Dems Watch VA, NYC Races For Cues About Party’s Future

23:56And then, last month, Trump pardoned the man behind the company. That's who CZ is. He's a man whose company enriched the Trump family to the tune of at least tens of millions of dollars. But of course, the president says he doesn't know anything about any of that. CNN's Manu Raju earlier today asked Speaker Johnson about House Republicans' interest in this pardon, given their investigation into President Biden. Here's Johnson's response. I don't know anything about that. I didn't see the interview. You have to ask the president about that. I'm not sure. I see nothing. The pardon no one seems to know anything about from a man that the president doesn't know who he is.

24:39There were quite a few notable moments from Trump's interview with 60 Minutes that you did not see on CBS last night. We're going to play some of them for you.

25:08It helps you all your life. Work, children, partner. You can't do anything wrong. Right. Nice. It doesn't feel like paying. Paying paid? Safe. With Visu Steuer. Now, test it free.

25:38what aired on CBS last night. But 60 Minutes was forced to pay me a lot of money because they took her answer out that was so bad it was election changing two nights before the election. And they put a new answer in. And they paid me a lot of money for that. You can't have fake news. They had no respect for Biden falling up the stairs, going to an airplane three times. I mean, this is a man who should have never been president. This was a rigged election. Look, they call me a Nazi all the time. I'm not a Nazi. I'm the opposite. I'm somebody that's saving our country. But they call me Nazi. Critics say that CBS's edits made the president's answers more cogent and it made him seem more sane.

26:23But we should note this is what editors do. And this is exactly what the president sued CBS over one year ago, accusing the network of editing its interview with Kamala Harris unfairly when all they were doing was providing the best answers they could for a limited amount of time. Parent company Paramount settled for$16 million, but that had a lot more to do with the merger going through. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer today called out this edited Trump interview, perhaps a little tongue-in-cheek, saying maybe I should file a complaint with the FCC against the Trump White House for editing his unhinged 60 Minutes interview.

26:58It will use the exact same language Trump lodged against Vice President Harris, unquote, my panel joins me now. Now, look, I don't think that Schumer would have an argument. It's just called editing, right? You have a 72 minute interview, you bring it down to 28 minutes, whatever. That's what happens. But here's another question. Why do you think he agreed to sit for this interview? I think he got a great settlement and he thought he had a little bit of leverage. And I think he wanted to use the platform. And I think also the president is riding high. He's come back from abroad. He's had a lot of wins under his belt and he's moving forward.

27:36Now, we obviously have a shutdown and there's some real consequences for millions of Americans. And I think that's the reality facing the president now. Mark, let's move on to the election tomorrow. One issue on top of mind for voters is immigration. Obviously, a lot of images of ice raids playing out nationwide, some stark and upsetting videos. The president defended them during his sit-down with 60 Minutes last night. I think they haven't gone far enough because we've been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama. You're okay with those tactics? Yeah, because you have to get the people out.

28:15Is it your intent to deport people who do not have a criminal record? We have to start off with a policy, and the policy has to be you came into the country illegally, you're going to go out. However, you've also seen you're going to go out, we're going to work with you, and you're going to come back into our country legally. So one thing that a lot of pundits are going to be looking at tomorrow is the gains that President Trump made last year with men of color, particularly Latino men and African-American men, to see if that was a fluke or if they are now in the Republican column. And I wonder if you think that any of these immigration raids are going to play any role.

28:57Well, I think that honestly, he's done a very effective job addressing that seminal issue from the 2024 election that gave a lot of people concerns. I think there's often this assumption that Hispanics view this one way as if they're monolithic and they're not. Oh, I know they don't. I previously served as chief of staff in the Texas delegation. The vote for Hispanics along the border in many cases are, we got here legally. We don't want to wait for people who got here illegally. Having said that, Jake, I think his challenge is that when you solve the problem, then a lot of America's looking for what else?

29:23And I think the other factor in his election was the economy. And I think that the administration has gotten so intoxicated on seeing the market hit new highs, their blurry vision about what is actually happening for real American families with this trade policy is hurting. And I think that part of the economy is really going to play a role in the elections tomorrow night. You agree? I mean, there's obviously, we have 42 million Americans now whose food stamps are not happening because of the government shutdown. There were a whole bunch of doge cuts in government offices, which is going to have an impact perhaps in the Virginia election.

29:55And then, of course, you just have an economy that is not as strong as people thought it was going to be, largely because of the instability caused by the tariffs. Yeah, absolutely. I think that was a key driver of the election. And I think the president did a really good job of capturing that cost of living piece. But when you look at tariffs, tax on families, you look at health care, you look at all these issues coming together. And it is a it is a really significant burden on working families. And so I think as we kind of get into further into this year, it's going to be something that's going to need to be addressed.

30:28And the question also is in Congress is do Republicans go along and start putting these these issues back on the table as well? Because so far we just haven't seen it. On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court's going to take on whether or not the tariffs are constitutional, given the fact that it says in the Constitution that Congress is supposed to be doing them. Here's what President Trump said when asked about that. What happens to your economic plan if the Supreme Court invalidates your tariffs? I think our country will be immeasurably hurt. I think our economy will go to hell. I think it's the most important subject discussed by the Supreme Court in 100 years.

31:11I don't know about that, but it is a pretty big case. Key Republicans, including your former boss, former Vice President Mike Pence, have split with President Trump on the tariff policy. What do you think is going to happen? Well, too few have split with him on this, honestly. I mean, this is a protectionist Democrat policy for many years the president has embraced. And the reality is, he says America would turn to a third world country for 249 years of our republic. no president has used this authority. So I don't know if that means we've been a third world country for 249 years. And the reality is when you're saying that under IEPA you have the authority to blanket tariffs anywhere, I mean, does that include that you're now saying that if Canada runs ads with Ronald Reagan, that's a national emergency?

31:50I guess. Is that sort of included as national emergencies? And so, and is it because you don't like they're prosecuting Bolsonaro in Brazil? We're basically using any umbrella here. And of course, that's never what our founders intended. This authority belongs to Congress. Are she? Well, Mark, I mean, I think Democrats will join with Republicans, and we've seen this in the Senate. So I think there is a real opportunity for Republicans to really take a stand here because American families are paying the price. And so we saw some of that in the Senate, but certainly you could even see, you know, if healthcare isn't going to work in the shutdown negotiation, I mean, there are other issues on affordability that can.

32:24All right. Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. CNN is on the ground in Jamaica, looking at the unbelievable destruction after one of the most powerful hurricanes on record swept through Jamaica last week. We're going to go there live next.

32:39Tomorrow will mark one week since Hurricane Melissa hit the Caribbean, killing 32 people in Jamaica alone. CNN's David Culver went to the western part of the island, and as you'll see, people are doing what they got to do to survive. A warning, some of the content here is a bit difficult to watch.

33:02We are catching some water because that's the only way we can get water. We are damaged here in Jamaica. Real bad. Across much of western Jamaica, the storm has passed, but you feel it everywhere. Survival mode has kicked in. In here, in Belmont, we are very distraught and we really need some help because you have persons who are very homeless and we don't really have any food supplies. This is where you live here? Now they're coming to terms with what's left, and for many here, it's not much. This was your bed?

33:41It's all mashed up. You're right. You're right.

33:59We have suffered here and nobody comes to assist. You know how we even get some things like these? It's persons who are going around in vehicle and giving out a little portion of tokens. As one resident pointed out, even if a house is still standing because of concrete, most likely the windows were shattered and water got in, sand got in, furniture closed, all their belongings destroyed. I mean, it just continues. It's endless. I mean, you look up there and it just goes all the way up. As we're heading out, a man points to a nearby house. He just told us that there's somebody in this house up here still, that his body hasn't been recovered yet.

34:41Right there?

34:48Did you know this gentleman? But nobody has come to collect his body? No, not yet. Not everybody knows that he's died. It's just lying life was in there. I mean, it's absolutely horrible. Just by himself. Nobody's not sure when he's dead. They're not sure when he died. They're not sure when he died.

35:15I mean, seeing that is obviously very, very difficult. And it's worth pointing out, I mean, the neighbors there, it's not neglect on their part. They simply don't have cell service or any sort of connectivity to be able to report that. And they say that they were trying to tell passersby, but nobody came in to actually inspect. So for them, we were the only ones who they could tell. And we ultimately, once we had connectivity here, our colleague Omar here made the call to report that that body was in fact still in the house.

35:53Night brings relief from the day's heat and humidity. You get around with the flashlight on your phone, huh? Yeah, yeah, man. So this is... But there's no water. This is the only water we have here, you see. And no power. We have no roof there. You know, partially just this alone. So the rain actually coming now, so you feel it inside. I feel the rain, yeah. So there will be more damages, you know, as the rain comes by. So we just keep deteriorating until we can get some of it. How do you live in this? It's really rough. It's very hard. It's hard to cope. We just have to try to keep the kids mentally stable and try to tough it out, you know.

36:34So, you know, we are just grateful here right now to know that we are alive. Stop! Stop! Line up, line up. Line up. Line up. One, two, one, two, one, one, two. Mornings bring no rest, just long lines. People here waiting for hours for gas. You've been out here for this morning? People there, we're out for it. Which time, oh my gosh, seven hours. And if water's not running in your home, you go to the source.

37:10Nearby, along the riverbed, dozens gather. They're saying that nobody has come to help at all. I guess it doesn't really hit as yet. Because after two weeks, when it's all settled down, and we're all like, wow. The hunger kick in. Worse than water. So we need a lot of help. You have to understand that even up to this point in time, we don't even know what our death toll is. Do you think you're going to find more bodies? Yeah, man. I would think so. I hope not, but I would think so. But the reality of what was in it. Yeah, man, the reality is there. The reality is there. At the hospital in Black River.

37:50No power. No power, no water. No water. But the emergency room is still operating. Yeah. Dr. Sharif Emoto walks us through what's left. I mean, this is your hospital. Yes. And when you look out now, I mean, I know you're focused on patients day to day as well. Yeah. But, like, have you been able to process this moment? No. The one thing I can tell is that I'm very heartbroken, extremely heartbroken when I see this. I can tell it's very difficult for me to even to come through the gates in the mornings and leave in the evenings. My house is close, fairly close to here, and my house was destroyed.

38:24I mean, the roof is gone. And still his staff shows up. Every single person you see here. Even though, like him, many have lost their own homes. There are no words to describe it. I said to you, apocalyptic. That's the only thing I can use. No, everything is gone. Everything in the house is gone. I need help towards my kids, my house and everything. Chanel Tomlin's baby, Jamar, just a year old, fell after the storm. Yeah, they're going to look up this stitch, but they give me a prescription to fill. But where do you fill a prescription around here? I don't even know. It's tough to find the words to describe the level of devastation, destruction, and loss that we're seeing here.

39:10And perhaps it's best to just look at the visuals, which yes, are overwhelming, but really tell the story of several communities, not just towns like this one, Black River, where we are, but we go mile after mile after mile along the southwest coast of this country, and you see communities that are simply wiped away. You see people also trying to continue on with some sense of normality. And for them, that might be trying to continue on with business.

39:52It's the sound of defiance, of life pushing back. We are resilient people. Already there is almost an empathetic solidarity across the island and across the world to get things here. We're not going to make our people starve and anyone that comes here and visits us are not going to starve. Officials are here, trying, but it's a lot. And when you're desperate, help can't come soon enough. We are Jamaicans. We are the strongest people in the world. This is ground zero. This is terrible. Aid from abroad here too, setting up for the long haul. But first, it's Jamaicans helping Jamaicans. David Culver, CNN, Montego Bay, Jamaica.

40:40Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We're just hours away from the very first polls opening in crucial races across the United States, from New York to California. Are voters going to give President Trump a stamp of approval on his actions so far, Or might they give Democrats a boost as we head into the midterm elections in 2026? Our teams are spread out, covering every major race. Plus, I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. Or maybe not. The White House now says it will provide only half of the normal food stamp benefits for this month after two separate judges ruled they needed to use emergency funds to do so during the government shutdown.

41:20But what about that other half? Also, three-hour security lines at Houston's biggest airport? Oof. Travel misery might be an understatement to describe how the shutdown is impacting air travel. More than three million passengers have been hit with delays or cancellations, with officials warning it will keep getting worse. And two men were officially charged today for allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired Halloween attack. What the court documents reveal about alleged gun and ammunition purchases in the days before the arrests.

41:56The lead tonight in just 12 hours. The first polls will open on Election Day in America for key races in New Jersey, Virginia, New York City, California, and more, offering voters the very first chance since President Trump took office again to head to the polls to put a lot to the test. Not only the popularity of President Trump and his second-term agenda, but a Democratic Party still grappling for an identity, as evidenced by the broad spectrum of candidates. CNN has reporters standing by from across the campaign trails and right here in at the White House in Washington to bring you all the latest updates.

42:29But let's kick this off with New York City's mayoral election where President Trump just weighed in once again on the race to lead his former city. We'll have more on that in a moment, but let's start with CNN's Gloria Pazmina who just rode the subway with Democratic candidate Zoran Mamdani to a campaign stop in Queens. Gloria? That's right, Jake. We met up with Zora Mamdani right in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, got on the W train on our way right here to Queens. This is his home district of Astoria. And he is set to arrive here any minute now to meet up with supporters and canvassers who are going to be spreading out this evening, knocking on doors and trying to get supporters to come out and vote for him tomorrow.

43:10I caught up with Mamdani on the subway asking him how he is reacting to Trump's comments specifically. You heard him on 60 Minutes last night saying that Trump, he feels that he's a better looking guy and that if he had no choice, he would vote for Cuomo. He made it official on a truth social post just a short while ago. Here's what Mamdani told me about Trump and about what he thinks the future of the Democratic Party is. Donald Trump diagnosed a problem that working class Americans were facing across the country. In a cost of living crisis, he ran a campaign with the promise of cheaper groceries.

43:49Where the comparison between us ends, however, is that we are actually intending to deliver on that diagnosis, not just to use it as a means to distract from the agenda that he always intended to deliver on. I leave those decisions to any one candidate. What I would generally say is I would not be sitting here with you if it were not for the fact that we chose to listen to New Yorkers as opposed to lecture them.

44:15Jake Mamdani told me just a few minutes ago that even though he's got a double-digit lead in this race, he is taking nothing for granted. behind me. They are starting to rally here with Queens lawmakers, several supporters. Zoram Mamdani has just arrived to address his supporters. They're talking about Queens, his home county being the most diverse, such a large immigrant population here in Queens that's come out and supported him. And he talked about that during that subway ride, really making this race about everything that New York City signifies. He said that he is willing to talk to President Trump if it's going to be for the benefit of New Yorkers and that he, like I said, is feeling confident going into tomorrow but not taking anything for granted and continuing to campaign until the very last minute.

45:05Jake. All right, Gloria Pasmino in New York. Thanks so much. Let's go now to our reporters on the ground in New Jersey, where the race for the next governor promises to be one of tomorrow's tightest contests. CNN's Arlette Saenz is following the Republican candidate, Jack Cittarelli. But let's start with CNN's John Berman, who's at a rally for the Democratic candidate, Congresswoman Mikey Sherrill in Montclair, New Jersey. John, the race is really coming down to the wire. Yeah, this really could be the tightest race that we see tomorrow. I'm here in Montclair, New Jersey, where Mikey Sherrill will arrive in about 90 minutes for her final event of this campaign.

45:39This is her hometown. She's been elected to Congress four times from this district, which is at one point a Republican district, which is pretty notable because New Jersey right now is a blue state that's been showing hues of purple. Joe Biden won this state by 16 points in 2020, but Kamala Harris won it by just six points in 2024. And in between there, there was an election for governor where the Democrat Phil Murphy won by just three points in 2021. So Republicans have felt like they could make inroads here. Now, Mikey Sherrill has been working to drum up Democratic enthusiasm. It's still a state that does have a Democratic registration advantage of more than 800 ,000 votes.

46:22She spent the nine days leading up to today where there's been in-person early voting traveling to all 21 counties. She had former President Barack Obama out with her on the trail on Saturday. And when you hear from Democrats, they tell you they do see signs of some Democratic enthusiasm. One Democratic insider told me if Democrats show up to vote, Mikey Sherrill is going to win this race. There has been criticism of the way she has campaigned. Some people have seen it as somewhat lackluster. There's been some notes that she talks about Donald Trump all the time. She does speak about it, though, in a somewhat nuanced way.

46:59She's not talking largely about a defense of democracy, threats to democracy. When she talks about President Trump, she talks about issues of affordability and the economy, that he has not delivered on the promises, and that Jack Cittarelli, the Republican, has tied himself 100 percent to President Trump. And when you see the new CNN poll out today, you might see the reason behind that strategy from Mikey Sherrill. Donald Trump at an all-time low in his second term now in terms of approval, an all-time low in terms of both terms he served, in terms of disapproval right now. The Sherrill campaign is hoping that that helps push Democratic voters to the polls tomorrow in this final push.

47:40Jake. All right, Berman. Thanks so much. Arlette, Cittarelli does have the coveted Trump endorsement, unlike his Republican counterpart running for governor of Virginia. How heavily could that impact this race for good or for ill? Well, Jake, Republican Jack Cittarelli is hoping to build on those gains that President Trump made here in New Jersey last year. This is Cittarelli's third time running for governor. And in his last campaign against the Democratic incumbent Governor Phil Murphy, he came within about three points of beating Murphy, which is a surprise to many people here in New Jersey.

48:16So what he is hoping to do is replicate his own gains that he made in that race, but also build on the momentum that President Trump had here in New Jersey. Now, Cittarelli has not always been a Trump lover. In the past, he had criticized Trump as a charlatan. But in this campaign, he fully embraced the president. And that is something that Democrat Mikey Sherrill has really tried to work to turn into a negative for Cittarelli. She's argues to voters that Cittarelli will not do enough to stand up to President Donald Trump and that he'll continue the policies coming out of this Republican administration.

48:49But I spoke earlier today with 88-year-old Marilyn Petruccelli, and she said that she is not buying Cheryl's argument. Take a listen. I think that Cittarelli is just going to be a yes man to Trump, and will just do whatever Trump wants. I don't believe that. I believe he's going to help us. I really do. Like, they said that about Trump, that he was no good, and look what he did. And any Democrat says that to me, I got a couple words for him, which I can't say on the microphone. Now, President Trump will hold a teller rally for Chittarelli tonight, but he has not campaigned on the ground here in the Garden State.

49:24I asked Chittarelli earlier today if he's worried President Trump will be a liability for him at all, and he told me not one bit. Jake. All right. Arlette Saenz and John Berman in the Garden State, New Jersey. Thanks so much. For many, tomorrow's races are going to be a referendum on President Trump. Yes or no. And as a new CNN poll today reveals Americans' opinion of Trump is, well, not so great. His approval rating is the lowest yet of his second term and his disapproval, 63%, is the worst of either Trump term. One point worse than it was when he left office in 2021 right after January 6th. Let's bring in CNN's Kaitlin Collins at the White House.

50:06And Kaitlin, President Trump just posted about New York's mayoral candidates. What did he have to say? Yeah, Jake, if I had put us in a time machine and told you five years ago that Donald Trump was endorsing Andrew Cuomo over the Republican candidate for mayor in New York City. You might not have believed me, but that is exactly what Donald Trump has just done, with the president making it very clear in explicit terms in a post on Truth Social just a few moments ago saying that, yes, that he believes that New Yorkers should go out and vote for Andrew Cuomo in tomorrow's race. He says whether you personally like him or not, you really have no choice.

50:40You must vote for him and hope he does a fantastic job. The president says he is capable of it. Momdani is not. Obviously, the president saying that on Truth Social is something that the Momdani campaign, Jake, has been arguing for weeks, that Trump was backing Andrew Cuomo in this race. This is basically a gift to the Momdani campaign just 24 hours before this race comes to a close, though it is after some 750 ,000 New Yorkers have already voted Jake. But this is how the president is looking at this. And the other thing that stood out to me from his post is not just him saying explicitly that voters should go out and vote for Andrew Cuomo over Curtis Sliwa in this race, who the president was talking about his beret that he wears, saying he looks better not wearing it.

51:22But the president also saying that if they vote for Curtis Sliwa in this race, that is essentially a vote for Zoran Mamdani. So obviously, Jake seeing that there and the president is also arguing that he is going to withhold federal front federal funds from New York. If Zoran Mamdani wins this race, he said, Jake, unless the minimum amount which is required, it's not really clear what the president is referencing there. But he is making clear that should Zoran Mamdani win this race tomorrow night, it is going to be setting up a battle already with this White House when it comes to federal funding, something that we have seen the president in this second term be eager to use and to hold back.

52:01All right, Caitlin Collins at the White House. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. And as always, do not miss Caitlin on her show, The Source with Caitlin Collins. Tonight, she's going to be joined by Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi of New York to dig into the mayoral race. Suozzi has not endorsed the Democratic candidate, Mamdani. That's tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN. And of course, tomorrow, tune in for CNN's coverage of all of these key races. Election night 2025. It starts tomorrow at 5 p.m. Eastern on CNN. You can also stream it live on the CNN app. Breaking news tonight, a just released bipartisan proposal to extend those Obamacare subsidies that are at the heart of the Democrats' government shutdown fight.

52:43One of the Republican members of Congress who's part of that deal joins me straight ahead. Plus, what investigators revealed today about four of the suspects in the Louvre heist as those$100 million in jewels remain missing.

53:05E &R Politics lead the very latest on the government shutdown fight now on day 34. Today, the White House says it will provide some food stamp benefits this month, but only half of what SNAP recipients normally get. approximately 42 million Americans are not getting any of their food assistance benefits because of this shutdown. Here now is Republican Congressman Don Bacon from Nebraska. Thanks for joining us, Congressman. So Democrats say they voted to shut down the government. And their main argument is that they're doing so because the Obamacare subsidies need to be extended. They're going to expire at the end of the year.

53:40And this is their only way to force Republicans to the negotiating table. You and Democratic Congressman Tom Swasey of New York just released a bipartisan set of principles that could resolve some of those issues. Tell us more. What do you both agree on? Well, first of all, most Republicans did not want to see the COVID era ACA tax credits that expire on 31 December just fully expire. Some wanted to do a one year extension. People like me wanted to see some reforms. And so it's a little bit of a fallacy. Most Republicans do not want to see premiums go up for everybody. But what Tom Swazi and I did and also Jeff Hurd and Josh Gottheimer, the four of us, two Republicans, two Democrats, we wanted to find some basic principles that we can agree on to show that this is not that hard.

54:28First of all, we think we need income caps. Right now, you could earn$800 ,000 and get these COVID-era tax credits put towards your ACA. So we want to put some caps on it. I believe around$200 ,000 should be about right, and then they should maybe stagger off. But that's negotiable, what those precise numbers are. But we think around$200 ,000 and then taper off those tax credits. Secondly, these tax credits should go directly to help offset premiums. Right now, a lot of these tax credits are sent to companies, and they're not directly attributed to people's premiums. and we want to make sure they're helping out individuals lower their premiums.

55:09And then if we could do that, we think we should do a two-year extension. And that's our framework. And if we could get a two-year extension, then maybe we could work on some of the more underlying problems of ACA and why it's so expensive. But most Republicans don't want to see these tax credits just fall off and just drop totally. And I know that this is the Democrats' priority on this shutdown. So we think this is reachable. Have you shared this bipartisan agreement on principles with Speaker Johnson? What have you heard from Republican leadership? I've done more with the problem solvers and I would say folks that are negotiating.

55:47Frankly, I think it'd be better for me to work this through the problem solvers and people who want to negotiate. Because in the end, we got to get an agreement within the appropriations committees. right now i have listened very closely to speaker johnson and also a majority leader soon i know what their key concerns are one of them is there should be caps on income the other one is that should go directly towards people's premiums so you can tell that i've helped structure this agreement keeping in mind what the concerns were from john thune and mike johnson so i've tried to be responsive to what I think their red lines are.

56:28And so I've listened to them, but I wanted to lead with our bipartisan group and hopefully break the logjam in the negotiations, particularly in the Senate. You talked about in those two years, assuming this were to become law, that extension of spending some time to look at why premiums are going up, especially under Obamacare. President Trump was on CBS's 60 Minutes last night. Here's what he said when asked about his plan to replace Obamacare, which a promise he made in 2015, and nothing's come of it. Take a listen. We can make it much less expensive for people and give them much better health care.

57:07And I'd be willing to work with the Democrats on it. The problem is they want to give money to prisoners, to drug dealers, to all these millions of people that were allowed to come in with an open border from Biden and nobody can do that. So obviously, as I said, President Trump's been saying for a decade that he wants to replace Obamacare, but he's never presented any sort of plan. Is there a Republican plan? Well, there's a rudiment plan that we worked on seven years ago, and it's this. And I think if we would have stuck to what I'm going to say, I think we could have got some of a compromise with the Democrats on this.

57:46The reason that healthcare is so expensive today on the ACA plans is that all of the high risk folks who are struggling with various health issues are put into the main pool with everybody else. And what happens is a lot of the healthy people, because their rates went up, got out of it and they didn't even get the insurance. So what that did is anybody that's on ACA, their rates skyrocketed and more and more healthy people were getting off, raising the rates even higher. So what we have to do is find a way to lower the costs of those that are high risk and directly help with their premiums to lower their premiums down.

58:23And that would allow the healthy people without any risks or any conditions to get back into the ACA plans. And that would lower overall premiums. But we're going to have to realize if you're coming with a precondition, it's going to probably take government taxpayer support to keep those premiums down. That's just a fact of life. It sounds like you've got some work to do. Perhaps you shouldn't retire after all. Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska, thanks so much. Always appreciate it. Continued fallout within the GOP from Tucker Carlson's interview with Nick Fuentes, an anti-Semitic Hitler praising misogynist, racist influencer.

58:59This has caused prominent Jewish lawyer to quit the National Task Force to combat anti-Semitism. He's going to explain why next.

59:14A Law and Justice lead now. Federal authorities say that the two Michigan men charged for allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired Halloween attack said in online messages that their goal was to replicate the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks that killed at least 130 people. These new images released by a federal court in Michigan today show the suspects, Mahmed Ali and Mahjad Mahmoud, both 20 years old, at a gun store and a gun range. Agents recovered three AR-15 style rifles, more than 1 ,600 rounds of ammunition, four handguns, tactical vests and more. The lawyer who represents one of the suspects says there was no plot of any kind.

59:54Let's discuss with CNN legal and national security analyst Kerry Cordero. So, Carrie, the alleged plot was uncovered when an FBI agent infiltrated an online chat room. The criminal complaint even accuses them of scouting possible LGBTQ plus friendly attack locations. Now that we're seeing more evidence, more details, what do you make of the strength of the case? I mean, it's early still, but we knew nothing last week when we first heard about it. What do you make of what we know? Yeah, so I went through the whole criminal complaint and there's a lot here. and it looks like the FBI conducted an investigation over a period of time and had a lot of different sources of information.

1:00:34So first of all, in terms of the timing, it looks to me like they really had no choice but to wrap it up when they did. They had suspects who were purchasing weapons over a period of a couple months, purchasing large volumes of ammunition over a period of a couple months, purchasing tactical gear, going out to shooting ranges and then coupled with communications that they had and they were obtaining the communications. The FBI was obtaining the communications through a confidential human source, through an FBI undercover agent, through other subpoenas and other legal process that they could serve, through a variety of communication mechanisms that a group was using.

1:01:15So they had a lot of information and once they started to have the weapons, the ammunition, potential timing that they thought was tied to Halloween, I think it makes sense that they disrupted it. Let's turn to another case. The Justice Department said that Trump's personal vendetta against former FBI Director James Comey did not lead to his indictment. In a court filing, the Justice Department urged the judge not to throw out charges against Comey over Trump's social media post in which he clearly called for Pam Bondi, the attorney general, to go after Comey as well as two others. What do you what do you make of that argument?

1:01:51Well, vindictive prosecution is a hard case to make on behalf. Very seldom accepted. Defendant. If there was any case that sort of teased up the issues, this might be the one. Obviously, extremely high profile. So many public statements on the part of the president. And then there's the piece of who actually took the case, the fact that the U.S. attorney in the eastern district of Virginia was forced to resign, resigns on a Friday night. Then you've got an acting U.S. attorney who is appointed by the president, not drawn from the Office of Prosecutors, but instead drawn from the White House. Yeah, she's a loyalist.

1:02:34So there's a lot of information that the defense can bring forward in this case. Again, a hard case to bring, but if they're going to be successful, this seems like a logical case to do. As long as I hear. I mean, this is just like, this is me with lots of questions for you about lots of legal matters. I got another one for you. You know, I ran into you at a high school football game, so you know I'm interested in this one. the U.S. military has killed at least 64 people in 15 strikes that have destroyed 16 suspected drug boats in an effort to curb the flow of drugs into the United States from South America.

1:03:08The Trump administration told Congress that the U.S. is now in an armed conflict against drug cartels, and they say that the ability to engage in these lethal strikes without any judicial review is due to a classified Justice Department legal opinion. Do you think there is sufficient legal justification for this, at least as far as we know? And if not, is there anything that can be done to stop the Trump administration? So on that last question, I don't think so, unless Congress were to act in a bipartisan way. And given the current situation, that seems pretty unlikely. Look, in this particular circumstance, as a national security lawyer, I can imagine circumstances and facts that would be able to get an administration to the arguments that they're trying to make.

1:04:01But in this case, the administration hasn't made those arguments. And what they have to get to is they have to demonstrate, based on their own arguments, that there is an armed conflict with these cartels that they are doing the strikes against. they have not articulated that in any public way. And so as a matter of constitutional law, while a president and an executive has a very broad amount of authority as commander-in-chief, under international law, the strikes are supposed to be necessary. They're supposed to be proportional. They are supposed to be part of an armed conflict. And the administration has not made that case publicly.

1:04:37And it doesn't sound like, based on reporting, that they've even made that case to members of Congress who sit on the relevant committees who are supposed to receive this information. Kerry Cordero, thanks so much for your expertise as always. A three-hour wait to get through airport security? Three hours? That's the harsh reality at one major airport today as the government shutdown causes even more TSA staffing shortages. That story's next.

1:05:07We're back with our politics lead. Roll the election music, please.

1:05:14Election Day kicks off tomorrow, though. We're going to be following major races in New York for mayor and New Jersey and Virginia for governor. There's also a bunch of mayor's races. And there is one down in Miami that we're watching. It's a 13-way race for mayor that's rife with legal entanglements and personal feuds. And CNN's Randy Kaye is here to explain. Randy, walk us through this. Yeah, this is certainly one to watch, Jake. 13 candidates vying for this part-time job of Miami city mayor. This is a nonpartisan race, so the campaign websites don't say what the party affiliation is and the ballot won't.

1:05:48But the voters will recognize some of the names that are on the ballot, namely Xavier Suarez. He's 76. He is actually the father of the current mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez. Also 70-year-old Joe Carollo is running. And in fact, Carollo and Suarez are both former mayors of Miami. They faced off against each other back in 1997. And that race had quite a bit of drama in it, because Suarez actually won. But a judge said that there was widespread fraud, and he invalidated Suarez's win and handed the mayor's office to Carollo. Now, Suarez was not accused of any wrongdoing. Carollo, though, has had some trouble on his own.

1:06:24Two years ago, as city commissioner, a federal jury found Carollo liable for$63 million. A couple of businessmen, Jake, had come forward and said that he was targeting their bars and restaurants for inspections, sort of a political retribution campaign is what they called it. And that ruling was upheld in an appeals court. Now, another candidate worth mentioning is Alex de la Portilla. He was suspended, actually, in 2023 from the city's commission, accused of bribery and money laundering. And those charges were later dropped. It's also something to watch. Eileen Higgins, she's the commissioner for Miami-Dade County.

1:07:01And if she wins, Jake, she would be the first woman to be the mayor of the city of Miami. Now, if any of these candidates win more than 50 percent, they move forward. But if none of these candidates win more than 50 percent, there will be a runoff between the top two on December 9th. And, Jake, just very quickly, the issues in this race, if you watch the debates, which certainly got pretty fiery, it's the dysfunction in the Miami government, also housing issues, infrastructure, so-called frivolous spending. And as one candidate put it, City Hall has become a joke and a circus. Jake. All right, Randy Kay, thanks so much.

1:07:36Also in our politics lead, 34 days and still Republicans and Democrats are divided on how to come together to pass that government funding bill. And as lawmakers keep fighting, flight delays keep piling up. At Houston's airport today, lines snake through the terminal due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. Across the country, yesterday alone, nearly 6 ,000 flights were delayed. Remember, we're just three weeks out from historically the biggest travel week of the year. My panel joins me now. So, Karen Finney, will this be what gets Democrats to the table? I think what gets Democrats to the table is a president willing to have a real conversation and maybe let's put some pen to paper on health care costs.

1:08:18And until we get to that and this whole, you know, it's been interesting to see, particularly in our poll and a slew of other polls, frankly, that came out over the weekend, the dissatisfaction with Trump and the Republicans around the shutdown is holding. I mean, people are holding Republicans accountable. They're angry about costs. They're angry about the direction of the country. We saw last week in a suburb of Illinois where, you know, you saw a man being detained by a Border Patrol agent, hit in the head with his knee on the guy's back. People are saying this is not what we voted for. This is not the chaos and pain that we thought we were going to get.

1:08:59So there was a presentation last week by some Democratic pollsters to House Democrats. And basically the argument was we're winning the argument. Democrats want us to be having this fight. More voters in general think that we should be fighting to lower health care costs than think we should be reopening the government. We are scoring points when it comes to partisan alignment into which party is fighting for lower costs more. Is there an incentive structure for this shutdown to end anytime soon? I don't think so. And I think from I'm not a Democrat, but from the perspective of Democrats, I think they've seen a slew of polling throughout this year that have indicated more Democratic voters and Democratic leaning independents want to see Democrats in power fight more against Republicans and President Trump specifically.

1:09:56That said, I'm thinking about midterms of next year. We have our base. there's some enthusiasm gaps between Republican voters and Democratic voters. We got to increase those numbers. But I'm worried about independents. And there's enough data that's starting to suggest that independent voters, even those that are sort of in the middle but leaning towards the right, aren't necessarily satisfied with what they're seeing. I don't want to give a strategic advantage to my Democratic friends, specifically on health care. And so I think Republicans should probably consider reassessing our strategy on this point.

1:10:30But even in our own poll, independence, I mean, that was a huge move that we saw are some of the biggest numbers of voters who are dissatisfied overall with Trump's, the way Trump is handling the economy, not just health care, but the economy, the way, you know, whether it's immigration, I mean, you name it. And look, we're seeing this, we have an election day tomorrow, we don't have to cue the music, but look, we're also obviously it's having an impact on the Virginia governor's race, again, because you have so many federal employees for whom, I mean, normally in a governor's race, people are looking for something a little bit different from their governor than a legislator.

1:11:05But in this instance, it is about, you got to protect us from what this guy is doing. I mean, and that's actually part of what you're also seeing in New Jersey, where you have a Democratic governor who has been trying, and particularly when the snap conversation where you had Democratic governors saying, we're trying to figure out how we can make up the gap while this lawsuit was playing itself out. Jake, if I can quickly, I certainly take a lot of Karen's points with a lot of legitimacy. I've seen a lot of the same polling. However, Democrats just had an autopsy report that came out. And I've been reviewing that thing for a presentation that I have coming up in a couple of weeks.

1:11:37And there's some fascinating data. Democrats are viewed as too liberal. Conservatives, Republicans, even Trump isn't viewed as too conservative. Democrats as a whole, There's a net negative that's higher than the net negatives for Republicans. And so for me as a strategist, I'm still seeing opportunity for the Republican Party, for Republican candidates to turn this ship around that can indeed sustain at a minimum some type of competitive advantages going into midterms, not to mention Texas and North Carolina with the redistricting. Yeah. So a new CNN poll asked Americans if Trump's policies have helped or hindered the U.S.

1:12:12economy. And 61 percent say that they've worsened. So one of the things that's interesting about this, the last 30 whatever days, 33 days, I lost track. It's the second largest. 37, 34, whatever. It's a lot. Democrats have been much more on message than Republicans. The Democratic message is we need to bring down health care costs. Republicans are like, oh, they're trying to do this with trans and they're trying to do this illegal immigrants and blah, blah, blah. And I hate them and they're commies. It's just I haven't said this in a while. Democrats, I think, are beating you guys on this shutdown.

1:12:48And the polling bears that out. But also just like the Democrats are very on brand right now. Like they're all saying the same thing about lowering health care costs. And it's no wonder that, according to the presentation made last week, there are these advantages being made in terms of which party is actually fighting for lower costs. Look, I think the Republican message has to be a clear one and not so convoluted. And it has to be Republicans want lower costs for Americans. Republicans want health care for Americans. But that's why Trump was elected and he hasn't done it. That's right. But again, with the emphasis on Americans, you just highlighted the point that a lot of Republicans have talked about illegal immigration and how Republicans have argued we don't want non-Americans getting health care.

1:13:28This becomes a very complicated argument for the average layperson. I would change that and simply say, look, we want health care for the people who deserve to have health care. And we're willing to work with Democrats where we can on that point. Well, but then you're saying, so who deserves it if you're if you're too poor to be able to afford it? Do you do deserve it or not? Look, I think there's a couple of things. Number one, Democrats have historically enjoyed an advantage when it comes to health care. So picking this fight was intentional. I mean, they saw that this was going to be a strong argument to make, both because of the fact that we are now in open enrollment when people are literally seeing.

1:14:05I was looking at my costs over the weekend. And it's not just Obamacare. It's health insurance for anyone. For anyone. And we've and, you know, listen, people forget it is one of the leading costs. One of the leading reasons people go bankrupt is their health care costs. And you just heard we had Republican Congressman Don Bacon on talking about how Republicans need to work on this. Of course, he's an anomaly. He's in the Problem Solvers Caucus. But still, I'm talking about everyone. Stick around. We'll be right back.

1:14:36And our politics lead more GOP on GOP backlash following Tucker Carlson's interview with anti-Semitic influencer Nick Fuentes. The Heritage Foundation's defense of Tucker Carlson led a prominent Jewish lawyer to quit the Heritage Foundation's national task force to combat anti-Semitism. That lawyer posted yesterday, quote, I cannot serve under someone who thinks Nazis are worth debating. Here is my resignation letter. And here now is the author of that letter, Mark Goldfeder. Mark, thanks so much for joining us. So you are just one of many prominent voices we've heard really, really criticizing the Heritage Foundation as well as Carlson and Fuentes.

1:15:19The president of the Heritage Foundation, Kevin Roberts, he denounced Nick Fuentes' views, but he defended Tucker Carlson for giving him a platform. In your resignation letter, you wrote, quote, free speech protects the right to speak. It does not compel anyone to provide a megaphone for a Nazi, unquote. So explain for some people out there who might not understand, why is this not an issue about free speech? Sure. Well, what Roberts did was he translated a lot of issues. First, he translated criticism with anti-syndromic. Anyone is allowed to say whatever they want about the same individual. Sometimes it's anti-syndromic, sometimes it isn't.

1:15:58You should call it out when it is. But to pretend that what Nick Fuentes was saying when he asked for the death penalty for a profidious excuse was somehow criticism of Israel is completely disingenuous. Then, to your point, he conflated cancellation with not giving a platform to a Nazi. Free speech that anyone can say whatever they want. But free speech also increased the right freedom of association and the freedom not to associate. So everybody, self-included, and it should be heard, is free to walk away from Tucker. All right, Mark, unfortunately, we're having audio problems with you, but we thank you so much for coming on.

1:16:40Let's bring this conversation back out to the panel, if we can. The Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro used more than 40 minutes of his show today to slam Carlson, to slam Fuentes, and to slam Kevin Roberts from the Heritage Foundation. Here's just some of what he had to say. If Republicans decide to cower before the likes of neo-Nazis and their propagandizers, they deserve to lose. And they will lose. Neo-Nazis and their propagandizers are not Republicans. They're not America first. They're not MAGA. They sure as hell aren't conservative. I will not stand by while it is handed over to those who betray the most fundamental principles I've spent my entire life defending and advocating.

1:17:22That is a path to defeat and a path to moral oblivion. So there you have Shapiro, Schermichael, making the argument not only is this immoral, but this is going to hurt Republicans in the end. Do you agree? I agree 100%. I watched that earlier today. I know, Ben, I was happy to see a number of conservatives sharing that on social media and even via email chains and text chains. That said, these ideas that are represented by Fuentes and the ideas that Tucker, at least platforms, because I don't know what his personal thoughts are, but he's certainly given these folks a huge megaphone, are not representative of the vast majority of the American people.

1:17:57And so what you're doing to the party by platforming these ideals, you're making moderate-leaning conservatives. You're making independent-leaning conservative voters. I ostracize effectively by saying I don't have a place in this party. The values that I hold are not belonging to the Republican Party of yesterday. And so I think if you're looking at this electorally speaking, you don't want to ostracize people you need by feeling they lack a sense of belonging. You want to ostracize the people who should not be in the party. So one other thing, though, Karen, and Shapiro and others will note that this is a problem on the right, but it is also a problem on the left.

1:18:35And there have been a lot of Jewish New Yorkers who have expressed real issues with the man that is likely to be the next mayor of New York, Zoran Mamdani, and their view that he has mainstreamed anti-Israel and anti-Semitic ideas, such as globalize the Intifada, which a lot of people think is calling for violence against Jews, etc. Do you see this as a bipartisan problem? Not in the way that you're describing. I think looking at what's happened in New York, you're right. There are people who have some concerns. And I think Mom Donnie has tried to do a lot of work since the primary to address those concerns.

1:19:13I think he intends to do more around that if he is elected and make it more about a conversation about making sure New Yorkers feel safe, no matter what your background is or no matter what your religious background is, no matter what your skin color is. But I think we also have we can't look away from the fact that many of the same people were perfectly fine when Donald Trump hosted Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago some time ago and didn't really have a problem with it, didn't really say much about it. Not to mention what we saw in those text messages that were made public not too long ago from some college Republicans, some of whom were actually elected.

1:19:50So I do think the Republican Party has to take a hard look at what it's platforming and what it's refusing to denounce. Karen and Michael, thanks so much. We'll be right back. And our sports lead fans crowded Los Angeles' downtown streets today for the Dodgers championship parade. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend, becoming baseball's first back-to-back champions in 25 years. Voters head to the polls tomorrow in critical races across the country, and we're going to be covering them all live on CNN. Election Night 2025 starts at 5 p.m. Eastern tonight. And right now, I hand it over to Aaron Burnett.

1:20:28Aaron Burnett out front starts now. I'll see you tomorrow at 5.

1:20:46New episodes, Saturdays at 9 on CNN and next day on the CNN app.