{"id":754,"date":"2015-04-12T12:40:37","date_gmt":"2015-04-12T16:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/press.nbcnews.com\/?p=754"},"modified":"2015-04-12T12:40:37","modified_gmt":"2015-04-12T16:40:37","slug":"meet-the-press-41215-de-blasio-not-ready-to-endorse-hillary-sen-paul-clintons-grand-hypocrisy-think-theyre-above-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nbcuniversalnewsgroup.com\/nbcnews\/2015\/04\/12\/meet-the-press-41215-de-blasio-not-ready-to-endorse-hillary-sen-paul-clintons-grand-hypocrisy-think-theyre-above-law\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMEET THE PRESS\u201d 4\/12\/15: DE BLASIO NOT READY TO ENDORSE HILLARY; SEN. PAUL: CLINTONS\u2019 \u2018GRAND HYPOCRISY,\u2019 \u2018THINK THEY\u2019RE ABOVE LAW\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio: Not endorsing Hillary \u201cuntil I see an actual vision\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Sec. John Kerry: \u201cDeal is what we said it was\u201d despite Iranian spin<\/span><\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Sen. Rand Paul: \u201cGrand hypocrisy\u201d for Clintons that GOP has a war on women<\/span><\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

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APRIL 12, 2015 \u2013 This morning\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press with Chuck Todd\u201d featured interviews with Bill de Blasio<\/b>, mayor of New York City and Hillary Clinton\u2019s first campaign manager; Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY); Secretary of State John Kerry<\/b>; and a panel discussion with David Brooks, <\/b>columnist for The New York Times; Hugh Hewitt, <\/b>host of \u201cThe Hugh Hewitt Show\u201d; Maria Hinojosa<\/b>, host of NPR\u2019s \u201cLatino USA\u201d; and Stephanie Rawlings-Blake<\/b>, mayor of Baltimore City.<\/p>\n

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Below are highlights, video clips, and a rush transcript of today\u2019s program. Additional show video will be available online at www.MeetThePressNBC.com<\/a>, and join the conversation online with hashtag #MTP.<\/p>\n

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De Blasio Not Ready to Endorse Hillary<\/b><\/p>\n

VIDEO: http:\/\/nbcnews.to\/1IWbVDs<\/a><\/p>\n

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CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

But you’re technically not yet endorsing her?<\/p>\n

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BILL DE BLASIO:<\/p>\n

No, not until I see, and again, I would say this about any candidate, until I see an actual vision of where they want to go. \u00a0I think she’s a tremendous public servant. \u00a0I think she is one of the most qualified people to ever run for this office. \u00a0And by the way, thoroughly vetted, we can say that. \u00a0But we need to see the substance.<\/p>\n

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De Blasio: More Necessary Than Ever Before for Hillary to Listen to Everyday People<\/b><\/p>\n

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CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

So let me ask you about what you’re hearing about how she’s launching her campaign, that it’s all about copying the blueprint you put together in 2000. \u00a0Smart?<\/p>\n

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BILL DE BLASIO:<\/p>\n

Well, there’s certainly a team effort in 2000 and it worked. \u00a0And one of the important points was she did go out and listened to what was happening to everyday people. \u00a0And I think that’s going to be more necessary this year than ever before, because people in this country are hurting. \u00a0The Great Recession set people back on their heels in a way we have not seen in decades and decades. \u00a0I think it’s important for Hillary to hear those stories of the American people, I think it will make her a stronger candidate.<\/p>\n

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Kerry: Iranian \u2018Spin\u2019 Does Not Affect Deal <\/b><\/p>\n

VIDEO: <\/b>http:\/\/nbcnews.to\/1z8tevU<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

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CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

If what you say the agreement is is the agreement, there are plenty of people, even some Republicans, that say it’s a good agreement. \u00a0However, the leader of Iran, the ayatollah, and everybody knows this is the guy that calls the shots, he tweets this out in English, “I trust our negotiators, but I’m really worried as the other side is into lying and breaching promises, an example was the White House fact sheet.”<\/p>\n

And when you look at the differences, whether it’s President Rouhani and what he has said, or what the ayatollah has said, the United States has said that it’s going to be a gradual relief of sanctions based on progress. \u00a0The Iranians say there’s immediate sanction relief.<\/p>\n

The U.S. says there’s limits on uranium enrichment. \u00a0The Iranians say there’s no mention of enrichment limits. \u00a0The U.S. says there’s restrictions on Iranian research. \u00a0The Iranians say there is no restrictions on research and development. \u00a0Why are they publicly lying, if that’s what they’re doing?<\/p>\n

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SECRETARY JOHN KERRY:<\/p>\n

Well, I’m not going to get into accusations back and forth. \u00a0That doesn’t help our process. \u00a0It’s not going to solve any problems.<\/p>\n

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CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

Are they being truthful? \u00a0Are they truthful here?<\/p>\n

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SECRETARY JOHN KERRY:<\/p>\n

They’re going to say the things that they feel they need to say with respect to their deal at home. \u00a0And all I can tell you is this: \u00a0when we did the interim agreement, there were these same kinds of discrepancies, or spin, if you want to call it that, with respect to what the deal was or wasn’t.<\/p>\n

But in the end, the deal was signed and the deal has been agreed to and lived up to. \u00a0No one contests that Iran has lived up to every component of that agreement. \u00a0And the deal is what we said it was.<\/p>\n

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Kerry: \u201cWe Don\u2019t Trust\u201d Iran, \u201cNo Element of Trust in What We\u2019re Doing\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

VIDEO: <\/b>http:\/\/nbcnews.to\/1aGybWL<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

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CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

Let me move to Iran, because Iran is on the state sponsor of terror list. \u00a0How is it that you can do a nuclear agreement and trust a country to abide by that agreement that you also believe, that our government believes is a state sponsor of terror?<\/p>\n

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SECRETARY JOHN KERRY:<\/p>\n

Well, the bottom line is the word you used: \u00a0trust. \u00a0We don’t trust. \u00a0There is no element of trust in what we’re doing. \u00a0You have to build trust, and that takes place over a long period of time. \u00a0This is an agreement that is based on transparency, accountability, verification. \u00a0You have to be able to know what is happening.<\/p>\n

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Paul: Hillary Should Call for Boycott of Saudi Arabia, Not Accept \u201cTens of Millions of Dollars\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

VIDEO: <\/b>http:\/\/nbcnews.to\/1D9qbYp<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

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SEN. RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

I think the thing is about the Clintons is that there’s a certain sense that they think they’re above the law. \u00a0And I think there’s also this grand hypocrisy for the Clintons in the sense that we’ve got this whole thing, this war on women thing that they like to talk about.<\/p>\n

And yet Hillary Clinton has taken money from countries that rape victims are publicly lashed. \u00a0In Saudi Arabia, a woman was gang raped by seven men. \u00a0She was publicly lashed 90 times. \u00a0And then she was convicted of being in the car with an unmarried man. \u00a0We should be boycotting, voluntarily boycotting a country, not buying stuff from a country that does that to women–<\/p>\n

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CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

So you want a boycott. \u00a0So if you’re president, “Saudi Arabia, you’re no longer an ally.”<\/p>\n

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SEN. RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

Well, no–<\/p>\n

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CHUCK TODD:<\/p>\n

“You’re done.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEN. RAND PAUL:<\/p>\n

I think that’s a little different than what I’m saying. \u00a0You remember with South Africa? \u00a0You know, there was much of it that was a voluntary boycott saying, “You know what? \u00a0Personally, you know, I’m going to try to tell my university not to invest in this country because of what they do to women.”<\/p>\n

And, see, I think I would expect Hillary Clinton if she believes in women’s rights, she should be calling for a boycott of Saudi Arabia. \u00a0Instead, she’s accepting tens of millions of dollars. \u00a0And I think it looks unseemly. \u00a0And there’s going to be some explaining she’s going to have to come up with.<\/p>\n

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Additional clips from today\u2019s program and web-exclusive video:<\/b><\/p>\n

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