PLUS: Sen. Graham (R-S.C.): Roe v. Wade “Has Been Affirmed Over the Years”
EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Cantwell (D-Wash.) “Would Love” a Delayed Vote on Supreme Court Justice
EXCLUSIVE: Ocasio-Cortez: “There are a Lot of Districts in This Country That are New York-14, That Have Changed a Lot in the Last 20 Years and Whose Representation Has Not”
JULY 1, 2018 – In an exclusive interview that aired this morning on “Meet the Press,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reacts to NBC News’ exclusive reporting Friday that, according to U.S. officials, North Korea has increased nuclear production at secret sites, telling moderator Chuck Todd, “Nobody should be surprised. … It’s now a time to bring their program to an end one way or the other.”
On the issue of abortion at the Supreme Court justice confirmation hearing, the South Carolina senator says, “You don’t overturn precedent unless there’s a good reason.” “I would tell my pro-life friends, you can be pro-life and conservative, but you can also believe in stare decisis,” continues Graham. “Roe v. Wade, in many different ways, has been affirmed over the years.”
Graham also addressed Thursday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray, sharing that he trusts Rosenstein but has “problems with the way he’s interacted with Congress, adding, “I don’t have any reason to ask him to be removed. I want Mueller to do his job.” Watch the full interview.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) tells Todd in an exclusive interview this morning that she “would love” a delayed vote on the Supreme Court nominee to “make sure we have enough time.” Cantwell advises her fellow Democratic senators: “If they vote for somebody who’s going to change precedent, it could be a career-ending move.” Watch the full interview.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the new Democratic nominee for New York’s 14th congressional district, also joins the broadcast in an exclusive interview this morning, telling Todd that her win is representative of “a lot of districts in this country… that have changed a lot in the last 20 years and whose representation has not.” When asked what she would have said to Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) had he reached out to her on how to win her vote as a constituent, prior to her deciding to run, Ocasio-Cortez replies, “The problem is that that never happened.” She also addressed embracing the label of “democratic socialist”: “The definition of democratic socialism to me, again, is the fact that in a modern, moral and wealthy society, no American should be too poor to live.” Watch the full interview.
The Boston Herald’s Kimberly Atkins, Democratic strategist Cornell Belcher, CBN News’ David Brody and NBC News’ Hallie Jackson join this morning’s roundtable to discuss the week in politics, including the new Supreme Court justice opening with the news of Justice Kennedy’s retirement. On the president using Roe v. Wade as a litmus test, Jackson shares, “One way that I have heard that people close to the president are trying to inoculate against him of that is to push him toward picking a woman.”
Read the full transcript of “Meet the Press” this morning, and follow the show on Twitter and on Facebook for the latest.
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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, expanding its brand to include a political documentary film festival in collaboration with the American Film Institute. Chuck Todd is the political director of NBC News and the moderator of “Meet the Press“; John Reiss is the executive producer.
