Meet the Press NOW — April 29

If it's Tuesday. President Trump arrives in battleground Michigan to mark his 100 day in office as he faces growing concerns from voters about the state of the economy and the state of his presidency, plus tariff whiplash and confusion. The White House moves to ease the pain on automakers as it brands the president's tariff uncertainty as a case of strategic ambiguity. And President Trump fuels a political comeback for liberals in Canada as Prime Minister Mark Carney wins re election, vowing never to yield to the president's repeated threats of annexation.

Welcome to Meet the Press. Now I'm Kelly O' Donnell in Washington. On day 100 of the second Trump administration. The president just landed in battleground Michigan, where he will deliver remarks to members of the state's National Guard before marking his 100th day with our rally in Maycomb County.

The president touted his first 100 days as he left the White House this afternoon. I think we're either we've done everything or it's in the process of being done. For instance, the border is in great shape. 99.9% came out again today.

99.9. I would say that was my number one thing. The economy would be certainly right up there, and I think it's doing great. We were losing billions and billions of dollars a day with trade.

And now I have that down to a very low level. And so we're going to be making a lot of money. We're going to be reducing people's taxes. The trip to Michigan and the push to fire up the base comes as the White House is once again struggling to navigate the economic uncertainty caused by the President's sweeping and at times confusing tariff agenda.

Today, the White House confronted it was moving to soften the impact of tariffs on automakers as the industry faced a potential stacking of levies on imported parts and finished vehicles. It's the latest move as the administration tries to calibrate and recalibrate its strategy, which has led to fears of market instability and potential supply chain disruptions. But Treasury Secretary Sapp Benson said today he made comments suggesting that all of this uncertainty is not is a feature. Rather, it's not a bug.

It's a feature of the president's overall strategy. I think one thing that has been a little disconcerting for the markets is President Trump creates what I would call strategic uncertainty in the negotiations. So he is more concerned about getting the best possible trade deals for the American people. What we are doing is we created a process.

I think the aperture of uncertainty will be narrowing. And as we Start moving forward, announcing deals, then there will be certainty. But you know, certainly it's not necessarily a good thing in negotiating. It comes as polling shows rising concerns about the president's economic agenda.

With 60% of Americans disapproving of his handling of inflation and the cost of living. According to our latest NBC News state tuned poll, 61% is approved of his handling of trade and tariffs, while 55% is approved of the president's overall job performance. But as the president prepares to speak in Michigan, NBC Von Hilliard is already on the ground that he's talking with some of Mr. Trump supporters who are standing by him and largely cheering the results.

So far from these first 100 days. What do you guys make of his first 100 days? Love it. Why?

Because we close our borders. Safety, many things Nettie still working on. We could get the other side out of our way. What do you think of this first one today?

Amazing. Amazing. What needs to be done. It's hard, hard for some people to see how it plays out and I believe it play out.

What do you make of this first 100 days? I'm glad. I don't like I lost money, you know, time, right. But I figured it's gonna come back.

So how confident are you that the stock market will come back? I, I'm confident that President Trump has our best interest itself and there's no guarantees, but that's my suspicions. Our man on the road, Von Hillier joins me now from Macon County, Michigan. And also with me is NBC News correspondent Shaquille Brewster in Ada, Michigan.

Both guys who know these battleground states so well. And in a moment, I'll be joined by Steve Hornacki, the big board. You won't want to miss that. So Vaughn, let me start with you.

What should we expect to hear from the president when he speaks minutes from now? Right. You're gonna first hear from him at an Air National Guard base. It'll be his first stop about 17 miles north of here.

And he'll actually be joined by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. That'll be the first time we see him here in the state of going to be focusing on investments in the US Military installation and US Service men and women. And that is what the governor and social media post said, why she will be joining the president in meeting with him here this afternoon. He will then be making his way to speak for the stage behind me in just about two hours.

He actually held a rally here four days before his 2024 victory. This is Kelly. His first rally outside of Washington, D.C. in six months since his campaign days here, we should expect that he is going to focus on parts of the economy and making the plea for grace and patience as his tariff policies are implemented.

Understanding and as we heard over the course last month, continually telling some of his most hearted supporters that disruptions to the economy will take place, but it'll be worth it in the end. It'll be telling to hear what sort of message he delivers, though with the thousands here in attendance. And when you reference the governor, of course, he's a Democrat and we know that she has some specific she wants to make on behalf of her state and says she wants to work with this president. She also faced backlash for meeting the president in the Oval Office earlier this month.

There was that moment where she put the folder in front of her face for a brief second as if to say, I don't really want to be here. But what do you think is really the focus of her taking another chance of political chance of being with the president today? Right. Of course, she could very well be a 2028 Democratic presidential contender fell and well, a great many Democrats have said this is a time to fight back against the administration in to not capitulate or try to come to some terms or agreement with the president that Whitmer has taken a different approach here.

And it's notable you mentioned when she held the papers up in front of her page, she did not, a couple weeks ago when she was at the White House, intend to have a public meeting with the president, said his staff invited her to the Oval Office while media cameras were rolling and ultimately pointed her out. She said that she wanted to always advocate on beh military installations, for example, here. And it's notable that despite the backlash that she received a couple weeks ago, that White House interaction, she is again here meeting with him today saying that she has to come in first and foremost. And that doesn't mean that she agrees with a great share of the policies, the letter that comes from the president.

Otherwise you look very at ease. Back in rally mode there, Vaughn. I know you and I did a lot of those on the road together. Let me turn to Shaq now.

Our poll shows most Americans disapprove of President Trump's handling of terrorists and trade. So why do you think voters that you spoke to are willing to show some real patience on the issue of tariffs for the president? Yeah, Kelly, it really comes down to a level of trust when you're listening and having these conversations with voters. You heard some of that, even the conversations that bond was having there.

They believe in the president's goal here, at least a stated goal, to bring back manufacturing to the United States even as they see the impact on the economy, even as they see the market dropping or the impact on the job market. They say that they believe he will ultimately land the plane, so to speak. I want you to listen to them explain it directly here in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. Nobody likes to pay more for anything.

I don't. But in the long run, I think it's going to be good. I'm on board with the mission. I think it's going to make our economy better.

I know that as a country, we are, we owe a lot. You know, we're in a lot of debt and those tariffs are going to help bring back more to our economy. I'm all for it. I'm optimistic.

I'm really very optimistic. And I know that right now with the tariffs that there's a little bit of pain. Things are happening right now that right now aren't. We're not in a good place that, that.

Are you willing to accept that pain for the economy? Well, I don't think I'm an instant gratification person. I think that sometimes you have to go through a little bit of the fire to get to the end of the rainbow. Another person told me and use that same analogy that we hear President Trump use in his speeches and we made in here tonight, the idea that when you have a sick patient, sometimes you have some touch and go moments, but ultimately they will end up stronger.

So there's a level of trust in what the president says and that's why there's not any daylight that you're seeing between his core supporters, those who helped him get back to the White House and the president at this point. And that's what repeating. You actually looked for voters who chose Trump and then wanted to assess their views right now. So that's why their views seem to be in line with where the president is.

And he will probably be looking for that kind of response in Michigan state that he won. He won all battleground states, as he likes to tell us. When you talked about more than tariffs, though. So are there some other issues that stand out to you in what you heard heard from these voters?

Yeah, and that's a great point. And that these are voters who backed President Trump going back to 2016. In fact, some of them I met on the campaign trail last year. So we really want to get to them to see if there's any shifting, shifting that you haven't seen to this point.

We did see a lot of excitement was on the issue of immigration. They like the speed in which we saw the executive actions taken by President Trump. They like the fact that you have that drastic decrease in illegal border crossings. And something that also came up repeatedly are those Doge cuts.

They like the overall idea of the federal government being more efficient, of the federal government shrinking in size. But Kelly, I also tell you there, there was one voter who told me they don't like every individual cut that they hear about or some of the firings that are taking place. But it goes back to that idea of giving the president the benefit of the doubt, especially just 100 days into the second term. Kelly, really valuable insights.

I'm so glad you spent the time to be on the road for us today. Shaq, thank you so much. And I'm going to turn to NBC. Steve Kornacki the Big board who's got his finger on the pulse of America.

That's Steve's brand. And as President Trump hits the 100 day mark, Steve, tell us what you got. All right, Kelly, 100 days into the Trump presidency and we see this. An average of all the different polls you've been seeing out there the last couple days puts his approval rating at 43%.

That's what, 54% disapproving of his performance as president. How does Trump stack up that number compared to other presidents at the same point 100 days in? Well, you can see it's at the bottom. It's actually tied at the bottom with Donald Trump the last time around.

That's right. 100 days into his first term, his approval rating, it was exactly where it is 100 days into his second term. So there's two ways to look at these numbers for Trump compared to all modern presidents. These are very low numbers 100 days in.

But of course, for Trump, this is how it's been. This is par for the course. 43% then and 43% now. Take a look at as well, the question among independent voters.

Again, you see a 31% approval rating for Trump among independents. If you look last November at the election, Trump did better among independents than 31% but also low 30s again, that is consistent with what we saw for Trump during his first term as well when it came to his job approval among independents. Look at it more from an issue standpoint here. And you do see a bit of a division in terms of Trump's numbers.

Look at it. It's inflation, it's tariffs. This is where he gets his lowest marks, under 40% approval in both of those areas here, a little bit stronger, almost 10 points stronger, in fact, for Trump when it comes to government spending, the work of Doge and of course, border and immigration, this is where he gets his highest marks, you know, basically as much approval as disapproval on those questions. So that's the difference from these numbers from last time around.

Economy qu, questions about economy, pocketbook issues. That's where Trump did the best in his first term. It's now where he's doing worse in his second term. One other big difference between then and now with these, with these numbers, it's the opposition party.

Back during Trump's first term, the Democratic Party was more popular than the Republican Party. Now, however, take a look at this. It's the reverse. The Democrats, 40 favorable, 59 unfavorable.

They're almost 20 points underwater. It's not that the Republicans are popular. These aren't great numbers. But it's more unpopular significantly for the Democrats than the Republicans.

So from Trump's standpoint, from Republican standpoint, that may be one of the key things they're looking at with these numbers. They may think, hey, these Trump numbers are not that great, but these Democratic numbers have gotten worse than they were in the past. Maybe that creates an opportunity for Republicans, too. One way of looking at this in perspective, A lot of tea leaves for us to read and for parties to read going forward.

Thank you, Steve. We appreciate that. Coming up, a closer look into how President Trump has already reshaped the Oval Office in his first 100 days as he looks to push the boundaries of executive authority. Plus, a reality check on the fate of the president's agenda on Capitol Hill as Republicans try to figure out what they can pass and when they can pass it.

We're on Capitol Hill with the latest. You're watching Meet the Press now. Welcome back. The speed is one of the changes.

It's one of the hallmarks of these first 100 days of the Trump administration. We've all felt that. And of course, it's Trump administration round two now, along with pushing the boundaries of executive authority while testing the limits of the U.S. structure of checks and balances.

And of course, through all of this, the White House argues it is using that authority to try to save democracy and to do it quickly. But the speed at which guardrails are around democracy are potentially collapsing is the subject of a new piece in the Atlantic by executive editor Adrian LaFrance, whose reporting warns us about how countries can rapidly descend into authoritarianism. She writes the Trump administration's breakneck pace is obviously no accident. All citizens are busy processing their shock over any one shattered norm or disregarded law.

Trump is already on the next one. Constitution bends and then finally breaks. This is what tyrants do, she writes. Trump is doing it now in the United States.

That's the end of her quote. And Adrienne LaFrance, executive editor of the Atlantic, joins me now. So glad to have you had a chance to review your piece today, and you talked to people who lived under authoritarian regimes while fighting for democracy. They were in the thick of it.

What did you hear from them that were warnings that you feel irrelevant right now? Well, I was surprised to hear a remarkably similar thing from everyone I talked to, which is basically don't wait, don't assume that you have time, don't assume that everything's gonna be okay, and know that at the same time that you as a citizen still have power to protect democracy. So, so really trust your eyes, believe it as bad as it might seem, but don't wait to, you know, use your power as a citizen. We've heard how the president campaigned and sometimes used the word retribution.

How does that drive what you are seeing, this possible shift toward authoritarianism from his point of view and how we're receiving that? Well, there's just a huge chilling effect. I mean, you couple the government overreach. So a lot of the in particular, I would say not just what's happening within the federal government, but the expansion of executive power into previously independent industries, agencies, I think media companies, law firms, universities, and really that sen.

Clear message that, you know, that you need to listen or else. Or else will come after you. And, you know, Trump and those close to him have made that explicit. And so the decision for those facing this message is whether to try to strike a deal or stand up against this overreach.

And I think that's what we're seeing is the joint effect working in a lot of cases, in other cases not. And we've seen some areas where there's been what critics would call capitulation, and a few people have stood up. But we've also been watching the Republican Party, the president's own party, where he has a lot of support, largely fall in line with his agenda. Do you think there could be a breaking point for the gop?

Is there something that might be in the offing that could be the turning point? What I've asked people about this, I mean, what you hear most cynically, but perhaps accurately, is that if January 6th didn't convince people to move away from Trump, what possibly could. On the other hand, you saw a little bit of, you know, some speaking out against tariffs from folks who are otherwise quite loyal to Trump. And so to me, that gives a small sense that perhaps there are some things where he would lose support.

Although I think anyone who talks about his base, he has this unshakable base who will never leave him. And so, so I think it's a right question. But, you know, we haven't hit yet, so it's hard to imagine what it would take to. One of the things I do hear is the courts, especially the Supreme Court.

But obviously there are a number of layers of challenge at the federal level. We've seen about 200 lawsuits when it comes to the system of checks and balances. Do you think the courts have been able to stand up thus far? And do you think that might be the kind of thing that would get people's attention who are otherwise on board with the president's agenda?

Well, this is really the question, I think, and, you know, explains part of why Trump and those around him have been so aggressive in their attacks on the judiciary is one of these final checks and balances that still seems to be holding, although unclear in other cases whether they will flout Supreme Court rulings, for instance, related to immigration. I will point that three of our journalists here at the Atlantic interview Trump just last week, and he did say that he will follow what the courts do. What he says versus how he acts, of course, is the question. So, I mean, watching the court is exactly what we're doing up to, and the Constitution, of course, and respect for it and where he might bump up against it.

And one of those things that he has toyed with, seemingly in a playful way, but others are looking at it and saying maybe it's more than that. It's about a third term running again in 2028. The constitution is clear. It's two terms, only two terms.

He's got a second, non consecutive. What do you take of that? Is that political kind of theater, or do you see that as one of those markers about a challenge to the constitutional power in this country? I mean, I think you have to take it both ways.

To me, the big messages, and this is something I've heard, of course, in my reporting from those who lived under authoritarians, is when they tell you something, believe it's true. This is consistent across various forms of authoritarian government that they tend to signal very clearly within 10 in our in the latest interview with Donald Trump just last week, he mused over the fact that it would be a tremendous shattered norm if he were to try for a third term. He didn't talk about whether it's unconstitutional, as he point out, it clearly is. But we came away from that interview not being certain that he wouldn't try.

So it seems to easily just say it's off the table. And he doesn't, which is one of the interesting things. Your piece also is a call to action for people who are intrigued, maybe a little anxious about what you have found in your piece and the people that are in other countries who have lived this themselves. What do you think is a takeaway for someone hearing our conversation about how they can approach this and what they can do in their everyday life?

It's easy to shrink back from it and say, oh, I'm uncomfortable. What are you suggesting people can say? You know, I heard again and again from those who I interviewed, the message was find the people who believe in democracy. Find ways to make your voices heard, whether that's peaceful protests, whether that's writing to your representatives, making your dissatisfaction known with unconstitutional acts or overreaching to government, and really knowing that, you know, as trite as it may sound, every voice matters.

And this is our country, the people's country, and every person has the right to speak up and defend democracy and should not waste time doing that. So that's the method. I remember when I interviewed and there were really colorful details about how in everyday experiences with characters in your story, the people you talk to, how it could go from just being worrisome to being really problematic. So we hope people will take time to read it.

Adrian LaFrance, thank you for your time and thank you for the piece that you did. Thanks for having me. And up next, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney celebrates his election victory and denounces President Trump's desires to make Canada the 51st state. And as we go to break, President Trump had a little fun with reporters earlier today, weighing in on another closely watched election.

Before leaving the White House, here's what he had to say as pope. I'd like to be pope. That would be my number one choice. We're glad you're back with us.

And you're looking live at pictures now in Michigan, where President Trump is about to speak to members of the state's National Guard. He landed just a few moments ago, and as you can see, the first person to greet him as he got off of Air Force One was Michigan's governor, Democrat Gretchen Whitman. And this is the first time we've Seen her with the president since what I think you could call an uncomfortable Oval Office interaction about two weeks ago. But first, as we like to say around here, if it's Tuesday, voters are voting somewhere.

But this Tuesday is just a little bit different and maybe a tad more polite. We're talking about, of course, the elections in Canada, where the results were certainly something notable because the country's Liberal Party pulled off what was an unexpected victory. It had been the poll. It was sort of heading that way.

But there was a point where this was completely not predicted. And this means that Prime Minister Mark Carney's winning reelection was fueled by a lot of things. And included in that is a backlash against President Trump's tariffs and his almost constant threats of annexation. In his victory speech, Carney directly called out President Trump and he delivered a defiant message on behalf of fellow Canadians.

America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. Never. But these are not. These are not idle threats.

President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never. That will never, ever happen. And it's worth stressing that Carney's Liberal Party was on track to lose this race in a big way if it had not been for the president's aggressive posture toward Canada.

So take a look at the trend in polling averages from the Canadian Broadcasting Company. The Conservative Party, which channeled some of President Trump's policies and rhetoric, was up double digits just a few months ago. But once the Mr. Trump and he began talking about Canada, he began attacking the former Prime Minister Trudeau, calling him the governor.

The Liberal Party shot up like a rocket. You can see the change. NBC News correspondent Camille Bernard is on the ground in Canada with this story. Glad you're there.

And give us a sense of what you are hearing from the Canadians you're interacting with that after President Trump went after Canada on tariffs, called for them to become the 51st stake. This certainly helped the Liberal Party galvanize. What is your takeaway from being on the ground? It certainly did, Kelly.

I think a lot of Canadian stages very prideful about being Canadians, about standing up against President Donald Trump. There are some analysts that say if it weren't for Donald Trump, Mark Hardy may not be the prime minister, but instead there are a few factors that played into this race. One doesn't stepping down to, of course, President Donald Trump being elected and this trade war. Because what Mark Carney did was focus his entire campaign around the United States, around Donald Trump, around his experience, around telling voters that he would leave the country when it came to these fights with President Donald Trump.

I want to listen to more of that speech that he did. This point. Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over. These are tragedies, but it's also our new reality.

We are over. We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves. And it's clearly a strategy that worked for Carney.

He also said that if the United States doesn't want to leave, then Canada will. He said he's going to reach out to world leaders in Europe and Asia to lead the way essentially when it comes to this trade work. Kelly very start to hear what he had to say. Camila, thank you so much.

Glad you're there for us. And returning now to Capitol Hill where Republicans are making an all hands on deck effort to push forward their so called, as the president likes to say, big beautiful bill that contains all of Mr. Trump's taxes, spending priorities. But that's much easier said than done.

While details for the more than trillion dollar package are few and far between, some Republicans seem to think they can get it passed quickly. Treasury Secretary Besson is starting July 4 as a deadline, while House Speaker Mike Johnson believes it can be passed through the House by Memorial Day. And here now is the speaker's assessment. It's a part of the country we need to get this go down for all reasons we discussed.

So we're still on our schedule. I think we can meet it. He said July 4th because that's a big birthday for us and everyone knows that. But I think, and I hope timelines are always up on Capitol Hill.

And of course, it takes both chambers to send a bill to the president's desk. And North Carolina Senator Tom Tilla says it's premature to expect legislative fireworks on the 4th of July. Reconciliation is July 4th. Is that something that's real?

I can't imagine we get done by that. Sounds like a great aspirational target. But based on I've been gone for two weeks, but based on my understanding of the progress I think that'd be, that's a steep hill. And we've been tracking the president as he made his way to this National Guard station here in Selfridge, Michigan, where he's delivering some remarks.

So of course, it's his 100 day in office. Let's get a sense of what he has to say. But I want to thank all of the people that I just mentioned. But in particular, the you know, when I look at the House Members, they have been calling me all the time, so we got to get it done.

And they work along with Gretchen and some others. And you'll be very happy with what I have to say right now. Now, I also want to thank Michigan's tremendous Republican delegation, the whole delegation, the whole state, because they're back in Washington and they're helping our congressmen and they're helping us get the votes that we need, because I think if we get it, we have the biggest tax cut in history. And if we don't get it, you have the biggest tax increase.

And for that, I will blame the Democrats, because we probably won't get any votes from Democrats only, not for any reason other than with that. We're Republicans, and the Democrats tend not to vote anytime we vote. It's. The whole thing is so crazy, but it'll be the biggest tax increase in history if we don't get it.

And that's why the Republicans can do it. But they have to stick together. I think they are, from what I understand, really sticking together. I want to thank also speaker of the House Mike Johnson and John Thune, leaders.

John Thune. They have been working together and with the senators and the Congress men and women, and I think they've got something that's really. It's big league, and it's very important. Biggest.

The biggest bill ever, if we get it done, and I think we will. For decades, Selfridge Air National Guard Base has stood as a crucial pillar of North American air defense just 20 miles north of Detroit, where you can have a lot of car factories opening very soon, by the way, I might add. With access to the largest military airspace complex east of the Mississippi, Selfridge is tightly integrated with the National All Domain War Fighting Center. This airfield source, first military takeoff, all the way back in 1917.

Can you believe that? Wow. Wouldn't that have been a shame to close this great history for something else? That wouldn't be as good.

The Tuskegee Airmen trained here during World War II, and generations of Michigan patriots have served here with great distinction. Unfortunately, that proud legacy was put at risk by the retirement of the key aircraft based here, in particular the A10 Thunderbolt 2 Warthog, which I hear is an incredible plane. I hear is an incredible plane. It's too bad.

It's a long time it's been up there. I said, why don't we save it? I actually said that last time. We did save it.

I say that in my last term. And we did save it, but now it's coming. It's coming to an end. But I hear the Warthog is incredible.

We have support aircraft and also the KC135 Strat attackers. In recent years, many in Michigan have feared for the future of the base. They've been calling everybody, but the only one that mattered was Trump. They called Trump and we got it done.

Which represents $850 million in economic impact across the state of Michigan. And probably it could be much more than that as we expand it out and create thousands and thousands of good and important jobs, both in the military and civilian jobs. So, Gretchen, that's a big. That's a big economic.

You're not gonna have too many economic development jobs like that. It's great. But today I've come in person to later rest any doubts about Selfridge's future and the vital role it'll play in our national defense. As Commander in Chief, I'm proud to announce that very soon we will replace the retiring A10 Warthogs with 21 brand new F15EX Eagle 2 fighter jets.

The best in the world. Brand new. And they have an expression. You know what that means?

Fresh off the line. That means they are brand new. They've never been anywhere. This is where they're going to be for a long time.

And I saw one of them flew over my head and I said, what the hell is that? That plane has serious power. So this is the best there is anywhere in the world. The F15EX Eagle 2.

This will keep Selfridge at the cutting edge of Northern American air power. My administration will also continue with plans to replace the outgoing KC135s and KC46 Pegasus aircraft to continue that important refueling mission. And they'll be restocked with brand new, top of the line refuelers. For generations, the men and women of Selfridge have always been here and they've always been for us.

Whether you're a Republican or you're Democrat, they've always been for us. They've been for America. And under the Trump administration, we're going to be there for you. The previous administration was willing to surrender Air National Guard fighter units across the country by retiring aircraft that were.

We're not being replaced, we are replacing. But under the Trump administration, we're correcting that injustice. And that starts right here in Michigan, where we have a big commitment to Michigan and to the state even beyond this. This is an exciting time for the United States military.

Since November, enlistment numbers for every branch of the armed forces have surged. Recruitment is now the highest. It's been in 39 years now, if you remember that, you better hold on to those jobs so somebody will take them. Somebody will take those jobs so fast.

Hold on to those jobs. Don't leave that job. And to back with me now in Michigan as NBC Swan Hilliard. So we now have the proof of why he went to this event.

I was able to in effect give a win to the Democratic governor as well, Democrat Gretchen Wimmer who had been advocating for this base to remain active and open. And the President outlined how they're going to use a new aircraft there even though one of the sort of specialties for this group will be put aside the A10. So it's giving a future to this important base in a state where obviously the President won in November and he was able to deliver something today. So what is your takeaway about how that's being received in the room there?

Gone. Right. And this base is just outside of the suburbs of Detroit here. We're about 20 minutes north of Detroit here in Warren, Michigan.

And the President and this air base are about another 18 miles northeast of where we are. Can I give you a lay of the land here? And I believe, I want to say with under accuracy, but believe Kelly, that was appeared that white shot appeared to be the governor there standing beside him. And of course this was the calculus and the justification, if you will, from a political end that the governor's team was providing for her going to the Oval Office.

Part of the reason to meet with the President in the first place a couple weeks ago where she was brought into the Oval Office in the middle of the President talking about numerous issues and including on calling on the Department of Justice to investigate Joe perceived political enemy. She didn't want to be in that room at that point in time. But upon leaving the White House she defended her decision to go there despite being effectively a political prop for the President in real time. And she made a decision again to show up there and you're in a paid off today.

It appears that she gave her shout out, Gretchen, and this is a moment here. Of course she could be a 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, but politics aside here, this by all accounts appears to be a win for the US Military personnel that are in that room and stationed at that base and of course Michigan as a whole there. One that cuts across political spectrums but one that's being heralded by both political leaders. Of course, the President the leader of the Republican Party and the governor the leader of the Democratic Party here in state of Michigan.

You don't see that threaded too often. But they can both call this a victory. And certainly for the men and women in uniform there, it matters. And so it's one of those ways where sometimes being a governor in a state that is of a different party than, you know, the president's strong success there electorally, they were able to make it happen today.

So obviously that's a good thing to do on a 100 day. You go and you look for something to tout. And they both get to do that one. Thank you for being on the ground there for us and having that perspective.

We'll, we'll, I think you might be in for a long night. So we'll look forward to. Yes, I think so. Absolutely.

We'll look forward to the rally, a separate event from the one that we've just been talking about. And we'll keep our, our ear on the president if he brings brings up any other news that we want to share with you. So don't worry about that. We'll be listening in off camera.

And we also want to talk about what's happening on Capitol Hill because so much of what the president is concerned about comes to the Hill next. And so joining me now from Capitol Hill is our colleague Sahil Kapoor. And he has been checking in with leadership there about what can happen in terms of getting the Trump agenda here it is day 100. There hasn't been much in the way of legislation.

Can they get it now in a timeline that goes into the second 100 days? So we've heard Memorial Day, we've heard July 4th. So it's a holiday package. Sahil, what do you think is a predictable, reasonable timeline at this point?

What are they telling you? Well, first off, Kelly, these are artificial deadlines. At the end of the day, nothing would really happen if they blow right past them. Recall, Speaker Mike Johnson had initially said he wanted to go through the House about Easter, and he pushed right past that.

At the end of the day, many Republicans are skeptical. These particular deadlines, Memorial Day and July 4th, there are only two actual forcing mechanisms to push this forward where, you know, they're meaningful deadlines. The first is the debt limit is so called X state, where Congress has to act or risk a catastrophic debt default. The treasury secretary said that would come out either late this week or next, depending on the calculations on tax revenues.

And the second, at the end of this year, the expiration of the tcj. Everything else nice. And when you get a sense of what is happening on the issue of Medicaid that has been talked about A lot, of course, waste. Robert Reeves, is one category of cuts that Republicans say they're looking for.

But for some who may be lower on the scale of mega alignment. Are you hearing concerns about what the real world impact could be if there are reductions in Medicaid? Yeah, very significant concerns, Kelly. This might be the most challenging piece of this entire package for Republicans because they set out to require most of their savings, at least a huge chunk of their savings to come from Medicaid.

And they're looking at unraveling ACA's Medicaid expansion to a significant degree. As you'll recall, from covering that law at the time, it expanded Medicaid to 138 of the poverty level. With the caps, the Federal government pays 90% of the cost. That was enough of an enticement to get 40 states over 40 states eventually to expand it to a population of over 20 million.

Now they're talking about reducing that 90% match, which means states find a way to pick up the cost or throw a lot of people off Medicaid. Speaker Johnson, on her part, says there's no problem here. Medicaid is going to be just fine. Tickles.

And what I said, we're not gutting Medicaid. We're going to reduce fraud, waste and abuse, which every single American should be applauding. We're going to make sure it works better. We're going to preserve the program, not cut it.

It's exactly the opposite of what the Democrats are saying. So the states will adjust all these things and we will make sure that the people who need these benefits and rely upon them are protected. Now, to be clear, Kelly, Republicans will absolutely, positively have to cut Medicaid by their own standards, their own budget. That's not conjecture.

For my part, that is the simple addition of subtraction of the budget that they all voted for, nearly every one of them. House energy and car companies required to find $880 billion in cuts. The Congressional Budget Office has found that if you exclude Medicare and Medicaid, there's nowhere near that much money in the entire committee's jurisdiction. So they have to cut Medicaid in order to meet their own targets unless they jump their own budget.

And that's where you're hearing consternation from House Republicans in swing districts, the vulnerable members who don't want hospital payments. And as you know, when you shift to the states, many of them have balanced budget requirements and where are they gonna get money? So that's a whole other chapter that we'll be tracking thank you, Sahil. I know you're on the case.

And we will have much more on what's next to the president's agenda and his political standing straight ahead. The panel is next. You're watching MEET THE PRESS now. Welcome back on this milestone, 100 days into the second term for President Trump, he is getting mixed reviews from the American people.

45% of Americans give the president a failing grade according to a new NPR poll, 40% give him high marks for his job so far in a R B. Now that divide grows even more start by party. That's not a surprise to you. With 80% of Democrats assigning the president an F and 83% of Republicans scoring the president an A or a B, we live in a world of two different visions.

Joining me now on set is Tia Mitchell, Washington bureau chief for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Democratic strategist Joel Payne and of course, Mark Short, former director of legislative affairs in the first Trump way has You've lived through 100 days before. He's also NBC News contributor. Tia, let me start with you. So we're looking at the poll.

The NPR poll does give us this huge divide and it certainly shows that Democrats are unhappy and Republicans are still finding a lot they like. What is your big takeaway? Well, my takeaway is that, of course, the polling shows how polarized we are as a nation. But I think I also have been looking at how members of Congress have been aligned.

The Republicans in Congress. The polling almost doesn't seem to matter to a lot of Republicans in Congress. There isn't a lot of daylight between them and what Trump's policies are. And I find that startling because, you know, they're the ones that are most of them are going to be on ballot in 2026.

And these polls don't really bode well for their own chances. They'll have to answer for that. But so far they're still sticking with Trump despite the bad polls. And when you consider some of the specifics here, you know, 40% given an A or B, I mean, this is just striking independence.

However, the worst marks. What stood out for you when you think of where the independent voter is today? Yeah, I think that's also interesting because we think about these independent voters being able to swing states like Georgia, where I report and other swing states. And again, all these toss up seats.

We know the Senate map is still difficult, but Democrats just need to flip, you know, one hand worth of seats to get control in the House. And the independents in these swing districts are going to matter and I think it does matter that even on topics where Trump came in very strong, mainly the economy, how he was going to immig and he's losing even among his where his perceived strengths are now also becoming weaknesses. That'll definitely be something to watch and certainly for those around the ballot. And Mark, you lived through 100 days the first time around.

What do you think is the most sort of stark difference? My sense is its pace. I don't know if you feel that way. This felt like the fastest 100 days that I can certainly remember.

I'm exhausted by it. I think that the president's energy is a bigger contrast to the previous Biden administration. I think the biggest issue in the Trump first administration is that when he came in 2017, he was still working to unite the Republican Party. He had a lot of opposition, frankly, on the Hill, inside the party from, you know, McCain, Murkowski, Collins, Flake, Corker.

They're all part of trying to get the agenda passed. And we're looking to fight on the health care front of the tax tax front. This time. There's very little actually legislative that's happening.

You talk about the tax bill. There hasn't much White House engagement there. There's been a lot of executive orders coming out administration as opposed to actual legislation. And I think the president also has a much firmer grasp on the party because I think a lot of members are fearful of primary challenges.

And I think he's using that as his advantage to keep his party in line. It's been a daily diet of executive orders, which is something we really haven't seen before. When you consider how that it almost feels like so long ago that there was that discord in the party compared to what it is now. Do you have a sense of what the next 100 days is at this legislative portion, will we see more division based on all the things we've been talking about, how hard it is to get that across the finish line?

I think that the president has done a really good job keeping the House in line, where I thought there'd be a lot more differences in House and the margin's so small. But Mike Johnson's done a really great job of keeping them through some of the government shutdown battles. I think those surprises many. I think, you know, covering Congress and White House, long as you have the audience, just because the House passes something, the Senate is not going to take the same thing.

So I think you have a lot more challenges coming down line. This legislation, I think it's going to play over A much longer period of time over course, the summer, perhaps in the fall. And Joel, the team here put together a chart for us that in the first 100 days, President Trump has only signed five bills into law. Compare that to 30 laws enacted through this point in his first term.

That's certainly a stark difference. And this is unprecedented levels of executive powers we've talked about. Some of them are memoranda, some of them have a real force of change and others are sort of looking into things. How do you think, how do you assess the impact for the public about the difference between real bills that are lawful and signed and the real deal versus the kind of messaging that comes from these executive orders?

Yeah, that's a good question. Look, I think that when you look at what Trump has talked about doing here, he actually hasn't really met what the American people sent him to watch. I think this is a question of how you shape the mandate or how you view the mandate. I think Donald Trump thinks he was sent to Washington to do the full maga.

He believes he has a larger majority of the population behind him than he actually does. So we do things like two media companies. When you rename bodies of water, when you go after political enemies and when you destroy the greatest economy in the world, it's unpopular. So, you know, news flash, trying to save it.

But he's been in a hurry. I think the polls will argue that that's not landing well. And look, you do a popular things, you have on popular presidency. And I think we're seeing the results of that.

And people are worried about their retirement. They're worried about the uncertainty. Today the treasury secretary talked about strategic uncertainty. So that's a new term of art.

I suspect we'll hear a lot more of. We've also been watching what's happening with the class of 2028. Potential Illinois Governor Pritzker, he has been vocal. He has been using some pretty strong language and talking about some of these issues.

He was in New Hampshire over the weekend. That got attention. It's a little outside your Chicago and we heard him on cable last night. Let's listen to this and I'd like to get your reaction to it.

It's important to us to stand up in this crisis and to speak out and again push back. And so, you know, hyper important for we as Democrats to recognize this is the moment where we need to convey to people what we really stand for. Didn't do a great job of it, frankly, in the last election. And that's why we didn't win as Democrats do you get a sense that the governor is filling a void where others just aren't.

I think he's trying. I think he's one of many Democrats who are trying. We've seen Senator Cory Booker, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries also try to fill in some voids and other members in elected officials. Governor Newsom in California as well.

And I think it shows all of them have different approaches, approaches. And just like Governor Pritzker saying, you know, we have to go all in on our values, not back down, be willing to fight and challenge the Trump administration, there are plenty of Democrats who say that's not the lesson that they learned from 2024. And they're coming at it from a different approach, which is think about the people in the middle. Think about people who believe that Democrats are too far left, too quote, unquote, woke.

And that's where you see more the newsoms. And then, of course, with Cory Booker, it's more of kind of a populist, let's meet the people where they are, talk to them, show them that we're listening, show them that we're trying. I think, I think it's not a bad thing that they're all trying different things to see what sticks and to see where what leaders emerge in the coming months. And Joel, Governor Pritzker talked apart in part about fight, fight, fight and no peace for Republicans.

Stephen Miller jumped on that and said the president's deputy chief of staff said that sounded like it was a call to violence. Obviously, Prisker says no, this was rhetorical. It's about engagement. It is a he is throwing punches verbally.

Do you think that this is hitting the note that Democrats want, or is it just a testing of the waters of what makes sense to Democrats? Well, obviously, it's a bad faith attack by Stephen Miller. He knows that. But that's even Miller does.

He does bad faith attacks. I think the Democratic base wants to see their lawmakers see the leadership of the Grasshopper party fight. They want Chuck Schumer to fight in the budget showdown a few weeks ago. They want to see the 2028 cold fools fight.

They want to see the King Jeffries fight. And so that is sounding a note that will really, I think, bring out more energy among the grassroots. You have to keep those folks engaged. So they give money, they knock doors and they show up in the midterms.

So you think we'll get more of that? I think you're going to get more of that. And look, you will also have Democrats who do things like Governor Whitward did today, where she stood with Donald Trump. Actually, to Thea's point, I think it's okay that Democrats all Trump their own path forward.

Well, that is a note to end for this one 100 day Democrats have a path to chart and the president is trying to sort of take a lap after all of this. Tia, Joel, Mark, thank you for being here. Appreciate your time today. And we'll have more of MEET THE Press now tomorrow.

But the news continues right here with Tonka Cello Intrahali tonight. It's here. The Ford. It's a big not yet.

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