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Inside Politics

Gov. Newsom Attracts 2028 Intrigue With Centrist Policy Moves; Democrats' Early Jockeying For The 2028 Presidential Primary; Trump Slams Bruce Springsteen For Calling Him "Unfit" & Incompetent" During U.K. Concert; Robert Kraft Brings Business Approach To Fight Antisemitism. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired May 16, 2025 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:32:07]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: You don't need a crystal ball to decipher which Democrats are mulling a 2028 run. This week alone, at least four Democrats made moves -- making moves. They faced questions. You see them there doing interviews. Here on Inside Politics, we think maybe the most noteworthy of all of them, California Governor Gavin Newsom.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are making headlines for sweeping homeless encampments, rolling back some benefits for the undocumented, not to mention some of the things you've said recently on your podcast. Does this represent you moving to the center because you're going to run for president?

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: I've been always a hard-headed pragmatist. I'm not an ideologue. We're just driving much more accountability. And that's really, I think, the tonal change more than anything else.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: My smart reporters are back. Hard-headed pragmatist?

TAMARA KEITH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NPR: He -- I feel like he's been running for president for the better part of a decade, one way or another. But he is definitely recalibrating, though I would say that he's -- it's not just him. The Democratic Party more broadly --

BASH: Yes.

KEITH: -- is recalibrating on some of these issues, like on homelessness. When that Supreme Court decision came down that allowed clearing homeless encampments, Democratic mayors and governors were like, well, thank you very much for the opportunity to deal with this big problem --

BASH: Exactly. KEITH: -- that we haven't been able to deal with. So there's been a lot of that. But certainly, Governor Newsom is -- he's making a lot of moves. But, you know, he was also going on Fox --

BASH: He was.

KEITH: -- years ago.

BASH: Well, I'm glad you said that because it is true. I mean, we -- now the sort of famous debate that he did on Fox with the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, he has always been kind of inching that way. Now on his podcast, he has not just inched, he's made like a giant leap and he's had a lot of MAGA supporters on from Charlie Kirk to Michael Savage to Steve Bannon.

But I just quickly do want to kind of put a little bit more meat on the bone. You heard a little bit from the reporter with the governor there. The pivots on progressive issues suggest it's unfair for transgender athletes to participate in girls sports, urges California cities and counties, you were just talking about this, to ban homeless encampments, freezing enrollment to state Medicaid coverage for undocumented individuals.

You know, look, if he wants to be president, he's going to have to win a Democratic primary first. And this is a test of what Tamara was saying is, where is the Democratic primary? Are they reading the room nationally, or are they still focused on sort of the issues that are maybe more traditionally important to Democrats?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think Newsom is trying to read the room nationally, because I'm not sure how well some of those things are going to play in his state of California, especially the Medicaid issue with undocumented immigrants.

[12:35:04]

I don't know how that pulls there. But there are a substantial number of undocumented issue with undocumented and mixed status families, people who have the right to vote there, American citizens who have mixed status relatives. And I'm not sure that that would play well with them.

Nationally, though, it might be a different --

BASH: Right.

BARRON-LOPEZ: -- picture. And he is clearly trying to battle Republicans on their turf. Now, does that work in a primary? I don't know that it does.

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There is a risk here where Democrats are still facing -- when I talk to voters, they hear this. Democrats are facing this question of what do you stand for? And do you have convictions? Are you not just moving with the political winds? But do you have a set agenda that you will stand for that will be consistent as well, not just through an election, but once you make it to office?

And there could be those I'm sure that will welcome this as pragmatic and shifting with the tides of voters. But also there is a question of, are you just shifting with political momentum as well? And at a time when the whole party --

BASH: Yes.

KANNO-YOUNGS: -- is being questioned about who your leader is and what you stand for, that presents a risk.

BASH: The other way to look at it is that he's got his chops when it comes to Liberals. I mean, he was one of the first on same sex marriage, and it goes on and on and on. I think maybe there are people close to maybe even he would say, I've already got a sort of capital on that. And maybe I can step out on other things.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I think a lot of Democrats are trying to calibrate right now, even on Capitol Hill, has the party gone too far on some of these issues? I mean, when you're talking about allowing people who are undocumented to access the state's Medicaid program, Republicans are trying to pass a bill right now that means that you would get less federal funding because you're doing that.

California is already in a budget crisis. Do Democrats in California start to say to themselves, this just isn't worth the cost for us right now? And I think that Democrats are really trying to have a conversation, voters themselves, about whether or not the party has leaned too hard on some of these Liberal items.

BASH: Really interesting. Thank you guys so much.

Up next, the President clearly has superstar musicians on his mind as he makes his way back from the Middle East. And it's not just Taylor Swift. We'll tell you who else he's going after, after the break.

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[12:41:47]

BASH: Tapping our political radar, the Trump administration is trying to make good on one of President Trump's signature campaign promises. The Homeland Security Department is requesting 20,000 National Guard members to help detain and deport undocumented immigrants to tell CNN. The White House has been trying to ramp up arrests of undocumented immigrants in the last 116 days.

Plus, everyone loves a parade, but taxpayers may not love the price tag of the President's military parade. The Washington Post is reporting that that parade, which is planned for next month, could cost up to $45 million. It would reportedly involve dozens of soldiers from across the country, hundreds of Army vehicles, dozens of warplanes.

Now, the White House says the parade will commemorate the Army's 250th anniversary on June 14th, which also happens to be the President's 79th birthday.

And the president versus the boss. President Trump is going after Bruce Springsteen. He did so on the plane ride back to the U.S. Springsteen is on tour in the U.K. Here's what prompted this. Here's what the rock legend said at his concert in Manchester, England.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, SINGER AND MUSICIAN: In my home, the America I love, the America I've written about that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.

Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: Here's what the President just posted, quote, "Never liked him, never liked his music or his radical left politics. And importantly, he is not a talented guy".

That's where I have to take issue. This Jersey girl wants to make clear Bruce Springsteen's talent, it's undeniable.

Coming up, a new approach to one of the world's oldest problems. The CEO of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft, joins me to explain how he's using a business-minded approach to try to inspire new allies.

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[12:48:30]

BASH: My next guests are wildly successful businessmen who are using their unique backgrounds to develop a new approach to a centuries-old problem, antisemitism. Now, you might remember this little blue square that made a big impact along with the hashtag stand up to Jewish hate or this Super Bowl ad.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate you because I don't understand you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate you because people I know hate you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate you because I think you hate me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I need someone to blame.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you talk different.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you act different.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you're just different.

Man, I hate that things are so bad that we have to do a commercial about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me too.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: Joining me now to talk more about this work is the founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, Robert Kraft, along with the Foundation's new president, Adam Katz. Thank you both for being here. I appreciate it.

Robert, I'm going to start with you. You founded this Foundation to Combat Antisemitism in 2019. You're bringing Adam in now. Why was it so important to you to bring someone in with a successful business background like you have?

ROBERT KRAFT, FOUNDER, FOUNDATION TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM: When we started this back in 2019, I started to see signs in the country, you know, of -- with Charlottesville and then the Trio live shooting. And it got me worried that there were many signs of what was going on in Germany in the 30s. And I didn't want to see the 40s happen here. And that's why we founded the -- our entity.

[12:50:15]

We have a global reach, what we're doing and working with different institutions and partners. And I realized we -- just having people who are involved in philanthropy wouldn't help us to really take advantage of what we want to do in the marketplace.

I wanted to get a first class business person that could make this like a growth industry. And I really lucked out finding Adam.

BASH: You talk about a growth industry. I would imagine that as a businessman, businessman, both of you, this is not one of those businesses that you would hope would grow. And you started this in 2019, four years before October 7th, 2023. And since then, of course, the mission of your foundation has become so much more important.

And on that note, Adam, how will you use your experience in business and specifically how you use data to find the people you need to find, to educate, to create empathy, perhaps even to fight the algorithms that are helping to promote antisemitism and hate beyond that in ways that are really corrosive?

ADAM KATZ, PRESIDENT, FOUNDATION TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM: Dana, I'm glad you asked. And as you said, the challenge has gotten more significant, unfortunately. And, you know, social media exacerbates the problem. Obviously, what's happened since 10/7 exacerbates the problem. And that's why it's so critical to start with data and research and insights to be most effective.

And so, we are focused on -- we scan the entire country and we, in particular, we focus on a segment that we consider unengaged. And this is nearly half of American adults who are effectively on the sidelines against this issue. And these are folks who, many of them are active allies against anti-Black racism, active allies against bigotry against gays and lesbians and other persecuted groups, but they're not activated against this cause.

And so we need to better understand, and we are researching to understand why not. And a lot of it comes down to a deficit in education. They just don't know. And what they know is not always right. And so what we need to do is we need to find the right channels and the right vehicles and the right messages to educate them, engage them, and ultimately get them off the sidelines.

BASH: I know you both saw the controversy, got a lot of attention. The founder of Barstool Sports, a Massachusetts native, Dave Portnoy, he spoke out after patrons at a Barstool Sports-owned bar displayed signs that read F the Jews. The initial reaction was, of course, rage. And then he spoke to you, Robert, I know, about trying to use this as a teachable moment.

How will this inform the audience that, at least part of the audience, that I know that you're both trying to reach to make inroads with?

KRAFT: You know, that there's someone like Dave Portnoy, who when he sees an injustice like this, isn't afraid to speak out.

And what we've learned, a lot of people feel it, but they're not comfortable speaking out. And thank goodness there's someone like Dave who showed leadership in this area. And he's pretty frank about anything he feels. But at the root is still, you know, antisemitism, for some reason. And it's gone on, unfortunately, for a couple thousand years that people -- antisemitism is such a sickness.

We want people to stand up when they see something happening to their fellow Jews and speak out or correct it. People feel it, but they think that the Jewish people are powerful enough to do it on their own. And we're not. We're 2.4 percent of the population of the United States. And now we're getting over 65 percent of the religious hate crimes.

KATZ: Something that Robert frequently says, and I'll paraphrase here, is Jewish hate is the canary in the coal mine. It starts with Jewish hate and it quickly spreads to other groups. We've seen that play out throughout history, across the world and in this country. That cannot happen here. And our mission is to ensure that it does not happen here.

KRAFT: Young people are so impacted by social media. There are so many falsehoods. We've decided to work with universities throughout America. And Columbia and Harvard are two of them.

[12:55:05]

I had a real problem with Columbia. And I stopped giving all money about 18 months ago. And the same way at Harvard. I think there are big problems on that campus. And Alan Garber really cares. And we're trying to work as a resource for both of those universities to help educate young people. You can have free discourse, but there are boundaries.

BASH: Robert Kraft -- oh, go ahead, Adam. KATZ: I was just going to add, and that's -- you know, this is a multifaceted problem. And it needs a multifaceted solution. And there needs to be more accountability, as Robert says. And there needs to be more empathy. And that's what our organization is really focused on, is creating what Robert just described, is building these connections and bridges and ultimately building that empathy so that campuses are a vibrant environment once again.

BASH: Adam Katz, Robert Kraft, thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it.

KRAFT: Thank you, Dana.

KATZ: Thanks, Dana.

BASH: And thank you so much for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after the break.

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