Meet the Press NOW — July 16

President Trump’s continues to hit the campaign trail in the deep red Mississippi after escalating his inflammatory rhetorics towards Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D-Mich.). Democratic candidate Brian Poindexter, who is challenging embattled Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss the state of the race. Attorney General Todd Blanche defends the Department of Justice’s lawsuit seeking to block the certification of Alaska’s Senate election unless Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan wins.

Kristen Welker has exclusive interviews with Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Michigan Senate candidate and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R), and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) nine days out from the midterm elections. Garrett Haake, former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory (R) join the Meet the Press roundtable.

Could the backlash to artificial intelligence and data centers decide control of Congress? NBC News chief White House correspondent Garrett Haake sits down with Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., to talk about his proposals for mitigating AI-related job losses, banning political deepfakes, and establishing government oversight and regulation despite pushback from the Trump administration. Then, NBC News national politics reporter Allan Smith details how the opposition to data centers has been reshaping campaigns and races across the country, scrambling traditional party lines. Plus, we look at which candidates are trying to stake a claim in AI ahead of the 2028 presidential elections. swap.fm/l/htsfd

President Trump campaigns in Florida and defends a controversial ad by Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Kansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cindy Holscher reacts to President Trump's claim that she is "far too extreme" for the state. A new focus group produced by Syracuse University, Engagious and Sago hears from supporters of losing primary candidates in Michigan & Texas as their weigh their general election votes.

President Trump heads to campaign in battleground Iowa as voter pessimism about the economy reaches a record high in his second term. Gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn (R-Iowa) and congressional candidate Blake Gendebien (D-N.Y.) discuss the top issues in their races. Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) condemns Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's (R) attack ad featuring Amy Acton’s (D) estranged mother.