Return to Transcripts main page

Laura Coates Live

Hunger Crisis Looms As Government Shutdown Intensifies; Trump On Seeking A Third Term: "Would Love To Do It"; Monster Hurricane Nears Landfall In Jamaica. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired October 27, 2025 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: 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. And thank you for watching "NewsNight." You can catch me any time on your favorite social media X, Instagram, and TikTok. "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tonight, the panic sets in as the dirty shutdown politics gets set to inflict pain that hasn't been seen in 60 years. Could it sway the debate over who's to blame? Plus, Trump 3.0. The real reason why he may be refusing to rule out an unconstitutional third term run. And later, Jamaica bracing for a monster, and I mean a monster hurricane. We're live on the island as a catastrophic landfall nears. All this tonight on "Laura Coates Live."

The well has run dry. There will be no benefits issued November 1st. That's actually the banner at the top of the USDA website. Imagine seeing that message. Really think about what that's like. Flip it. And you want to get angry about the tone. But then you realized, is that true? There are no benefits coming, benefits you need? After 27 days of wondering and waiting and hoping and sacrificing, you realized it may have only just begun.

This government shutdown, it's on pace to become the longest in American history and likely the cruelest as well, because as bad as these 27 days have been, it's about to get a whole lot worse, especially for those who can least afford it.

And no, I'm not talking about the fight over healthcare premiums. That's important. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about something that's far less complicated. And frankly, I don't care if you call it Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act. We all call what is at stake now the same thing. We call it food. Food. We've already seen lines at food banks getting longer and longer.

And come November 1st, which is, by the way, Saturday, five days from now, 42 million Americans around the country could find themselves struggling to afford food. That's because the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the acronym SNAP, it's about to become a victim of this shutdown. And we're talking about $8 billion in benefits that would help feed one in eight Americans next month. Well, that's now at risk of not being paid out. If it gets disrupted, it'll be an American first.

And you know what? I looked it up to be sure because LBJ passed the Food Stamp Act in 1964. And in the 60 years since, food aid has never gone disrupted like this. Not during the shutdown or otherwise. I mean, sure, there have been changes, there have been cuts to the program, but never a well runs dry moment. This could be catastrophic.

And that is not hyperbole. Take it from the people who witness this every single day. The CEO of Hunger Free America put it this way: "If the SNAP program shuts down, we will have the most mass hunger suffering we've had in America since the Great Depression."

So, to avoid this crisis, only a few options. The main one, of course, is reopen the government. I'll tell you how that's going. There aren't even negotiations that are taking place. Well, the other option is to tap into billions in emergency funds to cover some of the shortfall. But the White House and speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, say they won't. And they claim they can't.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE JOHNSON, SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: The SNAP benefits is a unique situation. I got a summary of the whole legal analysis and it certainly looks legitimate to me. The contingency funds are not legally available to cover the benefits right now. The reason is because it's a finite source of funds, it was appropriated by Congress. And if they transfer funds from these other sources, it pulls it away immediately from school meals and infant formula. So, there -- there -- it's a -- it's a -- a trade-off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: School meals and infant formula. Tell a mother trying to feed her baby that the formula is the trade-off.

[23:05:00]

Now, if you're one of the people who are at risk of going hungry, you don't really give a damn about any alleged technicalities, do you? Especially not when you see this administration skirting established law for just about everything else. So, when you see them consider billions of dollars and bail out money to Argentina or when you see them direct the Pentagon to just figure it out and find funds to pay the troops, and yes, of course, our troops should, of course, they should be paid, but why should unlocking funds for food assistance be all that different?

Tonight, needy families, they're asking themselves, frankly, that very question, and they are literally praying that the Congress could get its act together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRY BLACK, SENATE CHAPLAIN: Lord, remind our lawmakers that no gold medals are given for breaking shutdown records, but a crown of righteousness is given to those who take care of the lost, last, and least.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Lost, last, least. Leading our show tonight is someone who knows firsthand the importance of SNAP benefits, Connecticut Democratic Congresswoman Johanna Hayes. She's on the House Agriculture Committee, and she was once a recipient of the very benefits that are at risk of lapsing for 42 million Americans.

Every time, congresswoman, I hear that figure, I wonder if people are shocked. The breadth of food insecurity in this country, but also the breadth of the dilemma right now. You heard the White House saying they're not going to use any extra cash to fund SNAP benefits. Um, we know that the troops are going to have money to be paid. Some of them also food insecure, by the way.

REP. JAHANA HAYES (D-CT): Yes.

Why is it so different for those recipients of SNAP?

HAYES: Well, it should shock the conscience for everyone who is hearing this. And let's make -- let's be crystal clear about this. This is a policy choice because the president has the authority with no additional acts of Congress to release these multi-year contingency funds that are available and transfer using all legal authority any additional funds that are necessary.

You were great in the lead up, uh, your point that the president didn't come back to us, to Congress for money to send either $20 or $40 billion to Argentina no matter how you look at it. This is a policy choice and it's something that can be remedied in this moment without any additional acts of Congress.

But I'm not surprised. To your point, uh, every time we have had to negotiate whether it was the farm bill or the debt ceiling increase or even future budgets, SNAP was something that was always a leverage point for the Republicans in the Congress. It's a program they always wanted to cut. So, I'm not surprised that the president does not want to release these funds, that USDA Secretary Rollins doesn't want to do that.

When this administration just put forth a bill in July, the one big beautiful bill that was voted out, that cut SNAP, the largest cut in history by $178 billion, uh, increased work requirements, may put additional burdens on the state, all of those things that they've been trying to attack for as long as I've been in Congress.

I asked for this committee on purpose not only because I was a SNAP recipient, but because I was a classroom teacher.

COATES: Uh-hmm.

HAYES: And my other committee is the Committee of Education and Workforce. Nothing I do on that committee matters if kids come to school hungry. If they don't have full bellies, they are not learning. Hungry kids don't learn. In this country, we have the ability to feed children. Thirty-nine percent of children are the recipients of the benefits in this program --

COATES: Uh-hmm.

HAYES: -- and this is something that we can do. So, I reject the notion that Democrats are holding this up. This administration has bragged for the last 10 months about what they can do without congressional authority.

COATES: Uh-hmm.

HAYES: They have showed us time and time again the -- the policies that they're willing to enact without any bipartisan support.

COATES: Uh-hmm.

HAYES: This is a policy choice. And unlike some of the other, you mentioned paying the troops or, um, even the bailout to Argentina, unlike having to look for that money, the money for this is already there.

COATES: Well, you know -- and I'm so glad you mentioned school children because during the pandemic in particular, Republicans and Democrats alike were talking about wanting to continue funding even though kids were out of school. They knew the importance of meals, not only breakfast but also lunch and even providing for the parents at local bus stops to bring them food as well. I remember as well watching that.

But there is at least one Republican who wants to continue to fund this to the shutdown, that Senator Josh Hawley, Senator Peter Welch also want to sign on that.

[23:10:00]

Would you support that? I would assume you would want to do so, but there's this tension, obviously, of the leverage and the trade-off.

HAYES: This isn't about leverage for me. And I also question, um, that -- when you mentioned senators who want to fund this because, again, in just July, those same senators took a bill to literally cut SNAP by $178 billion.

COATES: You don't trust --

HAYES: I don't trust that there is absolutely a trust deficit. And what I've learned in Congress, just by virtue of what you just said, is that we have the capacity to make these changes.

COATES: Uh-hmm.

HAYES: What we lack is the will. I saw us during COVID, us members of Congress, stand up Summer EBT, stand up relief for families who were in need in that moment to address what was pressing right then. So, this idea of -- I mean, for me, personally, even though this is the issue that is probably most near and dear to me, I don't trust my Republican colleagues to say, let us do this today and then next week we can go back to the table and negotiate because I've seen too many times where negotiated agreements or funds are redirected and sent somewhere else. I've seen where we think we have a deal on the table and in the 11th hour, that deal changes. I saw that with the farm bill that addresses SNAP benefits.

COATES: Yeah.

HAYES: So, this is not something -- this is not a countdown that started on October 1st and will expire on November 1st. This is something, for my seven years in Congress, I've seen SNAP literally attacked in every negotiation. So, this is a choice.

COATES: -- constituents? I mean, obviously, people watching the news. That's how most people get their information because agencies aren't telling them when they're coming back or anything like that. Um, they're hearing it's about medical and Obamacare, Affordable Care Act. SNAP is now also now on the chopping block as of this coming Saturday.

HAYES: Uh-hmm.

COATES: What do you tell to constituents who are saying to themselves, look, congresswoman, I realized the trust issue, I know this is happening, I cannot feed my children? What do you tell them?

HAYES: I tell them the truth.

COATES: Which is?

HAYES: I try to explain to my constituents what is going on. This isn't just about one thing. It's not just about Affordable Care Act subsidies. We are negotiating and it -- actually, we're not even negotiating --

COATES: Right.

HAYES: -- because the Republicans haven't come back to Washington to sit down and have a conversation with us. But we are talking about all of these things at the same time. So, it's not just Affordable Care Act subsidies, it's SNAP benefits, it's the firing of federal employees, it's all of these things.

And what I really try to explain to people, is that even if we took a vote tomorrow, much of the damage is done. So, at some point, Democrats have to say enough. If we took a vote tomorrow, the 200,000 federal workers are not going to be brought back to work or reinstated. You know, the --

COATES: Hundred received back pay. That might mitigate some --

HAYES: They should receive back pay anyway because in 2019, President Trump signed a bill that said furloughed employees would receive back pay. So, now, the fact that this administration is trying to redefine that bill or say it means something else is yet another example of the fact that they cannot be trusted, if -- if state governments could have assurance from the president that they would even get reimbursed when the government would open up.

So, there's so many examples that I can go down the line of -- of why this administration cannot be trusted. When someone tells you who they are, shows you who they are, believe them.

COATES: Well --

HAYES: And they showed us over and over.

COATES: Excuse me. I didn't mean to interrupt you.

HAYES: No.

COATES: One of your colleagues, Jared Golden, who's from Maine, he says that the party's position, your own party position, on the shutdown is -- quote -- "wrong." He criticized the decision to make the Obamacare subsidies temporary, adding -- quote -- "I'm just uncomfortable lying about the strategy to win and shutting down the government. We've never been the party that does that." What do you say to his suggestion that that is the motivation, winning?

HAYES: We're still not the party who does it. The Republicans have the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. So, I refuse to accept the notion that Democrats are responsible when we're in the majority and the minority. When you get leadership position, when Mike Johnson sought the position of leadership, you have to lead at some point, you have to shape the narrative, you have to direct the negotiations. So, you can't say that Democrats are responsible when we're in the majority and the minority.

I came in in a government shutdown. In 2019, I was sworn in with 88 other people, including Congressman Golden, in the middle of a government shutdown. And we got to work on day one to reopen the government, meeting in committees, meeting in caucus. Republicans were there.

COATES: And now?

HAYES: And now, there's nothing. Democrats have been showing up for every week for the last three weeks, and Republicans are nowhere to be found.

[23:15:01]

I'm willing to negotiate. I'm willing to go back to the table and work on whatever we can. But I have to tell you, Laura, feeding children is a hard line for me. It's the reason I voted no to this bill when it came up as a -- as a continuing resolution. It's the reason I voted against the debt ceiling because I knew what was on the horizon. They've been trying to chip away and cut at SNAP - cut away at SNAP every single time.

These are children. These are children. We could be back in committee right now talking about ways to work around, what we do, um, to -- to save this program, trying to work with the president to release those contingency funds. You can't negotiate in an empty room or by yourself.

COATES: Uh-hmm.

HAYES: So, this idea that Democrats are responsible for this, Democrats are not in charge. If you want to relinquish your obligation to work at this, give us the gavels. We'll take it from here. I can assure you that on my committee, on the nutrition subcommittee, we would come up with something that feeds hungry children in this country.

COATES: Congresswoman, I hear you, and so is America. We'll see what happens.

HAYES: Thank you, Laura.

COATES: Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, thank you.

HAYES: Thank you.

COATES: Up next, it's not just Steve Bannon fueling Trump's third term talk, it's the president himself, who is not ruling out an unconstitutional 2028 run. So, how might he try to do it? Plus, it is the strongest storm of the year. A 175 mile-per-hour winds, a potential 17-foot storm surge, and officials in Jamaica are warning this hurricane could get catastrophic. We are live on the island with the latest track on this monster storm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: So, in tonight's edition of "Will He, Won't He," President Trump is keeping the third term thought going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I would love to do it. I have the best numbers ever. If you read it --

UNKNOWN (voice-over): You're not ruling out a third term?

TRUMP: Am I not really good enough? You'll have to tell me. All I can tell you is that we have a great -- the great group of people, which they don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: The Constitution actually explicitly prohibits a third presidential run, but that does not stop the president from showing off 2028 merchandise. During a recent Oval Office meeting with House and Senate Democratic leaders, Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, of course, or the four more years hat collection that he proudly displayed for Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and French President Macron at the White House. Even Trump's official store is fanning those flames with a $50 hat.

But just because he says he might, doesn't mean he can, right? Let's talk to a prominent constitutional law scholar, the prolific and former assistant U.S. attorney, Kim Wehle, who's also the author of "How to Read the Constitution and Why," among many others. Let's get right to this because there is a 22nd Amendment. Break this down for me about whether or not it does prohibit to the point that he could never do it.

KIM WEHLE, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, PROFESSOR AT UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE SCHOOL OF LAW, AUTHOR: Well, it says that you can only be elected to the presidency twice, and this was after FDR ran four terms. So, clearly, the point behind that amendment was no more than two terms.

But it's really in this moment with Donald Trump kind of beside the point what the Constitution says. The question with lots of constitutional issues right now is who's going to stop him and who gets on -- that the presidential ballot is decided on a state by state basis. There's no Constitution cop that comes in and decides at the federal level who's on the ballot.

COATES: With all that threat, if he's not put on the ballot by, say, a governor or the state itself, then electoral college is obsolete in trying to get him elected.

WEHLE: Well, yeah, then he wouldn't be on the ballot as the nominee, but that's generally decided by the party. So, the question would be, okay, would the GOP on a state-by-state basis put him on the ballot? Now, if he was on the ballot, would someone sue to get him off the ballot and say, wait a minute, he can't be on the ballot because of the 22nd Amendment? We saw this with the 14th Amendment, the last round when Colorado kept him off the ballot --

COATES: Right.

WEHLE: -- because he engaged in an insurrection and it was unconstitutional by most people's reading of the 14th Amendment.

COATES: Yet he's the president.

WEHLE: And the Supreme Court of the United States overrode Colorado and said, it doesn't really matter to us what the 14th Amendment says, it's unfair to keep him on the ballot -- to take him off the ballot if that's what -- if that's what the voters want. So, I just think it's really, at the end of the day, who's going to stop him? It has to be done on a state by state basis. And the GOP is in lockstep with this man at this moment.

COATES: What about the word elected? You can't be elected to it. Does that mean it could be the vice president of the United States?

WEHLE: Yes. So, this is kind of the cute argument around the plain language of the 22nd Amendment, is that, well, elected means elected at the top of the ballot. So, if he were, um, the vice-presidential candidate, and then he was elected as V.P, and then the president would step down, he could ascend to that position.

But the 12th Amendment says that if you're ineligible for president, you can't run as vice president either. And it also would suggest that you could just keep being vice president and be a president for, you know, millennia or, you know, dozens of years. And, of course, that's not realistic.

COATES: Well, Trump said he wouldn't do that. It's too cute. It was the words he used, I guess, to describe it. But at the end of the day, the idea of who could stop him, it would be litigation, it would be state by state, and the Supreme Court would weigh in, and yet the 14th Amendment might be quite the indicator.

[23:25:03]

WEHLE: Right. I mean, the Supreme Court -- and that was -- that was not an opinion that had any dissents.

COATES: Right.

WEHLE: And I think the 14th Amendment is really clear. The court didn't even grapple with whether January 6 was an insurrection. It essentially said, no, Colorado can't -- can't keep him off the ballot and somehow have an influence on the national election. I just think if the Republican Party and governors allow him to be the nominee based on state by state ballot laws, I think it's going to be really difficult to stop that train, um, if he -- if he ends up deciding, which, it looks like, he's going to do.

COATES: Elections at the state level matter all the more than. Kim Wehle, thank you so much.

WEHLE: Great to be with you.

COATES: So, the president won't rule out a third term, but in the same breath, he is pitching another ticket. I'll tell you who he thinks could be -- quote -- "unstoppable." Plus, our breaking news tonight, a massive Category 5 hurricane with 175 mile-per-hour winds. It is closing in on Jamaica. The tracking of storm, we will bring you the very latest live from the island.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: The president may be noncommittal on his 2028 plans, but he is not holding back on who might be the heir apparent to the MAGA movement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: We have one of them standing right here. We have J.D., obviously, the vice president is great. Marco is great. I think -- I'm not sure if anybody would run against us. I think if they have a form (ph), the group would be unstoppable. I really do. I believe them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Is the president ready to see the national stage to Vance or Rubio? Let's ask two D.C. veterans, Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod, former Republican congressman Garret Graves. First of all, I'll note, I think Rubio was blushing --

(LAUGHTER)

-- at the thought that Trump was the one --

ADRIENNE ELROD, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: He was like, no, no.

COATES: -- maybe telling him, you might be unstoppable. I just remember what happened before. But Garret, would the base see a Rubio- Vance or Vance-Rubio ticket as unstoppable?

GARRET GRAVES, FORMER LOUISIANA REPRESENTATIVE: I think that'd be a very powerful ticket. I mean, look, you have folks that have incredible amount of experience. You have Rubio who digs in the weeds and so substantive. You have Vance who has done a great job as vice president and, I think, an excellent messenger. So, I think they would be an incredibly powerful ticket and be able to slide straight into that position.

COATES: It wasn't long ago when Trump was essentially saying he wasn't going to declare Vance as the heir apparent. And people wonder now whether he is just sort of stringing people along with his third term so as not to be a lame duck.

ELROD: Yeah.

COATES: You think so?

ELROD: No. I -- look, I think Trump likes to keep people guessing, for sure. But it's also no surprise that he would pick Vance and Rubio. And I think whoever Donald Trump annoys, whether or not he annoys himself to try to run again in 2028, which I don't think is going to end up in a formidable situation for him, but whether he annoys, you know, Vance, Rubio or somebody else, I think whomever he decides to support and endorse will likely be the nominee for the ticket and the running mate.

COATES: Well, we've seen at least one person, the former vice president. Kamala Harris not ruling out maybe running again. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA KUENSSBERG, BBC HOST: When are they going to see a woman in charge in the White House?

KAMALA HARRIS, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In their lifetime, for sure.

KUENSSBERG: Could it be you?

HARRIS: Possibly.

KUENSSBERG: Have you made a decision yet?

HARRIS: No, I have not.

KUENSSBERG: But you say in your book, I'm not done.

HARRIS: That is correct. I am not done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I'm cocking my head. You're an alum.

ELROD: Uh-hmm.

COATES: Do you think that the possibility of her running again is high?

ELROD: Look, I'm not going to sit here and get inside of her head and speak for her because I don't know where her head is at. I think she was being very honest and very blunt with that reporter.

But look, I think we should have a lot of people run in 2027 going to 2028. We have a big tent party. We have a lot, a deep bench of candidates out there. We've got strong governors. We've got obviously the vice president who served honorably for four years, was an outstanding candidate during the 107 days that she was in the race.

Um, I want to see a real debate among different types of people in our party who can go out there on the national stage and really show the American people what Democrats are fighting for. I also think, you know, we're in this situation right now where we sort of have a vacuum in terms of like that one Arab parent leader in the party.

COATES: Uh-hmm.

ELROD: We haven't been this way for about three decades for a variety of reasons. Usually, it's that former president who just served, he's usually the de facto leader of the party. But President Biden is, you know, sort of older and kind of taking a step back. We need to have this real debate with a bunch of different voices in our party to show who we are and what we stand for as Democrats.

COATES: Is the same true for the Republican side? Obviously, Vance and Rubio, very well-known names. Are they the future of this Republican Party?

GRAVES: I think a good point was made earlier in that President Trump loves to see competition. He loves to sort of get everybody involved in the race. And I think that -- I think that right now, there's not a clear error pair. And I think the president is going to continue sort of fostering that competition. But I do think that Rubio and Vance are absolutely right there at the top. You know, one of the things about --

COATES: Why?

GRAVES: Oh, because I think of one, their experience, their role. I think they've got records of success that they can point to. But going back to Kamala Harris, look, I have three sisters, I have two daughters, I would love to see a woman as president of the United States.

[23:35:00]

But I think what's really important is you've got to have a solid record, and I think that Kamala Harris is going to have some real challenges trying to run a record. And I think that's why Rubio and Vance are going to have a leg up. I think they're going to have the ability to really hit the ground running because of some of the successes they've been able to achieve.

ELROD: I think they're going to have some challenges, though, with their record, too. So, let's be clear, it's not like the two of them did not serve in this current administration and will come out of this gate.

GRAVES: And there's no doubt that they'll be attacked for that. But I think when you look at things like energy policies coming out of the Biden administration that resulted in higher prices and higher emissions, more dependence upon other countries and really harming Americans' pocketbooks, those things are tough to run on. I think it's going to be a real challenge.

ELROD: Record job growth, like record GDP, but okay --

GRAVES: Uh --

ELROD: Well, we'll agree or disagree on that.

ELROD: If you -- if you address for COVID impacts, then those things were achieved (ph).

ELROD: Okay.

GRAVES: But look, I think it's really important to get great ideas out there for people to run on their record, run on things that they've been able to achieve over the time that they've been in office, and allow voters to make a decision on what success looks like.

COATES: I wonder what the identity, uh, of each party is going to look like. Obviously, each side tried to paint the other by a particularly narrow description. When it comes to Republicans, you want to paint Trump, you want to talk about, I mean, Vance or Rubio, although they're a little bit different than Trump. When it comes to Democrats, it's about Mamdani now. People are talking about that. I want to play for you for a second what the full court press looks like to paint Mamdani, who is the New York City mayoral candidate, as the face of Democratic Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Hakeem Jeffries is now all-in for the socialist agenda of Mamdani. He is the head of their party now. When he gets elected mayor of New York, he's giving the marching orders to the rest of the Democrats.

JOHNSON: The House Democrats have chosen a side. They were forced to by that far-left that they're so terrified of. What we're witnessing is truly the end of the Democratic Party as we've known it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: The New York City mayor gives the marching orders for the rest of the -- I mean, what do you think?

ELROD: A ranked -- a ranked choice municipal election, okay. I mean, look, you can see the playbook playing out right there in real time. This is not a surprise.

COATES: You chuckled at that, by the way.

ELROD: This is not a surprise that you would see the Republican leadership in Congress taking this tack and taking this route. I mean, the bottom line is we also have two major elections coming up in Virginia and New Jersey for the governor's race with Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, two national security soccer moms. This is not a surprise that they are taking this tack, but this is not emblematic.

And, by the way, Mamdani has also excited an entire base of young voters by taking the issues to the electorate on what they're facing in terms of affordability.

COATES: Right strategy for Republicans?

GRAVES: So, look, the reason I'm laughing or smiling is because the American people know about AOC, they know about Bernie Sanders, and they know about Mamdani. They don't know about making sure they don't know about Abigail Spanberger --

ELROD: Well, they're about to.

GRAVES: -- because -- because those -- those first three that I mentioned, those are the ones that are getting traction in the Democrat Party. Look, as a Republican, I -- I -- I wish that those people continue to get traction because those messages are absurd, the policies are absurd. No one has ever said, let's replicate China and -- excuse me, Cuba and Venezuela in America. People don't say that. Yet those are the policies that these people are out there trying to progress. I just don't think it makes sense --

ELROD: I'm not going to go out there and defend every single policy that Mamdani is putting forward. He is actually going to voters in New York and saying, your rent is too high, grocery prices are too high, transportation is out of hand, and let me try to address those issues. And I think he's speaking to voters and meeting them where they are. And I think there's something to that that has inspired a whole new generation of young people.

GRAVES: And to go back to my point about successes, look, Mamdami is one of those people that's unencumbered by experience. So, he can go out there and say these things without the ability of knowing what solutions look like. This isn't going to end well, and -- and you can tell that right now.

COATES: Unencumbered by experience. That's political shade.

(LAUGHTER)

Adrienne, Garret, thank you both so much.

GRAVES: Thank you.

COATES: Happening now, the biggest storm on earth this year and it's bearing down on Jamaica. A brand-new track and forecast just out. We are live on the ground there next. Plus, Governor Gavin Newsome talking exclusively to CNN, and he has got a message for those pushing it back against his election fight against the president. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Breaking this hour, a new storm advisory from the National Hurricane Center, Category 5 Hurricane Melissa is just hours away from making landfall in Jamaica. It is the strongest storm on the planet so far this year. With life-threatening sustained winds at 175 miles per hour, Melissa will likely be the strongest storm on record to ever hit the island of Jamaica.

For more, let's bring in CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar who is live at the CNN Weather Center. Allison, we just got the latest storm advisory. What more are we learning? How soon could this make landfall?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So, we're still keeping an eye on the northward track because we know at some point, it's going to start to make that turn to the north. But really up to this point, it's just kind of sat in place.

Now, even with that said, the forward movement is still only at about two miles per hour. For some perspective, the average human, the walking pace is three to four miles per hour, so you could walk faster than this storm is actually moving. Now, it also has very incredibly strong sustained winds of 175 miles per hour that are gusting up to over 200 miles per hour.

[23:44:58]

What we anticipate is storm is going to continue that northward track, crossing over Jamaica likely within the next 12 to 24 hours. That eyewall is incredibly tight, beautiful formation there, but that also makes it incredibly dangerous for these areas as that eyewall would cross over the island.

When we talk about strong storms, one factor is the pressure. The lower the pressure, the stronger the storm is. But also, we keep an eye on the incredibly strong winds. And with Melissa having those winds of 175 miles per hour, it puts it in the top 10 with many other incredibly famous, not for good reason, storms.

One thing we want to note is that the storm is expected to gradually weaken as it makes that northward trend. So back down to about a Category 2 as it crosses over Cuba. Similar scenario for the Bahamas. It could even weaken slightly more than that because it is expected to pick up speed and move away from these areas much faster than the current speed it has, which is incredibly slow.

But the key thing to note is that really for much of the next 24 hours, this storm is still expected to be incredibly strong. Category 5 for several more hours. Then, we'll gradually start to see it drop back down to a four and a three. But you're still going to have a lot of those significant impacts, including all of that incredibly heavy rainfall impacting all of these areas with up to 20 inches total of rainfall.

COATES: Oh, Allison, thank you so much. My next guest is the owner of Dunn's Jamaica Home Center, a hardware shop in Kingston, Jamaica. Dunn has been helping residents prepare for this hurricane. Steve Dunn joins me now. Steve, thank you so much for being here. We're all so worried about what's happening there. I mean, the storm is just hours away from making landfall. Can you describe what you're seeing right now? What are your biggest concerns?

STEVE DUNN, OWNER, DUNN'S JAMAICA HOME CENTER: Well, good night to you and your viewers. As it is in Kingston, we have -- we have light continuous rain. In other parts of the island, it's -- it's a lot -- a lot heavier. We're having the trees falling. The -- the pole lines are down. So, it's really -- it's really taking its toll on us.

COATES: I mean, people are worried. They are scared. They're hearing the largest storm on Earth.

DUNN: Yeah.

COATES: I mean, you must be afraid. How are people coping?

DUNN: Yes. Yes, all of them. We're -- we're very concerned. The largest storm on the planet, correct, hitting -- hitting just a tiny dot on the world's map. So, we are obviously scared and, in some cases, not -- not quite as prepared as we would love to be.

COATES: Let's talk about that preparation because I know you're keeping your shop open to help people prepare. Tell me, what do people need most right now? How -- how can they prepare?

DUNN: Well, they -- yes, for the past couple of days, we -- we have opened the store for people to come and get basic necessities, products, generators, sandbags, plywood, things like those to ensure they protect their properties and protect their families and homes.

COATES: You know, you lived through Hurricane Gilbert. That was -- what? 1988? It was one of the worst hurricanes in Jamaica's history.

DUNN: '88, correct.

COATES: I remember my in-laws talking about what that was like for their families in Buff Bay. Melissa could soon become the strongest storm to hit Jamaica. Can you tell me about what that experience was like and how it's helping you even to deal with this moment?

DUNN: Well, in 1988, I was a lot younger.

COATES: Uh-hmm.

DUNN: So, you know. But now, yes, it has helped us to really prepare for -- for -- for medicine. But I don't think we can ever be prepared for something as a Category 5. Gilbert was like a Category 3. So, it's a whole lot more wind force, a whole lot more of everything, rain, breeze. So, it's hard. It's hard. It's really hard on us.

COATES: What's the government telling you now in order to try to keep as many people safe as possible? Any guidance?

DUNN: Oh, yes. Well, the government has come out. Our prime minister, the right Honorable Andrew Holness, has come out. He has spared no effort in ensuring that the necessary government agencies --

COATES: Hmm.

DUNN: -- are on high alert like UDPEM, (INAUDIBLE), the JDF, JCF, just to name a few. So, I just encourage -- encourage my fellow Jamaicans to follow instructions.

[23:50:03]

For people in low-lying areas --

COATES: Yeah.

DUNN: -- areas that are prone to flooding, they try and seek higher ground.

COATES: Right.

DUNN: The government have shelters all over the island in excess of 100, all over. So, they try and find one of those shelters for their safety and security.

COATES: We are all praying for you. Steve Dunn, please stay safe. Thank you.

DUNN: Thank you. Thank you so much.

COATES: Next, a brand-new show. My new neighbor here at CNN, Elex Michaelson, pops in with a clip you can't miss from his interview with California Governor Gavin Newsom. You'll have to stick around to see what else he's got on "The Story Is."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Whether you're a night owl on the East Coast or if your night is just getting started out West, you're about to have a whole another reason to stay with CNN right after we sign off here in Washington, D.C. Why? CNN's newest show, "The Story Is with Elex Michaelson," premieres in just minutes from now. The show is going to air live at CNN's L.A. studios every weeknight.

And Elex will hit on just about everything with the biggest names in politics and entertainment and sports and tech, and he's got a stacked lineup in the weeks ahead, starting with tonight's big interview with California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Well, joining me now is the host himself, CNN anchor and correspondent Elex Michaelson. I had an Oprah vibe just now. Sorry about that. But Alex, I don't know why I did that.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: If only I got a car.

(LAUGHTER)

COATES: You didn't, but you know you got something better.

MICHAELSON: Yeah, I got a contract.

COATES: You got a CNN contract.

MICHAELSON: Yeah.

COATES: I love it.

MICHAELSON: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

COATES: Well, listen, you and Newsom discussed everything from his ambitions to be president to the Democratic Party's state of affairs. And at one point, you pressed him on his push to redraw California's congressional map known, of course, as Prop 50. Tell me what he told you.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. I mean, there's this big fight underway, November 4th, the last day for voting, and Newsom sounds pretty confident that he's going to win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): He knows he's going to lose the election next November. He has to change the rules. He has to rig the game. And with respect to the former governor, that's not an -- that's not an even playing field where it is just best ideas are going to actually win out, not when the federalization of the Guard is appearing more and more obvious to people and the voter suppression that's going on with the DOJ and with masked men and the secret police from ICE that are -- that are occurring across this country.

So, this is a different time and it requires a different approach to dealing with Trump and Trump.

MICHAELSON: But you don't think, at least in California, if there was a fair election between a Republican and a Democrat in a competitive race, that there could be -- there could be a fair election here?

NEWSOM: That means there are free and fair elections here all the time. The only person who doesn't believe that is Donald Trump, who told me in the Oval Office that I have seen -- he said he absolutely won California. It's madness that he still actually believes that. Again, this guy is not stopping with everything I just said. He's also going after mail-in ballots.

And what the DOJ -- what the DOJ is actually all about is setting up the pretext. They go into federal court and watch this. Again, watch this. They're playing all of these things out on the streets of California. They're testing the theory. This will be brought nationwide in 2026 to ultimately suggest, after they lose, they will lose.

Donald Trump is going to lose Prop 50. Trump, you're going to lose Prop 50. And they're going to lose the midterm elections. But they want to set up the criterion conditions to go to federal court to not certify them by alleging something that doesn't exist. And that's exactly why the DOJ was sent in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Yeah, the DOJ sending in election monitors to California to observe the election through Tuesday.

COATES: I have been an election monitor in my days in DOJ. I cannot wait to hear the rest of that conversation. And Elex, we are minutes away from the huge launch. First of all, you already won the good hair contest between you and the governor. I saw it.

MICHAELSON: Oh, God. Don't say that.

COATES: I saw it. I saw it. I saw it. You know I saw it. But what else can we expect from your big show, "The Story Is?"

MICHAELSON: Beside a lot of hair product --

(LAUGHTER)

COATES: Hey, you're talking to the right person. Okay? I see you.

MICHAELSON: We've got a -- we've got a panel to react to this. Larry Elder, who ran against Gavin Newsom in the recall election, is here on our panel reacting in real time with Gloria Allred, his long-time debate partner. That'll be interesting to see how that goes down. Anderson Cooper happens to be in L.A. So, we're talking to him about his new show, "All About Grief." And we've also got this great profile on Josh Groban, the singer who, for 20 years, has been lifting up arts education, funding 189 programs around the country. We go with him to one of them. It's really cool and fun. We hang with these kids that are in elementary school learning Shakespeare.

So, we got a little bit of everything tonight, including a World Series update and, of course, all the latest breaking news.

COATES: Wow! This is the show for me and for everyone out there. Elex, I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to the family. We're happy to have you. I cannot wait to pass that baton to you.

[00:00:00]

MICHAELSON: I'm excited to take it and honored to be -- be on the team with you. Thanks so much, Laura.

COATES: Elex, thank you. And hey, everyone, thank you so much for watching. Guess what? "The Story Is with Alex Michaelson" starts right now.