Meet the Press - February 25, 2023 Jake Sullivan, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), Yamiche Alcindor, Lanhee Chen, Stephanie Cutter and Chuck Todd

Interview

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He's speaking with clarity, moral clarity, forcefully. The vice president's speaking with moral clarity forcefully all across this country. We've defined the lines of this debate. We've been on the offense, not on the defense. The Republican Party is on the defense on this issue. You saw that with the flip flops of Haley. You see that in terms of Trump, though he's still trying to figure out exactly his position because he's out there celebrating the fact he created these conditions in the first place. But here's the point I want to make, and that's what this ad's about. The conditions are much more pernicious than they even appear.

These guys are not just restricting the rights, self-determination to bear a child for a young child – young woman. But they're also determining their fate as it relates to their future in life by saying they can't even travel. These travel restrictions modeled after a version that passed in Idaho is now being proposed in Tennessee, in Oklahoma, in Mississippi. The AG himself of Alabama wants to criminalize travel, not just for children but for adults seeking reproductive care. That's how serious this moment is. And we need to be even more aggressive, I would argue. And that's what this ad represents.

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I have – there's no daylight in their efforts and the work they're doing. And they are investigating exactly where their position can land in terms of the law itself. But the end of the day, this is a serious threat. Not just what's happening in Alabama, regardless of what Trump tweets out, saying the legislature in Alabama should do about – something about this. I worry about the United States Supreme Court that, again, set the tone and tenor for the debate we're having today. And again, it's not just a war on travel. It's not just a war on reproductive health care. It's also a war on women more broadly defined, including, as we know, contraceptives.

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Yeah.

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Generous of them to include exceptions. What a kind soul. And 16 weeks, it's because it's an even number?

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This is – these people aren't serious. So he supports – this is what he said. He supports a national ban. And if you're Lindsey Graham and others, they're going to bring that down well below 16. He will sign a national ban. You want to understand the contours of this debate that we will be having over the next nine months, ironically nine months, between now and November and the consequences of Democratic Party not succeeding in Biden's re-election? Just consider the fact that he said that part out loud.

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Never.

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No.

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No.

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Well, I think he's weakness masquerading as strength. I – I think he's more unhinged. He's more – he’s less interesting than he was even a few years ago. I mean, you've heard his comments just this week. More just overt racist comments that he's made. It’s just extraordinary how quickly he is unraveling in real time, including just on basic policy issues like repealing Obamacare, which is overwhelmingly supported.

The highest ACA enrollment that we've seen in decades, or rather in years and years, just the last few weeks. So the reality, at the end of the day, he's unhinged. He's a much weaker cannon than he was a few years ago. Democrats are stronger. We're winning – ‘18, ‘20, ‘22, ‘23. You saw it in New York three. We continue to win. We continue to outperform. And Donald Trump is a big part of that. And he's going to be the nominee of the Republican Party.

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Responsible? I revere his record. I mean it’s – what he's done in three years has been a masterclass. Close to 15 million jobs. That's eight times more than the last three Republican presidents combined. The economy is booming. Inflation is cooling. It's .6% more than it was in the summer of 2020. It's just 3.1%. And wait a second, we have American manufacturing coming back home all because of Biden's wisdom, because of his temperance, his capacity to lead in a bipartisan manner, which is an under-represented point. And so I have great confidence moving forward. So the answer is “absolutely all in” in terms of the next four years with Joe Biden.

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I'm not worried about that.

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Yeah.

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I think he's doing everything he needs to do. I mean, he's got an extraordinary record. He's doing everything he needs to do on Ukraine at the moment. He's doing everything he needs to do to reconcile and wrestle some common sense as it relates to a bipartisan approach to address the issue of the border where the Republicans couldn't take yes for an answer because they don't want to make that a political issue. He is leading. And so no, from my humble perspective, not only the last three years have been extraordinary, I've been out with, as you know, on the campaign trail. I was just out in California.

I've seen him up close. I've seen him from afar. But here's my point: it's because of his age that he's been so successful. It's because of the wisdom and the character that's developed over years that we have the CHIPS and Science Act, the infrastructure bill, and the PACT Act, and the Safer Communities Act. And because we've seen these bipartisan accomplishments because of his capacity of understanding, because of his leadership. So the opportunity to express that for four more years, what a gift it is for the American people. And as a Democrat, what a gift it is for me to make the case for the leader of our party, Joe Biden.

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I mean you've got to be kidding. I am – I am here celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration, making the case that we need to make to lift up the issues, lift up the record, drive contrast with the Republican nominee to beat Donald Trump –

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– so that we can win for four more years.

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C'mon.

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It's all idle chatter. It’s all irrelevant – you know what? That's a sideshow. I think what Democrats need to do is worry less, do more, continue to over-perform as we have, continue to win, make the case. Don't be ashamed of 4.1% GDP over the last two quarters. Don't be ashamed about the alliance management of the Biden-Harris administration. Don't be timid about making the case for the record of this administration.

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100%. It's not even an interesting conversation.

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And by the way, I think it's a damning conversation, frankly, the other side wants us to have. And trust me, I know the mishegoss coming from the other side. I'm deeply mindful of the anger machine and all the entertainment industry out there on Fox and elsewhere. They love ginning this stuff up. At the end of the day, not only has this train left the station, but we are – we get to enjoy a record of accomplishments as we make the case in a reelection, the likes of which we couldn't even have dreamt of even as a Democrat the last century.

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Of course he's going to be.

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Biden beat Trump in the prior debates. I look forward –

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I mean this is a guy – by the way this is pure –

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100%. Pure projection on a guy who refused to debate in his own primary. Back to my point: weakness masquerading as strength.

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Yeah.

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Well, you have to take a look –

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You have to take a look at what the executive action is. It's – it’s broad strokes. So before I sign off on any executive action, I'd like to know exactly what it is. But here's what I will say, two things: the asylum system is broken.

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Everybody knows that.

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The asylum system is broken. We know its gamed, the credible fear is – is – is manipulated. I don't think that, we know that as Democrats. I have the largest land port in the western hemisphere in the state of California. I'm going to be educated on this. I've brought the National Guard down to the border many years ago, increased their presence recently. And I applaud the president being willing to advance a bipartisan solution.

The Republican Party is responsible today now for the conditions that persist because of their unwillingness to work with this president who went farther than any Democratic president in my lifetime on a comprehensive package. And Donald Trump called them and threatened them. It shows the weakness not only of Trump, but also of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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I applaud –

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I applaud the fact that he is willing to continue to move forward with this. I applaud the fact that he's seeking strategies and solutions. I applaud that he's been trying to do that. He's been trying to get 1,500 new customs and border agents on the border, 4,300 new –

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– asylum officers on the border. He wants – President Biden supported $650 million for more wall investment. That's the Biden – that’s what Biden signed off on. So by definition he wants to make progress on the border. And yes, by definition, I support his efforts outside of the legislative path – process. Because this legislature is broken. Congress is broken.

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Good to see you.

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Good to be back. Thanks.

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