If it's Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are on the campaign trail with just 33 days to go as Trump responds to this election cycle's first October surprise. Plus, President Biden continues his tour of the Southeast states hit by Hurricane Helene with Florida and Georgia as the death toll continues to rise. And Israel launches another deadly airstrike in Beirut and carries out new attacks in Gaza as it prepares to retaliate against Iran's unprecedented missile attack. Welcome to Meet the Press Now.
I'm Kristen Welker in Washington. We are just 33 days out from Election Day and both nominees are on the trail in swing states as we sort through our first October surprise of the 2024 campaign. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkin released a 165-page filing from Special Counsel Jack Smith arguing why his election interference case should survive following the Supreme Court's decision on presidential immunity. Smith makes his argument on page 1, writing, quote, Although the defendant was the incumbent president during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one.
The filing asserts Trump knew he was spreading lies about the 2020 election and acted on them leading up to the January 6th attack on the Capitol as part of a broad scheme to stay in power. Smith also claims to have forensic evidence the president was scrolling Twitter and watching cable television on January 6th when he made his infamous post claiming Vice President Mike Pence didn't have the, quote, courage to reject the certification of the 2020 election, something that he didn't have the authority to do. Smith writing, The content of the 2.24 p.m. tweet was not a message sent to address a matter of public concern and ease unrest.
It was the message of an angry candidate upon the realization that he would lose power. Now, Mr. Trump's legal team asked Judge Chutkin for additional time to respond to the filing with a brief of its own before she rules on the immunity issue, pushing any decision well after election day. As for Trump himself, he claimed without evidence that the release was politically targeted and repeated false claims about the 2020 election.
This was a weaponization of government, and that's why it was released 30 days before the election. And it's nothing new in there, by the way. Nothing new. They rigged the election.
I didn't rig the election. They rigged the election. What they do is they rig the election, and then they go around getting people and persecuting people and prosecuting people that did nothing wrong. They rigged the election.
These are crooked people. Deranged Jack Smith is a prosecutor who was put there in order to screw up the election for the Republican Party. Now, as a reminder, Trump brought more than 60 legal challenges back in 2020 in an attempt to prove the election was, quote, rigged, as he said. Nearly all the cases were dropped or dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris will soon hit the trail with someone closely identified with the January 6th attack. We're talking about former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the vice chair of the January 6th Select Committee, since ousted from Congress by the GOP. She will be joining Harris in Ripon, Wisconsin, the 1854 birthplace of the Republican Party. The appearance is amid a larger effort from the Harris campaign to gain the support of Republicans disillusioned with former President Trump.
Cheney and her father, of course, Dick Cheney, endorsed Kamala Harris last month. We expect her remarks to be a continuation of the argument she made in September. Look. So, you know, I think every Republican, anybody who's contemplating casting a vote for that ticket, you know, really needs to think about what they are enabling, what they're embracing, and the danger of electing people who will only honor election results if they agree with the outcome and who are willing to set aside the Constitution and, you know, in the case of Donald Trump, promote, provoke, exploit violence in order to seize power.
Gabe Gutierrez is in Ripon, Wisconsin, ahead of Kamala Harris's event with Liz Cheney. And Garrett Haake is following the Trump campaign in Michigan. Gabe, let me start with you. As we've said, former Congresswoman Cheney is joining the vice president at the birthplace of the Republican Party in Wisconsin.
How big of a moment is this for the Harris campaign and how did they get here? Well, Kristen, the Harris campaign views this as a very significant moment. As you said, they are trying to get those disillusioned Republican voters who are sick of Donald Trump, frankly, to come to vote, to come vote for them. And the question is, Kristen, whether they will be able to convince enough to make a difference in this election.
Now, looking around this venue, this is Ripon College, as you said, this town, the birthplace, known as the birthplace of the Republican Party back in 1854. The signage we're hearing, we're seeing over and over throughout this venue is country over party. And that's a slogan that you'd hear from somebody like John McCain, but not something you're hearing a lot now from the current Republican Party. And that's what the Harris campaign wants to zero in on.
Expect Liz Cheney and Kamala Harris in just a short while to really hit that message of upholding the Constitution. You heard it in that clip you just played from Liz Cheney. We expect that message repeated quite a bit this afternoon, Kristen. Gabe, you know, you and I sort through the polls all of the time.
There's obviously just a tiny little sliver of undecided voters at this point in time, but those voters could make all of the difference. Does the Harris campaign think that Liz Cheney can help her win over those voters and even potentially change some moderate Republican minds? Look, that's the big question, right? We spoke with some Trump supporters earlier today.
They say Liz Cheney does not speak for the modern Republican Party. That is clear. And she's not winning any Trump supporters here. But yes, she's trying to look for that small sliver of the electorate that would either stay home because they're dissatisfied with both candidates or, you know, perhaps somebody that backed Nikki Haley in the GOP primary and does not see a home for themselves in the party of Donald Trump.
And as you said, in a state like Wisconsin, it was so close back in 2020 and is expected to be just as close, if not more so this time around. That could make a huge difference in the swing state, Kristen. That absolutely could. All right, Gabe Gutierrez, thank you for your reporting.
We know you'll continue to monitor that event, bring us any big updates as we get them. Garrett, let me turn to you now. Of course, we've been reporting on former President Trump's response to this filing in the Jack Smith case. Walk us through what he is saying and is there any concern among Republicans, Republican allies, that this could basically backfire on the former president?
Because, boy, he's spending a lot of time talking about how the 2020 election was rigged. And we know that Republicans are saying, let's look forward. Let's focus on 2024, not those baseless claims. Yeah, Kristen, I think at this point for the Trump campaign, at least their perspective on it is that your views on the 2020 election are pretty well baked in at this point.
At this event I'm at now, Donald Trump made the same comments he often does. He described the 2020 election as rigged. He said if he thought he lost, he wouldn't be out here running again. But that's it.
That's the only time he's mentioned anything close to the Smith filing or the case against him. And he's been going now for almost an hour here on stage. I think the Trump campaign view and the Trump view is that these charges, this case, the discussion about January 6th and the 2020 election has lost some of its explosiveness as we approach 2024. They're not fundraising on it as aggressively.
Donald Trump isn't talking about it as aggressively. I think it's clearly the kind of thing that can still get under his skin, as you heard in that interview from last night. But they don't see it as a seminal issue deciding this race. Harris campaign clearly feels differently.
They've been trying to highlight some of these elements even by having Liz Cheney campaign with her. Yeah, early voting already underway in more than half the states. Let me read you a little clip of Jack Smith's filing. He writes, leading into the election, the defendant's private and campaign advisors informed him that it would be a close contest and that it was unlikely to be finalized on election day.
Privately, the defendant told advisors he would simply declare victory before all the ballots were counted and any winner was projected. Garrett, what's the key takeaway there and the potential implications for this year's election? Well, Kristen, I see much of the same kind of thing going on, at least publicly, from the campaign. Almost at every event he talks about the idea that he thinks he can only lose this race if it were to be rigged.
He talks about not needing turnout, not needing voters, needing to make sure there's not cheating and basically saying that the only way he loses is if it gets stolen from him. He is certainly setting the table again to declare victory or declare that something about the 2024 race is fishing. You can probably see behind me the signs to vote early. This is another thing that kind of plays out in this same context.
Trump's campaign often urges people to vote early to take advantage of absentee voting or voting by mail in the states where it's available, like here in Michigan, where folks got their ballots late last week, early this week and could vote. Trump does that only in the most perfunctory manner in these speeches. A lot of those same dynamics from 2020 will be in play again as we start counting votes this I mean, I think that's the hardest part for the Smith team in this litigation at the moment, Kristen. Conversations with purely private actors, political operatives, even state officials, if it's about the campaign and Mr.
Trump's candidacy, are arguably private conduct. But you're quite right. I think the weak point for the Smith team here, and it's not their fault, this is simply the facts they've been dealt and they're trying to litigate it. But I think the weak point for the Smith team are conversations between Mr.
Trump and his vice president. We know the Supreme Court has already put off, or put out of bounds, I should say, Kristen, conversations, for instance, between Mr. Trump and senior Justice Department officials. And so the Trump folks, the Trump lawyers, will argue that the same rules should pertain to conversations between Mr.
Trump and his then Vice President, Mike Pence. We'll see. But this is exactly the point we were discussing earlier. The Supreme Court pronounces, and now Judge Chutkin has to sort it out.
And I think you put your finger directly on one of the most difficult questions with which she will have to contend. And Chuck, just finally, very quickly, what's the timeline? What are you going to be watching for next? Well, the next thing that happens is a Trump response.
And then I imagine that Judge Chutkin either rules on the papers, meaning without a hearing, or holds a hearing to ask additional questions and try and sort through it. But whichever path they choose, it's not going to be particularly fast, Kristen. All right, Chuck Rosenberg, as always, thank you so much for helping us with these complicated legal stories. We really appreciate your insights.
Thank you. Coming up after the break, more on former President Donald Trump's legal challenges and what it could mean as Election Day gets closer and closer. Plus, former First Lady Melania Trump takes a rare public stance in favor of abortion rights as the former president struggles to make his opinion on the issue clear. The panel joins me to break it all down next.
You're watching Meet the Press Now. Welcome back. The new legal details about the federal election interference case against former President Trump are raising questions of political fallout with just 33 days until Election Day. As Mr.
Trump falls back on complaints about election interference against him, echoing unsupported claims that stretch back to his first presidential bid. Look, I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged. I have to be honest. The only way we're going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.
The Democrats are trying to rig this election because it's the only way they're going to win. We have a whole rigged election system. Nobody's ever seen anything like what's happening now. These people cheat.
They cheat like hell. If we can keep it down to a minimum, we win easily. Now, it remains unclear if the news will do much to sway voters. In July, nearly 60 percent of voters in our NBC News poll said they had major or moderate concerns about the former president's multiple felony charges, including more than two thirds of the all-important independent vote.
But Mr. Trump's 2024 strategy has hinged on turning out his base, not swing voters. And nearly 80 percent of Republicans said they had minor or no concerns. Joining me now is our great panel, Julia Manchester, national political reporter at The Hill, Juanita Tolliver, host of What a Day podcast and an NBC News political analyst, and Mark Lauder, former director of strategic communications for Trump's 2020 re-election campaign.
Thanks to all of you for being here today. Julia, let me start with you. The release of this new filing by Jack Smith, does it have any impact on the state of the race? We're looking at it as an October surprise.
But as we just showed you, the polls are pretty immovable. Yeah, look, there's been a few October surprises. And we're just three days into October. Mark and I were actually chatting about this in the green room before this.
And I think I was of one mind thinking, you know, voters could be dug in. They also may be paying attention to those kitchen table issues we think about so much, the economy, immigration, crime, health care, etc. But with President Trump focusing, you know, a lot of his rhetoric sometimes around election results, whether, you know, who's going to win, will he accept, etc. That could sort of move this conversation, this unsealing could play into that conversation.
And with Democrats working to make democracy on the ballot, that plays into it as well. Mark, it's a really good point because I've been talking to allies of former President Trump. And prior to the release of this filing, they said, we just want him to focus on the economy, on immigration. Focus on the issues where polls show he is strongest.
This has taken him off course yet again. And here he is. You just saw in one of the recent interviews he did this week, he's now focused on what he calls election interference and accusing Jack Smith of essentially trying to interfere with the election. Do you think this could backfire for that reason, simply that it is a distraction for him?
No, I think right now he's probably reacting to what he sees going on in the news cycle. Obviously, it has dominated talk on cable news for the last day and a half now. It probably will throughout the weekend. And then we will get back into more regular programming, as they say, next week.
So he already has the advantage on all these things in terms of the economy, in terms of immigration. We'll get back to that. I'm sure he'll still talk about it at his rallies. If I won't cut through in terms of what is the topic of conversation in the media.
But it will again. And Juanita, what do you think? How would you advise? Of course, we're waiting to see what Vice President Harris is going to say today.
She'll be joined by Congresswoman Liz Cheney. And we'll talk about that in just a minute. But do you anticipate that Harris will talk about this? She's been focused on the case in New York, which has already been litigated.
He's been charged and convicted in that case of 34 counts. Do you see any shift in strategy playing out there? Maybe not for the vice president, but for her surrogates. 100 percent.
So expect Tim Walls to talk about this. Expect Liz Cheney to likely mention it on stage. Remember, she was one of the chairs of the Select Committee around the January 6th investigation. And so while it might not come from the vice president, it will be absolutely something that her campaign beats the drum on.
Look at how they treated the footage from the debate earlier this week when Tim Walls asked J.D. Vance, did Trump win 2020? No answer, a non-answer, and they cut a clip with footage from January 6th intertwined to get to voters. Mark, what did you make of that moment?
Because J.D. Vance obviously had a very strong debate performance. And then that moment has become a moment that Democrats are seizing on. Well, I think that's what we get with both of these debates.
Both sides are going to take their clip. He can't answer why he was not in Tiananmen Square. You've got the January 6th. But the timing is curious.
I mean, nothing happens in these campaigns on a moment's notice. It's all planned out days, weeks in advance, especially for like Secret Service and other reasons. So you have the debate. They're cutting the ad.
The report drops that day. And the next day she happens to be at the home of the Republican Party with Liz Cheney in Wisconsin. Seems very convenient timing for all of us. I'll let you respond to all of that.
I'll let you respond to all of that. Right. As you know, with advance, as it goes on the campaign trail, of course, that of it was said. Of course, Liz Cheney was set to do this.
The person who changed the game in the news cycle was Judge Chutkin. No one from the DOJ decided to release this report. Judge Chutkin made that decision well within her rights. So we'll have the discussion in the court of public opinion, not in a court of law.
It is a very important point. And, of course, Chuck Rosenberg just laid out all of the reasons why he does not think this has anything to do with politics. Julia, let me talk to you about politics, though. What is the impact of Liz Cheney being out on the campaign trail with Vice President Kamala Harris?
The fact that obviously she endorsed her several weeks ago and now here she is trying to seal the deal. Well, and her father, Vice President Dick Cheney, obviously a major figure in the Republican Party, endorsed Kamala Harris, our former figure, I should say. Look, there is make no mistake, the majority of Republican voters, of Republican figureheads, are behind Donald Trump. I don't think this necessarily sways the needle with any Republicans.
Could I see it, you know, playing a role with maybe more moderate swing voters who say, hey, you know, in this polarized environment, here we have Liz Cheney, a very conservative woman, appearing with Kamala Harris. Could that potentially move the needle? Maybe. But at the same time, though, I think people look at someone like Liz Cheney or voters look at someone like Liz Cheney and see a very prominent critic of former President Trump.
So it almost is predictable and makes sense that she would appear with Kamala Harris. Mark, what do you make of this? There's a very small sliver of undecided voters, but they could make all the difference. I think it's interesting that, you know, a man, especially in former Vice President Cheney, who had left and Democrats basically accused of being a workroom We did an aerial tour of the damage above Perry, Florida, was on the ground in King Beach, Florida, and met with the first responders and with some of the officials there, met with the victims as well before coming here to Georgia.
And it really does demonstrate the scale of what we're dealing with here, about five or six states that were involved in this, thousands and thousands of square miles and millions of people that will be dealing with the impact of this storm for not just days, Kristen, but for years to come. Absolutely. And Ryan, as you were speaking, we were looking at live pictures of President Biden. Looks like he's about to speak there in Ray City, Georgia, holding a news conference on the latest federal response.
Ryan, Secretary Mayorkas was saying that FEMA actually doesn't have enough funds to deal with the anticipated cost, not just of the recovery efforts that are needed right now, but the anticipated onslaught of more hurricanes for the rest of the season. Do you have an anticipation as someone who covers Congress, that Congress will be able to pass more funding for this? I think it's almost a certainty, Kristen. You know, and Secretary Mayorkas and the Homeland Security Department of FEMA had to explain what the secretary meant by those comments.
They do believe that they have enough to meet the immediate need, and that means getting people food and water, getting power back on, getting roads back open. They've got enough money to deal with that. It's the long-term problem that they're worried about, not just the recovery and cleanup from this storm, but the fact that the tropics are still churning. There's a real possibility of another big storm that could sweep in here within the next week or so, much less before we get to the end of hurricane season.
We've already seen a bipartisan push from members of Congress to deliver more disaster aid and do it as soon as possible. There are even some members that believe that they should come back to Washington immediately. The problem right now, Kristen, is they don't know how much they need. They need a better assessment of just how widespread this damage is, and then also anticipate what they could possibly need going forward.
Once they get their handle on just how big of a dollar figure that is, that's when you'll see momentum, likely after the election, for Congress to do something specifically related to disaster relief. Whether or not that's part of a future spending bill, remember, they've only funded the government through the middle of December, or whether or not it's a standalone bill, that's something that we'll still have to wait and see how it plays out. Well, I know you'll be on top of all of it as that region braces for potentially yet another large storm headed its way. Ryan, thank you so much.
And joining me now is Greenville, South Carolina Mayor Knox White and Asheville, North Carolina Mayor Esther Manheimer. Thanks to both of you for being here. They both led communities that have been devastated by Hurricane Helene. Mayor White, let me start with you.
You met with the president when he visited Greenville yesterday. He's continuing his visits today, as we just said. What did you hear from him about the federal government's response? Are you getting what you need from the federal government?
Well, the really good news was that the state officials as well as, of course, the local officials in the region have been working very well together and with the federal assistance on top of that. So really starting when the winds just began to slow down, we had contact with the federal government as well as state officials. It's been that way ever since. And what type of aid have you received so far?
Well, FEMA's been here right on the spot, as you would hope, very granular. It's the way they work. And that's encouraging to see a lot of federal assistance combined with local in terms of feeding programs, getting emergency assistance in terms of bottled water and things like that. All the things you would hope to see.
And we've been able to use a lot of good public facilities in the area, such as our sports and entertainment arena, which become kind of a one stop shop for emergency services, medical attention for people there, as well as food services for volunteers. And it's been a good coordinated effort. Everybody sees that and is very happy with that. Mayor Manheimer, let me turn to you.
Your state of North Carolina has been hit the hardest in terms of the number of deaths from this disaster. And we are so sorry about that loss of life. Are you getting what you need from the federal government? Yeah, we are.
We are now seeing an incredible uptick of activity here in Asheville and Buncombe County and in our region with all sorts of resources coming into the area. I just was meeting with part of our FEMA team that is here. We are seeing state resources. We have immediate needs for the folks that are that are living here, that are in a crisis situation.
We don't have water to most of our community and so many are without power. So we need basic necessities like water and food and personal items, cleaning items, those kinds of things. But we also have a military level crew size of folks that are here repairing our water system and trying to bring power back to all the homes and businesses and hospitals and buildings all throughout throughout this area. And I'll put this next question to both of you.
Mayor Manheimer, you can start. How long do you anticipate the recovery efforts will last, will take? Well, the president announced yesterday that that we will get 100 percent covered for the debris removal phase and for the cost of bringing in security personnel. We have all kinds of police departments that are helping us here, military and so on and so forth, for the first six months.
So if that gives you any idea how long just the phase of cleaning up and trying to begin the recovery and rebuilding piece of this. Wow. Mayor White, is that about the time frame that you're looking at as well? Six months to just start that process of recovery and getting things back to at least where they were.
No, we're in far better condition than than Western North Carolina and people here. We're very close geographically to Western North Carolina. We have friends and relatives there as well. My heart's really breaking for what we're seeing up there.
Our damage is more wind related damage. The number one issue right now is just get the power back on for everyone. We've cleared the streets with the intersections are back operating. We didn't lose vast highways and roads and things like that.
Ours is more trees on houses and the tragedy that doesn't. You see in neighborhoods in our city. But the situation in Western North Carolina is just heartbreaking. And I want the mayor to know that today we had big activity at the regional airport here as people showed up and volunteers, helicopters, private planes all heading up to Western North Carolina with supplies.
And people came out by the hundreds here in Greenville, even though they have their own issues in their own neighborhood. Their eyes are very much on Western North Carolina as well. And Mayor Manheimer, you've mentioned in recent interviews with NBC that the most pressing need after lifesaving efforts, as you just said, is clean water. What do you think?
Are you getting what you need as it relates to getting clean water? And what can you tell residents in the area who are watching right now about that? Yes, we are getting what we need, but I don't want anyone to think that this problem is solved. We are going to have a water outage that lasts weeks, not days.
So we need to continue to receive those resources. And Mayor White, thank you and your community so much for your help that you're bringing here to Asheville. We are seeing help from around the country. I've never seen anything like this before.
You can see trucks and vehicles and personnel from all over the nation coming in here to help us because we're going to need a sustained we're going to just need a sustained assistance system here for us. Just getting water, food and those like those things that people need to live their daily lives to some people is a challenge. Having to airlift into some areas that are still cut off because there's no road or there's no bridge. So that that's still a situation we're under here.
We are not we are not out of crisis mode by any stretch of the imagination. And this again for both of you and Mayor Manheimer, I'll start with you. The fact that there could be more severe weather events throughout the course of hurricane season. Are you prepared and are you coordinating with the state and federal government for more aid?
Well, I'm gonna be honest. Another major weather event is not not something that is not something we can handle right now. So I'm, you know, I don't know what else to say, but to pray for that not to happen to us. We need more time to be able to recover and build back up our resilience to be able to withstand anything at this point.
The only saving grace is that we have so many folks here helping our community that might get us through something like that. Mayor White, Secretary Mayorkas said he was concerned that FEMA actually doesn't have enough resources. They are asking Congress for more money. How are you preparing and bracing for the possibility that hurricane season is just getting underway?
Don't even say that. It would be a double tragedy. And again, our basic infrastructure is in good shape here. Thank goodness power needs to come back on.
We need to work more in the neighborhoods to clear. We've already cleared most of the streets, but we have to help people in their houses and their neighborhoods, the trees and that kind of thing. But our infrastructure is in pretty good shape. But no, this region couldn't take any more water, but certainly Western North Carolina could not.
And the message to both of you, to lawmakers here in Washington, as you continue your cleanup efforts there, particularly you, Mayor Manheimer, what is the message in terms of making sure there is more aid for and I don't mean in the near Also because Israel expanded its evacuation orders in southern Lebanon beyond the buffer zone that was established by the UN back in 2006. What's the response been to that? Is there concern about mission creep? Yeah, absolutely.
That's the right word, Kristen, mission creep. There is a sense that what Israel said was a small scale, targeted, limited set of raids is getting bigger almost by the hour. I can give you some data. I can give you some anecdotes.
Data, this started off with one Israeli division involved crossing the border into Lebanon. There are now two divisions involved. We have seen Israeli tanks crossing over the border. We've been hearing very heavy outgoing Israeli artillery fire today.
And just when you drive the streets of northern Israel, you are seeing tanks, you're seeing armored personnel carriers, Humvees all over the place, signs of a much larger military buildup. And then, as you mentioned, they have now, the Israelis have now ordered the evacuation of 25 villages and towns, not just along the border in southern Lebanon, but deeper into the country. And that suggests that a bigger offensive is afoot, Kristen. Well, Ross Sanchez, as always, fantastic reporting.
Please stay safe. Thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. Coming up after the break, we're going to bring you to battleground Pennsylvania, where the Senate race there could help determine the balance of power in Congress.
We have new reporting next. You're watching Meet the Press Now. Welcome back. We turn now to Pennsylvania, which is not just key for Democrats' hopes for the presidency, but also the Senate.
As Democratic Senator Bob Casey faces a challenge from Trump-backed challenger Dave McCormick. Tonight, Casey and McCormick meeting on stage for their first debate as a new poll of the battleground shows Casey ahead, but still within the margin of error. Our own Julie Serkin caught up with both candidates ahead of tonight's meet-up. And she joins me now from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Julie, this is fantastic that you were able to speak with both candidates. Bob Casey obviously has held this seat for nearly 18 years, but incumbency can cut both ways. Talk about his strategy to win. What did he tell you?
It certainly can, Kristen. And he is aligning himself with the top of the ticket with Kamala Harris here. And in some ways, it is a boost to Harris because the Casey name is so popular in the state of Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth, I should say. Let's go back to 2006 when Casey defeated Rick Santorum.
That was the largest margin of victory for any Democratic Senate candidate in Pennsylvania's history. And so when I asked Casey if he is worried about campaigning with Harris, about tying himself so closely to her in this state, here's what he had to say in response. Watch this. I think when it comes down to the decision a voter has to make, they're going to make a different decision based upon the office.
They're going to make a decision in the presidential race or the way a series of considerations. They're also going to make a decision in my race that will be specific to the choice about who the next senator is going to be. And when they come down to that choice, whether it's on basic rights like women's rights, voting rights, and workers' rights, there's no common ground between me and Dave McCormick. Kristen, you and I both know well that ticket splitting has gone down in recent years in recent elections.
Casey, though, expressing that that could happen in this state and that could help him. And remember how important the seat is. Of course, Democrats to even keep the control of the Senate. They have to hold on to Pennsylvania.
So it is super critical as a battleground state. It absolutely is. And at risk of dating myself, I was at Rick Santorum's headquarters when he lost to Bob Casey. And you're absolutely right.
It was a political, politically major event in Pennsylvania at the time. Let's talk about Dave McCormick. He, of course, lost the Republican primary back in 2022 to Dr. Oz, who ultimately lost his race.
How closely is he hewing to Donald Trump, who also lost his last race in the state? Well, McCormick could benefit from Trump's name ID in the state, but it could also hurt him. Trump's rhetoric, the former president's comments that he's making, especially it's something that I really drill down with McCormick about. He attended his rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, just last Sunday when the former president called Kamala Harris mentally impaired.
I asked him about that. And I also asked him how he's differentiating himself with Trump on policy. Listen. He's in favor of lifting the ban, the cap on salt, which in essence gives tax breaks to millionaire homeowners in California and New York at the expense of Pennsylvania taxpayers.
I wouldn't be for that as an example. So he said some things on Ukraine. My view on Ukraine is we should support Ukraine with military aid. I've run two campaigns and I'm 0-1.
This is my second. I'm 0-1. So I've got to run a campaign that I feel is best represents who I am and the kind of a senator that I'll be. And I can only manage myself.
McCormick clearly distinguishing himself on key policy ideas, which is something Casey didn't really do when I pressed him on it. But McCormick also being careful, saying he's not giving advice to the former president. He's going to join him in Butler for his comeback since that failed assassination attempt in July. So certainly trying to keep his distance on some issues, but at the same time, very much running with Trump here.
Fascinating to hear him highlight the issue of Ukraine. That's going to be a big one, I think, in these down ballot races. Julie Serkin, thanks so much. I'm back tomorrow with more Meet the Press Now.
The news continues with Hallie Jackson right now.