CHUCK TODD:
This Sunday:
MAN:
Woah!
CHUCK TODD:
Disaster zone.
GOV. RON DeSANTIS:
Some of the damage was, you know, almost indescribable.
CHUCK TODD:
Hurricane Ian's punishing path across Florida leaves a staggering scale of destruction. Entire neighborhoods, wiped out.
PRES. JOE BIDEN:
It's not just a crisis for Florida, this is an American crisis.
CHUCK TODD:
Now the race to recover begins. But how should homeowners rebuild in the face of more extreme weather? And who should foot the bill? I'll talk to Florida's Republican Senator Rick Scott and North Carolina's Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. Plus, Putin's land grab.
CHUCK TODD:
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces the annexation of four regions of Ukraine, escalating the conflict and drawing widespread condemnation from around the world.
PRES. JOE BIDEN:
America is fully prepare -- prepared with our NATO allies to defend every single inch of NATO territory.
CHUCK TODD:
Ukraine responds by asking to join NATO. So, how real is the nuclear threat from Russia?
I’ll talk to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. And: split issues. The two parties are divided when it comes to the major issues to focus on before Election Day.
SEN. MITCH McCONNELL:
Inflation, crime and open borders.
CHUCK TODD:
While Democrats take a different path, centering on abortion.
REP. ELISSA SLOTKIN:
A cold, heartless, violent approach to women's health.
CHUCK TODD:
Plus: new numbers from the NBC News/Telemundo poll. How decisive will Latinos be in deciding which party controls Congress? Joining me for insight and analysis are: Telemundo news anchor Julio Vaqueiro, USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page, Symone Sanders-Townsend, former chief spokeswoman for Vice President Kamala Harris, and Stephen Hayes, editor of The Dispatch. Welcome to Sunday. It's Meet the Press.
ANNOUNCER:
From NBC News in Washington, the longest-running show in television history. This is Meet the Press with Chuck Todd.
CHUCK TODD:
Good Sunday morning. For many, it’s been a tough week. With 37 days until the midterm elections, it is a tale of two campaigns right now. For Republicans, the midterm campaign that they are trying to run is about inflation, immigration and crime. For Democrats, the campaign they are trying to run is about access to abortion and the growing extremism of the Republican Party represented by a singular figure in Donald Trump. But with both parties so sure what they want the midterms to be about, it's worth keeping in mind Tom Brokaw's favorite reminder to many of us during campaign seasons’ past: “Watch for UFOs.” In this case it’s, “the unforeseen will occur. It’s a guarantee,” he says. Well, this week the unforeseen was represented by two major events. In Russia, Vladimir Putin announced the illegal annexation of 15% of Ukraine after a series of Russian setbacks on the battlefield. Putin’s war is already threatening to drive Europe into recession with soaring energy costs. And this week a massive explosion created four separate leaks in that critical natural gas pipelines between Russia and Germany. President Biden accused Russia of "a deliberate act of sabotage." Then there's Hurricane Ian. This is one of the five worst hurricanes in America’s recorded history. Ian is also one of the costliest storms ever to hit the United States. Early estimates suggest it could cost up to $47 billion dollars just in insured losses alone. And as more extreme weather events hit the United States, there are some big questions about who should pay to rebuild and, more importantly, where we should be rebuilding. NBC's Blayne Alexander is in hard-hit Fort Myers for us this morning, and, Blayne, I know the destruction is awful. The question is, are we going to find more people safe and alive?
BLAYNE ALEXANDER:
Unfortunately, that is the case. They are still searching this morning,Chuck, and you know it’s scenes like these that really tell the story of Ian’s wrath. This entire area where I am standing was once a marina. It was full of boats and shops. Now all of that is gone. And when you widen out and you take a bigger look at this entire area, unfortunately you just see more of the same. Now where I am standing right now is truly one of the hardest hit areas. But Chuck, what's even more devastating is the human toll. At least 77 people have lost their lives due to Ian. And unfortunately that number is only expected to rise. Right now, crews are still sifting through the rumble. They are trying to see if there are any lives that can still be saved, and they are uncovering those who unfortunately did not make it. This morning, there are a number of people who are still unaccounted for and, Chuck, making things more complicated there are at least two islands that are completely cut off from the mainland. The road was destroyed in the storm, so they are using boats to bring people back and forth. You know, I talked with countless people and they tell me the reason they stayed is that they simply underestimated the power of this storm, Chuck. And finally, we’ve learned that President Biden is going to come here to Florida to tour the devastation on Wednesday. Chuck?
CHUCK TODD:
Alright, Blayne Alexander in Fort Myers for us. Blayne, thank you. And joining me now from Naples is Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida. He's also a former governor. Senator Scott, welcome back to Meet the Press.
SEN. RICK SCOTT:
Hi Chuck. Boy, it's a tough day for Florida. Been a tough week for Florida.
CHUCK TODD:
Sure has. Let me start with this. Look, in the first 72 hours, the people on the ground never feel like the recovery is coming fast enough. So I understand that, but tell me what you're seeing. I know you're in Naples. You've probably taken a look firsthand at Fort Myers. How's the recovery going from your perspective in the first 48 hours?
SEN. RICK SCOTT:
Yeah, I've toured, been in Collier County in Naples. I've been up in Fort Myers, Lee County, and I did an aerial tour of all the areas and talked to first responders. I've been up to Sarasota, Charlotte. Charlotte, where we got a lot of damage, people don't realize that. And actually, I was in Kissimmee yesterday, where there was actually quite a bit of flooding. So here's what's happening. We're still working on rescuing people. I mean, this is just horrible that people have lost their lives. It's horrible that people are still possibly stuck in rubble. But I've been talking to the sheriffs and first responders and they're trying to get to these people as quickly as they can. They've been working to evacuate people that stayed on in places like Sanibel and Pine Island and Fort Myers Beach.There are areas up in Charlotte County where people are stranded. So they've been trying to rescue everybody. But there's still work to do. So people are working hard. They're trying to get the power back on, make sure your phones work. But the biggest thing right now is just continuing to make sure we find everybody, and anybody that needs help, they get to the hospital, get whatever care they need. We still have a lot of water outages, so there's a lot of work left to do, so it’s really – my heart goes out to everybody though.
CHUCK TODD:
You brought up Charlotte County. I'm glad you did. That's a county who has a population, I think, a majority of the population’s over the age of 65. They were having trouble just getting bottled water into Charlotte County yesterday. Has that improved?
SEN. RICK SCOTT:
Everything keeps getting better. I think one thing that surprised everybody yesterday was the 75 being closed, with the flooding on 75, and actually 41, and I think State Highway 70. They all flooded, which impacts your ability to get things in. But, you know, I've been talking to the sheriff and doing everything I can to – you know, when I hear of things where there's something, I pass it onto the right person and make sure they get resources there. I've been talking to FEMA. I know they're absolutely committed to get all the resources here that they can, at every level. But our sheriffs, our first responders, you really have to thank them for what they're doing. Our utility workers are working hard to get power back on and get people back to a normal life.
CHUCK TODD:
Hurricane Ian is the 17th hurricane that has first made landfall in Florida since 1992. And we have a graphic on our map. Some people in Pensacola are going to say, “Hey, you're missing some hurricanes." These are ones that hit Florida first, not Alabama first and then impacted Florida. And it's been a total cost, recovery cost of $213 billion in losses. So the question is, as we rebuild, things like mobile manufactured housing, should that even be legal in the state of Florida anymore?
SEN. RICK SCOTT:
I think, I think what we have to do is take every experience. And Chuck, if you go to Charlotte County in particular, when I did the flyover there, there are a lot of mobile home parks that got unbelievable amounts of damage. So you're right. We have to go back and say every time, "Okay, so how do we make sure that we don’t – the biggest thing is we don't lose a life? That's number one. What do we have to do? What laws do we have to change? What building codes do we have to do?" We did it after Andrew. We did it while I was governor. We've got to look at every time. What do you do to make sure this doesn't happen again? You don't ever want these things to happen again. So I think every county's going to have to look at that and say, does that make sense for their county. I know I'm in Collier County. I'm not sure that they, we do any new manufactured housing here, but every county's going to have to look at that. At the same time, you know people that they want to live in Florida. They want to live in the Sunshine State. And, you know, the more expensive housing you have, it makes it difficult for people to live there. So I guess it's a balance.
CHUCK TODD:
Well, I guess, I hear you but – you know, at what point is affordability – you know, I get that you want to err on the side of affordability. At the same time, you want to get to safety. And the fact of the matter is these mobile manufactured homes – I understand it's a county by county decision here – but should the state step in? I mean, there's a reason why you can't get property insurance right now in many places in Florida, and this might be one of the reasons.
SEN. RICK SCOTT:
Yeah. I think the state has to look at all these things. I think that the – you know, you’ve – I mean, look, Chuck, I should know, I grew up in a poor family. So I always think about the cost of things because, you know, you impact the poorest families every time you raise the cost of something. But you also want to keep people safe. So we also have to always look at how do you make sure people evacuate, get out of harm's way as quickly as possible? I know it was a big issue that I focused on when I was governor. It's sort of all of the above, Chuck. You do have to look at what housing should we allow to make sure people are always going to be safe?
CHUCK TODD:
What's the best way to get insurance companies to do business in the state of Florida? Is it stricter building codes?
SEN. RICK SCOTT:
I think it's sort of, you have to have stricter building codes. You have to make sure that, you know, you learn from every, every storm. But then on top of that, you've got to make sure there's no fraud. We've got to, we've got to really crack down on fraud. When I was governor, we worked hard to – every year, you had to work on making sure that there wasn't fraud in the insurance market because who pays for that? The consumers do. And the poorest families end up paying for it the most because somebody takes advantage of the system. So what you've got to do is every year, what we had to do is we had to look at what's going on in the insurance market, where there's fraud, and how do we eliminate it? And that's something the state's going to have to do very aggressively because, as you know, property insurance has gotten too expensive and we're losing the insurance companies that want to write here. Our insurance companies are going out of business because they can't afford to write here.
CHUCK TODD:
You and Senator Rubio have already sent a letter requesting additional funds and resources for the state of Florida. This is probably not going to be a controversial vote, but when Governor DeSantis was Congressman DeSantis, he voted against a similar bill to help out the victims in the states of Superstorm Sandy. And at the time, he said, "I sympathize with the victims of Hurricane Sandy and believe that those who purchased flood insurance should have their claims paid. At the same time, allowing the program to increase its debt by another $9.7 billion with no plan to offset the spending with cuts elsewhere is not fiscally responsible." There are going to be some other members of Congress who don't want to support this supplemental. What's your message to them, who may have the same mindset that then-Congressman DeSantis had?
SEN. RICK SCOTT:
Well, I think what you have to do is you have to, you have to, you know, spend your money wisely, but you do need – I mean, the federal government is a partner in this. And I learned that as governor. The federal government is a major partner in helping families, helping businesses, helping governments get back to, get back to normal. But you don't want to waste money. As an example, I put a lot of effort into cracking down on the significant fraud in the debris pickup market and what happens after a hurricane. And I've been actually trying to get the bill passed since I've been up there – I've been up there almost four years – to fix that because there is abuse in this. But we do have to provide disaster aid. And whether that's for a hurricane, or whether that's for flooding, or whether that's for wildfires, we've got to do that. And, you know, I hope people will, you know, continue to support and I think we ought to be doing – we've got to come up with a way to do this where it's a longer term strategy.
CHUCK TODD:
We're 37 days away from Election Day. You’ve got another part of your job is Senate Republicans, trying to get them to win the Senate. Do you believe the Republicans are on track to get control of the Senate?
SEN. RICK SCOTT:
Well, most of my effort right now is on hurricane relief for this hurricane. But absolutely. I think we're at 52 seats, plus. If you look at Biden’s numbers are really bad. People have rejected the Biden agenda. We have great candidates. The Democrats have to defend what Biden's done. So I think it's going to be a good November for Republicans. But you know, we've got to keep working hard every day.
CHUCK TODD:
Was it a mistake for Lindsey Graham to offer up that abortion ban at 15 weeks? Did that complicate your efforts to win the Senate?
SEN. RICK SCOTT:
Chuck, you know, everybody’s – you know, Democrats have talked a lot about that this year, so every candidate's been talking about what their position is on abortion. So I think, I think it's important that people tell people what their position is. And it's being done state by state, all across the country.
CHUCK TODD:
So you don't think it should be done at the federal level?
SEN. RICK SCOTT:
Well, I mean look, you can – there’s arguments to do it at the federal level. Right now, all the candidates are taking positions. They've been taking positions since, you know, the Dobbs decision when the first leak came out. So I don't know if what Lindsey put out changed the conversation, but it is an important issue for the country. I'm pro-life, as you know. I think we ought to have reasonable restrictions. I think a lot of people are comfortable with 15 weeks, and exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, but every candidate gets to make their choice.
CHUCK TODD:
Senator Rick Scott, a Republican senator from Florida, also the former governor, from Naples this morning. Everybody I think's a Floridian this morning and we're all hoping for the best as recovery efforts continue. Thank you, sir.
SEN.RICK SCOTT:
Yeah. Pray for all the families, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
President Biden approved an emergency declaration in North Carolina on Saturday as Ian moved through that state. Four people have died in North Carolina, and more than 200,000 remain without power in a state that also has its own history of deadly storms. And North Carolina governor, Democrat Roy Cooper, joins me now. Governor Cooper, let me just start with, look, North Carolina was spared compared to Florida, but the fact is you had four fatalities, you've got some power outages. What's the situation? What's the latest?
GOV. ROY COOPER:
Well, we had a peak of over 400,000 power outages, and now we're at about 33,000. We've got about 48 roads closed. Our hearts go out to the people who lost their lives. And certainly we have avoided the worst of it, and we sympathize with the people in Florida. We've offered help to them. We already have some logistical help on the ground in Florida. And since the storm has passed North Carolina, we are already in discussions with Florida officials to try to make sure that we help them. This is a time when we all have to pull together to make sure that people are safe. A lot of times people lose their lives in the aftermath, trying to repair homes, running generators. We had a man die because he was running a generator inside a garage and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. So the after effects of these disasters are always critical, and we need to pay attention to it.
CHUCK TODD:
Let's talk about rebuilding from these disasters. North Carolina has had to do it. Florida has had to do it quite a few times. Is it time to put more strings when it comes to rebuilding so that every dollar that's spent is done for resiliency, so that it's better for the next time? And who should pay for that?
GOV. ROY COOPER:
North Carolina has had a front row seat when it comes to the effects of climate change, and we are making sure that we become a clean energy safe haven and that we are paying attention to resiliency. I've done a climate risk assessment and resiliency plan. You have to make tough decisions when you rebuild. We've had two 500-year floods within 23 months of each other. And we know that that's not true anymore. We know that these areas are vulnerable. So what we're doing is making sure that we are using strategies like elevation and even buyouts. We've gone into local communities, they've gotten hit several times, it has just become better to make sure that we create green space with the place where homes and businesses used to be, to soak up water that may come from a river flood and then to relocate people. Those are tough decisions, but they're going on right now. We also need to make sure that our electric grid is more resilient, and I'm thankful for the federal help that's come in that arena. We know that we're going to be working on updating our grid, making sure that we are more resilient into the future.
CHUCK TODD:
Look, should flood insurance be mandatory in the state of North Carolina at this point if you own a home? Obviously, you guys have been dealing with a lot of flooding risk. And should we be banning mobile manufactured housing?
GOV. ROY COOPER:
Well, we think that mobile manufactured housing built in the right way and sometimes elevated can be good for people to make sure that they have an affordable place to live. We are pushing and encouraging people to buy flood insurance. We know that particularly in these areas that are hit time and again that we've got to be more resilient. So I think all of those issues have to be on the table.
CHUCK TODD:
Like Senator Scott, you have a secondary job. As well as an elected official, you head up the Democratic Governors Association, you're the campaign arm, to help Democrats either win governorships or get reelected. Let me ask you this. You, a year ago, thought you would expand the number of Democratic governorships. You still confident of that this November?
GOV. ROY COOPER:
I still think we can, but remember we are swimming upstream. When you look at history, the party of the White House doesn't do well in the first midterm. In fact, I think in 2010, Republicans flipped 11 governors seats after two years of the President Obama administration. And in 2014, I think they flipped four seats. So we've got a lot of incumbents to defend because in 2018, Democratic governors did well. And it's really important that we have Democratic governors across this country, particularly when you look at the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court. What we thought were constitutional rights and freedoms are now going to be tossed to state capitals and state legislatures. And it matters who your governor is. So we think that we have a good chance even for pick-ups, not just defending our area but for pick-ups as well, even in an historically difficult time.
CHUCK TODD:
Your organization, the DGA, has spent money to promote election deniers in Republican primaries. You did it in Illinois, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Are you comfortable with that? These election deniers won, and Pennsylvania's poll numbers are close. If one of them wins, you going to regret it?
GOV. ROY COOPER:
First, there were no Liz Cheneys running for governor across this country. Second, these were big front-runners and won by big margins. And was – is important for the DGA to make sure that voters are reminded of these candidates' extreme positions even during the primary because what you are seeing now is some of these candidates trying to moderate their positions. And the DGA was running the same message during primaries that they are in the general election about the extreme nature of these candidates. The goal here is to defend our democracy, to make sure we defend rights and freedoms, that we get competent people as CEOs of our state.
We know how important it is. And I think it's critical that people look closely at their candidates for governor as we approach this midterm because those governors are going to be making big decisions that affect everyday people's lives.
CHUCK TODD:
All right. Governor, Roy Cooper, a Democratic incumbent governor who's not on the ballot this time, you guys are always on the presidential cycle in North Carolina, head of DGA but also dealing -- I hope, hope, hope your death toll stays as it is and we get power on soon. Thank you, Governor.
GOV. ROY COOPER:
Thanks, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
And if you want to help the victims of Hurricane Ian you can donate to these organizations that we've isolated here: Volunteer Florida, the Red Cross, and of course World Central Kitchen. They're delivering meals right now to communities impacted by the storm. When we come back, Vladimir Putin's dangerous escalation of the war in Ukraine, a rising nuclear threat and Russia's attempts to try to pull NATO into the conflict. I'm going to talk to the NATO Secretary General next.
CHUCK TODD:
Welcome back. Now to the other big story. Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning he will use all the power and all the means at his disposal to defend the Ukrainian territory Russia has illegally taken. On Friday, Putin said the United States created a precedent for using nuclear weapons by using them in World War II.
And just hours after Putin's speech, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy responded by announcing his country was submitting a fast-track application to join NATO. NATO Secretary General called Putin's land grab the largest attempted annexation of European territory by force since the Second World War.
And NATO is warning it will retaliate for any attacks on the critical infrastructure of its 30 member countries. That statement follows the massive explosion which produced leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany. President Biden echoed that warning himself on Friday.
[BEGIN TAPE]
PRES. JOE BIDEN:
America is fully prepared, with our NATO allies, to defend every single inch of NATO territory. Every single inch. So Mr. Putin, don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Every inch.
[END TAPE]
CHUCK TODD:
And NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg joins me now. Mr. Secretary, welcome back to Meet the Press. Let me start with --
JENS STOLTENBERG:
Thanks so much for having me.
CHUCK TODD:
Yes. Let me start with the president's comments: every inch. I'll use internationally: any meter. Does the Nord Stream pipeline, if that is a Russian attack, does that count as an attack on a NATO nation?
JENS STOLTENBERG:
Let me first express my condolences to all those affected by the hurricane that has created so much damage in the United States over the last days. Then, on the pipelines, as what we have seen is a very serious situation where two pipelines have been damaged.
All evidence points, again, that this is sabotage deliberately done by someone against these pipelines. What is important now is that we support the ongoing investigation, so we get the best possible picture of what happened and are able to establish all of the facts. Any deliberate attack on critical NATO infrastructure will be met with a firm and united response from NATO.
CHUCK TODD:
Are you concerned-- Do you think Vladimir Putin is trying to coax NATO into this conflict?
JENS STOLTENBERG:
He has tried again and again to tell a story that NATO is party to the conflict and that NATO caused this conflict. That's absolutely wrong. First of all, this is a war that President Putin has started. It's a war by his choice. Second, NATO's not party to this conflict. What we do is that we provide support to Ukraine, an independent, sovereign nation in Europe, that has the right to defend itself against a war of aggression. And this is a right actually enshrined in the U.N. Charter, and therefore we will continue to provide support to Ukraine to defend themselves.
CHUCK TODD:
What's your level of concern about the nuclear threat right now?
JENS STOLTENBERG:
The rhetoric by President Putin, the nuclear rhetoric, is dangerous. It's reckless. But it's actually something we have heard several times before. But that doesn't change the fact that this is dangerous. That's also a reason why we have so clearly conveyed to President Putin that any use of nuclear weapons will have severe consequences for Russia. It will, of course, totally change the nature of the conflict. And we have also made it clear that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. And this is a message that NATO and NATO allies convey clearly to Russia.
CHUCK TODD:
You said something on Friday that got our attention. You said this, you said, "Inaction is a great risk, because that will create a world where Putin will see that, with impunity, he can use military force, invade the neighbor, and then establish a sphere of influence." And this is your reaction to his annexation here on this. Inaction. What is your fear? That-- Is the NATO alliance not going to respond to this illegal annexation? And should the NATO alliance respond to it?
JENS STOLTENBERG:
The best way to respond is to do exactly what we do now, not least the United States, demonstrating leadership in providing support to Ukraine. And we will continue to support Ukraine with military equipment, economic, financial support. And I welcome the just recent announcement by President Biden of further U.S. support. Over the weekend, we also have new announcements from Germany, from France, Denmark, Norway, the Slovak Republic, and many others. So allies are stepping up their support to Ukraine. And that's the best way to ensure that these territories-- they are part of Ukraine and that Ukraine is actually able to liberate and retake occupied territory. And over this weekend, again, we have seen that they have been able to take a new town, Lyman.And that demonstrates that the Ukrainians are making progress, are able to push back the Russian forces because of their courage, because of their bravery and skills. But, of course, also because of the advanced weapons that the United States and other allies are providing. And this is making a difference on the battlefield every day.
CHUCK TODD:
Ukraine's NATO application, they fast tracked it. Will NATO fast track Ukraine into the alliance?
JENS STOLTENBERG:
NATO has an open door policy. And every nation, including, of course, also Ukraine, has the right to choose its own path, including what kind of security arrangements it wants to be a part of. At the same time, any decision on membership has to be taken by consensus. All 30 allies have to agree to make such a decision. And the main focus, the top priority now among NATO allies and partners, is to support Ukraine. They need more support. They need continued support. And that's the message I conveyed to President Zelenskyy when I spoke to him a few days ago. And that's the message from NATO leaders and, again, not least from the United States, which really makes a difference and matters when we see the war going on in Ukraine.
CHUCK TODD:
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of the NATO alliance, appreciate you coming on and sharing the NATO perspective with us. Up next, the momentum has shifted a bit in the midterm races. Our panel is here to discuss it.
CHUCK TODD:
We are back, and let's bring in the panel: Susan Page, Washington Bureau Chief for USA TODAY; Julio Vaqueiro, anchor of Noticias Telemundo; Stephen Hayes, editor of The Dispatch; and Symone Sanders-Townsend, host of “Symone” on MSNBC, and the former chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris. All right. Let's set the table here. One thing we've seen, Susan Page, that a lot of people said, "Let's see what happens," which is there's going to be a lot of money spent in September, so let's see where the midterms look at the end of September when Democrats were feeling really good at the beginning. And a bunch of the key races have moved. Look at – Pennsylvania here I think is the first one that we have up. In August, I believe we had a big lead for Fetterman. It has now shrunk to just four points, according to a Fox News poll. Go to Wisconsin. Our friends at Marquette had Barnes up seven in August. Now he’s down one in the most recent poll. And even in Georgia, we've seen, while Raphael Warnock still leads, his lead has narrowed. So money has mattered, but what's the bigger story: that Republicans have caught up in some of these races or that Democrats haven't fallen back?
SUSAN PAGE:
You know, I think one thing that we found is abortion was an issue that really helped Democrats. Now crime is an issue that is increasingly helping Republicans, along with the issue of inflation. And one thing we've seen, for instance, in Wisconsin is that the Democratic candidate there, Mandela Barnes, has been caught up in the same phenomenon that some Republican candidates have found, which is things you said in the past maybe when you weren't running for this particular office have resurfaced and portray you as extreme. In that race, Ron Johnson has not improved his favorable ratings.
CHUCK TODD:
No.
SUSAN PAGE:
He has improved – he has made higher Barnes' unfavorable ratings. And now more than 40% see Barnes as too extreme, just like more than 40% see Johnson as too extreme.
CHUCK TODD:
Julio, what are you seeing?
JULIO VAQUEIRO:
So I think historically, we know the party in government does badly during these midterm elections. So we're looking at these numbers, and a tight race for Democrats to me looks like a good scenario still, although they still need to fight. And it's an uphill battle for them. If they manage to keep these numbers tight, it looks like, with the economy as it is, and with the inflation as it is, it looks so far, so good for them.
CHUCK TODD:
What are you seeing, Steve?
STEPHEN HAYES:
Well, I think Julio's right. I mean, what's really notable at this point I think is the fact that Republicans aren't doing better. Given the historical trends --
CHUCK TODD:
So you look at it that way?
STEPHEN HAYES:
– given this economy. Well, look at the economy. I mean, you're talking about right track, wrong track of 27 to 65. You're talking about groceries costing 13% more --
CHUCK TODD:
You think this should --
STEPHEN HAYES:
– today?
CHUCK TODD:
– be a blowout already?
STEPHEN HAYES:
Yeah, it should be a blowout already. Mitch McConnell said this within the past couple weeks: candidates matter. I think the Republicans have nominated candidates in many of these races that ought to have been easier races for Republicans, who appealed to a Trumpy Republican party in the primaries but have less appeal across the general electorate. And that’s – I think that's a challenge.
CHUCK TODD:
By the way, Symone, before you chime in here, we've put together something. You know, gas prices have gone down.
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
Yes.
CHUCK TODD:
Right?
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
Consistently over the summer.
CHUCK TODD:
And that's really helped Democrats. So guess what? The advertising against – on the inflation issue has changed from gas to another liquid. Take a look.
[START TAPE]
MANDELA BARNES:
Most senators couldn't tell you the cost of a gallon of milk.
REP. NANCY MACE:
Just think about the cost of breakfast today. Milk is $4 a gallon.
FEMALE VOICE:
A gallon of milk in the last year has gone up so much. Everything costs more.
REP. DON BACON:
While wages are flat, milk is up 60%, eggs almost 40%, and even bacon is up. And I take that personally.
[END TAPE]
CHUCK TODD:
Yes. That’s Don Bacon. So, Symone, I mean, part of it – it's funny, the gas price issue was so front and center in people's minds that it did seem to, as it went down, Democratic numbers went up. Certainly, Biden's numbers went up. So you saw a shift to milk.
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
A shift to milk and groceries.
CHUCK TODD:
Yeah.
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
And folks that probably hadn't been to the grocery store in a while found themselves in the aisles --
CHUCK TODD:
By the way, I've seen --
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
– looking for their --
CHUCK TODD:
– a lot of candidates --
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
– different kinds of brands.
CHUCK TODD:
– shopping. And you're right, they don't look like they've done this very often.
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
They have not been there before. Look, I think the issue of gas prices is something that the White House has a competition council and, a gas – basically, a task force that meets every day. And it's their job to figure out how to get prices down. Their focus was gas prices for a while. Obviously, the work that they did made a difference. Gas prices have gone down. It's my understanding that now they are talking about more what is happening at the grocery store. I will say this, though. I think that what I'm seeing in these races is that when you – if you are a candidate that is being besieged by negative ads, the way to do something about how that is affecting the numbers is to do a targeted look on what is working. And in every race that I have worked, that is what the candidates have had to do. So the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has to work with these Senate campaigns. The DGA has to work with these gubernatorial campaigns to figure out what is sticking and then how they can counter that. I have no doubt that Gary – Senator Gary Peters, who is no stranger to this, is doing that.
CHUCK TODD:
Susan, I want to pivot a little bit to Donald Trump. He has used some – as always, his rhetoric seems to get more extreme and we get sometimes numb to it. He issued a death threat against – I don't know any other way to put it, against Mitch McConnell. I'll let viewers decide whether this is a death threat to them. "Is McConnell approving all these trillions of dollars worth of Democrat-sponsored bills without even the slightest bit of negotiation because he hates Donald J. Trump?" And then, "He has a death wish. Must immediately seek help and advice from his China-loving wife, Coco Chow." So, very racist attack against his wife. It was just extraordinary. And there seems to be a numbness now to this, particularly among Republicans.
SUSAN PAGE:
An attack not against a Democrat.
CHUCK TODD:
Yeah.
SUSAN PAGE:
This is against the Capitol’s leading Republican figure. And as you said, the death threat, which the Trump people say was meant in a kind of rhetorical manner, you can't explain --
CHUCK TODD:
There's nothing --
SUSAN PAGE:
– away.
CHUCK TODD:
– funnier than death threats.
SUSAN PAGE:
Yeah, especially --
CHUCK TODD:
I didn't understand --
SUSAN PAGE:
– in this climate.
CHUCK TODD:
– their spin. Yeah.
SUSAN PAGE:
In this climate, where many members of Congress are getting a lot of death threats and have to spend money on security, it's especially not humorous. And the racial slur I think is very hard to explain away. But, you know, Trump is on the ballot this year in any number of these races, in races where he got candidates, the candidates he wanted on the ballot that Democrats are now exploiting their ties to. Maybe on some of these cases, he'll win. But he is on the ballot as much as --
STEPHEN HAYES:
But he's on --
SUSAN PAGE:
– Joe Biden is.
STEPHEN HAYES:
– the ballot. I mean, I think your first point is a really important point. He's not spending his time attacking Democrats, right now? I mean, he's attacking them in his speeches. He's criticizing Democrats at his rallies. But he's not spending money. I mean, Donald Trump's PACs raised millions --
CHUCK TODD:
Still isn’t spending money.
STEPHEN HAYES:
$100 million dollars. Where is that money going to Republican candidates? It's really not.
CHUCK TODD:
Julio, we're seeing him still more popular in South Florida than he was four years ago, right?
JULIO VAQUEIRO:
Totally. Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting. But it's also interesting how Trump is in the battle, and Democrats know it. And the message from Democratic candidates is also about defending democracy and criticizing Trump. So at the same time, Democrats I think are using him as an asset.
CHUCK TODD:
All right. Before I go, Symone, I want to – the Jackie Walorski moment from President Biden. I'm going to play a clip of it and of Karine Jean-Pierre's response and get you to respond to it. Here it is.
[START TAPE]
PRES. JOE BIDEN:
Jackie, are you here? Where's Jackie? I think she was going to be here.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE:
I just explained. She was on top of mind, you know? This wasn’t – what we were able to witness today and what the president was able to lift up in this – at this conference, at this event, was how – her focus on wanting to deal with, combat food insecurity in America.
[END TAPE]
CHUCK TODD:
Just to put it, Jackie Walorski died in a car accident in, I believe it was in August. She was a big part of this hunger – and so that's how this moment came about. Symone, how would you have handled that situation?
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
Look, Karine Jean-Pierre has a very tough job. And I think she goes out there every single day. And a number of people could not do what she does every day. Look, I think it's very clear that the president had a slip of the tongue, obviously. And I'm sure he is extremely apologetic to the family of the congresswoman if he caused them anymore trauma or agony. No one – I mean, I think everyone understands that the president unfortunately uniquely understands how the family is feeling, and I'm sure he made that very clear to them when they came to the White House on Friday. I think just to acknowledge it, he had a slip of the tongue. Move on. It's unfortunate. Again, life is here. He understands and empathized. I think that's what's most important here. And I think Karine did try to do that.
CHUCK TODD:
People make mistakes, and you to try to --
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It is life.
CHUCK TODD:
– go from there.
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
We've all done it before.
CHUCK TODD:
Fair enough. All right. Before we go to break, this week on Meet the Press Reports, the more armed Americans are, the more armed Americans are getting, and the farther the country moves away from agreeing on effective gun safety legislation. My colleague Cal Perry talks to a diverse group of gun owners about the safety measures they want, the ones they fear, and the impact of gun culture on American life.
[START TAPE]
MICHELLE DOUGLAS:
You're never going to get rid of the guns off the streets. That ship has sailed. It's too late. There are too many guns out here on the street. And there are too many people that don't follow the rules. So lift the restrictions on people like me.
[END TAPE]
CHUCK TODD:
You can watch the full episode of Meet the Press Reports: America's Gun Culture on YouTube, Roku, AppleTV, or wherever you get NBC News. And when we come back, new numbers from the NBC News Telemundo Poll. How critical will Latinos be in deciding which party controls Congress?
CHUCK TODD:
Welcome back. Data Download time. In 2020, Latino voters made up about 13% of the presidential vote. The bloc though is only growing, meaning these voters could be key to understanding where the nation's electorate is headed. Our new NBC News Telemundo Poll offers some clues about how the Latino vote both differs from and aligns with the overall American electorate. Republicans do believe they can make some inroads. So let's take a look. To start, this is where Democrats have an advantage. Latino voters are much younger than the overall electorate. Thirty-eight percent fall between the ages of 18 to 34. Only a quarter of American voters overall are in that age group. Latino voters are less likely to have a college degree than voters in the electorate overall. But it is a gap that has been closing over the last decade. And Latino voters, while they still lean pretty Democratic, this 21-point gap actually isn't as big as it was in past elections. So there is that going on. And if you dig a little further, you'll see a split in the Latino vote that is actually all too familiar in the broader electorate. It's a political divide between urban and rural voters. So even though Latinos prefer a Democratic Congress by 21 points overall, the advantage varies significantly depending on where you live. As you can see here, urban Latinos give Democrats a 28-point advantage. That continues to decrease basically as you get closer to rural America. Suburban voters, the advantage is just 13 points, and it's down to single digits. This is why Republicans think they can make inroads in South Texas. And then there are demographic divisions that also look similar. On the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, urban Latinos disapprove of that decision by 26 points. But again, as you move geographically, just over half of Latinos in suburbs disapprove, and in rural areas that gap was just four points. And then finally, Latino Republicans are actually more likely to identify with Donald Trump over the party than the overall GOP electorate. Check this out. Fifty-five percent of Latino Republicans still say they're a Republican more than they're a Trump supporter. But 40% call themselves a Trump supporter. It's a 15-point gap. In our most recent poll of Republicans overall, it was a 25-point gap. Fascinating. Up next, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson makes history as she takes her seat on the Supreme Court. But she joins at a time of growing public distrust in the High Court.
CHUCK TODD:
Welcome back. I want to dig more into our poll, and we did it with my friends here at Telemundo. Julio, a few other nuggets I want to throw out there. Among Latinos, the president's job rating was at 51%. That's actually not good for a Democratic president. You know, we have a report in Nevada about how the biggest fear Democrats have is not Latinos voting Republican, it's Latinos voting to not vote.
JULIO VAQUEIRO:
Yes.
CHUCK TODD:
What is the mood of the Latino electorate?
JULIO VAQUEIRO:
So Latinos are the fastest-growing group of voters. And the numbers are there. Latino voters make up about one out of ten voters. But they are also very unhappy. I mean, the pandemic hit them very hard. The economy is hitting them very hard. Inflation is hitting. They are unhappy about the job quality. And if you see the main issues Latinos care about, they are right there. They're economy, job quality. So yeah, this is a concern. And this can make things very difficult for Democrats. And also, the way Republicans are gaining space in that gap between Democrats and Republicans.
CHUCK TODD:
You know, Symone, during the 2020 campaign, a lot of people were sounding this alarm. And whether it was because of the pandemic, did the campaign not respond well enough, or was that a pandemic issue? But it now looks more acute than ever.
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
Look, I think it is very important that Democratic candidates – Latino voters are persuadable. Voters, Black voters, are persuadable voters.
CHUCK TODD:
But you have to treat them as persuadable voters--
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
And you have to treat them as persuadable voters. And oftentimes, Democratic campaigns do not do that. They show up late. They show up 37 days before Election Day, drop a couple ads, sprinkle a couple of leaflets, and think that that is enough. And that is not going to get the job done.
CHUCK TODD:
How much are Republicans counting on Latinos to get them? I mean, you look at South Texas. You look at Nevada, another state they're trying to make inroads as the GOP?
STEPHEN HAYES:
Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't say that Republicans are counting on them, but I think they see an opportunity there. If you look at the gains that Republicans made among Latino voters in 2020, a number of the post-mortem studies of that election show that Republicans did well, did better than expected. And I think if you look at the way that the economy is affecting Latino voters, it's just like the economy's affecting lots of voters. And there's a polling question that we had that showed that 54% of Latinos say that they're falling behind faster than the cost of living. That's a problem for Joe Biden.
CHUCK TODD:
You know, Susan, I want to put up the – what Latinos' views on the Supreme Court decision, on Roe v. Wade, because what's been interesting, and what you see here, is that it looks like the electorate overall, the approval for it is only 37%. That's the electorate overall. Disapproval, a little lower, but not that much lower. But what's interesting here, Democrats, for instance, are not talking about Dobbs in South Texas in those Congressional races. It's the one place. It is a slightly more conservative, religious conservative community.
SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND:
And that's always been an entrée for Republicans toward Hispanic voters, because they are culturally more conservative. And one thing I think we've seen is where Hispanic voters used to be able to count on them for Democrats because of their ethnicity as an alliance with the party that has represented minorities, now, I think they're increasingly willing to vote their class, to vote the fact that they tend to be voters who do not have a college education, who are working in jobs that have been hard hit. And that I think accounts for some of the appeal, especially among Latino men who are drawn to Donald Trump.
JULIO VAQUEIRO:
Yeah, I think that's something important that this polls shows off, is just how diverse the community is. And we talk a lot about that, but I don't think it's always understood. Latinos are just like any other ethnic group. It's important where they live. It's important their age, where they come from, how they got to this country. And that makes the Latino vote such a diverse vote. There's no one Latino vote.
CHUCK TODD:
Julio, I'm curious. The decision by Governor DeSantis to take Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard, how did that play in South Florida with the Venezuelan community?
JULIO VAQUEIRO:
Well, I mean, we will have to wait and see November 8th. But I don’t think – they didn't receive it properly. Because this has been a party has been condemning governments in Nicaragua and Venezuela and Cuba, and yet you see these immigrants coming in, asking for asylum, and they are just turning their backs to them. So we will wait and see for the reaction on November 8th.
CHUCK TODD:
But it certainly seemed like a riskier decision--
JULIO VAQUEIRO:
Yes.
CHUCK TODD:
--the way South Florida politics works. Really appreciate you guys today. And before we go, Meet the Press was honored with an Emmy Award this week for Outstanding News Discussion and Analysis. More than a year after protests erupted across the country following the killing of George Floyd, our special broadcast was focused on schools, America, and race. Examined the battle over critical race theory and how children should learn about America's troubled racial history. We're proud of the entire Meet the Press team, the Meet the Press Reports team, where this story first started. And it is an honor for all of us. So thank you for that. That's all for today. Thanks for watching. We'll be back next week because if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.