President-elect Donald Trump recently sat down with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” for his first sit-down interview since winning the 2024 election. Glenn and Stu review his statement on birthright citizenship and the CRITICAL context that interviewer Kristen Welker left out: The 14th Amendment doesn’t say, “all persons born in the United States are citizens.” The real quote includes a major qualifier that could allow Trump to end birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants without having to change the Constitution. Plus, Glenn and Stu review Trump’s comments on the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Welcome to the program. And welcome to Stu Burguiere.
STU: Thank you, Glenn.
GLENN: You're welcome, Stu.
STU: And Donald Trump went on Meet The Press this weekend. This is what you're supposed to do if you're --
GLENN: Is it?
STU: Yeah, apparently so.
We're supposed to just reflexively go to NBC News whenever --
GLENN: Those days are over.
STU: Well, I thought they were too.
GLENN: Well, he has to do them.
STU: Well, does he? Does he have to do them?
GLENN: Yeah, I think he should do a little of everything.
You know what I mean? I think you shouldn't just go to podcasts. It's what Barack Obama did.
Remember? And he was doing interviews with -- who was that woman in the bathtub? And you're like, okay. This is ridiculous.
You don't have to do the bathtub one. But I think you should -- you should go on places, where you know --
STU: It's adversarial.
GLENN: It's adversarial. You won't get a good interview.
I think that's required as president.
STU: I agree with that. I --
GLENN: As president. Not necessarily as a --
STU: Even as a candidate, I think it's something you should do.
I mean, I think Kamala Harris shouldn't have done an adversarial interview at the campaign at some point, which she did not do.
GLENN: She didn't do interviews.
STU: In fact, she wasn't doing anything for a very long time.
And they switched strategies. And it did not help. In fact, it went the opposite direction.
I do wonder, there's the alternate world, what that election would have looked like, if she just continued to do nothing.
I think it would have been closer. I think if she never did an interview, it would have been closer.
GLENN: I think you're right on that.
I think you're right. The more she spoke.
The more you're like, oh, dear God, no.
STU: Don't do that.
GLENN: Yeah.
STU: Because I think they correctly realized that there were a certain amount of people, who were very worried about a candidate that couldn't do an interview.
GLENN: Right.
STU: Right?
So they tried to solve that, by doing interviews.
And what they should have done was let those people go. Realize, they're not going to vote for you, and hope.
GLENN: Has anybody noticed.
And I am biased because I've been talking to him, off-air.
STU: Uh-huh.
GLENN: And watching him talk to a lot of people, you know, without cameras around.
And his -- his grasp on deep subjects, has changed a great deal. Have you noticed Donald Trump in interviews is not the same guy he was in 2020?
STU: Yeah. I think that's true.
He certainly seems to be more focused and has a real plan, as to what he's going to do. As we know it's directly project 2025. Which he commissioned. We should remember, of course. Yeah. No.
It does seem like, you made the description.
I think it was last week, which it has been sticking with me.
Which, after 2020, he spent four years, thinking, this isn't going to happen to me again.
Like, I'm going to make sure these things -- if I get a president -- if I'm able to become president again. I'm not going to be able to be hit by all of these --
GLENN: I won't be surprised ever again.
STU: Right. It seems like he's coming in, ready for this.
GLENN: Yeah. He's ready.
The other thing that has happened to him. That I think has cut down on his slams and everything else.
I mean, he still does.
You'll notice he's not as crazy on things. And I think that's --
STU: What do you mean not as crazy on things? Just not as worried about --
GLENN: You know, name-calling. You know what I mean?
He's not like that, as much.
Because I think he -- this is just my speculation.
Put yourself in his shoes.
In 2014, everybody on both sides, loved him.
Right?
Maybe not as the president. But they -- they loved him.
STU: As a celebrity.
He was a big celebrity.
GLENN: And he's a great guy. A philanthropist.
He's done so much.
And then he gets in, and everybody that -- that were his friends.
STU: Uh-huh.
GLENN: That knew him, and knew what he was like. They all of a sudden, turned on him.
And I think that just took him by absolute surprise.
And he just kept -- he had to keep punching and punching and punching.
And I think now, a couple of things have happened. One, he just stopped caring. Because you -- you do care. No matter what anybody says, you do care.
He stopped caring. And then I think when he was shot, I think he found his purpose. And I also think in the following months, he kind of became cool again.
He became the guy who could go on Saturday Night Live, and make fun of himself.
STU: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
GLENN: You know what I mean? And everybody would accept him.
He became kind of mainstream again.
So I don't think he feels that he has to punch anymore.
STU: Hmm. That's interesting. Yeah. I -- I have noticed a difference in him. I think getting shot. No matter what that is.
GLENN: Oh, yeah. That was critical. That was critical.
STU: It was.
GLENN: It has to change.
STU: Yeah. It has to change. So he's going into this with a real plan.
One part of this plan, this will be clip four. Is his plan to end birthright citizenship.
This is -- obviously, highly controversial. Many people on the left, do not like it at all.
They asked him about it, on meet The Press. Was it Wexler?
Christine Wexler.
GLENN: Yeah. Somebody who you've never heard of.
Because everybody you've heard of, has no credibility.
STU: There you go.
VOICE: You promised to end birthright citizenship on day one, is that still your plan?
VOICE: Yeah, absolutely.
VOICE: The Fourteenth Amendment says, quote, all persons born in the United States are citizens. Can you get around the Fourteenth Amendment, with an executive action?
DONALD: We maybe have to go back to the people, but we have to end it. We're the only county that has it. You know we're the only country that has it.
Do you know, if somebody sets a foot, just a foot. One foot. You don't need two. On our land, congratulations, you are now a citizen of the United States of America.
Yes, we're going to end that because it's ridiculous.
VOICE: Through executive action?
DONALD: Well, if we can through executive action, I was going to -- we had to fix COVID first, to be honest with you. We have to end it.
GLENN: Okay. So notice -- notice what happened here.
STU: Hmm.
GLENN: She comes with the 14th. Stu, tell me why the Fourteenth Amendment was first written. What was that really about?
STU: I mean, is it wrong to say slavery?
GLENN: No. Slavery.
STU: You looked at me --
GLENN: No, no, no.
It was written for slavery.
STU: Yeah.
GLENN: It was written because all citizens could vote.
And you have certain rights.
Blah, blah, blah. And so the southerners.
The Democrats said, well, they're not citizens.
They're not citizens.
They're from Africa.
STU: So they can't vote.
GLENN: So they can't vote.
Yeah. If you were born here. Even if you were born a slave, you're a citizen.
That's what that was about. That was not --
STU: About illegal immigration.
GLENN: That was not illegal immigration.
Come over here, get into a hospital. Have a baby.
And congratulations. Everybody is a citizen.
We are the only one that has it.
And the only reason we do have it is because of slavery.
It was a way to make sure that Democrats didn't just cut blacks out of the vote again.
STU: Uh-huh.
GLENN: That's what's so crazy.
And so notice he says, we may have to go back to the people.
Can you just change that?
Well, no. It's a constitutional amendment.
So we may have to go back to the people.
He says that first.
Her immediate response is, through executive action?
No. I just -- I just said, we may have to go back to the people.
STU: There are several parts in this interview. Where she doesn't -- it doesn't seem she listens to him. She has the idea of what Donald Trump says in this moment.
Already acted it out with her producers multiple times. So she's just not listening.
GLENN: That's right. That's why none of them have any credibility. Because there's not an honest exchange.
There is no honest questions.
He just said, we may have to go -- he volunteered. We may have to go back to the American people, for that.
STU: Right.
GLENN: So you're suggesting that maybe it would be a constitutional amendment? Well, yeah. I think we would have to do it.
I might -- if I get stuck, I might find a way to do it with executive action. But it is a constitutional amendment.
So, yes, that's an honest conversation.
STU: Right. No.
GLENN: That's not what she did.
STU: No. Do we have this clip handy again, to play it again? I want to see if you catch this one little of this. This is clip four, again.
Listen to her verbiage of the Fourteenth Amendment.
VOICE: Do you promise to end birthright citizenship on day one?
Is that still your plan?
DONALD: Yeah. Absolutely.
The Fourteenth Amendment says though, quote, all persons born in the United States are citizens. Can you get around the Fourteenth Amendment?
STU: Okay. Stop.
Is that a quote?
All persons born in the United States are citizens?
That's what she said the Fourteenth Amendment says.
GLENN: You know, now that you ask me, I doubt it is. Have you looked it up?
STU: I have it. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, she leaves that out. But not necessarily important to the conversation.
But the next part is, comma, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, comma, are citizens of the United States and of the state written they reside.
The whole Fourteenth Amendment argument. And you might disagree with this part of it, is that that phrase, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, means that illegal immigrants are not included.
Now, I --
GLENN: How? How?
STU: Well, they're not subject to that jurisdiction.
GLENN: So, in other words, the -- well, if mom --
STU: They would be.
GLENN: If mom and baby, were there. Then they would be subject to that jurisdiction.
But the family would not be. Because they're someplace else?
STU: I think the argument, and again, I wouldn't say I'm an expert on the Fourteenth Amendment argument here.
GLENN: I'm going to tell you.
I am absolutely so far away from an expert. You might as well talk to a fisherman.
STU: What I have heard, people make this argument before.
GLENN: Okay.
STU: And the argument is basically to be subject to that jurisdiction. Is it not mean that you -- everyone, of course, has to follow the laws of a country, that you move into.
GLENN: Correct.
STU: To be subject of that jurisdiction. Means you have to have a basis in the country.
So it's not like you just cross the border. And, hey, I'm now a subject of this jurisdiction.
You're a visitor, right?
Or in this case, a criminal. And I'm crossing the border.
GLENN: Right.
STU: So you would not get necessarily those protections.
Of -- of that Fourteenth Amendment.
GLENN: May I just say, the only thing I hate the Founders for, is their use of commas.
STU: You know, it's a good point.
GLENN: Stop with the use of commas.
Could you please, for the love of Pete, the right to keep and bear arms.
Comma.
STU: Uh-huh.
GLENN: Under a well-run regulated militia.
Comma. Shall not be infringed.
Can you stop with the commas? It makes it too complex now. Stop with the commas.
STU: Very true.
But I think, regardless of what you think about the argument, of the 14th amendment. And people who are -- who believe illegal immigrants would not be grandfathered into that.
If it's foundational to the argument, why would you skip it?
Right?
GLENN: Right.
STU: You have to bring that up. Because --
GLENN: Could you do me a favor?
Could you have ChatGPT? Or something like that?
STU: Yeah. Yeah.
GLENN: Type that in, and ask what that means.
STU: Sure. It will take me a second, obviously.
GLENN: Yeah, yeah. All right.
STU: Do you want to go on to the next clip.
GLENN: Yeah. Let's go to the next clip.
STU: Okay. Next someone on Ukraine.
And what needs to happen with Ukraine.
This is, again, Trump on Meet The Press.
There are people being killed in that war, at levels never been seen before.
You have to go back to the Second World War. And even that, if you take a look and you know what it is, it's the soldiers, largely. The cities have been emptied out and demolished.
The country has been demolished.
If I won that election. Which you know how I feel about it. I won't get into it.
Because we don't need to start that argument.
I think it was an easy argument.
It was really proven even more complicit than the win I had on this one.
Yeah, but that's your opinion, but I disagree with it. Had I assumed -- kept control.
Number one, Israel wouldn't have happened.
Number one, Ukraine would have never happened.
It would have never happened in Ukraine and Russia.
But the number of people being killed. Soldiers. Young, beautiful soldiers.
Hundreds of thousands of people are being killed.
And, you know, it's very interesting.
It's level. Totally level the battlefields.
Totally level.
The only thing that stops a bullet. Is a body. A human body. And the people being killed. Hundreds of thousands on both sides. Russia has lost probably 500 thousand. Ukraine has lost higher than they say.
Probably 400,000.
You're talking about hundreds of thousands of bodies, laying all over the fields.
It's the stupidest thing I've ever seen.
And it should have need been allowed to happen.
Biden should have been able to stop it.
GLENN: Amen!
He's absolutely right.
And when this is over, and the body count is actually revealed, and when you see. And when you see BlackRock there, rebuilding.
When you see all of these friends of the Bidens rebuilding.
When you see BlackRock owning the farmland.
Then maybe you will start to have some idea of how grotesque, this really was.
All right. More in just a second.
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Ten-second station ID.
(music)
GLENN: So let's go to Chat GPT.
And just see what it says about the Fourteenth Amendment and that particular phrase, between commas.
STU: And I will say our robot betters seem to have summarized this the same way that I understood it. So historically, the consensus among most legal scholars and historical practices has been the phrase, excludes only a few categories. This is the phrase of "not subject to the jurisdiction in the United States."
Those categories are children of foreign diplomats, enemy soldiers, and some Native American tribes, who maintain their tribal jurisdiction.
Legal precedent has largely supported the view that children born in the US to foreign citizens are indeed US citizens.
Regardless of the immigration status of the parents.
Then some conservatives argue, subject to the jurisdiction, thereof, excludes individuals who are in the country, illegally, as they are not legally subject to the jurisdiction in the same way as lawful residents or citizens.
GLENN: Yes.
STU: They claim that because illegal immigrants have not entered the country, and remain in it legally, that they or their children should not automatically receive citizenship.
That is my understanding of the debate. And, again, you can say, you disagree with the conservative side of that debate.
GLENN: Right.
STU: You know, many do.
But to -- to actually skip the phrase, that is important to the debate. When talking to the man, who is arguing the conservative side of that debate. Is journalism malpractice, at the very least.
And I think it's intentional.
I believe it's intentional. But I don't know.
GLENN: Wait. I think it's NBC.
(laughter)
STU: It's not intentional. It's NBC.
GLENN: It's NBC.
STU: It's just what we are.
GLENN: It's just what they do. Of course it is.
STU: Yes! And that's, again, like -- it goes back to our original conversation, as opposed to whether you Meet the Press or not.
Do you need to go to a place that is intentionally doing things like that?
I mean, that is -- that is inexcusable for the one phrase that's important to the debate, you leave out of the amendment?
I mean, that's obviously intentional.
GLENN: I like the fact that the president was calm, cool, collected. Didn't name call. Went through that whole thing.
Wasn't a fair interview. It was exactly what you would expect. But at least he went and talked to the other side.
STU: Yeah. I think it's worth doing to talk to the other side.
I think it's worth doing adversarial interviews.
I wish he had a little honesty.
I feel like when you went back on the show with Russer. That's what you got.
Was -- it wasn't an interview liked. A lot of times, he took things, and took the democratic side a little unfairly. But you wouldn't eliminate the part of the amendment, that is the debate.
GLENN: Yeah.
STU: He wouldn't have done that.
GLENN: No. And he would have given you -- there were times, that Ruser -- you would be pissed off at him. Because it was your guy. But you would also be cheering for the other side. Because he was fair. He was even-handed.
It was all that really, we asked for.