PLUS: Shulkin on firing: “This was somewhat of a surprise”
EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.): Trump “needs to understand the effect” firing officials on Twitter “has on attracting other people”
EXCLUSIVE: Johnson is “pleased with the appointment of John Huber,” says Mueller “was appointed too soon”
EXCLUSIVE: Alan Dershowitz would not join Trump legal team if asked, wants to remain independent
APRIL 1, 2018 – In an interview with “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd, fired Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin says he did not resign and was not asked to submit a letter of resignation, contrary to a White House statement that he had “resigned from his position.”
“General Kelly gave me a call very shortly before the tweet came out,” Shulkin told Todd, referring to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and President Donald Trump’s tweet naming Admiral Ronny Jackson to his position. Shulkin said he and the president had spoken “just a few hours before,” and “we had set up a meeting for the very next day.” “This was somewhat of a surprise,” he added. Watch the full interview.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) reacted to Trump’s firing of Shulkin on Twitter in an exclusive interview: “It’s not the way I’d do it. … The president needs to understand the effect it has on attracting other people.”
Johnson shared he’s “pleased with the appointment of John Huber,” the U.S. attorney investigating claims of FBI misconduct, and that “it’s the best case for the time being” that Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not appoint a special counsel. In regard to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, “he was appointed too soon,” Johnson said. Watch the full interview.
Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School and author of Trumped Up: How the Criminalization of Political Differences Endangers Democracy, and Bob Bauer, former White House Counsel to President Barack Obama, also joined the broadcast in an exclusive joint interview. Bauer told Todd, “Since Donald Trump may have known that the Kremlin sent emissaries to his campaign in June of 2016 to talk about support for his campaign, he might take the advice that he gave Bill Clinton in 1999: “Take the Fifth.”” When asked if he would join Trump’s legal team in any capacity if asked, Dershowitz replied, “No, I want to remain independent.” Watch the interview.
NPR’s Joshua Johnson, TIME’s Elise Jordan, AEI’s Danielle Pletka and syndicated columnist George Will joined this morning’s roundtable to discuss the week in politics, including policy with Russia. “The administration has represented a stronger line on Russia policy than the Obama administration did,” argued Pletka.
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.
PLEASE 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, 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.
