{"id":2109,"date":"2017-10-22T12:10:39","date_gmt":"2017-10-22T16:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/press.nbcnews.com\/?p=2109"},"modified":"2017-10-22T12:10:39","modified_gmt":"2017-10-22T16:10:39","slug":"mtp-exclusives-graham-fallen-soldiers-were-in-niger-to-help-allies-schumer-we-have-all-48-democrats-on-health-care-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nbcuniversalnewsgroup.com\/nbcnews\/2017\/10\/22\/mtp-exclusives-graham-fallen-soldiers-were-in-niger-to-help-allies-schumer-we-have-all-48-democrats-on-health-care-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"MTP EXCLUSIVES: GRAHAM: FALLEN SOLDIERS WERE IN NIGER \u2018TO HELP ALLIES,\u2019 SCHUMER: \u2018WE HAVE ALL 48 DEMOCRATS\u2019 ON HEALTH CARE DEAL"},"content":{"rendered":"

EXCLUSIVE: Graham Says Trump Administration Has \u201cBlind Spot on Russia I Still Can\u2019t Figure Out\u201d <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

EXCLUSIVE: Schumer: \u201cNo, I Did Not\u201d Know We Had a Thousand Troops in Niger<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

ONLY ON MEET THE PRESS: Four Female Senators Say #MeToo, Reveal Stories of Sexual Harassment<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

OCT. 22, 2017 \u2013 In an exclusive interview this morning on \u201cMeet the Press,\u201d Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)<\/strong> told moderator Chuck Todd that he \u201cgot a little insight\u201d on why the fallen four American soldiers were in Niger:<\/a> \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know exactly where we\u2019re at in the world militarily and what we\u2019re 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\u2019ll know how many soldiers are there, and if somebody gets killed there, that we won\u2019t find out about it in the paper,\u201d the senator continued.<\/p>\n

Graham also addressed the administration not implementing Russian sanctions:<\/a> \u201cThe 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.\u201d Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)<\/strong> also exclusively joined the broadcast, echoing Graham: \u201cNo, I did not\u201d know that we had a thousand troops in Niger. He spoke on the health care deal in Congress right now<\/a>, telling Todd: \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schumer also criticized President Trump: \u201cThis 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.\u201d Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, \u201cMeet the Press\u201d 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.), <\/strong>and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.)<\/strong> shared their stories \u2013 a powerful example of the prevalence of sexual harassment. Watch them share their experiences.<\/a><\/p>\n

Robert Costa<\/strong> of The Washington Post, Helene Cooper<\/strong> and Tom Friedman<\/strong> of The New York Times, and Danielle Pletka<\/strong> of the American Enterprise Institute joined this morning\u2019s roundtable for insight and analysis, including a discussion on the week\u2019s civility.<\/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