Meet the Press NOW — January 16

Welcome to the press now on Kristin Welker in Washington, where U.S. and European officials are facing a once unthinkable possibility, a potential military conflict between the U.S. and the NATO ally. On Wednesday, Danish officials said they were unable to dissuade the Trump administration from seeking to conquer Greenland, a territory of Denmark.

And today, President Trump redoubled his demand that the U.S. take control of the territory for national security purposes. Now, that kind of rhetoric has been sending shockwaves throughout Greenland, Denmark, and America's NATO allies, even leading to a military buildup in the Danish territory, and several European countries deploy forces to the region. Meanwhile, a group of U.S.

lawmakers are in Copenhagen today to meet with members of the Danish parliament, trying to offer assurances that the U.S. broadly speaking does not support a takeover of Greenland. My colleague Ryan Nobles spoke to some of those lawmakers about their message. Take a look.

Part of the issue we've also heard is that this was a conversation a year ago after Venezuela. It's risen to a level of alarm. The Danish leaders we've met with are saying, help us understand what's the real goal here? Because if there's any policy goal other than acquisition, we can work with you to solve it.

I would hope that the Greenlanders do not feel that fear that you're going to have an armada, all of a sudden surrounding Greenland, that you're going to have the air contingent coming in and taking on Greenland. Greenland poses absolutely no threat to the United States. Going after NATO and undermining it from within by attacking a NATO ally undermines any country's confidence in our being a trustworthy ally. The message that this is being sent around the world, that our friends are perhaps not sure if they can count on the United States of America to be there as their friend and their ally.

That is deeply, deeply unsettling at a time when we are operating in an unsettled world. We all are very proud of America first, but we cannot be America alone. And this comes as the Trump administration is once again demonstrating its military might on the world stage with the Pentagon preparing to send additional U.S. forces and assets to the Middle East after the president warned Iran that he would take strong action if the regime continued its lethal crackdown on nationwide protests.

Today, however, the president signaled that action is not imminent after claiming he received assurances from Iran that it had stopped the killings, but the death toll in Iran from the protest continues to climb, according to the U.S.-based human rights activist news agency, which now reports that more than 3,000 people have been killed, nearly all of them protesters. Joining me now is NBC News Chief Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles in Copenhagen, Denmark. Also with me is NBC News Senior National Security Corresponding QB and NBC News Senior White House correspondent Garrett. Hey, thanks to all of you for being here.

Ryan, let me start with you and Copenhagen. What are you hearing from people there about the rhetoric from President Trump? And just saw your interview there with Murkowski and Coons, but what are the people who live there saying? I don't think it's possible to overstate just how concerned the people of Denmark are about this increasing rhetoric from President Trump.

In particular, they're also very concerned for the people of Greenland. The fact that President Trump is unwilling to take military action off the table as it results as it relates to Greenland is something that they are taking as a serious threat. They do believe that it's possible, especially after they've seen the way the administration has intervened in Venezuela, the actions that they've taken in Iran. Obviously, Greenland is a different situation and a different calculus, but I talked to one Minister of Parliament who serves as the Chair of the Defense Committee for their Parliament, and he said that they are taking seriously this threat because they have no other choice.

Take a listen. This is a real threat to us. We're not taking this lightly. We're actually talking about a war between Denmark and the United States that's being discussed at the moment, which is insane.

That's our main concern, but there are consequences of that, not just before us. It would be for everybody. We're certainly not going to be in an alliance with someone that attacks us and try to annex part of the like. That's not the actions of allies.

That's the action of an enemy. We don't want to be enemies of the United States. And part of the reason that they are so frustrated by this rhetoric is because different from Venezuela, different from Iran, Denmark has always been a friend to the United States, especially when you go back to World War II. There have been countless examples of the Danish people coming to the defense of Americans.

After 9-11, they sent troops to Afghanistan. They've been involved in other American conflicts. In fact, tomorrow, this congressional delegation will lay a wreath at the memorial in honor of those Danes who lost their lives supporting American troops in conflicts around the world. So the idea that there would even be any sort of a conversation about a military conflict is something they're having a hard time wrestling with, Kristen.

And Ryan, I wonder if you've got a sense of how much US lawmakers being there, their attempts to reassure the Danes are actually working, particularly given what we saw this week on Capitol Hill. The fact that a bipartisan war powers resolution, which would have required the president to seek congressional authority to take war action in Venezuela, for example, failed. What if anything can they do to actually reassure the folks there? Well, that was the question that the Danish people have been asking over and over and over again.

There's no doubt they truly appreciate the fact that this bipartisan delegation was willing to travel all the way to Copenhagen to voice their support to make it clear that they don't agree with President Trump's actions here. But the question they have, which is what everyone seems to have, is what can you do to stop him if he decides to take this step. And the member's Congress essentially said it's a combination of using their powers under the Constitution to try and prevent any further escalation by President Trump, but it's also an education game. They're trying to explain to President Trump that everything he wants, Denmark is willing to give.

Greenland is willing to give. He just has to listen. The problem here is that there isn't a real track record of Congress standing up in an effective way to President Trump. And that's part of the reason people here are so worried about this situation.

We're absolutely right. And one of the ideas that has been floated both on Capitol Hill, but certainly on the world stage as well, why not just ramp up the military assets at the military base that already exists there? Ryan, is that not a potential off-ramp? Why is it all or nothing when it comes to what President Trump is saying?

So Russ with Yarlaf was the minister parliament that we heard from just a few minutes ago when I was talking to him yesterday. He made the point that most of the military bases that the U.S. once operated in Greenland still exist. He said the buildings are still there.

The runways are still there. They never got rid of them. They're not even preventing the American government from going back in and reestablishing that national security presence. There is a treaty that still exists that gives the United States the ability to do so.

So when President Trump talks about the national security aspect of all of this, Denmark, Greenland, the rest of Europe, they're all ears. They're willing to participate in that. And they also really downplay this threat from China and Russia that President Trump keeps pointing back to as a reason for taking Greenland. They say it just doesn't exist in the form and fashion that he describes it.

But if it does, they welcome him and the American military with open arms. They just need to come up with a plan. And that plan does not require the United States taking ownership of Greenland. All right.

Ryan Nobles, just tremendous reporting and interviews there. Thank you so much for joining us from Get Copenhagen. We really appreciate it. Courtney, let me turn to you now.

Ryan sets us up perfectly because that is President Trump's argument. He says Russia or China will come in. We'll try to take over Greenland. And so we should be doing it first.

It is essential to the United States national security. Can you give us the reality check here? Is it true that Russia and China immediately want to try to take over Greenland? If so, it's not obvious.

So here's where there is more Russia and China in that area. If you look at a map, Russia, Greenland, U.S., Greenland is essentially in between the United States and Russia. Global warming is causing some of those waters, those polar waters that are in between to start to melt or become more accessible to Russian ships. They are taking advantage of that.

And remember what Russia has done for the last several years. They have allowed more Chinese ships in the Russian areas and Russian waters. So from that respect, yes, it is very possible that we could see more Russian and Chinese ships in that region. Military ships, not necessarily, but we know that the way that those governments work, that there are civilians that can become militarized or whatever it is.

But as far as the idea of them trying to take over Greenland, we do not see that. We know that the Greenland has offered the United States, as Ryan was just saying, to send more U.S. troops there, if they need to, there's the one space base there, Beedokik. And the U.S.

still has the ability to send more U.S. has not taken advantage of that. But it is accurate to say that while there is a potential for more ships, no one has said that there have been any additional patrols by military ships that would look in any way like they're threatening Greenland sovereignty. That seems like a key piece of it for sure.

Let's turn to the Middle East. And Iran, President Trump, had said help is on the way. He now seems to be backing away from the threat of military action, saying that Iran has canceled some 800 planned executions, Courtney. You have been all over this story, we know that there's some assets that are heading to the region.

Where do things stand right now? What's your latest report? Yeah, so I would say the president has taken a pause on action. I don't think that we should think for any reason that he has taken it off the table at all.

The U.S. military is doing what they do, right? It's the tensions are high, the president's been talking about military or other action. So they're moving assets into the area to be ready for that, whether he decides to strike or not.

So we're seeing things like a carrier strike group that's moving in. We talk about aircraft carriers, but it's really the capability that comes with the carrier that matters. There's the aircraft. There's huge amounts of firepower on the destroyers.

There's the search and rescue. All in aircraft, there's everything that comes with those thousands of sailors and Marines on those ships. But we'll also see additional land-based air defenses that's defending case Iran were to lash out or retaliate. Well, making it very clear he's not taking military action off the table, Courtney.

Thank you so much for starting us off once again. I appreciate it. Always great to see you. Garrett, hey, let me turn to you at the White House.

You were among the reporters pressing the president on this range of topics that were covering. Let's start with Iran. Garrett, what did you make of what we heard from President Trump today on Iran? I thought it was an example of one of the president's kind of political superpowers, which is his ability to declare victory at any time, regardless of what his past statements have been.

In Iran, he's run a series of red lines over the last couple of weeks about when the United States would get involved telling the Iranian regime, if you shoot, will shoot, telling Iranian protesters that help us on the way, and the Iranian regime has been shooting, and the US as far as we can tell has made no kinetic action against Iran, and it's not clear what if any help the US has provided to forestall these executions, if indeed that's the case. So the president seems to have taken a look at his military options and decided that in lieu of acting, here the best case is to claim victory and wait for better options, and that's analysis. But it's based on the combination of Courtney's reporting about how limited the military options are. And I think the president's desire not to get bogged down in Iran if there's not much he can do to positively affect the situation.

Well, talk about getting bogged down. There certainly has been so much pushback to the president pushing the idea that he wants the United States to take over Greenland. We have seen pushback from allies abroad, and obviously that delegation of lawmakers there right now, you have been reporting on this, Garrett, for quite some time. Where do you think the president stands?

I tried to get a timeline out of him in terms of Greenland, wouldn't give it to me. But do you get a sense? How urgent is this in his mind? I don't think it's urgent.

I don't think it's a this week or this month's problem, but it has come up again now for a second time in this administration after sort of popping up very early on to the surprise of many people who covered the campaign, including myself, as an issue of importance to this president. But I am told that this is something he's deadly serious about, and then he's not going to be talked out of it. But there's no indication, military or politically, that there's some kind of seizure planned for Greenland in the near future. I think what we're seeing right now is the president kind of laying the groundwork here to make this a more mainstream key hoax position within the Republican Party.

It's not clear at all that he's been successful based on all of our reporting here from Ryan and Courtney and everything we've seen on Capitol Hill over the last week or two. Boy, it seems incredibly uphill to make it a mainstream position among Republicans. Great job today. Pressing the president.

Really appreciate it. Thanks for joining us at the top of the show. We do want to turn on Venezuela and the ongoing questions about that country's government after the U.S. captured President Maduro two weeks ago yesterday.

President Trump met with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Carina Machado at the White House, where she presented the president her Nobel Peace Prize that she won last year for fighting Venezuela's dictatorship. Today, President Trump praising the opposition leader. I'll tell you, I had a great meeting yesterday by a person who I have a lot of respect for and she has respect, obviously, for me and our country and she gave me her Nobel Prize. But I'll tell you what.

I got to know. I never met her before. And I was very, very impressed. She's a really, this is a fine woman.

Now, Machado spoke to reporters today, similarly praising President Trump. Listen. And I think that was the most important message I can bring back to my country, the Venezuelan people that the American people and the president of the United States truly cares for the life, the well-being and the future. The only thing I want to assure the Venezuelan people is that Venezuela is going to be free and that's going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and the president.

Donald Trump of the United States. But despite those kind words, the Trump administration continues to back Maduro's vice president and now interim leader, Delsey Rodriguez. Yesterday, CIA director Ratcliffe met with Rodriguez in Caracas for two hours, according to a US official, to lay the groundwork for a cooperative relationship between the United States and Venezuela. And joining me now is Anna Vanessa Herrera from Caracas, Venezuela.

Thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. What has the reaction been in Venezuela to Maria Carina Machado's meetings here in Washington so far? Well, it's divided.

But first of all, of course, a lot of expectation, people who follow Maria Carina Machado have been waiting for this moment for the longest time, they have been waiting for her to meet with Donald Trump and talk about eventual issues. For example, we are yet to hear if she discussed possible or next elections and if she is going to participate in those elections, although we do know that she said that she is going to be a president and won the time is right. But people here are just very excited by the fact that they met and others who are not voters over the Corina and even not voters over the Rodriguez, you know, question this meeting. And the question is, for example, she addressed the issue of Donald Trump constantly saying that he's in charge of the country.

And what does that mean for the sovereignty of Venezuela? So there are a lot of questions that are yet to be answered. But mostly what I've been hearing, you know, talking to people, they're very, very excited and that they can wait for her to return to Venezuela, including, you know, start implementing whatever she spoke with Donald Trump. And of course, that moment where she presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize has gotten so much attention and so much certainly she has a shrewd politician in her own right.

What do you think and what is the perspective about what she may have accomplished by doing that, if anything? Well, we do know that the Nobel was a huge issue for Donald Trump and she immediately when she received the news and learned the impression and the reaction of Donald Trump, she said at the beginning from the start, this is going to be offered to Donald Trump because of his support to the Venezuelan cause. So this is not something new. She has been very coherent with her narrative and her speech.

And now she did it. She actually met him and gave him the Nobel Prize, the Nobel also sharing that in other occasions the Nobel has been either sold or auctioned. So, you know, but here in Venezuela, people are not really talking about the noble of her say. They're talking about the fact that she actually made it not only out of the country, but back to the White House and met with Donald Trump, something that a year ago, let's just say three months ago was almost impossible in anyone's mind.

So people are just praising the fact that she was there. She taught and that she, you know, waiting for her to return. Well, it's such important context in the stunning turn of events and how quickly it all happened. And Vanessa Herrera in Caracas for us.

Thank you so much. We really appreciate it. Coming off another night of clashes between protesters and law enforcement in Minneapolis as new details emerge on the ice involved killing of Renee Nicole Goode. We're live in Minneapolis plus it's the economy.

President Trump prepares to travel to Davos Switzerland for a global summit of business and political elites as he tackles rising health care costs and affordability issues right here at home. Stay with us. You're watching me at the press now on a very busy Friday. Beatboxing actually has hidden health benefits.

It can help strengthen and protect your voice from injury, see healthy living differently with manuelife. Visit manuelife.ca slash health. Welcome back, President Trump now appears to be distancing himself from his threat to use military force against protesters in Minnesota. According to reporters today, he doesn't think there's any reason to invoke the insurrection act right now, but we'll use it if needed.

The comments coming hours after he posted on social media criticizing Minnesota leaders saying quote, they've totally lost control and if and when I'm forced to act it will be solved quickly and effectively congressional Democrats held a so called field hearing today in St. Paul with local Democratic officials, including the city's mayor who described federal agents presence there as an invasion. This is an invasion for the sake of creating chaos by our own federal government to interrupt the daily lives of tens of thousands of people. As the Attorney General said, this is not about safety.

This is not about immigration. This is about sowing chaos on the streets of Minneapolis. This is about political retribution. And we in Minneapolis are suffering the brunt of it right now.

He did protests are continuing in Minneapolis and St. Paul as we learn more about the shooting death of her nannical good. According to files reports and transcripts obtained by NBC News, good was still alive when first responders reached her following the shooting, but was unresponsive and not breathing. The reports indicate good had apparent gunshots to her chest, forearm and face.

Paramedics rushed her to the hospital where doctors stopped efforts to resuscitate her just under an hour after the shooting. NBC News, who joins us from Minneapolis, thank you so much for being here. So talk to us about the very latest on the ground. Obviously, we have seen the protests and tensions have the tensions eased at all since yesterday.

Well, we haven't seen any of the dramatic clashes that we saw yesterday, even the day before, after that second ice involved shooting. But you definitely see the protests. You see some of them behind me, despite the temperatures, despite the active snowfall, they are still out here determined to make sure that any of those vehicles who go inside the ice facility, they want them to know that they don't want their presence here in the city of Minneapolis. Yesterday, this is a big presence that we're seeing from the federal government, more than 3,000 or roughly 3,000 federal immigration officers on the ground in the Minneapolis area conducting arrests.

People are feeling it in their communities, seeing these arrests and that's a little bit of what you heard earlier today and that testimony that you just played. Well, let me follow up with you there because we did have this field hearing. What was the goal? What were some of the key takeaways?

Yeah. Well, I think the one, this was an unofficial hearing. So this is not an official thing. It wasn't bipartisan.

They were only Democrats in that room point that many of the Democrats made during the hearing, but they wanted to amplify the stories from Minneapolis citizens, Minneapolis residents who say that they disagree with what they've been seeing from this federal immigration enforcement. I want you to listen to one of the pieces of testimony we heard. This is from a gentleman who said that he heard there was ice activity outside his restaurant. He decided to take a break or take his lunch break about 30 minutes later, then stepped outside, saw their officer was questioning someone turned around and then he got grabbed, listened to a little bit of what he told the committee there.

I immediately started repeating over and over again. I'm a citizen. I'm a citizen. But the agent did not stop to become ID.

As such, an ice agent entered the restaurant to drag me outside and put me into a headlock on the ground. I repeated. I'm a citizen. I have an ID.

The agent kept saying that don't matter. That don't matter. Now, we did ask DHS about this interaction. They say that officer had probable cause because they were questioning someone else nearby and say that this man resisted arrest and also did not answer questions, but it's these kind of stories that are so animating for folks in the Minneapolis area, so animating for folks that you see out here again, making their presence on inside this federal facility.

All right, Jack Brewster. Thank you so much for your great reporting from Minneapolis. We really appreciate it coming up next. Senator I will steam up in an effort to protect kids online in the age of artificial intelligence with the very latest installment of our Finding Common Ground series next.

Keep it right here on Meet the Press News. Beatboxing actually has hidden hope benefits. It can help strengthen and protect your voice from injury. See healthy living differently with Manuelife, visit manuelife.ca slash health.

Yeah. Welcome back. Turning now to the latest installment in our NBC News Finding Common Ground initiative where we shine a light on lawmakers working across the aisle on issues that matter to Americans. NBC Savannah Sellers sat down with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and Republican Senator Marshall Blackburn to talk about their Kids Online Safety Act, a bill regulating social media and its impact on young people.

The bipartisan pair came together after a series of emotional hearings on Capitol Hill where parents testified about how social media drove their kids to harm themselves. Their bill passed overwhelmingly in the Senate back in 2024, but stalled in the House in part over concerns about free speech. Here's that interview. Take a look.

You introduced the Kids Online Safety Act years ago. Now you are tackling AI and children. How did this become such an urgent issue for each of you? Why?

Why did you hear from parents as we were doing oversight in the virtual space? Hearing from parents, are you looking at what is happening to kids? The stories we've heard have just, they're devastating and parents from all over the country were reaching out to us and we realized that, you know, Savannah, every industrial sector has rules and regulations, everything, whether it's logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, you name it. They all have guardrails.

The virtual space has zero. So there was a need to put that guidance in place. What really outraged me was the panorama of Hans that Big Tech knows it is causing children. Yeah.

And then the grief of parents and the voices of young people themselves who were saying, in effect, liberate us from the toxic, addictive effect of Big Tech's algorithms. Now the technology is advanced. The legislation has not. I'm sure some of those family stories have stuck with you.

And you know, through listening to these stories and whether it is meeting a predator, a petafile, a groomer, a drug dealer, a sex trafficker, hearing the stories from the siblings and the friends and the parents. It makes you realize when our children are online, they're the product. It's astounding when you think about the corporate culture. But it is heartbreaking when you think what is happening, there are laws in the physical space that say you cannot sell alcohol, tobacco, you can't expose children to pornography, you can't endanger children.

And in the virtual space, they are subjected to this 24-7-365. And there really is no longer a self-protection, there's no longer a safe space. This follows young people wherever they go. Boeing used to be confined to the playground.

Now it follows kids home in the evening, 24 hours a day, they're exposed to the toxic content. The Big Tech drives at them because it knows the more anger or sadness that they stimulate the more addictive the algorithm becomes, the more toxic content impacts them and causes the kind of harm that simply produces more dollars. Are you surprised that this has been such a challenge for the finish line? No, I'm not surprised.

Big Tech has mustered armies of lawyers and lobbyists, spending millions of dollars. They have a strong financial interest in defeating this legislation. They say, oh, well, we don't mind legislation. We're in favor of regulation.

Just not that regulation. Just not effective regulation. They want fig leaf legislation. Do you ever feel like though, how is it possible that we're in such a lockstep on this issue?

So eye to eye on it, but on not much else? We've done a good bit of legislation when it comes to the A.I. Toys, when it comes to privacy, the Open App Market Act. But it's important to build those relationships and then find areas where there is agreement.

And as I like to say, I'm always willing to have a conversation with people that want to make the lives of Tennesseans and all Americans better. This is an area where you can make the lives of millions of children better. There's no Republican or Democrat way to protect children. And we have a common interest here in surmounting the opposition of Big Tech, which has relentlessly opposed us.

But I will give a lot of credit to Senator Blackburn as well as some of my Democratic and Republican colleagues that they get it and they're willing to take a stand. Do you think that there are lessons that you've learned from working together that make bipartisan chip when it comes to other issues? See more feasible? I would say it's important to listen.

Trust. Trust is really important. It's the key to getting anything done in the Senate and maybe in life. Trust that is built on action, not just words.

And we've been through some tough times on this legislation. And I think we know that we can trust each other to aim at this objective, getting it done, getting across the vision. A real bonding experience questioning some of those tech executives, huh? Well, we may not vote like on a lot of issues, but on this one, we are absolutely on the same page.

I think what brings us together at the end of the day is the human element here. I will never forget. Never. Traffic gripping stories from parents who held photographs of their children and described what their kids were like as human beings and how they should be alive today and would be, but for those algorithms, but for big techs, putting profit over their children.

We use the phrase lower the temperature a lot when it comes to politics and when it comes to feelings between the two parties. Does it feel as hot as it seems to the Americans here every day? I'd say this. Passion is a good thing.

Violence is not. We work to establish common ground, sincerely, because we know that's what the public wants. The most common question I get is, can you guys work together to get stuff done? And I think all of us hear that question in one version or another.

So when we come here, we may not be social friends, but we have to be colleagues and work together. Yes, it is so vitally important to look at the committees on which you serve and then find individuals on those committees who have an area of interest in by attending the committees, listening to the questions. You're going to do that. At Finance Committee, I have several provisions that we are working on on a bipartisan basis.

Same thing for Judiciary Committee, Commerce Committee, Veterans Affairs. You find individuals that want to solve some of these problems they're experiencing in their states, and that is what the American people want to see. They want their government to be addressing the issues that are important to them. They want us to be a good steward of their tax dollars.

And they want us to keep in mind that they, that we, the American people, live and abide by the rule of law. And Savannah Sellers joins me now, Savannah. So while these senators have found coming around on this issue, they still haven't been able to get any legislation over the finish line, right? Well, Kristin, that's exactly right.

I mean, there is no federal legislation right now when it comes to artificial intelligence, whether it be artificial intelligence and children and these toys that these two senators are really concerned about that have AI, I mean, kids are interacting with it. But just generally, there's not legislation there. Social media really remains unregulated at the federal level. Despite the fact that the Kids Online Safety Act, what we were discussing there, was introduced back in 2022.

I mean, I was really struck by the fact that these are two senators who don't agree on anything else, right? I mean, not abortion, not guns, not healthcare, they're frankly, not finding common ground in that regard. They are in such lockstep on this, but that it cannot get over the finish line in Congress. And I actually asked Senator Blackburn about that.

I said, there are a lot of people within your own party. There are Republican senators who have brought up free speech concerns. Now, that is big text, big argument here is that regulating them in any way, regulating these platforms is a free speech concern and that has been echoed by senators. She said she believes that she has made progress there.

They sort of have their arguments as to why that is not true, why it is not a free speech concern. But it's something I asked her to know how you made this much progress as you want, as she turns to her focus to running for the governor of Tennessee. And they acknowledge there's obviously more work to be done, but the two of them have made some progress and certainly respect each other when it comes to the work that they have done and done together on this issue. Well, extraordinary conversation.

Great, great job. Savannah Sellers. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

On this Sunday, I'll need the press. I'll have another new installment of our Finding Common Ground series featuring my exclusive bipartisan interview with Senators Tim Payne and Rand Paul. You don't want to miss it. We'll be right back with the panel and we'll meet the press now next.

Welcome back. As the White House refocuses its message on affordability and the economy ahead of this year's midterm elections, the president is set to address the World Economic Forum during its annual meeting in Davos Switzerland next week. Today, the director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, previewed part of that speech while speaking about the administration's efforts to address housing and affordability. Look.

The president will put the final plan out in Davos next week. I'll be flying up there with him, is that we're going to allow people to take money out of their 401ks and use that for down payment. Joining me now is the panel, Tia Mitchell, Washington Bureau Chief for the Atlanta Journal of Constitution, Harvey Siskind, former White House Principal Deputy Communications Director during the Biden Administration, and T. W.

Rehe, former national press secretary for the NRSC, and now a Republican strategist, thanks to all of you for being here. Tia, let me start with you. So the president's set to head off to Davos next week. He was in Detroit, Michigan earlier this week, trying to put the focus on the economy, but obviously there are a whole range of issues at the forefront right now from Iran to Greenland, what's happening in Minnesota, which we will get to.

And I've been talking to Republicans who do have some concerns that there's not enough focus on the economy. What are you hearing? I think that Republicans want Trump to talk about affordability, but take, for example, his speech in Detroit. He talked about it, but then he also talked about everything else, and oftentimes that everything else is what creates the headlines.

And also, I think, on affordability, I think a lot of people would like the president to be more focused and more results-driven. He tends to put out ideas in general, generally speaking, but it's hard to kind of track specifically how he's going to get to where he wants to go and how it's going to have a direct effect on prices. T.W., what are you hearing inside Republican circles? Do they feel like the president is starting to pivot and pay more attention to the economy or do they think there needs to be more of a laser focus on it?

A bit. I think most Republicans are telling we do have a good story to tell about the economy improving. You saw that White House put out a video just today highlighting how gas prices are plummeting across the country. They're below $2 in some areas.

Inflation continues to go down. According to trueflation and macroeconomic indexer, it's below 2% right now. The GDP grew 5.5%. There's a lot to tell.

But what we also want is more tangible solutions. People aren't going to really feel the economy is getting better until they feel it over a long period of time. That's why I'm glad he talks about health care today, because I think that's going to be one of the next chickens that come to roost. Well, so pick up on that, Herbie.

Health care was the big battle before the break, before the holidays. Democrats fighting to try to renew the subsidies for the Obamacare, renew the premiums for the Obamacare subsidies. But they expired. Now we have premiums skyrocketing on millions of Americans.

Where do you see this battle going? And the president's out with a new health care proposal. Well, the president's a day late and a dollar short when it comes to health care. During the event today, during this health care event today, he told the moderator to speed up and he has a busy schedule.

He's not focused on this issue. He let the subsidies expire. He is the one who spent a decade trying to undo the ACI. And for the 114% increase in premiums, the president owns this.

Republicans on the ballot own it. It's bad politics. And he's jetting off to Switzerland next week, not focused on the issues that are confronting Americans here at home. T.W., what do you make of that?

And the point that he is going... There's always a big debate. Should the president go to Davos or not? He's going.

What do you make of the argument that Herbie lays out? Well, I think it's not bad politics. It's bad policy. Obamacare in general.

The Affordable Care Act is anything but affordable. We spend hundreds of billions of dollars propping up the fat cat insurance companies. When the system is broken, when I was happy to hear Donald Trump talk about today, where a number proposes that Democrats have gone behind four years. They say Davos is where billionaires tell millionaires how the middle class feels.

He could be in Scranton talking about prices. He could be in Savannah, Georgia talking about prices. He's going to be in the Swiss Alps. It's a bizarre juxtaposition for a president who has about 30% approval on the economy.

The ACA is twice as popular as Donald Trump is. And he could be focused here at home. You know, to that point, he has rolled out a health care proposal. There aren't a whole lot of details.

No. No. No. No.

No. No. No. No.

No. Yes. There's been a lot of criticism of Obamacare. Let's make it better.

President Trump is proposing some payments directly to people. The criticism of that. One of the criticisms is there's no guarantee people are going to actually spend it on health care. What are you hearing about this proposal by the president?

Is there an actual plan, some plan that's going to be put forward? So, I think one point is if you give money directly to people, they may not spend it on healthcare, as you mentioned. Or if they spend it on healthcare, particularly if they spend it on premiums, it's going back to the insurance companies that Republicans keep saying they don't want to pour more money into. So it's like, what are we actually solving by this?

I think the other point is that, you know, when you talk about the Affordable Care Act, I think there is risk because there are portions of the Affordable Care Act that are very popular. We don't talk about them as much because they are so popular, like letting young adults stay on your parents' insurance, such as one example, making certain coverages mandatory. So I think the point is it's such a nuanced conversation, and that's not what's happening. And then on top of that, when the president continues to kind of put out ideas after ideas, you want to see some follow through so that you can, I mean, again, there are a lot the Democrats will get behind.

Then the question becomes, well, Republicans, Republicans haven't been in favor, for example, the favorite nation provisions. So what can you get bipartisan support? Let me switch topics quickly to what's happening in Minneapolis, T.W., let me start with you because President Trump put on the table this week invoking the insurrection act. Now earlier today, he seemed to walk that back a little bit.

What we know is that tensions seem to be mounting in Minneapolis. Of course, it comes after Rene Nicole Good was killed by an ICE officer. What do you make of how this is playing out? And the polling as the president approaches this one earmark seems to show decreasing support for ICE and the president's policies, quite frankly.

Yeah, and that's a shame because if you look at the polling where Donald Trump was elected and when he was inaugurated, over 50% of the American people were okay with a deportation plan to get, especially the worst criminals out. And if you look at the rap sheets that border enforcement and ICE put out of other people that they picked up in Minneapolis, it is unquestionably horrifying that these people were allowed to be on the streets and the law enforcement in Minnesota did not report them to ICE because of the sanctuary cities. But I will say this, with great power comes great responsibility. And people need to realize, especially in administration, ICE, that there is a PR component to this.

And there are so many bad images that can come out of this if not done properly, and that needs to be fixed. The politics of this are complicated for Democrats because this ICE law enforcement had actually been one of the president's strengths. Here we are in the mid-term season. And this is clearly at the forefront.

How ICE should use, there are some discussion actually potentially shutting down the government again over enforcing DHS changes to how ICE is actually executed. How do you see this playing out, Herbie? Well, you know, the president right now could be doing everything he can to lower the temperature, not raise it. We had a mother murdered in cold blood in Minneapolis.

And now we're talking about the insurrection act, sending mass, more mass ICE agents into Minneapolis. It's a dangerous moment. It's a hot moment. The president needs to do what he can to try to lower the temperature because this has gone on for too long.

It's becoming for Republicans of political liability. I would just say I think that cuts both ways, encouraging people to go into the street and interfere with law enforcement is dangerous. And it's a tragedy what happened, but people shouldn't be putting themselves in between law enforcement and job. All right, guys.

We'll continue to track all of these stories. Thank you so much for a great Friday conversation. Tia, Herbie, and T.W. Really appreciate it.

Still to come. Contagent concerns. What's behind a startling rise in measles cases in South Carolina as the outbreak collides with a brutal flu season. Stay with us.

Welcome back. Welcome to the ongoing measles outbreak in South Carolina. Today, the state health department announcing 124 new cases since Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases from the state's outbreak to 558 with most of those cases among children. And the overwhelming majority among the unvaccinated.

The outbreak is centered around Spartanburg County in an area of the state where vaccination rates have been steadily declining. The state has activated mobile health units in the area offering measles, mumps, rubella vaccines to unvaccinated locals at no cost. Joining me now is Dr. Adam Ratner, a pediatric infectious disease specialist in New York City.

Thank you so much. He's also author of the book Booster Shots, the urgent lessons of measles and uncertain future of children's health. We really appreciate your being here. So let's start in South Carolina, the middle of an extraordinary measles outbreak.

We've seen other states, of course, report their first cases of the year. We saw a major outbreak in Texas last year. Why are we seeing this influx? Yeah, the short answer is that vaccination levels are dropping and especially that we have small areas, concentrations of unvaccinated kids where even if you have a high vaccination rate across the state, as we did in Texas, you might have school districts with much lower rates.

And those are the places where outbreaks really take hold. Well, and we just for background to that, I mean, the CDC recently came out with updated childhood vaccine recommendations, the measles month and rubella vaccine is still on the list. Yet MMR vaccination rates for children have been declining in recent years. Does that concern you?

And if so, why? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think we're in a situation where we have increasing numbers of measles cases. What we should be getting is just unambiguous messages from HHS, from CDC, saying that people should be getting their children vaccinated, that the measles vaccine is the way that you prevent measles.

It's the way you prevent outbreaks. It's the way you keep people safe. And we are not getting those messages, even though the measles month's rubella shot is still on the good list from the CDC. The fact that we are taking apart the vaccination schedule and confusing parents and making things really difficult for pediatricians and for parents to know who to trust, it does not help matters.

Well, and in 2025, according to the CDC, most measles cases since the disease was, or I should say, in 2025 had the most measles cases since the disease had been considered eliminated. Did the United States effectively lose that elimination status? So we are probably going to. That hasn't happened officially, yet the technical definition for elimination is more than 12 months of ongoing spread of measles.

We are just about there. There are certification type things that have to happen to be officially lost. But I think we saw Canada lose their elimination status just in the last month or so, and we are likely to do so as well. And so big picture, I mean, what does this mean for the country's ability to actually contain these cases?

Yeah, I think it's a problem. And it's going to be a growing problem until we turn the tide, until we go back to the things that we know work to control measles. And those things are getting vaccination levels higher. School requirements for vaccines are really important.

Measles is our most contagious disease. And so you need about 95% of the population to be vaccinated in order to stop outbreaks from happening. We are we were over that before the COVID pandemic. We have slipped under that as a as a nation.

Some states have much lower levels and some counties are even at the school district level. Some school districts have very low levels of vaccination. We need to turn that tide. All right.

Dr. Adam Ratner. Thank you so much for the great information was really appreciated. You will be back Monday with more meet the press now.

And if it's Sunday, it's meet the press on your local NBC station. I'll have exclusive interviews with Senators Tim Caine and Rand Paul in our Finding Common Ground series. There's much more ahead on NBC News Now. 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 starting 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. It's 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.