{"id":2085,"date":"2017-10-01T12:33:21","date_gmt":"2017-10-01T16:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/press.nbcnews.com\/?p=2085"},"modified":"2017-10-01T12:33:21","modified_gmt":"2017-10-01T16:33:21","slug":"mtp-mnuchin-on-trumps-puerto-rico-tweets-when-the-president-gets-attacked-he-attacks-back-the-mayors-comments-were-unfair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nbcuniversalnewsgroup.com\/nbcnews\/2017\/10\/01\/mtp-mnuchin-on-trumps-puerto-rico-tweets-when-the-president-gets-attacked-he-attacks-back-the-mayors-comments-were-unfair\/","title":{"rendered":"MTP: MNUCHIN ON TRUMP\u2019S PUERTO RICO TWEETS: \u2018WHEN THE PRESIDENT GETS ATTACKED, HE ATTACKS BACK \u2026 THE MAYOR\u2019S COMMENTS WERE UNFAIR\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLUS: Mnuchin: Tax reform plan will \u201cpay down the deficit by $1 trillion\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

SUNDAY EXCLUSIVE: Corker on North Korea: \u201cIf we don\u2019t ramp up the diplomatic side, it\u2019s possible that we end up cornered\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Corker on tax reform: \u201cI am not going to be for it\u201d if it adds to the deficit<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

OCT. 1, 2017 \u2013 This morning in a live interview on \u201cMeet the Press,\u201d Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin<\/strong> defended the government\u2019s response to the crisis in Puerto Rico as well as President Trump\u2019s tweets about the island and the mayor of San Juan, telling moderator Chuck Todd: \u201cWhen the president gets attacked, he attacks back, and I think the mayor\u2019s comments were unfair given what the federal government has done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mnuchin also told Todd that the administration\u2019s tax reform proposal\u2019s \u201cobjective is not to give an income tax cut to the wealthy.\u201d \u201cWith our plan, we actually pay down the deficit by $1 trillion,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe American public deserved to know how their money is being spent,\u201d commented Mnuchin on Health and Human Services Sec. Tom Price\u2019s resignation after the use of government-funded private jet travel. When asked if he regrets his own government aircraft requests, Mnuchin said, \u201cI don\u2019t.\u201d Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)<\/strong>, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, exclusively spoke with Todd about North Korea: \u201cTillerson understands that every intelligence agency we have says there’s no amount of economic pressure you can put on North Korea to get them to stop this program because they view this as their survival.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don’t ramp up the diplomatic side, it’s possible that we end up cornered,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

On the administration\u2019s tax reform proposal, Corker shared: \u201cIf it looks like to me, Chuck, we’re adding one penny to the deficit, I am not going to be for it.\u201d The senator also stood by his criticism of the president following the Charlottesville rally violence, telling Todd that he and the president \u201cspent five minutes on this topic\u201d when they met last week. Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ta-Nehisi Coates,<\/strong> author of \u201cWe Were Eight Years in Power,\u201d discussed his book, telling Todd that he
\n\u201cwould argue that white supremacy is an indispensable factor\u201d to the Trump presidency. Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

The New York Times\u2019 David Brooks<\/strong>, AEI\u2019s Danielle Pletka<\/strong>, MSNBC\u2019s Joy Reid<\/strong> and author Charlie Sykes<\/strong> analyzed the week in politics on the roundtable, including the president\u2019s tweets on Puerto Rico. Watch the conversation.<\/a><\/p>\n

Read the full transcript of this morning\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d on <\/strong>MeetThePress.com<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more from moderator Chuck Todd throughout the week, sign up for the \u201cFirst Read\u201d newsletter,<\/a> and subscribe to the \u201c1947: The Meet The Press Podcast\u201d<\/a> for on-demand interviews.<\/p>\n

MANDATORY CREDIT: NBC NEWS\u2019 \u201cMEET THE PRESS WITH CHUCK TODD\u201d \u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n