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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Trump to Address Nation as GOP Cracks Grow; Rob and Michele Reiner Died from Multiple Sharp Force Injuries, Remembering Rob Reiner; Investigators Double-down on Search for Brown University Mass Shooter; Shooting Victim Was at Study Session for Class He Wasn't Enrolled in; Trump Speaks to Nation as He Amps Up Pressure on Venezuela; Lawmakers Briefed on Controversial September 2 Boat Strike; Military Announces New Boat Strike in Eastern Pacific, Killing Four; Trump to Address Nation Soon From the White House. Aired 8-8:58p ET

Aired December 17, 2025 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Right, the only permanent thing in her life was this cat, and that she loved her cat. It's just stunning on so many levels. And Christo, so grateful for you. Thanks so much.

CHRISTO GROZEV, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, ON RUSSIA'S "WARRANTED LIST": We're going to publish a full investigation with all the details, including what the spy is doing today in Russia in a couple of days. So, I invite everybody to -- who is interested in cats and investigations to follow my channel on YouTube and find out where that cat is now.

BURNETT: And I hope that they will do that. Thanks so much, Christo, and thanks so much to all of you as always for joining us. AC360 starts now.

[20:00:36]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360, are there cracks forming in the President's wall of Republican support? The rebellion he faced in Congress today, the bruising new polling and rough Jobs Report all landing as he gets ready to address the nation an hour from now.

Also tonight, new video of Nick Reiner shortly before his arrest in connection with his parents' deaths and new details from the Medical Examiner about how they died.

New reporting as well on their son's troubling demeanor in public not long before he allegedly killed them.

And later, the Brown University manhunt goes on now, entering day five, what authorities are saying about how they plan to make progress. And a heartbreaking revelation about one of the two students killed in that auditorium. He was only there because he tagged along with a friend.

Good evening, thanks for joining us. We are just about an hour away from the President's Oval Office to address the country. Late today, on his way back from dignified transfer ceremonies for two National Guardsmen killed in Syria, he talked briefly about what he'll say tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, I think the message this evening is we inherited a mess and we've done a great job. And we continue to and our country is going to be stronger than ever before very soon.

Thank you very much, everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, whether or not that's all hell be focused on, it's a tough sell at the moment. New polling from NPR tonight shows only 36 percent of Americans approve of how he's handling the economy. And in our CNN Poll of Polls, his overall approval rating now stands at just 39 percent. Those numbers do not come from thin air.

Inflation has not fallen since the President took office. It was three percent then, three percent in the latest numbers. As for unemployment, yesterday we learned it rose to 4.6 percent last month, a third consecutive increase in the highest it's been since 2021.

Now, any or all of that could explain why the President might find it hard to make his case tonight. Couple that with millions of Americans about to see their health insurance premiums rise sharply now that federal subsidies have expired, and you've got the motivation for today's GOP mini rebellion on Capitol Hill.

Four Moderate House Republicans, breaking ranks with Speaker Johnson joining Democrats to force a vote on extending those subsidies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL LAWLER (R-NY): This is not about party loyalty. This is about doing the job I was elected to do and forcing the body to actually work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: It's not just Moderate Republicans who now feel able to oppose the President. Last night, Marjorie Taylor Greene sat down with "The Source's" Kaitlan Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Do you think the dam is breaking in terms of the President's iron grip of support when it comes to your party?

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Absolutely, those 13 Republicans that voted to take down his executive order last week, literally that same evening, put on their tuxedos and their evening ball gowns and went to the White House Christmas party. That's pretty bold. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: She and several other Conservative Republicans recently forced a vote on a bill compelling the administration to turn over its files on Jeffrey Epstein. The deadline for that is Friday. Late today, former podcaster and T.V. host turned FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced hell be quitting the FBI next month.

The President said he'll likely want to go back to his show. The President's address tonight also comes with him facing congressional skepticism over his campaign against Venezuelan small boats and the buildup of American Naval Forces in the area, accompanied by statements like this on his social network last night, quoting, "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the history of south America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they've ever seen before."

That's the backdrop to tonight's Presidential message to Americans, many of whom were repulsed by his Monday message in the wake of the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele.

So, there's a lot happening in the run up to the speech. I want to start with CNN's chief White House correspondent, anchor of "The Source," Kaitlan Collins. What do we, what are you expecting to hear from the President tonight?

COLLINS: Well, Anderson, there definitely is a lot happening. We're not expecting there to be a heavy foreign policy focus in the President's speech tonight. We're expecting it to focus on what's happened over the last 11 months or so since he's been in office, been back in the Oval Office.

And so, I think the key question is how he is going to address what has become increasingly one of the most prominent issues for Americans, which is affordability and what that looks like, because the President has really struggled to regain the narrative when it comes to affordability.

He has criticized it, called it a hoax, said that it was basically manufactured by Democrats despite Republicans. And so, one question based on comments like that from people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, is how the President will thread that needle tonight. And if it changes any from the address that he gave in Pennsylvania last week in a speech that was much longer than what we're expecting tonight to be much shorter when it comes to how long the President will be speaking to camera, is how he navigates that issue tonight.

[20:05:19]

And so, we'll be watching that closely. One thing that the White House said, they also want to focus on is something that President Trump actually, Anderson, has said his own aides have told him to stop talking about in speeches, which is border security, because the President said last week that his aides told him people don't want to hear about that anymore, that it's not as pressing of an issue. It's obviously a spot where he has been successful in terms of getting the southern border under control.

And so, obviously, one question is how long he spends talking about what he believes are the accomplishments and the wins over the last several months, and how much time he spends talking on what he plans to do in the New Year, and whether or not he addresses any new policies that he wants to enact when it comes to the U.S. economy and what that looks like. Especially, Anderson, as were set to learn new inflation numbers from the federal government tomorrow. We've been missing that data because of the federal government shutdown. And so, the last numbers that we've been going off of are actually back from September.

And so, looking at that, how that picture is painted, that's something that obviously people will be watching very closely for tonight. And also, as these Republicans, as you noted, are going home early when it comes to these subsidies, virtually guaranteed to lapse. Does the President give them anything new or something that they can use and say and go off of? Or is Marjorie Taylor Greene right, that the dam is breaking when it comes to GOP support.

COOPER: Yes, Kaitlan, thanks. We'll see you at "The Source" at the top of the hour and President Trump's speech.

Joining me now is CNN senior political commentator David Urban, CNN political commentator, Alyssa Farah Griffin and CNN chief political analyst, David Axelrod. So, Ax, what do you expect to hear from the President tonight?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think he's previewed it and we know what he's going to do. He's going to say he inherited a terrible mess. He's done a great job. It's going to take time. J.D. Vance previewed this, this morning

The problem about asking for too much credit, you know, it's hard, you can be the rooster taking credit for the dawn, but not when people look outside and it's still dark out.

People don't feel any better about the economy. You cited some of the polling statistics, 61 percent say they think Trump's policies have made things worse and not better. I suspect the tariffs have a lot to do with that. And by a margin of two to one, they say it's Trump who's responsible for the current economy, not, economic conditions, not Biden.

So, he's really, really pushing against some heavy currents here. And I don't know if this is going to work out. The last thing I want to say is generally these Oval Office speeches work best when a President is responding to some national tragedy or announcing the end or the beginning of hostilities. You know, the Challenger tragedy was an example with Ronald Reagan.

They generally work badly and I had some experience with this when you use them to try and fix a political problem and often the networks won't give you time for that. Things have changed these days but it'll be interesting to see how this works out for him. COOPER: David Urban, I mean, three of the four Moderate Republicans who broke with the President and the House GOP leadership on Obamacare subsidies are from Pennsylvania State. You know better than anyone. How concerned should the White House be about that?

DAVID URBAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, listen, Anderson, I think that they, I think you know, Fitzpatrick and the and the other two who -- Bresnahan other the President and the White House understand these individuals have to win their races. So, they come back and vote for Mike Johnson to be the Speaker again. I think that's the most important thing and the most the biggest takeaway.

But I agree with that, I think this is going to be a little bit of a preview of, you know, The State of the Union, the President, I believe, feels that he's not getting credit for enough of the things that he's accomplished. I think he will press rewind, take a look back at the Biden administration and talk about his successes at the border and kind of preview what may come in 2026.

I think the President is hopeful, and this administration is hopeful that GDP will grow, not by the three percent that's being projected, but by more five, six percent, like Howard Lutnick is talking about. I think that they're -- he's going to talk about the no tax on tips, obviously, kicking in, no tax on social security. All those things are going to put a little more jingle in people's pockets in 2026, in May, in the first quarter, result in some optimism in those numbers changing.

COOPER: Alyssa, I mean, what do you expect the President's approval ratings are underwater, keeps calling affordability a Democratic hoax. Is this going to be a tightly scripted talk you think or do you think it's going to go and kind of riff on things

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I actually think this format will be scripted. A fun fact about President Trump. He loves a national address the same way he does The State of the Union. It's uniquely a power that the President has. He can have a captive audience with the media and with the American public.

I imagine Deputy Chief-of-Staff Stephen Miller will have a heavy hand in drafting and crafting what he's saying, but I expect it to largely be what the White House would consider a highlight reel of the last year.

The President sees his approval numbers, even if he doesn't acknowledge them, he sees where the economy's approval is, and he realizes he has to push back. I don't expect that he's going to acknowledge a lot of the hurt and suffering that the American people are feeling with the state of the economy, but I think he's going to push back with some stats of their own and figures.

[20:10:31]

I think he's also cognizant, listen, people are going into the holidays, the cost of a lot of groceries, a lot of things people are going to spend money on are up right now. And I think he wants to get ahead of that and put out some sort of a proactive pushback.

I don't think there's going to be a lot of forward looking policy. I don't anticipate we're going to hear anything major about Venezuela tonight. I think it's a lot about pitching, things are going well, stick with me.

COOPER: All right, David, David, Alyssa, thanks very much. We'll come back to you as we get closer to the President's address.

Next, though. new video of Rob and Michele Reiner's son, Nick, after his parents murder and shortly before his arrest and new reports of his off putting behavior at a party he attended with his parents likely hours before their killing.

Also, my conversation with cinematographer Barry Markowitz, who helped Nick Reiner make a movie based on his addiction struggle and saw firsthand the death of Rob Reiner's devotion to his troubled son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRY MARKOWITZ, CINEMATOGRAPHER: Let me tell you, I never met somebody that did so much for his kid and all his kids.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:15:55]

COOPER: New security camera video tonight leading up to the arrest of Nick Reiner. It shows Reiner walking into a gas station convenience store in South Los Angeles, Sunday night, several hours after the bodies of Rob and Michele Reiners' parents were found.

Now, the footage shows him walking toward a cooler, where he picks up a sports drink, then, making his way toward the register, appearing to kind of fidget a bit and then paying in cash and leaving. He makes his way out of the store and across the street, where about an hour later, several unmarked police cars drive up. He puts his arms up and is quickly taken into custody.

Nick Reiner briefly appeared in court today, but entered no plea to the pair of first degree murder counts he is facing. Meantime, records posted today from the L.A. County Medical examiner's office confirmed that Rob and Michele Singer-Reiner were victims of homicide.

They were both killed inside their Brentwood home and that the cause was, "multiple sharp force injuries."

Also today, there are two other children, Jake and Romy, put out a statement. It reads "Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day. The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner is something that no one should ever experience. They weren't just our parents, they were our best friends. We're grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness and support we've received, not only from family and friends, but people from all walks of life." Joining us now is "Wall Street Journal's," John Jurgensen, who's got new details about what happened Saturday night at a holiday party at Conan O'Brien's home, where the Reiners attended with their son, Nick.

Your reporting is really interesting. Can you just kind of walk us through the final hours of the Reiners lives so we'll know about it?

JOHN JURGENSEN, REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Sure, So, on the night before they were found murdered, Rob and Michele brought their son, Nick to a Holiday party at Conan O'Brien's house. During the party, he was approaching people there asking questions that in that context, seemed confrontational, strange. Especially, are you famous? Asking people there, are you famous?

So, you can imagine a party of actual famous people and fame people who are really used to strange behavior out in public. But here they are at a gathering of their peers, at a party hosted by Conan. It was unsettling to some.

COOPER: Was it -- it wasn't sort of, oh, are you legitimate? Like, oh, are you famous? It was saying to like, Bill Hader, who's a very famous, well-known "Saturday Night Live" comedian, are you famous?

JURGENSEN: Yes.

COOPER: Like, there's a hostility to it, it seems.

JURGENSEN: Yes and also, keep in mind, this is a kid, a man who grew up around famous people. He knows fame. Yes, so Bill Hader was one of the people he approached at the party, and --

COOPER: You report on sort of, I don't know if it's an argument or a --

JURGENSEN: There was an awkward exchange made more awkward by the fact that he had met Hader earlier in the night. So when he --

COOPER: Through Rob --

JURGENSEN: -- who had introduced him, so when he came up and asked him questions such as, what's your name? Are you famous? It was it was unsettling and described as scary from Hader's perspective.

COOPER: And then how -- do you know how long he stayed at the party? Was he asked to leave?

JURGENSEN: That is unclear and there are conflicting reports about how much tension was in the room, whether or not he may have argued with his dad, and whether that argument was significant at all.

I think what stands is this fact that this is going to be remembered as a very strange prelude to a really horrific turn of events.

COOPER: You've also done a lot of reporting just on his addiction, on his on his past. JURGENSEN: Yes, I mean, the fact that Rob and Michele brought their 32-year-old son to this party, I think is kind of a sign of their ongoing efforts over the years to really stabilize him, to normalize his life that had been rocked many, many times by his addiction.

COOPER: And there had been I mean, there have been a lot of efforts by Rob Reiner over the years. I mean, making that film, Rob Reiner worked as a director on the movie that his son co-wrote, apparently without salary. Even in the hopes that that would sort of launch him into a career, I guess.

JURGENSEN: Correct and to really try and understand what Nick had gone through as a father. I mean, that's how Rob described it, at least. And what's remarkable is that whole thing would be private and opaque to us if that hadn't happened, and they hadn't gone on these press tours talking about their problems with, you know, kind of varying degrees of comfort and discomfort it seemed like, on both their parts.

[20:20:16]

COOPER: Yes, it's fascinating reporting, "The Wall Street Journal's" John Jurgensen, thank you so much.

JURGENSEN: My pleasure.

COOPER: Barry Markowitz is someone who knew the Reiners as well, stayed at their home recently. He was a cinematographer on the film that we just mentioned. The Nick Reiner co-wrote being Charlie it's called, which was loosely inspired by Nick's experiences with addiction and directed, as I said, by Rob. I spoke with Barry Markowitz earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, Barry, I'm so sorry for your loss. I know you were incredibly close to Rob and Michele Reiner. First of all, how are you doing?

BARRY MARKOWITZ, FRIEND OF REINER FAMILY: I'm broken, Anderson. You know, I met Rob many years ago on, film that his son wrote and Nick, you know, a healing script about his putting his life out there.

COOPER: That was the film about Nick's drug use and his dad directed it, and it was an opportunity for them to work together. What was Nick like?

MARKOWITZ: Nick was on the upswing there because he was busy. He was relevant. He was working, he was writing. He was, you know, there and he did a project where he put his heart and soul out to the world, which is a big thing. The mensal right thing to do and his father treated him with respect like he was -- he was the writer and the and his story very sensitive.

We had a good time doing it, if I can say that. And we had laughter and tears and it was one big family. And let me tell you, I never met somebody that did so much for his kid and all his kids that, you know. COOPER: It seemed like both him and Michele just time and again, would do whatever they could -- rehab, whatever it was.

MARKOWITZ: They never gave up. They never gave up. They tried everything.

COOPER: You stayed routinely at the Reiners' house whenever you'd come to L.A., they'd insist that that you stay there --

MARKOWITZ: They would insist.

COOPER: When was the last time you stayed there?

MARKOWITZ: Three weeks ago.

COOPER: Wow, and what was it like? I mean, did you see Nick.

MARKOWITZ: When my friend called me up, I was supposed to go to L.A. .I asked Michele, can I stay a couple of days? I said, two days, can I stay there? She says two days, you're staying longer than that. I said, okay, I'm loving it. She says, you're not going. They want to put me in a hotel. She says there's no hotels for you. This is the hotel. She says, we got a refrigerator. We got a nice warm bed, and we got the best toilet paper in town. So, I say, all right, that was Rob's line. She used it. I knew the family.

We'd sit together and eat, the whole family, Nick, Romy, the dogs, Jake, Rob, Michele. We'd sit, we'd eat, we'd sit. They like family dinner, family time, old school, and we'd watch T.V. We'd see movies, we'd see basketball games. We'd all -- in unison, scream at the T.V. like families do.

COOPER: Did you see Nick on your last trip there, and a couple of weeks ago? And how did he see him -- because I saw a picture of him at the premiere for the sequel to "Spinal Tap," which was in September, and he looked really different. It looked like he'd gained a lot of weight.

MARKOWITZ: When I got there three weeks ago. He looked thinner, much thinner day and night. He was, you know, dressed great, always and he was just participating.

COOPER: Are you angry at Nick?

MARKOWITZ: No, listen, I knew the guy and Nick and his interview says how much he loves his father. I mean, he lived in the house there. Rob was never threatened. He let, they let invited me to stay there. Nick was around, never fearful. I never felt anything. You know, it's the sickness, Anderson. I don't want to just put it off and say, oh, well, you know.

It's hard for me to hate the guy because I know people in my life that have mental sickness and you can't hate them.

COOPER: And Rob and Michele never give up on him.

MARKOWITZ: Never, they lived for their kids, they lived for their kids, Anderson, like my parents did.

COOPER: I really, really appreciate it because it's so nice to have somebody who's a real friend who stayed there, who, who just, you know, who feels this. So, Barry, I really appreciate it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[20:25:06]

COOPER: Much more ahead tonight, including why the search for the Brown University killer, even just a person of interest is now entering its fifth day.

And more on what to expect when the President speaks to what seems to be an increasingly skeptical country at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight, investigators in Providence are doubling down on their search for the mass shooter who killed two Brown University students and wounding nine others. They are once again appealing for the public's help in identifying the person of interest they are seeking.

[20:30:00]

COOPER: Tonight, investigators in Providence are doubling down on their search for the mass shooter who killed two Brown University students and wounded nine others. And they're once again appealing for the public's help in identifying the person of interest they're seeking. They have multiple security camera videos and photos of him. You're looking at some of them. The investigation is in its fifth day now. Officials are asking for patience as investigators pour through leads.

And we learned tonight that one of the murdered victims, Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, was with a friend at a study session for a class that he was not enrolled in when the gunman burst in and opened fire. We're joined by Andrew McCabe, the former FBI Deputy Director. So Andrew, I mean, authorities earlier today, released a photo showing an individual who they say was in the vicinity of this person of interest in the Brown shooting. We're not going to publish the image because police have not indicated that the person in it has any connection to the case. What are your thoughts on the investigative value that picture may or may not have?

ANDREW MCCABE, FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Anderson, I can understand why investigators are interested in talking to this person. It is likely that on the security camera video they have reviewed, they've seen this person either very close to the person of interest or possibly even interacting with that person of interest. They were vague about that today. And so, if this person was near him or talking to him, it's possible he either knows him or just might remember something about him that could be helpful.

So I understand why they want to talk to him. But publishing the photograph in the way they have, it really could subject this person to a lot of scrutiny online and be the grist for a lot of conspiracy theories and things like that, which are really unfortunate and undeserved according to what law enforcement has told us. It also baffles me that they haven't, maybe they have to no effect, but it seems like they haven't used available A.I. software that can look at a full-face image like the one they showed today and try to match that to an identity that's out there on the internet from social media scraping and things like that.

So, this is software and technology that the FBI used to great success in the January 6th investigation. They identified many of the insurrectionists through that kind of work. So, you would think they would hopefully have tried that first.

COOPER: The Rhode Island Attorney General today said that investigators are not discouraged despite five days in the manhunt. Realistically, how much tougher does this search get with each passing day? And how much is the likelihood of finding some sort of bombshell clue diminish with time? Or is it just a question of there's a ton of leads and you just got to go through them?

MCCABE: It's really the latter, right? So, sure, in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, when the subject is likely still in the local area, you want to take advantage of every second of that time because with this person may be on the run, you have an opportunity to pick them off while -- when they're making a mistake or exposing themselves in some way. So as you get further and further away from the attack, you no longer have, presumably, that same sort of fleeing subject opportunity.

And so it really just grinds down into a very long-term tedious effort that you have to stay on until this is resolved. And I absolutely believe that they will find this person, but it may take some time. We saw that recently with the January 6th bomber, right? Took what, four, almost five years to find that person. And it was only through careful reviews and re-evaluations of existing evidence that they came up with a reasonable population of subjects and ultimately, found the right guy.

COOPER: Yeah. Andrew McCabe, thanks very much. As we wait to hear from President Trump next hour, there are new questions s tonight over his actions against Venezuela after his social media post saying he's ordering a total blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of the country, demanding Venezuela return to the U.S. all of the oil, land and other assets they have previously stolen from us. This comes as more members of Congress attended a classified briefing on the controversial boat strike from September 2nd, where the military launched a second strike killing two survivors after their boat was hit.

Democratic Congressman Adam Smith, who's the Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, was in that briefing. He joins me now from the Capitol. Congressman, what, if anything, are you expected to hear from the president at the top the hour regarding U.S. military action near Venezuela? REP. ADAM SMITH, (D-WA) RANKING MEMBER, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Well, I think we don't -- we don't know. I mean, that is what's so strange about this. We don't have a clear idea of where he's headed. I'm not sure that he does. What I expect to hear though, is strong condemnation of President Maduro, strong condemnation of drug traffickers, sort of a justification for his actions to date. And as far as whether or not he's going to say what he's going to do next, I don't know.

I think one of the big things, if we're going to be blockading Venezuela, that's an act of war by definition and something that Congress should have to approve. And certainly the president should go in detail to explain, and I don't know what it is that Venezuela supposedly took from us, unless we claim some right to the oil that's on their land. So that sentence doesn't make sense.

[20:35:00]

Hopefully, he will explain that. But we've all seen the president speak. I don't know that he's going to be that clear on those issues.

COOPER: We literally just learned moments ago, in an announcement from Southern Command, that the U.S. has struck another alleged drug boat in the Eastern Pacific. They've released this video. T, hey say it's unclassified, showing it being a hit. Four people were killed according to Southern Command, which says the strike was on the orders of Secretary Hegseth. What do you make, I mean, is the -- do you believe the objective of these strikes is stopping the flow of drugs into America? Is it basically trying to incite the Venezuelan government? What is the point?

SMITH: I don't think it's clear. In my opinion, I think this is more about two big things. One, Trump wants to drive Maduro out of power. You saw it with Susie Wiles' comments that basically he's going to blow up as many drug boats as he can until Maduro says uncle. So it certainly seems to be more focused on regime change in Venezuela than on actually impacting the drug trade in the United States of America. And that sort of makes sense.

I mean, we're blowing up boats full of cocaine, most of which, according to the intel I've seen, are likely headed to West Africa or Europe, not to the U.S. And keep in mind, this is cocaine. The great killer in the United States right now is fentanyl. If you are really going after all of the deaths and the major problems we have in the U.S., you would be focused on that. Instead, they're focused on cocaine and they're focused on these boats just off of Venezuela. So it seems likely that this is much more about Venezuela, but I think there's a big broader issue.

Look, if you saw the national security strategy that President Trump put out over a week ago now, it was very focused on the Monroe Doctrine, the idea that the U.S. should dominate the Western Hemisphere. And I think President Trump is trying to assert that dominance and also trying to assert his own power as president because keep in mind, none of this is congressionally approved. We got briefed by Admiral Bradley today. He talked, as he has before, about the fact that he has given orders on hundreds of strikes like this.

He was active certainly in the Iraq campaign, Afghanistan, but all of those prior strikes were connected to congressional approval. This one is just President Trump acting on his own, starting a war with apparently 24 different drug trafficking organizations and Venezuela. That is an incredible expansion of presidential power, and I think a violation of the Constitution.

COOPER: In terms of the incident on September 2nd, I mean, is there going to be any movement on that or do you think it is over, essentially, the look into it? Is the administration just trying to move on as quickly as possible?

SMITH: They're trying to move on, but I don't intend to let them and I know a lot of members of Congress don't. First of all, the fact that they've released yet another video, which you've just shown, of the strike tonight points out just the unbelievable dishonesty of Secretary Hegseth in saying that he can't release the video of this second strike because of national security and sensitive information reasons, or sorry, classified information, I should say. That's just nonsense. I mean, they've released, gosh, I don't know how many videos at this point, 15 or 18. It's easy to edit this video down, so that it's not releasing any classified information.

They're not releasing this video because they know what makes them look bad. They know it basically undercuts a lot of the dishonest arguments that Secretary Hegseth has been making about what happened in this strike. And they ought to release that video. And the second big thing about this is the justification for this, the execute order that the White House gave to the Department of Defense that gave Admiral Bradley his incredibly broad rules of engagement. That too has not been submitted to Congress.

That's the justification that was so broad that we deserve a chance to see. So, I'm going to keep pushing it. I know a lot of other members are. At a minimum, there ought to be a public hearing. This is a major use of the United States military to kill people and potentially start a war. Secretary Hegseth ought to come before Congress and say, this is what we're doing and this is why.

COOPER: Yeah. Congressman Adam Smith, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

SMITH: Thanks, Anderson.

COOPER: We're standing by for the president's address from the White House as polls show his job approval slipping. In a new "All Over the Map" report from John King, he takes us to Nashville in red Tennessee, where progressives feel they'll do well in the midterms.

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[20:44:03]

COOPER: We're just minutes away from the top of the hour, and President Trump's prime-time address the nation. Many Democrats are starting to feel the mood of the country may be changing in their favor in some places, and they'll do well in November's midterm elections. Nowhere is that feeling more evident than in Nashville, in the heart of solid red Tennessee. Here's John King with a new "All Over the Map" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Music City, Nashville, Tennessee. Yes, a place where stars are born, but also a place where dreams can be crushed. Just ask a local Democrat.

MEGAN SCHWALM, TENNESSEE VOTER: While there are moments of hope, for me, there are often overwhelming moments of hopelessness as well.

KING (voice-over): Yet there's more than coffee brewing here. New vibe at the Liberal Lady Social Group Megan Schwalm started three years ago, more members and a more ambitious conversation.

[20:45:00]

SCHWALM: Caregiver tax credit, that I'm really excited about because --

KING (voice-over): Local school board fights brought most of these women here. Now, they're excited about 2026 midterm House races where Democrats normally wouldn't have a prayer.

SCHWALM: When you're here, it's very clear you're in the Bible Belt. Beliefs are very different from beliefs in Nashville and politically, it's very different going from Nashville to here.

KING (voice-over): This is Mt. Juliet, a Nashville suburb in the Fifth Congressional District. Early this month, there was a special election in the neighboring Seventh District. Democrat Aftyn Behn lost by nine points. But a year earlier, the Republican won by 22.

SCHWALM: I mean, the numbers are the numbers. And you know, if we can keep closing that gap, that's incredible. But gerrymandering makes it nearly impossible to win. At least closing the gap does provide a little more hope for what things might look like in the next election. Right?

KING (voice-over): There's chatter maybe a moderate would've run even stronger, but no one here sees it that way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been running moderates.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It doesn't work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that (inaudible).

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And she built that momentum.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, we don't want liberal-like anymore. We want the actual liberal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think if they try and run someone more moderate and they lose that progressive vote that they would've gotten with her, they're fooling themselves.

KING (voice-over): Everyone here lives within an hour of Nashville, but they are now sprinkled across three congressional districts.

KING: The old Fifth Congressional district included all of Nashville and was reliably blue, represented by a Democrat from 1875 to 2023. That's 148 years. But Tennessee Republicans redrew the lines before the 2022 elections, carving Nashville into three congressional districts that stretch from the city out to the suburbs, well out into rural Tennessee. And they are reliably red.

President Trump, for example, in 2024, carried the Fifth Congressional District by 18 points, the sixth by 35. And here in the Seventh, where we are right now, by 22 points despite getting trounced in Nashville.

CYNDI CORTES, TENNESSEE VOTER: One hot, one ice.

KING (voice-over): Cyndi Cortes and her husband own the coffee shop where the liberal ladies meet. They moved from Nashville to Mt. Juliet two years ago, and are Trump supporters.

LUIS CORTES, TENNESSEE RESIDENT: There's something that in these kind of suburbia Nashville that we really hold dear, and that's our love for God at first and then our love for family, and then our love for country.

KING (voice-over): Luis Cortes cannot vote. His parents crossed illegally from Mexico when he was a child. They were deported when Luis was 17. He was allowed to stay.

L. CORTES: I was part of the program that President Obama started with the DACA.

KING (voice-over): Luis has permanent resident status now and hopes to one day become a citizen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is your daughter graduated yet?

KING (voice-over): Cyndi voted for Obama, then Hillary Clinton, but Trump in 2020 and 2024 because she says being a parent and owning a business have made her more conservative. Tariffs on coffee and paper goods hurt their bottom line. But they say Trump deserves more time for things to settle. Both like the president's crackdown on illegal crossings, but aggressive deportation roundups give them pause.

C. CORTES: The means at which we're getting there is difficult, is not comfortable to watch, and it has definitely affected Latin American communities.

KING (voice-over): Cyndi's 2026 thinking is important. She voted for Republican Andy Ogles in 2024, but hopes he loses in the GOP primary next year. C. CORTES: I can't put a vote for a candidate that I just don't feel just embodies the values that matter to us. And a strong character and honest character is important.

KING (voice-over): And if Ogles wins the primary?

C. CORTES: I'm not opposed to voting for a Democratic candidate.

KING (voice-over): Parnassus Books is in the Fifth District slice of Nashville. Lisa Quigley lives a few miles away in the Seventh District's piece of the city. She was chief of staff to the last Democrat to represent Nashville when it was all one district. He was a centrist and Quigley's experience tells her moderates have a better shot in the suburbs and the rural counties. But a surge of energy among progressives in the special election was eye-opening.

LISA QUIGLEY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: And when they turned to see who our nominee was, it was somebody who was fighting, who was talking about affordability, who was very aggressive, and voters here like that.

KING (voice-over): Quigley says, the new Democratic energy here is real and predicts crowded primaries for the House seats. Yes, that just about guarantees tension between Democratic liberals and moderates. But Quigley believes at least two of the three House seats can be competitive.

KING: You think there's something in the water?

QUIGLEY: There's something happening, there's something happening. And so, as long as we are smart enough to put our best players on the field, I think we're going to be able to take advantage of that. And I think that next November is going to be a big year for us.

KING (voice-over): Country and Western go together here. Democrats and optimism usually do not. So it may turn out to be all hat, no cattle, but at the moment, Democrats see a chance for a Music City comeback.

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[20:50:00]

COOPER: And John King joins us now along with the two Davids and Alyssa Farah Griffin. I mean, John, Tennessee Democrats seem excited by their prospects, at least in Nashville. Does the math justify their optimism?

KING (on camera): Probably not in most cases. Here's what they think though, Anderson, that if you were there a few months ago, it would've been impossible. Now it's improbable. They will take improbable. They are hoping that they get through their primaries. They think they could be competitive in at least two of these districts if they get through the primaries without too much liberal/moderate fighting and the party stay united. But then they need some help and they know it. And that help is directly related to what we're about to hear from the president of the United States. Look at 2025, Democrats ran strong everywhere. David Urban is laughing, but they ran strong in red rural places like those districts in Tennessee, because a lot of Republicans stayed home and every Democrat turned out. That's what the Tennessee Republicans need next year, a perfect storm. Their base comes out and it is angry. And the Republican base, for whatever reason, the Epstein files, affordability, strikes in the Pacific, whatever, Trump veering from what they thought he was going to do, most of that base stays home. That's what they hope for. But I'll tell you this, they just haven't been this excited in a very long time.

COOPER: Yeah. David Urban, you don't look like you're sweating Tennessee.

(LAUGH)

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Listen, John King remembers a few nights ago, we were on this show. I said, mark it -- put it down. Mark Green, my classmate called and said, Matt Van Epps is the winner and he won by nine points. I'm not super concerned about Nashville, but I am concerned about other close districts across the United States. There'll be a lot of places in Pennsylvania in play and others. But as John, you heard the woman there that said, let's give Trump a little more time, right? They're nervous, but they want to give him a little more time. I think that's what the president is going to ask for tonight. He's going to say, give me a little more.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: But she's upset with her incumbent Republican Congressman. She's upset with him. And Trump's not on the ballot. That's the key. We saw this throughout 2025. Trump's not on the ballot and Trump is also very unpopular at the moment.

URBAN: Yeah. But Susie is going to make sure Trump's on the ballot in lots of places.

COOPER: David Axelrod, do you have any doubt that Susie Wiles will be calling the shots for the next election?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the question really is, will she be calling the shots after the next election? It's, as I think I said last night on this show, you lose an election, you can't fire the president, so somebody else usually gets thrown out. And so, that's why these jobs are so hard to hang on to. But look, I think that Dave was relieved last week about what happened in Tennessee, but they lost 13 points from a year ago in a congressional race there in a turnout that was basically the size of a midterm election. It wasn't like a small turnout. It was a pretty typical turnout for a midterm election.

And as John points out, those results were mirrored in places all over the country -- north, south, east and west. So, there is something going on, and it's -- and the key to it is what the president needs to address tonight, which is the economy. He got elected on it. That's why he was elected. He promised to do something about it quickly. It didn't happen quickly. And now, he has to explain it.

COOPER: Well, Alyssa, I mean, if you're a Republican in a swing district, what do you want to hear from the president tonight?

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You want to hear that he's going to tell Mike Johnson to extend these Obamacare subsidies and allow an up or down vote. Listen, when you're talking -- I'm no fan of Obamacare personally, but no offense, David Axelrod. But when you're talking about 20 million people seeing their premiums maybe double and very soon ahead of the tough midterm elections, that's an untenable position. Mike Lawler just north of me in New York, who's standing for a very tough re-election, came out. He called it BS. That's impossible to campaign to your constituents on.

I think that in many ways becomes as urgent of a problem as the broader issue of affordability. But also, John King hit something great in the end of this piece, or the woman he was interviewing. There's a lot of progressive energy right now. The Jasmine Crocketts want to run in Texas. They want fighters. But what matters is, can you field moderate Democrats who can actually win in some of these swing districts? That's how Democrats are actually going to have the most success in the midterms.

If you're looking at progressive activists to win in Tennessee and these other places, they're going to come up short and you're going to have Mark Greens re-elected quite a bit.

COOPER: John, I mean, you've traveled all over the country --

AXELROD: You know, one thing I --

COOPER: Well, go ahead, David.

AXELROD: No, no. I just wanted to respond to Alyssa who, by the way, I forgive you on the Affordable Care Act because I'm sure you have very good insurance, so you don't really have to worry about that. But, on this issue of progressive versus moderate --

GRIFFIN: I am on the exchange.

(LAUGH)

AXELROD: -- I think people -- I think people are very much interested in bold action relative to the economy. And in the past, you may consider that progressive, but right now, it's mainstream. People want real action, tangible action that will help them deal with this cascade of bills that they're confronting every day in their lives.

[20:55:00]

COOPER: John, I mean, you travel all over. You talk to people all over.

GRIFFIN: But, this is Zohran Mamdani or Abigail Spanberger? COOPER: Oh, that's a good question.

(LAUGH)

COOPER: But I mean, John, I mean, do -- even among the president supporters that you talk to, do they want to hear him continue to blame economic headwinds on predecessors? Does that work?

KING: No, it does not because they are with him on that. Trump supporters and a lot of independents say, yes, Trump inherited tough inflation, tough cost of living, tough affordability crisis from the president of the United States, the former President Joe Biden. They all agree with the president on that. But he said, as David Axelrod noted earlier, he would fix it. Biden was stupid. And many times he said it would be easy. Many times Donald Trump said it would be easy. So his supporters are, I understand, you inherited a bad deal, but where's our better deal?

Unemployment in this country is up since Donald Trump became president. Manufacturing jobs are down. Energy prices are going up, heading into -- many of these battleground districts are north of the Mason-Dixon Line, home heating season. And so, they want to see something from the president. They also would like to see a little empathy. That's not Donald Trump's traditional strong suit, but he has mocked them by mocking the affordability crisis as a hoax and as a con job, because I -- sorry, I can't tell you how many three-time Trump voters I've talked to, who say their costs are up, some modestly, some significantly, and they would like some help from the man they voted for because he said he would fix it. COOPER: David Urban, I mean, outgoing GOP Congresswoman, Marjorie

Taylor Greene, she told Kaitlan Collins, she hopes to hear empathy from President Trump around affordability on the speech tonight. You think that's realistic?

URBAN: No, I don't think it's going to be realistic at all. I think the president is going to talk about, again, just as John said, he is going to look in the rear view mirror a little bit, but I'd remind the president, the windshield is bigger than the rear view mirror. So let's look forward, let's talk about what's going to happen in Q1. Let's try to project things that you want to see done. May want to take a relook at tariffs, re-leveling, resetting some of these tariffs that are making things expensive for the small business owner, like you heard John talking to in that coffee shop.

I think they can reset on some of those things and drive down some of these prices. We need to see GDP, we need to see real GDP growth, way above three percent. And if those numbers are going to change, I think people will give him Q1 to see if things start turning. If not, then I think the midterms are not going to be pretty for Republicans.

COOPER: Alyssa, do you expect empathy?

GRIFFIN: I think David Urban hit it on the head. Listen, I don't expect a lot of empathy. I hope we don't hear affordability as a hoax. J.D. Vance kind of walked away from that today. He took a different message than the president, had speaking in Pennsylvania. So I think there's a recognition that affordability issues are very real, that people who voted for Donald Trump are suffering. So, I think he needs to hit that head on. I don't know that we're going to hear that.

What I'm interested to hear though, is there a proactive policy push that's going to come in the New Year? Because I think a lot of us expect the Big Beautiful Bill was the big deal. It was the tax cuts; it was the energy credit. So what could be coming down the pipeline that's going to give people relief?

COOPER: Yeah.

GRIFFIN: I don't feel like that's been previewed. I'd love to see tariffs rolled back, but I don't think that's coming.

COOPER: I got to toss it over, guys.

(CROSSTALK)

URBAN: I think there's a lot --

(CROSSTALK)

URBAN: I think there's a lot of talk about a second reconciliation bill.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: I appreciate, guys. The president's speech is just moments away. "The Source" with Kaitlan Collins starts now.