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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Court Documents Claim Feds Targeted Progressive Groups, Unions; Hurricane Warning Issued As Tropical Storm Takes Aim At Hawaii; Luigi Mangione Admits Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson; Trump On Higher Gas Prices: "I'll Never Apologize"; U.S. Missionary Abducted In Niger Released After Nine Months. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 14, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

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

This hour, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died, unquote. Those words spoken in court today by Luigi Mangione admitting he murdered the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Mangione also telling the court, quote, I knew what I was doing was illegal, unquote. A CNN reporter who was inside the courtroom for today's hearing joins us live to walk through every detail and why he's confessed.

Plus, brand-new comments from President Trump about the impact of the Iran war on your wallet. The president saying tonight it's, quote, okay that Americans are paying up to $4 per gallon for gas, if not more, and he'll never apologize for it because the financial toll is worth it in his pursuit of preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Is that a winning message for the midterms?

And breaking right now, Hawaii under a statewide emergency as it prepares for the possibility of a rare direct strike from a storm that's forecast to become a hurricane. We'll get an update on the latest forecast from the CNN Weather Center.

All of that coming up, but we're going to start in our National Lead. In the wake of January's killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, the Trump administration then allegedly launched a massive operation to spy on progressive organizations and labor unions and other groups that were protesting the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

The extent of the surveillance, in what was apparently called Operation Puppet Master, came into focus yesterday in court papers filed on behalf of one of 15 defendants who were indicted in June accused of violently impeding immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis. The documents say that undercover agents with the Homeland Security Investigations team, quote, posing as protesters or activists, surveilled community meetings at churches, parks, libraries, union halls, schools, and restaurants, unquote.

Further, they allege that the undercover agents, quote, actively participated in organizing and directing the groups they were surveilling, organizing and directing them, at times working to entice people into discussing or committing crimes, unquote. The documents also claim that at one church meeting, quote, agents captured license plate information of attendees during a meeting of anti-ICE protesters and activists.

Agents then used this information to obtain the names of the attendees, searched social media for pictures of these individuals, and compiled an intel workup that included names, photos, addresses, personal information, including family and employment information, and vehicle registration information for each meeting attendee, unquote.

We asked the U.S. attorney for Minnesota to appear on the show. We did not hear back. The Department of Homeland Security told CNN it does not comment on ongoing investigations or investigative methods.

And we're joined right now by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat. Mayor Frey, did you ever know about this huge federal surveillance operation in your city?

MAYOR JACOB FREY (D-MINNEAPOLIS, MN): Obviously, we knew that we were getting invaded by ICE with 3 to 4,000 agents. Obviously we knew that subpoenas had been issued to people, including me, trying to investigate lawful, legal, constitutional conduct. But no, we did not know that just a few days after the killing of Alex Pretti, an investigation was launched by the Department of Homeland Security, not into the agents that killed Minneapolis residents, but into the Minneapolis residents themselves, with, as far as I can tell, no legal predicate to do so.

So, there wasn't some sort of underlying, unlawful criminal activity that they were looking into. They were going into spaces where there's some belief that there will be privacy into a like-minded group, and what they're trying to do was, it seemed to be, entrapping people into committing some sort of act that they never committed.

Again, these are organizations that were just trying to lawfully document what these ICE agents were doing on the street. And it's -- yes, it's deeply concerning. It's borderline unconstitutional. These revelations came at the request of an attorney who's representing one of the 15 defendants indicted in June and accused of violently impeding immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis.

But listen to what the U.S. attorney said back then when he was asked if any federal officers, any ICE agents or the like, were actually hurt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL ROSEN, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR MINNESOTA: Whether or not they actually, at the end of the day caused bodily harm is not the measure of whether or not they committed a serious federal crime. And I would dare say, you know, we just cannot have in this country all -- people getting together, engaging in all of these violent acts, and then simply saying, well, you know, nobody got hurt, so how bad could it have been?

[18:05:10] REPORTER: Are you saying that no officers were injured?

ROSEN: I'm not saying that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What did you make of that answer, Mayor Frey?

FREY: Well, it sounds like he was accusing people of violent acts without there being any violent conduct. I don't know how you get to that conclusion. But what I find problematic here is they had these agents spying on people and organizations, not based on criminal activity but because they disagreed with the administration politically.

And, look, we've seen this before back when communists were getting investigated, you know, 70 years ago by the FBI. And now in retrospect, of course, everybody agrees that that was the wrong thing to do then, and it's the wrong thing to do now. There has to be some sort of expectation of privacy in these situations.

We need to know that our federal government is using the extraordinary investigative power that they have in a responsible way. And that means that they're also making sure that they're exercising restraint. You can't just go and look into political opponents. You can't go and look into people's speech simply because you don't like it. And then you can't go and issue subpoenas for violent acts and then not be able to point to any violence at all. That's just logic and reasoning.

TAPPER: We last spoke at the end of July at the six-month anniversary of the shooting of Alex Pretti. We had done an investigation into why all those prosecutors resigned from the U.S. attorney's office after the Trump administration had told them to investigate Renee Good and her widow and do other things that they found morally reprehensible.

Have you heard anything about the progress, if there is any, into the investigations, if there are any, into the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good?

FREY: Yes, I don't have a window into the investigations themselves. We do, of course, know that evidence from the feds have been turned over to our local district attorney, which I think is an important step. But, no, I don't have a window beyond that.

You know, if I could add one more thing, Jake, one of the concerning parts is the way that these administrative subpoenas have been utilized. Administrative subpoenas is a document that gives you authorization to look into people's stuff without approval from a judge.

Normally, when you got a subpoena, you get approval from a judge. In this case, it's the people doing the investigation giving themselves the approval. That's like my daughter giving herself permission to grab a bunch of cookies, like you can't do that. You can't do that under the United States Constitution. And I thought that was completely out of bounds, but apparently this administration thinks that it's just fine.

That's the way that they feel that they were able to do this. And whether that's a wiretap or that's authorizing an investigation into private meetings at a church or in, God forbid, somebody's living room, that's a big problem.

TAPPER: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, thank you so much.

FREY: Thank you for having me.

TAPPER: We're joined now by representatives of two organizations that were surveilled but never charged, Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, and April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, better known as the SEIU.

Aru, did, did you know about this huge alleged surveillance operation before the news of the court filing came out?

ARU SHINEY-AJAY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SUNRRISE MOVEMENT: We didn't have any idea. I mean, you know, throughout the -- throughout Metro Surge, we were always aware that there was some possibility of that, but the scope of what was going on, we didn't have any clue.

TAPPER: April?

APRIL VERRETT, PRESIDENT, SEIU: No, Jake. What I know is, like others who read it in The New York Times, and it is absolutely bizarre to me that this type of surveillance is happening in America at a time when protesters were peacefully taking to the streets of Minneapolis to protest the outrageous, horrific murders of Alex Pretti and Megan Good.

The organizations that were supporting them were being surveilled and investigated. That's deeply un-American, and it's just wrong.

TAPPER: Yes.

VERRETT: And an American should be able to exercise their First Amendment rights without being surveilled.

TAPPER: Renee Good, I think you, you meant to say.

Did either of you --

VERRETT: Oh, excuse me. Yes.

TAPPER: No problem. Did either of you recall -- because the, this legal filing says that people with Homeland Security Investigations who were either doing this surveillance or other individuals working for them were at these meetings and also trying to get people to do illegal things.

[18:10:12]

Do either of you recall anything like that, or have you heard from any of your members saying, Oh yes, I remember this person saying that we should do X? Aru, I'll start with you.

SHINEY-AJAY: Our members are really thoroughly trained in de- escalation and non-violence, and always holding that line. We are a mass protest movement. We make sure that we're always holding mass non-violent protests.

And, you know, I'm from Minnesota. I'm taking this call from Minneapolis. And I think that is true of just the huge mass response that we saw in Minnesota, by and large, was peaceful, by and large, was constantly deescalating people, and making sure that we were sticking to the most broad-based, non-violent response possible, because we knew that was what we needed in order to kick ICE out of our city.

TAPPER: April?

VERRETT: Yes, our members were concerned about peacefully protesting. Our members were concerned about protecting their neighbors. Our members were concerned about making sure children and families have food when they were afraid to leave their homes. They were not concerned about being cajoled or encouraged unlawfully to do things that they knew weren't right.

Our folks were about standing up for each other and standing up for their communities, and that's exactly what happened, and we are so proud of our members who took stands in Minnesota.

TAPPER: Aru, your organization is a non-profit focused on climate change. The court papers say that the Trump administration obtained your organization's financial records and surveilled one of your meetings at the Minneapolis Public Library. What's your reaction to that?

SHINEY-AJAY: I mean, it's absolutely ridiculous. This administration is looking for any way to attack anyone who has been critical of them. I mean, if you look at those papers, you also see that they decided to investigate a bike shop. It's not logical. It's trying to take a hammer to any little notion of dissent and trying to scare people. I don't think it's going to work, but they're trying to scare people.

So, to me, it's a desperate attempt of an administration that knows that it is losing public support, and therefore is trying to lash out with all the tools at its disposal to try and scare people away from criticism.

TAPPER: April, the court documents also say that Homeland Security investigators surreptitiously obtained your union's financial records, the SEIU, including years' worth of wire transfers from various financial institutions. Is there anything else you can tell us?

VERRETT: Again, I know what we've read in the papers. I don't want to get ahead of the facts. We're still trying to understand exactly what they obtained, how they obtained it, and not lose the thread of the real story here, that while Americans were protesting horrific, unjust deaths in the streets of their city, we find that they were being surveilled. And the results of that is that today Americans are less secure. Today, families and communities are more afraid. Today, we have a country that feels less democratic, and the price of food hasn't gone down. We have a president that's justifying the skyrocket cost of gas. Our country is in more wars. And we have a government that is tamping down protest.

Every American should be deeply, deeply disturbed by what we found out over the last few days, and that is what we have to stay focused on.

TAPPER: Thanks to both of you for speaking with us today. We really appreciate it.

Coming up, Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty in federal court, admitting to shooting and killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Why wasn't anyone from Mangione's family present in court?

Plus, a new look at what President Trump's White House ballroom will look like, complete with gold decorations. But will the U.S. Supreme Court let him finish it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead today, the Trump administration, as promised, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on whether they can continue building President Trump's new White House ballroom, whether the White House can continue with that project. Lower courts keep ruling that the $400 million project is illegal because Trump started building without getting Congressional approval.

Today's nearly 500-page filing contains new renderings of what the finished ballroom will supposedly look like, complete with gold decorations on the outside and the inside.

Here to sort out the legal questions is Loyola University Law Professor Jessica Levinson. Professor, thank you for joining us.

Even though the Trump administration keeps losing the court cases, the construction keeps continuing, and the administration says they're nearly 65 percent complete, and it's too late to stop. At a certain point, does that just rule the day?

JESSICA LEVINSON, PROFESSOR, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: Well, that shouldn't rule the day, but certainly it's going to play into the reality, which is the Trump administration is saying we can't put the toothpaste back in the tube, that, in fact, we're almost there, we're two-thirds of the way there. It's too hard to undo everything that's been done before.

Now, having said that, as you know, there are very real separation of powers concerns here. There's a big question as to whether or not Congress authorized the president to undertake this project. And so when it comes to a constitutional harm, in my view, the answer shouldn't be, well, they just went ahead and did it anyway, so let's let this one slide by.

Having said that, the Trump administration is seeking emergency relief here, and, certainly, one of the things that the justices will look to is to see essentially who's going to be most harmed by allowing the construction to continue or forcing it to stop, and what the balance of equities dictates in this case.

TAPPER: Right. And in terms of the emergency relief, I mean, the Trump administration argues that the ballroom is needed for national security reasons, pointing out that there's this huge underground complex. There are also drawings of a drone port on the top of the ballroom.

[18:20:00]

In your opinion, do these national security arguments make the president's case any stronger?

LEVINSON: For the below ground construction. And that's why the district court judge in this case said, Go ahead and continue with the below ground construction because you, the government, have told me that there are national security issues. You need a bomb shelter and a bunker when it comes to that below ground. But the government had initially said, there's a difference between the below ground and above ground. They had said those are distinct.

Now, the government's argument is really changing tact, and they're saying, with respect to the above ground construction as well, there are national security concerns. I think because this indicates a change in strategy, the Trump administration is not on as strong grounds as it typically would be when any president says, I need this for national security concerns.

TAPPER: Now, you mentioned the argument that Congress needs to authorize the project. And the Congress is supposed to control the purse strings. The Trump administration argues that Congress gave presidents the power to make alterations and improvements to the White House as a president may determine, and they are able to cite precedent, Harry Truman rebuilding, et cetera, et cetera. What do you make of that argument?

LEVINSON: So, this obviously is a question that is ever-repeating, where it's not just in this situation, but we have in many situations the president saying, Congress gave me the power, and then people challenge that.

In this case, what we're looking at, as you mentioned, Congress controls the purse strings, but Congress also has power over federal territory, and the question is whether Congress gave that power away to the president.

The president, as you mentioned, is arguing, absolutely, because there's a statute that gives me the power to make alterations and improvements. And they're making a big argument. They're saying those words alteration and improvement give them the leeway. Oh, is that thus far judges have said not that statute. That statute doesn't do as much for you as you think it does. It doesn't give you this wholesale power to essentially demolish this much of the White House and to build this ballroom.

TAPPER: Bottom line, how do you think the Roberts U.S. Supreme Court, with the 6-3 majority conservative, how do you think they're going to rule?

LEVINSON: So, I will answer and not answer your question this way, by saying there actually is another argument here that I think would allow the Supreme Court to avoid all of the thorny questions we just talked about, because these are thorny questions.

There is a question as to whether or not the National Trust actually has standing to bring this case in the first place. The D.C. Circuit decision was 2-1. The judge in the dissent said, I don't think anybody has something called legal standing. I don't think they're harmed enough to bring this case.

Now, to your question, I think that type of argument is appealing to the Roberts Court because it kind of provides a safety valve. It says, we can go over here. We don't have to tackle the bigger issues. Not to say that they inappropriately avoid those, but to say there is an exit ramp in this case. So, look for standing to be kind of a sleeper issue when it comes to the Supreme Court giving -- potentially giving emergency relief and then maybe deciding to take up the merits of the case.

TAPPER: All right, folks. You heard it here first. Professor Levinson says $20 on standing. All right, thank you so much. Have a great weekend.

Hawaii is bracing for a potentially dangerous hurricane this weekend. A look at the latest forecast ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

TAPPER: Breaking news in our National Lead, Hawaii is bracing for a potential hurricane this weekend after Tropical Storm Lala's forecast track shifted north. The strengthening storm is increasingly bringing heavy rain, damaging winds, and dangerous surf close to the Big Island.

CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the latest forecast. Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Jake, Tropical Storm Lala is expected to strengthen into a hurricane early Saturday morning as it nears the islands. The biggest concern for right now is really how close is it going to get. Will it actually make landfall over the big island, or will it just skirt along the southern side?

Regardless of how close it gets, heavy rainfall is really going to be the big story here. A lot of those outer bands are expected to bring torrential rainfall to the big island, but even some of the other islands as well as it continues its trek out to the west. The big island could be looking at rainfall amounts of a foot or maybe even 15 inches of rain total. But even some of the nearby islands could be looking at five to eight inches of rain as the storm continues to slide by, triggering concerns of not only flooding, but also the potential for mudslides.

Flooding has also been a very big concern back on the mainland for states like Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and unfortunately, more rain is expected for the next 24 to 36 hours. You look at how much rain has already fallen across much of the Midwest just since Monday, a lot of these areas picking up two or even three months worth of rain in just a few short days, and now we're going to be adding more rain on top of it.

Through the remainder of the evening, you still have some heavy showers through Illinois and Iowa, but those are going to continue to slide eastward into states like Indiana and Ohio, hard-hit states, even as we continue through the day on Sunday.

TAPPER: Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

Earlier today, Luigi Mangione admitted in court that he shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in 2024. There's a catch, though, as to why he admitted this, and we will explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, an admission straight from the mouth of the infamous alleged murderer, Luigi Mangione, who today in federal court said he shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in 2024. Mangione pleading guilty to federal stalking charges in an effort to try and get state murder and weapons charges dismissed on double-jeopardy grounds. Still, legal experts say that Mangione is likely to face a long sentence or even a life sentence from this federal case.

Let's go to CNN's Laura Coates and CNN's Kara Scannell, who was in court today. Kara, walk us through this strategy, Mangione pleading guilty to federal stalking charges, and what comes next, and what was it like in court today?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, it was somber inside the courtroom today as Luigi Mangione admitted that he stalked and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He was very matter-of-fact and very clear when he described that he was suffering from excruciating back pain, found out about the investor conference, and then made a 3D-printed gun, magazine, and ammunition, and showed up and shot and killed Brian Thompson.

And when he described that, Brian Thompson's family was filled with the front row of the courtroom, and his widow became emotional.

[18:35:01] She was wiping tears from her eyes, grabbing the arm of the woman sitting next to her. This row of family and friends looking over at each other as they were absorbing what Mangione was saying, and he said it without any remorse.

Now, after court, his lawyer said that they are going to move to dismiss the state charges of murder and weapons possession, the D.A.'s office already saying that they are going to continue to litigate this to bring justice to Brian Thompson's family.

Now, the strategy here, his lawyers are hoping that the federal plea deal will knock out the state case, saying that in double-jeopardy in New York says that you can't be prosecuted for the same crime twice.

Now, lawyers I've spoke to say that they may have a good argument here, but, ultimately, it will come down to the state court judge who's overseeing that case. He will make the decision, and whoever doesn't like it will likely appeal. So, this could go on for some time, although the trial that's currently set for September 8th is not likely to go forward then. Jake?

TAPPER: Laura, you've been closely following this case. What stands out to you about today's guilty plea, and what do you think might happen next?

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Well, the words he said, I shot Brian, and I knew what I was doing was illegal, and that he died, that was essentially him trying to do away with that state murder trial.

Remember, normally, a murder charge is in the purview of the state. The feds have the stalking claims as well. But double-jeopardy, as you know, it means you can't be tried twice for the same crime. However, in New York, they go a step further, Jake, and they say if the overall substance or the type of the crime we're talking about and the same facts are similar throughout both the federal and the state, then you can actually be tried twice there.

It's interesting here because, first, a couple weeks ago, he wanted to have a reason by insanity defense. That went away. Then he wanted -- as recently as last week, he wanted to have his trial live-streamed as opposed to just the opening and the statement if the court would allow that. And now suddenly it's an about-face.

Ultimately, however, he will likely have the book thrown at him, although there will be the normal sentencing rigmarole, where you've got victim impact statements, very important, potentially the statement of the defendant as well, and, of course, other interviews done by people in the community talk about whether he is indeed remorseful or otherwise.

So, this court has to think about not only the deterrence aspect of this, but also the penal aspect of it, both very, very important. But the state, they want their own day in court on behalf of the family because they do not have, now that he's pled guilty, that murder conviction, although life in prison would likely be the result for both types of convictions.

TAPPER: All right. So, you think that he's likely going to get life in prison for both state and federal?

COATES: Yes, as one would when you walk behind somebody and you shoot them in cold blood. Why? Because you have an issue with the industry itself. You see, this court knows full well, we've all watched this horrific video, and although he explained the excruciating back pain, he also, as Kara had reported earlier, talked about having posed as a billionaire investor, finding out exactly where they would be, doing a 3D gun, which, for a judge, they're hearing at every single step, opportunities to change their mind and save the life of the person that he felt deserved to die.

TAPPER: All right. Kara Scannell Canal and Lara Coates, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

The federal courtroom in New York City was packed today as Mangione pleaded guilty, but not there, any member of Mangione's family. In fact, they've never been to any of Mangione's court appearances.

CNN's Danny Freeman takes a look at why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty in open court to stalking and killing healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Thompson's family sat nearby in anguish listening to their loved one's killer.

JAMIE MCDONALD, U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: We all stand in awe of their love for their family and for their friend and their unwavering commitment to seeing justice done in this case.

FREEMAN: In contrast, Mangione's family once again did not show up to support the 28-year-old now convicted killer.

MCDONALD: There can be no celebrity in assassination.

FREEMAN: Since the moment Mangione was identified as the suspect in this case, his family has largely kept quiet and out of the spotlight, never attending any court hearings. The only public statement released by the family coming hours after his arrest in December 2024, quote, our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest. We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson, and we ask people to pray for all involved.

Experts say it's very unusual for no relatives to show up in court, even when a defendant's been accused of heinous crimes.

STACY SCHNEIDER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: As defense attorneys, we actually contact the family and ask them to show up to all the court hearings because having a family sitting behind a defendant in the first row humanizes them in front of the jury, but also in front of the judge who's making all these pretrial motions about this person.

[18:40:00]

FREEMAN: Mangione's family is well off and from Baltimore. According to the Baltimore Sun, his grandfather built a real estate empire that included nursing home facilities around Maryland and two country clubs. The Mangione family also runs a foundation that has nearly $4.5 million in assets and were longtime benefactors of Loyola University Maryland.

And weeks before the shooting, Mangione's mother called in a missing person report for her son, and she told authorities she'd called him repeatedly, but the voicemail was full.

During his first court appearance in Pennsylvania, Mangione told a judge he had been in contact with his family, quote, until recently. Now, any chance at being spared life in prison may depend on his family speaking out at sentencing.

SCHNEIDER: Families usually do speak up. They talk about the goodness in somebody, what kind of person they'd been in the community before they committed the crime, what kind of back-story they have, what kind of trauma they've had in their lives. And if they don't speak up then, then all we know about Luigi Mangione is basically what we've seen in the news and what we've read in his so-called manifesto.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN (on camera): And, Jake, one other thing that Stacy points out is that if Mangione's family does ultimately speak out at sentencing, they could potentially shed more light on that back injury that Mangione's attorneys spent so much time focusing on today.

Meanwhile, the Thompson family, they called the plea, quote, an important step toward justice. And the U.S. attorney noted that they, of course, will have their opportunity to speak during sentencing as well. Jake?

FREEMAN: All right. Danny Freeman, thanks so much.

The average price of a gallon of gas today, $4.08 according to AAA, but this afternoon, President Trump said, quote, it's okay that Americans are paying more money, and he won't apologize for his decisions that got us to this point. Our panel weighs in next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:45:45]

TAPPER: Several comments today from President Trump, top our politics lead, in an event on crime in New York, Trump tackled other topics, including the war in Iran and the impact that the war has had on American consumers, especially at the gas pump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, for you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have a country. Really, it's the number one state sponsor of terror in the world. We don't want to have them have a nuclear weapon. So, remember that when you have to pay a little bit more, you're at $4.

It's okay. I mean, it's -- I'm not, I'm not. I'll never apologize. I did the right thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: My panel joins me now.

Matt Mowers. So, I have to say that is made for a Democratic attack ad -- not all of it.

MATT MOWERS, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah.

TAPPER: Not the part about Iran and the nukes, but for you to pay a little bit more for the gasoline cut two, you're at $4. It's okay. I mean, I'm not -- I'll never apologize. I did the right thing.

MOWERS: Yeah, well, look, I think he's explaining the cost of conflict, right?

I mean, what he's now doing is saying there is a reason that we are all paying more for it right now.

What he didn't do, and I think this was actually smart politically is he didn't try to say, well, it's actually not that high. He didn't try to pooh-pooh it. He didn't try to dismiss concerns.

TAPPER: He said it's a little bit more. He said a little bit more. That's kind of a pooh-pooh.

MOWERS: Yeah. But you know, he was explaining that there is a cost to this and why he's doing it. And look, this is why presidents make tough decisions sometimes. It's also why presidents who are in their last term sometimes make politically unpopular decisions. It's because they don't have to face the electorate again.

I truly believe that his heart of hearts, he felt like Iran was on its pathway to obtaining a nuclear weapon. He had to take action. By the way, that's a calculation every single president for the last, you know, 35, 40 years has had to make, which is what's more expensive, the cost of action or inaction.

TAPPER: Yeah.

MOWERS: Most have said inaction. Donald Trump said he had to take action this time.

TAPPER: But, Sabrina, it's probably not -- Matt's being diplomatic, but it's probably not the best --

MOWERS: That's the State Department --

TAPPER: Probably not the message that Republican candidates want the president to be saying, with only 80-something days until the midterms.

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think that's right. I think matt is being very diplomatic. And you talked about costs of this war, and there have been costs. I mean, we have lost service members. Their lives have been lost. That's a cost of this war. We have depleted our munitions stocks, including our offensive and defensive weapons. That is a huge cost to this war.

And on top of that, now you have the global economy completely upended with the strait of Hormuz closed, which was open before the war. So, I think Donald Trump, when he was speaking about that, I think he was like wrestling with the terms like in real time of like, well, I'm not going to apologize for it. But yes, costs are really high.

I think it's a good thing that he acknowledged that. But when are costs going to go down for Americans, for New Yorkers, he was just there in that state campaigning. I think that's the question. As people drive to the gas pump is, when are my costs going to go down? And with not just at the gas pump, but groceries, electric bills, all of that.

TAPPER: So, right, because the impact of the tariffs, but also the impact of the gas has a residual impact on groceries and such.

Speaking of the Strait of Hormuz, which is one of the reasons why gas prices are so high. Update on the Strait of Hormuz. Here's President Trump again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And after we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOWERS: I mean, look, you know, happened at the Panama Canal. Why not know?

Look, I think this is an example going back to the infamous line from 2016. You got to take Donald Trump seriously. Not literally. I don't think he's planning to just have a bunch of carriers floating there in perpetuity. But he does mean that the U.S. is going to work to ensure that there's, you know, ease and freedom of navigation.

And by the way, by the way --

SINGH: He said that they can maintain that blockade indefinitely.

MOWERS: Well, you know, but America's going to have to because, by the way, he asked the Europeans to step up. They haven't. He's asked Korea and Japan to step up. They didn't.

And so, it's going to be the U.S. that has to ultimately ensure freedom of movement through the Strait of Hormuz. But I'll tell you, the administration is asking -- TAPPER: How long?

MOWERS: I mean, you saw him say today he's willing to do it as long as it takes.

TAPPER: Yeah, and Hegseth said indefinitely.

SINGH: Indefinitely, which is just logistically and you know this from working at the State Department, that is -- that is an unrealistic goal. That puts an incredible strain on our military forces to maintain a blockade indefinitely. I mean, I know we'll talk about what's going on in the Lincoln, but that just puts a stress on our sailors and marines, our aircraft carrier. And it delays maintenance for years.

TAPPER: Let's talk about that because today we learned about a second U.S. sailor who went overboard a ship about four months before another sailor went overboard, a different ship, the USS Lincoln.

[18:50:06]

There's been reports of worsening metal, medical. I'm sorry, mental health for U.S. service members, deteriorating living conditions, rationing of food. Family members are concerned. We talked to a wife of one of those sailors earlier in the show. Lawmakers now demanding answers.

And yet this is how President Trump reacted when asked about it earlier. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: The family members of U.S. service members are concerned about the conditions onboard the USS Lincoln.

TRUMP: Well, no, that ship is moving. No, they're not. That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it's being replaced with another very similar ship.

REPORTER: Has the deployment gone on too long? Are you worried about the mental health concerns?

TRUMP: No, no, no. Not nearly long enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, first of all, it kind of gets lost in the not nearly long enough soundbite. But he's asked family members of U.S. service members are concerned about conditions on board the USS Lincoln, and he said, no, they're not. Yeah, they are.

Anyway, Sabrina, you've been on the Lincoln during the Biden administration.

SINGH: Yeah.

TAPPER: It's tough in the best of times without a war going on for a deployment of three months --

SINGH: Yeah.

TAPPER: -- to be on a ship like that.

SINGH: Yeah. I was fortunate enough to do an embark on the Lincoln. And I can tell you, I mean, these sailors and marines, they put their lives on the line every single day, and they're excited to be there. They're excited about the mission. And they know what the mission entails, but what it does not entail is there's no end in sight.

And for many of these sailors and marines, they've been out there without a port call for over 200 days. They're living in close quarters in bunk beds, sometimes three or four stacked. You have the chow boss that has to feed thousands of people every single day.

TAPPER: Five thousand on that ship.

SINGH: Right. That's running short on supplies by not making a port call during that time.

So, people are stressed. You've had, you know, family members have had babies during this time. And on top of that, they can't just pick up their phone and call their family. They don't even have Internet access sometimes.

So, it's taking a major toll on the force. And I think, you know, it'd be better if the president and Secretary Hegseth acknowledge that these are tough times, but we're going to bring you home.

TAPPER: What do you think of it all?

MOWERS: I mean, look, the challenge the president has is that especially when it comes to everything, Iran right now, he's communicating to an audience of one. And that's the Iranians. Right. And so, if you take Donald Trump's natural --

SINGH: He needs to communicate back.

MOWERS: Well, but I'll just say, if you take Donald Trump's natural ethos of toughness, right? Never met him, never showing weakness. And that's, you know, part of who he is tied in with the fact that he is doing everything he can and believes that he needs to intimidate the Iranians. He wants to show no remorse, no introspection, just full fledged ahead bombs and missiles. And that's his belief.

And by the way, to some degree, I think most folks would say that's what it's going to take. You have to show Iran that you're in it for the long haul regardless. The challenge is some of the sympathy that's going to be required gets lost in that. And so that's the challenge I think he's facing is that he's not necessarily communicating every day for American audiences, communicating for an adversarial audience.

He wants the Iranians to know he's not going to give up in this conflict. He's going to see it through, and he's going to be as tough as it takes and withstand political pressure domestically in order to actually accomplish that goal.

TAPPER: One of the questions is, I think that the acting secretary of the navy, Hung Cao, had a town hall with a bunch of families in San Diego about a week ago, in which they complained about a lot of these issues. This is before the story broke.

So, the question is, did Hung Cao not tell Hegseth? Did Hegseth not tell Trump? Is this all just kind of like baked in as war is hell and our soldiers go. So, soldiers and sailors and marines go through stuff. That's -- that's a question I think needs answering.

SINGH: I do think the secretary was probably aware, I think U.S. central command and Admiral Brad Cooper, that runs central command was these -- these things get flagged internally, especially when there is someone that goes overboard that gets flagged immediately for the secretary. So, I think I'd find it hard to believe that the secretary didn't -- didn't know about it.

I don't know if the president knew, but I think this just shows that, you know, when you're trying to downplay some of the turmoil that's happening and some of the long term deployments that our troops are going through, you really can't downplay it to their families. I mean, they're having these town halls, they're asking for questions. You need to be responsive to them.

TAPPER: Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

What we're learning about the release of an American missionary who was freed more than nine months after being kidnapped in Niger. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:58:33]

TAPPER: Our last leads start in our law and justice lead. The second double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh will be moved out of his home county over concerns that he can't get a fair trial. Murdaugh had actually been convicted of murder in the 2021 shootings of his wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son Paul. But the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the convictions in May over what it said were improper interactions between a clerk and the jury.

In our world lead, a former University of Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism, was found dead today in London, just days after resigning from his job. Jason Arday was celebrated as the youngest ever black professor at Cambridge until last month. Allegations of plagiarism and questions surrounding claims he made about his athletic and funding accomplishments led to his resignation. The university says it's, quote, "desperately saddened to hear the tragic news".

In our world lead, an American missionary who was held captive in Niger for nine months has been released, his organization announced today. Kevin Rideout was turned over to U.S. officials and will soon be reunited with his family. He was kidnaped last October from outside his home and taken to an area where Islamist terrorists are active. In our money lead, if you're an American who's been pulling back on your retail spending, you're in good company. Retail sales fell 0.6 percent in July, the steepest drop since May 2025. Both reports came in worse than worse than economic had estimated in polls by the data firm FactSet.

Coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Democrat, that Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and noon Eastern on CNN.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.

I'll see you Sunday morning.