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Meet the Press

Meet the Press NOW — February 19

Meet the Press

NBC News

President, Primary Election, 2020, Democratic Presidential Debate, 2016, Policy, 2018, Political, Debate, Democrats, Nbc, Politics, Chuck Todd, Elections, Republicans, Russert, Public, Democratic Primary, Government, 2018 Midterms, News, News Commentary, Washington, 2020 Election, Congress, Road To 2020, Issues, White House, Meet The Press, Analysis, Campaign

3.63.8K Ratings

🗓️ 19 February 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Pentagon surges military assets into the Middle East as President Trump ramps up his threats towards Iran. NBC News Chief Data Analyst Steve Kornacki previews the special election in Georgia for former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss the election landscape heading into the midterms. British police arrest former Prince Andrew, brother of King Charles III, after new revelations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to meet the press now. I'm Monica Alba in Washington, where the Trump administration is dealing with competing policy priorities as the U.S. military is pushing more weaponry into the Middle East for possible

0:21.3

strikes on Iran, while his party and the voters who put him in office are looking to hear more

0:26.6

from the president on domestic issues, like the economy and affordability heading into the

0:31.6

midterm elections. Right now, President Trump is in Battleground, Georgia in the district

0:36.1

previously held by Marjorie Taylor Green.

0:39.0

He's expected to speak there shortly touting his economic agenda and is a notable location, of course, because it's conservative voters in deep red districts like that who propelled President Trump to victory just 14 months ago, in part because of his America First policies and his pledge

0:56.6

not to start any new foreign wars. But foreign policy was the focus of the first part of the

1:02.8

president's day today as he convened the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace, hosting

1:08.2

representatives from more than 40 countries at the U.S. Institute of Peace,

1:12.6

which also now bears his name. That meeting today largely focused on the fragile ceasefire

1:18.6

and rebuilding efforts in Gaza. But in his opening remarks, President Trump also addressed the current U.S.

1:23.9

talks with Iran and appear to hint at a possible timeline for U.S. military action.

1:30.5

It's proven to be over the years not easy to make a meaningful deal with her.

1:35.6

We have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise, bad things happen. But we have to make a meaningful

1:40.4

deal. So now we may have to take it a step further or we may not. Maybe we're going to make a deal. You're going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days. They can't have

1:48.9

a nuclear weapon. You can't have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weapon. And

1:55.2

they can't have a nuclear weapon. And they've been told that very strongly. And while speaking to reporters

2:00.7

on Air Force One en route to Georgia, President Trump expanded a bit on that timeline. What is the goal if there is in U.S. in illegitism? Well, we either make a deal or we're going to get a deal one way or the other. But with the military, so I say, it's a way out there. I'm not going to talk to you about that, but we're either going to get a deal or

2:18.1

it's going to be unfortunate for them.

2:21.5

I have a deadline.

2:24.6

Firms make a deal?

2:25.8

I would think that would be enough time, 10, 15 days, pretty much maximum.

...

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