>> he did. yeah. >> i'm just so happy he can't hurt anyone else. we miss our mom, we'll never get her back. but that courtroom was full of so many people and who loved my mom. >> you found your family got justice? >> there's justice for my mom today. >> martin mcneill was sentenced to 17 years to life. but he would not serve his time in full. in april 2017, martin died of suicide. a dark ending for the story of a family that began with so much hope. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin, thank you for watching! for watching! this sunday, law and order. >> today we proved that no one is above the law. >> a judge orders donald trump to pay over $350 million after finding him liable for fraud. >> a fine of $355 million for

degree >> a fine of $355 million for doing a perfect job. >> and now a date is set for his first criminal trial in the hush money case. >> i'm going to have to sit here for months on a trial. i think it's ridiculous. it's unfair. >> while the district attorney prosecuting trump in georgia ngd takes the stand as a judge decides whether to remove her from the case. >> you're confused. co you think i'm on trial. these people are on trial for on trying to steal an election in 2020. >> how will the gop front-runner's legal liabilitier impact the 2024 election. plus, russian threat. the white house says ukraine is running out of ammunition and urging republicans in congress to act. e ou a >> history is watching. >> while putin's top critic dies in prison. >> putin is responsible. so >> and the house intel chair faces backlash for warning of another threat. a new space-based weapon that could target u.s. satellites. i'll talk exclusively with mike

turner ofy ohio. and political motives. >> even a trusted fbi informant has alleged a bribe to the biden family. >> an fbi informant at the center of the gop efforts to impeach president biden has been charged with lying. >> it's been an outrageous efforts from the beginning. >> will impeachment effort fade? i'll speak with democratic senator amy klobuchar of minnesota. and in our "meet the moment" conversation, patti davis, the daughter of ronald reagan. >> what do you think your father would say about our current state of politics?of >> i think he would be really scared for our democracy. >> joining me for insight and ur analysis are mara liasson for npr, cornell belcher. >> and sarah fagen. well to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, the longest running

showng in television history, ti is "meet the press" with kristen welker. good sunday morning. we are one week out from the south carolina republican primary, but this week the front-runner former president biden -- president trump was on defense. his legal battles growing, biden impeachment efforts suffering a setback and mounting concerns about how he would confront vladimir putin if he re-elected. on friday the president faced ab stunning legal and financial defeat.nd a judge in new york ordered him to pay a penalty, an amount which could rise to $450 million with interest.ew the ruling also bars trump from personally running a business in new york for three years. >> the judges and prosecutors that were dealing with me are essentially the same, different wrappings, tone, manner, but always the same.sa >> the blow to trump's business comes after the special counsel investigating hunter biden charged a former informant at

the center of the impeachment a case against president biden er with lying to the fbi, leading house republicans had repeatedly pointed to intelligence from that informant as central to their case for impeaching the president. >> even a trusted fbi informant has alleged a bribe to the biden family.a >> he is one of our most trusted, highest paid, most credible fbi informants. >> that to me is really at the heart of this most corroborating matter. the most corroborating evidence we have is the form from this highly credible source. >> he has been indicted for allegedly lying. your reaction to that and should the inquiry be dropped? >> he is lying and should be dropped and it's been an outrageous effort from the beginning.e blndg.shed >> all of that comes against mounting tensions with russia.

ukrainian troops were forced tot withdraw from a key town on the eastern front, the highest profile retreat by ukrainian forces in months. ukraine appears stalled on capitol hill. this week the senate passed a foreign aid package for ukraine, israel, and taiwan, but so far that appears to have no path in the house. >> it's about time they step up, don't you think?pp instead of going on a two-week vacation? two weeks they're walking away. two weeks! >> the idea we need anything more to get the ukraine aid. i mean, this is -- in light of a former president's statement saying russia, if they haven't paid their dues, go get them? i come on. >> on friday, russian authorities announced that opposition leader alexei navalny, putin's fiercest critic, had died in a penal

colony inside the area where he was being held. ukrainian president zelenskyy pleaded for more help.r >> after the murder of alexei navalny, it's absolute to perceive putin as a supposedly legitimate head of russian state, and he is a thug who maintains power through corruption and violence. >> house intelligence chairman l republican mike turner caused a stir on capitol hill this week after he issued an extraordinary statement calling on the white house to declassify information about an unnamed, quote, serious national security threat. the new intelligence now public indicates that russia is moving closer to developing an anti-satellite weapon for use i. space that would have the ability to destroy u.s. satellites. late saturday i spoke with chairman turner from munich where he has been meeting with h european allies. joining me now is house intelligence chairman republican mike turner.me

chairman turner, welcome back to "meet the press." >> thank you, kristen. appreciate it. >> we appreciate having you from munich. as you know, you created a bit of a firestorm in washington this week when you sounded the alarm about the national security threat related to a russian anti-satellite weapon. "the new york times" is now reporting that the concern is whether russia might put a real nuclear weapon in space. based on the intelligence you have seen, how serious is the threat?spli >> well, the threat is very serious. everyone who has looked at it used the same language that i have, that it is a very serious threat. i am very glad that the administration is beginning to take action.ad we met with jake sullivan, and he began to lay out a plan that hopefully would begin to address this. i understand that secretary blinken here at munich with leaders at china met, according to m what "the new york times" reporting, and that would

certainly be a big step to avert this. >> how should people be viewing this? >> i can't con film or deny this, what i have called for ise for the administration to declassify this. my concern is that this is kind of like the chinese spy balloon and the administration is kind of hiding perhaps some ina, but as this becomes more and more public in the administration, grapples with what we're dealing with, i think they are going to be taking it seriously. i think they will be taking action and that obviously is the goal. >> some of your colleagues expressed concerns that you were causing a panic with this warning. others worried that you were jeopardizing intelligence. was the way that you sounded this alarm about this threat responsible, chairman turner? >> so our rules under the committee and the purpose for our committee is that when we receive intelligence that the house representatives should view, that we have the ability to share it, but the rules wnde

provide that we are supposed to first do this in consultation with the office of the director of national intelligence, which we did, including our statement, which we sent to the office of the director of national intelligence and received no objections whatsoever. our committee voted 23 to 1 to vote this out of the committee and send it to the members of congress, believing that they neededbe to know this informati, and also the statement that we issued to the members was signed by both me and my ranking member, but this was not an action by myself. but i am glad after meeting with jake sullivan that the administration is taking this seriously and we are beginning to see action from the administration.d ul s >> all right. let's talk about ukraine specifically. a key city has fallen to russian forces, and the president is callingd for more usaid, calli it vital. the u.s. can't keep sending

billions of dollars without a clear strategy. you've spoken to zelenskyy. is the republican party surrendering ukraine to vladimir putin? >> the speaker has made a commitment to secure the funding for ukraine. when we met with zelenskyy today, we did meet in the backdrop of ukraine troops having conceded lady to russia due to a shortage of stockpiles of weapons. zelenskyy described the math he's facing and dwindling stockpiles at the same time as russia is turning to iran and north korea for weapons. zelenskyy did not blame on the rig t tuday although he did indicate that he is worried that the delay could cause a gap in weapons getting to ukraine. t those in attendance of the u.s. delegation certainly pledged their support. i do think that there is an opportunity when we get back to washington to move this important aid package forward d because it is so critical. a

vladimir putin is a murderous thug, and what he's doing with the h atrocities and the war crime, he is responsible for, and what is happening needs to be responded to, and i was speaking to the mayor of kyiv arcndma this is the frontline o authoritarianfr regimes and a threat to democracy, and it is. >> president zelenskyy has been asking this since october, for five months now. has he given assurances that he will bring ukraine aid to the floor? >> president johnson has made a number of public statements committing to finding a pathway for the aid to ukraine. i believe him. i think that we will, and this a does need to get done. this is absolutely critical fore th u.s. support for ukraine and to oppose russian aggression. >> but as you know, a lot of republicans oppose this, chairman turner.kn do you believe donald trump's opposition to sending more ve funding to ukraine is the reason why it doesn't have more support among republicans? >> well, certainly people are ta

very disappointed that the negotiations on the border deal and the senate broke down and did not result in a plan. the house of representatives passed h.r.2, which would have resulted in closing the border, the remain-in-mexico policy of the prior administration, and would have allowed for moving forward with aid to ukraine, ra taiwan, and israel, and all is important in funding. >> chairman, republicans asked for the border deal. r the republicans said the senate deal was the best deal they'd seen in decade, but sticking on this question, do you place some of the responsibility on donald trump for the reason that more republicans don't support an tdq sending more aid to ukraine, which you have now just said is critical? >> it is critical, and i think there is certainly sufficient support in both the house and the senate in order to get that done. i think members who are in opposition have had their own path to get there and their ownh concerns, but i do know if you

look at this issue of the effects of allowing russia to continue in its aggression and the fact that it would jeopardize other areas of europe, if this is very, very important to the united states, to stand strong and stand with ukraine. >> well, let's talk with russian aggression. former president trump recently said he would encourage nato russia for countries who haven't paid their bills. you have endorsed him. are you comfortable with that, s mr. chairman? >> this is what i know. when donald trump was president, he actually increased funding to nato itself, and he pushed countries to fully fund and meet the 2% commitment that each of them have.an i know that his work is important to get increased funding to ukraine -- excuse mei increased funding to nato. you are already seeing nato ad countries begin to spend more as a result of donald trump's words, and i think that's kind of important. he's motivating them to do so, but i think he is very, very k strong in his support for nato.

>> but, mr. chairman, the words that he said this week, i would encourage them, russia, to do whatever the heck they wanted, you've got to pay, you've got to pay your bills. are you comfortable with that? >> this is what i know. donald trump's political rallies don't really translate into donald trump's actual policies.i if you look at his policies and you look at his record, he actually increased funding for nato and the european initiative and, in fact, was the first president to give lethal weapons to ukraine.al i think his record is strong, and i think that's what's important. >> as we're having this interview, former president trump has not yet spoken out on the death of putin opposition leader alexei navalny. president biden said russia is responsible for his death. you met with navalny's widow in munich. what did she tell you, mr. chairman?p el >> in a dramatic moment she took the stage at the munich security conference just as the world was learning that navalny had ice

passed. she expressed her surprise and a disbelief that her husband was dead. she later then met with the u.s. delegation. we prayed with her. we shared her sorrow and seieenn certainly she points the fingerh directly at vladimir putin who had previously poisoned navalnys with a military nerve agent, and, then, of course, imprisoned him, and now navalny is dead. this is certainly very troubling, and it's part of the murderousness that we see in ukraine and here as the record of vladimir putin and shows how dangerous he is. >> i guess the big question now is what happens next. president biden says he is considering his response. what do you think the consequences should be? >> i think that as a result of g navalny's death that we should h even be that more strong in

funding ukraine and passing this in the house and the senate and navalny in his legacy is sending a message to putin. >> let me ask you about another headline this week. a former fbi informant has been charged with lying about hunter biden and allegations that are central to the republicans' effort to impeach the president. now you voted to support this impeachment inquiry. do you think it's responsible ti en continue this inquiry given s these charges against this fbi informant? >> absolutely. this inquiry and it is an inquiry -- is based upon actual bank records, documents, transactions of money, large sums of money and doing an inquiry is to, you know, how these funds got to the biden family from international sources, china, russia, ukraine. that is certainly an issue that congress needs to take up, and i

think the investigation will continue. butst the judiciary committ chairman jim jordan said just a few weeks ago that the most corroborating evidence comes from this informant's allegations, and they are at the heart of the impeachment case.al even before that senator lindsay graham said to me there's no smoking gun. so can you justify continuing with this impeachment inquiry? >> i think you have to continue until it reaches its natural conclusion, but i'm not in surprised at all that a business associate and an associate of the biden family might be untruthful, but we'll just have to continue to see what the bank records, the transactions tell, how that story unfolds, and i believe that chairman comer is doing a great job with this. >> just to be clear, he was an fbi informant and not necessarily an associate. i do want to turn to trump's legal battles. on friday a judge ordered him tg pay more than $350 million in

his civil fraud case and has barred him from running a business in new york for three years.in do you trust someone who isn't allowed to run his own business to run the country, mr. chairman? >> actually, i don't trust this court decision. being a practicing lawyer in commercial transactions, i thina the whole premise of the case which all legal analysts have said is unusual, is not really justifiable.l we'll have to see ultimately how the appeals run in this case, ia but i think if this case stands it's going to be a threat to really just all businesses al including those who are currently operating in new york. >> but as you know, mr. chairman, this is not the only time mr. trump has been charged with business practices. in 2019 he was ordered to pay $2 million in revelations that his charityio misused funds, and in 2018, he had to pay relatesed to

his now-defunct university. does that undercut his trustworthiness as a leader? >> you know, all of those issues were taken into consideration as the country elected him to president last time and his record as president is what we really need to look at. our country was stronger. our economy was stronger and i think our border certainly being secure is probably the most important issue that americans will look at and the 8 million people who have gone across the border during the biden administration is absolutely an invasion. this is something that president trump had addressed and the fact that president biden reversed by executive orders those issues that were put in place to protect our country will be important to voters. >> mr. chairman, as you know, the border migration has been an issue for decades under republican and democratic presidents because there hasn'te been comprehensive immigration e reform, but let me ask you about something else because the house is on recess for two weeks.wo you only have a handful of days to avert a government shutdown. do you think it is inevitable

given that? >> i'm absolutely opposed to a government shutdown, and i do think that speaker johnson is diligently working with the house and the senate to put together a passage that will pass in the house and the senate and he'll work diligently to uti ensure that we don't have a government shutdown. i do believe that it is detrimental to our country and also our government. >> all right. well, we will have to see what happens. chairman mike turner, thank you so much for joining us? kristen, thanks for having me. >> we appreciate it. >> thanks, kristen. when we come back, democratic senator amy klobuchar of minnesota joins me next.wehuc

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hur found evidence was not strong enough to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. republicans wrote to attorney general merrick garland asking that he provide the full transcript of his interview with president biden. joining me now is democratic senator amy klobuchar. senator klobuchar, welcome back to "meet the press." >> thank you. it's great to be back on. thanks, kristen. >> well, it is great to have you, senator. let's start right there. we do expect the special counsel robert hur to appear before the house judiciary committee. will the senate judiciary call hur to testify? should it? >> well, that is up to senator durbin, but i will say that hur is conducting his own investigation, and he has concluded very clearly that there was no criminal liability here for the president, and that was his focus, right? and that got decided.

and i think there are many other things this we need to do on the judiciary committee including passing some legislation when it comes to tech including many other issues related to fentanyl and the life that we're focused on, but again, that will be senator durbin's call. >> let me ask you this, the report described president biden as a, quote, elderly man with a poor memory. do you think the white house should allow the release of a full transcript without claiming executive privilege for the sake of transparency, senator? >> you know, that is going to be, again, up to the president and his lawyers, but i've got to comment on this just from my own personal experience. i was on air force one with the president going from minnesota to wisconsin for -- going from washington, d. krmt, to al aliwi

alissa for an infrastructure project, and i was with the president for over an hour, and we talked about so many things, domestic, international. he was focused. his recall was good. it was the same experience that my colleagues had who met with him for hours, democrats and republicans about the mideast only a few weeks ago, and so i think that we've got to evaluate what's happening right now by, one, what he has done which is bring us out of this pandemic. the first time that we are finally seeing negotiation of prescription drug crisis and focus on what matters to the american people and compare what he is doing to what we've got as the alternative on the republican side, which is donald trump, who is nothing but standing up week by week for chaos. >> well, senator, you take me to my next point, which is on 2024. as you know, concerns have been growing for quite some time within your party about president biden's ability to win a second term, the latest person to express this, ezra klein of "the new york times," who said, quote, he is not up for this.

he is not the campaigner he was five years ago, the way me moves issue the energy in his voice and the democrats' denial are only fooling themselves. senator, what is your reaction to that stark assessment? >> my reaction as someone who ran against joe biden, who has spent a significant amount of time with joe biden, that he is up for the job. and, again, i just keep looking at the facts. i keep looking at the facts. our country, the gdp, our unemployment rate, and the fact that we can tackle the challenges before us, which are things like housing and child care, and then you've got to look at the alternative here as well. joe biden has been standing up for women's health care. joe biden is not the one calling for a national abortion ban and joe biden believes that women should make their own decisions about their healthcare and not politicians. that is a stark difference. i look at the facts and the actual numbers. when you look across the

country, the fact that in new york congressman suozzi won that race, swinging it by 16 points, because he stood up for what joe biden is standing up for, infrastructure, and finally doing something at the border on a bipartisan basis and giving the president the emergency powers that he needs, standing up against election deniers. you look at what happened in kentucky with governor bashir, the abortion measure that was on the ballot in ohio. the supreme court race in wisconsin. time and time again the american people have stood with the policies and the work of joe biden because they do not want to go back to the chaos and madness of donald trump. >> let me follow up with you here because you cite those figures on the economy and yet the vast majority of americans say they are not feeling it when it comes to the economy. they give president biden low marks on the economy. it's not resonating with voters. why do you think -- you obviously ran against president biden in 2020.

he promised that essentially he would build a bridge to the next generation. do you think it's time to pass the torch? >> again, i'm a believer in president biden because i believe he is a good moral person that has the backs of the people of this country, and just the examples i cited as time and time again, people have sided with that over election deniers and the like. so i am proud to be supporting joe biden for president. as far as the challenges, the challenges are real, and that is why not just president biden, but many of us in the senate have been leading the way and bringing down costs. you've got to not just talk the talk to take on the pharmaceutical companies, you have to pass the bill which we have done. pardon? i did not hear the question. >> voters say they don't feel it. they're not feeling the impacts, the numbers and the figures you're talking about.

they're not feeling it in their pocketbooks when they go to the grocery store to buy groceries. why is this and why do you think that he's getting low marks on that critical point of the economy? >> okay, well, there are many challenges in front of us, and people will have to decide if they want to go back to that chaos or look at someone who actually has the proof points of working on bringing costs down. and if you want to talk about numbers and polls and how people are feeling, let me give you some numbers. $35 a month. that's how much insulin will be for seniors and others as well well. the prices are rolling out.

number two, $3.4 million, that's how many veterans will be helped by taking on toxic burn pits. 40,000, that's a number, how many infrastructure projects, including the bridge from minnesota to wisconsin, that are getting funded and completed right now as we speak. so there is a case to make and there's also a case to make. he is not running as the president has said against the almighty. he is running against donald trump and time and time again the voters have made clear where they stand on donald trump, independents, moderate republicans. they want to support someone who believes in democracy and has led the world against tyrants like vladimir putin as opposed to donald trump who literally a week ago who said vladimir putin should be able to do whatever the hell he wants. those are exact words where he said they as in russia and putin, should be able to do whatever the hell they want. what happens now? one of his leading opponents dies. vladimir putin's opponent. that's what we're dealing with. he was killed. >> we'll talk about all of that. >> okay. >> let's talk about ukraine aid.

the vice president spoke with my colleague andrea mitchell about the need to pass ukraine aid. let's listen, and i'll get your reaction on the other side. >> do you think ukraine can survive a year, this year on the battlefield without american aid? >> ukraine needs our support, and we must give it. >> it has been five months since the president made his first ask. does he need to get republicans to the white house and fight to get this over the finish line because clearly, right now, it is stalled in the house. i understand that's not the white house, but does he need to get them back from their vacation and get a deal here? >> the president has been doing that. i was heartened by congressman turner's words in your interview just about the fact that there are republicans that want to move forward on this, and let me -- ukraine has been an absolute incredible force. president zelenskyy, they have taken back half the territory from russia that they got in the invasion. they have just shot down a warship.

they have opened up trade again on the black sea. they have done this despite the fact that right now rounds of ammunition, russia, 10,000 a day. ukraine, 2,000 a day. so our job right now, if you talk about avenging the death of the hero navalny, if you talk about anything for our democracy and actually for our economic partners across the world, it is to get this security package over the line, and so extreme republicans are stopping it right now. the president's standing up for it. the senate has stood up for it. 22 republicans in the u.s. senate voted for it, including the lead republicans on armed services and foreign relations. it's time to get it done. >> president biden put the blame of alexei navalny, what are the consequences that you want to see here? >> the best thing we can do is to make sure we have the backs of the ukrainian people. that is the best thing.

>> sanctions? >> because when you look at what this funding is for, it is for making sure our own troops in places like poland are funded so they can be a deterrent for any additional russian invasions because who stops vladimir putin if he marches right into kyiv, marches right into ukraine, from going further? i have stood on that border and i have stood with president zelenskyy in ukraine and this is an international crisis. so the consequences and what has happened so far with ukraine killing or injuring over 300,000 russian troops, but the consequences will mean nothing unless we stand with our allies and stand with ukraine. >> all right. senator amy klobuchar, thank you so much for joining us this sunday. we really appreciate. >> thanks, kristen. and when we come back, donald trump ordered to pay over $350 million in his civil fraud case, and now a trial date set for his first criminal trial in the new york hush money case.

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welcome back. the panel is here. npr national political correspondent mara liasson. democratic pollster c welcome back. the panel is here. npr national political correspondent mara liasson. democratic pollster cornell belcher, and republican strategist sara fagen. thanks to all of you for being here. mara, let me start with you. we are one week out minus a day from the south carolina primary. of course, we learned on friday that trump got slapped with this 350 plus million dollar final for this civil fraud suit in new york. how does this all impact where we are in the 2024 race because so far his legal battles have only emboldened him? >> right. i don't think it affects the primary at all. it's a benefit for him. but when we get to the general, things might be different.

first of all, we'll have maybe juries, actual juries of his peers potentially reaching verdicts unlike just judges. we also know from polling that independent, swing voters and some trump supporters say they will not vote for him if he is convicted. now, we don't know if he'll be convicted and we don't know if these trials will happen before election day, and to me the question is on the january 6th trial, which is the most important, and you can only argue it's the only important one, and we don't know if that will happen before. >> it is one of the biggest x factors, there's no doubt about that. sara, nikki haley has tried to make this part of her focus in these closing days in her home state in south carolina, but she is still trailing trump by double digits, 30 points in some polls. >> i agree with mara. i don't think this is an issue that helps in the primary, and then the question is does it help in the general? and i think there's some evidence to suggest that even though people say it will affect their vote, there are so few undecided voters, even at this

very early date that, you know, a trial that happens before may not have much impact on the actual outcome of the election. >> i think -- i do think it makes it harder for him to persuade voters, right? >> general election -- >> we know that 46%, 47%, he has a ceiling. he needs to grow that in order to -- we forget. he lost the election. he lost the election and he needs to grow his base of support and how does he grow his base of support with all of this hanging over and it makes it more difficult, but also that turner interview, that was the larger problem because we have republicans in the battleground congressional districts who would answer the same questions that you lay before chairman turner, and that makes it harder for them as well. >> sara? >> unfortunately, we live in a time in politics where so much gets sensationalized and

impeachment is just what happens to the other party when someone takes over power and i think so much of this gets dismissed. this election will come down to 3% to 5% of the electorate and perhaps there's a supreme court ruling on january 6th that is impactful, but perhaps not. >> when we talk about the trump trials, one that was in focus this week was down in georgia where district attorney fani willis took the stand to defend herself against accusations she was having a relationship with one of her top prosecutors nathan wade. the trump team is trying to get her dismissed. let's take a look at that a little bit and discuss it on the other side. >> let's be clear because you lied. this right here, this right here -- no, no, no, no, no. this is the truth and it is a lie. it is a lie. >> miss willis, we're going to take five minutes. >> mara, what was the impact of this moment? this testimony?

>> some people felt she was being treated unfairly and other people thought this undermines her case. the big question is will fani wls be remove fwrd this case, which to me is a corroborating case and another way donald trump is trying to change the outcome of the election and throw out millions of people's votes, and he asked the secretary of state to find him the 11,000 votes he needed. this doesn't help fani willis' case, but this case could continue even though she was removed. >> this is the reason so many people dislike politics and we all heard find me some more votes and the problem is we have to cover it because it's sex, lies and affairs and there was great stuff for social media that came out of there and it doesn't undermine whether she's on the case or not. the fundamental case against him was strong.

>> at one point that was the most problematic case for president trump and his prospects. i think because of this it gets wrapped up in this whole, broad politicization of taking trump to court. my own view is the new york case should never have been brought and when you look at -- it was an attorney general bringing the case. it wasn't the insurance company. it wasn't the bank, and it was all politics and this, i think, now gets swept up in that, and it's just now politics. so very few people will decide based on these cases. >> and that's the one going to trial next month remarkably. >> yeah. >> the bigger problem -- yeah, that's going to trial. i think the bigger problem for georgia is the timing, and so to cornell's point, one of these cases actually has to get decided before the election if it is to have an impact, and this just delays it. >> well, a policy issue that has been in the spotlight this week, abortion, mara because revelations and "the new york times" reported that trump is considering backing a 16-week federal ban. he likes, i am told, a nice, round number.

what do you make of this? what is the implication? >> there are two aspects of this. democrats will say he's for a national ban. he doesn't want states to decide. every blue state that's codified roe, that will go in the garbage can. that's the impact of that. but the second thing that is incredibly interesting is that donald trump is acting like a normal politician. he doesn't do that, if he is trying, if this story is true, to move to the center for the election and there is a consensus on abortion in this country. it used to be called roe. 16 weeks is earlier than roe, but people want abortion to either be mostly legal with some exceptions or mostly illegal with some exemptions. >> sara, we have about a minute left. what do you make of what mara is saying? i think it's smart for trump, and it's been a debate about republicans banning abortion.

this is going to move the debate to democrats being for abortion up to nine months, and so in that respect, it's prudent politically. he should be for 15 weeks and not 16 weeks. why take that heat from your right flank? >> i know we're out of time, but no, it just brings abortion front and center. it's going to be a 15-point gender gap in 2020 and a 15-point gender gap pushing this abortion issue, and it's a losing issue for them, and i'm glad they're pushing it forward. >> it is going to be one of the biggest issues of this race. no doubt about that. thank you for a great conversation. when we come back as world leaders gather to discuss global security, we'll reflect on a warning of an american senator worried about the dangers of authoritarianism. our ""meet the press" moment" is next. r ""meet the press" moments next with cabenuva, there's no pausing for daily hiv pills. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment

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welcome back. the munich security welcome back. the munich security conference wrapped up today after a week marked by warnings on the russia threat and the death of putin critic alexei navalny. seven years ago, freedom of the press was top of mind with then president trump's repeated attacks on what he called the enemy of the people. senator john mccain joined this broadcast from munich with his reaction. >> i hate the press. i hate you especially, but the fact is we need you. we need a free press. we must have it. it's vital. if you want to preserve -- i'm

very serious now. if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press, and without it, i'm afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. that's how dictators get started. when we come back, patti davis, the daughter of ronald reagan on what her father would say about our current political climate. "meet the moment" is next. the m. to duckduckgo on all your devie

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welcome back. with p welcome back. with presidential family members often in the spotlight these days, patti davis, the daughter of ronald and nancy reagan sri introducing americans to her family, one they've had in their living room for decades. in a deeply personal book, "dear mom and dad," written as a letter to her parents, davis

reflects on her father, who she writes parented america and her mother whom she had a more difficult relationship with, hoping her book can be a comfort for others as they come to terms with parents and families who have left them searching for answers. as our politics often feels broken, davis joined us for a meet the moment conversation to talk about her father's legacy and her own. >> i wonder if you could reflect on today's politics. you write this beautiful account of tip o'neill visiting your father, his hospital bed, and how different our politics feel today, the inability to reach across the aisle. >> yeah. >> frankly, to form those types of bonds where you can debate vigorously in washington, but be there for each other on a very personal level. what do you think your father would say about our current state of politics? >> i think he would be so -- i think he would be appalled, really, you know, yeah.

they used to have martinis together, like old irish guys sharing a drink, like two lawyers battling it out in court and then going out to have a drink together, you know? he didn't understand lack of civility. he didn't understand attacking another person. i mean, he could be pretty pointed in his -- in what he would say about someone else, but he didn't understand cruelty, and that's what we're dealing with now, and i think he wouldn't understand that, and i think he would be -- i think he would be really scared for our democracy, and i think that -- i don't -- i don't know who -- i think he would address people more than any candidates, you know? i think he would address the american people at what has divided us and -- i mean, in my

own opinion and i think -- i don't know. i think this is probably how he would think. our divisions started because we're all so scared. there is so much fear around whether we're going to get shot in a mass shooting or our children are or if you walk into a store or a church, wherever, you know? we're scared, and fear morphs into anger, and we don't want to be afraid. it's sustainable. there are people on the public stage and on the political front who understand very well about the synergy about fear and anger and who are masterful at exploiting it. >> the other big issue that has been at the forefront right now is the issue of age. your father when he was elected at the time was the oldest person elected president? 69. >> i know.

>> now, obviously, the president is in his 80s, former president trump, the front-runner, is in his late 70s. do you think there should be cognitive tests for people running for the highest office in the land? >> probably, yeah. and just what we know been what age can do. it doesn't always do that, but it would probably be a good idea. agree. i know, my father was 77 and it seems so young now, doesn't it? >> yes. did it seem at the time old to you? we talked about your dad as being at the time the oldest president. >> i don't think it did because it was -- it was -- it was '87, i believe, when he stood in front of the berlin wall and said mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. so that was not someone who was fractured in age. yes, i probably thought he was old because he was my father and we all think that about our parents, but not in the way that we are talking about now. >> so much of the republican

part to this day still speaks about, wrestles with, debates your father's legacy, tries to emulate. what do you think your father's message would be if he were sitting here today to the country, to our current politicians? >> i think he would want people to look at one another as human beings. you know, that's why he and gorbachev were able to do what they did, which was world changing at the time, because they looked at each other as human beings, and that's what's missing now. you know, these were two people who were put on the stage of history at a moment in time to, in my opinion, do what god intended them to do. they might not have, you know? but they were both two people who i think had the same agenda of looking at each other as a human being. gorbachev came to my father's service in washington, d.c. i got to meet him.

he was a very shy, sort of vulnerable person. i only met him briefly. but, you know, that's the impression i got from him when i met him. >> you think we've lost that ability to look at each other as human beings. >> yeah, i do. i do. for the most part, yeah. >> and, just finally, patti, when people read your book -- i read it as a daughter and as a mom and took so much from it from both places. >> oh, thank you. >> what do you hope that people take from the book about opening up about this deeply personal part of your life and your heart? >> i hope they look at their phone families and go, okay, how can i look at this differently? how can i take a step back in the same way you take a step back from a painting to really see the whole picture? how can i step back from my family and my life and look at it differently, you know, and look at it through more mature eyes and through a more complete vision, and then if you can do

that with your family, you can do that with other people, right? people are more complicated than they appear to be. >> a lot to reflect on there. you can see my full interview with patti davis at meethepress.com. that is all for today. thank you so much for watching. enjoy your long weekend. we'll be back next week because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." today justice has been served. today we have proved no one is above the law, no matter how rich,