EXCLUSIVE: Comstock Calls for Moore to Step Aside: “For That Matter, Al Franken Can Go Hit the Door With Him”
EXCLUSIVE: Dingell, When Asked About Gillibrand’s Clinton Comments, Says “We’ve Got to Focus On What The Future Is”
EXCLUSIVE: Blunt on Moore: “The Women’s Story Is More Credible Than His Response”
PLUS: Blunt Says Tax Reform Will Pass the Senate, and “It Depends On Where The Votes Are” If It’s With Or Without Obamacare Repeal
NOVEMBER 19, 2017 – White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told “Meet the Press” guest moderator Andrea Mitchell that Alabama Senate Republican candidate Roy Moore’s accusers are “credible.” “I don’t know who to believe,” he added.
The budget chief also addressed the tax reform plan that passed the House this week and is now in debate in the Senate; when asked if President Trump would benefit from the tax cuts, Mulvaney replied: “I can’t speak to the president’s taxes. I think that was sort of litigated by the American public during the election. I will say this, listen, the president’s going to pay much higher taxes on a lot of his properties, excuse me, because he has properties in high tax states.” Watch the full interview.
Reps. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) joined the broadcast in an exclusive joint interview to discuss sexual harassment on Capitol Hill and in politics. Comstock, who was the first woman in the House to call for Moore to step aside, told Mitchell that she still hopes “he will do that and do the right thing … For that matter, Al Franken can go hit the door with him.”
When asked by Mitchell if Sen. Gillibrand was wrong when she said that Clinton should have resigned during the Lewinsky scandal, Dingell replied, “I have a thousand thoughts on all this… we’ve got to focus on what the future is. Doing “got you” questions to people like us isn’t going to solve the problem. And we’ve got to start moving forward.” Watch the full interview.
On Moore, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) exclusively said: “The women’s story was more credible than his response, that Alabama voters deserved a better choice. But they’re going to have to make that decision. They know Roy Moore a whole lot better than I do. I’ve met him once.” And in terms of President Trump’s accusers, the senator said, “Whatever they had to say, people heard that. And they elected President Trump the president of the United States. So at some point I think you have to let the voters have a say here.”
He also told Mitchell the tax reform bill will pass the Senate, and whether it’s with or without the repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate, “it depends on where the votes are.” Watch the full interview.
The Washington Post’s Bob Costa, National Review’s Rich Lowry, MSNBC’s Joy Reid and The Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter joined the program’s roundtable for insight and analysis this morning, including a discussion on this defining moment in our culture on sexual harassment.
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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NBC NEWS’ “MEET THE PRESS WITH CHUCK TODD”
“Meet the Press with Chuck Todd” is where newsmakers come to make news — setting the political agenda and spotlighting the impact Washington decision-making has on Americans across the country. It is the #1 most-watched Sunday public affairs show across the board for the 2016-2017 season, reaching more than three million viewers every Sunday and millions more through social, digital and on-demand platforms. “Meet the Press” brings its authority and influencer interviews to MSNBC with “MTP Daily” weekdays at 5 p.m. ET and to the “1947: The Meet the Press Podcast”. It’s the longest-running show in television history, celebrating its 70th anniversary this year with the launch of its first-ever film festival in collaboration with the American Film Institute this November. Chuck Todd is the political director of NBC News and the moderator of “Meet the Press“; John Reiss is the executive producer.
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