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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt

Will Maine Voters Look Past Graham Platner's Scandals?; Platner Opens General Election Campaign Attacking "Epstein Class"; "I Love The Inflation": Trump Downplays Report On Spiking Costs. Stephen A. Smith Weighs Presidential Run Amid Feud With Trump; Pentagon Releases Latest Batch Of Declassified UFO Files; World Cup Visitors Marvel At BBQ, Bass Pro Shops, Ranch Dressing. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired June 13, 2026 - 12:00   ET

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

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: -- during the show as though he were finally able to gaze upon his masterpiece. That is all we have time for this week. Don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in Paris. Thank you for watching and I'll see you again next week.

[12:00:35]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Hi everyone, I'm Kasie Hunt. Welcome to The Arena Saturday. It's likely to be the most important race of the year and one of its ugliest. Graham Platner coasted to easy victory in Maine's Democratic Senate primary this week. Democrats overwhelmingly telling their party they're willing to look past the scandals.

The question is whether voters in the general election will be willing to do the same. Platner now facing off against longtime Republican incumbent Senator Susan Collins in a race that's already turned national.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's a thug. And they're trying to make excuses for him. I mean, he's worse than any human being that's ever run for office probably.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honestly, I would vote for a doorknob over Susan Collins.

SEN. ADAM SCHIFF (F), CALIFORNIA: Well, he won the nomination. That was the decision of Maine voters and I respect that decision.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Susan Collins doesn't have a Nazi tattoo and she doesn't have an account on a notorious Predators Paradise app. Graham Platner did for years.

GRAHAM PLATNER (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: Susan Collins doesn't serve us. She serves Donald Trump. CROWD: Yes.

PLATNER: She serves the Epstein class.

CROWD: Yes.

PLATNER: She serves her corporate donors and the corrupt political system that has rigged the economy against us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, my panels here in The Arena, CNN Legal Analyst, Former Federal Prosecutor Elliot Williams, CNN Political Commentator, Republican Pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson, former Communications Director in the Biden White House and a CNN Political Commentator, Kate Bedingfield and former Republican Congressman, Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry.

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

Kate Bedingfield, Graham Platner in Maine.

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

HUNT: Democratic voters sent a pretty clear message to the party in saying they wanted Platner. They didn't want the establishment choice. Janet Mills had to drop out before primary day because she didn't have enough money. What does it say to you that they wanted him? That this was an overwhelming choice.

And do you think this is going to be a situation like what we saw with Trump in 2016, where people like the person so much they'll overlook it? Or is he going to run headlong into the actual laws of political gravity in a general election?

BEDINGFIELD: Yes, look, I think it -- what it clearly says is people are frustrated. These Democrats are frustrated with the status quo. They, you know, they feel like their voice is not being heard in Graham Platner. They see somebody who they think is going to take on the standard way of doing business in Washington in a way that they like. That is clearly a very overarching message here.

I -- you know, look, I personally -- I think it's demoralizing that his transgressions are being overlooked in this way. However, I'm not I'm not overly stunned, in part because I think that the gender breakdown on how people are reacting to what they've read about him is very telling, where I think it's going to be a potential political problem for him.

The electorate in Maine is heavily female, is older. But I will say when I see Trump attacking him, I mean, what he's got to do is win Biden-Collins voters. He's got to pull some Biden-Collins voters from 2020 over his way. And Donald Trump continuing to attack him is one way that some of those people, you know, may come along.

So, you know, listen, I personally don't love it, but the people of Maine -- you know, I don't live there, so they probably don't really -- they don't really care what I think. But I think it's -- look, I'm going to just say it and I have said it consistently. I think it's an indictment of our party that we're willing to look the other way on this personally.

HUNT: Congressman, what do you think?

PATRICK MCHENRY (R), FORMER SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: Well, I think what we're finding out is Graham Platner's least offensive aspects are the actual Nazi tattoo. And that's what's being exposed over time. His message on primary night is something that it's going to be very difficult to convince Maine voters that Susan Collins is something that they don't otherwise believe.

Really, what Graham Platner needs is just Biden voters. He needs that Biden coalition. He is not Joe Biden in Maine. And he certainly doesn't match Susan Collins political capacity that she's built over a long time.

And she is a beast of a political operator in that very small state of Maine and is an operator here in D.C. in a moderate way in a very unmoderate Washington, D.C. Complex, obviously, with a midterm like this, but far more complex for the Democratic Party right now with the infighting with Mamdani and the primaries of New York and obviously Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren's coalition pushing candidates like Graham Platner. They're a problem for the general election.

[12:05:03]

HUNT: Congressman, the NRSC put out a memo and it said this, quote, "The political fundamentals in Maine remain challenging and it is a fatal mistake to assume that Platner is too damaged to win." They note that "Susan Collins has won tough races before and can win here, but only if we meet this moment with total urgency."

MCHENRY: Yes, it means money. And that's exactly what those members are written for.

HUNT: Yes.

MCHENRY: So you'll read them. They will clip this and they will go raise money off of it. So, in that way, they've served their purpose. But the money map for Republicans, the Republican Senate map is complex.

The chessboard of moving parts of competitor races, how you tie people down in certain states in order to free up cash and others. This is a playing field certainly tilted to the Democratic Party based off of money and the popularity of the President and the economic situation right now, for sure.

HUNT: Yes. Kristen, when you talk to voters, I think that, you know, every single time Donald Trump did something that we thought was going to be make him unelectable, that turned out to not be correct. But for most other candidates, it remains so that they can commit offenses that will cause people to basically say, I can't vote for that person. How do you think what's gone on with Graham Platner cuts?

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think that's part of the reason why he's trying very much to make this race as much about Trump as possible and as little about Graham Platner as possible. Because I think you're right. I think the rules that apply to Donald Trump defy the usual laws of political physics.

And so wanting to think that you can absorb some of that onto yourself. I mean, it is entirely possible that Graham Platner could win this race. That assumes there is not another shoe to drop, which we got a long way to go. And a lot of people are going to be poking around and things a lot harder than the Democratic operatives in Maine did before this guy, you know, ran away with this nomination.

Got a long way to go. Republicans are wise to be sounding the alarm that Susan Collins has overperformed in the past, but there's no guarantee it will continue. But I think the Democrats have really screwed up by not having somebody more formidable in this seat.

HUNT: Let's watch what Platner had to say back to President Trump, because late in the week he did respond to the President calling him a pig and a thug. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PLATNER: Taking it to make sure that the Epstein class, that Donald Trump and all of his depraved billionaire friends who think that they can get away with disgusting acts, think that because of their money and their power and their wealth and their influence that they're above the law, they're about to find out that they're not. And it's got them terrified. And they should be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: What's interesting is that Graham Platner, as we've all been discussing here, is a very damaged candidate. However, the words he used right there were Epstein, Trump, billionaire class, and some other word that's escaping me.

These are all things that are very resonant with voters right now in a moment when the President's approval rating is certainly below 40 percent. Kristen can verify my math here, but the President's not doing that well. Those are terms that resonate with people.

I don't know, man. It's every iconics -- or every institution in the Senate can lose at some point. It happened to John Cornyn this time around. It can happen to Susan Collins. This is just such a fascinating race with all of the different factors. It's just hard to know whether those words like billionaire and Epstein are going to be enough to break through.

BEDINGFIELD: And I do think, since I've excoriated my own party, I will say it is deeply infuriating to watch Republican operatives who have defended Donald Trump at every turn, you know, come out and suddenly act like, you know, they have some moral high ground here. And so I think to the point we've been discussing about Platner making this race about Trump, I do think that the continued echo, the chorus of Republicans, again, acting like they have some high ground on this, also probably plays in Platner's favor, because people look at it and go, are you kidding me?

Like, who are you to tell me that this is, you know, that this is unacceptable behavior when you're defending the guy who, you know, laundry list of offenses that we won't even lay out here? So, I do think the more that that sort of chorus continues to try to come in off the top rope, I think the more it actually winds up having the opposite effect.

HUNT: Yes. I mean, Congressman, is this just, you know, what we're destined for, that suddenly we as a country are not going to hold our political leaders to moral standards --

MCHENRY: As if we've done something wrong. As if we've done something wrong and this is our punishment. I mean, that's -- but look, he mentions Epstein files. What does Susan Collins have a damn bit to do with that? Not at all.

So -- but the point is, it pulls well because it undermines institutions. And this is what we have in both parties. The decay of both parties, the weakening of both parties. No one has moral authority to say anything at the moment.

[12:10:03]

And Epstein is a full revelation of this, about what are secrets kept and of the billionaire class and everything else. The question is whether or not that is salient against the human person that he is running against and whether or not being voters think in those terms.

You see certainly highly partisan states like a Texas. You could see them come home based off of that, those political dynamics. In Maine, it's much more of a squishy set of voters. They're much more pragmatic than the rest of the country. Far more complicated to do the math for either party in that state. And the rest of the country is not that way, mostly.

HUNT: Yes. Really interesting.

All right, coming up next here in The Arena. Everyone's talking about the Knicks and the Spurs, but there's another heated rivalry to talk about. Why the President is fighting with a popular sports host and how Stephen A. Smith is responding.

Plus, what the President said about the economy after a not so great government report. It's our quote of the week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, about the latest inflation number which came out this morning, could that be --

TRUMP: No, I love it. The numbers were great. You know what I really love. I love the inflation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R), LOUISIANA: I think he's decided that long term, the benefits of crippling Iran permanently, if possible, are worth the costs to our economy, to our inflation rate and the world's economy. I think he's made that decision. And it has been painful. And I'm not going to say he's wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:16:07]

HUNT: That was Republican Senator John Kennedy talking about President Trump and his calculations regarding the Iran war as energy prices continue to soar in the United States. A Labor Department report out this week showed that inflation climbed to 4 percent in May, largely driven by high energy prices triggered by the war.

And this, of course, brings us to our quote of the week from none other than the President. When he was asked about the dismal economic numbers, he responded by saying, quote, "I love inflation." Watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- President, about the latest inflation number which came out this morning. Could that be --

TRUMP: No, I love it. The numbers were great. You know what I really love. I love the inflation. You know why? Because as soon as this war is over, you know, I can say it now. Something you didn't know.

Do you know, we've been taking out millions of barrels of oil. Nobody knows it. You know who doesn't know about it? Iran until right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right. Congressman, is that helpful?

MCHENRY: No. No.

BEDINGFIELD: Is that helpful (INAUDIBLE)?

WILLIAMS: That's a hot take.

MCHENRY: No, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean --

MCHENRY: The hot take is -- my default politically was whenever something happens, like helpful, not helpful. This is not helpful, right? And it doesn't matter what it is. It could be like cataclysmic, but it's helpful, not helpful. And on this, not helpful.

There's plenty of angst on Capitol Hill, plenty angst about the economy. The context of what he's talking about shows -- speaks to a psyche right now. And every President has grand intentions that they can juggle and compartmentalize. And then there is a shark that comes close to the boat and their attention gets very transfixed on the shark closest to the boat.

And that is Iran for right now. So President Trump, in the pivot of the conversation there, it was all about Iran. And the question set shifted. He did not shift. So it really speaks to the fact that he is fully focused on one thing and one thing only, because that is the shark closest to the boat. And that is Iran.

And getting that right then has all these ripple effects that he sees as beneficial politically. And Capitol Hill is very hopeful will be beneficial economically and therefore politically.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes. It was also an over-promise, under-deliver. I mean, it's like he's desperate to get to an end to this war, which he started, and believes that when he does, inflation is suddenly going to drop, which, by the way, it doesn't usually work like that.

I mean, there may be -- you know, if they actually bring more barrels online, there may be some adjustment. But it's not going to be, you know, he's not going to declare a ceasefire, a final ceasefire. And then two weeks later, gas is suddenly $3 a gallon. It just -- it doesn't work like that.

The economics don't work like that. The oil market doesn't work like that. So for him to, you know, to continue to essentially promise something he can't deliver, he's just adding another log to the fire of the problem that he has with people.

WILLIAMS: And moreover, he -- I thought he was actually going to pivot to saying why inflation might be a good thing economically. Perhaps there's an argument for it. But no, he made an entirely separate point, back to your point, Patrick, about the shark close to the boat. He simply stepped in it.

Now, again, to your point earlier in the program, nothing kind of matters anymore. And it's hard to see how any of this (INAUDIBLE).

HUNT: Because anything mattered for the last decade?

WILLIAMS: No, no, not really. And so, yes, Democrats will cut campaign ads on a loop for the rest of the year with him saying those words. But is that actually going to have an impact? I don't know.

ANDERSON: You know, what is said about the economy matters much less than how people feel about --

WILLIAMS: Right.

ANDERSON: -- the economy. And when you are the incumbent, you are -- and the economy is not good -- you're in this tough spot where, on the one hand, you'd like to tout the things that are good, right? The Trump administration can say the jobs report that came out last, really good. Overperformed expectations. The Dow, looking pretty good. But if people don't feel it, then just saying those things only gets you so far.

[12:20:02]

And worse, if you say the inflation is good, even if it's a slip of the tongue, I imagine that inflation would pull somewhere south of --

BEDINGFIELD: Yes.

ANDERSON: -- like Osama bin Laden if I was asking Americans how they feel about things. And so, not -- you don't want to be on the side of inflation.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes. And as an -- yes. And as an ad, it also, to your point, Kristen, it underscores how people are already feeling about the other feeling negative. They're feeling like things are expensive. And so, when you can run an ad that is a clip of the person saying the most damning possible thing out of his mouth, that's a good ad.

HUNT: I mean, I think that there already is one that we could show.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes, I mean --

HUNT: (INAUDIBLE) have cut.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

HUNT: Should we play that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You know what I really love? I love the inflation.

We can't take care of daycare. We're a big country. We're fighting wars. We can't take care of daycare.

I don't think about America's financial situation.

I love the inflation. You know why?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: I mean, it almost writes itself.

BEDINGFIELD: That's it. I mean, yes.

MCHENRY: But doesn't matter. It's the point, right?

BEDINGFIELD: Well.

MCHENRY: And I think to -- I mean, in terms of polling, I think how people experience the economy, these numbers are -- the oil prices can dramatically come down based off of assumptions. There is some level of movement. Then you have this based challenge of actual supply.

Same thing for the markets. The markets can rally on some hope of -- of hopeful information. We see that move. The big challenge right now is inflation is sticky and we've not had sticky inflation since the late 70s, early 80s. And it took a Herculean effort to whip it out of the economy.

Now, we're experiencing this in every administration, Biden administration, now the Trump administration is feeling the pain of trying to get that back in order. Very tough task for the Federal Reserve, yes. But a tougher task if you're on the ballot in November in the governing party, the Republican Party.

ANDERSON: Yes. And, look, not that I'm in the business of giving Democrats advice that often, but when I look at that ad that you just played, the one thing that I would do differently if I were them is there was that middle clip where he talks about like we can't afford daycare.

And I feel like sometimes that kind of leans into the like Democrats just want government to spend, spend, spend. What would have been more effective would be a clip of Donald Trump talking about how great the ballroom is.

WILLIAMS: I would say --

MCHENRY: Yes.

ANDERSON: You intersperse pieces of that and that to me, the affordability message with the -- and look what else the sky is focused on, that to me is a very potentially damaging combination that Republicans are going to have to fight against in November.

WILLIAMS: I'm even less in the business of giving Democrats advice than you are, Kristen. And the daycare thing was what struck me. And I'm -- you know, I think the point that they should be asking on the campaign trail is how much did you spend on gas this week? How much did you spend on milk and eggs this week? And how does that make you feel?

Forget all the economics, even if it's accurate, but just simply asking people to tap into their feet (ph) right now.

MCHENRY: But I asked somebody --

WILLIAMS: Yes, yes.

MCHENRY: -- in my district, this is Trump first term going into the midterm, right? And in Western North Carolina economy is going well. I said -- asking, I said, how are you doing? And he looks because just bought a boat, right?

His feeling was that he felt confident enough to go buy a boat, right? It was an answer to the economy. I'm like, well, their economy is, in his eyes, is super good. Right now I don't think you see people buying boats, right? And that is actually a real problem. WILLIAMS: So maybe the campaign question is, can you buy a boat?

MCHENRY: There you go.

WILLIAMS: Answer is no. Odds are it's not doing great (INAUDIBLE).

MCHENRY: But some function of that. Like, are you going to go buy a new suit? Are you -- what are you doing for the summer with your kids, right? Are you taking the vacation?

WILLIAMS: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

WILLIAMS: Not taking the vacation, you're not buying the nicer beer. It is a -- it's a tougher economy.

BEDINGFIELD: Right, because it's also it's a quality of life.

MCHENRY: Yes.

BEDINGFIELD: I mean, it's -- there's the issue of can you put food on the table, which is obviously incredibly important for families all across the country. But for a lot of sort of middle class voters, it's the question of like, does your life feel --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BEDINGFIELD: -- like you can do the things you want to do? And that impacts how people feel about their government.

HUNT: Yes. I was talking to someone who had a teenage -- teenager who had a lawn mowing business that dried up because all of a sudden people were deciding, well, you know what? I'm actually going to keep my money. I'm going to mow my own lawn, right, instead of, you know, paying $20 --

BEDINGFIELD: Yes.

HUNT: -- to the teenager down the street to do it.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes.

HUNT: It's an anecdata. It's one of my favorites.

MCHENRY: Yes, yes.

HUNT: But interesting nonetheless.

All right, coming up next here in The Arena, the blockbuster movie that premiered 44 years ago this week. Why its famous director now says there might be some truth to his out of this world story.

But first, the clash of two media titans, one's President and one might possibly want to be president?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN A. SMITH, CO-HOST, "FIRST TAKE": We can go a myriad of ways with all of this, but I'm not going to let you off the hook because none of that is important. I do appreciate the fact that you called me a nice guy, because don't tell anybody, but I actually am a very nice guy.

So you tug at me a little bit. And then after that, I got to show my other side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Well, suddenly I'm dumb as a bag of bricks and I'm not that intelligent and I have a low IQ, but but he knows better. And if he really, really felt that way about it, trust me, he would have said it a long time ago. He just doesn't like what I'm saying about it right now because I'm holding him accountable for the, you know, the selfishness that he displayed in the narcissistic behaviors that he's exuded yet again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:29:51]

HUNT: ESPN host Stephen A. Smith has been in a public feud with President Trump this week. It all started when Smith said Trump should have stayed home instead of becoming the first sitting President to attend an NBA finals game. Trump responded this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:30:08]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president. You need a high IQ. I'm not sure that Stephen has that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The feud is a battle test for Stephen A. He has been publicly debating a presidential run for a little while.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you run for president?

STEPHEN A. SMITH, CO-HOST, "FIRST TAKE": It's possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you run as a Democrat?

SMITH: Yes. Because I couldn't see myself running as a member of the GOP. I will make a decision in early 2027, but I am not ruling it out. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: He's not ruling it out. And one thing that Stephen A. also did on his show this week was play repeatedly something that the President had said about him in 2025 when he was on the phone and had called into a program that Stephen A. was also participating in. I want to play that because I want to include it in our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stephen A. Smith may run for president, as you know. Do you have any advice for Stephen A. if he launches the run?

TRUMP: No. Stephen A. he's a good guy. He's a smart guy. I love watching him. He's got great entertainment skills, which is very important. I've been pretty good at picking people and picking candidates. And I will tell you, I'd love to see him run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: I'd love to see him run. He also went on to compliment Stephen A's basically performance skills in that clip, Congressman. I mean, I will say this sort of clash, you know, and Stephen A. has been very specific about. He's like, I'm not getting personal with the President. I'm a Knicks fan. He screwed up the Knicks momentum. I'm really actually angry about that. You know, the President was very personal in his insults back to Stephen A. who has, you know, refrained from getting really personal and pushing back, but has refused to back down at the same time. I mean, it says something about our media environment, what it takes to break through in a media environment like this. And also that, you know, he got under the President's skin. He may end up on the stage.

PATRICK MCHENRY (R), FORMER SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: Yes. So platform -- the platform of being in government doesn't matter as much today as at any time in history. I mean, actually being a media figure is what being a general was in a previous generation, I think. Not to inflate you cases specifically unless you have some announcements to make.

HUNT: I have zero announcements. And also our generals are much better suited, I think.

MCHENRY: But fascinating. It's as if Stephen A. Smith has not seen how these things go down. You snap at Donald Trump, he will snap back. And he's done that since he was Donald Trump. And now that he's President Trump, it's even more so.

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's so interesting because part of the challenge for media personality is can you convert your audience who likes you for, you know, whatever they like Stephen A. because he's a sports analyst and they like his personality. And so if you convert over and you become really partisan, can you bring your audience with you?

Now, he's, I mean, as we've seen and discussed, I mean, he's pretty openly flirted with the idea of running as a Democrat. So but that's a big question. I mean, many -- no politician is ever at their highest watermark than when they are not running for something or when they have not gotten into a race. And then you get into the race and suddenly it's like, I don't, you know, this guy, can he really live up to, you know, what he promised? And then all the incoming starts and the money, you know, the money comes against you and it just gets a lot more challenging. So that, to me, that's what Stephen A. has to grapple with here. Can he make that conversion?

HUNT: Do you think there's a lane for him in the party? I mean --

BEDINGFIELD: I do. Yes. I do, actually. I think the '28 primary is going to be absolutely wide open, free for all. I think there is a lot of energy in the party for new blood. I think there will be suspicion. There are plenty of people who feel, you know, I would argue in many ways, rightly, that you should have some understanding of how government works.

And now can you talk about it in a way that doesn't make you sound like a, you know, a creature of Washington? That's important. But I, yes, I do actually think for somebody like him, get on in, see what happens.

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'd be curious what lane you think he would be. I guess I view him as being somebody who would compete with maybe like a Rahm Emanuel for the lane of like, truth teller who tells Democratic voters, like, hard things they need to hear about what it's going to take to put together the kind of incoherent coalition you need to put together to win the White House.

HUNT: But I think a lot of people who would tune out and no offense to Rahm, who is a great friend of the show and a friend of ours here at CNN, but who wouldn't tune in to Rahm Emanuel because it's like, OK, politics as usual. But like Stephen A. Smith says, something. They're like, oh, look at that.

ANDERSON: Yes.

HUNT: Like, and I'm going to pay attention to that.

[12:34:56]

ANDERSON: Yes. And that's why I think, whether it's a Stephen A. Smith or a Mark Cuban or something like that, do I think that these people are going to be the Democratic nominee in 2028? I'm not putting money on it, but I think that telegenic populism is still very much the thing that voters are gravitating towards and if Stephen A. Smith can provide it.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

HUNT: Yes.

WILLIAMS: It's telegenic populism in a media environment that rewards craziness and over the top behavior. Donald Trump was made for this moment or this moment was made for Donald Trump. As social media took off, this is the candidate that sort of has had rather prominent or successful two terms in the presidency. And we now live in an era in which I'll go further than you, Patrick.

It's not that being in media helps you. I actually think being a politician might affirmatively hurt many people because of what's rewarded in media. I think the craziness, the big personalities, the bombast.

HUNT: I mean, I get what you mean about over the top, but I mean, because Donald Trump does many things that are certainly that way, but isn't it really about being compelling for good or for ill, whatever that is? I mean, because Trump in 2016, you could criticize him, you could disagree with him, you think he'd be terrible for the country, but he was incredibly compelling.

WILLIAMS: I'm going to add one more thing to that, Kasie. It's compelling and viral because he picked. There are things that he says and does that everybody talks about, everybody shares, everybody makes a big deal about, like Stephen A. Smith. And I think both of those things make for successful politicians and will continue to.

BEDINGFIELD: But there are limits to how much that virality could get. You think about Spencer Pratt just the same thing.

ANDERSON: I was just going to say that in L.A., right? Very viral. Lots of people going, man, I love him. And then they go to the polls and they realize I don't actually technically live in bounds of the city of Los Angeles. And so your virality has to meet the voters you're talking to.

HUNT: For sure. All right, one programming note. Stephen A. Smith, the man himself is going to be one of my guests tomorrow. I'm going to be hosting State of the Union at 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN. Hope to see you there.

Coming up next, here in The Arena, more than four decades after we all met, one of the most famous aliens ever, the man who created E.T. has some new thoughts on actual extraterrestrial life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN SPIELBERG, MOVIE DIRECTOR: I absolutely think that they have been here and they are here. And who knows, maybe they've always been here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[12:41:43]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're right. That's E.T.'s home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: E.T. home found. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: E.T. found home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: E.T. found home. E.T. found home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Forty-four years ago this week, E.T., formerly known as "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," debuted in theaters. The story about an alien stranded on Earth was an overnight success. It held the record for the highest grossing movie of all time for more than a decade. And now, more than four decades later, questions about life beyond Earth and whether the government is hiding something are back in the news.

This week, a UFO whistleblower went public claiming that multiple forms of alien life do in fact exist, prompting a bipartisan push in Congress to release all of the government's information on the issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GRUSCH, UFO WHISTLEBLOWER: For decades, unknown objects have freely operated in restricted airspace in large metropolitan areas and critical infrastructure, and the agencies responsible for securing the homeland cannot adequately defend against it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: OK, just yesterday, the Pentagon released its third batch of documents related to UFOs, including videos and images of mysterious orbs in the sky. The man responsible for E.T. also getting in on the action while he's been out promoting his latest movie on extraterrestrial secrets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe I'm asking it, but I'm asking it seriously. Have aliens been here? And do you think they might still be here?

SPIELBERG: Based on the circumstantial evidence of everything that I've gathered throughout my whole life, everybody I've listened to and every documentary I've ever watched, and all the testimonies in Congress that I've heard, I absolutely think that they have been here, and they are here. And who knows? Maybe they've always been here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Maybe they've always been here. I mean, Congressman, you're the only one here who's, I think, you know, had any access to any classified information.

MCHENRY: No, Kate was in the White House, so I'm going to hard pivot to Kate on this one.

BEDINGFIELD: Listen, I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you, and nobody wants that. No, this is like the single most compelling fascination that humans have. And you can understand why, because you kind of look around and you go --

MCHENRY: Yes.

BEDINGFIELD: Is this it? Are we alone? Is this all -- like, Is this all there is?

MCHENRY: Yes. But it's so fascinating. So that scene in "Men in Black" where they -- the aliens are in the New England post office, it was the one where my wife's like, see? I told you. Right? So we all have these kind of fun stories along the way.

BEDINGFIELD: I don't think that there's any, I mean, listen, if our government were hiding evidence of extraterrestrial life, I just -- we would know. We would know by now. The government does not --

MCHENRY: One theory is that maybe Steven Spielberg is talking about Elon Musk. Maybe he's talking about Elon Musk with, you know, the big announcement this week of, you know, the big IPO this week of SpaceX making us a intergalactic nation.

[12:45:09]

HUNT: I mean, look, President Obama, who obviously worked for President Biden, but like, Obama didn't help things when he did this interview with Brian Tyler Cohen earlier this year and he was asked directly, are aliens real? Watch what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TYLER COHEN, PODCAST HOST: Are aliens real?

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're real, but I haven't seen them. And they're not being kept in, what is it, --

COHEN: Area 51?

OBAMA: -- Area 51. There's no underground facility unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the President of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So wait, I'm confused. He said that they're real, but that he -- they never told him that we had them.

BEDINGFIELD: He walked it back too, I think, after this, like --

HUNT: Because he caused a giant, like --

BEDINGFIELD: -- there was furor and he -- and uproar.

MCHENRY: But Jimmy Carter did something similar.

BEDINGFIELD: -- so badly. But I just, again, I go back to like, the government is not keeping some big elaborate secret like this successfully for the last 75 years. ANDERSON: But you know what I wouldn't give for President Bill Pullman from Independence Day to be in office right now.

HUNT: Exactly, Exactly.

WILLIAMS: With Randy Quaid piloting the plane that saves humanity. It goes right into the eye of the space. I will just say this, elementary school is very hard, challenging time for many people. Being six years old and named Elliot when the movie came out did not make that any easier. I will note, just as a point of personal privilege. Now --

ANDERSON: I'm bringing Reese's pieces every time I go.

WILLIAMS: We are done together, you and I. But seriously, on aliens, I will just say that of course they're there. I mean, just look at the vastness of the universe. Of course they're out there. But just consider the fact that it took our astronauts, like, close to a week to get to the moon, which is infinitesimally smaller than anything else, not only in our solar system, but anywhere else. If there are aliens, they're still in transit and stuck in traffic and won't be here for a couple million more years. Probably we won't be alive.

BEDINGFIELD: I tend to, I tend to agree. So Spielberg saying, like, they're here. They've probably always been here. And I'm kind of like, what's their agenda, man? Like, what are you guys doing? Let's -- show yourselves. What do you want to achieve? What do you want to achieve here? Like, what are you doing?

WILLIAMS: If they are among us, Patrick McHenry, I don't know. I mean, the bow tie.

MCHENRY: They love the bow tie.

ANDERSON: First, it might be a transmission. So "Contact" another great summer blockbuster about it. So good I'm going to watch "Contact" this weekend. Now this is -- they may not have to make it here themselves if they can beam transmission, they are limited by the speed of light.

WILLIAMS: I'm just thinking more close encounters of the third kind. It is one the music would be fire, but two, I just -- it's not going to end well, you know, odds are if we can't work it out amongst ourselves as humans, a race of whatever they are in a giant saucer thing just not -- this is not going to --

MCHENRY: This is awesome. The name check of these movies makes this such a fun conversation.

BEDINGFIELD: I grew up a die hard "X Files" fan, so I want to believe, but I just, every time we go -- every time we deep dive on these, you know --

HUNT: Pete is like the killer.

BEDINGFIELD: I know. I'm sorry.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: We haven't even said Mars attacks. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: Boring.

(CROSSTALK)

HUNT: UFO's aren't real.

BEDINGFIELD: Every time there's a deep dive on this, there always winds up being some sort of very reasonable explanation for the lights in the sky. They're just -- it just does. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, guys. I want to believe.

MCHENRY: All the more reason to believe.

[12:48:44]

HUNT: I do, too. All right, coming up next, something totally different that the European mind cannot comprehend.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Imagine being a grown adult like we are and being excited, so excited about arriving at Buc-ee's.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you've never been to Buc-ee's before, you might be mystified as to what it actually is. If you take a gas station and mix it with Disney World, wrap all of that around a gift shop, that's probably the best way I can describe what Buc-ee's is all about.

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HUNT: America. Europeans who are visiting the U.S. for the World cup, going viral on social media as they are discovering everything that we here on this side of the pond have to offer. Not the monuments, not the national parks, but big box stores and ranch dressing. I'm sorry, what? They are visiting Buc-ee's gas stations in the south. They're going to Waffle House at 1:00 am there's nothing more American than that. OK.

One German visited Bass Pro shops and was amazed that they have a shooting range in the store and that they sold rifles. He was also overwhelmed by all of the options on a Coca-Cola freestyle drink machine. One woman from Sweden absolutely lost her mind trying ranch dressing for the first time. It is actually really good with French fries. OK.

And a man from Scotland had his life changed when he tried Carolina style barbecue ribs. We have about 30 seconds. But what else should the Europeans be trying on their visits here? Like I have one. Have you guys had Vernors? You can only get it in the Midwest. It's pop. It's not soda. That's what they call it.

WILLIAMS: I've got one, drive --

HUNT: Ginger ale, it's delicious.

[12:54:59]

WILLIAMS: -- drive through liquor stores, you got to be able to -- no, that's America.

(CROSSTALK)

HUNT: -- in North Carolina, actually, that thing was pretty, pretty amazing. Anyone else?

ANDERSON: Anyone in the southeast go visit a Publix? Like to me that is --

HUNT: Amazing.

WILLIAMS: For the fried chicken?

BEDINGFIELD: No, for the subs. The public sub.

MCHENRY: Bojangles, it's like a southern thing.

HUNT: Dunkin Donuts, coffee. You know, there's many things. Anyway, enjoy. Thanks to my panel. Thanks all of you at home for watching. Don't forget you can see The Arena every weekday. We're right here on CNN at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. You can also catch up by listening to our pod cast. You can follow the show on X and Instagram at TheArenaCNN. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. The news continues next.

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