talked about the Strait of Hormuz was not just about the economics, it was political. So the reason he says that they're not, they haven't closed the Strait of Hormuz is because of China.
- [28:46]
Iranian Foreign Minister
China.
- [28:46]
Keir Simmons
China wouldn't want them to. So as she very eloquently laid out, basically it is closed. But and this is the way that this thing is geopolitical and global. If you think about what happened in the Red Sea with the Houthis where they stopped shipping but then somehow the Chinese cargo ships managed to get through, I think you'll see that in Hamuz that the Iranians will quietly say to the Chinese and other French friends, you can sail your ships through, we won't touch you. It's the fact that these ships might get hit, these tankers might get hit that is stopping them from traveling through the Straits of Hormuz because they are, because they can't get insured. Now I mean just to your conversation about with Court too fascinating to hear her talk about the kind of opaque goals on the US Side. I always juxtapose that against the Iranians, the Iranians goal is very, very clear. They are sharp eyed about what they're planning to do and that is to survive. And you heard it in Tom's great interview with the foreign minister. We'll play a piece of that where Tom talks to him about the risk to him personally. Take a listen as we sit here and talk.
- [29:58]
Gabe Gutierrez
Minister, so much of Iran's leadership has been killed. Do you fear for your own life?
- [30:05]
Iranian Foreign Minister
Well, everybody made me fear for his life in the time of war. But you know, I am doing my job, I'm doing my duty and I would be honored if my blood is shed for the sake of my country.
- [30:25]
Keir Simmons
That's quite simply what it has now come down to. It comes down to the Iranian regime determination to survive and the Trump administration's determination that it will not.
- [30:37]
Kristen Welker
Well, Kir, bring us up to speed on the very latest to get Americans who are in the region who want to get home, back home.
- [30:49]
Keir Simmons
Yeah. Well, they are bringing in charter flights and the the State Department says that they are surging flights into this region. And we are talking to people who are getting on charter flights. We are talking to two Americans who are finding their own commercial flights out. It's really difficult. And we're also talking to lots of families and Americans who still can't get out and are incredibly frustrated and say that there's a lack of communication, that they are registered and they're not hearing anything. There's one woman here in Dubai who I've been talking to all week who has a WhatsApp group just for Americans who want to leave. 400 people, she says around 10 have been told have been communicated with so far. I mean, if that's the real picture of what of the, of the sort of broader landscape, if you like, then that's pretty worrying, isn't it? Across the 14 or so countries that America says all Americans should leave, there are around a million American citizens.
- [31:57]
Iranian Foreign Minister
Wow.
- [31:58]
Kristen Welker
All right. Well, Kir, I know you're tracking all of it closely. Please stay safe. We really appreciate it. Good to see you as always. We will have much more of NBC's exclusive interview with the Iranian foreign minister tonight only on Nightly News with Tom Yamas coming up. As we mentioned, Secretary Hegseth is expected to speak to reporters just moments from now about the war against Iran. We'll bring you that press conference live when it happens. Plus, breaking news from Capitol Hill. Republican leadership now calling on Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez to end his bid for reelection after Gonzalez admitted to having an affair with a staffer, but only after he advanced to a runoff in this week's primary. Stay with us. You're watching MEET THE press. Now,
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Kristen Welker
Welcome back on this incredibly busy day here in Washington. We've got breaking news on Capitol Hill, where House Republican leadership is calling on embattled Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez to drop his reelection bid after he admitted to having an affair with a staffer, which is against House rules. Allegations have been swirling for weeks that Gonzalez had sent lewd and inappropriate text messages to an aide in 2024. That aide died by suicide last year. In an interview on Wednesday, Congressman Gonzalez said he didn't have anything to do with her death, but apologized for the affair.
- [34:43]
Iranian Foreign Minister
Listen, you know, very, very direct pags. I made a mistake and I had
- [34:50]
Gabe Gutierrez
a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions. Since then, I've reconciled with my wife, Angel. I've asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever. When you make mistakes like this, you know, it's never easy. It humbles you. But it's important to. To kind of work through it all.
- [35:17]
Kristen Welker
We're going to go to the White House now because President Trump is talking about Iran. Let's go to the White House.
- [35:27]
Iranian Foreign Minister
Schedule and at levels that people have never seen before. Actually, we're destroying more of Iran's missiles and drone capabilities every single hour, knocking them out like nobody thought was possible. As soon as they set off a missile, within four minutes, the launcher gets hit. They don't know what's happening. But we have the greatest military anywhere in the world. Their Navy is gone. 24 ships in three days. That's a lot of ships. They're anti aircraft weapons are gone. So they have no air force, they have no air defense. All of their airplanes are gone, their communications are gone, missiles are gone, launches are gone. About 60% and 64% respectively. Other than that, they're doing quite well. I say what's left. But they're tough and they want to fight and they're calling, they're saying, how do we make a deal? I said, you're being a little bit late and we want to fight now more than they do. We've had 47 years depending on the way you count it, but 47 years of horror with this group. And you know when you see somebody walking down the street street without their legs, without the arms, whose faces so badly affected and hurt. It mostly came from 95% Soleimani and Iran and we other presidents lived with it. I didn't live with it. And so our people are doing a great job. Again, the greatest military in genuine scene. Thank you. Thank you very much. And yesterday my administration announced decisive action to help keep down the oil prices, including offering political risk insurance for tankers transiting into the Gulf. As you know, pretty dangerous territory. Further action to reduce pressure on oil is imminent. And the oil seems to have pretty much stabilized. We had it very low, but I had to take this little detour. If it's okay with everybody, Scott, it's okay with you Scott. Someone has to put up with it. He said, you have to do this now. I said, I have to do it, Scott. Right. But it's been very strong. And everybody, including Scott, everybody feels we had really no choice. It was going to, they were going to hit us if we didn't hit the them because they're crazy. And in the long term, the actions we're taking will dramatically increase the stability of the region and oil prices and stock markets and everything else. You know, we set the all time record in history with the dow going to 50,000. So Dow is at 50,000. It was supposed to be maybe if we were lucky, within by the end of my presidency in four years. Years. And we did it in my first year. We did the S&P 500. We did that in a period of less than a year. And that was even tougher than the Dow, they said so it wasn't going to happen. But we have a great country. We have a country that's never done this well. We've had tremendous success in so many different ways. I built the military and rebuilt it in my first term and we're using it more than I'd like to use it, to be honest with you. But when we used it, we found out it certainly did work. When we look at Venezuela, when we look at the first attack, Midnight Hammer in Iran, which really set the stage for what we're doing right now, it's been pretty amazing. And I'm once again calling on all members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the military and the police to lay down their arms. They're only going to be killed. And now is the time to stand up for the Iranian people and. And help take back your country. You're going to have a chance after all these years to take back your country, accept immunity. We'll give you immunity, and we'll be giving you really the right side of history, because that's what it is. So you'll be perfectly safe with total immunity, or you'll face absolutely guaranteed death. And I don't want to see that. They don't want to see it even, either. We also urge Iranian diplomats around the world to request asylum and to help us shape a new and better Iran with great potential. It's a country with great potential. There's much better future for Iran. It's now beginning. It's going to be, I think, a great future. And the United States will ensure that whoever leads the country next, Iran will not threaten America or its neighbors, Israel, anybody. If you look at what happened, they had missiles aimed at all of these other countries, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, uae, many others that weren't really involved very much. And they had missiles aimed. Well, they were aimed there long before this ever started. They were going after the entire Middle East. And then we came along, we blew up their party. So we have phenomenal people. I want to thank all of the people that have been involved. Martin, Marco, you've been doing a fantastic job, and you've been doing a fantastic job on a place called Cuba. And a Rod came in before I said, hey, do you want to come up to a little award? He's gone to plenty of award ceremonies. Thank you. A Rod, big fan. But what's happening with Cuba is amazing. And we think that we want to finish this one first, but that will be just a question of time before you and a lot of unbelievable people are going to be going back to Cuba, hopefully not to stay. We want you back and we don't want to lose you. We don't want to make it so nice that they stay. But some people probably do want to stay. They love Cuba so much. I hear it all the time. That was another one that wasn't supposed to happen happened. Venezuela is going great. It's been stabilized. We have a wonderful person as your president elect Delsey Rodriguez, and she and her staff have been doing a fantastic job working with us. We're taking out hundreds of millions of barrels of oil and it's going to Houston and various other places where it's being refined. And we're sending them back far more money than they've made in many years. And actually very shortly it'll be more money than they've ever made. And Venezuela is working. So we've had a lot of, a lot of countries in places that truly love, you would say football, I would say soccer. But these are all countries that love football slash soccer. And so I think the group likes it. And if you'd like, you could sit. I know I'm a very exciting speaker, but you can sit down if you'd like. Okay. Looking at everybody standing.
- [42:41]
Kristen Welker
President Trump addressing Iran while flanked by the 2025 Major League Soccer champions. The president touting the fact that he says the US Military is ahead of schedule, saying about Iran, they were going to hit us first if we didn't hit them again. That the justification for taking action at this point in time. The president also acknowledging gas prices are going up, saying that his administration is doing everything in its power to try to lower gas prices, noting the fact that this is a significant issue for Americans and reiterating his message to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, calling on them to lay down their arms, saying that this is the moment to take their country back, saying that it's up to the Iranian people, but that the US Will ensure that Iran's new leaders will no longer be able to hit the United States and its neighbors. Let me head back to NBC's Gabe Gutierrez, who is standing by for us. Gabe, what were your other key takeaways? What did I leave out?
- [43:50]
Gabe Gutierrez
Well, it was quite a surreal sight there, Chris. And with Lionel Messi right behind the president and president talking about what essentially a muscular foreign policy, not just in Iran, but also in Cuba and Venezuela. But as you, you said, the president laying out what he views as a successes so far in Iran, also mentioning Kristen that they want to make a deal, even though that contradicts what the Iranian foreign minister told our colleague Tom Yamas earlier today, that there are no active negotiations underway. And earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that there were no diplomatic talks underway with Iran. Right now, the president seeming to suggest that they would want to make some sort of deal, though he didn't specify exactly what it was was he also talked about what he views as great potential for Iran. And as you said, he laid out how his administration, or he said that his administration wants to keep a handle on gas prices. He also spoke about the administration's, you know, how the military operation, the raid to capture Nicolas Maduro, that Venezuela is doing great. And he also suggested that there could be coming changes coming to Cuba as well. But Kristen, this is a president that again, trying to sell to the American people that the war, as he calls it now in operation, is succeeding in Iran.
- [45:07]
Kristen Welker
Yeah. And Gabe, it's so important that you noted that he did talk about Cuba, made it very clear that Cuba is clearly another country that he is eyeing next. Thank you so much, Gabe. Really appreciate your sticking around for us to I want, I want to go back to Capitol Hill. NBC's Julie Cirkuit. Julie, thank you so much for your patience. We had to dip in to those remarks at the White House just to remind viewers what you and I were about to talk about. The fact that you had Republican leadership now calling on Congressman Tony Gonzalez to drop his reelection bid after he did acknowledge that he had an affair with a staffer who did tragically go on to die by suicide. Talk a little bit about the state of play here.
- [45:48]
Do you get the sense that he's
- [45:50]
going to actually drop out of the race?
- [45:53]
Julie Cirkin
Well, that was the key question we had planned to ask him today. But unfortunately we've been outside of his office all day long and have not seen the congressman and he missed the votes on the War Powers resolution that just failed in the House. So that's the key question for him. But I will point out that we did talk to Speaker Johnson. My colleague Melanie Zenoda and Lizzie Jensen caught up with him a little bit earlier. He spoke to that extraordinary statement that his leadership team put out. Take a listen to what he said and we'll talk about about it more on the other side.
- [46:20]
Gabe Gutierrez
Leadership put out a statement. It speaks for itself.
- [46:22]
Iranian Foreign Minister
We've encouraged him to drop out of
- [46:25]
Gabe Gutierrez
the race for reelection. I think that is the, you know,
- [46:28]
politically that's a death penalty.
- [46:33]
Julie Cirkin
I just want to underscore what he said there at the end. He said politically, he believes that Tony Gonzalez's actions, having this affair and admitting to it last night with his staffer is a political death sentence. I think it's also notable, Kristen, you asked me if Gonzalez is going to resign. Remember, Johnson and his leadership team very carefully chose the words not seek reelection again, drop out of his runoff bid in Texas because Johnson Needs every vote he can get right now.
- [46:58]
Courtney Kuby
Yeah.
- [46:59]
Kristen Welker
Talk a little bit about the margins and the fact that this comes amid really an increased number of retirements. Right.
- [47:08]
Julie Cirkin
An increased number of retirements. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Senator Steve Daines, who shocked just about everybody, including members of his team, when he decided not to run for reelection minutes before the filing deadline closed in Montana for the Senate seat. Now, this is notable. He's somebody who served as the chair of the nrc. His mission last cycle was to elect Republicans to the Senate. So he's keenly aware of how Democrats, including Senator John Tester, are trying to perhaps make a comeback for his Montana Senate seat. So notable that he filed or decided not to run for reelection minutes before the filing deadline. But you mentioned this is just a growing list of Republican retirements. Burgess Owens in the House decided not to seek reelection yesterday as well. It's the second highest total of House Republicans not seeking reelection. And Daines became the sixth senator not to seek reelection in November. We have Senator Thom Tillis, who isn't as well, Cynthia Lummis, for example, in Wyoming. So a whole slate of Republicans that are considering and deciding now not to come back here, not to run for reelection. And certainly this is going to have an impact on November. There are a number of Democrats who have decided that, too. But Republicans have a significant amount of seats open, a significant amount of districts in play, and certainly Democrats are trying to do everything they can right now to try and win back the House and the Senate.
- [48:24]
Kristen Welker
Kristen, Julie Cirkin with the view from Capitol Hill. Julie, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. And in addition to what's going on with Congressman Gonzalez, we are following several other major stories out of Texas in the wake of this week's midterm primary elections. In the Republican Senate primary, we're still awaiting President Trump to make an endorsement in the runoff between Senator John Cornell and State Attorney General Ken Paxton. The president announcing yesterday he'd endorse a candidate soon and urging the other candidate to drop out of the race once he does. Meanwhile, Democrat James Talarico kicking off his general election campaign after winning his primary with a direct appeal to supporters of his primary rival, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, during a victory speech last night.
- [49:09]
Gabe Gutierrez
To the congresswoman's supporters, I know I
- [49:12]
wasn't your first choice choice, but I
- [49:15]
hope to earn your trust and earn
- [49:17]
your support as your Democratic nominee.
- [49:21]
Iranian Foreign Minister
It's on me to ensure you feel
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Gabe Gutierrez
welcomed, in, represented by and proud of this campaign.
- [49:30]
Kristen Welker
Joining me now is Today's panel, Eleanor Mueller, congressional reporter for Semaphore Joel Payne, Democratic strategist and former senior aide for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. Campaign and Republican strategist Malik Abdul. Thanks to all of you for being here. Really appreciate it. Eleanor, let me start with you. Everyone is watching and waiting to see who President Trump is going to endorse. By all accounts, it looks like he is heading in the direction of endorsing Senator John Cornyn, someone who had broken with him on a number of different issues. So he cast him as a rhino. And, of course, Ken Paxton painting himself as the MAGA church. But right now, Senator Cornyn has the lead in this runoff race. So what are you watching for?
- [50:12]
Julie Cirkin
Well, Trump likes to endorse candidates that win, and Cornyn is looking like that candidate right now. But as you point out, there's a big delta there. You know, he's an establishment guy. He actually ran against John Thune to be the majority leader of the Senate in 2024. And so that's not the typical Trump mold.
- [50:26]
Kristen Welker
And that's why I think we've seen
- [50:27]
Julie Cirkin
the president hold office for so long. But now that it's down to two candidates, now that that House candidate is
- [50:32]
Kristen Welker
out of this race, there's a lot
- [50:34]
Julie Cirkin
of pressure from Senate Republicans specifically on Trump to make a call and to specifically put his weight behind Senator Cornyn. And so we'll have to see whether or not he heeds that within the next couple days or not.
- [50:45]
Kristen Welker
Yeah, and I think the timing's so important because Republicans are chomping at the bit to really get to work against James Talarico, and they can't do that with this runoff race. Malik, let me turn to you, because Ken Paxton tweeted this. It was notable. I would consider dropping out of this race if Senate leadership agrees to lift the filibuster and passes the Save America act, that act that has to deal with voting. Does it sound like he's trying to save face? Do you get the sense that he is, in fact, considering dropping out? Could that be the delay? Is it that President Trump's trying to convince him to drop out of the race?
- [51:20]
Gabe Gutierrez
Yeah, I think I saw something from him suggesting that he wasn't ready to drop out of the race, and this is probably just another, you know, an extension of the. That there will be pressure on him. It looks, by all accounts, that Donald Trump will be endorsing Cornyn. I think that Donald Trump wanted to be the kingmaker all along, and so he let the boys play it out, and he's ultimately going to end up endorsing Cornyn. Now, the big split is, is that maga, more of the MAGA people are behind Paxton as opposed to Cornyn himself. And so that's probably going to be one of the things that we're going to be looking at. But ultimately, Donald Trump is going to back Cornyn, and I don't know if he'll ultimately get out of the race. Paxton himself, maybe he'll do it a while, but I just don't think that he has much leverage. Much like Jasmine Crockett, you just don't have much leverage.
- [52:09]
Kristen Welker
Well, Joe, weigh in on that point because Democrats have James Talarico. He's their general election candidate. Jasmine Crockett had made the argument she's the fighter. She said she's shown that in these hearings on Capitol Hill. She obviously drove out the Black Friday vote on election night. And now the challenge for Talarico is trying to drive out some of Jasmine Crockett's supporters. A Democrat has not won a Senate seat in Texas, Joel, in more than three decades. It has been fool's gold for Democrats. Do you think this year could be different?
- [52:43]
Gabe Gutierrez
I think this year could be different. You know, watching this Texas race from afar has been fascinating. On that Republican side, this is really a financial decision by Donald Trump and Republicans, they have spent some $70 million to negatively define Ken Paxton. So they're pot committed to John Cornyn. If they don't get John Cornyn to win this runoff, they are probably going to spend at least that much to try to save the candidate that they've been trashing for the last four, five some odd months. On the Democratic side, you know, that Talarico, Crockett race was a little bit of like it's a test case for 2028 for Democrats. What is the theory that's gonna win? Is it gonna to be the person that can drive out the base, or is it going to be the person that can convince and persuade people in the middle, Independents and Republicans, Obviously, in Texas, it seems like Talarico had the advantage. Another thing I would bring up the centrality of Latino voters. That's why James Talarico won. He ran up his numbers in areas dense with Latino voters. And that is a thing that should concern Republicans, that he showed that proficiency in this, in this primary campaign.
- [53:44]
Kristen Welker
And we finally heard from James Tower last night. I'm going to play a little bit. Eleanor, get your take on the other side. Take a listen.
- [53:52]
Gabe Gutierrez
We cannot defeat the politics of division with More division.
- [53:57]
Kristen Welker
We can't win their game. We have to change the game.
- [54:02]
Iranian Foreign Minister
This campaign, this campaign is rooted in
- [54:05]
Gabe Gutierrez
a fierce love for this state, for this country, and most importantly, for all,
- [54:12]
Iranian Foreign Minister
all of our neighbors.
- [54:14]
Kristen Welker
Eleanor, Joel's talking about how this could be a test case for what we see in 2028. What do you make of that message that we just heard from Joel?
- [54:23]
Julie Cirkin
I think this is exactly what you were talking about. Right.
- [54:26]
Kristen Welker
As he's saying, rather than try to divide as Democrats, they should be focused
- [54:31]
Julie Cirkin
on bringing together a coalition that can help them wrest control back from Republicans.
- [54:35]
Kristen Welker
And so, I mean, he, in comparison
- [54:37]
Julie Cirkin
to Crockett, a lesson much a far less combative candidate, you know, someone who again, was focused on drawing from all
- [54:42]
Kristen Welker
of these various pockets of support.
- [54:44]
Julie Cirkin
And clearly that's something that resonated, at least in Texas. So we'll have to see whether or not that speaks in other races.
- [54:50]
Kristen Welker
Yeah, we will have to watch it very closely. We're also, Malik, watching very closely what happens with Tony Gonzalez. I think what's so fascinating here, he got through primary night, now in a runoff, and then gives an interview. He's been asked about these allegations over and over again, not confirming them, not confirming him. And then in this interview saying, yes, he made a mistake. He has apologized to God, to his wife. He says that he was in the wrong. And for Republican leadership, it just wasn't good enough. They are calling on him to drop out of the race, as Julie Circuit noted, not to resign from Congress because the margins are so narrow. Where do you see this going?
- [55:34]
Gabe Gutierrez
He has to get out. And this is something that Republicans had been talking about before. Now, conveniently, he did it once we got to the runoff. And you have to remind the viewers there that it is a runoff. And so there is another Republican who will be running there. But I think he ultimately, once you have the leadership, it's one thing for people online and the strategists out there to say that you need to do it, but once you have the leadership of your own party saying that it's time to go, it's time to go. So when he'll do that, I don't know. But I can't see him saying stay in the race much longer.
- [56:04]
Kristen Welker
Joel, how are Democrats watching this unfold? Does it become a broader issue, or do Democrats sort of take their distance from this?
- [56:11]
Gabe Gutierrez
Well, two things jump out to me. One, I thought it was interesting that some two weeks ago, Donald Trump was at a rally where Tony Gonzalez was, and I think he congratulated him as this story, this embarrassing and really tragic story was unraveling about his. Gonzalez's affair with his staffer and her deciding to take her own life with, which is just unspeakable tragedy.
- [56:33]
Kristen Welker
Unspeakable.
- [56:34]
Gabe Gutierrez
The other piece I would bring up here is a little bit of what you alluded to, Kristin. The margins are so thin. This has to be in the form of a step out of the race and not a resignation. I would imagine there are plenty of Republicans around the country who, if they had their druthers, they would be done with this and they would have Tony Gonzalez leave Congress. But Mike Johnson doesn't have the margins. I mean, if Donald Trump needs to get any significant legislation, needs to get support for Iran, this war of his, that is a war of choice for Republicans. He's gonna need every Republican vote in the House and in the Senate. He's already. We're not gonna talk necessarily about this Kristi Noem departing Homeland Security and Markway Mullen, but we have one senator, one Senate Republican who's leaving that reduces his margins there, at least temporarily. And now you're talking about potentially another House Republican.
- [57:22]
Kristen Welker
Talk about the implications of Kristi Noem leaving. We know that there were a whole number of reasons why the president decided to replace her at this point, but as Joel is laying out, it is going to make things challenging in the Senate. The governor will replace him, but I believe whoever he's replaced with is not allowed to run for reelection. So that could become an open seat. Talk about kind of the ripple effect.
- [57:48]
Julie Cirkin
I mean, it's the same math we saw the administration doing at the beginning of this term. And as far as appointing administration officials or members of Congress to administration jobs.
- [57:58]
Kristen Welker
Right.
- [57:58]
Julie Cirkin
They don't want to lose so many people that it opens up seats, that they eventually lose control of the chamber. And with Kristi Noem specifically, I mean,
- [58:05]
Kristen Welker
I think it just really spoke to how there is a big leash from
- [58:09]
Julie Cirkin
the Trump administration if you are an administration official. But the one thing you cannot do is throw Trump under the bus. And that's exactly what she did when she testified before Congress. And I think that's why we're seeing her now hit the exits.
- [58:19]
Kristen Welker
Malik.
- [58:21]
Internally, I think people weren't overly surprised, but the timing, I mean, it wasn't clear what the timing of this departure might look like. And as Eleanor is saying, that final straw, based on my conversations, was that testimony yesterday where she said President Trump approved the spending for this ad campaign.
- [58:41]
Gabe Gutierrez
Yeah. You know, they say the straw that broke the camel's back. Well, that was during the hearing. And we had been hearing these murmurings about Kristi Noemi even going towards the end of last year, whether or not she would be leaving the administration. And a lot of people were unhappy. And I think because of what we've seen with Donald Trump's immigration numbers, his numbers on immigration and how unpopular some of the actions that Kristi Noem has taken, I think that ultimately Donald Trump made the right decision with her for sure.
- [59:06]
Kristen Welker
All right, guys, we're unfortunately out of time. Thank you all so much for being here. Eleanor, Joel and Malik, great conversation. We're back tomorrow with more MEET THE press. Now, as we mentioned, we have live coverage of Secretary Hegseth's press conference when it happens. That's straight ahead on NBC News. Now
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