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President Trump Speaks As Government Shutdown Hits Day 31; FBI Says It Thwarted A Potential Halloween Attack In Michigan, Sources Describe Plot As ISIS-inspired; Judge Says Trump Required To Use Emergency Fund For Snap Food Benefits During Shutdown; Major Polls Show Mamdani Leading NYC Mayoral Race. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired October 31, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

LANCE ULANOFF, EDITOR AT LARGE, TECHRADAR: And I have to reiterate that A.I. self-driving cars follow the rules of the road.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Lance, thank you so much. I'm afraid we have to leave it there because President Trump just spoke to reporters upon landing in Palm Beach. Here he is.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: OK? Happy Halloween and all of that. So we had an amazing trip. We had incredible meetings with President Xi of China, as you know. With the brilliant new prime minister of Japan, we just had a great time. And with the president of South Korea, we had a, an amazing journey. We also saw a lot of other countries. We brought back home with us trillions of dollars, trillions, many trillions of dollars. And our country is doing well.

The shutdown proceeds because the Democrats just don't know what they're doing. I don't know what's wrong with them. They've never done a thing like this. They've become crazed lunatics. All they have to do is say, let's go, let's open up our country and everything snaps back into shape. So, there's something wrong with them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, are you going to meet with democratic leadership?

TRUMP: I'm always going to meet. All they have to do is open up the country. Let them open up the country and we'll meet. We'll meet very quickly, but they have to open up the country. It's their fault, everything is their fault. It's so easily solved. We have a number of Democrats that have already voted for this, but the Republicans are very unified. They're very strong and they want to do what's right for the country.

They don't want to see trillions of dollars wasted on people that came into our country illegally, many from prisons, and many from areas that you don't want to even know about. So, we'd like to see this taken care of rapidly. We have a lot of -- we have tremendous support, but it's not even support, it's common sense. Open up the country. Obamacare has turned out to be a disaster, as I've been saying for years. It can be fixed or redone. People don't get good healthcare and their premiums go up every single year. So we should change it. It's a disaster. Obamacare is bad healthcare at a very high price. So tonight, we have a big celebration of Halloween, and I'll see you later. Thank you very much.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": So that was President Trump, again, speaking to reporters. He spoke to reporters on Air Force One. He spoke to reporters soon after getting off Air Force One. He has landed in Palm Beach for the weekend. And he has effectively made the same argument that he did on board Air Force One that Democrats have to reopen the federal government. He talked about after he returned from his trip to Asia, that he brought back trillions of dollars.

He also notably, when he was on the plane, said that any report that was out there about him weighing actual military strikes inside Venezuelan territory are not true. But then perhaps leaving an ambiguous note on his recent comments about nuclear weapons, he didn't give a straightforward answer as to whether or not he was calling for the U.S. to test actual explosive nuclear devices, or if he wanted to test weapons that were capable of carrying nuclear weapons. There's a distinction there that's important.

KEILAR: Certainly. And as we are on the cusp of these Obamacare subsidies expiring, he is trying to say that Obamacare is unpopular. It's actually not unpopular. And these subsidies are used by so many people and certainly more in states that voted for Trump, significantly more. So this is something that Republicans are going to have to contend with when open enrollment begins and people start really getting a sense of their premiums increasing.

Republicans will make the case that these premiums should not be in place. But the fact is, this is going to affect people's bottom line. They very well may not make that distinction. And it's going to add a whole new dynamic to this shutdown situation that we're watching between Democrats and Republicans.

SANCHEZ: A shutdown that is now in its 31st day and one that doesn't really have any path toward ending at this point. We should note, we are also following another major story today, disturbing new details out of Michigan after sources say a potential ISIS inspired terror attack this Halloween was prevented. Earlier, FBI Director Kash Patel announced multiple arrests were made in Michigan. FBI activity reportedly taking place in two cities just outside of Detroit.

KEILAR: Officials tell CNN agents had been tracking online chatter for months, but just this week, their concerns escalated. Sources say members of this chat went to a gun range to practice and then a reference was made to Pumpkin Day. CNN's Brynn Gingras is closely following this. Brynn, what do we know?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Boris and Brianna, notably Director Kash Patel making that post on social media six hours ago and saying more details to come, but hasn't said anything since.

[14:05:00] Everything we're learning is through sources at this point. And what we've learned is that the arrests are following a month's long chatter that was happening online. And in that online chat room was an undercover FBI agent. We've learned that there was somewhat of a plan developing that has, according to sources, some ISIS inspiration. There was some communication even happening with people overseas. And also, there were -- these individuals were being monitored by FBI agents.

And most recently, as early as really just this week, according to sources telling our John Miller that some of these individuals visit visited a shooting range and were actually practicing how to do high- speed reloads. They had AK-47s. And then also part of that chatter, they were mentioning Pumpkin Day, possibly a reference to today, October 31st, Halloween. So all of this combined is what we're told pushed the FBI to take some action. Earlier this morning, we're learning they conducted several search warrants in Dearborn, Michigan and Inkster, and also of storage facilities, trying to get some evidence.

And also we've learned about a few arrests, as Patel said, in that social media post, that there -- we're hearing two arrests and possibly three people now being questioned in connection to this. Again, the details still slim on exactly what they're being questioned about, but the ages of those individuals, about 16 to 20-years-old.

SANCHEZ: Brynn Gingras, thank you so much for that update. We're joined now by former FBI Deputy Director, Andrew McCabe, to dig deeper on this. Andy, thanks so much for being with us. So, the FBI first learned about this through someone who was undercover, infiltrating a chat room in the early stages of this discussion. I wonder how does law enforcement find conversations like this and what exactly means when they infiltrate a chat room.

ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Yeah, great question, Boris. So the FBI, as you know, investigates individuals for the activity that they're involved in. They don't investigate locations or a specific chat room. So it is likely that they were brought to this space, this online space through their investigation of an individual who, for whatever reason, was the subject of an investigation. And so that's kind of how FBI follows one person or a group of people into the communications of a broader group.

It is absolutely essential work because we know from the history of counter-terrorism work in the post-9/11 era that these online chat rooms and places where people convene online, this is the primary radicalization, propaganda distribution point, and kind of recruiting effort for international terrorist groups and terror groups right here in the United States. So it's like unbelievably important that they are still going to these watering holes, as we call them, and understanding how radicalized people are talking to each other and most importantly, what they are planning on doing.

SANCHEZ: I'm curious to get your thoughts on the influence of ISIS itself. I mean, there was an attack, obviously, in New Orleans several months ago, but over the last 15 years or so, their ability to radicalize people around the world, their influence has waned. It's notable that clearly, there's still an inspiration out there for people that want to do horrible things.

MCCABE: Yeah. So, we all remember the rise of ISIS in 2015 predominantly and they very quickly became an international force that was capable of actually capturing land, capturing ground, right, in Syria and in Iraq, and possessing that resource. So they clearly don't seem to have that capability anymore, but that doesn't matter in terms of protecting the homeland. They are still a very capable radicalization force. They pump all sorts of propaganda into this -- into these conversations.

They are radicalizing people and conducting operations in many different places around the world, in Afghanistan, in Northern Africa, and many other places. And that sort of propaganda, that sort of action is inspirational sometimes to radicalize people here in the United States and in our -- in Western Europe and other places. So that continues every day. Even though we don't hear about ISIS every day, we don't see these plots being dismantled every day. It's vitally important that the FBI continues to do this good work every single day, despite the many new and non-traditional demands that have been levied on their time and attention.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, no doubt. Andrew McCabe, thank you so much for the expertise.

MCCABE: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: We have Breaking News to CNN.

[14:10:00]

A federal judge says the Trump administration is required to use an emergency fund to help cover SNAP benefits in November. The benefits begin running out tomorrow as part of the government shutdown, potentially putting 42 million Americans that rely on those benefits at risk of going hungry.

KEILAR: We have Rene Marsh following this. Renee, does this mean that November payments will be sent?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this hearing, and it was an emergency hearing, just wrapped up. And this federal judge in Rhode Island essentially said that the USDA, the Trump administration must release funds from this emergency contingency fund that they have. It's close to $6 billion, so that some benefits for SNAP -- this is the supplemental food assistance program -- can continue despite the shutdown. This judge is saying and ordered the USDA to distribute that money as soon as possible. He says, to distribute it in a timely fashion.

He ordered the administration to give the court an update by Monday at noon as far as how their efforts have gone. We should note, that this has been the argument of many Democratic-led states that the Trump administration has these emergency funds within the USDA, close to $6 billion. And that for -- this is the accusation for political reasons, they were not releasing that fund -- those funds, meaning that SNAP was suspended across the board for the 42 million Americans who rely on it.

This judge is saying, look, this is an emergency. This is a case in which these funds should be tapped into and again, ordered the USDA to do that as soon as possible. One note that I want to point out here, SNAP benefits cost roughly $9 billion per month. So within that emergency fund, there are just about $6 billion. So, it is not going to cover every single individual who relies on this program. So what you may have is that people may eventually get these funds, but it may be reduced from what they usually get on a monthly basis. And that in and of itself will be complicated, according to the Trump administration. They're saying that we will have to recalculate how much we are giving to states, and states will have to recalculate how much individuals are going to get. So, they -- it is their argument that this is not going to be an easy fix.

To answer your question, will people get their payments a day from now? November 1st. I would say no, because it certainly has just happened. They still have to do those calculations that we talked about. So it's really unclear when people will start to see those funds on their cards. But the bottom line is that this judge has ruled that it was illegal for the USDA to withhold those funds and is now ordering the Trump administration to release those funds so that SNAP benefits, although not in full, can continue to flow to the people who need them during this government shutdown.

SANCHEZ: And now, we'll see how the administration responds. Rene Marsh, thank you so much for that reporting.

Still ahead, more on our Breaking News. Judge ruling on the use of funds to keep SNAP food aid available for families. We'll discuss the bigger impacts of the shutdown on those struggling right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:18:01]

KEILAR: Moments ago, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled that the Trump administration is required to use about $6 billion in a contingency fund, an emergency fund, to pay for SNAP benefits that will lapse tomorrow. After a month of the government shutdown, that government food assistance for 42-some million Americans was about to run dry.

SANCHEZ: The vast majority of SNAP recipients, 83 percent in 2023 were children, elderly folks, or people with disabilities. The Trump administration has said that contingency fund was not an option for SNAP. Now, even with the judge's ruling, the emergency money falls short of supplying the full program. So let's talk about the impact of the shutdown on people's personal finances with Jean Chatzky. She's the CEO of HerMoney.com and the Host of the "HerMoney" Podcast.

Jean, thank you so much for being with us. If you could talk about the practical short-term implications for those who may not be getting these benefits. JEAN CHATZKY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, HERMONEY.COM: Yeah. There are 40 plus million people who receive SNAP benefits. They receive about an average of $187 per month. That's $6 a day. And that's not a ton of money in and of itself for food. This is a line item that has just gotten more and more expensive every single year. And when you don't have these benefits coming in, it creates a domino effect where you have to think about where money for food is going to come from. What am I not going to pay in order to make sure that I can put food on the table, keep heat in the house, and keep my family safe?

KEILAR: Yeah, and that is exactly what we heard when we spoke with one mom whose children are on SNAP recipients. She told us this week, I won't let my children go hungry.

[14:20:00]

It will be a matter of picking and choosing which bill I can go a month without paying. Talk to us a little bit about that, because if you don't pay a bill, if you skip rent, if you skip a mortgage payment, that has ramifications for credit. That's going to have ramifications for future borrowing of money, it'll be more expensive. That is a long-term problem.

CHATZKY: It is a long-term problem. But let's try to think about it in the short term first, right? When we're worried about putting food on the table, it's a little bit more difficult to think about worrying about our credit rating. So, the basic piece of advice is that if you think that you are going to have trouble paying bills, if you think that you're going to have trouble paying your mortgage or your car loan, which we know that many people are these days, or your credit card bills, you want to get ahead of it.

Don't wait for the lender to come after you. Pick up the phone, call the lender, let them know what's going on. We've known all along that with these SNAP benefits, it's not a matter of them being paid, it's a matter of them being paid retroactively. So the expectation is that these emergency funds will serve some of the need. When the government shutdown ends, the rest of the money will get paid. Some people still have SNAP dollars left from last month because the money doesn't all show up on the first of the month. It shows up over time, depending on your state's schedule.

So go back to the basics. Go back to your budget. Look at what's coming in, what's going out, where it's going, very, very closely. See where you have some wiggle room. And then ask yourself the very important question of what's on the line here. We know when we don't pay our mortgage, our home is on the line. When we don't pay our car loan, we're looking at a potential repossession somewhere down the line. When we don't pay our credit card bills, yeah, your credit rating may take a hit, but that falls down the food chain, so to speak, from the other aspects of your life where you truly have something to lose in the moment.

So try to look at it that way and do the basic work of seeing where you can stretch every single dollar to make sure that what you have does go as far as possible. SANCHEZ: Yeah, it can be hard to do that with inflation and things getting so expensive. A lot of folks having a hard time out there. Jean Chatzky, thank you so much for the expertise.

CHATZKY: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead. Early voting numbers are surging as the race for New York City mayor hits its final stretch. We'll tell you who's ahead in the polls and the closing message from each of the candidates.

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[14:27:45]

SANCHEZ: New York City's mayoral candidates are busy making their final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday's election.

KEILAR: And nearly 400,000 people have cast early ballots in the race between Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. The campaign is exposing deep divisions within the Democratic Party and could have national implications for next year's midterms. Let's break it all down. We're joined by David Freedlander, Political Columnist for the New York Magazine. All right. What do you think? What are each of the three major candidates' closing arguments here?

DAVID FREEDLANDER, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, NEW YORK MAGAZINE: Well, I think, Mamdani's closing argument is that he is the future. The city is too expensive and it's time to turn the page on Andrew Cuomo. And I think, Andrew Cuomo's closing argument is that Mamdani is sort of dangerously inexperienced and to put such an important job and far to the left. And Curtis Sliwa, I think he is just kind of having a good time. I think he's trailing, battling the polls, but refusing calls to drop out of the race.

SANCHEZ: So far, every major poll has had Mamdani with a double-digit lead. The vast majority of those polls have found that he is still below 50 percent support. In your view, is there any chance that we'll see one of the other candidates eclipse him? Or is this thing pretty much baked?

FREEDLANDER: It would be a massive polling error, to be clear. Cuomo is, he's trailing by around 15 points in the polls, which is quite a bit. I think you talked to his team and they're excited by some of the early vote numbers. It has skewed a little bit older compared to the primary campaign. But yeah, I mean, if Cuomo were to pull this off, it would really represent a massive polling error.

KEILAR: And so, we talk about how this is something that is -- it's dividing New York maybe. It's even more dividing Democrats nationally. It's putting them in tricky places. Republicans see opportunity. How do you see this after the election in the New York mayor's race having an impact on the party?

FREEDLANDER: That's a great question. I mean, I think you've already seen Republicans make Mamdani the sort of poster child of the Democratic Party.