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CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip
42 Million Americans On Verge Of Losing Food Stamps Due To Shutdown; Trump, Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) Talk About 2028 Opportunities; Ocasio-Cortez Tells Mamdani Supporters that They Are Not The Crazy Ones; White House Silent On Trump's MRI. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired October 27, 2025 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST (voice over): Tonight, the shutdown is about to get desperately real. 40 million Americans who rely on food stamps will soon be without them. Is this an inflection point in the standoff?
Plus, as MAGA insists there's a plan to get Donald Trump a third term, he's on board with it.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I would love to do it. I have my best numbers ever.
PHILLIP: And he's not the only one to await '28.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): You're going to give it serious thought. Yes, I'd be lying.
PHILLIP: Also, as AOC Bernie Sanders and the New York socialist attract enthusiastic crowds, are Republicans and Democrats alike underestimating them?
TRUMP: AOC's low I.Q.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): It is truly the end of the Democratic Party as we've known it.
PHILLIP: And MRI mystery, does the American public deserve answers on the president's health?
Live at the table, Ana Kasparian, Harrison Fields, Neera Tanden, Joe Borelli and Tara Palmeri.
Americans with different perspectives aren't talking to each other, but here, they do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Good evening. I'm Abby Phillip in New York. Let's get right to what America's talking about. The government shutdown is about to get worse. Tonight, panic is setting in for tens of millions of Americans who are now at risk of losing critical food assistance. The Department of Agriculture has warned that the money that funds the SNAP program, better known as food stamps, will run out by this Saturday. And the Trump administration is saying that it will not tap into emergency funds in order to pay for it.
SNAP provides aid to low income families, seniors, people with disabilities so that they can afford groceries, and it's a key pillar of the social safety net. Though only 42 million Americans rely on snaps or about one in eight people, it provides an average monthly benefit of $188 per person.
Now, the shutdown has dragged on for 27 days now, and it's on track to being the longest ever if lawmakers can't come up with a solution to reopen it, even though most are not even in Washington anymore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: I don't know what the Democrats are doing other than publicity stunts, but I can tell you the House Republicans are doing some of the most meaningful work of their careers.
So, I don't want to pull them away from that work right now when their insight and their counsel and their assistance and those of their staff, who, by the way, aren't getting paid soon, that is most essentially needed right now back home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: You know, this is the shutdown that could very well just not end because nobody seems to be that interested in ending it. But for Americans who are on SNAP, this weekend is going to be where they're going to have to face the reality that, honestly, $188 in this economy, it's not even a whole lot of money for food, but it's going to go away.
ANA KASPARIAN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND HOST, THE YOUNG TURKS: I mean, luckily we have the money to bail out Argentina to the tune of $40 billion. And by bailing out Argentina, of course, the Trump administration is helping to bail out the hedge funds invested in Argentina. It's not a good look when the Republican Party won't see concede on the one thing that's important here, which is add the subsidies to the Affordable Care Act so people's healthcare premiums don't double, and that's it. That's what the Democrats are asking for, but Republicans refuse to sign on to that.
And if we're going to keep having this dysfunctional government situation or Congressional situation year-after-year, I mean, they're still collecting my taxes. Why are they collecting my taxes? For what? And what's the important work that Mike Johnson is doing right now and the Republicans are doing right now? Does anyone know? I mean, there's some Republicans on the panel right now. Can you guys tell me the important work they're doing?
JOE BORELLI, FORMER REPUBLICAN LEADER, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL: All Republicans want -- all Republicans want is for Democrats to do what Democrats have demanded others do time and time again, what Democrats themselves have done, vote for clean C.R.s.
KASPARIAN: Do you think that premiums should double?
BORELLI: This has been the premium that your party chose to have subsidies --
(CROSSTALKS)
HARRISON FIELDS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CGCN: This is a problem the Democratic Party's own doing.
KASPARIAN: Should the premiums double?
FIELDS: And now they're looking and they're trying to point the finger at the Republican Party.
KASPARIAN: It's a simple question. Should the premiums double?
FIELDS: Should they open up the government? The answer is yes.
KASPARIAN: The government will open if they give the Democrats the one thing they're asking for, which is a just issue.
FIELDS: You want to talk about premiums. We just talked about SNAP benefits. Who cares about healthcare when you cannot put food on the table? You have millions of Americans --
KASPARIAN: Yes, SNAP benefits are important too.
FIELDS: You have a lot of Americans that are going to be without food stamps because of the Democratic Party.
KASPARIAN: So you want the Democrats to sign on to funding the government and this situation --
(CROSSTALKS)
BORELLI: What is the difference for the bill that you voted before?
[22:05:01]
What is difference?
(CROSSTALKS)
NEERA TANDEN, FORMER DOMESTIC POLICY ADVISER, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION: I'm just going to say it's amazing to get lectures on how much you care about SNAP benefits?
FIELDS: Because I have family members on SNAP.
TANDEN: Then why then why did you, why did you support the president when he asked for and got $186 billion of cuts to SNAP?
FIELDS: They were cleaning up the program from waste, fraud and abuse.
TANDEN: Oh my God, that is all ridiculous.
FIELDS: Because you cannot have a program -- no, no, no.
TANDEN: People are going to go hungry from those SNAP benefits.
FIELDS: Strawman argument, you cannot have --
TANDEN: Those people -- I'm sorry. You just paid for $186 billion out of the SNAP program, $186 billion that will go --
FIELDS: Waste, fraud and abuse.
TANDEN: It's not waste, fraud and abuse. You would like to say that, but it's actually false.
FIELDS: Look at, look at what we actually --
TANDEN: If you put some money --
(CROSSTALKS)
FIELDS: What you're mad about is the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill. You guys have to realize that elections have consequences.
PHILLIP: Hold on one second. Just on the waste, fraud, and abuse point, over the last 15 years, SNAP fraud has fallen from 4 percent to 1 percent. So, there's already very little fraud in the SNAP program, according to the government.
TANDEN: $180 billion is a lot more.
PHILLIP: But regardless of that, I mean people who are on the program right now are going to not have benefits. I think it's interesting because the Trump administration says, you know, there's $6 billion in the emergency fund, $8 billion is needed to cover the month of November. They're saying that they can't use that money because that money needs to be set aside for, you know, hurricanes and other emergencies, but they've been willing to move money around for all kinds of --
FIELDS: Yes, for our troops, Abby, for aviation safety --
PHILLIP: All kinds of other, they've been willing to move money around kinds of other reasons. The question is why not this one. Let me let Tara have a --
TARA PALMERI, PODCAST HOST, THE TARA PALMERI SHOW: I just think that we have to all acknowledge that these are political games that are being played by both sides, right?
KASPARIAN: Of course, it's politics.
PALMERI: The Democrats are going to (INAUDIBLE) tomorrow, but they are using an old Republican tactic of closing the government to have leverage right now.
FIELDS: Who closed the government? It's the Democrats who closed it.
PALMERI: Okay. But they are doing it for leverage. And Republicans have to realize that the Democrats are not folding, so now they are withholding SNAP benefits.
FIELDS: You have the number two House Democrat saying that this is a leverage.
PALMERI: In 2018, they had the same risk.
FIELDS: Its 2025.
PALMERI: No. In 2018, they had the same risk of losing food stamps, SNAP benefits, and they went into another reserve to cover it during Trump's longest shutdown, okay?
TANDEN: And that was the Trump administration.
PALMERI: And so the point is that both are withholding funds --
FIELDS: You all are ignoring --
PALMERI: -- and enough ability to just sit down and actually talk.
PHILLIP: So, let's just address what she said, because she's arguing, and I think there's good reason to believe that, that obviously there are political games being played here. Democrats are keeping the government shut down until they get concessions on healthcare, and the Trump administration, which in the past has used other funds to cover SNAP benefits, is not doing it now. Why?
FIELDS: Okay. We have to step back for a moment. The Democrats have been getting rolled for the past nine months by the president of the United States. They haven't had an answer for how to get after what the president has been doing, his historic agenda. So, now, they have their rally around the flag moment. We're going to stick it to Trump. Who they're really sticking it to is the American people. They were holding this government hostage for what?
PHILLIP: Let's just address -- let me address the question asked you.
FIELDS: We can get to these negotiations about SNAP.
PHILLIP: No. Let me re-ask you the question that I asked you, which is that we know that the Trump administration of the past has been willing to use other funds to cover SNAP benefits. We know that the Trump administration of present has been willing to use other funds to cover other emergency needs for people that need to be paid. Why will they not do this on the issue of food on the table for children under five, children, 5 to 17, I'm very clear of who's going to be impacted, adults over 60 years old, people with disabilities? I mean, is the answer as simple as they're not going to give Democrats anything, and maybe they think that this is going to hurt Democrats more?
TANDEN: That's exactly right. FIELDS: If you open up the government, that's what happens. People get SNAP benefits. You're pointing the finger at the president of the United States when it's the Democratic Party that is holding the government hostage. Who came out today and said --
PHILLIP: Tara is a journalist and she's able to sort of put the politics from the people. You're not willing to acknowledge that politics is at play here. Is it at play?
FIELDS: What I'm saying is that the Democrats are playing politics with this shutdown.
(CROSSTALKS)
PHILLIP: Granted -- hold on one second. Granted -- hold on one second, Harrison. Granted, the Democrats are playing politics with the shutdown, they are playing the very same shutdown game that Trump and Republicans played in his first administration on several occasions.
FIELDS: Are we dealing with the shutdown of 2018?
(CROSSTALKS)
FIELDS: Okay. But you know what? The people on SNAP benefits don't care about that.
PHILLIP: I'm asking you.
FIELDS: They don't care about it.
[22:10:00]
PHILLIP: Will you acknowledge that the withholding of SNAP benefits in this moment is something that Trump doesn't have to do?
FIELDS: The administration can look at many ways to solve this problem. Look at what they're doing for our troops. Look at what they're doing for aviation safety. Is there a way to do it? I bet you Secretary Rounds (ph) is looking at it.
PHILLIP: Yes, there -- so --
(CROSSTALKS)
TANDEN: Can I just make a point here --
PHILLIP: Hold on one second, everybody, just a second. Let me just say, I appreciate that you acknowledge that there are options on the table. They're not being utilized.
FIELDS: If you could acknowledge that the Democrats can open up the government and this problem won't be a problem.
KASPARIAN: You don't think that that one concession to Democrats is okay? Like just one concession, which is subsidies for the Affordable Care Act -- FIELDS: Not to hold up entire government.
KASPARIAN: That's the one thing they're asking for, one thing.
(CROSSTALKS)
KASPARIAN: Because we love that premiums are going to double. We love it. We love it. Let all these Americans suffer.
PALMERI: Can I just say how I predict this will end? This will end, I'm not sure who will wave the white flag first, I doubt it will be Trump, but he will end up giving the concession of the subsidy. He already said it. He knows that it's --
PHILLIP: Yes. He said it. He said it. Mike Johnson has said it. They've all said that they're going to deal with the subsidies. So --
TANDEN: What's ridiculous, honestly, is that he, Trump, and Trump has said it's an issue. Tillis has said it's an issue. Senator Tillis said it's an issue. What they're really negotiating at this point, basically Thune and others, are, basically, like let's keep the government -- it's the timing. This is a negotiation over timing. It's ridiculous.
BORELLI: What the Democratic Party is doing, they're doing the equivalent of a guy down at the Port Authority bus stop putting a gun to your head and saying, give me your money. That's what a shutdown is. It's brinkmanship. It's forcing a negotiation. It's -- we're here today and I guarantee you, you would have said it's wrong if they do it.
(CROSSTALKS)
BORELLI: All we're asking Democrats to do is what Democrats said they should do time and time again. They voted to the clean C.R. 13 times. This is not new. They can vote for the C.R., they can take the gun out of the head of the American taxpayers, they can take the gun out of the head of the 2 million people that are --
PHILLIP: I've asked this a couple of times, because I just think that, let's just put ourselves in the position of a regular human being, American just out there living their lives, they want to be able to have the government do what their tax dollars are asking them to do. I think that both sides are overestimating the degree to which anybody cares who is responsible, who will be blamed.
KASPARIAN: 100 percent.
PHILLIP: If there is an issue of their premiums going up, they would like that issue resolved. That's what the polling says, and they don't care whether it happens after somebody claims victory because the government has reopened or not.
BORELLI: So, to your point, I don't think they care.
PHILLIP: So, I'm just saying if I'm be a regular person, they're asking why -- if you're going to do it anyway, why not just do it now?
TANDEN: Can I just say --
BORELLI: So, wait, hold on. Point stipulated. I don't think the average American cares which side is doing it. That's why it's so fundamentally stupid that the Democrats are continuing to harm this many Americans, this many Americans, who not only will have their food stamp benefits cut, but even the Americans that will have their ACA subsidies. The Republicans want to negotiate on that. They don't want to negotiate with a gun to their head.
KASPARIAN: This is the one area -- this is the one time in which the Democrats who do not have power in Congress right now actually have a little bit --
FIELDS: They do have power. They're holding government.
KASPARIAN: Because of the government funding bill. This is the whole area where they have --
(CROSSTALKS)
TANDEN: And there's really one answer that could solve both the SNAP benefits and the premium tax credit.
BORELLI: You open up the government.
TANDEN: The truth is you could just have an agreement.
KASPARIAN: Exactly.
TANDEN: Which is what increasing senators, like Lisa Murkowski, recognizes that basically cutting, having (INAUDIBLE), but also Thom Tillis said, let's do a two-year negotiate, let's do two years for the premium tax credit.
So, the truth is there is a simple strategy here, which is they could resolve it in a day. But Republicans and the president are not engaged in this battle, and they are just letting all this happen. And --
BORELLI: They engaged and they passed the bill.
PHILLIP: One quick note, I mean, and, Neera, you understand this, the largest union representing federal employees says it's time to cut this out. And that's going to be pressure on Democrats, for sure.
TANDEN: I will say, I actually think what they said is right. We should have a clean C.R., a clean two-year resolution. But we don't have that.
BORELLI: This is a miracle.
TANDEN: No, no.
BORELLI: We do have that. TANDEN: You guys are wrong, because the difference between this C.R. -- no, this difference -- if you could just let me finish, the difference between this C.R. and every other past C.R. is this president goes behind the back to just cut whatever he wants. So, the truth is you can't even make a deal.
FIELDS: Chuck Schumer voted for the C.R.
TANDEN: Because Russ Vought will just -- and then afterwards, we started having Russ Vought just cut willy-nilly.
So, for the dignity of the Senate and for the House, they actually have to come to an agreement on funding the government, which means Russ Vought doesn't just get to do whatever he wants.
[22:15:03]
That's the big difference between this C.R. and every other one that Democrats voted for.
PHILLIP: Next for us, Gavin Newsome is being mocked for, quote, acting like a brother on a podcast, while Donald Trump says that he'd love to do something unconstitutional.
Plus, do Americans deserve to know the specifics of the president's mysterious MRI? We'll debate,
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIP: Tonight, 2028 seems to be on the minds of three people, President Trump, he says that he'd love a third term despite the Constitution saying explicitly that he can't. Kamala Harris says that she's not done yet when asked about running again.
[22:20:02]
And Gavin Newsom says that he'd be lying if he said he isn't considering it. And MAGA is also taking notice of his recent media blitz, which includes this remark that he made on a podcast classic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWSOM: Classic divorce, family. My dad was great later, reconnected.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Better late than never.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that was facts.
NEWSOM: He was never terrible, but he just wasn't -- he didn't raise us. My mom was 19 pregnant and divorced a few years later with two kids, came from no money.
It was also about paying the bills, man. It was just like hustling. And so I was out there kind of raising myself, turning on the T.V., started, you know, just getting obsessed, you know, sitting there with, you know, the Wonder Bread and five stacks of like -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, it's like the (INAUDIBLE) story.
NEWSOM: Come on, macaroni and cheese (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Some MAGA voices called out Newsom highlighting the fact that his father was a successful lawyer and appeals court judge who had billionaire friends. Others took issue for the way that he spoke to two black men on that podcast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. WESLEY HUNT (R-TX): The white benevolent liberal is the most racist person I've ever seen in the history of this country, and many of them don't even know it. The condescending tone in which they address us is early ridiculous. They think they can now talk to two black basketball stars, and then now all of a sudden, I'm a brother now too because I'm hip and I'm down. And to be honest with you, it's quite condescending. It's actually quite disgusting.
You cannot think that we are beneath you, that you are going to carry us and pat us on the head and say, come along young boy and let me show you the ways of the white man. We don't need you to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Okay. Look, I think there's a lot to say about the Gavin Newsome of it all. It's probably a bit of a stretch to say that, you know, whatever he described Newsom as the most racist thing that he's ever seen, because there's been some racist things in this country's history, but, I mean, what do you make of Gavin Newsom's appearance on that podcast trying to, I guess, get some cool points?
FIELDS: He falls into the trap of Democratic pandering. This is what Hillary Clinton did when she carried hot sauce in her bag. No one believes that she carries hot sauce in her bag.
TANDEN: She actually does carry hot sauce in her bag. She actually did carry hot sauce in her bag.
FIELDS: The point is she panders and if you --
TANDEN: Okay. Well, she was telling the truth there.
FIELDS: And you know also who didn't believe her? A lot of black people, because they didn't vote for her. When you look at the numbers, the trends were starting to move --
PHILLIP: Listen, I don't know -- All I want to say is I don't know that that was like a pander to black people.
FIELDS: It was. And she changed her diet. It's a thing that Democrats do. I'll pull up the tape. There's plenty of it. But the reality is you can do all the podcasts, but the people are looking at the policies. If you look at Gavin Newsom's policies, a lot of black Americans are not going to be running towards Gavin Newsom.
If they were to poll Black America, do you want to live in Los Angeles, you want to live in Miami? Guess where they're going? Miami. They would rather live in a state like Florida than a state like Gavin Newsom's California day in, day out.
PHILLIP: Ana?
KASPARIAN: I don't know about all that, but I will concede that Gavin Newsom's leadership in California has been a complete and utter disaster. As a Californian, I 100 percent have experienced just he's out to lunch, right? Like he changes his ideology depending on what he thinks is fresh and what's hip at any given moment. 76 percent of Californians voted in favor of something known as Prop 36, which is to roll back some of the soft on crime policies that requires funding. He has been pushing back against adequately funding the efforts to essentially roll back those policies to ensure that people who --
TANDEN: You're for his more pro-crime strategy -- you're for the more pro-crime fighting strategy, just to be clear?
KASPARIAN: Absolutely. Yes. Yes.
TANDEN: Okay, good. Okay. So, okay, so that's important. So, you think it's important to have the investments in fighting crime, okay? Because --
KASPARIAN: 100 percent, yes.
TANDEN: Because a big challenge in the, on amongst some of the left has been not supporting that in the past. So, you're saying he's not --
KASPARIAN: You're wrong. They're wrong.
TANDEN: -- he's not doing enough to fight crime?
KASPARIAN: I think the left wanted prison reform. The left wanted better police training. The left wanted real reforms where people aren't getting shot as they're running away from cops and unarmed. What we got instead is the premature closure of four prisons. Gavin Newsom is preparing to shut down the fifth state prison. As a result, the county prisons are full to the brim of inmates, basically. And then what they do is they end up releasing people early because they don't have room for them.
So, Gavin Newsom -- and that's just one of the issues I have with Gavin Newsom. Another issue is $24 billion in California taxpayer money gone. It was supposed to help the homeless. It didn't help the homeless.
[22:25:00]
It got funneled to all these nonprofits that squander that money.
PHILLIP: So, can I just play one response to Gavin Newsom on that podcast? This is Adam Carolla talking about it, also a Californian. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM CAROLLA, COMEDIAN: He tried to sell that shit here too, single mom, mean streets, tough upbringing.
You should know his dad was lead counsel for Getty Oil. Getty's like the richest family in the country, maybe in the world. And that's where his dad was like. His dad was a judge and a lawyer too.
He's a world class douche bag who has no personality other than the personality he perceives other people wanting him to have when he is in the room with them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TANDEN: I mean, I have to say this is like -- this like total bag on Kevin Newsom to me is a little surprising, I would say, amongst Democrats. One of the things he is doing is there are these, there are Republican attempts to do these mid decade redistricting, which people are really worried, are going to overturn basically rigging these elections. And he has -- and actually he's put forward, he's actually responding with Prop 50, which is, I think, going to pass. And it's going to pass because he is demonstrating leadership on at least this core issue of democracy.
So, I'm sorry --
(CROSSTALKS)
FIELDS: Bring in Arnold Schwarzenegger. He'll do what he did to Jake Tapper, schooling and bringing --
TANDEN: Texas, others running these ads and yet Californians, two to one, are moving against --
FIELDS: How many Republicans represent any Congressional district in New England? The answer is zero. 40 percent of them voted for President Trump.
TANDEN: That is phenomenal. That is a great statistic. Let's look at other states, like the Dakotas or other places, or --
BORELLI: They have one rep.
FIELDS: Yes, they have one rep.
TANDEN: This is -- can I ask a question. No.
BORELLI: Let's just to go back to Ana's point, though. I think Ana makes a great point.
TANDEN: A mid-decade redistrict, you are totally fine with mid-decade redistricting. You think it's okay for Texas -- FIELDS: What law are we breaking?
PHILLIP: You're not breaking a law, but that is why --
FIELDS: We are playing a game that you guys did for so long. And trust me, it doesn't take so long --
(CROSSTALKS)
PHILLIP: Hold on one second, let's stick with apples to apples and oranges to oranges, okay? Gerrymandering is done by both parties. Hold on, can you -- hold on, let me finish the sentence please. Thank you. Gerrymandering is done by both parties, okay? That is a fact. However, the mid-decade nature of this redistricting is what is causing so much up uproar. Because there was a census that was done, there was redistricting that was just done, and now they're doing it again with the explicit purpose, the explicit purpose of getting more seats to stave off losses elsewhere in the midterms.
So, look, you can argue about whether that is legal or illegal. Nobody's saying it's illegal. She's arguing that it's wrong. Many people argue that it's wrong. It's just a fact of what is not --
FIELDS: If it's so wrong, then why is Gavin Newsom playing the Republicans' game?
PHILLIP: Let me ask you about --
FIELDS: Two wrongs make a right.
PHILLIP: I don't want to go down the redistricting cul-de-sac here. Let me just talk about Gavin Newsom for just a second, because what he is doing is trying to run for president.
FIELDS: Of course.
PHILLIP: And if you are trying to run for president, it makes sense to go on these podcasts and to show a different side of your personality. But then you also risk getting called out for inauthenticity, for glossing over parts of your story, like the fact that your dad was a very successful lawyer and --
BORELLI: This is Gavin Newsom's problem.
PHILLIP: That is a problem.
BORELLI: His problem is that he spends too much time trying to be cool and look cool. Remember during COVID, he still had to look cool at French laundry having his dinner with his friends.
PALMERI: I don't think he wanted to (INAUDIBLE) that moment.
BORELLI: But to Ana's, she is a California Democrat, right, bona fide California Democrat --
KASPARIAN: Independent, used to be. BORELLI: -- someone who leans left. If she is not the base voter of Gavin Newsom going into a presidential cycle, who in God's name are the people that Gavin Newsom views as his core demographic? Because they're all fleeing the state, they're moving away.
PALMERI: I just think that Democrats might be underestimating how difficult it may be for Gavin Newsom to tell his story of California outside of California, especially to southern Democrats, to the rest of the country, to the Midwest. I just think he's going to struggle. He is a coastal Democratic elite and he does not have a strong story of governorship.
(CROSSTALKS)
PALMERI: And he is very preoccupied with the podcasts right now, one that he hosted himself.
KASPARIAN: I'm begging the Democratic establishment to just consider how much of a target-rich environment Gavin Newsom happens to be. Look at his leadership in the state of California. I know that he looks slick.
(CROSSTALKS)
TANDEN: I have to say it's going to be an open field for -- lots of people are going to run. But I have to say I find it very entertaining that people are basically attacking Gavin Newsom when Donald Trump, who's from New York City, who's like an attention machine, has become president of the United States.
[22:30:07]
I think a lot of this, I mean, it is an open field, it's an open field, but I do think that...
FIELDS: But what you saw is what you got with him.
TANDEN: So one thing about Trump, let me just finish.
One thing, I don't think, is what you saw is what you got with Donald Trump, but I do think an issue with Gavin Newsom is he has tracked attention in a way...
BORELLI: Are we saying Trump doesn't say in verbatim when he thinks at the moment--
TANDEN: No. We're saying it changes. It says his core beliefs fundamentally change on a regular basis, and that is like a fact about Donald Trump.
FIELDS: I think what we're hearing from you is actually a problem that you brought up. The Democratic establishment, which is you, already has a -- you already have a Newsom 2028 bumper sticker on your car.
KASPARIAN: I do not.
FIELDS: That's what it sounds like. And you have to realize...
KASPARIAN: I'm not saying it's okay.
FIELDS: You have to get to a primary. He's not going to win South Carolina.
TANDEN: He should have a primary.
FIELDS: He's not going to win New Hampshire.
And it's great for us, but the one person we're not talking about, I'm sure we will, Kamala Harris. No one is talking about her. She's probably going to get into this race, and that's going to be a pretty battle.
Like you said earlier, I agree. There's going to be a lot of horses in this race. A lot of them.
And none of them can beat the next Republican ticket, whoever it is.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Okay, I think it's too early for all of that. It's too early for all of that.
You can see CNN's interview with Governor Gavin Newsom on "The Story Is with Elex Michaelson." It debuts tonight and will air every weeknight at midnight Eastern and 9:00 p.m. Pacific right here on CNN. If you want the whole story about his potential run in 2028, tune in.
Next for us, as AOC, Bernie Sanders, and Zohran Mamdani draw crowds like this, AOC says that they aren't the crazy ones. Are conservatives and liberals underestimating the political power at play here? We'll debate next.
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[22:35:00]
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PHILLIP: Speaking at the "New York is Not For Sale" event for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a simple message. It's not us, it's them.
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REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): We are not the crazy ones, New York City. We are not the outlandish ones, New York City. They want us to think we are crazy, we are sane. To demand an affordable and decent housing, a decent wage, the right to health care, is not a radical act, it is basic and core humanity.
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PHILLIP: Senator Bernie Sanders was there, and so was New York Governor Kathy Hochul, she was appearing with Mamdani for the first time since endorsing him late September. That was met by ridicule, what you heard there from AOC, from Republicans, including from House Speaker Mike Johnson. Let's listen.
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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: We saw our clearest sign yet that this radical insurgent movement in the Democrat party is succeeding. And they are ending what has always been known as the Democrat party in America. After a month's long pressure campaign from the far-left, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries finally relented, he gave in, and he gave his endorsement to the socialist running to be mayor of New York City.
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PHILLIP: So none of that is surprising that Mike Johnson would say that, but I also think that there is something happening, in New York City at least, when you get, you know, 15,000 people in a room, and they're all there to support the guy who's calling himself a socialist, and that's not something that necessarily can be ignored.
BORELLI: Look, Trump had 40-something thousand at MSG one night, just a year ago, which was pretty impressive. But that crowd was impressive, and God bless him, right?
You have a right to go to a rally. You know, we talk about AOC and Bernie being there, and that's something.
The interesting thing is that Kathy Hochul and the leadership, the establishment leadership of the state legislature were there as well. And that to me is the sign that the establishment Democratic Party is embracing this Democratic socialist agenda.
PHILLIP: They are.
BORELLI: They are embracing it 100 percent. And this is an issue set that they are running on that plays well in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It plays well with the Catlays on the Upper West Side.
It does not play well in all 435 seats of the House of Representatives that are up. This is a bigger problem for Democrats than just New York City.
If they win, if the socialists win the race here in New York City, fine. I think they're going to pay a price downstream in a lot of other districts.
PHILLIP: All right, 19,000 in MSG, by the way--
BORELLI: But I think 40.
PHILLIP: But just double it. But no, I mean, look, I think that you're right that the establishment has come on board, Neera, with this moment for New York. But again, one of the reasons that they're doing it is because it seems like what Mamdani is able to do, a lot of other Democrats are not able to do around the country, which is get people really excited. The early voting numbers in New York right now are crazy. OK, the first weekend in 2021's general election, there were thirty one thousand people. So far, 223,000 early voting check-ins in New York in this general election.
There's something going on here.
[22:40:04]
TANDEN: I think there's definitely something going on in New York City. I think the question really is, what will happen on Tuesday? I think that's really important.
But this is -- there are multiple races on Tuesday. There's a New Jersey governor's race, a Virginia governor's race. Virginia governor's race is much more bellwether for the country than New York City.
I mean, New York City is really important, but it is not representative of America itself.
And so I do think there are important lessons to learn on the cost of living. I do think Zohran Mamdani focused in on that and it was the right issue. People do think housing costs too much in the country.
But I also think actually, when you're looking at the country, it's more important. It will be as important, if not more important, how Abigail Spanberger does or Mikey Sherrill does in states where you are running statewide, not just in your most urban area.
PHILLIP: Tara?
PALMERI: I just think that this race, Zohran Mamdani, his messaging is all about affordability, which is smart. I mean, and I think that can affect both parties if they don't watch it soon. I mean, inflation is off the charts, the cost of living is insane.
And if they don't seem to get the answers, if they don't get the answers from the Republican Party, we have to remember that there was always a crossover between the Bernie voters and the Trump voters, the populist message. It rings true.
It doesn't matter who's saying it, OK? And somebody's got to bring answers. And he is now a shiny, bright object and he's bringing people out. And I know it's a label of socialism and it sounds crazy, but it's still the same posh populist message.
PHILLIP: I think there's a fundamental --
BORELLI: The affordability problem here in New York because of Democratic policies. Affordability is a problem in New Jersey because of energy policy.
PALMERI: Grocery prices are up, utility prices are up because--
BORELLI: Because in New Jersey, like you pointed out, New Jersey's energy policies have been crushed, because where it is cheaper in New York than New Jersey because of Phil Murphy's policies. Phil Murphy turned off the energy spigot and New Jerseys are paying the price.
People are not moving to New York. They're moving out of New York.
PALMERI: Where is it? Where is it?
PHILLIP: One second. I mean, Joe, you're right in the sense that New York is run by Democrats. So, yes, they're responsible for New York.
But the country is feeling that it's expensive, that the prices are ticking up now. Inflation is heading in the wrong direction, not the right direction under Trump. And that is going to be still a central issue for the next midterm elections, not just for next Tuesday, but the next midterm elections and the presidential election after that.
So the candidates like Trump and Zohran Mamdani, who are using populism to address that, clearly something is working. And Mamdani, just because he has a socialist next to his name, clearly voters are listening to the message more than they're listening.
FIELDS: They're being sold a bag of goods that is just not going to come to fruition. If you look at Mayor de Blasio's, if you look at Bloomberg's, if you look at all of these Democrats who have ran the city, they wish they promised the same thing and they never deliver.
I have a brother in Queens. He's heard mayors since the 70s, since he was born, promised the same thing for the city.
Guess what? You never delivered the one mayor that actually delivered on something. Mayor Giuliani, what do you say he was going to do? Get the crime crisis under wraps.
And what did he do? Crime deteriorated rapidly. And the New Yorkers remember that.
What Zohran is doing, this is a guy who's spoken vile about Jews, vile about the NYPD.
KASPARIAN: That's not true.
FIELDS: It is true.
KASPARIAN: What did he say about Jews? What did he say?
FIELDS: From the river to the sea.
KASPARIAN: Please. You're going to talk about it?
OK, well, look, who's charter literally says that they're going to pursue the greater Israel project and literally steal land from all these military countries? Please don't give me that nonsense about from the river to the sea.
Please.
BORELLI: This is the new Democratic Party.
FIELDS: Exactly. This is the platform.
KASPARIAN: This is a rejection of the establishment. That's what it is. The establishment has not actually looked out for anti-Semitic at all.
FIELDS: It is fundamentally anti-Israel. I get called a fascist every single day. I can call you anti-Semitic because it's exactly what you are doing.
The Democratic Party has an anti-Semitic.
KASPARIAN: Why? Because he doesn't want to visit Israel as the mayor of New York City. Is that why?
FIELDS: He wants to arrest Bibi Netanyahu.
KASPARIAN: He should be arrested. He's a war criminal.
PHILLIP: Hold on a second.
KASPARIAN: There you go. I'm right. He's wanted by the International Criminal Court.
FIELDS: There you go. Modern day Democratic Party.
KASPARIAN: There's a warrant out for his arrest.
PHILLIP: We're going to leave that there.
Next for us, why did President Trump get an MRI? And don't Americans deserve to know what's going on with his health? We'll debate that too, next.
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[22:45:00]
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PHILLIP: There are new questions tonight about President Trump's health after he revealed that he received an MRI during his visit to Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this month.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We had an MRI and in the machine, you know, the whole thing, and it was perfect. The doctor said some of the best reports for the age, some of the best reports they've ever seen.
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PHILLIP: The best MRIs you've ever seen. At the time, the White House described the visit as a routine yearly
checkup. It was, though, his second in a matter of months. Trump received an annual physical back in April.
So, you know, Tara, we've covered White Houses before. This is always a little bit of kind of like a mystery when presidents go into the doctor and they don't say why.
[22:50:08]
But with Trump, it's gotten more frequent. And let's be honest, I mean, Trump is older and there are things that are going to happen to his health. The question is, will the White House be transparent about it?
PALMERI: Right and he has a doctor that's always happy to say that his health is amazing. And we know that there's no transparency. Listen, I don't think that there was much transparency during the Biden years either about his health, as we all know and saw.
So the presidents feel like their health is connected to their power, right? They don't want to show any weakness.
And there is the perception that, you know, if they're not fit, it could hurt their mandate. And he has another year or so.
BORELLI: The reason why we're having this conversation and the reason why there is a distrust from the American public about how the President this one or any other is healthy or not, is because we had a President who covered up his own health decline. And you had people, enablers, I won't say who.
FIELDS: Some of them were hauled into Congress.
BORELLI: Some people--
PALMERI: These guys are both in their 80s.
BORELLI: And we saw the physical decline of a human on live television. They couldn't handle a pair, a set of stairs.
And the Democratic Party and his apologist told us that he was fit as a fiddle. By the way, he's fit as a fiddle. He's sharp as a tack.
Let's have Nancy Pelosi's name on a note card because he couldn't recognize Nancy Pelosi when he's sharp as a tack.
PALMERI: That Trump is just a year or two younger than Biden. Let's watch him in a year or so. OK, because when you get old, you get old really fast.
BORELLI: I get it. We saw it. OK.
PALMERI: And then we'll see.
BORELLI: Trump challenge AOC-- TANDEN: It was like, you know, Joe Biden was very old. And you know
what? People covered it all the time. And it was the number one conversation everyone had about him.
He was old. I totally get that. And but I think it's a little ridiculous when a guy who's talking about having a third term is hiding his MRIs from the American public.
BORELLI: He's not having his MRIs. He literally spoke to the American people.
PALMERI: Karoline Leavitt had this thing and nobody said anything.
PHILLIP: Let me play the Karoline Leavitt sound. And this is what she said and she was asked explicitly if he'd had an MRI.
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REPORTER: Any more details on the president's Walter Reed visit? The readout from his doctor mentioned advanced imaging. What procedure was he referring to?
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Advanced imaging is something that presidents receive and people receive when they go to the doctor. And so we provide a detailed readout of that physical. And I would encourage you back to that.
President and presidents-- and I don't know the exact imaging that took place. But as the physician's note said, the president is in incredibly good shape.
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FIELDS: Listen, I think having just left the office, Karoline is a dear friend and my former boss. She's a lot of things, she's not a doctor.
So for whatever that was supposed to be, for her to somehow confirm whether or not in getting the MRI. And I was there when the President's doctor sent her a report and we made it public about the issues that some people were questioning online.
PHILLIP: This is in there. Let me just show you--
FIELDS: And what we do out of transparency. We came out, the President was very honest about it. The doctors --
PHILLIP: In a way it was -- in a way it was unavoidable because of images like this. These are his hands.
FIELDS: We addressed it.
PHILLIP: That show--
FIELDS: -- Secretary of Defense (inaudible) surgery.
PHILLIP: And then also some swelling in his ankles.
FIELDS: And if you want to know a true testament to his health, look at where he is.
PHILLIP: OK, listen, this is not a general but this is not a general statement about his health. It's just a very simple question.
FIELDS: Well, transparency.
PHILLIP: It's a very simple question about whether she could acknowledge that he had an MRI. And rather than say that it was an MRI--
FIELDS: That she was asked I doubt she knew. And the President came out and said that he had an MRI. Talk about transparency.
TANDEN: He also said it's supposed to happen, as you know.
This press secretary does talk to the doctor. You know that that is what is supposed to happen. And if she didn't talk to the doctor, then why is the doctor hiding that from everyone else? I think that's a bigger scandal, frankly.
If the doctor--
FIELDS: Did Karoline know stethoscope was used, probably not.
Did the doctor tell her a stethoscope was used? No.
PHILLIP: -- that the idea that an MRI is part of a standard physical is not true. It's not.
FIELDS: It's human, he is the President of the United States. He can have a plea.
PHILLIP: Indisputably so.
FIELDS: Well, many Democrats dehumanize him.
PHILLIP: Hold on a second.
FIELDS: Let's say you say you're saying that's not true.
PHILLIP: An MRI is not a part of a normal presidential physical or any other physical. It's a test that is done when they are checking for something. So we will find out, I suppose, what they were trying for at some point.
FIELDS: We've got a lot.
PHILLIP: Everyone, stay with us. Thank you for being here.
Breaking news tonight. The strongest storm in the world this year is just hours away from making landfall. We're going to have all the latest updates on that very dangerous situation, up next.
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[22:55:00]
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PHILLIP: Tonight, one of the strongest hurricanes on record is heading for land. Hurricane Melissa is a dangerous category five hurricane moving toward Jamaica and it's still strengthening.
The most destructive part will likely arrive after sunrise on Tuesday. The hurricane currently has sustained winds of 175 miles per hour, and that makes it the strongest storm worldwide this year and it puts it in the top 10 strongest storms on record in the Atlantic Basin.
[23:00:04]
And thank you for watching "NewsNight." You can catch me anytime on your favorite social media: X, Instagram and TikTok. "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
