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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Fifteen Days Ahead Of Midterm Elections; France In Chaos And Flames; Democrats Face Pushback Over Plan To Target Those Who Work For The Trump Administration; Jalen Hurts Expected To Miss Rest Of Season Due To Blood Clots; Trump Signs An Order To Expand Federal Research Into Women's Health; Judge Chastises Trump Administration Plan To Push Ahead Overhaul Of D.C. Golf Course. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired October 19, 2026 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. Thanks to my panel. Really appreciate having all of you here today. Thanks to all of you at home for watching as well. Of course, don`t go anywhere. Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead." Jake, are we going to talk about the --
JAKE TAPPER, CNN LEAD WASHINGTON ANCHOR: No.
HUNT: -- here ever again this season?
TAPPER: I'm sorry. Again, yes, this season. No, I can't talk about it. So much is writing on LeBron James in my heart. I hope you notice that.
HUNT: All right. Well, I'm sorry.
TAPPER: It has been a bad month for Philadelphia sports fans.
HUNT: It has.
TAPPER: All right, Kasie.
HUNT: Have a good show.
TAPPER: Thank you for bringing me down. We'll see you tomorrow in "The Arena."
(LAUGHTER)
HUNT: See you tomorrow.
TAPPER: Seven Trump rallies in seven days. Will it make a difference? "The Lead" starts right now.
President Trump pulling a reverse Dorothy on his way to Kansas, yet another red state where he is trying to save a Republican seat. The Democrat on the other side of that Senate fight joins us live in moments as he tries to break a nearly 100-year Republican streak. Plus, parts of France are under curfew this evening after protests spread into country-wide violence. Thousands arrested, buildings set on fire, stores looted, riot police vastly outnumbered. We're going to go to Paris for the latest details.
And President and First Lady Trump relaunching an initiative on women's health today dedicated to learning more about issues that disproportionately affect women. A mother who survived cancer joins us live ahead to share how she hopes this project will save lives.
Welcome to "The Lead." I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to start in our "Politics Lead." Fifteen days until midterm Election Day and it's going to be a politically action-packed week. Early voting already well underway and seven more states begin early person -- early in- person voting today, including Texas and South Carolina, which have big races. Wednesday is going to be the biggest debate night left on the midterm calendar, including the crucial Senate races in both Michigan and Kansas.
But if you really want to know how dire things are or at least seem for Republicans right now, just take a look at President Donald Trump's midterm travel schedule. He's on a mission, and the mission is defense. He's jetting across the country to try to save struggling Republican candidates in key races that are, although perhaps they shouldn't be, too close for comfort.
Trump headlining rallies every day this week, including stops in Iowa, Georgia, and today, Kansas, a deep red state where we find yet another surprisingly competitive Senate race. Incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall is in danger of losing his seat, even though it has been 94 years since a Democrat was elected to serve as a Kansas senator. In just a moment, I'm going to speak to the Democrat who just might have a chance to flip the seat.
So, when you see Trump rallying these deep ruby red areas where once safe seats are now in question, keep in mind that, to a large degree, it's the president's own policies that have him there, according to polls. A brand-new Reuters poll this afternoon shows President Trump's approval rating is 31 percent, down a percentage point from two weeks ago, the lowest level of either term of his presidencies.
His war in Iran is putting the squeeze on gas prices and diesel prices. His tariffs are exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis that he had promised to fix on day one. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll over the weekend brought more bad news for the president. Other recent polls have generally shown voters prefer Democrats over Republicans for Congress by close to 10 points on the all-important generic ballot.
But when Trump is brought in, i.e. choosing between a Democratic- controlled Congress that could act as a check on Trump or a GOP- controlled Congress that could pass Trump's agenda, well, registered voters prefer Democrats by 19 points, 58 percent to 39 percent.
Joining me now is Adam Hamilton, the Democratic nominee in the Kansas Senate race. He's the founding pastor at the largest United Methodist Church in the United States of America. Reverend, President Trump coming to Kansas. What do you think is the significance of that?
ADAM HAMILTON (D), KANSAS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I took it as a big compliment. I took it as a statement that the Republican Party felt they needed to send the most powerful man in the country to try to save Roger Marshall, and I think it's really going to hurt him. So, I'm glad he's here.
TAPPER: You're hoping to become just the fourth Democratic senator representing Kansas in the history of Kansas. You've said you're not going to answer to any one party or any person in Washington. You're going to answer to the people of Kansas. What are you telling Kansas Republicans who might want to vote for you or are at least thinking about it, but they don't want to give Democrats a majority in the Senate that will ultimately result in a more progressive, if not left- wing agenda?
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HAMILTON: Yes. Well, I'm telling them, if the Democrats do take over the Senate, wouldn't it be better to have a moderate Democrat in there from Kansas fighting for Kansans?
And if I was fighting on the democratic side and other senator, Jerry Moran, was fighting on the republican side for Kansas, that's going to be far better than if you have Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall on the republican side and nobody on the democratic side. Most of the time, they shake their heads and go. You know, that makes a lot of sense. Absolutely.
So, I'm going to fight for Republicans, independents, and Democrats in Kansas, and I will be an independent voice here. I'm going to be a Democrat, but an independent-minded Democrat who wants to work across the aisle.
TAPPER: Kansas farmers and local business owners, as I don't need to tell you, face rising costs from diesel, fertilizer, agricultural tariff policies under the Trump administration. Now, even if you get elected to the Senate, Trump's tariffs and the war will still likely be going on. What are you going to be able to do to help Kansans?
HAMILTON: Well, I think we're going to fight to claw back the tariff powers in the U.S. Senate. So, there's already a bill that's out there trying to do that, where the president would have to say, here's why we're imposing this tariff, here's the impact it's going to have, here's the positive impact and here's the negative impact, and Congress having something to say about that. As the Constitution allows, that's where the Constitution places that authority. So, we're going to do that.
When it comes to the war, we're going to press to have it end as quickly as possible. I want to do that on behalf of Kansas farmers, Kansas people. We paid $700 million more in Kansas for fuel this year than we did last year. Our farmers are struggling. They feel it. And people, small businesses, large businesses, are all saying the same thing to me. They say, in order for businesses to thrive, we need stability and predictability, and what we have right now is instability, unpredictability, and chaos.
We've got to do better. And so, that's why we've got a lot of Republicans. Wherever I travel, I'm seeing 30 or 40 percent of the people at my events are Republicans saying, we believe we have to do better, we know you're going to fight for all of us and you've got our vote. That's very exciting for many of them, the first time they've ever voted for a Democrat.
TAPPER: Your opponent, Senator Roger Marshall, as I don't need to tell you, is focused very much, if not exclusively, on a child sex abuse scandal. He's accusing you of protecting a predator who volunteered at your church. This happened more than 20 years ago. He's even running T.V. ads. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): A child predator working for Adam Hamilton's megachurch. What did Hamilton do when victims reported him to church leaders? Parents were ignored, and Hamilton never called the police. The next fall, Hamilton welcomed him back, free to lurk for new victims, later convicted of more child sex crimes. Adam Hamilton protected a pedophile. He should never be our senator.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So, you say that they got the facts wrong in that ad. What is your message to voters who hear this ad, don't know the facts, and frankly worry about your judgment? Would you handle that situation differently if it happened now?
HAMILTON: Oh, absolutely. So, you know, what happened back then, it was a volunteer who had been -- gone all the way through the process we have, to check volunteers out. And had we -- it was not completely clear what had happened at the time and who exactly had done this thing. We would have called the police immediately after that.
So, we would have called the police. We would have said, you know, stop. We would have in no ways invited this person to participate the second year. They should have never been there. These were mistakes that were made.
But everyone who has checked this out, so all of the journalists who have looked into this and looked at the court records, have said, look, this is an incorrect description of what happened. And in the end, I helped to get this man prosecuted and put in jail. So, you know, this is Roger Marshall desperately grabbing at straws.
The reality is when it comes to protecting people, there were a thousand Epstein victims, and he voted the first time around to say, let's not disclose the Epstein files. So, you know, we did what we could, and we ended up getting somebody put in jail. Roger Marshall protected the Epstein files from being released and protected Epstein and the people who were part of that abuse. TAPPER: Democratic Kansas Senate nominee Adam Hamilton, thanks so much for joining us today. Appreciate it, sir. Have fun on the campaign trail.
HAMILTON: Thank you. Thank you so much. We're having a great time. And if anybody is interested in more information, hamiltonforkansas.com. Thanks again, Jake.
TAPPER: So, you just heard the pitch from the Democrats. Next, we're going to get the Republican response from a sitting congressman who is in a swing district trying to convince voters that his party should stay in power for another two years. Plus, a stunning update out of Philadelphia today, where the Philadelphia Eagles confirmed that quarterback Jalen Hurts is likely out for the rest of the season after doctors discovered blood clots in his lungs. The latest on this serious diagnosis ahead.
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TAPPER: In our "Politics Lead," we're just 15 days from the midterm elections and if you're already sick of the mudslinging, then you should have been at the Suffern Street Fair in New York over the weekend. There, we saw Republican Congressman Mike Lawler and his Democratic opponent, Cait Conley, engaged in a bipartisan dance-off.
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TAPPER: I am disappointed, Congressman Lawler, that you're not wearing your Michael Jackson outfit --
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-- and the political junkies out there who know what I'm talking about.
REP. MIKE LAWLER (R), NEW YORK: There's still time.
(LAUGHTER)
TAPPER: So, let me start with Russia's war against Ukraine because President Trump just made some comments about that as he was leaving the White House. Let's play that.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much. Zelenskyy is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago. If he would have listened to me, he would have made a much better deal a long time ago, and they'd have a million people living from his side. And to be honest, I don`t think -- I think it is time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Congressman, Russia has been fine on Ukraine is a very bizarre statement for a president to make when Putin keeps bombing civilian targets in Ukraine.
[17:15:04]
Why is Trump so complimentary of Putin and Russia, the aggressors in this war, and why is he so critical of Zelenskyy who is the head of the government of the country that is the victim in this war?
LAWLER: Listen, I'm not going to speak for the president. What I will say is Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Putin alone is responsible for this war. And we want this war to come to an end, I know the president wants this war to come to an end, but it can end today if Vladimir Putin would withdraw his troops.
The fact is that Russia has taken over 20 percent of Ukraine's territory. The Russians are losing 30,000 troops a month. The average lifespan of a frontline Russian soldier is 17 minutes, Jake. This war is insane. It needs to come to an end.
The president is right to want it to come to an end and to continue to push for it to come to an end, but the person who needs to be pushed is Vladimir Putin.
TAPPER: Yes, but Trump is not doing that, congressman. Trump is -- I mean, you talk about what Putin needs to do. I hear you. I don't disagree with anything you're saying except why would he do anything when the world's most powerful country is backing him?
LAWLER: Well, the challenge here has been from the beginning. Secondary sanctions should have been put in place immediately upon Russia invading Ukraine. The Biden administration should have allowed Ukraine to prosecute this war in Russian territory from the start, and Europe should have stopped purchasing Russian gas. It's precisely why I'm against waiving any sanctions against Russia and purchasing any diesel from Russia.
TAPPER: But those are both Trump -- those are -- those are Trump policies.
LAWLER: I understand, and I am stating to you that I don't support it. The fact is that this war does need to come to an end, but the pressure needs to mount on Vladimir Putin to end it.
TAPPER: So, your colleague, Don Bacon, told the National Review that President Trump is -- quote -- "kissing Putin's ass." Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, called Trump's recent moves on Ukraine -- quote -- "beyond irresponsible." He accuses Trump of capitulating to Putin. Do you agree with them? LAWLER: Look, I think one of the things that the president has sought to do is keep Russia out of other aspects of what's happening around the globe, specifically Iran, Syria, Venezuela. And I understand the need to isolate Putin, but the fact is that Vladimir Putin is the only one that can end this war with Ukraine.
Ukraine has a responsibility, Zelenskyy has a responsibility to defend the sovereignty of his country, to protect innocent civilians, and to fight back against Russia. No other country would be expected in any way to cede territory or ground to Russia. Least of all, the United States would ever do that.
So, from my vantage point, I get the frustration that everybody has here, but the bottom line is Vladimir Putin is the one who can end this, and the pressure should be on him to do so.
TAPPER: Let's turn to the midterm elections. President Trump's approval rating has fallen to a record low, 31 percent, in a new Reuters-Ipsos poll. Your district did not support Trump in 2024. You obviously support President Trump.
What is your message to voters in your district dissatisfied with President Trump? Why should they send you back to Congress? They just heard your view, which is you disagree with President Trump on Ukraine, yet you are reluctant to criticize him by name, certainly not with the choice of words that Congressman Bacon used.
LAWLER: Because I focus on the issues, and I actually get results. I've consistently been rated among the most bipartisan and effective members of Congress. I'm the only sitting member of Congress to be endorsed by a sitting member from the opposing party. Jared Golden has endorsed me for re-election. I've passed over two dozen bills, 17 of which have been signed into law. I've stood up to the president on numerous issues. When I agree with him, I say it. When I disagree with him, I say it.
But the reason I'm able to deliver for my district is precisely because I understand how to work with people in Washington, whether it's people in my own party or in the opposing party. When you look at the issues facing our country, I led on the tax bill.
I lifted the cap on salt, delivering the largest tax cut in American history. I led on the housing bill, increasing supply, cutting red tape, reducing prices. I'm leading on permitting reform, which is going to get done immediately after the election so that we can actually increase domestic supply.
My opponent, Cait Conley, parachuted into this district. She doesn't own a home here. She doesn't pay taxes here. She wants to raise taxes by $4 trillion on the American people. And in my district, they would pay on average over a $4,000 increase.
[17:20:02]
I cut their taxes. I put more money back in their pockets. There's a very stark difference here. And in 15 days, I'm going to win again in a district that Kamala Harris won and Joe Biden won precisely because I've delivered for my district.
TAPPER: Congressman Mike Lawler of New York, have fun out there on the campaign trail. Thank you so much.
LAWLER: Thanks, Jake.
TAPPER: And we should note to Democratic nominee Cait Conley, you are welcome to come on the show as well. The congressman just invoked you. We'll use debate rules and say that you have some time on the show, too.
We're going to head to France next, where thousands have been arrested after a weekend of violent protests. How officials are trying to crack down on the worst rioting in France in years.
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TAPPER: In our "World Lead," curfews are being enforced this evening, including in parts of Paris, after some of the worst rioting France has seen in decades. There have been more than 2,000 arrests after a weekend of protests across France turned into rioting, looting, arson, and even death.
CNN's Melissa Bell was in the midst of the violence.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The violence taking France and the world by surprise. Clashes and looting that turned so many streets in France to chaos. Town halls vandalized or torched. Attacks, said the president, on the French Republic itself.
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): Those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable.
BELL (voice-over): The state of public services, the high cost of living, and anger at the government drove more than half a million people to the streets. But things took a dark turn even before the marches began.
BELL: Air that is heavy with tear gas because, already, there have been some scaffolds here between protesters and police here at the Place de la Republique. These two marches that are set to set off from this central Paris square are really not due to start for another 45 minutes or so but, already, the scenes have been pretty violent and, again, the air is very thick with tear gas.
BELL (voice-over): Very quickly, the protests descended into chaos. With hundreds of shops looted, the far-right, which leads the polls ahead of next year's presidential election, is laying the blame for the violence and destruction squarely at the government's feet. JORDAN BARDELLA, PRESIDENT, FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL RALLY (through translator): If France is still standing, it's no longer thanks to government that ran for the hills, but thanks to the dedication of our law enforcement.
BELL (voice-over): President Trump weighing in, blaming migrants and urging French borders to be closed fast. At times, it seems, hoping for a revolution.
TRUMP: Let's go to the beautiful country of France and get involved in the revolution.
BELL (voice-over): MAGA also seizing on the protests and sharing pictures to warn of similar chaos should the Democrats wrestle back control of Congress in the midterms. The vice president blaming western liberals for importing the third world in the name of diversity and compassion, and House Speaker Mike Johnson sending a warning to Americans of what happens when the -- quote -- "radical Marxist insurgent left gets its way."
Moscow, too, is watching, accusing France of hypocrisy in demanding uncompromising condemnation and strict measures to deal with riots at home, whilst releasing angry press releases about the inadmissibility of suppressing protests elsewhere.
Political polarization inside France is also adding fuel to the fire with the far-left joining protests to demand action from the government and fears now for next year's presidential poll.
UNKNOWN (through translator): There's no way we'll allow violent minorities to impose an agenda of violence and prevent us from holding this election.
BELL (voice-over): The government is to hold talks this week with French political leaders to urge them to calm their rhetoric, even as it seeks to control its streets.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: Thanks to CNN's Melissa Bell for that report. Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin is getting some republican criticism over comments she made on whether Democrats should try to impeach Trump if they win the House next month. She's here to respond to the kerfuffle, next.
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TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is facing criticism from Republicans who are suggesting that she wants to use congressional investigations to deter young people, young conservatives, from ever seeking jobs in the Trump administration. Whether or not they're characterizing her comments accurately, we will discuss. But here is some of what Senator Slotkin said at a University of Chicago event last week.
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SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): You need to pick those signature cases and go hard on accountability, not just Trump. Right? Because, of course, there will be moments of like, let's go after Trump himself as someone who voted to impeach him twice. Like, he's still there. Right.
But the people around Donald Trump who are doing his bidding and enabling this have no such immunity. They have no immunity the way the president does. I want to look at these signature cases and not just focus on the president, but on the people who enabled him. I want young people coming out of school to say, should I go work for the Trump administration? Like, that sounds fun. I might get an opportunity. I want them to be like, lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don't want.
And so let me avoid participating in that. I want that deterrence message sent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Senator Slotkin joins us now. So, Senator, before leaving the White House today, President Trump commented on what you had to say. Take a listen.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I think what they've done is weaponize government. Slotkin is a lowlife who's ruining her state, just destroying her state. But what they're doing is really discouraging people from going into politics.
That's a Democrat, and that's what they do. That's all they're good at. And you know what? That's why they're getting their asses kicked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So he's accusing you of weaponizing government. What's your response?
[17:35:00]
SLOTKIN: Well, unfortunately, it's not my first rodeo. I've seen the president do this as recently as last week and certainly less than a year ago, tried to criminally indict me for a 90-second video and calling for my hanging. So, this is sort of par for the course for the president and for the folks around him. The truth is, if you commit a criminal act, if you use taxpayer dollars in a way that violates the law, you should be held accountable no matter who you are.
That was the point I was making. And they've sort of manufactured outrage about it because they want to talk about anything but what's going on right now in places like Kansas or Michigan. But it's a -- it's a statement on how dark our politics has become. TAPPER: So just to be clear, you were not talking about going after people for implementing policies you disagree with, you're saying that you were talking about going after people for breaking the law?
SLOTKIN: For literally breaking our law. Right. If you are taking taxpayer dollars and violating our law and using that to enrich the president or help him do that, if you are fabricating cases against people when there's no legal basis, your bar status, these are all things that are already on the books. If you are violating the law, then you should be held accountable, and that includes people who are supporting that activity.
That's the point I was trying to make. You're not breaking the law. No problem. We can have disagreements all day long, and Democrats and Republicans do. I don't care if it's just freedom of speech. I care if you're breaking the law.
TAPPER: Your colleague, Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, tweeted, quote, it is absolutely disgraceful to threaten young Americans for participating in politics and serving their country, unquote.
What's your response to that? Do you think your comments are deterring qualified young people from public service?
SLOTKIN: Yes, well, look, that's manufactured outrage. That's his specialty. I think the thing that I've heard from my own Republican colleagues and peers, including, like, interns and folks who work around the Hill who come to our events, they'll tell you, like, you know, I was worried, my parents were worried. You know, it's really messy. I'm not sure what to get involved in. Politics in general has become messy.
But, you know, when you're being forced by this administration, for instance, to sign a contract that is given over to a company that Trump Jr. is on the board of, and you know that that's a problem. Like, my point is, do not get yourself involved in illegal activity.
It's the same thing I was talking about a year ago. Whether you're the uniform military or a civilian in government, if you're being asked to do something by the president or his team that's illegal, you have a responsibility to reject that. That is my point, and that was the point I was trying to make.
TAPPER: So there's a guy named Mike Davis. I know you're familiar with him. He's a Trump ally. He's head of conservative legal group, very pro Trump.
What he said about you online was, quote, she will learn why we have the Second Amendment F her and her CIA antics. Now, when asked about his comments, part of Davis's statement to CNN said, quote, while the First Amendment allows Slotkin to make her idiotic statements, the Second Amendment deters government tyrants from actually taking illegal action, such as deploying illegal force against our constitutional rights, unquote. What did you make of all that?
SLOTKIN: I mean, first of all, it's not a veiled threat, right? I mean, threatening the Second Amendment is threatening for someone to get shot. And I think there's been plenty of people, Democrat and Republican independents, who would say, like, can we just not threaten violence against each other for our words?
He's certainly precipitated a whole wave of threats against myself, but my staff, including doxxing, my staff, and this is part of a sort of strategy of intimidation that these people use.
And, you know, this is someone who Donald Trump thought of as a potential attorney general and then luckily thought better of it. But I just think that this is kind of part and parcel of this toxic culture of threatening violence because you disagree with someone. The president threatened to have me, you know, investigated, arrested and hanged for sedition and followed through with the investigation and near arrest part. And this guy's just threatening violence.
And it is, again, I imagine what kids think about when they're just scrolling Twitter, my nieces and nephews, and they see someone threaten violence because of words. It's just -- it shows you how toxic these people have become online.
TAPPER: Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, thanks so much for joining us today.
SLOTKIN: Thank you.
TAPPER: In one of the biggest stories in sports in the world right now, the Philadelphia Eagles head coach just finished speaking to reporters after it was revealed that quarterback Jalen Hurts has blood clots in his lungs and is likely going to miss the rest of the season. Those new details and why so many Eagles fans are upset. Next.
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[17:44:27]
TAPPER: Shocking news in our Sports Lead that is rattling my hometown of Philadelphia today and Eagles fans across the world. Eagles starting quarterback Super Bowl champion Jalen Hurts is now out for the rest of the season. The Eagles and Hurts' agents say in a statement that blood clots have traveled from his leg to his lungs. Questions have swirled about the decision to have Hurts play in a game the day after the first clot was found in his leg weeks ago.
Head coach Nick Sirianni was pressed for answers this afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK SIRIANNI, EAGLES HEAD COACH: The health of our players is always at the forefront of our mind and we leave that up to the medical experts.
[17:45:09]
But we always, always care deeply about our players. I fully trust the people that are involved in helping us all make these decisions. The same doctors and trainers that helped 21 of our 22 starters be available in the super bowl are the same guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Today, CNN's Dana O'Neil is here to answer my many questions. Dana, so there's a new report from ESPN about the game two games ago against the Jacksonville Jaguars. This was in London. ESPN says when Jalen Hurts was in the hospital the day before the game, doctors advised him to not go to sleep because of the health risk of going to sleep. When he had a blood clot in his lungs, yet he was still cleared to play NFL football the next day and then to take an international flight home. I don't understand.
What more are we learning about that?
DANA O'NEIL, CNN SPORTS WRITER: Yes, I mean, not a whole lot just yet, Jake. As you said, Nick Sirianni met with the media today as he always does on Mondays after games, but nobody else has really answered a lot of questions. His agent, Nicole Lynn, has said, I think briefly that he did get some rest after leaving the hospital. But, you know, you're up till 4am dealing with blood clots. I don't think it's a, you know, easy rest.
And as you mentioned, transatlantic flights, long flights are known to cause deep vein thrombosis. Not on the regular, but they can. So it's a lot of medical questions with not a whole lot of answers right now other than this happened to Jalen Hurts. The blood clot traveled to his lung and he's out for the season.
TAPPER: Look, obviously nothing is more important than the health of Jalen Hurts. He's a young man. What is the prognosis? And selfishly, if I can ask, is he ever going to be able to play football again? Obviously this, not this season, but after this season.
O'NEIL: Yes. I mean, all signs point toward a full recovery. As you pointed out, he is young people have recovered from these before, normal people like you and I, let alone world class athletes. Just a year ago, Victor Wembanyama had a DVT, as they call it, in his shoulder. He had surgery. He came back last season and went to the NBA finals.
So with some blood thinners which take a few months to do the work, the prognosis is at least that this should clear itself up just as mysteriously as it showed up after he got kicked in the leg. And all signs point to a recovery, but certainly not unfortunately for you and your Eagles fans brethren this season.
TAPPER: Yes, but we'll get him back. Thoughts and prayers to Jalen Hurts and his friends and family and to Philadelphia Eagles and to my poor Philadelphia Eagles fans out there. Dana O'Neil, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
More on our Health Lead, though. Today, President Trump signed an executive order spearheaded by First Lady Melania Trump. The goal is to change how the federal government approaches women's health, creating two entities to direct research into health issues that disproportionately affect women. This closely resembles an effort former first lady Jill Biden created, which was later scrapped under the Trump administration.
Let's discuss this with Shira Boehler. She's a lung cancer survivor. You know her husband, Adam Boehler, who we've had on the show several times. He has served the Trump administration in both health and finance roles, but he's been on the show to discuss the negotiation for the release of American hostages and detainees.
Shira, thanks so much for joining us. So you are at this event today because you want to keep raising awareness for women's health issues. When doctors discovered your lung cancer, it was by accident. And you didn't believe them at first because you're a runner, you've never smoked. How was it discovered? What do you think would have happened if it hadn't been caught right then?
SHIRA BOEHLER, LUNG CANCER SURVIVOR: I mean, you're right, Jake. That is the abridged version. I ran six miles on a Monday morning, went in and paid out of my own pocket for a preventative screen of my lungs and my heart, something that I believe all Americans should have access to, and walked into a pulmonary specialist's office to be told I had lung cancer.
I was in shock. I kept telling them that the EMR must have messed up, that it wasn't true, that I had just run six miles, my hair was sweaty, and I was told over and over again, you have lung cancer. They found a nodule that was over 4 centimeter and they needed to, you know, have a biopsy done. And ultimately I had half my right lung removed a few days later.
TAPPER: It surprised so many of us when Pope Leo was diagnosed with lung cancer. Given that he, like you, research has found a rise in lung cancer diagnosis among young people, women and nonsmokers in particular. Obviously, the pope isn't young, but he's a nonsmoker.
Do you think that this new Trump initiative or some sort of policy change is needed to help catch even more cases earlier?
BOEHLER: Yes, I think it will and it should. I think that the truth of the fact of the matter is that lung cancer is actually killing more young, healthy women than breast cancer and ovarian cancer and colon cancer combined.
[17:50:05]
And we're not talking about it or screening for it. And right now we're sitting in Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and they're finding that breast cancer survivors have a twofold increase of lung cancer as a primary cancer within five years. And we need to pay attention. We've been so successful diagnosing and finding breast cancer early that we can celebrate how amazing it's been to have so many breast cancer survivors. And we need to do the same for a lot of other cancers.
They believe 40 percent of Americans are going to get cancer in their lifetime. And if you think about the fact that that's going to hit 100 percent of us, we need to find it early. And I think the focus should be on health care, not sick care and getting these preventative scans. TAPPER: So you had no lung cancer symptoms before the scan discovered that nodule. In the absence of new policies for more aggressive screening and prevention, what should we be doing?
BOEHLER: You're right. I think one of the things we need to focus on is the new United States Preventative Services Task Force. I think it's great that we have specialists that are now on that task force, and they're slated with finally meeting and getting together and relooking at some of these older scanning guidelines that are outdated and antiquated.
And I'm hopeful that they'll be able to look at that and see the success that mammography has had on breast cancer survivorship and colonoscopies have had on colon cancer survivorship and be able to add that for lung cancer, which is the number one cancer killer, and heart disease, which is the number one killer in America.
And I think our focus on preventative screening and the focus on health care should be what takes us into the next step, because I think it not only saves lives, but it saves money, too. And cancer doesn't care, quite frankly. And it didn't care whether I ran and I was healthy and ate out of the fridge or the Pope has continued to be healthy and people should have access to the scan that the Pope received and access to the scan that I received without having to pay an exorbitant amount out of their own pocket.
TAPPER: Shira Boehler, thank you so much. We're so glad you're healthy and we're so glad you're so eloquent. Thanks for joining us today.
BOEHLER: Thank you, Jake.
TAPPER: It was a contentious day in court for Justice Department lawyers attempting to defend President Trump's plans for renovating a D.C. golf course. But it was just one bogey after the other. That story's next.
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[17:56:33]
TAPPER: In our National Lead, President Trump today defending his decision to aggressively remodel, shall we say the East Potomac Public Golf course in Washington, D.C.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We want to do something great for Washington. We're going to basically build a better golf course. You could call it a renovation. It should be very simple and it's something that the Department of Interior is allowed to do. Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Curious midterm closing message there. This after a contentious day in court where Justice Department lawyers were grilled for clearing hundreds of trees from the course without providing notice. CNN Sunlen Serfaty is here to give us the latest. Sunlen, what happened today?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well Jake, this was a marathon hearing today, over seven hours, just wrapped up a short time ago. And it really illuminated these two narratives that the Trump administration is putting out about the trees, about the renovation of the D.C. municipal golf course and as it makes its way through the legal process.
Now you have on one hand the DOJ lawyers who are arguing that the cutting down of 400 to 500 trees was essentially just routine maintenance, they say nothing to do with the broader plans to renovate the golf course.
TAPPER: Cutting down 400 to 500 trees was just routine.
SERFATY: Correct. That's what they're arguing.
TAPPER: That's interesting.
SERFATY: Interesting long standing plan there that's been on the books and just now they're getting to it. A seven-year old plan. And then on the other hand, you have President Trump who over the weekend is formally releasing this plan for the golf course with a rendering of what the golf course will look like, announcing over Truth Social that the plans will start immediately to have the construction take place and it will be closed while this renovation happens.
So you saw the judge in this case essentially openly struggling to square that circle, essentially saying, who stood to believe here? There's no universe, she said, in which all of this coincidentally happened all at the same time. And you really sense the frustration here.
She says, I have one on hand, the President of the United States saying this to the American people. There's a final plan. And he put out again those renderings. And then she said, but then I also have you today telling me there's no final plan, which is it? I don't know what to do when I keep getting different stories.
TAPPER: So anytime there is a challenging judge who is focused on the law, the president does what he does, which is attack the judge. And earlier today he posted on Truth Social, quote, the judge on the case is a crazed lunatic whose courthouse tapes will reveal may be insane. Question mark. OK. I imagine comments like that are not going to help his case.
SERFATY: Not at all. And certainly the judge is frustrated here. And as you know, President Trump has a long history of complaining about judges who do not go his way. This has grown increasingly tense and now increasingly personal with this judge. She rejected the administration's request for her to recuse herself from this case and they questioned her impartiality over the weekend. They said that she has egregious behavior.
She opened up the case today, Jake. Saying, noting, I trust everyone's weekend was as relaxing and restful as everyone (ph). TAPPER: Yes, I mean, when presidents say things like that, or this president rather, since other presidents haven't, it tends to result in death threats and other things like that. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much.
Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, President Trump is about to land in Kansas where he claims polls showing a neck and neck Senate race are, quote, fake. We're live on the campaign trail ahead of his rally for a preview of his message to these crucial voters.
Plus, before heading to the Sunflower State, the president once again sided with Russia over Ukraine.
