Meet the Press - March 10, 2024 Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Eugene Daniels, Sara Fagen, Marc Morial and Kelly O'Donnell

Interview

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Thank you. Thank you very much.

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Yes, ma'am.

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Good.

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Okay.

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No, I really don't. I'd like to help the humanitarian crisis but when the president of the United States talks about Bibi and not Hamas, we're missing the boat here. When you talk about red lines against Israel, we should be talking about red lines against Iran. Israel's not killing American soldiers. Iran is, through their proxies. So, I would urge President Biden to hold the great Satan, Iran, accountable for killing soldiers in Jordan and attacking shipping. So, yeah, I think he's got it backwards. We should be all-in in helping Israel. We should try to help the humanitarian crisis. But don't say or do anything that would empower our enemy.

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There –

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Right.

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There will be.

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Just stay tuned in that area. I think Israel will be coming up with some sea corridor relief ideas. But the line that struck me the most in the State of the Union: He told Hamas, "If you release the hostages, the war will be over." I literally about fell out of my seat. Is the president saying that if the hostages are released by Hamas, they can stay in power? That ends the conflict? I want to be very clear about this: President Trump believes it's non negotiable when it comes to Hamas.

They have to be destroyed militarily. They can't be in charge. So, I'm challenging the Biden administration today to clear this up. You cannot allow Hamas to stay in power. You can't allow them to have six brigades to do October the 7th again. So, the hostage issue is important. But we have to have a nonnegotiable policy when it comes to destroying the military capability of Hamas.

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Well, he shouldn't have said, “The war is over if you release the hostages." It will not be over.

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Yes.

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Right.

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Yeah --

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Yeah. Yeah.

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Yeah.

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We're $34 trillion in debt. Nobody wants to help Ukraine more than I do. But President Trump is trying to do two things here: help an ally but tell the American people, "Pay us back if you can." I think most Americans would like to help Ukraine. But the idea of giving and never being repaid should be off the table. He mentioned this to me, I think, playing golf. "Why don't we make it a loan?" Well, we did that in World War II with Britain. So, when you're $34 trillion in debt, you need to be thinking about the American people, just not allies. So, I think the loan is the way to get the aid to Ukraine. He will be speaking, President Trump, to the speaker tomorrow or Tuesday about turning the aid into a loan. It'd be forgivable, no interest. They have tons of minerals in Ukraine. "You get back on your feet, try to pay us back."

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Yes.

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I can't imagine--

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--any member of Congress would object to trying to get our allies to pay us back when we're $34 trillion in debt if they can. We're talking about a waivable, no-interest loan. But the idea of not changing when you're this far in debt-- I think most people would welcome it.

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No. I mean, I've voted against things that, you know, he doesn't like. The point is, to Lisa: Would you support the idea that our allies should pay us back if they can when we're $34 trillion in debt? This is America First in action. It's not isolationism, but it is considering the needs of the American people. I hope to be going to Ukraine soon, and I hope to be able to tell them, “The aid is coming. It will be in the form of a loan. Pay us back if you can." I want Russia to know: If you think Ukraine's going to be out of this fight, you're dead wrong.

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Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

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Well, then we’re not – then it'll be waivable, no interest. We're not trying to make money here. We're trying to protect the interest of the American people. They're sitting on some of the most rich mineral deposits in the history of Europe. If they can get back on their feet with our help, see if they can pay us back. Same with Taiwan. So, Senator Romney, what's wrong with asking people to pay us back, if they can?

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Right.

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Yeah.

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This is the best chance I've seen since I've been up here to have true border security reform. To those who think that if President Trump wins, which I hope he does, that we can get a better deal, you won't.

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Yeah.

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Well, there was no real parole reform. The man who killed Laken Riley was paroled in the United States. He came from Venezuela. So, President Biden is apologizing for calling him an illegal immigrant, the alleged murderer. President Trump went to Georgia to meet with the family of Miss Riley to apologize for a country that allowed the killer to get in. So, I voted against the bill because it was insufficient on parole. But there will be border security attached to the loan idea.

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Yeah.

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Which really pissed me off.

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Yeah.

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But they--

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Good, good, good question. They also endorsed my idea: You know, have a break glass moment at 5,000. When you get to 5,000 a day, you shut down the border. The Border Patrol union said 1,000 a day is a crisis. Five thousand is a disaster. So, the bill can be made better. There will be a bill. Remain in Mexico is the key. The Border Patrol told me that if you go back to Remain in Mexico, 70% of it goes away. I think the House will pass the Remain in Mexico bill.

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No, it's not. No, it's not.

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We'll see.

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We'll see.

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We'll see.

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Yes.

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I think the best way to judge President Trump's second term is by what he did in his first term. You know, Russia didn't invade on President Trump's watch. Hamas didn't try to destroy Israel on his watch. The Afghanistan – theTaliban weren't in charge on his watch. So, here's what I would say: If you're worried about the world being on fire, you're right. If you think Joe Biden's policies lack a deterrence and he's weak in the eyes of our enemies, you're right. So, if you want to get the world back in order, you'd better vote for Trump.

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Yeah, you know what he said? Retribution would be success. Did a – you know, who knocked Trump off the ballot in Colorado? Who knocked Trump off the ballot in Maine--

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There's a liberal jihad against everything Trump. I'm not worried about Trump--

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--destroying democracy.

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I'm worried Joe Biden is destroying the world.

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Yeah, but--

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But the point you're trying to ask me: Is Trump bad for this country?

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I would say that--

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--Joe Biden's policies are bad for America--

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--and have got the world on fire.

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Who is a member of NATO – who just voted to –

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– let Sweden in.

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Orbán is not on the ballot.

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Let's have a debate. Okay--

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--Orbán is not on the ballot. You've got to vote between Trump and Biden. Biden has screwed the world up every way you can: broken borders, the world's on fire. If he really is back, if he's with it, if he's energetic, get in a room with Donald Trump and debate. Take questions from people like yourself, rather than reading a teleprompter. If there's ever an election in the history of America that deserves debate between the two candidates, it's this election. Trump just told me, the campaign just told me, "Anytime, anywhere. Let's debate."

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Sure.

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Okay.

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Right. Right.

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Right.

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That was in reference to NATO paying their fair share. There are 19 nations that don't pay the 2% they're supposed to. When Trump was president--

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--he had a four-- let me finish.

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No, no, that's not-- you shouldn't say that. The point is Russia didn't invade Ukraine when Trump was president. The world - the Arabs recognized Israel through the Abraham Accords when Trump was president. If you want to look at who's the most stable person for the world, Biden versus Trump, Trump wins in a landslide.

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But he didn't do it. Biden did it.

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Okay.

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Yes.

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Yeah.

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I think the goal is to make sure American data that TikTok collects doesn't fall in the hands of the Communist Chinese Party. I'm really conflicted here. I know this about social media: They're ruining America. Sexual predators abound on these sites. You can't sue social media companies. There's no regulatory body. That's what I'm focused on. Banning TikTok, maybe that's necessary to protect American data from China. But if you can find a way to avoid that, that'd be good, too.

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No, no, I understand people like TikTok. I would like to keep TikTok running but not have our data used by the Communist Chinese Party.

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I don't know yet. I mean, I'm just being honest with you--

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I am definitely conflicted. But one thing I'm not conflicted about: Every social media company should be sued if they do damage to you and your family. They're protected from lawsuits. Section 230 needs to go.

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Thank you.

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