up because of what the russians and saudis just did. i'll speak with don bacon and elizabeth slot kin. plus presidential portrait. maggie haberman has an in-depth look at his rise to power, including changing views on abortion, reversing the position he once made right here on this program. >> i'm very pro-choice. >> yamiche alcindor and brendan buck. welcome to sunday, it's "meet the press." >> announcer: this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. good sunday morning. i'm kristin welker in for chuck to do. election day is just 30 days away. ronald reagan worried jimmy carter would engineer a last-minute release of u.s. hostages. carter, of course, did not, but the term stuck. there's at least three stories unfolding. first the nuclear threat from russia. then there are rising gas prices, now averaging just under $4 a gallon, which democrats worry there will be a sign to voters that there is a true. but the october surprise of the week, it could determine control of senate. herschel walker, who 's running an antiabortion candidate, spend the week denying allegations by a woman that he paid for her abortion in 2009. she now says he hedged her to end a pregnancy two years later. they ended the relationships when she refused. they have a copy of a check from walker reimbursing her as well as a get well card he allegedly signed. his explanations have evolved. >> i never asked anyone to get an abortion. i never paid for an abortion. >> here's the card and you signed it? is that you? >> it looks like my signature. first of all, i never just put an "h" on anybody. >> if it happened, i have said it was -- but i know nothing about it. >> you said there's nothing to be ashamed of. >> no, what i said was -- i was talking about something totally different. i want, with my ex-wife, in my past, nothing to do with what this woman said. i said this here, the abortion thing is false, it's a lie. if anything happened i have nothing to be ashamed of. we've been the best of friends. >> republicans have largely stood by walker. ted cruz said i want every republican in this country to win. i'm joined by don bacon of nebraska, it's one of the most consequential race to say watch. welcome back. >> thanks for having me back on. i want to start right there in georgia, the headlines this week, given everything that we have seen, do you support herschel walker? >> i sure do, more for the policy positions he's going to take. senator warnock wants abortion on demand until birth. only one in five voters supports that. hersh the needs to come clean and be honest. we all know that it makes mistakes. if this actually did happen, it's better to say i'm sorry and ask for forgiveness, but this is also done about positions. >> let me ask you this, congressman. by supporting herschel walker, given these allegations, as the gop, are you sending a pledge that republicans are willing to win at all costs. if people acknowledge them, none of them are perfect. we also have to realize -- but he hasn't acknowledged this is one of his mistakes. it sounds like you still have questions. >> i think be candid, be honest, but in the end this is about policy position. he's one of the those liberal people -- he wants abortion on demand until birth. let me get a we or two in on this. senator warnock has his own allegations, there's allegations of spousal abuse out there. so i hope the media focuses on these allegations and what warnock's ex-wife said. i hope you're showing some equal opportunity there. >> and those are allegations he, of course, has denied as well. let mess ask you more broadly me, does this undercut the republican party's broader message of being antiabortion, when you have these conflicting things happening with herschel walker. >> i think u.s. jut have to stand on principle here. when i -- >> does it undercut that principle. >> it can. you want to walk the talk and talk the walk, you want cohesion with your message, but people also make mistakes. i'm surely not a flawless person. i have made my own mistakes, and herschel has too. we all have. i think it's before to be honest, but in the end, americans do not want abortion on demand under birth. i think that is the principle we need to focus on as a republican party. i have several different polls, the average voter would like to see at the 15-week point. that's where germany and france is. >> let me follow up with you on that. can you say point-blank that you support senator lindsey graham's proposal for a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks? >> on principle i do. i think most voters support a 15-week back, most countries have gone there, but the senate will not be able to pass that, so most of these decisions will be made at the state level. that's where decisions can be made whether you have a pro-abortion or pro-life majority in the senate or house, you'll not get back the 60-votes threshold. the reality is most will be done at the state level. >> i hear you, but i think a lot of people would be interested in the fact that you support this 15-week ban at the federal level, because republicans have been arguing for 50 years that this a states issue. >> the voters get to decide, but on principle, i believe in the humanity of the unborn child. i think the science has taken us way beyond where roe v. wade -- and, for example, and most of the free world has left america behind. the free world has seen the science of the unborn child and moved to a more reasonable possible of 12 to 15 weeks. i believe america should go that direction. >> you co-sponsored the bill -- 90% of abortions to occur. >> on principle i'm pro-life. i will always defend -- >> isn't supporting a 15-week ban in contradiction to also supporting the idea that a fetus has constitutional rights at conception. >> i want to move us forward. we have too many people in washington that demand 100% and they won't take 50% or 40%. we want to move the right direction. i do believe in the personhood of the unborn. however, it doesn't prohibit state legislatures or the federal government to put in various restrictions. it says on principle the unborn child has humanity. i believe that, but it still gives legislators the right to restrict or provide exceptions, but the american voters are at 12 to 15 weeks, i september that reality. >> congressman, let's talk about foreign policy. you serve on the house armed as much as committee, a decorated air force veteran. we all learned this week that president biden at a closed-door fund-raisers warned of a nuclear arm embedding. is that your assessment of the threat right now? >> i think vladimir putin is a cornered animal. i think he's unpredictable, unstable. he's getting beat in ukraine piece by piece, and being a bearist, not only being defeated, but the barbaric behavior -- stealing grain, sexually assaulting their women, marching innocent people. this is the view of the world. you can't let this guy threaten us and bully us around. if you cave out of fear, he'll do it again. we have to stand firm with them towards -- you can't let a bully push around. i think president biden has to be more careful throwing down the nuclear armageddon was a bit too flippant. president of france chided him on it. i think the president needs to be more cautious. >> another campaign issue, i want to ask you about some comments we hear from tommy tuberville overnight with president trump. take a listen. i'll get your reaction. >> some people say they're soft on crime. no, they're pro-crime. they want crime. they want crime, because they said to take over what you have. they want reparation, because they think the people that do the crime are owed that. [ bleep ]. are those comments appropriate for a sitting u.s. senator? >> i wouldn't say it the same way, but there is a problem in our country with crime. major cities have seen nicks in violent crimes. 9 primary reason is we have this prosecutors who are releasing violent criminals back on the street. >> congressman, this is a different way to say that. most people heard -- >> i would be more polite. >> not just polite, but a lot of people heard those comments as being racist. >> yeah, that's not the way i present things, but we have to be honest we have a crime problem. >> do you feel as though those comments cross a racial line? >> i'm not going to say he's being racist. i wouldn't use that language, but the fact is we have a 40% to 50% violent crime increase, because democrat politicians and prosecutors are putting vileants criminals back on the street early. the first time, shame on them, but when society releases the same criminal and they create more victims, shame on us, and too many democrat politicians are releasing them back on the either three. would you be comfortable serving alongside those who have outright denied the election? >> i supported the bipartisan commission. i condemned the violence that day. i stand on my own record. districts get to elect their own people. beefed people on the other side of the aisle call the 2016 election illegitimate. hillary clinton did that. the woman who lost her election in -- has not conceded her defeat. i don't line the hypocrisy on both sides. i believe in protecting our elections. i have voted that way, i spoke that way. our media tends to focus just on the republican part. when you have hillary clinton also questioning the legitimacy of the 2016 election. >> last time you were on this show, you told chuck you would not support former president trump for the republican nominate in 2024. if he is the nominee, will you vote for him? >> when we get to that point, i'll let you know. >> you're up no reelection right now. a lot of voters want to know where you stands on this issue. will you supports president trump if he's the nominee in 2024? i have made my point for the primary. in the end we have to win in november, and to stop joe biden's policy. that's where my focus is at. >> congressman bacon, thank you so much. >> yes, ma'am. and representative slot kin joins us now. welcome back to "meet the press." >> thanks for having me. >> i want to ask you about the political drama that is unfolding in georgia. i want to ask you about the response from the democratic incumbents, rafael warnock, who has decided not to directly attack herschel walker to address these claims on the campaign trail. given the high stakes of georgia, is that a mistake, congresswoman? >> i don't know. i think what mr. walker is doing himself is enough for voters to see, right? he's being accused of something, he's not admitting it or dodging. people are saying that people make mistakes, but not admitting that mistake. i understand the instinct, and answer for his own record and not take that as a moment to kind of double down on the attack. >> abortion is obviously an issue you care a lot about, and abortion is actually on the ballot in your state. in fact the proposal would enshrine the right to an abortion. opponents argue the problem with it is that it's too wide ranging, there are no limits. so let me put this question to you directly. would you like to see limits? >> yeah. i mean, the ballot initiative we had says you have a right to abortion up to viability, and afterwards it has to because of the health of the mother deemed by a medical professional. it's not abortion by demand, through the ninth month. so i support that ballot initiative. i think it's written directly and codifies roe, where without that we're facing a 1931 ban. >> just on the issue of third trimester abortion. should there be restrictions to that? >> yes. i agree with the proposal which says up to viability, but afterwards you need the inputs of a medical professional. i think that's the right place for our state. >> you have prided yourself on being a moderate democrat. i wonder if you think there is room within the conversation around abortion. for democrats who are antiabortion by john bell edwards or representative henry cuellar. >> yes, for me i represent a district that's republican-leans. the vast majority of my constituents identify as pro-life. i've been at plenty of event where people say, look, i'm a pro-life democrat, but i think the distinction is they're not trying to impose their will on this uss, on other welcome. they have a personal conviction, but they're not trying to say that their will has to be imposed on the rest of all women. they have a place in this party, but i think they also will stay very openly they don't believe the government should make that decision for women. >> let's talk about one of the top issues for women, of course, that is the economy, republicans includes your opponent ha accused you and democrats of overspending, whether it's the covid relief bill or latest inflation reduction act. what do you make of that, that democrats have maid inflation worse by overspending. >> we can't dance away from the that could for a inflation is affecting every single person. we don't win any points by trying to brie tend it's not there. for me it's almost a gleefulness about some republicans about how bad inflation is. there's a gleefulness -- >> congresswoman, i'm asking to democrats bear some of the responsibility? you control the white house, both chambers of white house, why shouldn't voters hold democrats responsibility for the economy? >> i think they do. while i think inflation is obvious a worldwide phenomenon, i'm open to the facts we have to make decisions here in the inns, democrats are in power, even if slim margins. sure, i think there's a rightful skit same about particularly the last covid package. i think that's why i've seen a lot shy away from another covid package, even when the white house was was proposing one last summer. i own it, but i think it has to be reflected across the world that it's a post-covid phenomenon. >> let's talk about student loan debt. are you -- even though it's likely going to add $400 billion to the debt? >> i did not support the proposal that the president put forward or the action. it's not that i don't understand we have a cite of college affordable, but i thought it was a band-aid that didn't get to the underlying problem. i was vocal about that. i want to get to a better place on college affordability, but a one-off like this that doesn't help a current freshman, it's not i way i would have gone. >> gavin what we saw from opec this week, the decision to cut 2 million barrels of oil per day, do you believe that president biden's visit to saudi arabia, that fist bump with diplomacy, do you think that was a mistake? >> i appreciate his willingness to try. i think the saudis have made a really strategic error. i could say whether the crown print over-promised or just threw it out the window. either weigh they'll by deciding this. we've been partner for 70 years. they had a strategic decision to make whether to help the world economy. at worst. they aligned themselves with putin. so we have a problem. >> let me ask you about politics. you've had said democrats will support president biden if he runs again. i want to ask you personally, do you plan to support president biden if he runs again in 2024? >> he's the sit ig president. if he decision to run again, i'm going to support him, the party will support him. that has a long history. i've been very vocal, including with my own leadership that we ned a new generation, new blood, period, across the democratic party. i think that the country has been saying that. you know, i'm one of just a handful of members of congress who hasn't voted for nancy pelosi as speaker. i think we need new leaders. i would love to see mid western leaders in there to reflect the middle of the country. we're here, too. but if the sitting president of the united states decides to run, we're going to support him. >> congresswoman slotkin, we really appreciate you joining us. when we come back, maggie haberman of "new york times" is here with fresh reporting and her new book "confidence man." psoriasis really messes with you. try. hope. fail. no one should suffer like that. i started cosentyx®. five years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infection, some serious and a lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reaction may occur. best move i've ever made. ask your dermatologist under the presidential reports act, under the presidential reports act, everything should come back and there is no crime. you negotiate whatever you negotiate is fine, it's a process, but they make it sound like the greatest crime in america was committed. welcome back. the justice department suspects former president trump still has documents that belong to the government and possibly classified material beyond what was seized at mar-a-lago. sources tell nbc news that the top doj counter-intelligence official recently communicated that concern to trump's legal team. the justice department has signaled there may be documents missing. fbi agents found 48 empty folders. maggie haberman has been covering trump sis her days at "new york post" in the 1990s, her new back is "confidence man." welcome back to "meet the press." congratulation. >> thank you. >> so good to have you. i've read it cover to cover. >> that's great. >> as we were sitting here, as you have just completed this, you're still reporting on donald trump, and your headlines in recent days include the fact that doj officials believe there's still classified documents at mar-a-lago, and mr. trump may have been trying to cut some kind of deal. do you think he understands how much jeopardy he's in? >> i actually think i do. the fact he spent $3 million on a retainer for a lawyer, whose advice sometimes he has not listened to -- i said people who worked for trump in the 1990s, reach on you that this is the biggest legal retainer he's made. so i think it's significant. >> you detail all the legal battles he's had going back to the 1990s, and you're making the point this moment feels different. one of passages relating to this current moment, herschel walker. you asked him about what you called a complicated personal history that worried republicans from the bat. this was a conversation from a year ago in your book. president trump said, i don't think it's a probably today. you asked why is that? why do you think it's change? the president responsibilities, because the world is changing. you write, he did acknowledge it was changing. he didn't acknowledge it was changing because he had helped change it. as you know, maggie, a lot of people have compared this moment to the "access hollywood" moment. >> i think it's an understandable benchmark. when we had that conversation, mitch mcconnell was still not on board with walker. i think he threw in the towel eventually and got behind him. i don't know that everything is the same as donald trump. i think that's what we're going to find out. donald trump, i still believe, there are people who can follow his playbook, more often than not there are people in celebrities, but trump i still think maw be sui generis, and also the nature of these allegations are not the same as the "access hollywood" tapes. this feels different, but we'll see. >> one of the things that makes your book to fascinating, you describe a portrait of a man who has wrestled with the truth since his very early days. you have this anecdote when it goes to the dedication of the verrazano bridge, and years later, he talks to a "new york times" reporter about it, and gets all sorts of details wrong. the weather, things said at that dedication. you write, he revealed himself ton ahn unreliable narrator of his early moments. the comments went unchecked, but for good reason. why would anyone think such details were untrue. where do you think that impulse comes from? >> it's a great question, but i think there's parts of he absorbed, before roy cohn, hi famous fixer was in his life. he absorb it i think from his father. he knew how to cut corners, knew how to handle things certain ways. trump takes everything to an extremely different level. why it is that he seems to have this need and get this charge out of saying something that isn't true, or other times convinces himself something is the case because it feels better, and other times it sounds better. it's all of the above. >> of course, we saw that play out in the oval office as well, as he struggled with the truth over and over again. now you have over 219 candidates. do you think even mr. trump understood he would have that impact on the party? >> i don't. i think he looks at everything in terms of what works for him in short ten-minute increments. the effect it could have on other people, i think he delights in it, feels like he's shaping the party, but i don't think that's the long-term strategy. >> you also talk about his relationship about race over time. it goes back to his father. you also have this anecdote about how he pitch this is idea to have an apprentice show that's divided along racial lines. he even confuses some democratic staffers of color who are in the oval office with some of the serving staff. how do you think mr. trump as influenced race. >> i this the clip of senator tuberville, a former high school football coach, i can't imagine someone saying that a few years ago. he's created a permission structure for what used to be known as the quiet part in race baiting, and now the doors are blown open. >> i want to talk about you, the reporter. the former president has said of you, i loving with with her, she's like my psychiatrist. you have dismissed those comments, said that's flattery, but at the same time he did reach out to you more directly, arguably, than most other reporters. >> i think he's fixated with the "new york times." i think i'm the person who covered him more off for the paper, but it's a decades-old, out are borough new york guise trying to make his way. he had this line that he said to the publishers of "new york times", and we made this public back in 2019, over the resolute desk, he's complaining about coverage, which as you know every president does, but in trump's case, she said i'm entitled to a good story from my paper. if you have the clearest distillation, that's it. >> and is there anything other than health that you think prevents him from doing so? >> i think a fear of losing and disinterest in the process the way it is now. there's a bitterness around him, a quickness to anger that -- he was always pretty quick to anger, but it's gotten more intense. those are the reasons i could see something unforeseen, maybe, but i think he's backed himself into a corner and has to run. >> it's a fascinating read. stick around, because you're on our panel. we have more to discuss. up next, with 30 days to go, the battle for senate control is heating up as the candidates finally debate the issues, our panel is here. my asthma felt anything but normal. a blood test helped show my asthma is driven by eosinophils, which nucala helps reduce. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your asthma specialist about a nunormal with nucala. if you have diabetes, then getting on the dexcom g6 back pain, and fatigue. is the single most important thing you can do. it eliminates painful fingersticks, helps lower a1c, and it's covered by medicare. before dexcom g6, i was frustrated. all of that finger-pricking and all of that pain, my a1c was still stuck. my diabetes was out of control. i was tired. 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(bright music) we are back with the panel. maggie haberman is still with us. yamiche alcindor, brendan buck, and jen psaki. thanks to all of you for being here. yamiche, is they herschel walker controversy resonating? >> certainly people are talking about it, but people are already in their camps. if you didn't like herschel walker, like one woman told me she never liked him, didn't have the character to serve, but i didn't meet one republican voter changing their mind. everyone i talked to said i don't like this, maybe it's made up, either way, it's not changing my vote. linda is an elderly white woman, she believers the allegations. she said, i'm still voting for him. people make mistakes, now an opponent of abortion rights, and as a result, i'm going to continue to stick with him. i think people see politics as more tribal, maybe a better economy, maybe a harsher policies on crime, mainly that's what republican voters are telling me. >> they also see it as a way to win the senate. brendan, i want to play of the sound i heard from top reps this week, and then get your reaction. >> do you stand by herschel walker? >> i think herschel walker will be the next senator. >> reporter: but you want -- >> hell yes, i want every republican to win. >> herschel is going to win, so they're going to throw everything under the sun at him. he's a great candidate and focused on the right issues. >> you've been talking to folks down there, what are folks telling you, whether this full-throated support may by risky. >> they're certainly circling the wagons -- so it's not surprising at all that rick scott is backing him, but it's not hard to run into a brian kemp republican governor rafael warnock voter in georgia. i think it's relatively baked in, but you have to remember, herschel walker was losing before this happened. people are going to be starting to vote very soon in gentleman. the reason why republicans have been done poorly in the northern subers. these areas where republicans have been losing educated women particularly, and this is a candidate who's raising the issue of abortion. that will not help him get back to where he needs to be. >> 1% or 2% makes a difference in georgia. that's even if people are baked in. 1% or 2% of women changing their minds -- >> it makes a difference. >> there's potentially a long way to go. this in all likelihood will go to a runoff? december. while we're questioning, is it a game changer or not? frankly i think senator warnock is probably doing the smart strategic thing ago of this moment, which is letting herschel walker wallow in his muddy pit of scandal. >> you think you shouldn't take the gloves off? >> for the moment you evaluate week by week. what he'll have to depends on, senator warnock, that is, whether there's big spending to keep this is in the minds of voters, and then he may have to decide he may have to take the gloves off at some point. i think he's doing the right thing by letting herschel walker wallow in his own scandal pit. >> it's sort of like celebrity candidates on display. a lot of them are hand picked by trump. also dr. oz is another one. is this a key test of celebrity candidates and does it underscore the challenges if you're not donald trump? >> i think there's a baselines challenge to in a. number one, he's been in public life for a very long time, dealing with the national media in the way that herschel walker was not, and in a way that dr. oz was. it depends on the specifics. the oz/fetterman race is very different. i think you'll see mo celebrity candidates, particularly among republicans, jumping in. that is the donald trump effect. >> that is a very good point. >> the map runs through nine key states in order to win back control. vice president have can be republicans have to flip one seen. in wisconsin, senator ron johnson is trying to put the focus on crime. listen to this recent exchange. >> whenever i see a police officer, i sigh thank you for yourselves and if i have time, i say please don't be dispirited by the loud few trying to defund you. >> i'm sure he doesn't have the same reaction with the 140 officers that were injured and he left behind from a insurrection he supported. >> we talk about inflation, abortion, most republican candidates are running on crime, particularly in wisconsin, it is working to devastating effect on mandela barnes. loan johnson should be very vulnerable, but he has been hitting this crime issue. in some places, it's just going to work better than others. i asked a political op typhoon, why is it working so well? he said one word -- kenosha. >> i believe with -- i think there was a missed tuned for barnes when he talked about the insurrection. i think that was disconnected from what people in wisconsin are feeling. crime is up in milwaukee. if you were advising him, which i'm not, i would say you should have made it about the use of gun violence and the fact your possibility has done nothing to address gun violence. that's what people are thinking about. their fears when they go out the door, less the insurrection. >> there's nat a more potent political issue that defund the police. he does have a report of wanting to redirect funds away from place. that's showing up in the polls. >> here's an interesting thing. we had a country where a man was strangled, george floyd. we have a country that debated -- and that backfired. while most democrats have said we don't support that, it's stuck to them, because some people in this country were deeply uncomfortable that black people get killed at a disproportionate rate. fbi said murders are up, violent crime is down, but it's fear on both sides. you should be fear crime, fearing the border, democrats are saying you should be fearing your personal privacy and threats to the democracy. >> certainly the closing arguments we are seeing. stick around, guys. we have do have a lot more. when we come back, elon musk's twister takeover and the surprising reality of how much it influences or politics. it influences or politics. ugh! advil dual action fights pain two ways. advil targets pain at the source, acetaminophen blocks pain signals. advil dual action. discomfort back there? instead of using aloe, or baby wipes, or powders, try the cooling, soothing relief or preparation h. because your derriere deserves expert care. preparation h. get comfortable with it. welcome back. it's looking more and more like elon musk, the richers man on the planet is going to purchase twitter, kicking off conversations about what that could might be -- mean for the social platform that places a significant role in our political discourse. president trump tweeted but although twitter has played a dominant role, its reach is much smaller than you might think. less than a quarter of americans say they ever use twitter, a small frakes shun than some of the more dominant like youtube and facebook. data shows a minority of very active users are producing the overwhelming majority of tweets. the top 25% are producing 97% of tweets. the other three quarters of the platform's users are just simply reading them. data also shows that twitter users lean pretty far lest, about 32% of adults that say they are democrats, saying they use twitter. that compares to 17% of republicans, creating a 15-point partisan gap. facebook comes closest to having a balanced audience. musk has said he plans to reinstitution trump's account, and enhance its paid subscription options. so the question is, if musk succeeds, how will his changes affect twitter as a platform and its relevance to american politics today. when we come back, a look back at donald trump's changing views on abortion, reversing the position he once made right here on this program. >> well, look, i'm very at donas s on abortion, reversing the pos pro-choice. i hate the concept of abortion. i hate it. new astepro allergy. no allergy spray is faster. with the speed of astepro, almost nothing can slow you down. because astepro starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. and astepro is the first and only 24-hour steroid free allergy spray. now without a prescription. astepro and go. shingles. some describe it as an intense burning sensation or an unbearable itch. this painful, blistering rash can disrupt your life for weeks. it could make your workday feel impossible. the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older, ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles. welcome back. the panel is still here with to cut oil production, in "the washington post" that investigators believe they do have enough evidence to charge hunter biden. it's not clear he'll be charged, but how large is this looming? >> it was a big week here in washington. so much news. i don't even know how you decided what to talk about, but i looked at a bunch of local front pages. in nevada they're talking about trump's rally there, and what it means for candidates, turning out the vote. if you look at pennsylvania, they're talking about mastriano, and georgia is focus the on herschel walker. it doesn't always translate to what voters are talking about in says. and with gas breaks gas prices, if you want to figure on the the direction of politics, watch gas prices. >> i was just talking to a voter who told me at the end of the day, the party will be blamed for they, and they have told me they look at this every day, it's a neon sign odd road, what is the price of a goods? i have a friend in arizona who sent me a screen shot of $7 gas prices there. she's not someone deeply into politics, but she notices when the economy is going one way or another. >> i do want to play this sound bite and pick vote back. right here on this program in 1999, right here on this program in october with tim russert and former president donald trump. >> partial birth abortion. big issue in washington. would president trump ban partial birth abortions? >> look, i'm very pro-choice. i hate the concept of abortion. i hate it. i hate everything it stands for. i cringe when i hear people debating the subject, but i just believe in choice. gin, it may be a bit of a new york background, because there's some different attitude in different parts of the country, and i was raised in new york and grew up and work and everything else in new york city, but i am strongly for choice, yet i hate the concept. >> but you would not ban it. >> no. >> or ban partial-birth abortion? >> no, i am pro-choice in every respect, but i just hate it. >> maggie, one of the things that hits me, it is former president trump who appointed the three conservative supreme court justices that made it possible, and president trump realizes the place that puts republicans in. >> there's no questions that republicans are the dog that called the car on this issue. while i don't think it is going to rise to the same level as the economy in mid terms, it is animating a lot of democrat to say vote. what strikes me listening to that clip, and i've listened to it several times is he's taking a very liberal position, basically say no limits on abortion, this is 20-some odd years ago, but also not answering the question. he's saying pro-choice, hate abortion, and russert is trying to push him on specifics, and trump was evading that. that is part of how he would be successful. he was so vague, jumping all over the place, and frankly all of his careers was about sort of bluffing and faking his way through things. >> brendan, obviously that was one of the things that made republicans so nerve out when he first announced his candidacy. one point is actually there was buzz about whether donald trump was going to run for the office of the presidency, going back to 1999, right? this issue has loomed very large over him. >> sure, you can look at it narrow through, or the better way to describe, it's a culture war. there's a lot of people who believe if you support -- if you don't support abortion, if you're a christian, there are people out to get you. there are elites in washington. trump has taking up the mantle to defend. and so this rich billionaire, how is he the working man's person. he very successfully said i am fighting for, and they're going to stand with him. >> what you're seeing on the other stand and it reminds me of the affordable care act debate. when somebody is taken away, that meeks people very angry. you're seeing in places like new hampshire, a fascinating place, it's more people saying, like, get out of nigh uterus, live free or die, we live in new hampshire. this debate has become more split tal palatable. we even thought -- >> and quickly, you also have the fact that women had all these labels, but now they don't make sense. >> what a great conversation. we are out of time. thank you all. and thank you for watching. chuck todd will be back next week, because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." will be week, because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." major developments overnight in ukraine. as explosions shatter months of relative peace in the country's capital. we'll have a live report in just a moment. plus, new reporting on what former president trump is trying to withhold from the justice department through more claims of executive privilege. meanwhile, alabama senator tommy tuberville is making headlines for a racist rant during a rally for the former president.