>> this sunday... >> are you ready to meet the press? >> ...we celebrate 75 years of "meet the press"... >> i hope no one would vote for me, either for m me or becausese of my releligion. >> ...where every occupant of the oval office has appeared since the kennedy administration... >> the watergate matter should have been handled properly. >> ...where former presidents and future presidents have made news... >> so, you want to be president? >> i do. >> men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women are entitled the same exact rights. >> in four years, you're going to be interviewing me, and you're going to say, "what a great job you've done, president trump." >> ...where the next day's headlines appear first... >> i would not support the sending of an american team to the olympics. >> ...where leaders from around the world answer tough questions...

>> d democracy's's my idea.. > a weak israel can be thrown into the sea. >> ...where civil rights leaders have shared their struggles... >> we must move, but we must move with wisdom. >> i'm still convinced that there is nothing more powerful to dramatize a social evil than the tramp-tramp of marching feet. >> i understand that i've broken the ice. >> i was not bitter then. i'm not bitter now. >> ...and where everyone is held accountable... >> you know what i i got egg on my face. >> welcome to sunday... >> it's not easy to meet the press. >> ...and a special 75th-anniversary edition of "meet the press." >> from nbc news in washington, the longest-running show in television history -- this is a special edition of "meet the press" with chuck todd. >> good sunday morning. merry christmas and happy hanukkah. so, at 8:00 p.m. on november 6, 1947, moderator martha rountree debuted a press conference

of the air right here on nbc. 1947 was the year jackie robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball with the brooklyn dodgers. it was the same year chuck yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. for 75 years, through 12 moderators and more than 3,500 broadcasts, the program that president john f. kennedy once called "the 51st state" has made news and held newsmakers accountable, interviewing american presidents, world leaders, political candidates, civil rights icons, scientists, sports figures, and entertainers. this morning, we're going to look back on the 75-year history of the longest-running show on television. and we're gonna look forward, as well, as our democracy is challenged and our mission of clarity and accountability is more important than ever. here's marvin kalb. >> our democracy is a very precious national asset that is most healthy, most admirable when there is an open and vigorous exchange between the press on the one side and

the politician and policymaker on the other. that's what this program has been all about. >> thirteen presidents have answered questions on "meet the press" -- herbert hoover and then every president since kennedy. senator john mccain was our most frequent guest, with 73 appearances. senators bob dole, president joe biden, newt gingrich, and chuck schumer round out the top five. dr. martin luther king appeared here five times during the '60s, for the final time in august 1967, less than eight months before he would be assassinated. >> i refuse to give up. i refusese to despaiair in this momoment. i refufuse to allolow myself to fall into the dark chambers ofof pessimism becaususe i think k in any socol revolutition, the onone thing tt keeps it goioing is hope. >> the broadcast has covered national debates over the last seven decades, from the cold war and the rise of communism to fights for equality and progress, to debates on taking the country

to war, be it korea, vietnam, afghanistan, iraq, and now ukraine. >> there is no reason and no excuse and no justification for the loss of one more american life there or for the loss of more vietnamese. this war can be ended, and it should be ended now. >> cameras can be the best disinfectant. and the program has also never shied away from controversy, interviewing louis farrakhan, david duke, joseph mccarthy, and fidel castro, among others. the only way to keep a democracy thriving is to expose ourselves to the uncomfortable, as well as the comfortable. "alternative facts," a phrase coined by former president trump's senior adviser kellyanne conway, in the early days of the trump administration, became a touch point in an era when facts suddenly came under attack. >> you're saying it's a falsehood, and they're giving -- sean spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that. but the point remains.

>> wait a minute. alternative facts? alternative facts are not facts. they're falsehoods. another president, richard nixon, reflected back on his mistakes in office right here in 1988, one of eight presidents who have appeared during or after their years in the oval office. >> in the autumn of your years, as you are reflective about your own life's experiences, personal and as a politician, what criticism do you have with your own behavior or style or things that you've done? >> as president? >> as president or as a human being. >> well, we don't have much time to cover the human being. let's start with the president. first, naturally, the watergate matter should have been handled properly. i should have concentrated on, and apart from the fact that it was wrong, it was stupid. and generally i am called many things, but not often am i called stupid. >> the country has gone through, in the last year, year and a half, some very difficult times.

we went through the problems of watergate. we have been suffering from a very serious economic recession, although we're coming out of it very steadily. we've had a traumatic experience in southeast asia. all of these and perhaps some other problems raised some doubts in the american people as to whether their government, their form of government was capable of meeting these kind of challenges. this doubt, i think, has been considerably reversed, and i think that's extremely encouraging. they know that honesty and candor has been restored in government. >> mr. president, assuming the soviets do not pull out of afghanistan anytime soon, do you favor the u.s. participating in the moscow olympics? and if not, what are the alternatives? >> no. neither i nor the american people would support the sending

of an american team to moscow with soviet invasion troops in afghanistan. i've sent a message today to the united states olympic committee spelling out my own position that unless the soviets withdraw their troops within a month from afghanistan that the olympic games be moved from moscow to an alternate site or multiple sites or postponed or canceled. >> do you think we do a good job? have we been fair to you? >> on balance, yes. i think -- first of all, i don't think there's ever been a president of either party and any philosophy that didn't think that he should have gotten a better press. so, that's just goes with the territory. i think there have been rather dramatic changes in press coverage over the last 20 years, particularly in the washington press, which bears some examination and evaluation by those of you who are in the press.

but i don't think that the president gets anywhere by making any comments on the press. >> do you believe if you had gone to the congress and said, "he should be removed because he's a threat to his people, but i'm not sure he has weapons of mass destruction," congress would have authorized war? >> i went to congress with the same intelligence -- congress saw the same intelligence i had. and they looked at exactly what i looked at. and they made an informed judgment based upon the information that i had -- the same information, by the way, that my predecessor had. and all of us, you know, made this judgment that saddam hussein needed to be removed. >> in light of not finding the weapons of mass destruction, do you believe the war in iraq is a war of choice or a war of necessity? >> i think it's -- that's an interesting question. please elaborate on that a little bit. a war of choice or a war of necessity? it's a war of necessity. my judgment, we had no choice,

when we look at the intelligence i looked at that says the man was a threat. >> president bush, what did you learn in your government's response to the tsunami, to the disaster response to katrina? what lessons did you learn that this administration should bear in mind? >> first of all, it takes time to get the supplies in place. but that shouldn't deter them, in other words. there's an expectation amongst people that things are going to happen quickly, and sometimes it's hard to make things happen. >> why does it take a disaster of this scale and magnitude away from the united states to create this kind of bipartisanship? >> well, i think that when something like this happens inside the united states, we act in the same way. i think that it reminds us of our common humanity. it reminds us of needs that go beyond fleeting disagreements, that whatever our policy disputes are don't seem to matter much when people are dying.

>> you got to go to syria in some form or another. you've ruled out boots on the ground. and i'm curious. have you only ruled them out simply for domestic political reasons, or is there another reason you've ruled out american boots on the ground, because your own guys have said you can't defeat isis with air strikes alone. >> well, they're absolutely right about that. but you also cannot over the long term or even the medium term, deal with this problem by having the united states serially occupy various countries all around the middle east. we don't have the resources. it puts enormous strains on our military. and at some point, we leave, and then things blow up again. >> well, that's what happened with iraq. >> so, we've got to have a more sustainable strategy, which means the boots on the ground have to be iraqi. >> what about syria? >> and in syria, the boots on the ground have to be syrian. >> you were always hard on obama. you thought he wasn't enough of a cheerleader. >> he was not a cheerleader. >> if you could have one do-over

as president, what would it be? >> well, it would be personnel. i would say if i had one do-over, it would be i would not have appointed jeff sessions to be attorney general. >> seventy-nine foreign heads of state have appeared on the broadcast, 65 while in office, from british prime minister harold wilson, who joined in 1965 for the first live transcontinental satellite interview, to indira gandhi, who appeared on "meet the press" seven times before her assassination in 1984. in april 1959, fidel castro appeared on "meet the press" for his first visit to the united states since the cuban revolution, and he declared that he was not a communist. >> i i want to k know wheree your heaeart lies inin the strue bebetween commmmunism and d dem. >> d democracy i is my idea.a. bubut many peoeople used t to cl democracy y saying thihings thae not t democracy. i am not c communism.. i do not a agree with h communi.

>> i'm deeply committed to democracy, not merely because it's a good idea, but because for a country of india's vast size and great diversity, i think democracy, that is a people's participation, is the only way to make it function. >> it has always been our policy that communist china should be in the united nations, and if the issue comes at the united nations, we shall support the entry of communist china to the united nations. i'll say quite plainly why. we have never in our country, and this goes for governments of all political colors, said that you will only have those people in the united nations or that you only recognize them diplomatically if you like them. heaven knows i don't expect miracles if it comes into the united nations. but, you know, there's been a lot of evidence to the refusal to bring china into the united nations that it has driven china more into the arms of russia than would have been the case. >> i'm convinced that the communist idea is no more than a beautiful but perhaps quite

harmful fairy tale for people. it is beautiful, attractive. and if millions of people are, you know, taken in by this ideology, you certainly cannot ignore it. but for us, for the country, which for so many years lived under the standards of this ideology, it is clear that not ideologically but economically, we have reached an impasse. and it is clear that a state cannot exist on that basis. >> what do you need right now to thwart this strategy of essentially getting to the winter and creating a stalemate? >> i always say to win this war, we need three main things -- weaponry, finances, and sanctions. weaponry -- let us protect ourselves and to make these counteroffensives, very successful counteroffensives, with support of our partners. we also ask our partners

to recognize russia as a terrorist country because all what they are doing in ukraine. so, it's just a genocide. this is like terrorist acts. >> where is muhammad omar, the taliban leader? >> we don't know. he's hiding. now, how can someone that's hiding be called a force? he's hiding. we're looking for him. >> where is osama bin laden? >> he's hiding, too. and we are looking for him, too. >> are they hiding in plain sight? >> they are hiding perhaps in the mountains. they are hiding perhaps in the border territories between afghanistan and pakistan. maybe they are hiding somewhere we don't know. we are looking for them on a daily basis. and no fugitive can run forever. >> many americans consider the plo primarily a terrorist organization. is that not justified, at least to an extent?

>> there's an impression in this country that peace in the middle east is further away than it has been at almost any time in the long history of this conflict. do you see any progress at all towards peace? >> that there's less hope for peace now than there ever was before i do not agree to, because i maintain that a strong israel is not only the best guarantee for peace but is the best incentive for peace, because there's no sense of making peace with a weak israel. a weak israel can be thrown into the sea. >> the real problem in the middle east

is not the democracy of israel that has shown restraint and responsibility. but it's the countries like iran that pursue nuclear weapons with the explicit goal first of annihilating us, but also ultimately of conquering the middle east and threatening you. that's why they're developing icbms, intercontinental ballistic missiles, that are meant for one purpose only -- to carry nuclear payloads to a theater near you. they're not intended for us. they already have missiles that reach us. they're developing icbms to reach the united states. don't give them these weapons. >> this deal did not demand any other behavior changes in iran outside of their nuclear weapons program. why not include all that? >> well, this deal was about the nuclear issue. and i think the right way to conclude the deal was to make it about the nuclear issue. but, you know, we shouldn't be naive or starry-eyed in any way about the regime that we're dealing with. and i'm certainly not. i spoke to president rouhani yesterday and said that we want to see a change in the approach

that iran takes to issues like syria and yemen and to terrorism in the region. and we want the change in behavior that should follow from that change. so we're not starry-eyed at all. and i'd reassure our gulf allies about that. but actually taking the nuclear-weapon issue off the table, that is this a success for america and britain and our allies. and we should be clear about that. >> why do you think the british monarchy is so strong despite the fact that so many monarchies in europe have died? >> i think the british are more liberal in their outlook, and i think instead of -- most of the monarchies in europe were really destroyed by their greatest and most ardent supporters. it is the most reactionary people who somehow or other tried to hold on to something without letting it develop and to change. >> have you ever thought to yourself maybe it might be nice to be king? or have you thought, "i'm glad i'm not king"?

>> oh, yes, i'm glad i'm not. [ laughs ] >> when we come back, a look at why announcing a run for higher office has played such an important role on this broadcast. >> so, you will not run for president or vice president in 2008. >> i will not. >> it's fair to say you're thinking about running for president in 2008. >> it's fair, yes. (vo)o) red lobsbster. the f finer poinf fun n dining creatingng your own n ultimae feast..... ...i.is the ultitimate form f shelell-fish-preression. create y your own ulultimate ft is h here. choose 4 of 10, like n new chedr bay shririmp. wewelcome to f fun dining.. hi! need newew glasses?? get t more from m your benenefits at vivisionworks! hohow can you u see meme squintingng? i can't!t! i'm justt tellining everyonene! hey! use yourur vision bebenefis before t they expirere. visisionworks. see ththe differenence. i'm at this wing joint telllling peoplele thatat geico has bebeen offerining savings for over 8 85 years. thatat geico has bebeen offerining savings ththat's longeger than thehe bo wingng's been araround. thatat geico has bebeen offerining savings

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[l[lea] i'm a a retired art teacacher. [steve] wewe met onlinine abt 10 yearsrs ago. as i g got older,, my heaearing was n not so god so i got h hearing aidids. my vision n was not asas god asas it used t to be, got a chchange in prprescript. but ththe this misissing wawas my memorory. i saw w a prevagenen commercl and d i thought,t, "that makekes sense."" i just d didn't haveve to wok so hard d to remembeber thin. prevevagen. healalthier bra. bebetter life.e. >> welcome back. hundreds of hopefuls for higher office have appeared on the program over the years to dodge and duck and sometimes eventually answer the question, "will you or won't you run for president of the united states?" the "meet the press" candidate interview has been a staple from adlai stevenson, who said, "i do not seek, i will not seek the democratic nomination for the presidency" and was the democratic nominee two months later after saying that, to shirley chisholm, who spoke about her groundbreaking 1972 bid tight on this program, to the more than three dozen active presidential candidates that i've interviewed as moderator of this broadcast.

and it has launched candidacies. long before he ran for office, ralph nader's appearance in 1966 generated so much mail for this broadcast that the post office finally called "meet the press" and offered to deliver nader's mail directly to him. in 1960, just a month after his speech to the greater houston ministerial association, our first catholic president, john f. kennedy, appeared here to answer questions about whether in the united states there should be a religious test for office. >> i hope no one would vote for me, , either foror me or b because of f my religioion. now, i'v've said thahat consistentntly, and i i mean it bebecause it's's an importrtant election.. there arare very sererious issus which divivide us, and i dodon't think k this is one of thehem, my religioion or mr. n nixon's religigion. afteter all, i thoughght that matatter was al settled d in the cononstitution, whwhen it saidid, provideded for sepaparation of f church andnd , when it t provided that t there shallll be no religigious test t for offic. so, i wowould hope we could move on. >> there w will be a l large and vocacal minorityty who will b be very criritical

of youou, who are e very crititl of you nowow. how woululd you go about rereconcilingg these e if you werere presidenet of thehe united ststates? >> the problem will not be easy because we are confronted with a g generation n gap. we're e confronteded also withth a racial gap. i believeve i'i'm a prettyty good liststene. >> my objective is to bring about a change of national policy, both with reference to the war and also with reference to national priorities. >> by talking,g, as i willll, about whatat i think c can be de popositively a as far as the futurere is concererned, what c can be donene in the 191, what thihis country y needs to d for,r, and the e idealism a and the feg ofof unselfishshness, whicich ik exists i in our coununtry, that it t seems to m me that i n mamake a contrtribution, and that's's what i intend to d. >> at the age of 49, feeling as i do about this war, i could not conscientiously support it. i'm not recommending that course for anyone else, but i regard this war as the most barbaric and inhumane act that our country has ever committed.

>> first of all, gentlemen, you have to really recognize that i'm doing something in this country that's never really been done before. it's a question of inculcation, reorientation, education. never before in this country, ever since the inception of the republic, have you had a woman seriously running for the presidency. >> i suppose every man has many moments in which he says, "if i had the position and the authority to do certain things, this is what i would do." >> does that mean that you would like to be president? >> that means that you're asking me about a decision that if you have me on the show, say, about a year from now, maybe we'll be closer to getting an answer. >> i'll be there when the last vote is counted. and i expect to win. >> well, considering the size of the deficits, it seems to me you were right in 1980 in calling candidate reagan's policies "voodoo economics." >> oh. >> how do you feel about using that phrase? >> oh, i hoped you wouldn't mention that. >> you'll be 73 when you become president... >> right. >> ...77 after your first term. >> right. >> would you consider making

a pledge to the american people you'll serve just one term? >> no. >> if you look at your voting record, your opponents say, you look more like ted kennedy than sam nunn. aren't you a liberal? >> no, i'm not, and those labels don't mean what they once did. >> so, you want to be president? >> i do. >> i have not made the final decision. i'm giving it serious consideration. i'm not determined to enter the race. but i have determined to set the pace, to set the priorities. and i can say to you because of our numbers, our loyalty, and our public-policy issues, there should be a black on that ticket. >> one of the things about a president bush is i'll be surrounded by good, strong, capable, smart people who understand the mission of the united states is to lead the world to peace. >> we ran the best grassroots campaign that i've seen in my lifetime. they ran a better one. why? because we sent 14,000 people into ohio from elsewhere. they had 14,000 people from ohio talking to their neighbors. that's how you win in rural states and in rural america. >> tim, i don't want to run for

president of the united states. >> "i will not run." >> i do not intend to run for -- no, i will not run for president of united states. how's that? i don't know how many ways to say no in this town. >> period. period. it's fair to say you're thinking about running for president in 2008. >> it's fair, yes. >> dissent is the mother of assent. and in that context, i have decided to run for president. >> do sarah palin and i disagree on a specific issue? yeah, because we are both mavericks. but we share the same goal of cleaning up washington. >> the question is whether are you the moderate from massachusetts who championed universal healthcare, who at one time was for abortion rights, or are you the the candidate who said he was a severe conservative? what will you be as president? >> i'm as conservative as the constitution. >> i want to read something that was paraphrased to you. it says... is it safe to say if you thought hillary clinton were doing that,

you wouldn't be considering this? >> well, "a," i don't know that hillary clinton is running. "b," i don't know what she is running on. >> can you imagine running in the same republican primary as jeb bush? >> if i make that decision that that's the right place for me to serve at this moment in my life, i'll run for president. and that's what my decision will be built on. but, you know, i have tremendous respect for jeb bush. >> i sort of was amused about this little excerpt from your playboy interview in 1990. the questioner asks, "what is all of this" -- meaning talking about your yacht, the bronze tower, the casino -- "what does it really mean to you?" and you replied, "props for the show." and then he said, "what show is that?" and you replied, "the show is trump, and it has sold out performances everywhere." >> and it has been for a long time. >> are we all a part of a show? i mean, there is something -- you know that some of the criticisms. we all feel like we're in -- are we in a reality show? >> no, this is not a reality -- this is the real deal. >> one of the phrases you used, "i alone can fix it." in some people that sounded almost too strongman-ish for them. >> well... >> do you understand that criticism, and what do you

make of it? >> i'll tell you, part of it was i'm comparing myself to hillary. and we know hillary, and we look at her record. her record has been a disaster. and i am running against hillary. it's not like i'm running against the rest of the world. >> i am going to keep focused on donald trump because i will be the nominee. in the course of this campaign, we are going to demonstrate he has no ideas. there's no evidence he has any ideas about making america great, as he advertises. he seems to be particularly focused on making himself appear great. >> if you win reelection this year, are you going to pledge to serve a full six-year term? >> so, look. i am not running for president of the united states. i am running for the united states senate, 2018, massachusetts. whoo-hoo! >> why is it too early to announce, to decide? >> well, you're going to have to ask my wife, who's here in the audience. >> you told roll call, the capital newspaper, you're thinking about running for president in 2000. >> no, i'm not thinking about running, absolutely not.

>> gonna run for president? >> i haven't made that decision. >> but you're thinking about it. >> yes. >> are you running for president? >> i am running for president. >> you don't want to become president? you won't run. >> i didn't say that. >> is your goal to be the presumptive front-runner... >> yes. >> ...at the end of march? >> yes. >> the president has been very clear that he intends to run again. and if he does, i will be running with him. >> does donald trump's 2024 plans impact your 2024 plans? >> i have said that if president trump runs, i will not run. >> what would it take to get you to run for president? >> look -- i am going to be very focused on all of the things that we've been talking about. and i care deeply, as i know you do, as millions of people do, about this nation and about the blessing that we have as a constitutional republic. >> the fact that you may run, are you sending that message without saying it? >> well... [ chuckles ] i'll keep you posted on whether i'm going to run or not. but i do think we'll have better choices. >> when we come back, a look at the important role this show has played in covering

the struggle for civil rights. >> i believe firmly in nonviolence. i still believe that it is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and human dignity. ♪ what will l you do? ♪ ♪ ♪ what wilill you chanang? ♪ will y you make somethining better?? ♪ will youou create somemething entitirely new? ♪ will youou create somemething entitirely new? our dedell technolologies advivs prprovide you u with the toolols and expepertise youd toto do incrededible thingn. because e we believeve ths an innovovator in alall o. my name isis douglas.. i'i'm a writerer/directorr and i'm m still workrking. in the kinind of work k that i, you u are surrouounded by pepe who are e all youngeger than . i had to g get help somewhere e along the e line

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>> welcome back. throughout the years, countless icons of the ever-evolving fight for civil rights and social change have appeared on "meet the press." in 1966, the broadcast devoted a 90-minute special to the topic, bringing together the leaders of organizations, including the naacp, the student nonviolent coordinating committee, and the southern christian leadership conference, whose president was none other than dr. martin luther king. and through the last 75 years, this program has featured leaders in the women's movement, black lives matter, the metoo movement, and the fight for equal pay, just to name a few. >> today in this special hour-and-a-half program, "meet the press" focuses on the country's number-one domestic problem, civil rights. >> it is very important to see the difference between nonviolent demonstrations and riots. it may be true that in a demonstration, people react with violence

toward nonviolent demonstrators. but you don't blame the demonstrators. this would be like blaming the robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery. ultimately, society must condemn the robber and not the robbed. it must protect the robbed. and this is where we are in these demonstrations. and i'm still convinced that there is nothing more powerful to dramatize the social evil than the tramp-tramp of marching feet. >> as far as we're concerned, as i said before, we believe in nonviolence, providing nobody hits us. when somebody hits us, we believe in self-defense. >> there's a difference between self-defense and nonviolence, though. >> well, self-defense and nonviolence are not incompatible. >> dr. king, you heard what mr. mckissick said. are you in disagreement or not? >> i believe firmly in nonviolence, and i still believe that it is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people

in their struggle for freedom and human dignity. i think a turn to violence on the part of the negro at this time would be both impractical and immoral. >> mrs. roosevelt, do you think we're moving fast enough and strong enough to desegregate our schools? >> i do not think we want violence. i think we want understanding. i think we want education. i think we want to move. but we can't stand still. we must move, but we must move with wisdom. >> the code word for racism in this campaign has been the bus. it's not the bus. it's us. i think that the fundamental issue is not political or legal. it's a moral question. will white american leadership have the moral integrity and fortitude to stand by its own constitutional decisions? it's really a question of race.

we are willing, if we want to allow people to kill together, to use any form of transportation, bus or ship or air. but when it comes together -- when it comes to the question of our living and learning together, we still do not have enough moral strength in the white house to make essentially a moral decision to support a constitutional decision. >> we were kneeling. we were knocked down. they startrt beating u us with nightsticks, tramping us with horses, releasing the tear gas. i was hit in the head by a state trooper with a nightstick. i lost consciousness. fifty years later, i don't recall how i made it back across that bridge to the little church that we had left from. apparently, a group literally carried me back to the church. >> it would be perfectly understandable if you were bitter -- bitter today, bitter a week later from when it happened,

bitter 20 years. were you bitter ever after -- >> i was not bitter then. i'm not bitter now. >> never before in this country, ever since the inception of the republic, have you had a woman seriously running for the presidency. i was breaking a tradition, a tradition in which only white males have only been the gentlemen in this country that have guided the ship of state. so, you don't expect people, black, white, men, or women, to suddenly overcome a tradition that has been steeped ever since the inception of this republic. so, i understand that. i've broken the ice. >> the adversary, which is a word i prefer to enemy, are those individuals who have usurped control of our lives and who in general turn out to be that 3% of the population which is white, male, over 30, and college-educated. and that is the pool from which we have taken our leadership, in fact, which i think goes a long way to explaining the poverty of the leadership. >> well, are you saying that the white male, educated person

is the enemy of the woman's movement or the adversary? i beg your pardon. >> well, from a statistical point of view, that's accurate. >> i am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. and, quite frankly, i don't see much of a distinction beyond that. >> our team has managed to make people proud again, to capture people's interests, to make them want to do something. i think people are asking the question, "how can we rally around this team? and in that really what the team stands for, whether it's equal pay or racial equality or lgbtq rights. i think we've just managed to give people hope. and with that now we need to do the next step, which is to actually take the progress step. >> when we come back, we've learned more sometimes on this show by talking to important figures outside the world of politics. >> and i think the game

has been here a lot longer than allen iverson or michael jordan, grant hill or charles barkley. i think what sometime is forgotten is some of the sweat and some of the honest work way, way long ago that's been, you know, laid down for us to come here. ♪ what will l you do? ♪ ♪ ♪ what wilill you chanang? ♪ will y you make somethining better?? ♪ will youou create somemething entitirely new? ♪ will youou create somemething entitirely new? our dedell technolologies advivs prprovide you u with the toolols and expepertise youd toto do incrededible thingn. because e we believeve ths an innovovator in alall o.

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>> welcome back. over the years, pastors and poets, astronauts and actors have joined "meet the press" to reflect on the country in changing times and to provide their own unique perspectives on our politics. >> i wonder if you could tell us how you feel today about appearing on this program. >> i feel just about the same, mr. clurman, as i did then. it's not easy to meet the press. of jesus the christ, an at-risk baby.

wise men went to the at-risk baby. the government, in effect, obligated mary and joseph to pay taxes. they did not have the right to vote. she had the baby outdoors in a the stable in the wintertime. wise men embrace at-risk babies, and unwise men abandon them. i challenge us to be wise. >> my whole goal is as a pastor, my goal is to encourage, to support. i never take sides. i have friends who are republicans, and i have friends who are democrats. and i'm for my friends. people ask me, "are you left wing or right wing?" and it's pretty well-known. i say, "i'm for the whole bird." >> do you feel, mr. frost, that the colleges are perhaps neglecting the liberal arts and favoring science? >> no. i think the young people go where they're drawn. and there was a time when i thought science was drawing them all off from poetry. and, you know, my jealousy.

and then i've heard lately that they aren't getting any scientists. i don't know where the young people have all gone. i'm going to make an inquiry. i think they've gone to sociology. >> you were once quoted as saying -- these were your words. "this could help my kids, too. i want them to be better off than i was as a young man." now, if your fondest expectations were realized, and we did get to the moon, what benefits do you think we may bring to help future generations? >> i think man's participation in this guarantees one thing. if we can see things, perceive them, analyze them, relate them back to our experiences here, this is a main thing that man brings to the program. he can see things, new things that now are completely unforeseen or unknown. >> dr. sagan, do you think men should go to mars? >> well, it depends what the objective is. if the objective is scientific exploration, and we're talking about the immediate future,

i think that intelligent machines, sort of descendants of vikin are the way to go. >> a mission to mars would be a tremendous national goal to set. it's not set yet. i personally think 100 years from now, when we're talking about this, we will look back and we will have been to mars. >> i am a citizen activist. i think it's in the highest tradition of our country for private citizens to speak out not just as individuals, but as members of organizations that can have some power. obviously, as someone who is famous, i have a particular responsibility, and i want to try to use it properly. >> our camera caught you having a conversation with the protesters last night. what did you say to them? >> well, that was the funniest thing. i went over to try to talk to him. and he said i was some corporate shill, which, if you know me, that's one of the funnier things you could say about me. and then he just said, you know,

"you sucked as batman." and i was like, "well, you kind of got me on that one." and then i walked away, and that was basically it. >> you once wrote that a poem should begin in delight and end in wisdom. >> yes, the way -- >> do you think many of our poets write that way? >> many things -- love affairs are just the same, you know. [ laughter ] >> for generations, the moon has been an inspiration to poets and songwriters and has played an important role in romance. how do you feel about going down in history as men who helped prove that the moon is made up of nothing but dirt, dust, and rock? >> that's only from the short range. at a distance, it's still made up of love, kisses, and happiness. >> right. it'll always be romantic. [ laughter ] >> sports has also made a frequent appearance on the show, whether it's in a locker room with allen iverson, shaquille o'neal, and the nba commissioner, or on the field at yankee stadium with rob manfred in his first broadcast network interview as major league baseball commissioner. over the years, we've taken an in-depth look at the problem of concussions in football. we've talked with sports figures

who are pushing the pace of social change, about what it's like being seen as a role model by many, and why it took so long for washington, d.c., to have its own major league baseball team. and we've heard from everyone from yogi berra to michael jordan to jackie robinson, who appeared on this show all the way back in april of 1957. >> patience is fine. i think that if we go back and check our record, the negro has proven beyond a doubt that we have been more than patient in seeking our rights as american citizens. "be patient," i was told as a kid. i keep hearing that today. "let's be patient. let's take our time. things will come." seems to me that the civil war has been over about 93 years. and if that isn't patience, i don't know what is. >> you and muhammad ali were attached at the hip at those tumultuous times and in many ways supported each other during times when you'd be attacked by the media, you'd be attacked by political leaders. >> that's absolutely true.

but the greatest thing about muhammad ali is that he represented himself as a great american because americans will stand up for freedom, equality, and justice. >> my father raised me from a young boy to just play hard, play hard, have fun, have fun, win, win, win, almost to be perfect, even though there is no perfect player, perfect person, perfect game. and, you know, you practice how you play. if you practice a certain way, then you'll play a certain way. so, i just try to, you know, practice hard. >> athletes are secondary role models. your parents are your primary role models. there's not many grant hills or michael jordans out there. every kid wants to be, but they're not going to be. that's unrealistic. they have a better chance of being what their mother and father are, and that's reality. i mean, we try to make people think they can be famous and everything, but, hey, these guys have special god-given abilities. they should listen to their parents and get a good education. >> i think the game has been here a lot longer than

allen iverson or michael jordan, grant hill or charles barkley. i think what sometimes is forgotten is some of the sweat and some of the honest work way, way long ago that's been, you know, laid down for us to come here and earn the type of money or get the respect of the fans, of the media, or whatever. and i never want to forget that. and i think that's a respect that i ask that every athlete, every player pay back to the game. it's not to me. it's not to charles. it's to the game of basketball. >> grant hill, what would happen to the nba without michael jordan? >> well, it would give the rest of us a chance to win. [ laughter ] >> all politics is local. >> should the nfl permanently be taking care of your healthcare? >> i think they should. you know, you told me about everything else, but you didn't tell me about the risk associated with traumatic brain injury. >> do you think they knew then? >> they had to know something. >> if there's one message you would like americans to understand about islam, what would it be? >> that islam is

a religion of peace. islam does not tolerate wanton murder. people have to understand that there are good muslims that are on the side of what we understand to be the rule of law and just common sense and decency. >> how do you tell a trump supporter who loves watching you and is like, "i wish she'd go to the white house"? >> yeah, i think that i would, you know, try to share our message. do you you believe that all people are created equal? do you believe that equal pay should be mandated? do you believe that everyone should have healthcare? do you believe that we should treat everyone with respect? i think those are the basics of what we're talking about. >> cal ripken ever think about politics? >> no. >> never? you go to the park. you see those signs, "cal for president." >> oh, there's a certain fascination with it. but, god, it's hard enough just being a baseball player. >> you were a great baseball player -- all-star 15 times, most valuable player 3 times. and yet you're probably best

known in america for your yogi-isms. you have eight entries into "bartlett's book of quotations"... >> oh, boy. >> ...more than voltaire. but let let me go through a few of them on the screen and get your understanding. the first... >> well, you can't. i don't think you can. you got too much to worry about the pitcher out there. can't think and hit at the same time. >> let me show you another one. >> that's true! >> that's true is right. it is. you could observe a lot by watching. [ laughter ] >> alright, how about this one... >> take it. we got a street back home. we have one. that's why i said, "take it." >> after i hit the home run, i think i kind of got down on my knees and prayed that it was -- i was glad it was over with. >> it was an interesting time for you because much of the country cheering you on, but some of the country saying, "oh, no, no, don't have a black man break babe ruth's record." you still have an attic full of hate letters that you got.

>> i certainly do. and i've been criticized for that, too. but i'm going to keep them because i think that people need to be reminded that was not that far removed. you know, it was just yesterday, a few years ago when that happened to me. >> doesn't the nation's capital deserve a major-league team again? >> well, once again, that's a very nice question. it's one i choose not to answer. the national league committee is looking hard at sites. it would be wrong to comment on sites, though i should say the passion and support of a number of those cities is running very high. >> there are no plans right now to move a club, and we don't have any further expansion plans. but that doesn't mean that at some point -- that's a terrific area. but whether or not they'll get a team, or when they'll get a team hasn't been determined. >> is a pitch clock coming? >> you know, some people say to me, "put a clock in baseball? why would you want to do that?" >> yogi, we are out of time. i think this program is just about over. >> it ain't over till it's over. >> and you know what? a man who can take a cue.

>> when we come back, even on this serious sunday program, we still know how to laugh at ourselves and keep it all in perspective. you know, the only reason i asked that question, because i expected an answer just like that, anyway. former -- >> you're a [bleep] you're a [bleep] [ both laugh ] >> i assume i'm getting that as a compliment. i'll take that as a backhanded compliment. younung lady whoho was, you knknow, mid 3030s, cocouple of kikids, recentny wentnt through a a divorce.. shshe had a lolot of queststs when shehe came in.. i watchehed my motheher go throughgh being a s single. at t the end of f the day, i watchehed my motheher go throughgh being a s single. mymy mom raisesed three chchil, inclcluding myseself. and so o once the clclient knknew that shshe was heara. we w were able t to help her momove forwardrd. your clienent won't care how mumuch you knonow until theyey know how mumuch you carare. (vo) red d lobster. t the finer p pof fun diningng

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>> welcome back. for obvious reasons, journalists have played a key role on "meet the press." and there are two who have appeared more than anyone else in the 75 years. david broder of the washington post holds the record with 401 total appearances. and may craig, who was the washington correspondent for the portland press heral, appeared 243 times. before we go, it's been a lot of fun on this show for years, and we wanted to show you a few of those fun moments. >> i don't want to be president. i want to run for president. there's a difference. i'm running in south carolina. >> you'd like to lose? >> i'd like to lose twice. i'd like to lose both a republican and a democrat. >> and what statement would that make? >> i think that statement would make that i was able to get on the ballot in south carolina. and if i can do it, so can you. >> seth meyers, welcome to "meet the press." >> it's great to be here. i'm so excited to be on "meet the press" without having to run for office. it's so much easier this way.

>> but if you do want to declare something, you know, feel free to do that. >> i think mostly i'm just going to run from previous statements and hit some talking points. i've been watching a lot of "meet the press" to prepare for this. >> give me your percentage prediction -- kerry, bush, nader. >> i think that kerry's going to get 52%. democrats -- >> and bush what? >> 47%. >> and one for nader >> one for nader. >> 52-47-1. >> alright. mr. russert, everybody knows that i have dyslexia. and what i really meant to say, i just transposed the numbers wrong, you know? that's all it was. >> i see. >> you know what i say? i got egg on my face. >> oh, my god! [ laughter ] >> i don't believe this. >> i got egg on my face. it was a bad prediction. >> should i be relieved you didn't bring your shotgun in today? >> i wouldn't worry about it. you're not in season. >> [ laughs ] mr. vice president, i hope i never am. before you go, mr. secretary, the last time you were on, one month ago,

i received thousands of letters and telegrams about this scene. let's just watch this for a second. >> tim, don't swing the camera away from me again. >> finally, mrs. secretary, in february 2003, you placed your enormous personal credibility before the united nations and laid out a case against saddam hussein, citing... >> they can't use it. they're editing it. >> he's still asking me questions. tim, i'm sorry. i lost you. >> you answered the question. and because of that, we are eternally grateful. we'd like to present you the first-annual colin powell palm tree award for answering questions under adverse circumstances. you'll forever be in the annals of "meet the press." we thank you again for joining us today. >> well, tim, thank you very much. i honor this. >> do you ever run for office again? >> i'd rather set myself on fire than to run for office again. >> you know, the only reason i asked that question, because i expected an answer just like that, anyway. former -- >> you're a [bleep] you're a [bleep] [ both laugh ] >> i assume i'm getting that as a compliment.

i'll take that as a backhanded compliment. >> i hate the press. i hate you especially. but the fact is, we need you. we need a free press. >> to dig into more moments from "meet the press" and our archives, scan the code right here on your screen or visit... the website is home to 75 of the biggest moments in "meet the press" history. check them out. see if you agree with our picks. that's all for today. merry christmas, happy hanukkah. thanks for watching. we'll be back next week and next year, because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

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those of you who violate the driving bans, you may think you can go to the store for that sick pack, but you are endangering other people we need you to stay home for the next 24 hours at least >> deadly holiday storm hitting multiple states with dozens killed amid power outages and life-threatening temperatures for much of the u.s. ukraine's president zelenskyy urges his nation to keep the faith as part of his christmas message, and pope francis marks the holy day with a call to peace. the holidays can be a stressful time, and researcher