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00:01Out Front next, breaking news, the U.S. attacks Iran tonight, Trump's payback for the downing of an Apache helicopter
00:07with two pilots, Iran now retaliating, we are live on the ground in Tehran tonight, and it is election night
00:14in America, polls are just closing in a race putting Trump's power to the test tonight, this is a pick
00:20for governor, gonna pull out a win in South Carolina.
00:22And why is Lindsey Graham right now in one of the toughest fights of his career tonight? Also breaking, we're
00:30about to get the first look at whether Maine Senate candidate Graham Plattner could survive the controversies, polls are about
00:35to close there too, we're gonna bring you the results as they come in this hour, John King is at
00:39the magic wall, let's go Out Front.
00:44And good evening, I'm Erin Burnett, and Out Front tonight, we have breaking news, the U.S. attacking Iran, Iran
00:49now retaliating, a dangerous escalation in the war that's now on day 102, Tehran claiming it's firing missiles and drones
00:58towards U.S. targets, an attack after CENTCOM confirms the U.S. hit a number of targets in Iran.
01:04So this has been a back and forth, multiple explosions reported now along the Strait of Hormuz, and it all
01:10started, Trump says, when Iran shot down a U.S. Apache helicopter as it patrolled the crucial waterway.
01:16And that was a significant strike, maybe at the hands of an Iranian Shahhead drone, coming amidst a ceasefire that
01:23was broken two days ago, with missiles hitting back and forth once again between Iran and Israel.
01:28The president tonight telling ABC's Jonathan Karl that this is a response to what they did with our helicopter last
01:35night, and I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that's what this one is.
01:40Now, this is the first time in the war that Apache's gone down by a country whose military right Trump
01:47claims to have obliterated.
01:49Certainly when it comes to things like the Navy and the Strait, it's been obliterated or left at the bottom
01:53of the sea many times, according to Trump.
01:56The attack coming just hours after Trump said the U.S. would be declaring victory in Iran in the next
02:02two weeks, and also that there was a deal, the cusp of a deal with Iran, which is a claim,
02:07in fact, that Trump has now made at least 38 times since the war began.
02:12They're begging to make a deal.
02:14I think they want to make a deal very badly.
02:16Iran is dying to make a deal.
02:17We're going to end that war very quickly.
02:20They want to make a deal so badly.
02:21We're close to a very good deal.
02:23We're in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal.
02:29Where does that deal stand tonight?
02:31Well, in a moment, we're going to take you live to the ground in Tehran.
02:34But first, I want to go straight to Kristen Holmes, because she's out front, live outside the White House.
02:39And, Kristen, now a back and a forth happening in the Strait of Hormuz between the U.S. and Iran.
02:44I mean, what are you learning about the scope of the strikes this hour?
02:48Yeah, Erin, it certainly doesn't seem as though they're moving in the right direction in terms of some kind of
02:51a peace deal.
02:52But what I'm told is that right now there is a limited scope when it comes to these strikes.
02:56They're looking at military targets along the Strait of Hormuz.
02:59But we are told that they are expecting more strikes throughout the evening.
03:03Now, one of the things that we have been told was that this was meant to be somewhat of a
03:07warning shot fired to Iran after the downing of that Apache.
03:12And that they don't think long term this is going to affect any of those negotiations.
03:16Now, it's unclear whether or not they noted that Iran was going to retaliate and retaliate so quickly.
03:22We saw a post from Iran's foreign minister saying that any strike from the U.S. would essentially be countered.
03:29Now, the U.S. is still maintaining that it is somewhat optimistic about these negotiations, about reaching a peace deal.
03:35However, it's unclear whether or not that two to three day timeline, which President Trump laid out last night, still
03:42holds.
03:42Of course, we had heard that kind of timeline before and we are still in the midst of this no
03:47longer even ceasefire as the two sides are trading strikes.
03:52Yeah, absolutely. And days away from a deal for one hundred and two days.
03:56Thank you very much, Kristen Holmes. I want to go to Fred Pleikin.
03:59And he's live on the ground in Tehran. So actually there.
04:04And Fred, you know, obviously where you're standing, 2.30 in the morning, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC,
04:09says they're launching missiles and drones toward U.S. targets in the region.
04:13You're actually there and able to tell us what the Iranian regime is thinking or what they're what they're telling
04:20you.
04:20What are you learning?
04:23Well, they're saying there's going to be a powerful response to this.
04:25They generally have said, Aaron, that there's going to be a powerful response to any sort of strikes.
04:29That happened against Iranian territory. And you're absolutely right.
04:32The IRGC has already come out and said that they've launched missiles and drones towards what they call a U
04:38.S. military targets in the region.
04:40It's unclear what exactly is under fire at this point in time.
04:43It's quite interesting because about 30 minutes ago, the Iranian foreign minister also came out with a with a new
04:49post on X saying, quote,
04:51Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the U.S. opted to test our determination.
04:55Our powerful armed forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered.
05:01Leave our region if you want to be safe.
05:03So that coming just a couple of minutes ago from the Iranian foreign minister, obviously sounding very different than than
05:10a possible peace deal of being very close at this point.
05:17All right. It looks like Fred was finished.
05:20There we go. OK, looks like we've lost Fred's shot there.
05:24Obviously, you can imagine having communications to Tehran is is not the easiest thing.
05:28We're very grateful that Fred is there, as many of you may know, he was with incredible journalism as the
05:35war began.
05:35Out front now, retired Navy Admiral William McRaven, historian, military career includes organizing and overseeing the raid that killed Osama
05:43bin Laden.
05:43He is also the author now of the new book, Duty, Honor, Country and Life, a tribute to the American
05:49spirit.
05:50Something important to to read and to think about as we reach this 250th anniversary as a nation.
05:56Admiral McRaven, I want to begin with the breaking news here, though.
05:59The U.S. striking Iran, you know, Trump says that Iran took out one of America's elite Apache helicopters.
06:04And then there's in this back and forth. And you heard what Fred was just reporting before that communications issue
06:10when he was reporting that the foreign minister is threatening the U.S.
06:13saying our powerful armed forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered.
06:17Leave our region if you want to be safe. The IRGC is retaliating.
06:20What do you see happening here, Admiral?
06:23Yeah, well, unfortunately, you know, this this ceasefire is beginning to escalate.
06:28And this is not what the administration wants.
06:30Trump truly wants a deal. And I actually think the Iranians want a deal.
06:33But until we can stop shooting at each other, nobody's going to come to the negotiating table.
06:38I've been saying for quite some time that the president needs to think about his kind of long term strategic
06:44goals.
06:44And those should be, first and foremost, to get the strait open.
06:47The only way that strait is going to get open is if the president lifts the blockade under the auspices
06:53that the Iranians have got to open the straits.
06:56And then sit down and begin the long term negotiations that are going to be required for the highly enriched
07:02uranium,
07:03the state sponsor of terrorism and all the things that the Iranian regime has been doing that we want to
07:08put in better balance.
07:10Yeah. And of course, the irony of what you say, the first strategic goal is to return to the way
07:14things were before the war started,
07:16at least when it comes to the strait of Hormuz itself. Right. With with reopening that it does come in
07:21the context of this deal,
07:23Admiral, where Trump, as I said, the number that we counted is at least 38 times over the past couple
07:29of months.
07:29He has said that a war, a deal with Iran was was close to being finalized. Right.
07:34There's a deal. There's a deal. And we know it often comes over the weekend.
07:37It comes ahead of the market opening. I played a few of those claims a few moments ago.
07:41But, you know, you say you believe the Iranians also want a deal as well.
07:46How do you think they view, though, the reality that it is now very obvious to anyone on this planet
07:52that Trump really wants to make a deal?
07:56Yeah. You know, of course, one of the Iranian stipulations for coming to the negotiating table was for the the
08:02fighting between Hezbollah and Israel to stop.
08:05And and that has continued, which is why you you've heard about the very contentious phone call that President Trump
08:10had with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
08:13You've seen the continual, you know, bombardment going back and forth between Israel and and Hezbollah.
08:19And of course, this is what precipitated the Iranian attack attack the other day and then the counterattack by the
08:24Israelis.
08:25So unfortunately, the president really has a lot of things going on here.
08:29He's he's got to convince the Israelis. Yes, they have the right to self-protection.
08:33They need to protect themselves. But we've got to figure out a way to kind of broker some sort of
08:38ceasefire in Lebanon so that that can be one of the stipulations that we kind of take off the table.
08:43Then the next thing is, you know, we've got to figure out a way where we convince the Iranians that
08:50we will lift the blockade if they open the straits and then sit down and begin the long term and
08:55the hard negotiations that will come.
08:57Yeah. And long and hard, as you said. And with the prior deal, of course, we know it took it
09:00took years to get it done.
09:03Right. Now, Trump's claims of an imminent deal, as you know, Admiral, have been preceded by bombastic rhetoric that was
09:09unsettling to everyone from both Trump as well as the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.
09:15Here are just a few things that they've said to remind everybody of those moments where your heart would be
09:20in your throat many times in the early days of this war.
09:26I had to do a little stopover in Iran and we had to knock the hell out of them.
09:30We negotiate with bombs.
09:32We just keep bombing our little hearts out.
09:34Death and destruction from the sky all day long.
09:41That last threat from the defense secretary, death and destruction from the sky all day long, also comes in the
09:47context of Trump and the Easter Post, which which, of course, is unforgettable.
09:51Admiral, where the president wrote a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.
09:57I'm thinking in the context of the fact that you're writing a book in honor of America's 250th anniversary.
10:01What are the consequences on the world stage for an American president and the leader of its military, his defense
10:07secretary, to be speaking in this way?
10:10Well, certainly the rhetoric doesn't help.
10:12It certainly doesn't help in the process of negotiations.
10:15As I mentioned before, at the end of the day, Trump wants to broker a deal with the Iranians and
10:21the deal has got to begin with opening the straits.
10:23And so he's got to get them to the negotiating table.
10:26He's got to provide some sort of incentive that opens the straits and brings the Iranians to the negotiating table.
10:32The rhetoric won't help.
10:34But to your point about my book, Duty, Honor, Country and Life, it really is about the incredible soldiers, sailors,
10:40airmen, marines that I worked with over my 37 years.
10:44And it's those same soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines that are out there in the Gulf right now responding to the
10:50threats from Iran.
10:51So I hope when people read this book, they'll realize how incredible the young men and women of this country
10:57are, not just in the military, but frankly, everywhere I go in the country.
11:02And that's an optimistic note, I think, that gives people heart.
11:05Your book is a collection of speeches, letters, even poems, frankly, that you've written over the years, which I think
11:12is important.
11:12And I hope inspirational to many young women and men, but ahead of the country's 250th birthday at one point,
11:20you write, keeping our democracy alive past 250 years will not be easy.
11:25It will require our leaders to be men and women of integrity, the same integrity that I saw in public
11:30servants who raised their voices against corruption, malfeasance and the mistreatment of their fellow Americans.
11:37It's a poignant statement in the context of the moment in which we're having this conversation.
11:41Admiral, do you think American democracy is in danger right now?
11:46Look, I am worried about American democracy, but American democracy has always been this grand experiment, Aaron.
11:52And the fact of the matter is, if we're going to keep the American democracy moving for another 250 years,
11:58then we have to expect better from our leaders.
12:01Our leaders that are in the administration today, the ones in the next election and on and on and on.
12:07And not just at, you know, we need to expect better from our leaders at the local, state and federal
12:12level.
12:13That's what will move our democracy forward.
12:15That's what will keep it in place 250 years from now.
12:19All right.
12:19Thank you very much, Admiral McRaven.
12:21And I hope everyone will obviously take a look at your new book as well as your original one, Make
12:25Your Bed.
12:26and other other important things to know in life, which, as I said, I know is being read in my
12:32family.
12:33Thank you so much, Admiral.
12:34Thank you.
12:35And next, breaking news.
12:37Polls just closing in a race that's testing Trump's influence over the Republican Party tonight.
12:41This is in South Carolina.
12:42Can Trump's pick pull out a win?
12:44John King is standing by with new results.
12:46Plus, polls also closing in Maine.
12:49Democrats on edge right now, waiting to see how embattled Senate candidate Graham Plattner
12:53weathers the string of controversies he's facing.
12:56And a website tied to the Trump family now is selling a $12,000 coin with, shockingly, President Trump's face
13:04on it.
13:05The website says it's to celebrate America's 250th anniversary.
13:15Breaking news on this election night in America.
13:17Polls closing moments ago in South Carolina, where Trump is facing a major test tonight of whether his candidate for
13:24governor will win.
13:25Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evatt is facing a crowded primary, including a challenge from Congresswoman Nancy Mays,
13:31who, of course, Trump has aggressively snubbed.
13:33And after two high-profile Trump candidates, L.A. mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt and Iowa gubernatorial candidate Representative Randy Feenstra
13:41lost,
13:42the big question is, how will Trump fare in the test in South Carolina tonight?
13:47Also in South Carolina, surprisingly, I mean, when you talk about incumbent, I mean, this defines the word incumbent.
13:53Lindsey Graham is fighting off a Republican challenger.
13:56Graham has represented, obviously, a deep red South Carolina for more than two decades.
14:01He has never been in a runoff, which could happen this year if he doesn't get 50 percent of the
14:04vote.
14:05How in the world is that even in question?
14:07Well, a lot of the commentary he has been making during the war is part of the reason.
14:10He does, though, have the endorsement of Trump.
14:13And in the last weeks of the race, he has spent big money to try to keep his seat.
14:16He's been on defense to try to prevent this runoff, as I said, in part because of comments he's made
14:20about the war with Iran and Israel.
14:23And, of course, we're also watching one of the most talked-about races right now,
14:26which is the Democratic Senate primary in Maine, where Graham Plattner is expected to prevail.
14:32Now, whether he can beat incumbent Republican Susan Collins is what this is about,
14:36and that may come down to the turnout and enthusiasm that we see in the primary tonight.
14:40His performance will be closely watched, because for Democrats,
14:43the Maine Senate race is crucial if they are going to regain control of the Senate.
14:47All right.
14:47Our let's signs that Plattner's campaign headquarters in Blue Hill, Maine,
14:50and Diane Gallagher is in South Carolina, where we are standing by for the first results,
14:54which could come here in the next few seconds.
14:56But we've also got David Axelrod, Maura Gillespie, Ested Herndon, and Mark Sanford also all here standing by.
15:03Let's start with you, though, Diane, because polls have now closed in South Carolina.
15:06And what are you learning here?
15:10That's right, Erin.
15:11Polls just closed, which means we had to come outside from the polling place we were
15:14so they could get everything together, get it to the county election seat.
15:18That's happening all across the state right now.
15:20Of course, most of the eyes watching that South Carolina GOP gubernatorial race here,
15:26which has really just a stacked field of five candidates,
15:30including the lieutenant governor, Pamela Evitt, who is endorsed by Donald Trump,
15:34the longtime attorney general, Alan Wilson, two sitting members of Congress,
15:37and Ralph Norman and Nancy Mace, and businessman Rahm Reddy.
15:40A lot of the questions about the Trump endorsement and whether or not
15:43Evitt's going to get a Trump bump or not.
15:46And I will tell you, talking to voters here today, there is no clear leader,
15:50which is what we've seen in a lot of polling here in the state locally as well.
15:54We spoke to people who say that they loved President Trump but had already made their decision
15:58about their candidate before the endorsement came down,
16:01and there was nothing in his endorsement that caused them to want to switch up candidates.
16:07Now, because South Carolina requires 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff,
16:13we are likely heading to one in this particular race.
16:16And many of the voters I spoke to here said that if Evitt were to make that runoff,
16:22at that point they may then put more stock in Donald Trump's endorsement.
16:28But again, it would depend on who she was going up against.
16:30Each one of these candidates, all five of them,
16:33have tried to align themselves as closely with the president's agenda as they can.
16:38Congresswoman Mace calling herself Trump in high heels and MAGA Mace.
16:42Of course, she did not get that endorsement,
16:44but it has not stopped any of the candidates from saying that they are all about the Trump administration.
16:48You mentioned the Graham race.
16:50Just really quickly, there are six Republicans, including Lindsey Graham, running for U.S. Senate here.
16:55There is talk.
16:56We only found two or three people who said they voted for Lindsey Graham.
16:59Most of them said, though, they weren't really sure about the person they voted for against him.
17:03They just didn't want to vote for Graham again.
17:07Yeah, it's fascinating to watch that.
17:08I mean, think about the moment in history we're at for Lindsey Graham.
17:11All right.
17:11Thank you very much, Diane.
17:13We're going to be going back to you.
17:14I do, just before we go to Maine, want to put that board up again that we had put up
17:17for just a second.
17:17Very first votes coming in in South Carolina, fewer than 1,000 counted.
17:21So take it with that grain of salt.
17:23But here's what you have.
17:24You have Alan Wilson right now, 23 votes ahead.
17:26So that's why I'm emphasizing how very few votes this is.
17:30Pamela Ebbett is the lieutenant governor, the Trump-endorsed candidate.
17:34But you've got to keep a close eye on this as more votes come in in these next few minutes
17:38here.
17:38Let's go now to Arlette Saenz, who is in Blue Hill, Maine.
17:42That is Graham Plattner's headquarters there.
17:44And Arlette, poll's about to close where you are.
17:46So what is the mood inside the room right now where all eyes are going to be on what is
17:50turnout, what is enthusiasm on the heels of these controversies surrounding Plattner?
17:58Boy, Erin, attendees are starting to fill in in this gymnasium in the very county where Graham Plattner is from
18:04as they hope to hear a victory speech from their chosen candidate this evening.
18:09Plattner is expected, is favored to win this Democratic primary.
18:13But what we will be watching very closely is the margin of that victory, which could offer a gauge of
18:19how much enthusiasm he does or does not have within the Democratic Party after those scandals that have come out
18:25around his campaign.
18:26Now, we spoke to a mix of voters throughout the day, and they really had differing views about Plattner's candidacy
18:34and viability in this campaign going forward.
18:37We spoke to people who voted for Plattner, sticking with him, but others who said that they voted for Janet
18:41Mills, the state's governor, who has suspended her campaign, but whose name is still on the ballot.
18:49Take a listen to two of those voters on opposing sides that we spoke to earlier.
18:54In terms of Mr. Plattner, it's how many strikes do we need against the guy?
18:59I don't think he's ready to be a senator.
19:02He's absolutely going to win.
19:03I have no doubt.
19:04Mainers are not falling for this political crap.
19:07And frankly, the more people from away that come and try to influence our thoughts, the more we dig in
19:13with what we really believe.
19:17Now, the biggest test for Plattner will come in November, where he is expected to face off against Republican Senator
19:23Susan Collins.
19:24Republicans have made clear that they plan to put Plattner's controversies front and center in their messaging against him in
19:31this campaign.
19:32A Democratic primary electorate is far different than a general electorate.
19:36So Plattner will have some work to do in the coming months if he wants to try to overcome some
19:41of the concerns about the controversies here.
19:43But this is one of those states that will be crucially watched until the very end, as it could determine
19:48the makeup of the Senate next year.
19:50Erin.
19:51All right, Arlette, thank you very much at Plattner's headquarters as we await for results there.
19:56Everyone's here with me.
19:57So, David, we'll put those results up in South Carolina very, very early.
20:00Let's see if we get a few more votes in there.
20:02But we had, no, so, there you go.
20:04I think we've doubled the number that we had.
20:07Alan Wilson is now ahead.
20:08Now, look, you've got five people running.
20:10You start to see this flip up and down because we're very early on.
20:14Pamela Ebbett, though, is the lieutenant governor.
20:15That is the Trump-backed candidate.
20:17And that is the test for Trump tonight.
20:18How important is it for Trump that she win?
20:20You know, I think it will be added to the list of, it's so unusual for Trump not to win
20:28that anytime somebody doesn't,
20:30it's the question comes up, is he losing his influence with Republican voters?
20:35I wouldn't read too much.
20:36I defer to the governor on this.
20:38I wouldn't read too much of it, too much into that.
20:41I don't know how much he leaned into this.
20:43When he leans in, it tends to make a difference.
20:46We saw it in Texas.
20:47We saw it in Louisiana.
20:49This didn't seem one in which he was leaning real hard.
20:53Leaning in too heavily.
20:53What about, governor, you know, you served, obviously, two terms as governor.
20:57So you've been through this.
20:58But there's also the GOP Senate race and Lindsey Graham.
21:01And it was interesting with Diane's reporting that some people were saying they literally were just voting to vote against
21:07Lindsey Graham.
21:08I think that's real.
21:09I think that Lindsey, had he drawn a real opponent, would have been in profound trouble.
21:15I think he's in trouble, the fact that we're having this conversation.
21:18I've been through my share of runoffs in South Carolina.
21:20They are not fun.
21:21I mean, it's a blood sport.
21:23I mean, it's sort of gladiator style.
21:25Whoever walks out alive wins it.
21:27But, I mean, it'll be a rough two weeks if Mark ends up.
21:31I mean, they will bring, you hear talk of the president coming in if Mark ends up in that runoff
21:39with Lindsey.
21:40So we'll see.
21:40Yeah.
21:41I mean, you know, obviously early, early on, he's ahead.
21:43Lindsey Graham's ahead by a lot now.
21:45But, again, you're looking at just a few thousand votes.
21:47You can see 1%, I believe.
21:49I mean, my glasses, 1% of the vote is in instead.
21:51So I'm not going to read anything into that at this point.
21:53But it is incredible that we're having this conversation.
21:56And in part, it comes from Lindsey Graham's fealty to Trump and a lot of the commentary that he has
22:01made in the past few months on the Iran war.
22:03And Israel's importance compared to voters in South Carolina's importance to Lindsey Graham.
22:08Yeah.
22:08I mean, he's run afoul of both the right.
22:11And this has been building for a while.
22:13I remember being in Myrtle Beach four or five years ago with, you know, a different Lindsey Graham challenger.
22:17And there was still that kind of air because he was softer on immigration issues than kind of that base
22:22one.
22:22And there's been multiple efforts.
22:24And I think to the governor's point, what Trump really did was insulate him from maybe a more stronger challenger.
22:29It's kind of a tale of two shapeshifters.
22:32I think an interesting thing in that governor's race is how Donald Trump kind of punished Nancy Mace, particularly for
22:38their vote, to release the Epstein files.
22:40And I think that's someone who has tried to tie herself to him so closely.
22:44And you see how in that break, specifically on that issue, he has made, I think, obviously the conscious choice
22:51to not only endorse her opponent, but to make sure folks knew he was sidelining her.
22:56I just wonder, you know, in both parties and in this country, there is this great divide today.
23:03And it is establishment candidates versus anti-establishment candidates.
23:08And Lindsey Graham is, he is, he's been around forever.
23:13He is an establishment candidate.
23:15I think he, you know, he built his relationship with Trump as a firewall against the anti-establishment movement.
23:22But I'm not sure voters really see him that way.
23:25Well, and there's a reason for that.
23:26Yeah, go ahead, go ahead.
23:27What I was going to say is that, which version of Lindsey Graham are you talking about?
23:30There's been many iterations of Lindsey Graham.
23:32He was a John McCain best friend.
23:34He was somebody who then turned and said that he was all for Trump.
23:38And has been a champion for Trump.
23:40And then, really, I think MAGA got upset when he was talking about, I'll bomb anyone and everyone.
23:45And so this idea that he, there is this idea within the MAGA cohorts that Lindsey Graham is the reason
23:50that, partially the reason, that Donald Trump was gone after and attacked and bombed, you know, the cartel boats and
23:56Iran and different things.
23:57And so I do think that's coming back to bite him in a way that MAGA is not happy with.
24:01It doesn't necessarily mean that they are doing this against Donald Trump.
24:04They're doing this against Lindsey Graham.
24:05You've worked for House Speaker John Boehner, also Adam Kinzinger.
24:09I'm curious in the context of what you just said about Nancy Mace, though.
24:12Nancy Mace describing herself as Trump in high heels.
24:15But Trump turned on her over the Epstein files.
24:17It's like he turned on Thomas Massey.
24:19You know, they would say, oh, well, Thomas Massey also didn't vote with him on the war.
24:22It was about the Epstein files when he had these original shifts on people.
24:26You know, what does that say to you, that so much of this for Trump comes down to Epstein?
24:31But it also comes down to personal.
24:33It's a personal thing for Trump because he's also not endorsed Ralph Norman.
24:37And so because of his support for Nikki Haley, you know, he has these vendettas that he holds on to
24:43and he won't let them go.
24:44But I do think when you talk about the Epstein files, that is also something that he, one, feels very
24:49strongly about.
24:49And we watched as Pam Bondi passed the buck to Todd Blanche and said that it's his fault.
24:54Let's go have him deal with it.
24:55MAGA's not going to forget that either.
24:57But also the general public's not going to forget the fact that that has been withheld.
25:00And we really haven't gotten answers for a lot of things.
25:03We also haven't gotten answers on why Ghislaine Maxwell is sitting in a cushy prison, right?
25:07There are questions that people want answers to and we're still being denied.
25:11And from a campaign that ran on transparency, not having that come to fruition is very frustrating.
25:18I mean, it's kind of amazing.
25:19Plattner, so obviously, you know, the other person on the ballot had already gotten out of the race.
25:24So it's not really a race.
25:26But what does matter is what tonight?
25:28Turnout?
25:28And what can you look at to see?
25:30I think you can look at the margins.
25:32Like the last polling we had was having him at 70-something percent, 60-something percent since her 24 when
25:37she was more campaigning high.
25:38Do you see people come out on her side?
25:40But I really think this is a question of what happens going forward.
25:43Is there more information that comes out about him, I think, is the principal question.
25:47But, you know, I think what that voter shared in the package is a real sentiment.
25:52Plattner, and I think to David's point, these kind of anti-establishment candidates have made their – have made the
25:59targets against them part of their appeal, right?
26:02Like they're saying in part of thumbing your nose at Washington is not just the policies that kind of prioritize
26:07the working class, but sending a person they don't think is supposed to be there.
26:11That's built in the Plattner campaign.
26:13And do you see that in South Carolina, too?
26:15Absolutely.
26:15I mean, to your point, to David's point, the anti-establishment thing is a big deal in this governor's race.
26:21For instance, Rahm Reddy of the last week has been surging, I mean, really moving.
26:26He just had $400,000 run against him in negative ads by, you know, Ralph Norman and crew.
26:33But that may have stopped it.
26:36But the anti-establishment fervor is alive and well, I suspect, to your point, across the country.
26:44But you really feel it in South Carolina.
26:45And were it not for those ads and were it not for the Trump endorsement, I think Rahm would have
26:50ended up in this runoff.
26:51I don't think it will.
26:51Well, I think Plattner is counting the minutes to turn this race on Susan Collins.
26:56And I think you're going to probably hear that tonight.
26:58Yeah.
26:58All right.
26:58Everyone stay with me.
26:59You're going to be with us here as we continue our breaking news coverage of Election Night in America.
27:03Live pictures out of Los Angeles because this is the witching hour every night.
27:07This is when we get a big pile of votes from that room.
27:11So can we make a governor's call?
27:13We'll see.
27:14We can determine whether Republican Steve Hilton will advance to the runoff or not.
27:18Plus, Trump today dismissing what has become one of the biggest issues for voters this election year.
27:25Breaking news.
27:26We're watching whether a Trump-backed candidate in South Carolina will win in tonight's primary for governor
27:31after Trump's preferred candidates in Iowa and California recently lost.
27:35As a major Trump ally, Lindsey Graham, the senator there, is fighting a crowded primary field,
27:40trying to avoid being forced into a runoff election for the first time in his Senate career.
27:43So let's go to John King.
27:45He's at the magic wall out front.
27:46And, John, Trump backing South Carolina's lieutenant governor in the race there.
27:51So how is she doing right now as we're starting to see votes populate the screen?
27:55She's in the lead right now, but it's very, very early, number one.
27:59Let's start there.
27:59We only have about 3 percent of the vote in, Erin, so we need to be very careful.
28:02This is just a few precincts in a few counties.
28:04You see them lighting up in here.
28:06I'll go through.
28:06And the other point is if you don't get to 50 percent plus one, you have a runoff.
28:11But the lieutenant governor is Trump's endorsed candidate.
28:13You see she's on top right now.
28:14The state attorney general, Ellen Wilson, is second.
28:17Businessman, Rahm Reddy, is running third.
28:19I heard the former governor talking earlier about the anti-establishment sentiment we see all over the country.
28:23Two members of Congress, Ralph Norman and Nancy Mace, at the bottom of the pack right now.
28:26Forgive me.
28:27I moved that over a little bit.
28:28Let's come back over.
28:29But, again, it's only 3 percent of the race as it comes in.
28:32So, number one, it looks like if the two members of Congress stay down there, you're going to have turnover
28:36in Congress anyway.
28:37The question is whether they can move on up.
28:39It's too early to make the call again.
28:41With 3 percent, you would say, oh, they're going to a runoff.
28:43But it's 3 percent.
28:44So check back in.
28:45We'll let the count go on.
28:47All right.
28:48And so now let's talk about Lindsey Graham, Trump's ally, has been his fierce ally on many issues recently, but
28:54specifically the Oran war.
28:56So he's now facing five opponents in his primary, also needs a 50 percent of the vote to avoid a
29:02runoff.
29:02So where do things stand there for Senator Graham?
29:04So flip side of the same explanation.
29:06He's way ahead right now, but everybody calm down.
29:09If he's still only 3 percent of the vote in, if he stays there against a more conservative candidate, Mark
29:14Lynch, if Lindsey Graham can stay above 50, he will avoid that runoff.
29:17But at 3 percent of the vote, you know, again, very early returns.
29:21He's the incumbent senator.
29:22So there's nothing you can make of it, except if you're Lindsey Graham, you want to stay up there.
29:26But as more votes come in, we'll see if he does.
29:28All right, John, I just want to I'm about to ask you a question here.
29:32But first, we do have some breaking news.
29:33We can make a projection in the race for governor in the state of California now that Steve Hilton will
29:39be advancing to the general election.
29:42So he will be advancing along with Javier Becerra.
29:44That means that Tom Steyer will not advance to the next to the general election.
29:49But this means that Republican Steve Hilton will advance in the California race for governor to the general election.
29:55And you can see that is the vote count here that we are making this projection here at CNN based
30:00on right now.
30:02So, John, we saw Steve Hilton maintain that lead.
30:06Steyer had caught it, you know, cut into it a little bit.
30:09But what do you see that stands out now that these results are in in California with Becerra and Hilton
30:15advancing in the gubernatorial race?
30:17Several things to think about as you go through this here.
30:19Number one, unless you are a supporter of Tom Steyer and this is a defeat and you're bruised by this
30:24and you're upset by this.
30:25Other Democrats are happy that you have a Democrat and a Republican running against each other in November because California
30:31doesn't mean Mr. Hilton can't win.
30:33This is a volatile year.
30:34It is an anti-incumbent, anti-establishment year.
30:36And in California, Democrats are the establishment.
30:39So we'll watch this play out.
30:40But Javier Becerra's campaign, certainly, and other Democrats did not want to have spending millions of dollars again on Democrat,
30:47Democrat ads and violence, if you will.
30:49So now you have a Democrat and a Republican advancing to the fall campaign in California, our most popular state.
30:55The other thing I will note is just look at this now, just in terms of your panel was having
30:59this conversation.
31:00People are not happy with politics.
31:02And in California, there was no clear favor.
31:04Mr. Becerra and Mr. Hilton will move on, but 28 percent, 25 percent, 23 percent, 5 percent, 3 percent, just
31:11you had all these candidates running.
31:13And the vote was split all over the place.
31:14And the two people who will advance essentially getting 28 percent and 25 percent.
31:19So a number of candidates in the race, voters all over the map, to borrow a phrase, as you get
31:23there.
31:24But now, again, in our most populous state, Gavin Newsom term limit going out.
31:28Mr. Becerra, former congressman, former state attorney general, former member of the Biden cabinet running against Steve Hilton, former Fox
31:35News host, the more conservative candidate.
31:37So California has a Democrat-Republican matchup because of the jungle primary era.
31:41And it could have been Democrat on Democrat, which would have been a lot of money spent.
31:45Democrats would rather spend money on the governor's race and have resources elsewhere and not be fighting each other from
31:50now until November.
31:52All right. Thank you very much, John King.
31:54So, David Axelrod, it is, obviously, you could say Democrats, other than Tom Steyer supporters, wanted an outcome like this
32:01because they think it favors them to have a Democrat versus a Republican so you don't split the vote.
32:04Yes.
32:05So, fine.
32:06But Steve Hilton has advanced.
32:08You had a Republican advance.
32:10He is a former Fox News host.
32:12He's also a very energetic person who has now been trying to, you know, position himself as a much more
32:19of a California Republican.
32:20Yes. And the first thing he did to do that is to dispute the president's interpretation of the count as
32:27being a rigged election.
32:28Yep.
32:30And that was a declaration of independence.
32:33The president was his booster rocket to get into the runoff because he there were two Republicans who were relatively
32:40even in the competition.
32:41Trump came along.
32:42He endorsed Hilton.
32:43But, as I've said before, he puts wind in your sails in a primary and he's an anchor in the
32:48general.
32:49He's trying to separate himself from Trump.
32:52But let's just say for a second, that was what made Trump's outburst over the weekend so absurd because the
32:59idea that the election was being rigged to keep Republicans out was insane.
33:05And Karen Bass was mourning the loss of Pratt in Los Angeles.
33:10And I think Becerra is celebrating the ascension of Hilton because it's a Democratic state.
33:18Los Angeles is even more Democratic than the state.
33:21They'd love to run against Republicans.
33:23Democrat on Democrat is harder.
33:25So, Ested, it is interesting, though, as the governor pointed out and as John King said, this is an anti
33:32-establishment, anti-incumbent year.
33:35I mean, we'll see.
33:36You're talking about California, okay?
33:38So I guess I got to just say you're talking about California.
33:41But Javier Becerra is as traditional and incumbent and, you know, all of those things as it gets.
33:49And Steve Hilton isn't.
33:50Yeah, I mean, I do think that gives an opportunity for someone to kind of play themselves as outsider.
33:55But, you know, I was actually thinking about the kind of failures of the left in California specifically.
34:00I think that, you know, a lot of folks were trying to boost Tom Steyer.
34:03He tried to really spend a lot of money in that new media ecosystem, lean into the wealth tax there.
34:08That didn't necessarily pay off.
34:10I mean, you have, I think, in California a history of that more mainstream Democrat being able to crowd out
34:17the progressive left lane.
34:18And they haven't still been able to overcome that.
34:20But I still don't think that that takes away from what is a general tenor of anti-establishmentism.
34:25And I think that there are some issues that are guiding that.
34:28I think that AI kind of rejection or anti-data centers or wanting to share the profits of the future
34:36of work comes up all the time.
34:37I think that sentiment change about Israel is something that is undeniable in polling.
34:42And there's now a kind of uniting figure among base right and left.
34:45And you're seeing that as a disconnect with elected officials.
34:48So I feel like when you think about anti-establishment, you have to add in the issues in there, too,
34:53that are sometimes driving the gateway for these candidates.
34:55And it is interesting, as David pointed out, that when you saw in California Steve Hilton saying, going against Trump
35:01and saying, I'm not seeing any evidence that this is right.
35:03He actually said it 24 hours ago here.
35:05Here he is.
35:12We've been very vigilant on it.
35:13We're keeping an eye on it.
35:14We've got teams standing by, lawyers standing by.
35:17And actually, it's the same answer that actually I've been giving for a few days now.
35:21We've seen nothing that would give us cause to intervene in that way.
35:27OK, we're in a world where a Republican endorsed by Trump saying, I'm not seeing election, any evidence of election
35:34fraud.
35:34Everything seems fine when Trump says they're out to get him is actually it's a big deal.
35:40OK, so so survivable in California, maybe not in South Carolina.
35:44Right.
35:45Required in California.
35:47Required.
35:47Right, right, right.
35:48Required.
35:49Yeah.
35:49Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
35:51I mean, it's the nature of the different states and the compositions that go with it.
35:55But I mean, I don't think it's a bellwether yet, I guess is what I'm saying.
35:59To your point, required or needed.
36:02But take it to South Carolina or some other states down south, maybe a little different move.
36:06But for Steve Hilton to say, sorry, for Steve Hilton to agree with the president, to agree with Vance, and
36:11to agree with Speaker Johnson that there was widespread fraud happening here in California would diminish what he just accomplished.
36:15Right.
36:15He got to this point.
36:16So it would diminish the votes that he got.
36:17So why would he?
36:18You know, he's got to, someone's got to call spade a spade here, right?
36:21If it's not fraud because his team's working on it, one, I would hope that he's having a conversation with
36:26the president's team and calling him behind the scenes and saying, please stop saying that because you're, you know, cheapening
36:30my win.
36:31Because if I advance, you're going to make it look good.
36:31But you're cheapening my win, essentially.
36:33Yeah.
36:33Yeah.
36:34I think one of the things that's really interesting is Steyer.
36:37He ran as kind of a self-loathing billionaire.
36:40Yeah.
36:41And he spent hundreds of millions of his own dollars flaying billionaires.
36:46If he had gone to the general, he might have spent so much money, he wouldn't be a billionaire anymore.
36:50But it just shows you that you can't take the progressive kit, toolkit, put $200 million behind it and expect
36:58that progressive voters are going to follow you.
37:00Yeah.
37:00All right.
37:00Yeah.
37:00Okay, everyone stay here.
37:02We are continuing to follow the breaking news as we have made that call in California with advancing for Steve
37:08Hilton and Javier Becerra.
37:09We made that call.
37:11And it's Iran now retaliating tonight against the U.S. as well.
37:14We understand these strikes back and forth, launching missile and drones toward the U.S.
37:17The escalation is coming after that Apache went down along the Strait of Hormuz.
37:21And a website tied to the Trump family is trying to cash in on the White House cage fight.
37:27This is a whole new way that maybe you never would have thought of celebrating America's 250th anniversary.
37:31They are selling a $12,000 coin with Trump's face.
37:35And we also have new results coming in in South Carolina.
37:37We'll have those for you right after this.
37:38We'll have those for you right after this.
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