Sources: U.S. Intel Unsure Woman Speid on Nvidia for China

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0:33Out front next, the breaking news. Trump says he knew nothing about the alleged spy scandal that's rocking the globe, despite reportedly being warned at least twice starting over a year ago. Jim Cramer of Mad Money on CNBC, who knows NVIDIA and Jensen Huang better than pretty much anyone, is our guest tonight. And more breaking news. A major win just projected for Democrats in the Kansas governor's race as John King travels to Texas to find out what made all 254 counties in the most counted state in the country, if there's such a thing, made it move left. He's live with the magic wall. And Trump was asked who would win in an election, him or Obama.

1:10His answer next. Let's go out front.

1:15And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. And out front tonight, the breaking news, Trump dodging the president, who was reportedly, repeatedly, repeatedly warned multiple times about the woman at the center of the NVIDIA scandal, trying to sow confusion tonight after he was asked whether Jensen Huang made the right decision by stepping down. The big thing is, was the woman a spy? And I don't know if that's been determined yet, but if the woman was a spy, yes. If the woman was not a spy, perhaps it would be different. But I can tell you this, somehow he'll end up in his feet. I mean, I know him, I know him pretty well.

1:55I always thought of him as a fine man. I spoke to him yesterday. He's going through hell. All right, those comments coming in with growing questions about what the president of the United States and members of his team did after they were warned that the NVIDIA founder, Jensen Huang, was having an affair with a suspected Chinese spy. Well, here's how Republican Senator John Kennedy put it today. My jaw is still stuck on the floor. I mean, I'm not naive. I'm not Bambi's baby brother. I know people have affairs. I don't recommend it. But if you do, if you do, you ought to make sure it's not with a Chinese spy.

2:45And tonight, two top Democratic senators are also asking the Trump administration to preserve all documents tied to NVIDIA's chip exports to China. Because that's why this matters. And here's why Trump himself matters a lot. Because Trump was first told by U.S. intelligence about Huang and the suspected Chinese spy 13 months ago, according to the New York Times. The Times reports that in October of last year, U.S. intelligence officials told Trump about the relationship and described Alice Huang as a Chinese intelligence asset. Trump did nothing about it at the time. In fact, in December, three months after that warning, Trump approved the sale of more powerful NVIDIA chips to China, which is competing with the United States to rule AI.

3:33Then Trump gets another warning in May of this year. This time it was directly face to face from the secretary of state, Marco Rubio. One source telling CNN that this warning happened aboard Air Force One as Trump was traveling to China. just before Huang got on the plane and joined Trump during a layover in Alaska. He then was with Trump in China alongside China's leader Xi Jinping. You can see the two leaders greeting tech CEOs, including Huang. And Trump continued to keep Huang close when Xi was around. Here's Huang seated, four people away from Xi at a White House state dinner. That was this September.

4:10Again, at that time, we're 11 months after Trump had been warned and after he had continued to change policy in favor of China when it comes to NVIDIA. And throughout it all, Trump was not shy to praise Huang. If Jensen's happy, I'm happy. It's amazing, NVIDIA. I'd like to welcome a very great gentleman to our midst, Jensen Huang. Even after the news broke publicly, Trump did not change his tune.

4:44He's a great, brilliant person and we want to protect our brilliant people. I think he's an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. I just know Jensen very well. I just think he's a very honorable man. Again and again, Trump was warned about the man running the world's most powerful AI chip company, a man who sought and won Trump's buy-in on selling some of the most important and powerful chips that China wants to win that AI race militarily and economically against America. The most powerful man in the world, Donald Trump, was warned and did nothing about something that could threaten America's most fundamental security.

5:21And that is what this story is about. Now, Jim Cramer is going to be here with me to discuss it all. He has my guest coming up here just in a moment. He knows more about NVIDIA and Jensen Huang than anyone. But first, Kristen Holmes begins our coverage out front at the White House. And Kristen, what are you learning about how Trump is reacting privately to Huang's ouster and the NVIDIA crisis? Well, Erin, this entire episode encapsulates the one thing President Trump cares about above anything else, and that's the economy. I spoke to a number of White House officials, Trump allies, Trump advisers, who all believe the reason that President Trump kind of shoved this aside was because he knew the impact that this was going to have on the economy, that it was going to be negative.

6:01And we've obviously seen this in the last couple of days. And you heard President Trump really parsing words there when he was talking to Stephen Smith. That is intentional, saying things like, was she actually a spy? It hasn't been determined. Those are the kind of things that President Trump would have taken into consideration when deciding to stand by Huang and stand by NVIDIA in trying to keep the economy stable. And you see him even trying to do that today. He was on True Social posting about how Tim Cook should be the new leader of NVIDIA. Well, that is intentional. That is because Tim Cook is a household name.

6:34He is stable. He has been a CEO of a large international company, a company that understands supply chain in Asia. This is somebody who, if he was to move into this role, would almost immediately stabilize NVIDIA. That is what President Trump wants right now. He wants an end to this crisis and to move forward with the economy. And again, putting that above all else, above potential foreign risks or national risks, and instead just focusing on leveling out the economy, both in the United States and globally. That is what I am told he cares about really in this moment. All right. Kristen Holmes, thanks very much.

7:10And out front now, Jim Cramer of CNBC's Mad Money. Okay, Jim, there's so much to talk about here because you know this story. You know, you heard Senator Kennedy says his jaw is still stuck on the floor. Okay, you have been covering NVIDIA, got people in on it very early, well before any run-up. So how do you feel as this is happening in the past few days? Okay, well, look, first of all, there's no real crisis. The company's doing well. It's not like they have no money in the bank, and it's still one of the largest companies. Jensen did a series of ill-advised things, no doubt about it, and he had to go.

7:45He had to go because the board cannot just stand by and watch someone have an affair with a woman liaison who might be from the Communist Party. And then also another woman, the woman who was vice president in charge of health care, Kimberly Powell, someone I know and just good executive. So he had to go. But that doesn't mean that the company is over. I spoke to a half dozen people who want that job so badly, many of them household names. It was not Tim Cook. Tim Cook did an amazing job. He retired. He did a phenomenal job, created more wealth than anyone. But what I don't understand is they tell me, when I say they, I'm always going to be speaking of NVIDIA.

8:21So this is NVIDIA, whether it's a general counsel or people at the top of NVIDIA. They told me that, look, they went to commerce and said, look, we've got this big account. This is going to the Commerce Department run by Howard Lutton, who's now also instrumental in this. Listen, we've got a big client, a big Kahuna client. They want to build a superintelligence, what's called basically a neocloud hyperscaler. and it's amazing and it's in Singapore. Do we have a green light? This is what the companies told me and commerce said, you have a green light. So they went and did it. And someone like me who reads about the numbers and talks to people said, damn, what a client.

8:57I mean, this is the Kahuna client. This is fabulous. We don't sit there and say, you know what? This is referring to mega speed. Yeah, because like, look, it wasn't on the list. It wasn't on the no-go list. Right. If it wasn't on the no-go list and it's orders and some people say it was up to 22 % of the business. Well, you know what? We don't look through the orders. Remember, you and I have to go back a little bit. You know, I'm looking at the numbers. That's what I do. I'm not looking at the numbers and asking them and saying, you know what, that one is from a communist spy and it's going to end up with the PLA.

9:25I say, all right, good. Right. Good client. Could be like Corwin. People's Liberation Army, the Chinese military. And I guess that's the heart of this is you would think if something like this, people are using Singapore to try to end around and get the chips into China to get them to the military. You would expect commerce would know if there were suspicions that the CEO of this company who wants this new policy is sleeping with an alleged Chinese spy. I think they'd talk to each other, but at the time, all are. We don't know. So this, okay. So now, if you could explain this. So Megaspeed, this company that sort of came out of nowhere, this Singapore company.

9:58But most of these companies have come out of nowhere in America, too. I wouldn't know any of them if Jensen introduced me to them. So Jensen Tuang has this idea, okay? You were explaining to me. His idea is copacetic with Alice Wong's, whether it's with her real idea or not. It was kind of a meeting of the minds. They had a meeting, what he felt was a meeting of the minds. Right. Okay, where they both agreed in building what you're saying was this super intelligence, like basically as the U.S. dollar is to currency, NVIDIA, American ships are going to be to this world. You want to stop Huawei, Aaron?

10:31You have it so that the Chinese are co-opted by using all the software and hardware that NVIDIA sells. American. Yes, that will set back their country. Now, I once articulated a different position. This was before when Biden was president. And I got schooled. I got schooled by the people who run NVIDIA. And I had to change my mind. I said, you know what? You're right. Let's hook them. Let's hook them on some American opiate, our system. Let's hook them on CUDA, which is the operating system. Let's hook them on NVIDIA. They won't know what hit them. They will be all the things that we think about ourselves.

11:03Oh, the Chinese are so much more powerful. It was the only way to beat them was to get them hooked on Nvidia. It made sense. So you go from saying, the risk of getting into the military to saying, I buy into this because as the US dollar is, this was the example you gave me earlier, the world's currency. We want Nvidia and American chips, GPUs to be. Yeah, and Jensen told me over and over again, you think the Chinese military is going to use our chips? They'll think that all our chips are infected with some sort of bug. They won't do that. I was thinking, you know what? He's smarter than I am again.

11:33Okay, but this is important because you're saying Jensen Huang believed this before Megaspeed enters the picture. So then he meets Alice Wong. And whether we don't know the details here on what role she played with the Chinese government or not, but perhaps suddenly he meets someone who, wow, believes, agrees with everything he has to say. Yes, I want to. It's like one of the funny Instagram, super intelligence megacenter. Yeah. Well, I don't want to, you know, not me to judge what the heck happened between those two. But I will say that they did have a similar agenda. Now, I thought, I still believe that the best way to beat China is to stop Huawei.

12:11Remember, they are our enemy. And by the way, I'm more of a hawk on China than pretty much anyone in the media. But this was the way to beat the Chinese, to make them come to kneel on our operating system. So, OK. But then it turns into, well, these chips all went somewhere else. Well, we don't know where they went. Remember, our policy was different from what I articulated. Our policy, which has to be obeyed by Jensen, was that that view was wrong. And Jensen told me, and Colette Kress, who's running the company now, told me again and again, we're not violating the U.S. policy. And I don't think they were.

12:49Remember, they went to commerce. According to them, they went to commerce. Right. Well, this is why Lutnick is now central. But I guess it comes down to, and this is not a stock question, but it appears to me, I don't know. do you think it comes down to Trump was told multiple times? Trump had the authority to okay green light policy, which he then did. What we really need to know is what Trump was told in October of 2025 by intelligence. You mean the Times story, October 9th, 2025 story. Well, no, 2025, when the Times reports Trump was first warned. Right. And then in December of 2025, Trump makes tweaks to this policy that favor the changes Jensen-Huang wants.

13:28We need to know what Trump knew. Yes, we do, because if the policy was that they shouldn't get these latest and greatest for the PRC, then someone should have stopped them. But the idea that if you went to Commerce, and Commerce said that this Megaspeed, which we now think is the conduit to China, is a dishonest actor, then I am telling you that Jensen Huang would not have sold anything to them. He wouldn't have. You told me over and over again. So you believe that he believed, you know, people who say, oh, Jensen Huang was some asset, and asset is obviously a loaded word. He's a great asset. But he was.

14:02I mean, he is really important. But that if he was doing these things, you're saying he would not have understood it to be that he was selling these to Chinese military. I'm saying that that's what they told me. Look, everyone has to make their own judgments because we don't have the tapes or anything. No. I'm sure it's going to be hard to prove that this woman is a spy in the end. I think it will go to justice. I think that the board had to over. with they had to throw Jensen over. A lot of people say, like, why didn't they keep him? Because it would help the stock. Well, you know, I love stocks.

14:30But there are other things. Like there's like the nation, what's right, morality. These are all concepts that we used to really believe in. Well, and I guess it's good they're coming back. I got to, you know, when people say, oh, Jim Cramer's got to talk about Nvidia. There's a reason for that. And that's because you were one of the first to identify that the stock was going for. It was my best one. Your best one? It was my best one. OK. Okay, and so it was a little tiny thing when you started, okay? And it shot up. I just liked the guy from the day I met him. Jensen Huang attends a lunch for your investors club.

15:03He knew that I made a lot of people. Well, first of all, he said, Jim, you made many millionaires with this. We got pictures of the investing club. He flies in because you tell him you're having it. He's like, I got to come. He says, I want to see those people who are members of my investing club. And he said, I want to see 70 millionaires. I said I'll get 70 people who had nothing before you to speak of and these are people who met you know Firefighters insurance people a lot of teachers a lot of retirees a lot of millionaires people who that you because you told me to Invest in me and it was like, you know, I named my dog after Nvidia Man, that wasn't that was a tell and Jen said look I want to meet him Then I said let's do a group picture and Jensen said no I want a selfie with each person.

15:42This is Jensen that I love okay This is the Jensen that I am sad about I love Jensen one but Jensen let me down. He let his wife down. He let his kids down. He let his shareholders down. He didn't let my dog down because he died before he ever saw this. Thank heavens. No, it's all right. The dog answered to the video as long as you had a piece of steak in your hand. But boy, Jensen gave my dog... Is it food or do they love you? He gave my dog a badge to get into the place. But anyway, look... But those, I guess this is the question for so many people though. So many people made millionaires because of that, right?

16:21This was the greatest story ever told, Erin. What do you do now? What do you do now? And I guess this is an NVIDIA stock question, but it's also more broadly. All right, but that's fine. We used to do that for years together. Half of the S &P 500? Okay, listen. Collette Kress is in charge. She is the CFO. She is one of the most rigorous, intense, tough people I have ever met in my life. I was always scared when I talked to her. She's in charge of speaking to all the big accounts. She knew the company, the actual nuts and bolts of the company, better than Jensen. I think she is. I've been schooled by her.

16:53I've had the wrath of Colette when she thought I wasn't smart enough. I used to hang up the phone and say, oh, God, I'm such an idiot. She's so brilliant. She's in charge. And she's the keeper of the money. She's the keeper of all these arrangements. People who, there are 49 ,000 people at this company. And there's one guy with a leather jacket. That's an insult to the other 49 ,000 people that the leather jacket guy is gone, and therefore they're nothing. Colette is going to take this. Do you know how many people want the job? And Colette will have it great. And I have more confidence in Colette than I had in Jensen.

17:23In the end, Jensen was, like, doing stuff. I mean, like, he was signing women in inappropriate places and stuff and doing a lot of stuff. Yeah, he was signing their chests. Man, I don't know what he's doing there in the end there. It was a little too boisterous. I liked the original Jensen. You know, the Jensen that was, like, you know, kind of a pudgy gamer. And he's the Shakespearean character, But I guess it does seem, as we say, you know, we've got to get answers from Commerce, Howard Lundgren, and Donald Trump. We've got to find out, because in the end, if this stuff did go, it was against our nation's policy.

17:52And it seems to be our nation's policy wasn't enforced by Lutnick or the president. So I don't know who else is going to enforce it. See, it's not going to be NVIDIA. They did what I thought was right. And so I mentioned your investing club and all those people that were made millionaires because they invested in NVIDIA when you made the call. Your investing club has a new, has new. Oh, we do a new tier, yeah. You got a new tier. Yeah, because I want more. I want to speak to more. Look, in the time that I left to do this job, I got to get, I got to speak to more people, try to educate more people.

18:20I see these people who did not have a lot and they became millionaires. And I think it's everybody's right to be a millionaire, not just the Musk and the, you know, these guys. Yeah. Well, your new tier, new premium tier, and it starts in 2027. So people can go check it out. Thank you. Jensen let us down, but not before he created many, many millions and made us the number one artificial intelligence in the world. And we can't forget that. All right, Jim, wonderful to see you. Great to see you. Thank you so much. And next, growing concerns inside the White House about why Howard Lutnick did not blacklist the company that's at the center of NVIDIA's alleged spy scandal.

18:54And Republicans on Capitol Hill tonight are demanding answers. This news is as concerning as it gets. Plus the DOJ issuing a warning to Senator Richard Blumenthal over his investigation into Trump's ballroom donors. One of them, of course, is Jensen Huang. Will Blumenthal stand down? He's our guest. A new video just in from that building collapse in Brooklyn, the wall peeling away as that building collapsed. We're learning more about the owner's record tonight, including building conditions that landed him in jail.

19:29step bump stand by your break master in 3 2 1 effect roll your break please

19:42hey I'm Anderson Cooper on my podcast All There Is we explore grief and loss in all its complexities my guest is Lil Jon he's a rapper, DJ and producer known for hits like Get Low and turned down for what? In February 2026, his 27-year-old son Nathan went missing near Nathan's home in Georgia. Three days later, his body was found in a pond nearby. Lil Jon has a memoir that just came out called I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me. It takes time to heal. And I kept myself busy that I didn't let myself mourn. I needed to laugh again. I needed to be silly and interact with people and feel other people's energy and make people happy too.

20:27We have to share so other people can see that they can get through it too. Talking grief, building community. That's what the podcast is all about. This is all there is. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the Chasing Life podcast. We get to talk to the men's winner of the New York City Marathon. Andreas Almgren, he's a self-coached 31-year-old who was, get this, making his marathon debut. He never ran a marathon before he won it. If someone wanted to start getting serious about running and they wanted to approach it like a data scientist like you do, how would you suggest they start?

21:07Be patient. My peak weeks, I ran like 140, 150 miles per week or something. Wow. Either increase the distance or you should increase the intensity. You should never increase both at the same time. Listen to Chasing Life, streaming now, wherever you get your podcasts.

21:28Breaking news, there's growing concern inside the White House tonight over why Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is close to NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang, did not label the NVIDIA-linked company Megaspeed a potential national security risk to the United States. Megaspeed employs the suspected Chinese spy that Jensen Huang was having an affair with. Republican Senator Tim Scott is now asking Lutnick and Jensen Huang to testify before the Senate Banking Committee. Another Republican, Senator Jim Banks, said the situation is, quote, as concerning as it gets. This news is as concerning as it gets.

22:03When you are in a war with another country, I served in a war, I served in Afghanistan. When you're in a war with another country, you don't give them your best technology. Secretary Lutnick, it appears, used loopholes to allow some of these chip sales to occur. I would like for Secretary Lutnick ASAP to come testify before the Senate Banking Committee. Randy Kay is out front. The Chinese are more than capable of building their own, right? So you want to keep one step ahead of what they can build so they keep buying our chips. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in July, defending the Trump administration's decision to sell some of NVIDIA's most coveted AI chips to China, despite major security concerns.

22:47In a showdown in the Situation Room last week, sources say Treasury Secretary Scott Besant challenged Lutnick over his department's reluctance to label NVIDIA customer Megaspeed a possible national security threat. Megaspeed is the Singapore firm that employs Alice Wong, a suspected Chinese spy who allegedly had an affair with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Wong. The alleged spy scandal that is rocking the world. People familiar with the matter told CNN senior Trump officials, including Lutnick, were briefed months ago about the NVIDIA CEO's relationship with Alice Wong. Some Trump officials raising concern that Megaspeed circumvented U.S.

23:27law and funneled NVIDIA's advanced AI chips into China. Still, despite the warnings, Lutnick refused to put Megaspeed on a list of China-connected companies that could pose national security risks, sources said. You want to sell the Chinese enough that their developers get addicted to the American technology stack. Megaspeed has denied any wrongdoing, saying it's a compliant and legal company. Jensen Wang long insisted exporting his chips to China would keep China from building their own. He lobbied President Trump to get him to reverse earlier export bans. In July 2025, the Trump administration loosened restrictions on NVIDIA chip sales to China.

24:07I deal with Jensen, who's a great guy, and NVIDIA. The chip that we're talking about, the H20, it's an old chip. This past summer, despite reportedly being warned twice in seven months about Jensen Wong's relationship with an alleged Chinese spy, President Trump agreed to allow exportation of the more advanced H200 NVIDIA chip to China. We don't sell them our best stuff, not our second best stuff, not even our third best. I think fourth best is where we've come out that we're cool. Besides lobbying Trump, NVIDIA's Wong was also separately cultivating a relationship with Howard Lutnick. It's the reason why Howard is the person I talk to most in the administration.

24:50And he's on top of the technology, is learning about the industry quickly. And I announced a historic partnership today and he was the first to know about it. Still, last November, Lutnick put the choice to sell NVIDIA's more advanced chips to China on President Trump, telling Bloomberg. That kind of decision sits right on the desk of Donald Trump, right? He's got Jensen from NVIDIA who really wants to sell those chips and he's got good reasons for it. He is going to weigh those decisions. He will decide whether we go forward with that or not. Despite that, some Republicans in Congress are calling for Lutnick to explain why he didn't take action to stop Megaspeed from purchasing NVIDIA's advanced chips.

25:31Apparently, the Department of Commerce greenlit the sale of$4 billion in advanced chips to the spy's company. Why were they selling the chips? Did they follow the trail? How do they know the chips went to the company and not to the Communist Party of China? I mean, this whole thing is an intergalactic freak show. Aaron, Senator John Kennedy also said he wants Jensen Wang to testify. And when CNN asked him if he thought Commerce Secretary Lutnik should lose his job over this. He said he didn't know yet, but he did say he believed Lutnick should have held a press conference and that he will be called to testify before Congress.

26:15Erin? Randy, thank you very much. And all obviously so crucial, along with the most important question still amidst all of this, which is what was President Trump told when he was first warned about this over a year ago? Out front now, Senator Richard Blumenthal. And Senator, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was also briefed, right, about the NVIDIA founder's relationship with the suspected Chinese spy. We do know Trump was told at least twice. We know that he did nothing about it, but after at least the first known briefing, he did go ahead and allow some of these more prestigious NVIDIA chips to be sold.

26:53How serious is the Trump administration's role and perhaps the role of the president himself, along with his Commerce Secretary, in this growing scandal? This situation couldn't be more serious. It stinks. Whether you call it an intergalactic show or something else, what is behind it potentially is a$25 million donation by NVIDIA to Trump's big East Room ballroom boondoggle. and obviously NVIDIA isn't the only donor. We're investigating many others that may have received better treatment on regulations or merger agreements or litigation settlements and it raises profound questions of pay to play.

27:39So I think it is extraordinarily serious because it impacts not only our national security but our economic competitiveness. The sale of these powerful AI chips put China in a better position in the economic competition with the United States. Nothing could be more serious. And I'm actually thinking back to before any of this happened, when Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, told me he wasn't donating to that ballroom because he would never want to have to deal with any questions about pay to play, right? So there were CEOs who were honest about that and decided not to engage in it. But obviously many of them did go ahead with these donations.

28:17The president has expressed confidence in Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary, thus far. And again, as I pointed out, the questions are for Trump himself as well. There are Republicans, though, raising questions about the Commerce Secretary's handling of this situation. You heard two of them and saying they want him to testify in front of the banking committee. That includes Tim Scott. Do you think that Commerce Secretary Lutnik could lose his job over this? He could well lose his job if the evidence shows that he knew about the liaison, the affair between Jensen Huang and the apparent Chinese spy, or if he knew about the illegal and illicit transfer of these chips to Chinese shell companies, again, undermining our national security and economic competitors, I think he should go.

29:08And that's why he has to testify in public, under oath, before a Senate committee. and we may well have him before the permanent subcommittee on investigations that I am going to chair. In the meantime, the senator may want to hear him before the banking committee. Senator Scott has said he should testify. But one way or the other, he owes an explanation to the American public. And when it comes to that ballroom, you know, you've talked about NVIDIA's donation. You've recently sent a letter to over a dozen previously undisclosed donors who, according to The Washington Post contributed to the project when they put out that latest list.

29:47You raised concerns about possible quid pro quo arrangements. And again, these were donors that we did not know about until this point. Trump DOJ has now written you a letter saying, quote, you, this is the quote to you, Senator, you have threatened citizens for associating themselves with the president. The American people are entitled to freely associate without elected officials terrorizing them with aggressive, harassing government action. I want to give you a chance to respond to that. There's no way I'm going to be intimidated or back down from a lawful, necessary, appropriate investigation.

30:21This inquiry is important to disclose what the donors and the Trump administration wanted to conceal, which is not only who contributed their identities, but also how they were solicited, what they may have been promised implicitly, whether it is lightened regulation or better merger agreements or contracts expanded or new contracts. 14 of these corporations had expanded or new contracts. I want to know how it all went down. And this investigation is not only lawful, but it is obligatory for us as an independent branch of government under the Constitution. There's just no way that the Department of Justice should be threatening or trying to intimidate us.

31:07And I'll just add one more point, Erin. I was the U.S. attorney in Connecticut. I worked in the Department of Justice. I'm appalled and astonished by this misuse and abuse of prosecutorial power to try to shut down a lawful investigation. Neither Representative Garcia or I are going to stand for it. Senator Blumenthal, we appreciate your time and I thank you. Thank you. And next breaking news, the new Democratic senator from Texas, James Tallarico, talking about his historic win tonight. John King is in Texas to show us why all 254 counties, Texas has more counties than any other state in the country, and every one of them shifted left.

31:49And President Trump, on who would win in an election, him or Obama? Are you saying you would beat Obama? Yeah, I think I'd beat him easily, yeah. Easily? I think he's highly overrated, yeah? Oh, my Lord. Oh, my Lord, says Stephen Smith. Paul, Jamal, and more are here. They have some thoughts on that, too.

32:29The breaking news, CNN just projecting that Democrats will hold the governor's mansion in Kansas. Tonight, CNN is projecting that Cindy Holscher will defeat the Republican Ty Masterson. So that is a defeat winner there. We're making this call. Holzer currently ahead by about 7 ,000 votes in another race that Republicans had eyed for a pickup. But of course, we can say tonight they fell short in that endeavor. It comes as Trump is claiming yet again that he is not the reason why Republicans lost so badly in the midterms. In a brand new interview with Stephen Smith, he said this, and he also insisted that he would beat Barack Obama in a hypothetical race if they both were running for president now.

33:07What would Donald Trump do if he had to square off against Barack Obama for the presidency of the United States? Well, I got many more votes than he got, and I got many more votes in the states, and I have all the state, you know, most of the state records of the big states. If you take a look at Texas, I have the all-time record. Florida, I have the all-time record. Are you saying you would beat Obama? Yeah, I think I'd beat him easily, yeah. Easily? I think he's highly overrated, yeah. Oh, my Lord. How is Barack Obama overrated? I just think that's just my opinion. I think he's overrated. I didn't think he was a good president.

33:46I thought he was a divider. A divider? Yeah. And what would you classify yourself as being said? As a person that brings people together. And you bring people together how exactly? Through success. This is a great interview by Stephen A. Smith, okay? We can all say. Okay, everyone's here with me. Jamal, okay, what do you make of that entire exchange? It's ludicrous. I mean, and we almost had a moment during the last campaign where it really was mano a mano Trump versus Obama. Obama was out in the stump for campaign, you know, campaigning for other candidates. Trump was out on the stump. And that's when we got the Obama comparison of Donald Trump to Saddam Hussein building out a cheesecake factory with his decorating skills.

34:31This was the moment. And you know what it did? It kind of shut Trump down. We kind of saw Trump go into a little bit of a spiral after that. And he really stopped doing a lot of events, too. Yeah, right. The Cheesecake Factory moment. Maura, but, you know, it's amazing to hear Trump there. I think what Stephen A. Smith is hitting on, well, what would you call yourself? Right? Whatever it is, maybe an extreme lack of self-awareness or so what, he's just going to say it. I mean, it is a really fascinating exchange. I have to wonder if he's just trying to rewrite history in real time because those the polls ahead of the midterm Showed people were not happy with his the job that he was doing it or his administration The midterms themselves was a massive rebuke I would say it's more so about not liking what was going on in the Trump administration as opposed to Having such great support and you know fervor for Democrats So for him to be this obtuse is really I mean I want to say I'm surprised but I'm really not because Donald Trump simply is trying to recreate history rewrite history in real time in terms of his approval, which is plummeting.

35:30People are very frustrated with him, but he doesn't either want to see it, refuse to take responsibility for it, or his staff is not showing him reality. There's at least a 20-point difference between Barack Obama's approval and Donald Trump's. That's at least. At least. And then there's independence. Donald Trump would beat Barack Obama in a Big Mac eating contest. I mean, I don't think there's much else he'd beat him in right now. Definitely not a popularity contest. And that interview is an example of why independence went to Democrats two to one. And I long said they should have pushed out Obama earlier because he's maybe the most effective communicator of our time.

36:01And it's such a sharp contrast. He's also really likable. And every day Trump comes up with new ways to be less likable, whether it's building the arch or keeping Hexeth in place. So this is not a fight he's going to win. It looks like a fight he's welcoming. And if I'm on the Democratic side, especially if I'm fighting for independence, I'd welcome that fight. I think Obama embarrasses him. I think it embarrasses him to be seen and compared to him. So what other way to then to punch at him? To say, of course, he would beat him. You know, interesting in the context of that conversation, Mike Pence spoke out today.

36:28OK, and he said Trump needs to look in the mirror about the midterms. And it's not just about the war, as J.D. Vance tried to kind of simplistically say, but it's about a lot more of that. It's about price of gas, a whole lot more, but also this. I also don't think you can ignore the air of corruption that's emerged around this administration, the self-dealing. the American people saw the first family seeing their wealth increase by more than$3 billion, including more than a billion dollars in cryptocurrency. All of that, I think, created an environment where I truly do believe the American people didn't turn left.

37:10They were turned off. You know what's fascinating about that, Jamal? You know, Trump's former vice president, but just all the detail he had in there. The first family saw their wealth increase by$3 billion. It's as if he had gone to Dan Alexander's Forbes column and checked all the numbers, you know, to be the whiff of corruption, the air of corruption that's about this. I mean, I thought that was pretty powerful coming from Pence. Yes. African-American entrepreneurs last year raised$942 million in venture capital. Donald Trump made more money in crypto himself than all African American entrepreneurs combined were able to raise.

37:51The American public, it was so conspicuous. The American public was able to see all the corruption that's taking place out of his family. And I think that does tie it together. And what ties it with everything else, whether it's the tariffs or it's the Iran deal, it's all about Trump and Trump's sensibility. It's not about him explaining things to the United States, to the public. It's not about what's necessarily in the best interest of the public. because we know people were losing their farms because of tariffs. We know people were losing their shirts because of gas prices. And that Trump didn't seem to care.

38:20He just kept doing it again and again. So I want to, you know, yesterday we saw that incredible moment at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. So Pete Hegg Seth is there with a few other people, and you can hear their laughter. And then the unnamed, right, at the time, right, the soldier, the fact that there's someone always there 24 hours a day, every day of the year, no matter what the weather, that soldier speaks out. Okay? Let me just play again the moment.

38:50All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.

39:01So, you know, that was it was a humiliating moment for Hegseth as the Secretary of Defense. He calls himself Secretary of War. Today, though, he honored that soldier. Hegseth honored that soldier with a Joint Service Commendation Medal, posted the picture on social media, and the quote was, we love soldiers, we love standards. Well done, specialists, carry on, patriots. What's your reaction to Hegseth doing this? So Hegseth is addressing this problem by posting another picture of himself, which I think encapsulates why yesterday was especially disgraceful, disgusting, I've run out of curse words to describe what it is.

39:39It was not just an embarrassment for him, it's an embarrassment for the Department of Defense, it's an embarrassment for America, and that's what he is. It was all put into one moment there for the whole world to see, where he's laughing and giggling and taking a selfie in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That is the Hegseth tenure at the Pentagon in one moment, and it will always be remembered as that, and even just celebrating the soldier is important. This soldier did the right thing. He has integrity. It's a sharp contrast. I wish he was the Secretary of Defense instead of Pete Hegseth right now.

40:09But even in raising him up, he's putting a spotlight on himself. And he's also kind of outing that soldier who maybe has the greatest command voice I've ever heard in my life. Right. We're always going to remember that voice. But that voice was the voice of so many troops. And it was the voice of our standards. And that was the voice of America and our democracy pushing back, saying, Hegseth, you know, we're all giving you a thumbs down. And he obviously is trying to say, maybe by seizing control of it or doing this metal, that that gets flipped on its head. Well, and he's saying we love our standards.

40:37Well, clearly you didn't because you didn't even abide by them when you're there taking selfies and laughing and making, I'm not going to say it was a mockery, but you really didn't respect something that deserves respect. And again, shows that you're not qualified to be in the position that you're currently in. And I don't think that his apology that came, it wasn't an apology that came out from his office. He refused to take accountability or responsibility. And across the board, the Trump administration has failed to take responsibility or be accountable for the real life impacts they put on the American people that they largely rejected.

41:05All right. Thank you all very much. It's great to see you. And next breaking news, James Tallarico this hour touting Texas's seismic blue shift. Every single county in Texas moved to the left. And so John King is in Texas with King Country next. And new tonight, new footage of the moment that building in Brooklyn collapsed. Ahead.

41:31Breaking news, James Tallarico speaking moments ago at a major Democratic summit touting Texas's seismic blue shift. In Texas, we go big or we go home. And that's exactly what we did last week. We won big. We ended the longest losing streak in American politics. and we did it by double digits. It was a win the size of Texas. And now we have a mandate the size of Texas. All right, I want to go out front to John King. He's in Corpus Christi in Texas. And John, you know, I remember on election day, I was in Austin and we were talking about how there are more counties in the state of Texas than any other state.

42:19That was your stat. 254 of them, I believe. Every single one of them goes left. So you went down to find out why. What are voters telling you? And we wanted to come back just to see the fallout, to see what people think. And Aaron, everywhere we go, McAllen, Brownsville, Kingsville, here in Corpus Christi, Democrats and Republicans are still in shock. And I'm serious about that. They cannot believe it. They cannot believe, I got the mini magic wall with me, they cannot believe Gina Hinojosa from the Rio Grande Valley, from Brownsville, won the governor's race by seven points. They cannot believe, as you just heard Senator-elect Tallarico say, that James Tallarico won this Senate race by 12 points.

42:55But it goes much deeper than that. I want to show you, you mentioned the 254 counties. This shows you how they shifted blue. All 254 shifted at least a little bit blue. If you see the deeper shading, that means they shifted even more blue. So where do you see that? You see that down here. We're talking about county commissioners, judgeships, congressional seats, state legislative seats. Democrats have won seats here they haven't held in 40 years. So everywhere we travel, Democrats and Republicans are still saying, wow. So down here in South Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, you see the deeper blue?

43:24What caused that? Well, let me just show you this. Where you see the biggest gains by the Democrats are in areas where you have. Look at the deeper shading. The deeper shading means the higher percentage of Latino voters. In those counties, 70, 80, sometimes more than 90 percent of the residents are Latinos. Just two years ago, Donald Trump won Texas Latinos by 10 points. Hinojosa won them by 30 plus. Tellurico won them by just shy of 40 points. Why? Switches. Voters like Yari Martinez. She's a home builder in the McAllen area in South Texas. She's a Republican, voted for Trump twice in 2016 and 2024, in part because she wanted stronger border security, has voted for Abbott every time he's been on the ballot.

44:04She switched, voted blue everywhere this year. Why? She says, yes, a strong border, but not what she says is inhumane ice activity, Erin, that has hurt her business and made it almost impossible to find workers. Listen. I think most of the Latinos here, we were looking for a secure border back then, something that Trump promised, which, you know, by all means, it's good for us. But the way they're going about it, now you're targeting the Latinos. You're targeting the people that helped you get in the office. And now, you know, our vote matters, especially here in Texas, especially here in the border.

44:42Aaron, that last part, remember that last part. Our vote matters now, especially here in South Texas near the border. Again, I just want to show you on the map. When we go and we talk to Latino voters, they're sort of stunned that they flexed their political power here, that they won the governor's office, that they won that Senate race, that they won so many other races down ballot. It's been kind of an awakening right here, something we're going to watch as we go now from 2026 into 2028 and beyond. But you get it. You see it. many of them are still happy. And the Latino community say, wow, when we come together, look what we can do.

45:13And they literally have turned Texas on its head. So, you know, we heard James Tallarico tonight refer to the mandate. And he used that word multiple times on election night. I was there when he gave his speech. And obviously, it's a double digit win. And it's the entire state and it's every statewide office. And yes, that's a mandate. But you've got pressure on Democrats to deliver and to decide in Texas, what does it mean to be a Democrat, right? As Republicans are saying they've got two years to revamp and come back and turn this around again. What are you hearing? Well, there's a lot of pressure on the Democrats.

45:49That same electorate that elected Trump then said never mind and repudiated Trump can swing back against those Democrats, right, in just two years. So for Tellurico and the Democrats who go to Washington, all these voters are saying they want them to send Trump legislation, a guest worker program, some status for the undocumented, as long as their only crime was crossing the border. They've been good since they came into the country. They want legislation to try to help with the affordability crisis. Governor Hinojosa is going to face an even bigger challenge when she takes her hand off the Bible in January.

46:15Greg Abbott, the Republican governor, Operation Lone Star. Unprecedented cooperation with ICE and the Trump administration on rounding up and deporting people. There's going to be a lot of pressure on her to pull that support when she comes into office, and yet she also is the governor of Texas. She has said she will prioritize a secure border. So these Democrats, they have the wind at their back. They just made a remarkable history here in Texas. 36 years for the governor's race, 38 years since they won a Senate race. But the pressure to deliver and perform, Erin, will be immediate. All right, John King, thank you.

46:46In Texas. And next, a new ring cam footage just coming in here of the terrifying moment that that building collapsed in Brooklyn in New York City. The latest on that and the search after this.

47:05Breaking news on that deadly building collapse in New York. The death toll growing today. At least eight people now known, including two children, killed in that Veterans Day collapse. It comes as new ring camera video captures the exact moment that the three-story building came crashing down.

47:28investigators say cracks were spotted in the structure months ago now city inspectors are checking roughly 100 other locations across this city uh linked to the site 18 people were pulled from the rubble alive and are being treated for various injuries thanks for joining us ac 360 starts now. I'm Adi Cornish. I'm Ari Shapiro and it's Engagement Party. And we get to talk about what we're obsessed with, what we're engaged with, what we need to process with a friend. Her name is Amy Odell. She is a fashion writer blogger. But the thing is, she's a journalist who's written about the sacred cows of fashion.

48:02And yes, I mean, Gwyneth Paltrow and Anna Wintour. She has done biographies of both. And she is also the sort of rare fashion writer who at this point kind of outside the system. And so the question that we're going to try to tackle is... Is fashion terrible now? Well, no, I mean, I would phrase it as how do you develop a personal style in the age of AI slop? You know, on social media, like creators have to try a whole bunch of different things and see what catches and then they make it over and over and over again. The same thing happens with clothing. So they're sort of seeding the market, seeding the internet with all of these different ideas and then they can see what sells and then they can just make them really fast.

48:40Follow Engagement Party. Wherever you get your podcasts.