Mcconnell freezes for the second time in front of reporters. The senate has become the most privileged nursing home in the country. Are americas Aging Leaders becoming a liability . Ill speak with franklin foer, the author of the last politician, a new book about President Biden, with an inside account of how the oldest president in history operates. And buy american. The u. S. Warns china that american businesses may stop investing if conditions do not improve. Otherwise, its too risky, and as i said, uninvestable. How escalaing tensions with china made it far worse. Ill talk to Commerce SecretaryGina Raimondo. Joining me for insight and analysis are nbc news chief washington correspondent andrea mitchell, jake sherman, cofounder of punchbowl news, former Homeland Security secretary jeh johnson, and republican strategist sara fagen. Welcome to sunday. Its Meet The Press. From nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is Meet The Press with chuck todd. Good Sunday Morning and a happy labor day weekend. Buckle up for a turbulent fall. Lawmakers will return to washington this week to a political storm of their own making. With a biden Impeachment Inquiry looking more and more likely and the uncertainty about whether the government can keep the lights on after this month. And there are televised pretrial proceedings in atlanta that are about to begin in the first of four criminal trials tied to donald trump. All of it adds up to a series of critical tests for our democracy, and its not clear our political leaders are equipped to meet this moment. In washington, far from laying out a vision for the future of the country, congress is focused on the bare minimum, just passing a bill to fund the government. Some House Conservatives are making it clear theyre not going to vote for any shortterm spending bill saying, quote, if a shutdown occurs, so be it. What we most of what we do up here is bad anyway. Most americans wont even miss it. Kevin mccarthy is arguing it would stall any Impeachment Inquiry some of those same House Conservatives would like to start. It is a natural step forward that you would have to go to an Impeachment Inquiry. I would actually like to have a shortterm cr only to make our argument stronger because, maria, if we shut down, all government shuts down, investigations and everything else. You heard mccarthy correctly. He is trying to leverage the Impeachment Carrot to persuade some House Republicans to keep the government open, but so far, many of those House Conservatives arent buying the deal. We are not going to be distracted by a shiny object saying if you dont get this continued resolution passed, we wont be able to pursue the Impeachment Inquiry. Thats nonsense. The white house has stood up a war room of two dozen lawyers, by the way, legislative aides and communication staffers, to lead on aggressive response to this expected republican Impeachment Inquiry. Historically, its been Senate Republican leader Mitch Mcconnell whos been a shield against the sound and fury of House Conservatives. Its one reason he is so unpopular with many of those House Conservatives. In fact, he held a Wednesday Press Conference that was supposed to serve as a Reality Check because he announced the senate was going to the pass a bipartisan bill to fund the government despite their complaints. But at that same wednesday event, mcconnell appeared to freeze again, this time for about 30 seconds. His office said he felt lightheaded, the reason they gave for a july episode when he was caught on camera unable to speak for 20 seconds at a press conference. That was after a concussion from a serious fall in march. Now mcconnells ability to lead is in serious doubt. There are questions even in his inner circle about how much longer that the longest serving party leader in the senate can go. Just half an hour after capitol physicians released a terse letter Medically Clearing Mcconnell for work, the usual Friendly National review to republicans called on mcconnell to step aside. And complaints are getting louder. Right now, the senate is the most privileged nursing home in the country. I think it would be most prudent if he step aside. Its not at all unusual to have a response that sometimes happens to mitch when youve had a severe concussion. Its part of its part of recovery. And so im confident hes going to be back to his old self. Thats right. President biden was mcconnells loudest defender this week. Of course the spotlight on his age and health is not great for President Biden. In fact, in a new a. P. North poll, more than threequarters of americans, including 69 of democrats, say biden is too old to effectively serve a second term. Meanwhile, a majority of the country, 53 , approve of the criminal charges that have been brought against trump in the 2020 election cases. Just 29 disapprove of those moves. Overall, just 24 believe biden should run in 2024, and just 30 want to see trump run, yet here we are. Joining me now, republican governor chris sununu of New Hampshire. Of course, thought about a run for president himself but decided against it. In some ways hes the ombudsman for the Republican Party these days. So, governor sununu, get ready to play ombudsman here with us. Welcome back to Meet The Press. Well, thanks for having me. Let me start with something that another governor said earlier today earlier this week. It was brian kemp of georgia pushing back at some georgia trumpsupporting stateHouse Conservatives who wanted to use the legislature to essentially Defund Fani Willis case against donald trump. Listen to what Governor Kemp said about that move. Up to this point, i have not seen any evidence that da willis actions or lack thereof warrant action but the prosecuting attorney oversight commission. The bottom line is that in the state of georgia, as long as im governor, were going to follow the law and to constitution regardless of who it helps or harms politically. I want to ask you this, governor sununu. You and Governor Kemp share this ability to take on donald trump and not to get politically penalized for it in your party, in your home state. Why dont other president ial candidates not named trump see the success you and Governor Kemp have had and follow suit . Well, again, first off, Governor Kemp is spot on. The guys an oak. Hes the oak of georgia, and hes got some big shoulders, and he handles it incredibly every time. You dont have to make it personal. Im not saying other candidates do that. When youre running for president against the former president , its an odd dynamic to be sure. The key to not just taking on trump, but call the balls and strikes like you see them. You dont make things personal. You do things that are clearly in the best interests of the constituency regardless of the party. Im a staunch fiscal conservative and i want to support republican ideals, but that doesnt mean well bend and break rules because when you do that, you set precedent for the other side. As for the other candidates running for president , they have to be tougher on trump. Chris christie goes nuclear on him. God bless him. He does a great job and exposes a lot of that, which is important. But i think what we saw on the debate stage last week, there was still a little too much kowtowing to him. You had vivek saying he was one of the greatest president s, but he was going to be better than him, still going to be running against him. So it was an odd dynamic to be sure. Theres still a lot of time here, a lot of time for this to play out. Are you sure . Let me show you this Wall Street Journal poll that came out. Yes, its a National Primary number, yes, you have to take it with a little bit of a grain, but as you know, all politics have become national. Trumps lead has expanded, and desantis is closer to the singledigit crowd than he is to the 20s where he started off. This is clearly a poll that shows trump strengthening and Everybody Else weakening, and this was done postdebate. So it sort of reinforces your point, doesnt it . Yeah, look, im surprised by those numbers. I am. Look, nationally, the polls are different than what were seeing where the conversation is really happening. I appreciate weve had one debate nationally. I think thats a very important step. But look at iowa and New Hampshire, where the candidates are on the ground making their case as strong as they can. Those poll numbers are different. Trump is in, like, the 42 range. Trump has a floor of maybe 35 . But he also has a ceiling. Ultimately its probably somewhere in the high 40s because over a third of his supporters say they would go to another candidate, they just need more time to look at them. Thats where trumps weakness really is. Its not a fait accompli. Like in the media, this is over, its really not. Remember this guy named barack obama who they said had no chance against Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Machine and all of that back in 08 . In about six months, things got very different. You have to let the process play out. The key is whittling down the field. We had 13 candidates a month ago, 8 or 9 today, i think maybe 3 or 4 by New Hampshire. When its oneonone, trump is in trouble, and he knows that. And so depending on who that one is, and it still remains very much to be seen, thats where the republicans have the opportunity to talk about healing america, not just relitigating Donald Trumps trauma. The person closest to trump continues to be the governor of florida, ron desantis. He chose not to meet with President Biden in florida yesterday. Let me play what President Biden said in response to what some believe was a snub. Take a listen. No, im not disappointed. He may have had other reasons, but he did help us plan this. He sat with fema and decided where we should go, where we would be the least bothersome. Look, rick scott, a former governor, a republican senator whos up for reelection in 2024, maybe is worried about voters, did show you were and met with biden. What do you make of the governors decision . You and i both know theres this pugilistic streak on the right, some advisers believe never show you can work with the other side, thats bad politics. Well, look, i understand the politics of the situation, but i think down in florida, it didnt sound like there was a lot of animosity between the two. I didnt see the current President Biden, you know, complaining. I dont want to comment on their schedules or whatever that might have been. I think the key is you cant make politics out of a disaster like that. I think Governor Desantis has handled both the previous and current, very significant hurricanes very, very well. Hes on the ground. When you have situations like that as a governor, it is 24 7. It really is. He was there with the head of fema and, you know, walked the sites, talked to individuals, worked with insurance companies, bringing in the machinery. It is really a 24 7 job, and i dont think we can look too much into the politics of the situation. I think people hope that is the case. None of us want to see that stuff get tied to politics. Let me ask you about this 14th amendment debate, and the only reason im asking you is it actually could there seems to be somebody who wants to bring this case to the New Hampshire ballot, so this could have an impact on whether donald trump is on the ballot or not. Let me ask you, do you expect to have to see this litigated before donald trump is on the New Hampshire ballot . No. No, no. Donald trump will be if donald trump follows the rules like Everybody Else and signs up like Everybody Else, thats the beauty of the New Hampshire first in the nation primary process. Its a very open, very easy process for a lot of folks to partake in. I see no reason why he wouldnt be on the ballot. I suppose if someone wants to try to litigate it, its not a New Hampshire issue. Theyre litigating it against the 14th amendment of the u. S. Constitution and therefore would be applicable to all 50 states. I fully expect the former president to be on our ballot. Let me ask you about this thirdparty movement. If donald trump is the nominee, joe biden is the nominee, we know no label wants to come up with their own candidate, are you supportive of that idea still . Well, look, according to the polls you just showed, about 70 of america is supportive of that idea to not see trump and biden on that ticket. I heard someone put it once, 70 of america if its a trump biden ticket says it will be politically homeless. They wont have any is that true . Are you going to feel politically homeless . No. If its trump versus biden . No, because they wont be on the top of the ticket. Its not going to be that way. Look, i think theres a good shot that neither of them are actually on that ballot. I think trump can very much lose if they bring it to oneonone. I think a lot of issues will come to bear with President Biden in the next year. But to the no labels point, theres an opportunity there like never before. It would have to be the right candidate, have to be somebody very energizing would you do it . Positive, transparent, someone with a good record. Would you do it . No, nothing im looking at. Im still working 24 7 to make sure the Republican Party is the best version of itself. That is with yesterdays news of donald trump, but a conservative that can fulfill on all the policies that trump brought forward that we agreed with but he couldnt get done. He didnt get the border done, didnt get fiscal discipline done, didnt drain the swamp. Those were great ideas, but lets get a conservative in there that can actually do it. Under no circumstances you would be a nolabels candidate if donald trump is on the ballot . No, nothing im looking at. Sorry. What concerns you more, four more years of biden or four more years of trump . To be honest, what concerns me more, if we just fall into having both of them back on the ticket, i think youre bringing up the point, this is not what america wants. It doesnt mean our primary system is broken. It means more of us have to be engaged in the system to make sure our voice is heard as that 70 of americans who always want to look forward. With biden and trump, all youre doing is looking backwards and relitigating a lot of drama. Nobody want those. Everybody wants to move forward in a positive way, have a transparent government and institutions they can treft. We have amazing institutions in this country, but theres a lack of trust there. It happens by bringing in transparency and getting back to getting stuff done. Is an impeachment of joe biden healthy for the country . A good idea by House Republicans . Impeachment of any president is an unhealthy thing for the country. That would be a terrible, terrible situation. Now, you have to figure out what happened there. I mean, theres no doubt that theres a lot of Unanswered Questions with the hunter biden issue. But, no, lets be clear, impeachment is a terrible thing for america. It brings everybody down. It rocks the system, if you will, doesnt bring it to its foundation, but it does rock it. We need to be more positive going forward, given all the Economic Crises not just today but as bad as its going to become. This economy is getting a lot worse before its getting better. This political environment, you know, ive looked at these special elections this year, theres been other analysis, democrats are overperforming everywhere. Youve seen it in your own state, where democrats have won elections where normal republicans win. Is this due to abortion . Is this due to trump . What do you think its about . Its about the former president more than anything. And i can tell you ive had school Board Members, Republican SchoolBoard Members that have lost their seats because they felt like they had to constantly answer for being a trump republican and all of that. Its a negative brand. It puts a lot of hesitation. So it isnt just the federal seat. Its the governorships, the school boards, the congressional seats, all of them, especially in a place like New Hampshire where, you know, we can kind of go back and forth, were very independentminded. The trump brand just doesnt work. It really doesnt. So to clear that off the table onc