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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt

Todd Blanche Sworn In As Attorney General; CNN Analysis: Michigan Is GOP's Best Chance To Flip A Senate Seat; Trump Claims "Jihadists" Being Elected "All Over The Place". Aired 4-5p ET

Aired August 10, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:12]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Well, that gentleman and the rest of the community is lucky that you were there and that you are there.

Lieutenant Mike Hotz, thank you so much for being with us.

LT. MIKE HOTZ, METROPOLITAN NASHVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: Thank you all very much.

SANCHEZ: Of course, remember, help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. Just call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Help is out there and you are not alone.

THE ARENA WITH KASIE HUNT starts right now.

(MUSIC)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. Welcome to THE ARENA. Kasie Hunt is off. I'm Pamela Brown.

And just moments ago, Todd Blanche was sworn in as the nation's new attorney general. The White House sharing this video of the Oval Office ceremony, a moment really a sign of just how much President Donald Trump has reshaped the justice system as one of his former criminal defense attorneys. Now, a federal judge administered the oath of office to one of his other former personal attorneys, now the nation's top law enforcement official.

And shortly before we came on the air, President Trump was asked about Blanche's confirmation and what it would mean for that $1.8 billion fund that was supposed to give taxpayer money to people who claimed they were unfairly targeted by the government.

Blanche has claimed that fund is dead. Here's what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: The anti-weaponization plan, do you think it's still alive at this point? And are there any options that you're looking at?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, that would be up to Todd Blanche. He was our new, and who will be, I think, a great attorney general.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: All right, let's get off the sidelines and head into THE ARENA. My panel is here with us, along with CNN crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz.

So, Katelyn, the president said it's all up to Todd Blanche. What are you taking away from his answer there?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, it's a question of is he deferring to the attorney general or is he pressuring the attorney general? There has been so much discussed about the anti-weaponization fund and Todd Blanche now the attorney general confirmed first day on the job officially, although he's been at the department since essentially the beginning of this administration as the deputy attorney general and the acting attorney general.

So much is about how he has managed this anti-weaponization fund. It's something that only came up in May whenever Blanche agreed with Donald Trump to create it, but it's become this litmus test of how much distance is there between the White House and the president, Donald Trump, and the Justice Department now led by his former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche.

Now, Blanche in the past has said both, "I love you, sir." That was a quote at a press conference on his first day as acting attorney general. But he's also said that at times he can push back against Trump.

But the Anti-Weaponization Fund, as of now, Blanche has said many times what he wanted to do with this, which was nothing. That would be the answer to Trump's question potentially. He's told Congress under oath. He's told courts. He's also said in writing in order to get his nomination through to confirmation to be attorney general, that the anti-weaponization fund, it's not moving forward.

But there are still so many questions about this, about how Todd Blanche will lead the Justice Department. Will there be money going to January 6 rioters in other ways through the Justice Department's oversight? Donald Trump has said he wants something like that. And also, what will Todd Blanche do when there are cases that have a very political nature to them, either criminal cases against enemies of the president or civil cases, lawsuits like the ones related to the anti- weaponization fund.

There's a couple out there still that hang over the Justice Department are still in the court and they ask questions like, could there be money going to January? And also, does Donald Trump get immunity that is very far-reaching, that could be enforced at any time in the future, even after he's president? It's the first day on the job for Todd Blanche, but there's going to be quite a lot of eyes watching exactly what he does in response to Trump to questions like these.

BROWN: All right. Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much. And the panel is here in THE ARENA with us. CNN legal analyst, former

federal prosecutor Elliot Williams; White House correspondent for Bloomberg, Jeff Mason; CNN political commentator, former Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh; and former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, Marc Short.

Great to have you all with us.

So just before the show, I was in touch with the spokesperson for Blanche and asked about this, and she pointed to the fact that they released an order rescinding the order that created this fund, indicating that it's clearly dead. But is there anything, Elliot, Blanche could do to resuscitate it at this point?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's hard to say.

Now, the way to make -- I think the better way to think about it is how can they make sure that it truly is not going to come back, right? There's these wink/nod open doors to bringing this fund back. They could go into court today with the signatures from the parties in the case and say this fund is not coming back, whether it's the president's signature, his attorney's signature, or whomever else.

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I think, you know, I hope we can take them at their word that the fund is gone, but there's still enough of a cracked open door that the president can keep sort of showing a little flirtation with it. But I don't know.

BROWN: Why won't the president Just let the fund go, Marc.

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, Pamela, the president has never wanted to say that I made a mistake or I'm going to change direction. He's going to stay on his path no matter what.

But I think we've discussed before, the DOJ has resources. If they feel that somebody has been wrongly prosecuted, they still have the resources to provide that funding. Let's hope that this is a new day, a new chapter for DOJ.

I think that it's been politicized in the last two administrations. I think American people are tired of it. And let's hope that Todd Blanch can help turn a corner.

BROWN: What do you think, Sabrina?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: I have to agree with Elliot. I just don't think that even though there was a promise that Todd Blanch made in writing, it was not a legally binding agreement to end the idea of this $1.8 billion slush fund. On top of that, we don't know where Todd Blanch stands when it comes to January 6 rioters, like Katelyn was talking about, bringing their cases to the DOJ and claims being settled. So, I think that's why so many Democrats were obviously opposed to

Todd Blanche appointment as attorney general. He is the president's personal former personal attorney, and the president is without a doubt going to put pressure on Todd Blanche to weaponize the DOJ to go after his perceived political enemies, and Todd Blanche has not shown the independence to stand up to Trump.

WILLIAMS: Let me just quickly add to the president's personal attorney point just the image of the swearing in which of all the people in the United States but particularly at the highest levels of government who could have sworn in the attorney general the United States I just want the image of another one of the president's former attorneys being the person who swore him in.

Yes, Emil Bove is a sitting federal appeals court judge, but the past attorneys, sorry, the past attorneys general of the United States have been typically sworn in by the vice president, by Chief Justice John Roberts, by Justice Clarence Thomas, by Justice O'Connor swore people in. It is a symbol and a sign and another wink/nod about what, number one, the president's power in reshaping the judiciary and the justice system, but also who's running the show here.

BROWN: Yeah, actually read into that, Jeff.

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG: Well, I was just going to say on the broad question of the fund, the person who's leaving the door open is the president of the United States. The now attorney general has tried to close the door because it was a pretty important thing for him in order to go over the finish line to get this job permanently.

And I might add, it wasn't just a couple of Republican senators who were opposed to it. There was a big fight between the Republican caucus and Todd Blanche when he came to address them several weeks ago, however long ago that was now, about this very issue. So, it's been dogging him in a long time. The president has left it open. He talked about it at Camp David before Todd Blanche got the votes that he needed. He talked about it again today. It's something that he doesn't want to let go of because he supported it from the beginning, and he supports it now.

And, of course, Senator Bill Cassidy, the Republican, was the one that paved the way for Todd Blanche to get confirmed. And here's what he had to say about this decision for his vote to Blanche just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): If you're looking for a black or white decision here, you're not going to find it. This is a gradation of gray. But what I'm told as regards the anti-weaponization fund, if you put it in the context of the political environment, the judicial environment, the process you would have to go back through in order to reinstate, that effectively is dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BROWN: And when I was listening to him talk on the floor ahead of the vote when he was trying to explain his rationale, he also tried to make the case that if he's confirmed as attorney general, he'll be in a different position than acting attorney general. Perhaps he tried to indicate that he will be under as much pressure by the president.

Marc, you used to work in the White House. What do you think about that?

SHORT: Look, I think Senator Cassidy's been conflicted for a while. Let's not forget that he's a doctor who I think a lot of senators deferred to him on the RFK confirmation. RFK wouldn't be HHS secretary without Bill Cassidy's support.

And so, I think he's been conflicted on several nominees at this point, and I think he was hopeful that that would end up earning him the president's endorsement, which he didn't get.

BROWN: Yeah. So what do you think?

SINGH: I mean, I think this is just another example of someone that is unqualified in this administration who's not going to stand up to the president. I think the confirmation of Attorney Todd Blanche, I mean, very creative that you can't be enacting and he had to be Senate confirmed in order to stand up to the president. That's not how it works.

I mean, the attorney general represents the American people and the public, and it's held accountable to them, not to the president. So, I think that's why you saw so many Democrats being so concerned about this. And to Elliot's point, I mean, the two former people that represented the president in trials swore, you know, one of them swore in the attorney general.

WILLIAMS: Yeah.

SINGH: It shows that this is not going to be someone that's partial. or impartial, I should say.

WILLIAMS: The next big question is, who becomes the next deputy attorney general in the United States stepping in after Todd Blanche? That's the person who has probably even more power to decide who gets prosecuted, who doesn't get prosecuted, what sentences people call for, but also, are these funds revived or whatever else? It is the job that actually runs the Justice Department, probably even more so than the attorney general.

Yes, the president's here, but the Justice Department is, you know, you're talking about 100,000 people nationwide that does a lot of work, prosecutes a lot of people, and quite frankly protects the interests of justice for most of Americans. Who's going to do that job? And I think that remains an open question.

BROWN: From your perspective, Elliot, now that he's been confirmed, he's been sworn in, is there any difference for Todd Blanche versus acting? WILLIAMS: No, not at all. And certainly not in the eyes of the president. The president, quite frankly, was willing to have Todd Blanche be acting attorney general, if not in perpetuity, at least for the 210 days that the law would have allowed him to serve before he put another person in the role who could also have carried out as much as no nothing changes here.

And I just, you know -- look, I've been saying this for months and quite over the years, we ought not normalize what we're seeing from the Justice Department, certainly with the president putting people who are close to him in these roles that are typically independent. And before anybody says, well, RFK was John F. Kennedy's attorney, it shouldn't have been either, right? And that's why after Watergate, provisions were put in place to create that level of separation between the Justice Department and the White House.

It just shouldn't be don't get used to that image of a federal judge who used to be the president's personal attorney signing a swearing-in attorney general who is also the president's former attorney. It's just not normal, not how our justice system ought to be working.

MASON: One thing I would also add, this hasn't necessarily changed since he went from acting to being permanent attorney general, but the president can fire him anytime he wants.

BROWN: Yeah, there's still that.

MASON: There's still that. And so that has to be part of the dialogue about whether or not he perhaps brings back the fund.

We saw what happened with Pam Bondi, who was a huge Trump supporter. She didn't make it. And that's possible with him.

SHORT: It wasn't just Pam Bondi.

WILLIAMS: No, no --

SHORT: It was Jeff Sessions. It was Bill Barr. It was Pam Bondi.

(CROSSTALK)

SHORT: -- the attorney general is not really going to be --

WILLIAMS: We're in agreement on this. It's been, since the president in his first term took the presidency, 10 people have either been attorney general or acting attorney general in the United States in some capacity. They don't survive in the job because you cannot make this president happy by simply trying to enforce the law.

And you're talking about the people you named, Marc, are good, strong rock-solid conservatives with records as conservative prosecutors who all failed in the job because they did not serve the president.

SHORT: Maybe they didn't fail in the job.

BROWN: Right. SHORT: They got replaced.

WILLIAMS: You know what I mean, when I say failed.

SHORT: Yeah.

SINGH: Failed in the president's eyes.

SHORT: They got placed where they did the job.

WILLIAMS: Anyway.

BROWN: And I remember in the first room, as I recall, the reporting from "The Times" was that he wanted his own Roy Cohn.

MASON: Yeah.

BROWN: His mentor that -- how would you describe Roy Cohn as a --

MASON: A consigliere.

BROWN: A consigliere, yeah. But he was a vicious attorney.

MASON: He wanted someone who was representing him. And that is just a fundamental, different view, and Elliot has explained it very well, of how the Department of Justice should work. And it's certainly not the way that multiple other presidents have seen it, with some exceptions, no doubt, but it's a shift, and it's one of multiple shifts that the president has made in terms of how he uses and the government and how he governs.

BROWN: All right, thank you all. Stick around.

Coming up, Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is here live in THE ARENA as the Senate race and her state heats up. It becomes front and center in the midterms and could decide which party ends up in the majority next year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANIDATE: To sit here and play gotcha politics with dumb things somebody said out of context that they disavowed themselves to say, "Oh, well, what does that mean about what you think?" I want to be held accountable for what I say and what I do. rather than this idea that we're so stuck in cancel culture that all of us agreed was a bad idea back in 2020, but we seem to want to bring back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:18:25]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) EL-SAYED: I've had a lot of disagreements with some of my Democratic colleagues, and those are disagreements built on good faith differences when it comes to policy. But this is the time for us to come together now to take on the moral rot at the core of the Trump administration and the moral rot at the core of the corporatism that drives a guy like Mike Rogers. And I'm looking forward to locking arms to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed calling for unity days after a bitter and divisive primary night that exposed deep divisions within the Democratic Party. Today, a brand-new CNN analysis of the nine Senate seats most likely to flip November ranks Michigan 3rd as Republicans see an opening here to take advantage of El Sayed's razor thin victory against Congresswoman Haley Stevens.

Here with us to discuss is Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan.

Nice to see you.

So, do you think El Sayed has done enough to win over those skeptical Haley Stevens supporters? Or do you think he can if he hasn't already?

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): So, Pam, it's good to be with you and I have been talking to a whole lot of people since the primary. Last week and what you're going to find is that people have far more in common than they have differences and we had a great unity breakfast last Thursday.

Haley Stevens has been out there as a leader in pulling people together and it's really about what's at stake in November. When you look at the big blank bill on my television, I'll behave and the number of people, the millions of people who have lost access to health care that the cuts that have happened to food assistance and the other dramatic actions that have happened and what we need to restore and then actually deliver on fighting for more affordable America.

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There is reason to unite and that is what we are going to do for the November election.

BROWN: So you think even if I'll say add doesn't win them over with his own tactics and policies and so forth, that just the fact that Democratic voters in Michigan don't like Trump and his policies that will be enough to unite?

DINGELL: That's it. Everybody's working on this. You're going to see all of the leadership pulling people together.

I'm not kidding when I say that Haley Stevens has been incredible about articulating what is at stake. Now, I've said this repeatedly, Democrats cannot win in November by being anti-Trump. We have to show people what we are going to deliver on. And we're going to not only talk about if we have a rubber stamp that

goes into that Senate seat if we lose that Senate seat, but we have to talk about how we are going to deliver and what we're going to do to lower the cost of groceries. How we're going to bring down the cost of gasoline.

What we're going to do to fix a broken health care system and too many people right now, the average age people are buying their first home is in their 40s. Young people can't afford rent. Those are the issues that we're going to win on in November.

BROWN: So, Mike Rogers, as you well know, put out a video last week in an effort to sway Democratic voters saying, quote, "You have a home with us." Is the Democratic Party taking his overture seriously? Do you have any concerns that maybe those more moderate voters will go over to the Mike Rogers side?

DINGELL: Listen, I think Michigan is always a competitive state. You know, I say that every year I articulate the reasons why and I take nothing for granted. I don't like the way that Republicans are trying to pit people against each other, that they're playing on hate and targeting people because of their faith or their religion or the color of their skin. I want to bring people together because I believe if I'll give you one of the things that I totally agree with Abdul on and I've said for a long time, which is if you live in this country, you should be able to go to the doctor when you need to go to the doctor and afford the medicine that you need. We are the only industrialized nation in the world that does not guarantee its citizens that.

BROWN: I want you to take a listen to what Hillary Clinton said about Republican messaging. You mentioned that you don't like how it's been so far. She talked about the messaging around communism and socialism ahead of the midterms. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: The real fight will be how do we make sure that people who voted for Haley feel comfortable voting for Abdul el-Sayed, and how do we get independents to feel comfortable? And you can see that it's not just about Michigan, but the Republican messaging is communist socialist.

It's going to be a very effective attack. And so people on the left have to be prepared to answer that and to be effective in answering it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So that was interview there with Kara Swisher. What do you make of her comments? And do you think El Syed has made a convincing argument to voters that he is not a communist as Republicans claim?

DINGELL: Well, he's not a communist. Listen, I know of deal better than most do. He's announced he was going to run against me then did not. We have been in the trenches together since then. Listen, he even joined the sit in in my office years ago. BROWN: It's not about what you think, it's about the perception of the voters. Just to be clear.

DINGELL: I agree with that, but I'm telling you he understands that he has to go out and show people that that's not what he's for. But Donald Trump's going to try to paint all of us. Is that does anybody think of me as a socialist or communist? And I'm the leader of Medicare for all in the United States House.

What he's trying to do is to duck the fact that we have a total corrupt administration in so many ways -- how much money he's made the program said he is cancelled while his family is making not millions, but billions of dollars. And what we have to do is, and it's all of us. He has to -- Abdul has to do this as the Senate came -- as the Senate candidate, Jocelyn Benson's got to do that as the governor and all the congressional candidates have to be leaders in showing people about how we are fighting for working men and women in this country.

And that's who we are going to deliver for. We are not going to continue to let them hurt the way they have the last two years.

BROWN: All right, let's listen to what the president had to say today. He was asked about the midterms and some of the primaries, and I want to get your reaction to a little bit of what he said.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have jihadists being elected all over the place. We have this, whether it's communism, jihadism, it's -- a lot of friend of mine called up. He said, you know, really, you should use the word jihadist because that's what's happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, he said jihadists are being elected all across the country. What does that mean to you? How do you take that?

DINGELL: I'm offended by it. First of all, I want to tell people I lived in Dearborn for 30 years and they -- look, I live in Michigan. Does anybody remember what the Michigan militia did who were white men that bombed in Oklahoma and killed children? It's the Michigan militia that has gone off to after the governor and wanted to kidnap her and kill her.

The Michigan militia has wanted to hang me so. I don't like labels. I don't like people who try to create hate between people and as Americans we should stand up to hate whenever and whenever we see it, period, and those comments are designed to pit us against each other and cause hate.

BROWN: All right. Well, I wonder what you have to say to this then, what Senator Tim Scott told our Manu Raju about Republican attack lines against El Sayed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're using his full name in these attack ads, which has gotten some attention. Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed. He goes by Abdul El Sayed.

Are you trying to say hint, hint to voters he's Muslim?

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Not at all. What we're saying -- what we're only saying to voters is a simple thing. He says he's the most dangerous candidate you can find. He's right. We should trust his words, not ours.

RAJU: But why not just use his name, Abdul El-Sayed, which he goes by?

SCOTT: Well, listen, I go by Timothy Eugene, and so I call that all the time.

Here's what I know with that question. It's about what he stands for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: What do you make of that, Congresswoman?

DINGELL: Again, that's totally designed to cause hate, to cause distrust, to imply that he is something that he is not. I have my differences with Abdul. I have my differences with the -- some of my colleagues on many different issues, but he is not with the senators trying to implicate him to be.

His wife is a psychiatrist. He's got great children. He cares about his community. I've worked with him when he was the public house director in Wayne County. I've worked with him on so many different projects. This is a man who cares about working men and women and nobody's religion. The rise of anti-Semitism in this country is real. I never thought that I would see what I am watching right now in this country and the Jewish community is scared for a reason, but you also don't take another faith group because of their background or religion.

People --

BROWN: So, do you think that's Islamophobia playing out? What is your view of it? You said what he's trying to im -- the senator trying to implicate?

DINGELL: That he's putting kerosene or trying to cause it.

BROWN: Islamophobia?

DINGELL: I'm not going to allow it on either side. I've just -- listen, Islamophobia. We've got too much hate in this country, period. We're going backwards in so many areas with the African American -- African American community. Even women are going backwards right now. It's not OK, period.

BROWN: I want to -- I want you to listen to what El-Sayed told my colleague Jake Tapper yesterday about a conversation he shared with former President Barack Obama on Friday. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EL-SAYED: This is a guy who I watched come up. I never saw myself in politics until I saw him give that 2004 speech on the DNC floor. It's the first time I ever saw myself reflected in politics at all.

So, it was just really an honor to get to share a conversation, to hear his advice on the campaign. And I'm looking forward to moving forward here in this campaign with that advice.

BROWN: So Obama didn't endorse anyone during the primaries, although he was prominently featured in Haley Stevens ads. How much do you think an Obama endorsement would help in shoring up the El Sayad campaign, especially with those all-important black voters who largely backed Stevens during the primary?

DINGELL: I think it would be a very cherished endorsement. Sorry about that. I think it could be very important. I don't know that the president has been endorsing in many races across the country, but he is a very respected voice in the African American community.

And you know, there's a lot. Look, this is Michigan. It's complicated. People were concerned about the uncommitted movement and think which is not true, but people think uncommitted may have caused President Trump to become president. There are a lot of factors out there. President Obama has -- is somebody who is deeply respected in that community and his endorsement would bring credibility. So yes, I think that could be important.

BROWN: All right. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, thank you so much. Always nice to see you.

And coming up, why Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is going public about a very private health decision she's making now.

[16:30:06]

But first, half a dozen states are getting ready for a slate of key primaries, including battles in the Midwest that are dividing the left.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCESCA HONG (D), WISCONSIN GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: Folks are working harder and harder, and it's still not enough. And we need types of bold, transformative policies that we're talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Welcome back.

President Trump just making some comments from the Oval Office as more states get ready for key primaries tomorrow. Here's what President Trump said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have jihadists being elected all over the place. We have this, whether it's communism, jihadism, it's -- a lot of friend of mine called up.

[16:35:06]

He said, you don't really -- you should use the word jihadist, because that's what's happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, we wanted to play that again because it is notable. You heard my conversation there with Congressman Debbie Dingell, who indicated that she's tired of the hateful rhetoric, that she thinks it is sort of a wink and a nod toward Islamophobia. How do you see it?

SHORT: I don't know that they're jihadists, Pamela, but I don't think there's any doubt there. Democrat socialists that have been nominated. They're anti-Semites that have been nominated. El Sayed himself has a surrogate who basically said that America deserved 9/11.

El Sayed himself has said --

BROWN: He's distanced (ph) about that.

SHORT: He's had him as a surrogate. He said himself, Israel is as evil as Hamas.

So, we sit here and you know, you criticize the jihadists, but if you're a member, if you're a voter in Michigan, you should be frightened. There's no doubt that you have an anti-Semite at the top of the ticket.

BROWN: Well, he has said he wants to protect Jewish people as he would his own children. He's just to be clear, but I'm asking about what the president just said that jihadists are being elected all over the country. Who do you think he was talking about there?

SHORT: I don't know who's talking about, Pamela, but I don't think there's a question that there's a rise in anti-Semitism inside the Democrat Party.

BROWN: Why are you trying to pivot to anti-Semitism rather than focus on what the president of the United States just said there about jihadism?

SHORT: I don't know what he's referring to as far as jihadists as far as candidates. I also think it's wrong to see you're dismissing --

(CROSSTALK)

SINGH: I think it's pretty clear what the president's trying to do. And I think you played a clip of what Hillary Clinton said about the Republican Party is just going to start throwing out these labels, socialism, communism, jihadist now.

SHORT: They are socialists themselves.

SINGH: But actually, El-Sayed is not a Democratic socialist.

SHORT: In New York, you have.

SINGH: Yeah, but --

BROWN: He does have some social --

SINGH: He has some leniency.

SHORT: You got Democratic socialists nominated in New York.

SINGH: Yeah, but okay, so you don't have any.

BROWN: Colorado.

SHORT: Colorado, too.

SINGH: But I think the Republican Party and Donald Trump is trying to throw these words around to scare, to Marc's point, to scare people. And someone like El Sayed, who has a family, has lived in Michigan, is talking to voters, has captivated and motivated people to turn out for him. And I think we have to pay attention to that.

WILLIAMS: I mean, I think the implication, well, okay. The implication with using the word jihad, like, yes, we can all agree there is a problem of rising anti-Semitism in the United States. I hope everybody agrees with that.

SINGH: Yes.

BROWN: Yes, that is horrible. It's bad. It should always be disavowed.

WILLIAMS: That does not mean that there are candidates in the United States openly calling for holy war, which is what the term jihad means. The president knows that, and it's -- you know, it just, two things can be true or I guess one can be true and one's not it is true that there's anti-Semitism in the United States it's on the rise it has been allowed to run rampant.

There is not a holy war being declared in the United States. That is silly rhetoric.

SINGH: And I think he's trying to use that term because he knows the implications what that means on a Muslim candidate as well and is trying to incite some type of fear in people. But like -- I mean, to your question of like name -- name who he's talking about. I mean, I -- who is he talking about? He's probably talking about just the one person in Michigan, maybe someone else that he feels --

WILLIAMS: I just --

SINGH: It's a broad brush of these paintings. WILLIAMS: Socialist -- go ahead.

MASON: I'm going to steer clear of sharing an opinion as a reporter. But I will say, based on the facts, President Trump --

BROWN: Historically.

MASON: President Trump frequently says Barack Hussein Obama. President Trump is very deliberate in his word choice. And he is also a gifted communicator. He knows how people are going to interpret what he says. He knows that people draw connections and those are things that go through his mind when he chooses his words.

BROWN: You brought up socialism. Let's pivot back to that. You have this race in Wisconsin for the governor's primary and a self- proclaimed socialist candidate, Francesca Hong. She's come under fire for some of her previous statements from defunding the police, to takes on abolishing Thanksgiving and hating Halloween, stances she has since stepped away from.

Earlier this week, this is why AOC's former boss had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): My understanding is that is that Francesca Hong has made clear her present stances to her electorate.

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS HOST: Yeah, she's moved away from a lot of that.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: Right, she's moved away from it. And I have a local city councilman that has this saying, woke one was crazy.

(LAUGHTER)

KARL: Woke one was crazy, okay. that's what you --

OCASIO-CORTEZ: And I think that what's important is that we have to assess what --

KARL: Was it, I mean, did the movement go too far?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: All right, so clearly that was AOC. But what do you make of that explanation, Sabrina?

SINGH: Yeah.

BROWN: That like woke one was crazy and we should just laugh it off.

SINGH: Well, there were policies that candidates were talking about, like defund the police, which is crazy. I mean, that is a crazy policy. You need to have law enforcement in your city to protect people.

[16:40:03]

So, I think what she's talking about there, and I think some candidates running across the country have backed away from these positions because at the time, maybe it was politically convenient or sort of on trend, but the reality is that that's not where voters are. Voters are much more in the center when it comes to these issues, and I think the head of the DSA went on Fox News a few weeks and said we should defund the Pentagon and we should not have prisons.

I mean, those are crazy positions to have right now. That is not going to happen either.

MASON: I would add also, just for contrast, we were talking about the history. The first campaign I covered in this country was in 2008. And John McCain was asked at a campaign event, or was rebuked or corrected someone at a campaign event who said Barack Obama is a Muslim. He said, no sir, he's an American.

All of these candidates are Americans. They should be and no doubt will be judged on their policies. And there are some of those policies that American voters on both sides are going to question.

They have to stand up for the statements that they've made. Many of them on the Democratic side have created vulnerabilities for themselves because of those statements, certainly on the Republican side as well. But it is different in 2026 in terms of what people will allow and what people will accept and what people will correct in terms of some of that.

BROWN: Well, one of the things one candidate is not correcting is the truth about 2020. You have the presumed Republican candidate for governor of Wisconsin, Tom Tiffany. He voted against certifying the Joe Biden's victory in 2020.

I mean, is that something that will land with Wisconsin voters, Mark, at this point? I mean, like, why not just say was not stolen and let's move on?

SHORT: I think you know my position on that, Pamela. I lived that day on January 6th. The election was certified rightfully, and Joe Biden was elected president of the United States.

Having said that, Tom Tiffany is a great candidate and he will win in Wisconsin because Hong is so far outside the mainstream. She hasn't just criticized Thanksgiving. She's also criticized July 4th. She's criticized Valentine's Day. She's criticized Christmas Day in her various tweets opposed.

She's -- she's a crackpot.

WILLIAMS: Yeah, I mean, well, a few things. I will also join her on the Valentine's Day point. It's just -- it's a causing stress.

BROWN: Listen, I think we can all agree. Valentine's Day just --

WILLIAMS: Causes stress for everybody. But I think before you even get to the general, you know, can Democrats even or her being right for the state, can Democrats even unite in the state in a primary that's actually been quite a mess? You had frontrunners dropping out. The governor endorsed someone who wasn't even his lieutenant governor. You had a campaign finance issue, all with one of the candidates who ultimately ended up dropping out.

It's just a messy primary for the Democratic Party in Wisconsin. So even if she makes it through and somehow manages to win over the hearts and minds of Wisconsin voters, can the party unite and actually fundraise?

SHORT: The far-left candidates like Bernie Sanders and AOC are not endorsing her. They have endorsed in Michigan. So, I think that Tom Tiffany will become the next governor of Wisconsin.

BROWN: Well, we shall see.

All right, ahead in THE ARENA, one member of Congress is going public about a very personal health journey and what she's saying about whether that decision collides with her potential political future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: I'm sure you saw the poll in New Hampshire. that had you as the leading candidate, leading choice for Democrats. First of all, are you going to run for president?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I mean, I -- I'm focused on winning the midterms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:48:15]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I have made the decision to start freezing my ex, so I'm aware that just by me choosing to not keep this private, there may be a consequence. But you know what? I'm okay with that. This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: There you heard it. New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez doing something a bit unusual for a politician. She is sharing her journey about freezing her eggs with the public, and she actually filmed herself doing the hormone injections over the weekend. You see it right here.

And it brings reproductive health and the cost of raising kids in general back into the political spotlight. AOC sat down with our Dana Bash five years ago to talk about her grappling with wanting to have a family while also being a member of Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I really want to not just, you know, have a family and check it off as a box, but, like, with how demanding work can be.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You want to be present.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: Yeah, how can you be a really present parent?

The actual logistics of working in Congress is really tough. I've even thought to myself, like, is it even possible? Like, is it even possible? And I've thought to myself, do I have to, like, choose?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Join our panel in THE ARENA here is Dr. Natalie Crawford. She's a fertility physician and reproductive endocrinologist.

So great to see you, Dr. Crawford. How common is egg freezing these days, particularly among women in their 30s like AOC is?

DR. NATALIE CRAWFORD, FERTILITY PHYSICIAN & REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGIST: Thank you so much for having me, Pam.

[16:50:00]

And we are seeing an increase in egg freezing. We're up to 20 percent of women are at least considering egg freezing, yet many women still have a lot of uncertainties or they're not really sure what it means. So, we love seeing the congresswoman talk about this to help spread awareness.

BROWN: What are some of the most common reasons you hear about why women are choosing to do this?

CRAWFORD: The congresswoman put it perfectly. The number one reason is to try to take control of a process that historically women have not held very much control in, meaning our fertility is finite. We know that our egg count and quality changes as we get older. So, freezing your eggs is simply taking one month's group of your eggs and storing them, keeping the door of opportunity open if you want to try to grow your family in the future.

BROWN: And you believe egg freezing is really an investment, it's not insurance, it's an investment, right?

CRAWFORD: Exactly. This is an investment in yourself and your potential future. She expressed a lot of concerns that many women have. Can you balance motherhood and working, but also realizing that the time when you're growing your career is the optimal years to grow your family.

So, it is not a guarantee. That's one of the hardest things about it is that every egg is not going to make it into a baby and the more eggs you have and the younger you are, the better the odds. But it's absolutely an investment in yourself.

BROWN: All right, stand by, Dr. Crawford.

I want to bring in Sabrina just to talk about this, idea of a politician like AOC, not only sharing this news, but bringing people along on her journey.

SINGH: I think it's great that she's doing that. I think it brings awareness to this issue. She's not the first member of Congress to do that. Actually, Sara Jacobs also told her story last year about freezing her eggs. But I think it's an important conversation to have in the public as so many women are going through it.

And I hope what they also talk about is the expense that this is. I mean, this is. Sometimes, I mean, tens of thousands of dollars for some people. And that's just to go through the process of IVF. That doesn't even cover the pharmacy, like the specialty pharmacy that has to send you the drugs that she was injecting. Some of those pens, that pen cost like $600. I mean, and some people don't have the insurance that will cover that. And then on top of that, not to like get really in the weeds here, but each state has different mandatory guidelines for infertility.

So, you can live in D.C. and have a different mandatory guideline for IVF than living in the state of Maryland and you live a mile apart from your neighbor.

WILLIAMS: Let me just add a couple things. I think there's two big issues here, one human and one political. This is a politics show.

The human side is that every person watching this program knows someone who has struggled with their fertility or at a minimum had a miscarriage. It's something to your point, Sabrina, that is just not spoken about in decent company to some extent and I think it's important that the congresswoman is sort of is putting that out there so that's one.

And I think too just the political point in this moment is that the promise of the baby boomers does not exist anymore. It is dead. The idea that one can at age 25 or at a young age get the big house live in it for a long time, it's not a reality for many young people now. And a lot of young people are making the decision to delay having their families because they simply can't afford it in the way that certainly their parents or grandparents did.

And that's an important thing that you're seeing from AOC right here.

BROWN: Yeah. And you mentioned the cost. That is very real. And this surprised me what she said about the cost of this process. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: This is one of the things that was most stressful for me as well when I was considering doing this is cost. My insurance does not cover one penny of this. It is 100 percent out of pocket. It doesn't go to my deductible, nothing. It covers nothing. So, my grand total personally for me all in is going to be probably between $8,000 to $9,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: She's a member of Congress, and this is not covered by insurance. Dr. Crawford, how often is it that egg freezing is or isn't covered by insurance? Just help us better understand that.

CRAWFORD: Most people do not have any fertility benefits, and most states don't provide any fertility coverage. I'm in Texas, and in this state, patients just get access to fertility testing, not any type of treatment access. And then criteria to qualify are different, even if you do have insurance coverage.

So, her experience of having to reach into your pocket is a huge barrier to care for so many women, especially when it comes to the age where we see the ideal success rates from egg freezing, men and women can't afford the procedure at that time.

BROWN: Really quickly, Jeff, she talked about the political risks. Do you see any here?

MASON: I mean, I said earlier that the president is a gifted communicator. So is the congresswoman. I mean, she's got this huge platform. She has shown from the very beginning that she's great at social media and getting people to listen to her.

[16:55:03]

She's doing that now. I'm not saying she's doing that for political reasons, but it has political benefits.

I mean, 50 percent of the electorate is female. So certainly, and as Elliot was saying, you've got a lot of people who can relate to this. And she's using this to be, I mean, at least one piece of that is being relatable.

BROWN: All right. Thank you all so much, Dr. Natalie Crawford. Thank you for joining us.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Thank you so much to my panel, and thank you all for joining us. You can now stream THE ARENA live or catch up whenever you want in the CNN app. Just scan the QR code below.

"THE LEAD" with my friend Jake Tapper starts right now.