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Meet the Press
Meet the Press NOW — May 26
00:52:47
Voters head to the polls in Texas for the state’s primary runoff elections in another test of President Trump’s endorsement power. Dan Osborn joins Meet the Press NOW to explain why he’s running for Nebraska’s Senate seat as an independent. Dr. Craig Spencer, who contracted Ebola while treating patients in West Africa in 2014, discusses the response to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Narrator/Commercial Voice
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Ryan Nobles
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Ryan Nobles
Hi there. Welcome to Meet the Press. Now. I'm Ryan Nobles. Right now, voters are heading to the polls in Texas for a slate of primary run ups that could end up deciding control of Congress this November. The marquee event tonight is the Republican Senate runoff between four term incumbent Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. It represents another test of the president's power over his party after the president made a late endorsement of Paxton, a controversial candidate, over Cornyn. Mr. Trump saying in his endorsement that Cornyn, a staunch supporter of the president's agenda, hasn't been loyal enough. The move prompting blowback from some Republicans and warnings that a Paxton matchup against Democratic candidate James Talarico could put the seat and the Senate majority at risk. Senator Cornyn is trying to mitigate the president's endorsement of his opponents, playing up his support for the president's agenda as recently as this morning.
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Narrator/Commercial Voice
President Trump is certainly very influential in the Republican Party, particularly the runoff. But the truth is I've been, you know, an ally of the president, so there's no incompatibility there. And I think my experience gives me a chance to do things for the president and for Texans that a newbie could not do. I've supported the president's agenda the whole time that I that he's been president. So I think I could be the most help to the president and his agenda. In the last two years of his
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Ryan Nobles
term of office, Cornyn has also attacked Paxton over his controversies in the closing days of this race. Paxton, however, has largely begun to pivot to the general election, taking the president's support as a sign of imminent victory.
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Narrator/Commercial Voice
The fact is that Texans have learned the hard way that you can't trust Ken Paxton. Ken Paxton will be an albatross. He could well lose. But even if he doesn't lose, he, he will win by such a razor thin margin that it's likely to have a negative drag on the down ballot races in Texas. With the endorsement, it becomes a lot clearer that I'm going to be the nominee. And we wanted to focus on the positive and then focus on our next job, which is take down this Democrat who has the most radical views that maybe I've ever seen. Certainly in Texas, I've been asking every voter, whether it's one voter or thousands, what has John accomplished that's good for the state of Texas or the country? And you know what? No one's ever had an answ.
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Ryan Nobles
Cornyn is just the latest Republican incumbent to be targeted by President Trump for perceived disloyalty, following Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, and multiple Indiana state Republicans who all lost primaries to Trump backed challengers. Cornyn's conservative colleague from Texas, Senator Ted Cruz, warning that the president's revenge tour could upend his own agenda for the remainder of his term. Take a listen.
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Ted Cruz
Bill Cassidy, Thom Tillis, John Cornyn, Rand Paul. Those are four senators. We have a 5347 majority. If you lose four senators, you're below 50 and you can't get anything done. That is going to be a complicating factor for the rest of the year. Like those four senators, I don't envision suddenly anything becoming hunky dory and they're being happy like that dynamic for 2026.
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Steve Kornacki
The rest of the year we're going
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Ted Cruz
to have interesting challenges.
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Ryan Nobles
Now we're also watching some key races on the Democratic side. After redistricting scrambled Texas congressional districts, Representatives Christian Menefee and Al Green, both incumbents, are facing off in a race that's become a bit of a proxy for the party's debate over generational change. Well, Congresswoman Julie Johnson is facing a challenge from former Representative Colin Allred. And the state's 35th district, which Democrats are hoping could be flippable, has gained attention after anti semitic comments made by Maureen Galindo, the candidate who won the most votes in March. House Democratic leaders have condemned her, but an outside group with some Republican ties is boosting her in an effort to make the district easier for Republicans to win in November. Joining me now From Austin is NBC's Ryan Chandler, chief Data analyst Steve Gornacki is at the big board. Also with us, Phil Prazen, the reporter and co anchor of Lone Star Politics on our Dallas Fort Worth affiliate. Let's start with Ryan Chandler. You're on the ground in Texas. Ryan, what are you hearing from voters? How much has President Trump's endorsement influenced this race?
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Ryan Chandler
Well, Ryan, the conventional wisdom among voters here in Austin and political observers across Texas is that this is Paxton's race to lose. He certainly comes into tonight in a stronger position, both because of that all important Trump endorsement, which has proven very powerful in other national races across the country, but also because incumbents in Texas at all levels of the ballot have a terrible track record if you're forced into a runoff, because that already puts you in a position where in the first round, a minority of the constituents you have represented chose to send you back. So Paxton is feeling confident tonight, but Cornish team also feels that they still have a path to victory. They point to the early voting trends in areas across the state that they say are favorable for them. They tell us tonight that that Ken Paxton needs to have a very big day with turnout in this runoff alone that could cross more than a million voters. High level, Ryan. We're focusing on this race and its national implications, both because it's a test of the power of Trump's endorsement, but also because it is a, a test of the identity of the Republican Party in the nation's largest Republican state. Who do they more side with? The more traditional legacy type candidate of Senator Cornyn, defined by another Texan of the Bush era, or the more conventional MAGA type Republican in Ken Paxton? That's the side that both of these candidates have been running to. Both trying to impress upon voters that they are more loyal to President Trump. But certainly the president has made his choice of who he sees has been more loyal to him and his cause. Ryan?
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Ryan Nobles
Yeah. And then obviously the Democrats have a dog in this fight. They're waiting to see how this turns out. You're in Austin. That's a city that leans a bit more Democratic. How are Democrats hoping that this race ultimately plays out for their chances in November?
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Ryan Chandler
We've spoken with a lot of Democratic voters here in Central Austin today, and my first question for them is, who do you hope wins on the other side of the ticket that may give your rising star candidate and James Talarico a better chance at victory? And they are pulling for Paxton tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if Talarico's advisors try to get him to to go vote in the Republican primary because they see Paxton as the candidate they want to run against. They see him as weaker, with a long track record of legal and financial and personal scandals. Cornyn has never lost an election in Texas, and he would certainly be the harder candidate to run against. But national Democrats see, if it is Talarico v. Paxton, this is the best chance that they've had in years to finally flip a Senate seat in Texas.
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Ryan Nobles
Ryan. Okay, Brian Chandler on the ground for us in the Lone Star State. Ryan, thanks for that. Let's turn now to Steve at the big board. What are you watching for heading into tonight? Where does Cornyn need to do well to overcome the Trump endorsement?
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Steve Kornacki
Yeah, what's interesting, Ryan, I think, is what Cornyn needs is a repeat of what happened in March in the preliminary, because if you remember, he went into that as the underdog. The polls had him trailing Ken Paxton in the first round. And actually, let me remind you what happened in that preliminary. It was Cornyn who finished with the most votes. He finished ahead of Paxton. A third candidate there, Congressman Wesley Hunt, getting most of the rest of the vote. This is what the map looked like. So Cornyn basically needs this to sort of be the way the map ends up looking tonight. Have that Hunt vote basically split between them. What are the ingredients in that? Well, where Cornyn really, I think ran up the score was right here in Dallas County. This is one of the biggest ones in the state. One of his best margins. And then in the greater Austin area down here, Williamson County, Travis county, where the state capital is, he did very well. His best numbers, in fact, pretty much were there also Bell county, sort of up, getting closer to Waco there. So he did very well in, in population centers in general places where there was a little, you know, higher income, college degree concentration, things like that. And the other ingredient for Cornyn that I think surprised people in that preliminary is look at the rest of the state. I mean, it's Texas. It's massive. It's 254 counties. But you see that, that darker shade of red, that's the corn in color. It isn't just in those population centers. It extends into Central Texas, into West Texas, into the Panhandle. And he did better in rural parts of Texas, not all of it, but big swaths of rural, small town Texas. He did better than expected. He didn't get buried. A lot of folks thought he'd get buried by Paxton in places like that, but he held his own, ran up big numbers in the population centers, and it was enough to finish First. Now, conversely, take a look at this from Paxton's standpoint. Obviously, a key tonight. Actually, I think both of these candidates, I think a key tonight, if one county, it would be right here, Harris county, where Houston is now. This is the largest in the state. Five million people live here. It's bigger than a bunch of US states. 10% of the vote is going to come out of Harris County. And I single this one out for two reasons. You see, it's Cornyn's shade of red. Let me zoom in on it. This is what it looked like in the preliminary. Cornyn edged out Paxton here, but see, it was a high number for Hunt. This is Hunt's district, his congressional district based in Harris County. Now, he when Donald Trump got in last week and endorsed Paxton, Hunt also endorsed Paxton. Is that going to have any sway here in Harris County? Again, 1 out of every 10 votes statewide are probably coming out of here. Can Cornyn win this again? Or does a combined effect of Trump endorsing plus the local congressman, Wesley Hunt endorsing Paxton, allow Paxton to vault over Cornyn a ton of votes here? Super competitive in the preliminary. Cornyn probably needs to win it against Knight, I think, to have any chance. I think this one show me Harris county, you might be showing me who's won this thing statewide.
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Ryan Nobles
Well, I think it could be fascinating, right, Steve, where that Wesley Hunt, where his vote ends up going. I mean, that's 13% of the race. It's basically make or break. Obviously, he's endorsed Paxton, but there's at least an argument to be made that Cornyn can collect at least a good percentage of that vote.
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Steve Kornacki
Well, yeah, I mean, you're going up against the combined weight of Hunt's own word and the president's word here. And Cornyn, I think, is certainly just hoping. You hear it in those reports. He's hoping, I think, again, a repeat of the preliminary. And that sense, he's hoping it kind of permeates there with Texas Republicans that this would be risky to nominate Paxton, that they see this as more than just a test of whether you like Trump or you want to be with Trump. They see this as something beyond that. They really buy into that electability argument there, that, hey, this is the candidate Democrats are hoping gets put up. Do Republican voters say, well, we don't want to do that. That's Cornyn's chance, that they are thinking about electability that overrides the Trump consideration, that overrides the Wesley Hunt consideration, and that it allows him to retain and build on Cornyn what he did in the preliminary.
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Ryan Nobles
Yeah, that seems like a tall order for the incumbent senator tonight. All right. Steve is going to be tracking the big board all night. We appreciate that, Steve. All right, let's bring in Phil, who is also on the ground in Texas. Nobody knows the state and its politics better than Phil. Phil, I remember when we did our special back in March for the first primary and you reminded us as the returns were coming in and we were already writing John Cornyn's obituary, that there is literally no politician that has collected more votes in Texas than John Cornyn. Is there still a path for him to surprise everyone and beat back the president, beat back Wesley Hunt, beat back all these people have said his career is over and still eke out a win here tonight.
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Phil Prazen
So there is let me give you where we stand structurally after Monday through Friday of last week of early voting and then some things that double click on that point that you just mentioned that are interesting and may indicate where John Cornyn may pull this out or at least get it close here at the end. But we know 850,000 roughly Republican primary voters have already voted Monday through Friday during early vote. And according to that data, that favors Paxton. And we look at, we know that because of the voter history of those voters, there are a lot of people who have voted in 3, 4, 5 Republican primaries in the past. So these are the dedicated, committed and many times very partisan people that do favor Paxton. But let me give you some examples. As Steve talked about just moments ago, Travis county, where Austin is, Dallas county, where we are, the better the turnout is in those counties, the better it is for Cornyn. And right now they're about 80% after early vote where they were back in March. So those are really high performing numbers for Cornyn in those counties. The same thing with Tarrant County. And interestingly, in Montgomery county, down in the Houston suburbs, which is a Paxton powerhouse county, they underperformed in early voting. So, you know, Cornyn is the underdog here. But that are those are some data points to say, well, that's kind of interesting to watch as the turnout comes in throughout the day. And just generally speaking, the more the higher turnout there is, the better it is for John Cornyn. So if he has a big day today, maybe that's a strong, maybe he can pull this out.
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Ryan Nobles
I know you must talk to a lot of Republicans there. And is it a little bit of like the boy who cried wolf in terms of the Democrats coming to get this seat? Because John Cornyn's biggest argument has been that Ken Paxton will hand this seat to Democrats. Is your sense that Republicans there would rather have their kind of Republican and they're willing to take that risk because they just do not believe Democrats can win? And is this year any different than past years?
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Phil Prazen
Look, Texas is a Republican state until proven otherwise. And even if a Democrat wins a statewide race this year, that doesn't mean it's the state is blue. So just traditionally the structure of politics is this is a Republican state. But even Greg Abbott, Governor Greg Abbott is telling donors in private conversations, according to the Texas bullpen, that this year is different for a number of reasons. And there are four bullet points that I'm watching in November if Paxton gets the nomination. There's a fifth one and those are the economy. It doesn't stay the same. Does it get worse? The presidential approval rating of President Donald Trump, does it stay the same or get worse? Can the Republicans unify that? We do not know. Can the Democrats unify that? At the moment we do not know as well. But if Paxton is the nominee, is that fifth bullet point. Is there too much baggage on their candidate on the top of the ticket with the he's going through a divorce. With the legal troubles in the past and with $100 million of John Cornyn spending money to try and tear Paxton down over these last few months, those ideas about Ken Paxton could already be baked in and continue to be baked in in November where some of those moderate or John Cornyn Republican voters may risk it from their perspective with a James Talarico at the top of the ticket or another candidate that's a Democrat. This isn't. This is Governor Greg Abbott in back rooms saying this.
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Ryan Nobles
Phil, that's why we bring you on. You've got the expertise that few can bring to the table. We appreciate it and join tonight. I'm sure to check in with you more as time goes on. But we're going to turn now to some other breaking news and two big setbacks in two states for Republicans and the nationwide redistricting wars. A federal court today blocking a GOP drawn congressional map in Alabama that could have cost Democrats a seat and ordering the state to use a special master map that's already been in place. The three judge panel ruling that the redrawn map intentionally discriminated based on race, saying, quote, the legislature well knew that a plan without an additional black opportunity district would dilute black Alabamans opportunity to participate in the political process and it intentionally enacted that very plan. Alabama's attorney general is already vowing to appeal saying it's not a matter of whether we win this case, only when in South Carolina, meanwhile, the Republican controlled state Senate delivered a surprise rejection of President Trump's demands by voting against a measure to advance a new congressional map during a special session today. That map would have eliminated the state's only majority black district, which is represented by longtime Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn. NBC News senior reporter Jane Timm is covering the ongoing redistrict battles being waged across the country and she joins me now. These are two pretty big bombshells that we got today, Jane, between Alabama and South Carolina, how big of a defeat was today for Republicans?
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Jane Timm
Well, I mean, it's a one to two seat defeat. It's two as many as two Democratic black Democrats who will keep their seats. That Republican wanted wanted to send some Republicans to the House. Of course, it's not the same. It's not the margin that they need that Republicans have seen some pretty big gains from redistricting over the last month thanks to that Supreme Court ruling on race and redistricting. But two seats can, as we know, decide the control of Congress. So it is the kind of thing that is could come down to the wire in November.
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Ryan Nobles
Let's talk about South Carolina first. Does this effectively end any effort to redistrict in the Palmetto State before this year's midterms?
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Jane Timm
It seems so. So early voting began today and for Republicans in the state, that is sort of, sort of the final straw. We stand up and say, look, I supported this map, I wanted to get it done, but not after people are going to the polls. Thousands of voters went to the polls today, we know already, and there were already absentee ballots out. And they said at this point it's time to pull the plug and we can't redistrict. And they said, we understand people will be frustrated. But they've adjourned until June 10th. So it does not seem they're going to have time to do this.
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Ryan Nobles
Probably one person in particular to be very angry that resides at the White House. I mean, were we surprised by this vote that the South Carolina Republicans would fall in line?
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Jane Timm
Well, it's, the White House was surprised by this. They said that, you know, nothing really changed about this bill. But it seems that early voting is what changed this. It was a surprise. And I think that what's most surprising about it is the fact that they did this after the Indiana Republicans were sort of, sort of exacted revenge on Trump, had promised to do this to Republicans in Indiana who refused to redistrict back in December and spent millions of dollars. His allies put million of dollars into their primary battles and defeated at least five of them. So we know that they may pay a big price for this vote today, but they still took it.
- [20:06]
Ryan Nobles
Let's turn to Alabama now and the attorney general as we mentioned, already vowing to appeal today's ruling. But there is some precedent here because the Supreme Court already rejected the Virginia Democrats request to reinstate their redrawn congressional maps that were approved by voters. How will the high court handle this?
- [20:23]
Jane Timm
You know they're going to have to respond if Alabama files an emergency motion. And of course, they have said they're definitely going to appeal and they'll have to decide sort of which map is going to go in this 2023 map or the other one. What's important here is that this case wasn't just about the Voting Rights act that was essentially gutted by that big Supreme Court ruling Calais. This was also about the 14th Amendment, which is where the intentional discrimination claim was there. So if that is sort of what this the federal court has said they're going to stick with the top court may stand with it. But I'll leave the predictions to the pundits.
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Ryan Nobles
Okay. All right, Jane, Tim, thanks for being on top of it. We appreciate it. Coming up, Iran accuses the US of violating the ceasefire and threatens to retaliate after the Pentagon launched a fresh round of strikes it says were conducted out of self defense. Plus, President Trump, who turns 80 next month, faces renewed questions about his health as he visits Walter Reed Hospital today for his 3 3rd checkup in a little over a year. You're watching Meet the Press now. Modern enterprise is made up of a
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Ryan Nobles
Welcome back. Iran is accusing the US of violating this ceasefire between the two countries after the Pentagon carried out what it called self defense strikes in southern Iran. The latest escalation threatening the fragile peace negotiations. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today that a finalized deal with Iran could be just days away, like anything with something like this. And it's going to take a couple days to settle on, even down to the disagreements over a word sentence.
- [23:23]
Comcast Business Advertiser
So we'll have to work through that. If there's going to be a deal,
- [23:25]
Ryan Nobles
we're going to have to work through that. But this is, you know, it's either going to be a good deal or there isn't going to be one. Separately, the regime in Iran is saying today it will start loosening restrictions on Internet access in the country after a record long 88 day nationwide blackout as the Trump administration grapples with the latest developments in the war. President Trump spent part of the day at Walter Reed for a medical and dental checkup. It's his third checkup in a little more than a year. Joining me now, NBC News White House correspondent Monica Elba and NBC News senior national security correspondent Courtney Kuby. Monica, let's start with the president's visit to Walter Reed again today. This is the third visit of his second term. Do we know what prompted this visit?
- [24:08]
Monica Elba
We don't, Ryan, but they did make this public a couple of weeks ago that he was going to be heading to Walter Reed today perhaps to avoid it looking like it was a sudden decision or something that was needed in the moment because of a possible medical issue. Instead, they let everybody know he was going to be going. And afterwards the president said that this is basically a six month physical that he did today, which does beg the question, is he going to be going back in another six months? In past administrations, we typically saw presidents go maybe for their annual physical. So this maybe is something is going to be a bit more regular. And as you mentioned, this is the third visit to Walter Reed and he's at a couple of other dentist appointments while he's been down in Florida over the last couple of months as well. But the president says that everything went quote Perfectly. We will see if we get an actual readout from his own doctor and from the White House. Typically they do release that in the form of a memo about 24 hours or so within that range after the appointments today, where we sort of get a sense of the president's health as there are mounting questions, as there would be for anybody of a man of his age in this role in the the presidency. He is, of course, the oldest ever president to ever be inaugurated and he turns 80 next month.
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Ryan Nobles
And let's talk about Iran now. Is the administration's posture today. Where is it, I should say, when it comes to talks with Iran, are we any closer to a deal or did the latest US Strikes derail those negotiations?
- [25:29]
Monica Elba
Yeah, it's a bit unclear and I know that we have said that time and time again over the course of the last 12 weeks or so throughout this conflict, because it's the president and the White House who are often the ones saying that this is is going to wrap up very soon, that we are very, quote, close to a deal only for that to sort of collapse in real time or for the administration to walk back from that position a little bit. So we saw the same thing over the last couple of days. And Secretary Rubio, who's traveling overseas, is trying to say that maybe in a couple of days a sort of framework, not necessarily a final deal, but a framework that could be kind of the opening to these additional negotiations could be inked. But we didn't get any kind of an update or confirmation from the president on that end or the White House today. And I was in an an event with Vice President Vance earlier today, Ryan, where I tried to put that question to him since he has been so involved in some of the behind the scenes and in person negotiations. And he declined to answer any questions on Iran.
- [26:22]
Ryan Nobles
But there is a development. Right. The president's going to host a Cabinet meeting at Camp David tomorrow. What should we read into that?
- [26:29]
Monica Elba
Yeah, these cabinet meetings do happen pretty frequently. This will be the 11th such meeting. But what will be unusual is the venue, the fact that it's going to be at Camp David tomorrow. Now, this is something that the president mused about a couple of cabinet meetings ago, saying, oh, maybe we should host one in the future at Camp David. So it looks like that's what this is going to be. And then also, of course, the war against Iran is certainly top of the agenda. But it's unclear whether this is going to be a cabinet meeting that we're actually going to get to see. Typically when they take place at the White House. The President invites the reporters in and sometimes they go on for two or three hours at Camp David. Whenever there are events that the President is hosting, there aren't always cameras there. So we'll see if tomorrow we actually do get a glimpse at whatever they are discussing. But something that will look different is all the cabinet turnover that we've seen over the last couple of months with the DHS Secretary, the Attorney General, the Labor Secretary all gone. And Tulsi Gabbard, who is the Director of National Intelligence who just announced on Friday that she submitted her resignation. We expect her to be there tomorrow though, because she doesn't formally leave her post for another few weeks.
- [27:31]
Jane Timm
Right.
- [27:32]
Ryan Nobles
Okay. Monica Elba, live from the White House. Monica, thanks for that. Let's turn to Courtney now. So what more do we know about the US Strikes in Iran? What was target?
- [27:41]
Courtney Kuby
So one thing that might be confusing is how the military would characterize something as a self defense strike when in fact they weren't fired on. Before we spoke with a couple of US officials who explained that over the 24 hours or so before the US carried out these strikes in southern Iran on Monday, in fact, they were watching Iran with these increasingly provocative behaviors. So in one case they fired off some surface to air missiles as there were US Aircraft flying in the area. No aircraft were struck and it doesn't even sound like they were close. But still that presents a threat. Iran was also launching off a number of drones. And then of course they were also launching these small fast boats which we've all come to talk about quite a bit over the last several weeks. Well, the military determined that these were potential threats to the continued military presence there in just on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz. That's the continuing military blockade of Iranian ports. And so they decided to respond. The response was this targeting Iranian missile launch facilities or launch sites, really not large facilities, and then going after some of these small boats. So that's how they characterize it, as self defense. But what's really important to point out here is it's not really clear that any of the Iranian provocative actions were actually an attack on the United States. They just represented a potential threat to them.
- [28:52]
Ryan Nobles
So let's talk about how Iran might respond. Their Revolutionary Guard accused the US of violating the ceasefire. They say that they will respond decisively. What are some of the things Iran could do here? And is there a concern that this could end up in a tit for tat? That that basically brings the ceasefire to an end.
- [29:07]
Courtney Kuby
I think that's the biggest concern for the Gulf allies in the region too, because as Iran, what Iran has been doing most likely is they've been lashing out against some of the oil and gas infrastructure and energy infrastructure against some of the Gulf allies there in the region, specifically the ones who've been the most supportive of the United States historically. And then even in the last several months, that's a huge concern because it's not really clear exactly how many of their air defensives have been expended throughout the course of this war. Some of them, like Kuwait, have taken a tremendous number of incoming ballistic missiles and drones. Jordan's the same thing, Saudi Arabia. So it could potentially present a real threat to some of these allies if Iran were to retaliate. Now, of course, the other option is Iran goes directly after the US Military. That would really represent the possibility for an escalatory scale here because if in fact the US Were, they were to strike a US Ship, a US Aircraft, you could see the US Response.
- [30:02]
Ryan Nobles
And you've done some reporting on Iran's potential capabilities. What have you learned? What are they capable of?
- [30:10]
Courtney Kuby
Look, they took a lot of hits to their conventional military throughout the course of the 37 or 38 days of that war, but they weren't taken completely out. We know that they still maintain some ballistic missiles, some, some of their drones, their mines were largely taken out, the storage facilities, but they still have some of those as well. I think the biggest concern here is they, they maintain the launchers to launch all of these things. And it's not clear that their defense industrial base or that their production capability was completely decimated either. So despite the fact, yeah, they took a lot of hits, they're not down and out.
- [30:44]
Ryan Nobles
And this despite the White House describing them as decimated.
- [30:47]
Courtney Kuby
Yeah, exactly. I mean, decimated is not a military term, you know, so it's the reality is they still have capabilities.
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Okay.
- [30:54]
Ryan Nobles
All right, Courtney, thank you for that. We appreciate it. Up next, we're going to dive deeper into the battle for Texas Senate with President Trump testing his power over the party once again as he tries to oust Republican Senator John Cornyn in today's runoff. Our panel is next. You're watching Meet the Press.
- [31:08]
Ted Cruz
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- [32:21]
Ryan Nobles
Welcome back. Joining me now is our panel, Francesca Chambers, White House correspondent for USAID Today, Democratic strategist Joel Payne and Republican strategist Malik Abdul. Thank you guys all for being here. Any guesses what we're going to start with the big story today happening in Texas. We have this big, big night for President Trump. He's been on a winning streak, Francesca, with these Republican primaries. How confident is his team feeling about the results tonight with Ken Paxton and John Cornyn?
- [32:50]
Francesca Chambers
I mean, you just have to look at the polling to see where things are at this point. I mean, Paxton has opened up a double digit lead on Cornyn ever since the president has imp. And while this could certainly turn out a different way than those other races have, I mean, you look to someone like Thom Tillis who decided not to even run for reelection because this is what he feared the outcome would be in his race, too. And so the president and his allies are feeling pretty darn confident not just about today, but also about this general election against Talarico, who the president has made these assaults on quite personal against him. He's known for doing that and he's really zeroed in on Talarico.
- [33:26]
Ryan Nobles
So Malik, we know that the president's, his political operation feels confident about tonight. They're happy with what could be the potential result with Ken Paxton. But what about rank and foul Republicans that want to hold on to the Senate majority? How do they feel about Ken Paxton?
- [33:39]
Comcast Business Advertiser
Well, we feel a little defeated. I'll add myself in that. We, we feel a little defeated because, you know, it seems as if that Cornyn is like coasting towards a loss here. And Republicans, and you talk to Republicans on Capitol Hill and there is a lot of frustration and we've heard that over and over again, the frustration with Republicans, Republicans, because in this case, and I remind People over and over again. Cornyn was a loyal ally to Donald Trump. Cornyn, he co sponsored the SAVE Act. He's done a number of things being in support, but you have people who believe that he's just not one of us. And the big concern for Republicans, to be honest, is what happens after this if Paxton ends up winning? Can he honestly beat Talarico and Donald Trump? He was great in going after Mondani, but he's also going after Talarico, and you saw he made that shift when it came to Talarico. So I'm not necessarily convinced that the Republicans will be able to make a caricature of Talarico because it didn't work with Mondani. Yeah.
- [34:41]
Ryan Nobles
So, Joel, where do Democrats stand on this? I mean, at the very least, a Paxton win means Republicans are going to have to invest in Texas, which could help Democrats in other parts of the country too.
- [34:50]
Joel Payne
For sure. I'm a little disappointed because I thought the top story was going to be Democrats and Republicans for the New York Knicks here.
- [34:58]
Ryan Nobles
Oh, it's for the Knicks, not for Texas.
- [35:00]
Joel Payne
That's actually what I thought to your question, though, about Texas. You know, a thing that I think Republicans sometimes forget about Talarico, one of the places where he overperformed in the primary against Jasmine Crockett, Latinos. And that is the place of opportunity that I can tell you the Democrats on the ground in Texas and around the country see, that is the path for Talarico to overcome. Whether it was Cornyn or whether it is Cornyn or Paxton, it's with Latinos. And I don't know if there is anything that I have seen that shows Republicans peeling back some of that support that Democrats have started to earn and some of that trust and those relationships that they're building in a state like Texas. I still think it's a high hill for Talarico or any Democrat to scale. I mean, look, even in a good year for Beto O' Rourke in 2018, it was still a R+2 state. That might just be the reality of Texas. But I think what Democrats are heartened by is that Donald Trump messing around in Republican primary politics is going to create another pickup opportunity where probably there really shouldn't be. That's money that Republicans should be spending in North Carolina, in Alaska, in Ohio and Iowa. It's money that they're going to have to dump into Texas, which is notoriously very expensive.
- [36:08]
Ryan Nobles
Does that frustrate you, Malik, that that money could be better spent in Maine or in North Carolina or Maybe Alaska, which could be a competitive state.
- [36:15]
Comcast Business Advertiser
Absolutely. And we've seen this before with the Republican Party. Remember what happened with the Herschel the year Herschel walk and Mike McCorman, who's now the senator now, I think he was the one running against Dr. Oz, and they ended up choosing Dr. Oz. This is a big concern. And for Donald Trump, this doesn't seem to be Donald Trump being concerned as the titular head of the Republican Party. It is Donald Trump governing by maga. And that is what the Paxton endorsement is all about. It's not about loyalty. It's not about support for Donald Trump. It is about maga. And this is what MAGA wanted, not the Republican Party.
- [36:50]
Ryan Nobles
So, Frances, I was gonna say.
- [36:51]
Francesca Chambers
So this money argument has been really interesting to. Because while it's pretty tight between the NRSC and the DSCC and the NRCC and the DTrip, you know, there's this huge gulf right now between the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee right now. And so maybe Donald Trump and Republicans feel like they've got money to burn, that they can afford to use it on, putting in candidates who they think are going to be more loyal to the President of the United States. The concerns that he's raised is that, you know, Cornyn wasn't doing enough for his agenda when it comes to the SAVE act and other things. So, you know, if you're Donald Trump right now and you think you've got the money to burn, I guess you
- [37:31]
Ryan Nobles
can get someone that votes 100% of the time versus 95% of the time, it might be worth $100 million. I guess we're gonna have to wait and see. But we talked about the politics here. But, Francesca, there's a governing issue that Donald Trump's gonna have to contend with now because. And you heard Ted Cruz talk about it at the top of our show, you've got four or five Republican senators now that feel burned by the president deciding to go with, to basically knife incumbent Republicans. And all those guys, Thom Tillis, Bill, you can throw Rand Paul in there because of what happened with Tom Massie in Kentucky. Now, John Cornyn, they're all going to still be in the Senate until the end of the year. And there's a chance that Donald Trump and the Republican Party loses at least one chamber after this year. If they want to get big stuff done, they probably need to get it done before now and the end of the year. Isn't he making their lives a whole lot more difficult by intervening in these races?
- [38:20]
Francesca Chambers
I mean, if they can get it done between now and the end of the year because as we've already seen with the flip on the war powers vote that took place in the Senate, as well as the fact that they went as the fact that they went into recess without passing, you know, the big bill that they were trying to pass through reconciliation, he's already having difficulty because of these senators. So it's looking more and more like it could be until January before they get anything done. To your point, if Republicans lose the House of Representatives as well, that certainly would be a difficulty. At the same time, how much more were they really going to get done before November when we're in an election year? I mean, I think that's a big question as well, too.
- [38:56]
Ryan Nobles
Okay, Joel, let's talk about the issues the Democrats are facing in Texas because you have a number of Democrat on Democrat races in part because of the redistricting effort there. The one I want to focus on is with Congressman Al Green and Christian Menefee in Texas. And it seems as though that's become a generational divide. Al Green, of course, a fixture on Capitol Hill, been there a long time. Menifee is a freshman. They're forced to run against each other because of redistricting. What should we read about the outcome of this race and where the Democratic Party's head look?
- [39:25]
Joel Payne
I definitely think it's fair to look at it through a generational prism. There's age, but there's also just approach. The CBC is under attack right now. I think one of the unintended consequences of that will also be a reconsideration of how these CBC members show up. The CBC actually is a pretty moderate bloc of Democratic members of Congress, I think, actually to the chagrin sometimes of some Democrats. So I actually think when you have moments where you have Democrat on Democrat in a primary like this, and this won't be the only race that's like that around the country and it won't be the only moment where Democrats are faced with that type of choice. I think you're actually gonna see a real kind of choice point between the type of Democrat that wants to represent these areas and that these areas are looking for and who the grassroots of the party really gets behind. Al Green is a fighter who's very well respected, but he's from a bygone generation. And I'm very curious to see how that will play out in Texas tonight.
- [40:24]
Ryan Nobles
Malik, it seems as though Democrats, Democrats are a bit more willing to at least they're voter base. I'm not Gonna talk about the party establishment, but the voter base seems a bit more willing to buck the generational establishment picks and go with younger candidates. Is that something that Republicans need to start thinking about at least?
- [40:41]
Comcast Business Advertiser
You know, it's funny, we were talking of the show, like, what happens in the party after Donald Trump. I don't think that you're gonna have any mobilizing figure as long as Donald Trump is on the stage. And I've made the argument many times before is that MAGA needs a leader. That leader is Don. It is one and only. There is no alternative to Donald Trump. So I think that until the party, until we get beyond Trump, the generational divide won't even matter because it exists now with Donald Trump. And you still have someone like Cornyn who looks as if he's coasting towards a loss. So it's really not going to matter at all in the Republican Party until Donald Trump is off the stage.
- [41:20]
Ryan Nobles
And we were talking before, Francesca, about this governing issue and, and the kind of the damage that Trump could potentially be doing in these races. Is the White House cognizant of that? Are they worried about how the rest of the Republican Party's reading these moves?
- [41:33]
Francesca Chambers
I mean, they still control the House of Representatives. They still control the United States Senate. We're talking about Republicans bucking the president on a few things here. But ultimately, I mean, there are other issues at play, too. It's not just these endorsements. When we're talking, for instance, about a fund for potentially for J6ers.
- [41:50]
Ryan Nobles
Yeah. All right, guys, we're going to leave it there. Francesca, Joel, Malik, thank you all for being here. And we're going to turn now to another Senate race, this one in Nebraska, where Democrats are hoping that picking a Senate candidate who can't win in November will actually help them flip the seat. And that red state Democratic voters threw their support behind Cindy Burbank in the Senate primary earlier this month after she signaled she might drop out of the race if she won. To pave the way for independent Dan Osborne to face Republican Pete Ricketts one on one in November. Now, Burbank won the Democratic nomination, but according to Nebraska Secretary of State, she actually can't withdraw until the election is certified next month. And Dan Osborne joins me now. Thank you so much for joining me, Dan. Let's talk about the state of the race. First, let's talk about Cindy Burbank, who is the Democratic nominee right now. Have you been in touch with her regarding when she will drop out of the race and clear a path for your candidacy?
- [42:50]
Dan Osborne
No, no, I haven't. I just figure we're just going to keep, keep going here. We're getting a lot of support. We're fundraising. We've raised over four and a half million dollars. We continue to show how viable this campaign is. We've done over 70 town halls. We're just going to keep getting out there talking to farmers, ranchers, nurses and teachers and finding out what they want in a US Senator.
- [43:13]
Ryan Nobles
So. But do you have an opinion as to whether or not her staying in the race would help or hurt your campaign? And are you making a concerted effort to reach out to Democratic voters in Nebraska?
- [43:23]
Dan Osborne
Yeah, I've thought about this every which way to Sunday. And you know, right now I stay focused on especially, you know, the ag community where we're fifth in the country in soybean exports, third in corn, first in beef. And right now agriculture has been getting slapped in the face quite a bit here in Nebraska with a wildfire fire has burned over a million acres and now their inputs are through the roof. We got to keep our farmers, farmers and ranchers profitable here. And but as far as what Democrats and Republicans and Libertarians are doing in the state, I don't know. I'm just going out and meeting people where they're at.
- [44:03]
Ryan Nobles
Well, speaking of Democrats, Jane Kleeb was the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said in a statement back in March. He said the Nebraska Democratic Party made a deliberate, principled decision not to field a candidate in the U.S. senate race because we believe Dan Osborne, that's you, a veteran, a mechanic in Nebraskan and an independent voice, represents the best opportunity to defeat Pete Ricketts and deliver real results for working families. I don't want you to think that I'm obsessed with this topic, but I'm asking you a lot of pointed questions about this because Pete Ricketts, your opponent, is suggesting perhaps that you're just a Democrat in disguise and are not running as a true independent. The fact that you have these Democrats supporting you, the efforts or the lack of coordination you may have had with the Democratic campaign. What do you say to that true centrist voter in Nebraska that thinks that you're just running as a Democrat, only not without the moniker next to it.
- [44:54]
Dan Osborne
Yeah, well, I've been a lifelong independent from the time I could vote. And ultimately I just tell people, look, you know, Democrats have failed on a border. I think they failed a lot of agriculture and manufacturing with nafta. I think Obama failed bailing out the banks. I think both parties are guilty of cowtailing to corporate entities and the money interests and politics. I don't take corporate money. I don't want to be a part of the problem. I want to be a part of the solution. So this really goes back to what Abraham Lincoln said. It's government buying for the people. And, you know, I don't want to have to have a party boss when I get in there. I want to work for the people the way this was all intended 250 years ago.
- [45:37]
Ryan Nobles
And so how would that work if you got to Washington as an independent? Would you caucus with a particular party? How do you envision what your role would be in Washington? Because the role within the party is an important part of the legislative process when you get here.
- [45:51]
Dan Osborne
Sure. That's. That's. That's exactly what it is. It's a. It's a process. You know, it's certainly not written in the Constitution of the United States. I want to challenge the system because the system needs to be challenged. Because regardless of what administration has been in control and what the president's name is and who has been, I feel like working people like families like mine have been getting left out. And, you know, so my whole goal here is, is to challenge the system that needs to be challenged. And so, you know, I've said it once, I'll say it a million times. I'm not going to caucus with either party. I am going to. Well, that'll probably lead you into your next question. How are you going to be effective? Well, I think really, you know, if I. If I would have beaten deb Fisher In 2024, the big, beautiful bill would have never passed. I would have never have given the lion's share of tax cuts in Nebraska to the Ricketts family. So, you know, that that's what that is, is that's leverage. That's power. I certainly will use that to deliver for the people of Nebraska.
- [46:54]
Ryan Nobles
Okay, so let's talk about Deb Fisher. You lost to her by more than five points in 2024, but that was a bit of a surprise given the fact that you had kind of come out of nowhere as a political neo fight. Things are a little bit different here in 2026. You're a known quantity now, but do you think that Pete Ricketts is a more vulnerable candidate, or do you think the political climate's different? How is this going to be different than your last run?
- [47:17]
Dan Osborne
Well, I think. I think Ricketts, people know him. He ran our state like a mob boss when he was governor. For two terms, he would spend, especially against even, even his own party. He would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in primaries to make sure people wouldn't work in the state anymore. And he's got no scruples. He'll, he tries to drag people down. He tries to ruin reputations. That's who he is. You know, I just ask people, look, are you better off since the Ricketts regime has been in power here in Nebraska? And the answer resoundingly is no. You know, where is he? Is he more vulnerable? I don't think so. He's got, you know, he could write himself a $50 million check tomorrow. But you know what? Nebraska is not for sale. People are fed up with the status quo here, especially with prices at the grocery store and the gas pump and rent. And, you know, we're going to, we're going to let our voices be heard in November.
- [48:11]
Ryan Nobles
And my last question for you, sir, is that poll after poll after poll shows that most Americans are disenfranchised by both Republican and Democratic parties. More and more young people don't even identify with the political party, but yet we've yet to see a major candidate break through at the national level without a direct party affiliation. Outside of Bernie Sanders and Angus King, who caucus with the Democrats, do you think your victory could open the door to more independent candidates like yourself actually running and then succeeding and that an independent movement could actually be a political force in this country?
- [48:48]
Dan Osborne
I think that's definitely within the realm of possibilities as long as they do it right, as long as they don't take corporate money and, you know, special interest money, that, that hurts American ideals. I think if you can, if you're going to be, have an unapologetically worker platform. Yeah, I think this, this model will work for certainly a lot of people. And, you know, if you want to support me against a billionaire, you can go to osborne4senate.com appreciate all the help that I can get. But ultimately, you know, at the end of the day, anything's possible.
- [49:19]
Ryan Nobles
Okay. Dan Osborne, candidate for Senate in Nebraska. Thanks so much for joining us.
- [49:24]
Dan Osborne
Thank you.
- [49:26]
Ryan Nobles
And still to come, the World Health Organization warns that the rapid spread of Ebola in Africa is outpacing relief efforts. We'll speak with a doctor who contracted and survived the disease and is warning that the situation could become catastrophic. You're watching MEET the Press now. Welcome back. Turning now to the deadly Ebola outbreak, which is spreading rapidly in East Africa. According to the World Health Organization, there are now more than 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths associated with the outbreak that was declared 10 days ago. Now, to give you a sense of the speed of the spread, it took nearly four months to reach those numbers during the 20142016 outbreak in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people. Today, the head of the WHO said the epidemic is, quote, outpacing us. And the International Rescue Committee, an aid group that works in the region, is warning that this could become the deadliest Ebola breakout on record without urgent international action. Joining me now is Dr. Craig Spencer. He's an emergency doctor and a public health professor at Brown University. He's a survivor of Ebola. He contracted the disease while caring for patients in guinea in 2014. Dr. Spencer, there are a few people who know as much about this disease as you, so we're very pleased that you're here to join us. How concerned are you by the number of cases that we're seeing? And do you agree with the IRC's assessment that this could become the deadliest outbreak on record?
- [51:03]
Ted Cruz
I'm incredibly concerned. Let me tell you why. Just over 10 days ago, we didn't know about this outbreak, and in the span of just a few days, it became one of the biggest outbreaks ever. And I suspect the thousand or so cases that we are reporting now is probably just a fraction of the actual true cases on the ground. We don't have enough teams or epidemiologists or testing to be able to actually determine how many cases and how many deaths there are. And there are so many different chains of transmission that we haven't tied all together. So I don't even think we, quite frankly, have a decently clear view of what's happening yet. And I don't think that's going to get clear probably for another week or two.
- [51:40]
Ryan Nobles
Now, this Bundy Bujo strain is different than the Zaire strain which you contracted in West Africa 12 years ago. But just explain to us what it's like to have Ebola. What was your experience like with the disease?
- [51:54]
Ted Cruz
It was the worst 19 days of my life. There's no other way to sugarcoat it. But that being said, I had the best case scenario of a worst case scenario in that I was treated in a high quality intensive care unit back in the US And I keep thinking about the fact that hundreds or thousands of patients, not only in West Africa a decade ago, but in the coming weeks and months in eastern Congo, are going to be treated in facilities that pale in comparison to what I was lucky enough to be treated in. And I think that really argues for exactly why we need to stop up this response as quickly as possible. There are humanitarian organizations that are trying to flood into the area. Area. It's going to be difficult. It's a tough place to work and get access to. But even if we have all the resources, all the money, all the humanitarians, all the coordination, it's going to be really hard to step up quick enough. The level of care that we need to be able to provide, to not only gain the trust of the community, to show them we have something to offer, but to make a measurable dent in this outbreak.
- [52:52]
Ryan Nobles
I want to put up a quote from an opinion piece that you wrote for the New York Times where you say, quote, I know how destructive the disease can be and how unprepared we are for its return. Why is it that dealing with several passable outbreaks, how is it that we're not prepared for this one?
- [53:09]
Ted Cruz
We seemingly keep forgetting the lessons we've learned and unlearned multiple times before. A decade ago, we learned the value of smart investments, being prepared. What happens when we're flat footed. We saw this over the past year with the amount of support that the US primarily, and other countries as well, have pulled out of countries like Eastern Congo and the impact it's had, not only the detection, but our ability and swiftness to respond. And there are incredible human costs here. When we talk about this on the news here in the US and in other countries, we look at the case numbers, we see pictures of people in treatment centers. It's hard for us to really grapple with the reality of what this looks like on the ground. But as providers, as people working in clinics right now without enough personal protective equipment, or worried about their loved ones, their colleagues, their friends, friends. This is a horrific and cruel disease. It is absolutely horrible, unlike anything any of us should ever have to experience. And all of that points to the importance of all of us doing whatever we can to marshal the resources necessary to make sure we can intervene in this outbreak as quickly and as forcefully as possible.
- [54:14]
Ryan Nobles
Now, administration officials have pushed back against the idea that there's any link between US cuts to global health and the scale of this current outbreak. Instead, they've pushed the blame all off on the WHO for being too slow to sound the alarm. What do you make of that assessment?
- [54:29]
Ted Cruz
I think it's embarrassing that an administration that pulled out of the WHO doesn't even know what the who's role apparently is, because that's not their role to detect this outbreak. It's to alert other countries. Now, anyone saying that the US Pullout did not have an impact here has no idea what they're talking about and has no idea what it's like working on the ground in eastern Congo. I can tell you 100% that without those resources and that support, it has left the administration flat footed. But also eastern Congo and the clinics and providers that are there right now that I'm talking to every day without the resources they need to promptly end this outbreak.
- [55:03]
Ryan Nobles
So we only have about 30 seconds left, but the State Department has said that they're going to fund 50 treatment centers. They're going to put $23 million towards containing the outbreak. Is that too little, too late or will it help?
- [55:15]
Ted Cruz
The State Department said that on Twitter and then the Ugandan Ministry of Health had to correct them because the Ugandan Ministry of Health said you did not talk with us and we knew nothing about this. This is just a cover up. This is to make it look like we're doing something. We need something more than a proxy for looking like we're doing something. We need to actually do something and we need less lip service and more boots on the ground.
- [55:36]
Ryan Nobles
Okay. Dr. Craig Spencer, who survived Ebola and knows firsthand about that experience, we appreciate your expertise on this topic, sir. Thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for joining us.
- [55:45]
Ted Cruz
Thank you.
- [55:47]
Ryan Nobles
And we're going to be back tomorrow with more MEET THE PRESS now. But don't forget tonight to tune in to Steve Kornacki breaking down the votes out of Texas in real time as they come in on the Kornacki cam that starts at 8pm on nbcnews.com and on YouTube. If you can't get enough Kornacki, that's the place to go. There's more news ahead right now on NBC News. Now.
- [56:09]
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