Inflation Accelerates Faster Than Expected, Fueled by Gas

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1:02Tonight, live at the table, Scott Jennings, Ashley Allison, Lauren Wright, Isaiah Martin, and Lulu Garcia Navarro. Welcome to a special 90-minute edition of Newsnight.

1:30Good evening. I'm Abby Phillip in New York. Tonight, it's one of the most closely watched races on the midterm map. Ad spending just surpassed half a billion dollars. And just before early voting begins, we are hearing from one of the candidates in prime time. The CNN Jubilee Media Town Hall in Fort Worth, Texas tonight had James Tallarico, the state's Democratic nominee for Senate, taking questions from voters. Two new polls find that the race is too close to call. But Democrats still hope that it will propel them to the Senate majority. CNN invited Tallarico's opponent, Ken Paxton, to participate in this town hall as well as a separate debate with Tallarico.

2:10And we haven't heard back from him on either of those fronts. And while Tallarico spent much of the evening focused on the issues, he offered a pretty scathing closing message about his opponent. I don't want people to vote just against Ken Paxton. I want them to vote for me. I want them to know my values and my vision. But the last thing I will say is that we are running against the most corrupt politician in Texas. And this is not an exaggeration. Since taking office, Ken Paxton has increased his net worth by$27 million. He now owns 15 homes, while most Texans can't afford one. He has taken bribes from wealthy special interests, including half a million dollars from data center companies.

2:56all while he sells us out when he makes public policy. This election is not about left versus right. It's about whether we will have a senator who puts money in your pocket or a senator who puts money in their own. That is the choice before us in November. Before we open it up to the table here, we invite you at home to join our debate. Head to CNN.com slash Abby. You can weigh in there. We'll get to some of your comments as we go throughout the show. So we were talking, Scott, in the break about the format, which was interesting because it allowed Tallarico to take a very wide range of questions and some of them directly and back and forth with voters.

3:36You noted that maybe there wasn't as much pushback, but that's one of the problems with not debating your opponent is that you don't get to push back. That's right. And I give Tallarico credit for doing this. It was an innovative kind of format. I think it was smart for CNN to do it. It's a good show. It's good for people to be engaged. One of the exchanges that stood out to me was when that Navy veteran, the guy that served for 22 years, jumped in and said, look, I support the Save America Act. I want to know if you'll vote for it. Tallarico looked him in the eye and said, effectively, well, I really don't know that much about it.

4:08I don't want to comment on things I don't know anything about. So two months ago, he gave a long answer in an interview somewhere trashing the Save America Act, claiming it was only designed to disenfranchise black voters. And what I learned about Tallarico in that moment is that he has really trouble looking someone in the eye who he knows disagrees with him and just saying, you know what? You and I are going to have to agree to disagree on this. He did that all night. No, even the Catholic lady who's clearly pro-life and clearly has a different view of things. He tried to get her to believe that they were on the same page.

4:40That's what you're supposed to do as a politician. He lied to that veteran. He lied to that veteran. He is more slippery than a wet panther. That's what I learned tonight. That's what you learned tonight is y 'all might lose Texas. That's what you learned tonight. And you know it. You think I just learned that tonight? I think you probably knew it before. You just were afraid to say it. Tonight solidified that. I think James Tallarico got up there and he said multiple times, we might just have to agree to disagree, but let's find the common ground. And quite honestly, that's what most Americans want right now.

5:09They are sick of the extremes. They are sick of the fighting, of the dishonesty. He said, to quote him exactly, he said, I am a policy wonk and I want to know every explicit thing. You can say I don't really like it. Then why did he trash it two months ago? If he's such a policy wonk and wants to know all the details, why was he out trashing it two months ago? But he couldn't look that guy in the eye and just admit it. Scott, he literally came forward and said that he supports voter ID. And inside the state of Texas, there is voter ID. He asked him about the Save America Act. But what specifically is the Save America Act?

5:37It's a bill that is a passport to vote bill. That is what the bill is. if you read the bill text, you know that and everybody else knows that. He said that he supported voter ID and that is what the law is in the state of Texas and what he will support at the federal level as well. So you think he would vote for the Save America Act? Of course not. Probably not in his script. Why didn't he admit so much? Because that is not what the bill is. But that's what the guy wanted him to answer. The question was about voter ID, Scott. Why didn't he shoot straight with the guy? Scott, because you guys lied on the very premise on what the bill is.

6:04The bill is not a voter ID bill. It is a bill to require effectively a passport to register to vote. Are you going to disagree that only five states actually would be able, with their IDs as it is today, to be able to qualify under the Save America Act? Are you going to say that's not true? I think you're trying to use the Save America Act. But I'm going to say I think the best part of that answer was he actually said that he wasn't here to represent Republicans or Democrats. He was actually here to represent Texans. And he wasn't going to be the senator for California or the senator for New York because that veteran wanted to know, is he going to have his decision at the same heart?

6:38And when he answered us, he said, he wanted to know, he just wanted to know if he would support that bill. And Tallarico, as you point out, and I agree with you, is not going to support it. But he couldn't look the man in the eye and just be honest with him. And that's a slippery politician thing to do. Why not just say what you just said? I have problems with the bill. I don't like it. I shouldn't vote for it. He said what he would support. He didn't want to do it. And I thought that was telling to me. Because he agreed on the very premise was, do you support voter ID? Tallarico does support voter ID.

7:10But what he also said was that the Save Act is not what Republicans like you, Scott, have been saying that it is. He claimed he had never heard of it.

7:21I want to move off of the Save Act because there was a lot of other stuff he covered that also should make you be concerned. That's exactly what I was going to say is that there is a lot else that was discussed. And I think that the idea that he didn't acknowledge differences with people who challenged him, that is not true. It's not true. Because he was confronted by a Catholic woman who said abortion is basically against her faith. Did you hear her after? She was confronted by another woman about the comments that Republicans like to tout so much, where he said that God is non-binary. And let me just play his response to that.

7:58Listen. the first comment uh about um about god not being defined by gender uh when i said that i was being provocative and i want to admit that and come clean about that um but i think what i was saying is actually not controversial theologically the idea that we can't define god using human categories oh yes i was doing it maybe in an annoying way i can admit that i think we have You have to be careful using modern cultural terms when talking about God. Sure. I think that is very fair criticism. And I've kind of admitted when, you know, how I've said things in the past have maybe not come across in the right way or have upset people.

8:41And that's not my intention. So that was such a striking exchange. And honestly, I think people should actually go and watch the whole, if you missed it, watch that entire exchange because it was incredibly detailed. Both of the religious ones. Yeah. And she was a person of faith. She challenged him on biblical grounds on that issue. How did you think that he did overall? Because I think there are two parts about it. One is, A, his provocative comments. But then the other one is, how does he talk about faith? And can he do it? Because that's the reason that he kind of came on the map in the first place.

9:16I mean, I actually credit Joe Rogan with Tallarico's career. Because if you remember how he surged into national attention, It was because he was doing TikToks and Instagrams talking about his faith from a progressive lens. And then Joe Rogan had him on his show, said, you know what, you should run for president, buddy. I like what you're saying. And then all of a sudden, James Tallarico, boom, here we are. So Joe Rogan is someone else that we have to thank for our political reality at the moment. What I would say about how he did, I think you're actually both right in this. he used a lot of rhetorical devices that were slippery in the sense that it is part of a politician's manner to agree a lot.

10:03Right. And he did a lot of declarative sentences. Yes, I agree. And he was trying to find common ground and it was very disarming. And what he was doing in that was trying to disarm people. And he did that very effectively. But by the same token, empathy only goes so far. So when you had the woman who was another religious discussion, who was Jewish talking about Israel, he wasn't actually saying, hey, I'm going to vote not to send bombs to Israel or this is my position on Gaza or this is how I feel about X, Y or Z. How am I going to vote as a senator? He was doing a lot of empathetic sort of engagement, which is fine.

10:43Let's not focus on the things that we don't have in common. Let's focus on the things that we do. It's a way to avoid the policy. But it's refreshing. It's refreshing. It's refreshing. But what I'll say is, no, listen, in a moment where everyone's fighting. A way to avoid a policy is not to show up, actually, Scott. Your candidate won't even show up. That's the truth. He wasn't answering some of the questions. I don't live in Texas, but he should show up. I think it's very odd. When you have an opponent, Isaiah and I were just talking about this, who's so weak and, by all accounts, very corrupt.

11:11But you're playing the high ground and you're saying, like, well, first of all, he's not even showing up on the trail because of the flu. But then he's saying, I'm not going to make this about my opponent. Make it about your opponent. Your opponent is extremely weak. Draw the contrast. I think the dominant theory among Democrats about him is that because of his faith and his background as a pastor, he's going to siphon votes from Republicans. I don't think that's going to happen. I thought he looked at two religious women in the face and said the Bible is silent on abortion. And then he bragged about his legislative record blocking gender reassignment surgeries for kids, but then allowing puberty blockers and gender affirming hormones, which do do damage to kids.

11:54So I don't think he got that. I don't think he's going to get there. And there's two and a half times more likely Republican voters and Democrats. I'll just say this. I think one of the things it's not enough. When you look at the strategy, what he might have been doing tonight is that, yes, he could have attacked Ken Paxton and raised his unfavorables, which are already pretty high. But he has some work to do in convincing Texas voters that they that they should give him even a look. And I think that's what he thought tonight was about, which is not how do I bring down the other guy? Because Ken Paxton, I'm not sure you can bring him down anymore.

12:32And he is. But he has to raise his favorables. And that's 100 % true, though. I don't think he did that on the cultural issues. I thought he lost it. I actually disagree with you. And the reason why, I was actually having a conversation with your governor, Scott, Andy Beshear. And he was saying one of the ways that he goes and talks to people is not to focus on the things that you disagree with. Figure out, okay, if we're both on two different sides of the issue, let's figure out where we can agree. And I think what Tallarico was doing consistently tonight was finding common ground with people.

12:57And that is precisely what he said that he would do throughout his campaign. And that's a very optimistic view of politics, and I appreciate it. I think it's because Taro Rico is focused on something. If you look at Republicans or you look at Democrats who run in states where there's populations that are not of their particular party. I'm thinking of Governor Cox. I'm thinking of Governor Shapiro. I'm thinking of Andy Beshear. You see this tactic a lot, which is that they will always try and bring the other side in. They try not to be divisive. And even though their policy positions might not align with you, Their verbal, the way that they engage with the public is very different.

13:40I don't think that Tallarico would have gained very many undecided voters if he would have just walked in there and said, you guys are all wrong. You guys are all dumb. I think that what he did was say, look, if we have disagreements, that's fine. We're going to find ways. That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying not everyone's running against a candidate who was impeached by a Republican. Yeah, but that's happening. That's happening. Back me up, Ashley, the Democratic strategist. OK, here's what I'll just say is I think tonight his strategy was not actually to get people who were double Trump voters.

14:14I actually don't think that. I think his strategy were to get people who voted for Jasmine Crockett in the primary. Those two black women that were undecided at the end of it to speak to them. One was still undecided. One was not. As someone who supported James Tallarico, I needed him to convince me not tonight, but before. and he needs to do that work. He also was thinking about Latino voters, right, who supported Trump, also probably supported Obama, maybe at some point. He's looking at a different coalition. The gender and abortion stuff is strange to me. No, no, no, but here's the thing. Those are the things that I just, I know you're not technically a Republican, but - I am, actually.

14:50A card-carrying Republican. Okay, great, great. Last time I thought you said you weren't. But nevertheless, I think there were a lot of other issues, like education. Right now, I was just in Houston, okay, interviewing the governor candidate, Gina Hinojosa. What Abbott is doing right now with vouchers around public education and potentially gutting the public education system in Texas, which is the biggest employer in the state, has Texans outraged. He got to talk about that tonight. As a teacher, he got to talk about immigration in a way. The woman who says she's a Republican at the very end, what I heard her say, she didn't want to say she was going to vote for Tallarico, but I heard she say she might not vote for Paxton.

15:29And that is a winning strategy for Tallarico, not trying to get a MAGA MAGA MAGA voter to do it. It's trying to get some people to stay home, some people who didn't support him in a primary to switch, and some people who are actual independents to vote. If you want to respond, last word. Well, I just don't think he's met the bar for strength that you need to to win in such a lopsided state. I also don't really believe the polling is as close as it is. Maybe he's a strong candidate. Yes, he tried to reach across the aisle, but the polling is heavily favoring progressive voters. They are having trouble identifying who's a likely voter, period, in the midterms right now.

16:06And it is extremely weighted toward progressives, and they can't fund Republicans to take these polls. It's the same issues that there were in the polling in the primary in California, Wisconsin. I don't disagree with you in terms of, in general, there are a lot of decisions that need to be made by pollsters right now about how you weight this electorate. But the latest Marist poll was an R plus 14 sample, which is very heavily Republican. It looks like a presidential year. And this is not presidential year level enthusiasm for this candidate or for Republicans in general. So I think there's a lot that we don't know in the polling.

16:45But what it really says is this is a toss-up race. It's a toss-up race in a heavily Republican state. And for Democrats, that is a window of opportunity. And the other important thing is that Tallarica really spoke about policy. And I thought that was really important. He's talked about fiscal responsibility, getting back to economics and a budget like under Bill Clinton when we had a surplus. I think that that played well because the last time that Texas had voted for a Democrat, it was in the Bill Clinton years with Governor Ann Richards. So he was trying to go and also go and bring back a time.

17:15Millionaires are allowed now. He even referenced LBJ, another famous Texan. All right, next for us. As the president considers live streaming a Pentagon execution, he now says that leakers should also be executed. They should be shot to death, he says. We'll discuss that. Plus, Marsha Blackburn's Kendrick Lamar video is sparking quite the debate for several different reasons. Stay with us.

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18:50Tonight, President Trump believes in a grim solution to his White House leaking problem, particularly for those divulging war plans. Leakers should be, in my opinion, leakers should be shot. Who should be shot? In the old days, we used to shoot leakers, you know, when they leak, what time you're going to attack a country. and the reason you're attacking is really for defense because you don't want them to have a weapon that can blow up millions of people at one shot. No, leakers should be dealt with very, very strongly. They're real. To me, they're the scum of the earth. The leakers are the scum of the earth.

19:33He then immediately went after reporters. They're very, they're almost as bad as a leaker because they leak. No, they leak false information that makes them a licker. Oftentimes, without a source, I think they make up a lot of the sources. A source said that Donald Trump was extremely unhappy today, but then you find out there was no source. They make it up. They're like storytellers.

20:02So, Lulu, not the first time Trump has suggested the death penalty for various things and various types of people. But in this case, what do you make of it when it comes to both leaking and reporters who report on whistleblowers or leakers in the administration? I mean, the bloodlust is getting a little bit extreme, you know, with the let's live stream an execution and now let's shoot leakers. And by the way, you know, reporters are leakers. So by extension, I'm assuming he's also calling for violence towards reporters. I mean, I think the more damaging thing that has happened in this era is the constant drumbeat of like, you can't believe your own eyes.

20:50You can't believe what is reported. You can't believe what you read. You can't trust all these things. And it's completely fabricated and made up. What again, I'm just going to say it one more time. What are reporters doing? They are reporting for the public's right to know. Right. So if you are getting information about something that's happening in the government, all governments want to hide it. Republican, Democrat, they all want to hide things from the public. What reporters are trying to do is actually find that information and then weigh it. And is it important for the public to understand it?

21:29Because they are the voters and the government is acting in their name. And so but he's trying to obfuscate all this. And he doesn't look, he doesn't care about. No, he doesn't. But I think it's important to say this over and over again. He believes that the press should be writing good stories about him, that everything that he wants to be kept secret should be kept secret. We know that that's not how both journalism works or how the relationship between the public and the government should work. There are some things that the government doesn't want you to know that the people have a right to know.

22:01Well, of course, I mean, journalism and the presidency, it's supposed to be a very adversarial relationship. But he's been saying outrageous, disturbing things like this for 10 years and he keeps getting elected. And so I think the tactic is he just continues to say these shocking things. They're not anywhere on Americans list of priorities. They don't care about the news media. They don't care about the well-being of the news media. They think everyone is biased and they like to watch what they like to watch for the most part. And so I do think that if everyone continues to pile on these comments, it's like his sexism comments.

22:38It's all the shrugging off violence. Are you suggesting that it just doesn't matter? Oh, no, I think it matters. And every time he says something like this, I'm very, very critical of him. The death penalty for people who are speaking. No, I've been continuously critical of him. I mean, it either matters or it doesn't. And it's also directed toward him, by the way. He's had, what is it, four or five assassination attempts at this point? It's directed toward us. And the same thing, though, comes to the Democrats that have also been attacked, Melissa Hortman and everything else. I think at the end of the day, this from Donald Trump is a tactic.

23:14He does it so at the very top of this show and other things. We are talking about the outlandish things that he says. So we don't talk about the fact that inflation went and spiked up. It's at 3.7 percent. That's absolutely correct. And that's why he does it, because he wants us to be outraged about the things he says. And the reality is it is 100 percent wrong, everything that he is saying. And I think that common sense America agrees with that. But I think what we also have to do is say this president says crazy things and is absurd, but it's a distraction from the economy that he destroyed.

23:44I disagree with that. We're going to continue the conversation with another hour of special coverage. We'll react to the fact that inflation is accelerating faster than expected and tell you just how the president is spinning it. Plus, Marsha Blackburn channels Kendrick Lamar to promote early voting, despite calling rap filth in the past. We'll discuss.

24:2610 once. Seven days to love it or return it, Mr. Shaq. Not that I would. You never do. No, I never do. So buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. See our seven-day return policy at Carvana.com. Tonight, inflation accelerates. Half can't afford the basics, but the president doubles down. We're bringing prices way down. You know, we've already stopped the inflation. Plus, we're learning why the feds searched the home of a sitting congresswoman just three weeks before an election. Also... Do you feel betrayed by what has been happening? Really, yes. Ukraine says Donald Trump has chosen a side in the Russia war.

25:10And we're answering your questions, your feedback. So don't hold back. Live at the table, Scott Jennings, Ashley Allison, Lauren Wright, Isaiah Martin, and Lulu Garcia-Navarro. Welcome to another special hour of Newsnight.

25:45Good evening. I'm Abby Phillip in New York for a special edition of Newsnight. 20 days to go until Election Day and President Trump and Republicans are facing a bleak economic landscape. New polling reveals that the cost of living concerns are weighing heavily on voters, with 6 in 10 saying it's a top issue. And Trump's approval on inflation sits at just 22 percent, while his handling of the economy and tariffs aren't doing much better. Americans are right to be worried. The final inflation report before the midterms is officially out, and it is not pretty. It shows prices rising faster than expected last month, bringing the annual inflation rate to 3.7%.

26:27Driving those numbers is the energy shock from the Iran war as fuel costs continue to climb. Gas prices have been stuck at or above$4 a gallon for 166 days now. That shatters a grim Biden-era record. And despite Trump's much-hyped Russian oil deal, analysts warn that diesel could reach all-time highs in the weeks ahead because the number of barrels is just not enough. Now, tonight, Trump hit the campaign trail in Arizona and Montana as he continues to drum up support for GOP candidates. But how much is this midterm pitch really resonating with Americans when this is what he's been saying for the last few months?

27:10we've already stopped the inflation all your prices have been tumbling down the inflation's coming way down we're the ones bringing down the price we've brought down prices and nobody can believe what's going on we have the best economic numbers and oil prices now are coming down very rapidly i know more about inflation i know more about everything than anybody in this room anybody anywhere in the world we have almost no inflation so that's not true um and what's worse Versus that for the last three months, inflation has been going up and up and up year over year. That is the opposite of what Americans elected him to do.

27:49And Trump isn't even vaguely acknowledging that. Yeah, it does feel like a run back from the Biden era where at least Joe Biden's economic indicators were suggesting that the economy was getting better, even though voters were saying this type of report is not suggesting that. And so the fact that he is out on the campaign trail telling people your prices are going down and they're still going to the grocery store and they've just gone up. The fact that it takes, you know, I filled up my car,$60 for a half a tank of gas. Like that is outrageous for the average American. And keep going out and saying it because it feels like you're disconnected with the truth, with the reality.

28:27And you're not saying you're going to do anything to change it. You're just saying what you're doing is right, which could leave voters, particularly independent voters who might not always turn out but are feeling this crunch, enthused enough to go out and say, I don't want any more of this. The number, the top line number is not good. It's mostly driven by gas energy. Let's talk about groceries. Anybody know the grocery number year over year? 1.8 percent. Grocery prices actually edged down in September. You mentioned groceries and grocery prices are still high. But when the president talks about taming inflation, he actually has a point on groceries.

29:01Now, the gas prices are killing him. Diesel is a major problem. And we've certainly debated out here the antidote to that and all the different ideas that are floating around out there. But when it comes to food inflation at the grocery store, he actually has a point. It may sound cold comfort to people who saw massive price increases during the Biden years. But after two years of Trump, the grocery inflation is actually less than the 20-year historic average. And in the last month, it edged down a tick. Well, the point is, is that that number is actually in spite of everything that Donald Trump has done, because it's been because of Donald Trump's tariffs that he's put on everything that's raised the cost of inputs for farmers by more than 13 percent.

29:36That's a real impact. So you admit that the grocery inflation numbers are real and they've gotten lower. I think that number might be real, but do voters feel that? That number would be substantially lower if Donald Trump did not go do these intentional acts to go and raise these prices. That's what I'm saying. Do you have a rebuttal to the fact that your president put these tariffs in place to raise our prices? So we had prices that went here under Biden, and then the rate of inflation on food has now lower than the 20-year historic average. Well, I love that you wanted to try to compare this to a point in which we had a global pandemic stop.

30:07Just to be clear, the year-over-year inflation in this report shows that it ticked down slightly. But over the course of the last 15 or 16 months of the Trump administration, inflation on groceries has at times been high and actually rising. And some of that, I think Isaiah is right, has to do with tariffs and the input costs. And, you know, there was a what you're looking at. There is a New York Fed report that shows that's the differential between what prices would have been if Trump had not put in the tariffs and what they are now because of the tariffs. Two point nine percent higher. And what's interesting is that it's not just on imported goods.

30:49It's also on products that are made in America. Roughly two-thirds of the effect is from imported goods, but the remaining one-third arises indirectly. Tariffs increases the price of goods made right here in the United States because producers pay more for the imported parts and materials and because producers raise their markups when they're competing against imports that cost more. So it is, I mean, to put it simply, one of the biggest, maybe if you put the Iran war aside, the biggest self-inflicted wound that the president made. Yeah, they are. And so, you know, I don't actually think it's a big debate about whether there are self-inflicted wounds or not.

31:30I think there are. I would have said the same exact thing. And I did during the Biden administration when there was already high inflation. And then he shoved through$6 trillion in spending that made it even worse. through COVID relief policies. That's not true. The American Rescue Plan was not$6 trillion. Yes, it was. It was$2 trillion. With all of the other stimulus plans it was. Like what? Name them. Hold on. Can I just finish my point really quickly? So you're adding all of the total COVID stimulus, which includes some under Trump. Which, depending on how you measure it, was six to eight times the size of the New Deal.

32:01I don't want us to get too bogged down to this. It is true that there was a COVID relief plan that cost a lot of money. That is true. Yes, plus other economic stimulus like the it was supposed to be the Inflation Reduction Act, even though he said, never mind, I named it wrong. That was let me let me go ahead. The debate is not about whether there's inflation or Trump contributed to it. it's bad in a lot of different ways. One of which, and James Tallarico talked about this, is how it's driving up the cost of social security and entitlements because we have to adjust those benefits for the seniors receiving them.

32:40They get inflation adjusted benefits. So it's so much more expensive. It's crushing the economy. What's interesting is I haven't heard a drop from Democrats about how in reality they're going to fix these things. First of all. On debt reduction, on Social Security and retirement, on benefits? First of all, I think that it is downright— I would like to hear what the solutions are, because I think you guys are going to get Congress back, by the way. We want to end the ridiculous broad-based tariffs. But I want to go back to something that you said. Okay, so just undoing what Trump did. You came forward and talked about the whole COVID situation.

33:14Let's get the numbers correct. It was$2.5 trillion for the CARES Act,$2 trillion under Biden. And I think it is downright pathetic that you guys, as conservatives, are trying to compare inflation numbers after a global pandemic in which two presidents printed four and a half trillion dollars on top of that with supply chain issues and the war in Iran. He also had stimulus that I didn't agree with at that time. And then he promised people$2 ,000 individual checks that I did not agree with at the time and neither did Mitch McConnell. Wait a second. We were dealing with a once in a generation pandemic and to try to go and compare a self-inflicted war, self-inflicted tariffs to a point in time in which we had a global pandemic.

33:50I think that is downright shameful. And I think that's pathetic. I'm very confused about this. I actually think when we compare the same issue across presidents, it checks the quality of our thinking. That's actually how you tell to compare a global pandemic or you're being political. Let me just ask you about what he's what he's saying, because I think this is actually important and maybe kind of at the heart of what is driving the dissatisfaction. The American people weren't happy with the cost of living in the post-COVID years. But there was also a pandemic. There was an existential event that occurred at the time.

34:27This president inherited a situation that was actually getting better and then made active decisions that made it worse. And that is, it seems to me, to be a completely different situation. But Joe Biden's only justification at the time was we didn't go big enough in 2008. The stimulus wasn't big enough. And there was no mathematical justification. You're not answering my question. You said comparing administration to administration, situation to situation, apples to apples. It's not apples to apples. Isn't this Trump choosing to do something that he didn't need to do? It is the closest we have.

35:04It's the last president. Not in response to anything existential, but just simply because he could do it. I disagree with the policies. So that's why you cannot compare the two, Lauren, because we were completely different. We had a global pandemic compared to a point in time. Inflation was 2.7 percent the night of the presidential election. Ashley just talked about the strategy. And she made a very even handed remark. I don't think it's apples to apples. I do think when you have an inflection point like a global pandemic that none of us have ever lived before, you have to put that in consideration.

35:34We should have been more thoughtful about the policy. However, I think what we like, Scott, I hear you. One point eight. Yes. We dropped numbers in Joe Biden's administration. The reality, though, is that people don't think either party is actually helping them feel heard, seen and get relief. Now, you asked what some policies are. The Democrats there, they want to get private equity out of housing so people can afford more housing across the board. Folks are going into one of the questions tonight on the town hall is like, I can't afford, you know, a house in Texas. You know why? Because private equity is coming in and buying all of it.

36:08Data centers, taking jobs away, running up utility costs. Most Democratic candidates want to put a moratorium or a pause on data centers so that it's not driving up utility causes and rooting. How are you going to pay for all that if no data centers? Go ahead. But there are policies that Democrats are, and that is the discussion. Can I just say this one thing? Who builds the data centers? But here's the thing. Well, hopefully union workers. It's the monopoly, Scott, that they want to break up. Working class Americans. Let me play. I just want to play this quick ad. This is in a Mississippi Democratic Senate race.

36:37And it's it's about the issue of affordability. And it play it uses the sound from the Republican opponent, what they say voters should do about how much things cost. The price of beef continuing to go up. You know, you have so many proteins to choose from. Pick another protein. Shit, I'd rather pick another senator instead. Pick another protein. She done lost her damn mind. I'd rather pick another senator. Pick another protein? What the? Pick another senator instead. That's good. The policy options on the right are also not great, Lou. Yeah. Yeah. You know, what's really sad about this entire discussion is that everyone says, No, it was Biden.

37:31No, it's Trump. I mean, the fact of the matter is people are fed up and they are living with what has been now six years of really tough economic, really tough economic situation. And what they see is a political class writ large that is struggling to meet the moment. And the fact that there is no debating that Donald Trump has made decisions that have made that worse, whether it be tariffs or whether that be the war in Iran. And there is also no debating that Democrats are going to struggle to remedy this. Why? Why? Because the underlying issues now are very deeply embedded. When you have inflation that has gone on this hard, it is very hard to bring it down.

38:25The first thing. The second thing is we have a deficit that is like wildly out of control. Because of the taxes. Whoever's fault it is. I'm not talking, but this is my point. My point about this is like, sure, you can assign blame. But at this point, whoever is going to take this over, it's some very tough and bad decisions are going to have to be made that are going to make nobody happy. We are going into a period of great economic instability. That's all I'm saying. Switching gears for us to the campaign trail and Republican Marsha Blackburn is channeling Kendrick Lamar in an AI video to promote early voting.

39:03Watch this.

39:18Oh, please. After that video went viral, CNN affiliate WZTV in Nashville asked Blackburn about it today. And here's what she said. There is a county commissioner that made the video and put it up. I think Congressman Burchett reposted it. We reposted it. And it's a it's a fun thing. Everybody get out and vote. Please. The genre choice is notable. Many MAGA voices and Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance in 2025 and Blackburn herself has made her feelings about hip hop very clear. Here she is back in 2007 before a hearing with rappers Master P and David Banner. Listen. I cannot and will not begin to read back many of the lyrics written by the two gentlemen that are going to be on the second panel.

40:12They are obscene, regardless of when they were written and to what audience they were directed. And in my opinion, they do not deserve the dignity of this committee's time. It raises a good question, though, for these individuals. Where and how did society fail you to the point that you would choose to write such filth? I find it very sad. All right. Ashley, you're talking at the bit to get to this one. I think what she doesn't understand is she's Drake in this situation. Okay, that's number one. Number two, that's cultural appropriation. She probably has never heard the song before. Number three, keep Kendrick Lamar, keep rap out your mouth.

41:00I think the real filth is some of the policies that Marsha Blackburn actually proposes to cut public education, to continue to ruin the economy. This is pathetic. It's like just she's out of touch. Like, stop retweeting stuff you don't understand what you're doing. Just stop. Don't you want people to vote? It's like encouraging people to vote. Okay, but you know what? Wait. But when Megan Thee Stallion got up on stage with Kamala Harris, you were like, how disrespectful it is. Democrats want to bring rappers out to get black people to vote. And now this is OK. Get out of my face. It's an internet video asking people to vote.

41:34Dancing. And if she even knew, because I was at that Super Bowl performance. If she even knew what that performance was actually about, she'd be mortified. This is as animated as I've ever seen. It's a mess. You should be embarrassed for her. She is Drake. I don't even know what that means. She loses. She loses at the end. Oh, I know you don't know what that means. And that's the point. That's the point. I know you don't know what that means. To be honest with you, as a 28-year-old, I thought it was cute. No. It's because... Wait. I don't think you can get the answer you like, Scott. It was cute because it was emblematic of everything wrong with the Republican Party and why you guys have a 29 % approval rating.

42:11Could y 'all never focus on substance. Tennessee ranks 50th in the nation for quality of life. Number two, when it comes to rural hospital closures, only behind Texas. Number three, when it comes to gun deaths per capita, that's what Tennessee is. And if you look at Marsha Blackburn's ex-Feed, none of it talks about policy. Why do you think the Democrats are so far behind? None of it talks about policy. You know why? Because it is true that Marsha Blackburn is not like us because she doesn't focus on anything that anyone cares about. I thought she looked like an old person dancing in it, and I was impressed by the choice of the dancer.

42:45It looked like it would have been Marsha Blackburn inappropriately dancing to a song she doesn't know about. It also just, I mean, I'm sorry, but this is like the type of thing you do when you don't know anything about culture or technology. That's right. But maybe it's, maybe we're not, maybe we're overthinking it. Here's the thing. Here's what I'll say. If Nancy Pelosi would do that, I'd tell her to sit down too. Who is this supposed to appeal to? You know? But that's the point. is that they are posting these things. Chuck Schumer and his dance. I mean, this is people of a certain age trying to connect, and it's just embarrassing.

43:22This is about Marsha Blackburn as a whole. And I literally took some time to go scroll down her feed. Scott, do you believe that Marsha Blackburn is right to run a campaign on no substance and no issues? Can you tell me one policy that she's running on as for governor of Tennessee? Anti-rap. I know she is very focused on education reform and continuing to improve. of Tennessee schools. But I think you all are dramatically overblowing this. There are tons of internet meme type videos out there every single day. People make them. They make the rounds for a few hours. I think Trump just had himself fighting a tiger.

43:58I thought it was fake. I saw that this morning. I literally saw that this morning. It's literally fake. But she retweeted it. What is she running on? But she retweeted it. It was fake that she retweeted it. Yes, I thought. I had no idea that she would actually put that on her feed until we got it. in our topics today. The other thing that I think is interesting about this and also what I see a lot from the Trump accounts is that they like to utilize black culture a lot in a lot of these memes and these internet videos and posts. And it's very discordant with not only some of their policies, but also what some of their own voters believe about black people in America.

44:44And I think that's the other thing that rubs people the wrong way, is that you're going to trash rap, but then use rap as part of your pitch to voters. And the very target audience of those songs are the people that her policies are most set to hurt. And that's the real root of the issue, is that, again, Marcia can talk about and share whatever she wants, but at the end of the day, she has no record, she has no agenda. And I think that's what's the real shame. Why are people moving at such high rates to Tennessee if it's such a hellscape? What do you think about 50th for quality of life? Do you think that's a good thing?

45:17Do you think that it's a good thing? I don't think the people moving there believe that. They're going there because they have low taxes. And they believe in the economic development environment. They are number two for rural hospitals that have closed down. Tennessee has been a growing state under Republicans. And it's mostly because they've reduced taxes and they've reduced the barrier to entry when it comes to starting businesses. So the people moving there seem to like it. They like rural hospitals closing down? What is the solution for Republicans? They are a growing place. Nashville is a growing place.

45:47So what is the solution for that, Scott? To growth? More growth? More growth? You have hospitals closing down. More hospitals. You're just going to say that. I'm not sure the exact numbers are. Can I just say on Nashville expanding, I actually would like to know the demographics of the people moving to Nashville and it becoming much more like an Austin of Texas versus like Eastern Tennessee of the state. Well, regardless, the tax revenue is leaving. Next for us, new details tonight about what federal agents were looking for when they searched Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's home and what a judge said needed to be off limits in that search.

46:21We'll debate next.

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47:03Tonight, we are learning more about the Justice Department's search of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's D.C. home. Sources tell CNN that the DOJ is looking into whether Omar and her late father gave false statements in decades-old immigration paperwork. One source says that the government could try to expand that investigation into whether Omar engaged in fraud and conspiracy to hide it. People familiar with the investigation tell CNN that at least a dozen subpoenas have been issued since last Friday to witnesses in the case, most of them relatives of Omar. We are also learning that the judge who approved the search warrant limited the documents that the DOJ could gather and move to protect Omar's legislative work from investigators.

47:46Omar has denied any wrongdoing and hasn't been charged with a crime. President Trump's long history of going after Omar could potentially complicate any case against the congresswoman. But that didn't stop him from renewing those very attacks today. Everybody here, you're the people that built America. You're not the people that demand everything like Ilhan Omar, who says, who comes in from a ninth rate country. It's not even third rate, ninth rate. She comes over to this country and she said, I have constitutional rights. I have a constitutional right to be in this country. And then they come over here and they tell us how we should run the United States of America.

48:30No, thank you. No, thank you. So it seems to be the bottom line in this situation is that when you've spent as much time as Trump and many of his aides have going after this particular congresswoman, saying they want to prosecute her, being explicit about how and for what, you better have the goods, right? Like, you better actually come up with the evidence that holds up in court. And based on what we know about what they're looking at, it's a very tricky case that their road that they are going down. It's not only that it's tricky, it's the timing of this. I mean, come on. This is three weeks before an election.

49:11This is stuff that is decades old that has been percolating through the system. I mean, there is no reason for this to happen right now unless it unless it there is some sort of political motivation, because there doesn't seem to be any urgency around this issue. It's not like they discovered something yesterday. this is something that has been apparently working its way through the system as far as we understand it for quite some time. And so, you know, his own statements. When did it start, this investigation? Because it's been going on for a while. Well, here's here's the thing. Hold on. I think I think I think I think I think I think I think I was even under Obama.

49:56Let me just try to answer your question based on what we know in the reporting under the Biden administration. they did look into it. But it seems as if that investigation did not go anywhere and it was reopened under Trump. And so questions, a lot of questions tonight about why it wasn't pursued by the Biden administration. Was it because they didn't find anything? Was it for other reasons? And the Trump re-picking it up doesn't necessarily mean that it has been going for that long. It means that they have taken it back up. But again, there are a lot of issues here, including 26-year-old allegations, including allegations about where they would need to verify information that might not even be verifiable because she fled a civil war in Somalia where record-keeping is not great.

50:49And that's a common problem for refugees. You know, I learned a lot from the Mar-a-Lago raid. You do have to have the goods. There have to be records. There has to be credible witness statements. a judge has to sign off of it, they must have something because they had to have probable cause. I really don't like the politicization of this. And I would have said the same thing about the timing during the Trump prosecutorial stuff, which even Eli Honig has talked a lot about on this very panel. He thought a lot of it went too far and the timing was bad. Although I would say the timing of the Trump Mar-a-Lago search was not even close to an election.

51:28It was not. What was the urgency with that one? Well, I mean, frankly, the urgency was to get the documents out of Mar-a-Lago. It's a fact that the documents were there. The timing had nothing to do with an election. We are literally three weeks away from an election right now. But you don't think she's challenged. She lives in an A plus 30 something district. It literally doesn't matter. But she's not going to lose all of it. The DOJ principle isn't about, well, don't do it if they're in a competitive race. There is an election happening and she is on the ballot and her party is on the ballot.

52:03Specifically also with the Senate race as well. There's polling that shows that the Senate race is tightening in the state of Minnesota. So going to try to put her inside the headlines is really something. But what's really fascinating about this, this has happened when Ilhan Omar was a child. We are literally talking about something that happened all those years ago. So my real question to you, Scott, and to everybody, is this really a can of worms that you guys want to open? Because if a Democratic administration gets in there, you want us to start digging into the paperwork of Elon Musk? What about Melania?

52:34Yeah, if it's warranted. If it's warranted and there's probable cause, yes. Didn't Elon profess that there was some issues with his legal standing? By the way, this is about whether she was 17 or 18, which we don't know about because the staff has given very inconsistent answers about why the ages were inconsistent. Her father is deceased. He cannot answer for those things. Ilhan Omar was a child. And I think that it's absolutely absurd. So the real question, once again, is this a can of worms that you guys want to open? So let me let me there's a I don't want to go out on the way. I don't know what they're going to find.

53:05Of course you don't. Hold on a second. I wouldn't. The Wall Street Journal talked to an immigration official, Leon Fresco, who worked in the Justice Department during the Obama administration and said that the case would. That Omar lied about her own age rather than her father lying on her behalf. That would make the case significantly easier to prosecute. But either way, they are not traveling down a well-paved road here. And citizenship denaturalizations are rare processes that take years to go through the court system. So, I mean, even if there was a there, there, here, look, Ilhan Omar's opponents have been very clear.

53:49They want to see her stripped of her citizenship. But this seems like a bit of a long shot. I can't be lost on any of us that it's her, that this is someone that I would put on a list of people that Trump said he was going to go after if he won, like Tish James, like Comey. To date, those haven't really panned out. I put this somewhat in the bucket. It feels very political. It feels like it's targeted because of her. I think it's targeted because she is Muslim. I think it's targeted because she is from the Minneapolis area. I think it is targeted because he doesn't like her policies. So maybe there's something there, maybe it is not.

54:26But I think that, like, we're probably, like, kidding ourselves if we don't think there's, like, a targeted attack because it is Ilhan Omar. And the other thing about this is the ugliness, please, with which he speaks of the Somali community, writ large of the country where she comes from. He spent, I think, the other week actually calling for members of Minneapolis to rise up against members of the Somali community. I mean, there is a really despicable and ugly way in which he talks about her and her community that is utterly reprehensible for a president of the United States. Right. Next for us is the Trump administration abandoning Ukraine.

55:13The Ukrainian president says that Trump is picking sides in this war, and he's choosing Russia. We'll debate.

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55:59Tonight, has the U.S. abandoned Ukraine? After Donald Trump announced a new deal to buy Russian fuel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had this to say. It's a pity that we are losing. we are a losing strong partner. So this is my opinion. You think you're losing America? Yeah, but not because of us. I mean, we can't be weak, otherwise we can't survive. That's why it's painful. When President Trump chooses one side, not our side, but we are OK that he's in the middle, but if you're in the middle, you have to stay in the middle. not on the wrong side. This is not right side of history. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have ramped up attacks on energy infrastructure in recent weeks, as movements on the battlefield remain relatively stagnant.

56:57But despite Trump's announcement of a so-called energy ceasefire between the sides this week, the Russian strikes have continued. The Trump administration previously warned Ukraine that it could suspend intelligence sharing and weapons purchases if Ukraine did not stop attacking refineries. And for two nights in a row, Ukraine has said that it received no early warning about Russian ballistic missile attacks. After a deadly ballistic missile attack hit a major power plant in Kiev, Ukrainian officials demanded answers, suspecting that the intel lapse was deliberate. U.S. officials blamed the weather for that, and Trump says that information flows continue.

57:34But the fact that we are even asking that question is, Scott, that's, I don't know. I mean, I'm sure Trump wants the energy infrastructure attacks to stop. But it is also true that Russia is not stopping. He is putting no pressure on Russia to stop their energy infrastructure attacks. And then if they are, in fact, withholding intelligence, which the Ukrainians believe that they are, the price of that is real lives, like real people being killed in these attacks. Yeah, the president has said the information sharing does continue on intelligence. So we should just be clear about that. But this idea of a ceasefire on the energy infrastructure, I know what he wants.

58:18And Lord knows I agree with him. You just don't have a trustworthy partner in Russia to deal with on something like this. Imminently predictable that they would just slough it off and keep doing what they think they need to do to crush Ukraine. Can't trust them. This is the enemy. These are the Russians. Now, it has always been true the only way to end this is through some kind of a negotiated peace. Both sides are going to have to come together and have some kind of a negotiated peace. But the idea that the Russians would be the most trustworthy partner in that and that you could cajole them or somehow, whatever you call it, it's never been a realistic idea to me.

58:58He's not even putting any pressure on Russia at all. All of the pressure is landing on Ukraine. And he is treating Ukraine like an enemy. And I mean, I saw a tweet from Eric Erickson earlier today that said, we are acting like the bad guys in this scenario. We are not siding with the country that was attacked. Russia is trying to take over an entire country in Europe. Right. And we literally had... We've given Ukraine a couple hundred billion at this point. I'm talking about... Yes, yes. The president's behavior. Yes, side point. Right now. Yeah, right at this moment, right? And we also have the Budapest Memorandum, which I know you're very aware of.

59:44We have the reality that there was a promise that in order for Ukraine to give up their nuclear weapons, the United States would go and defend them against Russian aggression. That is exactly why we're going and we're supporting. So the fact that we are playing this game of footsie to where, to Scott's point, trying to effectively act like Russia is a reliable partner is absurd. Why do you think he's doing that? Because he's not ideological about foreign policy. It's probably his greatest weakness and occasionally a strength. But he does not do the Reagan, H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, there are bad actors and there are good actors.

1:00:22What does that mean practically in this situation? I mean, being non-ideological, what does that get the United States? It means he doesn't believe that, I don't think, from what I've seen, that Russia is a totalitarian dictatorship that wants to harm Europe. But you don't have to be ideological to understand that Russia is invading another country. That has nothing to do with ideology. Forget Russia invading another country. That is just straight up the country is invading another country. It's a democratic value. Let's forget that Russia invaded. Let's even say, let's be non-ideological about that.

1:00:52Let's say, who cares? is Russia a friend of the United States? Is Vladimir Putin, even if you want to exclude the idea of Ukraine and you want to be America first about this, is in any way, shape, or form Vladimir Putin a friend of the United States? As Scott points out, a trustworthy partner of the United States? Do they wish the United States in any way, shape, or form well? Do they want to help our democracy in any way? So leave aside Ukraine. And so the argument actually, the argument for actually giving money to Ukraine has always been actually a self-serving one. Of course it is. Let them fight the battle there.

1:01:36Let Ukraine fight the battle for us so that we don't have to then actually send troops to defend NATO because that we are obliged to do. China is watching all of this very closely because we are pledged to defend Taiwan and they just want to see the tit for tat. Yes. And it's very, very scary what's going on. You know, I think a couple of things could be true. I agree with everything you just said. These are not our friends. It's an enemy. At the same time, Zelensky, interesting guy. He has been frustrating at times for both Trump and Biden. I mean, there's been reporting on his frustrating interactions with Biden, too.

1:02:11So what's going on in the background? I think sometimes we don't necessarily know. But the macro issue here is how can you ever make a deal to do anything with the Russians and expect them to keep it? You could never have any expectation that they are going to do anything on our behalf. I wonder when we were in the 2024 debate and he was saying he could end this war on day one and we're now like two years in and this still hasn't happened. And some of us argue that maybe his posture on foreign affairs was a bit naive. And I'm wondering if like you may be coming around to your point that how are we trusting Russia?

1:02:54Maybe even if Zelensky right now is not is frustrating, I would take frustration over an enemy any day. And so I go back to the question, is this behavior making us safer as a country? It wasn't that long ago, by the way, that we were promising the Ukrainians the ability to build Patriot missiles and have the interceptors that they need. That was a good development. That was just a few weeks ago, a few months ago. And so this new development, I mean, I'm dead certain that the president wants to do whatever he can do to settle this. So the question is, how do you settle it with somebody like Vladimir Putin?

1:03:29How do you settle it with an avowed enemy of the United States? There are separate issues, right? There is what will it take to end the war? And then there's also what Trump wants for his own political survival in this moment. Well, that's what's interesting. Those are now two different issues that are on the table when it comes to this conflict. I don't think that this whole attacking Zelensky over the energy infrastructure attacks and the siding with Putin on that, I don't think any of that has to do with ending the war. That has to do with Donald Trump being mad the diesel prices are high. Yes, he has a very myopic view on it.

1:04:07Look, I mean, and if that's the case, what he's saying essentially is that he's willing to sacrifice the United States' national security interests for maybe a temporary, very small blip in global diesel prices. Yes, and there's no one making that case in the Republican Party right now. There's very few people making that case. Maybe Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham is gone. One, you know, that intellectual conservative movement vis-a-vis foreign policy is pretty empty and hollowed out right now, arguing for America's role in the world in that particular way. And what's fascinating is America, you can see it in the public opinion data.

1:04:47Americans do not perceive Russia to be a threat in the way that they used to be. They really only care about the diesel prices. And it's a rational, short term view. I think that's very. But they don't. They're not thinking. Trust me. They're not thinking about the foreign policy in the way that we are. I do agree with you that people have these concerns. I 100 % agree with you. But I do think Americans, most of us, can tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Russians are the bad guys. It's shifting. IRGC, they're the bad guys. Radical Islamic terrorists, they're the bad guys.

1:05:22So I think most of us can still tell the difference. And in this conflict, the Russians are the bad guys. And I think most Americans know that. I think they would love the president to be able to settle it. And I think testing out economic incentives here, it's not an invalid idea, but you have to have some verifiable Russian restraint. I disagree. It is an invalid idea to economically incentivize Russia in a way that gives them more fuel for the war machine that is pursuing a deadly war. That is a bad idea. Well, you would have to have some verifiable restraint. The economic incentives are so great for them and so terrible for us.

1:05:58and it will not do anything to end this war. There is no rationale for it. There really is not. And to add on to your point, we're talking about less than a day's worth of diesel. Yes. This is going to have a very small amount. It was already agreed to be sold. That was actually already agreed to be sold. All right. No, I'm supporting it. Next for us. We're going to react to your feedback from CNN.com slash Abby. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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1:07:04And now viewer feedback from CNN.com slash Abby. OK, so we were talking about Texas. We're talking about Tennessee. This viewer asks, why do people move from blue states with high taxes to red states with no taxes and still vote blue? Make that make sense. That's a great question. They like the policies. They want to go and turn these red places into where they just came from. They need to go and adopt the politics that attracted them in the first place. That is a risk. You know, one of the fascinating things is that sometimes you get what happened in Austin. When they did pro-housing policies for the first time ever, they saw a reduction in rent.

1:07:39So because that coalition came together, they were able to do something really good in Austin. It was able to go in lower prices. I think people want the policies of blue states. They just want the extremely wealthy folks to be taxed accordingly so people across the country can also have those policies. I think it's one of those interesting things. I want to see five, ten years from now what all this moving around does politically. Because, yeah, I mean, the Nashville and the Austins of the world. You had all these, you know, Red State people coming down to Florida. And then it changed the demographics.

1:08:10I was in Yuma, Arizona the other day. Literally everybody I met said they had moved there from California sometime in the last couple of years. It was amazing. All these people come across. I mean, you heard that in the Tallarico event where this woman was like, people coming from California shouldn't be allowed to move to Texas. She made me laugh so much. She was literally like priced out. I mean, it made me just laugh about the California people, not that she was obviously suffering. Okay. To be clear. So another viewer says, aren't people really looking for the boring middle? Either extreme is toxic.

1:08:46Not totally sure if this is a reference to Tallarico, our discussion about that. But there is something about kind of like presenting yourself as a candidate who is somewhere in the middle. Well, every general election candidate does moderate. That's the traditional strategy, whether it's statewide or nationwide. But the unfortunate part is, no, a lot of people don't want the middle, especially in the midterms. A lot of people are angry and they're scared and they're going out to vote accordingly for their team. I think they want fighters. I think that personally, people want a government that delivers for them.

1:09:22Yeah. And I think that people are sick of the gridlock that's going on. I think people want people to fight for them. And so it's not really about how far they are on the spectrum. It's about whether or not government works. I think the reason why Donald Trump worked, it's about fighters. We've been seeing this over and over. Do you listen to me? Do you hear me? And will you fight for me? Do you think tolerance? And will you compromise? One more. I think Trump is going to sell access to the live stream execution. That's crazy. Sorry. He shouldn't do it. Not that he probably won't. That is the craziest response.

1:09:56Your response should have been like, he won't do that. And you're like, he shouldn't. Because it's possible in Donald Trump's way. I don't speak for him, but I'm just saying they should not live stream this. In fairness, CNN is reporting that he didn't realize that the person being executed was a quadriplegic and maybe is rethinking it. But still, he hasn't rethought it just yet. You know, I think this is like the worst idea. And the fact is that he was embracing it to begin with is the problem. Not if the man is in a wheelchair and the optics will be horrific. it's just that it's inhumane and it says something about America that is pretty ugly alright and just one last word from our viewers Marsha, Marsha, Marsha love it bless her heart that's what that last part says alright before we go you can stream the show live or watch on demand anytime with an all access subscription scan that QR code on your screen or go to cnn.com slash watch to learn more.

1:11:02And thank you for watching Newsnight. The news continues after this.

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