Trump Rallies in NC With Two Weeks to Go

0:0118 days out from the midterm elections, President Trump is in another state that he's won repeatedly and some of these races are getting extremely ugly. I'm Kaitlin Collins and this is a special edition of The Source Countdown to the Midterms.

0:28Two weeks from tonight and the campaigning will be over and the vote counting will begin. The voting, of course, is already well underway across much of the country. And our latest CNN tally shows that more than 11 million people have already cast their ballots. That includes more than half a million in the state of North Carolina, where President Trump is tonight for his second visit in just over a month. And right now, the latest Elon University poll shows that the Democrat, Roy Cooper, has a 13-point lead in the race to flip a Republican Senate seat. Early voting data right now shows that registered Democrats are casting more than twice as many ballots as Republicans are so far.

1:06And with that as the backdrop, the president is pleading with his base not to sit this one out. I gotta show I'm all men, we're all men, we're all men, we're women, we're whatever the hell we are. But I know one thing, there's only two of us, right? There's not seven of us. There's not six of us. I'm studying his body. I've never studied the body of a man before. It's not my thing. Nothing wrong with it, of course. Nothing. I always proceeded by saying nothing wrong, but it's never been my thing, to be honest with you. But I looked at his ass.

1:50And then I looked at his legs. And I said, his ass is like... It's like a pile of muscle. I'm working like a dog.

2:03And I love being with you. Because in the other ones, you know, the other ones, when I ran, it was great. Because we got 50%, almost 50 % more votes. And we won everything. We won all the, we won the Senate, we won everything. But when I wasn't running, I didn't really campaign. I let other people campaign. I figured, that's it. What did I know? I hadn't been doing this that long, right? But this time, so I've done like about 10 rallies in about eight days. And now I'm scheduled to do, I think I'm even scheduled to come back here in another week. I come back here for my man. But so we have like 15 days and I'm doing about 18 rallies.

2:51That's work. As on the road in North Carolina, I should note that we want you to join our conversations that we're going to have here on The Source tonight about the midterm elections. If you have questions about what's going on in any of the races, not just in North Carolina, you can submit them right now at cnn.com slash engage politics. We're going to be taking a look at those questions. Our sources are going to answer some of them on air tonight. CNN.com slash engage politics. Of course, one state that is not on the president's current travel plans is that of New Hampshire, even though it's in our top 10 Senate seats that are most likely to flip and one of the few places where Republicans are hoping to pick up a seat for the Senate.

3:36The Republican nominee there, John Sununu, is out with a closing message that might explain why the president has so far stayed away. The way Chris Pappas tells it, I'm President Trump's long-lost son. I've never even met the man. When the president's policies are bad for New Hampshire, I'll oppose them. Just like I oppose the war in Iran and the trade war with Canada. That's New Hampshire Independent. Quote, I've never even met the man. It's a Republican who is in a tight Senate race, who is saying what the president says and what he often does to other people. Those same issues that you just heard Sununu mention that he opposes there are also the ones that are driving up prices, which is something the president addressed in the Oval Office today.

4:29You know, when people are unhappy with the gasoline, I hate to sound trivial, but they say it themselves. It's a big price, but actually it's a small price to pay for not letting Iran have a nuclear weapon, and they will never have a nuclear weapon. Now, while the war the president started continues, the president is also under intense scrutiny about the other one that he promised to end if he was elected. Even some top Republicans are demanding answers tonight about whether the administration is actively throttling Ukraine's efforts to defend itself. That's because as Russia is continuing its relentless attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, Ukraine has accused the Trump administration of limiting the intelligence since it shares with them, something that the United States government, I should note, has denied.

5:18And today, Ukraine's President Zelensky said that intelligence sharing is working, yet again, as Ukraine also continues to say that either somebody at the White House or at Elon Musk's SpaceX is interfering with the Starlink internet service that Ukrainian forces rely on to repel those incoming Russian attacks. Was it the Trump administration? Was it Elon Musk? Was it a technical glitch? as the Secretary of State said. The answer is we don't really know tonight. What we do know is how the president feels about Ukraine, as today he was lamenting Russia's strategy when it invaded. We've given a lot to Ukraine.

5:57We've gotten absolutely nothing back except grief, death, tremendous monetary loss. We've given incredible amounts of equipment and military Primarily military equipment, but equipment of all kinds. And it's time. I gave them javelins when the stupid general for Russia, very stupid gentleman, they had a thousand tanks riding up a concrete highway. They would have been in Ukraine in four hours going maximum tank speed, which is 48 miles an hour to be exact. Nothing to stop them. The war would have been over in one day. And this very stupid general, I have no idea who he is. I doubt he's still with us.

6:45I doubt he's still with me. He decided to hang a right onto the farmland and then take a left and go up to Kiev. And rather than staying on the highway, the concrete highway, perfectly good highway where they were doing very nicely, would have been there in three and a half, four hours. and the whole war would have ended. We start tonight with the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren. And thank you, Senator, for being here. You're a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Can I first get your take about who you believe is responsible for the disruptions of what is the military version, the encrypted version of Starlink that Ukraine uses?

7:31Well, partly we'd like to know exactly who is responsible for what happened. If it is one man, Elon Musk, who is dictating our foreign policy, then he puts the United States at enormous risk. He's the one who decides whether or not Ukraine out there fighting on the front lines to protect its democracy lives or dies. No, we should not have one man in that position. And if Donald Trump is the one who made this decision, then I will just say that's one more reason we need a Democratic majority in the House and the Senate so that we can actually put some constraints on Donald Trump so that we can investigate and get to the bottom of this.

8:18Two more years of an unconstrained Donald Trump and two more years of an Elon Musk who does whatever he wants to do. It's going to be an America that's going to have a hard time surviving. Well, I mean, the Wall Street Journal is reporting tonight that it was they say Elon Musk, who ordered the Starlink slowdown that blindsided Ukraine, they said some U.S. officials say Elon Musk acted unilaterally and that Trump did not specifically order any retribution against Ukraine. They also cited another person who says that he talked to senior administration officials, including the president, before imposing a new speed cap, which of course is what Ukraine says made it harder to evade Russian missiles.

9:00Do you think that there's any way that there could be restrictions to Star Shield, which is this program, without the Pentagon knowing about it? Look, this is the problem. Elon Musk wants to be able to run his outfit however he wants to run it. He wants billions of dollars in government contracts. And then Elon Musk wants to call all the shots. Now, look, he wants to sell equipment to the United States. Then it's the United States government through its elected officials who make those decisions. But Elon Musk thinks that he's got a way to wire around that. He has already contributed a third of a billion dollars to these midterm elections, hoping that he can prop up just enough Republicans and Democrats that no one will challenge Elon Musk's ability to do whatever it is that Elon Musk wants to do.

9:57And I just got to say it again, that is a real threat to the security and safety of the United States of America. Speaking of Elon Musk, we recently learned that he has contributed so far $276 million to Republicans in these midterm elections alone. Also today, Michael Bloomberg's team detailed his plans to spend$80 million to support Democrats. You're someone who has said billionaire donors should not be in politics. Given what you've said, do you want Michael Bloomberg's help here? Look, what I want is to get this kind of money out of politics. Right now, the Republicans know that their only chance, as they see it, to be able to hang on to the House and the Senate and some of these governors' mansions is to be able to just drown people in money to be able to run all the ads on TV, to lie, to cheat, and that there won't be any opportunity for Democrats to be able to respond.

11:05We need a very different system. And part of that is we can start by at least stopping corporate contributions to political campaigns. We could require much more aggressive and immediate disclosures. Look, we need to push back because this campaign, this 2026 midterm, really is about the money or the people. Because the Democrats have got the people on their side. The Republicans have got the money. And they think if they can spend it, they can maintain control of this country. And I sure hope they're wrong. Troy Jackson is the Democrat who's running against Susan Collins in Maine. This is what he said last week.

11:53I know that there's no billionaires funding me. So I'll give you the report tomorrow and then we'll talk about it on Thursday. A report that was subsequently released by his campaign shows he has accepted donations from at least four billionaires. I mean, he says there there are no billionaires funding me. Do you think that he needs to address that contradiction? So look, really, that's where we're going to make the focus. So Susan Collins has all this money coming in against her. Elon Musk has come in and put, I don't know, what are the numbers now? How many tens of millions of dollars? And we're going to say, oops, Troy Jackson may have gotten one of his numbers wrong.

12:36He may have gotten contributions from four billionaires. I want to get all the billionaires out. I want to make this really clear. I don't think they ought to be able to control elections. But understand this, it is the Republicans who are outspending Democrats like crazy. And it's not Republicans who are small dollar donors. It's billionaires and a trillionaire who think that they can just back up dump truck loads full of money and they will be able to buy a Senate seat in Maine. They think they'll be able to buy Senate seats all around this country. And I think there are a whole lot of people who just say, no, I am sick of that.

13:19I do not want it. I do not want candidates who answer to a handful of billionaires. That's a big part of why so much is broken in this country. It's that billionaires and insiders for Donald Trump are calling all the shots. And I think that a lot of folks want to see a House and a Senate where the people who are there are actually working for working people, trying to build out some opportunities for them, not just help the billionaires become trillionaires. You've been out campaigning a bunch. I mean, you've been in six states, I think, in just the last two weeks alone. We're looking and we've been tracking Democratic momentum.

13:59We'll see, obviously, if it pays off and if it's a real thing in two weeks from tonight when the votes are counted. But when you look at the candidates in North Carolina, Ohio, Alaska, Georgia, where the Democrats are doing well, we're seeing different numbers in Michigan or Maine that seem to be within the margin of error. You're backing the two candidates in both of those states. Why do you think that is in those two races? You know, look, I think what we're seeing is enthusiasm on the ground. And I get it. There's a lot of money out there. There's a lot of money that the Republicans have used to flood the zone.

14:37But at the end of the day, when I've been campaigning in both Maine and Michigan, I see crowds that are electrified by the opportunity to take their country back. I see people who say Donald Trump promised us that on day one he would lower costs. Those were his words. On day one he would lower costs. And they say the cost of gas is up, the cost of heating oil is up, the cost of groceries is up, the cost of housing is up, the cost of health care is up, the cost of utilities is up. And it's all because of policies that Donald Trump has followed. People are angry. They're angry about a war halfway around the world.

15:24They are angry about cuts to health care. They are angry about an illegal tariff war. good grief with Canada and angry about a president who's cozying up to Russia. The midterms are a chance for people to go to the polls and say, I have had enough. And boy, I just got to say, I'm out there talking with folks. I stand there with Abdul. I stand there with Troy. And I see the faces. I hear the voices of the people who say, we're going to take our country back. We're going to take it away from the billionaires. We're going to take it away from the corruption of Donald Trump. And we're going to make this country work.

16:09Well, given that, what's your prediction for what happens two weeks from tonight as someone who has been out there? Look, right now, from what I see, I think it's going to be a night where people get to celebrate. They got to celebrate because their voices were heard. They got to celebrate. Well, Democrats Democrats are Republicans. They used their power. Who it's going to be celebrating. I think it's going to be Democrats. Are you kidding? Look, you just heard in your clip Donald Trump telling people that he doesn't care about the fact that their costs are up. He doesn't care about the fact that he has made himself richer.

16:46He made$1.4 billion just on his crypto scam alone. He doesn't care that he gets a big fancy gold diamond ring and then turns around and lowers the tariffs for the diamond importers. He's happy with the corruption and he's happy to let the American people keep paying the price. And I think what we're seeing, I think why we're seeing so much enthusiasm, is how many people feel frustrated that they see that Donald Trump and Elon Musk are sure not working for them. They're sure not making their lives better. And that two weeks from tonight, they actually have a chance to have their voices heard, to put some constraints on Donald Trump, to get some Democrats in there whose job number one is going to be lower costs and stop that war halfway around the world.

17:42We shall see what the voters decide. Senator Elizabeth Warren, thank you for joining us here on The Source tonight. You bet. Up next, we have more on that shocking new Wall Street Journal report that Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of that crucial satellite communication system that Ukraine relies on. My next source is a congressman who is a leading Republican on the House Intelligence Committee and is going to respond to his thoughts on that and what else Trump said in the Oval Office about Ukraine today.

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20:05As we're two weeks away from the midterms, we are following some breaking news tonight. as just before we came on air, the Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk personally ordered the slowdown of that critical military-grade version of Starlink that is relied on by Ukraine on the battlefield. It's a decision that blindsided Kyiv and also sparked a lot of confusion inside the White House. According to the journal, one source, quote, claimed that Musk and Trump discussed the matter prior to the decision to throttle Starlink. Inside the administration, however, the journal also reports, Some U.S.

20:39officials said that Elon Musk acted unilaterally, that Trump did not order specifically any retribution against Ukraine. But another person in this report told the Journal that Musk talked to senior, multiple senior administration officials, including with the president, before imposing this new speed cap, which Ukrainian officials said had allowed Russian missiles to evade their defenses. Joining me tonight is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, who's spoken to Zelensky a lot, traveled to Ukraine, talked about this issue at length.

21:13And, Congressman, when you see this report, I wonder what your response is tonight. Is it clear to you who is responsible for this? Is it Elon Musk? Well, that's what the report says, but we got to investigate. Caitlin, I'm a career FBI agent. You know, when I read the report, I dig into it. We got to call the witnesses, got to bring them in, put them under oath and get to the bottom of it, because this is a very, very serious matter. It cannot be glossed over. We cannot just move past this. This is a serious, serious issue because lapsing Star Shield in that manner that costs human lives, there's got to be consequences to that.

21:54So my first reaction, Caitlin, when I read it, if it is in fact Mr. Musk that ordered this, that is likely a violation of the law because he has authority and decision-making authority over Starlink, the civilian commercial product, but not StarShield, which is a military-grade national security tool. So no civilian, no individual civilian should have any decision-making authority on how that's deployed. So that's what we need to get to the bottom of. And I promise you, Caitlin, I've spoken to several of my colleagues across the aisle over the past several days. there is a strong, strong resolve to immediately upon our return, get to the bottom of this through oversight.

22:36And there's got to be consequences, Caitlin. The executive branch of government does not have a dime of their own money in their own right. The taxpayer money is sent to them through the legislative branch. And there needs to be financial consequences to any agency or any agency head that had any part in this. So that could include putting Elon Musk under oath in your view? I think this is an investigation. You got to interview everybody. Yes. We heard from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth when he was asked about this today, because obviously these are questions everyone has. This was his answer to that reporter.

23:14You said the U.S. policy on Ukraine hasn't changed. Does that include Star Shield coverage? Has that been pulled back? We haven't pulled anything back. There are terms of service that ultimately need to be complied to, And that's where Star League has the option to make those decisions. But nothing's changed from our view. We haven't made any directives or anything like that. And we wish the Ukraine's obviously success. Based on what you know, is there any way there could be restrictions to Star Shield without the Pentagon knowing about it? No. I mean, there shouldn't be. If there is, that's a major, major process flaw that also needs to be addressed, investigated and fixed.

23:55But Caitlin, these answers are wildly insufficient. You know, there's a lot of finger pointing, a lot of people saying, well, not me. Okay, if not you, then who? Right? They have the ability inside the executive branch to determine where the problem was. Identify the person, identify the policy. If they're claiming it was a breakdown, where was a breakdown? If it was negligence, where was the negligence? If this was intentional, then who was it that made this decision? We have to get to the answer. to, we have to get to the bottom of it and we will. We absolutely will. There are a lot of people, Caitlin and Congress, myself at the very top of the list that are very, very strong supporters of NATO, of Ukraine and freedom, loving democracies across the world, especially when they're invaded by brutal dictatorships like Russia.

24:45We cannot equivocate. We cannot both sides of this. Ukraine is the victim here. Russia is the aggressor. Ukraine did not provoke anything. They're defending their own land. And we need to stand by them unequivocally and unapologetically. So it is heartbreaking for me personally, Caitlin. I lived in Ukraine. I was an FBI agent there. That was my last FBI assignment before leaving the FBI to run for Congress. And, you know, I grew very, very close to the people. I now chair the Ukraine caucus in Congress. And I am going to get to the bottom of this. And I have a lot of allies across the aisle, Democrat and Republican, who are going to make sure that we deal with this first thing.

25:23Do you think President Trump is equivocating on Ukraine and Russia right now? I think they all are. Every single person that I've heard asked this question in the administration has not given a sufficient answer. None of them. But even just on the war itself, I mean, the president said yesterday, Russia hasn't been doing that much lately. He meant fighting, but I mean, they're bombing Ukraine every single day. It's ridiculous, Caitlin. I think we all know that. The equivocation of moral equivalency is ridiculous. Ukraine is the victim here. Russia is the aggressor. Ukraine is our ally. Russia is the self-identified enemy of the United States.

26:08That's them saying that, Caitlin. They've declared the United States as their enemy. We cannot both sides this. We cannot equivocate, there has to be moral clarity here. And we're not getting that right now. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, thank you for joining us tonight. And we look forward to covering your investigation. You bet. Thanks. Up next, I mentioned race is getting uglier as we're getting closer to election day. Well, that race for governor in Ohio is basically what I'm talking about. There is a controversial new video and Vivek Ramoswamy's campaign is responding tonight. We'll show you what everyone's talking about right after a quick break.

26:57Tonight, one of the closest election battles that is happening this year is taking a really ugly turn with two weeks to go before the actual election day. That's because a new attack ad that is being pushed by Republicans features the estranged mother of Amy Acton, who is the Democrat running for the governor of Ohio against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. Now, Acton has previously shared that she hasn't actually seen her mother since she was 12 years old after her stepfather faced criminal charges for sexually abusing her. Amy Acton says their family was living in a tent at a campground outside Youngstown, Ohio at the time.

27:32And in this new video that came out today and everyone's been talking about, Donna Arthur urges voters not to support her daughter and calls her a lifelong liar. I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent, it's not easy for a mother to say this, that Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She's lied her entire life. Now, for hours today, Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign would not say if it was behind that ad. And Ramaswamy himself was confronted by a heckler during an event tonight about it.

28:19Packed house here. Look at this tonight. We're ready to do this. Sir, sir, excuse me. Excuse me. You're going to leave this room. You're going to be. Sir, sir, if you want to, if you want to be patient and you want to ask a question at the end, you'll be free to do that. Thank you for making your contribution today. So give a round of applause. We say a friendly good night. A friendly good night. Thank you, sir. Now, after that town hall, Mubei Gromuswamy told reporters his campaign is, in fact, behind that ad. CNN has learned that it will invest$4 million to boost it statewide. Now, Amy Acton's brother has released a statement in his own video on behalf of his sister's campaign.

29:01He says their birth mother stayed married to, quote, Amy's rapist until he died. I received a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it. She continued to receive that abuse because she knew she had to protect me from that. And that if she hadn't done that, who knows where I would have ended up. And she's 11 and 12 years old. And to think that that's somehow a talking point, shame on Vivek. I want to bring in my political sources tonight, including Van Jones, a former Obama administration official, Ashley Allison, who is the former National Coalition's director for the Biden-Harris campaign, and Shermichael Singleton, our Republican strategist.

29:45Van Jones, just this story has gone so viral today with people responding to this. What is your takeaway from what has happened and what Vivek Wamusami's campaign is saying tonight? You know, I think this is a tragedy in this election, first of all. What this young woman went through as a 12-year-old, if it's going to be discussed, it should be discussed with nothing but sympathy for her, to bring a mother who hasn't seen her child for three or four decades and to think, here's a great idea, let's record her saying terrible things about her daughter. I just think that the lapse of judgment here is terrible.

30:30And is this really the closing argument you want to make, just from a purely technical point of view? Your closing argument in this case, in this election is this woman's mother hates her. What the hell does that have to do with anything that people are going through in Ohio right now? I think Vivek has been himself the victim of some of the most racist attacks from white nationalists in this campaign. And I think he generates some real sympathy and empathy from people because of the despicable attacks against him from white nationalists. But I think he's erred gravely here. And I think you pull the pin on this hand grenade and it blows up on you.

31:20I don't think you want to do stuff like this in American politics. Sure, Michael. Do you agree that's a bad closing message? Yeah, look, I don't think it, Van said it was a lack of poor judgment on Vivek's part. I don't think that's the case at all. I think Vivek is doing exactly what he intended to do. This is the same guy who supported H-1B visas under the guise that Americans were somehow too stupid for complicated engineering jobs. It's why this race is so close. So it doesn't surprise me that someone like this with a very shady background and investments, taking people's money to make enrich himself, I'm not surprised that this is the decision that he decided to make at the end of this race.

32:00And so whether he wins or loses, I don't ultimately know where this direction goes. But it wasn't a lack of judgment. This was a purposeful thing to try to harm his political opponent. And I don't agree with this woman on much of anything. I'm a Republican, for goodness sake. But this is not the type of politics that I would endorse as a candidate. And I think it's not the type of politics that many Republicans across the country would endorse, which is why you've seen a condemnation on both sides. So you're saying it's not a lack of judgment? No, of course not. He doesn't have any judgment in the first place.

32:29Of course not. It's not a lack of judgment. That's an excuse. I can't say what I really want to say. That's an excuse. I commend you, Michael, because I know two weeks out from a midterm election where this race is an important race. Ohio has trended red. Many Republicans in this moment don't have the courage to call right, right and wrong, wrong. I'm from Youngstown, where Amy is from. First, I just want to say when things like this happen, survivors often of sexual assault, whether they are adults or children, often are triggered. So it's unfortunate that he is also causing harm to them. I think that Amy Acton probably had more courage at 12 than Vivek has right now as a grown man.

33:11I mean, it's remarkable. I mean, and also her mom, what she disputes is not what she alleges that her stepfather that she stayed married to did. It's the only thing she disputes is that they lived in a tent. And it's clear the mother is not well, and I also think it is disrespectful for that campaign to go after someone who seems to appear not to be well. And again, I got to go back to Rana, your point. This race is close because of some of Vivek Ramaswamy's pronouncements as it relates to American children. We've debated about this on the right, how he views American kids being lazy. Americans are too stupid, so we have to have H-1B to bring in people from other parts of the world because we lack the skills.

33:52I mean, that's what this guy thinks about Republicans. I mean, he's following his boss, though. So my issues with him go far beyond just this particular ad. I mean, Van, my colleague Kit Maher is reporting that the vice president is going to be campaigning in Ohio tomorrow on behalf of Vivek Ramosami, obviously in his home state. Do you think that the vice president should disavow this ad, or what do you want to hear from him on it? I think Vivek should disavow this ad. Listen, sometimes you just do something stupid, and sometimes you get in the heat of the thing. You've got people around you who are maybe young or crazy, and they say, let's do this thing.

34:26And at some point, you have to say, you know what? I'm a dad. I have children. This was wrong. And I'm pulling the ad. I don't think he should wait for J.D. Vance to come. I mean, and what is J.D. Vance going to do? You're putting the vice president in a terrible position. You've got to say he likes the ad or he doesn't. This is a woefully ill-considered move on the part of the big Wama Swami. And I hope he pulls it. I mean, he's saying tonight they're putting more money into it. I just think all that is ill-considered. It's just ill-considered. I mean, listen, this should not be the closing argument for the people of Ohio.

35:11I agree with Ashley. This is bringing up a lot of pain for people. You should just pull it. Ashley, we've also been following other close races, including one where you just did an interview with a candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, in Michigan. He's the Democrat who's running there. And one question that he's faced in these closing weeks is whether or not he can generate enough enthusiasm among black voters and convince them that they should vote for him. And you actually asked him about this issue and he told you this. What's one thing the black community can hold you accountable for and say that you will deliver for them?

35:46I want to end maternal and infant mortality disparities. Black women die at three to four times the rate of white women in childbirth. Black babies die at two to three times the rate. That has been an issue I've been focused on my entire career. We need a real rethink of federal policy if we're serious about solving it. The other one is I want capital in black communities. And the third, there's no coincidence that public schools in predominantly black communities tend to be far less funded. What was your takeaway from that answer? Well, he gave me three, not one, which I appreciate it because I think so often folks think they can placate black voters and especially in the Democratic Party, assume that black folks will vote for Democrats.

36:33It's not just in Michigan. In Ohio, with this race, there's a large black population. In Georgia, in Texas, in Florida, in North Carolina, black voters are consequential. So I think what Abdul Syed did in that answer was say, I'm talking to black women. I'm talking to black men. I'm talking to black families. And I want to do something for you. We talked a little bit more about the relationship between that community and that he was willing to talk to anyone and do the work to garner their votes. Van, I mentioned that we are asking for viewer questions ahead of the midterm elections. Someone actually has a question for you and your prediction on what's going on in the Texas governor's race.

37:11What would you tell that viewer, Van? Look, I don't like the sitting governor, so it's going to be no surprise there. But, you know, you've got somebody in our party who's coming on strong. And, you know, my only thing that I observe is that, you know, when you have some of these female candidates who start catching fire, I think our party is too late to the party in terms of putting money behind Hinojosa, putting money behind Angie in Florida, putting money behind Keisha in Georgia. You know, we've got some women of color who are catching fire here late. And I think this party should get behind these women.

38:01The voters are seeing something in these candidates. that apparently the party chieftains don't see. But listen to what's going on. None of these women should be doing as well as they are. Imagine if they actually have help and support. Van Jones, Ashley Allison, Michael Singleton, our viewers who are submitting questions. We're going to be taking them more going forward. Don't worry about that if you didn't get it asked tonight. Up next for us, with those two weeks to go, the president, still no press secretary at the White House. How are they preparing for what's going to happen after the election?

38:32Anthony Scaramucci is here on his new book tonight.

38:43Mr. President, I'm Ukraine. I'm Ukraine. Sir, sir, I'm Ukraine. Do you believe the peace process is about a contract? Wait. Do you believe the peace process? Wait. Go ahead. Listen to you. Hey. Sir? I'm not playing. You better, you better, I don't know who the hell you are, but you better be careful. Mr. President. Sir, you own a lot of golf courses. Wait, wait, wait. Quiet, quiet. What's wrong with you? Are you a sick person? Not that I know of, sir. Mr. President, I'm in the church. I actually think there's something wrong with you. Go ahead. President Trump's frustration with reporters and their questions was on full display in the Oval Office today, as his own aides are apparently bracing for what happens if Democrats take control of Congress in two weeks.

39:28Based on our new reporting here at CNN, administration officials have grown increasingly convinced that big Republican losses could lead to big personnel shakeups across the Trump White House. It's causing tension inside the president's inner circle with one Trump ally telling CNN, quote, It's more brutal than any other situation in modern times in the White House. You can't trust anybody here. Now, this comes as the podium, where the press secretary usually stands, is emptied tonight after Katie Zachariah was ousted after only five days on the job. My source tonight did his own short residency at that podium as the president's former White House communications director for 11 days.

40:06Anthony Scaramucci is the author of the new book, All the Wrong Moves, How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump. Anthony Scaramucci, you worked in the Trump White House. What do you think it's like inside the Trump White House right now with two weeks to go? it's got to be tough, but I mean, I would just a big shout out to Katie. I mean, she blew right by me. I mean, she made it look easy. Okay. I didn't understand how she could get fired and hired so quickly, you know, but Caitlin, you know, it's a nightmare in there. I know it's a nightmare in there. And, and by the way, they should buffer him from the press.

40:40I mean, those reactions tonight that you're showing are not good for the president. It It makes him look unhinged. It makes him look temperamental and combative. And if they had a comms team in there that was giving them good advice to say, hey, you know, you got to relax on the press or do less press conferences because that's not helping them. It's certainly not helping with independents when they see stuff like that and they're about to go to the polls in two weeks. You don't think he's already kind of buffered from the press? I mean, they put a lot of reporters inside those sprays that are going to ask questions that they know they want to get.

41:15You don't think that that's already, I mean, he chooses who he answers to. You know, you're closer to it than me because you're in the White House, and I saw his interaction with you today and the nastiness of that. But what you just showed is a little bit more unhinged than we usually see him. And so maybe he's buffered, but he doesn't look buffered from my vantage point. And I would just tell him you've got two weeks to go. So you don't look right talking to the press like that. Now, again, maybe his MAGA supporters think that that's great and that he should hammer the press all day like that.

41:53But it's unsavory. And it just reminds you when you're getting yelled at by your dad when you were like five or six years old in front of your friends. It's just not something he should be doing. Yeah, I'm not sure it does much to lower gas prices or the other things that we've heard voters care about. You know, in your book that I mentioned, your new book, you argue that one of the things that led to the rise of Donald Trump as president were the wars that happened under George W. Bush. What do you think Trump's war in Iran that's still going on, what is that going to give rise to, if you had to guess?

42:28Well, listen, I think it's a big problem for him, and I don't think it gets resolved anytime soon. I mean, it's likely the 48th president of the United States is the one that's going to be resolving that. But you brought up those two wars. Remember, we had mission accomplished signs in May of 2003, two months after the Iraq war started. We prosecuted two wars for two decades, and we put$8 trillion on America's credit card bill. And I think the president is not fully steeped in the economic damage here. It's not just the 45 billion in munitions and troop deployment. We're about to raise rates again, another 25 basis points.

43:07If you look at interest rate costs and you look at energy costs, Caitlin, it's$2 ,400 a family since the war started. And just to remind people that the 10-year treasury in late February was at 396, and it's now over 5 percent. So all of this is ancillary costs into the hundreds of billions of dollars for the American people. And it's not going to stop anytime soon. We both know that. Do you think Trump realizes that impact, gas prices and everything for voters? 100%. That's why he's projecting that it's not a big deal. He's projecting that the affordability thing is a hoax. I mean, his spin is an indication that he's well aware of how problematic that is for people.

43:56Anthony Scaramucci, the new book is All the Wrong Moves, How Three Catastrophic decisions led to the rise of Trump. Great to have you. Thank you for joining us tonight. Good to be here, Caitlin. Thank you. Up next, it is time for Source Code. Tonight it is 2028. We'll be right back with the story.

44:19Tonight's Source Code is 2028 because President Trump was put on the spot in the Oval Office today. The vice president said in an interview yesterday that he thought that you would endorse him if he does decide to run in 2028 since we're here. Could you tell us? Well, I tell you this. He's a very talented person and he's a very good person. But we've literally I don't think we've ever talked about it. No, sir. I said that, too. You know, who would believe that? I don't talk about it with him. He doesn't talk about it. It's early. We are very early right now. We have to get through the midterms.

44:53We'll see how it goes. Quote, we'll see how it goes. Thanks so much for joining us here on The Source tonight. CNN Newsnight with Abby Phillip starts now. I'm Adi Cornish. I'm Ari Shapiro, and it's Engagement Party. It is 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 O'Dell. She is a fashion writer, blogger. But the thing is, she's a journalist who's written about the sacred cows of fashion. And 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.

45:29And so the question that we're going to try to tackle is fashion terrible now. Well, 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. Follow Engagement Party. Wherever you get your podcasts.