this sunday obamacare repeal and replace is on life support as republicans peel away. >> the bill needs a lot more than tweaking or tinkering around the edges. it needs a major overhaul. >> i didn't come here to hurt people. >> and if republicans can't pass their bill -- >> the markets will continue to collapse and we'll have to sit down with senator schumer. >> my guests this morning, health and human services tom price and two senators who say a bipartisan bill might not be such a bad idea, democrat tom carper and republican bill cassidy. plus, plus, dignity of the office, the

presidential tweet storm aimed at two anchors. >> i am appalled, this is the president of the united states, you don't attack them. why does the president seems so interested in fighting with the media. new reporting that could suggest the first real link between the russian and the trump campaign. joining me for inside analyst is hugh hewitt and katie hunt. welcome to sunday, it is "meet the press. >> nbc news, washington, the longest running show in television history celebrating its 70th year. this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. >> good sunday morning and happy july 4th weekend. who knew healthcare can be so

complicated. mcconnell had a simple plan. repeal and replace, doing it behind close door and pass it quickly. go home for the 4th of july with the party having been made good on a key campaign promise. well, one by one, republican senators began to announce their opposition of the bill. that said 22 million fewer people would wine up being covered that that projected medicaid spending would fall over 35% over the next 40 years. last night at an event honoring veterans here, the president focused on attacking the med ia and not on healthcare. the fake media is trying to silen silence us. we'll not let them.

people know the truth. fake media trying to stop us from going in the white house but i am president and they're not. >> throw in mr. trump's tweet storms against msnbc's anchors which complicate manners. mcconnell is left with the task of saving the bill by himself. >> reporter: republican members of congress may have left washington but they cannot escape efforts to pass the healthcare bill. >> on wednesday, the president promised -- >> healthcare is working along very well. >> by friday, president trump appears to acknowledge that mcconnell does not have the

vote. republican senators should repeal and replace a later day. >> i want repeal and replace if we can do those two together and one legislative package, i am goo with that. if we are going to fail with that, we should separate the two. we should keep our promise. >> mcconnell dismissed the president. we are going to stick with that path and adding, it is not easy making america great again, is it? >> repealing obamacare without replacing it, would complicate republican efforts to move forward. mr. trump said that strategy is unacceptable. we are not going to have a two day period or two year period where there is nothing. it will be repealed and replaced. >> then there is the fact that there is an out right repeal

have less support than the current senate legislation. >> i don't think we got the vote and senate to pass that. >> the legislative. >> i did not come here to help people. this week, republicans cautiously suggested bipartisan ship as a last resort. >> the best outcome is a bipartisan bill. >> for some reason, it fails, we then the flood gate would open to reach a bipartisan compromised. with the senate bill, president trump further complicated the process by spending nearly half the week attacking msnbc, mimika. >> you are president of the united states of america, the greatest country on earth. you have a special obligation to be above this. >> and joining me now representing the trump administration is health and

human services todd price, welcome back to "meet the press." >> happy independence day. >> same to you. >> repeal now and replace later? is that an acknowledgment that the senate bill is unworkable as it stands? >> we don't think so. we think leader mcconnell and his senator are working to try to get this piece of legislation on track. their conversations are ongoing as we speak. >> is it going to scale back the propose reduction in medicaid

spending? what is it that you are comfortable with that the president is comfortable with that you like to see in the senate. there are three senate area that y we are working on. we want to make sure medicaid is a program that could survive. we got a third physician in the land that won't see patients. we need to fix that. if those individuals transition to medicaid, nobody falls through the cracks. making sure that folks who want coverage, it is right for them and their families and the third area is opioid crisis. the numbers are worst than that.

we have to make sure we address this issue and turn it into the right direction. >> you said something that's going to be on my show, hug hugh hewitt and you were a little skeptical. >> we don't need to be throwing money at this issue. so i am guessing you don't like the way mitch mcconnell is throwing right now and is that what you are suggesting? this looks like senators are worried about it? >> we have seen over dose cldea in the country spiked to a degree. the numbers are no better now. that should tell anybody who are sober and looking at the situation that what we are doing right now is not working. therefore what we need to do is

address it in a strategic way and methodical way of evidence based program can reduce this incredible over doses and deaths across this land. we don't need to be throwing money to say lets put more money in there. we need to identify things that are working and fund those things that are working. >> what you are suggesting, the united states state senate is not prepared to decide how much money is necessary. >> no, no chuck. >> if you don't know and don't have the evidence yet, what exactly is working or what's not, are you suggesting that the senate needs a whole some hearing on this before they decide to throw money at this problem? there is a lot of what works that's known through the department of health and services and substance abuse and health agencies through nih and cdc, there is a lot that's known about what does work. what i am just suggesting and i think it is important to appreciate this, when the resources are provided boy the

congress of united states, that those money goes towards those program that are successful in mitigating the challenge of opioid over dose. >> i want to go over the cost of insurance for older americans of preexisting conditions. older americans can be charged up to five times as much as young people rather than a cat at three times as much under the current law. the arp is calling that an age tax. the older you are, the more you will end up paying of premiums. do you agree with their announcement? >> i don't, that brings us to the point where why do we do any of this? the fact the matter is premiums are up and enrollments are down and insurers are leaving the market. the fact the matter is its only gotten worse since then because there is not been any action. what we are trying to do is

bring all of those prices down and everybody, premiums in this nation have doubled over the past four years and up of an average of $3,000 for the average family. that's a tax on everybody. what we want to do is bring all of those prices down so seniors and young people and folks in middle age. every analysis suggests while premiums came down for younger americans that for older americans for precondition existing, these numbers are going to go up. >> that's precisely because the congression fall budget office and these analysis don't look at the entire plan. the entire plan includes not just this piece of legislation which is a significant piece. it is not the entire plan. the other piece is legislation that provides for increase and

competition and choices for the insurance market and all the things of the department of health and services right now as we speak to make sure we are turning back the tide of all of the rules and regulations that we put in place that decreases choices and in crease costs. they can examine the legislation that's only in front of them. let me ask you on the president's behavior. last week. not only he unloaded on cable news host and including folks that i work with. he seems to not being helpful on healthcare publicly. last night he hold a rally of sorts. he spends most of his time

tweeting other than healthcare. is the president too distracted to campaign of healthcare. >> the president had multiple meetings within the white house itself, with business groups and patien patients, individual stake hold ers, telling us that the current system is collapsing. that's what the president is talking about. the area where obamacare is in place, premiums are up and enrollment down ensures leaving states and tallies across the nation before the president was sworn into office. >> let me ask you about the tone of the president's tweets, many republicans in the senate condemned the personal attack on the anchors and you have lyndsey graham saying this is beneath

the dignity of the president. this has to stop. does this bother you? >> well, what i am concentrated on is the job that he's given me and that's to make sure that we fulfill the mission of the department of health and service, which is the health and well-being of the american people. there is a whole array of activities that we are taking. my job is consumed by making certain that we fulfill the mission. >> i am asking you as a father. your son tweeted about a woman like that, what would you say to him? >> this is remarkable. you got incredible challenges across the nation. incredible challenges around the world. the challenges that i have been given is address the healthcare issue. your program with the incredible history of "meet the press" and that's what you want to talk about. >> mr. secretary, i am asking you why the president of the united states, mr. secretary, with all due respect, you are

blaming me of what the president of the united states spent his entire week is focused on? >> insurance companies vacating markets all across the land thar that's what they want us to fix and that's what i am and the president are working on. why is the president not as devoted to this as you are. >> absolutely. >> he can do more than one thing at a time. and the challenge that he's put before us at the department of health and human services to make certain that we not only address the issue of the healthcare legislation but address the united states world of the world as it relates to researches and developments and make certain that we are on the cutting edge of this incredible innovation that's available to decrease humans suffering, not just the united states but around the world. that's the challenges that he's

given us. secretary price. >> i don't think a lot of people envy or the position that the president put you in. thank you for coming on. i appreciate it. >> the repeal and replace bill have been written entirely by republicans. an increasing number of the senate have said, the bipartisan bill may only be the option left. >> i sat down with bill cassidy in louisiana and asked them what does it take for the two parties to come together. >> if you introduce the bill, we have time to read it and hold hearings and discussions and talk to cbo directors and if we can go through that and have chance in the committee, we would end up with a much better plan. >> when does the recess hit? >> i think we hit it. >> senator cassidy, your side of

the isle? >> i agree with some of what tom just said, we need governors involved, i want to call governors on both sides of the isle include mig oing my own. which was a concerted efforts to reach across the isle. gayle lewinski, she says if democrats do not sign on the bill and they get to keep what they have now which is the 5% haircut, they're not serious about working with others. now, there is a political article yesterday, chuck schumer, the author were speaking of how senator schumer got all 48 senators in line and you cannot cooperate and etcetera, until democrats say they were to sign on the act.

i am not sure if we are ready for bipartisan ship. >> this is a great opportunity to pause. this is a great opportunity for bill and me and others, i have to say what is it in the affordable care act that you need to fix. >> my frustration, sometimes i look at this and think, you are arguing over the details of the same str you cucture. there are times you guys sound like you disagree or agree. >> it seems simplicity but it combs across that way. >> it evolves power down to the state. i would argument that there are some fundamental differences between cassidy/collins plan and the affordable care act. that's what the governor and the people of delaware to decide. if louisiana says we cannot afford 20 or $30,000 on premiums

on the market, let us do something different. it should be for the people of the state to decide. if you see one program to make sure everybody has insurance, you see one program to make sure one program that everybody has insurance. >> i want to close out the conversation, is medicaid going to be the default for insurance options for folks that cannot get any insurance at this point? >> is this the default? >> when i was 29-year-old, right out of the navy, when i was state treasure, i thought medicaid was healthcare. >> that was the stereotype. >> it was not today. a lot of them are poor. two millions of them are veterans and for us to walk away

from that obligations, i don't think we want to do that. are there ways to provide medicaid of an effective way. many states, we have private insurance, in order to hold down cost. >> i feel that's the fundamental debate inside your conference. >> i think you have said, hey, we got to get over this idea. you are there, congress already established that. >> that's what you said but not everybody believes that. >> not every republicans are comfortable with the idea. >> i don't mind and i prefer that people of the upper end of medicaid go in to private insurance. medicaid is a bier aarrier to s improvements because you hate to take a high paying jobs pause you lose medicaid. >> the population of the individual market when someone makes more money, they make more

money, they're not afraid of where they fall off. there is different incentives. it needs to be restructured and ideally people going into private insurance. >> how much harder does the president make this and pops on twitter here, does that complicate on your goal here? >> our focus has to be on the kitchen's table family paying 20,000 or $30,000 premiums or their child maybe addicted to opioi opioids. we as a country, we cannot be focused on tweets. we need to focus on answering that family's problems. i get so frustrated when we are focused on tweets.

>> you are saying that you are frustrated with tweets. i read about the issues and i don't read about the president o 's tweets. we need to have focus on families and not on the president's tweets. >> does he make it harder for democrats? >> he makes it a lot harder for himself. >> state, government and business school or whatever, all is leadership. and i have been trained as a leader since a 1-year-o0-year-o scout. this man is trained as a leader, too. >> one of the things they taught is treat other people how you want to treat it. and give them the credit, i mean everything i was trained as a ed le leader. this man is none of those things

and i look at it and i shake my head. they're having terrible times covering po isitions. we are just not getting names. it is just because people in part don't want to work for this office. >> thank you both. happy 4th of july. >> bipartisan ship? >> later in the broadcast, did we just see the first link between russian hack ing and th trump's campaign. the president's latest tweets storm. ma is it possible that it is the other way. playing ] it's here, but it's going by fast. the opportunity of the year is back: the mercedes-benz summer event. get to your dealer today for incredible once-a-season offers,

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welcome to hugh hewitt, host welcome back, our panelists here. all right, i want to get on

specific of healthcare, this is your beat. give me the next when the senators come back from a week tomorrow, what's the time line and what's going to happen? everybody is exhausted and they want a little space. you are going to see one more last stitch effort on this bill. senator majority leader he's tired of stuck on this issue and having it hang out there and every news cycle mattis difficu for him. his majority is slim and dean heller, the white house went after him. that caused a real risk between the white house and mcconnell. all of this is a factor. >> the washington post did an interesting analysis and did not talk about his healthcare and

he's been tweeting about everybody. we have this great graphic here, the first week of june, 80% of his tweets were not of government. the next week was not about work forest development and technology, not a single tweet was about technology. >> i know there are conversations between the white house and some senators of they can deliver. there are fixes that go to the crisis of our america. we were talking before the show begins. ohio have 19 counties without any providers. they're not large population

center, it is a crisis in rural america. the senate does not have an option to repair the system. they have to move towards portman and we have to do that. >> interesting. >> moving to the middle. >> yes, to the middle. at some point, the problem has to be a kind of explicit acknowledgme acknowledgment. the basic structure of obamacare is going to stand and these of obamacare is healthcare is all right. it is implanted in american society and not blown away and cannot be taken away by a snap of a finger. >> and putting back on the table of this week that you can repeal and replace. the white house is going to be challenging. if there is a strategy behind it, he puts pressure on the

senators. conservatives are going to be the leaders of this. >> your interview with carper and cassidy is true. the repeat is the middle of the united states senate they all agree on what largely of what needs to be done. there is a bipartisan consensus around insurance reforms to fix healthcare. and nobody can get over that. >> when you are talking about price, endowment funding for opioid crisis allowing the state to iterate -- there are federalism solutions available which is why it is the 50. >> it is half a point of showing

him that analysis of the idea that if they send us to cbo and making these changes to demonstrate to senator cruz. >> why is congress' approval rating is so low? >> they're actually is a majority in the senate, they can get together and pass it. what's written on the paper would be the same, right? >> it would not get through the house. this is the problem. they have to call nancy pelosi and ask her for her help. that's going to go back to the original point. >> let me ask this quickly, if this does fail and republicans cannot do this alone, what is the next month look like on healthcare? is it a small deal of just sort of propping up the insurance market and hhs is okay, okay,

we'll give you some risk insurance essentially. >> the fire rages in the insurance market for months sometimes and there will be disasters and real human disasters. that's why they do have to get to 50. >> i think there will be initial disasters of the insurance market. the republican party -- it is not doing too well now. i do think -- >> i smell a new version of the doc's fix. >> the only supporters outside of this bill have been a handful of health insurance who are saying okay, look this bill will stabilize our individual market, i think we are at the point where uncertainty are so great that we'll pause that.

the great rider and thinker, malcolm gl malcolm gladwell stops by. he focus on our focuses and not our similarities. >> what brings us together? >> i have the freedom to vote. >> freedom of religion, freedom of speech. 's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ one laugh, and hello sensitring a bell? then you have to try always discreet. i didn't think protection this thin could work. but the super absorbent core turns liquid to gel. for incredible protection...

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and we are back, data download time. there is a lot of things that divides us in america. in the most recent issue, americans were split on that question, is america in a state of decline, yes or no? 52% said yes and 44% said no. politics, of course, plays a rouge role in how you view that question. among those who voted for donald trump, 43% says the state is in recline. a majority says it was not. 59% of clinton voters said the country is in decline. folks, here is more to the story than just numbers. there are actual people. i went down to the national mall and talked to visitors who came to the in additination's capito

weekend. >> americans embrace one another. raising two kids, i don't think i can come anywhere else. >> i have the freedom to vote. >> the premium freedom to make and live of the consequences of those choices. >> we are a strong nation when we work as a team. >> we are from so many different parts of the world. >> freedom of speech and religion. >> our ability to be innovative. >> the diversities of culture and different kinds of backgrounds. >> because of america's past and i believe in the future, i have hope. >> a conversation that i will have later in the show. when we come back, it is the

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. welcome back, in the fog of healthcare of a big story came out this week. did the trump campaign colluded the russians over hacking. it is the central question of the investigation by special council, robert mueller. two stories detailing maybe

evidence of a leak. peter smith tried to obtain e-mails who were stolen from clinton's server. steve bannon and kellyanne conway and michael flynn. smith implies that he was working with flynn and flynn's son. smith died shortly after speaking. 81-year-old of his death there. first time there is a connection of somebody that's willing to work with the russians to do whatever they could. >> that's why this is a little tension to the story because if at all pans out, it would suggest that, it will be the first suggestion that there may

have been some form of collusion, the source of this story of intelligence officers came out. what we don't know is where peter smith is talking about the relationship of the trump people. we have not heard from flynn and clovis about this. there is still questions around how tight the relationships are. >> you brought up the british m m matae. he wrote this long post. the time i got recruited to collude with the russians. my conversation with smith shocked me given the amount of media attention of the involvement of the government and dnc hack, it seemed mind-boggling of the trump campaign or this offshoot of it to be actively seeking the e-mails.

it made it no difference to them. only that the e-mails are found and made public before the election. >> until this point, there is been no evidence of collusion. it gives a path to collusion. >> if there is as connection between smith and flynn, there is a collusion. there is no collusion evidence yet. >> what this does, it yields straight to the fact that people who have said, oh, there is no collusion and there is nothing to see here, lets move on. there is an investigation that's going on. there is a lot of smoke and you know the trump side speaks as if it has been proved that there is no collusion. it is being investigated. again, there is more.

>> if the case leads to an investigation. >> one of the questions that's going to raise on the hill was the president was so defensive of michael flynn. this may have been flynn operating on his own businesses and not h is rois role. >> i am glad you brought it up. >> if there is a link, he was acting on his own. >> again, if you go back and watch james comey's testimony because the president asked him to backup michael flynn. why the president was so devoted to michael flynn. >> this makes it necessary for the president not to do anything regarding mueller other than given the resources to deal with the investigation. he cannot remove him or fire him. you have to trust him and everybody in the city does. he's got a reputation for complete integrity.

you cannot remove robert mueller. >> that's -- he's the central character now. what does he do? you are in the trump white house, you got to be concern. >> the question of michael flynn, some sort of loyalty. michael flynn is the only person that stood by him during the course of the campaign. this story gives weight to the counter theory that michael flynn may have something that the president is nervous about that. >> this issue with turkey where he may have violated some form -- >> we still don't know. >> again, that's it. another odd part of the story. we'll take a quick break here. just this morning, president

trump escalated his war on the media in a tweet. the likes of which we have never seen before and how about a sentence like that a bunch of times before. we'll be right back. crest pro-health protects all... ...these areas dentists... ...check most. immediately i felt a... ...difference it did an... ...extremely good job of cleaning 4 out of 5 dentists confirm... ...these crest pro-health... ...products help maintain... ...a professional clean. go pro with crest pro-health my daughter inspired me... ...to make a change. crest pro-health really brought my mouth to the next level. crest healthy beautiful smiles for life. at crowne plaza we know business travel isn't just business. there's this. 'a bit of this. why not? your hotel should make it easy to do all the things you do. which is what we do. crowne plaza. we're all business, mostly.

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back now with the panel. every back now with the panel, every sunday morning we start our show, and we know the president is going to tweet. the president tweet something on fraud news cnn and #fnn and he

sent out this video. let me show you. >> it is a video of donald trump in a little www e-sketch back in the day. the person that he's wrestling there, they put the cnn's face there. people were flabbergasted this morning. >> most of the elite media is center on that. cruelty does not. l when the president crosses the line of combative and cruelty, he loses his base. everyone there is leaning towards trump. that's the line, he's got to measure in. >> these are official

communications from the president of the united states. >> i guess he's back on trashing cnn which in president picked a fight with mika brzezinski because it was taking away from what they felt was a successful fight with cnn. >> i guess we've never consumed something like this -- yes, when that video was originally filmed, he was an entertainer. that's what he was doing then, and now he's the president of the united states. the reality is the media, okay, they've used the logo in that case, cnn, but is made up of people. every single day i go up to capitol hill, i ask questions of people. yes, i represent nbc news every day. >> you're a three-dimensional figure? >> i am. that's what makes that video, i think, sort of striking. >> and the fact we had sarah huckabee sanders coming out and

saying the president has never condoned or encouraged or promoted violence. that is exactly what he's just done. >> i think he would argue that he's promoting fake violence because it is wrestling. >> i think he would say i'm not presidential, but i'm modern day presidential. didn't he say that in a tweet? >> i went to work for richard nixon at exile in '22. everything grows goes into your biography. my fascinating interview with malcolm gladwell who says we spend a lot of time talking at each other and not to each other. >> announcer: "meet the press" end game is brought to you by boeing, always working to build something better. i'm afraid it's bad for my teeth. try crest 3d white. crest 3d white diamond strong toothpaste and rinse... ...gently whiten... ...and fortify weak spots. use together for two times stronger enamel. crest 3d white.

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>> announcer: "meet the >> announcer: "meet the press" end game is brought to you by boeing, always working to build something better. finally on this fourth of july, we're going to turn to a canadian for some insight into p who we are as americans and how we approach our problems. the writer malcolm gladwell now hosts eat norm usually popular podcast revisionist history which makes viewers think about the past that are misunderstood. we discussed the lack of creative thinking in american politics, something that's become an obstacle to solving problems like our american health care system. >> so 50, 60 years canada has had single payer.

the reason canada has single payer is canadians had a conversation amongst themselves many, many years ago and they asked a simple question which is, what do we want from our health care? they came to the answer that what we want is a system that covers everyone, and what that means is we're willing to give up choice, we're willing to give up the most high-tech solutions to various medical problems. we're not going to have expensive, shiny hospitals. basically they sat down and figured out what their priorities were. what always strikes me about american discussions, and i think this may be one of the root causes of the stalemate in washington right now is nobody ever has that conversation. i can't figure out what people want. it seems to be that every party to the health care discussion wants something different and those things are all incompatible. you can't want to curb the cost spiral and simultaneously have access to the newest drugs and

simultaneously have patient choice and simultaneously -- you know, these are mutually contradictory options. so i think we should take a period and a timeout and say, is it possible for us to agree on what we think the goal of our health care system is? and maybe out of that conversation you can have kind of a clear direction to a policy solution. >> with yet another drama-filled week having to do with his tweeting and some offensive tweeting. >> yes. >> but you said something very interesting in a canadian interview, literally, i think it was the day before the election about why he doesn't pay a penalty for his offensiveness. and you said, so to the extent he continues to be a bore and a pig, he satisfies the criteria -- that criteria, right, meaning authenticity. it is the very fact he is so offensive that generates enthusiasm among his followers, because essentially you're saying being offensive is

authentic. >> yeah. the cardinal rule of politics that's always struck me is -- i'm the millionth person to say this, you have to be true to yourself so people have an image from you. you get penalized from deviating from their expectations of who you are and what you stand for. he from the very beginning has made it very plain that what he stands for a authenticity. he's not someone who gets caught up in political correctness, he's someone who speaks from his gut, right? so if you have an expectation that someone is that kind of authentic character, you look on, you see these kinds of tweets very differently. they are expressions of something that you understood and already accepted about that person.

>> finally, i want to pick up on a theme. it has nothing to do with your episode 2, but it was a great quote at the beginning. this was an unusual case for you because you said don't take a side. is that a problem in our tribal politics that we're now in? is it we strive to take sides too much? >> maybe. the reason to step away from taking sides in immediate discussion is it allows you to reflect on the larger questions, maybe unanswerable questions, that are raised by an actor or situation. i think we should indulge a lot more in those larger questions, because i suspect we have a good deal more agreement on the larger question. as the outsider, the thing about american society that's always baffled me is americans love nothing more than accentuating their differences, where i come from a culture in canada is we celebrate all we have in common, even when we don't have anything in common. we love talking about we're canadians, we're all in this together, we're all the same in

the end. americans are all the same in the end but you like to pretend you're not. i don't think it's that hard of getting back to that position in understanding how similar you all are. >> see, we're all more similar than we're not. thank you, malcolm. try his podcast revisionist history. it will make you think, trust me. then there's the podcast we call 1947. my guest this week, a more extended interview with malcolm gladwell. have a tremendous holiday and remember all those freedoms we do enjoy even when we use those freedoms to attack each other. we'll be back next week. because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." >> announcer: you can see more "end game" and "post game" on the "meet the press" facebook page. sponsored by boeing. "post game the "meet the press" facebook

page. sponsored by boeing. > due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. ♪ i got my throat split. i got my lung punctured. i got stabbed 40 times. >> the survivor of a vicious attack shares his story in hopes that these inmates will never commit such violence. but for another inmate -- >> this life is over for me. unfortunately, i don't believe in the next one. i wish i did. >> it's too late to turn back the clock.

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