MTP EXCLUSIVE: COTTON CALLS DREAM ACT ‘SINGLE BIGGEST AMNESTY IN HISTORY — EVEN BIGGER THAN 1986 AMNESTY, WHICH REAGAN SAID WAS HIS BIGGEST MISTAKE’

PLUS: Sen. Cotton (R-Ark.): Trump “called me a couple nights ago to say there’s no deal” on DACA

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Sanders (I-Vt.) responds to Clinton’s criticism in her new book: “I worked as hard as I could to see that Hillary Clinton would be elected president”

SEPT. 17, 2017 — In an exclusive interview with moderator Chuck Todd this morning, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said that “if you pass the so-called DREAM Act, it will be the single biggest amnesty in the history of the United States — even bigger than the 1986 amnesty, which Ronald Reagan said was his biggest mistake in office.”

Cotton, who told Todd that President Trump “called me a couple nights ago to say there’s no deal” on DACA, also addressed the president’s relationship with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Congress: “His frustration is with Congress as a whole. The president doesn’t have so much of a leadership problem sometimes. He has more of a membership problem.” Watch the full interview, including Cotton calling for more pressure on China as well as weighing in on the president’s transgender military ban.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also exclusively joined this morning’s broadcast, responding to criticism from former State Sec. Hillary Clinton in her new book that he didn’t work hard enough to bring his supporters into the fold: “I worked as hard as I could after endorsing Hillary Clinton. I went all over this country. And I would remind people, you know, people say, “Well, not everybody who voted for Bernie ended up voting for Hillary.” No kidding. That’s what happens in politics.”

Sanders, who said the Democratic Party “has got to come up with a progressive agenda,” talked about his newly released plan for single-payer, Medicare-for-all health care, sharing with Todd: “It’s not going to happen tomorrow. I fully admit that, but we need to put the benchmark down there and go forward.” Watch the full interview.

Earlier this week, Todd exclusively joined former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands to deliver humanitarian relief and survey the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma.

Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, CBN News’ David Brody, Squire Patton Boggs’ Al Cardenas and NBC News’ Katy Tur, author of “Unbelievable,” joined this Sunday’s roundtable to discuss the week in politics, including the president working with Democratic leaders.

Read the full transcript of this morning’s “Meet the Press” on MeetThePress.com.

For more from moderator Chuck Todd throughout the week, sign up for the “First Read” newsletter, and subscribe to the “1947: The Meet The Press Podcast” for on-demand interviews.

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