If it's Friday, President Biden rans up his outreach to black voters amid new warning signs he's losing support with the voting block that's mission critical to his re election effort as former President Trump hits the trail in Minnesota. Plus, making sense of this week's critical testimony and heated cross examination of key witness Michael Cohen as prosecutors want to clean up concerns over Cohen's credibility. With closing arguments fast approaching. And the Israeli military says it has now recovered the bodies of three additional Israeli hostages from southern Gaza.
As the White House's national security advisor heads to the region, the administration's latest push to prevent an all out invasion of Rafah. Welcome to Meet the Press. Now I'm Kristen Welker in Washington. The 2024 presidential candidates prepare to hit the road.
A wild week of headlines for both campaigns and an unprecedented agreement to debate each other one on one next month. It comes as President Biden and former President Trump right now are on defense. Mr. Trump literally defending himself in court as his New York criminal hush money trial heads towards closing arguments.
With court dark today, the former president is headed to Minnesota, aiming to make the state competitive in November even though it hasn't gone Republican in more than 50 years. We have a really good shot at Minnesota where we have great friendships up there. We've done a lot for industry. We've done a lot for everything in Minnesota, worked hard on Minnesota.
President Biden, meanwhile, is trying to defend his record with a frame block of supporters he cannot afford to lose. We're talking about African Americans. Today he spoke at commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Brown vs Board of Education at the African American History Museum. Tomorrow it's an event with black voters in Georgia.
And Sunday, a commencement speech at the historically black Morehouse College. And remarks march to the NAACP in Battleground Michigan. The president addressing the importance of historically black colleges and universities in his speech this morning. HBCUs are vital to our nation's progress.
I mean, it's not that quarterly HBCUs are responsible for 40% of black engineers in America, 50% of black teachers, 70% of all black doctors and dentists, 80% of all black judges. And by the way, I put more on the bench than anybody ever had. And 100% of black Vice presidents. Now, President Biden has been losing support among Black Americans.
87% supported him back in 2020 according to Exit polls. But our latest NBC News poll shows only 71% say they would vote for him in 2024. Our poll also showed enthusiasm among black voters has declined Sharply compared to the past three elections. Driving that trend is black men.
NBC's Germany spoke to a group of those voters in Detroit who say neither political party is serving their communities properly. What's up, sister? On Detroit's hardscrabble west side, it seems like everyone knows them from black. To block, this group of black men shows up day after day, rain or shine, offering protection, resources and respect.
They are a new era Detroit, an organization that fills the often massive void between the people and the politicians. People come in and, you know, they come holler at us about things they may need or, you know, they struggle with their water bill like they'll gas bill. They're everyday faces in some of Detroit's most disembathed communities. A kind of hood.
First response to. But they feel invisible to those at the height of political power. We are one of the leading organizers on the ground in the city of Detroit, Literally the closest that you'll get to black people in the city. We haven't heard anything from a Democrat or Republican.
Men like them in communities like theirs could very well determine who is sent to the White House. In 2024, with both Democrats and Republicans vying for their attention, I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time. And a lot of people said that that's why the black people like me. Because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, black men have not benefited proportionate to other populations.
And while Biden has locked down traditional black voters, black men are poised to become something of a swing vote. Some polling showing that Trump is on track to capture a larger share of black voters than any other Republican presidential candidate since 1996. Why do you think it's been hard for them to get to us? They just want to get their votes and that's it.
They don't care about nothing else. In recent months, Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Donald Trump and third party candidate Robert Kendall Jr have all been trip to Michigan without visiting the kinds of neighborhoods that new era works in. We never seen these people, you know what I mean? They're not real people, you know.
And then when they come to. You just said, yeah, they come to Michigan, they come to these places, but it's not in our places. Who among you is definitely going to vote? Raise your hand or definitely vote in this election.
So just this once, you have decided what you're going to. I'm undecided as of right now. Me and my family are we Democrats. I'm not.
I don't know who I'm going to vote for. If you really want the black vote, spend more time in the black community with black people hearing about their problems back on the streets. The brothers of New Era are doing what they do best and what they say most politicians can't or won't do, showing up for black people in a way they can feel so important to hear from those voters. Our big thanks to Trimming Lee for that great reporting.
For more, let's go to raffles outside the White House. And Burns, who is in St. Paul, Minnesota, had a former President Trump's visit there. Ali, let me start with you.
Talk about this all out effort to try to energize and reconnect with black voters, particularly black men. Yeah, this is really a new problem for the Biden scene because we know that this is a voting bloc that historically has overwhelmingly supported Democrats and Biden has enjoyed support from black voters historically throughout his career. So the White House, if you or the Biden campaign, if you ask them officially this question of whether they're concerned about this, they say no. They say that when black voters remember what President Biden has promised them and they say delivered on that, they don't have a reason to really panic about getting black voters support.
But judging by these flurry of events that we've seen over the past week related to the anniversary of the landmark Brown vs Board of Education Supreme Court decision and what we expect to see from the White House and Biden campaign moving forward, it is clear that there are major efforts to court this vote. We saw the president in the speech this morning talking about his efforts to promote diversity within his administration, touting record low unemployment rates in the black community, historic investments the White House has made in HBCUs, touting all of that work that he has done and he says will continue to do if he is afforded a second term in the White House. And of course, it in an election where we know is going to come down to turnout and excitement from voters, it is critical that the Biden campaign really adds support among this group. But I don't believe the Biden Cabinet is saying that they don't simply expect support.
They say that every day until Election Day they will work for the support of black voters. Well, one of those days is going to be Sunday. President Biden will be delivering the commencement address at Morehouse College. They are bracing for some potential protesters there.
What are you going to be watching for both in terms of the message from President Biden and also in terms of the reception he may get there Absolutely. Those protests definitely expected. And the White House has been aware of this and really launching efforts to ease the tension at that college campus. Specifically before the president's visit earlier this week, as Steve Benjamin, who leads the Office of Public Engagement for the White House, was sent to Morehouse College to meet with students as well as faculty there about their concerns.
And he says that while the president will address the situation in Gaza, that his main focus in this speech is going to be the work that Morehouse College is doing. We do still, like I said, expect those protests to happen. White House officials, when asked about this, simply said that the president does support this free speech, but they would consider this event to be a success if these protests don't end up being disruptful. And remember, we have seen Morehouse College's president even say that if they are, he will cancel the commencement ceremonies altogether.
Kristen. Wow. All right. We'll be watching that very closely.
Ali. Rafa, thank you. Dasha, let me turn to you now in Minnesota, talk about this visit by former President Trump. The state hasn't voted for Republican president since Nixon.
What's his strategy to try to win the state? No, it's been quite a long time, Kristen. But I will say that the team does point out he was within striking distance here back in 2016. Of course, he lost by a much Wider margin in 2020, swore he would never come back.
But we reported this a couple of weeks ago at a donor retreat in Palm Beach. The Trump team presented to donors their plan to expand the map to look at Minnesota, to look at Virginia. They feel that there is opportunity here based on some of the internal numbers that they are seeing and based on kind of what you laid at the beginning here, Kristen. If you talk to folks in Trump world, they will say, look, Biden's out there trying to shore up his base.
Right now. Our base is on lock. What we have the opportunity to do is expand the electorate and expand the places where we might have some success in Minnesota is one of those places. There are a lot of rural areas here especially that are very interested in Trump.
And then, of course, some of those demographics with young voters, Hispanic voters, black voters that Trump is trying to either win over or just say, hey, don't vote for Biden. And tonight, it'll be interesting to see how he addresses the GOP crowd here with so much going on. It's his day off from trial for Barron's graduation, and he's taking advantage of it, not just to go support his son, but to come and try to raise some money and to talk to voters here in the state of Minnesota. Yeah.
Dasha, let's talk about the trial just a little bit in the context of how the campaign feels it's impacting his campaign, if at all. We have seen the polls nationally get tighter in the battleground states, though. We just got new polls out this week which continue to show Trump with a small lead within the margin of error. How are they feeling heading into this week of testimony, what could produce closing arguments?
Yeah, they're feeling bullish. They really, if you've noticed, I'm sure, haven't changed their messaging too much from the primary through to the general election when it comes to the trial into the other charges that he's facing, they continue to hammer the message that it's a politicized and weaponized justice system. And they feel like that's resonating with the voters that they want to reach with that. The challenge has been that he has had to remain in court for so much of the week and hasn't been able to be either out on the campaign trail or really quickly right now out raising money, which they very much need heading into November here.
So that's been the challenge. And they are hoping that this thing will wrap up so that he can start really getting out there talking to voters and talking to donors. Kristen. All right.
Dasha Burns, braving the street music out there in Minnesota. Thank you for powering through. Really appreciate it. Joining now and says NBC News White House horse on Mike Memley, Rita Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of Voto Latino.
She's also an NBC News contributor. And June Garry, senior political correspondent for National Review. Thanks to all of you for being here. Mike, let's start right there with black voters.
When I talk to Democrats, they say this is really at the top of their list of concerns, the fact that you see this erosion among black voters and black men in particular. What is the strategy? Obviously, we see President Biden this week really focused on black voters. But beyond this week, what's the point?
Yeah, I mean, Biden knows, to say the least, his presidency to black voters, not just South Carolina. It was in those sec primary states on Super Tuesday where he built the delegate lead that gave him the nomination, ultimately the presidency. So when you see him this week making this kind of sustained, it's really the first opportunity we're seeing him speak directly to black voters in such a sustained way, it suggests that they are seeing the same thing we're seeing in the public polls about an erosion of black support. I spoke with Quinn, folks's deputy campaign manager.
And he said, listen, what we're seeing here is a core belief of his, which is that the black vote is not something that Democrats can take for granted anymore. It's not a community you just go to in October to try to get them to turn out. You need to be there early, you need to be they're talking to him consistently. And so that's what this represents.
You know, the vice president has also been there quite a bit. But I think it's also worth noting Atlanta and Detroit, where he's going to be this weekend. Those are two cities where the black turnout is going to be absolutely critical and two of the most important battleground states. And so this is really just the beginning of what campaigns that will be more to come in terms of the state outreach from the president.
Yeah, it certainly has been a week of outreach, that's for sure. Marin Teresa, let me show you some of the polling from key voting blocks which kind of makes this point more broadly, the fact that it's, it's black voters, it's Hispanic voters, where you see President Biden with this, quite frankly, very narrow lead, he's trailing them among younger voters. What do you see in those numbers? So we just came out with a bunch of polling key and five key battle around states.
And one of the things that we've learned is that we're sort of asking the wrong question to do a lot of polling. A lot of polling that we're seeing is between Biden and Trump. But we're not talking about rfk, we're not talking about third party. And if we're very frank, the largest party in the United States is independent, neither lean Democratic or lead Republican.
And so what the way to better understand these tea leaves is in a place like Nevada, you're seeing close to a third of young people, of young men, Latino men interested in rfk. So the best way that Biden has to bring this coalition back of young voters, black voters, Latinos and women is to talk about his accomplishments, but also recognize that this election is going to be decided very much on who can win. TikTok I know that sounds absolutely absurd. You are seeing that the reason people are resonating with third party is that they don't understand that the electoral system actually is a two party system.
So if they're trying to do a protest vote against Biden's actually a vote for Trump, you have to meet voters where they are. What you're saying makes perfect sense. Jim, let's talk about the dynamics of this race because conventional wisdom is if this is a referendum on President Biden, that hurts Biden. On the other hand, if President Biden can try to make this a choice election, it emboldens him.
Do you think he's been able to do that yet? Where do you think this stands judging from these numbers? Not yet. Now it is entirely.
And you talk to the Biden folks, they seem actually convinced that voters aren't really truly believing that Trump is Republican nominee. Somehow between now and election Day, they're pull rabbit out of Hatton, DeSantis or Haley. They can't really be renominated. Yes, they are.
And the idea when the leper looks at that, they'll say, oh, okay, we're going, they'll ship back to Biden. I don't know if it's a safe bet right now, but there's a lot of time to be now watching that. There is. Let's look at some more polls.
This is voter interest. Mike Memley and I think this just speaks to the lack of enthusiasm that both of these candidates are dealing with right now. April of 2012 73% April of 2024 59% Mike Emily part of what they are dealing with is an electorate, quite frankly, the majority of which is we don't want this rematch to begin with. So that's exactly why the president challenged Donald Trump to these debates in June.
The sooner that American people see these men on stage next to each other, the sooner they realize, yes, we are stuck with these two as our nominees. So that's part of the but so much of the way the campaign divide campaign is building, its operation is about reaching these double haters, these people who when you even bring up politics, disengage. And they're doing things like having bingo nights or going to their, you know, concerts because organizers can't organize the way they used to. The interest is not there.
Campaigns. You need to bring the campaign to them. And it's a real challenge. But they think that having the earlier debate will be part of the strategy to force people to realize this choice is coming sooner than they might like.
Jamieri, what do you make of those numbers? And is Trump, I mean, is the Trump trial a way that he can at least engage his base? And we saw this in primary plays very differently from modern. The base maybe.
I don't think so many people are sitting on the edge of their seat for every little twist and turnover might change things. But we look at those numbers at low level interest. The youngest candidate of any major candidate in this presidential race is Robert F. Kennedy.
At age 70, he's the baby in the young Jill Stein, Cornell West Trump turns 78. Biden turns 82. After the election, maybe we'll get somebody who does not qualify for Social Security when he put the United States last one. So I think that one, everybody keeps talking about turnout, but in Biden's corner, he has the opportunity to actually grow the base.
There are 12 million more young voters. Two thirds of them are young people of color. And when you actually look what he's delivered, billions of dollars basically scratching out student, student loans, making sure that you're reducing the cost of inhalers. He does have a portfolio of wins that were demanded by the last generation of folks that voted in 2020 at an all time high.
It's a matter of how can you remind them and grow that base and say, look, we actually do your vote actually does work when you vote for him. And that's where the Bates could come in if he can convey that message. All right, stick around, don't go anywhere because we've got a lot more to talk about with our great panel, including the moment the House committee meeting rapidly devolved into chaos and vicious personal attacks. I know everyone's excited to talk about this one.
Plus questions about why a symbol of solidarity with election deniers was seen at a Supreme Court Justice Lito's house following the January 6th insurrection. But first, it's an intense week in the four presidents criminal hash money trial. I'll talk to a former White house attorney about Mr. Trump and what is next in his trial, whether Trump himself should take the stand.
You're watching THE PRESS now. Stay with us. Welcome back. Donald Trump's hush money trial will resume on Monday, when Michael Cohen will be back on the stand for a fourth day.
It comes after the former Trump fixer struggled in a key moment on the stand yesterday. Trump attorney Todd Blanche grilled Cohen during a cross examination about his earlier testimony that he had called Mr. Trump's bodyguard in October 2016 to discuss the Stormy Daniels matter. Blanche provided a text message from Cohen to the bodyguard before that call stating he wanted help dealing with a prank caller.
According to court transcripts, Cohen said, quote, I believe I also spoke to Mr. President Trump and told him everything regarding the Stormy Daniels matter was being worked on and it's going to be resolved. Land's response we are not asking for your belief. This jury doesn't want to hear what you think happened.
I'm joined now by Ty Cobb, who served as a White House attorney during the Trump administration. Ty, thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. My pleasure, Kristen.
Nice to be with you. So everyone acknowledges yesterday was a rough day of testimony for Michael Cohen. And frankly, in the prosecution's case. Can you put this moment into perspective for us?
Because, of course, the knock against Michael Cohen on the defensive side is that he cannot be trusted, that he's a liar. And the prosecution was basically, the defense was basically trying to prove he had lied to the jury. How damaging was that moment? I think it was very damaging, frankly.
You know, I'm not sure it's enough to get Trump acquitted or even get a hung jury, but it was very damaging. It wasn't pure Perry Mason, but it was a huge problem. And frankly, it doesn't only reflect on Cohen. It also reflects really badly on the prosecutors.
And the reason is they had these texts. They did nothing to damage or to dampen, you know, the potential blow here. They didn't highlight with Cohen that the phone call he was talking about only took 96 seconds. They didn't highlight with him that it was, you know, Keith Schiller.
They let him testify that he spoke Trump and told him everything. And now we got a 96 second call which clearly was predicated on the harassment that Cohen was receiving from a 14 year old boy. And he was responding to Schiller's request to call him about that call. Schiller spoke for 96 seconds and insists that they not only covered that territory, but that he told Trump everything about the Stormy Daniels matter and how it would be resolved.
I don't think jurors believe that. And it brought the lies, you know, which previously had been to Congress, you know, to another federal judge or to another judge in another courtroom proceeding, and to prosecutors and to his family. But I brought this lie into the courtroom. And I think they effectively showed that he lied to this jury.
And his counter was. Well, I believe, I think, I think Blanche, you know, he may have been histrionic, but I think he looked genuine based on everything I read. And being genuine is something that jurors, you know, relate to and understand and they look for in counsel. And they have a great barometer in terms of being able to sort out what is acting and what is real.
And I think Blanche's anger with Colin was very real and clearly reflected. Blanche, like, well, it's so interesting what you say that to some extent this falls to prosecutors and they could have done a better job of preempting this moment, given that they will have a Chance redirect on Monday. What do you expect them to do? What do they need to do?
Ty, if you were on that team, what do you think you need to do in order to turn this moment around? So I think, you know, everybody's gonna have a different strategy. All experienced travelers would look at this and, you know, try to figure out what's the right approach. And some may want to cross examine or do redirect with Cohen on this issue.
I think that would be a huge mistake. I think prosecutors should leave alone and try to deal with an argument. But I don't, I'm not sure they're that nimble. And I think that it's likely they may redirect on this, which would then invite recross and give the defense attorneys, you know, another opportunity to pound this lie guy to pieces with Cohen as a vehicle and in front of this jury, which I think has to be reeling a little bit when it considers Cohen's credibility.
When you look at the prosecution's case overall, in addition to the phone calls, they also say, look, there are at least two meetings that they cite, including one in the Oval Office where they say that former President Trump was discussing these, what he was going to claim to be business records that were ultimately a hush money payment. I know you said this is not necessarily game over for the prosecution, but how does that moment stack up with those meetings? And if you're the jury, how do you weight both of them? So I, I think, I think that's an excellent question.
You know, the, the DAs are gonna argue that there's other corroboration, but really when you break it down, there is corroboration for the fact that, you know, a former president was consulted on the non disclosure agreements. But non disclosure agreements are legal. There is evidence that the President was, you know, aware of the Hutch money. But hush money is not illegal.
The issue here is, you know, was it, were they accurately reported? I think, you know, the prosecution has a better that argument and that's why I expect this jury to convict. On the other hand, it's not clear how they tie it to the campaign finance crime. That appears to be the felony that they are trying to relate these entries to.
And I think that's where it's really Cohen's word against everybody else. And I think that's where the problem lies because he's just not a good foundation for anyone given his history of, you know, incredible lying and his smartness and his, and his just a wholesale inability to tell the truth in any proceeding. Because every other proceedings ever testified in, you know, he's had to apologize for or been trying to be a liar. Ty, you know, Mr.
Trump initially said he'd be willing to testify. Now it seems like he and his team are backing away from that. Do you think there is any universe where former President Trump testifies in his own defense? No, I never have.
And I don't think his team is backing away. I think his team was never there. I think Trump, you know, truthfully, actually, you know, I mean, he's, he, he has no fear when it comes to these things. He likes to engage, but it would just be absurd.
And if I was his lawyer, I would, I would try to resign if he, if he insists on testifying because it's just, it is just a fool's errand. And he would be, you know, he would be, you know, the second biggest liar exposed to this jury because they would go through all his, all his lies, you know, from the election denials through almost everything he said at press conference daily in this trial. And that's, you know, there's very little that he can do to help himself here. And I'm sure that's frustrating for him, but his lawyers would never let him take this, ever.
All right, Ty Cobb, as always, you've helped us to unpack this and understand it much better. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. Great to be with you, Chris.
Take care. Always great to have you, Ty. You take care as well. We are following breaking news the man who attacked more House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
A federal judge sentence David to Pap today for the October 2022 attack inside Pelosi San Francisco home. At the time of the attack, Nancy Pelosi was speaker and second in line to the presidency. The Pap admitted breaking into the couple's house during testimony in his own trial. He also referenced several right wing conspiracies and said he spent hours each day watching political commentary online.
Nancy Pelosi wasn't home during the break in, but Paul was and managed to call 911. When police arrived, Pap struck Pelosi in the head with hammer. Now to Pap still faces state charges. Jury selection in that trial is set for next week.
Coming up next, two of America's top adversaries are tightening their ties. I'll talk to a former ambassador to Russia about the, quote, new era of partisanship pledge between President Putin and Chinese President Xi and whether the US should be concerned. Do stay with us. You're watching me Press now.
Welcome back. The White House announced this afternoon that the President's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan will be traveling to Israel to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu this weekend. It comes as trucks from a floating dock off the coast of Gaza began their first deliveries today, moving across the US Built here and onto the shores of Gaza. It's part of the latest US Efforts to get more humanitarian aid into the enclave.
With border crossings into Gaza still closed by Israel, officials say they have hundreds of tons of aid ready for delivery in coming days. With thousands of tons of war waiting down the pipeline. This comes as the Israeli military announced tragic news today. Israeli military spokesman saying troops have recovered the bodies of three hostages taken captive during the October 7 Hamas attack.
NBC News international correspondent Ralph Sanchez has more from Jerusalem. The Israeli military confirming today they have recovered the bodies of three hostages during an overnight operation inside of Gaza. They are not saying at this point where those bodies were recovered from. They say they were found in a tunnel.
But Israeli forces of course are operating in the city of Rafah in the south, but they're also operating in several areas in northern Gaza. So at this point, not clear where those bodies were found. All three of the victims were killed on October 7 at the Supernova Music Festival just a couple of miles from the Gaza border. That's according to the Israeli military.
One of the bodies recovered belonging to Shani Luke, she was a 23 year old German Israeli citizen. And very, very graphic, very disturbing videos of her body being carried into Gaza did emerge in the early hours after the attack on October 7th. It's worth reminding there are some 130 or so hostages inside of Gaza. At least 30 of them have been confirmed dead, but Israeli officials suspect that the real number is significantly higher.
And in these seven months of war, despite these constant operations by Israeli forces, Israel has only rescued three living hostages from Gaza. The Israeli government acknowledges that the best hope of getting hostages out is through some kind of deal with Hamas, a ceasefire negotiation. But they say that military pressure is needed to bring Hamas to the negotiating table. Now Israeli forces are expanding their operation in southern Gaza in the city of Rafah.
The UN says more than 600,000 Palestinian civilians have been displaced. At this point point. President Biden has said an all out Israeli attack on Rafah would be a red line for him. But it is not clear at what point this operation gets big enough that it crosses that red line.
So far the White House has withheld one shipments of heavy weaponry, including 2,000 pound bombs which have caused such large scale civilian casualties in other parts of Gaza, but they continue to supply other forms of weapons to the Israeli military. Back to you. All right, Ross Sanchez, thank you so much for that reporting. We do want to turn now to the other ongoing war, of course, in Ukraine, where President Zelensky says his troops have, quote, stabilized the situation around the Kharkiv region.
Meantime, Russian troops appear to be making gains in northeastern Ukraine despite Russia's heavy bombardment around Ukraine's second largest city. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed today there were, quote, no plans to capture Kharkiv, saying his troops were just trying to create a buffer zone to protect Russia from attack. Now Putin is in China today for a two day state visit, looking to forge deeper and stronger ties with Beijing. President Putin and Xi signing a joint statement committing to a, quote, new era of strategic cooperation.
Joining now is former US Ambassador Russia Michael McFall. He's also an NBC News international affairs analyst. Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate it.
Sure. Of course. Before we get to the status of the war in Ukraine, I want to talk to you about this state visit in China. What do you make of the fact that President Putin is in China today, the optics of it and the implications potentially for the West?
Well, this is Putin's first visit abroad, trip abroad since he allegedly won another election. I say allegedly because it wasn't free and fair and no country in the democratic world acknowledged it to be free and fair. That was on purpose. He said it was on purpose.
And it underscores for him how important his relationship with China is. And China and Xi Jinping has underscored that too. This is real. They are very close.
They've met 40 some odd times. And in times when Putin is isolated from the west, sanctions and obviously military assistance to Ukraine, Xi Jinping has been there for him, but not all the way for him. I think that's very important to underscore. So, yes, he's supporting Putin, but he has never ever acknowledged or said that it was okay to go into Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin emphasizes all the time that Taiwan is for China. Xi Jinping has never said that Ukraine is for Russia. That's a really important point. I want to turn to the battlefield.
What is happening in Ukraine? Russia appears to be making gains northeast into Ukraine. And of course, as I just reported at the top, President Putin is saying, no, we're not trying to take Kharkiv. How concerned are you when you look at what's happening on the battle, that they may be in fact Trying to do just that.
The Kharkiv could fall. I'm very concerned. These are tough times for Ukrainian warriors. They're trying to defend their lands.
Their numbers are down, obviously, because of delays in our provision of assistance. They don't have the weapons they need. This is a vital time in the next coming weeks and next couple of months. And I never believe Putin when he says, oh, we're not interested in Kharkiv.
I remember when he said in 2008 we would never invade Georgia or we would never invade Ukraine in 2014 or in the run up to this horrific, barbaric invasion, when he denied it until days before. So I am worried and Ukrainians are worried that Putin has said all along he thinks should be part of Russia. The Ukrainians liberated it. Remember that whole area in their fantastic counter offensive a year ago, but now they are on the ropes and this is a very precarious time.
Right. Given that the United States did just approve that massive $60 billion aid package, could that ambassador make a difference? Could that be what helps Ukraine to beat back this onslaught? What appears to be, as you're saying, what could very well be an attempt to take Kharkiv?
Yes. No, I think it's vital. I think it's critical. Some of it's there now, but more of it's coming later.
And I think it's a necessary condition for them to hold the line, the entire battlefield line, by the way, not just in Kharkiv. And then next year, not this year, Ukrainians plan to do another counter offensive when they will have the full ammunition and the full weapons systems that they think they need to push the Russians back. I want to ask you very quickly, before I let you go, about what we are seeing in Georgia, the country of Georgia, these riots over this divisive, what is called a foreign agents bill. Critics have basically drawn comparison laws in Russia, anti democratic laws in Russia.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said he was alarmed about what he views as democratic backsliding in that country. Do you share his views there and what are you watching for? 100%, this law is draconian. It is anti democratic.
They compare it to our Foreign Asians Registration Act. That is not true. It is like the kuttunlag signed into power in the law in 2012. It helped to crush civil society in Russia.
And so Georgian civil society understands that this is a fight for their existence. I deeply admire what they've done on the streets. They've shown that they are vibrant, that this fight is not yet over. And I applaud the Biden administration for what they have said about repercussions should this law go into place.
They've said there'll be sanctions, and I think that's the appropriate kind of threat to do now. It's always better to try to deter bad things from happening than respond to them afterwards. I think it's the appropriate strateg by the Biden administration. All right.
Well, Ambassador McFall, thank you so much for joining us, giving us your perspective. Really appreciate it. Thanks. Thanks for having me.
After the break, a sorry spectacle on Capitol Hill, an upside down flag at a Supreme Court justice's house, and the unpleasant state of American politics. The panel is coming back. You're watching the press now. Stay with us.
Welcome back. Turning now to a striking moment from Capitol Hill where a meeting of the House Oversight Committee devolves into absolute chaos. Last night the committee met to consider, but the session turned to bed one after Georgia Republican firebrand Congressman Marjorie Taylor Green hurled a personal attack at Texas Democratic Congressman Jasmine Crockett. Take a look.
I'd like to know if any of the Democrats on this committee are employing Judge Maran's daughter. Please tell me what that has to do with Mary Garland. I don't think you know what you're here for. Well, you don't want to talking about.
I think your fake eyelashes are messing up order. Mr. Chairman, I do have a point of order. I would like to move to.
To take down Ms. Green's words. That is absolutely unacceptable. How dare you.
Are your feelings hurt? Her words down. Oh. Oh, girl.
Baby girl. Oh, really? Don't even play baby girl. I don't think you're going to move.
I'm going to take your words down. I second that motion. I'm not apologizing. I am not apologizing.
Guys. Why don't you debate me, Mr. Chairman? Yeah, you're not.
You don't have enough intelligence, Mr. Perry. Okay, move this words again. Oh, boy.
Chairman James Sco eventually ruled Green's comments did not violate House rules on engaging in personal attacks. Here's how Crockett responded to that. I'm just curious just to better understand your ruling. If someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody's bleach blonde, bad built, butch body, that would not be engaging personalities, correct?
What now? From fake eyelashes to bleached blonde hair. Not really words you expect to hear in a House committee. Back with me to break this down is the panel, Mike M.
Theresa Kumar and Jim Garrity. Guys, you are very brave. Stick Around Mike, the takeaway from this really is the reaction shots, looking at what's going on here. Just big picture, though, we are seeing the erosion of decorum.
I mean, this is the institutions are failing. Right. And there's a reason this doesn't happen on the Transportation Committee or the Agriculture Committee. Right.
You have your swing district members on the committees that do things, and then you have the Judiciary Committee and the Overseas Committee tend to be where we see the most partisans. And these partisans tend to raise money off of moments like this. We're for sure to see that happen. And so I think for.
At a time when we were talking earlier about voters who are tuning out politics, who are disengaging from politics, this is exactly what they're seeing and what's repulsing them. And it's a challenge for those who are running, and they need to appeal to these swing voters to see situations like this. Yeah, I think that's such an important point, Mike. And reiterating, I mean, when you look at that moment where it devolves into a bipartisan attack section against each other, I mean, do you worry that it, as Mike says, makes it that much tougher to get people energized, whether it's the presidential election or the out races?
This is why they don't want to get engaged. And this is, I think what folks, American people need to understand is that there is a strategy to make politics icky because people there are nefarious actors who use it as a tool to ensure that you tune out. But you know what? Who's going to tune in?
They're base voters. But this is also talking about a hostile work environment. In any other workplace, they will be reprimanded. Seriously, both of them.
Correct. And so the fact that they are not following those basic rules and OSHA rules, so to speak, that is where we are today. The fact that Marjorie Taylor Greene makes that initial shot across the bow at Jasmine Crockett at her eyelashes, I mean, do Republicans look at that and worry that it could backfire at the ballot box? I suppose people are angry enough at Marjorie Taylor Greene that they don't want to vote for their district Republican.
I don't begrudge having this conversation. I have a podcast I'm talking about today, but also the fact that we're talking about this is why she does this. I'm sure she's probably going to surge in donations because everybody's talking about, oh, my God, did you see Marjorie Kailee Kailey did last night. This is news.
The public deserves no, you're members of Congress clowns. But at the same time, you know, there are probably like 400 some members of Congress again, 35 clowns. Actual work don't get talked about in a brown people or unpopular. The way Marjorie Taylor Greene was engaging with her also has these racial undertones that even, you know, for every woman watching women of color, we understood those tone whistles.
Slow it down. Lower your voice. All of that, who knows are undertone whistles. That sure is inflamed to your right, but absolutely going to fire up a sector of the Democratic base as well.
Let me raise we have about a minute left of this story by the New York Times that Justice Samuel Alito in the days after January 6th, there was an upside down hanging flag hanging outside of his house, a sign for stop the steel. Now he is denying that the implications are what they appeared. He says quiet. No involvement whatsoever in flying with the flag.
It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yardside. Senator Durbin, Jim, is now calling for him to recuse himself from the Supreme Court cases that deal with January 6th and immunity. What do you make of this?
Well, I'm sure his neighbor's a jerk and I wouldn't surprise me if, you know, the justice wanted to say something nasty backwards. Everything in that story makes sense until he says and then my wife hung the flag upside down. Wait, really? That's how you know, you couldn't TP his house.
You couldn't do something, you know, like it just seemed weirdly disproportionate and just to is awful. Very quickly, Rich, Teresa, do you anticipate the calls will grow louder for him to recuse himself? Well, you now have two justices whose wives seem to be questioning whether or not generations actually happen. But that bleeds into larger questions.
Should they be accusing themselves? Majority of American people believe our institutions are broken. One way to make sure that you have to start trusting again is for even folks in the Justice Department. I mean the justice system actually get their hands slapped because in any other court they would have to refuse themselves.
All right. Great conversation. You guys are great sports. I appreciate it.
Mike, Maria, Teresa and Jim, thank you all. Still to come, a live report from Alabama with thousands of auto workers at Mercedes Benz factory just voted to reject in effort to unionize. We'll delve into the details. You're watching THE PRESS now.
Welcome back. While the vote is in and the UAW has lost its high stakes campaign at A Mercedes Benz plan in Alabama after workers voted against union representation. Now the vote was finalized just last hour with the auto union losing by roughly 600 votes out of more than 4,600 casts. The UAW was hoping to build on the momentum from last month after a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee voted overwhelmingly to unize.
NBC News correspondent Sam Brock is on the ground in Alabama. Sam, thanks so much for being with me. So how is the UAW and those workers who supported that vote, how are they all reacting? Yeah, it's always great to be with you.
There was definitely a sense of dejection. You know, it's interesting. I had a conversation earlier today with Rick Webster. He's one of the organizers here, One of the 12 or so people who got this off the ground just for a vote here in the Tuscaloosa plant.
And he told me he was expecting this to pass with flying colors. 65, 70 perhaps similar to what we just saw in Tennessee a month ago. And in fact, as you said, this is a double digit loss. 44% of the votes going for against unionizing, 56 against unionizing, only 44% for that was surprisingly as everyone here, what changed in talking to these employees?
They felt like they were being bombarded by Mercedes Benz for weeks leading into this vote. Videos, messaging, surveilling, accusations of surveilling, these captive audience meetings where they're told they have to go and sit and hear something. They don't know exactly what the dissertation is going to be and it ends up being according to them, reasons why unions are bad now, they're expensive, it's going to cost you your job. It's going to be hard to hire people locally in the state of Alabama.
They're just ingesting all this information. According to the workers in the weeks leading up to the vote for contacts, I do want to know. There's roughly 150,000 or so non union employees throughout the south, other parts of the country, roughly 30 plants, which is about the same as the number of employees who do have union representation in the Midwest, largely through the big three American auto companies. So you see the UAW right now really doubling down and trying to gain momentum within the region and sort of turn the winds and the direction.
Maybe it was some momentum already, but today was definitely still the block. Well, it's just remarkable to hear you walk through the process like that, Sam, just to follow up a little bit with what you're saying. Initially the thinking was that the voted that Volkswagen plant in Tennessee would basically generate momentum and that they wouldn't have this type of setback in addition to just being bombarded by all of this pressure. Take me inside what they're saying about the fact there was this huge miscalculation in that regard.
A couple of things. First of one, I really think there was a DTC to fear that people could be losing their jobs if they chose to unionize. In fact, when I asked Shawn Fay about that, he said thousands of people have lost their jobs previously and many of this case did lose their jobs as this conversation was going on. The other thing is sort of political, political winds of the area.
You have Governor Ivy here in Alabama, but five or six other governors regionally as well saying do not do this. Don't unite as the politics and also the words are saying on a day to day basis. All right, Sarah Rock, thanks so much. We'll be back Monday with warm me the press now.
And if it's Sunday, it is me, the president of the local Lenny news station. I'll have exclusive interviews with Senator Marco Rubio, Governor West Moore and 23 time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps. The news continues right now. He was a young Marine.
She didn't care about convention. They made a life together. Then one night the Marine died. And then the death investigation took a wild, unexpected and utterly bizarre turn.
I'm Josh Magewitz and this is Trace of Suspicion, an all new podcast from dateline. Listen to all episodes of Trace of Suspicion now wherever you get your podcasts.