Another volley in the tense political
game between the United States and China.
The Secretary of State now postponing a
trip to Beijing after a suspected Chinese
spy balloon was spotted over the US.
Joining me now is Chuck Todd,
Moderator of NBC's Meet the Press.
And Chuck, you'll have bipartisan
reaction to this development on Sunday,
but what's the sense there in Washington
about this latest development with China?
I would say it's a real concern.
I mean, this is one of those moments
where you could almost feel a
collective tensing up, if you will.
I mean, we're already a bit on
knife Edge in this in the elected
leadership on all things China.
I mean, if you think about it,
it's elected officials that are the most
concerned about China's influence on TikTok.
So Washington really has already
been on on sort of an extra high
alert when it comes to Chinese
espionage and all of a sudden.
In this balloon comes and it's
coming at a moment when there's
already a lot of distrust that's
growing between the two countries.
And I'll tell you this,
it's one of the few issues
that unites the two parties.
There's there's not a ton of disagreement.
There may be disagreement on tactics,
on how you get tough on China,
but there's no disagreement that
that it's now time for the United
States to to get tougher on China.
So I think the real question is
what else are we going to do here?
You know, are we gonna,
are we gonna find a way to get our hands on
this balloon and figure out what was it,
you know,
what were they tracking?
What were they trying to do?
This is an incident that I think
is more ongoing than over with,
that's for sure.
Yeah. Back here at home, though,
we expect former South Carolina Governor
Nikki Haley to be the next Republican to
enter the presidential fray for 2024.
How is this playing in GOP circles,
especially for those Republicans
who are looking for an alternative
to former President Donald Trump?
Look, I think she is 1 already won
the first primary. I think there's a,
I think there's a little bit of
positive currency for anybody to be the
first candidate in not named Trump.
And now she's the first candidate and
not named Trump and she comes from those
sort of a different wing of the party
but has enough Trump ties to not seem
antagonistic to that wing of the party.
I will tell you this,
I don't underestimate her and I
think anybody that underestimates
her does so at their own peril.
You know, I could see her.
You know the ideal scenario,
and you talk to Republican strategists,
is somebody that can appeal to the Never
Trumpers and to the always Trumpers.
And I think that Nikki Haley
on paper has that opportunity.
Uh, let's see if she can execute it.
But I think she is a very formidable
campaigner. She won two terms.
The first time she defeated a sitting
governor in order to become governor.
This is somebody that led the party and
getting rid of the Confederate flag and
the Deep South down in South Carolina.
That when you think about it.
And she still seems to be in at
least OK shape politically with
some of the Trump world, so.
I think she's among, you know,
when when people ask me,
Trump, DeSantis or the field,
who's gonna be the Republican nominee,
I always choose the field.
And when I think of the field,
I think of her as one of
the strongest alternatives.
She's certainly someone to watch.
Now, on the other side of things,
earlier this week,
a large group of Democrats from the
South sent a letter to President Biden
urging him to select Atlanta to host
the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
The President has an affinity
for certain southern states.
So does Atlanta make sense for Democrats?
In this contest with New York and Chicago.
Yeah, to me, it's not even a close call.
I can't believe New York and
Chicago are in play. I just can't.
I understand there's a lot of Democrats
that are from New York and Chicago.
There's a lot of donors that
are from New York and Chicago.
But the path to the White House
and the path to the Presidency and
the path to the Senate Majority for
Democrats goes through Atlanta.
So I I I would look I I'm not saying
Atlanta I think Atlanta's got a good
shot I think Chicago's right now
probably the front runner they seem
to be a bit out about out front here
and there's look there's there's
the the the geographic advantage of
Chicago's not law shouldn't be lost
on folks that that does matter there
is a there is a some folks think it's
on the East Coast too often these
conventions so I do think that is a.
Usually a it is a a check in the
in favor of Chicago but politically
to me it's not even a close call
it it Georgia is the is everything
these days to the Democratic Party.
We will certainly be following down here.
Meet the Press airs Sunday morning at 10
on 11 alive. Chuck thank you so much.