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Laura Coates Live

Trump's War Is Making His Economic Problem Even Worse; South Carolina Rejects Trump's Push For New Map For Now; Inside The Craziest Election In The Country: Democrats Pin Their Hopes On An Independent To Flip A GOP Senate Seat. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired May 12, 2026 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

ELIZABETH PIPKO, FORMER TRUMP 2016 CAMPAIGN AIDE: I think we're going to a lot of fun with this.

(LAUGHTER)

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: OK. Ashley?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Another George. My man, George Clooney, I'd like to say.

PHILLIP: A good one. Rana?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: I'm going to go with Jeff Bezos. Good target to roast the fashion, the wedding, the --

ALLISON: Everything.

FOROOHAR: -- purging, the Washington Post -- whatever.

PHILLIP: More building to roast. Adam?

ADAM MOCKLER, COMMENTATOR, MEIDAS TOUCH NETWORK: I was going to say Kash Patel, if we could wake him up, but I think he got roasted enough today.

(LAUGHTER)

JASON RANTZ, AUTHOR: Marco Rubio easily because those memes make me laugh every single time.

PHILLIP: The memes, the news. OK. Everyone, thank you very much. Thanks for watching "NewsNight." You can stream the show any time with an all access subscription at CNN app and at cnn.com/watch. "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tonight, Trump got 99 problems with your finances, anyone, at least not when it comes to ending the war with Iran. Plus, a rare Republican stand against redistricting in South Carolina. I'm going tell you how it happened and what it actually means now for the midterm fight. And later, have you heard about this bizarre election in Nebraska where winning means dropping out and where Democrats pin their Senate hopes on an independent? That's tonight on "Laura Coates Live."

My opening statement tonight, Trump's stalemate with Iran is making his main political problem even worse because no matter how many ways the White House tries to spin all of it, Americans, they just seem fed up, downright angry about how much all of these cost, how much things in general cost, which is why I can almost guarantee you that what Trump said today, that's coming to a campaign attack ad near you.

You see, he was asked a very simple question. To what extent are Americans' financial situation motivating him to make a deal with Iran?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters is that I'm talking about Iran. They can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all. That's the only thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: That might be the only thing the ad might actually say. Now, if Trump is betting that Americans are buying his short-term pain for long-term gain message or a singular focus on Iran's nuclear power, he may have another thing coming. A new CNN poll shows 77 percent of Americans think that his policies have increased the cost of living. You know, that includes 55 percent of Republicans.

And the poll further reflects what I'm sure, well, many of you already know. Sixty-one percent say they've changed what they buy at the grocery store just to stay on budget. Forty-four percent cut back significantly on how much they drive. Twenty-seven percent had to take on extra work just to make ends meet.

It can be easy to dismiss all of these with just a bunch of statistics unless you're one of the people in any of those groups I just mentioned. But there are faces to these numbers and it might be yours. And, frankly, we heard from them directly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: It's survival mode, and that's a mode that I'm haven't been used to.

UNKNOWN: For me, a financial stressor is groceries.

UNKNOWN: Everything has gone out from the beef to the eggs.

UNKNOWN: I'm a junior, and I missed the whole semester of school because I couldn't afford housing. I want to have a house and have a family and -- you know what I mean? Like my parents did.

UNKNOWN: You know, I thought that maybe one day, I'd buy a house. And now, that feels probably not -- not so likely.

UNKNOWN: The prices of things are going up, but pay isn't increasing. So, it's just kind of like you all are increasing everything that we have to pay for, but wages aren't, you know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Not what you want to hear if you're Speaker Mike Johnson and trying to keep control of the House in November. But you know what it turns out? He's not too worried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You said more than two months ago that there would be a temporary blip of high gas prices. Now, they're still sky high. Are you all being straight with the American public about how much pain they have to endure for this war?

MIKE JOHNSON, SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Yes, of course, we're being straight with the American people. We always are. The president is working earnestly to resolve the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I think they were talking about groceries and rent and tuition and -- but working earnestly might be a quote that satisfies all of you. There's no doubt the president wants to end the war, wants to get a deal. Of course, he does. He's on his way to Beijing right now. It will be high on the agenda in his meeting with President Xi.

But critics can't help but question the president's focus because of all the oxygen he has been giving to, well, construction projects, the renovation of the reflecting pool, the ballroom, the arch.

[23:04:55]

And then, of course, there's his late-night Truth Social habit that he can't seem to quit, where he posts dozens of times, it's at odd hours, sharing everything from his face on a hundred-dollar bill to A.I. images of his opponents to Venezuela as the 51st state.

You know, maybe it's no surprise that polls suggest that people feel the president isn't focused on them or, as one person from the survey put it -- quote -- "My life is not affordable. No one cares."

I want to start off with CNN political analyst and White House correspondent for "The New York Times," Zolan Kanno-Youngs, CNN political commentators, former DNC communication director, Xochitl Hinojosa, and Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson. So glad to have all of you here.

And just hearing from different people, as just a slight focused group, of what has been going on and what their thoughts are, I think it's really important for people to hear. And Zolan, I mean, America's pocketbook is not on the president's mind when negotiating with Iran. You could blame that on, you know, not giving greater context or you could take him at his word. That's a problem.

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES: Not going to make a lot of people happy, including the president's own supporters. You match those comments that you just heard from the various different people, you know, that effort to put a face on this economic frustration. That goes with polls that shows that the sentiment that those individuals were expressing is, you know, emblematic of a larger feeling in the country right now of economic frustration that has only been amplified when you look at gas prices that have gone up since this war in Iran has gone on.

You match that also with the idea of, you know, including many of the president's own supporters and prominent critics in the MAGA movement who have questioned, hey, this was supposed to be your priority, the economy, domestic issues, addressing some of the kitchen table issues. That's what you campaigned on. And now, it seems that, often, your focus is overseas or on these sort of personal construction projects that you were talking about as well.

You know, I say this often, but I think about how the chief of staff, Susie Wiles, said that the president would be traveling more as well to talk about his agenda. That was a response, in a way, to many of the Americans that you were just playing on T.V., an effort to try and address those concerns.

But when I hear the president speaking in the last couple weeks, I went to one of his speeches in Florida a couple weeks ago in the villages, that -- the White House was advertising that as an effort to talk about retirement savings and tax cuts. When he got up to speak, it ended up for the most part being a list of grievances and also talking about Iran. That's not really the disciplined message that the White House keeps forecasting at this point.

COATES: The president, though, says Americans would accept temporary economic pain and, of course, the war. He is saying that the end game of not having a nuclear threat is paramount to any and everything else that would happen domestically. And some Republicans on the Hill are telling MeidasTouch they agree. Listen, Kristen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TROY NEHLS (R), TEXAS: He wants to make America affordable for everybody. He loves America. He's an America First patriot. So, don't take it out of context.

REP. RALPH NORMAN (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: And more importantly, would you rather pay high gas prices for a while or get your station blown up? Iran was going to blow this country apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: OK, that's -- those aren't (INAUDIBLE) here, by the way. But you talk to voters. Tell me how are they seeing this idea of a short- term gain and the either/or?

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: So, for voters looking at the situation in Iran, it sorts of feels like it came out of nowhere. Not to say that Iran not liking the United States and vice versa is new. It very much is not.

COATES: Yes.

SOLTIS ANDERSON: But, you know, in the summer of 2025, Americans were told that Iran's nuclear capability was taken out in a pretty serious way. And so, in all of my data, when I ask voters, what do you think would

be a legitimate reason to engage in military activity against Iran? To prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon is the top of the list. Significant majority say, yes, that's a good reason to go to war.

But is that the case that the president made to the American people before engaging in this action? I would argue that it is not, that it felt like it came out of nowhere, and that's why now this trade-off of like, well, I mean, you're glad you're not getting bombed, right? People are like, well, yes, I am glad I'm getting bombed.

I didn't think that that was on the menu, and I think it's that feeling of bait and switch that is what is now taking an issue that the president could have been stronger on and really has just given it away, especially as now high gas prices. I mean, energy and the economy were the two issues that were Trump's strongest. Immigration had been a third. But with the ice of it all, those numbers have gone down over the last year or so. But the economy and energy were strong, and they are now ones that have seen the biggest fall in the last couple of weeks. It's a big problem for the White House.

COATES: So, the Democrats pick up this ball and run with it or are they floundering?

XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR FOR DNC: Well, they should pick up the ball and run with it.

[23:09:59]

And I am shocked that Democrats aren't running ads right now with his comments in some of these tough congressional districts, especially ones that are currently held by Republicans that could potentially swing on the Democratic side. That is a very good question that I think Democrats should start pressing to the Democratic leaders, Jeffries and others, because we should be focusing. We know this is the message for the midterm elections. We know that the midterms are likely to favor Democrats. We have the voters on our side.

It's very clear, based on the polling, CNN's polling, and the polling that we've seen out there, that the American people don't trust the president on this anymore. He made all of these promises. He made promises on tariffs and that there would be a short-term pain for long-term gain. He's making a promise on the war. Short-term pain, long-term gain. And American voter does not trust him. He has already been in office for more than a year. When he blames Biden and Obama and every -- and the media and everybody else, they're also not buying that.

And so, Democrats have to be very strategic. And if they're not running ads now, which I haven't seen any so far, they need to start doing so immediately if they want to get this message across and in to the homes of voters.

COATES: Well, less than six months from the midterm elections. The president obviously on his way to China. He's taking some very prominent business leaders with him as well. Not necessarily to sweeten the pot, but because they also want something from China and they want to have some leverage to aid in Trump's mission. But could Trump be moved to pull back some of these tariffs if people are suggesting that is, including "The Wall Street Journal" editorial board, that that's the best and most immediate way to reduce those costs for Americans?

YOUNGS: I mean, we've seen -- like the last time we had a summit or conversation with these two leaders, we've seen that in the past where Trump has at times, you know, threatened triple digit tariff increases on China, and China has then threatened to retaliate with withholding rare earth minerals, and they both paused, you know, those -- that threat there, but still a trade war hangs over this. So, that's definitely on the menu in a way.

But when you talk about those business leaders that are going, what I also think is interesting is often what you hear from the White House right now and other people in the private sector is this idea of A.I. cooperative deals and different business commitments that you could have between these two countries. I see distance between that and actually addressing the needs of some of the voters we've been talking about. When you have sort of these deals that are very 10,000-foot view --

COATES: Right.

YOUNGS: -- it takes a while for that to trickle down, if it does at all, to the actual voters on the ground. So, I think, likely, you could expect them to come out and talk about some of those commitments. Whether that actually results in sort of galvanizing support and addressing the economic anxiety we've been talking about, I don't know.

COATES: Do those issues resonate with voters?

SOLTIS ANDERSON: I mean, I think U.S.-China competition is one of those things that gets a lot of space in "The Wall Street Journal" editorial page. You can find lots of folks in this town who will have extended conversations with you about export controls and what types of chips should we be selling to China and those sorts of things.

But I think for your average voter, they just know the stuff they buy has gotten more expensive. And for younger voters in particular, they're not even as worried about the concept of an idea of a world where China is a leader. I mean, it's something that worries me greatly, but for most younger voters, it's just not high on their list.

And this generational divide, Trump really brought a lot of young people into his coalition in 2024. In all of my data, that's a group that has broken away from him in some of the biggest fashion. They're already likely to stay home in greater numbers in the midterms, but Republicans just can't afford to lose pieces of their coalition at this point.

COATES: I'll give you the last word on this because the emphasis so far has been on redistricting, but these sound like obviously kitchen table issues as opposed to the conceptual democracy-based issues. What will be more persuasive to voters?

HINOJOSA: Definitely kitchen table issues. I think Democrats have to fight the fight on redistricting. It's not the fight that Democrats wanted in the first place. At the end of the day, Democrats see it as Republicans trying to sort of cheat because they know that they're not winning on the issues like bringing down costs.

And so, Democrats need to be very careful of fight on redistricting. Nobody wants to see the lines drawn mid-year. They feel like that both sides are sort of playing this game with their votes and instead they want to see people actually addressing how are you going to reduce costs. Donald Trump said he was going to do that. He didn't do that. OK. So, Democrats, how are you going to deliver that if you get the House or if you get the Senate or anything else?

COATES: The important point that you raised, how, not just that --

HINOJOSA: That's right.

COATES: -- it was not achieved by a different president. Thank you all so much.

Up next, be bold and courageous. That was the president's message to South Carolina Republicans as he pushed them to get rid of one blue district in the state that belongs to Congressman Clyburn. And some of them were bold, and they were courageous by voting against his wishes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SHANE MASSEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We are not Louisiana. We are not Alabama. We are not Mississippi.

[23:15:00]

Our map is not unconstitutional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I've got the former DNC chair, Jaime Harrison, here to talk all about the redistricting war. Plus, a CNN exclusive, the acting FBI chief fired by the administration speaks out for the first time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Today, we saw something we rarely see from Republicans these days. Defiance. A handful of Republicans in South Carolina refused to go along with President Trump's gerrymandering scheme, even though Trump, he called on Republicans in the Palmetto State to -- quote -- "be bold and courageous."

[23:20:01]

Well, a few Republicans, they were bold, and they defied the president's wishes. Five South Carolina Republican state senators joined Democrats to reject the redistricting proposal and some rebuked the idea publicly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MASSEY: I've seen it argued on social media. I've heard it argued. People have told me this, that this is what you're supposed to do with power. This is what you're supposed to do with a supermajority. You're supposed to punish your opponents.

Really? Is that how it's supposed to work? Is that how it's supposed to work here? I know that's how it works in some other places around the world, but is that how it's supposed to work here?

You know, to most people in the country, I think this is perfect example of just how much elected officials have lost their way. Too many people in power just want to do whatever it takes to stay in power. They'll do whatever it takes to keep it. But I ask, to what end?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I'm joined now by a South Carolinian and former DNC chair and Democratic Senate candidate from South Carolina, Jaime Harrison. Jaime, I'm glad you're here. I was -- I was struck by that rhetorical question of essentially of, is this what you're supposed to do with power, right? To sort of crush others in this way. Why do you think these Republicans took this stand now?

JAIME HARRISON, FORMER CHAIRMAN, DNC: Well, I know Shane Massey. Shane and I are about the same age. I think we're both 50 years old. We're also a part of the Liberty Fellowship, which is a part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network in South Carolina. And Shane is someone who I don't always agree with politically on a lot of issues. But Shane is a man of deep moral value. He has deep moral values, and he doesn't bend in the wind. He's not easily pushed around, and I think you saw a testament of that today. He knows what the right thing is, you know, and he will stand up for it.

And so, I applaud Shane for what he did. I know he's getting a ton of heat, and he will get a ton of heat more from this president and a number of other folks.

But, you know, this is -- Laura, this is not about Democrats versus Republicans. I know for a lot of people, it is, about, you know, Rs getting one more, Ds getting one less. But this is much deeper, particularly in the state of South Carolina. Personally, it's much deeper.

COATES: And yet, the deepness you talk about and the idea that there's moral courage and doing what's right and wrong, we're not seeing that compass uniform across this country. You are seeing people who say, well, I'm in power, I got to add to it because I want to stay in power. What are their reasons? Some, nefarious. I want to stay there. This, the fact that we're even highlighting his statements, shows you what an anomaly it has become. So, what do you do about the anomaly? How do you make that the more universalized approach?

HARRISON: Well, you know, my grandma taught me, God bless her soul, that just because you can doesn't mean you should.

COATES: I've heard that statement. We must have the same grandma or generation wise.

HARRISON: Yes.

COATES: Yes.

HARRISON: And I think you saw a testament of that today, just because you can doesn't mean you should because, again, there are moral things that you need to stand up for and making sure that people -- we're talking about a seat in the House of Representatives. That basically means these are people who should represent the people, and that's all of the people, not just a select group of the people, but all of the people.

And, yes, South Carolina is a state that majority votes 55-45 Republicans, Democrats, but it's also a state where 27 percent of the population is African-American. And the question is, do they have an opportunity to vote for folks that represent them and their interests and their values and their communities and can speak for them?

COATES: Well, they certainly wanted and they have consistently wanted Congressman James Clyburn --

HARRISON: Yes.

COATES: -- in that office. If the South Carolinians had approved the redistricting, that district would have really gone away for him, number one. But I am curious about political reporting because they are saying that the Democratic Party is going to shift their messaging now based on what has happened in Texas, in Virginia, in Florida, and now South Carolina, to name a few. And that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Democratic lawmakers this week, we will bury the GOP gerrymandering scheme with a massive Democratic redistricting counteroffensive.

Given your thoughts about what's right is right and how people have been saying, oh, hold on, I thought gerrymandering is wrong or redistricting is wrong, how do you sell to the American voters that a counteroffensive launched by Democrats is virtuous --

HARRISON: Yes.

[23:25:03]

COATES: -- and that which is done by Republicans is wrong?

HARRISON: Yes. It's a hard rope to walk, right?

COATES: Yes.

HARRISON: It really is. But you have to go back to it. Ultimately, what Democrats wanted a few years ago -- we would not be down this road right now had they passed a John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement --

COATES: Yes.

HARRISON: -- because we would have outlawed gerrymandering in this country. And Hakeem and the Democrats in the House passed that legislation, and it died in the United States Senate.

COATES: It would have been fortified against even the Supreme Court --

HARRISON: Yes.

COATES: -- gutting Section 2. That's the most important point.

HARRISON: That's exactly right. And so, I think what you see from Democrats ultimately is we want to get rid of all of these, but at the same time, we can't, you know, literally disarm when Donald Trump is doing all of these things and pulling out all of these tricks in order to force people to do things.

But I want to go back to the Clyburn thing. You know, Jim Clyburn is ninth Black person to represent South Carolina in the history of this country in Congress. There was 95 years between number eight and number nine. Coming out of the Civil War during Reconstruction, there were eight Black members of Congress from South Carolina.

At one time, South Carolina sent -- four out of the five members of Congress were black. South Carolina was the only state in the nation that at one time was majority Black. We had a Black lieutenant governor, a Black attorney general, a Black speaker of the House. The whole legislature was majority African-American. It was that African- American legislature that put in the Constitution that public education should be something a guarantee.

COATES: And yet there was a huge gap. And now, Clyburn is vulnerable.

HARRISON: Yes. So, we had Jim Crow that came in, that wiped out that Black leadership. And then, again, it wasn't until the Voting Rights Act that allowed us to start rebuilding that once again. So, for a lot of us, we know our history, we know the pain that our people have gone through to get to this point. And to start to see those things that we know from our history come alive again, it's disheartening, it's scary. You know, I testified, and I basically said in the hearing that with every breath in my body, I will make sure that my sons don't live in a world like my grandparents lived in, and that is true not only for me, but so many Black folks in the state of South Carolina.

COATES: Across the country, in fact.

HARRISON: Across the country.

COATES: Jaime Harrison, thank you so much.

HARRISON: Thank you for having me.

COATES: Next, he investigated the mob. He was a commander of the FBI's elite hostage team. He tracked down child predators. At the beginning of the second Trump administration, he was named Acting Director of the FBI. And then he was fired. Well, now, he's suing and talking exclusively with CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN DRISCOLL, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, FBI: It was palpable. And there was a sense of shock that, like, well, I am really close to this thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: You know, the FBI director usually has a lower profile. But today, the personal life of FBI Director Kash Patel was splashed all across Capitol Hill. Much the questioning revolved around the explosive piece from "The Atlantic" last month. It revealed that Patel's colleagues were alarmed about his -- quote -- "episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences" -- unquote. Now, Patel denies the allegations and is suing "The Atlantic" for defamation. Democrats asked him about it during today's budget hearing in the Senate, and needless to say, it got testy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: These are serious allegations that were made against you.

KASH PATEL, DIRECTOR, FBI: The allegations are false. You're drinking margaritas with a gang --

VAN HOLLEN: Actually, it just goes to show --

PATEL: You're running a $7,000 bar tab at the Lobby Bar.

VAN HOLLEN: Patel -- PATEL: That has been filed by your own office.

VAN HOLLEN: -- this goes to show --

PATEL: You drink during the day. That's you. This is an ultimate example of hypocrisy.

VAN HOLLEN: Mr. Chairman, are you willing to take the test that -- it's called the audit test that members of our active-duty military and others take to determine whether they have a drinking problem?

PATEL: I'll take any test you're willing to take.

VAN HOLLEN: I will take it, Director Patel. I'll take it. You ready to take it?

PATEL: Let's go.

VAN HOLLEN: Yes or no?

PATEL: Let's go. Side by side.

VAN HOLLEN: I'll take it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Let's talk about it with my expert panel, former national security official and founder of Defiance News, Miles Taylor, national security attorney, Mark Zaid, and former FBI executive assistant director, Jacqueline Maguire. Thank you all for being here. I mean, Mark, did Patel do himself any favors with this hearing today?

MARK ZAID, NATIONAL SECURITY ATTORNEY: Well, it depends on what audience you're talking about. Did he do himself any favors with the White House, with the Department of Justice? I'm sure he did. He performed admirably with the MAGA shout outs in showing the unprofessionalism level that we've never seen before in Congress, at least in recent years. That's for sure.

If you talk to the rank-and-file in the FBI or those of us who believe in the rule of law and professionalism, then no, he just disgraced the office even further, you know, almost to a point where we're like, gosh, I wish that guy -- who was that director?

[23:35:05]

J. Edgar Hoover. Wow, it might be actually better to have him back, which is, of course, (INAUDIBLE) because he did a lot of bad things. At least he was professional about it.

COATES: I think people would even question that statement. But I see the hyperbole that you're getting at to demonstrate your point. But Miles, let me ask you at this point because Patel's ex-account posted a campaign finance filing that claimed to show Van Hollen -- he even mentioned it there, $7,000 at a bar. He says that it was a campaign- funded event for his staff. Obviously, he came prepared to try to settle some scores.

But why not be more focused, Miles, on answering the questions that were actually being asked to either rehabilitate or restore or address the issues that the American people care most about?

MILES TAYLOR, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF AT DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, FOUNDER OF DEFIANCE NEWS: Because I think, Laura, it's not really about whether Kash Patel drinks too much. It's about whether he's a sober enough person for this job in the first place.

Look, from the very beginning, there were elected Republicans saying to people like me and you and Mark Zaid and Jacqueline and others that this was perhaps the most unserious person put forward for the job of FBI director in a very long time, if not in the history of the position. And now, we are seeing those chickens come home to roost. We're seeing what it looks like to have that kind of person in the job.

And what I think Kash Patel didn't want to talk about is how he has become the personal enforcement arm of this president. That would sound like hyperbole in any other period. But it's tough to come to any other conclusion when he's systematically firing and purging agents because they had a tie to investigations into his current boss, when he's investigating the president's enemies, and dismissing investigations into his friends.

This has become a very damning pattern for the FBI, and it has caused the rank and file to be very, very worried about what's happening to their bureau. That's what Kash Patel didn't want to talk about today. Instead, he brought forward allegations against the senators who were questioning him.

COATES: One thing he did deny, Jackie, was that he denied ordering agents to take polygraph tests to find the source of negative stories, but he did say the agency, that they launched an internal inspection review process. If there is a leak, do agents normally take these sorts of tests during a review like this? Have you heard something like this in the past?

JACQUELINE MAGUIRE, FORMER EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, FBI: I think if they are following that normal review process through the inspection division, through the internal affairs office, I think that's justified. I think it could be a tool that is used to determine where a leak of classified information is of sensitive information. If it's in response to an article that maybe Mr. Patel or someone else doesn't like about them, I would sure hope that those investigations are justified and not just retaliation for something they don't like.

COATES: And who is the arbiter of whether it's justified? The internal?

MAGUIRE: Well, it would be internal. It would be, you know, career officials. It would be the attorneys in the FBI. But I would echo, you know, both Mark and Miles's comments that his behavior is just not becoming to the FBI director and not becoming to the FBI as an organization. Men and women of the FBI deserve strong, knowledgeable, and engaged leadership.

COATES: Thank you both. And for the first time, Trump' administration former acting FBI director, Brian Driscoll, is talking about his firing from the FBI. Driscoll served as acting director for 31 days, capping a 21-year-long career in public service. He's now talking about what he saw and tried to stop inside the bureau as the administration took over and ultimately forced him out. Actually, Anderson Cooper spoke with him earlier, and he revealed how the Trump transition team even vetted him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DRISCOLL: You know, first question was softball. And then it got worse. Who would you vote for?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Had you ever been asked that by anybody in a position of authority at the FBI?

DRISCOLL: No. I explained to him, like, listen, it's inappropriate. You have my resume in front of you, right? And so, you know I'm a current FBI agent. It's a violation for me to discuss my own personal feelings on politics, hoping to avoid any further politically charged questions, which it didn't.

COOPER: What was the next question?

DRISCOLL: So, I might be out of order here, but when did you start supporting President Trump? I didn't answer that one either. Then he asked me, do I agree that the agents who stormed Mar-a-Lago, his words not mine, should be held accountable? I did answer that one with an absolute no.

[23:40:00]

And then I explained to him they were doing their jobs pursuant to a predicated investigation and court order, and that we don't choose what cases we work. He said, OK, just tell me if you voted for a Democrat in the last five elections, this conversation is over, and he concluded the phone call. I was just disgusted and shocked.

COOPER: Why were you disgusted?

DRISCOLL: Because now, my fear that there was a political wave coming towards the FBI with vitriol directed at the FBI, it was palpable. And there was a sense of shock that, well, I'm really close to this thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Brian Driscoll has sued Kash Patel, the FBI, and the U.S. government for wrongful determination and retaliation. The DOJ has rejected those claims and filed a motion to dismiss. CNN has reached out to the White House, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and Kash Patel, and received no response. Emil Bove declined to comment. Jackie, are these types of vetting questions normal for FBI agents at all? MAGUIRE: I served in the FBI for 25 years, and I was never asked such questions. I've never heard of any of my colleagues ever being asked such questions. I served under four previous directors, and these questions are just wildly unheard of.

COATES: You know, Driscoll mentioned that the purges of the FBI was what they called a symmetrical action at the DOJ. I wonder if we have Mark still. I wonder, have -- have you ever heard or seen anything like this coming from the FBI or any other federal agency?

ZAID: No. In fact, we sued the FBI at the first couple weeks after the Trump administration took office to stop the purge of what was expected to be upwards of five -- 6,000 employees who had worked predominantly on January 6 when Brian Driscoll, who was an absolute American hero, was the acting director trying to protect his people behind the scenes.

I'm co-counsel in the lawsuit that Brian Driscoll has brought. I represent another senior executive FBI officer who was fired at the same time. Three of them were fired in August of 2025 under Article 2 authority, which is what we're litigating in many cases over whether the president, although this was Kash Patel who was -- does not have Article 2 authority, just saying, no due process, I summarily just fire you.

But these types of loyalty questions are never asked inside any of the agencies other than maybe the White House. But even then, historically, that would not be the case.

COATES: Thank you all so much. Really important to hear all of your perspectives.

Next, tomorrow marks what might be the craziest election. Actually, tonight marks what might be the craziest election this year. Allegations that Republican is running as a Democrat, a Democrat is running to drop out. And in the middle of it all, independent candidate Dan Osborn, who Democrats support to flip the seat in the Senate. We've got the results and a lot to talk about, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Breaking tonight, an incredibly bizarre election has been called in Nebraska. I call it bizarre because the Democrat who won her primary for Senate says she's going to drop out and not run in the general election. Her name is Cindy Burbank. And tonight, CNN is projecting that Burbank will win the Democratic Senate primary in Nebraska, defeating William Forbes.

So, why would she drop out after winning, you might ask? Well, it's because she thinks this guy has the best chance to actually flip the seat in November. He's an independent. Dan Osborne is his name. He's a mechanic, a former union leader, and he wants to unseat Republican incumbent Pete Ricketts.

One other strange part about the Democratic primary tonight involves the guy who just lost, William Forbes. Democrats say he was actually a Republican. He only ran to try and siphon off votes from Osborn. They called him a GOP plant. Forbes told CNN's K-File that he has voted for President Trump in the past, but denies that he is a plant and says he is a lifelong Democrat.

Now that you sort of understand all the drama, let me introduce my next guest. It's Dan Osborn, independent candidate for Senate in Nebraska. Dan, thank you so much for joining. People are really leaning in to the stakes in this race and the effects of it. You will likely get to challenge Republican Senator Ricketts one-on-one as a result of what has happened tonight. Is this the outcome your campaign was hoping for?

DAN OSBORN, NEBRASKA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Yes. I think that the story here that people should be focused on is William Forbes and the fact that he is -- he is a plant. I mean, CNN blew the whistle on this. You know, he just -- as recently as January, he took -- he took a Nebraska GOP candidate training course. So, it's pretty obvious who it is.

But this just really speaks volumes that the Nebraskans were not dumb. We're not going to fall for these dirty Pete Ricketts tricks anymore. And, you know, also, we're not for sale.

COATES: The Nebraska Democratic Party endorsed you for general election even though you were not a candidate in their primary and you've also taken money from the party. What do you say to voters who see that and think maybe you're not an independent, you're actually a Democrat?

[23:50:02]

OSBORN: I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican. I'm a pipe fitter, right? I don't -- I don't take corporate money. I've spent my life's work representing workers, and that's what I want to continue to do at a bigger scale in the United States Senate.

This campaign, I mean, it really is for teachers, nurses, carpenters, pipe fitters, plumbers, and lunch ladies, you know, the people who keep this country going every single day.

COATES: My grandma was a lunch lady. So, I understand more than you know. The last time a Republican lost a statewide race in Nebraska was 20 years ago when the former Democratic senator, Ben Nelson, won re- election. Why do you think this year might be different?

OSBORN: You know, when I started off in 2024, it really was to create a coalition of Republicans, Democrats, independents, libertarians and, you know, stop this polarization of our politics. And we've done that. When you drove around Nebraska in 2024, you would see Osborn signs next to Trump signs, and then two blocks over, you would see Osborn signs next to Harris signs. So, we were successful at that. We continue to build that coalition. We have Republicans, libertarians, Democrats and independents that I

talk to every single day that are fed up with the cost, they're fed up with this two-party doom loop, and they're looking for something different, and that's where I come in because, you know, I am one of them, right? I've punched a clock for the last 23 years. So, cut from the same cloth.

COATES: You know, on the issue of what you think you would have to offer as an independent, many would wonder if you are, in fact, in the Senate one day, who would you caucus with? Sometimes, independents caucus and choose a particular party. Are you intending to do that?

OSBORN: Well, I've, you know, been saying this from the very beginning. I'll continue to say it. I'm going to caucus with the people of Nebraska. I'm tired of -- I think both parties have left workers behind. Farmers and ranchers, they're feeling it. And, you know, the pendulum has swung back and forth many times throughout my lifetime, and my health care still sucks. It's still tied to my employment. And my paycheck barely keeps up with costs. Those are the types of things that I want to focus on.

COATES: This is a state that Trump won by 20 points just two years ago. You got a new CNN poll that found that 77 percent of Americans think that Trump's policies have increased the cost of living, and that includes 55 percent of Republicans. You think you can sway enough Trump supporters to see it your way?

OSBORN: Yes. Absolutely. I don't -- I don't think of it as Trump supporters. I look at them as people, right? The farmers and the ranchers that I talk to every day. I'm just talking to a farmer. He farms 1,900 acres. His fertilizer cost is up $50,000 more than it was pre-war with Iran, and that's not to mention the diesel cost for his John Deere and his equipment.

So, you know, these guys are hurting. They're being left behind by bad policy. And so, you know, it's -- I look at the policy. Really, that's it. And, again, these are just hardworking people that just want a free market to be able to sell their products to. After that, they pretty much just want to be left alone.

COATES: Dan Osborn, thank you.

OSBORN: Thank you, Laura.

COATES: Up next, someone they're not going to leave alone, LeBron James. He's asked the question on everyone's mind after Lakers loss. What's next?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, BASKETBALL PLAYER FOR L.A. LAKERS, NBA: I don't know. I don't know what the future holds for me, obviously, as it stands right now tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[23:55:00]

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COATES: Well, it's almost midnight here in Washington, D.C. Let's go to L.A. and see our friend, Elex Michaelson, out there. Elex, good to see you. I mean --

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you.

COATES: -- the Lakers are done for the season. They got swept by OKC. And now the big question everyone is asking, what is next for LeBron James? I mean, this was his 23rd, 23rd season in the NBA. And listen to what he said about his future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES: You guys asked me about it, and I've answered questions. Yes, I think I've come out like, oh, retirement is coming. Yes. So -- I mean, with my future, I don't know. Obviously still fresh from, you know, obviously losing, you know. I don't know. I mean, I don't know what the future holds for me, obviously, as it stands right now tonight. Go back and recalibrate with my family and talk with them and spend some time with them. And then when the time comes, I'll see. You guys will know what I decided to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: All right, what's your crystal ball saying, L.A.?

(LAUGHTER)

MICHAELSON: Well, it's first time in 23 years that LeBron James is an unrestricted free agent. And the big question is, is he willing to take a pay cut?

[00:00:02]

The Lakers would like to have him back, but they also got to pay Austin Reaves. They're already paying Luka Doncic a mass contract. And at 42 years old, is LeBron James worth $50 million a year? So, the question is, will he take a hometown discount to play with his son and stay with that team? If he's not, who is willing to pay him $50 million a year? Probably not a lot of folks out there. Does he take a small deal to go with Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors? Who knows? I think that, ultimately, probably comes back to Lakers.

COATES: Maybe a good question for the L.A. mayor tonight, and you have her on your show. Have a good one.

(LAUGHTER)

MICHAELSON: Thanks so much, Laura. Have a good night.