Meet the Press NOW — September 12

Amazon presents Jamal vs. The Shih Tzu Descending from the gray wolf. Shih Tzus live by their own untamed primal code of not giving a single Shih Tzu. But Jamal shopped on Amazon and bought dog treats, chew toys and 32 ounces of carpet cleaner.

Hey, Jamal, you've been promoted to pack leader. Save the everyday with Amazon. Welcome to the press now. I'm Chris and welcome.

We begin with breaking news after a dramatic two day manhunt ended with the arrest of the alleged assassin who shot and killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Authorities confirming this morning that 22 year old Tyler Robinson had been taken into custody there since mugshot after being turned in to authorities by a family member. Now, the arrest came just hours after the FBI released new video of the alleged gunman jumping down from a rooftop after the shooting, along with additional photos taken around the same time. Authorities say Robinson is a guitar resident with no known prior criminal record and was not a student at the university.

Authorities also saying that according to his family, he'd become more political in recent years. President Trump first announced the arrest during a Fox News appearance which Utah Governor Spencer Cox and FBI officials then confirmed. We got him. The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to September 10th.

And in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to uvu. They talked about why they didn't like him and the viewpoints that he had. The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate. Now officials believe the suspect acted alone.

Investigators also say they found bullet casings engraved with what appear to be Internet memes and other phrases including quote, hey, fascist, catch. Robinson is now expected to face several state charges, including aggravated murder. Those charges are expected to come early next week. Utah's government, while also delivering a powerful message during today's press conference urging Americans to condemn violence, using Charlie Kirk's words to encourage more conversation and less fighting.

Calling on all Americans to turn down the temperature in this heated and unsettling political environment. I think we need more moral clarity right now. I hear all the time that words are violence. Words are not violence.

Violence is violence. And there is one person responsible for what happened here and that person is now in custody and will be charged soon and will be held accountable. And yet all of us have an opportunity right now to do something different. That's the problem with political violence, is it metastasizes because we can always point the finger at the other side and at some point we have to find an off ramp or it's going to get much, much worse.

Charlie said when people stop talking, that's when you get violence. I desperately call on every American, Republican, Democrat, liberal, progressive, conservative, maga, all of us, to please, please, please follow what Charlie taught me. Now, President Trump today once again cast blame on his political rivals and also dismissed concerns about extreme elements on the right. Take a look.

I'll tell you something that's gonna get me in trouble, but I couldn't care less. The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don't want to see crime. They don't want to see crime. Worried about the border, they're saying we don't want these people coming in.

We don't want you burning our shopping centers. We don't want you shooting our people in the middle of the street. The radicals on the left are the problem and they're vicious and they're horrible and they're politically savvy. Starting us off, NBC News correspondent Steve Patterson joins me now from Orb, Utah.

I'm also joined by NBC News national law enforcement and intelligence correspondent Tom Winter, NBC News chief Justice and national affairs correspondent Kelly o' Donnell and Casey Jordan, a criminologist and investigative profiler who's also a professor of justice and law administration at Western Connecticut State University. Thanks to all of you for being here. Steve, let me tell us a little bit more about what authorities told us today regarding the suspect, Tyler Robinson. Yeah, 22 year old Tyler Robinson, also a college student, lived with his family in Washington, Utah.

It's about four hours from here. Or shows us attending Dixie Technical College under an apprenticeship program, as you mentioned. No prior criminal record as we understand it. And investigators explained it was Robinson's father who then contacted a or saw the pictures that were posted by the FBI.

I should say with that $100,000 reward, those pictures so crucial, so pivotal to the FBI's investigation because again, it was Robinson's father saw those pictures, identified who it was, that it was his son, got in contact with a family friend, we understand as a local minister, that family friend and contacted the sheriff's department, leading investigators to an arrest. Another thing that led investigators was Robinson's digital footprint. It was a messaging app called Discord. A lot of gamers use it to sort of communicate where they're going to gaming max.

This was also used as a messaging platform. That's what Robinson was using it for. According to investigators, speaking to pertinent details about the case, including the bolt action rifle that was found, the location but the fact that he knew about it indicated some pre planning in that instance. And also obviously just a gumshoe work on the ground recovering the weapon, the imprints that were taken on scene, a handprint, a boot print.

We know Robinson obviously will be facing charges in the next coming days, likely as early as sue said, Kristen. And just to be very clear, where is he now and is he facing state or federal charges or both? Steve? So state charges at this point, he's in the Utah county jail, maybe about 13 minutes or so south of our location from the campus here.

Of course, federal charges are possible, but that's a different course of investigation, obviously, that officials have to undertake. All right, Steve Patterson starting us off there today. We really appreciate it. Tom, let me turn to you now.

Walk us through how authorities are able to identify and apprehend Tyler Robinson. How did they know, as they say, they've got their guy? Well, it certainly helped in this instance. It appears that a family member, a family friend identified as a minister that knew this family made the call to a local sheriff's office.

And that was after, according to our reporting, multiple law enforcement officials briefed on the matter. This minister received a phone call from the father of the alleged attacker here, Tyler Robinson. And so this is a case that kind of evolved, according to authorities, as a result of the father seeing some images. There was a confrontation about this incident.

And then the father reaches out to the minister. The minister then calls the local sheriff's office, and this is where we are. That's how this case really got broken. And I think it underscores the fact that whenever images are out there in the public, you allow family members and friends the opportunity to try to identify somebody and try to arrange for a peaceful arrest for this not to end violently.

And that appears to be the case here. And it's notable, Tom, because authorities are saying that he doesn't have any prior record. Was he on law enforcement's agenda at all? What are your radar at all?

Do you know about that aspect of the investigation? Yeah. As of this hour, chronicler, there's no indication from anybody in law enforcement or any public records that we've been able to find that this individual had any prior contacts with law enforcement. That's a trend, by the way, that we have largely seen over the past 18 months.

You're looking at the individual who fired shots at Donald Trump, at Thomas Matthew Crooks during the Butler rally, Luigi Mancioni, the person charged with the death of the United Healthcare CEO. Same with some of the other high Profile attacks that we've seen this year, including on those Minnesota lawmakers. The arson attack on Josh Shapiro, the individual who showed up in Washington, D.C. not all that far from you to shoot and kill the two at the Israeli consulate of the Israeli event.

And those were Israeli government employees. None of these people would have had any cause whatsoever to pop up on law enforcement's radar. And that is very much a discussion in law enforcement. The fact that this is happening seemingly and random individuals are difficult to track.

And of course, the big question looming over all of this, Tom, what is the motive? We know that the governor spoke to. The fact that there were some things written on the weapon that was used. Do they have any sense of the motive at this point?

Right. So you're looking at some of the things that were referenced there. There's a number of kind of obscure meanings to this. The one that the governor referenced, I think sticks out, is the hay fascist, presumably referring to the target of this assassination was Charlie Kirk.

Catch. In other words, stop this bullet. These are. There's some sayings here that have to do with individuals who were speaking out or listening to songs.

The Obella Chow song against fascism. So there appears to be definitely a strong undercurren of anti fascism that is here, or at least that's the view that this individual is espousing. What some of the other phrases exactly mean. How that fits into all of this?

There is a suspect that is in custody, obviously in the form of Tyler Robinson. So the question going forward is will he say anything and is there anything to find in his home, at his residence where he has roommates, as well as on those phones and devices? Could any of that be used to get us closer to a specific motive? I think the end result here is very clear.

This individual, based on his statements to family members, was upset at Charlie Kirk, based on his statements to family members, have become quite political recently. And so I think it's pretty clear whatever it was, it was definitely against Charlie Kirk. Obviously, in this recent trend of his, where he appeared to pivot to some extreme views is something investigators are closely tracking. All right, Tom Winter, thank you for that reporting.

Let me turn to Kelly o'. Donnell. Now, Kelly, you heard Steve Patterson talking about the fact that he's definitely going to be facing state charges. Are you anticipating could we see federal charges on top of these state charges?

It is possible, but from the sources I've been talking to, they have indicated they're not in a hurry. And by that I mean they know that he is in custody. There is a process in Utah to detain him with charges coming in a couple of days. And so it allows federal investigators to take a wider look.

I'm also told that they have not yet gotten access to his icloud. Many of us can relate to all the things that can be housed in your digital footprint, in your digital garage. When you talk about the etchings, that's a very kind of old school way of making a message known, attaching it to the weapon. What you have in your cloud would really be lots of photos, lots of emails, lots of perhaps searches on the Internet, a whole array of things.

The roommate who was able to provide access to the one media exchange was because it was his, presumably a male, his device that showed the conversation that was important in this early phase. So imagine if they were able to get access to the icloud, where they would be able to see so much of the digital footprint now from that they might be able to discern some things that would fall into federal charges. It could be in the area of cyber stalking, perhaps it could be in the area of doing work to try to get a sense of somehow crossing federal and state lines. Those kinds of things that move it up.

Typically, murder of a person who's not a federal officeholder is a state offense, and so they'll look at weapons related charges as well. But one of the things that was so notable, Kelly, from one of the first press conferences, you had the governor saying that the death penalty is legal in Utah. You have President Trump saying that he would expect that they would seek the death penalty. Can you take us inside some of those conversations?

Is that in fact what state officials are going to be and state prosecutors are going to be looking for? Well, there'll be enormous political pressure for that, especially in a state where it is still employed still the voters there, the citizens there support that. We've seen how death penalty has been changed over a generation or two with less of that. So that will be borne out by where they see the facts going and what a jury would ultimately decide.

If in fact, again, this person has the presumption of innocence, it is minor standing based on sources that he has invoked his right to counsel and to not incriminate himself. And so there will be a process. Will it go to a full trial? Would there be a plea arrangement at some point or whatever other steps coming?

So many questions still. And certainly it's notable, Tom alluded to this, that when you have a family member who is involved, there have been other high profile instances where family Members have been involved. And when people say, how could a family member possibly help authorities? One of the things is fear of what could happen.

If you are a fugitive on the run, there's great peril and danger in that, especially if you're ultimately apprehended. So arranging a surrender may in fact be a way to secure the safety of the family member that is loved by those around him. Just an extraordinary turn of events this morning. Kelly, before I let you go, authorities were asked, are they potentially searching for anyone else or is this the only arrest they indicated?

This is it. This is the person. At this point, they don't have any evidence of another individual involved and certainly not seen on video, not seen at the location, Nothing like that so far. Again, part of why access to emails and phones would be were there others who were aware in advance and did not report or other things that could contribute?

We just don't know where that's going. But as it stands right now, they don't see any other individuals involved. All right, Kelly, Donald, thanks for being here. Thanks for being on set.

We appreciate it. Casey, let me turn to you now. I think people are baffled when they hear about a 22 year old, no apparent criminal background that we know of right now. We know that this investigation is still unfolding.

How does a person like this Casey become a suspected killer? Well, in a nutshell, I'm not sure we were expecting him to be 22 and so vulnerable. We knew we had the age right, the description was correct. But I think we were expecting to see a little bit more evidence of him being a hardened extremist, when in fact it looks like he's just a rudderless kid.

I don't know if he has a job. Does he have a girlfriend? You know, other than going to tech school? You know, we just know that he went to college for one semester and then left.

What has been going on in his life in the last four years since he finished high school and became a presidential scholar in college? What's been going on? Has he just been a mass consumer of video games and videos and online vitriol? And I think that there's something a little bit pathetic about the writings on the gun and the bullets.

I mean, they're immature, they're ridiculous. They're like something a little 13 year old Beavis and Butthead would say. They did not really encompass, you know, a carefully thought out thought process like we saw in the assassination of the United Healthcare CEO. More like in itself to just kind of the, the angst that we saw with the shooter in the Minneapolis Catholic school just a few weeks ago.

So he's a mashup. And trust me, he's been following all of these incidents online and he has been inspired them by them. I don't know that he's become so political in recent months or years so much as he's become politicized. And he's never voted, he's unaffiliated, he's just a kid without direction.

And we know that vacant minds are fertile ground for poisoning with online vitriol. And I really think that's what we're going to discover with him. It does not excuse it, but it might explain it. Casey, what you're describing is almost more terrifying than someone who has been radicalized.

You are describing someone who does not have. Does not feel as though they have a fulfilled life. Someone who gets sucked into the content online and then is capable of pulling off this horrific act which claimed the life of a 31 year old father of two. You heard Governor Cox today say part of the solution is for people to get off of line, to turn away from some of that violent rhetoric and hateful rhetoric that lives there.

Talk a little bit about how strong that pull can be towards what people are reading and seeing online. I mean, I can talk academically, but also from firsthand experience having taught college kids at this age for the last 35 years. And I've never seen a more alarming group of kids in their 20s post Covid particularly the isolation of that really drove them to the Internet and they became mass consumers. I mean, they give you the thousand yard stare when you ask them a question, they refuse to answer.

They are all in a little bit of a rabbit hole in their minds because of the disconnect with society. And the answer truly is to close your phone, turn your phone off and turn your computer off and go for a walk. But the appeal of it, and don't forget so much of this material is bots. It is absolutely artificial and it is meant to draw people in.

Young minds are just fertile ground for poison. And I think that parents need to step up and really do some interventions. And I don't even think I feel sorry for this young man. But I wouldn't be surprised if the governor at least walks back his declaration that they would be seeking the death penalty before they even knew who the culprit was.

That was a little premature because usually that is reserved for some very serious aggravating circumstances. And we may find some mitigating circumstances in this that would make him perhaps invoke Charlie Kirk's concept of forgiveness. Not that we will let this guy off the hook if he is indeed convicted, but that there needs to be a little bit more understanding of all the complex variables that led him to lay on that roof and fire that gun with a shot to the neck that was meant to silence. I mean, he could have aimed at the chest to the head, but it was symbolic.

He wanted to silence Charlie Kirk. And when we silence free speech, all of us are lost attack against our entire democracy, that is for sure. Casey Jordan, thank you so much for your incredible insights. We really appreciate it.

Pleasure to be here. Coming up, we will have a deeper look at the governor of Utah's message to America, calling on everyone, no matter their political leanings, to tone down the rhetoric as President Trump blames what he calls the radical left and downplays instances of extremism on the right. We have the reaction and the fallout now, plus capital concerns. Lawmakers call for stepped up security protections and take new precautions as members face a surge in threats.

Stay with us. You're watching MEET THE PRESS now on a Friday. We will never be able to solve all the other problems, including the violence problems that people are worried about if we can't have a clash of ideas safely and securely, even especially, especially those ideas with which you disagree. Welcome back.

The killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the Utah campus has reignited both the fears and the conversation about safety for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, especially as many prepare to hit the campaign trail ahead of next year's midterms. Republicans Congressman James Comer told NBC News TODAY that having a suspect in custody has eased those fears just a bit. I think everyone feels a lot safer in Congress. There was a lot of anxiety yesterday when the shooter obviously was on the run.

And you know, many of us do a lot of outdoor events. So that's something that I think today, this morning, the apprehension of the suspect will ease a lot of nerves in Congress doing outdoor events. Sir, how do you feel about your own security even though he was up again? Well, having noisy noises.

We're all concerned right now. And I think we all know that the political temperature in America is too high. Joining me now from Capitol Hill is NBC's Mel Zanona. And NBC's Vaughn Hilliard is at the White House.

Now. Let me start with you. We heard from Congressman Comer there that people feel safer. He also talked about the fact that lawmakers are rattled.

Take us inside your conversations. What are people telling you? Yeah, there is A slight sense of relief now that the suspect is in custody. I think there were some Republicans, especially those who view some share the viewpoints of Charlie Kirk or similar to him in their ideology, were especially worried that if the shooter was on the loose that maybe he was going to come try to target them.

So that was really adding to the feelings of anxiety and uneasiness on Capitol Hill. But those general fears, Kristen, about political violence still very much remain on Capitol Hill. And even in the wake of the suspects being apprehended, there's a lot of heated rhetoric online. There are some far corners of the Internet calling for retaliation and retribution.

Emotions are still running high. And so as a result, lawmakers are changing their behavior. They have been for quite some time as the threats of political violence have been on the rise. But we're hearing lawmakers are canceling events.

They're moving indoor events or outdoor events indoors. Excuse me, some of them even want to carry guns now. So clearly this shooting going to have really long lasting impacts on Capitol Hill and the campaign trail and rock the entire country. Just to follow up on that, are there actual plans or discussions about trying to increase security for members in the wake of this issue?

I spoke to Senator Mark Winelin yesterday. He said sounds like a good idea that challenges it's incredibly complicated and expensive. That's exactly right. That's what they have been wrestling with on Capitol Hill for a long time is about how to address this.

Right. So there are some active discussions right now between the leadership and the sergeant in arms about potential security upgrades. But throwing more money at the problem also isn't necessarily going to solve it. Mick Johnson even said yesterday that just the idea of providing the security details to every single member of Congress would require billions of dollars and also hiring 5,000 more police officers.

They already struggled to attract police officers and hire people. So even if they have a huge pot of money, it's not necessarily a slam dunk that they would be able to hire everyone. So those are the kind of questions they're dealing with and wrestling with and have been for a long time. I will tell you though, that one of the things things that they have proposed is more money for home upgrades and hiring private security.

There was a pilot program launch this summer that does expire at the end of this month. So perhaps they will extend that. But I'm sure the conversation will heat up on Congress returns next week. All right, Melsonina, thank you so much as always and all week long for your reporting from Capitol Hill on a really somber week Von Hilliard, let me turn to you at the White House.

There's been a lot of discussion about tone. We heard from Governor Spencer Cox, who is urging all leaders to tune down and turn down the heated rhetoric. We also heard a different message from President Trump pointing the finger at the left. What are you hearing from your sources inside the White House?

Do you anticipate that we'll continue to hear that type of message coming from commander in chief? Right. Susie Wiles, the chief of staff, had suggested on a radio program that they were gonna look at ways to combat political violence. And we know that there have been a great many across this administration that have called for Charlie Kirk to be honored through vigilant prayer and to be recognized for the life that he lived.

At the same time, the President of the United States. This morning, over the course of that hour, he was directly asked about political radicalism on the right and left. And he said that it was the radical left that was the problem here in the country. And when asked whether he would tell folks that revenge is not the answer, he said the revenge for Charlie Kurt's death would be at the ballot box.

And yet, though at the same time, the next breath he suggested in question whether the ballot box could be trusted because previous elections had been rigged. And so you heard very two different messages you could say, between the Republican governor of Utah and the president here today. Understandably, the anger coming out of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the impact and friendship that he had on their lives. At the same time.

There's a lot of questions here in the days ahead. We know that another friend of Charlie Kurt's beat exit the defense secretary here today. A new reporting from our colleagues Courtney Kuby and Carol Lee say that the secretary of defense as well as other officials of the Pentagon have ordered servicemen and women to report others within the military who mock or condone or express a lack of empathy or complete apathy for the passing of Charlie Kirk. The sources tell Carol and Courtney that at least several officials have been removed from the military as a result of the post they had shared online related to Charlie Kurt's castle.

Wow. Let me ask you because of course, in the early hours of this investigation, FBI Director Cash Patel had posted that they had caught the suspect. He then retracted that statement. Doing know what the president thinks about his handling of this matter so far Right.

At this point in time. We heard from the president here early this morning. Acknowledge Attorney General Pam Bondi. She joined him in New York, where the president here remains but is it goes for Cash Patel as FBI director and Dan Bongino, number two at the FBI, both men going there to Utah.

They both consider Charlie Kirk to be close friends as well. We did not hear him specifically comment on Cash Patel in his future at the FBI. At the same time, the White House did put a statement in which they said Director Patel is working night and day on this case. Anyone who doubts his resolve in dedication, especially when Charlie was such a close friend to him, simply as using this extremely sad moment in discussing act of political gameship that focuses justice in this killer, will face a full wrath of of the justice system.

That statement from the White House. Kristen Von Hill, you're covering a lot of ground for us on this Friday. Von thank you so much for your reporting. We really appreciate it.

Coming up next, President Trump says he's sending the National Guard to Tennessee's second largest city in the administration's latest effort to crack down on crime. Stay with us. We're gonna delve into all of that. You're watching the press now.

We're going to Memphis. Memphis is deeply troubled and the mayor is happy. He's a Democrat mayor. The mayor is happy.

And the governor. Tennessee, the governor's happy. Deeply troubled. We're gonna fix that just like we did Washington.

I would have preferred going to Chicago, going to Memphis. I'm just announcing that now. And we'll straighten that out. National Guard and anybody else we need.

And by the way, we'll bring in the military, too, if we need it, but National Guard, welcome back. That was President Trump this morning announcing plans to send the National Guard troops to Memphis as part of his administration's crackdown on crime. In recent weeks, President Trump has touted the success of the National Guard deployment to Washington, D.C. and threatened to take similar actions in other Democratic run cities.

Last hour we heard from the Democratic mayor of Memphis. Take a listen. I want to be clear. I did not ask for the National Guard and I don't think it's the way to drive down crime.

However that decision has been made, we know the National Guard is coming. My plan is to make sure that as mayor, I'm able to work with this community, with the governor, with the federal government to ensure that the support work that is provided supports the initiatives that we know work and not distract from our law enforcement efforts. Meanwhile, Tennessee's Republican governor, Bill Lee applauded the move, pledging to work with the Trump administration and joining us as a VCU senior Homeland Security correspondent, Julia Ainsley. Julia, thanks for being here.

Really appreciate it. Walk us through what authority does the president have to deploy National Guard troops? He's touted what he says is a success in Washington, D.C. and now he's targeting Memphis.

Basically what the courts have said is that with the exception of D.C. where he does have more control, he needs to work with the governor, that what he did in Los Angeles has been decided by the courts, was not legal. And that's why he's had to pull back on this plan to send them to Chicago. Because as you know, Illinois Governor Pritzker is not for having National Guard in Chicago.

But it's a different story in Tennessee where you do have a Republican governor, Billy, obviously welcoming that in. And honestly, what the mayor does in this case doesn't count as much because National Guard is up to the state. This is really different, though, what we saw in Chicago or we're going to see Chicago, what we saw D.C. and what we saw in Los Angeles, because it's not focused on immigration.

This is specifically crime, vhs. Sources that talk to you today say they have nothing to do with this and they continue to just operate as normal in Tennessee. And speaking of Chicago, there was an incident with an ICE officer there. What can you tell us about that?

Actually, that's right. Well, the first details were coming out of ice and they say that this is someone they targeted as an illegal immigrant with a history of reckless driving, that they asked him to come out of the car. He refused to begin driving, dragging an ICE officer underneath the car. They sent for a significant distance.

An officer was taken to the hospitals in stable condition, but they did fire shots at the driver and was pronounced dead at the scene. But we did hear from Illinois Governor Press Kirk today that says they want more details on this. They want an investigation. In other words, they don't want ICE to have the only narrative on this.

They take it calls for more investigations. Okay. Well, more tensions between Illinois as they ramp up there in the coming days. Absolutely.

You're going to continue to track this Juliet Dynamic situation. Thank you much for being here. Really appreciate it. Coming up after the break, rage and Reckoning.

We're digging deeper into this pivotal moment for US Culture and politics in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination. Keep it right here. I need to press now. Welcome back.

As folks all across the political spectrum call for a toning down of rhetoric in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Utah Governor Spencer Cox had this message for young Americans growing up in an era of increased political violence. Take a look. To my young friends out there, you are inheriting a country where Politics feels like rage. It feels like rage is the only option.

But through those words, we have a reminder that we can choose a different path. Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now, not by pretending differences don't matter, but by embracing our differences and having those hard conversations. Joining me now is our panel, Dan Marika, co anchor of the Early Brief newsletter at the Washington Post, former Maryland Democratic Congressman Donna Edwards. She's also an NBC News political analyst and Republican strategist, T.W.

arihi. Thanks to all of you for being here on this Friday. Dan, America, let me start with you. How is Governor Cox's message?

What kind of reaction is it getting across the political spectrum? He gave this very impassioned call for unity and frankly, to tone down the rhetoric. I think there are a lot of people who are realizing that he's rising to this moment in a way that we may not be seen from other political leaders. This is not new for him.

When he was head of the NG National Governors Associations, his whole platform was we can disagree but disagree better, which is not a profound statement, but is in this political time a profound statement that we don't have to become acrimonious when we agree. I do think it's a reminder also in our political environment that we don't often talk about the governor of Utah. Governors who get a lot of attention are governors of California, New York, Texas, Florida, these major big states. And the governor of Utah is really the one stepping up at this moment, obviously in part because of where this happened, but also because he has the demeanor to step up in that way.

And I think his message is both a message to, yes, young people as you play, but also I think the Republican Party at large, you have kind of this question of where Republicans go after Trump. And he is presenting one view of what a Republican leader could look like. There's obviously plenty of other views being presented all over the political spectrum. And I think that would be kind of this political question at this moment is where do Republicans go from here and is it in kind of the image of Governor Cox?

Well, it's a great question, T.W. i want to play a little bit more of what we heard from him and get your reaction on the other side. Let's take a listen to another sound bite. This is not good for us.

It is not good to consume. Social media is a cancer on our society right now. And I would encourage, again, I would encourage people to log off, turn off, touch grass, hug a family Member, go out and do good in your community. TW he's been remarkably consistent in this message about social media.

He has deep concerns about it. This was his most forceful, I think, condemnation of what happens online, though. Absolutely. I think a star was born with Mr.

Cox. One of the things, as we mark the 24th anniversary of 9 11, one of the things that we're missing so badly is unity. The other thing I think needs to make it come back is George W. Bush's compassionate conservatism.

Spencer Cox embodies that. And what he just said there about social media is really important. One of the things that drives us away from each other, I think, so badly, is that we live in our bubbles. Unlike 9 11, we went back to see what Peter Jennings had to say about the events of the day.

We are going to our silos of information with faceless accounts, pundits, podcasters, random people who are informing us. And the thing that Charlie Kirk did that I think was very valuable was he sought to break us out of those bubbles, to actually reach out to people we disagree with and have discourse in person where I can see you, where I can feel you, where I know your humanity. And then the most inhumane thing imaginable happened to him. We're missing that.

And I think if we can find that compassion, that empathy, that connection that Charlie Kirk, but he liked him, didn't try to build, I think we could've been a better place. And I'm thankful for your sites. Now, I want to pick up on that point. Is that possible?

As GW is noting? I mean, Charlie Kirk was quite literally engaging in what makes this democracy great, which is debate, nonviolent discussion, an exchange of ideas, and he was gunned down while doing it. What is the path forward, particularly when you have a lot of lawmakers saying they are afraid? Yeah, look, I don't think that we're going to put social media back in the bottle, but what I think we can do is have leaders from the top and all the way down who are actually modeling the kind of behavior that Governor Cox was talking about, and for young people to be more discerning, for all of us to be more discerning about both what we consume, how we consume it, and how we.

How we use it. But I do think it's important that leaders who step up actually model that kind of behavior. And we're not seeing a lot of that modeling in the public sphere right now. And it's incumbent on us to find it, because, you know, I am not about to Agree, and I didn't with Charlie Kirk, but I don't agree with political violence.

And so. And there has to be a way that we're able to have conversations with each other and have debates with each other. And I know that I do that outside of my role here, and I did in Congress with people that I vehemently disagreed with. But it matters how you do it.

Yeah. I mean, yeah. One of the things that Governor Cox is arguing is we have a choice. Right now, every single person in this country, whether you're an elected official or not, has a choice.

Are you going to choose to embrace a peaceful approach forward, or are you going to go toward a path of violence? How is the debate unfolding on Capitol Hill? And again, you have some lawmakers who say they're afraid. You have to imagine that runs the risk of.

Of dissuading the younger generation from getting involved and getting engaged in our political process. And you can't blame them for being afraid in this moment. Then they would like more security. I think our political system will lose a lot if it is more difficult to go to political events, if they become heavily fortified.

I mean, you and I have been all over this country covering political events. They're incredibly easy to get into on purpose. You want people to come to these events to ask candidates questions and then to tell candidates what they're thinking about, because that will likely make better candidates and lawmakers. And if these events become fortified and more difficult to get into, you know, this, that, you know, people won't show up and you'll have maybe the same people going to these events.

I just think that that'll be a huge loss for our political system and for our lawmakers. It's a tragedy to even think about it. TW what has the reaction been within the Republican Party to President Trump's response to this? He was very close with Charlie Kirk, and some people say it was like a son to him.

You heard Don Jr. Talk about the fact that it was like a bro to him. So we've seen a very impassioned response from President Trump, which is not surprising given how close he felt to him. He has also pointed fingers.

What are Republicans saying about the messaging that we're hearing from the president? Look, I think a lot of people are hurt, and I can't understate the impact Charlie Kirk had among young Americans. I was with many, many young congressional staffers over the last few days. There are tears, there is hurt.

Charlie Kirk won the hearts and minds of millions of Americans and college campuses aren't always most friendly toward conservatives to begin with. And I was watching some clips from cable news and elsewhere where Republicans were said to be Nazis if they wore a MAGA hat or they're fascist and they should be dealt with appropriately. You know, look, there is absolutely political bias on both sides. There is extremes on both sides.

Both are equally wrong. But after a moment like this, it is obvious to assume that many of these people who had such a fondness, who became Republicans because of Charlie Kirk, feel that they are under attack. And now one of their leaders has been killed in cold blood simply for saying what he believed. It's a trend that can't go on, whether it's the right or the left.

But Donald Trump's message is informed by, yes, him being shot, him seeing his friend get shot, thinking that could be him. And that coming on the heels of a lot of really nasty rhetoric pointed at Republicans since he ran. Donna, to TW's point, whether it's on the right or the left, this cannot stand. How?

How can this society, this moment, how can people come together? Is it even possible? Well, I think it is, but I guess I'm not prepared to accept that it's right or left. I think that these are extremes that are neither right, conservative or liberal.

So I think that's really important. And again, it's about modeling that kind of leadership. And I would like to hear the president say, I understand that this is personal for him, but I would like to hear the president say that it's important for us to unify. And presidents have a pulpit that none of the rest of us do.

And we've seen that in the past. We've seen many examples of that. President Trump can demonstrate that kind of leadership, too, and really tone down this rhetoric so that people, you know, can disagree, can have debates with each other, but that it doesn't resort to political violence. All right.

Well, thank you all for a great and really thoughtful conversation. I really appreciate it on this Friday. Still to come, a major move from NATO after Russian drones violated Poland's airspace and President Trump said seems to not know what to do about it next. We'll be right back.

More with the press now. Welcome back. Some big developments surrounding the war. Ukraine today, NATO announcing new plans to bolster the defense of its eastern flank.

And that new mission is set to begin tonight. It comes two days after major Russian drone incursions of Polish airspace, prompting NATO to scramble fighter jets and helicopters to respond. Today during a press conference alongside NATO's top military commander, the Secretary General once again condemned Russia's latest action. The reckless behavior we have seen from Russia is deeply dangerous.

Our assessment of incidents on Wednesday is ongoing. And whether on not Russia's actions were deliberate, Russia's violated NATO airspace. Therefore, we must, as NATO make clear our resolve and our ability to defend our territory. It follows comments from President Trump yesterday appearing to downplay the Russian drone incursion into Poland.

Listen, what's your reaction to Russian drone incursion into Poland? Could have been a mistake. Could have been a mistake. But regardless, I'm not happy about anything having to do with that whole situation.

Joining me now is from Tornado Supreme Allied Commander and retired General Wesley Clark. Thank you so much for joining me. Really appreciate it. When we heard President Trump say the Russian incursion could have been a, quote, mistake.

But here's what the Polish prime minister said on social media. He said, quote, we would also wish that the joint attack in Poland was a mistake, but it wasn't. And we know. What is your take, General?

My take is it was not a mistake. But the president could easily clear this up by asking Russia to sort of explain itself and he can call President Putin and President Putin can apologize, but that hasn't happened so far. And without that, it certainly looks deliberate because it occurred over a period of several hours. And it wasn't just one.

It was multiple and some went quite deep and could have targeted NATO troops. So it looks to me from a military standpoint, it's like a reconnaissance mission. It's like, let's cross the border, let's see what they got. Let's see if it can alert any aircraft.

Let's see what the radars are doing. Let's see where the radars are. Let's check on whether the Patriots are there and whether the Patriots are turned on. So I'm sure Russia and Belgium collected all the electronic intelligence associated with this and geolocated systems and looked at the frequencies and other things, because that's what an incursion like this would lead to.

General Clark, I wonder what you make of what NATO announced today to bolster its eastern flank. What are the implications and could we see Russia respond to that? I think Russia will respond with some hostile statements, but I don't think there's any other response. I think was a good move by NATO to pull this force together.

First of all, it's a political statement. The NATO nations agree to constitute the force. Nations assign aircraft and systems to NATO control. The NATO Supreme Allied Commander of American Force, General, he is the one who announced it he is the overall commander of NATO forces in Europe, So it is under American control and oversight.

So it does show American commitment to this. How significant it is militarily depends on what the threat is. But there appear to be enough assets collected that it will be more responsive, quicker, and more effective than what the Poles themselves were trying to do in the last incursion. You know, when I had an opportunity to interview President Zelensky, it was probably about a year or so ago at this point, he warned that Russia would start to go into neighboring nations.

When you see these actions by Russia, what is your level of concern about that? And could this effectively lead to a direct conflict between NATO and Russia? Russia? Well, it could lead to a direct conflict if NATO stands firm.

But Russia pushes where there's weakness. So where Russia sees that there's no active resistance, there's no real result. They look at Viktor Orban and Hungary saying, well, this is Poland's fault because Poland is supporting Ukraine too much. They take this in context and say, let's push a little harder.

And this is the way Russia moves. They invaded Georgia, didn't get much pushback. They went into Ukraine. In 2014, President Obama said, don't provoke Putin.

Give him Crimea. We'll handle it diplomatically. That's what happened. It wasn't handled diplomatically.

At each stage of this, Putin has carefully pushed, but he hasn't gone overboard. He's checking to see if there's a reaction. When there's no reaction, he takes another bite. He wants Ukraine lock, stock and barrel.

He wants the Baltic states, and he wants to basically disestablish in Eastern Europe. Is the only way to address this through sanctions? At this point? Nations have to put the sanctions in.

There are NATO member nations, but it's a national sanction program, and they're in the European Union. So, yes, they need to sanction it. To stop buying Russian oil takes $300 billion of Russian money. They send Western banks, give it to Ukraine, but the sanctions alone are not likely to be enough.

Why? Because Russia is not exactly a Western economy. Putin has infinitely more power to squeeze the people and the systems in Russia than any Western leader does. He controls, through his mafia, through his leadership, intelligence organizations to suppress dissent.

CEOs who don't like it have a tendency to fall out of windows. And so this is an economy that's got a lot more in it than what Western economists believe. Sanctions may help, but sanctions will not break Putin of his determination to take all of Ukraine and continue. All right, General Wesley Clark thank you so much for joining us.

We really appreciate it. Well, before we go, we have some absolutely wonderful news to share. We have a new addition to the MEET the PRESS family. Our beloved longtime producer Ed Damaria and his wife Katie have welcomed their first child.

Meet Rosemary Goodson. To Maria. She's beautifully named for women from both sides of their family. And she is just perfect.

Look at her. And tells us his seven pound three ounce bundle of joy is healthy and happy. And he thanks the amazing staff at the hospital. We want to say a huge congratulations to Ed, Katie and their entire families from all of us here at MEET the PRESS and MEET THE PRESS now.

And we just cannot wait to meet the newest member of our family. She is just precious. We will be back Monday with more MEET THE press. Now if it's Sunday, it's MEET the Press and your local NBC news stations.

I'll have exclusive interviews with Pete Buttigieg as well as Senators Lindsey Graham and Mark Kelly. Don't miss it. There's more news ahead on NBC News now. I'm Craig Melt.

Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. I've always been a glass half full kind of guy and now I'm talking to some people who look at the world that way, too.

It's really fascinating folks who share their defining moments, their triumphs, their challenges. Their stories are funny and my candid. So I hope you'll join me each week. Who knows, you might just come away with your own glass apple.

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