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00:00You agree with the leak?
00:01Bullshit.
00:01You agree with the leak?
00:02This is a MAGA victimization fund that is sanctioned by Donald Trump.
00:06How dare he?
00:07Tonight, Loyalty's Donald Trump is on the ballot.
00:10The results are in from the revenge primaries.
00:14Plus...
00:14I'm proud of the work that I've been able to do with President Trump.
00:17But Pride isn't always a two-way street.
00:19Why?
00:19The President rattles the Republican Senate by endorsing a challenger.
00:23Also, as the DOJ slush fund deal bans the IRS from investigating Trump and his family,
00:30the administration doesn't rule out paying rioters who assaulted cops.
00:35I don't rule things out categorically when I know nothing about a person's individual circumstances.
00:40And the President decides to give America a tour of his ballroom construction during a war and economic pain.
00:47They like the flat room.
00:48Greece likes the, they call it the triangles.
00:51And you see that.
00:53Live at the table, Scott Jennings, Tara Setmeyer, Lydia Moynihan, Denver Riggleman, and Anna Navarro.
01:03Americans with different perspectives aren't talking to each other, but here, they do.
01:10This is CNN Breaking News.
01:15Good evening.
01:16We begin with breaking news.
01:17I'm Sarah Seidner.
01:17In for Abby Phillip.
01:18Tonight, President Trump's retribution tour against Republicans gets another major victory.
01:23CNN now projects that Trump-backed Ed Galrine will defeat Congressman Thomas Massey in the Republican primary for Kentucky's fourth
01:33congressional district.
01:34Trump promised to defeat the seven-term congressman after Massey broke with the majority of his party over demands to
01:40release all the Epstein files.
01:42He also voted against the spending bill because of its impact to the national debt.
01:46The White House communications director responded tonight, writing,
01:49Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power.
01:53F around, find out.
01:55Trump, again, stepped his attacks up earlier today.
02:01Thomas Massey's a terrible congressman.
02:04He's been a terrible congressman from day one.
02:07Dealing with him is just horrible.
02:09I don't think he's a Republican.
02:10And I think he's actually, I think he's actually a Democrat.
02:13He votes against us all the time.
02:16Massey is definitely a Republican, and he's just the latest of Trump's victims.
02:22Earlier this month, Trump vowed revenge against Republican state senators in Indiana who rebuffed his demand to redraw the state's
02:29congressional maps.
02:30Most of them lost elections to Trump-endorsed challengers.
02:34And Sunday, Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump at his impeachment trial following the Capitol attack,
02:40lost his Republican Senate primary seat in Louisiana.
02:44Now, this weekend, Senator Lindsey Graham said that loss was a warning to all Republicans.
02:51Bill Cassidy's lost because he tried to destroy Trump.
02:56Massey's going to lose because he's trying to destroy the agenda.
02:59You can disagree with President Trump, but if you try to destroy him, you're going to lose because this is
03:04the party of Donald Trump.
03:08All right.
03:09I'm going to start with someone at this table whose district this big changeover happened in Kentucky.
03:15You are familiar with this.
03:17You have seen really the, I don't know, mudslinging.
03:21It was insane.
03:22And the amount of money that's been pumped into this.
03:24But now Kentuckians and the rest of the country have to learn a new name for that House seat.
03:29What are your thoughts on what happened here?
03:31Well, it was the most expensive House primary in U.S. history.
03:34And the president made it a priority to get rid of Thomas Massey.
03:38And he succeeded because Massey had, frankly, become an opponent of the president inside of the party.
03:43And you just can't do that.
03:45You know, Massey used to, you know, reliably vote with the Republicans.
03:47That number had been falling over time.
03:50This is one of the most conservative districts in the country.
03:52It's certainly a conservative area of Kentucky.
03:55They gave Donald Trump a massive victory in 2024.
03:59And they expect the Republican congressman who represents them to be part of the team.
04:03The two big issues in the race that were in most of the advertising had to do with tax cuts
04:07and immigration.
04:09And Massey was against Trump on both of his big border security and tax cut bills.
04:14And so they said, look, we can get a Republican congressman that will be part of the team and support
04:18the president.
04:19That campaign worked.
04:20I just want to also add one other thing.
04:23Thomas Massey tonight in his concession speech said something despicable, anti-Semitic, nasty, gutter politics right at the end.
04:35What a way to go out.
04:36He said, I would have called Ed Galrine, but, you know, I had to find him in Tel Aviv.
04:42There was a there was an undercurrent of anti-Semitism in this race on the Massey side.
04:48There's been an undercurrent of it in his career, unfortunately, and it really came out in an ugly way tonight.
04:53And I think it needs to be stated, acknowledged and condemned because it was pretty despicable.
05:00All right.
05:00So that's the perspective from from the district in which you also live and live and have been watching all
05:06this.
05:06Tara, I am curious from you, can can Republicans not go against the president anymore?
05:13Is that where we're at?
05:15Clearly, the Republican Party has become a party of pedophile protectors.
05:19America is watching.
05:21OK, I don't agree with Thomas Massey on a lot of things.
05:24But, you know, he did the right thing stepping up on the Epstein issue and took the side of the
05:30survivors.
05:30And his cardinal sin against Donald Trump was the fact that he pushed to have the Epstein files transparently opened
05:38up.
05:39And that was what upset Donald Trump.
05:41Trump wasn't after him because of any of the anti-Semitic things he said.
05:45I mean, that would have been nice, but he didn't care about that.
05:47He doesn't care about any of that.
05:49He was upset with Thomas Massey because Thomas Massey decided to put his whole career on the line for the
05:54Epstein survivors.
05:56And this is what the result has been.
05:59Now, I think that there are a lot of members of Congress who are looking at what's happening with this
06:03president.
06:04What a disastrous presidency this has been thus far.
06:07They're looking at his tanking poll numbers.
06:08They're looking at his priorities being all over the place, everywhere but where they should be in a midterm election.
06:13But they're too scared to stand up and say, no, enough is enough.
06:18Because they're looking at what happened to Massey.
06:20They're looking at what happened to Cassidy.
06:21But you know what?
06:22Some things are bigger than your elected office.
06:25Where the hell is the integrity of these people in the Republican Party to stand up and do what's right,
06:29not only for the country, but for their own constituents?
06:32So, you know, Massey is another another casualty of the retribution tour.
06:36But I think people need to understand that the reason why Donald Trump went after him was because he was
06:41not subservient to him on the Epstein files.
06:44And that is a problem because America will remember who protected predators.
06:48Can we just do a little bit of fact checking on the Epstein issue?
06:52Did every member of the House Republican conference, except for one, vote to release the Epstein files, yes or no?
06:58Because there was a discharge petition where they had to.
07:00The answer is yes.
07:00Did Donald Trump sign it into law, yes or no?
07:02Because he knew that he was going to lose the discharge petition.
07:05So just for the record, the Republicans voted to release it.
07:08Donald Trump signed it.
07:09Because there was a discharge petition.
07:10They were forced to put it on the floor, Scott.
07:12They weren't, come on, if they were open to doing it, then they would not have to go through a
07:17discharge petition.
07:17I know you're trying to rearrange.
07:19No, I'm not telling you the facts.
07:20But the facts are, the Republicans passed it and Trump signed it.
07:24Scott, the White House brought in Lauren Boebert to the Situation Room and put all sorts of pressure on her
07:30to not vote for the discharge petition.
07:34And now Trump is going against Lauren Boebert.
07:37I mean, this Epstein thing is something that he has seen as a litmus test.
07:41And so, yeah, I mean, you can argue whatever you want.
07:44My point is, every Republican voted for it.
07:46Are you saying every Republican will have a primary?
07:48Why do they need a discharge petition to do it?
07:49You know that they voted for it because there were a few Republicans, including Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Massey,
07:58who had the cojones, the courage, to go against Trump.
08:01And you know that Trump...
08:03They had the courage in the last two years.
08:04He never cared about this until Trump took office.
08:07No, but listen, the people who voted for Donald Trump cared about this.
08:12That's right.
08:12Part of the MAGA agenda, part of what happened during the election is that people cared about the Epstein files.
08:19You raised a good question about the people who voted for Trump.
08:21As a voter in this district, let me stand up for my people.
08:24These people voted for Donald Trump.
08:27They also voted for Massey on the expectation that he would help Donald Trump enact his agenda.
08:32He stopped doing that, and it's pretty simple.
08:34They decided to get a congressman who will help him enact that agenda.
08:38It's easy to overanalyze this.
08:40The bottom line is they love Trump.
08:42They love his agenda.
08:43Tax cuts, border security, you name it.
08:46Massey got off that team, and they wanted to put someone on the team who would help the president.
08:50It's pretty simple.
08:51I do want to ask you something.
08:52With these two people, Cassidy and now Massey, could Donald Trump be facing a problem when they come back?
09:03Because they're not going to be out of their office right away.
09:06What do you see happening once they're back in Congress?
09:10Now they know they're not back.
09:11They're losing their seat.
09:12Do you see them deciding, okay, you know what?
09:14I mean, Cassidy just voted to limit Trump's power.
09:17Yeah, Cassidy just came and voted for the War Powers Resolution, right?
09:20So now he's free to do that.
09:22And from somebody who actually was part of the retribution for one of the first in 2019, right, in 2021,
09:29I can tell you right now that Trump does own the party.
09:31I used to make fun of it saying, you know, this is a Mississippi leghound party.
09:34Everybody's trying their best, right, to cozy up to Trump as quickly as possible.
09:37And I was pretty sure, right, that that wasn't going to keep happening, but it does.
09:40I was looking at Lindsey Graham, and I don't know if there's anybody who could be more sort of subservient
09:44to what's happening right now.
09:45But the thing is, regardless, if that's what they're doing, right, everybody trying to get favor of Trump,
09:50that's exactly what it is.
09:51Also, with Ed Galrein, we were talking about Massey, 14 years.
09:54I served with Massey.
09:55And Massey had some bizarre behaviors, okay?
09:59So let's just be honest.
10:00And he had some belief systems like the Fed'surrection, right, some of the things like that that are absolutely insane.
10:05But Ed Galrein really didn't run much of a campaign.
10:07It was more of what the Republicans would call a Biden campaign where he stuck in the basement, right?
10:11This was just $32 million of pure, absolute bully ball, right, that Trump and AIPAC and those guys actually did
10:17to go after this guy.
10:18But I think this is actually a bad thing for the Republican Party because right now with the polling and
10:23what you're seeing with Trump right now,
10:24I think we're beyond political analysis.
10:26I think we're now into a diagnosis of tertiary failure with the Republican Party based on polling and what's happening
10:31right now.
10:32Lydia, the party, the primaries, of course, are not the general.
10:35Are you worried that this could backfire?
10:38Because if you look at Trump's polling numbers, they don't look good.
10:41And each of these people were backed by Trump, although the party has consistently put in those people who he
10:47has put up against the incumbents.
10:50Yeah, look, I mean, the fact that somebody like Massey lost so overwhelmingly would suggest that Republicans are still very
10:57aligned with Trump's agenda.
10:58The reason that Cornyn is in this position, the reason Massey was in this position, is they weren't really aligned
11:05with the MAGA agenda.
11:07And so to your point earlier, too, of, you know, is Trump going to face headwinds with his agenda now
11:11that people don't want to vote against him?
11:13The reason that Massey and Cornyn are in a tough spot in the first place is because they weren't voting
11:17with Trump's agenda.
11:19And that's where Republican voters want to be seen.
11:21I will say...
11:22Cornyn voted with Trump 99% of the time.
11:24Right.
11:25Good luck with that.
11:26Well, I mean, good luck with that.
11:27It's not surprising that somebody who voted to impeach...
11:30I mean, it's not surprising that he is...
11:33Because he was against Trump 1% of the time, he is the guy that has got to face the
11:40music when it comes to Trump.
11:41So you can't say that it's not because they were against Trump's agenda.
11:45That just doesn't work.
11:46The math doesn't math.
11:48I will say as a matter of, like, Senate legislative affairs, if you're sitting in the White House,
11:53the Senate Republicans are going to be less governable now than they were previously.
11:59We saw Cassidy's vote on the war powers.
12:01You know, we'll see what happens to Cornyn here.
12:03You already had Tillis laying out there and others.
12:07And so, you know, it's a majority.
12:09But if you have a few people who are willing to go the other way on certain issues, it's harder
12:13to get them aligned.
12:15The House is still a very narrow majority, probably still a little more alignable.
12:19But right now, the Senate will be a difficult task for the legislative affairs step.
12:24I do think, though, I mean, it's interesting.
12:26Cornyn, if he'd voted for the SAVE Act, Paxton in Texas said, oh, I'm going to drop out.
12:31So I think we're seeing a surge in the base in people who are really motivated to enact Trump's agenda
12:35where some of these older sort of centrist candidates, frankly, haven't followed through in that regard.
12:41Well, hold on, because we're going to talk about that just a minute.
12:43Next, a Trump endorsement in Texas could play a major part in whether Republicans can hold on to the Senate.
12:49Plus, as the White House deals with 24 hours of some troubling headlines,
12:53President Trump decides to give the press corps a tour of the new White House ballroom.
12:58Those stories and more ahead.
13:03Tonight, the surprise endorsement that could have major implications in the battle for Senate majority.
13:09President Trump says he's backing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornyn
13:16in the state's primary runoff, which is next week.
13:18In a post on social media, Trump boasted Paxton's loyalty and called out Cornyn for, quote,
13:24not being supportive of me when the times were tough.
13:27The decision is a searing blow to Cornyn, who spent over a year courting President Trump.
13:35Trump derangement syndrome is real.
13:38Our president understands the art of the deal better than any modern head of state.
13:42Finally, we have a president who's been willing to stand up to the Iranian regime.
13:47The most amazing thing about President Trump is the risks he's willing to take.
13:54Our president demonstrated for all to see that the ultimate way to win over a bully
13:59is not to give in, but to stand up to him.
14:04I'm proud of the fact that President Trump said this will not stand.
14:09Cornyn responded by touting his voting record with Trump
14:12and noted that the president has consistently called him a friend.
14:17Paxton says it's just a facade.
14:22This guy has been a friend of Donald Trump ever since I got into the race a year ago,
14:26but has not been a friend to him prior to that.
14:28And as soon as this race is over, he will not be a friend to Donald Trump.
14:31That is not his history.
14:32That is not his record.
14:33And he's been dishonest with the voters of Texas,
14:36trying to convince him that he's voted 99 percent with the president.
14:38What does that even mean?
14:39But we know it's not true.
14:42Now, early voting is already underway in Texas.
14:45The nominee will face off in November against rising Democratic star,
14:48State Representative James Tallarico.
14:51People were going after Tallarico about his taco order just a couple of days ago.
14:55But I want to start with you, former VA Congressman Denver.
14:59When you look at this, you know what it's like to be sort of targeted, right?
15:06Oh, yeah.
15:06By the president.
15:07What is it like?
15:08And what should Cornyn expect?
15:11What, now?
15:12Yes.
15:13Full rules.
15:14Yeah.
15:16I mean, I think that's where we're at.
15:20I think what can Cornyn expect?
15:21I mean, right now, when you're talking about Paxton winning,
15:24I think it's probably one of the worst endorsements Trump could do.
15:26And listen, I think Paxton is a repugnant character, right?
15:31He's always been on the edge of sort of criminal activities.
15:33He had to do community service to get out of a felony.
15:35Right?
15:36Is everything wrong with what's happening, I think, with MAGA right now is Ken Paxton.
15:39I think he actually is sort of the linchpin to what's wrong with this.
15:45But here's the issue, right?
15:46I think what this does, I think if Lindsey Graham is the voice of reason in this and that targeting
15:51happens, right, to Cornyn, he's gone, right?
15:53Paxton is going to be there.
15:55I think actually what you're looking at right now is I think Lindsey Graham is right.
15:58They're going to spend three times as much money to win this thing.
16:00I think Tallarico does have a chance to win.
16:02But I will say this because I know I'm not trying to just to be adversarial or to say something
16:07where everybody agrees.
16:08I still think Paxton wins the race.
16:10I don't really, you know, I would hope that Tallarico can win and get over.
16:13I'm going to say that right here to the entire table.
16:15I still think Paxton wins the race because I still think MAGA really does run Texas in a way that
16:20we can't imagine.
16:21I just think that's the way it is.
16:23Tara, do you think that Paxton, do you have the same thoughts or do you think there is really a
16:28path?
16:30Well, I think Texas has been the big white whale for Democrats for a couple of election cycles.
16:34But Tallarico, honestly, is probably their best hope in a very long time, especially now with Paxton officially being endorsed
16:40by by Trump.
16:41I mean, you know, birds of a feather.
16:43The guy was impeached by the Texas legislature.
16:46He was acquitted by the Senate, just like Trump was impeached and acquitted.
16:50I mean, I don't know why if people are proud of this guy.
16:55I just think that, you know, elected representatives need to really think about who are they putting in office?
17:00Are they proud of these people?
17:02I mean, Ken Paxton is a despicable human being.
17:04He's dishonest.
17:04He has criminal behavior.
17:05He's an adulterer.
17:06His own wife came out against him.
17:08And yet this is the people that they the person that they've spent tens of millions of dollars to boost
17:12over Senator John Cornyn,
17:14who, although he debased himself trying to kiss up the Donald Trump, has by all measures been a good senator
17:19for the state of Texas for many, many years.
17:21And that's what he had to turn to do to prove loyalty.
17:25What about what you're doing for the people of Texas?
17:27It's all about Donald Trump.
17:28So, I mean, I think that it's once again, it's a character issue.
17:33And I think the people of Texas deserve better, but they're going to get the person that they choose.
17:37But it's going to be a hell of a race there in Texas, and a lot of money is going
17:40to be spent for the Republicans now in Texas that should be spent in other places because the Senate is
17:45in play.
17:46And you can see the senior Republicans that know better, that understand that this is not good for the Republican
17:53Party.
17:53It's MAGA brand, and the MAGA brand is terrible when it comes now to national races and statewide races.
17:59So good luck with that in Texas.
18:01Anna, do you think this could backfire, that if Paxson runs away with this and he's a nominee against Tallarico,
18:07that there is a possibility, a higher possibility, that perhaps Democrats get a chance?
18:14I do think Democrats have a chance.
18:16But listen, I'm old enough where there were Democrats elected statewide in Texas, right?
18:22People like Ann Richards, who was the governor.
18:25And people often ask me, why don't Republicans stand up to Trump?
18:28This is the reason Republicans don't stand up to Trump, because Trump has power, and he exerts that power in
18:36the primaries.
18:37He is incredibly influential in Republican primaries.
18:44John Cornyn is conservative.
18:46John Cornyn has voted with Donald Trump 99% of the time.
18:50John Cornyn was part of Republican leadership.
18:54He has incredible power in the Senate seniority, and he just, I think he just lost tonight, right?
19:03He just lost tonight with this Trump endorsement.
19:07And I think Trump is empowered by the fact that he's got the Cassidy scalp to show.
19:12He knew he was going to have the Massey scalp to show, and he thought, you know what?
19:17I'm going to show you all.
19:19I'm going to have the Cornyn scalp to show.
19:21So all of a sudden, Texas, which shouldn't be competitive for Republicans, is going to be competitive.
19:28And there's going to be all sorts of money spent there, which is the reason why John Thune, the majority
19:34leader of the Senate, is still supporting John Cornyn.
19:38And so are most of the senators that are in power today.
19:42Let it be what it is.
19:43What's it going to look like in Congress, you think, if all of the people that Donald Trump has put
19:48up against incumbents end up in place in Congress?
19:56Well, look, I mean.
19:57Will they ever sort of look at Donald Trump and go, hey, you know what?
20:00We'd like to have some of our power back.
20:01Because Congress has pretty much seceded a lot of their power.
20:06Well, yeah, that didn't just start in the last 10 minutes.
20:08No, it didn't.
20:08It's been going on for a long time.
20:09I mean, my expectation is that these Republicans, if they win their races, and most of them I think will
20:15win, including Paxton, I agree with you, Denver,
20:18are going to end up voting the Republican agenda, which is set by the White House.
20:24Now, who will have the majorities when we come back?
20:26You know, it's going to be a real race for the House and a real race for the Senate in
20:29the fall.
20:29I think the Democrats probably have a small advantage in the House.
20:33Republicans have a little advantage in the Senate, but it's going to be a real race.
20:37And every vote matters.
20:38And the president's expectation is that every Republican who goes up there, you know, supports his agenda.
20:43But, Scott, you recognize that Cornyn supported Trump's agenda.
20:47Right.
20:48I'm not arguing.
20:50I don't even remember what it is that Cornyn did that was so offensive to Trump that he would go
20:55against it.
20:56And endorse a guy who's, like, been impeached for insecurities, fraud, bribery, and all sorts of horrible things.
21:03I will answer if you'd like.
21:05Sure.
21:05Go ahead.
21:05One of the unacknowledged points here is that Paxton was a little bit ahead in this race, okay?
21:10Cornyn won in the primary by a little bit, but there was a third guy in the race, Wesley Hunt.
21:15He didn't make it.
21:17A lot of those voters were going to Paxton.
21:19Paxton was a little bit ahead in this.
21:21He might have won anyway, even without this endorsement.
21:24And so I'm not so sure Cornyn.
21:26I mean, Cornyn was running a very competitive race.
21:28I'm not so sure he would have been able to pull it out.
21:30I don't disagree with the point that Texas will become a little bit more expensive in the fall here.
21:36But your question is, what's the expectation of Republicans?
21:39The voters.
21:40It's not Trump.
21:41It's Trump's voters.
21:42The reason he has power and the reason he has influence is because they like him and they like his
21:47agenda.
21:47And if their perception is, is that you're off that track or that you're not doing all that you can
21:52for it, they're going to go find somebody who will.
21:55Now, Trump, you know, sort of enforces their will.
21:57It's not him singular.
21:59There's a legion, millions of people out there who are looking for Republicans who will do everything within their power
22:04to make this president successful.
22:06Kentucky 4, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, you name it.
22:10They are everywhere.
22:10All right. Up next for us, a forever ban of the IRS investigating Donald Trump, his family or family businesses
22:18for past tax issues signed by his former personal attorney, Todd Blanche.
22:24Let's discuss this.
22:25Stay with us.
22:29Tonight, it is nothing short of extraordinary, unprecedented, really, and to many outrageous.
22:35As part of his settlement deal with the IRS, which critics have previously called outright corrupt, the DOJ's $1.8
22:43billion fund deal with Donald Trump bans the IRS from pursuing claims it may have made against him forever.
22:50According to new terms released by the DOJ today, the federal government is, quote, forever barred and precluded from prosecuting
22:57or pursuing claims or examinations arising from any pending IRS matters.
23:02And the deal includes tax returns filed by Trump before the agreement was reached.
23:09The deal language applies not only to Trump, but his family members, trusts, companies and other affiliates.
23:17It was signed by acting attorney general, Todd Blanche.
23:20That was Trump's former personal attorney, who is now the acting AG.
23:25Congressman, I'm going to start with you.
23:27Thanks for starting with me.
23:28I appreciate it.
23:28You are welcome.
23:29Because we had a little discussion about this yesterday, and I'll let Scott go first.
23:33So it is your turn.
23:34What do you make of this?
23:35This is an addendum, something new added to it, saying they cannot look back at anything that the Trumps have
23:42done, family members included, when it comes to how they dealt with their taxes.
23:47You know, I was trying to think of a technical term for this.
23:49It's like criminal financial masturbation, right?
23:52So what you're looking at is this right here, okay?
23:54Right?
23:55This is the issue that I have.
23:56This is the biggest self-dealing in presidential history.
23:58You're talking about protecting his family and himself from any type of IRS investigation.
24:03Not only did he sue his own IRS for $10 billion, then he settled with himself for, by the way,
24:10it's $1.76 billion, 1776, which is simply a dog whistle to QAnon.
24:15That's all it is for his base.
24:17That's exactly what it is.
24:18And by the way, I'm an expert on it, so if people want to argue with me, I am ready
24:21to rock.
24:22The other issue that you have with this when you're talking about this type of self-dealing is that to
24:26say in perpetuity that you can't go after somebody for criminal, does that mean they're criming?
24:31This is a guy who's already, you know, he's been adjudicated on 34 felonies.
24:34This guy has been adjudicated for sexual abuse.
24:36We were talking about all this today.
24:38It seems like it's getting worse and worse and worse.
24:39And it's like he's burning the crops after he's stealing the corn because he's a lame duck president.
24:44Everything he's doing right now is about self-dealing, right?
24:46You're looking at the Trump boys.
24:47They're sitting there getting contracts on drone warfare.
24:50You see all that happening right now.
24:51You see, you know, Kushner in the Middle East.
24:53All this is self-dealing.
24:54You see the stock trades.
24:56All this is him trying to enrich himself and his family as fast as he can.
24:58It's the most disgusting thing that I've seen, especially with somebody who's took the oath as a military member and
25:03as a congressman.
25:03And right now, when we're looking at this as sort of overarching, I can't imagine, right?
25:09I can't imagine anybody, and I'm not trying to stage this argument.
25:12I can't imagine anybody saying that this is right.
25:14It's so egregiously awful and corrupt.
25:16I don't know why right now there's not people, Republicans and Democrats, saying there's no way this type of self
25:21-dealing can happen.
25:22I'm about to tell you that it's right.
25:23Go ahead, Scott.
25:24Is it wrong or is it right?
25:26Well, first of all, why did he sue the IRS?
25:29Because it was a leak.
25:30Because they leaked his tax returns illegally.
25:32No, no, no, the IRS didn't leak.
25:35Let's be clear, the IRS didn't leak.
25:36An independent contractor did.
25:38So, therefore, it doesn't apply.
25:40It's a nice hair splitting.
25:41No, it's frivolous.
25:43It's frivolous.
25:43While Trump was president.
25:46This happened during Trump's administration.
25:48Facts matter.
25:49He himself was the victim of the federal government being weaponized against him for political purposes.
25:54That's number one.
25:55Number two, I believe this deal on the looking back, it doesn't apply forward-looking.
26:02It has to do with this period of time.
26:03Now.
26:04Number three, on the fund, you know, we talked about this a little bit last night.
26:09I think that, you know, the idea that someone who attacked a police officer, they should not get money.
26:16That's not right.
26:17However, if someone does have a legitimate claim that they were over-prosecuted or targeted unfairly or was on the
26:23periphery of some issue and had no reason to be targeted, and they have a legitimate claim against the government,
26:28I have no problem with that.
26:29I think the government makes mistakes all the time, and people should be able to go back against their government
26:36over there.
26:36It would be transparent.
26:37It wouldn't be hidden, right, and secretive.
26:39That's the same thing that they do all the time.
26:40They hide behind this executive privilege on non-appropriated funds.
26:43When you have something secretive, it's not about transparency.
26:45Everything we've talked about is transparency.
26:47And my question, Scott, is do you actually believe he should sue the IRS for $10 billion on an independent
26:52contractor leak?
26:53Do I think that people should have their tax returns leaked by the federal government for political reasons, weaponized against
27:00them?
27:01I think he had every right to seek a grievance against the federal government for what they did to him
27:06on that.
27:06And it wasn't just him.
27:07It was other people, too.
27:08But then why did he file it after the—
27:09It was Ken Griffin also, and Ken Griffin just asked for an apology because he knows it's egregiously ridiculous.
27:13Well, and Trump got an apology, and he's not getting any money out of it, as far as I can
27:16tell.
27:16Well, it's $1.776 billion.
27:19And two years after the statute of limitations on this, it was not the federal government who did this.
27:23It was an individual contractor.
27:24The Supreme Court has ruled three times—
27:26Just magically on his own?
27:27The Supreme Court has ruled three times in precedent since 1911 that you cannot be the judge of yourself on
27:32anything.
27:32And so Donald Trump has sued himself to get a fund now settled with himself to get a fund where
27:38he's going to write a check for himself.
27:39We all know that this is bullshit.
27:40You agree with the leak?
27:41You agree with the leak?
27:42This is a MAGA victimization fund that is sanctioned by Donald Trump.
27:46How dare he?
27:48How dare he?
27:48You look in the face, and you justify this to the families of the police officers who were beaten, who
27:54were almost killed, to the people who were killed, to the people whose careers are ruined.
27:58I don't know about you, Scott, but I've spent time with those officers and their families, and their lives have
28:02been ruined.
28:03And unlike you, tonight you're saying this, but Todd Blanche could not say that today during his Senate hearing, neither
28:09could J.D. Vance say and guarantee to the American people that any of those violent bastards who did that
28:14to those people and tried to overthrow our election on January 6th would not get a dime from this.
28:19American tax dollars should not go to this.
28:22This is dishonorable, it's grotesque, and anyone who tries to hide behind some kind of patriotism behind this should be
28:28ashamed of themselves.
28:29Look in the eyes of the families of the people who suffered on January 6th.
28:33You know who the victim is here?
28:34Them and our democracy.
28:35And shame on anyone who tries to justify this.
28:38And it's our dollars that they're robbing to do this.
28:41It's grotesque and despicable.
28:43And it's also unconstitutional.
28:45Absolutely, and I'm glad to see Jamie Raskin and the Democrats are going to challenge it.
28:49It is Congress who gets the power of the purse.
28:54They cannot adjudicate this amount of money like that.
28:58I think there's a question on that.
29:01I think it is not no coincidence that they posted this addendum, that the DOJ posted this addendum after Todd
29:13Blanche
29:13had his hearing today in front of Congress because he didn't want to answer questions on this because it just
29:20stinks to holy hell.
29:22And this is, again, this is coming at a time when Americans can't afford gas, can't afford groceries, are canceling
29:30summer vacations.
29:32Farmers are going bankrupt.
29:34But we are settling with Donald Trump to the tunes of billions that we're saying, you are above the law?
29:40He's not getting any of the money.
29:41I'm glad that everyone's suddenly alarmed about slush funds.
29:45All of us around this table could be audited by the IRS.
29:48All of us.
29:49Sure.
29:50But Donald Trump can't.
29:50But Donald Trump can't.
29:51Right.
29:52That stinks to holy hell.
29:52Protecting himself in perpetuity is absolutely ludicrous.
29:55Well, it's not moving.
29:55It's not this point forward.
29:57Yet.
29:57Right.
29:58But it's his family and all of his and all of the derivatives of his business.
30:04Lydia, go ahead.
30:05No, I'm glad that everyone's up in arms about slush funds.
30:08I mean, Biden had $350 and a COVID fund that he appointed to GI.
30:14$350?
30:14$350 billion.
30:15There were about $20 billion that went to climate NGOs.
30:20I mean, I'm not a fan of slush funds.
30:22Are you really?
30:22I'm glad that you're outraged about a billion.
30:26I was also outraged about $400 billion.
30:29Biden's not president anymore.
30:30Justify this.
30:31Let's stay on topic.
30:32Justify this.
30:33You're OK with this?
30:33You think this is an honorable use of taxpayer dollars?
30:36So, look, I think.
30:38Yes or no?
30:38Yes or no?
30:39I don't answer to you.
30:40No, you can answer to the American people.
30:42Go ahead.
30:43I'm asking you a simple question.
30:44I have millions of people watching right now.
30:46Answer to them.
30:47What is it?
30:48You think this is honorable?
30:49I do not.
30:50Crickets.
30:50Thank you very much.
30:53You can't say yes or no is crazy.
30:55Did you answer the question?
30:55Wow.
30:56What do you think?
30:57Is this the right thing to do?
30:59I think it's important to acknowledge the lawfare that Trump and hundreds of people experienced
31:06under the last administration.
31:09Staffers, people who were blacklisted.
31:11Trump spent tens of millions of...
31:12So, the lawfare is a serious issue, and I think it makes sense that there would be some
31:18sort of restitution, given that this ruined people's lives.
31:20I am not sure that this is the best vehicle to make that happen.
31:24Oh, for the love of God.
31:25Do we all agree that we are against the slush fund in Congress that pays out taxpayer money
31:32to people who make claims on sexual assault, sexual harassment and claims, and we have
31:37no transparency?
31:38We don't know who it goes to, right?
31:39That is horrific.
31:40Okay.
31:40It is horrific.
31:41But that's not changed.
31:42It is also equally horrific.
31:43That is changed, yeah.
31:44That's true.
31:44It is equally horrific that there will be no transparency to this alleged fund, that
31:49that it is being done unconstitutionally because Congress has the power of the purse, that
31:55it is given Donald Trump a carte blanche to do whatever, and his family to do whatever
32:01the hell he wants, and that it is being negotiated by his personal lawyer with his personal lawyer,
32:05who is now the acting secretary, attorney general.
32:09It is disgusting.
32:11At a time when Americans can't afford shit, and let's not act like it's not about January
32:166th, Trump said it today.
32:18He's been claiming that the January 6th insurrectionists, who he pardoned on day one, which is also
32:23a disgrace.
32:23All of them.
32:241,600.
32:25The ones who...
32:26Not case by case.
32:27That's correct.
32:27All of them.
32:28Blanket hands.
32:28And that he said it was about them.
32:29They were treated so poorly and all of that.
32:31Good luck, Republicans, trying to justify that when you have the families of hundreds of officers
32:37and officers like Harry Dunn and Gunnell and Fanon and Daniel Hodges, who have stood up
32:43and lost their careers to stand up to say what they went through that day and what the
32:47American people saw, and they're trying to rewrite history.
32:49This is an affront to every law enforcement officer who put themselves between those traitors,
32:54bastards on that day, and our democracy to protect it, that Donald Trump and the people
32:59who support him and the Todd Blanchards of the world would actually try to say this is
33:03some kind of patriotic thing using a number like 1776 to give reparations or retribution
33:09to repay those people for those bad acts.
33:12So that's exactly what it was.
33:13Outrageous.
33:14And this is what it is.
33:14This is just a QAnon based on election theory going to people that he's pardoned.
33:18You have 1,600 people.
33:19You have federal privacy laws where you can't even track who gets the money.
33:22So where's it going to go?
33:23How are they going to use the money?
33:24For lawfare themselves?
33:26Are they going to use it for weapons?
33:27What are they going to do?
33:28I saw the charging documents.
33:29I saw the sentencing guidelines.
33:30I saw all the data.
33:31I saw the phone records.
33:32I saw the text messages.
33:33I sat in some of the trials.
33:34Right.
33:34It was my team that did that.
33:36Right.
33:36And what I saw was absolutely egregious.
33:38It was a coup attempt that day.
33:39If you look at what the people were talking on chatter and what they were saying.
33:42Right.
33:42And the people that actually wanted to overthrow that election.
33:44I saw the data.
33:45I was there.
33:46And what this is, it's an affront to the American people.
33:48It's an affront to the justice system.
33:50And I'll be goddanged.
33:51Mom said something really bad.
33:53I think Harry Dunn and Mike Fanone should be putting in for this fund.
33:55Because it's actually going in.
33:56All the frickin' law enforcement and United States Capitol Police should be the ones actually getting the
34:00money from this if they're going to use taxpayer money.
34:02They couldn't get a plaque put up.
34:04The Republicans wouldn't put the plaque to honor those officers that day in the Capitol
34:08to acknowledge what happened on January 6th.
34:10And yet now they're going to put up a reparations fund to the people who perpetrated that, to the people
34:15who wiped feces on the hallowed walls of the Capitol, of those people.
34:20Like, it's outrageous.
34:21The oath keepers, people who were convicted of seditious conspiracy, people who were convicted in a court of law by
34:27our peers here in a court of law are going to be entitled to millions of dollars.
34:31It's bad enough that Ashley Babbitt, it got $5 million in her family.
34:35Her family got $5 million.
34:36People like Michael Flynn got $1,025,000.
34:39I mean, this is outrageous.
34:41Donald Trump is using American taxpayer dollars to enrich himself and his MAGA buddies.
34:48The American people need to understand what is happening here and that we need to keep reminding them it is
34:53our dollars.
34:55If Hakeem Jeffries becomes Speaker of the House, that plaque is going up.
34:59Well, it's up, but now it's in a hallway somewhere else.
35:01But the fact that it took them, that's all they asked.
35:03And they put their lives on the line.
35:05And now people who perpetrated that are actually going to be entitled to millions of dollars.
35:10I want the Republicans, every single Republican in Congress who's elected, go out there and defend that.
35:15Democrats, for the love of God, if you do not make this an election issue in your district.
35:19What is astounding to me is that with a close election,
35:25Donald Trump is doing these kind of tone-deaf things in his administration.
35:29He doesn't even care.
35:30It's because it's gone.
35:3126 is gone.
35:31We will see what happens in these upcoming elections as well.
35:34The president went into granular detail, however, today about one of his key issues,
35:39that ballroom construction of people on a tour.
35:43We'll talk about that next.
35:47Tonight, as the Senate grapples with using taxpayer money for Donald Trump's ballroom,
35:51he decided to give America a tour of the construction.
35:53And while he was speaking, look at the news headlines on major outlets at the same time.
35:58Oil inventories are depleting rapidly due to the war.
36:01Speaking of Iran, new concerns about how the Pentagon will replenish weapons.
36:06The 30-year Treasury yield hit its highest since before the financial crisis.
36:11Raising health care costs may force millions to lose ACA coverage.
36:15The administration is defending the taxpayer-slash-fund to pay off its allies.
36:19The WHO is sounding the alarm on an Ebola outbreak.
36:23So, the obvious point, with so much going on, do Americans really want to hear about the ballroom?
36:29Anna?
36:30I don't know what to tell you.
36:32I mean, he's like a crazy grandpa, right?
36:34Who, you know how, like, grandpas show you pictures of their grandchildren?
36:38He shows you pictures of his ballroom.
36:42And, again, it goes back to the tone deafness, right?
36:45This is happening at a time when Americans can't afford health care, can't afford groceries, can't afford gas.
36:53Farmers are going bankrupt.
36:54But let's talk about my slush fund in the DOJ.
36:58Let's talk about my $15 million to repaint the reflecting pool Mar-a-Lago blue.
37:07Let's talk about the $1.5 billion for the ballroom that started at $200 million.
37:14I think it's disgusting to regular Americans who are having a hard time feeding their families and making ends meet.
37:21But how do you explain the fact that when you look at Donald Trump putting up all these candidates against
37:26incumbents,
37:27people are voting for them in the primaries.
37:30And yet there's this poll number for the president that is, what, 35, 36, 37 percent?
37:36Primaries aren't the general.
37:37That's right.
37:38It's that simple, yeah.
37:39Primaries aren't the general.
37:40And he's going to keep 35 percent of his base no matter what.
37:42And if you look at primaries, he's still going to have 80 percent, you know, favorability ratings, right?
37:47And if you're looking at a district with PBIs like Kentucky, what is it?
37:50God, it's got to be R plus 20.
37:51That's what's going to happen.
37:52And as far as the ballroom, if it's a lightning round, have you ever seen Naked Gun with Leslie Nielsen
37:57in the front saying there's nothing to see here,
37:58why there's a fireworks factory going off behind him?
38:00I feel like it's that right now because right now with the polling, with what's going on with the economy
38:04and things like that,
38:05it's so ludicrous for him to be talking about a ballroom.
38:08It sounded unhinged, like mentally unhinged.
38:10But that's what I feel like with the ballroom.
38:11You know, really quick to Anna's point about it's a crazy grandpa.
38:14I mean, obviously, there's concerns.
38:16The man is clearly unwell.
38:17But a grandpa shows pictures of his grandkids because he loves them.
38:20And that's a priority for him.
38:22Donald Trump is in love with his freaking gilded ballroom while the American people are struggling.
38:29The world is on fire, literally.
38:31And Donald Trump's freaking priority is a gilded ballroom.
38:35The people are on food bank lines because snap cuts have happened.
38:39Veterans aren't getting their benefits.
38:41I know that we haven't talked about this at all.
38:42I'm sorry.
38:43You don't like to hear what's actually happening in America that Donald Trump is not paying attention to?
38:47No, because I was speaking and you interrupted me.
38:50And we have Donald Trump just told us last week that he doesn't care about people's financial situations.
38:55So his priority is the ballroom, his vanity projects, and robbing the American people blind and enriching himself and his
39:01family.
39:02And this is the perfect opportunity for the messaging in the midterms to show what the priority is of the
39:08Republican Party who supports this.
39:10Because apparently it's ordained by God, Denver, right?
39:13That the ballroom is somehow ordained by God.
39:15But this is Donald Trump's priority while the American people are struggling.
39:18And that is a terrible message, the let them eat cake type of message.
39:22Good luck with that.
39:23Lydia, is it a let them eat cake type of message?
39:25Well, what we haven't discussed at all tonight in the last 24 hours, for instance, is the fact that Trump
39:31unveiled a new prescription program.
39:33600 medications are now generic and cheaper for Americans.
39:37He's partnering with Mark Cuban.
39:39He's making medication more affordable.
39:42I know that's one criticism, but that's something that he did.
39:45Hasn't gotten a lot of coverage.
39:46Also in the last day.
39:47Because Trump's talking about his ballroom.
39:48Let me talk.
39:49Can I speak?
39:51Thank you.
39:51Thank you.
39:52J.D. Vance talked about how he has found billions in fraud and Medicare and Medicaid that they are clawing
39:59back.
40:00That's savings for the taxpayer.
40:02And I'd like to note, with the ballroom, guess what?
40:04Trump can do more than one thing at the same time.
40:07And this isn't like he's funneling the money to Mar-a-Lago to build the ballroom.
40:10This is something that future presidents will be able to have, be able to use, and be able to entertain
40:16world leaders at.
40:17It's significant and symbolic.
40:19But again, this is a man who can do a lot of things at the same time.
40:22He can lower the cost of prescription drugs.
40:24He can claw back money from fraud.
40:26And he can build a ballroom.
40:27Yeah, he can steal, grift, and then meme and send memes out in the middle of the night.
40:32Exactly.
40:33We're going to leave it there.
40:34We will be right back with a new CNN projection.
40:42We've got some breaking news to leave you with.
40:45CNN projects Keisha Lance Bottoms will be the Democratic nominee to be Georgia's next governor.
40:51The former Atlanta mayor and Biden White House official beat out DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.
40:57Former State Senator Jason Estevez and former Republican Lieutenant Governor Jeff Duncan, who is running as a Democrat,
41:05she earned more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.
41:09She will face the Republican candidate who has to win their runoff.
41:13If elected in November, Lance Bottoms will be the first woman and first African-American ever to lead the state.
41:20Thank you so much for watching Newsnight tonight.
41:22You can stream the show anytime with an all-access subscription in the CNN app or at CNN.com slash
41:29watch.
41:31Laura Coates Live starts right now.
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