Trump's Poll Numbers Keep Cratering

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0:47Before investing, consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Visit statestreet.com slash IM for perspectives containing this and other information. Read it carefully. DIA is subject to risks similar to those of stocks. All ETFs are subject to risk, including possible loss of principal. Alps Distributors, Inc. Distributor. President Trump wants the midterms to be all about him But a new CNN poll shows why many Republicans on the ballot may want, well, the opposite I'm Manuraju, in for Dana Bass Let's go behind the headlines and inside politics

1:22There are 41 days into the election We're tracking the races, candidates, and stories that could shift the balance of power here in Washington and across the country. So here's what's on our midterm radar. It's hard to look at today's brand new CNN poll as anything other than a repudiation of President Trump. His approval rating is at 33%, the lowest it's ever been in a CNN poll in either term. Just 27 % approve of his handling of the economy. That, of course, is the number one midterm issue. 44 % say their midterm vote will be in opposition to Trump. And just 19 % say it will be a show of support for the president.

2:04Democrats hold an eight-point lead on the generic ballot. 49 % say they'll vote for a Democrat in November. 41 % say they'll vote for a Republican. And perhaps not coincidentally, GOP unity on the Iran war is starting to fracture for Republicans in tough election fights. At least five Republicans running in tight races for Senate and governor are now calling for a quick or immediate end to the Iran war. With new statements from Michigan Governor candidate John James, Ohio Senator John Husted, and this from Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany. The president has final say in regards to this, but I just believe that we should be exiting Iran, that it's time to move on.

2:50Tiffany is currently a member of the House where he's voted no on resolutions calling for an end to the war. Meanwhile, the Cook Political Report is shifting its ratings in three Senate races toward the Democrats. Georgia goes from lean Democrat to likely Democrat. Kansas, from likely Republican to lean Republican. And South Carolina enters the battleground map for the first time, moving from solid Republican to likely Republican. Cook says it now sees Democrats picking up at least one seat and as many as five. So I'm joined now by a terrific group of reporters, including the one and only David Chalian, who's been pouring through these numbers and is going to give us more insight into all the juicy tidbits that has Republicans very, very nervous right now.

3:41I am. But one second. Can we just talk about that shift rating shift to likely Democrat in the Georgia Senate race? I mean, he's the only Democrat running for reelection in a Trump state. Yeah, it's remarkable. Wow. Sorry. Yes. And I think these numbers explain in part why that is. So if you look under the hood here, the story of this poll of where we are right now is that Donald Trump has found himself in unpopular places before, but never when it comes to the economy this unpopular. And that is the difference between now and 2018. And in 2018, he lost 40 seats, obviously. But take a look here.

4:16Approval of Trump's handling of the economy in 2018 was 49%. 49%. Now, he's at 27%, a 22-point drop. His overall approval rating, Manu, in 2018 was 36 % overall. He's at 33 % now. You noted as a low. So he was unpopular then, but he still had 49 % approval on the economy. That is shattered. And as you noted, it's even more important of an issue now to people's vote, certainly than it was in 2018. Now it's at 68%. The other thing that I think is worth noting here is just his own most strong supporters are dissipating. They're falling apart a little bit here. So September 2018, strong approval, 27%.

5:04I would note a year and a half ago, the 13 % that are strong approvers now, that was 26 % just a year and a half ago. He has halved it across his term here. And when you look at Republicans who were strong approvers, just among Republicans, two-thirds of so were strong approvers in 2018. That's down to 35 percent now. That is your most, you know, the strongest part of his base, the most vociferous supporters, Republicans, strong approvers. Among Republicans now, that is only at 35 percent. And when you look at white non-college, look at this line, guys. White non-college voters. This has been the very core of what makes up the Trump coalition.

5:44So back in February of 25, the beginning of this term, that was at 63 % approval. He has been nothing basically but a straight downward line here. And in our poll today, 44 % of white non-colleges is approval number with a critical component of his winning coalition. And Nia, the challenge is that you're so close to the midterms, you can't change perceptions this close to the midterms. Yeah, I mean, I've just been shaking my head the entire time because now you really get to see why the Republicans are freaking out. Right. They are probably seeing these numbers internally in their own campaigns in these different states.

6:20And it's also why they are back, you know, sort of backtracking away from Donald Trump because he is just so deeply unpopular. The other thing is this has been going on for a while and voters can make a simple connection between what Donald Trump did and the prices they're paying at the grocery store or for their back to school clothes for their kids. Right. So that's the problem. It's in the water. It's been in the water for a while. Now, you talk to anybody, middle class folks, upper middle class people, everyone is changing their behaviors around this economy in terms of what they do. And it's going to clearly mean changing their behaviors in terms of their voting as well.

7:05No question. And the Republicans have been saying that, look, people will reward us for what we have done. And they point to the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that had a whole slew of changes to tax laws. They've been campaigning on tax cuts and these so-called Trump accounts are a part of it and say that that eventually will help us hit the win over some of these voters because it's a pocketbook election. OK, well, what does the poll say about that? Tax law changes. How do people view these tax law changes? Just 17 % say this is positive, with 43 % saying negative. And many, almost 40%, 39 % say not much in effect.

7:41And then those so-called Trump accounts, 18 % say positive, 22 % say negative, and 59 % say not much effect. It just goes to show you, Kristen, they have just not sold this law. That passed more than a year ago, and the Republicans are begging the president to campaign relentlessly on this issue. Instead, he's been dealing with ballrooms, press vans, and all the rest. The Iran war, not the things that they actually passed. Already, you're looking at very difficult headwinds for the Republican Party. Then you take a president who is really just completely off message. They have people that are going in there, showing him polls that are close, trying to reiterate what he should be saying to the American people.

8:23And then he's going in there and saying it's time to rename Lake Ontario Lake America. I'm going to ban the press. I'm going to do this. Everything but talk about what people care about. Now, my big question is, why is it that his political team still has this idea that he's going to be traveling every day in October, going to all these different districts, if this is what it looks like, because the entire point of that is to drive out the Republican base. And now we're seeing that the Republican base itself is moving away from Donald Trump. So what are they trying to do, having him on the ground in these various areas?

8:54So much of this, Evan, is about the Iran wars, driving so much of the negative perception. We're seeing more and more Republicans just want, they said this is going to be done in four to six weeks. It has not been done in four to six weeks. And we're seeing these Republicans who supported the war, who have been with Trump, now saying the opposite, really saying that war should end soon and changing their tone dramatically. Here's just a look at some of them here. Ashley Hinson, Mike Rogers, John Husted, Tom Tiffany, John James, different ways that they have talked about this, but really an emphasis on ending the war.

9:26A lot of them did vote to continue the war and have voted against war powers like Tom Tiffany, John Husted in particular. There's going to be a big vote this week in the Senate on Iran war powers. We expect John Huston to vote against that. We'll see what he ultimately does. But, Evan, that is really what's driving so much of this GOP anxiety. Yeah, I mean, there was a popular Republican not long ago who said, the worst thing a Republican president can do is get into a war they can't get out of. That person's name was Donald Trump. And he has now put himself in this position where this is the one, I think, singular issue.

9:57And you have seen this party try to do some politics. We talk about this like this is all sort of happening around them. They're not doing anything. They have tried to do stuff. J.D. Vance at the president's convention says, hey, listen, I know you don't like this war, but you've got to give us another shot, right? We've seen the president say, hey, how about a$5 ,000 check? We've seen all this conversation around this idea, oh, Venezuelan oil is going to come in. It's not for lack of trying. It really is they dug a huge hole with this with their own base who voted for them because they didn't want wars.

10:26And they have not been able to dig themselves out of it. And that's where we are right now. Yeah, and so much, of course, has to do with gas prices, diesel prices in particular. I want you to listen to what Tommy Tuberville told me yesterday. He's, of course, the outgoing Alabama Republican senator. He's running for governor in Alabama this November. He's a favorite in that race, in that very red state. And I asked him about the impact that these high fuel costs are having on constituents in Alabama. Obviously, gas prices are high. They've been high before. People deal with that. They know it's going to go up and down.

10:58what's affecting us right now in Alabama. This is harvest season for farmers. And diesel's high. But, you know, our people in Alabama know that, you know, they voted for President Trump. They know he, they gave him the opportunity to go back and... They're willing to pay higher prices, you think? Yeah, they're, yeah, sure they are. David, are they willing to pay higher prices in Alabama? I mean, I don't know anyone. Have you met anyone who's like, I'm willing to pay higher prices at the pump? I've never met that. That doesn't mean there are people that don't agree that Iran shouldn't have a nuclear weapon.

11:30There are lots of people who agree with that. But I have not heard anyone say, I want to pay more at the gas pump. So that seemed a little discordant here. You know, one thing, Manu, I got asked today that I think is worth exploring here, given everything all of us have just said here and looking at these numbers, it's like, why aren't the Democrats 20 points ahead in the generic congressional ballot? You know, why are they 8? As you say that, here was a generic congressional ballot from this right now in September 26, to pass, like, October 2010. That was when Republicans had a wave. That'll be on your screen.

12:01Continue, Dave. I will say they are 20 points ahead among the most motivated voters in our poll. That is an advantage for the Democrats on enthusiasm. But part of this is because if you look at our poll, you know, Democratic leaders in Congress, their approval, it's in the basement with Republicans. Only a quarter of Americans approve of Democratic leaders in Congress, how they're doing their job, just like Republicans. And when we ask specifically, so on, like, cost of living, If Democrats were to get control of the majority, would it have a positive effect or a negative effect? The country splits kind of evenly on that.

12:32It's not a huge advantage. So as an advantageous an environment, this is politically for the Democrats, and as bad as it is for Trump and the Republicans, it's not because of what Democrats have on offer right now, I don't think. It is, as you said at the top, a repudiation of Trump and Trump's economy right now more than anything else. I was talking to one of Trump's advisors and they were like, the story right now is how we still even have a dog in the fight. I mean, that's the story. The fact that some of these races are even this close, given the political headwinds that we have. And this is why.

13:07Republicans are spending a ton of money here. That's their advantage. $682 million to$491 million from September now until Election Day. All right. Coming up, President Trump is going all out for China's Xi Jinping. but that warm reception is getting a chilly one from some Republicans. Plus, wedding bells to a potential subpoena. Why more Republicans are pushing to investigate Donald Trump Jr. over a report a Russian oligarch with ties to Putin funded some of his wedding?

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14:46President Trump is going out of his way to welcome Xi Jinping, literally over a dozen miles out of his way, in fact. Tonight, he'll head to Joint Base Andrews to personally meet the Chinese leader on the tarmac. Now, this rarely happens. As you can see, President Trump typically greets world leaders at the White House with a simple handshake at the front door. But the tarmac trip is just the start of what's expected to be three days of lavish festivities in VIP treatment for Xi. My excellent reporters are back. Kristen, why going all out of the way for Xi Jinping that they wouldn't do for, say, a French president?

15:24Well, first of all, he wants to show him the White House. He wants to show him everything. He wants to really pile on the festivities here the way that he talks about his trip to China. He always says, the ballroom, we talk a lot about how he's obsessed with the ballroom. One thing that we miss is that he's constantly saying that there's a ballroom in China that is amazing. And that when President Xi comes, can you believe we have to bring him to this old thing? Now we're going to get to go to this new office. But why does he want to impress Xi so badly? He always wants to impress Xi. I mean, look, he likes the strong man.

15:56He likes the idea of showing off the United States in this way. I mean, that's why he put so much gold in the Oval Office. It's not just Xi, but it is an extra level for President Xi. And we're hearing some pushback from Republicans in the Senate like this. We can't forget that China is also a competitor and an adversary. The Chinese Communist Party's malign influence on the world stage is growing rapidly. And American citizens are paying the price. During every minute of dialogue, our commander in chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America.

16:49Evan, there's a lot of unease among the GOP on this. Yeah, we had a story today in the Washington Sun about how deep this goes, that people are looking at this and saying, OK, Trump would like to make big deals. It's a big moment for him. Please don't do anything with Taiwan. We're seeing Republican senators push back and say, you have to give, you have to stand up for Taiwan, still, you know, still force that issue. It's a strange situation because this is the kind of thing that Trump has been trumpeted so much in his administration, right? Bringing these world leaders in, making these huge deals.

17:19Trillions of dollars are coming in, all this sort of stuff. This is a moment that should be, we talked about the election before, should be a moment where you can be presidential. But his own party is saying, you know, don't get too crazy right now. We got to be nice to Xi, I guess. But also, let's be strong. That's a big deal. It's a big shift for him. And look at what they probably should be talking about or they probably will talk about in some capacity. This is what's on the agenda, at least on the issues that divide the two nations. trade and tariffs, Taiwan, AI, of course, Iran, critical minerals, among many, many others.

17:55Nia, last time these two leaders met, it was not as productive in dealing with a lot of those issues. Yeah, and you imagine, aside from the pageantry and Trump sort of groveling and showing him the gold in the White House, that not much will come of this either. You know, sort of the irony here is Donald Trump does talk about China in adversarial ways. When he ran in 2016, he talked about China in very adversarial ways. In the context of AI, he's still doing that. So it's a bit of a mismatch to hear his sort of bellicose language about we've got to beat China on AI, and then he's going to sort of roll out the red carpet.

18:33Yeah, and the who's who of tech leaders are showing up at the state dinner tomorrow night. Everyone from Elon Musk to Sam Altman, as you can see on your screen there. David, I remember when being tough on China was a Republican talking point on the campaign trail. We're not hearing a lot of that these days. Not as much of it. By the way, I wonder if Elon Musk and Sam Altner can be sitting next to each other. I hope so. But yeah, you're hearing a little less of that these days, and I think that shows the influence of some of these tech leaders in Republican politics, but I would also just note you started with, though, some of these vocal Republicans, whether Ted Butt or Roger Wicker or others who are China hawks, who have expressed concern.

19:12And again, I think this gets back to the poll that we showed. You know, you talked about the Republicans who were breaking from him on Iran or trying to get him. I think Republicans feel like if you're a China hawk Republican, you feel a lot more free right now to speak up when Donald Trump is sitting at 33%. And I don't think the irony is lost on anyone that while the Chinese leader is here and you're talking about all the things he wants to show off, he chose this is the week to ban press access and that there will be no TV pool coverage of a lot of what Donald Trump does want to show the world.

19:40Yeah, we'll see. But also actual worry, right? I mean, a lot of these Republicans stood by this president for a long time, right? This is very new for them to be taking him on. They stood by and said he was doing the right thing over and over and over, and now they're not. We have another story in the Washington Sun today that talks about how difficult a line that is for them. Because unless this has been your brand right along, our strategist told us, Republican strategist, this is a very hard sell. And so it's a strange situation to think about now they're saying, oh, I'm really worried about China with this guy.

20:08He's been saying the same stuff and doing a lot of the same stuff for a long time. They have not said anything until now. We'll see what the voters ultimately think about that election year pivot, if you will. All right, next, we are just moments away from the emergency hearing on President Trump blocking reporters from CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the White House. As the Justice Department claims, it's all about national security.

20:44We'll be right back.

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21:07We're just hours away from an emergency court hearing to restore CNN, MSNOW and Politico's access to the White House. It is a critical test of the First Amendment. In the court filing late last night, the Justice Department claimed the ban is justified because the news outlet's coverage of the Iran war and Trump's ballroom could be a national security risk. CNN's Caitlin Palance is following our developments. So Caitlin, what's the latest? Manu, a critical First Amendment test at the hearing, but the Justice Department is trying to change that conversation. In the filing that they submitted to the court late last night, they wanted to make this about national security.

21:43And in the arguments in court, the Justice Department lawyers explained that there should be a level of trust they believe that the president should have with news outlets. and that trust is why CNN, MSNOW, and Politico have been banned from the White House grounds. Here's some quotes from the filings in the argument about national security. They say, At the very least, the government may control reporters' access to restricted presidential areas, such as the Oval Office, even for viewpoint discriminatory reasons. So if the president doesn't like what the outlets report. They also write, The president has found that plaintiffs, CNN, MSNOW, and Politico, have engaged in a number of reporting incidents that have threatened national security.

22:32Such reporting directly raises national security concern. One of those examples is reporting on the White House ballroom that was planned. That reporting came long ago before the reporter Betsy Kline tried to go to the White House and had her pass renewed last summer. There are also arguments that are going to be made just not about the First Amendment, but other constitutional protections like due process. All three news outlets are arguing extensively that they are being discriminated against in violation of the free press and the constitutional foundations there, that they are being retaliated against by this president because he doesn't like generally the negative stories that he says these outlets have reported.

23:18And also the outlets are saying they were not given due process. us that these passes, including Betsy's, were pulled very, very quickly on Saturday morning, abruptly with no notice in advance. This national security argument, though, we'll see how that comes into play in the court. There is law on the books that has been in Washington, D.C.'s federal system for 50 years saying that White House press passes just can't be revoked that abruptly because the White House decides so, decides to pull them. There has to be some level of due process, some level of back and forth with news organizations.

23:54We'll see if the judge is going to rule today as well. He ruled very quickly in 2018 on Jim Acosta's case. That was CNN correspondent the White House tried to block from accessing the White House. His pass was restored. Judge Kelly, though, he's a Trump appointee, and there hasn't been another case on this since the first Trump administration about these sorts of White House passes. and this sort of move that has been made. Manu? All right, Caitlin, we've already seen Trump attacking the judge preemptively. We'll see how that factors into all this as well. Caitlin Polance on the latest from here in Washington.

24:28Thank you so much. And up next for us, Big Sky Country has only gotten redder over the last decade, but one independent Senate candidate thinks he can persuade Montanans to turn away from the GOP. Seth Bodnar joins me next.

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25:51Two years ago, Montanans voted for President Trump by 20 points. But a new poll from the Montana Free Press shows a majority of Big Sky country has soured on him. 53 % of registered voters disapprove of Trump's job performance. 42 % approve. My next guest, independent Senate candidate Seth Bodnar, hopes that discontent will lead voters to reject the Republican running for the open seat. But there's a wrinkle. He's also running against a Democrat. Mr. Bodnar, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you. It's great to be here. Absolutely. So let's start talking about just this race, because there was this big pressure campaign for the Democratic candidate in this race, Alani Bankhead, to drop out.

26:32She dug in. She's in this race right now. How could you possibly win this race, given that she's going to drain a lot of your support? Well, some, but, you know, this race has never been about getting anybody to drop out, right? Is it easier if my Democratic opponent dropped out? Of course. It's easier if the Republican drops out, too. But this is about giving options to the voters in Montana who feel that their political system is not accountable to them. And you're seeing us move in the polls. I mean, both the Republican and I are in the 30s. I'm within striking distance, out polling the Democrat two to one.

27:02Our momentum is building. The largest voting bloc right now in Montana is not Democrat. It's not Republican. It's independent. And that big bloc of independents and moderate Republicans, moderate Democrats, they deserve a voice. And that's the coalition we're building. But you look at this, dig a little bit deeper here on this Montana free press poll that's out there. Because you're trailing the Republican Kurt Alme by eight points here in this poll. And the Democrat there, Bankhead, she's drawing 16 % of that vote. So she clearly is taking away your support. She could torpedo your chances. You know, but this is not about, again.

27:38But just look at the numbers. It's clear. It's very clear. Look, we are behind. We are gaining momentum. Over the summer, we've gained seven points in the polls. Both the Republican and the Democrat have fallen. And, you know, more importantly, when you look at voters that have heard the messages of our campaign, of the opposing campaigns, they're shifting our way. And right now, in the final six weeks, this is about getting our message out to voters who are fed up with a broken system that's not serving their interests. Republicans, Democrats alike. But would you could say, though, you need those Democratic voters?

28:08Oh, absolutely. We need those Democratic voters. We need Republican voters. So how do you thread the line? Because you say you're not a Democrat, but you need those Democratic voters. Yeah. So how do you thread that line? By speaking to the issues that Montanans are facing, the challenges that Montanans are facing. skyrocketing costs. Diesel$6.30 a gallon right now. Montana farmers in crisis. Rural communities in crisis. They're looking for people who are going to represent them and bring solutions. They're not looking for party labels right now. They're looking for people who are going to be accountable to the people of the great state of Montana and nobody else.

28:42That's the coalition we're building. You know, you look at some of the polls. We just put out a poll, CNN did today, about the level of support among leaders in Washington, Democratic leaders in particular. Just about a quarter of Americans, that's it, are happy with Democratic leaders. I mean, they're barely above Republicans. They're also underwater. But specifically about the Democrats, what do you think they're doing wrong here in Washington? They're not listening and they're not answering the concerns of voters across the country. You see skyrocketing costs, housing, health care, out of reach, no solution.

29:15Power ping pongs back and forth. Nothing gets better. That's why nearly 50 percent of Americans, when asked their political affiliation, are now saying independent. The problem is they don't have people representing them. And that's where the hunger is. That's where you're seeing this movement of more and more Americans saying, I want leaders who are accountable not to a party boss in D.C., but to the voters who sent them there in the first place. That's what we're offering. You've not said which party you would caucus with. You said you'd listen to who does the best for Montanans. But don't the voters in your state deserve to know it?

29:45Because, look, you could be if you win, you pull off this upset, you could decide who the next majority is. So shouldn't your voters know who you would caucus with? Well, I've said I'm not going to caucus with either party. But you have to. You have to. I mean, how are you going to get your committee? You got to get your committee assignments. Well, you know, the same the same way other senators do negotiate for those assignments. You know, you don't you don't have to. But they negotiate with the leaders they're caucusing with. Right. And every senator has an important vote. And one vote in a closely divided Senate makes a huge difference right now.

30:16One vote's the difference between Pete Hegseth being approved as secretary of defense or not. So you would not, you're saying you would do this rather unusual move of not caucusing with the other. Seems very impressive. Covering Capitol Hill. You think the system's working now. That's how you have to get your committee assignments. So you may have to sit on a committee if you would. Well, oh, you can go, you can go to committee meetings. You can sit on. You can sit in the audience, perhaps, but maybe not ask questions to the witnesses. You can and you can have amendments. You know, there's real power for an independent who says, you know what, folks, I'm going to work with either side when it makes sense for Montana, when it makes sense for the United States of America.

30:48And I'm going to stand up to either side when it doesn't. Montanans are sick of straight party line voting. Last year was the most partisan year in the history of the U.S. Congress. Look where it's getting us. What we're doing right now isn't working. That's why those approval ratings that you just saw are so low. Americans want something different. I want to ask you just a little bit about your race because you attacked, your campaign went after Alani Bankhead for, it seemed, suggesting she had pro-MAGA views. There was a discussion in one of the press releases your campaign put out in September citing a church she belongs to to make that case that that church harbored anti-abortion and pro-MAGA views.

31:23What are you guys accusing her of exactly? We just want voters to understand what their elected leaders actually believe. You know, not what they say, what do they believe? And I think it's important. Do you think she's a MAGA plant or something? You know, I'm not saying what anyone else is. We're just saying, hey, look at what your elected representatives or people seeking to represent you actually believe. You know, what does what does Kurt Almey believe, my Republican opponent? You know, what does Alani Bankhead stand for? And I've been very clear about what my views are. Montana voters have served to know those things.

31:55Speaking of your views, there could be a vote this week in the Senate to check President Trump's war powers when it comes to Iran. If you were a senator, would you vote to check the president's war powers? Absolutely. It's shameful that we've seen Republican leaders in Congress abdicating their constitutional obligations. The founders made it very clear that Congress is supposed to have the power to declare war, to send America's sons and daughters to shed blood on foreign soil. When Congress abdicates that responsibility, when they don't force the commander-in-chief to lay out why this is an imminent threat, what the strategy is, what the exit plan is, that's how you end up losing a war in Iran.

32:31The Senate needs to do its job. Republicans need to step up. I'm glad to see some of them finally doing it. I wish they'd have done it six months ago. Yeah. All right. We're going to have to leave it there. So independent Senate candidate from Montana, Seth Bodnar. Thank you so much for joining me. Really appreciate your time. Absolutely. All right. Coming up, the U.S. is fighting Iran overseas while protecting Iran's president here at home. John Miller will explain why. That's next.

33:00This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like All I Want. Right. Okay, we can afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for a 12-month plan required,$15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Yesterday, the United Nations, President Trump announced he's weighing a decision on Iran.

33:37Make a deal or annihilate the Islamic Republic. Today, Iranian President Masoud Pazeshliam stood on that same stage and said this. The United States president described us as terrorists. We have been the victims of terrorism. A few minutes into his address, the sole U.S. delegate in the room walked out. But while the Iranian president is in this country, the Secret Service actually must protect him. So I want to bring in CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller. So, John, is this the first world leader who spoke at the U.N. while at war with the U.S.? As far as my research goes, it is.

34:21This is the first sitting world leader of a country that was currently at war with the United States, who actually came to the United States and addressed the UN. Saddam didn't do it during the war in Iraq, not the first time, not the second time. The Taliban wasn't recognized as the leaders of Afghanistan. So this is a first in many ways. And, I mean, it's ironic in that the president of Iran may well have been on a U.S. target list at some point to be taken out on Iranian soil. And yet the U.S. Secret Service and the NYPD are sworn to make sure that no harm comes to him while he's here on the ground in New York City delivering his message.

35:07Wow. And John, while in town, what kind of freedom does the Iranian president have? So that's going to be very limited, Manu. Basically, the instructions from the State Department is that the Iranian delegation, whether it's the foreign minister, the president, or others, can travel from the UN to the Iranian permanent mission to the UN, which is on the Upper East side off Fifth Avenue with no real stops in between unless they're approved. So all of those things that world leaders and their teams love to do when they come to New York, which is to go to big box stores, do all kinds of shopping, nightlife and so on, is going to be pretty tightly controlled to zero in this case.

35:55All right, John Miller on the latest from New York. Thank you so much. And And up next for us, why Donald Trump Jr.'s recent wedding is causing more Republicans to call for the Senate Judiciary Committee to subpoena him. That's next.

36:14Republican Senator John Curtis says he has not heard back from the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee about his request to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. over his recent wedding. But the Utah GOP senator did say he is not alone in expressing concerns. I do feel a little bit like it's my responsibility to say what others are thinking. And it's not just my colleagues. I think the good folks back in Utah and around the country have questions. Now, fellow Republicans Tom Tilts and John Cornyn also publicly joined Curtis's call for a probe. This was all sparked by that ProPublica report that a Russian oligarch helped fund parts of Donald Trump Jr.'s nuptials on a private island in the Bahamas.

37:03President Trump said his son and new wife will pay it back or paid it back. A spokesperson for Don Jr. said Umar Kremlev is a friend and does not have any business with the Trump family. Donald Trump Jr.'s wife, Patina, posted on Instagram that Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us after our wedding. It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend. My panel is back here. Nia, you wrote about this, perhaps not passing the sniff test, as the headline says, but you said, The younger Trump's PR strategy takes a page right out of President Donald Trump's playbook.

37:42If it's out in the open for all the world to see, it can't really be that shady. Also, sometimes a wedding gift is so obviously corrupt that it has to be reimbursed, but only after it was revealed to the public. Yeah, I mean, clearly at some point, Donald Trump himself realized that this was not a good thing. That his son had accepted this fairly lavish, hundreds of thousands of dollars for this party. You saw Bettina Trump come out early and just basically say, oh, this is just a gift. Why is anybody suggesting that it's nefarious? You know, I mean, you think about the national security implications of this to have, you know, dozens or so Russians who were there and they did spark, you know, certain intrigue among the wedding guests who were there.

38:29And you had Eric Trump essentially say, oh, I don't know who these people are. So, yeah, I mean, I think Republicans have to do something to look into it. And you have on the House side, Robert Garcia. But do they have to do something? Because the chairman of the judiciary, Jimmy, Chuck Grassley, is not doing, he said he's still, he's not committed to an investigation. And the two Republicans who have spoken out, John Cornyn and Tom Tillis, they ain't coming back, David. No, they're not. And they've been happy to speak out about a lot of things of late. So they add the chorus here. I mean, I think Grassley said he's going to pursue this the way he would any other inquiry.

39:02But no, they don't have to do anything. To your point about Donald Trump realizing it was a bad thing, the thing that caught my attention was the speed by which Donald Trump realized it was a bad thing. Like, it wasn't something he, like, spent weeks defending first. It was pretty darn quick for Donald Trump to be like, well, I think it's been paid back. He thinks it's been paid back, but it hasn't been paid back? We have no indication. This was the first time we even heard about them potentially paying something back. I mean, in Bettina's post, she essentially said, you know, this was a gift and we accepted it.

39:31Thank you to him, you know? And then you had Donald Trump saying, but they paid it back already. So we had not heard anything like that. And again, even Don's spokesperson who gave that comment did not say anything about actually reimbursing. But that might be something they're looking at now. And his new wife, Donald Trump Jr.'s new wife, Bettina, said after. She said it was a gift. She said it was a gift, a wedding gift. So do you pay back a wedding gift? Is a loan a wedding gift? I don't know. I mean, I've never gotten a gift, anything like that. No one's paid for one of your weddings in a lavish aisle?

40:02That's right. But I will say, look, we started this show talking about all these Republicans who are just, you know, distancing from the president, getting away from him. That's not happening in this case, right? This is a huge, huge story that is locked in. Everybody knows about this story. Everyone's talking about it. And with the exception of these two senators that you're talking about who are on their way out, already been defeated by Trump, essentially, we are not seeing Republicans kind of standing up and talking about this. That's a huge risk. If this does kind of break containment and become a problem for this president, corruption is a big, big topic with this White House.

40:33And unless they can sort of keep their Republicans around them on this, they could really, really have a problem down the road. Yeah, I mean, John Curtis, the one, of course, is not on his way out the door, but he's not up for re-election this cycle. What does he do in the next cycle? It's interesting he decided to stick his neck out now. Will any other Republicans join him? That's the big question. Thanks, guys, for joining me. Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts right now.

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