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CNN Live Event/Special
Hurricane Melissa Slams Caribbean; Trump Set to Meet South Korean President Lee on Asia Tour; Interview with Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA) about Government Shutdown; California Voters to Decide on Redistricting Ballot Measure; Trump Meeting South Korean President on Asia Tour; Buttigieg and Newsom on the Democratic Party's Future. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired October 29, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: If I didn't say I thought about it. It was like, well, what have you been saying to us for the last few years?
COATES: What's that great jazz song? It never entered my mind. I don't believe you. You need more people on this one. I'm so looking forward to your show. It's a great one. Glad to have you here and I cannot wait to hear this interview in full with Buttigieg who hasn't thought about it. OK. Looking forward to your show.
MICHAELSON: No. Well, he really said that he has thought it which I -- which I appreciate, at least being honest there.
Laura, great job tonight. Really appreciate it, and as we begin this hour of THE STORY IS.
Hurricane Melissa still wreaking damage right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): THE STORY IS story is Jamaica. It's experienced a direct hit from a category five hurricane. We're live on the island.
THE STORY IS in South Korea, where President Trump is set to appear this hour. We'll take you there live as it happens.
REP. KEVIN KILEY (R-CA): I remain mystified by this decision to literally just cancel over a month now of session days for the House of Representatives.
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS in Washington. Congressman Kevin Kiley is slamming his own party for keeping the House out of session. He joins us one-on-one.
And THE STORY IS in California. Our political panel standing by live. On the left, podcaster Bryan Tyler Cohen. On the right, former California GOP chair Jessica Millan Patterson. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: And welcome to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson. Thank you so much for being with us.
Our top story is Hurricane Melissa, which is one of the most catastrophic storms ever to hit Jamaica. Take a look.
The category five hurricane was the most powerful storm on record to smash into that island nation. In all, some areas seeing as much as 30 inches of rain, almost a meter's worth over just a couple of days. Hundreds of thousands of people losing power after the storm made landfall Tuesday afternoon.
Jamaica's top officials have given an early assessment of the damage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DESMOND MCKENZI, JAMAICAN MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Jamaica has gone through what I can call one of its worst period. Severely compromised. Saint Elizabeth is the breadbasket of the country, and that has taken a beating. The entire Jamaica has felt the brunt of Melissa.
RICHARD THOMPSON, ACTING DIRECTOR GENERAL, ODPEM: To ensure that whenever we are getting in supplies coming into the country, and we know that we will have a lot of commitment coming from overseas, we will have enough funds and board and a very well put together plan to ensure that when supplies are in-country, that they are not backing up on the ports.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So Melissa is now at category four strength as it approaches eastern Cuba, with landfall expected there in the coming hours. The U.S. National Hurricane Center is warning people there to seek shelter immediately, with conditions expected to, quote, "deteriorate rapidly."
Joining me now is journalist and documentarian Jonathan Petramala, who is in Kingston, Jamaica.
Jonathan, thanks so much for being with us. What's it like there on the ground?
JONATHAN PETRAMALA, JOURNALIST AND DOCUMENTARIAN: Well, I mean, I apologize for the mood lighting, but the power in the apartment building we're in just went out again. The generator likely running out of gas. But, I mean, we have it so much better here on the eastern part of the island in Kingston. The western part of the island, a completely different story. And what's really tough, it's just inaccessible. It's been inaccessible all day.
There's not a large, complicated road network. It's very simple, very few roads. And the equation is very strong winds, (INAUDIBLE) trees. It makes it very difficult. And it's at this point a race against time. As soon as dawn rises in the morning I really hope that the government and volunteers are able to get out and start clearing away those trees and the power lines, and they try to get to those folks in Black River, for instance, and in that part of the country, because there are definitely a lot of people in need.
They faced one of the strongest hurricanes ever in recorded history. And even though we really haven't had a great picture of what has happened, we know from storms like Hurricane Dorian, Hurricane Beryl, Andrew, what these powerful hurricanes can do. Category five hurricanes. And I really, really hope we can get to them very quickly.
[00:05:07]
MICHAELSON: Can you describe what it was like for you to just feel the wrath, what it felt like outside?
PETRAMALA: And again, we were a fraction of what the folks were going through in western Jamaica. We made it as far as Mandeville, which is in the center part of the country. So we were in hurricane force, maybe winds around 100 to 110 miles an hour. It's in a higher elevation. So those winds get amplified by that elevation there. And it did. It got feisty. And you not only have the winds that we saw ripping away roofs and of course knocking down those trees and power lines, but you had a tremendous amount of rain as well.
That flash flooding that everybody has been talking about for so many days, it absolutely happened. There were rescues that were happening in the many, many mountain communities, including Mandeville, because of the tremendous amount of rain. And that complicates everything as well because you have so many circumstances to get stuck, whether it's a tree that's down or it's the flash flooding.
So it really made it difficult for rescuers to be able to get in there and try -- and there goes the power back on.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
PETRAMALA: To try and do their best and help the people that were in that area.
MICHAELSON: Can you describe the mood of people that you've seen there? Obviously, this is an island that has dealt with hurricanes before. What was the sense you've been getting?
PETRAMALA: It was like running a race before the marathon. That's the best way I can describe it because this storm has been talked about and warned, and all the dire warnings for so many days in advance, and it was a waiting game to the point where it was kind of breaking people's spirits just leading up to the hurricane itself. They were tired of waiting. They just wanted to get it over with in a way because there was just so much stress.
That uncertainty is so difficult. And now with the storm, at least on this part of the island a sigh of relief, a sigh of relief that the impacts were not so dire here on the eastern part, but a lot of people are still thinking, of course, about their brethren on the other side of the island. And really, again, it's a race against time because every day that passes, not only are folks that are injured or in need of help suffering, but the fact is that the world's attention gets divided so quickly and it gets shifted away from what's happening here. And that can really impact aid that comes in.
And of course, Jamaica is a great country, but it does need a lot of help with this, no doubt. And that means people need to be paying attention and hopefully offering their hands and maybe some, you know, money out of their pockets to help the recovery effort to get these people back on their feet as quickly as possible.
MICHAELSON: Well, Jonathan has done a great job. You've done a great job of documenting this on YouTube, on your YouTube page, where you can get a sense of what exactly that looks like, and it's important to keep this issue front and center.
Thank you for that. Hope you're able to stay safe. Glad you have power back. And you just talked about helping people. So if you're interested in helping people, to find out ways you can help, we've put information on our Web site. Go to CNN.com/impact.
Now to the final scheduled stop of President Trump's Asia tour. He wrapped up talks in Japan earlier. He is now in South Korea for key meetings with world leaders through Tuesday. First up, the president of South Korea, who sat down recently with CNN's Will Ripley.
President Trump's final event is a high stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday amid that global trade war.
Let's go now to CNN's Will Ripley, who knows this issue as good as anybody, who's live in Seoul.
Will, welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time. Great to be on with you for the first time. And we've got some interesting news, you know, in the days following the "No Kings Protests" in the U.S., the U.S. president is about to get -- receive a very notable gift.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Elex. And it's great to e-meet you as well. Welcome to CNN. And it's befitting that I'm doing my first live shot for you in front of the iconic palace here in Seoul because it's another palace more than 200 miles from here, which is the birthplace of the Shilla Kingdom, where President Trump is expected to start speaking any minute now. And we're also expecting him to be presented with a golden crown, a replica of a crown that was worn by the ancient Shilla kings in the fourth and fifth centuries, adorned with things like birds and trees, symbols of absolute power and wisdom and authority.
And, yes, gold plated. And exactly the kind of gift that our president of the United States, who loves to be flattered, would love to receive. So we're expecting to see those images of this golden crown being presented by the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who is also going to be awarding President Trump South Korea's highest honor, the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, which is usually presented to presidents of South Korea and sometimes foreign presidents as well.
So lots of awards and pomp and ceremony, and yes, they'll also be talking about very important issues for South Korea, including the $350 billion cash that President Trump wants upfront in exchange for 15 percent tariffs.
[00:10:10]
They're still trying to sort out the details of that because it's such a huge amount of money for this economy. It could actually plunge them into a financial crisis, Elex, if they don't figure out a way to creatively get that investment dollars as opposed to the cash up front. So there's still a lot of details for them to sort out.
MICHAELSON: Well, we've got some live pictures now we want to show everybody. President Trump, we see him now beginning to speak. You spoke with the leader of South Korea. What's his big goal from this whole meeting?
RIPLEY: Well, there are a couple of things that are important to him. Obviously one is trying to finalize this trade deal. And also they have national security issues to consider, particularly tensions with North Korea. The South Korean president has been encouraging President Trump to try to arrange a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong- un. And in fact, President Trump has made a number of very public overtures when he's asked by reporters.
He said he'd love to meet with Kim Jong-un. He's here in the region. It wouldn't be too -- it wouldn't be too difficult to either extend the trip by a bit and go to meet with him in North Korea, or perhaps meet with him along the dividing line between North and South Korea, known as the Demilitarized Zone.
But so far it's been radio silence from the North Koreans, Elex. In fact, they sent their foreign minister to Russia to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim Jong-un and Putin have had a very close relationship in these recent years. So it's a very different situation than it was during Trump's first term when he had that historic but ultimately failed diplomacy with North Korea.
MICHAELSON: And, Will, on Air Force One, President Trump basically seemed to be pouring cold water on this idea of a meeting with Kim Jong-un.
RIPLEY: That's right. Yes. He actually said that probably it looks like he'll have to come back for the meeting. Still saying that he'd love to meet with Kim, but I think acknowledging the reality of the situation, that it's certainly not the right time right now, certainly not for the North Koreans, who've made a real hard pivot away from diplomacy with the U.S. and are now really having all their eyes set on Russia and, to a lesser extent, China.
MICHAELSON: All right. Well, Will Ripley, thank you for that. We will continue to follow what's happening with the president live throughout this broadcast and keep checking in with you, as well as more events continue to develop. Meanwhile, to another part of the world, President Trump says nothing
is going to jeopardize the ceasefire in Gaza. But less than three weeks into the truce, it is already looking a bit shaky with Israel again pounding the enclave with airstrikes after accusing Hamas of violating the deal. At least 20 people have been killed, according to hospital officials.
Israel claims Hamas attacked some of its troops, staged the discovery of a dead hostage with this video as proof, and then return remains to Israel that didn't belong to any of the hostages. Hamas denies all of that and says it is still committed to that ceasefire.
THE STORY IS in Brazil, where at least 64 people were killed in a massive police raid targeting organized crime. Take a look at these pictures.
Huge columns of smoke seen rising from a lower income neighborhood. This is north of Rio. Police say gang members targeted them with a drone. Burnt out cars were seen being used as barriers. At least four police officers were killed in this operation. Officials say 81 people in total were arrested.
So why is this happening? Well, the city is scheduled to host a major global climate conference next week. So some locals are kind of cynical, are suspecting all this is connected to cleaning up the neighborhood before all those bigwigs head in.
U.S. Military has carried out more deadly air strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says U.S. forces hit four boats in three strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing 14 people. More of this video that looks sort of like a video game. This marks the largest one-day operation in that campaign against the alleged drug cartels. To date, a total of 14 boats have been destroyed, 57 people killed.
All this comes as the U.S. builds up its military strength in the Caribbean with Hegseth vowing to, quote, "track, network, hunt and kill those involved in the drug trade."
Different note here. Major League Baseball game and game four of the World Series. Despite losing Monday's record tying 18 inning duel, the Toronto Blue Jays ran away with it tonight. Big win for them over the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking his first career start as a pitcher in the World Series. Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani gave up a two-run homer to Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.
Toronto scored four runs in the seventh inning, winning 6 to 2 in this one. Ohtani fans visibly disappointed as they filed out of Dodger Stadium.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This wasn't expected. You'd expect Ohtani to get six hours of sleep and be that guy.
[00:15:02] But he's a human. He's a human person from Japan, and I think this is going to be, hopefully not, but it might look like a game seven. You know, you don't want it to happen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to game seven. It's going to game seven. I think we got a shot. But this is -- this is tough loss. Tough loss. I'm pretty upset.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Those fans at a local watch party. The series now tied two games to two. Game five kicking off Wednesday night in L.A. but there will now be a game six back in Toronto on Friday.
Up next, Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley slamming his own party for keeping Congress close. We will talk one-on-one with him. Plus, how that shutdown could impact you the next time you fly. And dangerous tides taking out houses along part of North Carolina's coast. Look at that video.
More of THE STORY IS when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:20:20]
MICHAELSON: For the first time since the U.S. government shut down started 29 days ago, air traffic controllers are not getting paid. CNN obtained an air traffic controller's pay stub that showed in the top right corner, a number you never want to see on your pay stub. Zero dollars. The head of the FAA sent out an e-mail Tuesday thanking workers for doing their jobs despite all that, and he warned that air travel delays could increase, but said safety wouldn't be compromised because some of these guys don't want to work if they're not going to get paid.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Duffy also thanked those workers and acknowledged the stress that this whole thing is causing. Here's what one air traffic controller told CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE LEFEVRE, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: My colleagues and I, you know, we just don't know how long this is going to go. So right now, when you don't know when your next check is going to come, you have to make tough choices. You have to make sure that you can provide for the essentials. Babysitting, gas, that type of thing. But there is not an indefinite stream of savings. And, you know, it's tough. You just don't know when the next check is coming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The goal is to --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Air traffic controllers, they need to show up for work. They do really important work for our country, and they need to show up. But I'm not going to lie to anybody to not say that they're not feeling the stress. The fact that they are working and oftentimes they are head of households. They're the only income earners in their homes, and they have families. And the fact that they're having a hard time paying their bills.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So they're supposed to get backpay eventually, but it's not clear when. And for people that are living paycheck to paycheck, that clearly isn't good enough. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Josh Hawley is raising the alarm about federal food aid running out for Americans as that shutdown drags on. He is now leading a bipartisan bill that would ensure benefits for the food nutrition program known as SNAP, that would continue despite the shutdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): I think it shows you that for a lot of people in this building, this is sort of a game. You know, it's like, oh, who's ahead? Who's behind? As if it's a horse race. It's not a horse race. 42 million people are about to go without food, including a lot of children. In my state, it's 650,000 people. I mean, that's extraordinary. It's 12 percent of the American population.
And that's before we even get to people like the military. They're not going to get paid. Air traffic controllers who are now no longer getting paid. I mean, they've got families, too. All of these people should be paid. So, I mean, this is ridiculous.
Listen, this is Congress's fault, not his fault. This is Congress's fault. So we -- when it comes to SNAP, the only solution here is we need to appropriate the money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Well, we got a live picture we want to show you from Capitol Hill where they are not doing anything right now in terms of Congress. They're not appropriating the money.
On that issue of SNAP, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced today that he is suing the federal government because of the SNAP issue. The Senate majority leader, John Thune, is defending the White House's refusal to dip into a $5 billion emergency fund to cover federal food aid and costs beyond this week. Vice president of United States, J.D. Vance, says the Trump administration is trying to keep as much open as possible, but that there's just not enough money to pay for everything.
Some lawmakers want to vote to allow specific federal workers, like the air traffic controllers, to be paid, but Thune says that is not the solution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): I mean, this piecemeal approach where you do one off here, one off there to make it seem, you know, more politically palatable to somebody or less painful, that's just a -- that is a -- it's just a wrong way to do this. There's just a simple way to do it is to pick up the bill on the desk of the Senate and give us five more Democrat votes to pass it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, Democrats are refusing to make a deal without a renewed commitment to health care subsidies and they're pointing their fingers right back across the aisle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): We want to reopen the government. Republicans in the House have been on vacation now for five consecutive weeks. They've canceled votes for five consecutive weeks. This is extraordinary. If we reach an agreement, they wouldn't even be here to pass one.
We will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that guts the health care of the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Congressman Kevin Kiley, a Republican from California, recently posted this on X, quote, "Every session in October has been canceled. Countless committee hearings haven't happened. Important legislation has been backlogged, and my ability to fight for California gas has been limited. This is not a proud moment for the people's House."
[00:25:03]
Congressman Kiley joins us now from CNN in Washington.
Congressmember, welcome to THE STORY IS for the very first time.
KILEY: Thanks, Elex. Great to be with you.
MICHAELSON: And the reason you're in Washington is because you're trying to send a message, let's get to work. But it's kind of lonely there in Washington right now. You're one of the few Republicans saying, Speaker Johnson, let's get in session. Is the speaker speaking to you? What's he saying?
KILEY: Yes, it is a little lonely, although less so. More and more people have been coming back. I have spoken with the speaker, and yet I remain mystified by this decision to literally just cancel over a month now of session days for the House of Representatives. This is the fifth week where we were supposed to be here, and yet we're not actually in session. And so, for example, I'm the chair of a subcommittee on K-12 education and the hearings I was supposed to have over the last several weeks, they've been canceled. That's true of every single committee and subcommittee in Congress.
It's true of all kinds of legislation -- legislative priorities that we could have been advancing and aren't. And so I am very much against the government shutdown. I voted against that. I voted to keep the government open. I did that during the Biden administration, as well as the Trump administration. And it's having terrible consequences for the American people.
But the decision to shut down the House of Representatives, that's been made independently and I think is actually potentially impeding our ability to get this shutdown over with.
MICHAELSON: So what does the speaker say to you when you say, come on, man, let's go?
KILEY: Well, he hasn't had any explanation that really makes sense to me. And ultimately, you know, the statements he's made publicly seem to sort of just fall back on we need to get the shutdown -- government shutdown over with which I absolutely agree with when you have, you know, millions of people losing food assistance, when you have federal workers who are either furloughed or missing paychecks, figuring out how they're going to make ends meet.
It's an absolutely awful situation. I personally wish the Senate would just pass the short-term funding bill that we passed in the House, but it's been almost a month. They've been unwilling to do that. And sometimes in politics, you have to actually work with people who have a different position than you in order to find the common ground that's in the interest of the country. And that's very difficult for us to do when the House of Representatives has been out of session now for a month.
MICHAELSON: Yes. I mean, you literally can't do that when there's no session. So, a Democratic source I talked to thought that the moment when we're finally going to bring things together is going to be early November, when average people start receiving letters in the mail showing their health premiums going up, what happens when these Obamacare subsidies goes away. And that might change the political calculus.
Do you agree with that? Or is there some other moment you think that brings both sides together?
KILEY: Well, I think there's probably a lot of moments even before then. And the health care issue is not directly related to the shutdown. So, you know, the cascading consequences of the shutdown itself that we were just talking about, the people who are losing SNAP benefits, critical services no longer being available. You know, national parks and museums being shut down, folks being furloughed.
Those are all a direct result of the government not being funded and the government being shut down. This issue related to the Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act subsidies, I'm extremely concerned about that as well. I do not want to see large numbers of my constituents, large number of Californians paying a lot more for health care very soon. But -- and so that's the issue that's been raised by Senator Schumer, that he'd like to see some sort of deal on that as, you know, a pathway out of the government shutdown.
And my view of the matter is that there is going to need to be a deal on the ACA subsidies issue. There are a number of people on my side of the aisle, as well as the other side of the aisle, who are extremely concerned about this situation. So if there's going to need to be a deal anyway and then, you know, why not start talking about it now if it could provide a potential pathway towards ending the shutdown?
I don't know why we shouldn't at least explore that possibility.
MICHAELSON: So your take is that the Obamacare subsidies issue is a real issue, and that there needs to be some sort of deal on that. You're ready to deal. What does that deal look like for you?
KILEY: Yes. So I think there's a few sort of parameters and there's a lot of room for negotiation. Like there's the question of, is it going to be a long-term extension or is it going to be a short-term extension that gives us time to find a better long-term solution? You know, are we going to have things like minimum nominal premium payments in order to weed out fraud in the system? Are we going to have cost control measures like income caps?
I think that's all going to be part of the negotiation, but we're going to need to wind up with some sort of deal. Doing nothing is not an option here. And I know that there's a lot of people, there's enough interest on both sides of the aisle that I think a deal will happen.
MICHAELSON: Well, in our next hour, we'll have more of that conversation with Congressman Kevin Kiley on the issue of congressional redistricting. But up next, a live debate on that issue and more. You see our panel standing by there, live. Brian Tyler Cohen on the left, Jessica Millan Patterson on the right. Both in Dodger blue.
[00:30:11]
Will they at least agree on that? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: These guys are not screwing around. They're ruthless. They're trying to rig the election before one vote is cast.
MICHAELSON: What's the alternative to Prop 50?
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: If I would be a Democrat, I would say outperform Trump. You don't out-cheat Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[00:35:07] MICHAELSON: So, that's California's current and former governor, both talking to us here on "The Story Is" with very different views on California's Prop 50.
That proposition, now before voters, would redraw California's congressional map to help Democrats and temporarily get rid of the state's redistricting commission. That comes after Texas lawmakers redrew their districts to help Republicans.
Let's bring in our panel to debate that and more. Brian Tyler Cohen is host of the podcast "No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen." He's helped to raise $1 million for Prop 50 at an online event with Governor Newsom he helped to organize. And Jessica Millan Patterson is the current chair of the No on 50 campaign. She's the previous chair of the California Republican Party.
Jessica, Brian, welcome. Good to have both of you here.
Last night, Governor Newsom had a whole lot of time to talk. So, Jessica, let's start with you. Why no on Prop 50?
JESSICA MILLAN PATTERSON, CHAIR, NO ON 50 CAMPAIGN: Well, fair maps are at the cornerstone of making sure that we have accountable elected officials. When politicians are drawing their own maps, the voters lose.
Right now, we have to make the decision. Are we going to protect that fairness, or are we going to protect political power and privilege? And that's what is at stake on -- on November 4th.
MICHAELSON: Is that what's at stake, Brian?
BRIAN TYLER COHEN, HOST, "NO LIE WITH BRIAN COHEN": Look, that's a great message. And you should have delivered that to Donald Trump when he demanded that Texas redraw their maps. And that's exactly what they did.
What's happening in California right now is not happening in a vacuum. This is a response to Donald Trump issuing his clarion calls to his minions in the Republican Party. And since then, we've -- we've seen redrawn maps in Texas, and North Carolina, and Missouri.
And now we have Republican officials going into Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Kansas to do the exact same thing.
So again, this is a response to an overreach from Republicans; not happening in a vacuum.
MICHAELSON: And so, what's your response to that?
PATTERSON: Well, let's be clear. What's happening in Texas is very different than what's happening here in California.
Texas is required to redraw their lines, because they were in violation of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment. We have the Citizens Redistricting Commission here in California who
take that very seriously. And that's why, in both Sacramento and Washington, D.C., we have some of the most diverse delegations. We have communities of interest and minority communities that are represented, and their voices are heard so well in both of those places because of the Citizens Redistricting Commission.
MICHAELSON: But Jessica, President Trump literally put out a post saying that he felt like he was entitled to five more seats, and then we end up with maps that clearly advantage Republicans in Texas. I mean, that's not just a coincidence, is it?
PATTERSON: I'm sure it's not. But what's clear is just because it's happening somewhere else doesn't mean that it's OK that it's happening here.
California has a great history of these political reforms going all the way back to the statewide ballot initiative. California voters have been clear on this. They want that power to be with the people, not with politicians.
MICHAELSON: The polls right now seem to indicate something else.
COHEN: Correct. I think if you look at all the polling right now, it would indicate the polar opposite of what you're saying.
And the reality is that you're right. It is different, because in Texas it happened by fiat. It was just a bunch of Republican lawmakers and state legislators who decided to go in and redraw the maps. They didn't bring it to the people.
Whereas in California, we're doing this democratically and bringing it to the people. And again, so far, the polls are showing that, overwhelmingly, voters approve of this.
And they recognize, by the way, that this is not an issue that's happening just on a state-by-state basis; that this is an issue of protecting democracy across the country.
Republicans are trying to entrench a permanent majority in the House. They're trying to do it in Texas. They're trying to do it in Missouri. Again, North Carolina, Kansas, Ohio, Florida.
And so, they recognize that this is a scheme being perpetuated by Trump and by Republican leadership to give themselves permanent majorities in the House.
MICHAELSON: Jessica, do you see it as a scheme?
PATTERSON: The role of -- the role of drawing those district lines lies with the state legislature in Texas. It does not lie with California legislature.
We have been very clear. It is the Citizens Redistricting Commission that draws those lines, because the power belongs with the people.
In Texas, they are not violating their constitution by redrawing the lines. We are here.
COHEN: Well, we're not, because we're literally bringing it to the people. And so, the people are going to have the opportunity to amend their -- their state constitution. That's why we have constitutions. They are -- they are imperfect. They are imperfect documents. They're constantly amended.
And now the people are going to be able to have a say in doing exactly that.
MICHAELSON: Jessica, do you support independent redistricting for every state, like a national bill that would do that?
PATTERSON: I think redistricting by an independent commission allows it to be decided by the people. It allows politicians to be more accountable to the people that they are serving.
And I think it helps also puts us in a position where we have more competitive races.
MICHAELSON: So -- so, is that a yes nationwide?
PATTERSON: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: And you -- and you support something similar?
COHEN: Absolutely. And in fact, I supported it when the Democrats put exactly that forward with the For the People Act in 2021. And do you remember how many Republicans voted for that bill?
PATTERSON: No.
COHEN: It was zero. Not a single Republican voted for independent redistricting commissions nationwide.
And so, I think it's interesting that you have all these Republicans suddenly having their come-to-Jesus moment when it comes to independent redistricting commissions, only because it's happening in California.
[00:40:02]
And yet, there wasn't a single Republican, including Kevin Kiley, who we've heard from, who had come forward when Texas decided to redraw its maps.
But suddenly, when it's happening to them, when they get a taste of their own medicine, they cry foul.
PATTERSON: Well, I think that's inaccurate, because Democrats have been coming for mid -- mid-decade redistricting multiple times.
COHEN: That's not --
PATTERSON: We saw it in North Carolina.
COHEN: It has not -- this has not happened.
PATTERSON: We've seen in Pennsylvania, New York. Oh, it's not the same?
COHEN: This is the first -- this is the first time we have had a mid- cycle redraw, and it happened in Texas.
PATTERSON: It's happened multiple times over the last decade.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Let's -- let's -- meanwhile, we want to see what's happening overseas right now.
President Trump, as we speak, is speaking in Seoul, South Korea. He's on this very high-profile trip; going to be meeting with the president of China tomorrow. Expected to get this crown from the leader of South Korea.
What do you make of President Trump on the world stage, how this this trip is going, Brian?
COHEN: I think you could not have a more evident example of Donald Trump's aggressive insecurity than the fact that other world leaders know that this guy needs to be handed a crown to feel special.
I mean, my God. Let me just say, thank God we don't have an emotional woman in charge of this country. Because could you imagine the impulsiveness and -- and the need for -- for attention and adulation?
MICHAELSON: Your thoughts?
PATTERSON: The president is very clearly taking on what he's done in his personal world and business world of being a dealmaker, making sure that these alliances are strengthened after four years of an abysmal role on the national stage with the Biden-Harris administration.
MICHAELSON: Coming up next, we're going to stick around. And we have an interesting discussion about where do Democrats go from here?
The approach that Governor Newsom is offering is very different than the one Pete Buttigieg is offering. We've talked to both of them in recent days. We'll talk about what's the better way forward.
Stay with us. More of our panel after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:46:34]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE BUTTIGIEG, FORMER U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I'm trying to pull us away from the drama, away from the personalities, away from the memes, and just down to what's actually happening in people's lives.
MICHAELSON: You think the Democratic Party has been weak. How so?
NEWSOM: In every respect. I think weak and meek.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So, that's Pete Buttigieg, the former U.S. transportation secretary, and California Governor Gavin Newsom, both of them seen as leading presidential candidates for '28. But both of them have very different communication approaches right now.
Our panel is back to analyze that and more. Brian Tyler Cohen, host of the "No Lie" podcast, and Jessica Millan Patterson, current chair of the No on 50 campaign, former chair of the California Republican Party.
So, guys, they, you know, both see how to communicate differently. Governor Newsom doing all this Trump trolling, very aggressive, in your face, mocking Trump.
Pete Buttigieg says that's not my style. Nothing wrong with Governor Newsom doing that. That's his style. It's not my style. I want to get away from the memes.
What do you think is the better approach?
COHEN: I don't know that it's necessarily a question of a better approach. I mean, the beauty and the curse of the Democratic Party is that it's a -- it's a big-tent party.
And so, you're going to have folks in that party who want to see the more circumspect approach by Pete Buttigieg. And that's going to work for a lot of people who -- who identify as Democrats.
But then you have a big faction of the Democratic Party, too, who does, to Gavin Newsom's point, recognize the desperate need for there to be Democrats who are willing to fight, who are willing to throw a punch, who are willing to get out there in the arena.
I think personally, that's a little bit more where I'm at right now. I mean, I have been begging for Democrats to get aggressive in this space and not just continue to -- to be the only party kind of yearning for compromise and bipartisanship while we see Republicans running off the cliff in the other direction.
So, I think that both work. I personally, you know, lean a little bit more toward Gavin Newsom's approach. But in a big-tent party, you need big-tent approaches.
MICHAELSON: You know, there's a new poll out in New Hampshire, which is kind of crazy to look at a poll right now, considering they haven't officially even started running. But it showed that Buttigieg right now is the leading contender.
Interesting that Kamala Harris is at 11 after being the previous Democratic nominee. Jessica, of these two approaches, the sort of Buttigieg "let's be more moderate and talk about issues" or Newsom, "let's be Trumpy and do a bunch of A.I. images." Which one do you think is better for Republicans?
PATTERSON: Well, I don't think it really matters. I think that you can slap on whatever brand you want on the same crappy product, and it's going to be the same crappy product that a majority of Americans aren't buying.
And that's why we saw the outcomes that we saw in the last election cycle.
MICHAELSON: Do you think it's a crappy product?
COHEN: I mean, look, I think that, if you are claiming that the Democratic brand is so damaged and that the party is so crappy, the fact that Democrats have overperformed by 14, 16 points in every special election leading up to this moment right now; the fact that Donald Trump is underwater, even at a lower point than he was in his first term, is a testament to the fact that Republicans are not doing anything to pull their own weight here.
PATTERSON: I think that we are looking forward to 2026 and even beyond that.
MICHAELSON: So, if Newsom is the guy, that could be a role for you in terms of fighting him. You've been fighting him for years. What do you think of him as a prospective candidate?
PATTERSON: That would be very exciting. I don't think anyone in America is looking at California saying that's what we should be doing, when we're No. 1 when it comes to homeless; when we're No. 1 when it comes to the poverty rate; when we're No. 2 when it comes to unemployment; No. 1 when it comes to illiteracy rates. We've got an affordability crisis.
[00:50:01]
Every single thing that Gavin Newsom has touched, he has failed. I don't think anyone is looking at California --
MICHAELSON: Well --
PATTERSON: -- saying, Hey, that's what we should be doing.
MICHAELSON: He -- he hasn't failed at winning elections against the Republicans, though. He's won over and over again against -- against you all. And -- and it looks like he's probably going to win this Prop 50 battle.
Now, the question is, are other governors going to jump in on this from the Democratic side?
COHEN: And the reality is they should. I mean, I don't -- to any governors or state legislators out there, I don't know what the point of building up so much political capital is if you're not willing to use it in this particular moment.
I mean, this is a moment where we cannot unilaterally disarm. And so, if you're in a position where you have some power to redraw your maps -- and I'm talking about these Democrats who are in Oregon and Washington and Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, across the country.
If you have the ability to -- to step up and meet this moment with the urgency that it deserves, I'm calling on you to do exactly what we're doing in California and to fight fire with fire; and to take steps that you need to take right now to actually protect our democracy, in light of the overreach that we're seeing at the hands of Donald Trump.
MICHAELSON: So, in Hollywood, we would call that the direct appeal to camera.
COHEN: That's right. That's right.
MICHAELSON: Just breaking the fourth wall --
COHEN: Down my camera.
MICHAELSON: -- going straight there.
Jessica, I mean, where does that all go? I mean, because it seems like all of this has just led to our country being more divided.
And frankly, if we continue to gerrymander everything, then we end up in a situation where people are not really accountable to voters anywhere. And Congress itself could be even more partizan and less accountable.
PATTERSON: And that's what it comes to at the end of the day. It's about good government. It's making sure that our elected officials have that accountability from the people that are electing them, not them choosing who their constituents would be.
COHEN: And I just wish we had that moral clarity when Donald Trump issued his clarion call to Texas to redraw those maps. And there was nothing but crickets from Republicans.
MICHAELSON: All right.
PATTERSON: Let's remember that was the Biden DOJ that sent the letter regarding the 14th Amendment.
MICHAELSON: OK. We're not going to agree on that. But I do like that both of you are in Dodger blue. Obviously, tough night for the Dodgers. The World Series now going at least six games.
Your thoughts on the World Series, Jessica?
PATTERSON: Well, pitching needs to continue to be lights out like we saw for a couple nights. We need to make sure that those bats get going.
They're absolutely capable. We have the depth. We saw that last night. I think they'll do it in next (ph).
MICHAELSON: Yes, 18 innings was incredible. You have thoughts? Do you care at all about baseball?
COHEN: You know what? This is the -- this is the one issue where I'll be completely deferential to Jessica here. And I agree with everything she said. Let's go, Dodgers.
MICHAELSON: OK, look at that. Jumping on the bandwagon. I appreciate that.
COHEN: Look, as a -- as a long-time born and -- born and raised in New Jersey, New Yorker, you know, my allegiance is with these New York teams. But been here for 15 years. So, I guess at some point, you've got to start rooting for them.
MICHAELSON: That's enough time. And it's an easy bandwagon to be on --
COHEN: Yes. That's right.
MICHAELSON: -- with Shohei and the boys.
All right. Thank you both for coming in. Great to see you.
PATTERSON: Congratulations again.
MICHAELSON: We'll see what happens.
COHEN: Thank you for having us. And hey, congrats. You -- no one deserves it more than you.
MICHAELSON: Thank you very much. Appreciate you both. Both are friends, and it's very cool that you're here.
Coming up, a reversal of fortune for Apple. Find out how much the tech titan is now worth and why it's now part of an elite group.
But as we go to break, we take you live across the country. A foggy St. Louis where the Gateway Arch is celebrating its 60th birthday for about ten more minutes. You can't see it there. It was completed back in 1965.
And we take you now, speaking of New York, the Empire State Building is lit up in red, white, and blue, but it is not lit up in Yankee colors, because the Yankees, nowhere close to the World Series this year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:58:16]
MICHAELSON: Check this out. High tides from Hurricane Melissa push this house -- ooph -- in North Carolina. Goes right into the ocean there.
It was not the only home to fall. At least five homes collapsed Tuesday in Buxton. And not surprisingly, the National Park Service is warning visitors that part of the beach is going to be closed.
Amazon says it is laying off 14,000 people, about 4 percent of its overall corporate staff, as it prepares for a wider use of artificial intelligence. More cuts likely coming, as well.
The company says it will also be hiring in key areas related to A.I., and that those who lose their jobs can reapply for those A.I. jobs.
Executives say they want Amazon to be leaner and more nimble so they can quickly adapt to any changes that A.I. could bring.
Apple has joined an exclusive club, becoming just the third publicly traded company to top $4 trillion in market value. That's trillion with a "T."
Fellow tech giants Nvidia and Microsoft both reached that milestone earlier this year.
Apple shares have been surging lately with the new iPhone 17 selling better than previous models.
A newly found Dr. Seuss book will be published next year. "Sing the 50 United States" asks readers to learn and name all the states, along with the Cat in the Hat and two little cat helpers.
The manuscript was found earlier this year at U.C. San Diego's Geisel Library, named in honor of the real Dr. Seuss.
There was full text and a cover of sketch by the author, along with notes on the overall art direction. The book comes out next June. Perfect timing. Just in time for America's 250th birthday.
How cool is that? New work from Dr. Seuss.
The next.
