Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Kristen Welker in Washington on a very busy afternoon of breaking news. These are live pictures from the New York courthouse where just in the past hour, Jordy found former President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Gene Carroll, awarding her $5 million in damages.
Moments ago, we saw Ms. Carroll depart the courthouse. With her attorneys, she told reporters, quote, we are very happy. In a statement via social media, former President Trump called the verdict a disgrace and part of the so-called witch hunt against him.
As we monitor the situation in New York and the reaction, we are also following more breaking news this hour from the White House, where President Biden is meeting with congressional leaders amid a dangerous impasse over raising the nation's borrowing limit and diverting a potential government default, which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns could happen as early as June 1st if a deal is not reached. The meeting should be getting started at any moment now with the White House. It's unclear how long or how productive these talks will be or standing by to hear from congressional leaders when the meeting wraps. What is clear, though, both sides are dug in right now and refusing to budge, Democrats demanding a clean bill to raise the debt limit, Republicans demanding spending cuts, and with the clock ticking down to a potential economic catastrophe, Speaker McCarthy told my colleague Garrett Hake today that House Republicans will reject even a short-term deal on the issue.
We seem to be hearing from the White House that they may want more time. They may want a federal line, but that's the only way for budge negotiations that will be placed in the law. Is that something you would be accountable to if that's presented to you today? No.
No. No. No. No.
No. No. No. No.
No. No. No. No.
No. No. No. No.
That's not going to be a deadbeat nation, something that we have never done before, never done before, and so they need to take action. Congress has to do their job. Super simple. They're manufacturing, manufacturing prices.
Adding to the uncertainty of today's meeting, are the political struggles facing both the president and Speaker McCarthy. President Biden enters with an approval rating that just hit a new low, 36% according to a Washington post ABC News poll, with voters saying Donald Trump did a better job handling the economy. Speaker McCarthy meanwhile, while enters with an unruly and slim majority in the house at an ever-present threat from hardliners to potentially hold a vote, to try to oust him from power if he doesn't hold the line. the line.
NBC's Monica Alba is outside the White House. And NBC's Ally Vitale is on Capitol Hill to help start us off this morning or this afternoon. I should say, Monica, let's start with you because the stakes could not be higher here. And I know you've been talking to your sources.
I've been talking to my sources. And they're basically downplaying expectations that anything major is going to come out of this meeting. What are you hearing and what are you anticipating? And I think that should be too surprising, Kristen, because of course, going into this White House officials are bracing here for the possibility that there won't be any resolution in the near term and that this could go right up to the wire.
And that is exactly the point that also the president is going to be hammering home, that we can't afford to do that as a nation, he's going to argue, to let this get this close. But of course, this is a major display of brickmanship really on both sides because the White House is completely dug in saying, look, there have been those in both parties, Republican and Democrat, who have had to deal with this over the past many decades and every single time they have been able to get to a place where they can raise the debt ceiling and move on and that this time should not be any different while you have Republicans who are extremely dug in on their position that this needs to be connected to some major spending cuts and a larger conversation about a budget. So when these congressional leaders sit down with the president here in the Oval Office, we know that there is tons that they can discuss about their different positions. But what really matters is here is what if any common ground both sides can identify and then pretty much lay out a path forward about what happens next.
Because again, this likely isn't going to be resolved with anything today. Instead, it'll be about what both sides could potentially agree to seeing happen, which could be as simple as we'll talk again in a couple of days. But the other big thing that you know, Kristen, here is that the president is leaving on a major overseas trip to Japan and Australia next week. And so that really limits the time for face-to-face interaction, even though, of course, we do expect these talks to continue.
But here's a little more of what we heard from press secretary, Karine Jumpier, on their position specifically when it comes to Speaker McCarthy and all this. A short-term extension is not our plan either. That is not our plan. This can be easily resolved.
This is a man-made crisis that the speaker is leading. Can get this done. We want to make sure that we move the threat of default. And that's what the president's going to be making clear about.
This is not negotiable. Now, it has been months since the president and Speaker McCarthy last met face-to-face. So that's another important dynamic to all of this, Kristen. But the president has been completely clear here that if this were to happen and we throw this word around a lot, it's unprecedented.
It never has before in this case in American history. It really would mean financial catastrophe for millions of Americans. Jobs would be wiped out, and there would likely be a recession. So the stakes simply could not be higher.
Ali, let me turn to you on that point. I mean, there's been so much talk of a short-term extension. And based on my conversations, I have a lot of people saying, look, realistically speaking, that may just be the best offering. Obviously, we heard what Speaker McCarthy told Garrett earlier today.
But what are your sources telling you about a potential offering? Are they more seriously considering the possibility of a short-term resolution to this than they're publicly willing to say? I don't think they're there yet, Kristen. Certainly, the Republicans that I talk to are not willing to engage on that point, both in the Senate and in the House.
Speaker McCarthy reiterated that again today, because everyone here really agrees. The only way things get done in this town is around deadlines. And the fact that there's a deadline on the table here has at least gotten all parties back to the table. That's the way that Speaker McCarthy spotted earlier today before this meeting.
Watch how he talked about it. It's the Republicans that have looked ahead long-term, but have solutions. So we'll pass the voting security bill this week. We've already asked whether to raise the debt ceiling, take care of our fiscal houses as well.
He's got a snot equal in problems. And why continue to kick the can down the road? Let's solve it down. Let's solve it now, the speaker saying.
And of course, there's urgency that matches in everyone that I hear from in the halls of Congress here. The fact that they only have a few weeks to deal with this crisis that frankly, they've known is coming for months is stunning. And it does mean that there's very little room for error here, because as much as it's true that no one is budging, eventually someone will have to budge. Whether that means that they take these crises on the debt ceiling and on spending in tandem the way the Republicans want to, or whether they take them as separate but parallel tracks the way that the White House and Democrats are urging them to be it as a clean debt ceiling hike and then future conversations about budget spending.
We just don't know at this point. But the fact that everyone is back at the table is frankly good news. I also think that although we're talking about this as a meeting between the four key players in Congress plus President Biden, really there are two key people at that table. And it is Speaker McCarthy and President Joe Biden because of the way that Democrats have been acting as supporting players for the president in the White House, which is not at all surprising, but then also because of the way that you have this rare moment where Senator Mitch McConnell is falling in line behind Speaker McCarthy, letting him take the lead on this in large part because of something that Monica was saying, which is that the number of reality here, the slim majority that McCarthy has in his conference is something that McConnell is keenly aware of.
He knows that he can hurt Senate Republicans much more efficiently than McCarthy can hurt House Republicans. And that's a big dynamic here at play too. And it's why McCarthy is leading the charge in these negotiations for Republicans. So the fact that him and Biden don't have a ton of history here makes this again a pretty untested scenario at another unprecedented moment.
Yeah. And Monica, pick up on that point because I think Ali makes an important point here, which is that this ultimately seems to be coming down to President Biden and Speaker McCarthy. And both of them are entering these discussions in a pretty weak position. We just got those new whole numbers for President Biden is approval rating in the mid 30s.
He's of course running for reelection. So there is a lot of pressure on him Monica because if the nation defaults, this happens on his watch as he's asking voters for four more years. Absolutely. And that's why I think you're going to see the president when he goes to upstate New York tomorrow.
This is by design. He's going to campaign in a district where House Republicans are vulnerable and he's going to take this exact argument and what he's laying out to the speaker in person to constituents there to talk about what is at stake in the White House is essentially framing this in this larger context because they know that Speaker McCarthy can't afford to lose many of his Republicans in terms of how slim that majority is. And so that is exactly where you're going to see this conversation continue. And that of course is the bigger political messaging and strategy here that the White House is unveiling.
But of course, this is a really huge deal for the president who just launched his reelection campaign. And you already can see that in the poll numbers, not just for his approval overall, but how low some of his approval ratings are specifically when it comes to his handling of the economy, Kristen. There's no doubt about that. And Ali, just very quickly, if you can 10 seconds, we are learning that Senator Dianne Feinstein is returning pretty significant news.
Yeah, significant news and long anticipated here. The fact that she is on a plane right now, back to Washington, DC, welcome news from Democrats. And it allows them to move forward on a slate of judicial nominations that have been held up because of her absence and of course changes the dynamic back so that there are all 51 Democratic senators present in this building. Welcome news.
If your Chuck Schumer and the pressure was mounting at home for her to either get back to Washington and back to work or to potentially resign her seat, Kristen. Yeah, the pressure was mounting indeed. All right, Monica and Ali, thank you for your great reporting. Really appreciated.
Joining me now is Michigan Democratic Congresswoman, Haley Stevens. Congresswoman, thank you so much for being here. Really appreciate your joining us. Well, as I was just talking about with Monica and Ali of the White House, you have lawmakers downplaying expectations that there's going to be a big breakthrough from this meeting this afternoon.
What are your expectations? Do you expect them to have at least some progress at the end of this meeting? I think President Biden knows exactly what he's doing. He's been at the leadership table many times before in this scenario.
I think we will see results coming out of this. And frankly, Kristen, I want to call the Republicans Bluff. There is absolutely no way we are defaulting on our debt, particularly in, yes, what is divided government, but a five-seat majority for the House of Republicans, the American people voted in November. They did not vote to have us default on our debt and have us spin out into economic crisis.
There's no need for this type of bringsmanship, gamesmanship that's going on. Let's deliver for the American people. Congresswoman, you have said in the past that you would like to see President Biden negotiate. Are you disappointed with how he's handled any part of this process?
Do you think it's time to negotiate? Absolutely not disappointed. I think what you're seeing today is best of government, the leadership coming to the table. We voted on a budget last year.
We voted on an inflation reduction act last year well before an election. You cannot go back in time. We know that the fiscal year for our government expires in September at the end of September of this year, we will have those budget negotiations. And what we need to do is not default on our debt, go through the action as we've done dozens and dozens of times before, three times under the Trump administration, prevent America's default, and continue to engage in the debt and deficit negotiations as it pertains to our broader budget.
But let's not play games with the American people's pocketbooks. Let's not play games with our teachers and our veterans and on and on. It's not fair, it's not right. Congresswoman, just to put a fine point on this question, though, we are less than a month out of a potential default.
Do you think that President Biden, who has touted his negotiating skills, should start to negotiate to get a resolution to this? Because Republicans say they're not budging. Do they need to find common ground? Well, they're saying they're not budging, but they're going to budge when we've run up against the debt.
But what about President Biden? Is it time for President Biden to negotiate? Well, he doesn't cast the vote that we all cast. I'm sitting here in the United States Congress.
We've got to take the action to prevent us from defaulting our debt. And that's what the American people need to know. There's two things going on. One is a budget process that goes to the end of September.
That's the appropriations process that we've been a part of. And then there's the debt ceiling. It's not tied to this other stuff. We just need to vote to make sure that we don't default on our debt.
And I better believe that every member of Congress, Democrat or Republican doesn't want us to go and cast votes for our adversaries. We don't want to default on our debt. Let me ask you this, because you raised the appropriations process, which is in the fall. There is some talk, some chatter behind the scenes that that could be a way out of this to increase the debt limit until the fall when the appropriations process kicks in.
I know that publicly the president, leader, how can Jeffries have signaled they don't want a short-term deal? But would you sign a short-term deal? Well, I certainly would sign any deal that prevents us from tail spending into fiscal catastrophe. And I don't want to undermine the fiscal integrity of this nation, particularly on the global stage where Chi and Putin might be rooting that on.
We need to say stable, we need to stay consistent, and we need to be leaders. So if we can cut a short-term deal, let's do it. We know that House Republicans did pass their version of increasing the debt limit coupled with spending cuts, which would roll back a number of President Biden's key policies, including on climate and taxes. However, I wonder if there's any common ground there on new spending caps, on no student loan forgiveness, on tougher work requirements.
I've heard a lot of discussion around that. Can you find common ground on any of the ideas I just mentioned? Look, there's always places for common ground, but we cannot go back in time and roll back legislation that we passed overwhelmingly last year. If that is on climate, if that's on supporting our veterans, on ships and science, these are things that the American people supported.
What we can do is take a future forward look and say, where can we be responsible in a bipartisan way? You see people, Republicans running for president right now saying, hey, this is a shared party concern and consideration. So we don't need to play games with the perfunctory vote that needs to take place just saying, hey, we're not going to default on our debt. But yes, as we move forward, let's have that conversation and let's do so responsibly, because this has happened under administration after administration.
It's all players at the table. Ms. McCarthy was there under President Trump casting those votes to make sure America wouldn't default on its debt. So we can do that in this circumstance.
And as a member of Congress from Michigan, who's being led right now, our state with an incredible governor who's balancing our budget and spending responsibly, let's get this done. Congresswoman, one final question. Let me just ask you about some new polling that has come out, this Washington Post, ABC News poll, which found a majority of respondents favored Donald Trump's handling of the economy more than Joe Biden. The same poll also found that only one third of Americans think President Biden has the mental sharpness to serve as president.
What do you make of those numbers? Well, I think we're going to take a success of the chips and science legislation that is invested in the industrial heartland of this country to the American people. Your show just stared at. The president is going to be in upstate New York.
I know he is taking his message there. And the results of his policies speak for themselves good, stable government, not waking up in the middle of the night wondering if we're going to enter nuclear war because of Congress. But I have to thank you so much. And we just have some tape from inside the Oval Office, this meeting that is getting underway.
Let's take a look. But after this is all over, but in the meantime, just want to welcome you to let you know what we're doing. We're not going to take any questions now. We're going to get started.
We're going to solve all the world problems. Well, there you have it. President Biden, top four leaders on Capitol Hill, all in the Oval Office, not taking any questions, despite the best efforts of my colleagues over at the White House, the president saying that they're not going to take any questions and that they are meeting to, quote, solve all the world's problems, I believe, is what he said. So we will continue to stay on top of that and bring you any developments as we get them.
And again, Congressman Haley Stevens, we want to thank her again for joining us. We really do appreciate it. All right. Well, coming up, breaking news, the jury has found Donald Trump libel of sexually abusing and defaming Eugene Carroll in a civil case against the former president.
We're live outside the courthouse with the details next. Plus, the Biden administration ramps up security along the US-Mexico border as the region braces for a migrant surge when those pandemic error restrictions expire in just two days. We'll have the very latest from the border ahead. You're watching, meet the press now.
Welcome back. As we just mentioned about three hours after about three hours of deliberation, Manhattan jury found Donald Trump libel for sexually abusing columnist Eugene Carroll in a department store in the mid 90s. The nine person jury awarded her five million dollars in damages for her battery and defamation claims following the verdict. Trump told Fox News he will appeal the ruling.
His trial comes as Trump faces a slew of other legal challenges, including a special counsel investigation, an election interference probe in Georgia and the 34 felony count indictment in New York. Joining me now is NBC News correspondent Ron Allen outside the courthouse and NBC News legal analyst Danny Svalos. So Ron, I want to start with you, the jury only deliberated for about three hours. What do you make of that and what were the top lines here?
They believed Eugene Carroll and they did not believe Donald Trump. And it was as simple as that. It was a very straightforward case. If you believe Eugene Carroll, then you had to think that Donald Trump was lying.
And that was the choice for the jury. And they took, yes, three hours. The trial itself lasted, including jury selection about two weeks. It was very focused, 11 witnesses.
And as you recall, former president Trump did not put up any defense witnesses. He let or his side had to deal with the fact that he had deposed. And there was a deposition video that where he responds to all these charges, all these allegations. And many legal analysts looking at it all said that it didn't help his side of the story.
And there was the access Hollywood tape, which was played at least five times in the jury. And Eugene Carroll's attorney said that that was basically his confession, that he believes he's a star, that stars can go out and group women and do whatever they want, as he says on the tape. So it happened quickly. They also awarded her some $5 million in damages, compensatory damages because she said that her reputation had been destroyed and some of the damages refuted the damages, which are meant to send a message to former president Trump.
The jury essentially agreed that he acted maliciously when he called Carroll a liar, called this whole thing, a hoax, and tried to dismiss the whole thing. So that's where we are. It's happened quickly. It's quite stunning in that this is a former president who has been held liable for sexually attacking a woman.
And that's unprecedented, I think. But again, you've seen Mr. Trump is saying this is all a democratic hoax, a witch hunt, so on and so forth. But the fact remains that a jury has found him liable of a very serious crime.
Yeah, you're absolutely right to put it in that broader context, Ron. Danny, let me turn to you, the significance of this. And I think a lot of people are curious about the fact that the jury did essentially say he was liable for sexual assault, but not rape. What is the distinction there and why would they make that determination?
The lesser sexual abuse charge, or I shouldn't say charge, the cause of action, is not like rape because rape involves the object of force, the use of force. This is really just sexual contact and the absence of consent. So it's lesser than rape, but still a form of sexual assault in the civil context. And that is the significance.
What's also significant is the fact that the plaintiff here was able to prove her case alleging conduct that happened decades ago in the 90s. That's a really significant verdict for these cases, both the Child Victims Act and the Adult Survivors Act and similar statutes in other states that open up these one-year windows for people whose statute of limitations has otherwise passed to file suit. That's exactly what Carol did in this case. I've handled cases like this myself, and I can tell you that the challenge, even though it's a good thing that folks are able to file complaints, the challenge once filed is how do you prove it?
How do you prove a case? How do you prove an allegation of something that happened in the 90s? And really, in fairness to the defense, how do you come up with an alibi about something that happened in the 90s, in a pre-internet era, in a pre-email era, in a pre-text messaging and cell phone era? I mean, some of these may have been around, but they certainly weren't used the way they are today.
And so this verdict really is meaningful for other states that might enact similar statutes that allow victims of sexual abuse to bring civil actions when the statute limitations has long since passed. And it at least provides an example of a case that can be proved even this many years after the alleged conduct. And Denny, you know, it's notable because Mr. Trump decided not to take the stand at his own defense.
So instead, you had this deposition video in which he was asked about the Access Hollywood Taven, which he confused Eugene Carroll for his wife, Marla Maples, even though he said that she wasn't his type. Ultimately, was that the right decision or could that have been a damaging decision? Yes, it was the right decision because the alternative was Trump testifying live without a net. And that was not going to work.
So saying that this was the better choice, is saying it is the better of two lousy choices for his defense attorneys. Had he testified live, then, you know, Trump could say anything that Trump might say and that would have been bad for the defense. So instead, at least they had the knowable universe of a deposition transcript and a video. It wasn't good for Trump, but at least the defense knew what they were getting.
And what they got was not good. It's my opinion that this case was a close call until Trump took the stand and by taking the stand, I mean, had a deposition and that deposition was played for the jury. He committed a lot of unforced errors. He could have gone in and simply denied everything in the deposition, which he mostly did, where he got into trouble, was where he added things that he didn't need to do like the plaintiff was not his type.
And even the plaintiff's attorney was not his type. And then when asked about the Access Hollywood tape, Trump doubled down. In the past in 2016, he said that was locker room talk. He tried to distance himself.
But as far as I know, this is the first time that he's ever validated or backed up that statement back in 2005, that Access Hollywood tape saying that this happens all the time and millions of celebrities are able to do this. Of course, I'm paraphrasing. You have to see the original to believe it. And you know, fortunately or unfortunately, this is the way the world is.
That did not help Trump and don't take my word for it. Look to the plaintiff's attorney who used these gaffes in her closing argument. She wouldn't have used them if they weren't really, really helpful to the plaintiff's case. All right, great analysis.
Ron Allen and Danny Svalos, thank you both so much for joining us on this breaking news and joining me now is our panel, Tia Mitchell, Washington, correspondent for the Atlanta Journal of Constitution. Simone Sanders, host of Simone on MSNBC and a former advisor to Vice President Harris and Brendan Bach, former advisor to speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan. Thanks to all of you for being here on a very busy Tuesday. Tia, I want to start with you.
Just get your reaction. The potential political implications of this ruling in New York. Well, some of the political implications might go against what you would assume when a former president is found liable for sexually assaulting a woman. You know, I think that a lot of Democrats and people who already have been critical of former president Trump are going to say, this is further evidence why he does not deserve to return to the White House, why we should distance from him and move on from the age of Trump.
But we don't expect that from the Trump base that is the Republican Party. We think that probably a lot of Republican voters and Trump supporters are going to say this is just more lies. This is more of the liberal attack on the former president. So in that way, it might help him raise more money.
It might bolster his support in a lot of ways. Yeah, I mean, Brendan, we've already seen him indicted in New York on other charges. And we have continuously talked about what if the court cases start to pile up. You are starting to see that happen, at least with this latest verdict.
What do you make of this? Does this only bolster him in a primary? It might. And look, to the extent that these things keep happening and they don't damage him, it may just become a situation where each one is more and more insulated.
Each one because we just sort of tune out to them. So at some point, something is going to have to change. I think it's going to change. It's going to change from the people who are running against him in a primary.
So we had a former president be indicted and nobody saw that as an opportunity to go after him. I'm curious if any of his opponents now who are thinking he should not be the nominee feel like this is a moment to say that because yet so far they've not been willing to do that. So I'll be curious to see if they run a scientist. I think Haley, anybody feels like this is a time to maybe point out that this is maybe not time person that we should be nominating to be the head of our party.
And the first chance for that may be the debates coming up at the end of the summer. Simone at least heading into this week. What we saw was Trump really expanding his lead in the polls. It's very early.
But voters giving him higher marks for handling the economy than they give to President Biden. How concerning is that for Democrats as they watch this all unfold? And do you anticipate that we will see President Biden or vice president Harris start to take the gloves off start to mention some of the things that Brendan just talked about? While I say two things, I think first what does it say about the state of American politics that the former president of the United States of America who was credibly accused by multiple women of sexual assault prior to being elected was just on trial for a civil rape case and it was barely a blip for people across the country.
And so for every woman out there who has ever had been sexually abused sexually assaulted, who has wondered oh was that situation a situation where like is this rape? I think they should look at today and know that it is not okay that at any time if you find yourself in a situation to the extreme that Eugene Carroll found herself in or the situation is a little more murky. Just know that it doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel right.
It doesn't mean to know and everyone should be held accountable. Nobody is above the law. I think when it comes to the political piece of this, you talk about the recent poll I saw your interview with the Congresswoman, talked about the ABC Washington Post poll, talked about the economy. I have long since said that my Republican friends have always gotten the benefit of the doubt in the economy.
Even when there's nothing that I back up, right? Even Republicans, I mean honestly Brendan Buck is one of the best. He talked to people how to do it y'all. He really did.
The communication apparatus from the Republican party apparatus across the board has in fact been the game of we will say it. We will lean in and you know it's up to you to tell us that it's not true. Brendan I got to let you respond to that and that's a nice pivot as we start to talk about the debt limit. I mean talk about kind of the pressure on both sides.
I mean Speaker McCarthy to really get this over the finish line. Yeah look I mean I think you have to look at the context that they're walking into this. The president as we have seen is vulnerable, very vulnerable and they seem to be making a better bet for a long time that they're willing to stand straight up to Republicans and say I dare you to go over the government. That is a risky proposition.
Now look you may win the politics of that who's to blame but there are significant economic consequences if we come close. Now that would be one thing if Kevin McCarthy was asking for with the house pass. That huge massive thing that of course they're never going to go for. I think there's a much smaller deal that can be had here that would mitigate the risk of you know the economy blowing up from a debt limit but also it might actually be good for the president.
Which is you have a vision. Well I just think that Kevin McCarthy is pretty clear. He's not actually asking for this big thing. He just wants some level of spending restraint for the next couple of years.
Well we call budget caps. I don't think he's going to get much in way of like deep cuts. They talk about going back a few years. I don't think that's going to happen.
But I think there is a deal that could be had where it is spending cuts for the next couple of years. Minimal spending cuts that wouldn't be terribly damaging to democratic priorities. But would give Joe Biden a bipartisan win on on fiscal restraint at a time when there is high inflation. That is a win for him.
What are you hearing about where this is all heading? I think Brendan paints a rosy picture of what could happen but you're ignoring the far right flank of the House Republican caucus. Well I never. But in your in your response we didn't get to that part which is it's going to be very hard for Kevin McCarthy to bring that type of bipartisan agreement back to his country.
Absolutely which is I think all the more reason Joe Biden should be willing to do that deal. And I do think I mean look the president did an interview with our colleagues that we rule on Friday where she asked the point of questions about this and he said he's willing to negotiate on the budget but not on the debt limit. And I think that frankly this is always where the debate has been. You know I've been listening to Brendan here for a month say they're going to find the deal on the budget after the fact and maybe they'll get a clean debt ceiling but they'll go how they will present it how they say it again it is all and how it is presented matters.
But I do think people end up in a place where there is a debt ceiling increase but on the back end there are these negotiations on the budget that are come that are that are the president and frankly speaking of heart they come to a consensus heart of what I think we're seeing is a president Biden who's haunted by what happened in 2011 when Brendan was there you were dealing with right of your caucus at that time. You did come to a resolution that included spending cuts over time the sequester. Dan Pfeiffer who was one of Obama's top advisors who you worked with throughout that process we all did writes this. The president must know that Mr.
McCarthy is not a negotiating partner who can be trusted to deliver. The speaker's fate is in the hands of representatives including many House Freedom Caucus members who've shown very little willingness for compromise or good faith negotiation with their threats to plunge the country into default for the first time in history. They can plausibly be seen as a threat to the nation's economy and its stability as a global financial power. Brendan what do you make of that?
Yeah no the Freedom Caucus is never going to vote for the final deal so don't worry about them. I mean that's just the reality. Now Kevin McCarthy has real political problems. When he brings back this small deal there will be a lot of people who are very upset and he's a very small margin where somebody can say we're kicking you out.
That is a very real thing that he's going to have to negotiate. But if you sit around worrying about whether the Freedom Caucus is going to support a deal like don't worry about that. That's never going to happen. Kevin McCarthy understands that but he needs to make clear to his conference.
This is where we're headed. Here's what we can actually do. Here's why we're getting some wins that we wouldn't have otherwise gotten and I think he could probably sell that without losing his job. I think this is why the president is going to the Hudson Valley and the New York suburbs tomorrow.
Going to a district formerly represented by Sean Patrick Maloney who headed the Democrat congressional campaign committee now represented by a Republican. One of the very, one of those seats that is applicable seat could be a Democratic seat next Congress. It could say a Republican seat. He's going to make the case to these members across the country who are not these MAGA Republicans that Tia mentioned and that Brendan are talking about but folks who have to find consensus because that's what the people who elected them since in the Congress to do.
Tia we've talked so much about the political pressure on President Biden who's running for reelection on Speaker McCarthy whose conference is not only very divided but doesn't take much for them to basically oust him from his speakership but who would bear the bigger burden of potential default? Well quite frankly it would be the American people who would bear the biggest burden if you see the financial markets just crash internationally quite frankly but politically the polling shows that no one would come out unscathed in the White House Speaker McCarthy Congress in general. I think people at home to Simone's point they want to see compromise. They want to see government work.
They think that people should be able to get in a room and iron out in agreement that probably you know maybe reigns in a little bit of spending because I think most people would agree that that the federal government could trim a little fat but then also doesn't put you know the financial stability of the federal government into decline but that's easier said than done. Okay we'll leave it there and I believe we have Joe Tackapina the Trump attorney speaking responding to the Eugene Carroll verticalism. It's a great case all along in the jury check with that but you know the findings so we'll obviously be appealing those other findings but they rejected a rich name and he always claims the rich and so it's a little reflexive but you know we move forward. Did you speak to Mr.
Trump and what did he tell you? We spoke and we're right here you know proceeding. Obviously you know he's firm in his belief as many people are that he cannot get a fair trial in New York City based on the legal skills that I think one could argue that that's probably a accurate assessment based on what happened today and you know again it's something that you know we're right off of the college this year. The act of Hollywood tapes are not going into this case.
It's one of the things that we made many motions that we've always got to create issues for appeal and we're going to employ them. You know there were things that happened in this case that were beyond the pale. We made a Mr. Trump motion to the way through the job of the post of some of the rulings and we were biased.
It's played by the court. There's just no return to ready once by the second circuit in power for Trump and we think it's going to be overturned in the second time. But in the meantime we yelled for more trouble. It was now not liable to rape and that's it.
You know the fact that we hopped in because I'm trying to finance the case and that was not something when Donald Trump was diffusive making statements that was politically motivated plain and let's go into that and you know it's uh it's there are plenty of issues. You were complimented by not only the judge but it's causing cancer. I appreciate that. I mean look I respect for for the opposing counsel in this case for Kaplan's degree where it seems great.
I appreciate that they complimented me but you know for me it's just about it was all some at the end of the day while you know it was strange. For me was obviously very happy that Donald Trump was not granted a rapist. I didn't think there should be any liability funding so we'll pursue that. That's what I just said about the appeal right but you claimed all that she'd be raped by Donald Trump.
That's what this case is all about. Can you put the right sentence in there? Can you just try it and not give it to him? Yeah this is a circus happen and having him be here would be more of a circus and again what I said in the summation is that you know rain true um hold true it's that you know what more can you say other than I did do it.
It says that on the road here you know it's hard to group an egg while I can say you should throw my pen. You should throw my pen. You should do it. How would you group it?
Same thing for it right. I mean it's sort of where we're at so you know it's it's very simplistic. You should have said oh you should have nothing to say other than what to raise that on the road. You've talked a little bit about how perplexing the verdict was.
How does that play in the appeal? The fact that she couldn't rank it all along. Yeah I think it's uh I can't believe it's a verdict right and um it's something that's going to be another issue for the initial three of the appeals were late really months ago when when things like you know Donald Trump's have to have the dress that's for DNA after they says it's the lab and then it's going to come up with the evidence of the court. On the fact that the rehab and the democratic mind it's here you know who this car was not handed out when she testified initially on the road with the position um you know that's the actual how you keep not going through the federal rule before it read about those things that sort of thing.
So what does play this appeal and uh look that's what happened right you know we're what since gratifies. I know some people in this game are very happy that you know great thing was just but you know I'm not and uh I am happy about time search and uh happy death which is quite a lot more than anything whatsoever because I'm a seven-second shooter. You know he's strong he's uh he's ready to move forward um he wants to fight this on the against this one. We want to feel poor uh second turn to just happen on towers.
Roughly including since I've won second. You know he's got a have a lot more of these people that do his own. This is going to be a good shot. Yeah thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
He's a president. He's my friend. He's gay. I don't think so um you know he seems to be a survivor and move forward and then we'll continue to move forward.
Okay in this case we'll be up on appeal and we'll see what happens but um Think about the amount of street you know there um not like did it actually uh you know there have been mafia cases where they're not as sure as well at least the lawyers that that was yours are here we didn't even know where they were and that's in the case where there's you know a very strong um a very strong reaction people would ask me politicians to believe that I was wrong but we're in another we should have been up to tell something about the background of these people and unfortunately having an honest career even kept from the lawyers um I don't think it was there or it was right to prevent uh a thorough jury selection and we couldn't challenge people who we didn't know you know what the background was where so we look at basically. Can you take a stay in the front of Richmond? Can you get the deal? Uh we will.
What do you think you do? Oh no I listen this is like the rest of the terms between them just now and I but you know um I don't think it's personal with people and uh we had a prequel experience as far as the party in the case considering um you know what we meant to this was obviously the case. What do you think about how popular you are? Um yeah what's the best thing?
You know again talk to the steam behind the rules. I don't know what they were thinking about but it sort of indicates is what again with people have been saying that in New York you just think they're very proud and you know the people that you lost the case when they're not coming to Williams. Uh again they think that's not that powerful. You're a fucking yandered dog.
You're a fucking yandered dog. What do you think of the fact that they decided to be? You're a fucking yandered dog. What do you think of the fact that they specifically decided on sexual abuse but didn't go far as industry?
Yes I think that was earlier which is a bit inconsistent right? It's a bit inconsistent because all of them came to the rate. Not that she was a certain if it wasn't right and she said that and they withdrew exactly so it's hard to sort of square that with the rest of the verdict but it's a good question I just don't I'll look for questions guys honestly in that regard. Okay I'm gonna go now.
I have a fan of my fucking over there so I'm gonna go address it. Thank you. All right that was Joe Takapina attorney for former president trumped in the Eugene Carroll civil case of course the former president just found liable for sexually abusing the colonists there. You heard Takapina say that he had spoken to his client saying that he's ready to move forward.
He wants to fight this on appeal saying that they will appeal. You heard Takapina describe the entire process as a circus atmosphere saying for example that the Access Hollywood tape should not have been admitted as evidence and saying that there were things that should have been done very differently. I want to go to Danny Svalos and get your take Danny and also apologize to our viewers. There was some language there in the background.
Danny what's your take on what you just heard? Takapina has a point. I mean on appeal he's raising exactly the issues that I would raise. Number one that the Access Hollywood tape should not have come in.
I'm not saying that it should or shouldn't. I'm telling you what an appealable issue will and should be. If I were thinking about appealable issues. Number one I would argue that the Access Hollywood tape shouldn't have come in.
It's prior bad acts evidence which shouldn't come in in cases like these and so too should the witnesses the other alleged victims should not have come in either. Again I'm not saying that's my opinion. I'm saying an appellate lawyer is certain to raise those issues and they might prevail. If you look back just in the last few years this appears and this is just anecdotal, non-scientific, my observation.
This kind of prior bad act evidence has gotten overturned on appeal so it's possible you can see this case right back for a trial if the appellate court here the second circuit court of appeals decides that this evidence shouldn't have come in. While it's a totally different kind of case this was an issue in the Cosby case it's been an issue in other high profile cases and I think the message or the lesson to be learned is that if you're a plaintiff or a prosecutor you bring in this kind of evidence at your own risk. It's devastating. It's compelling evidence but you run the risk on appeal that an appellate court judge might say this was a little too much.
Daddy Svalos thank you for that. Let me go back to the panel here Brendan let me just get your take because not surprisingly Joe Tapping is saying we're going to appeal that's surprising to no one but it does underscore the idea that these court cases could stretch into next year into 2024 when general election voters start to look at this series. And for that reason I don't think it's surprising that they send their going to appeal whether or not they actually appeal I'll be very curious to see I don't know if Donald Trump wants this to continue this conversation to continue. Obviously we talk about whether this just comes a blip or or a serious thing.
Obviously appealing it going to another trial having to go through this once again seems to me at least politically unwise I don't know if $5 million is that important to Donald Trump and maybe enough to just say you know what let's just let this go. You know Simone something occurred to me as we're listening to Joe Tackapina he said the president doesn't think he can get fair trial in New York it is a reminder of the tactics that we see from the Trump team which is to say that this is politically motivated and to take their gloves off and fight and fight but you know Donald Trump had ample opportunity to defend himself in this case with his own words. Obviously we have all now at this point seen the video of the deposition that he did months ago but he refused to take the stand to the point where even the judge last week said we're going to leave some time open just in case president Trump formed president Trump like come see us and his team again denied to take the stand and so I also think there's something to be said about the tactics that the Trump team is using and then just the the facts that we all look up in the window and see that it's cloudy outside in Washington DC today and so they're the tactics with the fact that it's cloudy the tactics are trying to delay and say I can't get a fair trial and the facts that say well you had the opportunity and did not participate. To pick up on that point and and again we are anticipating there will be debates in a few months um this is going to be the backdrop to those debates and as Brendan raised earlier the question is will the former president's Republican challengers start to actually raise these court cases these legal challenges as an issue.
Right the most we've seen thus far is kind of a little shady comment from Rhonda's answer that he even kind of walked back from. I did we talked about the tactics from Trump's team and I thought it was interesting the attorney kept saying well he wasn't accused the jury said he didn't rape her you know it's not rape but at the end of the day it's still he was found liable for sexually abusing someone for for touching someone sexually sexually without their consent and he's going to carry that label at least for the time being because we know again if they do appeal it'll take quite some time and that's the label that Trump is going to face not just against his primary opponents but we know once it gets to a general election that you lecture it next year. Mm-hmm. Go ahead some a lot.
I thought a lot about this point about um the the challengers to Donald Trump not taking him on and Donald Trump has not been robbing. Okay he has not uh senator McCain. Donald Trump is now a twice impeached person who has been found liable of sexual abuse. There if I wasn't advised or any of these challengers on the Republican side I would say go in and get this man what do you have again he's resilient in the polls Simone.
Very true very true but resilient because he has not actually based any attacks from his primary opponent. I think they're scared though. They're scared of the voters wearing their limb for attacking Trump. All right well we'll have to see if it stays that way as Brendan said thank you all so much T.S.
Simone and Brendan really appreciate it. Up next count down to a border surge just two days until key restrictions lift and migrant camps are already at capacity as border patrol ramps up it's enforcement efforts. We're on the ground with the very latest that's next you're watching me the press now. Welcome back moments ago we learned that Homeland Security Secretary my orc is will be speaking tomorrow to deliver an update on the administration's preparations ahead of the expiration of Title 42 on Thursday that's the pandemic Arab border policy that they've been in place used by border officials millions of times since 2020 to deny entry and work quickly expel migrants.
It's the latest amid a flurry of last minute actions by officials all around the country in anticipation of a surge in migrant crossings and El Paso the Department of Homeland Security has announced it is conducting a security operation to target migrants who've already entered the country illegally and Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has laid out a new plan to manage the situation saying she's willing to take executive action and call in the National Guard if necessary. In New York two counties outside of New York City declared states of emergency this week after mayor Eric Adams announced plans to house migrants in hotels and in Colorado Governor Jared Cole is asked for additional resources to help provide humanitarian aid joining out with more from the other side of the border is NBC's wide the negacies in Tijuana, Mexico. Thank you so much for joining me really appreciate it. So you are there on the ground.
What are you seeing at the border of California and Tijuana today? Kristen well we're inside one of the larger shelters in Tijuana. This is a shelter that normally has more than 1,000 migrants right now they're about 1,700 migrants. This is one of the areas where they sleep in and it is just bed after bed.
You can hear the children that are running around playing during the day a lot of women and children that are here and the men many of the men that come with these families have found day jobs as they wait. Now there's a few things we have to take into consideration when we look at this migrant surge right. We've seen what's happened at the Texas border we've heard from the authorities in Arizona and California perhaps might be different because the city of Tijuana and San Diego have dealt with surges in the past so they've had time to prepare with an infrastructure because the surge here has been going on for years. So this is one of possibly 30 different shelters in Tijuana and by the way it's impossible to know how many migrants are in the city.
Some are right by bus, some walk here, some even by a plane ticket and from there they go to the port of entry to try to request asylum. So there's a lot of moving parts. It's important to make sure we understand that they've been preparing for the surge here but we do have large numbers. They tell me here that they're getting more and more hundreds of migrants not just here but also in other shelters so there is an influx and very short distance from here.
There is a camp at the border wall of individuals who said we're just going to cross that border wall and request asylum. Now nearly all the migrants here and others that are staying in other shelters thousands say they are daily trying to use that CBP one app. This is the app that the US government created for individuals to request asylum but every day we hear that the app freezes and it's almost impossible to get an appointment. Here's a conversation I had with the women just minutes ago.
He's been here for a month. So every time she tries to do the appointment through the application there's not enough space. So she said people came yesterday to inform them that requesting asylum will be different so it might actually be more complicated than they expected. So that's where the individuals trying to use the app and apply for asylum legally as you can see it's very difficult forcing many to go to the border crossing to the US and attempt to seek asylum by being apprehended by border patrol person.
Well thank you for that reporting and that interview really appreciate it and thank you for being with us this hour. I'm back tomorrow with more of me the press now. NBC News now coverage continues with Tom Pestello and for Hallie Jackson right now. It's here the Ford it's a big deal.
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