Despite threats to oust him. He is serving ukraine first and america last. I have done what i believe to be the right thing. Will weapons make it to the front lines in time . For months and months we have been diddling around where people are dying. Is it enough for ukraine to win the war . I will speak exclusively with ukrainian president zelenskyy. On the defensive. As Donald Trumps first criminal trial begins, President Bidens Approval Rating rises in our latest nbc news poll. Under my predecessor, who is busy right now [ laughter ] enthusiasm for the 2024 election is still the lowest in decades. Steve kornacki will break down the latest numbers. History lesson. President ial historian Doris Kerns Goodwin joins me. I feel so positive about what history can teach us. We have lived through hard times before. Joining me for insight and analysis are chief washington correspondent andrea mitchell, democratic pollster Cornell Belcher and republican strategist matt gorman. Welcome to sunday, its meet the press. Good sunday morning. We begin with our new nbc news poll and the headline, President Biden is closing the gap with former president trump. Trump leads biden by two points in a headtohead matchup, 46 to 44 . Biden narrowed that from five points in january. When thirdparty candidates are included, biden leads by two points, 39 to 37 . The president s job approval has ticked up to 42 , up five points from january. The last time we have seen a fivepoint increase for an incumbent president was bill clinton in 1996. There are still troubling numbers in the poll for biden. He trails trump by 22 points on dealing with inflation and the cost of living. It comes amid a major Foreign Policy development. Six months after the president delivered an Oval Office Speech pledging aid for ukraine, 61 billion in new funding finally passed on saturday, 311112. The bill is passed. A moment of bipartisanship. 101 republicans and 210 democrats voted in favor. Congress passed aid for israel and taiwan, along with a measure to force bytedance to sell the app. New aid came after mike johnson, who once opposed it, did an aboutface and put his job onned line to get it through amid threats from three far right republicans to oust him. If we turn our backs, the consequences could be devastating. You are being asked to resign. Do you plan to . No. As i said many times, i dont walk around this building being worried about a motion to vacate. I have to do my job. I have done what i believe to be the right thing, allow the house to work its will. As i said, you do the right thing and you let the chips fall where they may. The pentagon has said it has a massive infusion of military aid for ukraine ready to go. It comes as ukrainian president zelenskyy said that without this support we will have no chance of winning. Ukraines top military commander issued a bleak assessment of the armys positions on the eastern front, saying they have worsened significantly in recent days, and the top American Military commander in europe told members of congress, russia will soon be able to fire ten shells for every ukrainian shell. If one side can shoot and the other side cant shoot back, the side that cant shoot back loses. Joining me now is the president of ukraine, president zelenskyy. Welcome back to meet the press. Translator good morning and greetings to you. President zelenskyy, its an historic morning. I want to get your reaction to this major news. The house approving 61 billion in aid to ukraine. Its expected to pass through the senate. You have been asking for this aid for six months. In that time, you have run out of ammunition. You have suffered setbacks on the battlefield. Will you get this aid in time to make a difference . Translator its been so important. I would like to say thanks to the congress for the bipartisan support. Id like to say thanks to speaker johnson and President Biden. Indeed, it is so important, the support from the United States of america. Of course, the support of the American People because, of course, the political decisions depend on the public opinion. This aid will strengthen ukraine and send the kremlin a powerful signal it will not be the second afghanistan. The United States will stay with ukraine, will protect the ukrainians and they will protect democracy in the world. This is the show of leadership and strength of the United States. And i think, indeed, now weve reached this important moment. For half a year, we have been waiting. I would like to say thanks to all the team on my side and on the u. S. Side. The team who did everything so that we would get this positive vote. Today, we definitely need this aid. And, you know, we really need to get this to the final point. We need to get it approved by the senate. Then we want to, well, get things as fast as possible so that we get some tangible assistance for the soldiers on the front line as soon as possible, not in another six months. So that they would be able to move ahead. You know, you said this week, president zelenskyy, that ukraine would have no chance of winning without more u. S. Support. And i guess the question is, can ukraine now win this war, or is the United States merely giving you enough aid to prolong this war . Translator thank you. I think this support will really strengthen the armed forces of ukraine, and we will have a chance for victory if ukraine really gets the weapon systems, which we need so much. Thousands of soldiers need so much. And this aid should not be just spread in thin layer all over, but it has to end up in tangible weapon systems. Some really crucial weapon systems, which are hard to get. The longrange artillery. I really appreciate that it mentions longrange weapons. Its important, because we need people on the front lines. We have casualties because we cannot reach that far. Our weapons are not that longrange. We need it. And air defense. This is crucial. These are the priorities now. President zelenskyy, as you know, this aid was held up for half a year because there is fierce opposition to sending more aid to ukraine, particularly amongst some republicans. How long should americans be expected to fund the war in ukraine . Translator the americans are not funding the war in ukraine. They first and foremost, protect freedom and democracy all over europe. And ukraine is fighting, and ukraine is sending its best sons and daughters to the front lines. This is the price for all europe, for all of nato. It produces the price for everyone, including the u. S. As the leader in the nato. U. S. Army does not have to fight protecting nato countries. Ukrainians are doing that. Its only the ammo that the civilized world is providing. I think its a good decision. That is why we do need to keep supporting while ukraine stands. Theres no direct war between u. S. Or nato and russian aggression. So ukraine is still fighting, and ukraine is protecting all the others. But president zelenskyy, can you give americans a sense of the time line . Will you still need as much aid this Time Next Year . Or do you think you can turn the corner on russia . Whats the time line . Translator well, it depends on when we actually get weapons on the ground. As you said, if we get them in half a year, well, we have had the process stalled for half a year, and we have losses in several directions. The losses in men, in equipment, in the east it was very difficult. We did lose the initiative there. Now we have all the chance to stabilize the situation and to overtake the initiative. And thats why we need to actually have the weapon systems. When we get it, when we have it in our arms, then we do have the chance to take this initiative and to move ahead and to protect ukraine. But giving u. S. Specific time line of the war, well, it depends on how soon we get this aid. There are so many variables, so many factors. Sometimes when we protect the important line, you retreat because you dont have enough forces and equipment. And retake, it would take two or three times more. Im not saying that this is how its going to end up. But things are possible. I can give you an example with f16. Its great example. The decision to supply f16 fighter jets to ukraine was headed a year ago, one year ago we got the positive response. Ukraine should receive these fighter jets so that not only air defense protect the sky, but we also have modern jets. A year has passed. We still dont have the jets in ukraine. Its very difficult to do any forecast. I would like us to be open. From the moment we get our hands on these weapon systems, from that moment, we can talk about time line. President zelenskyy, ukrainian intelligence suggests that the kremlin is preparing for a major offensive in the coming months. You have said by your own account that they are prepared to outgun you ten to one in firepower by some estimations. Will you be ready for that offensive . Translator we are preparing the personnel. The soldiers are engaged in training. I dont want to repeat myself, but we are waiting for the weapon systems, because we want to have the brigades fully equipped. Some of them are exhausted. We need to replace them. But these new brigades, they have to have the equipment. Russia wants to mobilize 300,000 people by june 1st. We are getting ready for this. By may 9th, russia expects that in the east of ukraine, they will take a city. I visited the region recently. I talked to the soldiers. The soldiers say that they lack equipment. They need to fight russian reconnaissance drones, which essentially guide artillery. We need artillery shells. I hope we will be able to stay and the weapons will come on time and we will repel the enemy, and then we will break the plans of the Russian Federation with regard to this fullscale offensive. I want to ask you, president zelenskyy, about reports of a lack of morale. Some 650,000 men who are eligible to fight, we are told, have fled ukraine. You have lowered the draft eligible age. But you have resisted a full callup of all ukrainian men. What do you say to young men who dont want to fight, who dont want to risk their lives in this war for their country . Translator this war is the war for the sake of all of us. This is our land. We dont have another place to go. The citizens of ukraine understand that. Of course, there are people who dont want, who are not ready. But we do have the mobilization campaign. We have a draft. We do have strong army. We can be frank russia, of course, they have more people. People are forced there. So if someone in russia is deserting the battlefield, they shoot them on sight. We cannot do that because we have democratic values, believe in the democratic country. To be frank, in ukraine, we have a lot of people who are ready to protect the motherland. But, of course, the motivation, the morale can go down, especially when they go to the front line and they see that there are no shells, there is no equipment. Thats why the aid from the states is so important. People who were trained they need to be trained by professional people, and they need to have the equipment to be used so that they have this equipment not only on the Training Field but also on the actual battlefield. And then, indeed, they can show the performance on the front line. This is very important. President zelenskyy the morale will they will defend the motherland. The Washington Post is reporting that donald trump has privately said he could end russias war in ukraine by pressuring ukraine to give up some territory like crimea, like the donbas region. What is your reaction . Realistically speaking, do you see this war ending in a negotiation with russia . Translator i would like to say that im a president of the country at war. Rumors and different hearsay, i dont believe that. When trump comes here and would tell me their formula, then i would be able to provide the response. At the moment, i know that well, things im sure people who know him well, they know that you can never trust putin. Its impossible. So the strategy of ending the war should be based not on the words which putin says or some other people from his group says, something tangible that is dependent and democratic and im confident that everyone is interested in that. The political leaders are interested in having ukraine independent and sovereign and democratic. Its of interest for the republicans and democrats. President zelenskyy, back in february, donald trump encouraged putin to invade nato countries that he doesnt believe are contributing enough to defense spending. What kind of a message do you think that sends to the world . Translator well, i dont know the details of that speech. I know for sure if ukraine fails, then putin definitely will invade the baltic countries. Why . Not because theres some interesting idea, strategy, but because putin wants to return the influence of the soviet union. And he really wants to retake with force, through war he wants to retake all former soviet republics and now independent states. Whether they are in nato or not, he doesnt care. That is why this is his strategy. Of course, after the baltic states, poland and germany big picture, germanys top military official warned putin could be ready to attack nato countries in as soon as five years, following up on what you are saying. How big of a threat do you see putin to the west . Translator i think he does want go further. He wants to reinstate soviet union and soviet bloc. They do that in terms of misinformation. They drive different political groups and democracies, not only europe and latin america, africa, they have the influence everywhere. They do this to split the world. The risk is high. I think this german diplomat said its nothing about the wish of putin, but if putin is not stopped, then putin is ready to attack nato, even the sheer size of the weapons that they have. We have to be ready to stop him now. Because we have seen that in georgia. We have seen that in other countries. If we give a big pause to putin, if we freeze the war where we are, this will enable him. All his industry will start working not for the war in ukraine, but will start working for the war against nato. President zelenskyy, you are not just a president , you are also a father. You have survived multiple assassination attempts. Tens of thousands of your fellow citizens have been killed and injured, millions have left their homes. Have you ever lost hope . Translator i can never lose hope. We can never lose hope, we can never lose freedom. You can never lose independence. Otherwise, you lose everything. You lose your faith, your security for your children, for all the children in ukraine are my children. I have to show example. If i lose hope, well, my children would lose their future in independent country. Then we would lose ukraine as a nation. Its not only about the territory. Its about ourselves, our identities. So we cannot lose hope. We have had different moments, some were very cruel. There were moments of challenge. Im sure in the history of the United States, they also have many moments when the people had to fight for their independeind. We remember the period of struggling when many people lost hope or some people emigrated. But some people raised a banner, the banner of independence. Some people were skeptical on both sides of the ocean, in europe, too. But people didnt give up. I think well, youve got the independent country. The world got this great democracy. So we cannot lose hope either. President zelenskyy, thank you for being here on this monumental morning. We really appreciate your perspective and having a chance to talk to you. When we come back, Steve Kornacki is here with the results of our latest nbc news results of our latest nbc news poll. From pep in their step to shine in their coats, when people switch their dogs food to the farmers dog, the effects can seem like magic. But theres no magic involved. dog bark its just smarter, healthier pet food. Its amazing what real food can do. No application fee if you apply by may 31st at university of maryland global campus, an accredited university thats transformed adult lives for 75 years. Youre not waiting to win, youre ready to succeed again at umgc. Edu. Some people just know that the best rate for you is a rate based on you, with allstate. Because theres a right way to. Stop and the speed limit definitely isnt. 700 million mph. So why would you pay a rate based on. A terrible boss with a terrible haircut save with, ooh. Save with drivewise and get a rate based on you. Youre in good hands with allstate vo its shrimp your way. Choose three flavors for just 20. Like new street corn shrimp. And our famous garlic shrimp scampi. Its time to grab some cheddar bays and get flavorfull. Hurry in to try shrimp your way, only at red lobster. Welcome back. For more on the nbc news poll, im joined by Steve Kornacki to break down the numbers. I think the biggest headline, this. Donald trump does lead joe biden 48 to 44 in our poll. But this is a tightening from our last poll. You can see three months ago, donald trump had a fivepoint lead against the current president. That fivepoint lead now down to two points. Theres progress here for biden in the last three months. Coming after the state of the union. And he had a campaign blitz. In the democratic primaries such as they were, coming to an end. Theres democrats rallying around biden. Also, this slight improvement here for biden tracks with a slight improvement in his job Approval Rating. It sits at 42 . Go back to our last poll. Look at this. He was an alltime low for him last time around. Now back over 40 . This is the highest bidens job approal has been since last spring. These are encouraging signs for joe biden. Although, broader picture here, this 42 Approval Rating, history says probably by itself, not enough. He will need more. Put this in context. These are other president s. Where were their Approval Ratings . Biden is 42 . One thing, they were all higher than joe biden. The other thing, two president s on this list who did not win reelection, of course, donald trump four years ago. He was at 46 . Back in 1992, george h. W. Bush, he was at 43 . Biden below both of those. The last time biden has been at this level, 46 , go to the start of 2023. The last time he was higher than that, you gotta go back to the summer of 2021, his first year as president. Biden has work to do on that front. Also, the erosion of Public Confidence on a number of critical fronts. We asked voters in this poll about a number of leadership characteristics. There are two only two where biden had the edge, abortion, we talked about this thats a big one. Thats the biggest advantage. Bringing the country together, biden performing better than trump. I think the headline is, add those together, you are not close to 100. That means a lot of voters think neither is better on that. On every other front here, we talk about the erosion for biden. Now you start to see it. Look at these numbers. Trump advantages on all of these. I stop here, because competent and effective. That was President Biden, the crux of his Campaign Pitch in 2020. We polled this question in 2020. It was basically the exact opposite. It was biden with a tenpoint advantage over trump. Same with handling a crisis. Biden had the edge over trump. How about this . The former president , the current president , we dont see matchups like this. Who has the strong record as president . Again, trump outpacing biden on that front. Mention this one, too. Necessary mental and physical health. We asked this four years ago. It was a wash. Its now a clear liability for joe biden. These are all troubling numbers. Its not say there arent warning signs for donald trump in this poll. Trump and his campaign are hoping Third Party Candidate might give them a boost. Our poll shows its murkier than that. We show a 46 44 race for donald trump. All those liabilities for biden, trump only ahead two. What the trump folks have been hoping, rfk, gobbles up votes. But, look what happens when we add rfks name to the mix. Suddenly, we have a new leader. Joe biden, 39 , donald trump 37 , kennedy getting 13 . We see by a better than two to one margin, trump voters are flipping to kennedy, not biden voters. See it here, 15 of trump voters, when we add rfks name, they go to rfk. Only 7 of biden voters. A big change right there. Defies conventional wisdom. Absolutely. We havent seen this in other polls. One final note is this, the question of enthusiasm. I thought this jumped out. The most engaged voters, those who voted in 2020, voted in the midterm elections, those folks are voting for biden by nine points. Where trumps strength is, why he leads biden, its voters who dont typically turn out in many elections. Didnt vote in 20 and 22. They are with trump by more than 20 points. The warning sign for trump relying on this is this. We are seeing the lowest level of interest since we started asking this question in 2008. Are you very interested in the election . 64 , lower than any other time at this point where we have polled this before. Again, lower interest, maybe those voters who in the polls are saying they are for trump, are we sure they will vote . We will see if that ticks up. Steve kornacki, thank you for being here. The jury will hear Opening Statements in Donald Trumps first criminal trial. First criminal trial. What impact will itave on h imagine checking your own heart with medical precision from anywhere. Introducing kardiamobile 6l, the fdacleared ekg that provides sixtimes more heart data than any smartwatch. And it detects three of the most common arrhythmias in just 30 seconds, including atrial fibrillation, bradycardia and tachycardia. Check your heart with the most advanced personal ekg outside the hospital. Get yours at kardia. Com or amazon. imagine a future where plastic is not wasted. But instead remade over and over. Into the things that keep our food fresher, our families safer, and our planet cleaner. To help us get there, americas plastic makers are investing billions of dollars to create Innovative Products and new recycling technologies for sustainable change. Because when you push for smarter solutions, big things can happen. A perfect day for a family outing shingles doesnt care. But shingrix protects. Only shingrix is proven over 90 effective. Shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. Shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. An increased risk of guillainbarre syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. Fainting can also happen. The most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. Limu emu and doug hello, ghostbusters. Its doug. Of doug and limu. We help people customize and save hundreds on Car Insurance with liberty mutual. Anyway, we got a bit of a situation here. Uhhuh. Uhhuh. [ metal groans] sure, i can hold. Only pay for what you need. Liberty Liberty LibertyLiberty Ghostbusters frozen empire. In theaters now. When you need to prepare for unpredictable adventures. gasp you need weathertech. [hot dog splat. ] laser measured floorliners front and rear. [drink slurp and splat. ] scream seat protector to save the seats. [honk ] theyre all yours were here hey, i knew you were comin. So i weatherteched the car can we get ice cream . We can now. Kid proof your vehicle with American Made products at weathertech. Com. Welcome back. Panel is here. Andrea mitchell, democratic pollster Cornell Belcher and matt gorman. Andrea, i have to start with you. Theres a lot to unpack. Lets start with president zelenskyy. What were your takeaways . That he is worried about the surge, the russian surge in what we expect to be may, june, july. This six months was critical. They had a good chance of winning before the six months of no aid from the u. S. The weapons that only the u. S. Can provide. After six months, they can lose. They can lose if the weapons dont get there soon enough. Now its supplypointed out the still not there. They were approved a year ago. They need the longrange weapons. They dont have the atacms. They are supposedly in the package. The administration is deciding. Ukrainian Officials Say they have to get them. The Russian Artillery launches, not only do they have the ammo they dont have ammo, the manpower, ukraine doesnt have anymore, but russia has that advantage. They cant take that artillery out because they dont have the longrange missiles. The u. S. Has been worried about not letting them fire into russian territory. The ukrainians tell me they want to. They do have that restriction. They have restrictions that, frankly, that are not placed on israel. They are watching israel getting despite all the controversy over gaza, israel has the support that ukraine doesnt have. I think it was interesting that he ducked the two questions about donald trump. He knows this is a close election. The bottom line is he knows donald trump has said that ukraine could be forced to the negotiating table to give territory up to russia by next november if donald trump is elected. I think its all possible that ukraine can still lose this war, despite their great spirit. Im glad that you bring up two points. One, that he did choose his words very carefully on donald trump. The factor of israel, the fact that ukraine is so concerned, matt, that the world has forgotten about them as attention has turned to the middle east, to whats happening in gaza. Of course, House Speaker mike johnson at the center of the battle for more aid for ukraine and israel. Both were approved yesterday. Theres so much opposition within his own party. Three conservative republicans threatening to oust him over this. It seemed like the temperature was turned down a little bit yesterday. What is your assessment . How in jeopardy is his job . In the shortterm, not as much as people think. The real threat isnt now. Its november. Its postelection. Republicans will choose their leaders for the next congress. They will have to choose a senate leader. Until then, democrats and republicans will cobble together a majority on a motion to vacate if it comes up. Republicans want to hold on until then. Lets face it, no one wants to be speaker other than mike johnson. It was notable that Steve Scalise voted with johnson. Notable who didnt, stefanic. President biden narrowing the gap with former president trump. Not a big surprise. What stood out to you . What stands out is, first of all, great interview. Groundbreaking. Spot on. What stood out is, surprise, surprise, polls are closing. Polls continue to get tighter and tighter. Go back to our polling back in october of last year, donald trump is at 46 . What is it through all our polling, 46 . Right now, 46 . The last election . 46 . His support stays solid. Where im worried about or where i see you can see growth is i think donald trump is at a ceiling and biden is close to his floor. Where he is off most, among young voters. The other part about this is enthusiasm, which is really the headline is, if these young voters arent enthusiastic and they dont show up and break for biden big, thats how trump wins. Andreaandrea, pick up on tha. This is against the backdrop of donald trump in court for his first criminal trial this week. The fact is, we dont know how that will play. Up until now, the legal cases helped him fundraise, tell people he is a victim, energize his base. He has risen in the polls with every indictment. Now we see him powerless. The judge is effective. Joe biden is campaigning. The problem for joe biden and the democrats is, trump is crowding the trial is crowding out everything else. Mmhmm. He does student loans. Everything else is crowded out. Its the trump story. Thats what happened in 2016 to hillary clinton. That could be replicated this year. I think its really the enthusiasm issue and young voter issue is critical. As long as this war in gaza goes on, this is going to be a problem with young voters. They have an off ramp, rfk junior. Your poll shows that he would hurt trump more than biden. Its very early in polling to say i think the white house i know the white house is more afraid of him. The family is. It was hard for the siblings to come out and do that. They did it because they think he hurts joe biden more than donald trump. Matt, what about all of that . I was encouraged because when i was i was nervous all the talk would come from trump, his message about himself and the trial. I was surprised going to the bodega was smart, the migrant crisis and crime, that are winning issues for republicans and trump. He needs to do that. A message not just about himself. How does the courtroom optics play . I think you are spot on about the him dominating the news, but its negative. This is different. He doesnt look strong. He looks weak there. To a certain extent, i dont mind if he is on if he is in court every day dominating the news because its negative. Okay. Great conversation. We covered a lot of ground. Thank you. Congratulations on a great interview. Thank you. When we come back, as the athletes prepare for the summer olympics, we look back on the decision to boycott the games ter the vo antarctica. You have to experience it to truly appreciate the beauty, the wildlife, the sheer majesty. Experience it with stateoftheart expedition equipment and handson Scientific Research activities, all in exceptional viking comfort. We invite you to discover the worlds seventh continent antarctica. Viking. Exploring the world in comfort. Fisher Investments at Fisher Investments we may look like other money managers, but were different. other money manager you cant be that different. Fisher Investments we are. We have a team of specialists not only in investing, but also also in financial and Estate Planning and more. other money manager your clients rely on you for all that . Fisher Investments yes. And as a fiduciary, we always put their interests first. other money manager but you still sell Commission Based products, right . Fisher Investments no. We have a simple Management Fee structured so we do better when our clients do better. other money manager huh, were more different than i thought Fisher Investments at Fisher Investments, were clearly different. Welcome back. We have officially crossed the 100day mark to the 2024 olympics, as paris prepares to host the competition this summer. The olympics are not just about sports. They have also made history. The United States led an International Boycott of the games in moscow to protest their invasion of afghanistan. Carter announced the decision right here on meet the press. Neither i nor the American People would support sending of an American Team to moscow with soviet invasion troops in afghanistan. I have sent a message to the United StatesOlympic Committee spelling out my own position that unless the soviets withdraw their troops within a month from afghanistan, that the Olympic Games will be moved from moscow to an alternate site or multiple sites or postponed or canceled. If the soviets dont withdraw immediately, i would not support sending an American Team to the olympics. You can watch the pair us olympics this summer on nbc and streaming on peacock. When we come back, president ial historian Doris Kerns Goodwin joins me. Kerns goodwin joins me. With lessons from the pas ast im your overly competitive brother. And im ready for a rematch. Game on. Ive been practicing. What the cello . You want me to lower the hoop . Foul what . You going to tell on me again . Foul yah . Foul bro here take a free shot go ahead knock yourself out. Your about to get served. Seriously . Get allstate, save money, and be better protected from mayhem, like me. Love you mom wait till your father gets home. Before my doctor and i chose breztri for my copd, i had bad days. [cough] flareups that could permanently damage my lungs. With breztri, things changed for me. Breztri gave me better breathing. Starting within 5 minutes, i noticed my lung function improved. It helped improve my symptoms, and breztri was even proven to reduce flareups, including those that could send me to the hospital. So now i look forward to more good days. Breztri wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. It is not for asthma. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Dont take breztri more than prescribed. Breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. Cant afford your medication . Astrazeneca may be able to help. Ask your doctor about breztri. [speaker] at first, just leaving the house was hard. [speaker] but Wounded Warrior project helps you realize its possible to get out there [speaker] to feel sense of camaraderie again. [speaker] to find the tools to live life better. [narrator] through Generous Community support, weve connected warriors and their families with no cost physical and Mental Health services, legislative advocacy, career assistance, and life skill training for 20 years, and we are just getting started. Welcome back. As she likes to say, Doris Kearns Goodwin has spent most of her career writing about debt president s, immersing herself in their diaries and letters to bring them back to life. In a new book an unfinished love story, she turns that attention to her marriage. Before his death, she opened more than 300 documents and memorabilia with her husband Richard Goodwin who served as a speech writer for president john f. Kennedy, a time capsule of their life in the 1960s. In her 20s, she was chosen to be a white house fellow for president johnson, one of only three women out of the 16 fellows selected and developed a loyalty and closeness to president johnson, which has lasted her entire life. I sat down with doris for a conversation on her new book and the resilience of america, even in turbulent times. You have written president ial biographies. This is a biography of your husband and it is also a love story. What was the process like of writing this book as compared to all of your other incredible works . I was so used to writing about president s who had archives. I would want to talk to them. I knew them because it took me so long to write the books. Longer to write the book about world war ii than the war to be fought. I would always ask them questions. They never answered me. This time, i had this guy, my guy across the hall from me in the same study. I was able to talk to him. He could answer my questions. He had an archive that was a miniarchive of what president s have, memos, diaries, letters. He saved everything in 300 boxes and decided when he turned 80 to open them. What it opened was a door to the 1960s, a decade i lived in. I was able to learn through him, starting at the beginning, with john kennedy, ending with bob Bobby Kennedys death. You talked about after your husband passed, it was a struggle to finish this project that was a labor of love. I found myself edging toward a commitment to finish the project influenced by headlines announcing divisions between black and white, old and young, rich and poor, divisions that made it increasingly evident that the issues from the 60s are the unresolved stuff of over everyday lives. Thats what really decides me. I knew if i was going to work on it, it would take years. I would be writing as a historian, not simply as writing about my husband. Once i realized the 60s had a message to today we look at the 60s in a sad way because it ended with violence, Martin Luther king and Bobby Kennedy killed. When you start at the beginning, it was a decade in which young people in particular were powered by the conviction they could make a difference. They joined the peace corps. People in the freedom rides and sitins and marches against segregation, for the denial the beginning of the gay rights movement, the womens movement. The belief that if you work together, you can change the government. When you look across the political spectrum, do you see leaders right now who are meeting this moment where so many people wonder if our democracy will stay intact . I dont know that we are fighting it the same way we need to be. This is one of the most perilous moments. There are people in local areas and states and some in washington. The overall sense is, sometimes we become too much of spectators watching whats happening to ourselves. One of the thing is, the lowest place in hell is for those people who remain silent. I always feel positive about what history can teach us. We have lived through hard times before. These are hard times, however. It wont get better unless we act. Unless we take seriously our citizen responsibilities and use the qualities of character that we need to bring into politics. How afraid, how concerned are you that january 6th could happen again . Because were not remembering it correctly i was so certain as i was on television saying, this is going to change public sentiment just as certain things happened in the 50s that made people understand that slavery had to be ended. I thought it had. Everything is so breaking news today. One thing tops out another. I thought the summer after january 6, when the hearings took place, that would change public sentiment. I think in the end, that the majority of the people understood what happened in that election. I think the majority of people are for the basic values that we are talking about right now for democracy. Its just a matter of them speaking out and recognizing that it is in danger. Its up to us. Its not up to somebody else. Its up to us to save it. The republican nominee has yet to accept the results of the last election. Within the context of this conversation and your concerns about the nations democracy, how much of a threat do you think the democracy is facing right now . Do you think the country can survive this threat . The real threat is when the Republican Former president says if he doesnt win, he wont accept the results of the next election. We may have a recurring battle for who is really elected each time we do this. Thats a real problem. All the candidates when you look at the ones who lost, its hard to lose, and every single one was able to say, as carter did, i promised i would never tell you a lie, this hurts, it really hurts, or al gore working on the concession speech that my husband was honored to help him on where he talks about the fact, the law of the land says it is lost. I dont agree but i must do it. Hillary clinton saying we cherish the transition of power. It makes you so proud of each one of those candidates. They had lost. They let down their constituents. They were able to make the transfer of power. Its an essential part of our democracy that has to happen next november. As we sit here today, how concerned are you that it may not happen . I am concerned that it may not happen. I somehow think if the majority of the people come out who have different values and they vote voting ask essential. Its the premium value. As Lyndon Johnson said, its the one thing all the rest of our democracy depends on. What is democracy . Throw a candidate out or you call him in. You either want him to come in or you want to throw him out. We have to be able to do that. If the majority comes out to vote and the majority never comes out in enough numbers to vote, not only young people, they have made a big difference in 2020 and 2018, 2022, and they are saying now they may not vote if they are not happy with either candidate. Again, if they only could know what we felt like in the 60s. You feel larger. You feel a sense of exhilaration. The word you used earlier. I hope they feel this election could turn on them. The uncommitted people and undecided people have to come out and vote. We have to just take the results of the election. That doesnt mean we know how its going to happen. If the majority vote, then somehow maybe it wont be as close as we think its going to be. Then we will have a clearcut choice. I hear so much optimism in your voice still. I think i was born that way. I think its the only way we can live. It sometimes may sound naive. I remember thinking what i was when i was at the civil rights march, were going to change america. Maybe we didnt change america completely. But we made huge changes at that time. If you have optimism, at least you have the confidence if you act something will happen. It may take a long time. As Martin Luther king talked about, the arc of the universe, that is it takes a long time. It it moves toward justice. I believe that. Thank you, Doris Kearns Goodwin for this incredible conversation. So glad to have been with you. That is all for today. Thank you for watching. We will be back next week because if its sunday, its meet the press. House conservatives fuming at Speaker Mike Johnson this morning after the passage of four foreign aid bills over the weekend, i