Nicolle Wallace | Trump & MAGA Clash Over Sending Troops to Iran; Hegseth Splurges on Steak & Lobster: A Closer Look

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On today's show, Seth talks to MSNow host and podcaster

Nicole Wallace.

But first, a closer look.

The president is maybe sort of threatening,

slash teasing that he might put boots on the ground in Iran.

But Republicans can't seem to agree on whether they support that idea

or for how long or why, for more on this,

it's time for a closer look.

Defense Secretary, slash morning show host,

slash fifth-year senior who just found out,

yeah, he's gonna need to do a six-year.

Pete Hegseth has made it clear that under his leadership

the Department of Defense, or as he calls it,

the Department of Kicking Ass and Getting Crunk,

is focused on one thing unleashing our warfighters

so they can be lethal-killing machines.

From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored

Department of War is this, war fighting,

preparing for war and preparing to win.

We're unleashing the war fighter to be ready,

trained, disciplined, accountable, and lethal.

Every day, we have to be prepared for war.

We're training warriors not defenders.

We untie the hands of our war fighters.

Maximum lethality and authority for war fighters.

Restoring the warrior ethos.

We're gonna go on offense, not just on defense.

Maximum lethality, not tepid legality,

violent effect, not politically correct.

Nothing is worse than when the jock tries poetry.

Let me guess, your bro has made a bet

that you couldn't convince the valedictorian to go to prom with you.

People say you're a nerd.

I say that's absurd.

People say you're a geek.

I say that's absurd.

But the point is,

Hegseth is refocusing on the core mission, war fighting.

And before we go any further, was there a problem

with the term warfare?

Did we need war fighting?

It's just a weirder way to say the same thing.

It's like asking someone if they want to go out to dinner eating.

Modern warfare was a popular video game.

Modern war fighting is a janky board game your nan

against you because she sucks at listening.

Here you are, just like you asked.

Turn up your f***ing hearing.

But back to Hegseth,

you heard the man that apartment is laser focused on war fighting

and that includes the budget.

No more frivolous spending on woke BS.

This administration is going to be a vigilant steward

of taxpayer dollars.

They will not tolerate waste, fraud, and abuse.

In fact, every night Donald Trump sits down

and balances the books himself.

Okay, let's see.

That's five dollars for soda.

$10 for printer paper and $77,000 for hand-makeup

that's not fooling anyone.

But it's true.

This administration will account for every penny they spend.

They said they would cut wasteful programs

like cancer research, food for children,

and they kept their promise.

From now on, the government will only spend money

on stuff we absolutely need.

Oh-oh!

That's the late-night sarcasm alert.

We have a new AI-powered sarcasm detector

that closely monitors my tone and speech patterns

to decide if I'm being sarcastic or not

when I'm setting up a clip package.

And based on how loud that was,

I'm guessing the clip we're about to watch

might just prove the opposite

when it comes to wasteful spending.

Today, we got reports

that initial estimates showed Trump's work-cost

American taxpayers $5.6 billion

in just the first two days.

At the same time, a new report

from an external government watchdog

finds that Pete Hegseth Pentagon

was already on a massive spending screen

before the war began dropping.

$15 million on, wait for it.

If you haven't seen this story, look it up.

Steak and another $6.9 million on lobster tail

in just the month of September.

They spent $15 million on steak

and one month, who are you?

Sterling Cooper, Draper and Price.

If you can eat that much steak,

you better have come up with a new campaign

for Lucky Strike.

No wonder Hegseth always looks miserable.

He's 24-7 meat constipated.

That's the face of a man

worth fighting with his colon.

Also, it's a real contradiction

that you're telling us how tough you are,

but now I can only picture you wearing a bib.

We are going to rain hell down on them from above.

I need the tiny fork.

Who has the tiny fork?

But the waste doesn't end there.

Pentagon also spent nearly $6 billion

on IT systems that included three

and a half billion dollars for tech support

and cable TV.

Luxury music instruments, including at $98,000,

Steinway Piano,

were the Air Force Chief of Staff's home.

Okay, but before you judge,

just remember the Air Force Chief of Staff is Ellen John.

I mean, it makes sense.

He's an expert on rockets, man.

And I told you that would be a good, good joke.

Wait a second.

The rhyming, a grand piano,

is Pete Hegs' slowly turning the Pentagon

into a theater camp?

Oh, is this summer's production, please?

Oh, please.

Tell me, Exet's going to play a tortured first lady

in Omelania.

Exet claimed his focus was going to be on

war fighting and lethality,

but it sure seems like his actual priorities

are very different.

He's going to have to rewrite his next speech.

From this moment forward,

the only mission of the newly restored Department of War

is this.

Furniture, king crab, lobster tail,

rib-by-stake, cable TV.

Luxury music instruments.

So the Pentagon seems a lot more focused on fancy meals

and high-end instruments than laying out concrete goals

for the war in Iran,

which might explain why no one seems to know

what we're actually doing there.

For example, here's a simple question a lot of Americans have.

Is this about regime change?

Republicans, can you get together

and give us one clear answer?

It would be an absolutely incredible, you know,

historic feat if we can get the Iranian regime to collapse.

This isn't about regime change?

Is regime change, as you see it, the objective here?

Absolutely. To me it is.

This is not a so-called regime change war,

but the regime sure did change.

That sounds like the last line of a fast and furious movie.

Was Vin Diesel driving when you said that?

This isn't regime change, but the regime sure did change.

You said it, Pete.

No, let's ride.

So Republicans can't decide if this is about regime change.

What about Iran's nuclear program?

Were they close to a nuclear bomb or not?

Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities

have been completely and totally obliterated.

If we didn't hit within two weeks,

they would have had a nuclear weapon.

You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated,

you want to call it obliterated, choose your word.

They're probably a week away from having industrial grade bomb-making material.

It would take years to bring them back into service.

We have a commander-chief tonight in President Trump

who saved us in literally the nick of time.

If we'd waited another year, they would have had 11 nuclear bombs.

He saved us in the nick of time.

That's what I told my Mimaw when that traveling music man

came to town and sold us all those instruments.

I don't care if you think he's a charlatan.

Your word hoggy sold us a piano for only $98,000.

Now me and Pete can do our two-man show, Graham and Cracker.

Awesome.

I love that Lindsey said they would have had 11 nuclear bombs.

It's such an odd specific number.

So they can't agree on whether this is about regime change

or whether it's about nuclear weapons.

Can you at least tell us if the president might put boots on the ground?

Or as Pete Hegseth probably calls that, boot pudding.

President Trump has privately shown serious interest in U.S. boots on the ground in Iran.

The president has no plan for any kind of large-scale ground force

inside of Iran.

As for boots on the ground, the president has talked about this repeatedly.

Wisely, he does not rule options out.

Did we not just invade?

We are not invading.

Are you seeing boots on the ground there?

Because I'm not.

I don't have the yips with respect to boots on the ground.

I do not believe the president will send boots or put boots on the ground.

That's a whole different story.

And as I said earlier this week, I don't think I'm wrong in that.

But if he does, the third you hear will be me face planning from surprise.

I'm faint because I don't like you.

Well, sir, we don't believe in word of what you just said,

but we would love to invite you to theater camp because you would be perfect

to play the part of Lindsey Graham's Mimaw.

I'm leaving this up one horse town and I'm going to make it big.

Well, thank you.

You're going to be making it as the Guinness Book of World Records for most embarrassing girls.

Oh, no.

Oh, I think this might be.

Is this how I die?

Trying to do two southern senators talking to each other?

That's what the palm reader said.

She said that's how I die.

I think just skip ahead through this back and forth while it's the next 55 cards.

If you're going to do something as serious send troops into war,

you should be able to explain why.

But they can't.

And Americans are angry.

We have no idea what state Iran's nuclear program is in.

But one thing we know for sure is that Trump's approval rating has been...

Well, obliterated.

This has been a closer look.

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Our guest tonight host deadline White House Weekdays at 4 p.m.

on MSNOW.

Please welcome back to the show.

Our friend Nicole Wallace.

Everybody.

How are you?

How are you?

How's the nicest audience?

They're a lovely audience.

They're very happy to see you.

How are you?

I'm happy to see you.

You have a podcast.

And you recently had the Robert De Niro on your podcast.

Yeah.

And he said some unkind words about our current president.

Unkind or just too true?

Super accurate.

Super accurate and fair.

The president though, then, he basically referenced the comments and said, you know, these were criminal acts by one of our greatest living actors.

But my takeaway is that Donald Trump listens to your podcast.

Is that your takeaway as well?

Oh my god, I didn't think of it like that.

I mean, I think Donald Trump listens to Robert De Niro.

I think he listens to you.

I think he's still very, very sensitive about what men and women who are more famous than him say.

Yeah.

Which is strange now because I'm willing to admit, like, he more famous than me.

Like, I don't quite know why he can't take the win.

But not more popular.

Well, that's it.

I mean, come on.

I mean, the only thing to my credit, I haven't started a war in Iraq.

Right.

Right.

So look, this is very unpopular.

And, you know, this is, you've called this, you know, it's basically a stab in the back.

This is a betrayal to like his new, you know, he ran on no new wars.

Right.

And this is very much a new one.

It's new.

And even though, you know, they go back and forth and some people in his administration call it a war and some don't.

But this is a war.

Yeah.

And, but do you think, I mean, it does seem like his coalition is holding pretty firm, right?

It's not unpopular with them yet.

Well, I don't know.

Look, I think that there is a sense that everything was a lie.

And I think you look at the Epstein files, which he was going to release any hasn't.

You've got some very powerful podcasters saying, what do you think were babies?

And yes, he thought you were a baby.

Right.

That's why he lied to you.

Now, you've got an economy, which he stood in front of melting groceries at Bedminster and said I'm going to deal with, he called it the grocery.

Yeah.

I don't know anyone who actually has grocery shops, he calls, I'm going to the grocery.

Yeah.

He also, I believe that was the one where he says, you know, people are saying groceries.

That's a word.

I made that up.

I made that up.

Yeah.

That was different.

There were some red flags along there.

Anybody know the prices of meat and eggs.

But to give the movement some credit, which is hard for me, being against war is the most sort of consistent.

He won the Republican nomination three times.

Right.

He was a shock.

But the only, the biggest, I mean, there were lots of things that were different and special about him.

But the most different and most special was he was truly an isolationist.

Yeah.

And so when he wins in 1516, the first time he ran, the thing that really shocks the Republican establishment is that he is running against Lindsey Graham, against Mitt Romney, against Chris Christie, against Marker Rubiem over the whole hands, thanks.

Yeah.

Against ever, ever, getting American in another four or more.

Yeah.

And it was also, by the way, a successful strategy for Barack Obama, like ultimately everybody, you know, like the memory of Iraq was fresh.

And, you know, I certainly helped Barack Obama visa be Hillary Clinton.

And so we do have candidates.

And Tom McCain.

Yes.

I mean, the country, look, the men and women of the military are brilliant and brave, but they don't get to choose, right, what their mission is.

And the country does render judgments every four years.

And the country over and over again rendered a very negative judgment of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I should say just because this is changing so quickly.

During the saving, the president is still doing a press conference where he is even the body of this press conference.

He is veered wildly as to like, is this war ending? Is it just getting started?

Right.

Where are the reasons for the war?

Like, is it his fault? Is it our fault? Did we push him into this war?

Is it your fault?

Is it my fault?

Is it Tineiros fault?

Right now he's like, we're looking at Bob Tineiro more and more.

So it does feel like there's been a complete failure.

And I just can't believe lack of effort to tell people what this is about.

And, you know, oftentimes I feel like one of the things that's been very effective for him is he holds every position on an issue.

And then like based on how it's going, he shifts, you know, you know, in it's indicated by whatever way the winds are blowing with the public opinion now.

Why do you think that they cannot explain to us why we're doing this?

Well, usually, you know, your parent, like usually if you don't get a consistent story about why something happened,

it's either because the truth is something you don't want to share, or because you're a kid.

Now he's a grown ass man.

He's a whole grown ass man.

He commands the mightiest military in the world.

Yeah.

And I think it's a real sign of the mayhem behind the process.

Like he's not good at covering up mayhem.

Yeah.

Whatever, I mean, you know, the regime was brutal that so's Putin's regime.

Right.

So the idea that this is the only way to deal with the brutal regime isn't true.

The cabinet seems to have knocked down the idea that any threat was imminent.

So there would be a did not say that, notably when he went to Congress.

So they don't have a consistent story among themselves.

And then this other thing is happening where we have to time stamp everything we do because Trump's story changes,

not just within the news cycle, but within the same, within different conversations in the same news cycle.

Right.

Well, you know, he does that.

I think we're, you know, he calls out reporter or reporters.

I should say call up him any answers that he talks to them.

And I feel like it's not, it hasn't been a bad strategy to just give the,

a different five minute interview with everybody because ultimately at some point,

they'll be like, oh, you know, he didn't make a good, you know, he did a count, totally contradict himself

but make some good points there.

Well, I think we'll see, right?

Yeah.

We'll see if that's a good strategy because at the end of the day, there are people whose kids are there.

Yeah.

And we'll see how long they'll tolerate five different reasons for why their kids are there.

The other, I think, a breaking point for the president historically has been the economy,

the stock market, it may be even more than the economy, right?

I feel like he knows more people with stocks than are worried about groceries.

Yes.

I feel like he only knows people with stocks.

Yeah.

Doesn't know any of the people with groceries.

Yeah, he knows the people with own stocks and groceries.

Yeah.

But I mean, again, you know, we, it's early still, but obviously this has not been, you know, great.

This has not been great for the economy, though.

No.

Do you think that?

Is this one of those things where, you know, there's a chance he just pulls back on,

on whatever intentions he has?

Well, we don't know what the intentions are, so he pulls back from whatever they are.

Sure.

Well, I know I'm asking very difficult questions.

But I feel like I'm not going to be very good answers.

I mean, the thing is, it's like, choose your adventure, right?

Yeah.

Like, is it possible?

I mean, the only economic thing he felt good enough about to put in the speech of the state of the union,

which happens Tuesday, the worst starts late Friday night, is gas prices.

Yes.

Yes, prices are now at the highest they've been in four years.

Yeah.

So, the one thing he thought he had going for him two Tuesdays ago is now gone.

Yeah.

So, and I will say, like, not being sort of an expert in geopolitical affairs,

historically middle east entanglements are not great for the price of oil.

That's right.

And so, it's kind of stunning.

Do you feel like, you know, there's a lot that's been written about how, obviously,

Venezuela, how do you feel about it?

That was a military operation that seemed to go incredibly smoothly.

Do you think he got a little high on his own supply there?

Yeah.

And was like, we're good at this now.

We can go in and do it quickly.

That's a lot of the reporting.

But the thing about the Venezuela operation is the same day that Trump said it was a military operation

and, yes, we were there for the oil.

Marco Rubio went on TV and said it was a law enforcement operation and now we weren't.

Yeah.

So, even the ones that go well are not consistently communicated to the American people.

Right.

I feel like Oceans 11, like he gets everybody together.

And then the minute they leave, they forget what they're supposed to do.

Right.

And there's, like, no George Clooney.

Yeah.

There's not even a nearer George Clooney.

No, no.

Yeah.

Chrissy Nome.

Oh.

I mean, what a, yeah.

I know.

Right.

So, I...

You know what?

I'm going to say something.

I think she was getting better every day.

No!

No!

She was just seeing real signs of improvement and it just breaks my heart for her.

We can't be friends.

So, she wrote in her book about shooting her puppy in the head.

Yeah.

And I felt like this was...

Like, if public life is a pursuit of trying to understand something about someone's character,

she gave it to us on a silver platter.

Yeah.

And she wrote in her own book that she shot her puppy cricket in the head.

Yeah.

And I was...

You met Romney got in trouble for strapping the dog to the roof for a family vacation.

Yeah.

It was crazy.

It contributed to his defeat.

She killed her dog and wrote about it.

Yeah.

And when I saw Tom Tillis, a Republican, take her down over her treatment of the dog.

I thought, oh, we're done.

We're done.

Cricket got the last word.

Yeah, cricket.

The big week for the ghost to cricket.

I would say, you know, obviously, you know, I got a certain audience here.

On the day I announced, you know, we had a joke about her getting relieved of her duty.

Yeah.

And I think, you know, some people in the audience applauded.

Yeah.

Yeah.

With somebody like, like, you know, I dropped it.

It's not going to be like Oprah.

Right.

I mean, now we know who it is.

It's Mark Wayne.

Because it had to be someone that hadn't written a book about killing this.

Yeah.

Trump gave me a list and they gave me a list.

He goes, who hasn't written about killing a dog?

And they're like, we'll give you a new list.

But this guy...

Unfortunately, a lot of these people thought that was a cool thing to do and wrote about it.

But this guy is cool.

Like, how they take this guy is crazy.

Yeah.

Well, I mean, are there not...

Are there many people left that they haven't picked for stuff?

I mean, there's a lot of people left that have...

Yeah, I guess so.

But, I mean, he's going to be interesting.

He was...

You know, he's also...

He seemed like, for a while, like...

Well, he was certainly framed himself as an outsider.

You know, he was very against Matt Gaetz,

becoming the attorney general.

Because he'd seen the videos of his sex campaigns.

Yeah.

And he had this quote, I remember I had to see if I had permission to air it.

And because it had just never happened before.

And he said, this is a video of Matt Gaetz taking ED drugs and going all night.

And...

And I didn't show the video, but I was like,

do we say that on TV?

You know, like...

Like, I didn't pick Matt Gaetz.

Yeah.

And I didn't...

I don't know who this guy is telling me what he saw.

By the way, what a crazy world we live in where you got to be like,

am I allowed to say on TV a thing that happened in...

That is...

Like Washington, D.C.

Yeah.

And at the time, Matt Gaetz was his pick to be a attorney general.

Yeah.

Before he pulled Matt Gaetz out.

Yes.

Mark Wayne Mullen, is his name?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He's got two first names.

Yeah.

I see.

You wonder why he needs two.

Yeah.

I feel like Trump probably liked,

because since Trump's so duplicitous, he likes people that have multiple names.

Not two.

He probably wishes he has two names.

Trump would be like, that wasn't Donald Trump.

Trump called him Wayne.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, he's not going to get it right twice in a row ever.

Ever.

He's going to do that thing where he says who's here and he's going to think it's two people.

He's like, Mark's here, Wayne's here.

If you didn't suddenly guess to that point in the teleproctor sometimes,

and it's like between it...

So if Mark Wayne Mullen ever ends up going around a lot...

Yeah.

...it'd be like if we had Mark and then Wayne Mullen...

No, he sounded very...

You're right.

And he was like, I haven't realized.

It's the way of structure.

Yeah.

Like, even by the way, with Q-Card Wally, I'm always like,

put the name on one line.

Thank you for making time for us today.

Thank you so much.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you so much for having us here.

You guys are pretty well as deadlines.

White House airs Tuesdays.

If we're going to have a battle.

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