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The Lead with Jake Tapper

HHS Freezes Minnesota Child Care Funding; Footage Shows Panic As Fire Breaks Out At Swiss Ski Resort Bar; Trump Warns U.S. Will Intervene If Iran Kills Protesters; Important Mail May Not Get Postmarked The Day You Turn It In; Mamdani Doubles Down In Unapologetically Progressive Speech. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired January 02, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

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[17:00:09]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Thanks so much to my panel. We had some, you know, honest discourse here, you know, a little bit of some smiles, some disagreements. Happy New Year to all of you. All of you watching. Phil Mattingly, of course, standing by for The Lead. Phil, I leave everything in your hands.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No pressure, anything. Thanks, Jim. We'll look for more next week in The Arena.

Child care centers only scratch the surface of the targets under investigation in Minnesota. The Lead starts right now.

The fraud allegations starting to mount as the Trump administration turns its attention to Minnesota. Here for one lawmaker who says Republicans have a larger goal to cut funding from the entire state.

And moment of disaster, the new image that appears to show exactly when sparklers in a champagne bottle ignited the fast moving inferno that killed at least people on New Year's.

Plus, new video as more protesters take to the streets of Iran. President Trump's new threat if any peaceful demonstrations turn deadly.

Welcome To Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper.

We start in our National Lead, the Trump administration using allegations of fraud to justify significant increases in federal law enforcement action in Minnesota, the state with the country's largest Somali population.

Now, the story is somewhat complicated, so let's take a step back and break it down. The controversy involves a series of fraud scandals, some going back nearly a decade wherein people in Minnesota have allegedly stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from government social services program, programs meant to keep children fed, provide Medicaid, housing assistance and other safety nets that benefit needy families. One major example, a $250 million fraud scheme, a nonprofit called

Feeding Our Future claimed to provide meals to children during the pandemic. Prosecutors say they also use federal funds to buy real estate, luxury vehicles and lavish trips.

While one convicted ringleader in this case was white, the vast majority of the roughly 70 people charged in the case in 2022 were members of Minnesota's Somali community. So, why is all this back in the spotlight now?

Well, in part because of a recent video from a YouTube content creator named Nick Shirley alleging to have uncovered widespread fraud at Somali run child care centers. Now, the video shows him trying to enter several state government funded child care centers he says are not operational.

CNN is investigating these claims. One center, the Quality Learning Center, told CNN affiliate KARE there is no fraud and says Shirley recorded his video when the business was scheduled to be closed. CNN also observed families dropping off children there on Tuesday.

But Shirley's accusations without any question, have prompted significant action from President Trump, who has long derided Minnesota's Somali community. The Trump administration and state Republican leaders are demanding a crackdown on the waste of taxpayer dollars for social services they said were never provided.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced it is freezing child care payments to the state pending a federal investigation of the allegations.

Let's start things off with CNN's Whitney Wild, who has been on the ground reporting a ton over the course of the last several days. Whitney, what else is the administration doing to crack down on Minnesota over these allegations?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are freezing multiple different types of payments. But I want to get you up to speed on a piece of information. We are now just we had been waiting for the state's review of these daycares that were featured prominently in this viral video. We now have it. It came out minutes ago, Phil. Here are the major headlines from that.

Investigators confirmed the centers were operating as expected, gathered evidence and initiated further review. And here's a key line, Phil. Children were present at all sites except for one. That site was not yet open for families for the day when inspectors arrived. So it appears that inspectors saw what we saw at one of the daycares, which was children inside.

Finally, Phil, the Department of Children, Youth and Families says that it currently has ongoing investigations at four of the centers featured in the viral video. This report just came out again minutes ago. We are continuing to pour through it, but that is the latest information we have on the state's vetting of these accusations made in this viral video. The Trump administration reacted swiftly. As you said, the Department

of Health and Human Services freezed payments. And just to put, you know, just sort of that in context, that is $185 million Minnesotans were expecting to help 19,000 families.

[17:05:00]

In addition, the Small Business Administration says that it is freezing payments to the state as well. And I actually think this is a really good moment to broaden out here because they actually made that announcement before that viral video ever came out. It was in the aftermath of another round of indictments announced by the Department of Justice where they said they believed $9 billion could have been stolen through 14 Minnesota based programs that stretched back to 2018.

And that really puts on, you know, puts a finer point on what we have been talking about all week was that Minnesota has been dealing with this major fraud problem for many, many years. Here's more from SBA administrator Kelly Loeffler.

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KELLY LOEFFLER, ADMINISTRATOR, U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTARTION: These COVID era loans helped millions of small businesses keep millions of employees on their payroll. Most were legitimate, but the fact is we had organized crime operating around these like we see with the Somali crime ring in Minnesota.

And so we have gone back through loans that the Biden administration tried to forgive that were known to be fraudulent. That's why we already had 13,000 that we knew had been marked as fraudulent. We're able to find quickly 8,000 of those and make sure that they cannot benefit from our services. But now, as I mentioned, we're going to do that state by state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: So as you saw there, Phil, SBA suspending 6,900 loans because they believe that could be part of a $400 million fraud scheme, just, you know, under what could be their purview as well. So I think that -- I'll leave you with this, Phil. I spoke with a political analyst earlier this week about why it took a YouTuber to really thrust this into the national conversation. And he said Minnesotans had just been hearing about these fraud cases for so long, he thought people had really sort of become desensitized to it.

And so it was only YouTuber Nick Shirley thrust it onto the national stage here. And it was retweeted by Elon Musk and J.D. Vance that the national conversation turned toward -- turned toward Minnesota. The Trump administration reacting in a very real way.

MATTINGLY: Yes, significant, no question about it. Absolutely caught fire and went viral over the course of the last couple of days. Whitney Wild with all the latest reporting. Thanks so much. Well, joining us now is Minnesota State Representative Carlie Kotyza-

Witthuhn. She's the co-chair of the Children and Families Committee. I really appreciate your time. Just to start with and with also granting you the fact that this apparently just came out and Whitney was kind of reading through it in real time.

But the review and what it showed about the child care centers operating as expected children were there. There are though, four ongoing investigations into four of the centers. What's your kind of takeaway from what you heard?

CARLIE KOTYZA-WITTHUHN (D) MINNESOTA HOUSE: Right. Well, thanks for having me, Phil. I really appreciate CNN covering this and doing such in depth follow up research on the ground after that speculative video was released.

You know, I think that ongoing investigation is really important. We have to run all of these allegations to the ground, no matter if they come from an amateur partisan social media personality or if they come from one of the employees of one of these centers.

So I think that we just stand where the department is going to do all that they can to figure out if fraud is actually happening. And I would support swift stoppage of payments to any providers that are found to be using fraudulent activity on site.

MATTINGLY: Minnesota -- Whitney, our colleague who was just reporting on this mentioned this really important fact. Minnesota receives $185 million in federal child care funding for 19,000 children. And I think the stoppage of or the freezing of these funds at such a scale raises the question of what happens to the families or the children that are not tied up in the fraud allegations. What is your sense of what would happen here?

KOTYZA-WITTHUHN: It's a big problem. You know, we -- like you said, 19,000 children are participating in this program. And I would say, you know, most, like Secretary Loeffler had said, most of these programs are using the dollars as their as they're expected to be.

So in the situation where it's a blanket freeze like this, you know, the Trump administration has just decided to cut off all funding. We have thousands of families wondering if they're going to be able to get the care that their kids need, if they're going to be able to go to work next week. We have child care providers and small business owners who rely on the work of those parents not knowing if they'll be able to keep their doors open depending on how this freeze proceeds.

And you know, the latest that I've heard from the department is that they're expecting some additional detail from the administration for children and families by Monday. But I don't know that we have all the information that we need to instruct families on what to do.

MATTINGLY: You've made clear. I think there's a lot of general agreement with this that the broad brush elimination of programs or freezing of funding is not the answer here. Given what's at stake for some of these families, for some of these kids. [17:10:02]

What is the solution? Because as we've all been reporting on in particular the last couple of days, but on the ground, there have been reports on this for years now about the scale of the fraud that has been prosecuted. You can see the press releases from the U.S. attorney's office over the course of years.

What's the solution here to try and find kind of thread the needle.

KOTYZA-WITTHUHN: Yes. So first I do want to say that fraud of any kind is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It hasn't been tolerated. We have, you know, gone after these criminals thus far in Minnesota. And if there are others who are continuing to defraud the government, we'll continue to do that. I think that, you know, this past session in the 2025 budget, we have a biennial budget in Minnesota and we were able to increase some funding that will help expand program compliance.

And I think, you know, making sure that caseloads are appropriate for all the investigators that we are able to get on the ground and do these unannounced visits, drop-ins to centers to make sure that the legislature then has the information that we need to act upon.

We are of course going into a session that begins mid-February and it's going to be more of a policy focus. So, one of the things that we are going to do is I'm going to ask the department for a total review in committee of their program integrity measures. And another thing that we've been working on for a couple years and as a bipartisan effort is modernizing our child care licenses system.

So that will certainly include a discussion on the standardized electronic form that will be used by all county licensers. Minnesota is one of just nine states I believe, that has a county administered system. So that is something that's important to keep in mind, kind of how our structure differs from some of the other states.

MATTINGLY: Yes, it's really important context. Minnesota State Representative Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn. Really appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

KOTYZA-WITTHUHN: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Well, ahead in Switzerland, that deadly New Year's fire in a bar and the emotional pleas from families coming to grips with their loved ones likely perished inside. We're live on the ground there. Next.

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[17:16:02]

MATTINGLY: In our World Lead, CNN has obtained video showing the terror and chaos inside the Swiss Bar after a deadly fire broke out during a New Year's Eve party. We're going to show them to you, but please be aware, they are very disturbing. Now, one video shows flames spreading, you can see right here across

the ceiling and people rushing to try and put the fire out. Another video shot outside shows people climbing out a window panel as the flames burn behind them.

Now, this is the fire that killed at least 40 people and injured 119 more. CNN's Nic Robertson is at the scene of this tragedy. Authorities say the fire likely was started by sparklers in champagne bottles. What more are you learning, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, the prosecutor has pointed to that and certainly that's how it appears to be in the video and still images coming from inside the bar during that celebration.

Another question the prosecutor was asked at the press conference is are and a look at these acoustic tiles, these foam tiles that were on the ceiling of this underground bar because the sparklers in these champagne bottles appear to send the sparks into that foam. And that's what seems to be, appears to be at least how the fire catches so quickly and then spreads so quickly.

And the prosecutor said, yes, absolutely, that's something we're going to look at. She couldn't say that was the issue yet, but you can see the direction they're going. And the other thing that we're learning about, of course, is more about the nationalities of some of those -- of some of the injured, more than 40 from European countries other than Switzerland, the French, Italians, Serbians, Bosnians, Belgians, Bulgarians, Polish, even someone from Luxembourg as well, victims injured in the fire.

And we're learning more as well from friends of some of those victims. I was talking to a young girl earlier on, 17 years old. She had intended to go to the bar with friends to celebrate the New Year. She dropped out at the last minute. There are five of her friends who have been impacted. Two of them she knows are in hospital. But of her friends, those other three, there's no information, no information at all so far. And I have to say, she was really distraught, as you can imagine.

MATTINGLY: It's heartbreaking. And the interviews that you and your team have been conducting over the course of the last day and a half are just extraordinary. And how painful they are to listen to.

But to that point, the idea that people still haven't been identified or they don't have information on individuals this long after this actually occurred, what are authorities saying about that?

ROBERTSON: They're saying it's a priority to complete because they want to give information to the family. They are indicating that there's a possibility when 40 people have died, that it creates the impression that the process of identification can be so challenging because of the intensity of the inferno.

And eyewitnesses have spoken about the burns that they witnessed on some of the deceased as they left the bar and what we've heard from the hospitals as well, that the intensity of the heat was so strong in that enclosed space and that it blasted across the area so quickly that any exposed flesh was burned.

And I think this, you know, sadly paints this picture of how hard it is for the identification process. Even 6 of those who are in hospital still alive have not been identified yet. People with inhalation burns literally cannot talk, medical officials are saying.

MATTINGLY: Just horrific to even think about. Nic Robertson, to you and your team in Switzerland, thank you guys very much for the work that you're doing.

[17:20:00]

Well, also in our World Lead, growing tension between the United States and Iran brought on by this week's street protests in cities across Iran over a spike inflation and the Iranian government's heavy handed crackdown that's left several people dead.

Now, President Trump took to Truth Social today saying the U.S. is locked and loaded and ready to go if Iran keeps killing protesters. The speaker of Iran's parliament in turn threatened to target U.S. troops in the region.

Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger joins us now. He used to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee and is a veteran of the war in Iraq. Congressman, the U.S. official tells CNN no major changes have been made to U.S. troop levels or troop posture. Do you see this turning anything, turning into anything other than a back and forth right now?

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I don't. And you know, look, it's where all this started about has Iran restarted its nuclear program or its missile program because there were a lot of -- there's a lot of kind of traffic going into Iran, which was curious. So I think it's possible that there could be renewed strikes at some point related to that.

But I think, you know, intervening as a result of this, let's actually call it an uprising, it's pretty close to an uprising now, would only be counterproductive because right now this is what in the past Iran has actually used to put these protests down. They've used obviously very heavy handed tactics and then tried to create an external enemy as if, and then say like basically we're all in this together against, you know, the Great Satan, the United States of America.

And so I think while I don't appreciate what the President is doing in terms of talking big on social media because I just -- I still believe in the speak softly, carry a big stick. I think it would be a big mistake to intervene in the middle of it because that just creates an external enemy.

Right now it appears that there are a significant number of Iranians that want regime change in Iran coming from themselves. And there is nothing wrong with regime change coming from inside. MATTINGLY: What's interesting is, you know, to your point, you make a

really good point that there have been -- we have seen, I think two or three that I can think of over the course of the last 15 or so years where there have been uprisings, there have been administrations in power trying to figure out how to navigate them in the best way possible. I think there have often been regrets coming out of those administrations.

I think in particular, back, I want to say I'm off the top of my head right now. Back in 2009 in particular, the Obama administration, where maybe they could have done more or should have done more, obviously the more recent ones as well.

What could the U.S. do here if they want to support those who are protesting?

KINZINGER: I think the best thing the United States can do is make it clear that we're on the side of freedom. We support Iran's right, the people of Iran's right to basically determine their own future. And that's basically the extent of it for the moment.

Again, what are the other options? Well, you know, we're not going to put CIA in there to foment because that actually is extremely counterproductive. There can be no military attack unless this turns into, you know, seriously the Iranian regime killing, you know, hundreds of people. The best thing we can do is just put out statements. This even putting out statements like we support a free Iran has a big impact on the ground. This is something Iranians are going to have to do themselves.

And it's a little bit different right now because each time there was this, let's again call it, uprising in Iran. Iran was seen as a very strong nation with a very strong military. We're on the heels of Iran getting just absolutely waylaid by Israel, against everybody's expectations, and then having, you know, having their nuclear sites struck by the United States. They're coming out of this in a very weak position.

Plus they've lost their allies in the region. So it's not like they can pretend to be this strong entity now because the people of Iran have already seen their weak. And plus, when all of a sudden you have 50 percent inflation and your money buys far less, it becomes a survival issue for people. So it'll be interesting to keep an eye on this.

MATTINGLY: Yes, it's a very different dynamic, not just from the kind of internal and domestic issues, but also the lack of proxies or any kind of authority within the region based on power that has been completely decimated over the course of the last couple months. Really appreciate it as always, my friend. Thanks so much, Adam Kinzinger.

KINZINGER: You bet. Take care.

MATTINGLY: Well, you might have missed this one in recent days. The U.S. Postal Service is out with a major warning that affects postmark dates on mail you drop off. We'll explain, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:28:25]

MATTINGLY: In our National Lead, the new year brings in important rule change. You'll need to keep in mind when you use snail mail to send something important and time sensitive like, I don't know, maybe tax return or a mail-in ballot in a midterm year. Well, simply put, the day you drop it in the mailbox may not be the date that ends up being stamped on the envelope.

CNN Fredreka Schouten is here. Tell us more about the change and how it could impact. We were talking before we actually started this segment. I'm like, please explain this to me because I've heard different versions of things.

FREDREKA SCHOUTEN, CNN POLITICS NATIONAL POLITICAL WRITER: Yes.

MATTINGLY: What should people know?

SCHOUTEN: Well, OK, so over the holidays, the U.S. Postal Service issued a final rule that said a postmark might not be what you think it means. And they described it as not necessarily aligned with the date that the Postal Service picked it up at all.

Now they say they haven't changed anything about how they do postmarks, that postmarks have always been placed on in a mail processing facility, not at your local post office. But what they have changed is how they are operating their transportation system. They are trying to save money. They are trying to reduce trips.

And so they're not making multiple trips between like your local post office and the regional processing facility. So if you drop off a piece of mail on say Tuesday afternoon, it may not get to the processing facility and get that postmark until Wednesday.

And of course, yes.

MATTINGLY: So what are, I mean, the natural thing that comes to mind, having been through the USPS wars of 2022, any number of them over the course of the last couple cycles. What are election officials saying about this?

[17:30:05]

SCHOUTEN: Well, they're pretty jittery about it, frankly. And you were hearing alarms even last year from folks like the California election officials before that special election on redistricting. They were saying, look, you got to be really careful. If you're going to mail in your ballot, please try to do it a week before. Don't wait until the last minute.

Keep in mind that mail-in voting has become much more popular since the pandemic. You remember, people didn't want to stand in line. And even though it's not at the height as it was in 2020, about 30 percent of the general election ballots in the 2024 election came in via mail. And in some races, it's really close.

I mean, in Montgomery County, Maryland, here, which is in the suburbs of where we're sitting right now, they're, they had one election in 2022, a primary election that was decided by 32 votes. So they are a little freaked out. And people are saying, look, what you need to do is plan ahead. Both the post office and election officials are saying this.

If you want a postmark, take it to the retail desk at the post office and ask them to manually put one on. If indeed that document is sent. Important that you have a legal deadline that you're trying to meet. Plan ahead.

MATTINGLY: Plan ahead. We know the days so much is uncertain. Not primary days or election days or anything else. Plan ahead. Fredreka Schouten, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Well, up ahead, what President Trump says today about his health after revealing in a Wall Street Journal interview that he's ignoring his doctor's advice. Stay with us. We'll explain to you.

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[17:35:52]

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Under the Trump administration, your government will pay for or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for all costs associated with IVF treatment, fertilization for women, IVF treatment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: That was candidate Trump during the 2024 presidential race. Many families, notably military families, are still waiting for President Trump to fulfill that campaign promise.

Now, he had a chance. Just a few weeks ago, just before Congress left for the holiday break, the defense funding bill came before lawmakers. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat and a combat veteran who also battled infertility well, she sponsored a provision that helped cover the cost for IVF treatment. She blames House Speaker Mike Johnson for stripping that provision.

I want to bring in CNN anchor Brianna Keilar, who has closely covered this back and forth. Brianna, this issue is personal for you and for so many others.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I mean, it's personal for any military family, which is what we're talking about in this case, that needs or might need fertility coverage. And you don't know if you're going to need it until you're struggling to have a baby.

I'm a veteran spouse, but in my latest Homefront column, I write about how eight years ago, when my husband was still in the army, we'd just been married. I was 37 and we were ready to start trying for a baby when a deployment popped up. And because we are friends and journalists and there's no such thing as TMI for either, I can tell you we froze his sperm. We tried what's called an IUI. We paid out of pocket for that and it didn't work.

And I thought, man, I wish I hadn't switched to his military health care, which is called Tricare because it does not cover fertility treatments. Fast forward. As you know, my husband and I, we have a seven-year-old. It ultimately worked out, but not without some ups and downs and certainly some worry about not having fertility coverage under Tricare.

Well, last month, military families struggling with fertility issues, they got this lifeline that you just talked about. It was a provision to provide IVF coverage in Tricare for recipients of that kind of insurance. It passed out of committee in the House and the Senate, and it had bipartisan support. It was to be included in that huge defense bill that goes through Congress at the end of the year, every year.

And then just days before the President was set to sign it into law, that provision was stripped out, just gone. And there had been a lot of families who were counting on that, including Courtney Deady, who is the spouse of a Ohio Air National Guard member. She and her husband, they actually only have one embryo for one last try. And they have spent a lot of money out of pocket to get to this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COURTNEY DEADY, OHIO NATIONAL GUARD SPOUSE: We have spent over a little over $100,000 alone when it comes to coverage for our testing for treatments. But it goes beyond that even, you know, not just the treatments, it's the mental health, it's the travel, it's the -- there's so many other things, such as chiropreservation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, Courtney Deady actually voted for Trump. She was really banking on this. And Senator Tammy Duckworth is blaming Speaker Mike Johnson for pulling that provision out of the bill because of concerns about the destruction of some embryos in IVF. She actually sent a letter to Trump, who has called himself the father of IVF and saying that Speaker Johnson is making him the deadbeat dad of IVF.

MATTINGLY: What is the Speaker's office saying about this?

KEILAR: They didn't directly address Duckworth's claims, but they gave us a statement that says President Trump and Congressional Republicans have been working to lower costs and expand access to IVF. The speaker has clearly and repeatedly stated he is supportive of access to IVF when sufficient pro-life protections are in place, and he will continue to be supportive of when it is done responsibly and ethically.

It's important to note Johnson, State of Louisiana actually has some of the most restrictive IVF regulations in the country. Embryos have to be sent out of state in order to be destroyed. [17:40:00]

But Courtney Deady, for instance, and she speaks for a lot of military families who feel this way. She says denying them the coverage that members of Congress and federal employees have access to really feels like a slap in the face. And we should note for many military families, this kind of insurance, Tricare is the only insurance they can access.

Military spouses have four to five times the national average rate, unemployment. And that is because of all the constant moves. You are a former military brat. You know about that. All of those moves make it very difficult to maintain a career or to find a new job. And that's where you might pivot to employer provided insurance that could provide fertility coverage.

MATTINGLY: It's a really important piece and a very important issue, particularly for the families that you're writing about. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.

KEILAR: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Appreciate it. And of course, you can look for Brianna on CNN News Central every weekday from 1 to 4 o'clock Eastern. I hear she's o Erin Burnett tonight Outfront at 7:00 p.m. here on CNN.

Well, after all the ceremonies, now it's down to business for New York City's brand new mayor and he's already creating some controversy. We'll explain next.

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[17:45:16]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: On a Politics Lead, New York City is officially on the job, and Zohran Mamdani is wasting no time undoing the work of his priority predecessor. He used his newly minted executive powers to revoke a slew of orders put in place by former Mayor Eric Adams, notably a directive that barred city employees from boycotting Israel.

He also made clear how he intends to govern the nation's most populous city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAMDANI: I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist. I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: My panel joins me now. Meghan Hays, it was not a pivot to the middle.

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: No.

MATTINGLY: Or pragmatism or triangulation or anything you want to say. But I think what was -- what really stood out in the last 24 hours was the message that he was sending by immediately reversing some of the orders related to Israel specifically. What was your sense of that?

HAYS: I think that he is trying to fulfill his campaign promises and I think he is trying to show people that he's not all talk and that he is going to show some action. And if you saw him today, he was out at an apartment building, touring an apartment building, doing a lot of things for housing.

So I do think that where some of his policies are very controversial, especially to folks in New York, like what you're talking about with some of the Jewish sentiment, he is trying to show that he is serious about affordability and serious about making decisions that will make New York more affordable for the people of New York.

MATTINGLY: It's definitely what he won the campaign on. That's an issue with that. Rina, I think the -- what's striking though is, you know, Israel's Foreign ministry already responding to Mamdani's actions on Israel, posting on X on his very first day as New York City mayor. Mamdani shows his true face as he scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism, lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel. This isn't leadership, it's antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.

RINA SHAH, GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGIST: Yes, there are big risks here for his mayorality to derail pretty fast. I mean, backlash is boiling already. You've got Jewish leaders, Republicans, and like you said, even Israel's foreign minister are slamming it as endangering New York city's something like 1.5 million Jews. I mean, this is not a joke.

There's a sleeper threat here, too, also in the legal pushbacks if courts see what they're putting up is as enabling hate speech or if Albany decides to withhold funds over security lapses. Basically, you see Mamdani's agenda grind to a screeching halt.

So I think look at the polls right now showing that some 70 percent of New Yorkers backstage stronger antisemitism measures and overplaying his hand could really tank his approval below 50 percent really quick. I mean, take a lesson from Trump on that one.

But this is an entirely different issue because if that starts to happen, that little mix there I just talked about, then what you can start to see is ammo for his challengers. And there's a twist also here that I was thinking about earlier is that praise from care and Palestinian advocates. Essentially, they're calling it a free speech win, that could solidify his base if no major incidents occur.

So I think for regular folks, they've just got to pray this all works out all right. But I am very concerned. I think this is not good for day one. But I'm also willing to say the courts are here. Let's see what happens.

MATTINGLY: Yes, the overlapping between state and federal funding issues as well is going to be really interesting if it reaches that point. IK, I got to ask about the Wall Street Journal story about President Trump's health to a former Biden administration official.

Speaking of Wall Street Journal stories about a president's health, the president doesn't seem super thrilled about the story. Oldest ever to be inaugurated. He posted on X or on, sorry, Truth Social. No offense.

The White House doctors have just reported that I am in perfect health and that I aced for the third straight time my cognitive examination. Based on what we learned in the report. How worried should Republicans be about this?

HAYS: I don't know that people need to be worried, except for he keeps changing every time his health gets brought up, it changes what is being tested. And also, it's like the boy who cried wolf. Every time he opens his mouth about his health, it's a lie. No one believes anything he's saying.

And so I just think that he needs to focus on actual issues and stop worrying about his own health. And he also needs to say to people to stop believe they're lying eyes. It did not work for Joe Biden. It will not work for Donald Trump. And going into an extremely difficult midterms. He needs to start focusing on issues and having those members on Congress focus with him and not having Jeffrey say that now we're going to investigate his health.

Because as soon if Democrats take back the House, the very first thing is Donald Trump, they're going to have oversight hearings about his health.

MATTINGLY: Yes, I mean, it's both. Like, maybe don't focus on the health as much. Also, maybe don't, like, stop by a marble store this morning and buy marble, which is -- its like the fascinating thing to me.

[17:50:08]

But on the health issue itself, I think what's interesting to Meghan's point, like he draws more attention to it because he -- it clearly pisses him off and he talks about it. And the weird thing is like you talk to people around him like he is still the same guy who's like constantly moving, doesn't actually sleep at all, certainly has an energy level that I don't think I will have at that age, retired at that point. What do you make of it?

SHAH: There is a broader political ripple here that nobody's really unpacking. I hope everybody reads this piece because I think everybody should hear the President in his own words. Right. Confronting the visit to Walter Reed, you know, was that an MRI scan, oh, CT of your abdomen or whatever? Look, I'm not a medical doctor here, but what I'm here to talk about is sort of this interview underscoring sensitivity. Right. And Trump has irked its health again for the 25th time. OK, yes,

buddy, you're in the Oval Office, you need to, again, you needed to be ready for this. But I think the bottom line here is that Trump is betting that his transparency on his terms really shuts down the critics. But look, I mean, if I were part of this administration, I would just say be ready for the scrutiny in this year.

HAYS: But being transparent and telling lies is not being transparent. And I think that's one thing that the administration is missing. When you go out there and say, I had an MRI, it was fine. No, no, wait, it was a CT scan, it's fine. I got these bruises from shaking hands. But it's also on my other hand that I don't shake hands with. That's just telling lies and that's what causes more problems here and that's what's creating all the issues. So that's not transparent.

SHAH: Live in this post truth era, as you and I both know, and as political messengers and being behind the scenes, there's only so much you can tell your boss. Is it a lie? Is it a truth? It matters how it plays to the ears of voters.

And I just think Trump thinks he's not hiding, he's confronting. And he says his health is perfect. He says doctors are backing him broadly. But self-admitted quirks like extra aspirin and stuff, that's not going to help. And let's just see what else we get this cycle. But I would just say it's what voters choose to hear, not what the truth is. Sadly.

MATTINGLY: For the record, his description of how aspirin works with the blood and the heart. And he says, does that make sense? It doesn't. We've talked to doctors about it. Thank you guys both very much. Appreciate it.

Well, up ahead, the Pink Lady's on a mission. You may have seen the rallies or videos online. What's behind their message? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:56:12]

MATTINGLY: At a time of rising tension over immigration, Britain's hard right seems to be broadening its appeal. Cue the Pink Ladies, a new group claiming to protect the safety of women and children. But when CNN went to one of their rallies, it didn't take long to see they are doing this by exploiting anti migration stereotypes and sometimes veering into misinformation. Here's CNN's Jomana Karadsheh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet the Pink Ladies, a new face of Britain's growing anti-immigration movement. We went to one of their pink protests just outside London to try and understand what this is all about.

ORLA MINIHANE, ORGANIZER, THE PINK LADIES: We've got our own scumbags, our own predators and our own sex pest. We do not need to bring in more every day men from cultures that do not think like we do, who treat women like third class citizens and who think it's acceptable to marry eight and nine year old girls.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): This is not racism, they say, and they're not the far right. But a lot of what we heard sounded an awful lot like the far-right's narrative.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need to get the army involved. We're being invaded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's bloody terrible. It's all over Europe, you know, being invaded.

KARADSHEH: By?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By illegal migrants.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Advocacy groups say exploiting the issue of violence against women and genuine safety concerns is a common far right tactic. The Pink Ladies say they're grassroots women concerned about mass migration and what it means for their safety and the future of their country. Putting out catchy tunes like this one that market their agenda.

The so far small group emerged a few months ago at a time of rising tensions over migration with the far-right seizing on that.

KARADSHEH: A lot of people looking at what's happening in the U.K. from the outside, they might say that a lot of the things that you are saying are the talking points of the far right.

MINIHANE: What is far right? Far right is extremists. Far left is extremism. How am I extremist? I'm just a mum who's worked her whole life, who's bringing up three children, who lives in suburbia. I don't want my daughter to be sexually assaulted by men that have come over to this country that we've got no background checks on. If that makes me a far right, then there's something very, very concerning with the rhetoric. Right?

KARADSHEH (voice-over): That's Orla Minihane. She's a local candidate for the right-wing populist party, Reform UK. Amid this show of pink solidarity and what was mostly a jovial and at times surreal atmosphere, we heard from women worried about their safety and that of their daughters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Women are scared to walk anywhere and, you know, we live in a small town.

MINIHANE: This is the seriousness of what we're dealing with.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): The government doesn't publish detailed figures on crimes committed by asylum seekers, but there have been some high profile cases that have put women and girls on edge. On top of that, there are the twisted facts that go unchecked.

MINIHANE: These five women have died, have been murdered at the hands of an illegal migrant catastrophe that this government is letting happen. KARADSHEH (voice-over): Except two of the suspects in these five

horrific murder cases are British nationals. But for Laura and others, what they heard here was enough for them to make up their minds.

KARADSHEH: What is it that is making you feel unsafe?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's all the rapes, murders, you know, what they've been talking about today.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Chelmsford, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:00:00]

MATTINGLY: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper.