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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Ex-Prince Andrew Released, Under Investigation Following Arrest; Source Says, Prosecutors Ready for Attempts to Extort Guthrie Family; Trump Touts Economy in Battleground Georgia. Polls: Registered Voters Give Dems Advantage On Health Care; App Helps Children In Foster Care Understand Their Rights; Alysa Liu Wins The Gold Medal In Women's Figure Skating. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 19, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

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[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, the former Prince Andrew, brother of Britain's King Charles, has been released from custody after he was arrested this morning. Police saying he's still under investigation on suspicion of misconduct in public office following revelations from the Epstein files. We're going to go live to Buckingham Palace in just moments.

Plus, as the search for Nancy Guthrie continues, we're on day 19, Mexican officials say there's no indication that the 84-year-old was taken across the border. So, is the FBI any closer to locating the mother of beloved NBC Anchor Savannah Guthrie? We're going to get an update live from Tucson ahead.

And President Trump in Georgia this afternoon visiting local businesses as he tries to tout the U.S. economy, but is that a message that will resonate with voters, or does he have a different idea in mind for rallying support ahead of the midterms? We have new CNN reporting tonight.

The Lead tonight, stunning images of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, being released from police custody tonight hours after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. U.K. police say he is under investigation, although they have not said exactly what specifically led to his arrest.

Police had previously said that they were investigating claims that Andrew shared sensitive information with Epstein while serving as U.K. trade envoy. They'd also been reviewing allegations that a woman had been trafficked to the U.S. -- I'm sorry, to the U.K. by pedophile Jeffrey Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew.

Andrew has previously denied all allegations of misconduct regarding Epstein. Andrew has yet to publicly respond to his arrest.

CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster is outside Buckingham Palace in London. And, Max, I mean, the arrest of a British royal, a senior British royal at that, truly an astonishing moment. This hasn't happened since the 17th century. What are you learning about the investigation?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: And consider the fact that the police were acting on the king's behalf representing the Crown. So, the king, effectively his forces, arresting Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on the king's estate. The police spent the day searching through Mountbatten's house, you would assume going through all of his communications, any communications that may have been related to Epstein, an extraordinary day in a moment in modern British history.

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FOSTER (voice over): Andrew Mountbatten Windsor arrested after new revelations in the Epstein files in an extraordinary development without president in modern history. British Police took the former prince into custody on Thursday morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office, having said earlier this month that they were assessing claims that Andrew had shared sensitive information with the late Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the U.K.'s trade envoy.

They've not said exactly what led them to this arrest, which comes after the latest tranche of emails released by the U.S. Justice Department appeared to show that Andrew was sending confidential material to Epstein, sparking renewed scrutiny of the already disgraced royal.

He's previously denied any wrongdoing and hasn't commented publicly on these more recent misconduct allegations.

REPORTER: Your Majesty, how are you feeling after your brother's arrest?

FOSTER: King Charles didn't answer reporter's questions about his brother's arrest, but said in a statement that he learned with the deepest concern of the news and reiterated his wholehearted support and cooperation with the authorities.

Andrew became trade envoy in 2001. That position saw him travel the world carrying a duty of confidentiality. He stepped down a decade later after coming under fire over his association with Epstein. Questions over his friendship have haunted him ever since.

That's in part because of Epstein's conviction in 2008, when the financier pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges involving an underage minor, and served time in jail, and yet the senior royal stayed in contact with Epstein, even after claiming in a BBC interview to have cut ties with the convicted pedophile in late 2010 during a trip to New York.

ANDREW MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR, FORMER BRITISH PRINCE: Now, I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together.

FOSTER: Emails released since then call that timeline into question, and Andrew's been dogged by a year's long crescendo of Epstein related scandals and allegations.

[18:05:01]

Late last year, the 66-year-old was stripped of all his royal titles and kicked out of his residence and essentially vanished from the monarchy.

The same police force that arrested Andrew on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office is also looking to allegations that a woman was trafficked to the U.K. by Jeffrey Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew. That investigation is ongoing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER (on camera): So, there was clearly some new evidence that came in that gave the police confidence to go in and make this arrest. What happens now? Well, they could have spent more time interviewing Andrew. They didn't use up all of that time. They decided to release him to continue their investigations, clearly using information they may have gathered during the interview or indeed what they may end up finding within his home.

So, he hasn't been charged yet, but it's not over for Andrew. He may still be charged potentially if he's found guilty serving a life sentence under what they're investigating here. So, very serious for him, but also ultimately a huge impact on the British monarchy, people talking about this coming to define Charles' monarchy, it's an extraordinary moment.

TAPPER: Max Foster at Buckingham Palace, thank you so much.

I want to bring in Sky and Amanda Roberts. They are the brother and sister-in-law of prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre, repeatedly claimed she had been forced to have sex with then Prince Andrew while underage. Andrew has long denied those claims, which do not appear as of now to be connected to his arrest today.

Sky, I want to talk about today's developments in a moment, but I know this has been a very long and grueling journey for you and your family. And I want to know how you're doing.

SKY ROBERTS, BROTHER OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: Oh man, Jake, you get me with that most of the time because today, we started the day with a very like uplifting feeling of just rejoice and vindication again for Virginia. We woke up at 3:00 A.M. this morning from a phone call from Virginia's longtime publicist and friend, Dini von Mueffling. And we had that instant, like, I don't know, just adrenaline rush. And then I think as the days kind of settled down, like we felt really sad. We felt sad that she's not here to celebrate this with us and with her survivor sisters. And I think it's a lot of mixed emotions. So, we know we're prepared to have a lot of ups and downs today, but I appreciate you asking.

TAPPER: Sky, did you ever think that now former Prince Andrew would ever be arrested for anything? S. ROBERTS: You know, this battle is long and hard fought, and my sister was the first one to really uncover that and what that looked like. Did we ever think this day would ever come? Well, I could tell you for damn sure we were going to fight for it as long as we possibly could. So, you know, the fact that he was arrested this morning is a step in the right direction.

The investigation needs to flow. I think last time I was on Jake, I said, hey, follow the money, right? I mean, follow the money, follow the trails. For damn sure we're going to keep fighting because he's not the only one.

TAPPER: Yes. And, Amanda, after Andrew's arrest, his brother, King Charles, issued a statement promising, quote, wholehearted support and cooperation with the authorities. Do you believe that will happen? And what does cooperation look like for you?

AMANDA ROBERTS, SISTER-IN-LAW OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: I want to be hopeful that is going to happen. I will say every point that we have pushed with the U.K., first, it was, you know, the acknowledgement, then it was the stripping of the titles and he had to acknowledge that, and then now this investigation, and now he has to acknowledge that. So, I think with the continued push and unfortunately having to put our leaders in this position, that is what it's going to take.

I am hopeful he did say that he wants the full law to be upheld, which is such a stark contrast to what we are seeing from our own president, from our own head of the Department of Justice, Pam Bondi. Where is the accountability here? And so I would hope that they start to take note at what's going on in other countries.

TAPPER: And, Sky, that's my next question for you. There have been individuals who have resigned because of reputational damage done to the firms or the companies that they work for, but we have not seen accounting when it comes to public officials in the United States. Why do you think that is? Do you think it will ever happen here?

S. ROBERTS: I'm going to replay what I just said. We're damn sure going to keep pushing until we can get there. I mean, reality is, no, I mean, not enough has been done at all. And it really does -- I mean, it's kind of become the prototypical thing to say, but it does stink of a cover-up. It feels like our own government is protecting potential perpetrators.

[18:05:002]

And all we're asking for is to open up in an active investigation. I mean, let's not forget there's another person, Peter Mandelson, in the U.K. that also has an open investigation. Although Andrew now has been arrested, why isn't that same type of authority being taken place here? Because once you open that investigation, you can start going down the pathway of true accountability.

And, again, it may not be for sexual assault. There's statute of limitations. We understand there's barriers there that can't be crossed to some degree, but there're so many other things that we can potentially be looking at.

So, we need to do more, Jake, and I hope, you know, our department takes that seriously, and as I stated we're damn sure going to keep going until we can try to get there.

TAPPER: Sky, before you go it's been about ten months since your sister died. What do you want the world to remember most about her?

S. ROBERTS: Oh man, what a sweet soul. What a -- just a fighter, somebody that could never be replaced in this world. And what I want them to know and I want them to remember about her is that she did this for you. And this is a win for all survivors out there today. It's a win for all of her survivor sisters. And, again, it may only be an arrest for something alternative to it, but man, we'll take that win. We'll take that win because the goal here was always to be, you know, to hold these guys accountable.

And the famous saying, Jake, I always remember it. He knows what he did. I know what he did, and only one of us is telling the truth, and I know that's me. And I want the world to remember her as a truth teller and know that we have so much more to go. Her depositions are out there. They're in the files. We need to start looking through the other names that she would have named.

We've got more work to do here, but just remember her as just a fighter, a truth teller, and, goodness, she did this for you and for the next generation,

TAPPER: Sky and Amanda Roberts, thank you so much for your courage coming on today. May Virginia's memory be a blessing.

A. ROBERTS: Thank you.

S. ROBERTS: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: And to reiterate, the former Prince Andrew is not currently facing any charges, and he has denied all accusations and allegations against him. CNN has not been able to reach former Ambassador Mandelson for comment in recent days. He previously said, quote, I want to say loudly and clearly that I was wrong to believe Epstein following his conviction and to continue my association with him afterwards. I apologize unequivocally for doing so to the women and girls who suffered, unquote.

The giant new banner of President Trump that went up today outside a building that is supposed to operate outside of politics, that's next.

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TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, we may theoretically be a nation of laws, not men, but you wouldn't know that from the brand new banner of President Trump that's now hanging outside the Justice Department headquarters in D.C. It's a visual reminder of how this president and this administration are reshaping the nation's top law enforcement agency.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt frequently points to the Biden administration's past weaponization of the Justice Department whenever asked about the president's, this president's pardon decisions. But as one former federal prosecutor's now warning stripping away the ability to hold wealthy lawbreakers accountable seems to be the norm, for example, Crypto Mogul Changpeng Zhao. He pleaded guilty to money laundering before President Trump granted him a pardon in October. Authorities alleged bad actors utilized his crypto exchange platform freely for transactions involving terrorist financing, narcotics, child sex abuse.

But, coincidentally, the Trump family's crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, is hosted on Binance. And last year, an Emirati-backed investment firm agreed to use World Liberty's Financial stable coin for a $2 billion investment in Binance. At the time, Binance was lobbying for Changpeng Zhao's pardon.

There's also the story of Ross Ulbricht. He's the founder of the dark web marketplace, Silk Road, found guilty on a variety of charges, including money laundering, drug trafficking, hacking in 2015. Silk Road has been linked to at least six drug overdose deaths. Trump's pardoning of Ulbricht eliminated his two life sentences and the $184 million he owed in restitution and fines, and it made go on a campaign promise Trump had made to the libertarian party and the cryptocurrency industry.

Then there's the story of Trevor Milton. He founded the electric truck company, Nikola. And Milton was convicted in 2022 on charges of securities and wire fraud. He says his Trump pardon came from a personal phone call that it was about every American who's been railroaded by the government, he says, but, I mean, not every, quote, American railroaded by the government, unquote, can't afford a more than $1.8 million donation to President Trump's campaign reelection fund. Those three are just the tip of the iceberg.

Here with me now is former Federal Prosecutor Brendan Ballou. And, Brendan, you're here because you wrote an op-ed all about this topic for The New York Times, and there's a case you focus on right at the beginning of your piece about Andrew Wiederhorn, the former chief executive of the company that owns Johnny Rockets and Fatburger. He's alleged to have stolen $47 million from the business in payments disguised as loans, but the case never even went to trial because then Trump won. What happened?

BRENDAN BALLOU, FOUNDER, PUBLIC INTEGRITY PROJECT: Yes. So, after Trump was elected, the company that Weiderhorn ran gave a hundred thousand dollars to his inaugural campaign, and then two extraordinary things happened. The first is that the line level prosecutor on the case was personally fired by a White House official, essentially an unprecedented action.

TAPPER: This is just not a political appointee, just a bureaucrat.

BALLOU: A career prosecutor, apolitical, personally fired by a White House official. And then a few months after that, the case is dropped entirely.

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Wiederhorn is not only now free, he actually returned to running the business that he allegedly stole tens of millions of dollars from. Unsurprisingly, the business is now bankrupt.

TAPPER: And in the article you write whether or not a criminal quid pro quo occurred in any of these cases, they're part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to largely dismantle the infrastructure for prosecuting rich lawbreakers.

Just to be clear for our viewers out there about, a quid pro quo means specifically a politician would say, if you give $2 million to my reelection campaign, I will pardon you and I will clear you. But even if that isn't stated, President Trump, just like so many leaders before him, like King Henry, will no one rid me of this turbulent priest, right? It's just kind of like, oh, this is so horrible. Like people know, they understand. Even if there isn't a direct quid pro quo, does it matter?

BALLOU: Yes. Yes. And I'm not alleging that this is criminal. We need more information. But in terms of whether it matters, probably not in the sense that this is now a boom business. You know, there are at least 18 people in companies that donated money to the Trump inaugural campaign that then had their government investigations dropped, their civil litigations dropped, or in extraordinary cases, their criminal cases dropped entirely.

This is something that has essentially never happened before, and I think it's important for viewers to understand the administration is still prosecuting and investigating people for these same kinds of crimes, but those people have exactly one thing in common, which is they haven't donated to the Trump campaign.

TAPPER: We've been tracking this pattern here on The Lead. We spoke to a woman in December named Carol Ann Tutera. She lost nearly half a million dollars to a guy named David Gentile. He ran a private equity. He was a private equity executive. He was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison as part of a fraud scheme. President Trump commuted his sentence in December. Take a listen to what Carol Ann had to say.

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CAROL ANN TUTERA, VICTIM OF DAVID GENTILE: It makes no sense. I don't have an answer as to why this guy can do what he did, basically build the Ponzi scheme, walk out scot-free, and you got Bernie Madoff who had to live it out and people were returned funds. I mean, my mother lost over a hundred thousand. My sister is in the same boat as I am. You know, you just -- you lose faith in these type of people. I've lost faith in Wall Street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: It does seem as though if you are wealthy and you're charged with a crime, there is an easy way to get pardoned or commuted.

BALLOU: Yes, absolutely. And, unfortunately, for Carol Ann, her story is not extraordinary at all. And you were talking about Trevor Milton earlier. Prosecutors alleged that he had $660 million that needed to be repaid to the investors he scammed. Now, when Donald Trump pardoned him, all those restitution obligations went away. Those investors never get to recover anything.

TAPPER: Brendan Ballou, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

It's day 19 of the desperate search for Nancy Guthrie. Are investigators any closer to locating the mother of beloved NBC Anchor Savannah Guthrie? We're going to go live to Tucson for an update, next.

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TAPPER: In our National Lead, a team of federal prosecutors is standing by to charge anyone found to be attempting to extort the Guthrie family, an official familiar with the investigation now tells CNN. That word as the search for the 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today Show Anchor Savannah Guthrie, stretches into day 19 in Tucson, Arizona.

Let's get right to CNN's Ed Lavandera. Ed, have officials shown any indication that these ransom notes sent to the media are legitimate?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, they haven't. They've continued to only say that they're taking them very seriously. Clearly, the Guthrie family has been taking them seriously, and investigators have dealt with them, in the words of the sheriff, as if they were any other tip. But they're -- in all of this saga, there has been no clear indication that they're legitimate or authentic.

And that kind of really speaks to the moment we are at this moment, Jake, in this investigation where it has been just incredibly quiet on the number of developments. We just got a statement from the Pima County Sheriff's Department that really has no new develops, nothing, no new details about what is being done, simply that the DNA analysis from the sample that was found here at the Guthrie home continues, that the calls, and they're still describing this as an active investigation.

But, you know, the Pima County sheriff also says that the sheriff will not be doing interviews or holding briefings tomorrow or through the weekend unless there are major developments in this case. We also haven't seen any new videos released by Savannah Guthrie herself since Sunday afternoon. We haven't heard anything from the FBI. So, it just seems like everything is incredibly quiet and no real, clear indication that there has been any kind of significant breakthrough in any way as to where Nancy Guthrie might be.

TAPPER: Ed Lavandera, thank you so much. Authorities still need tips in this case, and if you think you know something that can help, please call the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 520-351-4900, or you can call the FBI, 1-800-CALL-FBI. You can also reach the bureau online at tips.fbi.gov. That's tips.fbi.gov.

Today, Microsoft Founder Bill Gates canceled a keynote address to a big A.I. convention as he faces increased scrutiny over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. So, will Gates be called to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee that's investigating Epstein? I'll ask one of the committee's most active members, next.

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TAPPER: We're back with our Law and Justice Lead. In the fallout from today's arrest of King Charles II's, younger brother, former Prince Andrew, the ex-prince's arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office in the U.K. comes after new revelations from the Jeffrey Epstein files released by the Justice Department. Andrew Mountbatten- Windsor has denied all prior allegations against him and insists he never witnessed or suspected any of the behavior of which Epstein has been accused.

In the meantime, the House Oversight Committee here in the United States is continuing its Epstein investigation.

And joining us now is one of its members who also led the push along with Congressman Tom Massie to get the Epstein files released, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California.

Congressman, so what is your reaction to former Prince Andrew's arrest?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I'm glad there's finally accountability. I've been hearing from survivors all day who are relieved that some action is taking place. Now, Jake, you follow politics a long time. A lot of times, what happens in Britain comes to the United States in six months, right? And I hope we'll be inspired by what Britain's doing in terms of accountability for the former prince, for Mandelson, to have accountability here in the United States,

TAPPER: You and the rest of the House Oversight Committee will hear from Bill and Hillary Clinton next week, the former president and secretary of state. They're appearing separately for closed door depositions related to the Epstein probe.

[18:35:02]

What questions might you have for them?

KHANNA: Well, I plan to be there and I want to know from President Clinton what he knew about the island, who he saw or heard went to the island. Did he know about other people who raped or abused underage girls? I also want to understand his view of Epstein. How did Epstein make all this money? Why did Epstein have this kind of access to powerful people around the world?

TAPPER: Another famous person facing scrutiny ties to Epstein is tech billionaire Bill Gates. Earlier today, Gates canceled his speech at an A.I. summit in India amid the ongoing scrutiny. He's never been accused of any criminal wrongdoing related to Epstein by law enforcement. We should note all of the documented interactions with Gates and the Epstein files occurred after Epstein's 2008 conviction on prostitution-related charges including a minor.

A representative of Gates says he, quote, unequivocally denies any improper conduct related to Epstein and says, quote, Mr. Gates never visited Epstein's Island, never attended parties with him and had no involvement in any illegal activities associated with Epstein. But I want you to take a listen to what his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, told NPR earlier this month.

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MELINDA FRENCH GATES, EX-WIFE OF BILL GATES: No girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him.

Whatever questions remain there, what I don't, can't even begin to know all of it, those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Has the House Oversight Committee requested an interview or deposition from Bill Gates?

KHANNA: We have not, but we should. Frankly, anyone who has had email correspondence about potentially going to the island or correspondence with Epstein after he was convicted of pedophilia that raises concerns should be under oath. They should be investigated by the House committee and they should be investigated by DOJ.

I'm not saying that Bill Gates did anything criminally wrong, but how do you not call him up and ask him questions about what he knew? I was shocked that Les Wexner yesterday testified that he's never been called by the DOJ or FBI even given his close ties to Epstein.

TAPPER: Why hasn't the committee requested an interview from Bill Gates?

KHANNA: We should. I mean, my -- I have suggested to both the ranking member and Chair Comer that every single person who's in those files, who's emailed about going to Epstein's island or ranch should be called to testify. It shouldn't just be Bill Gates. It should be all of these folks, whether they're Democratic donors, Republican donors, or prominent folks.

Frankly, I think that Speaker Johnson should appoint a special committee, a select committee to do this, but we can also do it at Oversight.

TAPPER: All right. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California, thank you so much, sir.

KHANNA: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: President Trump's in a key battleground state tonight trying to sell his message on the economy. Are voters there buying it? Our panel weighs in next.

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TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, just moments ago, President Trump wrapped up a stop in the important battleground state of Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Do you notice? What word have you not heard over the last two weeks? Affordability. Because I've won, I've won affordability. I had to go out and talk about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The sales pitch is in the Northwest Georgia Congressional district of his former ally turned fierce critic, former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from Congress last month.

Here now is our panel. Hey, guys, good to have you here. So, take a look at this Reuters/Ipsos poll from just last week. 30 percent respondents approve. 61 percent say they disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living. So, I don't know that he won affordability. What do you think?

RAMESH PONNURU, EDITOR, NATIONAL REVIEW: I guess the message that he won hasn't sunk in with the voters. No, that's the problem, right? The voters make that decision. And as I'm sure you saw up front in the White House and the Biden administration, it is very hard for political messaging to change people's perception, what they think the economy looks like.

TAPPER: Well, having been through this with President Biden who, like President Trump, was frustrated that more people didn't appreciate the job he was doing, what's actually the message that a president should convey?

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I understand what you're going through and I'm doing everything in my power to make things more affordable for you.

TAPPER: Not it's all good?

BEDINGFIELD: Not it's all good, I won. And I understand where presidents come from because you do get -- you know, you get all of this macro information fed to you by your economists who tell you, you know, GDP is good and we're easing the rate of inflation. That doesn't mean that inflation is actually coming down for people who are going out and purchasing things, but the rate of inflation's decreasing. TAPPER: It's not increasing highly as it used to.

BEDINGFIELD: Right. So, you know, I mean, and those are valid economic arguments. Those are not arguments that translate into people's lives when they feel like they're paying more for groceries or gas or healthcare. So, the message is, I understand and I'm doing everything in my power to make things cheaper for you.

TAPPER: Speaking of healthcare, President Trump wants to focus on healthcare in the midterms. Here's what Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender, said about that earlier today on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): Bring it on. Democrats are going to win a whole lot of elections. Why? Because his Congress has refused to extend tax credits for those that were already struggling to afford coverage while giving tax cuts to the wealthiest of Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:45:00]

TAPPER: It's not just Democrats saying that. Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted this ahead of Trump's visit to her former Congressional district, quote, "Approximately 75,000 households in my former district had their health insurance double or more on January 1st of this year because the Obamacare tax credits expired and Republicans have absolutely failed to fix our health insurance system that was destroyed by Obamacare. It affects everyone except the billionaires running the White House and administration and Congress, whom all have a very nice, affordable government health insurance plans."

Ramesh?

RAMESH PONNURU, COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST: I don't think that health care is a winning issue for Republicans. It almost never is. That said, its going to be an issue in these elections, and it probably makes sense for the Republicans to engage on it rather than have it be an entirely one-sided conversation

TAPPER: But how do they engage in it?

PONNURU: Well, for example, I'm not totally sold on the policy myself, but this administration has broken with previous Republicans in trying to have price controls on a lot of pharmaceuticals. I don't think that they have squeezed the political juice that they could out of that.

And if you're going to do that policy, which you're obviously doing for political reasons, you may as well try to get some political benefit out of it.

TAPPER: And, Kate, look at this recent polling by KFF. It's found that registered voters trust Democrats 40 percent over Republicans, 27 percent on handling health care costs. Those registered voters also trust Democrats, 35 percent to Republicans, 30 percent on handling prescription drug costs.

I mean again, President Trump you know, is working on the prescription drug cost issue in a way that's very different from how previous Republicans would do it, not really getting the credit for it

BEDINGFIELD: Well, that's because there was also a navigator poll this week that said that people blame Republicans two to one over Democrats for their health care premiums rising. I mean, I think the impact of the Obamacare subsidies lapsing has had both has having both a real tangible impact in people's lives but people also heard it. They heard the message. It broke through.

They understood that the Republicans were not willing to come to the table and make a deal on that. So, look, I will tell you, in the Biden White House, the work that President Biden did capping insulin costs was one of the singular most -- one of the single most popular, you know, well testing things that he did.

TAPPER: Yeah.

BEDINGFIELD: So, I'm sure and I'm sure the Trump people are seeing that, too. But if people believe as they do right now that Republicans and Trump have made health care more expensive, that's -- they're not going to hear the prescription drug message as it's going to -- it's not going to resonate.

TAPPER: President Biden did talk about the insulin thing. President Trump talks about a lot of things.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes.

TAPPER: I don't know if the prescription drug price going down or whatever the negotiations is part of that but he also tends to talk about a lot. He tends to talk about the 2020 election.

PONNURU: Right.

TAPPER: He's in Georgia, coming to you in one second. The president said this today about the FBI's raid to get voter data from Fulton County, Georgia. That's the Atlanta area last month. Take a listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Democrats are fighting like hell. And I think it goes before a judge tomorrow to not let anybody see the ballots. Why don't they want them to see the ballots after all these years? You know why they don't want? Because they cheated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I mean -- PONNURU: You know, two points here. One, when you're thinking about

what the message of the Trump administration and the Republicans are you got to compare it to the alternatives. Health care may not be a great message. It beats we're redecorating the East Wing message. It beats that we're trying to take over Greenland message. It beats that we're relitigating 2020 message.

But the other thing is these stories about Trump wants to focus on health care and advance this election. He's not going to, right? He is incapable of having a disciplined campaign message all the way from now to November.

TAPPER: So, the assignment for the least rewarding job in American politics today was announced. The response to the State of the Union Address. This time, it is a Democrat obviously, and it's going to go to the newly elected governor, Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.

BEDINGFIELD: It is traditionally a thankless task. It is hard to deliver.

TAPPER: Who has ever done a good job.

BEDINGFIELD: It's tough. But I will say, look, in this in this modern media environment, more people will consume clips of her delivering her speech than will actually sit and watch the entirety of the speech after they watch the entirety of the president delivering the state of the union.

So, for her, newly elected represents what I would argue is an ascendant wing of the Democratic Party and a wing of the Democratic Party that can win in places where the Democratic Party needs to win.

TAPPER: Yeah.

BEDINGFIELD: And so for her, I think, to be the face of the Democratic response is great for the party. And I think it will be good for her, too.

TAPPER: A little wish casting there, the ascendant wing of the Democratic Party.

What do you think?

PONNURU: She had a good streak and had to come to an end sometime.

(LAUGHTER)

And now, she's got a little bad luck.

TAPPER: Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

Team USA has a lot to celebrate tonight after a successful day at the Winter Olympics. Get your champagne. We're going to toast the Golden Girls. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:53:57]

TAPPER: In our national lead, there's an app that helps children in Florida navigate life in foster care. Foster Power was founded as a way to give kids in foster care accessible and digestible information about benefits, protections, and legal rights.

CNN's Randi Kaye met with a user of the app to ask about his experience.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AHEIM KING, FORMERLY IN FOSTER CARE: And placement in foster care.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For your protection?

KING: For my protection.

KAYE: How old were you when you were placed in foster care?

KING: I was 15.

KAYE (voice-over): Now 22, Aheim King is studying to be a nurse at Florida State University in Tallahassee with dreams of going to medical school, something he always thought was out of reach as a foster child. He says he felt lost in Florida's foster care system, despite the fact Florida law says foster children are supposed to be made aware of their rights.

KING: You have to have that mental fortitude to keep on going and keep on asking for help. You may find something like foster power and then that just be the thing that clicks.

KAYE (voice-over): I found this app called Foster Power. It changed everything for him. Foster Power is the first and only app in the country that explains the benefits, protections, and legal rights of kids in foster care in Florida, all in one place.

[18:55:01]

There's guidance on court appearances, mental health, education, and more.

KAYE: What did it resolve for you?

KING: It helped me get to like medicine. So, I started taking medicine and my scores went up like just like that. It was amazing.

KAYE (voice-over): And you wouldn't have known about the medicine had you not looked at the Foster Power.

KING: I would not have known about anything, any mental health services, nothing.

KAYE (voice-over): Taylor Sartor, an attorney in Tampa, Florida, created the Foster Power app. TAYLOR SARTOR, CREATOR, FOSTER POWER APP: I like to say it's

everything you need to know if you're a child in foster care we started to have questions about different, things that they were entitled to do. They have the right to visit with that sibling or not.

Someone may be prescribed psychotropic medications and didn't want to take it. What happens next? You can click judicial review. You can see what type of hearing this is. And it really just explains any hearing that you could expect

KAYE (voice-over): When 24-year-old Dina Santos was in foster care, the Foster Power app wasn't available yet. She and her siblings were separated, and without the app, she didn't know she had the legal right to contact them.

DINA SANTOS, FORMERLY IN FOSTER CARE: I felt like my experience was so isolating. It sent me into a spiral of depression.

KAYE (voice-over): She now travels the state training case managers, group home staff and foster children about the app.

SANTOS: I realized when I was 18 that there's a disparity when it comes to the lack of information around the resources we were being given, and I turned into an advocate.

KAYE (voice-over): Isabella Cruz had been in foster care her whole life, when of all people, Taylor Sartor got assigned to her case and told her about the Foster Power app she created.

ISABELLA CRUZ, FORMERLY IN FOSTER CARE: I didn't have the answers to my questions, I didn't know that I was going to be able to go to college. I didn't even know I was going to be able to graduate high school.

KAYE (voice-over): She found those answers in the app. Isabella is now hoping to study medicine at the University of South Florida.

CRUZ: I have an apartment, I have -- I'm in school, I'm about to graduate, and I don't think I could have done that without the app.

KING: Knowledge is power. Knowledge is power.

KAYE (voice-over): Back in Tallahassee, Aheim King is focused on his future, too. The app helped him figure out that the state pays college tuition for foster children in Florida.

KING: I felt like it was my out. It was my ticket that I can -- I can make it. Despite everything that I've been through

KAYE: How grateful are you?

KING: I'm extremely grateful. I feel as if an app can help with so many things, like internally, to where they can externally be better, strive for more.

(END VIDEOTAPE) TAPPER: And our thanks to Randi Kaye for that report.

Before we go tonight, we've got some golden news in our sports lead. Let's get straight to CNN's Coy Wire at the Olympic Games in Italy -- Coy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: One of the most highly anticipated events of the Winter Games, women's figure skating and Team USA's Alysa Liu is the new Olympic champion. She retired after last Winter Games needing time away and it paid off. She told me she loves dancing and fashion, therefore she missed skating.

Unlike the stereotypical skater with her unconventional piercings and carefree striped hair skating to the beat of her own drum, the 20- year-old Liu takes gold. Great sportsmanship afterwards, as Japan's Amina Kai took the bronze, celebrated with her. Japan's Kaori Sakamoto takes the silver.

One of the greatest sports rivalries on the planet, Team USA and Team Canada women's hockey delivering an epic Olympic final. Again, these two nations have won every Olympic gold dating back to the '98 Nagano Games. Canada was up one nothing in the third, but Captain Hilary Knight scores the equalizer to send it to overtime, becoming America's all time Olympic goal scorer.

And in overtime it was Megan Keller hammering home the game winner. Team USA taking down the defending Olympic champs in dramatic fashion, unreal scenes in Milan.

We had a snowmageddon at the Olympics in Cortina Thursday. Our photojournalist Christian Streib was battling the elements and snowballs, as was my producer, Dan Moriarty. Sorry, Dan.

Our live shots survived the snow globe, but it was so bad we almost missed our interview with Mikaela Shiffrin. That's me in the blue pushing our van, did not work. We switched to another van with chains on the tires and made it to the winningest Alpine skier of all time, who finally cracked the code and won Olympic gold again for the first time in eight years.

Here's part of our chat with Mikaela, sharing some of the tactics that helped her pull off the comeback.

MIKAELA SHIFFRIN, WOMEN'S OLYMPIC SLALOM GOLD MEDAL WINNER: I've been writing sticky notes on my mirrors and all of this self-talk stuff. It's been more than I've ever done in my career, but in these couple weeks, I really -- I really bought into the self-talk idea. You know, all the work that we do day in and day out to be able to just achieve this for two runs, 47 seconds on a slalom course is -- it just feels monumental.

WIRE: Cheers and congratulations to you.

SHIFFRIN: Thanks for this. Yes, sustenance. Yes WIRE: So there you go. One of the greatest skiers ever. Mikaela keys

to success. Plastering sticky notes. Visualizing goals that bring home the gold and celebrating with espresso martinis, of course.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: All right. Coy Wire, thanks so much.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, X, and on TikTok @jaketapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, don't forget to download the CNN app. You can watch anything you want.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.