{"id":2557,"date":"2018-08-26T13:28:54","date_gmt":"2018-08-26T17:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/press.nbcnews.com\/?p=2557"},"modified":"2018-08-26T13:28:54","modified_gmt":"2018-08-26T17:28:54","slug":"mtp-exclusive-hillary-clinton-says-our-institutions-are-being-severely-tested-right-now-including-sen-john-mccains-beloved-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nbcuniversalnewsgroup.com\/nbcnews\/2018\/08\/26\/mtp-exclusive-hillary-clinton-says-our-institutions-are-being-severely-tested-right-now-including-sen-john-mccains-beloved-senate\/","title":{"rendered":"MTP EXCLUSIVE: HILLARY CLINTON SAYS ‘OUR INSTITUTIONS ARE BEING SEVERELY TESTED RIGHT NOW,’ INCLUDING SEN. JOHN MCCAIN’S ‘BELOVED SENATE’"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLUS: Sen. Jeff Flake on his Endorsement in the Arizona Race: \u201cNobody Would be Asking for it \u2026 This is the President’s Party Right Now\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Jerrold Nadler Says \u201cthe Role of Congress is not to Protect the President\u201d but to Hold Him \u201cAccountable to the American People\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW: President Donald Trump\u2019s Job Approval Rating Remains Stable in New NBC News\/WSJ Poll<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

AUGUST 26, 2018 \u2013 In an exclusive phone interview this morning on Meet the Press<\/em>, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton <\/strong>remembered Sen. John McCain, telling moderator Chuck Todd, \u201cHe leaves a legacy of service and courage,\u201d adding that he \u201cunderstood that we\u2019ve been through perilous times before at home and abroad. But our institutions are being severely tested right now, including his beloved Senate. And he was, in every way he knew how, trying to sound the alarm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clinton also addressed McCain\u2019s belief in the Senate as an institution and said: \u201cHe really understood in the marrow of his bones what it means to be an American and how important it was for us to, yes, disagree and differ. But at the end of the day to come together, to work together, to trust each other to get things done.\u201d Watch the full interview<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)<\/strong> joined Meet the Press<\/em> this morning, remembering Sen. McCain: \u201cIt was like having a big brother who nobody wanted to mess with,\u201d adding, \u201cI don’t know that we’ll ever see anybody who’s like John McCain. I think he’s one of a kind. I think we can certainly try to follow his example and seeing the good in our opponents and recognizing that people may be on the other side of the aisle or have a different philosophy but they’re our friends and they’re fellow Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if his endorsement in the upcoming Arizona race would help or hurt a Republican candidate, Flake said: \u201cNobody would be asking for it in the Republican primary I can tell you that \u2026 this is very much, and you know I’m not happy about it but this is the president’s party right now. And I think that we’ll be sorry for that in the future, but that’s the case right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the possibility that President Trump would fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Flake said it would be a \u201cbig mistake\u201d and \u201cthe first domino to fall\u201d. Flake added: \u201cThere may be a few isolated voices saying that the president ought to fire him now. I can tell you as a body we’re saying, \u2018Please don’t\u2019.\u201d Watch the full interview.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Mueller investigation has to continue, first and foremost. And the Committee has to defend the Mueller investigation against the president’s and the Republicans in Congress\u2019 attempts to sabotage it, to discredit it, and to discredit the FBI and the Department of Justice,\u201d said Rep. Jerrold Nadler<\/strong> (D-N.Y.), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, in an exclusive interview this morning. Nadler added: \u201cThe role of Congress is not to protect the president, it’s to hold the president and any president accountable to the American people. And we ought to be holding investigations.\u201d Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

New NBC News\/Wall Street Journal poll numbers, conducted before and after last week\u2019s conviction of Trump\u2019s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the guilty plea of his former lawyer Michael Cohen, debuted on this morning\u2019s broadcast and show that President Trump\u2019s job approval rating remains virtually unchanged following last week\u2019s events. Read more<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

NBC News\u2019 Tom Brokaw<\/strong> and Andrea Mitchell<\/strong> also joined the program this morning, remembering Sen. McCain, who had the most appearances of any guest on Meet the Press<\/em><\/a>, appearing 73 times over the course of his political career. Brokaw noted<\/a>: \u201cWe’re missing that in our public life these days, the kind of authenticity that [McCain] brought to the arena.\u201d CBN News\u2019 David Brody<\/strong>, NBC News\u2019 Hallie Jackson<\/strong>, NPR\u2019s Joshua Johnson<\/strong> and USA TODAY\u2019s Susan Page<\/strong> joined the broadcast\u2019s roundtable<\/a> for insight and analysis on the week in politics and the legacy of Sen. McCain.<\/p>\n

Read the full transcript<\/a> of Meet the Press<\/em> this morning, and follow the show on Twitter<\/a> and on Facebook<\/a> for the latest.<\/p>\n

PLEASE CREDIT: NBC NEWS\u2019 <\/strong>MEET THE PRESS WITH CHUCK TODD<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n