If it's Tuesday, former President Trump returns to the campaign trail and matches up his anti immigrant rhetoric to brains in new levels, bashing them as disease criminal animals and blaming President Biden for a, quote, border bloodbath. Plus, the escalating fallout facing Israel as the White House says it was outraged over an IDF airstrike on humanitarian aid Congo in Gaza that killed seven World Central chicken workers, kitchen workers holding the egg group's efforts in the war zone. And President Biden gets a bets bid on abortion rights in Florida, launching a new battleground ad following yesterday's court ruling that puts the issue on the state's November ballot as the fight over reproductive rights and the White House ramps up. Hello and welcome to make the Press now on Ryan Nobles in Washington.
Former President Donald Trump is back to campaigning after a couple of weeks off the trail and wasting no time into playing some of the darkest and most incendiary rhetoric we've seen from him on the stump this afternoon from the stage in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he ramped up his language while characterizing the current situation at the border, a quote, bloodbath caused by President Biden. I stand before you today to declare that Joe Biden's border bloodbath is a border bloodbath and it's destroying our country. It's a very bad thing happening. The Democrats say, please don't call them animals.
They're humans. I said, no, they're not humans. They're not humans. They're animals.
Not one more innocent life should be lost to Biden. Migrant crime. The first step to restoring safety in America is to fire crooked Joe Biden. Get him out.
November 5th. We don't want them coming into our country with contagious diseases. And they have it. And all of a sudden you see these contagious diseases, disease is spreading.
Once peaceful suburban Michigan is really, now you're under an invasion. The former president also tried to blame President Biden for the murder of a Michigan woman who was killed by her undocumented immigrant boyfriend. But we should repeat the Trump campaign's inflammatory rhetoric suggesting some kind of migrant crime wave is not rooted in fact. Overall violent crime rates are actually falling.
According to the 2023 crime data from the FBI, violent crime is down nationwide compared to the previous year. And the same is true in the big cities that Trump often pillars as dangerous, out of control Democrat run communities. And while Trump often points to specific tragic events, there's no evidence that undocumented immigrants commit more violent crimes than the average American citizen. The Biden campaign accused Mr.
Trump of playing politics with that tragedy in Michigan while also criticizing him for rallying Republicans earlier this year to kill a bipartisan border deal in Congress so he could run on the issue. Here's more of what Trump said on the border in Michig. No country, no country can withstand this invasion. There's no country in the world who withstand the cost of this.
And maybe more important than actual dollar cost, the cost that it's so. It's wrecking our civilization. It's destroying our country. They send the people, by the way, that they want out.
They're not sending the finest. We will stop the plunder, rape, slaughter and destruction of our American suburb, cities and towns. We will end deadly sanctuary cities immediately. The former president is now off to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he'll hold a campaign rally later tonight.
It comes after he falsely asserted in a local radio interview that he won the 2020 election in Wisconsin and claimed without proof, he added evidence that the election was rigged. It is only April, and the former president's rhetoric has already darkened it significantly and without really much pushback from inside his party. If this is where we are in April, where will we be in November? NBC's Shaq Brewster, is that the former president's event that just wrapped up in Michigan?
Also with me on set is NC's there. Hey, who follows the Trump campaign for us? Shaq, you are there on the ground. I mean, how is Donald Trump's language received today in Michigan?
All right, this is an invitation only crowd. So you had and saw elected officials, you saw members of law enforcement, you saw Republican Party leaders. So you heard a lot of applause, you saw people nodding as you heard the former president step up and continue the rhetoric that we've been hearing for a long time. And you see it behind me in the shot, you see it says stop Biden's aborted bloodbath.
The former president leaned into that controversial phrase that has been front of mind for many people for a couple of weeks now since he first used it. He made a nod to the fact that people were upset by it before. So he's really leaning into the controversy that this has caused. So the folks in the room, they have definitely shown that this is something they wanted to hear and leaned into that messaging.
But really in places like Michigan, specifically here in Kent county, the question is not how the people in the room respond and react, it's really how people outside of the room react. What do they hear? Kent county is one of those counties that Donald Trump won in 2016. Joe Biden flipped it in 2020.
And I spoke to people we knew this messaging was coming up. I spoke to people in town about the messaging, about what former President Trump was saying on different radio calls, and try to get a sense of how they would react to it. And I'll tell you, all those swing voters, people said they voted for Trump in the past, but voted for Haley in February during the primary. Some of them told me that it's that rhetoric that is making them walk away from former President Trump.
Others are saying this is exactly what they're looking for. So that's going to be the question. How this messaging that he's continuing and escalating, how that lands with these swing voters in these crucial battleground counties and battleground states. And Shaq, this is the first time that we've heard Trump since the New York judge expanded a gag order against the former president.
Did that seem to at least tamp down his rhetoric as it relates to his legal cases? Maybe. Perhaps. I mean, he talked about a lot on stage there.
He got into the election. He got into immigration. He talked about a lot of different issues. But he also brought up that gag order.
He also brought up having to pay the bond. Earlier today. He did not reference the gag order in terms of the restrictions. He didn't lean into that aggressively.
But it remains to be seen whether or not it really had an impact. I think you usually see him react to that. When you see him usually walking out of the courtroom or being asked about it directly, that will be something to watch, to see if his language pulls back a little bit, if he stops mentioning the judge's family now that he has his gag and is required not to. So that's something that will remain to be seen.
But he did definitely mention at least some of the legal fights that he's been in, and he's been connecting it with the situation and crime that he's been referencing as he was on stage. Okay, Jack Rooster, thank you for that report. So let's turn out to Garrett. Interesting.
The campaign was twisting itself in knots to try and explain what he meant by bloodbathing. It wasn't as bad as people interpreting it. Now they're putting it on campaign placards as he's speaking. He keeps talking about this bloodbath, but the statistics don't really bear that out.
Does that even matter? No, not to his supporters. As a short answer, every time he does this, I think about something we heard Nancy Pelosi say, which is that the plural of anecdote is not data. And Donald Trump anecdotes here are the point if your loved one was killed by an undocumented immigrant, it's very personal to you, and he does a pretty good job of mastering.
Another thing you and I both have talked about a lot, which is local news and local media and going into places where there is a big story, there is a big, singular anecdote, and trying to capture the feeling around that in a way that might ignite that population in Grand Rapids, in Kent county, where this is a big deal, or Rome, Georgia, where he was talking about the Lake and Riley case a few weeks ago. So while those kinds of things can be enormously effective, the idea of a migrant crime wave is not backed up in the data. But the Trump campaign will tell you every one of these individual crimes committed by an undocumented immigrant would not have been committed if that particular undocumented immigrant were there. And if they can capture those little pockets of anger, they think that's something they can use to their giant.
It's a centrifuge point you raise, because I think from 30,000 foot, this looks like the way he's talking about this would turn off independent voters. But each one of these little communities that's been directly impacted by this actually may help them with independent voters. That's right. Remember, we're not running the national election.
There is no such thing as a national election. There are lots of little tiny elections and statewide elections that will decide this. And Kent county is a perennial battleground where the relative risk of losing a handful of people at county that you already lost is perhaps outweighed by making sure that your people are there. And maybe there are some of those suburban mounds who are worried about that kind of crime in their community.
Wisconsin, where he's gonna go next, is a state where the margin was smaller than the average attendance of a Brewers game. I'm pretty sure it was like 20,000 people. So every little bit of this at the margin matters. And my own view, having covered Donald Trump for a long time and watched the way the Republican Party has changed, the way I think about this is if you're somebody who's been turned off by Donald Trump's rhetoric, you were turned off eight years ago.
You're not suddenly waking up to say, well, I really like this Trump guy going back to 2016, but now he's taking it too far on immigration, I think that ship has sailed. And that's certainly where the Trump campaign is approaching it. We've been keeping your seat in the booth warm on Capitol Hill. It's been a while since you've been there, but if you can harken back to your Capitol Hill correspondent expertise here.
He's talking so much about the border. There are still some household Republicans that are flirting with this idea of tying order provisions to the Ukraine supplemental bill. Is there any shot, does he play a role in perhaps trying to find some way to get a border bill that can actually pass the House in Senate? I think there's no reason for him to play any role in getting something passed right now, nor I think he's going to.
I mean, I think you see different sets of incentives here for House Republicans on their two year terms right now who are currently in office. They need to at least look like they're trying to solve this problem and take it seriously. Donald Trump doesn't have to look like he's to solve this problem at all. His job as he sees it is to highlight how bad the immigration issue has become and to say as he's perfectly comfortable saying, only I can fix it and that by electing him you could put something strong enough in place to actually seal up the border or solve the issue however you want to look at it.
I think having covered both of these speeds, there's basically a 0% chance of any border related anything being passed while Joe Biden is present or at least while Donald Trump is still running against him. Maybe in a second Biden term you would see House Republicans decide they've got to do something. Having talked about it for so many years, but right now, between now and November 0.0, I take your point that he's probably past the point where he can offend someone that might even consider voting for him. But it's interesting that he's decided to get even darker.
Every time we think he's done as dark as he possibly can, he finds a darker shade of dark. What's the motivation behind that? I think that's how he generally feels about these issues. But I also think this is consistent when you look at everything we've seen Trump saying do since he wrapped up the nomination.
Right. This is not somebody he's going to chase. Voters in the center. We have his not going to chase Nikki Haley voters.
He's going to be who he is and he's going to try to use the specter of how bad he and many of his supporters believe the Joe Biden administration is going to push people back into his camp rather than him going out of reaching them. So I think there's no amount of darkness that Gets too dark here. I think you're thinking about this now as some effort to win this battle for this big middle. It's a sort of like lower the floor for everybody and hope that your low floor is slightly higher than Joe Biden's low floor.
If voters hate everybody, scare enough people to the ballots. Happy Tuesday. Thanks, Garrett. Well, as we said, the next stop on former President Trump's campaign schedule today is in Wisconsin, which is also one of several states that holding a presidential primary today that is actually still happening.
Mr. Trump will be holding a rally in Green Bay in a couple of hours as Republican Party there and other key swing states are hoping to encourage their voters to change the way they vote. Trying to encourage voting by mail, something that's become a significant advantage for Democrats in recent years. But the effort is hitting some major roadblocks, in part because the Republican Party standard bearer himself continues to rail against voting by mail and cast doubt on the process.
Mail in voting is totally correct. Get that through your head. It has to be the votes. I mean, it has to be.
If you have mail in voting, you automatically have fraud. Anytime you have mail in ballots, anytime you have mail out or mail in, they call them different names. Anytime the mail is involved, you're going to have cheating. That's all just in the last month or so.
We should note that last week RNC co chair Laura Trump told NBC News that former President Trump is now very much embracing early voting, despite what you just saw there. Joining me now is serious national politics reporter Matt Dixon. He's one of the rewards behind the NBC reporting about the resistance that Republicans are facing as they push early voting. Matt, this seems like a very difficult task if you're kind of a rank and file Republican Party operative trying to get people to vote and you are losing one of the key tools in your arsenal by allowing them to vote by mail.
How are they trying to have it both ways, not push back on Donald Trump, but then still convince their voters that it's okay to cast a vote by mail? Nearly the universal message from operatives, candidates, those who are in favor of Republican voting by mail, is, hey, Democrats are doing it. So, so should we vote by mail has become incredibly popular during the pandemic. It really spiked during the 2022 midterms.
It hit record pre pandemic levels. So it is a tool, as you mentioned, that is really important politically. Democrats have invested heavily in vote by mail programs over the years. Republicans use the Republicans, especially in places like Florida, really helped create the first, first end of the Vote by mail programs.
But since Trump has kind of come on the scene and made comments like the one you've shown, Republicans have pulled back from that. So now, now it's to convince their voters to go out and say it's okay to vote by mail. And the one message they're really hammering on is, hey, if the other guys are doing it, we need to do it too. And so talk to me a little bit about the investments that they're making.
And we touched on that a little bit. But there's specifically an effort that they have underway in their actions, in my mind. Yeah, well, that's where it gets kind of complicated because the national Republican Party is going to have far less money than national Democrats in a presidential election cycle, state by state, in national elections or in state elections, relying a lot of money for the national party to do things like vote by mail programs. So that money's really got a roll downhill.
And right now Republicans are struggling to raise money and they're paying for other things. You know, a lot of talk has been President Trump's legal bills. So the idea that they're going to invest in this is complicated by the fact that they don't have much money. We have seen state level Republican parties, notably in Pennsylvania, who've started doing their own thing and they started really, really pushing the idea that Republicans should vote by mail.
But that entire process is complicated by a lack of money. And it's not just a presidential race we're talking about here. Right. Every House SE is up there, like you said, raises down races across the board.
If you're a Republican right now, you need people to vote by mail, right? Without question. We can talk Senate candidates in Penn, Nevada, two very key states. They're worried about this and as are others across the country.
They are, they are of the belief it's kind of the operatives and the political professionals and candidates who say we really need to do this, we really need to vote my mail. Our Democrats are going to keep beating us. The they gotta get that message into some of the grassroots and the fervent Trump supporters who take their cues from the president as opposed to listening to the arbitrative types of Republican National Committee. So getting those sort of base voters to buy into the message is right now what is most gay.
Okay, Matt Dixon on the ground, Wisconsin. Matt, thanks for that. Check out that story on NBC news.com Coming up, tragedy in Gaza. Seven aid workers are from one of the only organizations in the world delivering much needed food to Gaza.
Killed by an Israeli airstrike the White House today says it is outraged. The latest on the incident and the fallout is next. Plus, if it's Tuesday, someone is voting somewhere. We'll take you inside the push to oust a city council member in Oklahoma who attended the 2017 Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.
You're watching Be the PRESS now. Welcome back. Seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen, including one US Canadian dual citizen, were tragically killed by an Israeli strike today, raising serious concerns about how Israel is conducting its military operations and threatening to make an already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza even worse. In a video message released this morning, Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledged Israeli forces unintentionally hit innocent people in the Gaza Strip, adding that it happens in war and vowing to do everything so that it doesn't happen again.
RBC news team took this video in Gaza showing the damage aid truck as well as the scene at the hospital. And we do want to warn our audience some of these images are disturbing. You can see the bodies of those aid workers being brought to the hospital as medics carry them to the morgue as many of their World Central Kitchen colleagues mourn their loss while trying to console one another about the tragedy. The strike to strike drew strong reaction and condemnation, including from celebrity chef Jose Andres, who the founder of the World Central Kitchen, who said he was heartbroken.
The White House also reacting today, expressing outrage and saying the US Will continue to press Israel to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers. We were outraged to learn of an idea strike that killed a number of civilian humanitarian workers yesterday from the World Central Kitchen, which has been relentless and working to get food to those who are hungry in Gaza and quite frankly, around the world. We send our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones. More than 200 aid workers have been killed in this conflict, making it one of the worst for aid workers in recent history.
The sensitive is emblematic of a larger problem and evidence of why distribution of aid in Gaza has been so challenging. NBC News international correspondent Raf Sanchez has more from the fallout from that strike. Israel facing mounting questions today about how its forces killed those seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen. The victims from around the world, Australia, the U.K.
poland, Gaza, and also at least one U.S. canadian dual citizen. Now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is saying this was a tragic case of Israeli forces unintentionally killing non combatants. Israel has promised to mount an investigation at the highest levels to find out what happened here.
But World Central Kitchen, the charity founded by chef Jose Andres saying that the killings are unforgivable. And they are asking how this could have happened given that the three cars in this convoy, at least two of them, were clearly marked with the logo of the World Central Kitchen. They were driving in what's called a deconflicted zone, a zone that's supposed to be safe for humanitarian organizations to operate in. And the charity is saying that they spoke to the Israeli military ahead of time about the movement of those vehicles.
I asked an Israeli government spokesman, given that the organization did everything it possibly could have, apparently to signal to the Israeli military that it was not a threat, how is it possible that these seven aid workers still killed by Israeli bombs? The spokesman saying to me that this was an unintentional strike, it was a mistake that happened in the chaos of war. Now, it may have been a mistake, but it was far from an isolated incident. According to the United nations, which says more than 200 humanitarians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, the vast majority of them Palestinians.
That is a toll that shatters previous records. World Central Kitchen pausing its operations in Gaza in the aftermath of these killings. And we are already seeing the real world impact of that. There were a number of ships heading from Gaza to Cyprus carrying aid that was supposed to be heading towards northern Gaza, an area the UN says is on the brink of famine.
An area where our crews have seen parents trying to keep their children fed with grass, with barley meant for feeding animals. Those ships have now turned around with only a portion of the aid delivered. They are heading back to Cyprus. And the impact of that is going to be felt by a lot of very desperate people in Gaza today.
Back to you, Ross Sanchez, thank you for that reporting and for more on the US Reaction, I'm joined now by NBC News White House correspondent Mike Emily. So we saw Gank's comments on this. What more would I say about this tragic incident in Gaza? All right, we've seen that the White House has both an official and frankly a political relationship with Jose Andre.
They've really lifted up the work that he's been doing, obviously in Gaza, but across the world over the last few years. And so this is a moment as we've been measuring the degrees of daylight between the Israeli government and the US Government where we could potentially see this data in worst John Kirby and quoting today, speaking quite forcefully sometimes, though needing to pressure of tough questions from the press corps to get there. But to speak critically of this moment, but also to say that Israel is going to conduct an investigation. They want to let that investigation speak for itself.
What I think this moment calls for is what behind the scenes might be the breaking point for President Biden, who has made clear his frustrations with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has not been willing to do things like condition military assistance going forward even today, Kirby refusing to do so. But is this a breaking point? It is an awful tragedy on any level. But it comes just a couple of days after the prime minister suggested that it wouldn't be that difficult for people to evacuate Rafah ahead of their strike there.
Here we have a situation where we have an organization that the IDF knew was going to be in a specific location, yet they were still the victim of an atrocity like this. I mean, more than anything demonstrates how complicated this is for the White House, as was Secretary Blinken speaking about this abroad today. And you think that's a meeting that happened yesterday as a virtual conversation between US Officials and their Israeli counterparts. This is exactly why they want to have a tough, detailed discussion of what a potential ground invasion looks like.
The US Officials saying they've been giving them lots of options that would avoid the need for a ground invasion because of the humanitarian toll that this is taking. We look at what President Biden was just saying, by the way, at that fundraiser in Europe for the three presence last week. He was saying much more needs to get done to get aid into Gaza, that he's also working diplomatic channels, furious with other allies in the region to make sure that the situation doesn't explicitly. Of course, this isn't the only hotspot that we're dealing with in the Middle East.
Another strike, the strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria is the administration worry that the war could expand as a result of that. That's why they took this. It's really as an extraordinary step. According to the reporting from Corinthian Kubi Karoli of communicating directly yesterday with the Iranians to make clear one, that they were only brief about this plan when the Israeli planes were in the air, but they did not have advanced knowledge of this.
Anytime you have any kind of situation like this in the Beast, the fears of isolation are profound in this moment. Yesterday led to that dramatic step on the part of the Biden administration. And we know it's primary day in Wisconsin, and if it's Tuesday, right. Somebody's going somewhere.
President Biden once again facing an uninstructed movement. So this is basically a protest vote against him in Wisconsin. This is another in a series of these that happened. They kind of brush them off.
They said they're trying to listen to these folks that are upset. How worried are they that this is a bigger problem? Speaking of campaign officials today who said feel like March went as good as they could expect, you start with the State of the Union address. You go through that campaign blitz.
He went through all the battleground states. They have been though, closely monitoring these uncommitted votes, some version of them in several different states. Minnesota, of course, was the biggest, about 18%. Michigan was a real shocker to put it on the map with 100,000 votes.
Wisconsin is where they think the organizers of this effort have put in their biggest effort. And Wisconsin is important again as a potential battleground state this November. So the Biden campaign very much looking closely at this and it's why you also see it in the White House schedule. Typically in the last years, we've seen a big reception around Ramadan and if tart dinner that is dramatically scaled down at the White House this year.
Okay. Mike Muller, thank you for your reporting. We appreciate it. Let's turn now to Baltimore, where crews appear to be making progress in their efforts to clear the Patapsco river after last week's bridge collapse.
Maryland Governor Westmore says two temporary channels have now been opened to allow commercial traffic into the river. The governor they'll caution that it will be a while before things are back to normal in Baltimore. And I'm thankful that after only a week after the collapse, we have pathways and channels so commercial traffic can now move through. But I do want to be clear, we are still a long way from being able to get the size and the cadence of the commercial traffic back to where it was before the collapse.
The Navy, meanwhile, released these sonar images today of the wreckage deep below the surface of the Patasco River. Officials say the water is still too murky for divers to be able to see that wreckage on their own. Up next, Florida, Florida, Florida. All eyes are on the Sunshine State as Democrats look to leverage the issue of abortion in Biden's campaign push forward November.
The panel is next. You're watching me, the president. Welcome back. The Biden campaign is now saying it can win Florida in November despite the state trending Republican in recent years.
It comes after the Florida Supreme Court paved the way for a six week abortion ban to take effect in the state while also ruling that the issue will be on the ballot this November. And a memo first shared with him BC News Biden campaign says the issue of abortion will be a key to making inroads in the state where former President Trump beat Mr. Biden in 2020 and where Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed the six week abortion ban into law last year, won by 20 points in 2022. The Biden campaign's optimism show comes as polls show a majority of the country says abortion should be legal.
And as efforts to protect or expand abortion rights could appear on the ballot in eight other states, including some key battlegrounds. Just this morning the group behind Arizona's ballot amendment say that they've exceeded the signature threshold. Joining me now is our count and vice Capitol correspondent Ali Vitali. Democr Polster Cornell Belcher, he's also an NBC political analyst.
And Lance Trover, Republican strategist and former spokesperson for Doug Burgum's a presidential campaign ally. I recall the last time Florida was competitive 17 days living in that hotel covering the recount there in 2018. I remember the time Democrats being worried that Florida would never be competitive again. They couldn't win that election.
They were unable to that entered in onto Sanders and Rick Scott. Could Florida be competitive now that abortions on the ground? I mean because you and I remember almost spending Thanksgiving together in Tallahassee in 2018. The fact that we're here in this place debating a six week ban, a 15 week ban, the remaking of Florida in a ruby red color as opposed to purple.
I mean all that hinged on what was it, 0.25% of the vote in the Gill and Destiny's Racing. Elections have consequences and we are watching them play out through the state of Florida. I think what's going to be difficult is we've never seen someone like Rick Scott, for example run in a presidential year. So he's never had to see the presidential either drag or pull.
We'll see how that works for him. Abortion has been across the board a motivator. It's been true in ruby red states like Ohio and Kentucky. Florida is red.
I wouldn't put it Ruby, at least not yet. But I do think that this is going to be something that makes it hard to guess what it is because women's rage is something that's kind of unquantifiable but it is energizing, it is motivating and Democrats are counting on that. I want to play some of the Biden campaign release on this issue. They're trying to tap into it closer because for 54 years they were trying to get Roe v.
Wade terminated. And I did it and I'm proud to have done it. Donald Trump ran to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Now in 2024 he's running to pass a national ban on a woman's right to choose. I'm running to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land again. Is that effective for now?
Well, look, I remember when Florida was really competitive too. It was 2012 when we were winning it, when I was part of the Powell campaign. And so look at what, let's look at the numbers. Look at what we know this issue does.
Take Michigan for example. When we had the ballot initiative in Michigan going to midterm, a lot of people talk about, well, Michigan is a state that Republicans should do really well and Republicans do really well in the midterm. That initiative drove youth turnout. We had the highest youth turnout in Michigan anywhere in the country.
Now let's break down Florida. Florida's a state where turnout really, really matters. Right. Go to 2021, when Trump won it, 32% of the electorate were 65 plus seniors.
We know licensers live in Florida. What was that turnout in 2012? They were only roughly 24, 25% of that. Right.
So you get a huge surge among base and youth voters. This issue has the potential, has an Obama like potential to younger voters and dim base voters. And that gives Democrats a shot in Florida. So Lance, the Trump campaign has tried to say that he's in favor of a nationwide ban, that he specifically just wants this decision to be made by the states.
But we have a state like Florida where the six week ban is among the most strict in the country. Is that argument something that resonates with voters? Well, it's obviously a big issue, but if we talk about numbers, Republicans hold a voter registration advantage of 855,000 in that state. So that is a massive delta, if you will.
I think voters are savvy enough on this issue. I think it's possible that a voter can walk into the voting booth and say, look, I can make a statement about abortion in my state and I may vote for somebody else who while he does, I don't agree with that person on abortion. I also do agree with him on immigration and the economy. I think it's very possible.
Just two things. First, you and I both know this. I think all of us here too, Democrats have sort of like let the entire party atrophy in the state of Florida over the course of the last eight years. So they're kind of building from nothing.
That idea that's winnable, it's tough. But I also think, and you brought up Michigan this week, they've repealed surrogacy bans in the state which on its face through casual viewer might have nothing to do with the abortion debate, but it all falls under the reproductive health care and freedoms umbrella. And I think that voters are very tuned into that in those swing states like Michigan, where Gretchen what we're trying to build on what she's done. But then also in states like Florida where they're trying to draw a real contrast between 6 week ban DeSantis and 24 week amendment that they're trying to put into the Constitution.
I mean, these are real contrasts that voters are very aware of what each side stands for. And now they're 62 and it's very fair. I mean, technically the floor of the country, same Texas. Yes, Texas of the country.
So dialogue. So yes, it takes an awful lot of money. And so for the Biden campaign, which helps, thankfully they have a big cash advantage. But look, from a campaign standpoint, what states are you going to spend less money in that you know, you have to win, have a better chance in so that you can make that huge investment in Florida.
So it is a tough real world campaign decision. So Republicans don't want to talk about abortion unless they do want to talk about immigration. And it seems as though President Trump brings out every opportunity that he has talking about it again today. Now using the term bloodbath on these campaign placards, is that okay?
Is this something that Republicans can identify with or does he risk going too far in using some of the language that he's used when it comes to this issue? Well, I heard Garrett was on earlier. I mean, voters separate the rhetoric from the policies, often with Donald Trump. If they did not, I'm not sure he would have been President 2016.
Voters know where he is on this stuff. They know that his rhetoric is tough on these issues. But he's still polling ahead or with Joe Biden right now. I mean, yeah, they know the rhetoric that's out there, but again, they kind of separate the policy from the rhetoric and that's why he's still leading.
Is there enough independent voters though, to get those kind of voters? Well, I think we'll see that play out in due time. But I do know, and having looked at polling other congressional districts throughout the country, particularly in the Midwest, this immigration issue is huge. In some cases, it's passing up the economy.
The problem is what you point out is that independent admirers. Look, I'm not gonna play the polling game, right, because we throw, oh, he's polling ahead polls that don't matter. I'm a pollster, right? So what Donald Trump has to do, he has to grow beyond what we've seen couple elections.
Now he's a 47, maybe 48% proposition. Can you get elected president? 47%? Yeah, you can, but it's not probable, right?
Enlightenment Strike Price. Yes, but no. He has to actually grow his base of support. This is not language where you're going to grow and be able to pull in more moderate and roll voters.
Where when you look at Obama and you look at then what Biden did, they dominate the moderate middle swaffle the electorate and this whole language just doesn't appeal to them. I think back in 2004 when George W. Bush was run for re election and all these states put same sex marriage initiatives on the ballot and obviously the opinion of the country, same sex marriage in 2004 dramatically different than what it is 20 years ago. Could abortion play the same kind of role in this election?
I definitely think so. Because if I look at the last 10 years as I've been covering abortion access, the thing that's so striking to me is we're finally in this moment, finally depending on who you talk to be celebrated or not. But being post Roe is something that has never been tested, it's only been theorized about. And so we're watching the cases sort of be made in real time electorally when you look at ballot initiatives and again you go back to Ohio, which is a red state, they did this election on a random Tuesday in August.
They gave folks like three months notice and nowhere in the ballot initiative was the word abortion. Folks just knew that really does tell me that with 3 million people are turning out on the dog days of summer, there's something to that. And in a red state to see that kind of action on that issue. Yeah, I do think this is one of those issues that makes it impossible to predict because we've never been here before.
I think that's why if you're a Republican candidate, the one thing you need to do is be very clear on where you stand on this issue. I'm not saying you need to make the center point of your campaign, but be clear on where you stand on this issue, not let yourself get defined by the Democrats. Is it possible that Democrats can go too far on it or not? Well, this is the conversation we heard in the last midterm and Evan says no, right.
This is something. This is something. There's not a horror contrast, right. Donald Trump says I'm the person who got rid of Roe v.
Wade may want to do it. I'm the one who got it done. There's not an easier contrast than that anywhere. He made something happen that the vast majority of Americans did not want to happen.
And we're going to continue to hit him and every Republican down the line. But you're right, Republicans don't want to talk about it. Who wins the campaign, he or she? Who defies the debate wins the debate.
They want to be about immigration. We want to be about reproductive rights. Okay, thank you guys all for being here. Appreciate it.
After the break, my one on one interview with the House Republican pushing his party for a vote to get Ukraine the critically it needs in the war against Russia. Congressman Michael Lawler joins me next to what you need, the president. Welcome back. The prospects of Ukraine aid remain murky in the House.
Speaker Johnson this weekend seemed to float that a new Ukraine bill that would be a loan that would loan Ukraine money from seize Russian assets and also contain changes to U.S. energy policy. The Senate's already passed a bill that contains assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that has bipartisan support in the House. But Johnson does not seem to be eager to put that bill on the floor.
While weighing his next step, the speaker must also consider the threat of a potential motion to oust him hanging over his head. With Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene threatening Johnson with the same fate as former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Join me now to talk about all this is New York Republican Congressman Michael Lawler. He's of course, a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee.
So, Congressman, although we can. You said that you believe there will be a vote on Ukraine aid when the House returns. Tell me what fashion you think that will come in will be the Senate bill. And you have a bill that you're working on, Fitzpatrick, or does the speaker offer up something different?
Well, prior to going on the Easter recess, I, along with Brian Fitzpatrick, Jared Holden and a number of my colleagues in bike bars and way introduced defending borders, defending democracies, which would provide 66 billion in legal aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. We have all signed a discharge petition to bring that bill to the floor and have been in touch with the speaker on several occasions to try and work through and build consensus. There's no question we need to bring a bill to the floor. Floor.
You know, Iran, China and Russia are not our allies. They're not our friends. They have engaged in an unholy alliance that has sought to undermine and destabilize the United States and the free world. And we need to support our allies in this time of need.
So I am hopeful that the speaker will bring a bill to the floor. Ideally, it would be one that includes, you know, aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, as well as border provisions, including Title 42 and remain in Mexico, which is the bill that we have outlined. But, you know, we all have to find compromise here. We're in a divided government and we need to negotiate.
The speaker ultimately is going to be the decider in what legislation comes to the floor. But my hope is that we get a vote on legislation as soon as we get back. It seems as though the Speaker's been regarded in his feelings about this, just kind of hinting without specifics about what type of bill he might support. He talked about this possibility of a loan, the idea of leveraging their natural gas reserves.
Have you specifically talked to the speaker about what his plans are for Ukraine? Do you know anybody else that spoke to the speaker about it, or is this not a conversation you'll have until you return next week? There's been lots of conversations over the last few weeks. Obviously, the issue of a loan has come up, as well as the Repo act, which would use seized Russian assets to help pay for some of the aid to Ukraine, which, you know, in and of itself, I have no qualms about.
With respect to energy, look, this is critical. Iran is the greatest state sponsor of terror. Over the last three years, Iranian petroleum sales have increased by $88 billion. Certainly we don't want other countries reliant Russian or Iranian gas and oil.
So that is something from a national security standpoint we do have to deal with realistically. That's why I introduced the SHIP act, which would implement secondary sanctions on the purchaser of Iranian petroleum, the greatest purchaser of which is China. So this is something that, from a national security standpoint, should be part of the conversation. And so I certainly, you know, appreciate the Speaker's position on that.
Okay, let's talk about this. The position the speaker finds himself in. There is this motion to vacate threat that's hanging over the speaker right now, specifically tied to him putting Ukraine on the floor. What are you feeling about this?
Could he be in trouble if Ukraine actually does get to the floor? Look, as I've said, it's idiotic and will do nothing to advance the cause of conservatism and in fact, will undermine our House Republican majority. If people haven't learned that lesson from last year, I don't know what will make them learn that lesson. But the bottom line is this.
The speaker has to do what is right by the country. He understands that and he knows that we need to get a bill on the floor. Obviously, he's seeking to build consensus within the conference and that's his job. We have a House Republican majority for a reason.
And you want to build consensus within the conference. So he's trying to do that. I think my colleagues need to recognize that, you know, removing the speaker is not going to stop Ukraine aid from, from happening. It's not going to do anything other than undermine our majority.
And so really the stupidity should stop. So let's talk now about the issue of abortion. And you said over the weekend that people want reasonableness, they don't want extremism on this particular issue. But I'm sure this week the Florida Supreme Court paving the way for the state's six week abortion ban with some exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.
Do you consider that a reasonable state standard? No. And I think obviously in a state like Florida, we're going to see how voters respond to that. I think when you're looking at these issues, even in red states, voters are making it very clear that they don't want extremism when it comes to this issue.
They want reasonableness. They don't support the Democratic Party position, which is abortion up to the moment of birth, gender selection for abortion, you know, against parental notification. That's extreme. That's a position that my opponent, Mondair Jones, supports.
For instance, they want reasonableness. It's why, for instance, I've signed on to legislation to protect IVF treatments because this is something where millions of families all across this country struggle with infertility. They want to become parents and we want to help them do that. If and if IVF treatments are the avenue by which they can do so, that's something that should be protected.
I think you're going to see across this country in states where this is on the ballot, a voter going to make very clear they want reasonableness, they do not want to shrink the opposition. So I can get some clarity on that. So do you not support any sort of federal ban on abortion or any federal restrictions? You think it should be left up to the states, but that you feel differently when it comes to ivf?
You believe there should be a federal protection for the practice of ivf. So I've been very clear, I will not support legislation that would have a federal ban on abortion. Obviously, based on the Dobbs decision, abortion rights are up to each state. And so states are making that determination.
And with it, the voters are making determinations in those states whether it's on the ballot or with respect to their representatives in the state legislature. I do believe, look, we want to promote a culture of life, certainly, and we want to help people with critical medical treatments that would help ensure that we have the right to, to become parents, to have children. And that's what the IDF protections are there for. And so I have signed on to legislation to do that.
The Alabama court, I believe, was wrong in deciding it the way that they did. The legislature there acted. But we want to make sure that IVF treatments are protected nationwide. And that's why I've signed on the legislation to do that.
Okay. Congressman, we captain a lot. We appreciate it, sir. Thank you for being here.
Thanks for having me. Silicon Meet the Oklahoma City Council member who's facing a recall election today over his ties to white nationalism. We're on the ground and beat at Oklahoma next. We're watching Meet the Press now.
Ian maybe puny states, but we're also following a recall election today in one small Oklahoma town. An even Oklahoma city council member facing the recall election over his ties to white nationalists. Pictures revealed that the council member, Judd Levins was part of the Unite the Right march in Charlottesville in 2017. NBC News's Brady Zarowski tried to get some answers from Blevins about his past conduct following a recent city council meeting.
You are a leader at an Oklahoma chapter at the white nationalist organization and I want to know if you have any explanation to that. Brandy Zagroski joins me now. So Brady, explain us who Judd Blevins is. Well, Judd Levins is an Iraq War vet.
He works with his family's roofing business here in Indian Oklahoma and he's a sitting council member. He is also, as you just met from 2017 to at least 2019, was an active member of a group called Identity Aropa, which was the largest white nationalist group in the US during the time of the so called alt right. He was an active member, a recruiter, an organizer. He led the Oklahoma State chapter and now because of that, he is up for recall and this falling place right behind me.
So who discovered that he was part of the Unite the Right march in Charlottesville? This is really interesting because this information was actually out there. It was available on the Internet. It was available in some of the leftier, more progressive spaces.
And people in Enid generally are pretty conservative folks. So there are some progressive people in Enid and they were the ones who found this information and they took it to state council meetings, they organized protests. They did not let go. And this has Happened for about a year now where they have just not let this thing go.
They've got to see council meetings and sort of taken over public comment, reading his secret messages on secret white supremacist forums, showing pictures of him at the United Right rally. And these folks are called the Enid Social Justice Committee. So these are really the people who are responsible for this recall. Today they went and got signatures and they filed the recall petition.
And it seems as though even Eden's mayor seems to be opposed to Blevins keeping his job. What did he tell you? Yeah, the mayor, and it should be stated, is a conservative Republican himself. A lot of conservative Republicans, now that they know this information, are really drawing a line and in some ways finding ways to unify with some of the most progressive citizens here.
And the mayor told me last month when we met that he had talked to Mr. Blevins and asked him straight up about his white nationalist ties because Levins had already always sort of skirted the issue, said I'm against racism, but not specifically addressed those ties. But he did in a private meeting with the mayor. The mayor told us about it.
And further, the mayor expressed concern that Blevins is still associated with this group. He is concerned that he's associated with other white nationalists that have moved on into other groups who may be contributing to his campaign or helping him in some other way. A lot of white nationalist groups during this whole chaos have been talking about Judd Levins suggesting that their members reach out to the mayor, reach out to city council members and local people to try to influence their. Their the recall election and to give any sense of how polling place all day.
And there's probably not a lot polling. But is there a general vibe as to how today can go? Not a lot of polling. This is a very small race, right.
With very big implications. But we've been standing outside this one place all day. We've talked to dozens of people. And the vibe that I get from people who are willing to talk to us is that they didn't know, but now that they do, are ready to make a different choice.
Okay, Randy, as a droni, thank you so much for reporting. Appreciate that. And we'll be back tomorrow with more Meet the Press now. But the news continues with Hallie Jackson.
Right now, everyone, I'm Dylan Dryer, co host of the third hour of Today and mom to three wild boys. I've learned a lot my years as a parent, mostly that I don't have it all figured out yet. And I'm not the only one. This is my new podcast, the Parent Chat.
Each week I sit down with someone, new conversation and real world advice about parenting. I'm over here just, like, winging it. Hey, I'm trying not to screw my own kids up. I'm gonna give you advice on how to screw yourself.
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