Hey, it's Kate Snow, NBC News anchor and host of the Drink. This month, Demi Lovato is my guest. The global superstar tells me that she is the happiest she's ever been right now. But getting there, it wasn't simple.
Demi opens up about starring in Hollywood young and why she now thinks she may have started too soon. She talks about recovery, her new marriage, and the deeply personal reason behind her new cookbook. The Drink is always about the journey to the top, and this was an honest conversation about what that takes. Hope you'll listen and follow the Drink wherever you get your podcast.
Hey, everyone, I'm Dylan Dreyer, co host of the third hour of TODAY and mom to three wild boys. I've learned a lot in my years as a parent, mostly that I don't have 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 for honest conversation and real world advice about parenting. I am over here just like winging it. Hey, I'm trying not to screw my own kid. If I might give you advice on how to screw yourself up, there's a parent chat on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to the Press now. I'm Kristen Welker in Washington, where multiple new developments today point to increasing trouble for the Republican Party ahead of the midterms after a vote in Virginia that could tip the balance of power in Congress toward the Democrats. And more. New polling shows the president's approval numbers sinking as the war with Iran drags on.
Multiple polls show two thirds of Americans disapprove of the job Mr. Trump is doing as president. And nearly two months into the Iran war, his handling of the issue remains underwater. The White House has provided little clarity on when the war could end, with peace talks now on hold as the president tries to extend the ceasefire.
But Iran attacked multiple ships traveling to the Strait of Horus today, which could prolong the war's economic impact. With the cost of living top of mind for Americans heading to the midterms. And polls show a major disapproving of the president's handling of the economy. But those numbers seemingly have not affected the president's bullish outlook for November.
We're making America great again in this November. We're going to win the midterms. We're going to win and we're going to win like never before. If you want a rich and strong and a country that you're going to be proud of, America, you must go out in the midterms and vote Republican.
We need that. But from now until November, we're going to fight and I'm going to personally campaign for every one of you. We're going to go to win in midterms. We got to get out and win now.
Whether vulnerable Republicans will want the president campaigning for them in light of those sagging poll numbers is unclear. Up until now, the party has largely stuck by him and his agenda, including on redistricting, where Republicans suffered a major loss in Virginia last night as voters approved a state plan to redraw their congressional maps. It's a move that could net Democrats as many as four more seats in November and level out the score in what has become a nationwide redistricting battle kicked off by President Trump last year and today, both parties not ruling out war changes to come. I think Gene Young but that's not something needs to do.
And I think Democrats are masters of gerrymandering. Should Florida reject? Well, I think they're going down the path now, too. And hopefully based on our political Virginia, Donald Trump and Republicans launched this gerrymandering war and we've made clear as Democrats that we are going to finish it on behalf of the American people.
Joining me now to start us off, NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba joins me from the White House along with NBC News senior national political reporter Sahaka Porvoo was on Capitol Hill and NBC News chief data analyst Steve Kwonaki, who is at the big board for us. Let me start with you. Take me inside your conversations inside the West Wing. What are officials there saying about last night's results in Virginia?
Well, President Trump is responding, Kristen, and he is not pleased. And he is making claims without any evidence to back them up. But this was somehow a, quote, rigged election. Now, that's language that we have heard from the president whenever he doesn't like or appears not to want to be too closely tied to the outcome of any kind of election or result that he doesn't necessarily agree with.
We've seen that certainly with his own election results where he has lost. And now he's trying to apply that to this case. He is writing in a post on True Social making the argument that he believes that he says Republicans were winning, quote, all day long, long up until the very end when of course, there was a massive mail in ballot drop. Again, there's no evidence to support that.
And then he ends that by saying, let's see if the courts will fix this travesty of, quote, justice. Of course, what's really remarkable about all of this question is this larger point about Republicans who have been working to try to have redistricting implemented in several states to see what that can do to the ultimate balance of power. But the president, the White House didn't do too much when it comes specifically to Virginia. He did participate in a telerally and call into a conservative radio talk show to try to urge Virginians to vote no on the referendum.
But today his reaction is really what is sort of standing out here given all of the warning signs that we're seeing about what this could mean for Republicans in the midterms, setting up quite a difficult political dynamic for the White House. Yeah. Monica. And all the context is so important.
You're absolutely right. Extraordinary that he's trying to claim that yet another election is rigged without any evidence or proof of that and no one else making that claim. Let me ask you about the numbers that we do know about these polls that show the president's approval rating plummeting. What are White House officials, top eight allies say about that?
Monica? Yeah, it's interesting because you did have a senior White House official today who was sort of asked about this overall and what it could mean, who said he didn't want to declare defeat yet for Republicans and for President Trump's agenda in the midterms, arguing that many things could shift between now and November and that there are months left to go for them to make their case. And Republicans and the White House White House officials are really trying to portray that they think they can make this more about an argument, a choice between Republicans and Democrats, and less about an actual reality check on the president's agenda, which is typically what happens to any president of any party in the midterm. So they're trying to push back on that, even though they know that history typically indicates that this will be rough for the party in power and the president, currently.
President. Michael what's the strategy? Of course, the president won on a promise to bring down inflation to lower cost and foreign wars. What's the argument that the president Republicans are planning to make for why they should continue to stay in power in the House and Senate?
I remember that before the war in Iran started about eight weeks ago or so, the White House had said they were to lean into this affordability message. A lot of the press was gonna be out on the road almost every week doing event on this. He has done a handful of them and he was traveling out west just last week. But certainly that has been overshadowed by everything else that's going on.
But something that's in the news today prompts a really interesting question here, which is that the White House may bail out Spirit Airlines. There's consideration of a possible financial package in the range of $500 million, which if it goes through, if this were to take place, could result in the federal government own about 90% of this airline, given that they already were having major issues and bankruptcy issues in particular. But that is an argument that then the White House will have to defend if they do go through with this. The Trump administration will have to make a case that the American people for why they feel that is a good investment.
But we are seeing these rising, of course, oil prices and gas prices and costs shooting up that the White House also needs to come out and continue to discuss in terms of what they feel they can do about it. Absolutely, all of it. Top of my mind Alpha, thanks so much for your reporting from the White House. I really appreciate it.
Let me turn to you now on Capitol Hill. What's been the reaction from lawmakers there last night? What we witnessed in Virginia, which gives Democrats now a narrow edge when it comes to the math of taking back the House. Well, Chris, Republicans are certainly angry about this gerrymander by Democrats in Virginia.
This is a light blue state. It's one that Democrats won in 2024 by just about 6 points. Some Republicans say they need to retaliate now by getting more aggressive in red states with Jerry matters. And others worry that this is just going to be bad for both parties and that everyone involved might look to regret this escalating war.
Let's take a listen to what some of the Republicans we spoke to today said. It's a hyperparent boondock. We fought hard, we raised money. We did our best.
But the Democrats in charge of Virginia was the disappointed people. These moderates up here about to kill us. When you start playing hardball in this redistrict and stuff, it's ridiculous. We're going to lose everything because we don't have any guts to fight it.
Remember, this puts Democrats on the cusp of a 10 to 1 split in the Virginia congressional delegation, up from 65. So it's a really remarkable gerrymander Democratic view on all this. They didn't start this war. Texas Republicans did that.
They're not going to sit back, that they're going to respond in kind and that they've also pushed bills over the last decades, impose a national ban on gerrymandering. Republicans have rejected them every step of the way. So as minority says, it's maximum warfare everywhere all the time. Now.
It's a direct quote. It's quite a quote. Certainly big picture. What's the math when it comes to the redistricting nationwide?
Sahel and obviously our attention turns to Florida next. Yeah, this was the 2026 round was certainly started by Texas Republicans. They made a map that they hope will net five seats for the gop. Remains to be seen whether that's gonna happen.
But then you have this tip for CAT developing in blue states. Other red states are involved at this point. It looks close to a wash, Kristen. If the electorate looks something like it did in 2024, even a little bit of a shift toward Democrats, I don't see one party benefiting massively.
I get open questions. What happens with Florida? I also want to note President Trump's polls look very bad for the GOP right now. Overall approval rating has fallen and the single biggest reason is that his ratings on the economy have tanked.
He was generally trusted by voters on this issue. This has been a firewall, not MAGA culture wars. Two recent polls by the Associated Press and Reuters show that only 30% of Americans trust him to handle the economy as extraordinary given primarily on improving the economy and lowering cost. People don't believe that has happened right now.
So this is a five alarm fire facing Republicans right now. Even if this ended up being a wash on the redistricting front, Kristen, the GOP is on track to lose seats significant to a significant degree in House Representatives because of that. Well, it's just fascinating to see it all play out. So I have to ask you about some really sad news on the Hill today.
Congressman David Scott passed away. What do we know about that? Yeah, he was 80 years old. We don't know a whole lot, Kristen, about the cause of death.
We do know that he's not been in great health for quite a while now. His office did announce that he has died at the age of 80. Quite notably, David Scott was running for re election in his Atlanta area seat and he is now the fifth member of Congress to die in office in just the last 14 months. Most of them were in their 70s.
One of them was 65. David Scott dead at 80% while rescinding his family. Our thoughts certainly today. Thank you so much.
I hopefully appreciate it. Steve Cornacky, let me head over to you at the big board. Shifting gears a bit here now. Walk us through what happened in Virginia last night.
What are you seeing? This was narrow. It was narrow here that the margin here looks like about three points on the asset, I think one way of looking at this is, you know, Republicans. We talked about these congressional special elections where the Democrats have been swamping the Republicans with turnout.
Republicans really put up a fight here. The no side really put up a fight here. And in a lot of corners of Virginia last night, it looked like the no side was kind of getting what it needed. For instance, down here in southwest Virginia, this is a core Republican part of the state, rural area.
In the governor's race last year in Virginia, the Democrats won as a landslide. This area kind of went to sleep turnout wise. Total opposite. Yesterday, some of the highest turnout rates in the state of Virginia were down here in this area where the no side was winning big.
So, you know, the no side got some big numbers there. There's a lot of counties around the state. You know, the no side did a lot better, and Trump had done. Did a lot better than the Republican candidate for governor had done last year.
But the reason why the no side ultimately fell short really has to do with Loudoun County, Fairfax County, Prince William county, and then right down here, Chesterfield county, right outside of Richmond, these are four enormous, you know, metro area suburban counties. They are blue counties. They've been getting bluer. They're diverse counties.
And in these places, it sort of bucked the trend that I'm describing. They actually got, you know, in Loudoun county for. It got. The yes side did better than the Democrats had done in 2024, did better than Kamala Harris did in 2024.
So you saw a lot of movement away from the Democrats toward yesterday. It's a big Republican turnout. But the core Democratic areas, there was no slack, there was no give. They linked up, you know, this issue as they saw it as a Democrat versus Republican issue, and they stayed loyal to the Democratic side.
And so the numbers that, yes, got those big counties right there, that was the margin, basically, the Democrats and the. Yes, I got. Well, and this is so fascinating, see, because this has been a fight that we've seen play out in a number of states. Now, Florida next.
What is the nationwide scorecard when it comes to redistricting here? When you're looking at. Well, if we want to take a look here at the national implications of this, one way of kind of looking at, I think my board is going to cooperate with me. The perils of technology.
But one way of looking at it would be this. At the very beginning of this process last summer, when this sort of started in Texas, there were. There you go. You can see it.
There were three Republican seats in districts that Donald Trump had lost in 2024. Remember California, you know, the Democrats there did their gerrymander last fall successfully. That brought the number up to eight. And with what happened in Virginia last night with this new map going into effect, that 8 now becomes 12.
There are now 12 Republican held seats that now, largely thanks to the redrawing we've seen in a couple of states here now under new lines, would have been lost by Donald Trump in 2024. So that's what the Democrats have succeeded doing largely through Virginia and through California. Remember the necking. Democrats need nicking of three seats to get the House.
All right. It could not be a tighter race. We'll watch and see how this redistricting tit for tat continues to play out. Steve Konnocki, as always, thank you so much.
I appreciate it. Joining now is our panel, Molly Ball, political reporter and authority Antoine Seawright, Democratic strategist and founder and CEO of Blueprint Strategies and Matt Gorman, Republican strategist, former communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee and an NBC News little contributor. Thanks to all of you for being here. So let's start, Molly, with kind of the big picture here.
You have the war in Iran. The president's approval rating has been dragged down by that, this nationwide redistricting fight which now seems to have backfired. What are you hearing about the mood today in the wake of this latest loss? Yeah, you know, the Republicans I talked to are feeling quite fatalistic in a lot of ways.
They almost feel like the midterms are already over. It was interesting, you know, listening to that reporting and thinking about how far we've come from, you know, the heady days of nine months ago when the bill was being passed and Republicans thought that right now they would be holding an event every day about the tax refunds that everybody is getting, right, that this was supposed to be the time. So the idea was like, sure, even at that time, right. Trump wasn't popular and wasn't looking in the economy, but it was, well, this is all going to turn around when things get better.
And the problem for Republicans is that instead of getting better, the political climate got worse. And so now as they look forward to November, of course things could always get better from here. But they are looking down the road at several months where it could just be brutal for them. Well, it's such an important point and call back that Molly's right, Matt.
The plan was to be talking about the tax refunds right now, not a warning run, not questioning whether gas prices were Going to come down and hear President Trump again calling the election results last night rigged. What are you hearing from Republicans about how they see what happened last night in Virginia? Is it a big deal or is it adding to the sensitive? Well, like Tyson said, everybody has a plan with a punch in the face.
And look, I think people ticked off. That's what I'm hearing consistently on Republicans. People are furious. There's a lot of finger pointing in l the results of Virginia.
I think the fact that it was tight there could have spent more money, could have mobile black what is alive could you use and ifs I think that's not helpful. I think again, you know, looking back could have done something, sure. But focusing in the next battle was getting in Florida. And I think the key here is can they whether it's the santis the administration in Florida, can they actually have a map that passes the court's muster because obviously there's some state constitutional questions there, but also the electoral muster.
They don't want to duke districts Republicans and make it harder, even more expensive to keep a yeah, Anthony, I want to get your reaction to or hearing from Democrats and play a little bit from housekeeper. Take a look her message. Florida Republicans is f around and find out if they go down the road of a Desantis dummy mander the Florida Republicans are gonna find themselves in the same situation as Texas Republicans. The Republicans are dummy mandering their way into the minority before single votes cast because they started this war and we're gonna finish it.
We are all in in Florida and it's Republicans who are putting a target on the backs of their own members politically at this moment in time. Anton, what do you make of that message and is there a risk in over indexing on this tit for tat over redistricting? After all, a lot of these Democrats who supported the Virginia measure have been very outspoken in terms of opposing redistricting. What we're trying to find out is a good message.
The Republicans started a battle in Texas and it turned into a war prop hip and California Democrats were successful. We tamed them in Ohio, we've tamed them in Nebraska. We tamed them in we tamed them in New Hampshire. We picked up a seat in Utah.
And when the voters had the chance to express their will and both California and Virginia Democrats won. And so I think what's clear that Democrats are going to fight. The American people are expressing themselves. And I think Republicans did not expect this type of fight, this fire with water, a water with fire fight from Democrats And I think that's most important.
But where we all should agree, Democrats and Republicans, no leader of the free world, particularly United States, should be talking about overthrowing the will of the people. We saw that with January 6th when Trump lost. We should not be having this conversation today. Now let me give you a chance to respond to that and to the argument that Republicans weren't expecting the fight, that they got a couple things.
There is actually a court case irresponsive even before what Trump said. There's a court case that people feel far more bullish about because again, especially Focus Virginia on Virginia Supreme Court there in Virginia was already stopped in passing junction in the Tazewell account. But then also too, I think one of the things we're not talking about as well is the Supreme Court could very well unlock more seats, especially in the south with the Voter Rights Acts. You could see Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, other seats unlock as well.
So this is a battle, but it's far from over. Regardless between now. But Trump words were important in his tweet or in his post because he talked about a mail in voting in which he already issued an illegal executive order trying to ban mail in voting. And so again, Democrat and Republicans should agree upon these things because their foundation, they will be around after Donald Trump is no longer in office.
Molly, let's talk about the war in Iran. That is the other backdrop to the midterm elections. It's a big one, as you say. It's completely shifting the conversation away from what Republicans had hoped to be talking about right now.
Talks are on hold. President Trump has basically issued a ceasefire. Not clear if there's going to be a timeline for that. How do you see this playing out politically in the coming weeks?
Well, so far it seems to be a disaster for Trump and the Republicans politically. I mean, not to put you fine point on it, this was a war that was unpopular when it was undertaken and that the American people still have not seen the virtue in. And that I think especially now that it's been two months, there is a strong sense creeping in that it has not gone in the way that the administration would have liked. That despite all the bluster, you know, coming out of the White House, that the president really expected that he would have much more leverage in the situation and that the Iranians would be much more willing to come to the table.
I think it's safe to say that they have not been nearly as willing as the president would have liked. And that raises the possibility that this drags on and on and that and that since the public started from a perspective of skepticism, you're not even going to have the rally around the flag effect to come down from. And so it could. Now, of course, it is also possible that this line up tomorrow and looks like a glorious success and in six months we're not talking about it at all, so.
Well, that is true. I mean, this could change on a dime. And yet was the administration caught off guard by the fact that Iran seems to have taken back the leverage? I think they were certainly caught off guard by the fact that they couldn't open up Iran, close the trade for whom it will.
I think that was a very clear thing. I think also you even talked about the relief I think we all felt honestly last week when there seemed to be open again, things seemed to be moving very quickly. And then all of a sudden again over the weekend it seemed to go back and forth. That could change in a dime.
Again, should have been staying over there, but I think that's one of the things that they just cancer cage quickly or as easily as they thought they could. The one thing they can't run away from is the furtherance of the affordability crisis that they're already facing. And what this war of choice has brought to that part of the conversation, gas prices, fertilizer, you name it, that has, I think added or amplified the affordability crisis that's sponsored and brought to you by your neighborhood Republican Party. The other thing, Donald Trump has yet to make a case to the American people of why we're in this situation.
It seems as if we're trying to get back to the very place where we were before he started this war choice. It will be interesting to see if he delivers yet another address to the nation at some point in the coming weeks. Thank you so much for a great conversation. Molly, Antoine and Matt really appreciate it.
Coming up, we will dive deeper into the battle for control of Congress and the messaging battle inside both parties with a top Senate Republican and Senate Democrat. But first, it's the war. Iran says it attacked multiple ships in the street of Vermouth hours after President Trump said he was extending the US CEO with Tehran. We covering all the fallout, uncertain past appeals.
Please. You're watching with the press. Now get the best of NBC News with a subscription viewer ads, deeper access and exclusive content. And now during the Xfinity member celebration, members can get an exclusive 50% off an annual subscription.
Head to xfinity.com membership to learn more. Xfinity. Imagine that subscription automatically reviews each year at 65.99 plus taxes and fees and bill cancels. Offer ends May 20, 2026.
Price is subject to change. Visit nbcnews.com affinity for full all returns and details. As the day wraps up, get the scoop on what's been happening with here's the scoop with a podcast from NBC News. With your host gazing the studio, we'll take a deep dive into the day's top stories with NBC News's trusted journalist.
It's a fresh take that's sharp, thoughtful and informative, bringing you closer to headlines and conversations that are shaping our world. The Front Page the Zeitgeist. Here's the scoop from NBC News Listen daily on Spotify Spotify Stay informed with the NBC News app Breaking news just coming in moments ago. Watch, read and listen throughout your day and now unlock even more with a subscription.
It's the best with NBC News with fewer ad instructions, including ad free articles, podcasts and full NBC News shows. Plus deeper access and exclusive content. Let's just take a step back. It's more context and clarity from the reporters you trust.
Download the NBC News app now and subscribe for more. Welcome back. As we mentioned, President Trump says he's extending the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely. But Iran is pushing back, saying it's the US that's violating the deal by maintaining its nav blockade of Iranian ports.
This morning, Iran attacking three ships in the Strait of Vermouth and seizing two of them, further inflaming tensions in the region and setting benchmark oil prices above $100 a barrel. Again, remember, just last week, President Trump said he was optimistic deal with Iran was still in reach. Take a listen. We're close to a deal.
We're getting along very well with the new Iranian leaders. It really is a regime change. People that are a lot different than we were dealing with at the beginning. They're no longer around, they're no longer with us.
But we have a very good relationship and I think there's a very good chance we're gonna make a deal. Yesterday's last minute announcement by the President marks the fifth time he's extended his deadline to strike Iran's infrastructure as the war continues to drag on and vial shipping traffic at the straight Hormuz is again at a standstill, joining now as NBC News chief international correspondent Kirsten. Mr. Thank you so much for joining us.
I know it's very late there. The president says he's extended the ceasefire, but the US Naval blockade will remain in place. Iran says the blockade is a violation of the ceasefire. We know The Vice President J.D.
vail was intending to go for negotiations in Islamabad, but those are on hold. Where do negotiations stand here? Well, President Trump says that the Iranian regime is divided and that he is trying to give them the chance to come up with a unified position. In fact, Caroline Levitt said something similar just in the past few hours with a gaggle outside the White House saying that the president is trying to be flexible.
And I mean, the Iranian regime, Kristen, is divided. However, their messaging right now is pretty united. You just have to look at a recent post by the lead negotiator, Mohamed Gallabaaf. But then the president, then the foreign minister, all of them saying that we will only come back and negotiate.
We only come back to the negotiation table. I assume here in Islamabad, if President Trump lifts his blockade, that puts the president in a really difficult position because he sees that blockade as leverage as thing that's putting economic pressure on Iran in order to get them to compromise. Because remember that this is just a debate about when the talks will happen, if the talks will happen. It's not a debate about what kinds of compromises and agreements will happen later.
We've heard various reports of what might be on the table. So it's a challenge. The president is in a difficult place now. It might be that the Iranians shift because it is hurting them, how much money they're losing because of blockades, but they're certainly trying to signal that they are not going to do that.
Part of their leverage of these attacks, that they have been engaging in the straightforward moves. Do you anticipate Iran could continue or even escalate those attacks here? I think it's possible. I think it's noteworthy that those attacks will be being carried out by the Iranian military, the irgc, and that is the hardline part of the regime.
And there is this talk to the point that President Trump raised about whether the regime is divided. There is this talk that the hardliners are really calling the shots. So sometimes with the Iranians, what they do is as much a message as what they say. And often what they're doing when it comes to the military is, are those hard liners asserting themselves?
So I suppose very likely the answer is yes. I think that they will be wanting to try and put as much pressure on President Trump as they can. Ultimately, though, again, the issue really here is that a divided and incredibly not trusting of the US Iranian regime clearly is not in a position as we speak, could change in the days to come to come to the US and renegotiate in a way that's going to satisfy President Trump. All right.
Well, I know that you and we will continue to watch it very closely. Kirsten, thank you so much for staying up with us for your phenomenal reporting as always. We really appreciate it. Coming up next, President Trump and the defense secretary have repeatedly described the state of Iran's military as totally obliterated at the bottom of the sea and wiped out.
But a new Pentagon intelligence assessment directly contradicts those claims, saying Iran retains significant attacking capabilities. We have all the latest reporting that's next on the press. Now let's kickstart your wellness journey with the tract workouts, meal plans. It's your fast track to a healthier youth.
And now during the exposition, members can get an exclusive 50% off an annual subscription. Head to xin.com membership to learn more. Xfinity Imagine that subscription automatically reveals each year at $65.99/taxes until cancel on the ranch May 20, 2026. Price is subject to change.
Visit today.comxin for full on returns and details. Welcome back. Even as the Trump administration taps the success of its military operations in Iran, a new Pentagon intelligence assessment says Iran still has significant military capabilities. As for comment, the Pentagon's chief spokesperson said Operation Epic Fury, the military campaign against Iran, was an overwhelming success and said US Forces achieved every objective set by the president.
Joining me now is NBC News senior national security correspondent Courtney qvcort. Thanks so much for being here on set. Great to see you. So take us inside.
This intelligence assessment. What does it say about Iran's capabilities? I think the reason this is so notable is it's really at odds with some of the public statements that we've heard. When you just read from Sean Carnell, we heard from President Trump as recently as yesterday from Secretary of Defense, they have claimed that they have decimated Iran's military.
And what's true here is, yes, they have taken a huge toll with the military strikes on Iran's military. But we now know that there's been the ceasefire for two weeks or so and the US has been able to really assess what they have and have not destroyed throughout the course of the 40 days or so striking. In fact, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency, Iran still maintains thousands of missiles and thousands of now that those alone can really hold at risk the immediate area around Iran, the US and allies in the region. But then even beyond that, and not just that, we all know we also now are told that in fact Iran's navy and air force, which again the Pentagon Century hexagon talked about as being at the bottom of the sea or completely decimated.
In fact, more than 50% of their assets remain and very critical when it comes to the Navy. They've taken out many of the surface ships and even their submarines, but they still maintain hundreds of, not thousands of the small, fast attack boats which are causing problems straight from us even today. Well, given that, and it's extraordinary to hear you lay out just how much remains, does that suggest that Iran may try to prolong this war? I think that the Strait of Four moves and the tremendous amount of leverage that the Iranian regime has knew that they had but really has shown the leverage and how this can really put the whole world at risk right now with what they're able to accomplish with shutting down the strait and stopping ships from coming and going through there.
That has proven to be their real leverage here, even more so than their military equipment. But what it does show is that if in fact the United States were to start bombing again, offensive operations, Iran still has the ability to strike out, to lash out at allies in the region, even though, again, much of their facilities, much of their production facilities really were badly damaged throughout this. But even though they can't necessarily produce at the same level, they still have the arsenal according to the simplest terms. The fact we're seeing these attacks in the Strait of formulas, doesn't that undercut the argument?
Absolutely. It shows that Iran. Absolutely. Absolutely.
All right, Courtney qb, thank you so much for being here. Really appreciate it. Coming after the break, my one on one interview with a Republican senator as his party faces intensifying headwinds from the economy, the war and the president's political standing. Heading to the terms.
Stay with us. This is me, the Press now. Welcome back. As we've been saying throughout the hour, the president's party appears to be facing major headwinds as we get closer to the November midterms.
Joining me now is Republican Senator Kevin Kramer of North Dakota. Senator Kramer, thanks so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. My pleasure.
Thank you. Well, I want to start big picture. We're in the midterm election season. President Trump's job approval continues to slide as we've seen recent polls showing at least 60% disapprove of his job performance.
Gas prices are up. Americans also disapprove of the president's handling of the war. Are you concerned that Republicans have a problem heading into the midterm? Well, I'm not thinking so much about the midterms as I am about the security of the United States and the future of our great country.
Midterms will take care of themselves at the appropriate time. Obviously, we have important priorities and to the degree that those priorities match up with priorities of the country, I expect that that would create a coming together closer to election Day. Well, as I ask you, we talk to Republicans, some of them privately say they're very concerned about Republicans chances of holding on to the House and frankly the Senate as well. Are you confident that Republicans will hold on to the Senate?
I'll ask you about your chamber. Yeah, well, I am confident that, Kristen, obviously the margins are very narrow. We all know that. We know that we have purplish states where we have sitting senators, we have open seats in a place or two.
Democrats have the same when it's this, obviously you always have to protect your right flank and your left flank. But having said that, the first priority is running the country and we have some pretty big priorities. But I also think we get to some of our other priorities, like permitting reform, which is a bipartisan effort. Right now you're passing some sort of highway bill or service transportation bill, very high priority as people are receiving their tax refunds now and they're seeing that, wow, it's looking better for me at home.
I expect that all of that will level off and then at the end of the day, it'll be up to the two parties to make their pitch. And I like ours. All right. Let me ask you about one of the big headlines on the Hill this week.
Kevin Warsh, President Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve appear before the Senate Banking Committee. As you know, you serve on. I want to play in exchange that Mr. Wish had with one of your colleagues, Senator Elizabeth Ward.
Let's take a look at this exchange. Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election action? We try to keep politics if I'm confirmed out of the I'm just asking a factual question. Name one aspect of President Trump's economic agenda with which you disagree.
Well, Senator, the Federal Reserve in recent years has wandered outside of its remit. Wandered in other. That's not something I'm prepared to do. You have said you're a hard yes on confirming works when you hear those exchanges, though, which you witness, what gives you confidence that he is going to be independent from President Trump?
Well, first of all, he's been crystal clear as not only about his own commitment to independence, but the fact that the president has never asked him to pre commit any sort of a position, particularly on interest rates. I would say this about independence of the Fed and other Federal agencies under the administration of any party is that the idea that somehow they're independent of the people that appoint them and the people that confirm them and the people that we work for is sort of a violation of self governance in many respects. KIRSTEN now that said, he, like I said, when it comes to the most important part of the Fed's job, and that is interest rates as it relates to United States inflation, for example, I think he was crystal clear. I believe him and I have no reason not to.
Your colleague, Senator Thom Tillis doubling down on his decision to block Horseshoe's confirmation until the DOJ drops its criminal probe into the current Fed Chairman Powell. Tillis says that your committee should be investigating, not the doj. Do you agree with Senator Tillis? Should the DOJ drop its criminal investigation if only to win over Senator Tillis vote?
Well, it's a great question because maybe that's reason enough for them to drop it. I happen to think that the whole probe is a little bit unnecessary because it originally was all about his testimony before the committee where he seemed to dodge questions about the overruns. I thought it was clumsy at best, but I also didn't think it was criminal. I think that they should drop the probe, but I'm not, you know, I'm not law enforcement.
I'm not even an attorney. That said, I do think that, as I've said, maybe even to you, there shouldn't be more than about a second between the end of Jerome Paul's term and the beginning of Kevin Warsh's. And you know, getting this criminal investigation behind us was certainly clear the path for that to happen. It would happen.
I don't think there's any question about that. But I do think that the issue of the overruns does need to continue to be investigated. And that's why I think Chairman Scott Sandertellos idea of a committee or subcommittee from the Banking Committee to look into that and continue to investigate is appropriate. I just think that misleading Congress is hardly a federal crime because if it were, we'd have to build a lot more federal penitent.
All right, let's turn to the war in Iran. And I want to start with the impact on gas prices that remain over $4 a gallon. As we have this conversation, oil prices today closed around $93 a barrel. Now look, the president says he believes prices will come down as soon as the war is over.
Do you expect, Senator, that gas prices will be back around $3 a gallon by the end of the summer? I actually do believe that my observation of oil and gas prices, which I've been doing for a long time. I was an energy regulator in North Dakota before I became a member of Congress 14, 15 years ago. So I've been watching this juxtaposition for a long time.
And energy markets are a lot like other markets. While oil is a commodity, it's also, it's also an investment and it's oftentimes emotional. And you see that just in the swings in the last several days. So, yeah, I do think that once more oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
I think it means that we have, you know, we have to be drilling for more oil in North Dakota and Texas and New Mexico and other places in the United States, and more importantly, building new refineries that can actually use our light, sweet crude. So we never have to worry about being a price taker, but rather the global price maker. Mr. I'm curious about where your confidence and optimism comes from today.
Iran. Fire on vessels in the Strait of Verse, traffic through that waterway now at a near standstill yet again. What gives you optimism that gas prices will, in fact, come down? Well, a couple of things.
First of all, I don't think that Donald Trump is going to allow a ceasefire to remain for very long if there's going to be firing on ships. I mean, he has, he has extended, I think, rightfully, the ceasefire until such a time as he feels it's necessary to lift that ceasefire. But I also think that he is, he is taking full advantage, I believe, of the vulnerability that he sees in the fractured of the Iranian leadership. You have a, you know, you have some of the leaders that are on the opposite side of the irgc.
The IRGC has the guns. I think he's prepared to exploit that and wants to give it every opportunity to exploit that division. And if that doesn't happen, the United States has taken full advantage over the last several days to make sure we identify targets or certain of those targets and have the munitions and weapon systems ready to take those targets out and end this thing once and for all the hard way. As you know, there's a big question about whether there's going to be another round of diplomatic talks.
It took nearly two years to broker the Iran nuclear deal under former President Obama. Whether you agree with that deal or not, that's the length of time it took because of the complexity of the issues. Are you confident that President Trump will be able to get a deal with the Iranians and this war? Well, whether it's a deal that's as complicated as JCPOA was and takes two years.
I'm quite certain that won't happen. But I do think that the president has demonstrated leverage that Barack Obama wasn't willing to exercise and to leverage. So, yeah, do I think he can get a deal that ends this war? Certainly, I think he can get a deal that secures the Middle east for a long time.
And more importantly, and I think this is the issue that we sometimes forget is that we have a whole bunch of Arab states that are supportive of what we've done. And if they weren't convinced before, they certainly are since Iran started shooting at them, whether it's the UAE or Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and others. And you're starting to see more normalization of that relationship of peaceful Arab nations with Israel and with the West. And I think that that's the type of negotiation I think makes a big difference and it can help accelerate the peace process.
All right. Senator Kevin Creeper, thank you so much for your time and perspective this afternoon. We really appreciate it. My pleasure.
And still to come, we'll turn to the other side of the political aisle for battleground Democrats view on whether redistricting debate goes from here. The future of the party much more. Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez, Nassau is standing by. Keep it right here on MEET THE PRESS now.
Welcome back. As we mentioned, Democrats are celebrating their redistricting win in Virginia with House leader King Jeffries vowing, quote, maximum warfare on the issue heading to the midterms. Joining now is Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez, master of Nevada. Thank you so much for joining us.
Really appreciate it. Thanks for the invitation. I was enjoy talking with you, but we enjoy having you here. A lot of ground to cover, so let's dive right in.
Let's start with results in Virginia last night, the yes vote on redistricting won by a margin of three points. That's far less than Governor Abigail Spanberger's 15 point win last year, even Kamala Harris's nearly six point win over President Trump. I wonder, do you see warning signs in that very narrow win, Senator? No, not at all.
I see just the opposite, particularly what we see across the country. There's a lot of energy out there right now. So many people coming out and voicing their concerns through their elections, through their votes against bad policies of this administration. It really is true.
I see it in that all time. I'm from a swing state. The affordability issue is real high. Gas prices, groceries, housing, I mean, you name it.
People are really struggling. And in my state, a Lot of the revenue that we generate comes from tourism, tribal. That's down 7.6% because of that policy, administration from the chair and everything else on Iran, war, everything that we're seeing. So people are feeling it and they are exercising their rights to vote.
That's why this administration, quite honestly, Republicans are trying to restrict them from turning out to vote because they know they're going to lose. Their policies are not good for the country. Let me ask you, because you probably saw President Trump's post. He called the results rigged.
He said that Republicans have been winning throughout the day. There's, of course, absolutely no evidence of that. Do you worry, though, Senator, that that kind of language could erode confidence in elections in Congress, given that here we are in a midterm election cycle? Well, let me say a couple things.
One, of course, he's using that language to do just that to prevent people from coming out. But here's the truth. Let me just say this. In Nevada, when he realized he beat Hillary Clinton, he was first saying he was rig, but when he won, he stopped his litigation.
Right? But then just recently when he won the second time, he actually won Nevada. And he didn't call it rigged at that time. So, you know, it's convenient.
When he wins, it's rigged. It's not rigged, but when he loses, it's rigged. What he's doing, though, is trying to scare people that somehow our elections are not safe. And they are.
I know the former general of Nevada who has fought on election fraud in my state, that our star boats are safe, effective, our election process is safe. And by the way, people that try to gain the system and vote twice, it's very few. And if they do, they get caught and prosecuted. I did.
It's a trade general prosecuted them. So this is not an issue in this country. But for Donald Trump trying to make it an issue for his own benefit. And that is a problem we have.
And I am concerned that he is going to continue down this path of trying to prevent our voters from getting out to vote in a safe secure that works for them to exercise their right and their vote against him because they are so upset about his bad policies, the high costs of everything, and the fact that we're in a war in Iran, that we shouldn't be. Instead of paying the trillions of dollars in that war, they should be here in the United States lowering costs and having people helping them with access to healthcare. So I see him doing it. And I have another thing here.
Not only is executive orders that he has Pushed out there to limit mail in ballots, which by the way, people forget, not only trying to limit, that's how he voted to in Florida is through mail in ballot, but he's trying to do that and ICE agents and pulling sites just to eventually affect interest people. This is Donald Trump. This is who he is. He's done it time and time again.
And we have proven over through the courts and in my state and done across the country that elections are safe and people should be able to vote in a manner that works for them. Let me turn to the Democrat strategy more broadly. You're the honorary leader of what you call the mod Squad, supporting moderate candidates. As you know, right now a number of progressive candidates are leading.
They're going neck and neck in the primary races and contested states. Are you concerned about that, that there could be a slate of progressive candidates in general elections? No. Here, here's what I do know, and I focus on a swing state like Nevada.
If you want to come and win statewide in a swing state, which means your voters are Democrats, they're independents, and they're Republicans, you have to talk to everyone. No, just to get to go and vote and have your base vote for you and you're gonna be successful, you have to appeal and talk to everybody and show up and engage. And usually, and time has proven, and data has really proven this, that in those swing states, it's the moderate candidate that is more successful statewide because they appeal more to people, because they're out there talking about the issues that matter to them and finding the solutions and willing to work across the aisle. And that for me and many of my moderate colleagues are from these swing states, we understand that.
And we've been much more successful in winning these statewide elections. And so that's really, for me, if we want to flip the Senate, I'm just gonna speak for the Senate. The only way we're gonna flip it is through these swing states. We have to pick up Democrats in these swing states.
And those are usually the more successful candidates, are the moderate candidates. All right, we're almost out of time. I do want to ask you about how Secretary RFK Jr. Z Capitah Hill this week, as you know, he came before the Senate Finance Committee, which you sit on.
He's come under intense scrutiny on vaccines, but he did say today his department backs the measles vaccine. And President Trump's new pick for CDC director Dr. Erica Schwartz, vaccine proponent, would have the right to make decisions independently. Independently.
Does that give you any more confidence in the secretary? How did you hear that answer? Yeah. No, it gives me more confidence in some of the people that are pushing out this information, but not in the secretary.
Listen, if you just look at the budget that he is promoting, this administration is promoting, it has gut health care in this country. It has got behavioral health, mental health and substance abuse in this country. I know that because they got Medicaid billion dollars. One of my hospitals in older city is actually laying off 71 people in a rural community and they're changing their designation and they're not going to be able to provide the level of health care that they have wanted to.
It is the results of this administration and it is a direct result of the secretary of Property Human Services. He has no business being there. He claims he wants to make people healthier. Just the opposite.
All right. Senator Catherine Cortez, mess that we are out of time. Thank you so much for being here. We really appreciate it.
Thank you. All right. And we will be back tomorrow with Morning the Press. Now there's more ahead on NBC News now.
Hey, everyone. I'm Dylan Dryer, co host of the third hour of say and mom to three Wild Boys. I 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 for honest conversation and real world advice about parenting. I am over here just like winging it. Hey, I'm trying not to screw my own kids.
If I might give you a likes and how to screw yourself, search parent chat on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.