Meet the Press NOW — December 1

Meet the Press

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3.8 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 December 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

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Summary

The U.S. military carries out a second strike on an alleged drug cartel boat in the Caribbean after the initial strike didn’t kill everyone onboard, prompting legal concerns and calls for congressional oversight. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) reacts to the escalating tensions with Venezuela. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claims the man who shot National Guard members in Washington, D.C. was radicalized in the United States.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi there and welcome to meet the press now.
0:11.7	I'm Ryan Nobles in Washington, where the Trump administration is facing growing scrutiny
0:16.3	over its strategy of lethal strikes on alleged drug cartel boats in the Caribbean, as President Trump
0:21.9	appears to be escalating pressure on Venezuela and the Maduro regime. Right now, all eyes are on
0:28.4	Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, following revelations that in early September, the military
0:33.4	conducted a second strike on a boat the administration claims was carrying drugs from Venezuela.
0:39.6	The second strike coming after an initial strike failed to kill everyone on the vessel.
0:44.5	That's according to a U.S. official and a source familiar with the Pentagon's actions.
0:49.2	The Washington Post reports the second strike was ordered to comply with a spoken directive from Secretary
0:55.3	Hedgeseth to, quote, kill everybody. Those strikes were the first known U.S. strikes against
1:01.8	alleged cartel boats. In total, the Pentagon has carried out more than 20 strikes, killing
1:07.2	at least 82 people. But they've not publicly disclosed intelligence to back up their
1:12.4	claims that the boats are carrying illegal drugs. Over the weekend, in a rare break with the president,
1:18.7	both the Republican-led House and Senate Armed Services Committees, pushing for answers on that
1:24.3	secondary strike, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling for increased
1:29.3	oversight. We're going to have a public hearing. We're going to put these folks under oath,
1:33.9	and we're going to find out what happens, happened, and then there needs to be accountability.
1:37.8	If it was as if the article said, that is a violation of the law of war. When people want to
1:43.0	surrender, you don't kill them.
1:51.0	Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious. And I agree that that would be an illegal act. If that reporting is true, it's a clear violation of the DOD's own laws of war, as well as international laws about the way you treat people who are in that circumstance.
2:02.7	And so this rises to the level of a war crime if it's true.
2:08.9	President Trump speaking to reporters yesterday on Air Force One appeared to be backing his defense
	...

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