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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt

Trump Angrily Dismisses Affordability Concerns; Now: Airlines Begin Shutdown-Related Cancellations For Saturday; Just In: Schumer Outlines Dem Offer To End Shutdown; Justices Discuss Whether To Revisit Same-Sex Marriage. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 07, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: -- at 8:00 p.m. Eastern during an all-star tribute hosted by, of course, Anderson Cooper and Laura Coates, right here on CNN.

[16:00:07]

Have a good weekend.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: You, too. Have a great weekend.

MATTINGLY: THE ARENA WITH KASIE HUNT starts right now.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. Welcome to THE ARENA. I'm Kasie Hunt. Happy Friday to all who celebrate.

Right now, on day 38 of the government shutdown, and after an election that saw Democrats dominate across the country, President Donald Trump is turning his focus to one of the central issues that fueled his 2024 campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Inflation is way down. The big -- the biggest thing is inflation. The second biggest thing is energy. Energy is way down and what's also down -- gasoline. Also, the biggest thing is inflation. And it's way down.

The reason I don't want to talk about affordability is because everybody knows that its far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden. And the prices are way down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Pretty angry there.

Here's the issue: inflation is actually real. Many prices are not actually falling. They are actually rising. And the American people, you every day when you go to the grocery store, when you buy gas, you see it, you feel it every single day.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in September, the annual inflation rate rose to 3 percent. Driving that increase, gas prices, which rose more than 4 percent from August.

Groceries are up under President Trump. Consumer price index data shows that average grocery prices were 2.7 percent higher in September of this year than they were in September of 2024. Polls show not just that the American people are noticing higher prices, but also that they are blaming President Trump for it.

Seventy-one percent of Americans say that they're spending more money on groceries now than they did last year. That's according to a "Washington Post" poll that was conducted late last month. And 59 percent of Americans blame President Trump either a great amount or a good amount for the current rate of inflation.

Now, President Trump can often convince his supporters to see things his way through relentless repetition. He has convinced millions of Americans to believe, for instance, that the 2020 election was stolen from him. To believe that January 6th was something, anything other than a violent insurrection.

But inflation -- inflation is a different thing. People see the prices going up. They feel the prices going up and they believe their own eyes, their own experience over anyone else's insistence to the contrary, even if it's the president of the United States telling them that they aren't feeling it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We have dramatically reduced inflation from nine percent down to close to three percent.

REPORTER: Did the U.S. beat inflation, Mr. President?

BIDEN: Yes, yes, yes. I told you we're going to have a soft landing. We're going to have a soft landing. My policies are working. Start writing that way. Okay?

So economic growth is up. The price of inflation is down. Real incomes are up. And the price of gas is down.

Over the last year, prices are down on everyday items from a gallon of gasoline to a gallon of milk. And folks are beginning to feel it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: People didn't believe him then. They're not believing President Trump now.

Let's get off the sidelines and head into THE ARENA. My panel is here, chief Washington correspondent for "Puck News", Leigh Ann Caldwell; CNN political director, and our Washington bureau chief, David Chalian; Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod; Republican strategist and CNN commentator, Shermichael Singleton.

Welcome to all of you. Thank you for being here.

David Chalian -- I mean, we can't help but flash back to all the times that Joe Biden insisted. He insisted prices were coming down. Everything was going to be like all of the economic indicators were good.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Right.

HUNT: People didn't feel it. It seems like the same thing is happening for President Trump.

CHALIAN: It is. I mean. Joe Biden may have actually been factually correct with what he was saying with those economic indicators at that time. It did not matter. It doesn't matter what the facts are. What matters is what people are experiencing in their everyday lives. That's the fact that matters most politically.

And Donald Trump, who may not be as aligned with the facts of the actual inflation rate and the like, again, even that doesn't matter. What matters is people experiencing it. And what I find so interesting is that it's -- this is not a left right thing or a media thing. And Trump from Trump's own aides like his deputy chief of staff and political director, James Blair, from Steve Bannon, people who have Donald Trump's ears, they came out of this election and saw it clear eyed and have said, like, there needs to be a greater focus on affordability.

And yet Donald Trump is just saying we don't need to talk about affordability. He doesn't seem he just seems a bit out of step with what the voters said this week. And I am sure he will get his footing at some point on it. But it's intriguing to see the discordant nature with what's going on, even inside his own circle.

[16:05:06]

HUNT: And there have been plenty of Republicans who have sat at this table and argued that the president should be have been all along for all of these months since he was sworn in for the second time. Talking about the issue that did get him elected, which was this perception that things were unaffordable in Joe Biden's America.

And David Chalian mentioned James Blair, a top Trump advisor, talking to "Politico" about why these Democrats won. Let's watch a little bit of that. We'll talk about it on the other side. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES BLAIR, TRUMP ADVISOR: Why did Zohran Mamdani do so well last night? He relentlessly focused on affordability. People talk about communists. They can say all these things. But the fact is he was talking about the cost of living.

I think you'll see the president talk a lot about cost of living as we turn the year and into the new year. The president is very keyed into what's going on, and I think you'll see him be very, very focused on prices and cost of living.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, Leigh Ann Caldwell, I mean, he was certainly asked about it today, but his response was -- was quite frankly, angry.

LEIGH ANN CALDWELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, PUCK: Yeah. So I was with James Blair said told Dasha, a person close to the administration told me that a week ago that at the end of this year, because I was talking to them about costs and affordability, and this person said that the president is actually quite aware of the issues and those conversations are happening within the White House about what to do and that there will be a shift in focus to cost and affordability towards the end of the year, the beginning of next year.

And so, from my conversations, he is aware, but Donald Trump does not like to admit that he is wrong about anything. He deflects blame on pretty much everything, and it has worked for him a lot of times. When it was the Republicans fault, they did poorly in the election on Tuesday because his name wasn't on the ballot. This could backfire on him.

HUNT: Shermichael Singleton. We can put up a graphic that shows the one year change in grocery prices for a variety of staples -- coffee, meat, beef, cereal, nonalcoholic beverages. I would love to know the increase in price of wine and beer, but that's not alcoholic beverages, fruits and vegetables, dairy.

I mean, this again contradicts what the president has been saying out loud, which is that prices are down. They are not down. They are up across the board. And the president just a few minutes ago, that beef one, right? You can see 14.7 percent.

So, he's now writing on Truth Social. I've asked the DOJ to immediately investigation into the meat packing companies. He's blaming the meat packing companies for driving up the price of beef through what he says is illicit collusion, price fixing and price manipulation. He says he's going to protect our American ranchers. Now, there are a lot of ranchers that are angry about a deal that he did with Argentina, with foreign countries and Brazil and other places about -- about this.

But it's clear he understands that this is a problem based on that, except that he's insisting in public that it's not.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, the entire party understands that it's a problem. I've talked to a number of people. You'll see a complete reorientation and focus from Republicans in the House and also the Senate as we focus and engage on midterms of next year to recognize that prices, the cost of living, is still impacting a lot of Americans.

When you look at the CPI, you've seen a fluctuation from earlier this year to where we are now, where the numbers have indeed gone up. We're acknowledging that. We recognize that. The voters have spoken, that it is something that they feel we haven't adequately answered.

And so, James is right. The president is going to reorient. It's going to take him a little time this is typical President Trump. But he'll get there. That said, I don't think, Kasie, politically speaking, that my Democratic friends have necessarily presented an alternative case for how they're going to solve problems. They're just saying its high. Come vote for us. And that isn't necessarily a solution.

So, I think the Republican Party still has an opportunity to sort of, again, realign things, make our case to the American people to say what we can do differently.

HUNT: Adrienne, you were there when you were trying to convince voters to vote for Joe Biden.

ADRIENNE ELROD, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I was.

HUNT: You were with Kamala Harris.

ELROD: A lot of TV hits talking about it. Yeah.

HUNT: The economy didn't feel great for people. I mean, what did you learn from that experience and how does that play into what's going on now?

ELROD: Well, I learned from that experience that you can have all the great statistics in the world. I mean, I'm not going to sit here and spend time talking about the 15.5 million jobs and, you know, 4 percent GDP are.

HUNT: All stored still in your head.

ELROD: All stored in my head. But if the American people aren't feeling it, you lose -- you lose -- first of all, you lose credibility. And secondly, then they get to the point where they're like, we don't trust you. You're lying. You're not doing anything to help us.

And so, I think what you're seeing with President Trump manifesting, really, I think what happened Tuesday night, he's not happy with the results. He's trying to find blame.

The bottom line is the American people aren't buying it. They know this. And they came out on Tuesday night and flipped multiple seats and outperformed in every single election. You know, Virginia went straight blue in every single county, for example.

That is a testament to the fact that people are frustrated. They put trust in Trump, thinking maybe he will actually do something to lower prices. Instead, he's, you know, working with billionaires to demolish and rebuild the East Wing.

[16:10:02]

You know, he's focusing on his time on trying to build up, you know, corporate interests and put more money in the pockets of billionaires. And he's not helping the average middle class person. And that's what played out on Tuesday.

HUNT: David Chalian. I mean, it does seem the president has had a lot of priorities in his first, you know, what, ten months in office in this term? And this simply I mean, has this been one of them? I mean, he's got a long list of other things he's cared. It seems a lot more about.

CHALIAN: Well, I mean, I think that the economic vision when he took office this term was to get the tariffs in place. That's a core part of his vision. And he was just putting aside a lot of economic advice or assessment that that may have a negative impact on prices to pass the tax cut bill that was critical and to get the deregulation in place and that that would allow the economy to take off. So, it's not that he hasn't made progress. He did get the tariffs in place. He did pass his tax bill.

We have not seen like the rocket ship that they thought all these pieces would do yet. And we are seeing this pressure on prices.

Now, yes, then add in all the foreign policy that he got totally immersed in, in the solving of all the wars that he wanted to solve. And he likes to keep count of them as he -- as he goes on and hunting for the Peace Prize. Yeah, all these things.

But that's okay. Presidents have lots of priorities. It's just that what the voters told us last year, they told us again this Tuesday night, their priority is the cost of living. And so, I think what Democrats part of their success, it wasn't just the repudiation of Trump or the backlash or the pendulum swing. It was Democratics -- Democratic candidates were meeting voters where they were on that issue.

And now I think you hear you -- just heard it from Shermichael, like Republicans are going to have to find a way to meet voters on that issue.

CALDWELL: It was interesting talking to the campaign, the Trump campaign during the election, their entire philosophy of the case was we are going to decrease the cost of energy, and that is going to fix everything to your point. And that's why Trump continues to say, look at gas prices. Those are down.

Yes, those are lower than the Biden years. But you know what's not lower? Home energy prices. Those are skyrocketing across the country. And the president's kind of ignoring that entire situation.

And the same person close to the White House told me that they plan to blame governors for that, that they are not going to take responsibility for that. It's out of their control.

But I was talking to a Democrat who is up in northern New Jersey ahead of the election, knocking on doors in this Democrat said that they were so shocked at how angry people were in northern New Jersey about costs. It was insurance premiums. It was beef, coffee and home energy prices.

HUNT: All right. Our thanks to THE ARENA tech team for joining us here. It will be back a little bit later. The rest of our panel will be here through the show.

Coming up in THE ARENA, Congressman James Clyburn will be here live to talk about a new offer that Democrats in the Senate just laid out to try to reopen the government as impacts of the shutdown are really picking up steam across the country. Airlines canceling even more flights tomorrow across the country after the Transportation Department orders a drawdown in air traffic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Frontier Airlines wants me to get a backup ticket. Respectfully, you're the backup ticket.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:17:42]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Would you be open to getting a backup ticket?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to have backup money. I don't have that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's difficult to understand how they just can't figure this out. You know it's going to impact everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys got to get it together. You guys just have to sit down, talk like regular human beings and get it done. You know what I mean? I mean, this is ridiculous.

People are really hurting out here. And it's not just the traveling public, but it's affecting the whole economy. And you people are to blame.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: You want to know why the politics of the shutdown are changing? Like those people right there? Because their frustration does not appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. Travelers across the country are preparing for even more cancellations as airlines are buckling down for day two of federally mandated flight cuts in the face of the government shutdown.

Right now, nearly 800 flights for tomorrow have already been canceled. Today, a 4 percent reduction in domestic flights went into effect at the nation's 40 busiest airports.

Here in Washington, we're following some movement on what could be a way to open the government. But that's also something that we have said a few times over the past month.

But just about an hour ago, the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, went on to the floor to make this new offer to Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: We will agree with the Republican request not to start negotiations until after the government reopens. All Republicans have to do is say yes to extend current law for one year. It makes sense. And since what were proposing is only a simple extension of current law, the Senate could do this within a few hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, speaking of the United States Senate, this just in from President Trump just a few moments ago. He writes this on his Truth Social platform, quote, "The United States Senate should not leave town until they have a deal to end the Democrats shutdown. If they can't reach a deal, the Republicans should terminate the filibuster immediately and take care of our great American workers."

Of course, the question will the Senate work through the weekend to try to get something done?

CNN's Arlette Saenz is on Capitol Hill for us. We're also joined now by CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean, who is at Reagan Airport -- of course, just outside D.C.

Arlette, let me ask you. I mean, clearly, Senate Republicans do not want to end the filibuster. The president has been on them to do it, but they have been pushing back against that piece of it.

What do you make of the fact and how do you think it's going to affect the politics on the hill that he is now saying that they should go nowhere until the shutdown is ended?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has actually left the door open to senators remaining here over the weekend to continue work on efforts to reopen the federal government. But what's unclear right now is whether there can actually be any traction to do that.

Yes. Senate minority leader today, Chuck Schumer unveiled this counteroffer, which says that they would want to have a one-year extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies in order to reopen the government. But Thune very quickly told reporters that that's a nonstarter. He feels that agreeing to extend the Obamacare subsidies is a negotiation, and they have been very clear that they do not want to negotiate while the government remains closed.

So right now, both sides still seem to be very much in their corners. At this very moment, Senate Republicans are meeting together, talking about the path forward, but it's not expected that they're going to emerge from that meeting, being ready to get on board with Chuck Schumer's plan. Even if the Senate were to agree to that, there is additionally, the very difficult math over in the House. House Speaker Mike Johnson has been very noncommittal about bringing any type of vote on Obamacare subsidies up for a vote on the House floor, and that is because wrangling together so many parts of the Republican caucus in the House would also be incredibly difficult.

All Republicans are most Republicans who have talked about extending Obamacare subsidies have said that in order to do that, there must be some reforms to the program. So, it is expected that this proposal from Schumer will fall flat with Republican senators. And then the next question is what happens next? Whether there could be any momentum behind the scenes for those bipartisan talks that had been unfolding over the course of the last week?

But right now, many Democrats are feeling emboldened after their success in Tuesday's elections and want to try to continue to fight in this shutdown standoff.

HUNT: Yeah, for sure.

Pete Muntean, we heard at the top here from a bunch of frustrated travelers who were laying the blame for their problems squarely at the feet of the government, which is, of course, what deserves the blame. But what are you seeing at Reagan, and how hard is it going to be for people who are trying to go somewhere, anywhere this weekend?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: You know, the good news here is that we have not seen passengers stranded in mass. Weve not seen people camped out in the airport, which is really a signal that the airlines did a good job of getting the word out about this.

HUNT: It's a very glass half-full assessment, Pete.

(LAUGHTER)

MUNTEAN: And by the way, if I'm a member of Congress, I'm voting to put the cancellation and delay graphic into law. We should have this all the time. Although it is a bit of a reminder now.

The big thing now here at Reagan National Airport is that there is a four-hour delay for flights coming here.

HUNT: Oh my -- dear Lord.

MUNTEAN: That is because of the fact that that is because of the fact that there are there's a shortage of controllers in the tower here.

And so, it's really a sign that this mandate by the Trump administration to slash these flights isn't really working. There are still shortages at air traffic control facilities across the country today. About 25 we have tallied so far today. The upset here is big from airlines because they received this 15-page memo. This emergency order from the Federal Aviation Administration late last night, essentially detailing that this is only the start for percent of flights cut today, 6 percent of flights mandated to be cut on Tuesday. Then Thursday, that goes up to 8 percent, then 10 percent on Friday.

So, now, we're kind of in the window of when the rush begins for Thanksgiving. And so that is a really tough pill for airlines to swallow, even though Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says this is all about alleviating the crisis for air traffic controllers, airlines say this has done nothing but create chaos.

And I want you to listen now to Duffy, who was here at Reagan National Airport earlier today, who is really sticking to his guns here on the rationale, saying this is all about safety because the air traffic control system is overwhelmed and these air traffic controllers continue to work without pay. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: So if this shutdown doesn't end relatively soon, the consequence of that is going to be more controllers don't come to work, and then were going to have to continue to assess the pressure in the airspace and make decisions that may again move us from 10 percent to 15 percent, maybe to 20, I don't want to see that. Or by the way, if controllers start coming to work and the pressure goes down, we can move those numbers in the other direction. Again, this is a moment-by-moment assessment.

[16:25:02]

Again, doing all we can to make sure travelers are safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: By the way, Transportation Secretary Duffy said here at national airport today that the numbers are not an exact science. It's a bit arbitrary, which is insult to injury for airlines who are trying to get the word out to passengers via the app or text or phone to say, don't show up to the airport. Your flight has already been canceled.

Airlines tell me they're dealing with this as if they would deal like the mass cancellations from a major snowstorm, and they're trying to get passengers. A lot of outs here to be able to rebook their flights free of charge.

So, we will see as this continues to unfold, it is a lot of pain for passengers. And one has to ask, is this primarily just for political gain?

HUNT: And you have to wonder, just how long is it going to take Mike Johnson when he finally decides to call the House back to Washington to get all 435 of those people from various corners of the country on airplanes that are not flying.

Arlette Saenz, Pete Muntean, thank you. Really appreciate you both. Have a great weekend.

All right. My panel is back.

David Chalian, this -- it does seem to finally have been broken through. And what do you make of what the president has said here? This ultimatum he has issued saying the Senate shouldn't leave?

CHALIAN: I mean, he clearly is eager to bring the shutdown to an end. He understands it's politically not working for it. He says it out loud all the time, and he doesn't think it's working for his party.

But the way he said it is and the filibuster, which has already said there are not the votes there to do, I just think we saw something fascinating Tuesday night. And it gets to what Arlette was saying. Democrats can interpret the election results in two ways as it relates to the shutdown. One is we just got an overwhelming victory, stiffen our spines, hold our -- the other is okay, we just got a big victory. Now we can work to open up the government and not take as much heat from our base for doing so, because we just delivered this big victory to our base. It's interesting to see how Democrats are sorting through both sides of that equation.

CALDWELL: Yeah. So, this shutdown is everyone is sick of it on Capitol Hill, but no one is willing to really make the move to create the off ramp to get there. There was some movement today with Senator Schumer offering a deal for Republicans to vote on. It brings together what Republicans were talking about and what the Democrats want. But Republicans seem to outright be dismissing it.

So, it seems like it's going to last a bit longer. You know, Kasie, we were joking earlier in the week that Trump should just cancel all the senators' flights specifically and leave everyone else's flights. Keep them here.

HUNT: The airlines know which ones they're on.

CALDWELL: They do.

HUNT: Okay.

CALDWELL: Trump can find stuffed up -- he can find out, too. But you know, it's going to be through the weekend at least.

HUNT: So, Shermichael, Kevin Hassett, economic adviser to President Trump, was on Fox Business earlier today with a fairly dire assessment of kind of the broad state of the economy.

Let's watch what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HASSETT, TRUMP ECONOMIC ADVISER: We're starting to see pockets of the economy that look like they might be in a recession, that were not in a recession because of this, but there are pockets that are really hurting. And if we go another month or so, then then who knows how bad the economy could be this quarter. And we know whose fault that will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, he's obviously trying to lay blame elsewhere, but it has been previously very difficult to get Trump administration officials to acknowledge that a recession is a real possibility under President Trump's leadership. And that was a pretty direct acknowledgment of it. Now he's saying the shutdown is just one piece of this. That also says a lot about many of other president Trump's policies.

But, I mean, how quickly do you think Republicans need to move on this to mitigate this risk?

SHERMICHAEL: Well, immediately. I mean, just imagine the political ramifications if we do experience a recession. I mean, the economy hasn't had the type of predictable stability that most economists left or right, would argue an administration would want to sort of govern and improve the overall economic conditions of most Americans. We haven't seen that in quite some time, which is why I took the Fed chair so long to start lowering interest rates. I mean, they've been saying this for four quarters now. So, I think we have to address that immediately.

I am skeptical, if I'm going to be honest, Kasie, about the 2021 Obama subsidies. $300 billion is what the CBO has estimated it will cost the American people over ten years. I would tell Democrats we got to negotiate. I agree, I would want to reset, though, and figure out if there's a better way that's more cost effective over the long run versus saying, let's just make this permanent. We shouldn't be adding more debt to a 30-plus trillion dollar deficit that continues to balloon.

ELROD: You mean the billions -- trillions of dollars, billions of dollars at least, that Trump has already added to the debt. But we don't want to add it for Obamacare?

SINGLETON: I'm a conservative. I wasn't in -- I was not in favor of adding more to the debt. I'm a fiscal hawk, so you're not going to lose me on that one, Adrienne.

ELROD: Here's the bottom line, Kasie. Obamacare is overwhelmingly popular with the American people. I think the approval ratings are between 70 and 80 percent, depending on which poll you look at.

So. if you're looking -- if you are the average person in America watching CNN right now, and you're looking at what the Trump administration is saying, you're looking at the fact that Republicans on the Hill are still saying, were not going to go negotiate.

[16:30:02]

Flights are being canceled. People aren't going to get their health care. The government shut down. People aren't getting paid. The Republicans own control of the House, Senate and the White House. This is -- I mean, Chuck Schumer is basically giving the senators an off ramp to say, like, okay, come to the table, let's extend it for a year. Let's have this conversation.

The fact that they're not taking this is only going to put their approval ratings even further in the tank.

HUNT: What Schumer is doing, David, does sort of underscore that point you made about, okay, we can take these victories and we can --

CHALIAN: Do some business with them.

HUNT: Exactly.

CHALIAN: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER) HUNT: Exactly.

All right. Everyone's going to stand by.

Coming up next here in THE ARENA, a longtime member of leadership in the House of Representatives, Congressman Jim Clyburn is here live.

Plus, where Barack Obama made a surprise appearance last night, and his message to Democrats after this week's elections.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Again, Tuesday was nice, but we've got a lot of work to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[16:35:22]

HUNT: All right, welcome back.

We are waiting to hear more from Senate Republicans about their thoughts on Chuck Schumer's proposal to reopen the government, although at the moment, it does seem likely to fall flat begging the same question we have been asking for the last 37 days, when will this all end?

Joining us now, Democratic congressman from South Carolina, James Clyburn.

Much more than just a congressman, Sir. Your reputation precedes you. And this is, of course, the longest shutdown in American history. We saw this offer from Chuck Schumer.

I am interested to know from you -- are House Democrats supportive of what Schumer has proposed? Here is the coordination between Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries in a place where you are all moving as one?

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): I certainly hope so. I have not talked with Hakeem, since this proposal was made. I was down in Charleston, with constituents at the Boeing aircraft manufacturer there, along with our governor and the secretary of the treasury. And so, on my way back, I heard about this, and I have not had an opportunity to talk with Hakeem Jeffries to see whether or not they are singing from the same sheet of music.

I certainly hope so, because it sounds reasonable to me. It gives everybody an off ramp so that we can get the government back open and get negotiations underway. And I think this is a reasonable way to start that to happen.

HUNT: President Trump posted just a few minutes ago on his truth social platform that he wants the Senate to stay through the weekend to get a deal to reopen the government. Now he wants to do it by ending the filibuster in the Senate.

But what does it say to you that the president is now very publicly and repeatedly calling for a deal to end the shutdown? What evidence or what does that show in terms of political pressure on President Trump?

CLYBURN: Well, there's no question about the pressure being there. I see the president seemed to be acting as if the word affordability is a new word to the -- to Webster or, the thesaurus, that's not a new word. Democrats have been running on affordability for a long, long time. The Affordable Healthcare Act, that's what we were trying to do.

And if anybody will look at, the broadband bill which was my bill, it was called the Accessible Affordable Broadband for All. That's the name of the bill. And so, affordability is not new to us. We have been talking about healthcare being affordable, education being affordable -- energy, housing, affordable.

Affordable housing that's been out here for a long, long time. So, Democrats have been trying to make the greatnesses of this country affordable and accessible for all people for a long time. So, this is not new, and this is the way for us to really get serious about making all these great things about this great country accessible and affordable for all of its citizens. That's what it's all about.

HUNT: So speaking of affordability and Democratic messaging, obviously the wins across the board for Democrats and the election this Tuesday have been widely celebrated in your party. I am interested to know, though, sir, Zohran Mamdani, who will be the next mayor of New York City, ran on affordability. He's a Democratic socialist.

You are someone who has been a leader in your party. Your part of the country, your voters. They pick Democratic presidential nominees.

How does Democratic socialism of Mamdani's brand play with those voters?

CLYBURN: It played very well. I mean, people get hung up on titles. I remember growing up as a kid here in South Carolina, in the same county that Mary McLeod Bethune was born and raised in. I remember when we tried to put a portrait of Mary McLeod Bethune in the state house here in Columbia. You know what they -- all of the accusations were? She was a communist.

[16:40:01]

I was marching with Martin Luther King when he was -- he was a communist.

This is foolishness. This is not about putting labels on people Mamdani ran a great campaign on affordability and so did Mikie Sherrill. She was talking about making energy affordable. While he was talking about making housing affordable.

So, affordability on both these candidates demonstrate what a big tent that we have in the Democratic Party, a tent that's big enough for Mamdani to run under it, as well as Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, with whom I spent time with in the run up to this election.

So, this name calling, let's just get away from it and let's just look at these people for who and what they are. The vast majority of the people of New York City that voted for him and had had nothing to do with him being a communist as the president called him.

HUNT: Let me also ask you about Gavin Newsom, the governor of California. He, of course, had a proposition on the ballot that that one to allow them to redistrict, to try to push back against Republican attempts to add more Republican seats in the House of Representatives. How do you think that victory reflects Newsom's leadership and the potential for him to be the future leader of the Democratic Party?

CLYBURN: Well, it reflects very well on him doing that. He stepped out at a time when he was really needed. You had the president of the United States calling on the governor of Texas to subvert, to subvert the Democratic process and rig the redistricting in that state, to give him another five votes in the House of Representatives and here's Gavin Newsom. He steps up and he says no, no, we are going to do what is necessary to balance that out.

So, I think that he showed leadership. I think the Democrats love that. And I think that he proved himself very viable, going forward. But the people of Virginia did something very interesting as well. Three weeks before election day, they made the announcement. They too, would do whatever was necessary to redistrict Virginia if this is going to be the order of the day.

And I applaud them because they did it before election day. So, everybody in Virginia. Give us your votes. And this is part of what were going to do going forward. And guess what? They went from 58 -- I'm sorry, 51 delegates out of 100, up to 64.

HUNT: Yeah.

CLYBURN: So, they were rewarded handsomely by the voters for being honest and upfront with exactly what they were going to do. And that says to me that what was happening in Georgia, it went in those public service district seats down there. What happened in Mississippi -- breaking the stronghold that the Republicans had in Mississippi. All of that says that the American people are in tune with the songs that are being sung by Democrats.

HUNT: And, sir, before I let you go, Nancy Pelosi, of course, you know enormously influential leader announced she's not going to seek reelection. I have to ask you, what are your plans for your political future? Do you have any plans to retire?

CLYBURN: Sure. I have plans to retire.

HUNT: Now? CLYBURN: And when that time comes -- my daughters, I have three of them. I meet with them. We took a -- about a 10-day vacation together every December. And my family has done that since 1972.

And at that session, we talk about the past, we talk about the future and how we fit into both. And we're going to have that discussion come December. And then I will make a decision after the first of the year of exactly what I'm going to do. It will not be done without that family consultation as well as the input, from a lot of friends that I talked to, a bunch of whom I was with earlier today.

HUNT: But you are potentially considering not running for reelection next cycle?

CLYBURN: I've always considered that at every election cycle, and I will consider that again. I consider it two years ago and then two years before that. And yes, I am considering it.

But as I said, what I do will depend upon the input I get in December and just after the first of the year.

HUNT: All right. Congressman Jim Clyburn, thank you.

CLYBURN: I feel good.

HUNT: I'm glad to hear it, sir. Thank you very much. Have a wonderful weekend.

CLYBURN: Thank you very much for having me.

HUNT: All right. Ahead here in THE ARENA, the private meeting today that could possibly lead the Supreme Court to overturn one of its landmark rulings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES OBERGEFELL, PLAINTIFF, MARRIAGE EQUALITY CASE OBERGEFELL V. HODGES: I don't believe marriage equality is safe with this court.

[16:50:00]

So, I am very concerned about them hearing her case and considering whether or not to hear it in court and release a new decision. So yes, in my opinion, marriage is at risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: James Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the case that legalized same sex marriage nationwide, expressing his concern that the Supreme Court could overturn their ruling.

Today, the justices met behind closed doors to consider whether to hear a case that would ask them to do just that. Kim Davis, a Kentucky County clerk who refused to issue marriage certificates to same sex couples back in 2015, filed what many legal experts believe to be a long shot appeal.

I want to bring in Mary Bonauto, who successfully argued, argued the Obergefell case before the Supreme Court. She's the senior director of civil rights and legal strategies at GLAD Law.

And, Mary, I'm so grateful to have you.

You have said that this petition that Kim Davis has filed is weak. Why?

MARY BONAUTO, SENIOR DIRECTOR, CIVIL RIGHTS AND LEGAL STRATEGIES, GLAD LAW: It's weak for two reasons. One is the Supreme Court will only take cases where the issues are cleanly presented and ready for decision. And when it comes to the issue of reversing Obergefell, she began her ten year litigation journey by saying she wasn't seeking to overturn Obergefell, and she reinforced that point at a previous petition to the Supreme Court and said again, she was not seeking to overturn Obergefell. She only changed her mind and raised that issue after the Dobbs opinion.

So, there's that. It's also true for other questions or things that she did not raise until this past spring. The third time she was at the court of appeals for the Sixth Circuit. And in a reply brief. So there's really concerns about whether this is the case that they would want to take.

And then even setting all of that aside, there's the issue of why would the Supreme Court take this case? Marriage equality, the -- that Obergefell decision is based on the court's own precedents about the right to marry, about it being a liberty and a question of equality, as it ruled way back in the loving case, striking down interracial marriage bans and going back to the 19th century with similar cases.

So, it's a solid legal opinion. In addition to that, it's something that makes a difference to families, to parents, to their children. It's -- it actually affects businesses, employers, you know, the economy and our whole society. What Obergefell did, that decision is it allowed more people to have the protections of marriage, the mutual responsibilities of marriage, and to be able to better protect one another.

That's what Obergefell did. That's been good for couples, that's been good for our society. So why would you take that away? And I want to add a point here. So, a number of the justices have actually said some things that really suggest they understand this.

And it's -- Justice Amy Coney Barrett in particular, who's given a long interview to "The New York Times" recently and said, essentially, and this is important background. It's not a question of whether this court would have decided the case in 2015 the same way. Okay? That's not the issue here. The issue is now that we have this precedent, should the court reverse it?

HUNT: Do you think it's a matter of --

BONAUTO: Should the court reverse it? HUNT: -- when they take it up?

BONAUTO: I have to say, you know, opinion has really moved on this. And marriage is more and more seeping into, again, not only the institutions in our society and state and local governments who rely on it, and businesses and employers. It's really just part of family life.

I mean, I think a lot of people have this sort of basic understanding and agreement that this idea of marrying is something for the individual to make that decision, not for the government. And people are living their lives and people have should have the right and the freedom to make those decisions, rather than having the government come in and say, you can't.

So, there's that, and I will just say that even, you know, I know there's been some confusion about this, but some very detailed polling on Republicans showed that 56 percent of Republicans support marriage. This is as of this past spring. And 63 percent apparently believe you can be a good Republican and support marriage.

This is not a bipartisan issue in the way that it was at one point. This is actually an issue across the nation when I'm talking about not only political parties, but among many religious groups, many religious groups and, you know, just public opinion generally being into the -- into the '70s at this point.

HUNT: Mary Bonauto, thank you very much for joining us with this today. Really interesting dynamics at play here. I really appreciate your time.

BONAUTO: Thank you.

HUNT: All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:59:39]

HUNT: All right. Thank you very much to my panel for being here. Really appreciate your time on a Friday afternoon.

Thanks to all of you at home for watching as well.

Now, before we go, we do have a quick programing note. Comedian Jenny Hagel, sports journalist Bomani Jones are joining the crew on "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" this Saturday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. You can see it the next day on the CNN app.

And don't forget, you can also stream THE ARENA live or catch up whenever you want to in the CNN app. You can scan the QR code below to go there.

You can also catch up with us by listening to THE ARENA's podcast, and you can follow the show on X and Instagram. We are @TheArenaCNN.

Have a wonderful weekend. Don't go anywhere.

"THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.