Trump Backs Down on 'Slush Fund'

Today in the group chat, the Trump White House backs away from his anti-weaponization fund. So why this very rare retreat? The President of the United States cannot just dip his mitts into the Treasury, scoop out$1.8 billion to give to police beaters. Donald Trump cursing over the phone at Benjamin Netanyahu. How sources say a heated phone call forced Israel to pull back in Lebanon.

Okay, protests over what some call cruel conditions at an ICE detention center in New Jersey. We're gonna talk about what's going on inside where the cameras can't see. And primary voters pick one of the biggest jobs in American politics today. So why are there no big names running to replace California's Gavin Newsome? And by the end of the day, TV villain Spencer Pratt could be one step closer to knocking off the mayor of Los Angeles. She says it's not time for amateur hour.

Agree, that's why I'm running. The statement's not satisfactory. My uh constituents have made clear they don't want money for a ballroom, they don't want money for a slush fund. So is the Justice Department's proposed anti-weaponization fund really gone? Republicans say they'll believe it when they finally see it. Good morning everybody. I'm Audie Cornish and we're gonna start. With the White House, with Donald Trump seemingly backing off this attempt to create a$1.8 billion fund.

to pay people believe they were wronged by the Justice Department. Now the DOJ is saying it will abide by a court ruling which pauses the fund. That order only lasts until at least June 12. President Trump tells ABC News, quote, if a court doesn't allow it, and right now a court has held it up, what can you do? But ABC's Jonathan Carl notes that Trump never actually said he was giving up on the fund. So why did the White House talk about backing down from this fight?

Probably because of the backlash with several Republican priorities on Capitol Hill falling over the issue, including a reconciliation bill to fund immigration enforcement. That's right here. Okay, joining me now in the group chat, Chuck Roach, a Democratic strategist, Terry Schilling, Republican strategist, and V Spear, digital journalist and creator for Under the Desk News.

So guys, unfortunately gotta start with Terry because you were on the day this thing was announced, right? Remember we were talking about it that Monday and I was like, okay, we're doing reparations now. And you were like, okay, here's the thing. I wanted to play for you. Senator Ted Cruz, who gave us the T on his podcast about how this went down within Republican circles, within the Republican caucus. Here he is. There were fireworks at an epic level.

And I gotta say, it's one of the roughest meetings I've seen in my entire time in the s in the Senate. Uh there were a lot of Republican senators who were just pissed. The entire meeting, they were screaming at the acting attorney general. Why? Why why were they screaming at Todd Blanche? I know why Democrats don't like this thing. What happened, do you think?

Look, I uh at the end of the day I think it's a tough issue to defend, clearly. Uh and it's a lot of firepower is being geared at anyone that uh you know speaks. Really, did the White House think clearly when they launched this thing? I think they did it for a week.

I think the White House has been very focused on restitution. Uh there has been a lot of weaponization against government, and it's not just the J Sixers, it's the the parents at school board meetings who were branded as domestic terrorists. It is the pro-life grandmothers, Joan Bell and Paulette Harrow, uh Harlow, that were thrown in jail uh for protesting.

Republican senators in the meeting being like, Screw them, grandmas. No. You're done with this. No. Like what do you think within Republican politics turned this thing on its side? Well, I think uh I think there's always been some Republican opposition to Trump. He's obviously been a disruptor, uh yeah for the whole Republican Party. But if you look what President Trump has done at the Department of Justice, his Department of Justice got six point eight billion dollars.

in penalties and settlements through going after wastefront abuse uh in just their first year. Uh meanwhile Joe that's double what Joe Biden had under his first uh under his term. Well let me turn to the others'cause I wanna make sure we uh stay on message here in terms of finding out what happened with this retreat. The White House very rarely says we're not gonna do anything anymore.

I know one of the things that happened is lawmakers then were like, Oh, we're not passing your immigration enforcement bill and in sort of Trump's hierarchy of needs, I feel like immigration is higher.

Oh, it's one of his favorite things for sure. He definitely wants that funding done. I think when it came to the performativeness of it being a 1776 fund, he really came into it maybe with short-term decision making, thinking this is gonna look cool, it's gonna be splashy, it's gonna play to my base.

And then it didn't pay play to the base because the base is paying five dollars for gas and you're talking about the my pillow guy applying to get four hundred million dollars because he was a tax and it just it's absurd. It's and it makes no sense. Or is it what the Wall Street Journal called the Wounded Bear Caucus? People who who lost, some of them you'll see, or people who are retiring. I'm gonna just play a few voices. Call them the YOLOs, but go ahead.

Yeah, the YOLOs. This is a mix. Um uh this is from the start, from May to just last week. This is beyond the pale. This is not good for my colleagues. There's no one positive thing that could be spun out of this between now and November. Do not support the weaponization fund as it has been described. Brad. This whole thing Smells. We're a nation of laws, so you've got to have law. I do not want one dollar of that going to anybody who physically assaulted police officers, period.

That last one, Mike Flood in Nebraska, Nebraska, addressing constituents. And it was rough by the time he gave that answer. That's your answer here is that this thing is very unpopular and would it be popular any other time? Maybe. But what's happening right now is we're only five months from the midterm elections and they can see the writing on the wall and they do not want this in ads that Chuck Roach is gonna be making against them.

To your point, I think you could come back. But I'm going to be making I'm like let's clip that. Let's put that out there. For most of the folks that you saw on your TV screen, they're either not running for a re election or they've already been beat by Donald Trump, who's put his hand down and said, You're not gonna be here no more.

But that's not the problem here. Those are the easy ones. The problem are folks in moderate districts that are a little bit Republican or a little bit Democrat who's gonna have to fight for them lives and they don't want to have to be talking about this use. They will talk about whatever the issue is they think their constituents cares the most about.

And this has come up in other places. Earlier we were playing tape from Joe Rogan and others who were also criticizing the deal over IRS audits in the future. The deal is there won't be any against Trump and his family. Um so it'll be interesting to see. if this fund does happen and if these other aspects of this settlement go forward. You guys stay with me.

Because it is primary day, right? We've just been talking about how reporters, how voters are responding, and we're gonna talk about farm country. Does Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have an Iowa problem? And then California's heading to the polls in some of the biggest races in the state. Some voters say they are still looking for someone to believe in. I don't support anything that's going on. Nothing. Literally. Bye.

I'm CNN Tech Reporter Claire Duffy. This week on the podcast Terms of Service, the idea of riding in a car with no driver can feel daunting, and this technology raises questions about safety and the future of transportation. That's why I'm here with Nicole Gable, Head of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Waymo. Always been about safety, no distracted driving, no drunk driving. Mm. Listen to CNN's Terms of Service wherever you get your podcast.

Craig Ferguson is going coast to coast to unpack what it really means to be an American today. Craig Ferguson, American on Purpose. New episodes now streaming on the CNN. Good.

So it's primary day in California. Voters in the country's deepest blue strongholds putting democratic rule to a major test. So voters have had to sort through a crowded field for governor with 61 total candidates on the ballot, and even with all those names, some voters are having a hard time finding someone to support. Moment you open your phone in the morning, it's you're bombarded with every single headline.

uh the housing crisis also people in in my gener millennial generation I can't afford a home. Do you plan to vote? Not really. I don't support anything that's going on. Nothing. Literally. Nothing. Literally. He's my spirit animal. That is. Um, okay, so can we talk about uh first let me start with you. Sixty one candidates.

How do you stand out? I I just it looks difficult. Tom Stor Steyer, I know, he has so much money and he has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on his campaign. And even he is not in the lead. So tell me what's going on. A. B. Let's me let me lay the groundwork for everybody here in California. In California it's much different than in your state.

In California, the top two people, no matter what party you're in, they get to go to the general election. So there could be instances where there could be two Democrats, two Republicans, but no matter, you can love or hate the system. It's very unique. And in this, 61 people run it. And in California, everybody gets a ballot mailed to their home. So you get a catalog.

from the attorney general, not the attorney general, the secretary of state mailed to your home to make this decision. And so in California as well, for all of you girls and boys scoring at home, it's very expensive to run because you have so many big media markets. LA Uh San Francisco, San Diego.

If anything that surprises me in in that then why are so many people running and why is there no one who's really like pulled very far ahead? And V I know you hear a lot from your audience at Under the Desk News. And um what are people saying about their choices there?

have to remember that there was somebody who was kind of pulling ahead and it was Swalwell and then he was obviously held to account for his actions and that sort of shook up the race in a way that made it very uncomfortable for folks to s decide quickly who they were gonna get behind.

And where I'm really disappointed in the California candidates across the board, all 61 of them, certainly the top two, is instead of putting forth a policy of like, hey, if you choose me, this is what you can expect from the person who will run the fourth largest economy in the world.

This is how I'm gonna deal with the issues of homelessness and Hollywood leaving. Instead they went negative on each other so hard that to this v this voter, future voter's point, she's just negged out. She doesn't want to deal with it. So every time there's a negative ad Democrat on Democrat Terry, does a Republican consultant get their wings? I think so.

I wish. Look, I I I think what I'm most disappointed in with the Democratic candidates in California. First of all, I think it's uh it's a real indictment of democracy in California that Republicans Republicans.

They are running, but they really don't have that great of a shot, which you know what I'm disappointed at with the Democratic leadership in California is that in LA, they spend ninety-one thousand dollars for all these NGO programs to help the homeless. You could literally give these people jobs in actual homes.

The thing that bothers me the most though is my dad was a recovering drug addict and they give out clean crack pipes, they give out clean needles to drug addicts. They don't try to get them clean, they just lock them into this drug addict lifestyle.

Very briefly about the governor's race. If it's a jungle primary, then theoretically a Republican does have a shot. Why don't you think that is? It's not a situation where you can be like, it's redistricting, you know what I mean? It's like this is the time. Th there's just su you like I think that California took that Chicago Democratic machine model and just took it to the next level. It's I I there might be a shot if you get a Republican through that jungle primary.

Donald Trump is endorsed in this race and he endorsed Steve Hilton, which has catapulted him with the first time. Yes, Steve Hilton has to be. almost guaranteed one of the top two. And also if you look at early votes right now in t in California they have a wonderful data system. So you can actually see who has voted so far. And so far almost the exact same amount of Democrats.

And Republicans have voted early so far. The difference is, Audie, and you love this part'cause you love the independent I do. Don't make that little hand motion. Is that almost as many independents as voted, so they're literally gonna make the difference in this jungle. So is there a chance there could be a Republican governor of California again? There's always a chance. It's probably the worst year for there to be that chance, but there's been Republican governors in this state.

That's why I asked. I'm voting for a Republican to get one of the top two spots just because I don't know that we as creators could handle a stir basera to November situation. That part that Victor. All right, you guys, stay with me,'cause we're actually gonna come back to this, especially you mentioned some aspects of the LA mayors race. We're gonna talk about that.

But in the meantime, I want to touch on this international news, the president losing patience with Benjamin Netanyahu. There are sources saying that there were some choice words said over the phone. Plus, don't call it a comeback. Serena Williams is making a return to tennis after taking three. years off. And now I want to say good morning to Des Moines. Beautiful sunrise there on this primary day.

So this morning, a source tells CNN that talks with Iran are back on track after Iran suspended them on Monday. And Trump described the suspension to ABC News as quote, a little glitch. The little glitch, Israel threatening to hit a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, Lebanon. President Trump said he had quote a very productive call about the plan with Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sources tell us it was a heated conversation with Trump using expletives and reminding the Israeli leader how much the US has supported him. Netanyahu is backing down from hitting Beirut, but insists the IDF will continue operations in southern Lebanon. The group chat is back, but this time we have got Gordon Sonlin, the former ambassador to the EU. Thank you so much for being here. Good morning.

Um so what is the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu? I I don't wanna say that just because people were swearing things are bad, um, but what do you know about that relationship? Well, I can tell you they're like brothers from another mother. Uh they talk all the time. Yes, they swear at each other, and the swearing, by the way, goes both directions. Um they literally are almost like siblings. They think very, very much alike when it comes to US policy vis a vis Israel.

and vice versa. Uh I don't view this as anything other than uh business as usual. Uh Netanyahu is in a real box with Hezbollah. Because they started with a real ceasefire and of course Hezbollah violated it within two minutes and Netanyahu has no choice. He has to hit back. And and Trump is trying to play three dimensional chess with Iran. Can I ask about that? Because so far on this show we often talk about Iran um and the US.

That's the conversation. What is the deal? Nuclear and in the meantime, these bulldozers moving through southern Lebanon says there's another actor here and that issue has not been addressed and Iran has brought it up. Does it have Is Trump having this conversation with Netanyahu in this way because it's jeopardizing any hopes of the deal reopening the Strait of Hormuz, all these other issues that are all tied together?

What I'm saying it was US Israeli strikes, right? That was the initial and so is where is Israel in the conversation between Iran and the US? Israel, here's where Israel is in the conversation. The the news that never really hit page one that should have been well it probably hit page one but it wa it disappeared instantly. When Peshkian resigned, the president of Iran resigned, that told you everything you need to know about what's going on there.

Trump is dealing with a five-headed monster. He's dealing with multiple factions of the IRGC, and they're fighting amongst each other. The more moderates and what calling Peshki on a moderate is really saying something, because he's no moderate, but compared to the others, he really is. When he resigned, it tells you that Trump does not have one solid interlocutor in Iran with whom to negotiate this deal. And they're all trying to placate one another.

The IRGC has billions of dollars stashed overseas in Swiss bank accounts and elevated. Swear. They want to keep their money. They want to keep their power. But he's negotiating with someone, right? So there is a conversation. But here's something Axios was reporting. We we mentioned the cursing. Axios went further.

They said, um, summarizing Trump's remarks to Netanyahu, the US officials said, so this is coming from our side leaking this, you're effing crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this. This is what they're attributing to Trump. Um and in the meantime, I just want to show for audience, Pew Research Center, uh American views of Israel and specifically Netanyahu are upwards of 60% uh disapproved.

Which means he's doing a fantastic job. Netanyahu is doing a So is Trump responding to the fact that there are large numbers of the U.S. population that don't think he's doing a fantastic? Is responding to a situation that is momentary, in other words, he's clearly getting somewhere with someone in Iran. And he views Netanyahu at that moment in time, not generally, as effing that up. So he's saying like you would to a brother, just stop for a minute. I'm trying to get this deal over the edge.

I'm gonna draw uh Terry into the conversation because when I uh tried to break out the numbers in Pew, Democrats versus Republicans, we saw what we know from the last two years. Democrats, eighty percent Democrats uh within U.S. view Israel and Netanyahu unfavorably. The number that struck me is Republicans going up to forty one percent and it seemed to be in line with

the world of what we have been calling marquee podcast land, right? Your Tucker Carlsons and whoever, even the Rogans of the world who are being very who expressing their frustration um with Netanyahu in Israel. To their constituencies, to their listeners. Yeah, well look, uh there this is what happens when you get five dollars a gallon for gas.

Uh Republicans are very frustrated. We did not uh vote for this at all. Uh and I think a lot of the discrepancy is coming because Trump's trying to get a peace deal. He's trying to tone this down and get out of this and and meanwhile take away Iran's nukes.

But I Israel doesn't want Iran to exist, right? That's the reality. And and that's why they keep doing these things and screwing up our peace talks. But you're gonna see that number continue to tick up the longer this conflict goes on. And that's why it's very important that President Trump gets a replic. Israel you're saying Israel does not want Iran to exist? Israel very much wants Iran to exist as a partnership. What they don't want is the clerical regime to exist.

There are about ninety million people in Iran, and about eighty-eight million of them would love to be a peaceful partner of Israel. The two million that don't happen to have all the money and the and the weapons.

I think actions speak louder than words. I'll I'll defer to you. You are the foreign policy expert, but I I think that there's a lot of really bad things that we're seeing coming out of this entire conflict and the quicker we can get out of it, uh I think the better it is gonna be for our country and for the future of America.

Can I let you answer one more thing just'cause he said screwing up the talks and and like that this is I guess kind of the question I was asking. Can you respond to that world of and maybe Republican voter that thinks Israel is quote unquote screwing up the talks? I think unfortunately, and this sounds uh sort of uh uncuous and I don't mean to, but I think the American public is not well educated on what Israel does.

for and with the United States and why Israel is such a key ally. And it's very popular right now to hate Bibi Netanyahu. But Bibi Netanyahu is fighting for the existence of his country. And when you're fighting for the existence of your country, which could be wiped out just like that, you take a very different position than when you're just fighting for a little more territory or a little of this or a little of that.

And that's the difference. This is a very long conversation, which I know we don't have time for, but what Bibi Netanyahu is doing, he will go down twenty or thirty years from now, long after he's gone, as one of the most consequential leaders in the world. Well in the meantime, um these talks to try and reset that relationship geopolitically continue. Gordon Sonlin, I hope you will be back as we learn more from this White House.

Straight ahead on scene this morning. The growing calls to close that detention center in New Jersey. This morning there's a new push for the Newark Mayor. Claims of inhumane treatment inside Delaney Hall. Plus, the Trump administration is moving ahead with Medicaid. Work requirements, what that means for people and their customers. Just my height. Oh, you mean the house.

Three amateur renovation teams paired with a top HGTV mentor will transform Three Beach Houses into a life-changing opportunity. Opportunity. To win fifty $50,000 cash. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did you say$50,000? Colours? Can we join? All new Battle on the Beach, Monday night at 9 on HGTV. Good morning everybody. I'm Audi Cornish. Thank you for joining me on CNN this morning. It is half past the hour. Here's what's happening right now.

It is primary day in six states across the country. Voters are heading to the polls in Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, and of course California, where voters there are voting in what's called a jungle primary for both. Governor and also LA mayor. Today, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator, Dr. Oz, is set to deliver remarks. This is a day after his agency announced a new framework for Medicaid work requirements.

under Trump's quote unquote big beautiful bill. This is gonna require people to work 80 hours per month to keep their coverage, and that must be verified. at least every six months. States can choose to check even more frequently. Pregnant people, new parents, vets with disabilities are exempt. And we're now in the new era of Serena Williams' reign, the goat, and now she is returning.

The 44-year-old announced her retirement nearly four years ago. And in just a few hours, The mayor of Newark, New Jersey will hold a press conference outside the ICE facility, which has become the latest flashpoint between protesters and the Trump administration.

There's a mandatory curfew in effect outside Delaney Hall amid this chaos and inside hundreds of detainees have launched a hunger strike. They're protesting spoiled food and inhumane conditions, according to their attorneys. And several Democratic lawmakers. Not a single person who we spoke with at Delaney Hall yesterday was a violent felon. Immigration enforcement in this country, it should be fair, just and humane.

And nothing that we saw at Delaney Hall or that people have previously experienced at Delaney Hall suggests that that is what is taking place, and that's why we believe it should be shut down. So joining me now is Selena De Stephanie, a lawyer whose firm represents dozens of nat detainees held at Delaney Hall. Good morning. Thank you for being with us. Um I wanna start with what

Um Hakeem Jeffries was just saying, talking about conditions. Now that lawmakers have actually gotten inside, now that there have been all these protests, what are conditions like? Have they improved um for the people you represent? Good morning. They have not improved. We have many detainees, uh, some of them with medical condition. And um the last contact we had was Friday. Um it's been a little harder to schedule legal call with our clients.

However, um with those that we spoke, um they were telling us that their tablets um were taken away. The tablet is I mean for them to communicate with the family member and order commissary food. Uh they've been telling us that they've been pepper sprayed um section two A and to B were pepper spray last week. Um they've been threatened the violence. Um they've been eating um bread with mold.

um there was an episode right before the hunger strike started where they were served food with maggots and you know this is not about cultural food, it's about uh minimum uh sanitary um Food. Like you you can't eat uh we had a client that was released um last week and then was hospitalized, had to have surgery because of the food that it was served within the Laney Hall.

Um we had cancer patients that were not receiving medication or um or the client that has seizures and they were calling us'cause they were afraid to fall and hit the concrete uh concrete floor. because they were not receiving anti seizure medication. So is the condition are not good. There's no medical attention and if there is you know there's symptoms are downplaying

Let me jump in here for a second because I I do want to know you are someone representing these people who you're describing their conditions. Now when I went and looked at the data, the backlog right now for these immigration cases in general. is clocking at three point two million. People can be in detention for as long as eight hundred days. Do you expect your detainees to be there for many months to come, possibly two years?

Um, it depends. Unfortunately, especially when you go into appeal uh with the BA, the Burden of Immigration Appeal, the process can take years. So unfortunately, yes, immigration processes are um they take a lot of time, but it's not just about the time that it takes, it's about the actual fairness of those hearings, especially when it comes uh to New Jersey and immigration court and bond hearing.

Many of them um, you know, we we get a bone hearing through a hebis corpus when the person enter without inspection and the hearing has to be fair and individualized hearing. Many of them do not get that.

especially when uh people are unrepresented they don't have an attorney, they really don't get uh their day in court. And that's what aside from the full condition started the hunger strike within the lady because they felt they were not you know, given uh constitutional protection, due process and their voice were not heard. Uh before I let you go, we talked about this curfew because of the uh protests and the escalating clashes with federal officials. Are the protests hurting or helping?

Um, depends. So there's two type of protester. Um there initially family members were there. They were just trying to see their detainee um family members. Those people do not have criminal record. They're mother, fathers, children. uh they were detained and they were just trying to get justice for their family member. Now of course there um as Governor Cheryl said, there's out of state protesters that are coming in, um and those are not helping.

Uh but you know, what is happening at the Laney Hall is what happened in other part of America. It's just people are tired are tired of injustice and so those that are peacefully protesting are helping. They're raising awareness of what is happening within the line and the line is not, you know, one single bappo. There's many detention facilities around America that are like that.

That's Selena DeStephani who is representing some of the detainees who are in that detention center in New Jersey Delaney Hall where there have been many clashes. Thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Now I want to turn to Iowa because voters there are heading to the polls. And what's shaping up to be a Democratic primary centering around Chuck Schumer of New York, who is of course not on the ballot, but the longstanding Democrat and Senate minority leader has sparked debate in a state Democrats are hoping to flip in November. State Senator Zach Walls thinks party leadership is not advocating for everyday Iowans.

I was in Scott County, which is one of the most important pivotal battleground counties in our state. Uh I asked the audience, who here thinks that Chuck Schumer is doing a good job as the leader? Three hundred and fifty people, not a single hand went up. So is Chuck Schumer vulnerable to be replaced as leader after the midterms? Group chat is back. Um, can I start with UV? I don't know what the word is on Chuck Schumer.

But he is saying in his, you know, not scientific study, but d getting some sentiment, um, that people are frustrated with the top, even down at the state level. Yeah, obviously. I mean everybody's very frustrated with the idea of like Chuck Schumer or Hakeem Jeffries and my point is then move on and find other heroes. Just because they're the establishment leadership doesn't mean that's the only people doing the work on the ground.

There are grassroots groups, there are progressive caucuses, you got the working families. Those are the people who can put their thumb on the scale. Those are the people who can do spending in places. And that's what this clash is about, is where the money's going.

What about diversifying where that money is coming from too? DNC is also having a really hard time raising money because people are going more direct to these smaller groups. And so I think that distributes the power that Chuck Schumer has lost. Let's talk about why that guy's gonna lose today in this primary. He's pulling about twenty points behind. a really good shot at losing, let me put it that way, and because of one thing.

There's a group, a veterans group called Vote Vets that spent nine million dollars Audi for Turek, the other candidate who's in a wheelchair. His father was in Vietnam. He gets exposed to Agent Orange, so his son is in this wheelchair. They spent nine million dollars to put this Senate seat and play for November. That's what nobody's talking about. This seat should not be in play. Donald Trump won Iowa by 13 points.

There are 200,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats in Iowa. And Vote Vets almost single-handedly has put this seat in play by running all positive ads. I'm not even sure they knew that this Walls guys is on the ballot. I'm going to at least put up the ad spending to Chuck's point. And you are right. Vote Vets 9.9 million. Josh Turk 1.5. Zach Walls 1.4. Iowa Action 150K.

Um and then I wanna put up for people what's at stake. These are the key Senate races for twenty twenty six. Um his thesis is this shouldn't be a thing. What's your thesis? Uh I don't think it's a thing. I think what's happening here is uh they're taking a page from the Romney Manual two thousand six playbook. Uh these Iowa I was a conservative state. By the way, it's the twenty-sixth state just this week. uh to enact age verification for online adult content to protect minors. Yeah.

Sort of bipartisan, but yes. Actually very bipartisan. But what they're seeing is that Washington, DC Democrats, and by the way, a lot of Republicans aren't representing the best interests of people at heart. And so they're gonna talk like a moderate in Iowa and then vote like a progressive in in DC. And it's just a big thing. Uh I do. I I think there is. Um Can you name one? Oh man, that's a good question. Because a lot of people who Democrats are arguing are moderates.

in sheep's clothing, that they're not progressive, Republicans have the interest of painting them as they're gonna suddenly turn to be progressives later on. And I think the voter is actually weighing in on who they see as a path that represents them.

We were talking about this a little bit in the groom room. Voters don't look at themselves as Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Moderates, Conservative, my neoliberal. Hell, I don't even know what a neoliberal is, but the voters want somebody that's gonna fix them things. Remember that lady in California who's like Throw them all out. I'm tired of everybody. She's better reflective of where the electorate is right now than anybody.

Change makers and complacence. And that's really what people are voting for. Are you a change maker or are you complacent? Right now Republicans are in power, so they're looking for somebody who's opposite of that because they don't feel comfortable in their life. John Cornyn and and his race, right? I was on my plane from Austin when I got on the plane Sunday. I've never seen a more lonely guy in my life on a Southwest Airlines plane in the middle seat with me back in the back of the airport.

I mean I would be depressed if you were wearing that hat and I was in the middle seat. Oh but the idea of com complacence versus change makers. I think that makes a lot And that's playing out on the Republican side too, right? In Iowa, you have Zach Lane uh going up against Randy Randy Feenstra. Randy Feenstra is the more moderate uh Republican in that state in the race.

And in Zach Lane's The Populist Upper, he's been endorsed by Mom Stillery APP, my full disclosure, we just endorse him. But you're seeing this also in South Dakota with John Hanson. It's a three-way tight race, one point between the three top candidates. I I think you're gonna see a lot of this. There's very few Senate seats in play for Democrats. It's a horrible year from us and vote vets just put Iowa in place.

Okay, interesting. You guys I like this detail. Next we are going to talk about yet another race. I promise this one's super interesting. The three-way race for mayor in LA. So could Democrats be opening the tour to a major upset? And then later on CNN, this bleak survey on Americans' finances, why most people say they are feeling unfulfilled. You ever have somebody offer to come home with you from the hardware store?

I am giving away a room makeover. Where's the catch? Three days to complete this renovation. No saying that Design. We start today. Oh well. Wow. You're not just gonna steal everything. Surprise! Ready to get your house. For real. A little dated. It's time to turn this over to us. You guys gotta get out. Gotta get out of here. Crasher Series Premiere Monday, June 8th to 10 on HGTV.

So in just a few hours, voters head to the poll in America's second largest city to decide who will be the candidate for mayor of Los Angeles. And the front runners in the race, current mayor, Karen Bass, Councilwoman Nithya Raman, and Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, and they all spent Monday making their final pitch to the voters. No time for amateurs. We don't need a TV reality show villain, nor do we need a former councilwoman who has been in City Hall twice as long as I have.

and who is okay with tents in the street. I have demonstrated my capacity for delivering results In my time as a council member and as a legislator that has led to the first time. She says it's not time for amateur hour. Agree, that's why I'm running. She failed us. She was in Ghana when she should have been the mayor and let 7,000 homes burned to the ground due to literal literal negligence.

Okay, group chat is back. This is another quote unquote jungle primary. So it could be a situation where you have the uh you could have ramen and bass, you could have ramen and prat, you could whatever, it could be a number of things. People have been paying attention to this because of the savviness of Pratt's ability to get attention. The Atlantic was writing um it's infused his campaign with the same shamelessness and media savvy that made him a T V star.

He's new to politics, but he's been playing this game for years. So let me start with you. Can, as the Atlantic suggests, infamy be political currency? It may be in today's primaries because it's a small electorate in this California primary. It's not everybody that will vote in the general that's normally voted motivated to show up and vote. So when you have a smaller electorate, when you have these Even with the jungle primer, you're saying that doesn't mean more people turn out.

No. Uh and it's smaller. It's smaller of the groups of people that voting and actually voter turnout has been a little bit down. And for those of you at home, you should know that Spencer's Pratt. whole deal is that his house was one of the houses that got burned up that he was talking about. It motivated him to go. He now does videos of him living in quote unquote living in a travel trailer.

where his house used to be, talking about his quirks, not mine, the incompetence of the current mayor. And then you have another woman running to the left of this mayor saying what we need is more progressive values. And it'll be really interesting to see where that lines up. That's Councilwoman uh Nithya Rahman, who is very much trying to outflank uh Bass from the left. Can we go back to that idea you said earlier? What was it, changemaker? Changemakers versus complacence.

Where does that work here, where I think Pratt is very much saying I'm the change maker and both of these people, by virtue of being in office already, are the complacence?

Well you it depends on how you're going at it, right? Like just being different doesn't make you a change maker. Does he know how to implement policy? Does he know how to help people? I don't think so. And I do have to correct you, he wasn't a reality star, he was the reality star's boyfriend. So he was a little bit separate from the Pratt did have his moments and his ID. Adjacent to reality. Listen behind the great politician, it's a good one.

Planner has sexy is talking about whatever the heck Mr. the guy used to sell crystals. And it's also the fact that people are still mad about the fires. They're absolutely outraged about the fires. The only reason that we're talking about Spencer Pratt is because of how dysfunctional.

LA has been. And Reagan said it best, and I know this is years and years ago, but he said the more the plans fail, the more the planners plan. And that's exactly what we have going on here in LA. These guys are failing to actually address the problems. I said this earlier. $91,000 is what they're paying in taxpayer funds per homeless person. Why not just give them the money directly? Almost from the fire you're talking about. Homeless people.

In general. But but at the same time, why are we giving clean needles? Why are we giving clean crackers? I think that sounds great. We found that when you put money in the pockets of people who are experiencing homelessness, they are able to level up. I used to work in food security. When you provide food for somebody, then they can they're like, Okay, that's covered, I could work on shelter and a job.

So I think you have a good point there. We should be putting universal basic income into people's. This is nice. Something. Because Spencer Pratt has made a very good point about this. And again, I know this because my dad was a recovering addict. These are not unhoused people. It's not that they're they're in a bad spot because they don't have a home.

They're unhomed because they are drug addicts. That is the driving force. Talk to anyone that actually knows this issue of of people being homeless. They have serious mental problems and they also have drug addictions. Let me just... I will say that you guys are dad. This is an actual microcosm of the race, of the mayor's race. This is what the conversation

sounds like online and especially as Pratt has leaned harder into the kinds of arguments you are making. Which I think in city races, as soon as you start talking about crime and drug addicts, it can uh have its own kind of momentum. Um I'm gonna leave it there because I want the voters to be able to decide. Good choice. In the meantime, what is in your group chats? We're gonna start with fee because we don't always have you here. You are visiting in town. What are you talking about in your

Optimism. Optimism and that when you stand up. Just like three happy emojis or what's Three happy emojis and a basketball right now. Well, yeah. Since basketball, obviously a personal joy of mine. I didn't know that! Yes! Okay! First of all We'll talk after.

Boys play basketball and hockey apparently too. I only know women that do they do a great job. Something that's really interesting is we've been fighting for fair pay and to close the wage gap when it comes to women's sports versus men's sports.

And there were some advancements just recently, talking about how the pay gap for uh or the revenue share for men is forty-eight to fifty percent. It was only ten percent for women, it's going up to twenty percent. That's a recent win. That's a huge Still because of their collective bargaining.

We've got a we've got a salary cap at seven million, used to be one million. And if we can get things to be more fair and more structured the way that the men's sports are, get more historic investments from companies, if the fans are showing up, it's the rest of the media that's been Terry. Eight is enough. Tell me. Yeah.

So uh look uh 250th anniversary is coming up, July 4th is gonna be a big deal. We're gonna have the largest fireworks show in the country, but my friends and I have been stuck on the uh constitutional convention. Uh 55 delegates. Put away 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of Claret, 8 bottles of whiskey, plus tons of beer inside. My friends and I are all, you know, we're in our 40s now, so we're actually debating whether or not we can still get to that level. We can do it our 20s.

This period water quality was not the best. So I'm I'm thinking their choices were not I don't know if they knew what water was.

Uh but that may explain some of the confusion we have to this day, some of the clauses that fell by the uh brown liquor wayside. Ooh, I like that one. Tell me w also hold on, one other thing. I actually appreciate you looking for two fifty things on your own that you're interested in because I'm doing the same thing with my family. Like what What are things you can look at yourself about our nation's history? Running opposite a Republican. That's never happened.

This is after the redistricting fight. Absolutely. And and so the Democratic Party in the House caucus had me go down and do a candidate training with all of these folks. And I've done candid trainings before. And normally it's doctors, it's lawyers, it's people that are realtors who want to get their name out on yard signs. Is that a thing? Filter it.

Absolutely. Built run for office all the time so they can sell houses. I'll let that go. And just say that look, there was a lot of nurses, a lot of school teachers, a lot of folks who had been get this retired federal employees who had moved back home to Texas. I believe that.

And it was something very different in that room and I'd never seen energy like does that mean we're gonna win every race terror? No, we're not. I'm just saying it's different to actually have a training with a lot of grassroots people get together and try to have something like in common and see and share ideas.

Yeah, we were talking about that earlier during the break about California in a way, right? Like it's about pipeline. Who is moving into the pipeline? Who is your party drawing who, not now, but in five or ten years, could be in leadership.

Well that and you know I I think the unspoken thing about the Texas State House, I've worked in Texas quite a bit, Democrats actually have a lot of influence in the State House. They get chairmanships, they work out deals, and they edge out a lot of the more conservative members of the Republican caucus. So they've already got a lot of things. A wild lot of politics then giving the redistricting fight, which was supposed to give them

We're gonna find out if that's what happens. I want to thank all of you for talking to me on this primary day. Good luck to all of you who are headed to the polls and candidates who are running. I'm Audie Cornish and the headlines are next. From the descendants of history makers involved in the Louisiana Purchase to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, discover the untold stories of American expansion in the CNN original series This Land, premiering June 7th on CNN. Hey, I'm Anderson Cooper.

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