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Laura Coates Live

Trump Blames Economy on Biden; Manhunt Continues for Brown University Shooter; Reiner Murder Investigation Continues; Trump Disparages Biden, Obama with Plaques at White House. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired December 17, 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]

UNKNOWN: Well, seasonal, right? And my wife reminds me. I've never seen a Christmas story --

UNKNOWN: Oh.

UNKNOWN: -- little kid. I've seen it.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, TNT used to have it 24 hours a day. OK, Ana.

(LAUGHTER)

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm going rogue. Forget what I haven't seen, which is way too much. It's what you have to see.

UNKNOWN: Oh.

NAVARRO: So, the best movie I have seen this year is "Song Sung Blue." It is the story of a normal couple in middle America trying to make it work while being impersonators for Neil Diamond. You will sing every song. You will cry. You will laugh.

UNKNOWN: "Gone with the Wind," "Gone with the Wind," "Gone with the Wind."

(CROSSTALK)

SIDNER: Thank you for joining us. Thanks for watching "NewsNight." "Laura Coates Live" is next.

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tonight, Trump plays the blame game and, by the way, the spin game in front of the entire nation. What do Americans really think about all of it? Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is here to respond.

Plus, five days, no suspect. Cops are still searching for the Brown University gunman, and they're asking for help from the public even more. But there are still questions mounting over all the things they still do not know five days in.

And there's new video capturing Rob Reiner's son just before his arrest as he makes his first court appearance. He is being charged with the murder of both his parents.

All tonight on "Laura Coates Live."

Well, President Trump is taking his case directly to the American people at a time when his MAGA coalition is showing significant cracks. Also, voters increasingly frustrated, and that's taking it easy, with the economy. So, how did he start his primetime national address tonight? Well, looking backwards on defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Good evening, America. Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I'm fixing it. When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say, in the history of our country, which caused prices to be higher than ever before, making life unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans. This happened during a Democrat administration. And it's when we first began hearing the word "affordability."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: (INAUDIBLE) a dictionary for a very long time. But nearly a year into his second term, and Trump spent several minutes railing against the prior Biden administration on everything. And I mean everything, from the economy to the border. And he wanted you to know that if you had a problem with anything that has happened, it wasn't him you should be mad at. Then came the victory lap.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast. Much of this success has been accomplished by tariffs. My favorite word, tariffs. They're building factories and plants at levels we haven't seen, A.I., automobiles. We're doing what nobody thought was even possible. One year ago, our country was dead. We were absolutely dead. Our country was ready to fail. Totally failed. Now, we are the hottest country anywhere in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: One problem, and it's a pretty big problem. It's the American people who don't seem to be buying what he is selling, at least according to the polls, about a dead America. And his approval rating on the economy, well, it's -- look. That's the tank people, 36 percent. And that is the lowest point during either of his terms in office.

And that blame Biden strategy? Well, voters aren't going with that either because poll after poll after poll shows that they blame Trump for the current economy, including, by the way, this one. Fifty-seven percent hold him more responsible than President Biden.

Even tonight, the data isn't getting any better. Look at this brand- new poll from Fox News. Nearly six in 10 voters, six in 10 voters say that Trump focused on all the wrong things. That may explain why he did spend a lot of time on the economy in this speech. He touched on health care prices which, as you know, is a bomb about to go off on January 1st when the Affordable Care Act and the subsidies expire. Some 22 million Americans against either premium skyrocket.

But Trump is blaming Democrats, even though it's the vast majority of Republicans who are refusing to budge on extending those very subsidies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It was bad health care at much too higher cost. And you see that now in the steep increase in premiums being demanded by the Democrats. And they are demanding those increases.

[23:05:00]

And it's their fault. It is not the Republicans' fault. It's the Democrats' fault. It's the unaffordable care act, and everybody knew it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: And it's their fault. It is not the Republicans' fault. It's the Democrats fault. It's the unaffordable care act, and everybody knew it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: But not every Republican even sees it that way because some moderate GOP lawmakers are fed up over the subsidies expiring. They're so fed up that they're breaking ranks with own leadership.

It's not your run-of-the-mill mutiny either. Four of them are signing on to a plan from Democrats, from Democrats, to force a vote on extending those subsidies, not for one year or even two, but for three years. And, by the way, that's with no strings attached. They say having health care premiums double or even triple is something that their constituents just can't possibly stomach.

Now, of course, it is still a long shot because this plan would have to pass, you guessed it, the Senate. But inside the halls of Congress, it's pretty easy to see just how big these GOP divisions are really getting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: You sound pissed -- you sound pissed off.

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): I am pissed for the American people. This is absolute bullshit.

UNKNOWN: To me, they're stabbing the rest of the party in the back.

REP. ERIC BURLISON (R-MO): So, what are we supposed to tell these folks? Oh, don't worry, it's Obama's fault. Party leaders focus most of their time and energy on trying to blame problems on the other side rather than trying to solve those problems.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Have you lost control of the House?

MIKE JOHNSON, SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: I have not lost control of the House.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Because this is the third time.

JOHNSON: Look, we have the smallest majority in U.S. history. These are not normal times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Well, that's a t-shirt and a license plate. House Speaker Johnson also told CNN something else. He says any vote on the ACA subsidies will not happen until January, which, yes, is after they've already expired.

I want to bring in Democratic congresswoman from Texas, Jasmine Crockett, who's also running to the United States Senate. Congresswoman, I'm glad that you're here. Thank you. You heard the president speak tonight. You're hearing from members of the House as well, including the speaker. The president is blaming President Biden for today's problems. Is there any truth to that?

REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D-TX): There's no truth. And the American people are done with the con man. I mean, as he stood up today in front of the American people, he sounds like a used car salesman, like, let me just shout it out, buy what I'm selling. Yes, this is a lemon. Yes, he is selling nothing but lemons.

Right now, I don't think that this really should come down to right or left. As I've been saying over and over, this is about right and wrong. And so, if people have questions, just go ahead and call your insurance provider and ask them, what are my insurance premiums going to be? You don't have to go and listen to what the Democrats are telling you. You don't have to listen to what the president is telling you. You can find out for yourself what those premiums are going to be without these subsidies.

COATES: But he is suggesting that the split screen is as follows: Everything was horrible under Biden. He called the country dead a year ago. And now, he has made everything better. The polls suggest that the American public do not buy it, including Republicans. Why do you think he is putting forth the message that everything is awesome?

CROCKETT: He's going to do that because lying has worked for him in the past. And right now, that is what he's trying to do. He is trying to lie his way through. And the only thing that he cares about is making it through these midterms. He is so nervous. That is why they are cheating and going from state to state to state, trying to redistrict.

As you heard the speaker saying, no, I haven't lost control of the House, I just have this really slim majority. Well, guess what? The last time that Donald Trump was in and had to go through a midterm, it didn't turn out really well for him. He lost a lot of seats. And right now, no matter how much tricking they do, we are going to win the House. I feel very confident on that because people are over it. They are over the games.

When you look at a state like Texas, the Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the governor's mansion. Same thing when it comes to the federal level. It's the Republicans that control the House, the Senate, and the White House.

So, if you are upset because something has changed in your life, whether it's the lack of jobs, because you're trying to tell us everything is peachy, but we know, according to your own numbers, that we have lost approximately 1.1 million jobs. And we also know that they have not been accurately reporting the jobs numbers.

So, if these are the numbers that you're willing to put out, these numbers are being compared not to a recession, but to great recession numbers. And people are feeling that, as you have a president saying things like, oh, as Christmas approaches, maybe you just don't buy as many baby dolls. It's OK --

COATES: Or pencils.

CROCKETT: Or pencils, right? No. And so, I think that the people are really showing up, as we see in these elections. Even throughout the south, you see what happened in Miami, the mayoral that had been Republican control for 30 years, it flipped. We are swinging seats no less than 10 points since he has been in office. And so, I know that he sees the writing on the wall, and he's doing everything that he can to try to lie.

[23:10:05]

COATES: We'll describe that writing on the wall when it comes to health care because you had a small group of Republicans joining with Democrats to force a vote on extending on those subsidies for three years, which seemed to be a deal-breaker just as recently as last week --

CROCKETT: Yes.

COATES: -- two to three years. You also have House Republicans passing a bill that will let the subsidies expire. You know the Senate already rejected both plans last week. Is there -- on this wall, is there hope on the horizon that this will change because January is a hop skip and a jump away as are those premiums?

CROCKETT: No. You know, I would --

COATES: Very blunt.

CROCKETT: I would love to be your typical politician and give you some excuse. But, at the end of the day, people are about to lose their health care. At the end of the day, there are people that are going to die as a result because some people just will not be able to afford to get life-saving care. COATES: Does that mean Democrats ought to compromise to avoid that from happening or is it on the Republicans?

CROCKETT: It's on Republicans. I mean, we don't control anything, as I just laid out. But more importantly, you know, we are supposed to be in session until Friday. The speaker, he loves to run when things get tough. That's not leadership. That's cowardice. And so, that is what he has decided to do. We saw this happened when it came down to the Epstein files. He decided to send Congress out.

Right now, we are supposed to be in until Friday, he has decided that our last day is going to be tomorrow because he does not want to deal with the fact that we have a right discharge petition that is sitting in front of him that could not only help our constituents but help his.

I mean, you know, it is -- it is really sad, what we have devolved into in this country. We have Republicans that are too cowardice to actually represent the people that put them into office.

You know -- and I think that, frankly, the people should show up and show them how they feel about people not looking out for them. We know that with the big ugly bill, we are going to lose about 17 million people when it came to Medicaid and Medicare alone. We know that there are community hospitals in rural areas, as well as others, that had already stated, because we are anticipating the budget and the shortfall, we are already going to say that we're closing. This is life or death.

And so, you know, for anyone that feels like, hey, I don't do politics, I like to tell people, you may not do politics, but politics will do you. Every single decision that takes place in your life from whether or not you have a job, whether or not you can afford health care, whether or not you have a roof over your head or whether or not you literally have access to health care, is a political decision.

COATES: Do you regret, given your description of Speaker Johnson's behavior as an active cowardice, do you regret bailing him out essentially last May? Would you do that again?

CROCKETT: Bailing him out how?

COATES: In the sense of voting to help in May of last year to ensure that he remains there?

CROCKETT: Just to correct the record --

(LAUGHTER)

-- I had a -- anyway, I will just say that --

COATES: Correct me.

CROCKETT: Well, because we changed it on the record. I actually voted in error. I'm going be honest. But I will tell you this: I don't think that Speaker Johnson is equipped to handle the job. I don't think Speaker Johnson was ever equipped to handle the job. And I think that the cracks are showing through at this moment. So --

COATES: How will Democrats capitalize on that then? Because, obviously, what you describe, just weeks from now, the loss of health insurance, the idea that most Americans, frankly, whether they like it or not, are one illness away from bankruptcy, let alone paycheck to paycheck, given the dire predictions of this being inevitable -- I mean, people are frustrated and they're scared.

And you have a new poll suggesting, and the mayor's poll, that now, they believe that Democrats are edging out Republicans on the ability to handle the economy more efficiently.

So, how do you, as a member of Congress, and you'd like to be a member of the Senate, how do you capitalize on that and make sure the voters not only trust Democrats but will believe you could actually accomplish it?

CROCKETT: Yes. So, the first thing is we can't be distracted. This president, you know, there's a lot of things that I could say about him, but one thing that I can say is that he is a master of distraction. I will give him that. And so, he likes to get people off on tangents.

We've got to keep people focused, we've got to be disciplined, and we've got to continuously remind them, as you are trying to deal with taking care of your mother or your grandmother or your grandfather because now they may have to live with you, because now they can't be in the assisted living that they normally could be in, as you're going to the grocery store and the costs have gone up yet your pay has not gone up. It is important to remind people of the source of their pain.

[23:14:54]

And so, that is why, right now, the president, who is the source of the vast majority of the pain that the American people are feeling, wants to deflect and tell people, no, no, no, don't believe your lying eyes, this doesn't have anything to do with me, it has everything to do with Joe Biden, who I claim was senile and didn't know what he was doing, it's his fault, right? Like, it's -- it's absolutely insane.

And -- and again, I think the numbers are showing. You can talk to me about polls. But, as we know, a lot of people don't necessarily even trust polls.

COATES: Right.

CROCKETT: But what you can't deny is the votes. And when the votes are rolling in, from the historic elections that we had on November 4th until even as recently as last week, it is showing that people are wide awake and they are not happy with how this administration is handling everything from immigration to the economy.

COATES: Well, from the polls to the polling booth, we will see what actually happens.

CROCKETT: Yes. COATES: Thank you for coming and correcting the record, congresswoman.

CROCKETT: Yes. Absolutely.

COATES: Up next, night five and authorities still hunting for the suspect in the shooting at Brown University with no apparent clue as to who the gunman is or even where he is. And tonight, we're learning that officials are also in the dark about some very basic details of the crime. Callahan Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" joins us with his perspective.

And ahead, we're getting a very first look at what Nick Reiner's defense in the murder of his parents will look like as investigators are piecing together what he did between Conan O'Brien's Christmas party and his arrest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: The Brown University shooting manhunt is now closing into its fifth day. And authorities say the gunman, well, he could be anywhere. Here's what we learned today. Law enforcement believes they may have DNA from something the shooter left behind. Police are looking to speak with the person that was in proximity of the suspect. But there are many unknows. It's still unknown if the shooter is even affiliated with the university.

And while authorities believe the shooter used a handgun, they also can't discount a description by a witness that a long gun was used. And officials don't even know how many people were in the classroom, a classroom that, tonight, we are seeing for the very first time. This is a photo taken before the shooting. A place described by a student as the worst building for the shooting to happen in.

Joining me now, someone who knows very well how crucial the public's assistance can be in helping law enforcement track down somebody who is wanted. The co-host of "America's Most Wanted," Callahan Walsh joins us now. Callahan, I mean, we're now talking about multiple days, five to be exact, a head-start possibly. And now, they're looking for a second person who they say was physically close at some point to the suspect. Why are they drawing attention now to a new individual? Any insight?

CALLAHAN WALSH, CO-HOST, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED": Well, it's because they just have such little actionable information. When is the last time that you saw something like this and law enforcement is asking to identify a person that was in proximity to the person of interest? I've never heard that before.

Usually, law enforcement is able to sort of track that down on the inside. But the fact that they're asking for the public's help really shows that they don't know who that individual is, and they don't have any other information to go off of either. They're desperate to find this person that was in proximity. And how much information that person has or can provide is still unknown.

And it's just so frustrating. As you mentioned, we rely on the power of the public on "America's Most Wanted." My father did it for 25 years. Him and I have done it together with the last two seasons in the new reboot. And without information for the public to help out with, that's why we're in day five at this point. The public just can't help, and law enforcement has no leads.

COATES: I mean, the idea of being in proximity, not in conversation with, seeming to be in cahoots, I have questions about what that nearness even entailed. And then you've got CNN's Evan Perez, who has some new reporting about what was going on behind the scenes when the FBI director, Kash Patel, tweeted about an initial person of interest who was detained. Now, some investigators already knew they likely had the wrong man. So, what impact do those sorts of setbacks have when you're asking for the cooperation from the public?

WALSH: Yes. Well, you know, having that initial person of interest eventually released, I mean, ultimately, that's a good thing. If that person is innocent, they should obviously let go.

COATES: Of course.

WALSH: But that restarts the whole investigation. You have to go back and re-interview witnesses. And it also, you know, prevents some first responders and boots on the ground from continuing the investigation because they think, oh, the person has been caught, I don't need to follow up on this or that lead. But then the investigation starts all over again when that first person of interest is let go. It's unfortunate because there's so much time, crucial moments that have been lost in the investigation because of that.

COATES: And, of course, if somebody is ultimately captured, I think, as a prosecutor, from my experience, it can undermine your ability to meet that burden because they might have the impression your investigation was somehow flawed. And do you have the right person now? It's very, very difficult.

But the officials say that 1,200 -- there were 1,200 cameras on campus. None caught the shooter's face, at least so far, largely in part because there are fewer, if any, cameras in the old building where the shooting occurred. Does that surprise you?

[23:25:00]

WALSH: It does. You know, the first reports were that there were 800 cameras. Even at the 800 number, you'd think that there's at least one camera that captured this individual. And it's so unfortunate that there wasn't one.

And whether that's a lack of cameras, which it sounds like there was plenty of them, but maybe there was a placement issue. Maybe some of those cameras are old and outdated and don't have the ability to capture usable -- really usable footage or the individual knew exactly where those cameras were pointed and avoided every single one of them.

And so, he's either, you know, just the luckiest guy in the world because he miraculously, without knowing, dodged each camera or he's smart enough to know where they were pointed and was calculated enough to avoid every single one of them.

COATES: Either way, for the safety of the nation and those students, I hope his luck runs out. Callahan Walsh, thank you so much.

WALSH: Thank you for having me.

COATES: Nick Reiner was in court today for the first time as we learn about his mindset in the hours before and after the alleged murder of his own parents. And tonight, we have the video that could be critical in the legal case against him. I've got famed defense attorney for the likes of the Menendez brothers and more, Mark Geragos, about to weigh in. And later, you can judge the pettiness for yourself as we show you how the president is memorializing his predecessors at the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: You know, I just returned from Los Angeles. And let me tell you, the town, really the nation, is in shock after the murders of beloved filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele.

And these new details about their deaths, well, they're hard to hear. The L.A. County Medical Examiner's Office says the couple died from multiple sharp force injuries. Their bodies were found in the master bedroom of their Brentwood home.

Prosecutors yesterday accused their son, Nick Reiner, of using a knife to kill Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele. His parents. Nick Reiner made his first court appearance today, and he did not enter a plea to the two first-degree murder charges he now faces, but he did waive his right to a speedy trial.

And this new video shows Nick Reiner hours after he allegedly killed his parents, wandering into a gas station some 14 miles from his parents' home before he was arrested outside of it.

His sister, Romy, was the one who found her parents dead. She and her brother, Jake, releasing a statement today saying in part -- quote -- "Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day. They weren't just our parents; they were our best friends."

I want to bring in Rob Shuter, Hollywood publicist and author of "It Started with a Whisper." Rob, I mean, these new details are just horrific. And the emotional toll on this family, it cannot be overstated. Their parents are dead. Their brother stands accused of killing him. How is that family grappling with all of this tonight? ROB SHUTER, PUBLICIST, AUTHOR: Yes, they're really struggling. Everybody that I've spoken to who knows the family said that they're trying to do a heroic job here. But they're struggling with so many different feelings here. They have emotions, feelings towards their brother. Despite what he might have done, he's still their brother. They grew up with him. Obviously, too, they're missing their parents.

I think that statement was extraordinary because it really, really reinforced the fact that this family was also a family of friends. They liked each other. We saw them hanging out together all the time, we saw them at baseball games, we saw them at hockey matches, we saw them wandering the streets, shopping together. This was a real family. And often, in Hollywood, that is not always the case.

And so, it breaks my heart today. It breaks my heart. Not only have they lost their parents, but they've potentially lost their brother. This is just heartbreaking.

COATES: We're hearing about Conan O'Brien's holiday party that, apparently, you report Nick was not invited to, who was at Conan O'Brien's home, but his parents were. They asked to bring him. Why did they want to do that and how did the party react?

SHUTER: Yes. A couple of things here. So, they dragged him along to a lot of places that they went. He was living in their guest house, in their pool house. And so, they didn't want to leave him alone. He wasn't a child who had a nanny or staff. He would have just been there alone. And clearly, he's going through some very difficult, difficult times. And so, they called Conan and asked, can we bring our son? And he said, yes. I'm sure it was reluctant.

People knew who Nick was. This is not the first time that Nick has acted out in public. There have been several examples of him screaming and shouting at his parents.

And so, I can just imagine, when they drove up to the house. It was a big Hollywood party. Lots of stars there. I'm told that people in the party were like, oh, you brought him? And they knew immediately that this wasn't going to be good, and it wasn't.

COATES: I'm sure no one could expect what would happen allegedly the next day. But a high-profile attorney, Alan Jackson, is representing Nick Reiner.

[23:35:00]

By the way, we're seeing in this image of him in a sort of suicide watch prevention suit. That's why the clothing appears in the way that it does. But this attorney, Alan Jackson, represented Karen Read in her trial in Massachusetts. She was acquitted. Other high-profile cases as well. Who -- who is paying for this lawyer? Do you know?

SHUTER: That's a really good question. I hit the phones. Nick didn't have the money. So, he never really had a job. Any money that he had, it was through his parents. He was homeless for a while. So, who's paying for this? Is the family paying? Is somebody within the family doing this? I haven't been able to get the answer yet. But it's a question that we've even asked the attorney, and they've not wanted to answer it either.

And so, it's really complicated here. They want, I'm sure, their brother to have a good, a great defense. However, they believe their brother at this point potentially killed their parents. And so, all the money within this family came from the parents. And wouldn't it be something that in life, they supported him, and now, maybe -- maybe in death, they might be still supporting him.

COATES: My goodness. Rob, that would be astounding. Of course, there's a law in California where if you are accused of being responsible for the -- for the person's death and you are to inherit, you're cut off as well. But we'll see. Rob Shuter, thank you so much.

I want to bring in a Hollywood legal titan in his own right. Famed defense attorney Mark Geragos is joining us now. First, Mark, what are your insights into Alan Jackson as a defense attorney and how he might approach this case? Certainly, high profile.

MARK GERAGOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, I -- look, I've known Alan since he was a young D.A. I had cases against him. I've known him throughout his defense career. As soon as he appeared, I will tell you, my first reaction is the family is supporting their brother. Alan -- if Alan is involved, that speaks volumes to the fact that in spite of their loss of their parents, that the family remains supportive.

I think the other telltale sign was you heard Nathan Hochman, who's a D.A., talk about how this is such a difficult case for DAs to deal with because coming right on the heels of Menendez, where you had all of the families supportive of the Menendez brothers and basically kind of lambasting Hochman for his position in that case.

And I don't know, you didn't mention in the package, lo and behold, look who was the D.A. in court today. It's Nathan Hochman's office. But (INAUDIBLE), who was my opponent on Menendez, is now, I teasingly told him, the parricide prosecutor on this case as well.

COATES: I mean, there's also the death penalty issue that the prosecutor said he would essentially consult with or reference the family's views more broadly on this. But they are entitled if such circumstances exist here, like the multiple murders, the use of the weapon, if all comes to a conviction. But Nick Reiner is being held, as you know, without bail. He has waived his right to a speedy arraignment. Why that decision? What happens next?

GERAGOS: Well, it's -- look, I haven't talked to A.J. today or yesterday. I will tell you, I think I know exactly what's happening. He comes into court in the suicide suit. That means he's being held. That is the standard operating procedure for being held in the mental health wing, usually at the Twin Towers. They put over the arraignment. That means that -- I'm going to bet you. I don't have any inside information that A.J. has already hired at least two psychiatrists. I would believe not just that not guilty by reason of insanity plea is in the works. But they put over the arraignment because I believe what is happening is that it's entirely possible that Alan is going to declare a doubt as to the competency of Nick Reiner. What that would do is basically call a legal timeout, suspend the proceedings, and get this thing on to a track where potentially, we may not even see a prosecution. We may see Nick Reiner taken and housed at a -- probably Atascadero, which is a mental health hospital. And he could be there.

I had one of these cases that lasted for 10 years with a young man who had kind of lost his mind and was charged with the murder of his mother. And they would do it. They would take him to the hospital, and then you'd never prosecute him.

COATES: With the videos that we're seeing of him in a gas station about 14 miles from his home after the murders, he appears to be calm.

[23:40:02]

I mean, obviously, this is just surveillance video. I don't know the full extent of it. He doesn't appear to be disheveled. Would that impact any plan that you described?

GERAGOS: Yes, I think all of those things are going to be used by the prosecutors. They're going to -- they'll get a chance to weigh in and say he wasn't -- he is competent now. We'll have -- they'll find an expert who will say he's competent now, then it will be a battle of the experts, and the judge is going to have to make the decision.

COATES: A battle of the experts. Mark Geragos, thank you so much for your expertise.

GERAGOS: Thank you.

COATES: Next, if you thought President Trump bashed President Biden tonight, well, just wait for how he memorialized him on the walls of the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:44:58]

TRUMP: Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I'm fixing it. I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast. Inflation has stopped. Wages are up. Prices are down. Our nation is strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Hey, if you missed the president's speech tonight, it was -- well, it was a lot of that. Also blaming Biden and Democrats for rising prices while at the same time throwing out a bunch of statistics about the prices he says he has lowered. Poll after poll, though, shows voters aren't really feeling that. And one Fox News poll finds that a majority of voters think the administration is focused on the wrong things. I may have exhibit A for you tonight because look at what the president has done at the White House. He installed plaques with descriptions that he wrote, that insult his predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Let me give you a taste here. The Biden one says, sleepy Joe Biden was by far the worst president in American history. The Obama one calls him one of the most divisive political figures in American history.

Let's talk about this with Bryan Lanza, former Trump campaign senior adviser, and Ameshia Cross, a Democratic strategist and former Obama campaign adviser.

I mean, Bryan, I have to ask you this. I may have some free time. I'm not the leader of the free world, although I am busy. I don't have time to write plaques insulting people who came before me. Why is he doing this?

BRYAN LANZA, FORMER DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR TRUMP 2016 CAMPAIGN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER FOR TRUMP-VANCE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: It's just a couple sentences. Everybody has time for a couple sentences.

COATES: Should he have time for these sentences?

LANZA: I think, for the broader thing, probably, because their strategy is always to put something out of the media that the media can cry out, rage, focus on, and then other things took place. This is the first thing we're talking about. I mean, he just gave a speech, you know, about the state of the economy, and we're talking about plaques. So, I'd say the strategy seems to be working.

COATES: Well, first thing you and I are talking about during this show, but this show is an hour long. I'll put that out there. But Ameshia, on this point about you, I mean, this is the distraction seems to be suggesting. But this is somebody who wants people to tout the economy. He gave it an A-plus, plus, plus. So, why would he be incentivized to even dangle a shiny object, let alone the foolishness we see?

AMESHIA CROSS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, FORMER OBAMA CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Because the Trump derangement syndrome he tells everybody about, he actually embodies himself. The weird thing that's happening here is he's trying to distract. That's what he always does.

But the other thing is he really does hold a vice against his enemies. He's up in the middle of the night tweeting about these people. He had a runner on whitehouse.gov that had disparaging comments about Barack Obama. That included photos where he tried to showcase him as something other than American, particularly an Islamic Muslim.

And in many cases, he has done the exact same thing to Joe Biden. He has done the auto pen thing. He also had on whitehouse.gov unsavory photos of Joe Biden's son from his woes with addiction.

This is a guy who showed us time and time who his character is. So, I don't even know why this is the headline anymore, to be honest, because the man is a very old bully, and he will go on to glory or in the other direction being a bully as well.

COATES: Here's a new headline. It's going to be coming out tomorrow. I would think that tomorrow, the president is expected to loosen restrictions on marijuana by reclassifying it from a schedule one to a schedule three, which could then give a gateway to allowing wider medical use. And, frankly, Bill Maher, he talked about this months ago when Trump had first teased about it. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL MAHER, HBO POLITICAL TALK SHOW HOST: I've been telling Democrats for years, the Republicans are going to steal pot from you as an issue. He is the master at winning votes from small groups who are passionate about one issue. While Democrats offer up high-minded intangibles like equity and saving the soul of America, Trump says, hey waitress, how'd you like to pay no tax on those tips? Remember that? And everybody was like, why didn't we think of that?

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Well, is there truth to this?

LANZA: I think people are talking about this happening tomorrow. It's a very big deal.

COATES: Yes, it is.

LANZA: I mean, he is stealing the issue from the Democratic Party. You know, Joe Biden had the opportunity to do something on this issue, and he created a bureaucracy where nothing took place. President Trump has the ability to do something on this issue, and he's doing an executive order rescheduling.

So, what we know -- what we'll know tomorrow is that for the last 20 years where the Democrats have promised their constituency that they would do something on cannabis and they were blaming the bureaucracy, Trump is saying that's B.S., I did it with the sign of a pen. It's a big deal.

COATES: Well, there was the pardons that Biden extended in terms of people who were committed -- who had committed low level drug offenses in recognition to part of this. But are Democrats missing the mark here? Did they miss an opportunity?

CROSS: Well, double-digit states have already legalized marijuana, to be clear.

COATES: Right.

CROSS: As somebody who is a medical marijuana card holder, I am actually very excited that this is happening.

[23:50:02] But I would also argue the next step would be to ensure that, you know, some of these cases should be retroactive. As a card holder, I am actually very excited that this is happening.

But I would also argue the next step would be to ensure that, you know, some of these cases should be retroactive to ensure that those who did go to prison, those who were locked out of employment, those who have had a really hard time getting their lives back together for very small marijuana use, should also now be able to exhibit that level of freedom again --

COATES: So, what if he does do that then? What impact would that have on Democrats who have said that they are the party of trying to stabilize justice?

CROSS: I think Democrats should cheer it on. It's something that -- there have been Democrats who have championed it. Unfortunately, it didn't get across the aisle at the federal level. But we also had some Democrats as well as some Republicans who referenced it as a gateway drug. That has been proven false time and time again.

I'm glad that at this point, at least this White House, this president, and, you know, the proof is in the pudding until I see it, then I'm not going to shout it as a victory, but when it is seen, then I think that a lot of people should come to the Hill and be excited about it. With that being said, states took it all with their blue, red or purple a while ago in large part because money was to be made from it.

COATES: I'd curious to see what the Supreme Court, if they ever addressed this issue. I mean, Supreme Court Justice Thomas always wanted not to a patchwork of states. He has been talking about they wanted to have sort of a stabilized force on that. We'll see what happens.

I do wonder, do you have any concerns when Republicans and Democrats always fight to be the hardest on crime? Does this undermine it in any way, you think, to voters given that it's only marijuana?

LANZA: Listen, I think it's an interesting time. I mean, we heard today that President Trump is going to have more -- is planning to do kinetic activity in Venezuela because of the drug war. And tomorrow, we're talking about loosening or rescheduling marijuana rules. So, it's -- there is a little bit of inconsistency, but that explains the times, right?

You know, people are able to separate what's happening in Latin America, how they're pushing fentanyl, how they're pushing cocaine into the United States, and understanding that cannabis is -- the perceived notion that it is not a gateway drug. It actually become less harmless than most people have thought. And I think the research is going to come forward.

But I do sort of preface this. You know, people use opioids in the United States, which is a derivative of the opioid plant, but you don't see the plants everywhere. And so, as marijuana sort of moves into this medical phase, I think you're going to see less of the medical plants everywhere, less of the smoke. It's going to sort of move to the professionalization of the pharmaceutical product, which will be a compound or derivative. It's not going to be what we expect it to be.

COATES: We'll see how that impacts the health care industry and the costs associated with all that. Let's turn to Dan Bongino because it looks like he has been quiet quitting for quite some time. He'll be out as FBI deputy director starting next month, as we understand it. And he had pushed several conspiracy theories throughout the course of -- on Epstein, at the January 5th pipe bombers, excuse me, before he joined the bureau where those also got debunked. Here's Trump had to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I mean, I like having a show. He wants to go back to one. But is there more to this story? And why do you think he's really leaving?

CROSS: There's absolutely more to this story. And to be fair, Dan Bongino basically, you know, flew a kite up out of that thing months ago. I can recall a Fox News interview that he did, basically talking about how much he missed his wife, how bad D.C. was, how much he wanted to go home. He's kind of like trying to soften the blow.

But more importantly, this is because of the Epstein files. This is a guy who had a show before he was appointed, where he spread so much conspiracy theory of which he has now admitted to. That's how got viewers. He lied and lied again.

COATES: He said, it was my opinion that I was paid for.

CROSS: It was his opinion that he was paid for, that there was no evidence for. Hashtag conspiracy theory. So, he got to the White House, and he is in the Cabinet, and he is literally in a position where he is also in charge of leading certain aspects of that investigation. So, I think that as the heat steamed up, he decided he was going to roll out.

COATES: True?

LANZA: No. I mean, we knew from the very beginning, when Dan was appointed during transition, this was always going to be a year, maybe 18 months at the max --

COATES: It has been nine.

LANZA: It's going to be a year. The end of the year is a year. And so, you know, it all falls in line with what we expected. I've heard, I've certainly interacted with Dan, he hates it here in D.C. He's not alone. Guess what? The country hates it here in D.C., too. So, he's going home where the American people are, and that's probably good for him.

COATES: OK. I hope you don't live in the district. Everyone hates it. It's a lovely place to be.

LANZA: It's not that great.

COATES: OK. Nation's capital. Bryan and Ameshia, thank you both so much. Up next, the teenage civil rights icon taking Robert E. Lee's spot at the Capitol.

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[23:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Tonight, a symbol of courage stands inside Capitol Hill and it's 74 years overdue. Back in 1951, Barbara Rose Johns converted the legally segregated school system. She was just 16 years old. But she led a strike at her high school in Virginia demanding equal education. That protest got the eye of the NAACP, which sued. And it became one of five cases that made up the landmark Supreme Court decision of Brown versus Board of Education, which will separate but equal was unconstitutional.

But Barbara Rose Johns has been a hidden figure, at least until now. A statute of her was revealed and unveiled yesterday at the National Statuary Hall Collection in the Capitol Rotunda.

[00:00:01]

She did not get a chance to see it, sadly. She passed away in 1991 at the age of only 56. But it was donated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. She replaced the one that previously stood there. A statue of the leader of the Confederate Army, General Robert E. Lee, a man who fought to separate America, now replaced by a woman who fought to unite it.

Thank you all for watching. Our coverage continues.