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The Lead with Jake Tapper

First Excerpts Reveal Dems' Concerns About Biden's Decline; New Book: Aides Discussed Biden Using Wheelchair In Second Term; Trump Makes High-Stakes Middle East Visit; Trump Admin Slashes Additional $450M In Grants To Harvard; Combs' Ex-Girlfriend Cassie Ventura Testifies About Alleged Abuse; Scientists Explore Transplanting Animal Organs Into Humans. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 13, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Enormous decision announced just in the last few minutes. Major League Baseball has removed Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson from the league's permanently ineligible list. Both men, two of the sport's most famous players of all time, had been banned for gambling. This presumably allows Rose and Jackson to be considered for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, something that had been ruled out as part of a settlement. The MLB commissioner says the punishment of banned individuals now ends with their deaths.

Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead." Jake, really historic decision, honestly.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Pete Rose was on the 1980 World Series champion. So that's all that needs to be said.

Thanks, Kasie. We'll see you back in "The Arena" tomorrow.

HUNT: Have a great show.

[17:00:44]

TAPPER: To what lengths will family members and advisers go to protect a president? The Lead starts right now.

Serious concerns about Joe Biden's cognitive health during his presidency, but you never would have known listening to his family and top aides efforts to cover up his condition revealed in my and Alex Thompson's upcoming book "Original Sin." And we're sharing some excerpts now.

Plus, the current president, Donald Trump, oversees cozying up with the Saudi crown prince, announcing a jaw dropping plan to lift sanctions on Syria and explaining why. And the star witness in the Sean Diddy Combs trial, Cassie Ventura, the music mogul's ex- girlfriend seen in the explosive hotel surveillance video first opinion by CNN, the moment that made her break down in tears on the stand today, that's ahead.

Welcome to The lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

We're going to start with our politics lead and the damning new details that we're releasing today about former President Joe Biden's physical and mental deterioration and how his family members and closest aides concealed it from the public. This is all revealed in two excerpts that we revealed today from my upcoming book with Axios' Alex Thompson. The book is called "Original Sin." It's coming out, being published one week from today. The book is based on more than 200 interviews, mostly with Democratic insiders, almost all of which occurred after the 2024 election was over, when suddenly they were more willing to talk.

The excerpt in the New Yorker today reveals for the very first time what exactly motivated actor and director George Clooney to write his momentous op-ed calling on Biden to drop out of the presidential race despite personally knowing him for more than two decades. And Clooney's international fame as a movie star, Biden did not appear to recognize Clooney at that June 2024 fundraiser that Clooney was headlining, even after a Biden aide told the president, quote, "You know, George, George Clooney?

And it wasn't just Clooney who was alarmed, so was President Obama, so were other donors behind the scenes. Even Democratic Congresswoman Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, who saw the event on stage, which was not half as bad as what was going on backstage, came away thinking there was no way President Biden could serve another term.

These brand new details coming just hours after more stunning revelations in an excerpt published by Axios that aides were privately discussing putting President Biden in a wheelchair for his second term because of his physical deterioration. Sources telling me and Alex Thompson that Biden's team thought it was, of course, politically untenable to have the president in a wheelchair during his reelection bid.

They took steps to try to protect him in the images of his halting gait, including finding shorter walking paths, adding handrails to steps, using a smaller staircase to board Air Force One. Aides would also accompany Biden across the White House lawn to Marine One or from Marine One, not only to disguise what was going on, but in case he fell.

President Biden's doctor, White House physician Kevin O' Connor, warned behind the scenes that if Biden had one more serious fall, he might need to be in a wheelchair for his recovery. Dr. O' Connor had long worried about the toll the job had taken on Biden's health and joked behind the scenes that Biden's staff members were trying to kill him while he was trying to keep him alive.

In response to our latest reporting, a spokesperson for Biden told Axios, quote, "Medical exams made clear that Biden had a stiffened gait caused in part by wear and tear to the spine, but that was -- but that no special treatment was necessary and that it had not worsened. He was transparent about this and it was far from severe.

Yes, there were physical changes as he got older, but evidence of aging is not evidence of mental incapacity. And so far, we are still waiting for someone, anyone, to point out where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or make a presidential address where he was unable to do his job because of mental decline. In fact, the evidence points to the opposite.

He was a very effective president," unquote. On that question of, did it ever rear its head, in effect, a decision or his ability to do the job? To that, all I can say is stay tuned. But hear now more of our exclusive reporting about what was going on behind the scenes in the final weeks before President Biden bowed out of the 2024 presidential race.

[17:05:11]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER (voice-over): It was an earth shattering political moment.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: President Joe Biden has just announced that he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

TAPPER (voice-over): Ignited by President Biden's disastrous CNN debate performance.

JOE BIDEN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, if we finally beat Medicare.

TAPPER (voice-over): And according to excerpts first reported in the New Yorker magazine from the new book "Original Sin" I wrote with Axios' Alex Thompson, before his op-ed calling on the President to resign shocked the world, one of Hollywood's biggest stars was privately alarmed about the president's fitness. This was weeks before the debate.

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: It was a civic duty because I found that when I saw people on my side of the street not telling the truth, I thought that was time to --

TAPPER: Are people still mad at you for that?

CLOONEY: Some people. Sure. It's OK.

TAPPER (voice-over): The book is based on more than 200 interviews, mostly with Democratic insiders, almost all of which occurred after the 2024 election was over and has new behind the scenes revelations from the star studded Hollywood fundraiser and jarring details about what Clooney, a staunch Biden ally and longtime friend, saw of the President's condition.

Backstage at the fundraiser, quote, "Biden hobbled out from around the corner. Clooney knew the President had just arrived from the G7 Leaders' Summit in Apulia, Italy that morning and might be tired, but holy shit, he wasn't expecting this. The president appeared severely diminished, as if he'd aged a decade since Clooney last saw him in December 2022. He was taking tiny steps and had an aide guiding him by his arm. Others at the fundraiser were also horrified.

Quote, "It was like watching someone who was not alive, a Hollywood VIP recalled. It was startling. And we all looked at each other. It was so awful." In fact, it seemed President Biden did not recognize Clooney, one of the most famous people in the world, someone he had known for decades. Quote, "Biden looked at him. Thank you for being here, he said. Thank you for being here. You know, George, the assisting aide told the president, gently reminding him who was in front of him. It was obvious to most everyone standing there that the president did not know who George Clooney was."

Attendees at the fundraiser were flabbergasted. "It was not OK, recalled the Hollywood VIP who had witnessed this moment. That thing, the moment where you recognize someone you know, especially a famous person who's doing an effing fundraiser for you, it was delayed. It was uncomfortable. George Clooney, the aide, clarified for the president. Oh, yes, Biden said, hi, George."

And weeks later, after the monumental debate, when Clooney wrote about what he witnessed, it sent shockwaves throughout the political world. Quote, "We got so screwed by Biden as a party, David Plouffe, who helped run the Harris campaign, told us." By deciding to run for reelection and then waiting more than three weeks after the debate to bow out. Plouffe added, quote, "He totally effed us."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER (on camera): He didn't actually use the word effed. As you saw, I spoke with George Clooney recently about his new play "Good Night and Good Luck," which is set entirely in 1954 until the very end, where there's a montage of news clips, including misleading statements from Republicans about the 2020 election and misleading statements from Democrats about Biden's acuity.

And Clooney told me that those clips from Democrats were important for him to include alongside the Republican lies. He said, it's important for journalists and others to speak truth to power, no matter which party you support. And to remind people, in Clooney's words, quote, "That's how Trump won."

Let's bring in CNN's team of reporters who extensively covered President Biden. CNN's Phil Mattingly, Arlette Saenz and M.J. Lee.

Phil, let's start with you. Put this into perspective why this matters about President Biden's acuity. No one, by the way, is alleging that this is how he is 24 7. Obviously, he's capable of having a conversation. The issue is that there were increasing numbers, increasing number of situations like this where he couldn't recall names or events where he had difficulty with his train of thought.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And it was the increasing number, I think, that we've learned mostly after the fact. And as you're reporting now, that was what was viewed as most problematic. When you think about somebody who is running to run the country for an additional four years. This wasn't something for next month. This wasn't something for six months from now.

This was to run the country for the next four years. And I think the difficulty one just candidly in covering it, but I think also for a lot of Democrats outside the very tight knit and very small inner circle was the ability to actually see it and experience it on a regular basis because there weren't a lot of face to face interactions or close interactions in that regard, which made it so critical for those who were so close around him to share what was actually happening to the extent they were concerned about. I think the question was how concerned was the inner circle really given how protective they were.

[17:10:00]

And I think importantly, and I think you guys point this out, how deeply they believed in him, his ability and his ability to come back after so many times when it seemed like he was down for the count.

TAPPER: So, Arlette, here's another excerpt from the New Yorker about the fundraiser. Quote, "Clooney was certainly not the only one concerned. Other high-dollar attendees who posed for photographs with Obama and Biden described Biden as slow and almost catatonic. Though they saw pockets of clarity while watching him on television, and onstage later that night, there were obvious brain freezes and clear signs of a mental slide. It was to some of them, terrifying."

One of the things that's remarkable about this though is so many of them refused to share any of this until after the election because they were convinced, OK, but the alternatives, Trump. And that justifies everything.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and that really drove a lot of President Biden's reason for seeking reelection that he thought that he was the only one who -- he beat Trump back in 2020 and could do it again in 2024. But he was surrounded by a very close knit group of advisers, that itself had also drawn a lot of criticism in the past that they hadn't let in new voices.

And these advisers had really worked very carefully to manage the stagecraft of his presidency. Going back to, as you talked about the walks to Marine One using that smaller stairs -- set of stairs on Air Force One. I think back to the foreign trips when they said that he would not attend the dinners --

TAPPER: Yes.

SAENZ: -- that would typically be held with foreign leaders. All of this was a lot of efforts to manage Biden's schedule, especially as he increased in age and started to show some signs of that physical deterioration.

TAPPER: So there's behind the scenes the stuff that Clooney and others saw where he was just shockingly awful. Then he went on stage at that event and was just like vaguely awful. Not as shockingly so, but certainly every day of his 81 years. At the end of the fundraiser, he walks to the edge of the stage, he stares kind of blankly at the crowd. President Biden turns back, he grabs Biden's arm, guides him off stage. Obama later explained that like, no, he wasn't.

He just -- Obama just wanted to get the hell out of there. I mean, he couldn't do it until Biden got out there too. But here's an excerpt about that, quote, "He doesn't look like he knows where he's supposed to go, thought Congresswoman Annie Kuster," that's a Democrat from New Hampshire sitting in the audience with the California Congresswoman Julia Brownley. They'd seen him in the photo line and Kuster could tell it was a struggle for the president to engage."

Obviously, a lot of Democrats who felt free to talk to me and Alex after the election felt like they had to hide this because the stakes were so high.

M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I can tell you that part of your book's title that Democrats are most worried about and concerned about are the words cover up. I think Democrats can now all acknowledge, you know, the President was old. Yes, there was a decline. Whether it was physical or cognitive, though that's obviously up for large debate.

But I think the question, and the potentially explosive question, of course, is was there a concerted and knowing effort by the advisers that were around him when it was clear that he couldn't do his job to the best of his abilities to hide that from the public? And I think that is the key question. And you know, the job of White House aides, as you know, is to get the president from point A to point B to make sure that he's following a schedule and frankly to make sure, as any politicians aides would do, that that person is looking as well as possible, right?

TAPPER: Sure.

LEE: And I think the question that a lot of defenders of the president, or certainly defenders of the inner circle are asking right now is could we potentially chalk up most of what transpired to were just staffing as opposed to this was a cover up. We were just doing our jobs and that is to, of course, make sure the president looks good.

TAPPER: Phil there's also this excerpt that Axios printed today. Quote, "Biden's physical deterioration, most apparent in his halting walk, had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair, but they couldn't do so until after the election." What was your response when you -- when you heard that?

MATTINGLY: Apt recognition of the optics --

TAPPER: Yes.

MATTINGLY: -- of putting somebody on campaign in a wheelchair. I think it's actually a good example or a good window into -- for those of us who are covering him every day, and I think for a lot of Democrats who dealt with him or were around him every single day, you saw this progression on the physical side over the course of the three and a half to four years before this all really kind of blew up in their faces. Now, you saw it in the types of shoes he was wearing.

TAPPER: Right. MATTINGLY: The stairs he was taking on Air Force One, how he walked out into things. And the idea of, well, OK, there's the physical, he's in his 80s, people get old, age is pretty much undefeated, as far as I know, versus what this meant for mental capacity, how he was actually operating behind the scenes.

And you could see, and everybody could see it, I think Americans could see it, and you could see that in the polling that the aging was happening, the physical deterioration was happening. It was in the physicals that he was getting from Walter Reed in terms of his gait and his stiffening and all that. The degree to which that was actually happening, I think, was not quite as acute as you guys are reporting out.

[17:15:03]

I think the biggest kind of divergence was always, OK, if he physically can't do it, but he's mentally there, everything's working behind the scenes, that should be enough.

TAPPER: Yes.

MATTINGLY: That was, I think it's right now the open question.

TAPPER: To be continued. There's a lot more in the book to come out. The book comes out one week from today. Thanks to our panel. Really appreciate it.

Again, the book "Original Sin" written by me and Alex Thompson, most of the interviews after the election out one week from today.

Next hour, we're going to talk more about President Obama and his level of influence on Biden's decision making during this sad saga. But first, the current president Donald Trump, his grand gestures in Saudi Arabia today. Controversial to be sure. A bizarre comment he made about the Saudi crown prince, MBS. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our world lead, today in Saudi Arabia, President Trump announced the U.S. would drop sanctions against Syria. Syria. It's a significant change in U.S. foreign policy following the toppling of dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime in December. Then President Trump added this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, what I do for the crown prince. The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important, really an important function nevertheless at the time. But now it's their time to shine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:20:08] TAPPER: President Trump there, referring to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS. The two leaders displayed their cozy relationship throughout the day. This morning, Trump and MBS signed several agreements, notably on military cooperation. They received tech CEOs together, such as Elon Musk and Sam Altman before President Trump's big speech at the Saudi Investment Fund. Then Trump and MBS jetted off to the state dinner together in a golf cart.

Trump also made headlines when he applauded what he calls a, quote, "New generation of Middle Eastern" leadership warning Iran about its nuclear ambitions and dreaming out loud about his desire for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, treaties negotiated during Trump's first term between several Arab nations and Israel. It's a farfetched dream. For now, MBS has made it clear his country will not normalize relations with Israel until there is a clear path for Palestinian statehood.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Trump said he would send U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Turkey for potential talks between Ukraine and Russia. Joining us now to discuss, Marc Short, former Chief of Staff for Vice President Mike Pence.

And Marc, let's remember a 2021 U.S. intelligence report done during the Trump administration released during the Biden administration stated unequivocally that intelligence believes that MBS approved the operation to capture and kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who lived in the United States. As someone with a front row seat to the first administration, what do you make of this increasingly cozy Trump-MBS relationship?

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VP MIKE PENCE: Well, Jake, I think the Khashoggi incident was atrocious and it's hard to justify. But at the same time, I think we have to have a good relationship with some Saudi Arabia because they can be allies in a moderating force amongst many Arab nations that are more radical. And so I think that we should applaud relationship there.

Having said that, I think that there are some things we also have to pause and take a second look at. I think that there is obviously growing concern among many Americans about the $400 million jet from Qatar. And I think that -- there's valid reasons for that.

TAPPER: Well, tell me -- tell me why you're concerned about that. Obviously, the Kingdom of Qatar, the royal family has offered a $400 million jet luxury craft to be the new Air Force One. President Trump is understandably frustrated with Boeing's slow delivery of the one he ordered in his first administration. But why are you concerned about the Qatar?

SHORT: Well, I think that the president had a very strong policy toward the Middle East in the first administration. I think there was greater peace. I think that he isolated Iran. The maximum pressure Iran was successful. I think his partnership with Israel produced a lot of results for us ultimately with Abraham Accords.

And so, I think his foreign policy has been good. I think he deserves a lot of grace. And I think it's hard for Democrats right now to criticize in light of Hunter Biden's getting money from the communist Chinese and other foreign nations. Having said that, Jake, I think at the same time, if you're making $1 billion off of crypto and you're basically opening clubs here in D.C., a $500,000 membership, and now you're taking a plane valued $400 million from a nation that has harbored Hamas and has funded terrorism against the West.

TAPPER: Yes.

SHORT: It's hard to say you're draining the swamp at that point.

TAPPER: I want to listen to a little bit more of Trump's speech. This part is directed at MBS directly. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Mohammed, do you sleep at night? How do you sleep? What a job. He tosses and turns like some of us, tosses and turns all night. How do I make it even better all night?

It's the ones that don't toss and turn. They're the ones that will never take you to the Promised Land. Won't they? But you have done some job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: You've been in the room with Trump. You know his style, his technique. What do you make of all?

SHORT: I think that one's a little hard for me to translate, honestly, Jake.

TAPPER: Yes.

SHORT: But look, I think that he knows that MBS has enormous power and control across the region. And I think he wants to have the friendship there. And again, I think if they're able to expand the Abraham Accords, it's something we should applaud. I just think that, again, some of the personal gifts, the family is something that we criticize the Biden administration for doing. So it looks a little bit prickle.

TAPPER: On a much smaller level, we should say.

SHORT: Yes. Yes.

TAPPER: I mean, Hunter Biden -- Hunter Biden sleaze. I'm not -- I'm not defending any of it, but, like, it wasn't $400 million.

SHORT: It was not. It was, I think, obviously adversaries with China. But I --

TAPPER: Sure.

SHORT: -- I do think that, yes, I'm making the same point.

TAPPER: Yes. SHORT: It's hypocritical.

TAPPER: Biden got a lot of criticism when he did a fist bump with MBS. And this -- but this is -- this is far beyond that.

SHORT: Or Obama for bowing.

TAPPER: Yes.

SHORT: You know? So, yes.

TAPPER: And, well, don't forget George W. Bush held hands.

SHORT: Yes.

TAPPER: Every president ends up kowtowing one way or another, I suppose.

SHORT: Well, I'm not sure that's all kowtowing, but I do think that, again, that the taking the jet of that value replacing Air Force One is a little bit startling.

TAPPER: Marc Short, always great to have you. Thank you so much for being here.

SHORT: Thanks, Jake. Thanks for having me.

[17:24:48]

TAPPER: The Education secretary, Linda McMahon, is here. We're going to ask her where she is on President Trump's directive to shut down the entire agency and about the administration's new funding cuts to Harvard University. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Back with our national lead. The Trump administration continuing its conflict with Harvard University today, slashing another $450 million in federal grants on top of the 2.2 billion that they already cut. The administration calls it a response to the university's handling or mishandling of anti-Semitism on campus, among other issues. In a letter last week, the secretary of education, Linda McMahon, said, quote, "Harvard is engaging in a systemic pattern of violating federal law. Where do many of these students come from?

Who are they? How do they get into Harvard or even into our country? And why is there so much hate," unquote?

Harvard's president responded yesterday saying, quote, Harvard will not surrender its core legally protected principles out of fear of unfounded retaliation by the federal government. And joining us now is the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon. Secretary McMahon, good to have you. Thank you so much for being here.

[17:30:14] So, the president of Harvard, Alan Garber, opened his letter by saying, quote, we share common ground on a number of critical issues including the importance of ending anti-Semitism and other bigotry on campus. Do you not believe him when he says that?

LINDA MCMAHON, U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: Well, I'm really happy to -- to get President Garber's letter. That's kind of in response, I think, to the letter that we sent him. But the first letter we sent him offering to sit down, having negotiations, was answered by a lawsuit. So, that kind of teed things up.

We are taking a very close look at Harvard. We'd like to sit down with Harvard. We'd like for them to show us a lot of the things that they have been doing, but so far that hasn't happened. And I was very happy to -- to get this letter. He kind of addressed a lot of the points that we raised in our first letter. But, you know, Harvard for a long, long time has tolerated anti-Semitism on campus. Even after, you know, October 7th, we saw, you know, continuing things. So, let's see. Proof will be in the pudding.

TAPPER: Harvard's main web page now has a section titled Research at Risk. It highlights projects with funding cuts, including research into tuberculosis, ALS research. What do you say to somebody who says, look, I understand what you're doing here, but fighting tuberculosis, fighting ALS, that is really important, and it's cutting off your nose despite your face?

Yes, you want Harvard to not violate civil rights laws, protections for students, but why punish researchers who are trying to solve diseases for humanity?

MCMAHON: You know, it was astounding to the president. It was also astounding to a lot of the people I've talked to, I think to the public in general, that Harvard has an endowment of over $50 billion. And so, yes, I do think this research is incredibly important.

Universities around the country have done phenomenal amount of -- of research in solving a -- a lot of the -- the very diseases, you know, that you talk about, or improving treatment for those diseases. But I do think that if Harvard can raise the kind of endowment dollars, and other universities as well, that it's not incumbent upon the taxpayers to really foot the bill for all of that.

TAPPER: But what is -- what are tax dollars, if not for things like medical research to help humanity?

MCMAHON: Well, I think those tax dollars can be used for that. But if you're a university, and you're receiving federal tax dollars, and you're not in compliance with a lot of the -- the rules that have been put in place, or the statutes, or the laws, then I think you have to answer for that.

TAPPER: So your education department recently stopped $1 billion in funding for mental health treatment in schools, slashing grants from a bipartisan gun safety bill, the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed in the wake of the Uvalde shooting, killing 19 students, two teachers. Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Democrat of Arizona, who herself survived an assassination attempt, wrote you a letter saying, quote, I have serious concerns that your department's recent cuts have made our nation's classrooms significantly more dangerous. I ask you to reconsider before it's too late. She also offered to set up private meetings with parents and survivors of school shootings with you. What's your response? Will you take her up on the offer?

MCMAHON: Yes, I think one of the things she referenced in that letter, too, was Sandy -- the Sandy Hook shootings. I am from Connecticut.

TAPPER: Right.

MCMAHON: And that day in December, I won't ever forget sitting at home and watching what happened in that school, you know, on television. I saw policemen crying. I saw firemen, you know, first responders that, you know, had to have a lot of treatment after that. I won't ever forget that, and I would hate to have been standing in the shoes of those parents.

And any time I could sit and visit with any of them in here, not necessarily just Sandy Hook, but others, you know, I would like to have that opportunity to do it. And we've not, you know, we're in the new budgeting process that mental health funding is not going to be cut. We just may, you know, redetermine some of those grants to make sure they're being used in the way that we think they should be.

TAPPER: It's been nearly eight weeks since President Trump issued the executive order to shut down your department, the Department of Education, and put states entirely in charge of many of the department's functions. Where does that stand?

MCMAHON: Working on it. You know, it was no secret when the President asked me to do this, and campaigned in his first term to shut down the Department of Education, he wants, and you know, and then I'll hear people say, oh, he wants to get rid of education. Well, how silly is that? Of course he does, and he wants to take the bureaucracy out of education. The President believes, as I do, the best education is that that's closest to the child, and it's better at the state level. So let's take out the bureaucracy. Let's make sure more of that money is being able to be sent to the states.

TAPPER: But doesn't the Department of Education help make sure that the states are providing good enough education for students who have disabilities, or students who are poor? And isn't that something that can only be done by, it doesn't have to be the Department of Education, I suppose it could be the Department of Justice, but some sort of federal entity that has oversight over the states?

[17:35:07]

MCMAHON: Well, the funding is going to continue. So for the Title I funding, that one of the things that you referenced, and also the IDEA funding, you know, which is -- is for those -- those students with special needs, that's going to continue. So whether it flows through another agency, or goes directly from appropriations, directly to the states, it is still best handled at the state level.

Because, you know, when one parent asked, well, geez, you know, I've got a child with special needs, and I want to make sure that that continues, and I said, OK, let me ask you, you're on the ground in the school, and this is during one of my school visits, I said, OK, you're there with your child, the teacher is there with your child, who better to determine what that child's needs are? Do they need more equipment? Do they need more paraprofessionals in the classroom? They're on the ground in that school, or someone, a bureaucrat, sitting in Washington, D.C., and she said, I see your point.

TAPPER: All right. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, please come back soon. We have lots of questions.

MCMAHON: Thank you.

TAPPER: We cover education as much as we can. We really appreciate you being here.

MCMAHON: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: Ahead, day two of the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial with star witness Cassie Ventura taking the stand. The text messages, the video, the damning testimony from Diddy's ex-girlfriend, and how it was presented to the jury, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:28]

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, just moments ago, court adjourned after day two of the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial. Today, a key witness for the prosecution, Cassie Ventura, Sean "Diddy" Combs' former girlfriend and singer, took the stand. She detailed how her 10- year relationship with Combs went from platonic to romantic and ultimately controlling and physically violent. Sean "Diddy" Combs has admitted to a history of domestic violence, but he has pleaded not guilty to all federal charges against him.

Both CNN anchor and chief legal analyst Laura Coates and CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister were inside court today join -- joining us from outside the courtroom. Laura, we heard a lot of tough testimony today. At one point, Cassie Ventura even broke down in tears. What -- what happened?

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: The testimony was graphic, it was intense, and it was intended to give you a glimpse into what her experience over more than a decade has been. She was at the hands of a violent abuser who she loved very much, but controlled her every move. In the moment today, she actually broke down in tears. It was pretty stunning because they asked her the question that was probably counterintuitive for people who go to the issue of consent.

They said, was there anything about these freak-offs, these days-long drug-fueled sex events that you enjoyed? And she said, being with him, trying to be one-on-one, it demonstrated that she was craving an opportunity to have what she says was her first adult relationship and really showed you an insight, a glimpse into how deeply she cared for somebody who the prosecution says is a racketeer, a trafficker, and engaged in prostitution.

TAPPER: And Elizabeth, Ventura was asked about the video that you broke, that hotel surveillance footage taken in 2016, horrifying stuff. This is at least the fifth time the jury has watched that video. What stood out to you about her testimony?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jake. So the video was played again and again today. The prosecutor kept playing it and pausing it, but this time having Cassie Ventura speak to it. So what stood out to me, Jake, is that this was actually the first time that we have heard from Cassie in her own words what happened on that day in March 2016 at that Los Angeles hotel room.

We had heard her allegations in a lawsuit, but Laura and I were talking before, she made such a good point. This is the first time that anyone, whether it's the media or certainly the jury, has heard her voice. Remember, Jake, they have a settlement agreement because when Cassie filed that lawsuit, they settled very quickly.

So neither Sean Combs or Cassie Ventura can even utter each other's names unless it is in a courtroom. So what Cassie said about that video footage, she finally cleared up what happened in the hotel room because of course we could only see the footage from the hall. She said that it was a freak off with a male escort and that she was hit by Sean Combs and that is when she fled the bed.

TAPPER: Laura, how did what we hear today explain -- what we heard today explain the prosecution's case against Combs?

COATES: A very important point. One, the defense opening statement tried to articulate the reason that there was that altercation in that hotel lobby was because Sean Combs wanted to retrieve a cell phone, but it was not related to a so-called freak off. Well, now you had testimony from Cassie Ventura to support the otherwise.

And the very first witness to testify today, also a security guard who is now an LAPD officer, who arrived on the scene of that hotel elevator lobby to say that a same testimony. Overall, we have a five count felony case involving racketeering and sex trafficking. For the first part, today was about a yearbook photo of all the people who were high-ranking officials, assistants, bodyguards and security who were a part of the so-called enterprise of the Diddy operation and that their job was to facilitate crimes.

Those crimes, they allege prostitution. They confirmed and talked about the idea of people being paid for sexual acts across state lines. We'll hear more about that. This is all part of a big case. What we did not hear, and we talked about this Elizabeth, we did not hear enough or a lot of evidence today about fraud, coercion or intimidation to remove the consent and willpower of Cassie Ventura as a sex traffic victim yet.

TAPPER: Elizabeth, this was the first time that -- that Sean "Diddy" Combs and Ventura were in the same room since 2018. What was the demeanor like during her testimony?

WAGMEISTER: You know, I think that a lot of people in the courtroom, including the two of us, we were talking about this yesterday. A lot of people were surprised to know that they had not seen each other in over six years. So this was the first reunion of sorts. And I have to tell you, Jake, they did not make eye contact once.

[17:45:05]

In fact, it was pretty obvious that Cassie was trying not to look his way. At one point, she actually turned her body away in the witness stand when they were on a short break. And we both noticed that Sean Combs was a bit more fidgety today. He was passing a lot of notes to his defense. He was rocking back and forth a bit. But of course, Jake, Cassie is incredibly pregnant. She is due soon. She has a big bump and she was rubbing her belly at times when you could tell that it was getting difficult for her. And I have a tiny little scoop for you, some new reporting.

Yesterday in court, Sean Combs' lead defense attorney, Marc Agnifilo, he had said in open court to the judge, I want to make sure that the witnesses are already seated before the jury comes in. We didn't know why. Well, I found out from a source it's because they didn't want the jury to see this grand entrance with a pregnant Cassie because it can create some warm space, some empathy for her. Well, whatever happened, Jake, she did have that grand entrance. She walked in in front of the jury.

TAPPER: All right. Elizabeth Wagmeister and Laura Coates, thank you so much. Good to have you on the show. And Laura, of course, will have more on her show. Laura Coates Live tonight at 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Laura also, by the way, just launched a podcast called Trial by Jury. You should look for that wherever you get your podcast.

A remarkable feat in modern medicine, animal organs transplanted into humans. We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta for a progress report on that.

Plus, what former President Barack Obama advised George Clooney before the actor wrote that op-ed, urging Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. It's part of an excerpt of my upcoming book with Alex Thompson, Original Sin. A key person who knows the player as well, will join me ahead.

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[17:50:55]

TAPPER: We're paging Dr. Gupta and today's Health Lead, our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with a preview of his upcoming documentary about transplanting animal organs into humans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are, of course, being just extra careful and cautious and ensuring things are in the right direction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the little pig is right there, so I can pat it.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But today's visit is all about this moment.

GUPTA: Observing this ultrasound, that is an ultrasound of a pig kidney inside Tim, something that very few people ever get to see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it looks exactly like a human kidney, so -- and we will see all the blood flow throughout, so.

GUPTA: Is there anything in there that makes it clear that it's a pig kidney?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, exactly like a human one.

GUPTA (voice-over): And not only does it look like one. Eight weeks postoperatively, it's acting like one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The level of kidney function is as good as we would expect from a human kidney transplant. We just are amazed every day we look at that blood work.

GUPTA: That's awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good stuff, isn't it?

GUPTA (voice-over): Now, there is one complication they're watching for very carefully, something that is unique to xenotransplants, and could affect not only Tim, but his wife, Karen, as well, maybe all of us.

GUPTA: One of the concerns is that if there is some sort of weird or strange virus in the pig and it gets into the human population through one of these transplants, might not only affect the patient, but people around the patient as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In all the studies that we're doing, we're not only monitoring the patient, but their close contacts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because we don't know to this day and we won't know for the rest of my life whether that can happen. So that's always in the background.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: So Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now. Sanjay, how did they make the pigs compatible for humans? They -- they -- They're not born that way, right?

GUPTA: Yeah. No, they -- they're not born that way. And this is really the -- the progress of several Nobel Prize winning discoveries. Everything from CRISPR, which is gene editing technology, actually taking genes out of the pig genome, adding other genes in from humans into the pig genome. It's remarkable. They also use cloning. They use IVF. They use transplant immunology. These are just huge, huge developments in the world of medicine that have all sort of come together to make this work. But they basically make the pig genome compatible with humans. That's what they do.

TAPPER: Why pigs and not another animal, say apes, chimpanzees, something that you would think about more closely related to humans?

GUPTA: Yes, primates You know, I think there's a couple of very practical reasons. One is just size. Pig organs are -- are very much similar in size to human organs. That ends up being a big deal. Pigs have a pretty short pregnancy, three months, three weeks, three days, so about four months overall. And they make several piglets, so you can get a lot of organs at the same time. And the last thing is sort of a little counterintuitive.

They're more evolutionarily distant than humans, to your point. And that actually can be a good thing because viruses that exist in pigs less likely to cross over into humans. With primates, things that are evolutionarily similar, that could be a bigger risk. So they took all these things into consideration, Jake, and they landed on pigs.

TAPPER: What else are we going to learn in your special? Really, the stories of these patients who, you know, they really had no other choice. I mean, you've got 100,000 people waiting, 17 people die every day waiting for an organ. Even if everyone decided to become an organ donor, we probably still wouldn't have enough organs because not enough people die in a way that actually their organs would be useful for transplantation.

So all the various ways that we're trying to deal with this organ shortage crisis is what we really wanted to tackle. Plus some just -- just remarkable science, Jake. I mean, it's so cool to be a journalist. I mean, to see stories like this, things that the world has never seen before.

TAPPER: It is the greatest job in the world. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much. Appreciate it. And you can scan the QR code, there it is, to submit any questions to Sanjay about the future of organ transplants. He'll be back tomorrow to answer some of those questions.

[17:55:07]

And of course, watch Sanjay's documentary Animal Pharm, that's P-H-A- R-M, pharm, this Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern and Pacific, only here on CNN.

After Saudi Arabia today, Qatar is the next stop tomorrow for President Trump. And right afterward that he wants to accept that luxurious $400 million plane from the Qatari royal family. Coming up next, unique insight into the potential security concerns with this kind of, shall we call it a gift.

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[17:59:58]

TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. At this hour, rolling out the lavender carpet, President Trump greeted with quite a bit of fanfare during his first stop on his Middle East trip.