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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt

Trump: "I Don't Care About The Midterms" When It Comes To Iran; Jill Biden: Joe "Was Slowing Down" But Not In Cognitive Decline; Soaring World Cup Ticket Prices Spark Investigations; NY & NJ Subpoena FIFA Over World Cup Ticket Prices; 2020: George Floyd Is Murdered By Officer Derek Chauvin; RFK Jr. Handles Pair Of Snakes On Dr. Oz's Patio. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired May 30, 2026 - 12:00   ET

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

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: Enjoyed some of his greatest triumphs, his hope to leave a legacy that inspires the next generation of black tennis players and most likely that his wife Elina Svitolina takes home the woman's crown.

That's all we have time for this week. Don't forget you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London, thank you for watching.

[12:00:40]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Hi everyone, I'm Kasie Hunt. Welcome to the Arena Saturday.

Will President Donald Trump turn his attention to the midterm elections? And if he does, will it help or hurt his Republican Party? This week, we once again saw the power of the Trump endorsement with Ken Paxton absolutely crushing John Cornyn in the Texas Senate primary.

In race after race, Republicans have shown they're firmly with the President. But the general election is soon upon us and polls show that most voters don't like the President's war with Iran and the rising prices that it's caused. So it was telling this week when the President talking about Iran said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They thought they were going to outweigh me, you know, we'll outweigh him, he's got the midterms. I don't care about the midterms. Look what happened last night. That was the prelude to the midterms.

People understand that. They know that, very simple, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I'm doing that for the world, I'm not doing it just for us. And we've had great support from --

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: All right, my panels here in The Arena, Capitol Hill Correspondent for Puck News, Marianna Sotomayor, White House Correspondent for the New York Times, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Democratic Strategist and former White House Director of Message Planning, Meghan Hays, and former Republican Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry.

Welcome to all of you. Thank you so much for being here.

Congressman, the President obviously was talking about the Iran war specifically, not thinking about the midterms. I see an argument for not thinking about politics in the context of national security. However, not considering domestic issues and the concerns of Americans who say they can't afford their daily lives is another thing.

PATRICK MCHENRY (R), FORMER SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: OK, so this is the whole thing about whether or not you should take President Trump literally, right? And this is the best example of it, which was the message was to Iran, and the message to Iran is, I don't care, I'm going to destroy you, my focus is on destroying you.

And domestically, it's the same message to his enemies, his political enemies, and some of them still reside within the Republican Party. So this was a message clearly to the international community, specifically to Iran, that he is not on the shot clock for the midterms.

And the other element here is that he still has political stick here at home. He showed that in Texas, he's shown that in Republican primaries. We'll see if he can show that in the midterms that are really stacked against Republicans this fall.

HUNT: Yes. I mean, Zolan, what are you hearing from your sources in the White House and elsewhere? I mean, Susie Wiles claimed that Donald Trump was going to campaign in the midterm elections like it was 2024. We have most definitely not seen that from the President.

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There was definitely a concern, particularly when you had outspoken critics in the American First Movement that were criticizing what seemed to be an overt focus on foreign policy, and not as much on the, frankly, the issues that the President campaigned on, right, which was the economy and addressing the daily issues of Americans.

And I remember, you know, being in Davos covering President Trump there when, you know, kind of ironically, his administration was saying, don't worry, he'll soon travel the country and be talking about his agenda more.

You're right, we really haven't seen that. You more often hear him talking about ballroom construction and obviously the war in Iran as well. I do think it's fair to also -- you know, you often hear the don't take his comments literally, but you're also going -- people are going to see this in the context of not just the I don't care about the midterms, but also the comment a couple weeks ago of dismissing the financial concerns of Americans when it comes to these negotiations with Iran. To your point, that could be on prioritizing national security, but the message still goes out there to voters at a time of high economic anxiety.

HUNT: Well, and Marianna, I mean, the latest Fox News polling on the economy, the President's handling of the economy, 71 percent of Americans say they disapprove. I mean, this, the economy was the thing that he held steady on. Even when he lost the election in 2020, people still had, you know, some faith in him on the economy. It was a strong issue for him when he ran again in 2024. It is pretty clear he's lost that advantage.

[12:05:02]

MARIANNA SOTOMAYOR, CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT, PUCK NEWS: Yes. And that is why Republicans realize that they are not competing in friendly terrain at all during these midterms. There are Republicans who would not mind having him come and stump alongside them. But for the most part, Republicans do not want to be near the President. And that is pretty much a common trend in midterm elections.

You know, what I hear back on the Hill, kind of also full circle, a lot of what we've heard this past week on the weaponization fund, for example, lawmakers are coming back. They're supposed to be voting, or at least Trump wants them to be voting to fund DHS for three years, this weaponization fund and also $1 billion for the ballroom.

I'm hearing that's just not going to happen. And for the most part, it's because a number of senators are so mad at him for going against Cornyn. Of course, they publicly said, you know, we're going to support Paxton. We're obviously going to support the party.

But you already or he has already made enemies more or less in Bill Cassidy and possibly --

HUNT: Right.

SOTOMAYOR: -- Cornyn, who tweeted something quite interesting this week, a tale of a frog and a scorpion that many in the Republican circles are looking at that tweet, which essentially it's this fable, I guess, of a scorpion needing to ride a -- the needing to cross the --

MCHENRY: Nature of the scorpion, yes.

SOTOMAYOR: Yes. And then the scorpion bites the --

HUNT: Can you translates for us? Congressman, do you know what he's talking about?

MCHENRY: I don't wish to translate. I think we can read that very easily.

SOTOMAYOR: Yes.

MCHENRY: An interesting tweet. But what I would call these retiring members, and I would say chaired by Senator Thom Tillis, who announced -- my senator, North Carolina -- who announced he's not retiring last year during the reconciliation, the Big Beautiful Bill, I would call them the YOLO caucus, that they are going to go out strong.

You only live once, right? And they're going to act like it's spring break and they have no consequences. And Cornyn Cassidy, certainly a part of that. But Tillis has been a longtime leader of this rump group in the Senate. So you now have a coalition in order to get things done in the Senate, which makes things super awkward for the President's last agenda items that need to be dealt with crypto, the reconciliation process and FISA. These very important things that are really the last three things this administration wants done this year.

HUNT: Meghan Hays, how are Democrats feeling about their chances of taking back the Senate, especially with the events in Texas this past week?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING, BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: I mean, I think Democrats feel more positive than they probably did when Trump took office, just looking at the map. But I do think that Democrats are realistic that it is a long haul. I think this is where candidate selection makes a big difference.

Democrats have a real problem in Maine. I think that that's going to be a problem. I think Texas is looking more favorable, just also because there's other candidates on the ticket that will help Talarico. And that could happen.

I worked in Texas in 2014, turning Texas blue is a feat that we've been trying to do for a decade. So that's also an uphill climb. But I also think, to your point, I think Democrats would love to see Donald Trump back out on the stump.

The more times he gets out there and says stuff, I don't care about your finances, I don't care about the midterms, those are just campaign ads for Democrats. And it just makes things much easier for Democrats. And the momentum is definitely, you know, in our favor.

HUNT: All right.

Coming up next here in The Arena, stadiums across North America will soon fill with fans eager to watch this year's World Cup. That is, if you can afford to buy a ticket. We'll discuss.

Plus, alarming new comments from the former First Lady, Jill Biden, as she reveals what went through her head as she watched Joe Biden's historically bad performance at the CNN debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ever see signs that he was falling into cognitive decline?

JILL BIDEN, FORMER FIRST LADY: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No? BIDEN: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Truly?

BIDEN: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, people were saying he wasn't the same Joe Biden.

BIDEN: Well --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ever see signs that he was falling into cognitive decline?

BIDEN: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No?

BIDEN: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Truly?

BIDEN: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, people were saying he wasn't the same Joe Biden.

BIDEN: Well, I don't think that's true. He was the essence of the same Joe Biden. But, yes, he was slowing down. He was getting older. I mean, we all observed that. When you -- you know, it's a very intense job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:13:48]

HUNT: Former First Lady Jill Biden this week reignited a debate that practically tore the Democratic Party apart nearly two years ago. Was Joe Biden, then the President, in cognitive decline as his presidency was concluding? And if so, who knew about it?

In an interview with CBS ahead of her -- the release of her forthcoming memoir, Jill Biden, as you just heard there, denied that was the case. She was, though, blunt about her reaction to her husband's disastrous performance at CNN's 2020 board debate. She writes in her book that she feared her husband was drugged or worse.

The First Lady's response brings us to our quote of the week. Quote, "I thought, oh, my God, he's having a stroke."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you horrified as you saw it unfold?

BIDEN: I wasn't horrified. I was frightened because I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Or since.

BIDEN: Yes, or since.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've never seen him like that.

BIDEN: Never. No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened?

BIDEN: I don't know what happened. I mean, when I -- as I watched it, I thought, oh, my God, he's having a stroke. And it scared me to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:15:06]

HUNT: Meghan Hays, when you listen to her walk through this, I mean, obviously, as a -- as someone, you know, as a spouse, I understand where she's coming from. And obviously, that must have been very difficult to watch. But she's sitting there saying, I never saw this before or since. Do you think some of the things that she said in this book or in that interview are plausible?

HAYS: I think it's hard for people to wrap their mind around where she's coming from. I mean, if my significant other was having a stroke, I would probably be on the stage. I mean, I think that's just would be a natural reaction if someone's having a medical emergency, that you would be more vocal right then and there.

I do think that, you know, they're trying to sell books and she gets a chance to say her truth. But I think from a Democrat's perspective and the party's perspective, I think this is really poor timing that this is coming out and we're going backwards.

And, you know, this coupled with the autopsy from a couple of weeks ago, it's not definitely not helpful to anyone. And it's -- it is hard. It is hard for all of us who were out there defending them. I mean, we were on shows plenty of times where you're -- we were defending the President and his chance for reelection.

So, I mean, it's hard to watch. I worked for them for a long time and it's disheartening. But at the same time, she gets to tell her truth. And if that's her truth, then --

HUNT: Yes, I mean --

HAYS: -- I guess that's fine. HUNT: I think some of the things that stood out, I mean, and I think we can we can show everyone or remind everybody that right after the debate performance, of course, Jill Biden walked up onto the stage with her husband. And, you know, they interacted with my CNN colleagues who were doing the debate, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, the Atlantic -- here they were right after -- the Atlantic obtained a copy of Jill Biden's book.

And in it, Jill Biden writes, "As the President walked off the stage, he whispered to his wife, 'I really f-up, didn't I?' 'Yes, you did.'" Jill Biden says that she whispered back to him.

Congressman, what's your reaction been to Jill Biden's book, her decisions to put all this out there, the way she's explained what was happening at that moment?

MCHENRY: Well, first of all, I'm not one to talk about spouses. I just think that's not my business as an elected official. I ran for office, I don't want to put my spouse up.

What this highlights, though, is this debate about the enablers around Biden. And did they protect him in such a way that no one else could know about it. That if you're in a second ring or third ring around the White House, you are not engaged with them, which has all been reported.

I mean, Jake Tapper's book, with all Democratic sources on this, are saying a very similar story that those of us that were close to Biden during the debt ceiling negotiations with the one interaction that I had with President Biden in the Oval Office with the speaker and the whole team around him, what I saw in the debate stage was what I saw in the Oval Office when he was prepped for a meeting that was consequential about the debt ceiling at this time in 2023.

I was not surprised a year later when he showed that on stage. And that was me sitting at home, not having close connectivity, nor somebody as an elected official who was questioning his health. That was not my bag to do that. Like the armchair history degree, like me, saying they have some medical science on the cognitive abilities of other people is absurd, no matter if you're on TV or not. So I try to stay away from that.

The thing here that I welcome as a Republican is to question everything, right? The fact that the Democratic Party was going to and did re-nominate somebody who couldn't hold a sentence together on national TV is the most shocking thing that the Democratic Party would permit this in the hopes that they could just beat Trump, right?

So everything is now justified because of Donald Trump. The whole thing should be questioned to the roots of both great parties to make sure that we actually can have a long-term sustainable republic. And this is shaking, not just about the President's health and all this stuff, but are we doing enough to make sure our system is sharp and that we're protected with checks and balances? That is a larger systemic thing that we've got to question. HAYS: I think that's a really good point, that we need to have a serious conversation about the age and the term limits or age limits or something around our elected officials, because this is happening again. And we see it right now with Donald Trump --

MCHENRY: It's not happening again, though. Like --

HAYS: OK.

MCHENRY: Just to say, because of Trump, you're justifying --

HAYS: I'm not --

MCHENRY: -- the ineptitude and the grossness of Biden?

HAYS: I'm not. That's not what I'm trying to do. I'm saying that we are watching people age in front of us, and they are making decisions for generations that they do not have to then live through. And I don't think that's fair to our younger generation.

We have people up on the Hill who are in memory care for six months, not to be seen from. People have died in office on both sides. I think that is an unacceptable thing for our democracy, and we should have a serious conversation about that.

And if Joe Biden is the root of that -- the bright light that can come out of all of this, and then Donald Trump falling asleep in meetings, these are things that need to be really seriously examined. And that is the one thing, the positive thing I can see coming out of that.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Just --

[12:20:04]

MCHENRY: But I would say that what Joe Biden is doing is answering a call no one made.

HUNT: That's right.

MCHENRY: And --

HAYS: That's right.

MCHENRY: -- no one in the Democratic Party said, come back out and --

HAYS: That's right.

MCHENRY: -- relive and relitigate this thing that we think you and the family were the crux of this, the core of it.

HUNT: Right.

MCHENRY: Such that even longtime aides are now questioned as whether or not they're good Democrats. And they're questioned because they had proximity to him. Like, this is not how things should run, right? KANNO-YOUNGS: The point on also the inner circle, I think, is worth reminding people here. The First Lady, as well as other members of the President's family, were part of that inner circle even after the debate. That, even with these comments, was encouraging him to continue sort of the fight and to stay in.

I also think it's worth reminding the public that the comments you're hearing now did not line up with the comments that the White House made in the immediate aftermath of this debate when reporters were questioning them and asking questions about whether he should stay in the race, asking questions about his ability, his fitness.

And, by the way, other Democrats and other members of the Hill were asking those questions, too. The White House was dismissive in the immediate aftermath of that.

HUNT: Right.

KANNO-YOUNGS: The President did make back-to-back trips to Europe. We reported at the time that there were other foreign leaders that also noticed him slowing down as well and said that this wasn't a one-off in terms of the example of him slowing down.

So while you have heard in recent months sort of maybe in an effort to do sort of an after action on the election criticism about how this was handled, that was not the stance of that White House around the time of this debate. It was rather dismissive.

HUNT: Well, and very briefly, Marianna, you covered President Biden's earlier runs very, very closely. He all but told the American people that he was going to be a one-term President.

SOTOMAYOR: 100 percent. I mean, he said it on stage multiple times, like, I will pass the baton. I want to steer the ship and then move it on to the next generation. And the fact that that didn't happen was part of the reason why so many Democrats were so upset.

And the one thing I've heard this week about this is Democrats don't want to talk about this. Like, stop bringing up 2024.

HUNT: Yes, for sure.

KANNO-YOUNGS (?): Yes.

HUNT: All right. Still to come here in The Arena, six years ago, protests erupted across the country after a police officer murdered George Floyd. We'll discuss the legacy of that moment in history.

Plus, soccer fans around the world excited as the World Cup nears. But not everyone's cheering as states investigate ticket prices soaring into the thousands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETITIA JAMES (D), NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: This is the most expensive World Cup game in the history of World Cups. The final game at Giant Stadium has increased to the tune of where ticket prices are at $4,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES: This is the most expensive World Cup in history. It is unacceptable that FIFA use misleading ticketing schemes and change prices for consumers who desperately want to see these games.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:27:28]

HUNT: The countdown is on for the FIFA World Cup to kick off here in America, but many fans priced out of the tournament. Anyone wanting seats for the final at MetLife Stadium will be paying thousands of dollars as prices continue to rise through FIFA and on the resale market.

On resale, some tickets are in the millions of dollars, and that has sparked an investigation by the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey, who are subpoenaing Democrat -- documents, excuse me, from FIFA about its pricing and seat allocation practices.

Even President Trump seems to think the prices are a bit steep. Earlier this month, he told the New York Post, quote, "I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn't pay it either, to be honest with you."

FIFA's President has said they're just doing things the American way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIANNI INFANTINO, PRESIDENT OF FIFA: We are in a market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates, 25 percent actually of the group stage match tickets who can be bought for less than $300.

You cannot go to watch in the U.S. a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game, of a certain level --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

INFANTINO: -- for less than $300.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: He seems to be saying that you can't attend a college soccer game for under $300 in the United States. That is not correct. That is not correct.

KANNO-YOUNGS: I can go to a Wizards game for $300, right?

HUNT: I mean, aren't a lot of them like basically free? Like, maybe I'm like totally wrong there. But, like, this is kind of -- this is totally outrageous. So this -- there's an airline in Canada, OK, that put it this way. And I think this also helps underscore like what you're buying.

You want to go watch England play in the World Cup? Yes, that'll set you back $3,402. You can go to England on this airline for $779. You want to watch Portugal? That'll set you back $3,800. See Portugal for $800. Watch France, $3,200, $7,500 just to go there.

I personally would take the trip to one of these places --

HAYS: Yes.

HUNT: -- and not go to the soccer game.

MCHENRY: But you also don't want to go to a soccer game, which is a completely American thing. It's a completely American thing.

HUNT: I actually like going to soccer games, but --

MCHENRY: OK. All right, all right. But still, so this is an American audience hearing that there's global demand for soccer tickets, which is like particularly bizarre to us. But this is a global event.

There are 11 sites around the country. It is not shocking to me that the most expensive city in America with the biggest problem with the cost of living is the problem here.

[12:30:09]

HUNT: And the easiest place to get to from around the rest of the world, right?

MCHENRY: So New York being a problem and northern New Jersey being a problem is like the least shocking thing of all. And so, but you have these 11 sites you have this global demand and you also have this political narrative that nobody wants to come to the United States because of Trump and it turns out to not be true.

You have people coming from around the globe and this is a hugely watched event not by me but by other people and in the 250th anniversary of America there's something like great about this if we can step away from like the political narrative of elected officials in New York.

HUNT: Megan what do you think?

HAYS: I mean I read a story that the mayor's negotiating $50 tickets for people that are going to go on sale, I think that's pretty incredible. He's also doing stuff the restaurants in New York are doing where you can watch a bar of like $26. So I think that people are trying to do things to help their own people out but I do think that this these ticket prices are not for us they are for other people who are coming here because I don't think that this -- I don't know one person going to the World Cup not one.

HUNT: I really know quite a few.

KANNO-YOUNGS: I know some people who would want to. I mean, absolutely.

HUNT: Are you going?

SOTOMAYOR: No. I would like to. But I'm not going.

HAYS: I mean I just don't think this has I think because there's so many sites all over the country I think that people it's not a target. I mean --

HUNT: I mean, Marianna you're a soccer fan.

SOTOMAYOR: Yes.

HUNT: A big one.

SOTOMAYOR: Yes.

HUNT: OK. Your team in the World Cup?

SOTOMAYOR: It should be Peru because that's where my family is from but they never qualify so I go for Argentina.

HUNT: OK.

SOTOMAYOR: Yes. And the U.S. obviously.

HUNT: So for your family when they think about this is this -- is the barrier to going is it how expensive it is? Is it the sheer pain in the butt of the logistics of getting there or what?

SOTOMAYOR: No it's how expensive it is. It's like it -- people -- I know a number of people have been looking at resale prices who really do want to go but at this point it might just be easier and honestly maybe more fun to go to a bar and watch a game with a ton of locals or as you're pointing out might as well fly to the home country and celebrate with those locals at a bar, eat good food and you're still probably going to not spend as much money than one single ticket. But it is the prices.

HUNT: If we're going to continue the ticket pricing. I mean listen I'm a baseball fan -- I mean, I'm a baseball fan first and foremost. Like the tickets at Yankee seat at Yankee Stadium are not. They are like un-American the prices. OK. To see a game there. Then let's talk about the Knicks. OK. Who are suddenly potentially NBA champions for the first time in however long. The cheapest available seats it seems at the Garden are $5,000. The most expensive clocking in over $185,000. That actually seems low to me.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes. Yes. I saw some other prices too. I mean this is also like MSG prices are often expensive. This is the Mecca of basketball, right?

HUNT: Right. KANNO-YOUNGS: But you're talking about an event that I know a lot of people want to go to, right? The Knicks have not been good for a long time. So you have these NBA final seats. But it does -- I did expect this one to be pretty expensive. Just given like, you know, the place MSG holds, you know, in history.

There is another storyline that also popped this week as far as the Knicks game. I mean if President Trump does decide to go to a game at MSG which we reported, you know, he was going to go to game five of the Eastern Conference finals.

The Knicks swept. So there was no game five. But he was expected to go this week to game five. I am also interested to see what the reception is like if he goes to a home game in the NBA.

MCHENRY: That's also why he's doing, you know, this fight on the White House lawn. And the major construction we're going to see this summer. I mean he is -- I think as a modern president. He's probably the biggest sports fan who legitimately knows something about sports, not just the owners or not just some players. But that is an exciting. It's like this kind of interesting element about President Trump of being like a firm New Yorker, a firm obsessive about sports. And this is like a through line of his whole adult life. It's kind of wild.

KANNO-YOUNGS: This is also somebody who cares about, you know, reaching a certain stature in the celebrity world of New York, right?

HUNT: Yes.

KANNO-YOUNGS: And MSG is a requirement for that.

HUNT: I was going to say my guess is you're going to recognize every single face in that first row.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Exactly.

HUNT: On the floor at the Knicks games and finals.

All right. Coming up next here in The Arena. It's been six years since George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer. That crime sparking protests and a push for change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:34:27]

MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: This could be a point in time when several years from now we can look back to know that we rose to right the wrongs of the past not just with words but with action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FREY: I believe in Minneapolis. I love Minneapolis. And in believing in our city, we must believe that we can be better than we have been. We must confront our shortcomings with both humility as well as hope. We must restore the peace so that we can do this hard work together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:39:55]

HUNT: Six years ago this week, protests were erupting across the country. Americans took to the streets in droves after a man named George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin. Some of the demonstrations were peaceful while others were violent and led to destruction, arrests, and calls to defund law enforcement agencies.

Witnesses filmed George Floyd's fatal encounter with Chauvin from multiple angles. We're going to show you the video. Reminder, it is graphic and disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boy, you got him down, man. Let him breathe at least, man.

GEORGE FLOYD, KILLED BY POLICE OFFICER: I can't breathe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

FLOYD: I'm about to die.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Relax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Chauvin's knee was on Floyd's neck for some nine minutes and Chauvin was later convicted by a jury of murder and sentenced to decades in prison. At the height of the protests, the mayor of Minneapolis appealed for calm to a country that was already grappling with a global pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREY: At this time when one crisis is sandwiched against another, this could be the marker. This could be a point in time when several years from now we can look back to know that we rose to right the wrongs of the past. Not just with words but with action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Zolan Kanno-Youngs, what are your reflections six years on from George Floyd's murder? I mean obviously in that time we saw Chauvin convicted, put behind bars, but the politics of that moment have also evolved significantly.

KANNO-YOUNGS: I mean, one, this country is still trying to figure out how to grapple with racism within this country and racism in the history of this country. Last year my colleague, Kurt Shrider (ph), you know, wrote about a small community that was trying to decide what is the best way to move ahead with protests, you know, at the anniversary of George Floyd's killing, you know, and what is the right form of protests.

The other take away is also the pendulum that we've seen as far as how the private sector and government has reacted to this killing. In the immediate months afterwards we often saw private companies announcing diversity initiatives. We saw a government as well talking about those diversity initiatives. And years later we are at a point where we now see, you know, a DEI purge, right, from the federal government. Diversity programs being really treated as taboo, right?

We've seen actually an erosion of certain provisions in the Civil Rights Act as well. And you're left wondering that momentum in the immediate aftermath of George Floyd's killing, you know, and now looking at where we are now, just what the future is for this country as well when it comes to how it grapples with, you know, civil rights, diversity and accountability for law enforcement.

HUNT: Congressman McHenry, how do you look at what came out of the murder of George Floyd, the sort of political cataclysm that followed that and where we find ourselves today, especially in light of, you know, there going to potentially be a significant number of black lawmakers who are no longer members of Congress after the changes to the Voting Rights Act.

MCHENRY: And a significant number of white Democratic lawmakers that have lost their seats and they're the first on the chopping block with the Supreme Court ruling. So it's not all a straight line and simple to put in a box. But let's rewind. We're in the midst of a pandemic. Everything was shut down. Things were reopening.

This happened and this happened in such a public way when people are locked down that is almost a universal sign that we haven't had in this modern media environment where almost every American saw this for themselves and judged for themselves. It was a jarring moment, significant, terrible moment and the immediate response in a lot of respects was hyper-political. And -- but long term, you saw the justice system work and the bad cop here who did the bad thing got a sentence commensurate with that as the justice system prescribed.

That is a good thing and that is a good thing in response to a question of racism and racist acts. The secondary piece, which is the political actions of corporate America, they over-responded because they didn't know what the hell they were doing, quite frankly. And they over-responded and indexed to something that was not a long-term good. And you still have corporate initiatives that want to have a workforce that is actually commensurate with the communities they're serving and the people they're serving. It looks a lot like America. But they're actually driving real progress over time rather than the politics of this stuff.

[12:45:12] And much of what was announced in response in 2020 of the politicization in C-suites across America was exactly politics. Short term, ephemeral, not long-lasting, no public good out of this thing. And a lot of corporate America looked really dumb doing that indexing rather than actually do the substantive things of actually doing recruitment where they should be doing recruitment across campuses in America rather than just showing something in politics here in committee rooms in Capitol Hill.

So there's still initiatives here. Corporate America is still serious about it. But instead of indexing the politics, they should be focused on the substance. And I think that's what we need to look for as a society and know that we should struggle not just to the C-suite, not just in politics, but how we interact with each other in a respectful way. And that long-term respect is really what our society needs a lot more of.

KANNO-YOUNGS: The question of whether, you know, certain diversity initiatives and, you know, wokeism went too far is something you would hear, like on the campaign trail from voters. But, you know, when you look at this past year, I know that I've spoken to Americans and voters across the political spectrum that, you know, say, OK, it's one thing to say whether the culture of woke and DEI went too far.

But is -- but then you see a plane crash, you know, the President blamed a plane crash and parked on diversity, right? You see a refugee system that blocks everyone from around the world, with the exception of a white minority, as well. You see a call from the federal government, as well, to look into, like, actually, like, put out there to the public. We want to look into more cases where white men were discriminated against.

I was in the Oval Office, and I asked President Trump, as well, you know, when you look back on the civil rights movement, you know, what do you think, like, and do you -- what's the impact that came out of that? And he said, as well, you know, that he, well, one impact was that white men also were hurt by the civil rights movement. You have those things, and I think it's a little separate from the argument that maybe we needed the pendulum to swing back on woke and DEI.

HUNT: All right. Coming up next here, we've got something totally different. The latest animal to find itself in the hands of RFK Jr.

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[12:52:09]

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HHS SECRETARY: By feeding them every day, I've gotten them to come in and join me for meditations every morning on my balcony. I'm working on getting them to eat out of my hand.

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HUNT: That was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in 2024, describing how he trained a pair of ravens. Of course, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is no stranger to strange encounters with wild animals. The latest instance, picking up a pair of snakes that were apparently having sex on Dr. Oz's patio. I'm sorry. What?

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KENNEDY: Are they fighting?

CHERYL HINES, ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.'S WIFE: Honey, honey, let it go. Oh, my God.

KENNEDY: The mouths are huge.

HINES: Bobby, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Bobby please, that's Kennedy's wife, Cheryl Hines, in the background as he handles and appears to be bitten by two non-venomous black racer snakes. The Secretary's serpentine showcase adds to a long list of creature controversies. He admitted to dumping a bear cub's carcass in Central Park. His daughter says he once cut a dead whale's head off with a chainsaw. And Kennedy even found himself forced to deny eating a dog.

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KENNEDY: And they have a picture of me supposedly eating a dog. And, of course, it's not a dog. And, you know, I am a very adventurous eater, Chris. I think you know about that, that about me. I'll eat virtually anything. There's two things I wouldn't eat. Well, three. I wouldn't eat a human. I wouldn't eat a monkey. And I wouldn't eat a dog. I think I'd eat anything else, but I just couldn't bring myself to do those things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Chris Cuomo's face in that clip, oh my god. But wait, there's more. We at The Arena have identified what we believe to be the very first Kennedy critter headline. In 1961, a seven-year-old RFK Jr. visited the White House to give his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, a salamander named Shadrach. "The New York Times" reports that little RFK warned the president that salamanders bite just like snakes.

I don't even know where to go with this. I mean, Congressman.

MCHENRY: I do like the listing of the things that he won't eat as, like, just a marker. Like, he had to put down a marker.

HAYS: I won't eat a human. I'm not eating a human. Like, that's it. Thank you, everybody.

MCHENRY: This is so fantastic and interesting. It's not political. It's just makes -- you need a laugh in the midst of all this stuff, and this is incredible stuff. Just incredible stuff.

HUNT: Speaking of what he eats, there's a picture from Vanity Fair of him eating a goat carcass. I think we have that.

[12:55:06]

MCHENRY: But his current diet is the fat.

HUNT: Yes, there it is.

MCHENRY: Republican Washington right now. It's basically high-protein meat diet with fermented things. And it sounds like the grossest diet you could possibly have. That adds to this whole thing.

HUNT: I don't know. Cheeseburger with pickles is, like, not bad.

MCHENRY: Well, OK.

HUNT: You know. Hey, there's ways to do it. Thank you. On this very strange note, thanks to you for being here. Thanks to all of you at home for watching. Don't forget, you can see The Arena every weekday right here on CNN at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. You can also catch up by listening to The Arena's podcast. You can follow the show on X and Instagram at TheArenaCNN.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. The news continues next right here on CNN.

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