Meet the Press NOW — January 2

Welcome to MEET THE press. Now, I'm Chris and Welker in Washington. We begin with President Trump's new threats against Iran, hinting at potential US Military action there as Tehran cracks down on widespread demonstrations, with the latest clashes turning deadly. Over the last few days, protests have erupted in dozens of cities across Iran, sparked largely by the worsening state of the country's economy.

Inflation is soaring and Iran's currency has fallen to a record low against the US Dollar. These appear to be the largest demonstrations in the country since 2022. That's when mass protests erupted over the death of Mas Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested for not properly wearing her hijab. Human rights groups say at least seven people have died in the recent clashes.

And just this morning, President Trump weighed in on the arrest, writing in a post on social media, quote, if Iran violently kills protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. The president did not elaborate on those threats, but it does come just days after President Trump issued this warning to Iran about its nuclear and ballistic missile programs following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And speaking of Iran, I hope they're not trying to build up again because if they are, we're going to have no choice but very quickly to eradicate that buildup.

Iran may be behaving badly. It hasn't been confirmed, but if it's confirmed, they know the consequences. You know, consequences will be very powerful, maybe more powerful than the last time. Iranian officials are hitting back with the senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, alleging without any evidence that the US And Israel are stoking the protests, posting on X, quote, with the statements by Israeli officials and President Trump, what has been going on behind the scenes as now clear, Trump should know that US Interference in this internal matter would mean destabilizing the entire region and destroying America's interests.

Joining me now, NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba. And also with us, Iranian journalist, author and women's rights activist Masi Alinajad. Thank you so much both for being here. Masi, I'm going to talk to you in just a moment.

I'm going to start with our reporter Monica Alba here who's in studio with me to set the table here in terms of the White House reaction. Obviously hang very close attention to what's happening in Iran. What are your sources tell you, Monica, about that post by the president that very morning? Look, this is a president who decides when he wants to engage on foreign policy.

And sometimes, despite maybe some of his own advisors cautioning him, he decides what he wants to put out there, what message he wants to project. And one that I think the administration, the White House, would argue fits into his own approach and strategy here, which they believe is peace through strength. Right. They believe in trying to sometimes put out these really heated words, this escalated rhetoric, sometimes using this very intense language to send a message, even if it's a threat that may not necessarily have an action that is followed through.

Though the White House, again, to be clear, has not clarified exactly what the president meant when he said that the U.S. is essentially, quote, locked and loaded and ready to go and could perhaps intervene in Iran, which would be extremely significant to intervene in their own domestic and economic unrest right now. And none of you have that fiery statement by the Iranian official. Is the administration concerned about in isolation in this moment?

And remember that we have seen this back and forth. Certainly last summer when the US did bomb those nuclear sites in Iran, you did see Iran eventually at some point retaliate on a US Base in Qatar. No US Service members there were killed, but certainly there was the fear of that in retaliation. And at the time, the president said if there was going to be retribution against US Military members, that that would then be met with the fear system of responses.

You can see obvious how this can get to a place that is very intense and dangerous and potentially explosive. But at the same time, the White House is being, I think, very careful about what they want to say. They are certainly just pointing to the president's own comments, and he has used language like this before when talking about North Korea and other hotspot areas of the world. You know, it's interesting, Monica, because it does come after you had President Trump meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who was basically there warning the president about his concerns that Iran was trying to rebuild not only its ballistic missile program, but its nuclear missile program as well.

And I think that context is essential here. This is a moment where the president seemingly is trying to project this message of what the U.S. can do, its capabilities, not just when it comes to, again, this warning about the protest, but about potentially rebuilding those nuclear weapons capabilities and also that ballistic missile program, according to Israeli officials. That seems to be a more immediate concern and one that Prime Minister Netanyahu conveyed in person to the president and Mar a Lago.

And the president had very harsh words for Iran to saying that if they do build that up, if they continue with this nuclear development, that there will be a very forceful response, potentially. All right, Monica, I will cover all the different angles of this developing story. Monica, thank you so much. Great to see you.

Really appreciate it. Masi, let me turn to you now. Happy New Year to you. First of all, thank you so much for joining us.

I know that this is a somber time for you because you are paying such close attention to what is happening on the ground in Iran. What can you tell us about what you're seeing and what you're hearing, what the root of these protests really is? Masi. Brave people of Iran, they took back to the streets and I have to say, the forceful message of President Trump showing his support to Iranian protesters, warning the regime if they open fire, then the United States of America is ready to rescue them.

Gave hope and strength to the people of Iran and they took back to the street. Large number of people right now they are in the streets. You know why? Because this is the first time in the history that the people of Iran are seeing that the United States of America's president finally is standing in the right side of the history.

Because President Obama, when in 2009 people took to the street facing guns and bullets, not only kept silent, but he sent a secret letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to get a nuclear deal. And President Biden, while people were getting killed, I myself was a target of assassination block. The US Officials were the target of the Iranian regime's assassination blocks. President Biden handed out money, billions of dollars to the same killers.

So now this forceful and strong message gave hope to people. This is the time that Iranians really need to see actions, immediate actions. For instance, right now, my sister, the representative of the Iranian regime is here in New York or the tweet that actually he showed from Adi Arjani, the senior national security advisor of Abi KHAMENEI threatening the U.S. interest.

The U.S. soldiers saying that angry. He's angry with President Trump's support of Iranian people and he's threatening the US Interest. How ironic.

His daughter lives in America. The children of many Iranian officials right now living in America. They don't deserve to have lost their lives in America while their parents are killing. Shayan, only 28 year old now got killed right now in Iran.

Seven people got killed. So they don't have, they should not be here in New York. The representative of this regime killing innocent people. Why they have to have the privilege of diplomacy.

Why they don't understand the language of diplomacy. So that's why I think this should be the immediate action that The White House can consider. We are very thankful for the strong message, but we want to see action. Otherwise innocent people will get killed more and more.

And Masi, we should note your bravery and testifying against the people who plotted to kill you. They are now behind bars, in jail because of your bravery, because of your ability to stand up to them. You are asking the administration to take action right now. Can you be specific?

What exactly do you want the administration to do? You know, if I say that many people will see this like as radical action. It is not. I want President Trump to target those who order massacre, killings.

You know, when Hassan Soleimani was removed by President Trump, I remember many, many analysts in the west actually called him national hero. But guess what? Right now, people are burning his statue in the street. So if we don't take out the lives of dictators and terrorists, they will take out the lives of innocent people.

My sister, my heart is broken. You think that when I say that and my family are safe in Iran, they are not. But Iranian people, they sending me a message and they say that we're not going back home because if we go back home, if we don't win this battle, the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei will take revenge. He will hang us, he will kill us.

So they know the risk. And I believe that President Trump can specifically, specifically, as I said, send a message by asking Elon Musk to provide more starring for people because this is the reason that they shut down the Internet in bloody November. In three days they killed 1500 innocent people. You mentioned about women life freedom uprising.

When massaged in Alameni got killed for a crime of just showing a bit of her hair. When people took to the street, they killed more than 700 innocent protesters. Now they open fire again. And I believe that if they don't see strong action, they will kill more people.

So and Iran without Islamic Republic not only benefit the region, but also will guarantee global security. That's why people of Iran are risking their lives. They're not only protecting themselves. They believe that this region is like a cancer and it will infect the rest of the world.

Masi, we only have a few seconds left, but tell me what your message is to the protesters, so many who look up to you and who are inspired by you and everything that you have stood for. I have no message for them because they are my heroes, because we got inspired by them. They are the leaders who are leading this uprising within the country and they have a message and they want us to send their message to President Trump, stand with them, take action and help them to get rid of the Islamic Republic. All right, Masi line, we always appreciate hearing from you, your powerful voice and perspective.

Thank you so much for being here. I hope I invite you to my beautiful Iran very soon. Thank you, my sister. We look forward to that.

Thank you for being here. We so appreciate it. We do want to turn now to another place where the US Is escalating pressure on threatening military action. Venezuela.

In a record interview, recorded interview that aired yesterday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Fedora says he is open to negotiations with the Trump administration about efforts to combat drug trafficking. The Venezuelan president, though, did not comment on an alleged US Ground attack on a dock facility in Venezuela last month by the U.S. now, in addition to that land strike, the months long US Pressure campaign against Venezuela has included dozens of airstrikes and alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the US Seizure of oil tankers with the White House ordering a blockade of all sanctioned tankers. Joining me now to discuss this is NBCD senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez.

Gabe, thanks so much for being here to lead off our coverage in the new year of this issue. So President Maduro saying he's open to negotiations with the US but what are you hearing from officials there inside the administration? Would President Trump be willing to do that? Happy New Year, Chris.

And well, listen, earlier today in an interview, the White House, every secretary said that it was natural for Maduro to want to talk to the administration, but that it will be up to President Trump to decide what he wants to do next. And listen, Kristen, over the last several weeks, President Trump has said that he's recently spoken to Nicolas Maduro, though it's unclear exactly when. The White House really hasn't clarified that. But in terms of the president negotiating with Maduro, it's hard to see exactly how that happens.

As you know, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio has really been heading out the policy towards Venezuela. And you know, White House administration officials say that he really wants to see regime change here. Although the administration has tried to argue that its main purpose in building up military in the Caribbean has been to target drug traffickers. But that campaign has extended past the Caribbean also now to the eastern Pacific.

We're also asking questions about exactly some of the details of these latest strikes on alleged drug boats. We don't have any exact indication of where those took place. Chris? Well, you know, you take me to my next question, Gabe, because a lot of people are wondering what is the president's goal here?

I had the opportunity to interview him on the phone a couple weeks ago. I asked him what he ultimately wants to see his regime change. He would not answer that directly. He said President Duro knows exactly where he stands, but he didn't rule out war with Venezuela.

What are you hearing in that regard, Gabe? What's the ultimate goal here? Well, Chris, and I was listening to your conversation with my colleague, my dial about earlier. She was speaking about Iran.

And that is something she brought up the idea of peace through strength. And that's something you hear over and over again from White House officials when it comes to Iran, also when it comes to Venezuela. And what's also interesting is the very candid comments we heard from the chief of staff, Susie Biles in that recent Vanity Fair interview where she said perhaps contradictory, contradicting what the White House has said publicly. She said that the purpose of these votes strikes was essentially to make Nicolas Maduro cry uncle.

Now, Nicholas Maduro should point out, even though he did have that interview with state television this week where he said he was opening negotiations, he has not commented directly on that airstrike inside Venezuela that the president acknowledged just a few days ago. So it's unclear where this goes from here, but certainly the US Continuing to ramp up the pressure on Maduro as it continues. Not only these boat strikes where we're waiting to hear more information, more details on those strikes inside Venezuela, which the president has said would continue. We absolutely are looking for that.

Get Gutierrez, thank you for your great reporting as always. We appreciate it. Coming up, new year, same healthcare fight. I'll talk to a House Republican who backed bipartisan agreement to prevent premium costs from skyrocketing about the political fallout in a high stakes midterm year.

Plus in aspirin a day, President Trump pushes back on critics for questioning his health but admits he goes against his doctor's recommendations when it comes to one popular medication. We'll explain. You're watching with the press now. Welcome back to turnout at Capitol Hill where Congress is beginning 2026 confronting the health care dilemma it failed to address in 2025.

The House is expected to take up a three year extension of Affordable Care act subsidies next week after four Republicans joined with Democrats at the end of last year on a procedural method to force a vote. But those abomic care subsidies have already expired, leaving millions of Americans all across the country dealing with shar insurance premiums and no guarantee of relief that it's coming anytime soon, as both the subsidy extension and the Republican backed plan without a subsidy extension appear doomed to fail in The Senate. Joining me now we see international political reporter Sahil Kapoor. Sahil, thanks for being here.

Happy New Year. Great to see you. Happy New Year. So talk to me about the state of play as lawmakers prepare to come back.

Where do they kick off and do you see a resolution? Insight. So here's what I think is likely to happen. House is going to vote on this bill for three year ACFNA extension next week.

It should pass. The House has all the Democrats and it just needs four or five Republicans depending on attendance. And then it's going to go to the Senate where numerous GOP senators tell me it is dead on arrival. This does not have a path in the Republican controlled Senate.

And I think that raises the question of what ultimately happens next. The vast majority of GOP law members in both the House and Senate want this funding to go away. As they see at the ever vote for AC and begin with they don't like the law and they don't like the fact that this problem was forced out on them. Of course the reality of everyone you want to choose a problem in front of you, but that's a separate story.

The fund that expired premiums are going up pretty dramatically this month. Well, what do you make of the fact that there's been some discussion about bipartisan talks over on the Senate side? Is that real? Obviously this is authority issue we're dealing with.

The fact that they're talking seems like a positive thing. The government runs out of funds at the end of the month again. So could we see another government shut down or do you think this bipartisan talks could produce something? First off, I don't see these two deadlines colliding into each other like last time.

I don't see Democrats running the same play on government funding as they did November. Multiple Democratic centers on both ends of that issue who told me they don't expect to happen because they saw the resolve. 43 days, the longest ever shut down under problems in budge. Probably be the same result this time.

So the only question is can they come up with a standalone bipartisan deal. And there have been talks in the Senate for months about cars and yield. The reason I'm pessimistic about this is that the two sides have moved further. Republicans are demanding certain changes in restrictions on the funding including on eligibility, program integrity, anti fraud measures which Democrats are happy to accept.

But the new red line that's come up among Republicans is stricter abortion restrictions. That is not going to fly with Democrats. That is a red line until there are some staffers and members trying to work that out. But no one has come close to a solution.

And you still have the fact that the vast majority of Republicans want this money to go away. All they have to do is nothing. What about the fact that there is going to be pressure from their constituents? Absolutely.

So this is where the rubber meets the road as Democrats see if they either get the win on the policy to find some way to extend this money come what may, or they beat Republicans over the head with it politically in the 2026 and midterms. This is going to be the gift of all gifts for Democrats from a pure political standpoint. We've seen numerous times that when voters are angry about how care of their party on the receiving end, 10 seconds get clobber. Whether it's Democrats in 2010 or Republicans in 2018, arguably even 2020.

Take a look at this graphic. The professions that are gonna be most heavily impacted by this. Take a look at the fourth point on this. Farmers, ranchers and agricultural managers.

More than a quarter of them rely on ACF money and their opinions are going through this. Is he GOP leaning a pro Trump group? They're already suffering under the weight of inflation and the President's tariffs now are going to have increased premiums as well. It's going to be a real problem for Republicans.

All right, Sahil, thank you for laying that all out. Another busy time on the horizon for you. Appreciate you being here. Next we want to go to California Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley.

Congressman Kylie, thank you for being here. Happy New Year to you. Thanks very much for having me here. It's great to have you back on the program.

I want to start with this upcoming vote on Leader Jeffrey's three year clean extension of ACA subsidies. Tell me where you stand, Congressman. Do you plan to vote for it? You know, if I thought it would move the ball forward at all, I would consider it.

The problem is, as Sahel just said, is that this is not a real solution. The Senate has in fact already rejected it. And so the path forward here has always been a compromise that has bipartisan support that provides a temporary extension while instituting reforms and cost control. So that's what Sam Cardinal and I propose.

We have numerous bipartisan co authors, Josh Dahmer and Jen Higgins have proposed something similar. Unfortunately, the leaders of both parties, the speaker and Leader Jeffries have refused to endorse any of those compromises. And if either of them did so, then that would break the long jam and we could get policy enacted as soon as we got back? Well, that is the challenge that the bipartisan bills, you were on the program talking about it several weeks ago haven't garnered that full support.

And so I wonder, I want to ask you about your colleague Mike Lawler. He's been a staunch advocate for these bipartisan solutions, but he told me before the holiday that he does plan to support this measure. He says that it's about supporting things on a two pronged track. Why do you see him as.

Why do you disagree with him on this? I'm not necessarily. I think that if bringing that to the floor provides us with a little more leverage and maybe can induce the speaker to actually put one of the compromise measures on the floor, then I think that's a good thing. I mean, Mike himself said that this is a messaging bill essentially from the minority leader at this point.

If Hakeem Jeffries had endorsed any of the compromise proposals, then those would have come to the floor and passed. So had a good chance to pass it. Unfortunately, he said, no, let's just all go and endorse this one bill that has no reforms and it has already failed in the Senate. So I don't have the speaker responsible for failing to actually bring the bill to the floor.

But I also think the minority leader has played too much politics with this. So just to be very clear, you're a no on this bill when it comes to the floor. I haven't decided yet, but I am, you know, I have very mixed feelings about it just because it isn't an actual attempt to make law. But I wanted a solution, not just to vote for something for the sake of saying I don't enforce.

What say you, though, to your constituents, to Americans all across this country who say, look, return and preserve the health care subsidies now and then work out a longer term solution. In other words, they want action now and they would potentially see a vote as failing to take action. No, that's what I'm saying is we need action now. So the bill that's coming to the fore, it's a three year extension with no reforms or anything like that.

It's already failed in the Senate, as Sal just said, it's got on arrival in the Senate. It's not going to happen. No action is going to come through that bill. The action is going to come through one of the temporary extensions that has bipartisan support and includes reforms as well.

And the point you made is exactly what I've been saying all along. What we need to do is provide a temporary extension right now to stop all these Americans 22 million Americans from suffering a massive increase in health care costs. That will give us the money we need to address the larger issues of healthcare, their costs in this country. Let me ask you very quickly, do you want any measure to retroactively give Americans who rely on these subsidies back pay for the subsidies?

Oh, yeah. I want our solution to make people whole. I mean, better late than never. I think it's a total failure and absolutely unacceptable that we're allowing these to lapse.

But it's not too late to actually fix the problem because here's the thing. If we don't come up with a solution here, then the 22 million Americans we're talking about and respond in one of three ways. Number one, they're going to have to pay potentially thousands of dollars more, which is going to force very hard trade offs for their families given less discretionary income. Number two, they're going to decide they can't afford coverage at all.

They're going to drop their coverage. That's probably going to be a few million people and that's going to result in higher cost for everyone, even 150 million people in the employer based insurance market. Or number three, some people will say, I'm just going to work less and have less income in order to keep my income above threshold so I can still qualify. Well, that's not good then because they're losing income and we're losing economic activity more broadly.

So I'm hoping to really emphasize these points to folks on both sides of the aisle when we get back that there is a real urgency to act on this and act now. Let me ask you about President Trump. He hasn't really been heavily engaged in the negotiations, but he did post on social media this week, quote, republicans, no more money to fat cat insurance companies. The money must go directly to the people to buy their own healthcare.

This has been something he's been proposing for quite some time. What do you think of that? Is that a Folsom health care plan? Is it realistic?

Well, I am a supporter of wholesal savings accounts. I want Americans use them to buy them. They're great at providing additional options and allowing people to really be able to control costs in their own way. I absolutely support legislation to expand health savings accounts.

I'm not sure that it solves the immediate problem though, or that can be done in a way or quickly enough to solve the problem of people going off of this cliff with the expiration of the subsidies. That's why my view is let's do it to your extension let's do it in the smart, fiscally responsible way. My bill with San Lucardo actually reforms over payments to insurers. So they wouldn't do that well under our bill.

And then we can use that Runway to pursue solutions like cost savings accounts and other, you know, major initiatives. Costs. Well, just to flesh out that point, I mean, the HSA funds largely can't be put towards premiums. But let me ask you a big picture about the president.

Do you think his lack of engagement is helping or hurting the process? Honestly, I think that the illness lies with Congress to take action here. So the idea that we're just waiting for the White House to come out with a proposal, I don't think that's the way the legislative branch should work. This is a proposal that originated with Congress.

And so I think it's up to Congress to come up with a path forward. And so I think that there is a lot. I think that you put this to a vote in both chambers, but do we do a temporary extension with reforms like if we post Sam Ricardo like Jen Higgins has proposed with Jos Scott Heimer, I think it would pass by a decisive majority in both the House and the Senate, where abroad Moreno and Jean Jacqueline are working on a similar compromise. So I think if somebody got to the president's desk, I think he would sign it and then we would have an opportunity to work on things like expanding health savings accounts and other innovations that I think actually there's more bipartisan support for than might be the I perspective.

Well, let me ask you about how Speaker Mike Johnson, you've not been shy about at times expressing frustration with the Speaker. Do you believe he can effectively lead your party into midterm elections and ensure that Republicans hold on to the House? Well, I certainly want to see him change the way he's approached the job over the last several months. I mean, usually the speaker is the speaker for a full two term, last term being an obvious exception to that.

But I think that he does need to change the way he approached in the last few months when the House wasn't even in session for two months. He canceled sitting straight weeks of session for the House of Representatives. And there's been far too many issues when the House has not been in the driver's seat. And this ACA subsidy issue is a very clear example of that, which I think is a failure of leadership.

And I think you're seeing more and more people in our conference who feel that way. That's one of the reasons you see more of these discharge petitions used as a way to get around leadership. So I do think that we need to have the House be a lot more proactive come New Year. All right, here we are.

All right. Congressman Kevin Kelly, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Coming up next, breaking news in North Carolina. The FBI revealing it's thwarted a potential New Year's Eve terror attack, accusing the suspect of being inspired by isis. That's always next. I'll need the press now as the day wraps up.

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Download the NBC News app now and subscribe for more. Welcome back. The FBI announced today it foiled a terrorist plot planned for New Year's Eve in North Carolina. Authorities say that 18 year old Christian Sturdivant of Mint Hill, North Carolina is under arrest and facing federal charges.

According to charging documents, Sturdivant was inspired by ISIS and was plotting to attack a supermarket and Burger King where he once worked. On year's new Eve, Sturtevant pledged his loyalty to ISIS and committed himself to commit to killing Americans on New Year's Eve. This investigation unfolded quickly from the moment the FBI was notified of a potential threat of a terrorist inspired attack in North Carolina we went all hands untacked. NBC News legal affairs reporter Gary Grumbach joins me now to break this all down.

Gary, thank you for being here. So how far along was this alleged terrorist plot that was foiled for New Year's Eve? This is very much on the verge of happening. When they arrested him around noon on New Year's Eve, we're talking about several knives, several hammers that were found underneath his bed and really detailed handwritten notes about exactly what he was going to do.

He wanted to stop by the Burger King in his hometown of Mint Hill until he set up to eight people. He went to go to the grocery store nearby there and kill several people there as well. And he fully planned to be caught by police and killed at the hands of police. Oh, how terrifying.

What more are we learning about the background of Christian Sodom? This is an 18 year old. This is somebody who just turned 18 in mid December. And this is somebody who authorities say was planning an attack of some kind that was ISIS inspired for several years.

He was planning this specific attack for at least a year. So we're talking to somebody who was online. He was very much reading ISIS manifestos and reading a lot of information about ISIS and also creating TikToks about ISIS. That's where authorities found this man.

And Gary had actually been on the radar of authorities since 2022. What can you tell us about? So there was an incident in January of 2022 when he was 14 or 15 years old at that point where he was leaving his home in all black and he had with him hammers and knives again and his grandfather stopped him. Allegedly he was there at that point trying to go kill a neighbor of theirs in Mint Hill.

He had psychiatric help at that point and that's where he was dropped off FBI over several years until being picked back up again mid December when they saw this online chatter. Wow. Well, a lot of people hailing them for being able to stop this terror. Jerry, Grandpa, thank you for being here.

Really appreciate it. Coming up after the break, meet the candidate will be joined by the Wisconsin Democrat running to be the battleground state's next governor, facing a crowded primary and questions from within his own party over his electability. Keep it right here for that conversation on Neat the press Now. Welcome back.

Wisconsin's Democratic governor Tony Eavers announced last year he will not seek re election, opening the door to what's become a closely watched primary race for both parties in a critical battleground state. Republicans are eyeing the Wisconsin governorship as one they can potentially flip into the red column. After President Trump won the state in 2024, nearly a dozen Democrats are set to face off in the primary, including multiple state senators and representatives, the current lieutenant governor, Sarah Rodriguez, as well as the former lieutenant governor, Mandela Barnes. And joining me now for the very latest installment in our Meet the Candidate series is the former lieutenant governor versus and now Democratic candidate for Governor Mandela Barnes.

Lieutenant Governor Barnes, thank you so much for joining us. Happy New Year to you. Of course. Thank you so much for having me.

Happy New Year to you viewers as well. So let's kick this off. As I just said, we're facing a very crowded primary field. What does your path to the general election look like?

Well, I'll tell you, this isn't the first crowded primary field. I've had my race for the USN in 22. It was a crowded primary. It was actually the most expensive USN primary, at least in the state.

So with that said, it goes down to the or comes back to the bread and butter. So I was talking about the issues that matter. Wisconsinites are facing an increasingly difficult time has only gotten worse under Donald Trump. And we real leadership, I just say Donald Trump is bad, but real leadership doesn't provide real solutions and a vision to move this state forward.

That's what I'm committed to. That's what I'm dedicated to, lowering costs on day one, ensuring that Wisconsin is no longer one of nine states that has yet to expand our Medicaid program under the Affordable Care, making sure we close the loopholes that allow the wealthy to get away without paying their fair share while working class families continue to struggle. That's what this campaign is about. We're taking that message all across Wisconsin, urban, suburban, rural or whatever.

We're showing up in areas that are represented by Republicans and Democrats alike because this is a message that hits home regardless of who folks have voted for. Well, you know, let me ask you about the politics of this because in 2022, when you challenged incumbent Senator Ron Johnson, you lost by 1 point. The same year Democrat Governor Evers won his reelection by 3 points. So let me ask you, what do you say to Democrats who worry and don't think you should get another chance statewide after losing that Senate race, which many did view as winnable?

Oh, for sure, Governor Evers did win his re election. And there are people who may have thought it was wonderful. But I'll tell you, there was polling at me down like five points the week before the race. It was the closest challenge to any incumbent in the entire country that cycle.

No incumbent lost statewide. And it was the closest U.S. senate in Wisconsin in over 100 years. People counting me out from the very beginning, even in the primary questioning, can he win?

Can he show up? Can he make it? I'll tell you, for folks who had that question before, if more time was spent helping win, instead asking the question we make in a different position. We are here right now and I'm reminded of a conversation I had with Barack Obama the day after my election, and he talked about the race for Congress that he lost.

He was sure to get back to the work that got him there in the first place. He got back and organized. And that's exactly what I've been up to these last few years, doing the hard work to help lower people's energy costs through the Inflation Reduction act and also working to increase border participation in Milwaukee and all across the state in 500 sector our democracy walking at the highest voter turnout of the 50 largest cities in the entire country in 24. Much of that is due to the work that I was able to do with power in the poll.

Having raised over $10 million to support efforts and get folks elected across the state, I am, I can say I'm the most experienced. The only part who has run this kind of race at this magnitude, the other person's actually ever put on the other side. We did win in 2018. When a lot of people question if we had the strength to take on then one of the most powerful governors in the country, we were successful because our message resonated.

It was about Laurie Costs, about ensuring our public schools had the funding and the resources that they need. And we're in a similar moment with Donald Trump as president again. And while this race won't just be about him, whoever the Republican nominee is going to have to be held accountable for standing lockstep with him every step of the way. Well, you know, I want to read you something that former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton told the New York Times in October.

She said Mandela Barnes proved to us beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can't run hard enough and give us a winning campaign on a statewide basis. What do you say to your fellow Democrats who might be saying skeptical. A lot of people just find out who Barbara Lawton is and I'll say that she's also opposed me in two previous elections. And I'm not taking a single vote for granted.

I'm showing up in every community all across this house. People are entitled to their opinions. I don't want to be in a position where I feel as if this is being handed to me, where people say, yeah, Mandela's our candidate, our nominee, we're going to go for it, and no questions asked. That's not democracy.

A private primary, a large primary primary, any magnitude is healthy for voters to be able to make a sound decision about who's going to represent them at the top of the ticket. And I'm ready to go all across the state of constant prove myself. I've done it before. I have zero problem doing that again.

And I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight. I welcome the opportunity to make my positions known and very clear. Well, as you've referenced, President Trump did flip with content in 2024. He campaigned on things like terrorists.

And I wonder what your message is going to be. Do you plan to fight the president on his policies even though that is what the people of Wisconsin voted for? It would be easy to say every step of the way, but that's not the case. But in any instance where the president's policies have harm the people of Wisconsin, he is going to see my opposition with the tariffs that are doing a number on our small business owners, the tariffs that are destabilizing our rural economies all across Wisconsin.

The president hasn't had to answer that and we're going to hold him to account. As of now, the Republican front runner, Tom Tiffany, has only made things worse by voting alongside voting with the president with the things that have caused Wisconsinites harm. His shameful vote on not extending the credits for the Affordable Care act, which is going to balloon premiums for people all across Wisconsin, making it even harder for people to get the health care they need. Many assistants, we'll see people go without health care.

And unfortunately, many of those same people are going to face an emergency that could very well bankrupt them. And that is not the Wisconsin way. That's not the way we do things. We've led at the forefront of so many other amazing things, so many other amazing areas in terms of advancing this country.

And I feel that it is our rightful duty to do the same. Once again, regardless of who's president. Let me ask you, Lieutenant Governor, with the minister that we have left, you've signaled support for redistricting in Wisconsin, but what do you say to those who argue the redistricting fight is really a race to the bottom? Well, look, I can tell you've already been erased to the bottom with these unfair masks.

Our congressional delegation does not truly represent the political makeup, political identity or interests of people in Wisconsin. It is six to two and we are a 50, 50 state. People are being misrepresented. And it's one of the reasons people like Tom Tiffany get away with shameful votes, because he doesn't have to worry about a challenge in a general election.

He only has to worry about winning a primary. And winning a Republican primary means you just have to be extreme as you can possibly be so people will take notice and ultimately show up and vote for you because you're the only option left. We just want fairness, and we want to be able to advance Wisconsin in a way that ensures that we get the help and support from the federal government that we need. But as long as we're being misrepresented with these unfair masks, we're going to be dealt a bad hand and Wisconsin is going to face significant challenges and set masks, and we're fighting against that.

Fair mask means more opportunities for more people in the state. All right. Former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes will follow the race very closely. Thank you so much for joining us.

I really appreciate it. We'll have more news of midterm politics to get to with the panel after a quick break. Stay with us. Welcome back.

Join me now is today's panel. Oriana Gonzalez, politics and policy reporter for notice. Joe Crowley, former congressman from New York who served as chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and Annelise Keller, Republican strategist and former communications director for former Senator Cory Gardner. Thanks all of you for being here at the start of this new year.

Happy New Year to all of you. Oriana, I want to start with you. President Trump gave this really remarkable interview to the Wall Street Journal in which he talked about his health, talk about some of the questions about the bruising on his hands. He said it's because he takes aspirin.

He said he takes more aspirin, actually, than is prescribed. He said they say aspirin is good for sitting out the blood. And I don't want thick blood pouring through my heart. I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart.

Does that make sense? What do you make of the president's decision to speak out now and so senselessly about himself? I mean, he's trying to get ahead of all the conversation that's already gonna happen. We were talking about this actually, before we came on, and the question, I think now is whether this becomes as big of a topic as it was with Joe Biden.

He doesn't have a campaign to worry about in three years. So really he gets to kind of get this criticism but nothing out of it. Yeah, and what do you make of it? How do you think he handled these questions and the revelation?

Two of them. One that he takes more aspirin than he says he's prescribed into. He says he actually didn't have mri. He said it was a ctcn and he regrets sharing that information because it gave his critics an opening.

He said, yes, well, I think he was confused. I'll give him a pass at MRI versus the ctcn. I do think he was confused about that. And I think there's a lot of fair criticisms of Donald Trump.

But I do think he's been pretty transparent and open within his presidency. And I think he's been pretty transparent about this health challenge or some of these challenges that have been levied against him. And that's why he's been talking about this, because he wants to get ahead of it. And I completely agree.

I had to laugh a little bit when he said that. The frames of him with his eyes closed were actually just him blinking. Reminded me of my husband when we watched his eyes. Congressman Crowley, what do you make of his decision to speak out and how should Democrats respond?

Obviously, there were so many questions out from President Biden's health, and that was one of the questions. We'll be over his reelection campaign. As Rihanna is noting, of course, President Trump doesn't have to stand for reelection. How do you think Democrats posture?

Something going on is Rihanna. I think many respects about him getting ahead of this, that to send a message he is able to govern. I'm still on the president. I have all my words about me.

I'm healthy. I have the best health report of any president in the history of the United States. It was so beautiful, you know, and I think that sometimes lends to why people question what he had, why he had it, because it was always a perfect test. I never failed.

There was nothing. There's something wrong with me. When you're 79 years of age, inevitably we'll all get to that point. I do hope, and that you're going to have something start to happen.

It's just inevitable. And I think it wouldn't have been as big an issue if it wasn't made such a big issue for Joe Biden. Granted, Biden contributed to some of that himself in terms of missteps and miscues, and certainly saw the debate. But, you know, as the president moves now into his 80s, this is not.

It's about Democrats making this an issue. You know, so much earlier today, AAG is undefeated. We all are going to. And I Think there's going to have.

There's going to be consequences because of that. Yeah. Okay. I want to shift gears and talk a little bit about the big news out of New York.

New York as a new mayor. Sorry, Mandi. Congressman Crowley, I'm going to kick this to you first. I want to play a part of his inaugural address.

Get your reaction on the other side. Place the fraternity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism. We will govern without shame and insecurity, making no apology for what we believe. I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic Socialists.

What do you make of his message and how do you think it will play for Democrats who are seeking election re election in 2020? Well, one thing is New York is unique. It's a bohemian city. It was over 400 years old, founded by the Dutch, and many of its rules in today's governing unicameral city council stem from that.

And so I think it is that. I don't think you can apply what happened to New York to the rest of the country. But I will say this. I'm not a socialist.

I'm not a Democratic socialist. I believe democratic socialism is a different party. The Democratic socialists in America are not part of the Democratic Party. They have their own ethos.

They have their own manifest part of which is that the means of production are controlled by the populace or by the state. That's not something that I believe. That's not something many Democrats do. I'm leading free markets with referees, and I do think they're.

But look, I wish the best for the city. I love my hometown and I wanted to be successful. But, you know, we'll see how things go. Yeah, Italy.

Congress probably makes a good point, which is that New York is very different. But will Republicans try to wrap Mamdani around the entire Democratic Party, even though you're making a valiant effort? I mean, absolutely. I think they've already tried to do that.

You know, Trump kind of undercut that a little bit with his really warm meeting with Mamdani. But, you know, I would say that it seems to me from an outsider perspective and from a Republican perspective that there are a few more and more of the sort of socialist variety. You saw Bernie Sanders there. You know Mamdani, you saw AOC there.

You know, I think a lot of that rhetoric, for people who are watching that and talking about sort of no more individualism. We're here for the collectivism. I mean, that concerns people who don't necessarily want the government or state run Grocery stores and free buses and free child care. And, you know, I think they definitely will try to sort of talk about what that can mean for the rest of the country.

Oriana, there is a question about the practicality of what he has proposed. I mean, here you have the debate over what he's proposing. He has made sweeping promises like free childcare, free buses. I mean, how do you see him enacting these policies?

Do you think it's realistic? Well, what he will do for the next. The rest of his term is going to dictate how progressives keep going. Even though.

Yes. To your point, Congressman, New York is unique. It's under a spotlight right now that he's the closer child as a more progressive faction of the Democratic Party. So there's a lot of questions of what happens next.

I would also say that what I'm keeping an eye on more so now is the Trump administration has not been shy to go after policies that it doesn't agree with that don't align with the president's agenda. The administration sued Virginia for because universities for tuition to undocumented migrants. So who's to say that there's not going to be any legal action against Mandani if his policies do become law from the administration? So that's what we'll be watching for as we were talking about on Capitol Hill as his health care battle bruise again when everyone comes back.

You know, that's precisely another thing that we were talking about before coming on, is exactly what's going to happen now. You know, I talked to Mike Lawler before they left out of session last December, and one of the things that he's saying and he feels very confident about is that, you know, it'll pass the House, then it'll go to the Senate, they'll amend it, and it'll go back to the House. That being said, that's a lengthy process, as we've seen happen with this Congress. Whether that happens, it's very unclear.

They have a funding that line coming along, and they're trying to juggle all these things at the same time. And it's. I'm not exactly sure whether this Congress can do it. Annalise, what do you think?

Do you think they're gonna get a bipartisan agreement? Yeah. Well, I'll disclose that I work on this issue as part of my day job, but I do think that there. I may be a little bit more optimistic thinking that there could be something in terms of healthcare that comes together.

There's a group in the Senate, Senator Susan Collins and Bernie Moreno, who are kind of marshaling more of a bipartisan plan. I think that could be another way that this gets solved in addition to what's going on in the House. And there's some skepticism, but maybe I have a little more optimism. I hope it's repellent.

I think it'd be tough, you know, just given the complexity of these issues, getting the left and the right to agree in both chamber and the further goes on in this political election year, it's gonna be really difficult. Okay. We'll be watching it very closely. Thanks for a great conversation to kick off in the year.

We really appreciate it. Ariana, Johan, Annalise, great conversation. We will be back Monday with more MEET THE PRESS now. And if it's Sunday, it's MEET THE Press at a little NBC News station.

I'll have exclusive interviews with House Minority Leader Hacky Jeffries and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. You don't want to miss it. There is more ahead on NBC DC News. Now.

He was a young Marine. She didn't care about convention. They made a life together. Then one night the Marine died.

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