Meet the Press NOW — April 11

if it's Thursday all eyes are on Arizona as abortion rights immigration and election Integrity are all converging in a critical Battleground state that could decide the future of the White House and control of Congress plus a coming together to counter China President Biden is set to.

Hold a first of its kind trilateral Summit just moments from now as the US Japan and the Philippines look to bolster relations in response to Chinese aggression and from the Hall of Fame to the trial of the century a look back at the rise and fall and the life and death of OJ.

Simpson welcome to Meet the Press now I'm Kristen Welker we begin today in the Battleground State of Arizona which is now poised to be the center of the 2024 political Universe the biggest fights over the biggest issues including immigration abortion and election procedures are all converging in a state that could decide control of the White.

House and Congress this November right now the issue of abortion is of course looming very large amid local and National backlash over the state supreme court decision to uphold a Civil War era territorial ban on the procedure on the heels of that decision the Biden campaign today launched a seven figure TV ad digital campaign focused right on.

That issue because of Donald Trump millions of women lost the fundamental freedom to control their own bodies and now women's lives are in danger because of that the question is if Donald Trump gets back in power what Freedom will you lose next your body and your decisions belong to you not the government not Donald Trump I will fight like hell to.

Get your freedom back now look this is all a part of democrat's effort to capitalize on this moment vice president Harris in fact is heading to the state tomorrow meanwhile many Republicans are trying to distance themselves from the ruling including Arizona Republican Senate candidate Carrie Lake who today reiterated her opposition to that 1864.

Ban despite her past comments in which she supported it this total ban on abortion that the Arizona a supreme court just ruled on is out of line with where the people of this state are the issue is less about banning abortion and more about saving babies I agree with President Trump this is such a personal and private.

Issue now that comes after the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump also distanced himself from the law and in a post on social media last night signaled he is eager to try to move past this issue we did something that nobody thought we brought it back to the states where it belongs and where everyone.

Wanted it the states will be making the decision Republicans are now free to run for office based on the horrible border inflation bad economy the death and destruction of our country and of course Trump's Supreme Court Justices are responsible for overturning roie Wade kicking this issue back to the States now in Arizona an.

Effort in the state legislature to repeal the law was th Ed yesterday leading to a huge Outburst on the floor from Arizona Democrats shame on you shame on you shame on you shame on you joining me now to kick this all off is Jeremy Duda Arizona politics reporter for axios Jeremy thank you so much for joining me.

I really appreciate it thanks for having me well we saw that drama on the state house floor yesterday so bring us up to speed on this effort to repeal the 1864 ban of course uh Democrats and some Republicans supported this but do you think that this is likely to happen it's now been blocked by GOP.

Lawmakers I would imagine so I mean I think the votes to do that are probably are probably there we know they are there in the state senate the Republicans have they only have a one vote majority in each chamber so they so the Democrats only need a couple of them to uh vote to fur the appeal for that to.

Happen it's just a matter of whether they'll actually be able to bring that up for a vote we saw yesterday some procedural Maneuvers by the Republicans to block that um both Chambers will be back on the floor next Wednesday I'm sure we will see that uh again next week and probably every day until it happens uh Ben Toma who's The Speaker of the.

Arizona House said he expects that to come back but he doesn't want doesn't think we should rush through something like this but it seems like every day that go every day that pass without that repeal being passed is another day the Democrats are just going to continue to hammer the Republicans on this yeah so ultimately though just to.

Be clear you do think eventually it will be repealed my if I had to guess I would say probably yes I think the votes are there and I think eventually um there's some Republicans probably who are not necessarily siding with efforts to role leadership on this but eventually if it doesn't come to pass I think they'll.

Probably switch sides at some point just because I think this is such of such critical importance for the election you know the Democrats have seized on this immediately they're telling that people vote Democrat up and down the ballot if you want abortion rights eventually I think enough Republicans will uh decide they don't want to play uh you.

Know the games over in the legislature and uh deal with these procedural Maneuvers and eventually I think that will probably happen there's been a lot of discussion of course about uh an amendment uh that would would need enough signatures to be be voted on in November that would effectively protect Reproductive Rights do you think those.

Signatures will be there will they be able to get that past that seems pretty likely I mean they've already they announced I think a few weeks ago they have about a half million signatures which is a bit more than they need now of course you need a really big cushion when you talk about citizen initiatives to make to kind of.

Make up for signatures that that get invalidated and stuff like that but from the get-go we could see that there is just tons of money out there for this a lot of organization going on between Arizona and uh you know National political figures and Democrats and abortion rights groups they were talking about I think a $50 million campaign.

Right from the get-go so it's pretty hard to imagine a scenario where they don't get the signatures because they want to make sure that they'll be able and they'll get enough that I think that to make sure that they can withstand whatever kind of inevitable Court challenge comes yeah it seems like it's an all Hands-On deck effort right now.

Let me ask you uh the Republican who I'm actually about to speak to Matt Gres um brought of course that effort to repeal the 1864 ban to the floor um Democrats have accused him of previously sponsoring a fetal personhood uh bill there's a little bit of gray area there though clear it up what's the truth in terms of what he's supported in the.

Past um I I haven't looked at that legislation lately so I couldn't tell you specifically what is in it I don't if I recall correctly I don't believe there's a actual feel personhood language in there I think it for if I recall from last year was more of a slippery slope argument from uh Democrats and abortion rights Advocates.

But again I'm not 100% sure on exactly what was in the uh text of the bills I know representative Gres says it is they were not fetal personhood bills let me ask you about something else that's gotten a lot of attention in your state the attorney general has pledged that she will not prosecute anyone under that 1864 bill but given the fact that roie.

Wade has now been overturned I mean what's the reality there is it possible can she really say that realistically I guess is the question um maybe that remains to be seen the Attorney General May is claiming Authority Under aate statute that she says can kind of give her the authority to I think the term is.

Supervise County attorneys um Governor Hobbs issued an executive order last year that purports to take away authority to prosecute abortion related crimes from the 15 County attorneys and give it to the attorney general but I think there's some conflicting legal opinions as to whether she actually has the authority to do that this law has.

Only been used once that was almost 50 years ago wasn't fully litigated but I think the bigger and more important Point here is even if attorney general may can can assure abortion providers that there will be no prosecutions for violating this law I think what we're hearing is none of them are going to actually provide abortions if it is.

Illegal if if it is illegal on the books it is against the law no one's willing to roll the dice and commit you know potentially commit a felony to do that I think so regardless of what prosecu where prosecutorial Authority is and who is going to prosecute what I'm pretty sure once we see this uh kind of pause in the enforcement expire in about uh 60.

Days or so abortion services are pretty much going to Halt completely in this state all right Jeremy Duda well you are in the center of the political Universe right now so I anticipate we will be talking to you again soon thank you so much for your expertise your great reporting we really appreciate it joining me now as Arizona Republican.

State representative Matt grass Matt as I just representative was saying you brought that motion to force a vote on a bill to repeal the 1864 abortion ban your effort was effectively blocked by some of your own Republican colleagues how confident are you that ultimately this will pass when lawmakers return next.

Week hi christien I feel very confident that when we can next Wednesday we will vote on uh the measure and it will prevail in the house and it will be sent to the Senate and the Senate will take up the measure and it will prevail in the Senate and uh most likely that bill will be on Governor hobbs' desk by the end of the day you think but but you.

Think by the end of Wednesday Governor Hobbs will be able to sign a bill to effectively repeal that 1864 abortion ban bill that's my my uh that's my expectation based on the conversations I'm having with members um we're going to have the votes you know it's interesting yesterday the house Speaker said lawmakers need to carefully.

Consider action and not rush legislation saying quote these are difficult conversations we all need to have and we absolutely cannot have them when Democrat legislators act as unily and engage in appallingly childish behavior as we saw on the house floor obviously that is a response to the Outburst that we played at the top of your show what.

Is your reaction to that given that you did bring this motion to the floor that you support repealing this ban you know Arizona has had a long tradition of leaders um you know choosing what's right over party affiliation uh and on this particular topic repealing the territorial ban which goes way too far and affect ly.

Outlaws all abortions in the state of Arizona except to save life of the mother is not reflective of the will of the electorate so uh I think you know constituents want us I I represent a district that I think is a microcosm of Arizona and of the United States is a third Republican a third Democrat and a third independent they expect us to come.

Together and talk uh through this issue resolve it so that we can provide the certainty to Arizona women and doctors that they're not going to be locked up for an abortion I feel very confident that we can have that dialogue and have that vote next Wednesday and that it will prevail representative Gres just give us the bottom line here of what.

Your goal is do you want to see a return to the 15 week band that that had been in place prior to this state supreme court decision I'm proudly pro-life and have supported policies that respect women and protect new life and I also believe in a reasonable time frame with exceptions and should we repeal the.

Territorial law the 15we time frame would go back into effect I think that is where most arizonans are on this issue with reasonable policies so that would be uh would be my preference and then we also have on the ballot that you mentioned earlier in the segment um abortion access initiative which would effectively permit abortions up to 9.

Months in certain circumstances I think that's too extreme so you have a territorial ban on one hand and a nine-month abortion um initiative on the other hand most arizonans are in the middle on this issue and we need to find Common Ground Ju Just to be clear you're talking about the Constitutional Amendment that would make the threshold.

Viability at 24 weeks is that what you're talking about yes well that's one provision um but they also include an exception beyond the 24 weeks if a title 32 a health care professional for the life for the life of the mother if if if the life of the mother is at risk if there is a health concern there's a mental health um provision in there so.

That if a title 32 Prov uh professional identifies a mental health concern uh as well and Beyond just the life of the mother that's all that's always there throughout the entire pregnancy and is there under the territorial law but the mental health issue I think has some serious concerns um around how uh easy and legal uh it would be to get.

Late term or partial birth abortions it goes too far well representative gr it's important to note that late term abortions are incredibly rare if you look at the polls when you talk about a 15 week ban 54% of Americans actually say they're opposed to it I hear you saying that most people support it that goes against what the polling shows.

Representative grass I've seen polling that says the opposite um where the 15we uh time frame is a common sense um solution that a lot of Voters um are in favor of but what is really clear is that most voters and most arizonans want abortion to be permissible uh in the state of Arizona they do not want it outright ban and.

They don't want the territorial ban and so that's really important here when we come back next Wednesday we have an emergent situation that we should address with urgency and I call on my Republican and Democratic colleagues to come together for Arizona to do the right thing let me just ask you do you think that the Republican presumptive.

Nominee Donald Trump do you think that he has shown CL a lack of clarity around this issue he is responsible for overturning Ro v Wade he has uh in response to this said that it's appropriate for these things to get decided at the state level although he also has said this goes too far he's been accused of hypocrisy by some some.

Conservatives say that he hasn't shown enough Clarity do you think his lack of clarity will create vulnerabilities for Republicans up and down the ballot I I think president Trump has been pretty clear that this decision um should rest with people and with the states and he also believes in reasonable time frames with exceptions.

That respect women and protect new lives I think he's been very clear on that point but as you know a number of conservative groups have said that effectively him coming out and saying that this is a States issue from their perspective doesn't go far enough that they want a candidate who's going to support a national ban do you support a.

National ban on abortion at 15 weeks I do not support a national ban and I don't support any national action and I don't support a state ban this is for the people of Arizona to decide and they will decide it this November and when the votes are cast and the results are given you're going to see a place that uh has policies that protect women and.

My hope is we'll uh also protect new life and I believe that the current policy that um we have in place with the territorial ban does neither all right state representative Gres thank you so much for your time really appreciate it thanks Kristen and joining me now is the mayor of Phoenix Kate gyo mayor gyo thank you so much for joining me really.

Appreciate it thanks for having me well we just talked of course as you just heard to a state Republican who has said he opposes the 1864 abortion ban but some Democrats have criticized Republicans for backpedaling on this issue my question though if the goal is to repeal this ban do you want Democrats to reach across the aisle to work with.

Republicans to get this repeal done we absolutely have to repeal this ban it is so scary to think about what's happening to Women's Health right now in Phoenix and in Arizona we had a doctor shortage to begin with and I'm talking to doctors who are just don't feel comfortable practicing even basic OBGYN medicine.

Because of the fear that they could be questioned over decisions I see a nurse practitioner right now because my OBGYN left and it was hard to find one and to think that more doctors might be changing how they practice it's Unthinkable to think that doctors have to consider if a woman is going to die before giving her care so.

That they can't think about things like chronic lifetime pain that could be easily prevented and not have a chance to do that um I have had a good friend who was pregnant and married wanted the baby miscarried and then came home from a a procedure and received an insurance bill for abortion didn't even realize that that's what she had had and.

Just the huge amount of confusion around very safe medical procedures that won't be able to happen in Arizona we have to do something about this crazy ban let's talk about well before I ask you this question do you expect that this repeal will get ped you just heard the representative the state representative say he thinks it could happen as early.

As Wednesday that it could be on the governor's desk as soon as next Wednesday is that what you're hearing do you think that that's likely I'm deeply concerned that that won't happen some of the Republican the very few Republicans who said they would vote for repeal have lost endorsements and gained momentum for their primary Challengers so I think.

That may hinder their ability to do the right thing the speaker who you quoted earlier is in a very hotly contested Republican primary for an open congressional seat I don't see him allowing this to move forward I I sincerely hope that it does it is a scary time for our families and women losing agency over their bodies so they.

Need to get something done but the politics have been very difficult you saw yesterday a vote was on the Flor and didn't move forward let me ask you about this Constitutional Amendment that would effectively guarantee access up to 24 weeks you heard representative Gres say that he thinks that uh it goes too far.

So first of all what's your reaction to that to Republicans who say 24 weeks goes too far there are too many exceptions included in this constitutional amendment I think it's a responsible Constitution Amendment that allows doctors to practice medicine and women to have access to care I appreciate it.

When you push back on representative grass when he called it a 9mon no one who has a baby at8 month is is wanting that's that's not the issue for so many women there's a challenge right now where you don't even know that you're pregnant and these bands are kicking it for myself I've only been pregnant once and the first time I went.

To the doctor with a pregnancy I was diagnosed is having the flu so I didn't I wanted the baby but I didn't realize that was what was happening and I can't imagine people who have more difficult circumstances including women whose doctors have told them it is not safe for them to carry a baby mayor do you think that ultimately there will be.

Enough votes to enough signatures to put this amendment up for a vote I do believe that we will have enough signatures but the Republican legislature has made ballot initiatives very difficult in Arizona to get to the finish line there's a huge amount of loopholes or there's a huge amount of just challenges.

To get something on and and you can lose signature validity for simple things like being too far outside of the box so there will be unquestionably legal challenges it would feel better for me if we had legislative leadership the governor will sign what they said to the her in addition to the ballot initiative they're just these decisions.

Are essential for women to have agency over their own bodies they protect families and and we cannot leave it to chance over things like whether the signatures are inside the Box all right Mayor Kate gyo we really appreciate your perspective thank you so much for joining me this afternoon thank you coming up security officials around the.

Globe are on edge amid Rising fears that Iran could soon retaliate for that Israeli strike in Syria that killed multiple Iranian officials we'll have the very latest from the Pentagon do stay with us you're watching Meet the Press now welcome back right now President.

Biden is hosting a trilateral summit with the leaders of Japan and the Philippines with an eye on countering China's expanding military presence in the Indo Pacific region and especially in the South China Sea in that meeting the president announced a series of Economic and security initiatives that further under score America's commitment.

To that region joining me now is NBC's Monica Alba who is at the White House for us so Monica talk about the key deliverables from this trilateral meeting what is President Biden hoping for it's exactly what you said there at the top Kristen this commitment on the South China Sea that kind of cooperation is really critical when you talk about.

The Potential Threat from China and that's something that really over the course of the last couple of years the Biden Administration has talked about with the highest of stakes remember there were all of those military close calls between the two and remember there have been incidents in the South China Sea and so having the ability for the.

Philippines for example to commit to allow us service members to be located on certain bases there and to have Japan also commit to that kind of reciprocity those are the kinds of agreements that they're going to be talking about in addition to those economic ties but really this is on the heels of a State dinner that was held for Japan but then.

They wanted to build on that kind of cooperation again Shoring up this Alliance in the in the indopacific which is a key priority for this President and for the administration Kristen it it absolutely is particularly with China becoming increasingly aggressive as you say Monica let me ask you about the treasury secretary Janet yelen uh who.

Was in Beijing earlier this week what can you tell us about that and the goals of her trip well remember there was a long time about a year ago where we weren't even sure when highlevel us officials could travel to China because of the Chinese spy balloon incident and at the time secretary blinkin had that high-profile visit that was scrapped and.

Then he went later and then there was of course this major Summit between President Biden and president xiin ping to try to restore the military to military Communications and really just to kind of lower the temperature on the relationship between the US and China and they feel like they have been relatively successful at doing that.

Because you have seen trips like the one that secretary Yellen just took and because we know that President Biden and president she did just speak recently by phone in the last couple of weeks or so and they have committed to being in more frequent and regular touch so things have simmered down but they're still of course monitoring for any potential.

Threats that emerge from there all right and Monica Alba we know you will continue to monitor this developing story thank you for joining us really appreciate it well as President Biden host that trilateral Summit the administration remains focused on the potential for escalating violence in the Middle East B Administration officials.

Have grown increasingly concerned about the potential for a retaliatory strike on Israel Following last week's strike on Iranian Consulate in Syria that killed two senior commanders now just in the last 24 hours both President Biden and Secretary of State Anthony blinkin reiterated their support for Israel's defense against any threats posed by.

Iran and its proxies and just moments ago we learned from is officials that their defense minister spoke to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about its quote Readiness for an Iranian attack tracking all of this is NBC News Pentagon correspondent Courtney QB Court thanks for joining me this afternoon so what are you hearing from officials.

About what this Iranian retaliation could look like could it be imminent yeah so look the reality Kristen is we've been hearing for several days now that something could be close but I it's I I I don't I don't want to scare people into saying that it's imminent like it could happen at any moment when the reality is the US officials don't seem.

To exactly know what they do what they are tracking here um is an assessment that if in fact Iran does follow through with these multiple threats now for retaliating against Israel for this attack in Damascus two of the most likely ways that they would carry that out would be either with land attack cruise missiles so ballistic missiles or.

With drone swarms or frankly with a combination of of both but the reality is the US is not really sure where those targets exactly could be among the options they're looking at according to a number of us officials who we spoke with could be inside Israel now if in fact the the Iranians were to Target inside Israel the officials believe that.

They would go after something that would almost be reciprocal to the strike in Damascus meaning something that is a a military or even an intelligence facility as opposed to targeting civilians officials are also telling us that they could be looking at some sort of a consular diplomatic Military Intelligence sort of facility elsewhere.

In the region not necessarily in in Israel but what I really want to stress here Kristen is that us officials simply are not sure what exactly Iran could do here but they're PR preparing for the reality that there may be some sort of retaliation coming in the coming hours or days well and we know that the commander of the US Central Command is.

Actually in the region today what do know about that visit and what what is he hoping to achieve yeah and we can actually report now that he he did travel to Israel today for a number of meetings with Israeli officials so this was a trip that was planned some time ago pre-planned but they accelerated it they moved up the dates of it given the.

Tensions in the region we don't exactly know who we met with or what they discussed but officials are conceding that they did talk about this threat and that's not surprising Kristen given the fact that President Biden has spoken with uh uh Benjamin Netanyahu about it and a number of other officials including as you mentioned secretary.

Austin spoke with his counterpart Minister Galant and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs General CQ Brown also spoke with his counterpart so there's a number of discussions that have been going back and forth on this and I will say that we've been told by us officials our colleague Carol Lee and I that as part of these discussions the US has looked.

At potential response options should the US get drawn into this conflict and should it escalate into a larger regional conflict but officials here are really um hoping on hoping for the fact that this will not be some sort of a a larger scale attack that will bring this into a larger Regional regional conflict yeah Courtney you and I have been.

Talking about the concerns surrounding it potentially becoming a laral larger regional conflict as you say for many months now Courtney QB thank you so much really appreciate it as we have mentioned the Biden Administration has been acutely focused on a number of foreign policy polic challenges this week from the ongoing Israel Hamas War.

To countering China in the indopacific and the funding fight on Capitol Hill over USA to Ukraine for more on all of this I'm joined Now by Democratic congressman from New York Gregory Meeks he's the ranking member on the house Foreign Affairs committee Congressman thank you so much for joining me I really appreciate it good to be with you.

I want to start with where we started this segment which is that trilateral meeting taking place at the white house right now what mess message do you think that trilateral meeting sends to China and what are the deliverables that you would like to see come from it well look it says that uh these the Democratic countries uh in uh the.

Indo-pacific are going to stick together uh and going to work together uh you know it is historic uh in nature in that regard so when you look at what President Biden has done bringing together for the first time uh at cap David uh historic with Japan and South Korea uh now also adding in uh Australia working together uh the Philippines uh.

It is showing that the indopacific will continue to be an open uh uh uh uh area and that the Democratic countries are not going to let an authoritarian government come in and try to use coercion or other matters and we're going to work very closely together in that regard let's turn now to the Middle East and Israel specifically you have.

Said you will not approve the sale of F-15 fighter jets to Israel without what you have called assurances about what they will be used for can you help us congressmen be specific what kinds of assurances do you need to see before you would approve such a sale look we've got a lot of things that's going on right now and what I.

Want to do is to make sure that I get all of the facts uh and then know for example uh you know we have a situation one dealing with Hamas who now says they don't have the 40 uh hostages uh enough to continue the the ceasefire Nom uh a conversation uh number two you have a situation where you have uh various we almost may have a famine going on and.

Salvation uh how many uh humanitarian trucks to get Aid into to feed the Palestinians uh you know I need to know what what's happening on the ground there you have a situation just what I heard you talking about in the last uh in in interview where Iran may be trying to attack Israel and so Israel has to have what it needs also to make sure.

That it can uh starve off anything that uh may happen there so there's a lot of things and it's time for me to make sure that I get all of the information before I have to make a decision on that in fact we're talking about the um the the F the f-15s uh and what we're talking about really would not be deliverable to.

Israel until at least 5 years from now so uh I think that the window uh is to make sure and the responsibility that I have uh is to make sure that I get the Assurance of all the facts that are taking place on the ground from all of the parties that are concerned well you take me to my next question because as you say the F-15 fighter jets wouldn't.

Get there for quite some time so I guess the question is Congressman is the US using enough leverage do they need to apply more pressure than these verbal warnings to Israel do they need does the US need to condition Aid to Israel in order to see the types of results mitigating civilian deaths which is what the president is calling.

For well you see that the president is working very hard uh and there are certain things that you know that one of the things I'm trying to find out how many uh uh gateways that now that will be addition there to to get the aid in uh or uh the ability to have where we have may have 400 trucks going in uh is it going.

Up to 700 to 800 let's talk to uh the uh world food organization and other uh NOS that may be on the ground so that we know that we're feeding people I'm focused on wanting to stop a starvation from taking place also so all of those things are very uh important uh just uh to to know and to make facts and to decisions uh the responsibility I have.

Uh as the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs committee uh is let's let's get that and and and let's see where we go from go from there those are all important things as as you noted there are growing concerns that there could be a retaliatory strike by Iran on Israel if that were to happen if those concerns were to grow would that change.

Your assessment would you then be willing to provide uh those F-15 figh Jets and Aid without conditions attached yeah look so in my opinion part of what's the deal is you know I don't want 1,000 lb U 1,000 lb or 2,000 lb bombs going into Gaza uh that seems to me to be the wrong thing to do it causes you know indiscriminate uh death of uh.

Children and and and women and Innocents that should not happen now at the same time if Israel is attacked by Iran or hisb or any of them then there other those weapons may be appropriate to be utilized there so because you're talking about what's coming in from there so I'm want to make sure that Israel um is you know because we know what hamama with.

With uh hasbalah and Iram they don't want Israel to exist we're not going to allow Israel to disappear and we're going to support Israel in that regard to make sure that they have the right as we've talked about all the time to defend themselves and so if in fact they're attacked we in the United States are not going to turn our back on Israel.

We're going to help them you know and give them what they need to defend themselves I think that's what this is all about is is about what's happening in Gaza and what's happening uh in with uh his balah and Iran and we've got to take all of those things into consideration Congressman let me ask you about another critical region of course.

Ukraine overnight there was another massive Russian air strike on Ukraine Congress has yet to approve more Aid to Ukraine where do you stand on some of these new proposals like providing Aid to Ukraine in the form of a loan for example something that former president Trump has said that he is supported and therefore seems to be.

Gaining support among some Republicans I think what we need to do is to pass the uh supplemental uh Bill the Security Supplemental bill that was passed in the senate in a bipartisan way that is the quickest way for us to get to Ukraine what they need to defend themselves and push back Russia you know so as long as we were supplying uh them.

The arms that they needed they were not only winning they were knocking Russia back you can look at over the 300 and some OD thousand soldiers they've they've killed you can look at the destruction of Russian airplanes Etc what they need is air cover what they need is some attacks and other you know weapons to push back they showed their.

Confidence over the they showed their ability over the last couple of years that this war has gone on just give them what they need and guess what it helps ukrainians but not only it's out for our own uh National Security interest you heard uh what the Prime Minister Japan talked about they know that China's watching what's going on also so if you.

Want to beat back against China this is the way to do it and ukra giving Ukraine what it needs and it needs it urgently right now so I would say to the speaker just put the Senate bill on the floor so that we can then pass that bill here the next day it will be on the president it desk or that night he will sign it and we can then start giving Ukraine the.

Ammunition that it needs so that it can continue its fight all right Congressman Gregory Meeks thank you so much for your time really appreciate it and after the break thank you for having me thank you we're going to look back at the life of OJ Simpson and what was dubbed the trial of the century you're watching Meet the Press.

now welcome back well we learned today that one of the most notorious and controversial figures in recent memory has died OJ sson passed away yesterday after a battle with cancer according to his family he was 76 Simpson known as the juice to his fans was a college.

Football star and a Pro Football Hall of Famer but for millions of Americans it was the courtroom not the football field that defined who Simpson was he was tried and acquitted of murder for the 1994 killing of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in a televised trial that gripped the entire nation mbc's Jay Gray has more on.

OJ Simpson's life and career a Heisman Trophy winner and NFL Hall of Fame running back OJ Simpson will be remembered most for something he could never run from born orenthal James Simpson in 1947 he was raised by a single mom on the rough side of San Francisco his way out football a college star at USC he was drafted by the.

Buffalo Bills where he had a record setting NFL career including a league MVP he retired as one of the best to ever play the game and for OJ the spotlight never dimmed Nobody Does it Better Than transitioning into a successful career in TV and movies that's great he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of.

Fame in 1985 the same year he married his second wife Nicole Brown the couple had two children but apparently a rocky marriage that included allegations of domestic abuse Nicole Brown Simpson filed for divorce in February of 1992 and just over two years later she and her friend Ron Goldman were found murdered in her Brentwood home supect.

May be driving a white or light colored for Bronco 5 days after the deadly attack driven by a former teammate Simpson LED officers on a low- speed chase across Los Angeles threatening to take his own life before eventually surrendering to police police he was charged with murder the court proceedings dubb the trial of the.

Century if it doesn't fit you must acquit lasted n months every minute we the jury and the aboved entitled action find the defendant or orthal James Simpson not guilty of on live TV Justice was not served searching for that Justice the Goldman family won a civil suit Simpson ordered to pay more than $33 million he returned to court.

Multiple times over the next s several years for traffic violations even pirating cable TV but it was a Las Vegas robbery in 2008 Simpson saying he was taking back stolen personal property that ultimately sent him to prison count one conspiracy to commit a crime guilty count senten to 33 years he served just over nine thank you thank you thank you.

Thank you before being paroled in 2017 Jay Gray NBC News just extraordinary to remember everything that happened there NBC News senior investigative and legal correspondent Cynthia mcfaden covered OJ Simpson's murder trial for ABC News she joins me now Cynthia thank you so much for being here it's just incredible you were.

Actually there tell us what it was like to have a front row seat to that extraordinary history as it unfolded well it was it was extraordinary I mean there were only I would guess maybe about 40 seats in the courtroom and um yes indeed I held the pass for ABC during those uh uh nine months of the tri I don't think I missed a day uh it.

Was like being in the white hot Center of of of the nation in some ways because it was the intersection of celebrity criminal justice race uh and money uh all of those things came to bear and I think we learned a lot about ourselves and the nation um through what happened now remember that Bronco chase that we just saw 95 million Americans watched it.

Live on television so it was a sort of it was a it was a gathering point and then because the tri was was televised as you know uh people watched um and and at night people would have discussions I mean that was the topic of conversation not just for those of us who were lucky enough to have a seat in the courtroom but America talked about this trial in a.

Way it had never had access to a trial before so uh it was an extraordinary experience to be there and it's so fascinating to listen to you recount it Cynthia and of course I think every person remembers where they were during that lowp speed chase and when the verdict was read explain for folks who might be too young to remember where.

They were why there was so much interest in this case the fact that he was this storied football legend and then all of a sudden accused of murder well and much of black and white America saw it differently Christen I mean you know when the verdict came in there were a lot of people who were outraged protested Furious feeling that there the.

Prosecution had indeed had a mountain of evidence and that the defense had somehow gotten a guilty man off and in many parts of of of of Black America people felt that no finally a black man had gotten a fair trial finally had had enough money to hire the Dream Team and finally Justice had been served so the nation responded quite differently to.

This and and I think that uh you know race still is a hard topic to talk about in America it was then but it played out in a very public way and I I mean people that that conversation has to keep keep going um but it came in the context remember back Rodney King had been beaten by the LAPD on camera and it was in the wake of that in Los Angeles.

That this this trial took place and so that informed a lot of people's attitudes I'm so glad you bring that up because that was such an important aspect of that case and that moment and how America viewed everything that they witnessed in that courtroom Cynthia mcfaden we are so fortunate to have you help us remember this history we really.

Appreciate it thank you for joining me great to be with you and tonight at 11:00 p.m. Eastern right here on NBC news now you can catch a 2hour DAT Line special the people versus OJ Simpson you don't want to miss that it is a fascinating look back we'll be right back with more Meet the Press.

Now welcome back with his job as Speaker potentially on the line and in unruly right flank ready to revolt house Speaker Mike Johnson is headed to Mar Lago to meet with Donald Trump he'll appear alongside the former president at an event tomorrow to speak about an issue that Trump has been fixated on since he lost the 2020 race what he.

Calls election Integrity the trip comes at a perilous moment for the speaker though as he seeks to reauthorize the surveillance tool known as fisa and as he seeks to pass a foreign aid bill that includes funding for Ukraine without losing his job for more I'm joined by my panel NBC News correspondent Dasha Burns president and executive director of the.

Center for American progress action fund navine nyak and Republican strategist Brad Todd thanks to all of you for being here Dasha set the stage for us for tomorrow this joint press conference between Trump and Johnson and they're going to talk about what they say is election Integrity what do you think the significance of this moment is I mean.

It's the former president once again setting up the messaging that he is going to be drilling over the next however many months we have until the election which is he believes that 2020 was rigged he wants to make sure that uh this next election is not R but he's been shouting election interference uh with all of these cases and that is the.

Main argument you're going to hear him say Biden trial Biden trial Biden trial over and over again and seeing Mike Johnson standing next to him right after he just sort of put a roadblock right in front of him and has this this wing of the of the of Congress that is really at his behest you know Kristen as I've been here in DC talking to sources those that.

I've been talking to on the Republican side there is a lot of concern about what is the Republican party and what is it after after Donald Trump right because at this point the fundamental principles the platforms of the Republican Party are what Trump says they are and and what he wants them to be day in and day out and so he is using.

This moment to to talk to the voters and to show hey this is my party it's my party in Congress it's my party in uh the Supreme Court and it's my party with the voters yeah Brad it's such an important point and and I do want to talk about fisa which Dasha was just mentioning but it comes I mean he's saying this is my.

Party he's also to some extent trying to protect speaker Johnson who's got this threat whether real or not for Marjorie Taylor green saying if you pass Ukraine Aid we are going to move to have you ejected as speaker and Trump and his team are basically saying we don't we can't afford to have more chaos in the house how much do you think it could.

Mitigate that threat from the right flank I I think it's president former president Trump telling Republicans in the house that he's with Mike Johnson I think that's the point of the of the entire exercise uh you know the there's a constant tension between campaigning on the future and voting the past for both these two candidates yeah uh and I.

Think you know part of that part of that comes by by having been president for both of them and being up up there in years with long careers uh the winner to this campaign is probably going to be the one that talks more about the future and the loser is probably going to be one that talks about the H the past but I think that's that probably what's most.

At stake here is is Donald Trump is trying to signal to house conservatives that he's with Mike Johnson yeah navine how do you see this moment and and one of the things that's so interesting you do have Democrats saying if there were a real threat to Mike Johnson some of they're saying yes we would protect him now I don't know if that helps or hurts.

Him ultimately uh but but when you talk to sources on Capitol Hill they say look one of the things that Mike Johnson has been fairly effective at doing is Reaching Across the aisle and establishing these relationships governing yeah right no I mean I think of three things one on the on the Trump meeting I think what's telling is what.

They're not talking about right they're not talking about fisa or doing something to protect the country they're not talking about Ukraine and the fact that we have an ally who is really trying to survive a massive war and aggression no conversation about that what they are talking is that the past about Trump's concerns about 2020 and.

Issues that are aren't actually a concerned to voters that's the first thing it's funny to me to think that Trump wouldn't want chaos I mean that is sort of what he is striving for at all times it is indicative that you know the probably doesn't want this but also keeps embarrassing Mike Johnson I mean we saw it again yesterday yes it wasn't.

A an ousting of him but it was essentially saying we don't really support you as speaker in what you want to do and that is another way of really underscoring how chaotic and dysfunctional this this party is right yeah let's talk about fisa which we've all been talking about basically this surveillance program Donald Trump.

Literally posted kill fisa on social media 19 republ Republicans Dasha did exactly that it's important to note this surveillance program that they were going to reauthorize is not the one that he's actually upset about he's upset about one that allowed campaign Stafford back in 2016 to be surveilled amid concerns that there may have been some.

Collusion with Russia but what do you think the implications are and what does it say that Donald Trump can still come in and say kill this bill and 19 Republicans follow suit I mean to your point is my party right that's he keeps saying that with these with these very uh practical messages right you voters are.

Literally saying he says one thing and Republicans immediately follow suit and there are a lot of Voters that um on on on the Democratic side and Republican side who are watching this strange realignment happening Republicans saying wait a minute since when are are Democrats more in favor of National Security than Republicans wait a minute.

Since when are Republicans more Pro Putin and pro Russia than what is going on here and I think you're seeing a lot of a lot of Voters watching this and saying I don't really know where I fit anymore I don't know where these parties are heading what I see is what Trump says they will do which on the one hand could be a selling point to.

Some voters saying like look he actually really uh you know governs with an iron fist with his party they will do what he tells them to do on the other hand that means you know you really got to watch Trump closely rather than any of the other leaders to see uh what what's going to happen to the country yeah I mean the Republican Party had.

Traditionally been the party of strength when it comes to things like foreign policy that was the talking point for example when you think about some of the GOP nominees uh in the past McCain romni for example George W bush and and so on and so forth this is a real departure from that I I don't I don't know that I think agree with that I think.

Republicans still believe in projecting American power abroad and they believe in defending the milit in defending the armed services and and and not using it as a social engineering lab like a lot of Democrats want to do Biden's problem is still his first but beyond his age which you can't fix uh his the core of when his downfall began.

In polls is when he was too weak on Afghanistan and so I think that that Still Remains the the Achilles heel for this Administration and I think National Security voters will still pick uh to vote against Joe Biden this time NV what do you make of that is that still his real Achilles heel and today we saw the president come out with these new.

Actions to expand background checks this an executive action it will likely get challenged in the courts but clearly another issue that he is trying to capitalize on well I I mean I think on on Ukraine I think the president has actually handled it very well I think the American people are very supportive of the way he has United the world and.

Europe in you know uh opposition to Putin's aggression we've seen an expansion and strengthening of NATO there's a really powerful story about how he shown up on the World stage and you know you see him today he aligning Partners in unique ways to sort of um stand up to China as well I do think on background checks there's no question.

That is a huge success that is a story that is going to save lives and it's a it's a big one it was a bipartisan one all right great discussion guys thank you so much dasos and navine and Brad I am back tomorrow with more Meet the Press now the news continues with Hy Jackson right now thanks for watching stay updated.

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