Meet the Press NOW — April 1

Drive off in a new Hyundai Launcher today with $0 down during the Hyundai Advantage sales event. Take advantage of the $1,000 Ring Drive bonus and lease the 20-60 Launcher Essential for just $73 weekly at $4.99 for 60 months. And you're covered by the Launcher's best-in-class five-year new car warranty. Now that's the Hyundai Advantage.

Conditions apply. Offer includes 1% loyalty rate reduction for qualifying customers. Visit Hyundai Canada.com or your local dealer for details. If it's Monday, anti-government protests are wrapping Israel for the third straight night as Prime Minister Netanyahu faces new domestic and international pressure to change course in Gaza.

While in Israeli, airstrike reportedly flattens an Iranian consulate building in Syria. Plus, will the issue of abortion rights appear on the ballot in battleground Florida? That's one of the key questions the state Supreme Court is set to decide any minute now in a ruling that could reverberate through the election and the fight over reproductive rights. And signs of progress in Baltimore, where authorities have now removed 200 tons of wreckage following last week's bridge collapse.

While also opening up a temporary channel, as President Biden prepares to visit the site on Friday. Hello and welcome to the press now of Ryan Nobles in Washington, where top US and Israeli officials held talks today virtually as the US tries to ratchet up pressure on Israel to change course on a planned invasion of Rafa. All while Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing mass protests for his handling of the war and as Tehran is blaming Israel for a deadly strike in Syria against the top Iranian military commander. Here in Washington, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli war cabinet and national security officials.

As the US urges Israel to come up with a military strategy in Rafa that minimizes harm to the millions of Palestinian civilians sheltering in the city. Those talks were supposed to take place in person last week, but were abruptly canceled by Prime Minister Netanyahu after the US declined a veto a UN resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. This afternoon, the White House stressed the importance of holding those talks today, even if it wasn't in person. Today, the meeting is happening virtually because we understand and obviously you all understand how important it is to have this conversation.

We've just been very clear about our concerns about a military operation. In Toronto, if they're going to move forward with a military operation, we have to have this conversation. We have to understand how they're going to move forward. But that push for an alternative plan in Rafa comes as the US has set to send a new weapons package to Israel, including thousands of massive bombs.

One administration officials saying that some of those bombs have the capacity to destroy entire city blocks. It's a move that's frustrated some Democrats who want to see the administration use military aid as a tool to pressure Israel to increase its humanitarian aid in Gaza. And right now in Israel, a third consecutive night of protests as tens of thousands of Israelis protest outside Israel's parliament calling for early elections and a ceasefire deal to free hostages. These have been the largest anti-government protest in Israel since the October 7 attack.

Prime Minister Netanyahu dismissed the calls for new elections, saying that it could paralyze the country during the war. Meanwhile, Israel's military now says that it has completed operations in Gaza's main hospital after a two-week long raid. NBC News International correspondent, Raf Sanchez, has more from Tel Aviv. Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza's Al Shifa hospital today after a two-week long raid and leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.

This was once the largest health care facility in the Gaza Strip. I was there many times before the war. It was a modern, well-functioning hospital. And today it is partly in ruins.

What were once wards, hallways are now charred and burned. Israel says they had no choice but to launch this operation that Hamas effectively turns this hospital into a fortress. Israel says they killed more than 200 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters inside the hospital. They captured senior Hamas operatives, and they found valuable intelligence inside that facility.

But the Palestinian Civil Defense kind of equivalent to the fire department is saying they have found hundreds of bodies, many of them decomposing inside of Al Shifa. The World Health Organization says at least 21 patients died during this two-week siege, and they are saying it is another blow to Gaza's already all but collapsed health care system. Meanwhile, we are very closely following an explosion next to the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Iranian state media is reporting that a senior member of the Revolutionary Guard Corps was killed in that strike, and Syria is pointing the finger at Israel.

Now, the Israeli military not commenting that tends to be their policy when it comes to strikes in Syria. But we heard Israel's Defense Minister saying at the end of last week that Israel is prepared to carry out strikes in Lebanon, in Syria, wherever it needs to, to stop the flow of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group which is on Israel's northern border. Now, Israel bracing for potential retaliation if Iran does decide to lash out following this attack, and the U.S. will be following this very closely after that virtual meeting between senior American and Israeli officials earlier today.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is in hospital. He is recovering from what doctors say was a successful hernia operation, but he is also facing some of the biggest protests in this country since the October 7 attack. People on the streets in their tens of thousands calling for new elections and calling for a ceasefire deal to bring the hostages home. Back to you.

Thank you for that reporting. For more now, I'm joined by NBC News International correspondent, Joshua Letterman in London. And I'm David Guwieras is at the White House and NBC's Courtney QB at the Pentagon. Josh, let's start with you.

How is Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition reacting to those protests calling for new elections? And how much political strength does he still have? Well, look, Netanyahu was unpopular before the war. He got a bit of a respite after the war started when Israelis gave him a chance to take up the mantle of defending the country.

Now, their patience seems to have, right now, we're seeing the most significant protests to his leadership overseeing the war. But actually the bigger threat to his continued hold on power right now is actually getting less attention in the U.S. It is a dispute over the ultra-orthodox serving in the military, including in this campaign in the Gaza Strip. There is a decision this government has to make about whether to force those ultra-orthodox to serve, which they have not in the past.

And really, there's no good way out of this for Netanyahu because he risks losing the far-right members of his very fragile government coalition. If he does force the ultra-orthodox to serve, he risks losing the support in his coalition from the more moderate secular voices if he does not. And right now, there is no clear path for Netanyahu to try to bridge those two sides and maintain a hold on his very delicate coalition that allows him to continue to be the Prime Minister. And Josh, at the same time of these massive protests, Israel's parliament also took a step toward shutting down the news organization Al Jazeera from Broadcasting in Israel.

What's exactly in this legislation? So this legislation allows the Israeli government to temporarily ban news outlets deemed a threat to national security. It would initially be a 45-day ban that could then be extended. Netanyahu says he wants to shut Al Jazeera down under this legislation immediately citing the coverage of the Hamas-Israel war from Al Jazeera, which has probably the biggest footprint of any international news organization inside the Gaza Strip.

But of course, Al Jazeera as well as advocates for a free press say that that is no way for a democracy, which Israel prides itself on being to handle the need for media organizations of all strikes to be able to cover this war. And Josh, what's the status of ceasefire talks with this renewed pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu? Is there any sense a deal could be coming soon? Well, Israeli officials say they remain optimistic.

In fact, Netanyahu has given the go-ahead to Israeli negotiators to participate in talks that are resuming through the support of the Egyptians and the Qataris. But it's really unclear whether this is going to make any progress. There's been this on-again, off-again process to try to get some kind of a ceasefire and hostage release deal. And time after time we've seen either Israel rejects the demands from Hamas, which include a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the return of Gaza, civilians to the North, et cetera.

Or we've seen Hamas resist the Israeli demands, which include the release of most of them. There have been a lot of false starts in the past. And right now everybody is hopeful, but they are not holding their breath for any immediate deal given how far these two sides need to be. Okay, Josh Letterman, thank you for that update.

Let's turn now to the White House and Kebu Diera's Prime Minister Netanyahu canceled this in-person meeting that was supposed to happen last week. So how did this meeting today come together? It was a virtual meeting on an in-person one. And do we know anything more about those discussions?

Well, Ryan, so far we don't have a readout of that meeting just yet. We don't know exactly what came of it. But we do know that one of the topics that we said to be discussed were these alternatives potentially to a Rafa military operation. With the US says that it has been seeking those alternatives in order to prevent civilian casualties.

Now, as for how this virtual meeting came about, you mentioned earlier, and Prime Minister Netanyahu in the Israelis have roughly canceled the in-person meeting last week. After the US had abstained from the UN Security Council vote calling for a ceasefire in the release of hostages. Well, according to a US official following the public tension that spilled out after that cancellation, the Israelis quietly asked for this virtual meeting to happen. And also were told that it's possible that there could be another in-person meeting between Israeli officials and American officials in the coming days, Ryan.

The administration is planning to send thousands of massive bombs to Israel. But are they concerned at all that it could undermine their criticisms of how Israel's been conducting the war? Have they been given any kind of assurances that once they receive these bombs that they won't be used to kill civilians? And Ryan, you just hit the fine line that the administration is walking at this point.

That's exactly what even some Democrats, the allies of President Biden have said that the US should not be giving weapons with there being so many civilian casualties in this war. But we're told that the Israelis did give the US government assurances that these weapons would be used within the laws of war. And it has long been the policy of the White House and the Biden administration not to condition aid for the Israelis on anything. So at this point, that is an ongoing question and this fine line that the administration is having to walk as that death toll rises right.

Okay, thanks, Gabe. Let's go to Courtney now and talk more about this weapons package. Courtney, how significant of an impact could it have on the battlefield? So potentially very significant.

So when we talk about these 2,000 pound bombs, the administration is going to provide about 1,800 of them to Israel. One US official here told me that these are the kinds of bombs that have the ability to level an entire block in Gaza. Now, the version that the US is sending are what we would typically call a dumb bomb, meaning it's not guided. But the US has provided Israel with what are called JDM conversion kits.

Essentially, it's a kit that turns a dumb bomb into a smart bomb or precision guided. So these really should have the ability to make these smart bombs and not just drop them out of an aircraft where they would fall and explode wherever it is that they land. That being said, these still have the ability to have a tremendous impact and critics have argued that these are the kinds of weapons that have had the ability to kill civilians in Gaza in recent weeks. Now, in addition to these 2,000 pound bombs, the US is also providing more 500 pound bombs.

But I also have to say, Ryan, these are all bombs that were approved years ago. They're just being delivered now. But the other big question that we have been asking is, will there be any conditions added to these offensive weapons that the US continues to provide Israel? At this point, despite the fact that there has been discussion about potentially the US conditioning weapons are providing to Israel, at this point, the US still is not.

So that includes everything, including these large bombs that the US is giving them, Ryan. And we had Roth report earlier about this strike in Syria. Iranian state media saying the two Iranian commanders were killed in the strike. What else do we know about that?

Yeah, so if true, and this would be a very significant leadership strike now. We have been asking US officials all day here today, Ryan, and we don't have any confirmation from the US that in fact this Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps general was killed. He is Mohammed Reza Hazadi. If in fact it's true that he was killed, he had close ties or has close ties with Lebanese Hezbollah.

We're also trying to figure out exactly where this strike occurred. Now, if this was the Israelis, again, they are not commenting. They're not confirming that they had any part in this attack. But they have carried out dozens of their strikes in Syria in just this calendar year and hundreds in recent years.

Their targets typically are parts. So when Iran will send over, generally Iran will send over missile components, things that make the missiles that Lebanese Hezbollah has in Syria that make them have a longer range or more precise. Iran has provided those sorts of component parts in the past, and Israel has taken out many of those shipments in the past. If in fact this is Israel, the big difference would be this appears to have been targeting high-value targets or leadership here.

But again, I have to stress, even though Iranian state media is claiming that he and others were killed, we still don't have any confirmation from that from US officials. But Ryan, if this is true, this is a very significant strike. Okay, and then finally, according over the weekend, the US also said that it destroyed Houthi drones in the Red Sea and Yemen. Is there any sign that those kind of attacks by the Houthi rebels will slow down anytime soon?

And what is the US trying to do to really step up deterrence in this case? So the US has been conducting on a nearly daily basis what they call self-defense strikes in Yemen. So what that is is when they see Houthis pop up with any kind of weapons, maybe launchers for missiles or drones, they will come in and they will strike those launchers or whatever it is. To try to stop these sorts of attacks.

But the reality is there has been a pretty consistent operational tempo of the Houthis trying to attack into the Red Sea. And even the means that they're doing so have remained pretty consistent. They seem to still have a supply of what the military calls one-way attack drones. These are drones that are packed with explosives and they're intended to just slam into a target and explode.

But they also have continued to show that they have missiles. So it doesn't seem like these attacks are slowing down in any way. I will say we just learned today that the US has Eisenhower carrier strike group. That is the aircraft carrier and some of the ships associated with it are being extended.

I have to say, Ryan, they've had a pretty grueling deployment. They've been under way since October 14th with no port calls. They've spent the vast majority of that time in the Red Sea guarding against these Houthi strikes and conducting strikes in Yemen. It's been a pretty crushing operational tempo and they just got word that they're going to be out there for another few weeks at least.

It's a long time to be on a ship all the way back to October. According to QB from the Pentagon, thank you for that. Coming up, I'll talk to Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. We just got back from a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel on the IDF's plans for Rafa.

But first, we're live in Florida with breaking news. The state Supreme Court paves the way for a six-week abortion ban in the state, while also allowing the issue to be on the ballot in November. We're watching to be the press now. Drive off in a new Hyundai launcher today with $0 down during the Hyundai Advantage sales event.

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Offer includes 1% loyalty rate reduction for qualifying customers. Visit Hyundai Canada.com or your local dealer for details. Welcome back. We do have some breaking news out of Florida.

That's where the state Supreme Court has ruled in two abortion-related cases. One, a major win for abortion rights advocates, and one, a potential setback. Just moments ago, the court upheld Florida's 15-week abortion ban, paving the way for the more severe six-week ban, which was passed last year, to go into effect in a month. But in a separate ruling, the court greenlit a ballot initiative this November to protect abortion rights in Florida.

If passed in November, the measure would protect access to the procedure until viability. It also would effectively undo Florida's 15-week ban passed in 2022 and the six-week trigger ban. Today's decision on the abortion ballot initiative comes as, across the country, supporters and opponents of abortion rights are working to get the issue on the ballot. Democrats in particular are eyeing ballot measures as a way to increase turnout as multiple referendums to protect abortion access have passed since the overturning of Roe v.

Wade, including in red states. Joining me now from Coral Gables, Florida is NBC's Marissa Parra, who's been following this very closely. Marissa, we're just getting this information in now. We were expecting this last week, but the court waited until the deadline.

I know it's early, but how are both sides reacting to today's ruling? Right, well, first I just want to give an overview of what we learned within the last few minutes. So in summary, when it comes to abortion-related issues in particular, we know that abortion will be on the ballot simultaneously. There's a lot of questions on whether or not we would get a ruling on the 15-week abortion ban, and that did come as a surprise to a lot of people.

And the decision was that the 15-week ban that is currently in place is constitutional according to the Florida Supreme Court. Therefore, the six-week abortion ban previously signed by Governor Ron DeSantis will take place in 30 days. But again, all of these decisions are dropping simultaneously, so Ryan, we now know that voters will have a chance to overturn that in November. It will require over 60% of voters to vote in favor of that, but they do have a chance to do that.

And so quickly, before I get into where we have seen initiatives go in the past and other states, I want to take you to what we have heard, what we have heard in the past in terms of what the reaction could be from both the Democrat who was challenging Senator Rick Scott for his seat. So this is a Democrat, Democrat, Debbie McCherson Powell, and then you'll also hear from the executive director for Florida Voice for the Unborn. Take a listen. And we may not have that sound.

So instead, what I'll do is summarize what I'm seeing and what I'm hearing. Obviously, a big win for abortion rights advocates, and I'm already seeing this from Democrats on that side of the aisle already saying this is why we need to bring voters to the ballot, and so trying to use this as a push to bring people to the polls in November, and it's only been minutes since this decision dropped. I have not had a chance to speak with the executive director for Florida Voice for the Unborn in the last few minutes, but I do know when I asked him, how would you feel if the Supreme Court had ruled in Florida that abortion can be on the ballot? And he said that it would be disappointing, but another reason to head to the polls, and I'm just told by a producer in my ear that we do have a sound so you can listen for yourself.

I think that millions of Floridians, regardless of party, we know that this is not a partisan issue, are going to come out to the ballot box and make sure that they protect their right to choose, and they're free. Florida has been trending very conservative in past elections, but that's no guarantee that 60% of voters will not approve this initiative. So we need to reach, in particular, suburban Republican women. So I think we have a couple of examples, right, Ryan, of where abortion rights were put on the ballot, Kansas is a conservative state, but we saw how abortion rights, that is how the voters voted.

And so even though there was an amendment put on the ballot that we've made abortion even stricter when it comes to legality of it, we now have a really big topic and another thing that we're going to be watching very closely to see, how does this impact voter turnout? We know that that Senate race is getting increasingly more competitive here in Florida, and Democrats are trying really hard to keep Florida purple, if you will. We know that conservatives have been making significant inroads in the state, so it remains to be seen. We'll just have an impact.

And you mentioned how important this is going to be in November. These were two almost bombshell rulings by the Supreme Court, because we also got a ruling on the 15-week abortion ban in the state. That actually opens the door to a six-week ban going into effect. How soon could it go into effect?

So my understanding and what we've been reporting on, and now we know that will take place 30 days from now, Ryan. We've been expecting this. We were not sure who's going to drop this week next week, sometime between now and the summer, but 30 days from today, Florida will see a six-week abortion ban go into effect. But again, in the same day, we're also learning that Florida voters now have the ability to overturn that in November.

Okay, very quite a bit of development there in the Sunshine State Marissa Parr. Thank you for breaking it all down for us, and let's talk more about it now. With Florida's Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Congresswoman, it's a great day to have you on. There's a lot to talk about.

You obviously are a Congresswoman from Florida, so just give us your reaction as to what you just heard from the state Supreme Court. Well, you know, I'm elated that the more than one million Floridians who signed a petition to guess the abortion rights amendments to our Constitution on the ballot are going to have pushed and successfully pushed for an opportunity for voters across the state to make sure that politicians, the government, and judges are not allowed to be involved in deeply personal healthcare decisions for families. And, you know, with the unfortunate, really devastating decision that the Supreme Court has allowed the 15-week abortion ban passed by the Republican legislature and signed by the governor to take effect. And 30 days later, we'll essentially have a total abortion ban here with a six-week abortion ban in Florida.

Ryan, I can tell you that with my own third child, I didn't know I was pregnant until I was eight weeks pregnant, and so essentially that's a total abortion ban. It's a very clear line of demarcation now, though. The stakes with the Supreme Court's decision are much higher on the results of this amendment and people across the philosophical spectrum in Florida will go to the polls because we'll have a total abortion ban here for six months. And I think voters will go to the polls in November and tell government politicians and judges to stay out of their personal healthcare decisions.

I mean, it is going to be a difficult pass, though, for you and your fellow Democrats, because it's not just a simple majority in order to get abortion rights cut into your Constitution. You need 60%. And then you also have a competitive Senate race that you're dealing with there, Senator Rick Scott, up this November. Do you think Democrats are going to take advantage of this?

Is this going to get Democratic voters to the polls? And this has been difficult for Florida Democrats over the past couple of cycles. Well, one thing I know is that this is not a partisan issue. This is an issue that in, I think, nine out of nine votes statewide on issues that came down on abortion rights across the country, since the overturning of Roe versus Wade, abortion rights has won in red states and blue states and purple states.

And I think that we'll be successful here, even with a 60% threshold, although that's certainly not a slam dunk, because it's not just Democrats that believe that we should be not having the government at our pharmacy counters or in our doctor's offices with us. This issue comes across to those out of the spectrum. You have Republicans, independents, and Democrats who believe that these are deeply personal decisions that need to be made between a woman, her family, her doctor, and her faith. Now, this is a state where Governor DeSantis won by 20 points two years ago.

Obviously, abortion now got to be a big driver. But do you still need to appeal to some Republicans on the issue? Oh, of course. And it's, as I said, this is not a partisan issue.

This does cut across party lines, and really significantly is supported across people of no-party affiliation as well. And so this is not a cut and drive, black and white, Republicans will go and impose the amendments, and Democrats will go and support it. That's why I think that we have a much better chance to pass this constitutional amendment because it cuts across party lines, and people, whether it's no matter their party affiliation, don't want politicians, judges, and the government in their deeply held health care decisions. I mean, the other issue is that if you look at who signed the constitutional amendment, Ryan, 20% of those that signed the petition to put it on the ballot were Republicans.

So there's a healthy percentage of Republicans that support making sure that people can make their own reproductive health care decisions without government interference. And now, it's going to be very impactful. All right, let's turn now to your recent trip to Israel. You and a bipartisan group of colleagues met with Prime Minister Netanyahu last week.

I want to play some of what the Prime Minister sent for that meeting. Victory is within reach. It's a few weeks away. Now we are told.

This is it. Last one. Now we are told. You can't do this.

If you go into Rafa, you're going to have humanitarian catastrophe. You're going to have 30,000, 30,000 civilian debt. Okay. That's not true.

That is simply not true. All the guys are stripped north of Rafa. You know, people down, they can move back up. They don't have to go into north of what he does, but they're still 65% of the guys are stripped left over.

And people just move. They move with their tents. So Congresswoman, many in your party have serious concerns. I mean, the President of the United States has serious concerns about an offensive in Rafa.

What is your reaction, especially after meeting with the Prime Minister that he seems intent on this attack at some point. And then almost immediately after canceling an Israeli delegation visit to Washington, what's next? Brian, let me share with you what we did in Israel last week. I had the opportunity to lead a member strip to Israel.

Those meetings that you saw with the Prime Minister Netanyahu were with a broader delegation as well. But we went to the site of the Nova festival where 360 young people were slaughtered and burned and raped in cold blood by Hamas terrorists. We went to the site of Khaffar Azah, where people were burned alive in their homes and killed and 40 of them were taken hostage. We had an opportunity to talk to families who went to hostage square, where there are vigils every single day to push for the hostages coming home.

Life in Israel is still upside down. People who have been called up, leaving their businesses and their jobs and going into the reserves. Israel is well within its right to defend itself to make sure that the threat of Hamas is destroyed so that they don't have a terrorist building on their doorstep. There are four battalions in Rafa of Hamas fighters, Hamas combatants, and that here is to be near the last stages of the war.

And Israel is committed, as the Prime Minister told us, to making sure that civilians in Rafa are moved out of Kharm's way, that Israel was going to, as they have throughout this war. And as they always do, take the time and the effort comprehensively to get as many civilians out of Kharm's way. But keep in mind that Hamas prevents intentionally a lot of them from moving because they use their own people as human shields because they don't have any regard. Congress went respectfully, though.

I mean, the idea that they can just pick up intents and move from one side of the region to another and that there's no serious risk, as the Prime Minister suggested, they're not to mention the lack of food and shelter that they have. Is it a bit more complicated than that? I mean, this could be a serious humanitarian crisis if the Rafa invasion happens. Exactly, as well.

No, it is not as simple as you are just writing. Or as in that clip you showed, as Prime Minister Netanyahu described us, it is going to take some time. The process of moving, in fact, Israel is even jeopardizing its own ability to eradicate and destroy the threat that Hamas represents by being responsible and understanding that they want to make sure that they can minimize civilian casualties as much as they can, all while Hamas prevents them from doing that because they don't care about their own people. And so that process of getting people out of harm's way to maximum extent possible would take some time before my understanding of Rafa operation would begin.

And Israel, as they have, has been described by experts in warfare repeatedly that they have done consistently all the way through this conflict after being brutally attacked. Okay, Congresswoman, we're going to leave it there. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, we appreciate your time. Thank you.

And up next, NBC gets a close up look at the massive cleanup and recovery effort underway in Baltimore right now as President Biden prepares to survey the damage this week. You're watching Meet the Press Now. Welcome back. President Biden will travel to Baltimore on Friday to assess the damage caused by last week's bridge collapse.

This is video that our crew shot today of the salvage operation, which is now well underway. The Coast Guard says Cruz cut and removed a large 200 ton portion of the bridge over the weekend. Minutes ago, Maryland's governor, Wes Moore, urged patients in efforts to clear the channel where the cargo ship now sits, as well as efforts to recover the bodies of the four people still missing and presumed dead. This is a steel bridge that is sitting on top of a container ship in the middle of the task of the road.

Every time someone goes in the water, they are taking a risk. Every time we move a piece of the structure, the situation could become even more dangerous. We have to move fast, but we cannot be careless. I've been clear with this team that we've got to prioritize safety.

And my directive is to complete this mission with no injuries and no casualties. We've already lost six Marylanders to this crisis. I refuse to lose any more. Have you seen his correspondent, Aaron Gilchrist, got an up close look at the salvage operation with the Coast Guard and has Moore from the Patapsco River?

Brian, it is surreal to be out here on the water with the U.S. Coast Guard. Seeing the damage, the pieces of the key bridge up close, we can see some of where the road has collapsed here that's still lying in the water off to the side. We've got barges now that are in the water with cranes on them.

And I should point out that as we're in the Patapsco River right now, we just crossed through this temporary channel, this waterway that's been opened just today, that is going to allow for some ships that are a part of the effort to do the salvage work here, to come through this channel, to move from the north side closer to the inner harbor to the south side of the bridge where we can see boats that aren't able to get into the inner harbor to the port of Baltimore anymore. So this is a major step. As we've been seeing over the weekend, crews were out here with saws, with these cutting apparatuses that they were able to use to start cutting up the steel pieces of this bridge to open up this temporary waterway that's going to allow for, again, those official vessels to come through. This is an important first step.

Obviously, they need to cut up more pieces of this bridge. The effort is eventually going to be made as we sort of point over this way to the dolly, the cargo ship that's still in the water. The effort's going to be made to start cutting up the bridge that is sitting on the bow of the ship. At some point, we don't know when exactly that will begin, but the effort eventually is going to be to remove the bridge, to remove the ship.

And then to get into the water here, we know that there are still four people who were killed whose bodies have not been recovered. And so divers, once it's safe, are going to be able to go underwater to try to recover those bodies. We know that this is still going to be a very long process, but as we can see today, there is some hope about this work getting done. Back to you.

Great reporting. Thank you, Aaron, for that. We appreciate it. And turning down to a developing situation in Georgia.

You're looking at video shot by our NBC affiliate in Atlanta. After a car trying to ram the gate at the FBI headquarters this afternoon. According to the FBI, the suspect then jumped out of his car and tried to run inside the perimeter. It was quickly apprehended by agents and taken into custody.

The FBI tells us there are no injuries and agents are checking the car as a precaution. At this moment, the suspect's motives are unknown and an investigation is ongoing. It comes as Justice Department officials have been warning of a rise in threats against public officials and law enforcement agents. And after the break, traditions, intentions, and the trail.

Our current president and former president spent their holiday weekends and what the stark difference between their Easter messages says about the state of U.S. politics. The panel is next. We're watching with the president.

And welcome back. A grand tradition continued at the White House today when families, my own, included. There they are. Brave the elements to see the Easter Bunny and take part in the White House Easter Egg Roll, a tradition that dates back to the 19th century.

My colleague, Al Roker, caught up with President Biden, who made a joke about his age while discussing the event. This started with a Rutherford E. Hayes. I think I made it, but...

What is it a classic? What is it a classic? What is so special about this egg roll? Well, what's so special?

This is the people's house. And it always makes me feel good to look out there and see average Americans just walking around and looking at what's going on because they own it. They own it. And I can tell you, there were a lot of people there this morning.

President Biden marked Easter with a fairly traditional and apolitical presidential statement in stark contrast to his general election opponent, Donald Trump. The former president marked the day with a long social media post, attacking the prosecutors and judges involved in his criminal cases, baselessly accusing them of attempting to interfere with the November election. He also spent part of Easter Sunday reposting dozens of items on his social media feed, amplifying some incendiary claims, including an article that said that he has the chosen one, sent by God. It comes after last week, Mr.

Trump recorded a promotional message to sell a Bible for $59.99, marketed as the only Bible endorsed by the former president. Didn't know we needed one. Joining me now on set is Betsy Woodruff-Swan, an actual correspondent for political, political host, and my record former Democratic mayor of Ithaca, New York, he's now the president for People for the American Way, and Republican strategist Rick Tyler, who's an NBC news political analyst. So Betsy, I'm going to start with you.

I want to play a clip from this weekend's Cold Open on Saturday Night Live. Take a listen. That's right. It's Easter, the time of year when I can bear myself to Jesus Christ.

That's just a thing I do now, and people seem to be okay with that. I'm going to keep doing. That's one of those things we laugh at now, but is actually pretty true. These things seem to happen on a regular basis and we just shrug it off.

This type of social media commentary from Trump actually goes back to years before he became president. Way back, I remember a tweet where he wished a very special September 11th to the haters and losers. This idea of marking days of significance by going after his detractors is like very deeply embedded, kind of a gut level. The other thing that's notable about this Easter tweet, I should say truth, to be accurate, is that it talks about he goes after the prosecutors and judges.

And that's, I think that's not a coincidence. One of the biggest challenges facing him for his real life is the fact that his small dollar fundraising has nosedived. It's a problem for the entire Republican Party, and what Trump's strategists have noticed for quite some time now is that those numbers go back up and his numbers get energized when he goes after prosecutors and judges. It's something that's lucrative for him, and it's helpful for him when it comes to fundraising, while at the same time, of course, looking very, very weird to those who are not considering being small dollar dollars.

So, you know, Trump's endorsing and selling Bibles. He's sort of calling himself the chosen one. Is this something Republicans have just come to expect? Is someone actually connected with this?

I mean, how do you explain it? Well, explain it because nobody will stand up to Trump because there's no leadership left. You know, Donald Trump, the whole idea is to best these points. He's just trying to get attention so that they can get these low dollar rolling again.

But look, he thinks that the evangelical is an important part of the base. But when somebody compares himself to Jesus, that should be like a red flag in a warning, Donald Trump stood on a stage in 2015 in front of 300, actually about 2000, even Joe the Pastors, and said he never asked Scott for forgiveness, which is fairly unusual for Christian to say because the central theme of Christianity is to need forgiveness. So, either he's delusional or he's God. And I'm beginning to think that he thinks he's God.

Yeah, I mean, this wasn't too long ago. He said that he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and his supporters wouldn't... Well, somebody said he's right. I mean, there's some paradox where when Donald Trump plays the loser-pathetic victim, people who can't afford to send him money, send him money.

When his valuation in True Social, we were just talking about this earlier, a company that only had $3 million of revenue and loses money consistently, somehow worth billions of dollars in which Donald Trump owns the majority of it. So, here's a multi-billionaire who's taking $25 donations for people who can't afford it. And by playing the victim, as if he goes in his chauffeur limousie into his private jet from his private country club to fly to another private country club, and this goes on and on and somehow he's the victim in all. So, we look back and remember what the Clinton campaign did in 2016.

They spent millions in ads trying to amplify all the wild things that Donald Trump said. It didn't really work. Is this the tactic that Democrats should take this time around, or should they try something different? Well, I think this time is different, of course, because Joe Biden is an incumbent.

And I actually think Easter is a perfect example of what President Biden can do to draw a stark contrast. For Donald Trump, Easter is about him. It's about Donald Trump. For Donald Trump, the Fourth of July is about Donald Trump.

Thanksgiving is about Donald Trump, Christmas is about Donald Trump. But for Joe Biden, Easter is about Jesus. And the Fourth of July is about America and Thanksgiving is about family. And those things will never win the media cycle of that day.

It's quite boring. You won't play clips of what Joe Biden said on Easter because he said normal things, but he is risen. He celebrate his return. And the Fourth of July says normal things.

So Donald Trump will win these 24-hour media cycles. It gets more attention, but it's frankly a pure victory. You know, a victory where you win the battle but start to lose the war. The American public in the 2020 election revealed, hey, we're actually sick of all this.

There's too much chaos. It's too much about you. It's too much about vengeance. It's too much about retribution.

It's too much. We would love to have a break where we can pay attention to our families and not what Trump said today. We can pay attention to our school and not what Trump said today. We can work without having to talk about all the time with the president said today.

And Joe Biden has been steady and level. And yes, sometimes he's making fun of it because a level and steady he is. But I think it is actually a breath of fresh air on a day like Easter where you just want to just be in church yesterday. Nobody was talking about Joe Biden.

Not a single person yesterday was talking about Joe Biden. And that, to President Trump, would seem like a loss. Jeez. Everybody's looking at the priest and nobody's looking at me.

Not to President Biden. That could be a win. Okay. Let's start the Capitol Hill now.

The House is on recess, but Speaker Johnson's speakership could be in a bit of jeopardy. This is what moderate Republican Don Bacon told Christie yesterday. We have one or two people that are not team, they're not team players. They'd rather enjoy the limelight, the social media.

And the fact is with a one seat majority and one up with a three or four seat majority after some special elections. That's not a four or three five people. It's a very neuro majority. And one or two people can make us a minority.

But it is very likely that after the Ukraine bill, we may have a standoff with the speaker. I hope the speaker prevails. He's doing the right thing. That's how he covers Capitol every day.

I think Congressman Bacon's analysis is right on his spot on. It's crazy to think you could have a majority on an issue, a healthy majority, bipartisan majority on an issue. And that could be enough to topple your speakership. It's kind of a weird dynamic Johnson finds himself in.

It's one of these sort of strange things about the way the Republican Party exists on Capitol Hill that has become much more dramatic in recent years. But that's been a problem for quite a while. I remember back in 2013 when Gang of Eight immigration overhaul got so close to passing and most of the members of the House supported the legislation, but then Speaker John Boehner wouldn't put it up for a vote because the majority of House Republicans opposed it. And he was worried he would lose his speakership.

Spoiler alert still wasn't his speakership. No more Speaker Boehner. But the extent to which the far right cohort of the House Republican Conference has been driving the ship that's been a problem for every House Speaker for more than a decade. Right now it's gone from being a problem to the point where Mike Johnson is borderline speaker and name only because of the extraordinary power that any one or two members have.

And it's a Republican thing. It's not a majority-sized thing. Nancy Pelosi managed to keep her conference totally under control. Even when she had these microscopic majorities, it has to do with just the way that the base of the Republican Party and the far right of the Republican Party are just really, really good at taking over exerting power and setting the agenda.

It also has to do with fundraising. So Marjorie Taylor Greene and the like can go out and collect their $5 and $10 donors. And they don't need the speakership or leadership or leadership hacks to help them get elected. We were mentioning earlier that it used to be that the speaker on both sides would say knock it off.

We won't fund your campaign. We'll run a primary issue and you get in line. And now Marjorie Taylor Greene says to the speaker, knock it off, get in line, or we'll remove you. I mean, it's completely reversed.

And ironically, I think there was a time when I would have enjoyed that position, but now I see the fallacy of my ways. Well, because frankly, the leadership, you know, whoever the boss is, who comes in, has to, has some skin in the game. You know, we always, my mom always used to say the difference. And a big and egg and cheese sandwich between involved and committed is that the chicken and a big and egg and cheese sandwich.

The chicken was involved, but the pig is committed, right? Donald Trump is the boss of House Republicans. He's the boss now of Senate Republicans, which is why we see Senator McConnell retiring. But the problem is he is not, he's involved, but not committed.

He does not care if the House remains in disarray. He does not care if there's chaos. So long as he is praised and held up on an altar. And he does not have skin in the game.

So he will allow this sort of disarray to continue. They were not afraid of Mike Johnson. They were not afraid of Senator McConnell. They're only afraid of 1%.

Sorry about that guys. Betsy Smartay, Rick, thank you for that great conversation. Still to come with just two weeks to go until the start of his first criminal trial. Former President Trump is now trying to delay the case indefinitely.

All times also running out for him to pay the $175 million bond in his civil fraud case. You're watching me press now. Welcome back with just two weeks to go until the start of his first ever criminal trial into a former president. Donald Trump is once again seeking to have his New York hush money case delayed.

In a court motion obtained by NBC News, the former president argues that the case should be adjourned indefinitely due to what he calls pre-trial publicity. Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has until Thursday to pay the $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud trial. It was lowered from the more than $450 million last week by an appeals court.

NBC News correspondent, Vaughn Hillier joins me now. So, Vaughn, is today filing in New York just another attempt by Trump's legal strategy? Is this just another example of the delay delay strategy? Hey, right.

Of course, this is a delay strategy here. But it's also one that you could expect a defense attorney to take on behalf of their clients. Of course, Donald Trump is trying to avoid having to actually have this criminal trial take place. And that's where you saw the attorney propose that it be indefinitely delayed.

Of course, at what point does Donald Trump not have publicity around this case? That'd be a major question, Mark. Even if he were to lose November's election, he would still be a former president of the United States. But ultimately, that would be up to the judge to decide right.

And we know that he has this bond due just a couple of days. Any idea when he plans to post it? Right. By end of day, Thursday is the deadline, $175 million, which is much better than the more than $450 million bond that he's going to have to put forward.

Donald Trump, just last week, he said that he was going to put up cash in order to get that bond. The question is that his own cash? Is it other individuals that offer to put money forward on his behalf? So there's a lot of questions that we frankly don't have the answers to.

All we know is that there's going to be $175 million worth of answers come Thursday. And we know his social media company went public, initially he was gangbusters, but now he's dropping. Is the value of truth, so he'll show something that could end up hurting Donald Trump both financially and politically? Right.

The stock today alone dropping 20% lowering his stake in the company from about $4.5 billion down to just over $3 billion. And just one day here, this is an artificially propped up stock here. And Donald Trump, unless he's granted a waiver by the board of this company, he's got to hold on to it for six months. And the question here is if he were to try to sell it six months from now, just how much lower will that value of stock go?

Because today it was acknowledged that the company lost $53 million in the last year with only $4 million of revenue, which of course is a long-term invested, and that's a very questionable investment. But if Donald Trump were to be the next president of the United States, there's also a reason to question, you know, those types of money put into the stock into a company that Donald Trump has such a major asset in. Alright, Vaughn, thank you so much, and I'll be back tomorrow with more Meet the Press Now. The news continues though with Aaron McLachlan in for Hallie Jackson right now.

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