CBS's Top Anchor: MAGA Owners Helping Kill “60 Minutes”

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0:4621 plus and present in select states. Opt-in required. Bonus issued is non-withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply, including any token expiration and max wager amount. See full terms at FanDuel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET. Welcome to The Beat, everyone. I'm Ari Melber, and we are coming on the air here on a big night for many states. You know the music. If you follow the news, you probably know it is another election day in America. And we have you covered on The Beat this hour as well as through all of our special coverage tonight on MSNOW.

1:16I'll tell you the latest. These six states have voters going to the polls. Big consequential primaries in big places. California, New Jersey, of course. Some of the most populous states we have. Montana, Iowa, New Mexico, South Dakota. We're covering them all. James Carville, who knows his way around the primaries and the general in the midterm we're bracing for. Well, James Carville's here standing by. He joins me in a moment. I do want to share the context for these elections. There are fears across the Republican Party that Donald Trump is not only going to be held accountable for what he's done for policy failures, for an open ended war, for high prices, but also for really gaffes of choice, damaging the Republican Party and its brand at a vulnerable time with scandals, vanity projects, blunders, odd statements, late night out of touch tweeting and a real rejection of people's concerns about this economy.

2:08The big story this week as well in Washington, but one that's resonated across police and military households, was Donald Trump's very controversial idea to siphon your taxpayer dollars and give it to defendants and convicts and even potentially people who'd attack police. Now the administration is trying to retreat, to back away from that over-billion-dollar fund, which could pay all kinds of people. As we've reported, it's already paused in court. It may be a situation where they know they're losing and want to get out from under it. It's also not a story that is over yet. We've told you we will cover these types of controversies without fear or favor.

2:43We will tell you what the law is. I've told you from the jump that much of this program is unprecedented and likely unlawful, but that has to be tested in court. Right now it's merely paused. And so whether this is a game where they're trying to back down from it during voting and a period of pressure or whether they're really going to drop the whole thing is an open question. Indeed, in our democracy, sometimes it depends on what happens, what you do, what the public says, the reaction, the pressure. I can tell you that the acting DOJ chief, Blanche, was before lawmakers today who have, in both parties, been very upset, concerned, even described as, quote, pissed or angry about this proposal, this program.

3:20Now, he was saying the administration will basically, in his view, not go forward with most parts of the fund. But we're not just taking his word for it, and there hasn't been a formal disillusion of the program. Trump also doubling down on these so-called revenge politics, basically trying to do the very lawfare he said he wouldn't do and put more partisan warriors in positions that could endanger you and our national security, because instead of having competent veterans or intelligence professionals. He now has what is considered one of his sort of most extreme, unqualified individuals with no intelligence credentials whatsoever appointed to lead and be acting director of national intel.

4:03In other words, someone who probably could not get a entry-level job in intelligence at that organization, at that part of the federal government, has been put in to lead it. And if it's not for his credentials, what's it for? Well, we have reporting on that. It's for the partisan brawling. Other top MAGA voices who failed to push Trump to get back focused on the things that would actually potentially help him hold on to Congress. They are now saying it's probably too late. It's going to be a Republican midterms wipeout. Now, as with all predictions, whether you like the sound of them or not, these are predictions.

4:39It's still important that everyone make up their own mind and go vote. And I like to remind you of that, especially on a night like tonight where people in some parts of the country are still voting. And these are primaries, not the midterms yet. But with that in mind, people who've been around politics a lot, who have been sympathetic to Trump and the MAGA movement, like Megyn Kelly, saying this. We assume we're going to lose the House on Team GOP. But now more and more political pundits are predicting that the Republicans are going to lose the Senate. So all the math is bad. We don't have the cards to play.

5:12It's already a quagmire. That's just some of what passes for like the baseline. That's like the premise of how it's looking among people who aren't saying that because they are, you know, rooting for Republicans to lose. Megyn Kelly, Fox News vet, very supportive of Trump for years, although she's been back and forth on those issues at times like some other Republicans. But she's saying that as a kind of a concern or a warning. And that's just in that sort of conservative space. Democrats, meanwhile, have seized on not only the macro factors, the economy, the open-ended war, which, remember, Trump promised would have been over by now.

5:50It ain't over. And they're using a lot of Trump's words against him in new attack ads. Gas. I don't think about America's financial situation. Groceries. I don't think about America's financial situation. Utilities. I don't think about America's financial situation. Trump's agenda is making everything more expensive. That's the cost of living. That is recent remarks from the president where he doesn't even pretend to say, hey, I feel your pain. I'm with you. I'm thinking about you. We're all going through this together. No, he says, I don't care. I want to bring in James Carville. We've got a slew of issues to talk about.

6:27But first, James, your view on the elections, these primaries that are unfolding right now. What are you watching? What are you thinking? Well, what I'm watching and hoping for is that Democrats elect the most electable general election candidate. And, you know, yes, that's a question that somebody is going to have to ask themselves. But in terms of like winning the House and the Senate, I'm reminded what Yogi Berra said. He is dead at the present time. At the present time, we would win. But unlike being dead, you can change. And the only way that we can change this is by nominating unelectable people.

7:07And that's always a...

7:14I mean, I lost you maybe for a second, but I got you back and I'm going to play. Here was Ted Cruz just today.

7:24Do you think that that will hold in the midterms? meaning the idea of national security, which I think is where you would argue, versus whatever you think the implication is for inflation, for the price of gas. I don't think it's going to impact the midterms material. I've seen no data that suggests that this is having a big impact on the midterms. He hasn't seen it. What's he saying? Do you buy it? No, I don't buy it. Of course I don't buy it. and nothing else but. You know, Moody's, which is a pretty high-class outfit, estimated that his stupid war has cost the average American household already$750.

8:11We're going to say when people are strapped and kind of living paycheck to paycheck that he doesn't see any evidence that's just having any effect when every congressional, it's not a congressional generic and see where the Democrats are not really up. Look, Senator Cruz is a very educated man. And he knows better than this. I don't think he'd be ashamed of himself, but he knows he's not telling the truth. And people watching that, of course, this impacts people's views. If you don't think it does, ask Kamala Harris. There's no doubt about it. Yeah, and we see this when they say, oh, well, the classic political fables, you know, the emperor has no clothes.

8:49And in the beginning of the fable, everyone's going along with it. That's what the story is about. You almost get the feeling that Trump says none of this matters, which a lot of people say is like being naked intellectually, politically to what's actually going on. And so then Cruz is sort of trying to sound like and look like the emperor. Oh, this is what they're all going to do now. They're going to say this as if Trump has the right message. Of course, as you know, and I think our viewers know because they follow politics closely, not everyone thinks about it. remembers that Trump's not on the ballot.

9:20He may not care because he doesn't care whether other House Republicans who tried to back him up every which way, whether they lose their seats. So that's part of that message. Whether that works, I want to play for your response. What we have together here, which is how often Trump is adopting that line that Cruz is echoing. Take a look.

9:41As the president said, I don't care if they're over, honestly. I really don't care. I couldn't care less. If they're over, they're over. If they're not, you know, I think they took too much time. Frankly, I think they started to get a little boring. I don't think about America's financial situation. I don't think about anybody. President Trump meeting with cabinet members at the White House, claiming he doesn't care about the midterms when it comes to Iran. I don't care about the midterms. James.

10:15Well, you know, if I were a Republican House member, Senate member, I'd be pretty, like, he doesn't care. What does that mean? It's a new message. I've never, in all my years in politics, I've never heard the leader of a political party say, I don't care if we win the election or not. It matters nothing to me. And maybe he is so self-absorbed that that's true.

10:37right that he's blurting the truth and they might be talking about it the day after the november elections again i don't like to get ahead of it um but if he says i don't care and does all these things that really show that he doesn't care uh and what these people i mean you know you've consulted for these candidates some of them spend decades trying to get these jobs that I might lose for really avoidable reasons, no?

11:01Yeah, and, you know, a political party, he doesn't care what accomplishments he has. They're very meager. Trying to give me a couple of weeks and I can come up with something. But it's very unique that a president would say, I don't care. And, you know, the other thing is something is wrong here. This guy goes to Walter Reed more than I go to the bathroom. I mean, there's something here that's just not adding up. And I'm not sure that we know what it is, but I suspect at some point we will know. And can you imagine when we have troops and we have a dangerous situation that he's bored by it? I'll tell you who's not bored are people on the general law forward that were like deployed for nine months.

11:48I guarantee you, they're not bored. I guarantee you the pilots that are flying these missions, the ships that are guarding these things, they're not bored at all. This is amazing that you'd say I'm bored about the United States' position when we have troops somewhere. I just, I can't, it's almost impossible to digest. It's just not anymore. Well, you're our reality check. When you said it, you said it very clearly. You've never seen a leader of a political party say, I don't care whether we win or lose. I mean, that that tells you something about where he's at and that he's not even willing or able to pretend otherwise the way one might if they if they had an iota of care.

12:33And the final question I have to you tonight, because, again, I don't think we should normalize this stuff. And long time beat viewers, if they go back a few years, they'll remember James Carville came on here and said he was concerned that then President Biden was operating in a manner where he might be too old for the next campaign. and you caught heck from your own party for that. And you said it on this program more than once. And so if anyone has been around the block on this and cannot be assailed for having a political angle, ironically, it might be you, a political pro James Carver, when I ask you about something that is not normal, America, the president of the United States went up late at night and wrote 47 posts, reposts, or comments in a span of 30 minutes, which breaks his prior record of 52 in six hours.

13:23And these are jokes. Some of them are hateful. Some of them are misleading. Some of them are from AI. None of them show any sort of forethought about the mighty power and platform and reach that he has. Some of them were, of course, as usual, fan-made tributes, which seems to draw his attention, whether they're made in this country or by some foreign influence campaign. He doesn't use the available resources to have the government check. He just posts willy-nilly. Is this something that should concern Americans beyond the so-called optics about what's actually going on in his mind state right now.

13:54Well, if you're not concerned by now, I don't think a 47 tweet night or whatever he does is going to concern you. If you've looked at him, the White House has become a crime syndicate. I mean, look at, reading the paper, look at the number traded in the defense industry on wars. I mean, if you are not turned off by all of this, then there's something you're just never going to be. But the good news is 65 % of the country is turned off Biden. And I don't know if we can get any more than that. And, you know, the guy lies all the time. I never think he's telling the truth. He may not care. He may be just that self-absorbed that, why do I care?

14:36I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. I don't know, Ari, but it is really, really unique. And, again, if I were a Republican Congress for the senator, I would be asking myself, what am I doing? I've worked all my life to get here. I've supported this guy. I've taken every stupid vote that he asked me to take. And now I'm walking the plank and he doesn't care. He's going to shove me off the end of it. Okay, that's fine. I mean, but you should have known that before you got involved with it. Yeah, wild. All fair points on primary night. I got reporters standing by in the field, so I'm going to bring them in.

15:11James Carville, thank you. We love seeing you. I appreciate all your perspective. Jacob Soberoff is at a polling center in L.A., which is one of the most pivotal places we've seen with the California governor's race, among others. Jacob, take it away. The biggest election jurisdiction in the nation, Los Angeles County, Ari Melber. And since I was on the air last with our friend and colleague, Nicole Wallace, the line has grown from just a couple of people. Let me just show you the end here. Sam, let's just walk around the corner real quick to stretching around the corner here at Grand Avenue and Fifth Street in downtown Los Angeles.

15:43People are fired up and they're excited about this primary election day here in Los Angeles and in California. We're picking a governor, obviously, in the state to succeed Gavin Newsom. But we're also picking a mayor here in Los Angeles. Karen Bass, the incumbent, is facing a challenge both from, and I'm sorry I left, the reality star Spencer Pratt and Nithya Rahman, city councilperson here in Los Angeles. I was just talking to you as I passed by a minute ago. You said you're a pickleball coach at the YMCA here in downtown, right? What's your name? I'm downtown YMCA. My name is Motown. And so you decided to come on over and vote today.

16:15We have a mayor's race and a governor's race. Correct me if I'm wrong. You said Javier Becerra, the former secretary of health and human services for governor and Nithya Rahman for mayor of Los Angeles. Yeah. What's on your agenda today? What brings you out to vote? Honestly, I was going to mail in vote, but I kind of messed up my mailing vote card. So I decided I'm just going to come out in person. What are the issues that I mean, that's the that's the the procedure. What about actually in practice the policies? What are the things that you're thinking about that got you out to vote today? We know the homeless situation is a crisis that just keeps on not getting better.

16:51It is. And I was going to vote for the previous mayor, but my partner brought some things to my attention. And I like what Nithya has to offer. And I started to pay attention to her a little bit more. And I'm like, yeah, we should vote for him. In this governor's race, Gavin Newsom has really been a foil for President Trump. I was saying to my colleague, Nicole Wallace, in the last hour here on MS Now, those ice raids that played out a year ago were right here on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. And Gavin Newsom was here. The mayor was standing up against him. What are you looking for in a governor of California, the fourth largest economy in the world, when Donald Trump is in the White House?

17:24I'm looking for a governor that's going to speak out against Trump, that's going to put his foot down, that's going to go against all these inhumane ice raids that are happening. It shouldn't be happening, and someone has to put a stop to it immediately. And then just on the YMCA Pickleball thing, can anyone show up and play pickleball at the Y downtown? Anyone can show up. You can get a guest pass. I'm the coach. We got a great community. Come in, have fun, learn pickleball, be a part of our community. I don't know if Ari Melberg's a big pickleball guy, but it's really nice to meet you, Ari. That's just the voice of one voter here.

17:56But as I walk back and I just show you all the way inside, it's going to be an exciting election night here in Los Angeles and throughout California. And we'll all be a part of that special coverage with Rachel starting at 10 o 'clock on the East Coast, my friend. Jacob, a couple of things. Number one, you're going to be busy. Everyone should watch all night. We've got a lot to follow. Number two, respect. But pickleball always struck me as easier tennis. Oh yeah, I'm not good at either To be honest with you So that's why I was wondering about lessons Well We could all use lessons in a lot of things Jacob, we'll be checking back in with you And keep working the lines And our thanks to you tonight I'm going to tell folks we've got a lot more coming up The official behind Trump's controversial AI Jesus image Now wants To run US intel Not a joke, serious issue We have the pushback.

18:51Andrew Weissman explaining what all that means, as well as legal views tonight. And the Trump acting attorney general claims that maybe they're backing down on parts of this controversial fund with money that could go to defendants, convicts. But there's a lot more to the story. We have a representative. We are staying on what I've told you is one of the biggest legal controversies ever. Next, 90 seconds.

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20:49Turning now to the other big story that has really rocked the White House and DOJ now for some time, a conflict and controversy of their own making, and one that I've told you is probably unlawful, but it requires the courts, Congress, and others these days to make sure that unlawful things don't happen. The Trump administration had put forward an unprecedented, likely unlawful system where they wanted to take over a billion dollars of your taxpayer money, not appropriated by Congress, and give it out to defendants, convicts, even potentially people who violently attacked the January 6th police officers who were defending Congress that day, which we know because they wouldn't rule that out.

21:30Now, a judge did pause it temporarily. I've reported on that along with my colleagues here, and that was already a quick setback. Now, today, DOJ acting attorney general, Blanche, was before a key committee, and this is how he puts their plans. We are not moving forward with the fund, period. Not moving forward ever. Correct. Notwithstanding what we do in those litigations and defending our rights and making sure our rights are protected, we're not moving forward with the fund. not moving forward with the fund correct that's it if those words mean what they say that they will not seize the taxpayer dollars and use this fund to hand them out that is a huge and formal retreat and in other eras of course the news and i'm part of it right a news anchor would say well he just said it to congress it's a crime to lie to congress we're going to take that as a pretty big news development.

22:26Well, these days they lie all the time. Indeed, the New York Times has a story this week about how the DOJ has been caught lying in court where there are sanctions. So whether Blanche really means it and this happens has to be pursued over time. As for the funds, some convicted January 6 rioters and convicts and even seditionists are telling PBS that the president will find a way, that there's going to be money. The whole fallout over this likely illegal plan has rocked Trump. Republicans were upset about it to the degree that they did something they don't usually do. They actually refused to help him on a vote as a first order way of saying this is bad and we might go further.

23:05Politico reported that some top leaders say that even if the fund is sort of paused right now, given the track record, it's just not enough to calm the concerns. Senate Dems are trying to force a vote to block the fund formally under the force of law. That would further strengthen the challengers in court because, remember, judges in court have already paused this thing temporarily because they need to review whether it's even legal. If on top of that, Congress actually takes action to say we didn't appropriate this, it's not legal, well, that would further strengthen the efforts to stop it in court.

23:39And we've shown you, unlike some things in the MAGA era here, pretty prominent members of both parties condemned this likely illegal fund plan. This is a corrupt deal. I think it's stupid on stilts. That is the definition, as Thomas Jefferson, I think, once said of tyranny. It's our job in the Congress, in the Senate, in the House to hold the executive branch accountable. I don't think it's an appropriate use of money. What are your thoughts about this organization fund from the president to this point? Yeah, not a big fan. I call it a payout pot for punks. It's all about weaponizing the tax dollars of the American people to support Donald Trump's private militia.