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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt
Judges: Admin Must Use Emergency Funds For Food Stamps; FBI Says It Thwarted Terror Attack Planned Around Halloween; Obama Set To Return To Campaign Trail For Governor Candidates. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired October 31, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:03]
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE ANALYST: But that's why everybody wants the T on 3I/Atlas. As he said, there was a 40 percent chance that it could be alien tech.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: I enjoyed the T there. Thank you, Kristin Fisher.
And THE ARENA WITH KASIE HUNT starts right now.
(MUSIC)
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Welcome to THE ARENA. Kasie Hunt is off today. I'm Boris Sanchez.
It is good to have you on this Friday. We hope you're having a happy Halloween.
And we have some breaking news as we come on the air. We're facing a critical moment for the tens of millions of Americans who receive federal food assistance. Two federal judges saying that the Trump administration is required to use billions in emergency funding to cover at least some food stamp benefits for the month of November.
This, as the government shutdown enters its second month and a resolution seems farfetched. The Senate is out, so is the House and President Donald Trump is off for Florida this weekend as he continues to argue that this is all the fault of Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All they have to do is say, let's go. Let's open up our country and everything snaps back into shape. So, there's something wrong with them.
I'm always going to meet. All they have to do is open up the country, let them open up the country, and we'll meet. We'll meet very quickly. But they have to open up the country. It's their fault. Everything is their fault.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Let's get off the sidelines and go into THE ARENA. Our panel is here, but let's actually start at the White House with
CNN's Jeff Zeleny.
Jeff, take us through these rulings by these two federal judges.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, a variety of Democratic states, as well as interest groups brought forth these suits suing the administration, saying that there is available funding at the Department of Agriculture to keep these funding streams alive for these food benefits. The food stamps, if you will, or the SNAP program. And the judge is being very explicit, saying the administration has to use those funds which have already been appropriated by Congress, but it is unclear exactly when that will happen.
One of the judges, Boris, is writing this. Let's take a look at his ruling. Judge John McConnell is writing: There is no doubt that the contingency funds are appropriated funds that are without a doubt, necessary to carry out the programs operation. The shutdown of the government, though funding doesn't do away with SNAP, it does away with the funding of it.
So that is a judge there saying the government basically has to find a funding stream. There is not enough funding available for an entire month of SNAP funding, but there is enough funding available for half a month or so. But it is a question of when this will be administered, or the judges stopped short of ordering the administration to do it.
By today, it seems as though they will hear from the administration. They are ordered to come back on Monday to give some type of an update.
Now, the White House has blasting these rulings with the president's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett. Just a short time ago, blasting the rulings from what he called a liberal judge. But as the president was flying down to a weekend in Florida, he too is out of Washington, as is the House and the Senate. He had this to say about the idea of finding extra funding for SNAP benefits.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Is there a possibility, like you did with the military moving around funds? Is there a possibility to do that?
TRUMP: There always is. But all the Democrats have to do is say, let's go. I mean, you know, they don't have to do anything. They don't have to do. All they have to do is say the government is open.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: So, Boris, the bottom line here is the administration has found funding for members of the military. They have found funding for some other federal law enforcement officials, like ICE, but they have chosen not to find or use this as snap money. They are hoping it is a pressure point for Democrats to vote to join Republicans in reopening the government. But as of now, Democrats do not seem to be budging. But one thing we
know for certain, those SNAP benefits expire tomorrow -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Jeff Zeleny live for us at the White House, thank you so much, Jeff.
Let's bring in the Democratic minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
Leader Jeffries, thank you so much for being with us this Halloween. I want to start by getting your reaction to what we have heard from Kevin Hassett about the White House agreeing to use these emergency funds to cover snap benefits. He seems to lament that the judges ruled this way.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Yeah, this is shocking to me because Donald Trump, Republicans and the administration should not be weaponizing hunger and jeopardizing the ability of more than 42 million Americans, including 16 million children, to put food on the table. But from the very beginning of Donald Trump's time in office, cruelty has clearly been the point.
We're thankful for these rulings. The law is very clear. Funds do exist within the administration for exactly this reason. A contingency fund to make sure that no one in America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, ever goes hungry.
[16:05:04]
What the administration needs to do is comply with the law and make sure that these SNAP benefits don't lapse.
SANCHEZ: The counterargument from the administration, Leader Jeffries, is that it is Democrats who, by not voting for a C.R. almost identical to the one that they voted for just months ago, are holding these SNAP recipients and the beneficiaries of other government programs hostage.
And I am curious about where you see all of this ending, because eventually that emergency funding will run out again. It's somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 billion, not enough to cover the $9 billion that I understand is required for SNAP benefits in November.
Eventually, there will be more agencies and programs that will run out of money. So, what is the plan?
JEFFRIES: Well, Donald Trump is the president. Republicans control the House and the Senate, and they've taken a my way or the highway approach from the very beginning of this year, unleashing their right wing and extreme agenda and jamming it down the throats of the American people. But all of a sudden, they're powerless.
No one is buying that in America. As Democrats, what we've said is that well sit down with Republicans any time, any place at the White House or in the Congress in order to reopen the government and find a bipartisan path forward to a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people in an environment where the cost of living is way too high. And as part of dealing with that situation, we have to decisively address the Republican health care crisis, particularly as it relates to the pending expiration of the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
SANCHEZ: I do want to get your thoughts on the way that the president and some Republicans have characterized SNAP recipients. Here's something the president said earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Largely when you talk about SNAP, you're talking about largely Democrats. But I'm president. I want to help everybody. I want to help Democrats and Republicans. But when you're talking about SNAP, if you look, it's largely Democrats. They're hurting their own people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: What do you think the president means by that?
JEFFRIES: You know, it's unbelievable to me. He should be functioning as the president of the United States of America. But of course, he's shown no interest in doing that. He just wants to be the president of his cult like followers. But his own willing to actually be there for everyday Americans, working class Americans, and middle class Americans who, by the way, are of every political persuasion.
And of course, people in every single state across this country are going to be impacted. You're talking about 42 million Americans, 16 million children, eight million adults, older Americans, and seniors, and more than a million veterans. And they're in every single state in the country of every single political persuasion.
You know, it's Halloween. Donald Trump should put on a costume and pretend to act like a president, at least on this day.
SANCHEZ: I want to pivot to the presidents call to get rid of the senate filibuster, and actually play sound from President Barack Obama back in 2020. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: If all this takes eliminating the filibuster, another Jim Crow relic, in order to secure the God-given rights of every American, then that's what we should do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: You yourself have used similar language to describe the filibuster you wrote on X in 2021. Quote, "The filibuster is a Jim Crow era relic that has been used to stop progress for decades. Enough."
By your own standards, shouldn't Republican senators heed Trump's call to eliminate the filibuster?
JEFFRIES: Well, you know, Marjorie Taylor Greene made this point a few weeks ago that Republicans are actually making a choice to keep the government shut down when everybody in Washington understands they have the power to reopen it. But they're asking Democrats to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people in an environment where they've already enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history hospitals, nursing homes and community based health centers are closing because of Republican policies all throughout the country. And now they're refusing to extend the affordable care act tax credits. And they want us as Democrats to go along with it.
In terms of what Republicans in the Senate may decide relative to the filibuster rule, it is a Jim Crow relic, but ultimately, it's their decision. But keep in mind that the filibuster has already been eradicated or watered down in other instances. That's the reason why Republicans could pass their one big ugly bill with only Republican votes. Every single Democrat in the House and every single Democrat in the senate opposed it. It was a simple majority, and they used the erosion of the filibuster.
In the case of that budget reconciliation bill to visit upon the American people $1 trillion or so in cuts to Medicaid, to rip food away from the mouths of hungry children, and at the same time to enact the largest tax break for their billionaire donors in American history.
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And they made that permanent.
SANCHEZ: As, you know, leader, thousands of federal employees will not be getting paid paychecks for members of Congress, though do go out tomorrow on November 1st. CNN actually connected with speaker mike Johnson's office, who said that he is not planning on collecting that paycheck. Youve said that you plan on telling your constituents on or before that date, whether you plan on accepting pay yourself.
Can you share your decision?
JEFFRIES: Yes. I made clear to my constituents that my check will be withheld.
SANCHEZ: And as we speak, another impact of the shutdown is on air traffic. New York's JFK International Airport is currently under a ground stop because of staffing shortages at air traffic control centers. These are your constituents that are using this airport. There have been multiple concerns already raised about shortages in air traffic control before the shutdown.
How concerned are you about potential safety risks for your constituents?
JEFFRIES: Well, I'm very concerned with all of the harmful effects of the shutdown, the fact that our air traffic controllers and many hardworking federal employees, TSA agents are being asked to work without pay. This is the reason why Donald Trump needs to get serious about sitting down and finding a path toward a bipartisan agreement. Understand, this is day 31 of the Trump Republican shutdown. Donald
Trump has spent more time on the golf course than he has talking with Democrats, who represent half the country.
He spent more time talking to Hamas over the last 31 days than he has with Democrats, who represent half the country, and he spent more time talking to the Chinese communist party than he has talking with Democrats as part of an effort to reopen the government to enact a spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people and that addresses the Republican health care crisis that is hurting working class Americans, everyday Americans and middle class Americans. No matter where you live, rural America, urban America, small town America, the heartland of America, and of course, black and brown communities throughout America.
Donald Trump can help lead at this moment, but he refuses to do so.
SANCHEZ: Leader, could you specifically name a Republican who you've called in recent days and describe what that conversation was like?
JEFFRIES: Well, Mike Johnson have had and I have had maybe two brief conversations over the last week or so, but they're not serious. At the end of the day, understand, until Donald Trump tells them what to do, Republicans in the House and the Senate are going to be unwilling to find a bipartisan path forward Because Republicans this version of the Republican Party in the Congress, they don't work for the American people.
They work for Donald Trump, he says jump. They say how high they've been. Nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump's extreme agenda, consistently hurting their own constituents, which is what they're doing right now as it relates to their refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, when we know the five states that will be impacted the most are West Virginia, Wyoming, Alaska, Tennessee and Mississippi. Those are the five states.
The next five states are also in Republican controlled hands. They could care less. And that's a shame.
SANCHEZ: Turning now to the mayoral race underway in your city right now, early voting in New York City has been underway this week. Have you voted in the mayoral race yet?
JEFFRIES: I have.
SANCHEZ: Can you share who you voted for?
JEFFRIES: Well, I issued a statement endorsing the Democratic nominee a little over a week ago. So of course, that's exactly who I voted for.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. And I wonder if you spoke with your colleague, Senator Chuck Schumer, about your decision to back Zohran Mamdani.
JEFFRIES: I have not.
SANCHEZ: Why?
JEFFRIES: Well, Chuck Schumer makes his decisions. I make my decisions. I let him know the direction that I was heading in, and that was the extent of the conversation.
SANCHEZ: Well, it just seems like this race in New York City for mayor is a microcosm of a battle within the Democratic Party between what's seen as the old guard and the new guard. And there are clearly some apprehensions about endorsing or even voting for someone like Zohran Mamdani even publicly voicing support for him.
I wonder if you told Senator Schumer that you would back him. What he said in response, if you could share some of his perspective?
JEFFRIES: Well, the private conversation is a private conversation between Leader Schumer and myself, as would be the case relative to any other member of Congress. But I certainly informed him in advance of my decision, as he often does with me.
[16:15:02]
And, of course, we speak often. We're focused, I think, the two of us. And he's done a tremendous job right now. And so have Senate Democrats in standing up for the health care of the American people, pushing back against these extreme cuts and doing everything we can to reopen the government and to enact a spending agreement that actually drives down the high cost of living in an environment where Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one. Costs aren't going down. They're going up. Inflation through the roof, housing costs up, childcare costs up, grocery costs up on electricity bills skyrocketing.
SANCHEZ: One final question, Leader. Just on that point that's been made, including by former Governor Andrew Cuomo, current candidate in the mayoral race, that this is a quiet civil war going on in the Democratic Party.
Do you see it that way, that this mayoral race is an indicator of where the party stands, perhaps where it's headed?
JEFFRIES: I mean, I don't think it's a quiet civil war that's a hyper aggressive statement from, you know, a candidate on the campaign trail who obviously is trying to appeal to a wide variety of people outside of the Democratic Party.
I think were focused on the fact that we've got a responsibility both to push back against the extremism that has been unleashed on the American people from January 20th on, an attack on all the things, on the economy, on health care, on farmers, on veterans, on law abiding immigrant families, on the rule of law, on the American way of life, and of course, on democracy itself, while also articulating to the American people an affirmative vision of how to make things better.
It certainly is the case that the American people deserve better than what they've received. What are we going to do as Democrats about it? Weve got to address the affordability crisis, drive down the high cost of living. We've got to fix our broken health care system that Republicans are destroying right now. And we certainly have to clean up corruption in an environment where the Trump administration is running the largest pay to play scheme in the history of the country, and undermining the ability of our country to actually be one that is of the people, by the people, and for the people.
SANCHEZ: Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, we'll leave the conversation there. We appreciate your time. Thanks so much.
JEFFRIES: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Our panel is now here to discuss. We have "New York Times" journalist and podcast host Lulu Garcia-Navarro; CNN political commentator Jonah Goldberg; Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod; and Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton.
Thank you all for being with us and for being patient through what is a bit of an unusually longer interview with --
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Jonah. I wonder what you make of what we heard from Leader Jeffries.
JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, just because I feel like no one else will do it, the filibuster is not a relic of Jim Crow. The first filibuster was in 1806, the first real life filibuster was in 1837. As part of the debate over censure of Andrew Jackson. It had nothing to do with race.
Anyway, look, I think Jeffries has a very good point about how SNAP benefits are actually going towards a lot of red states and a lot of Republican voters. There's real pressure being felt. Josh Hawley has just -- has just introduced legislation with 14 Republican senators backing him to fund SNAP through the government shutdown, which shows that there's pressure over there.
At the same time, I just think it's a losing argument to say the Democrats aren't the ones doing this because they're the ones who are, in effect, doing this. And it's not a crazy partizan spending bill. Republicans are trying to pass. They're trying to pass the same clean C.R. that they voted for, that Chuck Schumer supported before.
And, you know, more and more Americans still blame Republicans than Democrats. But the margins are starting to tip. Republicans are looking less bad. Democrats are looking a little worse. So, I think at the end, it's going to be a losing argument for him.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: What I would say, actually, is that we know that government shutdowns are losing arguments for everybody in the end, because the longer they go on, the harder it is to justify. And everyone ends up in pain.
GOLDBERG: And we have to find new things to say about them.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes, indeed. What I would say about this, though, is that it is harder for the
administration to make the argument over SNAP when they have been giving money to the military, when they have been giving money to ICE, to say, oh, all these poor people. You know what? Even though this judge said we need to give them money because we've got it, were not going to do it because those are Democratic voters. And so we don't care about them.
That is actually an argument that doesn't benefit the administration. It seems very callous, and it seems I think counter to a little bit, what you were saying, that people are going to blame Democrats over Republicans because ultimately the mistake I think, that the president has made over and over again during the shutdown is to basically run his mouth and say, I don't care about what's happening to a lot of Americans. I care about the people that vote for me.
GOLDBERG: I agree, his body language has been very bad.
SANCHEZ: Adrienne, when it comes to these judges' rulings, do you think that this takes some pressure off and makes negotiation a little bit less likely?
[16:20:05]
ADRIENNE ELROD, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I don't know about that. I mean, first of all, I want to give props to Democracy Forward for pulling together a coalition of cities and nonprofits to get this lawsuit where, where it was and to make sure that the SNAP funds are available. I mean, I think when sort of to Lulu's point, when you are an American -- part of the American population and you're like, wait, the funds are there, the emergency funds are there, but Donald Trump is not willing to release them. I mean, I'm glad that the courts ruled in the favor of the American people in this case.
But look, here's the bottom line. The reason why Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer and Democrats are toeing the line here is because Obamacare subsidies are at stake. That is why Democrats are not willing to come back to the table until Republicans will negotiate and ensure that those subsidies are enacted.
I mean, right now, November 1st is tomorrow. Most Americans, or at the majority of Americans who are on the health care exchange, will see their subsidies going up somewhere upwards of 114 percent. That is a dramatic increase for middle class families. It's one of the reasons why Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are using the little tiny leverage that they have when Democrats have no power in the House, Senate or the White House. Republicans hold all of that power.
That is why I think you are still seeing the American people saying, no, this is the fault of Republicans. This is not the fault of Democrats. And by the way, thank you, Democrats, for using the power that you have to try to create leverage here to protect my health care.
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's not the objective of voting for continuing resolution. It's to keep the government open. This isn't a dirty C.R. where we're saying we're going to throw in a little bit of this and a little bit of that. It's clean.
Democrats have voted for this in the past, and so it's a bit disingenuous to say that this is some new funding bill where Republicans are throwing in a whole bunch of new stuff. That's not what we're doing, which, by the way, doesn't often happen in this town on either side. Look, as a conservative, I certainly don't think it's morally permissible to allow people to starve, particularly as we get closer to Thanksgiving.
And I think that's why you've seen people like Senator Hawley, you've seen congressmen on my side, such as Burchett out of Tennessee, who've all said, look, we have to make sure people have food, okay? That's a nonstarter for me as a conservative and as a Christian.
That said, I do think Democrats are playing games here. The governments been closed for two months. They had every single opportunity to vote for this C.R. and engage with Republicans -- the president, the speaker of the house, the majority leader in the Senate on health care subsidies. We can have that argument. They refused to do that because they're playing politics.
ELROD: No, Shermichael -- we're not in charge. Your party is in charge. They're the ones who were supposed to come to the table --
SINGLETON: Do you know how many senators we need to vote for C.R. --
ELROD: If they really cared about extending your subsidies, if they wanted to extend these subsidies, they -- your leadership in the House and Senate would have come to the table before we were at the five- yard line.
SINGLETON: So why not vote for the C.R.? It's a clean C.R. What's the problem?
ELROD: I can tell you this. I can tell you this, Shermichael, majority of American people have no idea what a clean C.R. means. They do understand what it means to protect their health care --
(CROSSTALK)
SINGLETON: So, closing the government down is permissible to Democrats when you don't get your way, which is why the president has proposed using the nuclear option.
ELROD: Why didn't Mike Johnson --
SINGLETON: I'm not against at all. I'm not against it. If Democrats are unwilling to govern as they should, then you know what? Republicans should do the right thing. Open the frickin government. Let's continue to do business. Regular order as we should, and bypass Democrats, because it is clear to me that you guys are not willing to compromise at all on anything.
ELROD: Which is why -- SINGLETON: That's not the way politics works.
ELROD: -- why Speaker Johnson allowed the government to shut down before protecting Obamacare subsidies.
SANCHEZ: Did you guys bring popcorn? Because this is very -- you make this easy. You make this easy.
Panel, please --
ELROD: We are buddies.
SINGLETON: We are, we are.
ELROD: We agree to disagree.
SANCHEZ: Please stand by because there's plenty more to discuss. Up next in THE ARENA, inside the virtual chat room the FBI says was planning a very real terror attack for Halloween weekend.
Plus, the plans former President Barack Obama has this weekend and what it says about what Democrats are thinking four days before election day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D), VIRGINIA GOV. CANDIDATE: We can set an example for the rest of the country when we win on Tuesday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:28:21]
SANCHEZ: FBI Director Kash Patel announced today that the FBI stopped a potential terrorist attack in Michigan. Multiple people were arrested in what sources say was a plot inspired by ISIS planned for Halloween weekend.
Let's get the latest from CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller. Also with us, former assistant FBI director for the criminal investigative division, Chris Swecker.
Thank you both for being with us.
John, first to you, what are the latest details you've learned about what was planned?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, the FBI doesn't know what was planned. What they do know is they had this group of people. They were communicating with each other more concerningly. They were talking about ISIS doctrine and theory, and they were also communicating with people overseas.
The thing shifted this week when the suspects got together, went to a shooting range, using semiautomatic rifles practicing for fast magazine changes and ammunition reloads and tactics right under the eyes of a covert FBI surveillance team that was watching all of this, as well as references that were obtuse but references to things like pumpkin day which of course, could have been a reference to Halloween this weekend. And at that point, while they wanted to go longer with the case, while they wanted to develop more evidence, while they wanted to take more time. They had to cut the case short because the threat picture was changing too quickly.
SANCHEZ: Chris, is it unusual for the FBI director to announce arrests like this without also having charging documents and other substance to put out there?
[16:30:01]
CHRIS SWECKER, FORMER ASSISTANT FBI DIRECTOR FOR THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION: Well, it's not unusual to announce an arrest because there is a -- there is a charging document. It's an arrest warrant with an affidavit behind it. So that -- that's out there. An indictment will come later within ten days.
So, it's not unusual for that part. You know, Director Patel has been very aggressive and proactive in putting out information about active cases.
And I like the fact that he has not put out much information on this particular case, because there are other people out there. I don't think they wanted to bring this operation down when they did. I think they wanted to find out the entire scope of the operation, who else was involved. And as John just described, events just took over, and they got overtaken by those events and they had to take action.
So, I think he's right to kind of keep it close to the vest, announce the arrests, because they did happen. And then now they're going to have to go overt with the investigation, it looks like.
SANCHEZ: John, what kind of facts are these agents processing as they're trying to decide when exactly to take down these folks and arrest them, given that they may be waiting to see what else they might learn about possible connections, about future plans. I mean, I imagine that's not easy decision making.
MILLER: It's tough. And, I mean, I can tell you, I face these decisions as head of counterterrorism in the LAPD, head of counterterrorism in the NYPD. The work that I did with Chris in the FBI.
You see these cases where, you know, you keep that Venn diagram, what is the intent? What is their capability? And once the intent rises to a certain level and the capability rises to meet that, now you're in a risk factor. Now, as Chris could also tell you, you know, we'll make those calculated risks when we're talking about the safety of our undercover agents who are involved, who are in the middle of the plot. That's what they signed up for.
But when those risks boil over and they involve the general public, that's where you have to say as far as human life goes, it would be great to develop a better case with a longer tail. But right now, we've got to take this down because risk and capability and intent have all collided, and we don't have the controlling features we need to be able to rein that in at all times.
SANCHEZ: John Miller, Chris Swecker, thank you both for the perspective.
SWECKER: You bet.
SANCHEZ: Coming up, what a former Democratic presidential candidate is saying about Zohran Mamdani in the final sprint of the campaign.
And Democrats and Republicans rallying voters in key states ahead of the first general election of Donald Trump's second term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK CIATTARELLI, NEW JERSEY GOV. CANDIDATE: I'd like to say if you come across anybody you know that's not voting for me, tell them that election day is Wednesday, November 5th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:37:12]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPANBERGER: We need a governor who has a plan to strengthen and steady our economy at this time where so much chaos is being thrust upon us, and we can set an example for the rest of the country when we win on Tuesday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: With roughly 100 hours until polls close in New York, New Jersey and Virginia, candidates are pulling out all the stops. And for Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill, that means getting former President Barack Obama to join them on the campaign trail this weekend.
Tuesday's election will be another referendum on Trump's presidency and an opportunity for Democrats to try and boost momentum after 2024.
Also, some Democrats rumored to be thinking about a 2028 presidential run are taking the opportunity to boost enthusiasm for themselves. At least half a dozen of them have campaigned in both New Jersey and Virginia.
Rahm Emanuel is one of those Democrats and joins our panel now. He's a CNN senior political and global affairs commentator, also former mayor of Chicago.
We should note on the left side of your screen, you're going to see our arena text chain. That's where we're sharing additional analysis from a few of our top reporters and contributors.
Rahm, thank you for joining us. I wonder how much you see Tuesday as a referendum from voters on Donald Trump.
RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: It's 100 percent. It's a referendum. It's a -- it's -- I would -- let me say it this way. It's 90 percent of referendum. I'll correct myself on Donald Trump and maybe 10 percent on the governor that's sitting in the office right now.
And there's a lot going on in both states. You have major federal employees that have been furloughed and are unemployed right now, and that's going to impact Virginia over 100,000. You have infrastructure projects, the tunnels and stuff that have been canceled in New Jersey to New York because of the government shutdown.
And so, in both states, they have been impacted. So, Donald Trump, whether his name is directly on the ballot, his stewardship is on the ballot, and it will impact his -- the rest of his presidency.
SANCHEZ: Our Isaac Dovere, as new reporting out about former President Obama stepped up plans to fight back against Trump. And he writes, quote he senses the politics of his party may be leaving him behind, but also wonders if the Democratic Party's problems are so deep that it needs his help to steer it back to relevance.
Do you see the Democratic Party needing President Obama to steer it back to relevance?
EMANUEL: Well, I think -- I think President Obama, I haven't talked to him, but like all of us who have put our name on the ballot, there's nothing like winning. In 2024 was obviously not only a loss, a devastation given also the consequences you've seen.
But if you not only win in New Jersey, not only win in Virginia, but also win proposition 50 in California, you've got three Supreme Court races in Pennsylvania. You have the New York City mayor's race. You have some elections out on Long Island.
Winning gives you not only momentum. It will tell you a lot about where the electorates mind is, where the independent swing voters are going to be, how they're going to break. And it also helps you in recruitment.
You have some races for the congressional and other races that still don't have candidates. If they're sitting on the fence, and all of a sudden, the Democrats have a great night, that tips the scales. And I've seen it firsthand myself.
SANCHEZ: Looking at the latest polls --
EMANUEL: I think --
SANCHEZ: Go ahead.
EMANUEL: Yeah, I would say one other thing that will also happen if the Democrats do as well as I think they will, you will see the government shutdown come to a pretty quick conclusion right after that. Elections have consequences and people will realize this is not working. I think that will be particularly on the Republicans, and they will look for a solution with due speed.
SANCHEZ: One of many angles to look at. So, you have two somewhat different, very different Democrats running on Tuesday night. Both of them, though, leading their races by double digits. Zohran Mamdani in New York. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia.
What lessons do you think Democrats can take from both candidates, and what do you think that having both of them on the ballot means for the party more broadly?
EMANUEL: Yeah, I think I would -- I would switch it a little, Boris, in the sense all three candidates are putting cost of living and affordability front and center.
Now, all three candidates have different solutions to how to address that cost of living. But the issue of what is affecting families, their ability to afford their standard of living, and ability to pay for their kids' education and ability to basically not just achieve a middle class in the American dream, but not constantly struggle to retain it is on the ballot and they're speaking to that, and they understand that because its front and center to the public. Therefore, it's front and center of your campaign.
Now, how they address that, what are their policy positions on housing, health care costs saving for your kids' education or your retirement? That's going to change. And because the economy is in each of the cities or states is very different.
SANCHEZ: Rahm, please stand by.
Lulu, to you, back to the question of Obama on the campaign trail, as Isaac Dovere points out, a child born the day before Obama was elected is now old enough to vote. I mean, how difficult is it for the party to rely on someone like Obama to steer them toward the future and try to win elections, when in many ways he doesn't exactly represent where the energy in the party is right now, given Zohran Mamdani and Bernie Sanders and AOC on their oligarchy tour.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So, first of all, way to make me feel old.
SANCHEZ: Was not my intent.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah. So, yay, yay, you. And that's actually the problem, right? Because Obama is of a different era. And in the interim, what he has been doing is Netflix deals. His wife has a lovely podcast. She's now got a book out about her outfits.
I mean, they have become sort of influencers, if you will, and they haven't been in the political arena. I think in the same way. And so, while he still has star power and star wattage, that is not the future of the party. The Democratic Party needs to figure out what it is going to be. And, you know, everyone can identify what the problems are in this
country. We know affordability is the problem. We know that health care is the problem. We know that jobs are increasingly a problem.
How do you deal with that? How do you resolve those issues? And what I continually hear, and we heard it earlier in the program here from Hakeem Jeffries is Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump.
And that only gets you so far, I think.
SANCHEZ: Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Yeah, I think we put a little too much emphasis on Mamdani. I get it. He's catnip. He's charismatic. He's interesting.
Bernie Sanders and AOC, they're not being invited to campaign in Virginia. They're not being invited to campaign in New Jersey. The coalition that is going to get elected in New York is young and activist and left wing, a lot of barista socialists and whatnot. And that's fine.
But, you know, Harris carried Brad Todd was saying in our chat thing Harris carried Virginia and New Jersey by six points. And that's a good number to look at about how much of this is going to be a referendum on Trump is like, how much do they overperform that.
SANCHEZ: You're going to be watching this closely?
ELROD: Of course -- oh, Rahm.
SANCHEZ: Oh, Rahm?
EMANUEL: No. Look, I think Jonah makes a point is I would kind of disagree with the assumption that all the energy is, quote/unquote, on the left. And just take a look at the New Jersey primary. There were six candidates. You had the mayor of Newark, the mayor of Jersey City, the president of the teachers union.
[16:45:00]
And the most conservative candidate gets over 30 percent of the vote in a six-way race. That was also true in the -- in the Virginia congressional race.
So, this idea that the energy is, quote/unquote, just on the left doesn't reflect where primaries to date since 2024 have been. I get as Jonah as catnip. The other thing is, if you look at Bill Clinton, you look at Barack Obama, while different candidates, different points in time in history, they both follow, obviously, Republican leadership and they both show a similar campaign strategy on the cultural side and the economic side.
And then Democrats disparage them, and then they go to the desert for X years, and then they have to come back and relearn the same lesson of how you win national elections by being right down the center with not only mean just ideologically, but with the American people on both the values that make up their family life and also the values that surround the economic strategy to put the middle class at dead center of your priorities.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Can I just say something? Rahm, the only thing I'll say about that --
EMANUEL: Of course.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: -- is that as, of course, you're -- of course, youRre right that the center actually is.
EMANUELl: Why don't we just stop?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: For Democrats? No, but we're Democrats. No, but of course, you're right that the center is nationally where Democrats need to be.
But the problem here is that the messaging that the Democrats are giving isn't inspiring people. It isn't connecting with the average voter. And so that message of like, oh, we've got to pivot to the middle. It isn't really resonating.
ELROD: Well, I -- respectfully I disagree with that.
SANCHEZ: Everybody wants to chime in, but we're really short on time. And the producers have been like telling me like, we got to -- we got to wrap.
ELROD: Let me just say really quickly, I mean, look, I think that the big -- the big difference to keep in mind here is that New York City is a municipal election with ranked choice voting. And yes, Mamdani is exciting a whole generation of younger voters. And that's something that Democrats as a whole are going to have to take into account going into 2026 and 2028.
But to Rahm's point, when you're looking at Virginia and New Jersey. These are totally different races. These are national security soccer moms who are dominating, who are both going to win those races. We have a big tent, and that's emblematic of what you're seeing today.
SANCHEZ: At the risk of getting beat up, because we only have like 10 seconds. Shermichael --
(CROSSTALK)
EMANUEL: 2026 is going to be a referendum.
SINGLETON: -- the gubernatorial race has gotten in Virginia. You're talking about one point within the margin of error. I'm not necessarily certain this is a rebuke on Donald Trump, as it is more so a state flipping back to Democratic control, a state that I reside in.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. All right. We got to leave that conversation there.
Rahm Emanuel, thank you so much. I also want to thank THE ARENA text chain. The rest of the panel, please stand by. We're going to pick this up in just a moment.
And don't forget to tune in on Tuesday night for CNN's live election coverage. It starts at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
You can also watch live on a CNN app.
Up next in THE ARENA, President Trump not done with the extreme home makeover at the White House. We're going to show you the newest renovation. You can imagine. There's some gold. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:52:18]
SANCHEZ: President Trump unveiling more changes to the White House today. Posting on Truth Social that he renovated the Lincoln bathroom because the art deco style was inappropriate for the Lincoln era. This is all coming on the heels of the East Wing demolition project that a majority of Americans say they disapprove of.
Our panel is back with us now.
Shermichael the optics of this during a government shutdown. That's a lot of marble and gold.
SINGLETON: You know, look, I don't have a problem with gold, but I would probably say to the president, let's just politically get over this little moment, and then we can go back to making all the changes you want to make.
SANCHEZ: Bring in his gold toilet.
SINGLETON: Just, wait just a little bit. I get it. I'm not necessarily opposed to some of the renovations, ballroom, et cetera. I do worry, however, if we give our Democratic friends something to sort of use against us. I don't want to do that. I don't want Adrienne to be successful here.
SANCHEZ: And California Governor Gavin Newsom has done just that. Look at some of the trolling work that he's done on social media as of the last few moments.
Wow. The queen has a new bathroom. In parentheses, Americans lose food benefits tomorrow.
SINGLETON: But can we acknowledge, Boris? It looks, Adrienne, does it not look nice?
SANCHEZ: The picture of Trump?
SINGLETON: No, no. The bathroom.
ELROD: Billionaire tech CEOs are paying for this, while the government shut down. And millions of Americans aren't getting their snap benefits. And millions of Americans may not get health care.
SINGLETON: I am partial to the green tile, Jonah.
GOLDBERG: Yeah.
SINGLETON: Are you?
GOLDBERG: Look, Roger Ailes, who was an interesting person, one of his rules about how to judge talent on TV and TV shows in general was he would watch them with the sound off.
And this is the kind of story that people can watch with the sound off when they're walking to the airport, or they're at a bar, and it resonates with normal people who don't know what a clean C.R. is, who don't know, and it just comes through. And it doesn't mean that Trump is wrong to be renovating or tearing down the East Wing or anything like that.
I just think the messaging and body language of it has been just wildly off, and it makes people who are unsettled -- don't hate Trump, but are unsettled by Trump more unsettled.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah, it's a great bathroom. I wish it was in my house.
(LAUGHTER)
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Like if someone -- by the way, if any billionaires want to pay for my bathroom renovation, I might be here for it.
SANCHEZ: Nobody else feels cold looking at that. I don't.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, I didn't like the green, but I just didn't know that we were, like, on the real housewives of CNN.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
GOLDBERG: Why was art deco historically inappropriate for the Lincoln bathroom but Miami condo, cocaine and hooker party bathroom is --
(CROSSTALK)
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Hey, by the way, you've got two Miamians here who take great offense. I'm going to speak for Boris.
SANCHEZ: Yeah.
[16:55:00]
Any more thoughts? We have, like --
SINGLETON: I wouldn't mind having that in my house. I just got to be honest, I think it looks very nice.
SANCHEZ: Interesting conversation, to say the least. I did not expect we would have today. Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Before we go, I just want to give a sincere thanks to our panel for joining us on this Halloween.
And don't forget, you can now stream THE ARENA live or catch up whenever you want in the CNN app. You can just scan the QR code that's right there. You can also catch us by listening to THE ARENA podcast and follow the show on X and Instagram @TheArenaCNN.
Jake Tapper is standing by for "THE LEAD".
Hey, Jake.
