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Inside Politics

Bannon: Trump "Fighting Back Against His Real Enemies," The Media; WSJ: Birthday Note To Epstein Had Trump's Name, Drawing Of Naked Woman; At Least 3 Dead After Explosion At Los Angeles; CBS: Ending Colbert's "Late Show" Was A "Financial Decision"; Trump Vows To Sue Rupert Murdoch's "A** Off" Over WSJ Report. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired July 18, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: Today on Inside Politics, new details from the Wall Street Journal on the friendship that once existed between President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. Trump says their story isn't true. Within hours, he asked the Justice Department to release new information about the Epstein case.

Plus, what's the Democratic governor of Kentucky doing in South Carolina, and why is the Republican governor of Virginia in Iowa? You're watching Inside Politics, so you know the answer. We do have new details of potential 2028 hopefuls, making their way into some early -- primary states to make those early impressions with voters there. And Colbert is canceled. CBS says it's about money, but it may be another troubling sign of big media companies looking to avoid antagonizing the president of the United States.

I'm Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines at Inside Politics.

It is a blockbuster story that has heads here in Washington spinning. The Wall Street Journal reported on a collection of birthday letters gifted to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, three years before he was charged with any crimes. One of those letters, the journal says, it includes would -- what appears to be Donald Trump's signature, and it's a cryptically written letter, a crude drawing of a nude woman done with a heavy marker.

The president quickly denied it was him and says he'll sue the Rupert Murdoch owned paper. But the politics here are complicated. Yes, it looks bad for the president, but, but it also may unite the movement that has been fractured over the Epstein saga, even those critical of President Trump's handling of the Epstein files are rallying against their common enemy, the media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE BANNON, HOST, WAR ROOM: Quite frankly, the Murdoch's concocted something last night and thought it'd be a kill shot on President Trump, and lo and behold, it's the exact opposite because President Trump is now on offense. President Trump is best when it's attack, attack, attack. This is the deep state. This is the ruling class in America. They're trying to use it to destroy President Trump. REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): The president and I talked about that ridiculous allegation this morning. He said it's patently absurd. President is the most maligned and attacked political figure in the history of American politics. There's no question about it, but he's also the most resilient. Did you see the language of this bogus, supposed communication or card or something. I supposedly sent to Epstein. He said, I don't talk like that. I don't think like that. They're literally making things up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: I'm joined by a terrific group of reporters here at the table; CNN's Lauren Fox, CNN's Phil Mattingly, Jasmine Wright of NOTUS, and Nia-Malika Henderson of CNN and of Bloomberg. We made it to Friday one and all. Congratulations. Who would have thought.

Jasmine, you cover the White House full time. What are you hearing from your sources about the implications of what we have seen in the last 12 hours?

JASMINE WRIGHT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NOTUS: Yeah. Well, Donald Trump is furious. That cannot be downplayed, that cannot be understated. He's going to speak in just a few hours. Everyone is waiting to see what he says when he's signing -- at a bill signing later on today.

But the implications, I think, are twofold. One, the White House has been trying for days to put this behind them, this whole Epstein thing, trying to get the MAGA movement to move on. I've talked to numerous White House officials who basically say whatever is going to happen is going to happen. We're not going to change.

Yesterday, we heard the press secretary say that Donald Trump did not believe that he needs to recommend a special prosecutor for this case. And now you have those same MAGA allies who were really enraged with the White House, maybe not so much the president, but certainly how the administration was handling it, basically defending the president all of a sudden, and they're kind of getting the best of both worlds.

Yes, they're back on Donald Trump's side, because they can defend the president against the media. But they're also now getting what they believe to be is more access, potentially to documents, now that he's asked Pam Bondi to, you know, basically request the grand jury release more documents. Of course, who knows if that actually happens, but they're kind of in a good position right now, which they have not been for days.

BASH: And Phil, let me just go back a little bit and read some of what is in that. What the Wall Street Journal says is that letter, that birthday letter. This is what it allegedly said. Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey. Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it. Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that? Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you. Donald: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday and may every day be another wonderful secret.

Now, again, I just want to be clear. This is an imagined conversation, allegedly written in a birthday message by Donald Trump between the two of them. Now, let me just read to you the president's denial.

[12:05:00]

The Wall Street Journal printed a fake letter, supposedly to Epstein. These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures. I told Rupert Murdoch it was a scam that he shouldn't print this fake story, but he did, and now I'm going to sue his ass off and that of his third-rate newspaper, as he likes to sign these days. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DJT. Phil?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Tere's a lot of layers to this that I don't think we have the time to totally unpack. I think that it is important, though, to try and provide a window into how this actually works from the reporting side of things because the -- and I think you hear this from Steve Bannon enacted. This is a Murdoch's concocted conspiracy to push through.

That's not really at all how any of this works. And I completely agree with Jazz that this is a moment where the base which has been fractured on some level, maybe not to the degree that people want to try and say it's going to be, but has certainly had some difficulties in a way that we haven't seen Trump deal with over the course of the last decade, has united behind attacking a common enemy.

The bylines on this are important. One of the bylines is the same reporter who broke all of the catch and kill stories that, as we learned during the civil trial in New York last year were all 100 percent accurate. The journal was facing an immense amount of pressure from the White House, from the president himself, from his team leading up to this, they have a lot of lawyers.

You're not printing this. If you don't feel like you're in a very solid place on this. That process is not understood. This isn't something that they just pop out to pop out. This is something that they wouldn't have put out, especially given the current environment when it comes to journalism and legal issues. If they didn't feel confident in it.

We don't have it. I don't know what it actually says or means. I do think it probably shows that we should just release everything, right? Just release everything. This would probably be in it. But I think the president's response and his base's responses both predictable and probably puts him on the best footing that he's been in on this issue in the better part of two weeks.

BASH: You heard speaker Johnson, you know, totally dismissing it. I do have to say that I want to talk a little bit more about how the Democrats are handling this in a minute. But Gavin Newsom, who has really enjoyed his role as Donald Trump's foil, recently, he tweeted. I never wrote a picture in my life.

And that was under -- it was kind of a retweet. Underneath it is a image from the Washington Post article back in 2019 and it was a sketch that Donald Trump did himself of the Manhattan skyline, very different kind of sketch than what is allegedly the sketch that he drew that he gave to Jeffrey Epstein, which is R rated.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Democrats obviously have really seized on this issue because they did view it as a way that the MAGA movement was fracturing. And what extent that that movement was going to continue to fracture over this issue, I think remains to be unseen. But obviously, Democrats feel like they can take the high ground here. There's no cost to them to basically argue over and over again, release everything, get it out there.

Let's see if Donald Trump is afraid of something here, or if this is just really about the fact that he wants to move on for some reason. Meanwhile, it's hard, because on Capitol Hill, you have some Republicans who are pushing this pretty hard as well.

I mean, there are two moving resolutions right now that deal with this issue. One of them from Thomas Massie that likely, you know, if every Democrat signed on, may get a vote on the House floor. Then there was this last-minute agreement last night where GOP leadership basically had to bow to some conservatives who were happy to vote for a spending cuts bill. But weren't going to do it until they got assurances that there was going to be more transparency over the Epstein issue.

Now, the resolution is non-binding, which means that there's no action force for the Justice Department here, even if it moved along the legislative process. Also, Speaker Johnson has not promised when he would put that on the floor, or if he's going to put that on the floor, but that just underscores here. Members are hearing from their base, like when you talk to members on Capitol Hill, they say that people are lighting up their phones about this.

BASH: And there is an alliance, an uncomfortable one, with Democrats, who are, as we have been talking about this week, taking a very different tack on this than they have in the past. They're jumping in. They're not sort of abiding by the old playbook of don't bother your enemies when they're at -- when they're going after each other.

You wrote, Nia, the following. For Democrats, this decision is not without risks, as Republicans could turn it into a witch hunt pushed by Democrats out to get Trump even --

(AUDIO GAP)

[12:10:00]

--try so many tactics to try to get rid of this and calm the base down, including pretending that this is a democratic conspiracy, or layering that on top of the original conspiracy. And now it looks like they are joining.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, BLOOMBERG POLITICAL & POLICY COLUMNIST: It's finally working. Yeah.

BASH: Yeah, against the media. HENDERSON: Yeah. I mean, it does seem like they're able to, at least today, suggest that this was some sort of media plot. It's the Democrats, which is good footing for them. He tried to do that in a couple of tweets and say, this was Obama. It was Comey, it was name -- your Democrats are fault and don't they always want to come at me. That didn't really work.

And then he turned to saying that his supporters that they were idiots and losers and suckers for actually believing this conspiracy theory that was pushed by Donald Trump and Pam Bondi and Kash Patel. You know, I think going forward, I think the problem that Donald Trump still has is that what, what will please the base is Epstein files that indict Democrats, right?

That is the theory that somehow, that there is this democratic cabal that is involved in sex trafficking of children, and that there are Democrats on high who are being blackmailed and sort of participating in this sex trafficking. That is a lie. It is not true, but it is what the MAGA base has been believing, has been told really by people who are now in Donald Trump's administration. So short of that, it's not clear what they would like to see or would be pleased by.

BASH: And on that point at 9:07 pm last night, and you alluded to this Jasmine. The president said, based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent grand jury testimony subject to court approval. And then he went on to say, it's a scam, perpetrated by Democrats. Real quick.

WRIGHT: Yeah. Listen, I was in the Oval Office on Wednesday, and I asked the president, will you ask Pam Bondi to release more documents to put this to bed? And he said she can release them if they're credible. Taking that line, he would not say that he would call her and ask. He wouldn't go forward. This story has caused him to say, Pam Bondi you now go and do this. And she says that she's ready.

The question is, one, whether or not, the court will actually, you know, offer those documents, release some of those documents. A lot of people are saying it's unlikely that they'll do so. And then will those documents go far enough to satiate the base? I think that that's a huge question mark, likely ending in a no.

BASH: The story, it just -- it takes so many twists and turns. We should definitely expect the unexpected, particularly with what happens today. Coming up. What was really behind the abrupt cancelation of Stephen Colbert's Late Show. And what is President Trump saying about it this morning. Brian Stelter joins me with new reporting after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: We have breaking news out of Los Angeles where officials say at least three people are dead after an explosion at Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department training facility. You can see live pictures as officials are responding there.

CNN's Evan Perez joins me now. Evan, what are you hearing?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, at this stage, we know that the FBI and ATF are both headed to the scene. And we don't know really what the cause of this is. It appears to be -- to have been an explosion at this training facility that is run by the sheriff's office there in Los Angeles.

Some of the pictures that you're seeing there, there's some -- from the -- some of the local TV stations appears to show windows blown out of vehicles. There appears to be a bomb squad vehicle that also appears to be damaged. So, it's not clear what the cause of this was. This is a tactical or a training facility for the department, and so there's all kinds of reasons why this could have happened.

Again, all of the possibilities are still on the table here for investigators. We do have a social media posting from the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, who posted an X, saying that she had just spoken to the U.S. attorney there. And that there appears to be a horrific incident that killed at least three at a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles. And she said that they're now on the scene to try to assist in this investigation.

Again, it's very, very early. And we don't know a lot about exactly what caused this, but obviously it raises tremendous concern. You know, is this something that that was an attack, or was this something that was an accident? All of those things, of course, are still being looked at again. Some of the pictures there appear to be a -- you can see some of the damage to some of the vehicles there on scene at this training center. Dana?

BASH: Obviously, as you said, this just happened, and regardless of why it happened or how it happened. It's just -- it's so horrific. And our hearts go out to the families of three -- these three individuals who just lost their lives. Evan, thank you so much. Obviously, as we get more information, check back with us.

We'll be right back.

[12:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Unlike the payoffs from ABC and Twitter, Paramount settlement did not include an apology. Instead, that's good. Instead, the corporation released a statement where they said, you may take our money, but you will never take our dignity. You may, however, purchase our dignity for the low, low price of $16 million. We need the cash. I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. It's big fat bribe. (END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:25:00]

BASH: That was on Monday, and you heard Stephen Colbert criticizing his parent company and their settlement with President Trump that just happened last week. Just days later yesterday, the company Paramount canceled the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. This morning, President Trump took to social media to declare victory over one of his biggest critics.

He wrote, quote, I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. He also took a swipe at NBC Jimmy Fallon and added, quote, Jimmy Kimmel is next. Brian Stelter has been following and reporting on this developing story. Brian, what are you learning about what is really going on behind the scenes at Paramount and CBS?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: As one source said to me today, source close to Colbert, this show was a casualty of the merger. Meaning the Late Show was being retired because of the looming merger between Paramount and Skydance, but casualty of the merger can mean different things. During any media mega merger, companies try to cut costs. They try to save money. And the Late Show was starting to lose money for CBS.

You know, historically, these late night shows, they've been powerhouses. They've been big ad sales, profit centers. But in the past few years, as ratings have slipped and audiences have fragmented in a thousand different directions, these shows have started to lose money. It's not just Colbert's, by the way, some of the late night shows have been losing money as well.

So, there is a real financial motivation here on the part of CBS to go ahead and pull the plug. But a lot of observers and some CBS staffers are wondering about political motivations as well, because Paramount is handing off to Skydance. Skydance controlled by David Ellison and his father Larry -- Larry Ellison, of course, a friend of President Trump's and a supporter of President Trump's.

So that settlement two weeks ago between Paramount and Trump and now this announcement about Colbert, people have to wonder if it's all related, if it's all of a piece. And here's my interpretation of the situation, Dana, it's as if the old owners might be cleaning up the company for the new owners, that can take many forms.

So, was this about getting rid of an unprofitable show, or was it about offering another olive leave to the president? Maybe it's a little bit of both. And frankly, the people involved are never going to say.

BASH: Yeah. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened with regard to corporate media and politics. Brian, this is not a situation only of the president leaning on late night, leaning on CBS. Let's go back to his threat to sue the Wall Street Journal. He denies the reporting about a birthday note he allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein. What are you hearing from your sources inside News Corp?

STELTER: Well, number one, a lot of pride, a lot of pride that the journal went ahead and published the story, even though the president was threatening Rupert Murdoch and threatening editor Emma Tucker, and Trump has admitted to that, right. He confirmed that overnight in his Truth Social post that he was leaning directly on the -- on the owner and Rupert Murdoch went ahead anyway.

Now Fox News is ignoring the story, so that's a part of the -- part of this as well. But at least the journal was able to publish, and that is notable. I also thought this quote from the journal story really stood out. Trump said to the journal as he threatened to sue. He said, quote, I'm going to sue the Wall Street Journal, just like I sued everyone else.

That suggests to me a president who is emboldened, feeling empowered by the settlements from Paramount and Disney and Meta, and maybe a looming settlement with Google. He feels like he can go and throw his weight around and threaten these lawsuits, and in some cases, prevail through settlements.

So ultimately, this is all a power struggle. Who has the power? Do the media moguls, or does the American president? And as you said, this is not happening in a vacuum, right? The Colbert story, the Washington Journal story, the defunding of PBS and NPR. It's all about trusted sources of information as well as, let's face it, entertainment in the case of Colbert.

And whether there's a diversity of opinion and news on the American airwaves and in the American media. Thankfully, there's still a lot of it out there. But every time we see a Colbert cancelation or a PBS defunding or a threat against the Wall Street Journal, I think viewers are right to be concerned about what kind of chilling effect might be happening.

BASH: Brian, real quick before I let you go. I can't help but wonder about the Rupert Murdoch company and the difference between the Wall Street Journal and what we're seeing, or maybe a better way to say it not seeing on Fox --

STELTER: Yes, yes.

BASH: -- which is also a Rupert Murdoch owned company.

STELTER: It's simple. He wants to have it both ways. He wants to be viewed as a newspaper man, who publishes the Wall Street Journal. Rupert is very proud of the journal. But he also wants all the profits from Fox News. He wants to keep the money flowing in. And he knows the Fox News audience doesn't want to hear bad, embarrassing, damning news about Donald Trump.

The MAGA media bubble, the information silo, is not only real, it affects everything about our politics, but somehow, someway, these stories do sometimes break through. Remember the signal gate story from the spring, some of these stories do eventually break through to MAGA media, and certainly the Epstein case is one of them. BASH: Yeah, so fascinating. Brian, thank you so much for that terrific reporting. Back here at the table, and Nia, by -- when I was talking about Fox News