Foreign. Welcome to a special edition of Meet the Press. Now live from the 2024 Republican National Convention. I'm Kristen Welker here in Milwaukee as Republicans gear up for a second night of convention speeches with a focus tonight on crime and immigration.
It comes after an opening night show of unity with the party standing behind former President Trump like we've never seen before. This was the scene last night, the former president's first public appearance since narrowly surviving an assassination attempt. He walked out of the convention floor to a roaring crowd that chanted, fight, fight, fight. That was a callback to what he told supporters immediately after being shot.
The former president looked noticeably emotional at times and more subdued than usual, his right ear bandaged as he stood next to his vice presidential pick for the first time. And from the stage, a rallying cry. Now the official Republican nominee. On Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle, but an American lion got back up on his feet and he roared.
I believe this year Virginia will elect another Republican outside businessman as president of the United States. President Trump is a candidate who is not afraid of hearing from new, loud and often critical voices. And I think we all can agree, whether people like him or they don't like him, in light of what happened to him on Saturday, he has proven to be one tough sob. Well, tonight the speaker lineup includes former Trump rivals like Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, who clashed with Mr.
Trump on the campaign trail this year, as well as some former 2016 rivals like Marco Rubio and Senator Ted Cruz. Moments ago, vice presidential nominee J.D. vance was on the stage for a technical walkthrough ahead of his expected address tomorrow night. The former president's pick of Vance is perhaps the best example of his strong grip over the Republican Party in its future.
Mr. Trump has tapped a potential madness successor in his image, despite Vance being largely untested, having only served in the Senate for a year and a half. It all comes as the former president and his team are signaling a shift in message and tone at this convention. Here is his son, Eric Trump, speaking to my colleague Savannah Guthrie about the need to turn down the temperature in our politics.
This cannot happen in this country. I mean, this cannot happen in any way, shape or form. And it gives a whole different perspective to life and frankly, the whole, you know, political area among media, among people and among politics. It's gotta get down now.
The former president's call for unity comes amid a dangerously volatile political environment that in many ways, Mr. Trump has helped shape. With incendiary rhetoric and promises of retribution and Revenge. NBC News correspondent Garrett Hakins on the convention.
Florida NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd joins me once again live on set. Garrett, let me start with you. You're down there on the floor. Tonight we are expecting the theme to be Make America Safe.
Once again, speakers are going to talk about crime and immigration. And of course, this hums as everyone here is saying, they are aiming to have a more unified message. Are the two things inconsistent what we'd be watching for? I think the party's gonna try to thread a very small needle here with a unifying message.
Even if the tone is a little dark for some people, it just showed that you can still see some of it on the screen here. Some of the imagery that people are gonna seeing tonight, you've got dirty needles, you've got trash on the streets, you got piles of drugs. I mean, the idea here of America is kind of a crime ridden place. There are other images that we were just seeing of immigrants being arrested at the border.
Migrants being arrested at the border. I think you're gonna see all these speakers paint a pretty dark image and then offer Donald Trump as a solution to it. And the unity I think is important to keep in mind in the way Donald Trump works. The unity is unity on Donald Trump's terms.
The speakers who are coming tonight, Ron DeSantis and Kikay who you mentioned, are people who have bent the knee. They pull out of the race. They've endorsed him. Nikki Haley, of course, you know, making it a big point when she dropped out of state.
It's incumbent upon Trump to go get her voters. Donald Trump has done none of that. And so Nikki Haley is still here tonight on Donald Trump's terms. So if you think about unity, if unify around Trump, I think that's a way to look at the way these speakers are going to present their message tonight, which I think will be a little bit about frightening people into the Trump camp with some of the imagery and some of the time we're in here.
Well, fear has always been to some extent, going back to 2016, a part of Trump's messaging. So it will be interesting to see how it plays out tonight. Garrett, let me follow up with you because of course all eyes will be on Nikki Haley when she takes the podium. It wasn't clear she was going to speak to the convention.
Well, she is going to move forward with speaking. Talk a little bit about what you're expecting specifically from her tonight. And of course, that all important question, what will her voters do? They could be the ones who ultimately decide this close race.
Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I talked to Eric Trump about this earlier today. He was pretty confident what we wouldn't see from Nikki Haley, we would not see her do the kind of Ted Cruz heel turn that we saw in 2016, where Cruz, who had been Donald Trump's primary rival in that race, pointedly did not endorse him at the end of his convention speech. They do think they'll get a much more team player in Nikki Haley on stage tonight.
But as I was just alluding to, it has been largely up to Nikki Haley to convince Nikki Haley's Republican voters to get back into the Donald Trump tent. Nothing we have seen from Donald Trump since Nikki Haley dropped out of the primary process. In the case that either he or the Trump campaign see her voters, you know, many cases more affluent or more liberal leaning Republican voters, the Northeastern Republican of years past, they've never seen or behaved as though they believe those people are important to the Trump coalition. They're important to Nikki Haley.
Perhaps her endorsement here on stage in a larger venue might push them back towards Donald Trump. But if that's the case, they're gonna be pushed to Donald Trump by, you know, fear and by their distaste for the Biden administration. They want to be pulled into the Donald Trump camp by Donald Trump. Well, Garrett, your callback to Ted Cruz sets me up perfectly for my conversation with Chuck Todd.
Thank you so much for that, Chuck. Let's start right there. 2016 versus now. It couldn't be a starker difference.
In 2016, this party was divided. Not last night. This is Donald Trump's party. It's clear of that.
Not only is it his party, but he's thinking about who he's gonna pass the torch on to in this vice presidential pick. Look, it's clear at this convention, this is Trump's party. You know, I was talking with CJ about this for longer conversation we have for my podcast that'll be out tomorrow. And it's not as if the Reagan wing still doesn't exist.
There's Governor Brian Kent. Nikki Haley, in theory is from there. Marco Rubio still sort of more as a creature of that wing. Doug Burgum arguably is a creature that wing.
So there are still members of that wing of the party that are around, but to use Garrett's phrase, they're up here on Trump's terms. They are not here to defend sort of small government. This is not a party that believes in small. Donald Trump doesn't believe small government.
They believe in strong government. So that part of it is remarkable. But there is still a vibrant. It's not as if the actual rank of Republican Party.
There's still a version that this sort of chamber of the people that voted for Nikki Haley, the management class, whatever you want to refer to them, who are homeless now. And nothing that was said last night appealed to them, not at all. You know, these are folks that join the Republican Party to fight the Teamsters union, not to cheer the Teamsters union. It's remarkable.
But if you're looking at historical context, we're seeing Donald Trump is essentially bringing the Republican Party back to the 1920s and 30s, when it was a very protectionist party and isolationist party. Well, and that's why the pick, of course, and that's why the pick of JD Vance as his running mate is so fascinating, because, of course, he is isolationist in his worldview. And you have made the argument that Trump made that pick from a position of strength. Talk a little bit about what?
Look, there were people, different people in his ears telling him, hey, you want this election done. And if you don't think this is over, you probably should think about Marco Rubio or maybe you should think about a bargain if you think you can bring the party together still. But that is what he thinks, right? He thinks he's got this thing.
And, you know, that's what's remarkable about this entire convention. This. You can feel the energy. This is a.
I. I didn't know what to expect after Saturday, what the atmosphere would be here. But this is how I would have predicted in what sense it is almost like it's a celebration. It's festive, more celebratory than anything, much more than you thought.
And it's almost as if they say, well, it's divine intervention and he's destined to be president. And that creates almost an extra aura of unity here. And I think you'll see, I'm going to guess that this and this and Haley sort of fall for the crowd and what they want and feed them what they want here. I'm not saying that's where the whole party is, but that's what's going on here.
I can't help but contrast that. I can't imagine a Democratic National Convention having the same feel about Joe Biden as this group does have their feelings about. I keep thinking about what is the Democratic National Convention going to feel like in contrast to this. Okay, stay right here, Chuck.
We have a lot more to discuss, but I want to pause our conversation for just a moment. To turn to the governor of the great state of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu. Governor Sununu, thank you so much for joining me. Really appreciate it.
You bet. So Chuck and I are just talking about Donald Trump's decision to pick Senator J.D. vance as his running mate. I want to get your reaction to this.
Do you see this as a pick that is purely aimed at building the MAGA brand for the future, or do you think there are potentially electoral implications in Vance? Well, he's a good pick. There's no doubt about it. I think that the clarity is in the contrast between J.D.
vance and Kamala Harris. And that's what we're looking at when comparing the two vice presidents. So you look everything from his upbringing. He's a Marine.
He's incredibly smart. I mean, they wrote a book and made a movie about his life before he was even in the U.S. senate. And most importantly, yes, he's a senator, but he's only been there about a year and a half.
He's still an outsider. Right? And that's what I think a lot of folks in Republican Party, a lot of folks in America want. They want an outsider to come in and kind of bring some disruption to this establishment in Washington, D.C.
that just isn't listening to the individuals of this country. And so, you know, in that aspect, I think the former president has picked a great running mat. J.D. vance, he has that contrast.
He's incredibly smart. He's got those leadership skills. There's no question about that. And it's not about supporting the MAGA brand or this.
It's not about brand, guys, you said it yourselves, this convention is all about unity. Everyone's getting on board, not just on the presidential side, but up and down the ballot in state races and congressional races and Senate races. All the polls say right now the unification of the Republican Party is going to be very successful come November. And of course, as you just brought up, the contrast to the disarray in the Democratic Party right now couldn't be more stark.
I mean, most Democrats want their the president off the ticket, right? Leadership in the Democratic Party wants him off the ticket. That battle is going to go on right up until the point of the convention. And even if they nominate Joe Biden, it's not going to be a whole lot of enthusiasm.
We all know that. Well, Governor, just be clear. Leadership hasn't said they want him off the ticket. And I think it's an open question still what the Democratic National Convention will look like.
But there's no doubt there has been a debate inside the Democratic Party. But let me ask you about some of the divisions within the Republican Party. One of them is on the issue of Ukraine. And on that point, Senator J.D.
vance is, takes an isolationist view, very similar, very in line with former President Trump. I want to read something you wrote about the war in Ukraine. This was last year. You wrote, quote, to abandon Ukraine would set up a negative chain of events for US interest domestically and abroad.
Vladimir Putin is knocking at NATO's doorstep. And without our support and the support of our European allies, Ukraine will fall, resulting in far graver problems for the United States. Conflict across Europe. Are you concerned that there is going to be an isolationist ticket representing the Republican Party?
No, I say it my very strongly. I really do believe the battle for Western democracy is right on the front lines in Ukraine. We have to be very supportive of a lot of Republicans in the Senate and the House supported that bill to make sure those funds, funds move forward. Look, you know, you're not going to find us all agree on every issue.
You know what? That's okay. That's what makes us, I think a very strong party is Republicans. You know, you have your conservatives and your moderators.
You have those that want big government and small government, all this. But that's all right. Fundamentally, we're always about the individual. We're always about creating more opportunity, not just these big government solutions.
So at the end of the day, yeah, we might differ on some of the policies here, but everyone's coming together. They really are, because an election is about choices. It's Biden or Trump. That's it.
And when you go to the voting pool, you don't have a debate. Right. You got to pick one or the other. And the Trump events is going to be far and away more, much more strong, much more to the ideals of someone like myself and conservatives that want to see this country move in a better direction.
But, Governor, Governor Jeb, I do have a lot of questions. Just quickly. And you paint this as an existential threat, Putin's invasion of Ukraine to global security, to Western democracies. I mean, do you have reservations about the fact that the Republican Party may retreat what you have laid out as its responsibilities?
No, because they're not saying we're abandoning the issue of Ukraine and Russia. They're saying they have their own strategies to go about it. They can work with their allies. They talk a lot about NATO.
And I think they're right. You have to hold NATO accountable. They have to move forward. So again, we're cutting into some of the nuances of how to make sure that western democracy is secured in America's place in the world is secure because the strong America means world peace.
So we have slightly different ways of going about it. But at the end of the day, it doesn't mean that we're going to abandon the ticket. Right. We're going to abandon what's important, which is getting rid of this establishment, elite, liberal establishment out of Washington, D.C.
that frankly, all of America. Governor, you of course supported Nikki Haley during the primary. She is going to address the convention tonight. I guess the question is she has said Donald Trump needs to earn the support of her supporters.
Donald Trump has said we don't really need him. Do you think he's done anything beyond inviting Nikki Haley to speak tonight to reach out and try to win over her supporters? Oh, yeah. Look, again, it's not just about saying having one statement or making one overture.
The unification of the Republican Party right now is unquestionable. And that goes from Nikki Haley supporters and Ron DeSantis supporters and Doug Burgum supporters and Donald Trump supporters. Everyone's getting behind the ticket. I think he's going to be phenomenal on the stage tonight.
I think she's going to show that, that unity. And at the end of the day, while again, you have your primaries and you battle it out and those can be very tough and they can get nasty sometimes, of course. But to have Nikki and a lot of the other folks who ran against Donald Trump on that stage showing that support is very meaningful, no question about it. And it's just going to really solidify things over the next few days and show America it isn't just about MAGA base and all this sort of thing.
And one issue, it's about a party that wants to talk to American people. More important, listen, as opposed to standing on the shoulders of the family that built this countries and keep telling them how to live their lives like the Biden administration is doing. People are really tired of that. Governor, former President Trump has said that he's rewriting his speech in the wake of the assassination attempt against his life.
He said it's going to be a more unifying message. He, of course, has a history of using heated, his critics would say, very violent political language. Do you think he can be a sincere messenger in this space? What are you anticipating?
Well, if there's anything about Donald Trump, he means what he says, right? You can disagree with him all day long, but I mean, he talks off the coffee except bringing more than anyone I've ever seen on a political substitute. So the fact that he's willing to say, look, I have a different message, I see a different vision. I'm seeing things a little bit differently.
And I think there's a different opportunity for his words, not just tonight, but over the next four months to bring out this Republican Party together. We've done that. He's done that. It's about bringing this entire country to think more positive and hopeful again.
It's all about that contrast, the contrast of the Democrat Party right now. It's a nightmare over there. And you know what? It's their own fault.
The Democrat Party, the elitist, the leadership, they all created this. They didn't want to talk about the border. They didn't want to talk about inflation. They didn't want to talk about crime and lawlessness and the homelessness crisis in their cities.
And that's what Republicans want to do. We want to bring ideas and solutions and those things to the table. And that actually unifies people together. Right.
Talking about the things that American, the American public wants us to talk about is a unifying opportunity as opposed to just saying Donald Trump is a threat to democracy and all this sort of thing. Governor, let me, let me just push back a little bit because you're saying, I want to talk about these issues. President Biden has actually spent quite a lot of time talking about issues. Immigration to inflation, the border.
In fact, there was a bipartisan deal coming together to deal with the issue of migration and the large numbers of people coming here illegally, and it was torpedoed by former President Trump. Right. So can you, can you actually say that they're not talking about this in Washington? Once again, the Democrats are doing what they do best.
Lots of top no action. What have they done? See, the board crisis got bad when Joe Biden signed 16 executive orders, completely changed the policies and let everybody in. It turned out to be a disaster, as we all, a lot of us on this side knew it would be.
He tried to flip as fast as he could, but there was no law passed. No laws have been passed on the border for quite some time now. You have one bill, after three years of realizing your policy is horrible, throw it on the House and say, well, if you don't vote for, I guess this is your problem. No one's buying that.
And if anybody was in, Joe Biden would be winning this election. What has he done to deal with inflation? He doesn't. He barely talks about it.
He tells everyone that Bide is working for them. Yet we have the highest credit card debt in this country. People can barely afford to pay their rent and they can barely afford to put food on the table. But Bidenomics is working.
So don't say that. Do not say that this administration has talked about issues. They've done nothing. And at the end of the day, with all the trouble and all the issues you might not like about Donald Trump, how he talks or how bombastic he can be, people want results and that's a good thing.
That means America is listening and they're going to vote for change in November. We should know that the border crossings are down by 40% since President Biden signed a set of executive actions and inflation is down as well, Governor, 300%. Thank you. Governor.
Come on. Right. But it is, it is down to new one. So appreciate it.
Governor Sununu, thank you so much. I really appreciate you joining us on a very busy week. Let's bring check back for reaction. You hear the rhetoric we are hearing from the governor.
Not a surprise. Tonight's going to be filled with people drawing that contrast on immigration, on the economy. They're going to be talking about inflation and that's what they see as one of their biggest huddles in this election. Well, look, I mean, you know, in that sense where the governor is that they're talking about issues that do unify the broadest cross section of Republicans you can find.
They're not, he's not highlighting the massive divide there is on Ukraine and it's a huge divide on Ukraine. He's going out of his way not to do those things. He's not advertising the tariffs. I mean, you know, I sort of joke, you know, he's going to, if these tariffs go into place, Donald Trump's going to turn the dollar store into the $10 store because that's where all these tariffs were.
And it isn't going to be China paying. It is going to be people that go to the dollar, these tariffs. But they're also not talking about that because, you know, that is something that still makes half this party uncomfortable. I was, it was remarkable to me they see Chip Roy comment.
Okay, the painting was nice last night. I hope he gets to some small government for the rest of this convention. I'm misquoting paraphrasing him if you're misqu essentially that was the, the spirit with that. And that to me is what's so remarkable is and that's what's going on here.
The party, I mean, the fact of the matter is this party is more unified. This convention since 2004. That was the 911 convention for George W. Bush.
That was the last time the Republican Party was in this lock step with each other. And look, nobody, Sunita included, you, me, none of us thought Donald Trumps the party of any critics. And that helps create unity if you get rid of people that don't agree. Well, within that space.
What are you expecting to hear from Nikki Haley and will her message? And we're anticipating she's gonna talk about being a Trump convert similar to the speech last night. But will that help to win over. I'm curious.
And if we hear any sign of that, if anybody, she's, if she's basically finding a way to agree with Donald Trump without sort of talking about her own brand. I mean, this is somebody that wanted both candidates take cognitive tests. This is somebody who thought anybody over the age of 75 maybe already aged out of the federal government. Right.
So is she. This is somebody who I think believes she has a lot more expertise on the world stage and better judgment than Donald Trump does on the world stage. She said that in the primary. So that's what I'm looking for.
Is she at all got a nod to 28 or is she somebody looking for a job in the Trump administration? Boy, that would be something if she went back to the Trump administration. Yes. Right.
You know, but I've always said the reason she got that job is because Donald Trump wanted to do a favor to lieutenant governor in South Carolina and make another. And so she benefited from the fact that, that Henry McMaster had earned a without Trump. So bottom line, you don't anticipate this speech to necessarily be one that reaches out to her voters and brings them into the Trump 10. Look, I think she will go out of her way to sound like Kristen more agreeable to Trumpism than he did six months ago when he was upping to run against Trumpism.
He was more aggressive against Trumpism. Look, he made the turn. Look, if you want, if you believe that Donald Trump is the future of the Republican Party and you've decided to stay a Republican, you're falling in line. And you can see the lawmakers that have made that decision.
That is what it is. All right, Shock. Todd, thank you. Perspective as always, and setting us up for another very momentous evening here.
We're going to turn now to the backdrop to all of this. The investigation into Saturday's assassination attempt of Donald Trump in Penny. With the Secret Service facing mounting scrutiny, an official telling NBC News that local police warned at the Secret Service they were looking for a suspicious person at the rally for officials. NBC News that rally goers alerted police after noticing Thomas Crooks pacing and acting strangely near the magnetometers.
Police began pursuing Crooks on foot, but it's not clear when the Secret Service was notified. Meanwhile, in her first interview since Saturday's incident, the director of the Secret Service said she will not be stepping down and explained why there were no agents on that roof where the gunman was perched. Should that roof have been secure, period? That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point.
And so, you know, there's a safety factor that would be considered there that would want to put somebody up on a sloped roof. And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building from inside. NBC News law enforcement intelligence correspondent Tom Winter joins me now. Tom, you're reporting on this and frankly, every breaking story today has been remarkable.
Does the Secret Service director's explanation about the roof that you heard there and it's so fascinating to hear talk about it, does it make sense from a tactical standpoint? It doesn't make a lot of sense according to people that I've talked with that are familiar with these type of tactics and what you would do there. There are some considerations from time to time about temperature and weather. That's a different one.
But the Secret Services used to be on top of roofs. They do it all the time. They have to do it all the time. Look at the counter sniper team that took out the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks.
So I think her explanation, at least among law enforcement experts, doesn't hold water. Perhaps she knows something I don't certainly can concede that depending on what they found during their walkthrough, if it was an issue with respect to handling the load of somebody being on the roof. But then again, she didn't say that. So I think there's some questions there.
I think there's been some really terrific additional reporting today by our colleague Stephanie Goss who spoke with the Butler Township manage. This is the person who oversees that township in the police department there. And so in the course of that he described a scenario where local law enforcement officers, police became aware that he was up or somebody was up on that roof. Four officers responded to that building we were looking at just a moment ago.
They hoist up and push up one of their officers who when he looks over the top of the roof, he sees Crooks there. Crooks turns and puts his moves his rifle towards where the officer is. He's got both hands hanging onto the edge of the roof he drops down, he falls eight feet. And this according to the township manager, they say that they get on the radio, apparently a shared radio frequency for this event, the security frequency for this event, and say, hey, we've got this guy up there, he's got a gun.
That is a huge revelation today. And so the question is, did that information go out wider? Was the Secret Service aware of it? Were the Secret Service agents of the team that was up at the podium with former President Trump or the counter sniper team?
You see them move their rifle in advance, he's already looking over there. When the shots are fired, you're looking right there on the video. It's perfectly explained. So when they give it a heads up and they just didn't see it in time, there's a whole bunch of questions, of course, that we have every day brings more of them.
We are trying to get answers. I got people on Twitter saying, why aren't you guys asking about this? We are asking about that. We're trying to bring you the answers if we get them.
But it's certainly a focus of ours and obviously raises more questions about the overall plan that was put into play here given the fact that the officers were there as they had said that they were planning to be. Tom, it really, I know you're asking every question out there. It is just so remarkable to hear the Secret Service director point the finger at the local authorities. But I know you are bringing us every new detail as you get it.
Let me ask you about another new development today. U.S. officials confirming that the Secret Service was actually focused on a separate threat against Donald Trump. What was the nature of that threat?
What's the significance here? So this came in the last several weeks to a month ago, the US Received information that there was a potential Iranian plot involving former President Trump. I want to say from the onset there is no indication at this time that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the shooter who fired rounds at the stage, Nick Trump in some way on Saturday, there's no indication that he has a connection to what I'm about to describe. So for some time, Kristen, and this has gone over the past couple of years, Iran has a list, for lack of a better phrase, of all sorts of people they would like to target in the United States.
And it reads as a who's who of the Trump administration, Iranian hawks like Mike Pompeo, Bolton, for instance, all of those individuals have been targeted. There's also some high profile members in the Jewish community here in the US that are on that list. And we've reported about this. Many other news organizations have reported out in the past.
Apparently there's new information that came in there was a little bit more focused on former President Trump. So the Secret Service said at that time, this is before the rally on Saturday, that they beefed up their presence a little bit just because of what they were getting in the threat stream, even if it wasn't something that was totally vetted, yet not quite sure how serious the threat was. So I think what you saw on Saturday is apparently enhanced security. And then I think that might raise more questions.
Well, Tom, you've been on double duty today because I have to ask you about more breaking news, which is that Senator Bob Menendez was convicted on all counts, 16, I believe, in his corruption trial. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer now calling on him to resign, to step down. What comes next for the New Jersey Democrat? Yeah, Congressman Booker.
And you can add New Jersey's Governor Murphy to that list as well, among many other members of Congress who are vocally and forcefully calling for the resignation of the senator. When he spoke here earlier today, you see him at the podium, he gave no indication whatsoever that he was going to step down. He was defiant, frankly, in the result of the jury's verdict today, look, it was 60 nothing against the senator, 18 to nothing on the indictment. This was a total rebuke of his arguments and the defense that they laid out and a complete belief in the prosecutor's theory.
And I think we have to consider, we've talked about the gold bars and the cash because obviously we see those images. It's top of mind. Or the idea that Menendez says it was his wife that was really the person responsible for this cash flow and she was the one that was perhaps more involved in the scheme. His attorneys even painting the senator as a victim.
You look at the conduct of that the jury bought in this that a sitting United States senator, then the chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the jury says was providing confidential information to Egypt and assisting Conor, not his constituents in New Jersey or the United States. And so I think that's something that perhaps noteworthy. All right. Tom Winter's covering literally every single story for us.
Really appreciate it. Thank you so much. We sure do. I know you've got a big team.
You guys have been doing great work. And we've got much more coming up. Live from the Republican national convention, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine will join me to talk about his home state senator becoming the VP nominee and what it means for the future of the Republican Party. You're watching Meet the Press now special coverage of the Republican National Convention.
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On this week's episode, I sit down with one of the biggest bands in the world, Mumford. And so as we get the boys together to talk about their new number one album, Prize Fighter and the evolution of that irresistible foot stomping sound, you can get our conversation for free wherever you download your podcasts. And welcome back with Ohio Senator Jadie Vance, officially now the Republican vice presidential nominee, Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine will be the one to choose his replacement if the Trump ticket wins in November. It comes as Ohio Republicans look to flip Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown's seat this fall.
With candidate Bernie Moreno slated to speak tonight along with other Republican senate hopefuls. Ohio Governor DeWine will be here in just a moment. But first, joining me now is our fantastic hale, Matt Warman, former senior communications advisor to the Tim Scott campaign, and Mark Lauter, director of strategic communications for Donald Trump's 2020 campaign. Thanks to both of you for being here.
Really apprec I want to get to tonight, but I have to start with your reaction to last night, Mark, when former President Trump walked out with his ear bandaged. That moment, that look on his face that was emotional was frankly a Donald Trump that I think we really haven't seen. What did you make of it? Someone who came about a millimeter away from not being here tonight?
I think it was really an awakening moment and I think what then the crowd was overwhelmed by that moment as well and the support. It was very loud. I figured that we were all going to hear your earplugs when he walked out. And it's probably just a fraction of what we're going to see Thursday night.
Yeah, I think you're right about that. You know, Matt, we've been talking about the contrast between this convention and the last in person convention which took place in 2016 when the party was not unified in this same way around Donald Trump. What do you make of this moment? The fact that this has become Donald Trump's party, so much so that his running mate is basically seen as the future of.
I mean, you're absolutely right. When we did this 2016, the party was really tearing itself apart a little bit. I will say now it is easier than it's ever been, especially in the last two months or so to be a Donald Trump supporter. I think part of that tone was that unlike 2016 where the primary was a little bit mashed up, he was kind of a clown car primary.
He had a one on one race and that other contestants were seeing that we saw earlier in Nikki Haley and he won it. So this really is his party and the top down control of the messaging. The speakers so much more organized than we saw twist. Let's talk about the messaging.
They're going to be talking about crime and immigration. At a time when Donald Trump has said he's rewriting his speech to deliver a unity message. Is the theme of immigration and crime discordant with a unity message? There's undoubtedly going to be some tough stuff that's uttered tonight.
I don't believe so. Because look, if you look at the polls, immigration and crime do pop this as issues that really our voters truly care about. And you look at folks, DeSantis and Haley tonight's SPE speaking, they're trying to get people who might have voted for them in the primary into the Trump tent out of this either side of the general election. I think that will be a huge factor.
Mark, when you think about the rhetoric and where we are right now in our politics, former President Trump has been a big part of that. I want to play a little bit of some of his past rhetoric for my viewers and get your reaction to what you're expecting. On Thursday, we will root out the communists, Marxist fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country. When they let I think the real numbers, 15, 16 million people into our country when they do that, we got a lot of work to do.
They're poisoning the blood of our country crooked. Joe Biden is the demented tyrant. He's a demented tyrant who is trying to destroy our democracy. He's only good at cheating on elections, but it's not him.
He's surrounded by fascists around the Oval Office. It's just so bad in so many ways. He's killing our country. Country.
So, Mark, when you hear that and you also hear him say he's rewriting his speech on Thursday, can he make a pivot away from all of that rhetoric that he is known for? Well, I think he can, though, because on the policy, I do think he's right on the policy that we need to secure our borders, we need to deal with illegal immigration, we need to be tough on crime, support law enforcement. So how we communicate that I think is obviously going to be a very important message. And I also think that we've got to take lessons on the other side as well.
Let's have a policy debate, let's have a policy disagreement on both sides, but let's drop the name call in comparison to Hitler and you know, and then folks are dangerous and realize we're still all Vangers, we're still all Americans. And we can. We'll agree to disagree and we'll do it politely. I interviewed Senator Bernie Sanders over the weekend under the Press.
He said we've got to get back to a place where politics is boring. Can the country do that, Matt? It's possible. I hope so.
Everything is so politicized now, from the TV shows we watch to the businesses we solicit, all that it is. So it pervades every aspect of American life. It can only go on for so long. And if we saw on Saturday was a terrible reminder of that.
I'm hoping we can dial it back a little bit. At least in the short term. We've seen some evidence of that with the Biden campaign and also the Trump campaign. In the long term, we'll see if I'm hopeful.
They never know. Quick question for both of you. Obviously the nominee or the pick of JD Vance as the vice presidential nominee, is this just a pick to be the standard bearer of the future of the MAGA movement or does he help electorally? Matt, what do you think?
This is a double down on the three states in the Russo that are so important. I think they feel far more confident in the Sunbell. That would be a Rubio pick or Tim Scott pick. Vance is really focusing on those three states and to him, Mark, what I Don't think there's a better candidate that can go to an undecided voter and go, hey, I was just like you.
I had my questions, I maybe had voice some concerns. But when I look at the records of these two men, the policies, their vision for the future, I made the choice to come on over. Come on and join me. The water's fine.
All right. Great conversation. Mark Lauder, maman, thank you both so much. Great to see you.
I'm sure we'll be talking a lot this week. And now joining me here on set is the governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine. Governor, thank you so much for being here. Thank you.
It's the perfect segue to start our conversation. Obviously, President, former President Trump's running mate, J.D. van tails from the great state of Ohio. Your reaction to this pick?
What's your first choice? That's a great day for Hile. You know, it's been since 1944, John Bricker, vice presidential candidate with Dewey. So it's been a long time, 80 years.
We're very happy. It's a good, good day for Heil. So it's always going to be good to have someone in the White House from Ohio. I have to ask you the same question I was just talking to Mark and Matt about.
There is skepticism inside the Republican Party that J.D. vance will expand the Republican tent. In other words, he's seen as someone who really is doub on being Donald Trump on the MAGA movement. How do you think he helps electorally?
How does he help to bring in new voters? First of all, J.D. vance, I've known him for some time. After he wrote his book, I reached out to him.
I thought it was fascinating. So we get to know each other. He's been to the newer home for dinner. He Anusha.
So, you know, he's first of all extremely intelligent person. You know, his life story has just been pointed out many times. He can relate to about anybody. He can relate to a mom who doesn't have enough food.
He can relate to a family who's got someone who's got a mental health problem or addiction problem. That's helpful politically. But it's also, I think, going to be helpful when he's vice president. Going through trauma yourself, seeing your family go through trauma, it just makes you a different person there.
That I think you're going to see with J.D. vance is he will continue to learn as we all do through life, and he will continue, I think, to evolve in some way. But yes, if the president made a decision to put Someone on the ticket to is very similar to him in positions. There's no, no doubt about that.
But you know, some of these debates are going to continue very much the issue about Ukraine. Look, I feel very strongly that we have it. It is in our national interest to protect Ukraine, to give them the support that they need. NATO is very, very important.
So there's divergence of views in the Republican Party. Let me follow up with you. You bring me to my next point. Perfectly.
Governor, let me follow up with you. I was talking to Governor about this very same point. He sees it as an existential threat that Putin has invaded Ukraine, to the surrounding countries in Europe and frankly to democracies. Does it concern you that the entire Republican ticket takes a rather isolationist view as it relates to, to intervening and sending raid to Ukraine?
Well, I'm not sure we know exactly what President Trump will do in regard to Ukraine. Vice President Romney has made it pretty clear where he is. But ultimately this is a decision made by the president. And when someone gets back in, in this case back in the Oval Office and starts getting the briefings and looking at things.
So I think this is still a very open question. We still certainly have many people in the United States Congress who feel we absolutely must help Ukraine. Not only is it the right thing morally to do, but it's in our national self interest. A strong NATO is in our national self interest.
So this debate and conversation, let's say, will continue to go on. Well. And former President Trump has said he can end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. When he makes those types of statements, do you believe him or do you think that that's wishful thinking?
We'll see what happens when he takes office again once you're back into the office, you know, we'll see. But we can only hope that, you know, he will see the wisdom of helping Ukraine. It's just vitally important. You talk about tough decisions, you've got a tough one ahead of you if they are to win.
Well, I have. That's a fair point. Have you started to think about if they were to win, if they were, if they were to go to the White House, who would replace Senator J.D. sure.
I mean, once it started looking the last few weeks that Vance would be the nominee, you know, if I told you I wasn't thinking about, you wouldn't bring me anyway. So certainly I'm thinking about it. We have a lot of good people. Our focus now is getting Bernie Marina elected to the United States Senate.
We have three Supreme Court justices In Ohio elected, we've got a couple congressional seats that are very, very contested. So that's where our focus has to be on Ohio. Do you care to share your shortlist with us of people? Look, I served 12 years in the United States Senators, you know, so I think I have some idea of what it takes.
It takes somebody wants to work. I mean it takes someone who is not just about giving speeches, but someone who would do the nuts and to work and work for the state of Ohio and work for the United States, work for this country. So that's what I'm looking for. Look, it also has to be someone who can win a primary.
It has to be someone who can win a general election and has to be someone who is willing to take on two races in a row. I'll point this person, they will run again in 2026, they'll run in 2028. That's, that's tough. Non stop campaigning for four years is not easy.
Vivek Ramaswani says he is interested in the seat potentially. Is he someone who's on your list? We have a lot of good people and as I've said, you know, I don't even have a, they asked me if I have a short list. I said, look, I don't even have a long list.
So we'll get to that. You're right there. Look, we're going to hear from Nikki Haley tonight as well as Governor Ron DeSantis. What are you anticipating?
Let me ask you about Michael, specifically because her voters could quite frankly be decisive in terms of who wins the White House in November. What will you be looking for in terms of her messaging to her voters and to the crowd here? Well, the conventions are where we get together. This is where Democrats get together for Republicans get together.
This is going to be unity speech. I'm sure. I'm not talking to her and that's what it should be. That's what we expect at a convention like this.
But again, you know, she took a different position in regard to Ukraine. She's taking a different position in regard to things on foreign policy. I hope that she would not back away from that. I don't expect her to come in here and start a fight with the president, with our nominee.
Look, this is the time when we come together with Republicans. We're here. We want to go election. All right.
Governor M, thank you so much. Great to have you. We really appreciate you taking time for this conversation. Well, while former President Trump is here in Milwaukee, President Biden is at west in Las Vegas, where he set to address NAACP's national convention just moments from now.
These will be his first comments in front of a large audience in Saturday's attempted assassination of former President Trump. In an exclusive interview with my colleague Lester Holt, the president said it was a mistake to tell donors in a private call last week that it was time to put Trump in a bullseye. But the president said he'd continue to criticize the former president on the trail. Take a listen.
I didn't say crosshairs. I'm a bullseye. Focus on him, focus on what he's doing. Focus on his policies.
Focus on the number of lies he told in the debate. Have you taken a step back and done a little soul searching on things that you may have said that could incite people who are not balanced? Well, I don't think, look, how do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says, do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody? Look, I, I, I'm not engaged in that rhetoric now.
My opponent is against that rhetoric. MEC News White House correspondent Mike Emily joins me now from Las Vegas. Mike, it is great to see you so set the stage here. What are you anticipating?
And I ask that within the context of President Biden delivering that address from the Oval Office urging Americans to lower the temperature and then during his interview with Lester Holt, making it clear he's still very much going to be drawing a contrast with former President Trump. Yeah, that's right, Kristen. We really have seen two bidens on display over the last 72 hours. Before the assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life, President Biden was in fighter mode.
You saw that really boisterous rally he held in Detroit where he had some of his most pointed language yet about Donald Trump as a felon, as a fraud, as somebody who was putting our democracy at risk and then trying to after the assassination, go into the role of unifier, trying to speak to the country about the need to lower our political temperature. But then you're right. In that interview with Lester Hole, there was that fighter again, really pushing back on the continued questions about his mental acuity, on what if he should stay in this race. And so now we're in convention versus convention mode.
It's not on the scale of what you're dealing with there in Milwaukee, but the president speaking to two very important constituencies over the next two days here in Las Vegas. Today it's the naacp. Tomorrow, uniosol major Latino adventure. And what the Biden campaign is telling me is that the president really does want to get back to what was the message in Detroit, talking about what Donald Trump would lead to if he is in office Again, a special FOCUS course on Project 2025 versus what President Biden would do in the first hundred days of his second term.
They want it to be a policy contrast. They're very conscious of tone right now. They say it'll be totally different than what we saw in Troy, but the stuff is still very much the same person. Mike, we have less than a minute, but one of the big questions on everyone's mind is the debate with the Democratic Party over whether President Biden should stay at the top of the ticket.
Do you feel like that has ended or is it just that it is paused in the wake of this weekend's assassination attempt against former President Trump? It may not be on pause, Chris. It may be getting more organized. You see this effort on the part of some members of Congress, the Democratic Caucus, to write this letter circulated among their colleagues about whether to delay the process by which everyone have this virt call to affirm President Biden as a nominee of the party.
This speaks to the fact that many of the more subtle efforts that have been underway on the part of Democratic elected officials to push the president potentially in the direction of stepping side have not worked. And so now they're looking at every other tool at their disposal present. All right, Mike Mully, well, I know you continue to track every twist and turn and we'll be listening very closely to President Biden when he speaks there in Las Vegas. Thanks so much for joining us.
Really appreciate it. And still at calm, we're counting down to the official kickoff for tonight's RNC events. Former Trump Cabinet member Ben Carson, who's set to speak tonight in primetime, will be here with me. We'll get a free view of his speech.
You're WATCHING me. THE PRESS now special coverage of the Republican National Convention. Stay with us. Welcome back to NBC News.
NOW covered the 2024 Republican National Convention in just a few minutes. Tonight's session kick off with an evening themed around the border. Speakers will include Senate candidates, Republican House leadership and some big names including Republicans like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Trump's former UN ambassador, Nikki Haley. Joining me now is someone else who served in the Trump administration will be addressing the convention tonight, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Dr.
Ben Carson. Secretary Carson, thank you so much for being here. Really appreciate you. Thank you so much.
Before we look ahead to tonight, I want to ask you about last Night, that extraordinary moment where former President Trump walked out onto the convention floor with a bandage on his ear. And it almost felt like there were religious overtones in that moment, including this notion, as the speaker said, that former President Trump had been spared or saved for this very moment. What was it like from your perspective, to be there? Well, it was clearly sort of a sense, elements of a revival, people recognizing that there's a greater than ourselves.
And I think President Trump realizes that now, too. I mean, he's known it before, but it really comes home to you when you're that close to dying. Well, you know, in the wake of that horrific assassination attempt, the former president has been very clear. He's rewriting his speech for Thursday night.
He says he wants to deliver a message of unity. He wants to try to bring the country together. As you know, we find ourselves in a moment where there's a lot of political rhetoric that gets very heated. He has certainly, and he would not deny this, been a part of that.
In one instance, calling for the execution of his former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, he's used very colorful rhetoric to talk about immigration and the border. Do you think it is possible for him to deliver a unifying message that reaches out to people beyond this convention? Well, I think it's possible for all of us. You know, this is a very consequential election because it really is not about personalities and people.
We need to just move that to the side and talk about what kind of country do we want to have. Do we want to have a country that is people centric or one that is government centric, and what were the original intents of the founders of this country? That's what we really need to be talking about and make a decision. We can go one way or the other, but let's be clear eyed about which way we go.
Do you think the former president bears some responsibility for the climate, the political rhetoric that we see today? Well, I think everybody bears responsibility for it. We just need to move beyond, you know, sort of what children do and move to a place where we have adults in, in the room who actually can sit down, put the facts in the middle of the table and discuss the issues. And I've talked to President Trump recently.
I think he actually realizes that, and I think you'll probably hear that in his speech. So you have, based on your conversations with the former president, you're basically saying that he feels, though, he's got to make a change overall, not beyond just his speech. I think that he realizes, I think that Many of the people that are struggling to realize that we need to move beyond personalities here and we really need to get to the facts because otherwise it's just a bunch of distraction. Let me ask you about the other big news yesterday, which is that Donald Trump picked Senator J.D.
vance to be his running mate. 39 years old, he served less than two years in the U.S. senate. You were one of the names that was getting a little bit of buzz.
Any disappointment on your end that were they that you're not on a ticket? My only reason for being in the political arena going back eight or nine years is because I want to see our country do well. I want to see our children and our grandchildren have the same kind of opportunities that I've had. It's totally not about me.
I don't care about me. I just care about what happens to our country. So I'm pleased that we have people who are willing to sacrifice. Certainly President Trump doesn't need all this stuff and JD Vance is only beginning to feel the heat.
You know, the way we do things, we just roast people without thinking about any other thing. And so he's going to have to face all of that. His wife and his children are going to have to fix. It shouldn't be that way, but it is, unfortunately.
And, but I think he's well equipped to deal with it. If there is a second Trump administration, would you want to be tapped to serve in it? Well, I want to be tapped to help heal our country and to bring people together. And there are probably a series of different ways to do that.
But I will definitely stay involved. And we're going to hear from you tonight. Just very briefly, we have about 10 seconds left. Quick preview of your speech.
Quick preview is. I'm not sure what I'm going to say, but I will be inspired when I get. It's not written yet. Hey, that's a headline.
Secretary Carson, we'll listen very closely. Thank you. A pleasure to have you. Appreciate it very much.
Well, I'm back tomorrow live from Milwaukee on day three of the Republican National Convention. Special coverage continues with my friend Halli, Hallie Jackson, who's sitting right next to me. Hallie and I'll stick around for you with a hand off, Chris. That's what we call smooth trick.
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