EXCLUSIVE: Graham Says Trump Administration Has “Blind Spot on Russia I Still Can’t Figure Out”
EXCLUSIVE: Schumer: “No, I Did Not” Know We Had a Thousand Troops in Niger
ONLY ON MEET THE PRESS: Four Female Senators Say #MeToo, Reveal Stories of Sexual Harassment
OCT. 22, 2017 – In an exclusive interview this morning on “Meet the Press,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told moderator Chuck Todd that he “got a little insight” on why the fallen four American soldiers were in Niger: “I can say this to the families: they were there to defend America. They were there to help allies. They were there to prevent another platform to attack America and our allies.”
“We don’t know exactly where we’re at in the world militarily and what we’re doing. So John McCain is going to try to create a new system to make sure that we can answer the question why were we there, we’ll know how many soldiers are there, and if somebody gets killed there, that we won’t find out about it in the paper,” the senator continued.
Graham also addressed the administration not implementing Russian sanctions: “The Trump administration is slow when it comes to Russia. They have a blind spot on Russia I still can’t figure out. But I can tell you what happened in ’16.” Watch the full interview.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also exclusively joined the broadcast, echoing Graham: “No, I did not” know that we had a thousand troops in Niger. He spoke on the health care deal in Congress right now, telling Todd: “This is a good compromise. It took months to work out. It has a majority. It has 60 senators supporting it. We have all 48 Democrats, 12 Republicans. I would urge Senator McConnell to put it on the floor immediately, this week. It will pass and it will pass by a large number of votes.”
Schumer also criticized President Trump: “This presidency doesn’t get anything done. All he does is spend his time tweeting and degrading his so-called enemies. That doesn’t work and demeans the presidency.” Watch the full interview.
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, “Meet the Press” reached out to every female U.S. senator, asking if any had #MeToo stories they were comfortable sharing with our viewers. Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) shared their stories – a powerful example of the prevalence of sexual harassment. Watch them share their experiences.
Robert Costa of The Washington Post, Helene Cooper and Tom Friedman of The New York Times, and Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute joined this morning’s roundtable for insight and analysis, including a discussion on the week’s civility.
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.
MANDATORY CREDIT: NBC NEWS’ “MEET THE PRESS WITH CHUCK TODD”
- Mandatory credit to NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on first reference.
- The onscreen “Meet the Press” credit must be clearly visible and unobstructed at all times in any image, video clip, or other form of media.
- Embedded web video must stream from the NBCNews.com media player with the unobstructed credit as described above.
# # #
For more information, contact:
Olivia Petersen
NBC News
o: (202) 885-4159
e: olivia.petersen@nbcuni.com
__
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.
# # #
