Trump Welcomes Xi; No Major TV Networks Cover Arrival

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0:46Side effects may include a fuller, deeper night's sleep and the sudden urge to host the watch party again. Blinds.com isn't a medication, but it can improve how you feel about your home. Shop Black Friday all month long at Blinds.com. Don't miss huge deals dropping every week. Tonight, the president rolls out the red carpet for China's leader, but a lot of the cameras weren't rolling. I'm Caitlin Collins, and this is The Source.

1:26It was a landmark scene made for television that had trouble finding a screen. A hundred foot red carpet that was rolled out across the tarmac, a military flyover and a personal greeting from President Trump, who shook hands with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping as he stepped off the plane from Beijing and kicked off a critical three-day state visit here in the United States. Now, while the moment may have been historic, it certainly wasn't prolific. That's because no cameras from the five major TV networks that reach millions of people every day were rolling as it happened. Those TV outlets have suspended filming White House events for the time being after President Trump banned CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the grounds.

2:10That ban was at the heart of arguments that were made in a D.C. courtroom today where attorneys for the Trump administration argued it's an issue of national security, which I should note is an argument that was only made three days after the president implemented the ban. And the Trump-appointed court, the Trump-appointed judge, I should note, could rule at any time. We will let you know if he does so tonight during our hour. But as for the visit that is playing out away from a lot of the cameras, it has been a very warm welcome so far for the leader of a country that just this summer you saw President Trump accuse of meddling in the 2020 U.S.

2:44election during that primetime address at the White House. The People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China's illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files. Asked if the president is going to bring up those allegations with Xi Jinping while he's here, White House officials did not comment. We're also waiting to see if the president confronts the Chinese leader about his country's help for Iran, something that the president so far has declined to do, really, and also downplayed when asked about the prospect of that coming up between the two of them when they sit down at the White House.

3:30China is obviously one of Iran's biggest supporters. Well, not giving it great support. Look, China has been very, I said, please don't get involved, the president. You have a very good relationship. and they're not really involved, very little involvement by China. China could have plenty of involvement. They get 50 % of their oil from the hormones straight. They basically do what we do. I would say this. I think he's behaved reasonably well and we behave reasonably well. You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say, you're right. And we spy on them too. You know, we aspire them to. Now, this state visit, like all state visits, has been meticulously planned by the administration.

4:13And with a team of diplomats analyzing how every image of the two men will play into the larger geopolitical picture, there's the backdrop here that is really important. Some major issues for the two of them to discuss while the Chinese leader is in Washington. The ongoing trade war, an artificial intelligence race, of course, the war in Iran. And also, and I should note, is the backdrop of all this and the question of what this is going to look like beyond the relationship between the two men. The way we've seen President Trump talk about President Xi as more of a friend than a rival on the world stage in this second term.

4:49But I like President Xi very much. I've always liked him. We always had a very good relationship. We've had a fantastic relationship. It's an honor to be your friend. I have a very good relationship with President Xi. You know, I find him to be a tremendous guy. Well, I have a great relationship with President Xi. I have a very good relationship with President Xi, as you know. Those comments stick out, especially compared to what the president has said for years while campaigning, promising to take a different approach to China. We can't continue to allow China to rape our country, and that's what they're doing.

5:27China's taking our jobs, our money, our base, our manufacturing. What they've done to us is the greatest single theft in the history of the world. The greatest abuser in the history of this country. Rampant theft of intellectual property. A currency manipulator. They break the rules in every way imaginable. And my lead source tonight on all of this as we watch this state visit closely and cover it as we continue to do so tonight is the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee. That is Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. And thank you, Senator, for being here. Given what we described, what this visit looked like so far, what it's looked like so far with the arrival, you know, I actually went back and looked because I can't remember, and I've covered the White House for 10 years now, a president going to Joint Base Andrews to greet a world leader.

6:17Typically, they do so at the White House. Other than a pope, a U.S. president actually hasn't welcomed a head of state on the tarmac at Andrews since 1962 when JFK went to meet the British prime minister. What tone do you think this sets for this visit? But this is actually pretty consistent for Trump. He loves dictators and he loves the power that Xi Jinping represents. And I think this is the president really saying to the leader of China, don't hurt me. You know, I just want to just honor you in every way I possibly can. MARCO RUBIO, THE SECRETARY OF STATE, HAS RESPONDED TO SOME OF THE CRITICISMS OF THE VISIT AND SAID, WELL, OF COURSE THEY'RE GOING TO MEET.

6:58THEY NEED TO MEET. THESE TWO LEADERS NEED TO BE IN DIALOGUE. WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT? WELL, FINE. THEN LET'S HAVE A REAL DIALOGUE ABOUT REAL ISSUES. IF THE PRESIDENT THINKS THERE'S BEEN ELECTION INTERFERENCE, THEN BY GOLEY, YOU OUGHT TO BE TALKING ABOUT IT. RIGHT NOW, THOUGH, WHAT I THINK THAT DIALOGUE SHOULD BE ABOUT IS AI. I think what the president should say to the leader of China is we're not sending you any more of our cutting-edge chips. We're not going to give you the chips that you need because you can't manufacture them yourself. We're not going to send them from us over to you so that you can create ever more dangerous artificial intelligence.

7:41That's where the president should start. And then, having made clear that we're going to cut off that supply for China, we should sit down and start negotiating with China for better constraints on AI overall to make sure that we are keeping our people safe, that we are keeping the world safe. That's what you're hoping the conversation will look like. That's what it should look like. The president has made clear he doesn't think that there should be constraints on AI because of the race with China. You know, but. Is that legitimate? That is exactly backwards. He is worried about the race with China.

8:15What is the one thing that China needs that it cannot produce on its own? It has power, it has people, it has data. What it doesn't have are the really fancy cutting edge chips. The ones that permit you to do the frontier AI, the ones they can use in their weapons systems. We are the ones who design and control those. Why would we send those to China? That's what we should put constraints on. That's what we should put restrictions on. And I want to be clear here. We have three different bills to do this right now, pending in Congress. One says, don't send those chips to China. Another one says, don't send them the equipment that they would be able to manufacture themselves.

9:03And the third says, anytime those chips leave our control, put a tracker on them. So if they go to the UAE and then to China, we will know exactly where they are. That has wide bipartisan support. I'm on all three of these bills, have initiated these bills. This is something Congress could pass, the president could sign into law, but Donald Trump is just not there. What do you think the conversation between them is actually going to look like? I think it's going to look like whatever it is that Xi Jinping wants it to look like. You know, Donald Trump loves to bully when he's talking to the press, loves to bully when he's in front of a big crowd.

9:44But face to face, is there any evidence that he has ever been tough with another dictator, ever been tough with the head of China, ever been tough with the head of Russia? Nope. He gets in front of them and just tells them what great, great people they are. The Secretary of State today actually confirmed that they have invited President Putin of Russia, whom you just brought up, to the G20 summit in Miami in December. We don't know if Putin's going to go, but what did you make of that invitation? One more time. Donald Trump treats Russia and China like friends to be cultivated and treats Canada, the Europeans, the Japanese like enemies.

10:31He's got it just exactly backwards. You know, when you look at all of this in terms of AI, just to revisit this, because Speaker Johnson has said Congress should not lead on this. President Trump just said at the United Nations this week that he doesn't want to stifle growth. He is president for the next two years. What do you think that looks like over the next two years if they are not going, if Congress, the federal government's not going to take any steps on it? Well, a big part of what it's going to look like is going to depend on what happens in 41 days. If Republicans stay in control of the House and the Senate, it's going to be a whole lot more of the same.

11:10Donald Trump does whatever Donald Trump wants, and there are no constraints of any kind. If you want to see a Donald Trump completely unchained, unfettered, unrestricted in any way whatsoever, then keep the Republicans in charge of the House and Senate. for the next two years because the only action they are capable of taking is to bow down to Donald Trump. But if you think they're actually, Congress should weigh in, oh, I don't know, like on stopping a war halfway around the world or on chaotic tariff policies or on health care. If you think Congress has a role to play under the Constitution of the United States, But it's clear, Republicans won't do it.

11:55You've got to have a Democratic majority in the House and Senate. There are some Senate Republicans who are coming out and criticizing the war as we get closer to the mid-term. I'm sorry. When they're just a few days away from election, they're saying, oh, I want to vote the other way after having voted for the war, what, nine times now? Is there anybody alive who is persuaded by that, that these are really people who would shut down the war halfway around the world? If any Republican senator who has not yet voted for the War Powers Act, which Democrats keep introducing to basically put pressure on them, if a Republican crosses over and now votes for that, do you think that's disingenuous?

12:32Look, all I'll do is just give you the big eyeball roll. I just don't think anybody's fooled at this point. They have bowed down to Donald Trump over this war, over and over and over and over. They own it. In terms of gas prices, which have been skyrocketing, obviously Americans are paying so much more. And it is a concern that the White House is trying to address, at least in the next couple weeks before the midterms. One thing that the White House might do is call to ban diesel exports. Do you support that? So look, I want to see us bring down prices. But let's be really, really clear. The time to bring down those gas prices was seven months ago.

13:14and that was not to start bombing Iran. And as soon as you started seeing what the implications were when the Strait of Hormuz was closed off and Donald Trump seemed shocked to discover that something like that might happen, those were the points at which if you really cared about the American people spending more for diesel, spending more for gasoline, spending more for everything they buy that has to be shipped, That's the time to make the move. Right now, what you're asking is, can you make a difference at the margin at this late date? And I think there's a lot of dispute about whether or not you can.

13:56Do you support it? What I support is bringing down prices for American families. Yeah, I want to see those prices come down. But I want to see the numbers that that really will have an effect instead of more Donald Trump magic. So it's not clear to you, you haven't seen enough evidence that you would support banning those exports, even temporarily. I just don't see the numbers yet. And that's what I want to see. I want to bring down costs for American families. But let me be clear, best way to bring down those costs, stop the war halfway around the world. We are seven months in. Donald Trump and the Republicans still can't explain what the objective is.

14:39They still can't explain what the path is in this. It just gets worse and worse day by day. And the answer from the Trump administration is just to lie about it. Lie about how many American service members have been killed. Lie about what it's costing us. Lie about damage to the rest of our facilities in the region. It's lie, lie, lie. instead of saying Donald Trump made a terrible mistake and we need to wind that back. He keeps saying that he thinks the war will end the day after the midterms and the prices will come down. Essentially saying that Iran is looking at this also through a political lens.

15:21Do you think there's any truth to that? How do you see that? I guess my question is, why would you take seriously anything he says about this war? I mean, let's just run the tapes again. He said the war would be over, what, within a week? and then he said it would be over within a month and then it was going to be over we had complete control of the Strait of Hormuz. How many times has he said that? Donald Trump says whatever is convenient. It's not tied to reality. It's not tied to any facts. It's tied to whatever it is that's going on in Donald Trump's head. If the war keeps going after the midterms and Democrats do retake the majority of the Senate, which we don't really know yet as we watch this, What do you think will be the first agenda item?

16:05Is it on gas prices? I think it's going to be to stop that war. And I think we will bring real pressure to make that happen. It will be War Powers Act. Remember, we can pass a resolution to end the war that does not have to be signed by the president of the United States. This is how the founders set it up. Because it is Congress that has the power under the Constitution to declare war, not the president of the United States. And do you trust Chuck Schumer to lead on that, should that happen? What I trust is the Democrats. Well, he's the leader of the Democrats. What I trust is the Democrats. The Democrats to be in there when we have a Democratic majority and to use that majority to shut down the war, to lower prices for American families, and to take on the corruption in the Trump administration.

16:54Senator Elizabeth Warren, thank you for joining us here on set tonight. That's good to be with you. I appreciate your time. Up next, there are key moments that happened in that emergency hearing on the president's press ban. The judge had some key questions that might shed some light. And when are we going to get a ruling? My legal and White House sources are here right after this.

17:28you feel about your home. Customers who shop at Blinds.com experience excellent customer service from consultation to installation. Side effects include increased privacy and better sleep. Talk to your partner today and see if Blinds.com is right for you. Shop Black Friday all month long at Blinds.com. Don't miss huge deals dropping every week. I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the Chasing Life podcast. You may have noticed gambling doesn't require a casino anymore. you can just open up your phone. It's designed to keep us coming back or maybe never even leaving in the first place. We're going to talk to Dr.

18:02Timothy Fong, co-director of UCLA's gambling studies program. You're going to learn what your brain is really chasing when you place a bet, and also importantly, how to keep the game from playing you. Gambling addiction, gambling disorder is the hidden addiction. You can't smell it, you can't taste it, you can't see it, you can't have a urine drug test. Who are we talking about here, Professor? Who's the most likely demographic to be affected by this? Literally any single human on Earth. Listen to Chasing Life, streaming now, wherever you get your podcasts. After that emergency hearing today, a federal judge is now weighing the lawsuit that was filed by CNN, MSNOW and Politico to restore access to the White House grounds after President Trump abruptly banned the three outlets last week, only offering this explanation at the time.

18:56No, no reason. No, just because no, no, it's really just cumulative stories over the last two years. Are you trying to intimidate the press from doing it? No, no, no, no. I dislike dishonest press like you. I think you're terrible. But I dislike dishonest. I like to see honest press. I mean, there's something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories. Now, if they want to write them, that's fine. But I don't have to let them into my into the people's house. Now, you notice the president didn't mention national security there when he was asked directly why the ban is in place.

19:39But today, the attorney who's representing the Justice Department argued that's what's driving this. Meanwhile, the attorney, Ted Boutras, who is representing the three outlets that have been banned, noted that President Trump never mentioned national security when he issued the ban. Instead, he told the judge, quote, All of a sudden, this is a national security case, adding that the first mention of national security in this case came after the lawsuit was filed, saying it seems like a light bulb went off to change their reasoning for the ban. Now, Ted Boutras also argued that for the press, holding public officials to account, even when it comes to sensitive matters is, quote, baked into the Constitution.

20:18My White House and legal sources are here tonight, including Sean McCreech, who is a White House correspondent for The New York Times, and Ellie Honig, our CNN senior legal analyst. Ellie, it's 922, no ruling yet from this judge. We're still waiting to see what he's decided. What did you make of listening to those arguments today? What did you hear from a legal perspective? Well, Caitlin, I think it's highly likely CNN and the other media outlets prevail based on having listened to today's argument. It was fairly short. It was fairly straightforward. There were not fireworks in the courtroom, but two main takeaways.

20:48First of all, nobody is buying this national security pretext for exactly the reasons you laid out in your opening. Donald Trump did not even mention national security until several days after the ban. The judge certainly did not seem to be convinced at all by this national security argument. The second thing is due process, which is a separate argument from the First Amendment, that may well carry the day here because the judge came out, took the bench and immediately said there's already binding law here in the D.C. circuit that says before someone has their press credential revoked, Jim Acosta specifically, there has to be some due process.

21:23And there was no process given here. And the best Trump's lawyers could do is say, yeah, but now after the fact, we've sort of invented this process. And the judge seemed underwhelmed by that argument. So I'm not going to do predictions, Caitlin, but I wouldn't be shocked if you're broadcasting from the White House tomorrow night. Well, I mean, we shall see. Sean McCreech, when you look at this and you've been talking to White House officials in terms of where they think this is going, you know, I've heard a lot of skepticism even from people who, you know, love the president, support him. They're not really sure it's going to hold up in court.

21:55What do you make of how this is playing out? Yeah, I think the even the people who worked in the White House were surprised when Trump first announced this on True Social last week. So we're a little bit in the terra incognita here where Trump has kicked the media out. I think one thing that gets lost in this conversation is that Trump really missed having the pool around when he was out of power and he was feeling like yesterday's news. And I remember on day two of this administration, I wrote a story for the Times about how excited Trump was to have the pool back. You know, he welcomed them into the Oval Office on the first night.

22:28He said, it's so nice to see you again. But I think over time, you know how it feels. We're often there together covering the White House. They've introduced another species into the pool. The White House calls them friendlies. Other people might call them propagandists. And there are a lot of them. And I would say that as time has gone on, we're approaching the point where there is almost more of them than there are of us. And we're now entering the point where we're out and it's just them. And I think it's sort of a dangerous game of chicken for Trump because he, at the end of the day, is, you know, the reality TV star, producer, president.

23:08And this does not make for good television. Well, also at the end of the day, I mean, they certainly have invited more outlets. And my position on this has always been, you know, the more the merrier. If they want to add people from different outlets. You know, I used to work at the Daily Caller before CNN. I understand that because you can't, you know, always judge a reporter based on that. But in terms of the president himself, he has not changed his media habits. He still watches cable news. He reads the New York Times. He reads all the papers. I mean, he still follows the traditional media outlet in terms of what he digest.

23:40Yeah. Well, I agree with you. I think it's cool to let in independent media sources. But when you only have those people in there and they're asking questions like, how's the ballroom going? No one's really going to watch it. And I think that when you're in there, there's a reason he calls on you all the time. I think that he knows that, you know, it's a real challenge and it's interesting television and that in a way you're asking the truth. And right now, it seems like he can't really handle the truth, which is why he's kicked all of you guys out. You know, Ellie, one argument from the hearing today that was interesting to me was in terms of how the attorney representing the outlets wanted to say, we don't want this to happen again.

24:19We don't want the White House to try to have a runaround on this in terms of, I think the word used was shenanigans of kind of creating a pretext here. Because obviously for national security, you know, they never mentioned that on Friday or Saturday or Sunday. It wasn't until Monday after the lawsuit was filed that that was brought up. What did you make of that argument? Yeah, Boutros, who was the lawyer for the media outlets, basically said, don't let them now try to invent some process after the fact, because it's just going to be something that they're fabricating and it's going to drag on indefinitely.

24:50And that's why the lawyer for CNN urged the judge to also rule on the basis of the First Amendment. And to the conversation you were just having with Sean, the beauty and power of the First Amendment is that it doesn't much care who the outlet is. It doesn't matter if the outlet is far left. It doesn't matter if the outlet is MSNOW or Midas Touch. It doesn't matter if the outlet is far right, if it's Newsmax or Fox News, what have you. It doesn't matter if it's an independent journalist or an established international cable network. The First Amendment protects you. And I think that's why we've seen not unanimous, but very widespread support from CNN, for CNN and MSNOW and Politico from across the media, because everyone understands if you let, forget about this president, a president, pick and choose favorites and grant or restrict access based on who he likes or doesn't like, there's going to be a next president and a president after that.

25:42And if we let a president pick and choose, not only does it violate the First Amendment, but it takes us down a very dangerous path. Yeah, it's a dangerous precedent in terms of you might not like it when it's someone else in office. You know, Sean, just in terms of practically speaking, the coverage, I mean, there is a huge state visit that is happening tomorrow with one of the biggest leaders in the world that's at the White House and these outlets not going. And then in solidarity, you know, the major TV networks not covering it. They did not cover the arrival today. I've never seen something like that in my entire White House coverage, where the president is having such a landmark moment as that, and it's not being covered because of his choices.

26:19I mean, it just, I was thinking of how the White House had been planning this for months, and then they're not getting the coverage that they value and that they wanted to get. Yeah, I was at the White House the other day for the helipad unveiling, which also received no coverage. And what was that like out there? Because that was when you couldn't hear anything the president was saying because there was no, I mean, an audio technician wasn't out there to set up his microphone. I honestly felt like it was like an episode of The Twilight Zone where, you know, we've all been listening to Trump for 10 years straight.

26:47And now finally, the mouth is still moving, but no sound is coming out. There was something really, really surreal about it. But my point is just that I think, you know, not having the helipad covered was probably annoying. But it's a whole different thing with a state visit. The whole, a huge point of a state visit has to do with the pomp and the circumstance. And I'll be writing about the state dinner tomorrow. And, you know, the First Lady and the President greet she when he gets there. And it's all about cameras and the way people look and they're dressed up and the body language and on and on and on.

27:20And it'll be weird with no cameras. Yeah, absolutely. And the still photographers as well also holding on to their photos during all of this in solidarity. Sean McCreish, Ellie Honig, we'll see what the judge rules and when. We will cover that as we get it. Up next, though, we're also still covering the other major headlines because in just six weeks from now, the midterms are going to be underway. There's a new scene in polling that spells potential trouble for Republicans as they're trying to hang on to the majority. What these numbers show us next.

27:57We just moved into our new house and I didn't realize just how close we were to the neighbors. That's when my friend told me about Blinds.com. Blinds.com isn't a medication, but it can improve how you feel about your home. Customers who shop at Blinds.com experience excellent customer service from consultation to installation. Side effects include increased privacy and better sleep. Talk to your partner today and see if Blinds.com is right for you. Shop Black Friday all month long at Blinds.com. Don't miss huge deals dropping every week. Republicans who are running to keep their majorities in the House and the Senate have a lot of work to do in the next six weeks if the numbers are an indication.

28:37That's because new CNN polling shows voters are preferring Democratic candidates over Republicans by an eight-point margin, with just those 41 days to go until the midterms. The president doesn't seem to be helping his party make their case. Views of the economy and President Trump's handling of it are far worse now than compared to the midterms during his first term in office when Republicans lost the majorities and Democrats won. Now, if you look at this, only 27 percent of Americans right now approve of the president's job on the economy. That is down 22 points from 2018. Right now, only 28 percent of voters say economic conditions are good.

29:15That's a big drop of 41 points from the midterm elections, again, when Trump was in office the first time. My political sources tonight are Neera Tanden, who is the former domestic policy advisor for President Biden, and Scott Jennings, who is a former senior advisor to Mitch McConnell, who, of course, I should note, was in the running for the next press secretary at the White House. But Scott is still with us. And Scott, when you look at these numbers and what this means, Bill Stepien, who used to work for Trump, ran his campaign in 2020, I thought made a really good point of what the numbers, how they were so much better then and how Republicans fared and what the numbers look like now and what that could mean for November.

29:55Yeah, look, if the national generic is eight or more than eight points, that would portend a Democratic takeover for sure. I'm not sure that's what it's going to be. We still have 40 days to go before the election and there's a chance for the Republicans to make the case and to draw a contrast. I mean, it's going to be possible. And actually, I think some of this happened in 2022. It's going to be possible for people to have some problems with the current administration or have some issue with the way things are going and still vote for the party in power because they don't want to vote for the other party.

30:25Because the other party in the election might be proven to have worse ideas or to have been judged to have put us in this hole in the first place. That's really the case that the Republicans are going to wind up making, which is, look, we're on our way back. Maybe we're not all the way back yet, but we inherited a very deep hole and we're on our way back out of it. These people voted to raise your taxes. These people would do it again. They have nominated a bunch of radicals and you need to give us a little more time to let our program work. They've got some economic data that works for that argument.

30:52So it's going to be a contrast election. And in some of these individual states and districts, some of the candidates the Democrats have nominated are so radical. And the opposition research research book is so thick that they might not be able to even take advantage of a good environment. Neera, how do you see it? I think the bottom line is that the president has a variety of policies, the Iran war raising costs, tariffs that have raised costs, he's done the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is cutting people's health care. So people are really making a decision based on how they are experiencing the actions of the president.

31:27And I think that's why you are seeing competitive, newly competitive races in places like Kansas and Iowa and Texas because people, even Republicans, are having a lot of questions about this president. And I think this is actually very different from 2022 in that Republicans will find it enormously difficult to separate themselves from a president where everyone knows that they have given him carte blanche. There's been virtually no criticism of the president. They voted 100 % lockstep. I think it's really hard to argue that they will be any kind of check on the president himself. And when he's at 33 percent approval, two-thirds of the country is against him.

32:11That is a weight that is just hard for any Republican to come out from under. Well, you know, Scott, we've seen some Republicans from the House and the Senate and running for in these gubernatorial races breaking with Trump on gas prices, on the Iran war. Because we're so close, and you're right, we still have some time, but given how close we are, do you think it's enough time for voters to really distinguish that difference? Do you think that they will? How do you see that? That's a good question. Yes, I do, because a lot of people don't pay attention to politics until it gets closer to election time, and the issues you mentioned are the issues of what's in the news.

32:48And so I think voters naturally want to know what candidates think about it, and I'm frankly not at all surprised that individual candidates and individual states and districts are going to run the race and take the positions that they think they need to take to win. And so, you know, whether that's in Iowa or Michigan or Florida or anywhere else, I mean, it could be a different set of circumstances in each place. But ultimately, you run the race that you have to run to talk to the voters there about what they care about. So do I anticipate some disagreement out there? Sure. Do I anticipate some agreement?

33:18Absolutely. I anticipate all Republicans making the case that Democrats have gone plum crazy. and just because you have a policy problem here or there with President Trump doesn't mean you have to vote for higher taxes and open borders? Absolutely. So I think every district's different, but I do think some of the arguments against Democrats are going to be common no matter where you are in the country. You know, to my point, just for Josh Hawley, listen to what he said that he thinks Congress should be doing before they leave town, given how close we are to the midterms. An all of the above approach kind of guy.

33:52At this point, I think we've We should do everything we can to give as much relief as we can at the pump as quickly as possible. I mean, we need to vote on things that will actually help real people. And I'm concerned that we're not doing that. And I just, I don't know how you can explain that to voters in November. Nira, what do you hear in a comment like that from Josh Hawley? I mean, I think this whole conversation is so absurd for Republicans to talk in, you know, late September about what they can do to help the American people when they've taken multiple votes. I mean, just in the last few weeks, they voted over and over and over again for an Iran war.

34:30That is raising everyone's costs, particularly gas costs. And so they've also supported the tariffs. They voted to basically support the president's tariffs. So I think the idea that in late September they're going to talk about lowering costs when they have so many votes to raise people's costs, I think people are going to recognize it's just political grasping. And you will not be able to trust a Republican who's raised costs for you before the election. And you're definitely not going to be able to trust them after the election. Maybe they want your vote now, but you should look at their record and not their rhetoric.

35:08I have to laugh at being lectured by somebody who worked in the Biden White House about who you trust on raising costs. Virtually all of the cost increases that we're living with in this country right now came under your administration that you work for, Nera. Inflation was lower at the end of the Biden administration. You took it to the moon, and now you want to lecture Republicans about trust? Inflation was at the end of the Biden administration. And by the way, we did not start a war that raised costs. We did not raise tariffs. And as you know, because we've argued it elsewhere, inflation was at a lower rate at the end of the Biden administration than it is today.

35:43That means President Trump's actions are helping fuel inflation. The amount of gaslighting about Biden now is incredible. You might find it unbelievable. It's one of the reasons why most Americans actually think Donald Trump is responsible for their economic pain, not Joe Biden when they're asked head-to-head. Scott, does that mean you don't support the$5 ,000 checks Trump has promised? $5 ,000 checks? Yeah, I think that will be very, very difficult to pass in the Congress now. No, I'm just saying, even if he could pass it, do you support that if you don't like the spending and the inflation that happened under President Biden?

36:21No, I don't know that that is the right idea here. What the right idea is, is growth, which we have, job creation, which we have. I would go for another round of tax cuts, to be honest, which I think the American people would welcome. And that's in direct opposition to the Democrats who have anti-growth policies, anti-job policies. They don't want to cut anybody's taxes. So I do think there are things Republicans can do. And I think it's a legitimate point that Senator Hawley made that maybe more can be done and should be done. But look, I think at the end of the day, Republicans are fighting every single day to try to bring things down.

36:52But you've got to remember where we came from. We came from the worst possible place you could come from. And we've had two years to fight back and we're probably going to need two more to get all the way out of it. Wait, what you think you need two more years to get rid of inflation? I think we need at least two more years to dig out of the hole that Joe Biden left this country in. The cost increases, the cost of living, the absolute misery that they put the American people through. Now the Republicans are trying to get out of it. And I think they've cut taxes. No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security.

37:26Inflation rates have normalized under Trump. But, I mean, honestly, I can't believe we have such short memories. the inflation under Biden was hellish. You keep telling everyone. I think the best Republican message is to tell everyone that everything is awesome and you're an idiot for thinking it's not great. And that's a Republican message. And that's, I think this is a great distillation of what Republicans are telling you, how they feel. Scott Jennings, we'll have to leave it there. Thank you both for joining us here tonight on The Source. Up next, there is new reporting on President Trump and the level of involvement when it comes to the construction of the White House ballroom.

38:00at one point reportedly arguing that normal building clothes don't apply, saying, quote, I am the code. My source tonight is one of the reporters who broke that story.

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38:58Images that were obtained by the Washington Post show what appears to be the president's own notes on various early sketches of the ballroom. And according to people familiar with the matter, they told the Washington Post that the president had prioritized the decorative elements of the design, so much so that he'd clashed with the ballroom's first architect, that was James McCreary, before McCreary resigned last year, after repeatedly expressing concerns about a design without adequate emergency exits or fire containment measures. The president reportedly insisted that no building codes apply to construction at the White House, saying, quote, I am the code.

39:37My source tonight is on the byline of this story, Washington Post investigative reporter Sarah Blaske. And it's great to have you here on your reporting. I mean, the images that show the president's trademark sharpie that everyone who covers him has seen these pictures before. What did you find out as you were digging into all of this? I think the thing that struck me so much about this was we all know from various reporting, yours and others, that he was deeply invested in this ballroom design. But there's something about hearing it and another thing about saying seeing it and seeing him X out Staircases or doors and decide which door he wanted which direction he wanted it to hinge and to me that really indicated Priorities of the president right?

40:25Oh, he was saying if the door should swing outward or inward Uh, he was saying whether the door should hinge on the left or the right That was the kind of detail that he was interested in, according to these documents that we reviewed and some of which we published. Well, and some of what you reported was it wasn't just about the safety codes of the building. But when he said, I am the code, I mean, was he in a dispute with the architect? When did that moment come about? The architect, James McCreary, and President Trump had been there had been growing tension, I think is the way to say it. And so at first, the ballroom was supposed to be a 200 seat ballroom.

41:02And then it became a 600-seat ballroom, and then ultimately a 1 ,300-seat ballroom. And when you build something that big, there are a lot of code implications. The other thing, I think, for the architect was this is now much larger than the main White House. And so the architect is trying to balance taste and safety and the president's requests. And so as this grew, the president had all of these demands, and some of those demands came into conflict with safety codes. And so in that context is when he and the architect, James McCreary, were having these discussions. And at one point, the architect said, I'm a licensed architect.

41:42I have to follow life safety codes, to which the president responded, according to our sources. There is no code here. This is White House construction. I am the code. Which, I mean, obviously is not the case. They still have to follow building safety, I imagine. It's interesting. I would hope. It's a nuanced answer because of the way that they've routed these contracts. Certainly federal agencies that do most of the construction, even construction at the White House like GSA or Park Service, do have to follow codes. It's in the laws that govern these agencies. But this particular project is routed through a tiny White House office that is not a federal agency, not subject to the same rules and regulations.

42:25And so really it comes down to the general contractor, the architect saying we are following this to the best of our ability. We're following national standards because we have to. We are licensed professionals. But can I just read part of your reporting that was remarkable, which is that this architect who quit and is no longer the architect informed the White House that the president's ballroom design did not meet those fire safety codes. alternative emergency exit routes out of the building were insufficient, and that there was little in the design to prevent a kitchen fire from rapidly spreading into the event space on the floor above.

42:59I mean, the president is wanting to host world leaders, dignitaries, diplomats in this space. Not that anyone should be able to go into a space that's unsafe, but I mean, it even went down to there weren't enough toilets to accommodate the maximum occupancy. So this comes down to the president being really focused on how big the ballroom was going to be, And so some of the images that you can see that we published actually show him drawing a sharpie larger footprint around the ballroom. And so by maximizing the space of the ballroom, our sources say there was limited space for other things, such as bathrooms, right?

43:36And the kitchen, which at one point might have made sense to have on the same room as the events or on the same floor as the event space, moved down to the first floor. And so you'd have servers coming up the stairs in order to make space for this ballroom. And that's where fire safety codes start coming into play here. You have to do certain things with those staircases in order to prevent fire from going from the first floor to the second floor. Sarah Blaske, it's a remarkable report. Thank you for joining us with the details tonight. Thank you so much. Much appreciated. Up next, it is time for Source Code.

44:10I give you a number at the center of a story in the news. Can you figure out what that story is? Tonight's source code is 4 million and I'll be right back with the answer.

44:25Tonight's source code is 4 million as in$4 million, which is how much the health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accepted in book advances over the last year. According to the New York Times, the advances were for two books set to be published by a company that is owned by Kennedy's longtime friend and business associate, Tony Lyons, who is also affiliated with various groups that are working to advance the Make America Healthy Again agenda. Ethics experts have warned that financial relationships like that one could potentially violate federal rules that bar officials from profiting off of their government position.

45:00When asked about this, a spokeswoman for HHS said, Secretary Kennedy complies with all applicable federal ethics laws, regulations, and financial disclosure requirements. She added, The Secretary works with HHS career ethics officials to ensure that his financial interests, gifts, outside activities, and other reportable matters are appropriately disclosed and handled consistent with those requirements. Now, Lyons, who is an attorney and one of Kennedy's staunchest defenders, did not respond to an email and text seeking comment. Thanks so much for joining us here tonight. You can stream The Source live or watch it on demand anytime if you have an all-access subscription.

45:41To get one, all you have to do is scan the QR code on your screen or go to cnn.com slash watch to learn more. You can also follow me on Instagram and Twitter at Caitlin Collins. I'm always posting all of our latest reporting throughout the day. Thanks so much for joining us here tonight. CNN News Night with Abby Phillip is up next. We just moved into our new house and I didn't realize just how close we were to the neighbors. That's when my friend told me about Blinds.com. Blinds.com isn't a medication, but it can improve how you feel about your home. Customers who shop at Blinds.com experience excellent customer service from consultation to installation.

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