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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Campaigns in Arizona, Montana; Exclusive Details About Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) Investigation; Pope Shares First Message After Lung Cancer Diagnosis. Ex-Intel Official Spills About "UAP" Investigations In New Book; NYC Moves Closer To Banning Its Iconic Horse-Drawn Carriages. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 14, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

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

[18:00:00]

This hour, President Trump holding two midterm campaign rallies today, first in Arizona and then in Montana. But this comes as new economic data shows that so many Americans are feeling. Prices rose more than expected last month. How will the president try to spin that to voters?

Plus, we're live in Fort Worth, Texas, ahead of tonight's town hall with Democratic Senate Candidate James Talarico. Polls suggest he's neck and neck with Republican Ken Paxton. What will Talarico's closing message be as he tries to defy election history in Texas?

Also, exclusive new reporting tonight about the Justice Department investigation into Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. What law enforcement sources say is really going on behind the early morning search of her home on Monday, and the other allegations prosecutors are investigating.

And today, Pope Leo made his first public comments since he was diagnosed with cancer, his message from the hospital, plus what doctors are saying about his recovery timeline after part of his lung had to be removed during surgery.

The Lead tonight, we're just 20 days out from polls closing in the midterm elections. President Trump is back on his busy campaign blitz predicting his party will defy the polls and history come November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're going to elect a strong Republican majority in the House and Senate, and I think we have a really good chance. And they say if I'm on the ballot, we get 49 percent more votes, so I'm here to say please pretend I'm on the ballot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The president will head to Montana soon after holding that rally in Arizona, all in an effort to boost Republican candidates who are actually on the ballot, and the president's schedule is not letting up anytime soon.

The president will be in Georgia Friday, Kentucky Saturday, then next week he'll be in Kansas and North Carolina. If those states seem red to you in general, that's because Trump and the Republican Party are playing defense.

Meanwhile, there is new polling out of the Texas Senate race where ad spending is surpassing half a billion dollars. Two new polls show no clear leader between Democratic Candidate James Talarico and Republican Candidate Ken Paxton. In a Marist College poll, 47 percent of likely voters back Talarico, 45 percent back Paxton. In the latest University of Texas Politics Project poll, 50 percent of likely voters support Talarico, 47 percent backing Paxton. Both results are within the margin of error, so they are too close to call.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny's in Fort Worth, Texas ahead of tonight's CNN and Jubilee town hall with Talarico. Jeff, what out of the new Texas polling is reflected in the voters that you've been speaking with?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, first and foremost, hope and optimism is absolutely on the minds of Democrats and even some independent voters we talked to here in Texas.

The idea that this Texas Senate race is at the cornerstone, the center of the fight for control of the Senate was not on anyone's imagination really. Democrats here in Texas have long dreamed of winning a Democratic U.S. Senate seat here. It hasn't happened since 1988, one year before James Talarico was even born.

But the hope and optimism on the Democratic side also have some questions on the Republican side. And one of the challenges here for James Talarico, who's a state lawmaker who will be behind us on stage tonight at this town hall meeting, is winning over independent voters, which are reflected in the poll, and also some Republicans.

We've been talking to a lot of Republicans here, some lifelong Republicans, and some are indeed supportive of him. They have deep questions about his rival, the Texas attorney general. But another question is all of this money that has been spent here. You said a half a billion dollars. Well, the majority of that is coming on the Republican side, trying to define James Talarico.

The vice president was here just yesterday. He said that he is a threat to your -- well, the way of life, urging people to not vote for Talarico. So, those are some of the questions here, if James Talarico can kind of assure people that he's a different kind of Democrat for deep red Texas.

TAPPER: Jeff, what should people be looking out for in tonight's town hall with Talarico and CNN's Erin Burnett?

ZELENY: Well, Jake, we are standing in the site. And if you look behind me here, the audience is going to be divided. There are Republicans, Democrats, independents. But the most interesting aspect of this to me is the table you see behind me on stage. That is going to be the middle portion of the evening tonight. It's a segment called Change My Mind.

And that is going to be an opportunity for a voter to come up and directly sit just a few feet from James Talarico and have a conversation. It's a dialogue, but also trying to persuade the voter. This -- the audience is filled with some undecided voters. So, to see if he can actually win them over and to persuade them, some -- the questions here on the economy, affordability, immigration, healthcare, of course, but it's the interactive nature of this, I mean, a very small room here.

[18:05:01]

And this is one thing that that James Talarico has been trying to do, sort of build a coalition of supporters here. We will see how successful he is in doing that. Just the proximity of the voters to the candidate asking questions is something that we've not seen here on CNN. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Jeff Zeleny in Fort Worth, Texas, thanks so much.

Meanwhile, Texas Democrats have another tough midterm fight in the Lone Star State going on right now, and that's the governor's race. Incumbent Republican governor Greg Abbott, once seen as nearly unbeatable, is in a closer race than he probably anticipated. New polls show no clear leader between Abbott and his Democratic opponent, Texas State Representative Gina Hinojosa.

The University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll, 49 percent of likely voters support Hinojosa, 48 percent backing Abbott. That is no clear leader. They are within the margin of error. In the latest Marist College Poll, 49 percent of likely voters back Abbott, 45 percent back Hinojosa, also within the margin of error.

Joining us now is Texas State Representative Gina Hinojosa. Representative Hinojosa, thanks so much for joining us.

So, according to the Texas Tribune, Governor Abbott has outraised and outspent you by millions of dollars. The Democratic Governors Association, led by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, only plans to put about a million dollars into your race, despite your team asking for more. Take a listen to what the head of the Texas Democratic Party said earlier today on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think Hinojosa's getting enough support from national Democrats?

KENDALL SCUDDER, CHAIRMAN, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTY: No, I don't think that she is, but the truth is, here in Texas, we're used to having to do this on our own.

If Andy Beshear and the DGA aren't interested in investing in wins and long-term gains, that's their own problem. We'll figure this out on our own without them. But it sure would be easier if people like Andy Beshear would take Texas seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Do you agree that the National Party's not doing enough to help you, and why do you think that is?

STATE REP. GINA HINOJOSA (D-TX): Well, listen Texas is the high roller's table. As I've said before, it costs a lot to play at the high roller's table. That's because the payout is so great. But, listen, we've been dealt a phenomenal hand here in Texas. We have now six polls in five weeks that show me beating Greg Abbott.

To your point, it's within the margin of error, right? This is a close race. We're really neck and neck. And so in these final 20 days, we are doubling down to reach Texans with my agenda to secure the American dream, a government that gets back to basics, back to delivering for the people of Texas. We do that in Texas by saving Texas public schools, putting money in your pocket, and you can learn more on my website at ginafortexas.com.

TAPPER: So, keeping with your gambling metaphor, do you think it's time for the national Democrats to ante up, to pony up, to put more chips on the table?

HINOJOSA: Yes. Well, let me tell you the stakes. There are national stakes, big national stakes. Republicans in Austin have already said they're coming back next year to redraw maps. So, their plan is to eliminate ten Democrats from Congress when they do that. Ten Democrats from Congress off the table means that there is no Democratic control of Congress, likely for a generation. Texas becomes too big. The math no longer works.

We need a governor in Texas who will veto rigged maps, whether they're rigged for Democrats or rigged for Republicans, and I will be that governor.

TAPPER: You're trying to break a Republican hold on the Texas governor's office that has lasted more than 30 years. I believe Ann Richards was the last Democratic governor. Can you do that? Can that be achieved without you winning over some Republican voters?

HINOJOSA: No, we definitely need Trump voters to win in November. And so my invitation is for all Texans. I'm not running to be the governor for just Democrats. I'm running to be the governor for all Texans. And that's why my agenda is not a Democratic agenda. It is an agenda for the people of Texas. It's about putting their needs first.

But, yes, I have Trump supporters with me. I had a Trump supporter who went to D.C. to go to the rally before they went to the Capitol to support the president she voted for, who's -- she cut an ad for me, right? I have a coach who voted for Abbott three elections in a row do an ad for me about how he was supporting me now because Greg Abbott has declared war on Texas public schools.

And that is who we are as Texans. They are enshrined in our Texas Constitution as being essential to our liberties, and Texans are fighting, Texans of all walks, Democrats and Republicans, to fight for our public schools.

TAPPER: Speaking of ads, the Dallas Morning News reports that you're trying to get one of Governor Abbott's ads that attacks you, taken down. I'm going to play part of it for our viewers. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It doesn't matter if you live here or here or here. As governor, Gina Hinojosa will make your property taxes go even higher.

[18:10:02]

Because in the legislature, Hinojosa voted to do just that, not once, not twice, 40 different times Gina Hinojosa voted to raise your property taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, what's your issue with this ad?

HINOJOSA: Well, it's a lie. I've never once voted to increase property taxes. In fact, the only time I've ever voted on property taxes was to decrease them when I was on the school board in Austin. I voted for local control. The only candidate in this race for governor who has actually increased property taxes is Greg Abbott. He took over Houston ISD, installed a board of managers that increased property taxes in October of last year. That was taxation without representation, and it was in violation of our state constitution.

TAPPER: Democratic candidate for Texas Governor, Representative Gina Hinojosa, thank you so much. Really appreciate your time.

We should note we extended an invitation to Texas Governor Abbott to come on the show. He's welcome anytime.

Coming up next, the exclusive new details we're learning about what went on behind the scenes at the Justice Department before federal agents searched the home of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in an immigration fraud probe this week. We'll tell you what's going on next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

TAPPER: Breaking news in our Law and Justice Lead, new details in the Justice Department's criminal investigation into Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota. Sources tell CNN that investigators are probing whether Ilhan Omar and her late father gave false statements in decades-old immigration paperwork, and whether Omar has since engaged in fraud and conspiracy to hide that.

Congresswoman Omar, of course, has been a frequent target of attacks from President Trump, who has accused her of marrying her brother, called her a fake congresswoman, said she should be sent back to Somalia, and that she should be in jail.

But beyond President Trump's obvious animus towards the Democrat, a law enforcement source in Minnesota tells me that there are legitimate reasons to investigate the circumstances around Omar's immigration to the U.S. and possible conspiracy to hide it since, as there were when the probe began during the Biden administration.

CNN Crime and Justice Correspondent Katelyn Polantz and CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez join me now to discuss.

So, Evan, walk us through what authorities are investigating surrounding when she obtained her citizenship in the year 2000.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: This is an investigation that centers on whether that she or her family committed immigration fraud, Jake. She came to this country as a refugee as a teenager, and then she became a U.S. citizen in 2000. What the investigators are looking at is whether when she became a citizen, whether she was actually underage, whether she was a minor and had the ability to get it through her father.

TAPPER: She got -- so she got her citizenship through her dad because she was a minor, and they're wondering whether she was not.

PEREZ: And that is a faster process than if she were an adult. And according to the sources we've talked to, that is the suspicion or that is the belief that prosecutors and investigators are pursuing. So, that would be immigration fraud, if it did occur.

TAPPER: Right.

PEREZ: And then of course subsequent to that, any time she filed additional -- applications for additional paperwork with the federal government, that would've been additional possible crimes, and that is the reason why this is ongoing now. For instance, if she applied for a U.S. passport, that would continue the alleged fraud that was committed back then.

TAPPER: And, Katelyn, in addition to the search of her D.C. home on Monday, which a search warrant was obtained by a magistrate judge here in D.C., at least a dozen subpoenas were issued since last Friday. Tell us more about that.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake, there's a sprawl to this investigation. So, in Monday -- on Monday you see the Homeland Security investigators doing that search of Ilhan Omar's house in Washington, D.C. But there's a bunch of components of the Justice Department that are investigating her at this time. The investigation around immigration fraud that Evan is talking about here and that you've also helped us nail down, that is being run out of Minnesota, and so they're investigating --

TAPPER: That's where the grand jury is, right?

POLANTZ: That is where the grand jury is. And that's where the subpoenas would be taking place. But there's also people in the D.C. U.S. attorney's office. The U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro, yesterday was out there talking about a financial investigation they have into Representative Omar right now there. And there are also prosecutors both from that U.S. attorney's office in D.C. and also from main justice leadership that are involved here and were involved in talking to a judge to get the search warrant to be able to go into her home on Monday.

TAPPER: So, there -- in addition to whether or not she committed a crime or crimes, which is the main thing here, there is the question of whether or not this is going to be -- whether her defense is going to say it's a vindictive prosecution because of all the stuff Trump and others say, and then also the timing of it because this is within the 60-day window that the Justice Department generally does not pursue any sort of public investigatory steps when it comes to a public official. Why now? Why is this coming forward now?

TAPPER: Well, the -- what usually happens is during this period, they don't take any overt steps on an investigation like this. We know that this investigation into the immigration fraud allegations was reopened last year. According to the people we've talked to, they've been pursuing that and the financial aspect since then, Jake.

And, you know, one of the views that -- one of the parts of this is that they wanted to make sure they secured evidence. That's part of what happened here is they wanted to make sure they could secure evidence if, again, this goes forward.

And one of the more interesting parts of this is obviously the fact that, you know, there was some pushback from a judge that Katelyn was certainly reported on. And the judge basically wanted to make sure that because she is a member of Congress that enough was being done to make sure her speech or debate protections, right, as a member of Congress, she's protected under those laws, that those were also being respected in this case.

[18:20:00]

We're told that the Justice Department views that because it was her home, the speech or debate issues were minimized.

TAPPER: And, Katelyn, tell us more about the magistrate judge and the concerns he or she had when it came to going after Congresswoman Omar. Did they put restrictions on it?

POLANTZ: Yes. So, ultimately, the judge in D.C. that looked at this search warrant application from the Justice Department did approve it, that there was enough there to allow the Justice Department to go in and search her house. There was probable cause to go in there. But it took a while because the Justice Department wanted to be ultra- aggressive and basically treat Representative Omar's home as if it had nothing to do with her legislative work as a congresswoman.

That is just not what the law is if you're a member of Congress and the Justice Department's going to search you. And so the judge pushed back and ultimately came to a determination that our sources are telling us it took a while, but the Justice Department was told, if you want to access things in her house that are documents, you're going to have to go through some sort of process to filter through and make sure that you're not getting access to her legislative documents as part of this investigation, just showing you how aggressive the Justice Department wanted to be. But there's a guardrail there from the court.

TAPPER: All right. Katelyn Polantz and Evan Perez with the latest on that investigation, thanks so much.

Let's get some legal analysis on this from CNN's Elie Honig. Elie, there's a lot of criticism of the timing because it goes against this internal rule at the Justice Department, not a law, and it has been broken before, but a rule about not to take any overt action involving candidates within 60 days of an election. Is there any specific reason that you can see as to why the Justice Department would act now and kind of ignore this rule?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, a couple reasons potentially, Jake. So, as you say, this is an internal rule. It's been followed for decades now by administrations of Republicans and Democrats alike that you wouldn't make a move like this within 60 days of an election if you can avoid it.

I can think of two possibilities here. One, there are exceptions to the rule if prosecutors determine there's an ongoing danger to the public or if prosecutors determine that there's some effort to obstruct justice or for somebody to flee. The other possibility is this DOJ just might not care. They might just say, we're not abiding by that rule. I think it would be a very bad idea if they do that, because the rule is intended to protect DOJ's independence from politics, but it certainly would be within the powers and rights of DOJ to say, we're just not playing by that rule.

TAPPER: The Justice Department had to get this magistrate judge to sign off on the search warrant. What does that tell you, if anything, about the seriousness of this investigation?

HONIG: Well, it means that at least some external person, this magistrate judge outside of the Justice Department, reviewed paperwork and determined that there's probable cause that a crime was committed. That's a lower standard, of course, than proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and the prosecutors or agents were likely to find evidence of that crime in the place they're searching.

Now, I've done this more times than I can count, Jake. As a prosecutor, you do have to lay out your evidence in detail. You can't just say, hey, Judge, we think something's wrong. And you have to specify a federal crime. Judges and magistrates typically look at this fairly carefully. They're not going to rubber stamp it, but, again, important to remember, the burden of proof here, probable cause, much, much lower than proof beyond a reasonable doubt that you're supposed to have before you charge a case and that you have to have if you want to get a conviction.

TAPPER: So, the allegation, as we've discussed with Evan and Katelyn, is that she may have -- and we're not saying this is true, but the allegation is that when she was an adult, maybe 18, maybe 19, she claimed to be a minor, maybe 17, and because it would be easier to become a citizen because her father from Somalia was a naturalized citizen. That seems like a long time ago. I mean, that was, I think, in the year 2000. What about the statute of limitations, or is it important if she continued allegedly to keep up this lie and conspiracy to hide the truth from 26 years ago?

HONIG: Right. Most federal crimes in the immigration area will have a maximum of a five-year statute of limitations. We're obviously well beyond that from 2000.

So, there could be a couple possibilities. One, some offenses say that if a person gets into the country or gets status by making false statements and then remains in the country, that will extend -- the person remaining in the country will extend the statute of limitations.

Two, it could be that more recent paperwork was submitted, perhaps a reapplication or a renewal. It could be somebody relating to Representative Omar, somebody around her.

And then, three, if prosecutors have evidence that within the last five years there's been some evidence of obstruction, some effort to get stories straight, to destroy documents, to persuade potential witnesses to say a certain thing, then those obstruction charges, if they happened within the last five years, would also be within the statute of limitations.

So, I think it's one of the bigger mysteries around this case, but those are three possibilities.

TAPPER: Just quickly, if this is true, would it not have been wiser for the congresswoman to have gone to the Biden Justice Department and said, this has happened, and there was a mistake, and I'd like to come clean and pay whatever fine, and then that way this, you know, not left up to the Trump Justice Department?

[18:25:13]

Is that -- I mean, has that occurred to you?

HONIG: It's a really tricky dilemma that any subject of this type of investigation might have, and indeed she might have fared better under the Biden administration. But, look, it's an important point of all this. There was some investigation, as I think Evan just said, that was started under the Biden administration, reopened under the Trump administration.

So, I think that's going to undermine any argument she may have down the line that this is politically selective and vindictive. But again -- then again, Donald Trump has given her plenty of ammo to argue that she's being singled out for personal reasons. So, that's a battle yet to come.

TAPPER: Elie Honig, thanks so much. The pope's physicians offered new details about his recovery today, one day after surgery revealed lung cancer. We're going to go to Rome for the latest details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

TAPPER: In our Health Lead today, Pope Leo shared his first public message after it was revealed that he has lung cancer. The America- born pontiff wrote to Catholics, quote, I ask you please to pray for me as I pray for you.

The pope's recovery from yesterday's surgery is proceeding as expected according to his doctors. But as CNN's Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb reports for us now, there are still a lot of unknowns about what the next steps will look like.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, the pope seeming to be recovering well here at the Gemelli Hospital following that surgery, but the big question is, has the cancer spread, and what, if any, treatment will be needed for the pope following that diagnosis of lung cancer? That's the real uncertainty here.

And the bigger picture is that in the Vatican and across the Catholic world, there's been shock with this news because Pope Leo was seen as a relatively young pope, in good health. I spoke to an archbishop who'd been at a big Vatican gathering the pope had convened but he couldn't take part in, in a full way, because of his hospitalization, that archbishop saying he is worried about the news.

At the same time, there is hope that the pope can get the treatment he needs and recover. He's still relatively young for a pope and in good health. Big question, of course, around the pope's future travel, he has got a planned trip to Latin America in November. Unclear what will happen with that at this time. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Christopher Lamb, thank you so much.

It turns out some Mississippi voters have beef with the comments of their sitting senator about dinner plans. It's become a viral new campaign ad in the ruby red state. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, we're just 20 days away from the polls closing, bringing an end to this year's midterm election. September's inflation report just dealt a fresh blow to President Trump and the Republican Party. Inflation rose to 3.7 percent in September. Gas prices nationwide surging 9.1 percent from August, accounting for more than half of the overall rise.

The pain goes beyond the pump, of course. Airfares, electronics, electricity prices also rose sharply over the past year. Our panel's here to discuss. So, Shermichael, we had Dan Goldman on earlier to talk about, and he, you know, acknowledged there are a lot of fundamentals in this economy that are strong, unemployment and on and on.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

TAPPER: Inflation, prices, that's not one of them.

SINGLETON: It remains sticky.

TAPPER: Yes. This is going to hurt, don't you think?

SINGLETON: I mean, look I do wonder how much of this is sort of factored in over the past couple of months now.

TAPPER: You expect then?

SINGLETON: You look at CPI numbers, there are some slight indications, again, as you were just saying, some of the fundamentals appear to be a lot stronger than what some of the numbers at the top line suggest. Nevertheless, people have to pump gas every single day. They have to buy groceries every single day.

And this has been a really thorny issue for a lot of Republicans to attempt to articulate how we'll improve upon these issues when a lot of voters gave us an opportunity in 2024 with the House, the Senate, and the White House because of their grievance with the previous administration economically.

And so the question will ultimately become, one, who can persuade their base out the most, but, two, in terms of those independents, who do they believe will best answer some of these economic crises and situations that we're in?

And I think it's why a lot of Republicans are stepping away from the president on tariffs with Canada, Mike Rogers, Susan Collins being two examples. And while you're also seeing a lot of Republican candidates tell the president, we've got to resolve this conflict with Iran because it is hurting my constituents.

TAPPER: Santiago, are you surprised, disappointed? How do you feel about the idea that I don't really know what the Democratic agenda is to bring down these prices beyond the criticism of Trump for the tariffs and the war?

SANTIAGO MAYER, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VOTERS OF TOMORROW: Yes. Listen, I think, first of all, we need to get rid of both of those. We need to get rid of the tariffs, and we need to end the war. And I think when you look at Democratic candidates and the message that they are giving young voters in particular is a lot of specificity as to how they're going to do that, right? I think when you --

TAPPER: Individual candidates.

MAYER: Individual candidates, right.

TAPPER: But not the party as a whole.

MAYER: But I don't think young voters are looking at the party as a whole. I think they are looking at folks like James Talarico or like Jon Ossoff, and they are listening to how they're going to address this. And by and large, it is by holding the administration accountable because they lied to young voters. They said that they were going to bring prices down. They said that they weren't going to start no new wars, and then they came into power and did the exact opposite.

TAPPER: So, not every Republican has the right way to address some of these issues. For example, let us turn to the great state of Mississippi, where Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who's running for re-election, is facing some backlash after saying consumers who can't afford high beef prices have, quote, so many proteins to choose from.

Her opponent, the Democrat, released this ad Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On price of beef continuing to go up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, you have so many proteins to choose from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pick another protein? Shit, I'd rather pick another senator instead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pick another protein? She done lost her damn mind. I'd rather pick another senator.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pick another protein? What the --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pick another senator instead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I really enjoy the Sugarhill Gang underneath that, the bass. But, I mean, would you agree that's not really the way to answer the question about high beef prices, to pick another protein?

SINGLETON: It's not the way to answer that. You have to address the concerns. And we were talking, and he said something that I thought was very interesting about younger voters, and I'm more fascinated about it. I'm going to probably spend some time researching this. These younger voters, particularly young men, voted for Trump and Republicans in 2024.

Now, with a number of special elections from last year, earlier this year, you saw a number of them moving back to the Democratic side. I believe you when you say many of them are looking at Democrats with some solutions to resolve these things, but it tells me that maybe some of them are still persuadable. And so if Republicans can address some of these real economic issues, A.I. and data centers being one of the more pronounced ones a lot of them are worried about their futures, if we can address that, Jake, I think we can become competitive again with Gen Z-ers.

[18:40:05]

But saying that beef, there's other protein, is just not a solution that I think a lot of young people want to hear, including not just Gen Z-ers. I'm a millennial. Many of my friends don't want to hear that either.

TAPPER: Yes. I'm an old Gen X-er, old grandpa.

All right, let's go to the millennial here because the Texas Senate race is now drawing, you know, it's like half a billion dollars in spending. Here's something that we saw that was interesting this week from the Democrat, James Talarico. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES TALARICO (D), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: I called out Joe Biden for failing us on the border. I worked with Republicans to pass the largest property tax cut in Texas history. Ken Paxton will be a lapdog.

While most politicians fight for their party, I'll only fight for Texas.

Ken Paxton is selling off Texas, our land, our water, our communities, anything to make a buck.

Data centers bankroll Paxton, they get tax breaks, and you get stuck with the bill.

We can't afford Ken Paxton's corruption.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: CNN's hosting a live town hall with Talarico tonight. Erin Burnett's going to be doing that. What do you expect to hear from him as we enter these final days of the race?

MAYER: Yes. I think, I mean, his message is quite clear, right? Ken Paxton released pedophiles from jail. He was partying in Dubai with fugitives from the U.S. justice system and his mistress. He is simply not fit to be in office. That's why his own party impeached him.

I think when you look at this race, James Talarico is an outstanding representative. He has fought for Texans. He has actually delivered an incredible message to young voters, and his campaign is actually putting their money where their mouth is and investing in that. I think he's going to talk about how he plans to bring prices down. I think he's going to talk about how he intends to end the war, and I think he's going to attack Ken Paxton for being unfit for office.

TAPPER: Okay, Shermichael --

SINGLETON: But the question is --

TAPPER: Wait, I'm coming to you right after this, but I want to give Attorney General Paxton his equal time here, and this is how. Here's a quick mashup of Paxton's ads this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TALARICO: And so I think Texans are fed up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, James? Because we don't believe the solution to every problem is more unaffordable taxes. Talarico will raise your taxes. Believe him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Liberals like James Talarico talk about putting more money in your pocket. Ken Paxton has actually done it.

When big government and big corporations come for you, Ken Paxton goes after them so you can keep more of your money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: All right, Shermichael.

SINGLETON: Hey, look when you talk about expanding government programs, you have to pay for it somehow. This is just economics 101. And one of the typical ways you do this through the legislative process is by increasing taxes. So, Paxton is right in that regard.

Also, I'm going to go back to the fundamentals here. Greg Abbott has 92 percent approval with Republicans in Texas. My premise and theory here is if he wins, he'll bring enough Republicans across the finish line to get Paxton elected.

Now, look, Ken Paxton has a slew of issues, morally, ethically. We've debated them ad nauseam on this show and network.

TAPPER: I haven't really debated them. We've pretty much all agreed on them.

SINGLETON: Correct. But, again, that doesn't change the fundamentals.

TAPPER: Yes.

SINGLETON: And Texas is not like --

TAPPER: That it's a Republican state.

SINGLETON: -- like -- not like Georgia where you'll see ticket splitters, where you had a lot of Republicans who voted for Kemp, but then they voted for Raphael Warnock. I don't think you're going to see that in Texas. I think if they vote for Abbott, they're going to vote for Paxton.

MAYER: I think that ticket might be split, and I think a lot of Texas Democrats are going to vote for Talarico and Gina Hinojosa.

TAPPER: All right. Thanks to both of you. I really appreciate it.

Don't miss the CNN and Jubilee Town Hall with James Talarico tonight. Talarico's going to take questions from voters. It starts at 8:00 Eastern tonight here on CNN and streaming on the CNN All Access app. Erin Burnett will be moderating.

My next guest spent decades as part of the intelligence community and helped create the government's program to investigate UAPs or unidentified aerial phenomenon. He's here to discuss his brand-new book.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:47:31]

TAPPER: In our out of this world lead, a former senior U.S. official is breaking his silence in a new memoir that might read like an episode of "The X-Files".

In the book "Out of the Shadows", Jay Stratton, a 32-year veteran of the intelligence community here in the U.S., tells the story of how a video of a mysterious aircraft led him to establish a government program dedicated to investigating unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs.

And Mr. Stratton joins us now.

Thank you so much for being here.

So, the book I should just note on the back, there's a whole bunch of people, Navy commander, former secretary of defense, Air Force general, et cetera, et cetera testing -- attesting to your credibility and how you're a legit person.

And I understand why you would do that, because the book is the subject is so challenging for people to believe at the very beginning of the book, and I credit you for putting it at the beginning, you talk about how in 2014, you go to your son's room and you see outside the window, quote, "what is unmistakably a non-human being staring at my son. It's gray and has a large head with small black eyes, no noticeable nose, and a small mouth. Startled, it turns to face me. A few seconds of standoff. The light goes dark and it's gone."

So, there going to be a lot of people who hear that and think, I don't know if I can believe that. What do you say to them

JAY STRATTON, AUTHOR, "OUT OF THE SHAWDOWS": It's the big picture.

I had spent a number of years investigating UAP and non-human, intelligent life on behalf of the U.S. government. I'm married. I have two children, and for many, many, -- and for many years, my work was so classified that I couldn't talk about it. And it was like the door to my home was the blockade to two different realms, right?

And the fact that non-human intelligence life, as I was investigating on behalf of the government, they seemed to be investigating me or starting to pay attention to me. And that followed me home. And on one hand, I was upset that that my work had followed me home. But on the other, it was a relief because now I can talk to my family about what I have been investigating, what I've been doing, and it helped us come closer as a family.

I mean, really, this should have torn us apart, but instead it brought us closer together. And ultimately, we were just an ordinary family living an extraordinary life.

TAPPER: But you were the only one that saw it that night, right?

[18:50:00]

Your wife didn't see it. Your son didn't see it. Yeah.

STRATTON: That's correct.

TAPPER: So, aliens and UAPs are. When I grew up, they were called UFOs are a common fixture in science fiction television, film.

Then there was this documentary, "The Age of Disclosure," that we covered when it came out, which was nonfiction documentary. You were featured in it. It helped inspire Steven Spielberg's movie, "Disclosure Day". He's a believer in UAPs.

We should note you talk about the cultural phenomenon in the book. You say, quote, "The giggle factor became ingrained in the culture and spread around the world, so generation after generation would grow up everywhere thinking you were crazy if you thought UFOs and non-human intelligence life were real."

What do you think is the giggle factor? First of all, do you think the giggle factor is on purpose? Do you think that that was done by the government so that people wouldn't take it seriously? And second of all, how do you get past that?

STRATTON: I do believe that the government had a hand in putting that ridicule and that stigma in place for many reasons, not only to cover up this, legacy program as we referred to it, you know, and really to bring the viewers in to understand that, you know, in my work with the U.S. government, I uncovered this deeply hidden and buried program that was called the Legacy Program that has been for many years recovering and reverse engineering these craft of non-human origin.

That was a monumental moment in my career. But if you look at the layers of protection, the layers of the onion, like we have with the Manhattan Project, and how they had to protect that, the ridicule and giggle factor, the stigma that's put into place, certainly helps to protect that because as people come forward reporting very real things that happen, whether it's airline pilots, military pilots, security forces, you know, the folks that are protecting our things, they were ridiculed. And so, so much that why come report it? So, these things go unreported and nobody does anything about it.

TAPPER: What do you want our viewers right now to know about UAPs? Are -- do they mean us harm? Does the government mean us harm by hiding it from us? What's the bottom line?

STRATTON: The bottom line is that we are not the only intelligent life in the universe, and we don't know the intent of the non-human, intelligent life that's here. We have ongoing UAP activity over sensitive military and UAP sites. And on top of that, UAPs pose a significant safety of flight concern for military and civilian aviation.

And as that stigma comes down that you were you were discussing, we get more and more reports. And if you didn't know, we have five reports a day, roughly, of civilian aviation airline pilots that are reporting UAP incidents. That's a huge win because the stigma has come down enough that people are talking about it.

TAPPER: All right. The book is "Out of the Shadows". The author is Jay Stratton, described on this as the most senior U.S. official to investigate unidentified, anomalous phenomena. It's out today.

Jay Stratton, thanks so much.

STRATTON: Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.

TAPPER: Appreciate it.

A vote next week could mean the end of the iconic horse-drawn carriage ride in New York City. Why? Well, those details are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:57:25]

TAPPER: In our national lead, after years of criticism from animal rights advocates and a recent death involving a tourist, New York City's horse-drawn carriage tradition could be coming to an end. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the city council speaker reached a deal to ban them, with a vote expected next month.

CNN's Brynn Gingras has more on the move to end one of the city's century-old attractions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRACIE THRASHER, FORT WORTH, TEXAS: I just like the idea of a carriage. It's like a princess. So, it's like princess treatment all around the big city.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an iconic New York City moment. A horse-drawn carriage ride around Central Park.

AHMET BILICI, CARRIAGE HORSE DRIVER: Are we ready, ladies?

GINGRAS (voice-over): But now it's on track to be part of the Big Apple's past, with New York City set to ban the attraction for good.

BILICI: This is a very popular attraction, is one of the best things for New York City.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Ahmet Bilici has been holding the reins for more than two decades. He, along with other drivers, are furious about the ban that would force their horses into retirement and take away the only jobs they know.

BILICI: I don't have a horse. I don't have a car, I don't have. I have only horse, carriage and horses over here. This is my life over here.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The clash over carriages isn't new. They've drawn the ire of animal rights activists for years, and a ban has been considered by the city at least a half a dozen times before. The most recent attempt comes after an 18-year-old tourist died after being thrown from a runaway horse-drawn carriage last summer. It's believed to be the first known death associated with a carriage ride since the tours began.

Was that the catalyst for actually making this seem like it's going to move forward this time?

CHRISTOPHER MARTE (D), NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL: I think it put a spotlight on what has been happening. There's been a lot of close calls. There's been horse collapsing. There's been carriages that have been tipped over and drivers being taken out on a stretcher. But that was just a real moment of saying enough is enough.

JULIE MENIN (D), NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER: I have 42 million people a year visit this great park, and our wonderful city, but in a very crowded area. These horse carriages were operating and it just is not sustainable anymore.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The proposal, supported by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, set to be voted on next week, promises to help the concerned drivers find new work.

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: I think that we have a civic responsibility to ensure that we are not leaving anybody out to dry.

GINGRAS: You don't trust.

CHRISTINA HANSEN, CARRIAGE HORSE DRIVER: I mean, like, yeah, well, the city doesn't follow their own mandates all the time. This is how I've chosen to spend my life is with these magnificent horses. I love horses, I love history, you know?

But then to say like, oh, we'll plug and play. We'll find you. We'll refer you to jobs somewhere. It'll be fine. You know, it's like, no, it's not fine.

GINGRAS (voice-over): If passed, the ban will take effect in June 2028. I think I'd be really sad if it was something I wanted to do. And then

we came and it was gone, you know? So I'm glad that I'm getting to do it. Effect in June 2028.

THRASHER: I think I'd be really sad if it was something I wanted to do. And then we came and it was gone, you know? So, I'm glad that I'm getting to do it.

GINGRAS (voice-over): So, for now, tourists are still capturing that classic New York City moment.

Brynn Gingras, CNN, Central Park.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Our thanks to Brynn Gingras.

Our countdown to midterms coverage continues now.