EXCLUSIVE: Toomey On Raising The Age For Rifle Purchases: “Very Skeptical”
PLUS: Toomey On NRA: “I Disagree With Them”
EXCLUSIVE: Klobuchar: “Congress Didn’t Have The Courage To Pass” A Background Check Bill After Sandy Hook
PLUS: Klobuchar: Fines For Social Media Is A “Great Idea”
EXCLUSIVE: Massie: Background Checks Are “False Senses of Security”
FEBRUARY 25, 2018 – In an exclusive interview this morning on “Meet the Press,” Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) told moderator Chuck Todd that his bipartisan gun legislation wouldn’t “solve all problems, and we never suggested it would.” When asked if he supports the idea of raising the age on assault weapons from 18 to 21, Toomey exclusively replied: “I’m very skeptical about that,” and added, “the difference between the AR-15 and an awful lot of commonly-sold rifles is just cosmetic.”
In response to NRA head Wayne LaPierre’s speech over the weekend, Toomey said: “This is the first I’ve heard, and I don’t know what else Wayne LaPierre said, so that strikes me as a little bit conspiratorial in its tone, but again I don’t have it in the full context.” Toomey added: “The NRA once held the position that I hold, which is that background checks at gun sales and any kind of commercial sale are appropriate. The NRA changed its position on that. I disagree with them.” Watch the full interview with Sen. Pat Toomey.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) also exclusively joined the program, telling Todd that fining social media companies if they fail to “purge itself of bots” would be a “great idea.”
On the gun issue, Klobuchar said that after Sandy Hook, “Congress didn’t have the courage to pass” a background check bill, adding, “I don’t think you’re going to see that happen again.”
When asked about the FBI’s handling of the Parkland shooting, Klobuchar said: “I think someone clearly made a major, tragic mistake in not reporting that to the Miami field office.”
On what gun owners in Minnesota had to say about the reform, Klobuchar exclusively said: “We have a big hunting culture here … what these hunters were telling me the last few days is that they are ready to do some background checks. They understand as law-abiding gun owners that we need to make changes.” Watch the full interview with Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) also exclusively joined the program, telling moderator Chuck Todd that background checks are “false senses of security.” Massie compared trying to fix the background check system to putting “lipstick on a pig.” Watch the full interview with Rep. Thomas Massie.
CBN News’ David Brody, The New York Times’ Helene Cooper, American Enterprise Institute’s Danielle Pletka and former White House Press Secretary and NBC News Political Analyst Josh Earnest joined this morning’s roundtable for additional insight and analysis, where they also discussed special counsel Robert Mueller’s new indictments and the Trump administration’s response to calls for sanctions on Russia.
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 “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, having celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2017 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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