Meet the Press full broadcast — Feb. 18

this Sunday law and order today we prove that no one is above the law a judge orders Donald Trump to pay over $ 350 million after finding him liable for fraud a fine of $355 million for doing a perfect job and now a date is set for his first criminal trial in the New York hush money case I'm going to have to sit here for months on a trial I think it's ridiculous it's unfair while the district attorney Prosecuting Trump in Georgia takes the and as a judge decides whether to remove her from the ca

se you're confused you think I'm on trial these people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020 how will the GOP Front Runners legal liabilities impact the 2024 election plus Russian threat the White House says Ukraine is running out of ammunition and urging republicans in Congress to act history is watching while Putin's top critic dies in prison Putin is responsible and the house Intel chair faces backlash for warning of another threat a new space-based weapon that could Target us

satellites I'll talk exclusively to Republican Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio and political motives even a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family an FBI informant at the center of the GOP efforts to impeach President Biden has been charged with lying it's been an outrageous effort from the beginning will impeachment efforts fade I'll speak with Democratic senator Amy kashar of Minnesota and in our meet the moment conversation Patty Davis the daughter of Ronald Reagan what

do you think your father would say about our current state of politics I think he would be really scared for our democracy joining me for insight and Analysis are Mara lias National political correspondent for NPR Democratic pollster Cornell beler and Republican strategist Sarah Fagan welcome to Sunday it's meet the the Press from NBC News in Washington the longest running show in television history this is Meet the Press with Kristen Welker good Sunday morning we are one week out from the Sout

h Carolina Republican primary but this week the front runner former president Trump was on defense his legal battles growing Biden impeachment efforts suffering a setback and mounting concerns about how he would confront Vladimir Putin if he's reelected on Friday the former president faced a stunning legal and financial defeat a judge in New York ordered him to pay a massive $355 million penalty an amount which could rise to more than 450 million with interest the ruling also bars Trump from per

sonally running a business in New York for three years the judges and prosecutors that were dealing with me are essentially all the same different wrappings tone manner but always the same the blow to Trump's business comes after the special Council investigating Hunter Biden charged a former informant at the center of the impeachment case against President Biden with lying to the FBI leading House Republicans had repeatedly pointed to intelligence from that informant as Central to their case fo

r impeaching the president even a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family who's one of our most trusted highest paid most credible FBI informant that to me is the really the heart of this matter the most corroborating evidence we have is that 1023 form from this highly credible confidential human Source an FBI informant at the center of the impeachment inquiry into you has been indicted for allegedly lying your reaction to that and should the inquiry be dropped he is lying

and it should be dropped and it's just been a it's been an outrageous effort from the beginning now all of that comes against mounting tensions with Russia Ukrainian troops were forced to withdraw from a key town on the Eastern Front the highest profile retreat by Ukrainian forces in months Ukraine Aid appears stalled on Capitol Hill this week the Senate passed a foreign aid package for Ukraine Israel and Taiwan but so far that appears to have no path in the house house it's about time they step

up don't you think instead of going on a two we vacation two weeks they're walking away two weeks the idea we need anything more to get the Ukraine Aid I mean I mean this is in light of a former president's statement that saying Russia if if they even pay the dues to us go get them come on on Friday Russian authorities announced that opposition lead leader Alexi navali Putin's fiercest critic had died at a penal colony in Siberia where he was being held Ukrainian president zinski pleaded for mo

re help after the murder of Alexa naali it's absurd to perceive Putin as a supposedly legitimate hat of a Russian State and he is the thug who maintains power through corruption and violence house intelligence chairman Republican Mike Turner caused a stir on Capitol Hill this week after he issued an extraordinary statement calling on the White House to declassify information about an unnamed quote serious national security threat the new intelligence now public indicates that Russia is moving cl

oser to developing an anti-satellite weapon for use in space that would have the ability to destroy us satellites late Saturday I spoke with chairman Turner from mudic where he has been meeting with European allies joining me now is house intelligence chairman Republican Mike Turner chairman Turner welcome back to Meet the Press thank you Kristen appreciate it well we appreciate having you from Munich as you know you created a bit of a firestorm in Washington this week when you sounded the alarm

about the national security threat related to a Russian anti-satellite weapon the New York Times is now reporting that the concern is whether Russia might put a real nuclear weapon in space based on the intelligence you have seen how serious is the threat well the the threat is very serious everyone who's looked at it uses the same language that that I have that it is a very serious threat and I'm very I'm very glad that the administration is beginning to take action uh we met with Jake Sulliva

n and he began to lay out a plan uh that hopefully would begin to address this I understand that secretary blinkin here at Munich met with leaders from China and India according to how the New York Times is reporting that certainly would be an important big step to try to avert this President Biden has said this is not a nuclear threat though do you agree with that assessment how should people be viewing this well I can't I can't confirm or deny this what I have called for is for the administrat

ion to declassify this I me my concern is that this is kind of like the Chinese spy balloon and the the administration is kind of hiding perhaps you know some in action uh the uh but as this becomes more and more public the administration grapples with uh with what we're dealing with I think they are going to be taking it seriously I think they will be taking action and that obviously is the goal well look some of your colleagues expressed concerns that you were causing a panic with this warning

others worried that you were jeopardizing intelligence was the way that you sounded this alarm about this threat responsible chairman Turner yes so the our rules under the committee and and really the purpose for our committee is that when we receive intelligence that the House of Representatives should should view uh that we have the ability to share it but the rules provide that we're supposed to First do this in consultation with the office of the Director of National Intelligence which we d

id and including our statement which we sent to the office of Director of National Intelligence and received uh no U no objections whatsoever our committee voted 23 to one to vote this of the committee and send it to the members of Congress believing that they needed to know this information uh and also the statement that we issued to the members was signed both by me and my my ranking member uh so this was not just an action by myself but I am glad after meeting with Jake Sullivan uh that the a

dministration is taking this seriously and we now be able to see action from the administration all right well let's talk about Ukraine specifically a key city has now fallen to Russian forces president zinsky in his remarks there in mun called for more us Aid calling it vital but many House Republicans have argued the US can't keep sending billions of dollars without a clear strategy you've spoken to zalinski is the Republican party in danger of basically surrendering Ukraine to Vladimir Putin

well the um the speaker has made a commitment to secure the funding for uh for Ukraine when we met with zalinsky today we did meet in the backdrop of of Ukraine troops having conceited land to Russia as a result of shortage of stockpiles of weapons zinsky described the math that he's facing of dwindling stockpiles at the same time Russia is turning to both Iran and North Korea for weapon systems uh zalinski of course did not blame his current situation or what occurred today on the delay that's

occurring although he did indicate that he's certainly worried that the the delay could cause a gap in weapons getting to Ukraine uh those in attendance of the US delegation certainly pledge their support and I do think that there is an opportunity when we get back to Washington to move this important Aid package forward because it is so critical you Vladimir Putin is a murderous Thug and what he is doing in the atrocities and the war crimes in Ukraine need to be responded to I'm was speaking to

the mayor of keev today and he was saying this is the front line of of the authoritarian regimes and democracy and it is well as you know president has been asking for this Aid since October for 5 months now has speaker Johnson given you any assurances that he is going to bring Ukraine Aid to the floor well President Johnson has made a number of public statements committing to finding a pathway for the aid for Ukraine uh I believe him I think that we will uh and this does need to get done this

is absolutely critical for us support for Ukraine and to oppose Russian aggression but as you know a lot of Republicans oppose this chairman Turner do you believe Donald Trump's opposition to sending more funding to Ukraine is the reason why it doesn't have more support among Republicans well I you know certainly people are very disappointed that the negotiations On the Border deal and the Senate broke down and did not result in in a plan now the House of Representatives passed hr2 which would h

ave resulted in closing the border the the remain in Mexico policy of the prior Administration and would have allowed for moving forward with aid for Ukraine and isra Republicans asked for the Border deal a lot of Republicans said that the Senate deal was the best deal that they'd seen in decades but sticking on this question do you play some of the responsibility on Donald Trump for the reason that more Republicans don't support sending more Aid to Ukraine which you have now just said is critic

al it is critical and I think there's certainly a sufficient support in both the House of Representatives and the Senate uh in order to get that Aid package done I think members who are in opposition you know have had their own path to get there of their own concerns but I do know that if you look at this issue of the uh the effects of the allowing Russia to continue in in its aggression the fact that it would jeopardize other areas of of Europe that this is very very important for the United St

ates to stand strong and stand with Ukraine well let's talk about Russian aggression former president Trump recently said he would encourage Russia to inv NATO countries who he says haven't paid their bills you have endorsed him are you comfortable with him saying that chairman this is what I know when Donald Trump was President he actually increased funding to Nato itself he continues to push a countries to to fully fund to meet the 2% commitment that each of them have and I know that his his w

ork is important to get increased funding Ukraine you're excuse me increased funding to to Nato you're already seeing NATO countries begin to spend more as a result of Donald Trump's words I think that's kind of important he's motivating them to do so but I think he is very very strong in his support for NATO but Mr chairman the words that he said this week he said I would encourage them Russia to do whatever the heck they wanted you got to pay you got to pay your bills are you comfortable with

that this is what I know Donald Trump's political rallies don't really translate into Donald Trump's ual policies if you look at his policies if you look at his record he actually increased funding for NATO increased the European reassurance in initiative and in fact for Ukraine he was the first president to give lethal weapons to Ukraine so I think his record is strong and I think that's what's important as we're having this interview former president Trump has not yet spoken out on the death o

f Putin opposition leader Alexi navali President Biden said Russia is responsible for his death you met with naval's Widow in Munich what what did she tell you Mr chairman you know in a dramatic moment here she took the stage at the Munich security conference just as the word was learning that Nali had had passed uh she expressed uh her surprise that that uh and her really disbelief that her husband was dead she later then met with the US delegation we prayed with her we shared her sorrow and ce

rtainly uh she points the finger directly at at uh Vladimir Putin who had previously poisoned Nali uh with you know military nerve agent and then of course imprisoned him and now naol is is dead um the this is certainly very troubling it's part of the murderousness that uh we see both in Ukraine and here as the record of Vladimir Putin and it certainly shows how dangerous he is well I guess the big question now is what happens next President Biden has said he's considering his response what do y

ou think the consequences should be I think that um as a result of nal's death that U that we should even be that more strong in funding Ukraine and passing this in the house and the Senate and dedicated in nal's off uh in his legacy sending a message to Putin well let me ask you about another headline this week a former FBI informant has been charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden seeking millions of dollars and bribes from Ukrainian company allegations that are really Central to the Rep

ublican effort to impeach the president now you voted to support this impeachment inquiry do you think it's responsible to continue this inquiry given these charges against this FBI informant absolutely I mean this is is this inquiry and it is an inquiry uh is based upon actual bank records documents uh transactions of money large sums of money uh and doing an inquiry as to U you know how the These funds got to the Biden family from International sources China Russia Ukraine uh that is certainly

an issue that that Congress needs to take up and I think the investigation will continue but Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan said just a few weeks ago that the most corroborating evidence comes from this informance allegations and they are at the heart of the impeachment case even before that Senator Lindsey Graham said to me there's no smoking gun so can you just justify continuing with this impeachment inquiry I think you have to continue until it re reaches its natural conclusion but

I'm I'm not surprised at all that a um a business associate and Associate of the the Biden family might be untruthful uh but we'll just have to continue to see what the bank records the transactions tell how that story unfolds and I believe that chairman comr is doing a great job in this just to be clear he was an FBI informant not necessarily neily an associate I do want to turn to Trump's legal battles on Friday a judge ordered him to pay more than $350 million in his civil fraud case and has

barred him from running a business in New York for three years do you trust someone who isn't allowed to run his own business to run the country Mr chairman actually I don't trust this court decision um you know being a practicing lawyer in in commercial transactions I think the whole premise of the case with all legal analysts have said is unusual um is U is not really justifiable we'll have to see ultimately how the appeals uh run in this case but I think um if this case stands it's going to

be a threat to really just all businesses including those who are currently operating in New York but as you know Mr chairman this is not the only time that Mr Trump has been fined for his business practices in 2019 He was ordered to pay $2 million amid Revelations that his charity misused funds He was ordered to pay fines in 2018 related to his now defunct University does that undercut his trustworthiness as a leader you know all of those issues were taken in consideration was the as the countr

y elected him to president last time and his record as president is what we really need to look at our country was Stronger our economy was Stronger um and I think our border certainly being secure is probably the most important issue and that Americans are going to look at the 8 million people who have gone across the border during the Biden Administration is absolutely an invasion uh this is something that President Trump had addressed um and the fact that President Biden reversed by executive

orders that those issues that have been put in place to protect our country are going to be important to voters Mr chairman as you know the Border migration has been an issue for decades under Republican democratic presidents because there hasn't been comprehensive immigration reform but let me ask you about something else because the house is on recess for two weeks you only have a handful of days to avert a government shutdown do you think a government shutdown is inevitable given that well I

'm absolutely opposed to government shutdown and I do think that speaker Johnson's diligently working with the leadership in the house and the Senate to put together a package that hopefully can pass the house and the Senate and I think he's certainly going to work diligently to ensure that we don't have a government shut down but I am adamantly opposed to government shutdown I do believe that it is detrimental not only to our our our country but also our government all right well we will have t

o see what happens chairman Mike Turner thank you so much for joining us from thanks for having me really appreciate it thanks Christen when we come back Democratic senator Amy kashar of Minnesota joins me [Music] next welcome back NBC News has learned that special counsel Robert her who investigated president Biden's handling of classified documents will testify next month March 12th before the house Judiciary Committee her found the evidence was not strong enough to establish guilt Beyond A Re

asonable Doubt Republicans on the committee wrote to attorney general merri Garland asking that he provide the full transcript of hers interview with President Biden joining me now is Democratic senator Amy clob Bashar Senator clob Bashar welcome back to Meet the Press thank you it's great to be back on thanks Kristen well it is great to have you Senator let's start right there we do expect the special councel Robert her to appear before the house Judiciary Committee will the Senate Judiciary Co

mmittee call her to testify should it well uh that is up to uh Senator Durban uh but I will say that her is conducting his own uh investigation and uh he has concluded very clearly uh that there was no criminal liability here for the president um and that was his Focus right and that got decided and I think there are many other things that we need to do on the Judiciary Committee including passing some legislation when it comes to Tech uh including many other issues related to Fentanyl and the l

ike that we're focused on but again that will be Senator durban's call well let me ask you this the report described President Biden as a quote elderly with a poor memory do you think the White House should allow the release of the full transcript without claiming executive privilege for the sake of transparency Senator you know that is going to be again up to the president and his lawyers but I've got to comment on this just from my own personal experience I was on uh Air Force One with the pre

sident going from Minnesota to uh Wisconsin for going from Washington DC to Wisconsin for an infrastructure project and I was with the president for over an hour and talked about so many things domestic International he was focused his recall was good it was the same experience that my colleagues had who met with him for hours Democrats and Republicans about the midd East only a few weeks ago um and so I think that we've got to evaluate what's happening right now by one what he has done which is

bring us out of this pandemic first time that we're finally seeing negotiation of prescription drug prices and focused on what matters to the American people and compare what he is doing to what we've got as the alternative on the Republican side which is Donald Trump well who is nothing but standing up week by week for chaos well Senator you take me to my next point which is on 2024 as you know concerns have been growing for quite some time within your party about President Biden's ability to

win a second term the latest person to express this Ezra Klein of the New York Times who said this week quote he is not up for this he is not the campaigner he was even five years ago the way he moves the energy in his voice the Democrats denying decline are only fooling themselves Senator what is your reaction to that Stark assessment my reaction is as someone who ran against Joe Biden as someone who has spent significant amount of time with Joe Biden uh that he is up for this job and again I j

ust keep looking at the facts our country the GDP our unemployment rate the fact that we're now at the place where we can tackle the challenges before us which is things like housing and child care and then I look I can't you got to look at the alternative here as well Joe Biden has been standing up for Women's Health Care Joe Biden is not the one that has called for a National Abortion ban Joe Biden is standing up for Women's Healthcare and believes that women should make their own decisions ab

out their health care and not politicians that is a stark difference I look at the facts the actual numbers when you look across the country uh the fact that in New York uh Congressman swazi won that race swinging it by 16 points because he stood up for what Joe Biden is standing up for infrastructure finally doing something at the border on a bipartisan basis and giving the president the emergency powers that he needs standing up against election deniers you look at what happened in Kentucky wi

th Governor Basher the abortion measure that was on the ballot in Ohio the Supreme Court race in Wisconsin time and time again the American people have stood with the policies and the work of Joe Biden because they do not want to go back to the chaos and Madness of Donald Trump Senator let me just uh follow up with you a little bit here because you cite those figures on the economy and yet the vast majority of of Americans say they are not feeling it when it comes to the economy they give Presid

ent Biden low marks on the economy it's not resonating with voters why do you think you obviously ran against President Biden in 2020 he promised that essentially he would build a bridge to the Next Generation do you think it's time to pass the torch again I'm a Believer in President Biden because I believe he is a good moral person that has the backs of the people of this country and just the examples I cited this time and time again people have sided with that over election deniers and the lik

e so I proud to be supporting Joe Biden for president as far as the challenges the challenges are real and that is why not just President Biden but many of us in the Senate have been leading the way and bringing down costs you've got to not just talk to talk you actually have to pass the bill which we have done pardon I didn't hear the question voters say they don't feel it they're not feeling the impacts the numbers the figures that you're talking about they don't feel it in their pocketbooks w

hen they go to the grocery store to buy groceries why is that and and do you think he has time to reverse this the low marks he's getting on that critical point of the economy okay well there are many challenges in front of us and people are going to have to decide if they want to go back back to that chaos or look at someone that actually has the proof points of working on bringing cost down and if you want to talk about numbers and polls and how people are feeling let me give you some numbers

um third 35 $35 a month that home insulin is going to be for our seniors and actually for others as well as the prices are rolling out number two 3.4 million that's how many veterans are going to be helped by taking on toxic burn pits 40,00 th000 there's a number that's how many infrastructure projects including the bridge from Minnesota to Wisconsin uh that are getting funded and completed um right now as we speak so there is a case to make and there's also a case to make he is not running as t

he president has said against the almighty uh he is running against Donald Trump and time and time again the voters have made clear where they stand on Donald Trump Independents moderate Republicans they want to support someone who believes in democracy and has led the world against tyrants like Vladimir Putin as opposed to Donald Trump who literally a week ago said that Donald that Vladimir Putin should be able to do whatever the hell he wants those are exact words where he said they as in Russ

ia and Putin should be able to do whatever the hell they want and what happens now uh one of his leading opponents dies Vladimir Putin's opponent we're going to talk about all we dealing with he was killed we're going to talk about all of that let's talk about Ukraine Aid uh the vice president spoke with my colleague Andrea Mitchell at the Munich security conference about the need to pass Ukraine Aid let's listen I'm going to get your reaction on the other side do you think that Ukraine can surv

ive a year this year with on the battlefield without American Aid Ukraine needs our support and we must give it it has been five months since the president made his first ask does he need to get Republicans to the White House and fight to get this over the Finish Line because clearly right now it is stalled in the house I understand that's not the White House but does he need to get them back from their vacation and try to get a deal here uh the president has been doing that I was uh hardened by

Congressman Turner's words uh in your interview just about the fact that um there are Republicans that want to move forward on this and let me Ukraine has been an absolute incredible Force president zinski they have taken back half the territory from Russia that they got at The Invasion uh they have just shot down a warship they have opened up trade again on the Black Sea uh they have done this despite the fact that right now rounds of ammunition Russia 10,000 a day Ukraine 2,000 a day so our j

ob right now if you talk about avenging the death of the KIRO navali if talk about anything for our democracy and actually for our economic Partners across the world it is to get this Security package over the line and so extreme Republicans are stopping it right now the president's standing up for it the Senate is stand up 22 Republicans in the US Senate voted for it including the lead Republicans on armed services and Foreign Relations it's time for them to get the job done President Biden put

the blame squarely at the feet of Vladimir Putin for the death of Alexi navali he says he's considering next steps what should the consequences be what do you want to see the president do here the best thing we can do is to make sure we have the backs of the Ukrainian people that is the best thing because when you look at what this funding is for it is for making sure our own troops in places like Poland are funded so they can be a deterrent for any additional Russian evasions cuz who stops Vla

dimir Putin if he marches right into keev marches right into Ukraine from going further I've stood on that border I have been in Poland I have been with president zinski in Ukraine and this is an international crisis so the consequences are what has happened so far with Ukraine killing or injuring over 300,000 Russian troops but the consequences are will mean nothing unless we stand with our allies and stand with Ukraine all right senator Amy kashar thank you so much for joining us this Sunday w

e really appreciate it thanks Kristen and when we come back Donald Trump ordered to pay over $350 million in his civil fraud case and now a trial date set for his first criminal trial in the New York hush money case what will the impact be on the 2024 race the panel is [Music] next welcome back the panel is here NPR National political correspondent Mara liason Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher and Republican strategist Sarah Fagan thanks to all of you for being here Mara let me start with you

we're one week out minus a day from the South Carolina primary of course we learned on Friday that Trump got slapped with this 350 plus million dooll fine for this civil fraud suit in New York how does this all Impact where we are in the 2024 race because so far his legal battles have only emboldened him right I don't think it affects the primary at all it's actually been a benefit for him but when we get to the general things might be different first of all uh we're going to have maybe juries a

ctual juries of his peers potentially reaching verdicts unlike just judges we also know from polling that independent swing voters and some Trump supporters say they will not vote for him if he's convicted now we don't know if he's going to be convicted we don't even know if these trials are going to happen before election day and to me that's the biggest question especially on the January 6th trial which is the most important you can even argue it's the only important one we don't know if that'

s going to happen before it it is one it is one of the biggest X factors there's no doubt about that Sarah Nikki Haley has tried to make this one part of her focus in these closing days in her home state in South Carolina but she's still trailing Trump by double digits 30 points in some polles yeah I I agree with Mara I don't think this is an issue that helps in the primary and then the question is you know does it help in in the general and I think there's some evidence to suggests that even th

ough people say it'll affect their vote there's so few undecided voters even at this very early date that you know a trial that happens before may not have much impact uh on the actual outcome of the election yeah I think I I I do think this I think it makes it harder for him to persuade voters right we know general election general election V we know that 46 47% right uh he has a he has a he has a dealing he needs to grow that in order to we we we forget he lost the election like he lost the el

ection and he needs to grow his Bas of support how's he grow his base of support with all this hanging over I think it makes it more difficult but also that Turner interview was really good by the way with chairman Turner but that is actually I think the larger problem because you have Republicans in Battleground congressional districts we're going to have to answer the same sort of tough questions that you laid it before chairman Turner and I think that makes it harder for them as well S I mean

unfort we live in a time in politics where so many things get sensationalized impeachment is now just something that happens to the other party when somebody takes over power and I I think so much of this gets dismissed I mean this is going to this election will come down to 3 to 5% of the electorate and perhaps there's a Supreme Court ruling on January 6 that is impactful but perhaps not well when we talk about the Trump trials one that was in Focus this week was down in in Georgia where uh di

strict attorney fonnie Willis took the stand to defend herself against accusations she was having a relationship with one of her top prosecutors Nathan Wade the Trump team is trying to get her dismissed let's take a little bit of that and discuss it on the other side so let's be clear cuz you lied in this this let me tell you which one you lied in right here I think you lied right here no no no no this is the truth it is a liot it is a liot Mr say I thank you we're going to take five minutes Mar

a what was the impact of this moment this testimony look the impact could have gone either way some people felt that she was being treated unfairly other people thought this undermines her case the big question is will fonny Willis be removed from the this case which to me is kind of a corroborating case to January 6th it's another case about Donald Trump trying to change the outcome of the election throw out millions of people's votes he asked the Secretary of State to find him the vote the 11,

000 votes he needed uh this doesn't help uh fonny Willis's case but I think this case could still continue even if she was removed I think this is why so many people dislike politics right and it is we all heard the find me some more votes and and the problem is look I I get it we got to cover it because it's it's it's it's Sex Lies and Affairs in in it and people and there was some great stuff for social media that came out of there but it does not undermine the fund whether she's on the case o

r not the fundamental case against him is fairly strong Sarah so at one point I thought this was the most problematic case for him for president Trump and his election prospects I think because of this it now just gets wrapped up in this whole broad politicalization of uh taking Trump to court my own view is the New York case should never have been brought and when you look at it it was a attorney general bringing the case it wasn't the insurance company it wasn't the bank and it was all politic

s and this I think now gets swept up in that and it's just now politics and so very few people are going to decide based on these cases and that's the one going to trial next month remarkably the the bigger problem yeah that's going to trial I think the bigger problem for Georgia is the timing and so to Cornell's point one of these cases actually has to get decided before the election if it is to have an impact yeah and this just delays it well a policy issue that has been in the spot like this

week abortion Mara because uh Revelations the New York Times first report NBC News has confirmed that Trump is considering backing a 16 we Federal ban he likes I'm told a nice round number what do you make of this what's the implications well there's two aspects this Democrats are going to say he's for a national ban he doesn't want states to decide every blue State that's codified Road that's going to go in the garbage can so that's one impact of it but the second thing that I think is incredib

ly interesting is that Donald Trump is acting like a normal politician he usually doesn't do that but he's moving trying if this story is true to move to the center on abortion for the general election to get more where the majority of Voters are and you know what there is a consensus on abortion in this country it used to be called row 16 weeks is a little earlier than row but people want abortion to either be mostly legal with some exceptions or mostly illegal with some exemptions Sarah we hav

e about a minute left what do you make of what Mara is saying well I I think it's very politically smart for Trump because Republicans have been on their heels since the Supreme Court overturned row and it's been a debate about Republicans Banning abortion this is going to move the debate to Democrats being for abortion up to 9 months and so on in that respect it's it's prudent politically he should be for 15 weeks not 16 weeks why take that heat from your right flank but that's I know we're I k

now I know we're out of time but but no it just brings abortion front center it's a 15-point gender gap in 2020 it's going to be a 15-point gender gap right now with them pushing this this abortion this abortion issue is it's it's a losing issue for them I I I'm glad they're pushing it for for it is going to be one of the biggest issues of this race there's no doubt about that thank you for a great conversation when we come back as world leaders gather to discuss Global Security we'll reflect ba

ck on the warning from an American Senator worried about the dangers of authoritarianism our Meet the Press minute is next [Music] welcome back the Munich security conference wrapped up today after a week marked by warnings on the Russia threat and the death of Putin critic Alexi naali seven years ago freedom of the press was top of mind with then president Trump's repeated attacks on what he called the enemy of the people Senator John McCain joined this broadcast from Munich with his reaction I

hate the Press I hate you especially but the fact is I we need you we need a free press we must have it it's vital if you want to preserve I'm very serious now if you want to preserve democracy as we know it you have to have a free and many times adversarial press and uh without it I'm afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time that's how dictators get started when we come back Patty Davis the daughter of Ronald Reagan on what her father would say about our current

political climate meet the moment is next welcome back with presidential family members often in the spotlight these days Patty Davis the daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan is reintroducing Americans to her family one they've had in their living room for decades in deeply personal book dear Mom and Dad written as a letter to her parents Davis reflects on her father who she writes parented America and her mother who she had a more difficult relationship with hoping her book can be what she calls

a quote comfort for others as they come to terms with parents and families who have left them searching for answers as our politics often feels broken Davis joined us for a meet the- moment conversation to talk about her father's Legacy and her own I wonder if you could reflect on today's politics you write this beautiful account of tip O'Neal visiting your father his hospital bed um and how different our politics feel today the inability to reach across the aisle and frankly to form those type

s of bonds where you can debate vigorously in Washington but be there for each other on a very personal level what do you think your father would say about ourr state of politics I think he would be so I think he'd be appalled really you know and um yeah they used to have martinis together two you know old Irish guys like sharing a drink after you know it's like two lawyers battling it out in court and then going to having a drink together you know it was just more civilized and I he didn't unde

rstand lack of Civility he didn't understand um attacking another person I mean he could be you know pretty pointed in his in what he would say about someone else but he didn't understand cruelty and that's what we're dealing with now and I think he wouldn't understand that and I think he would be um I think he would be really scared for our democracy um and I I think that I I don't I don't know who I think he would address people more than any candidate you know I think he would address the Ame

rican people at at what has what has divided us and I mean in my own opinion and I think I don't know I think this probably is how he would think is our divisions really started because we're because we're all so scared there is so much fear around whether we're going to get shot in a mass shooting or a children are or you know if you walk into a store is there going to be or a church wherever you know we're scared and fear morphs into anger it just does it's not sustainable we don't want to be

afraid we don't mind so much being angry and you know there are people on the public stage and on the political front who understand very well that Synergy between fear and anger and who are masterful at exploiting it the other big issue that has been in the Forefront right now is the issue of age your father when he was elected at the time was the oldest person elected president at 69 now obviously the president is in his 80s former president Trump the front runner is in his late 70s do you thi

nk there should be cognitive tests for people running for the highest office in the land probably yeah I mean in just what we know about what age can do it doesn't always do that but um would probably be a good idea yeah I know my father was 77 when he left office after two terms it seems so young now doesn't it yes did it seem at the time old to you we talked about your dad as being at the time the oldest president um I don't think it did because you know it was it was um it was 87 I believe wh

en he stood in front of the Berlin wall and said you know Mr gorbachov tear down this wall so that was not someone who was fractured in in age I mean yes I probably thought he was old cuz he's my father and we think that our parents but um you know not not in the way that that we're talking about now so much of the Republican Party um to this day still speaks about wrestles with debates your father's Legacy tries to emulate what do you think your father's message would be if he were sitting here

today to the country to our current politicians I think he would want people to look at one another as human beings you know that's why he and gorbachov were able to do what they did which was world changing at the time because they looked at each other as human beings and and that's what's missing now you know these were two people who were put on the stage of history at a moment in time to in my opinion do what God intended them to do they might not have you know but they were both two people

who I think had the same agenda of looking at each other as a human being gorbachov came to my father's service in Washington DC I got to meet him he's he was a very shy sort of vulnerable person I mean I only met him briefly but you know that's the impression that that I got from him when I met him you think we've lost that ability to look at each other as human beings yeah I do I do for the most part yeah and just finally hadie when people read your book I read it as a daughter as a mom and t

ook so much from it from both places what do you hope people take from your book from sharing opening up about this deeply personal part of your life and your heart I hope they look at their own families and and go okay how can I look at this differently how can I take a step back in the same way that you take a step back from a painting to really see the whole picture how can I step back from my family and my life and and look at it differently you know and look at it through more mature eyes a

nd and um through a more complete Vision um and then if you can do that with your family you can do that with other people right people are are more complicated than they appear to be lot to reflect on there you can see my full interview with Patty Davis at meet the press.com that is all for today thank you so much for watching enjoy your long weekend we'll be back next week because if it's Sunday it's Meet the [Music] Press thanks for watching stay updated about breaking news and top stories on

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