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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt
Ossoff Renews Attacks On Trump After Viral "Natalie" Comment; Voting Underway In Key Primaries From Florida To Alaska; Justice Department Plans To Send 1,000 Monitors To Watch Midterm Elections; FCC Chair Brendan Carr: Disney Lawsuit Is "Meritless". Aired 4-5p ET
Aired August 18, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: So, we have that --
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: You're stuck with me.
THE ARENA WITH KASIE HUNT starts right now.
(MUSIC)
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. Welcome to THE ARENA. It's great to have you with us on this Tuesday.
Jon Ossoff, he's got everyone's attention. So, what's he going to do with it? The Democratic Georgia senator owned the news cycle and drew the White House's fury simply by invoking the name of one of the president's closest executive assistants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): Guys, give it up again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: This afternoon, he's on the attack again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OSSOFF: I don't think anything illustrates the times more aptly than that the draft-dodging crook president, who has plunged our nation recklessly into a war he knows not how to end or to win, tried to imprison this man who embodies --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Ossoff notably not repeating the jab at Natalie Harp there. So that, of course, she is the president's so-called human printer. Still, he is campaigning with and referring there to Senator Mark Kelly, whose national profile also soared after he was targeted by the White House.
"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" putting it this way, quote, "Jon Ossoff wants more than a win against Mike Collins." Ossoff has repeatedly said that he has no interest in a race for the White House. Wink, wink, nod, nod.
But let's be real. If Ossoff is going to have a real shot at the White House, he absolutely must win his Senate race in November. Now, of course, conventional wisdom says you should not nationalize a race like the one Ossoff's in. You should keep it local. You should stay out of the national spotlight.
Jon Ossoff, though, seems to be taking a calculated risk, betting that right now, Donald Trump is so unpopular, even in red, purple Georgia, that taking things national will help him not only in November, but maybe, just maybe, in 2028.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): You could take the corruption of any corrupt presidents in our country's history, add it all up, multiply it times 1,000, and you do not even get close to what we're seeing with this administration.
OSSOFF: I do not want Eva and Lila to grow up in a world defined by the values of Donald J. Trump.
KELLY: A president doesn't send his Director of National Intelligence to Fulton County, Georgia, to grab ballots for no reason.
OSSOFF: I would address the president's few remaining supporters to contrast his promises with the results you've been delivered. and to vote accordingly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: All right, let's get off the sidelines, head into THE ARENA. My panel is here.
And we're also joined by CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes, who asked the president about some of this back and forth yesterday. And Kristen, this is the second day that Ossoff has gone after the president.
Now, I think it's worth noting he attacks the president all the time in his campaign rally appearances, which he then tries to make go viral in the days afterward.
But that jab at Natalie Harp really struck a nerve and seems to have put him in a place in the conversation that's a little bit different. Why did that strike such a nerve? And what are we hearing from the White House today?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, a couple of things. One, the White House is clearly livid at Jon Ossoff and his remarks. They have been nothing but vitriolic towards him, towards me as a reporter who asked about it. towards the topic itself.
And it's Ossoff and, of course, as you mentioned these comments about Natalie Harp. Now, when you talk about Ossoff in general, you have to remember President Trump and Ossoff have somewhat of a history being that there were a lot of political analysts who believe that President Trump's demise in 2020 actually led to the election of Jon Ossoff over Trump's preferred candidate for Senate David Perdue who Trump instructed to focus almost entirely on election fraud something that Georgia voters just didn't want to hear and that was What we saw in the polling, I was actually down in Georgia during that race.
Now, the other part of this is that some of this vitriolic language is coming from the fact that they view him as a 2028 contender. They are taking him on right now as a potential presidential prospect.
And there is a known entity within the White House that President Trump does have a soft spot for Natalie Harp. She is by his side all the time. She is his executive assistant. She is his, quote/unquote, "human printer". She is with him, providing information to him at his fingertips. And he believes her to be a loyal follower.
He doesn't like any kind of questions also, which we've seen from the White House, that they believe, and now they have talked about this, that Ossoff was insinuating something about the relationship.
[16:05:07]
I do want to note, I talked to one source who described the relationship between President Trump and Natalie Harp as father- daughter and talked about all of the work that Harp does with President Trump.
But one thing is clear, the culmination of all of this has, one, really cast Jon Ossoff into the spotlight, and two, made him enemy number one for this White House.
And Kasie, it's somewhat interesting to see because they fixated so much on this kind of one-off from Ossoff that it ended up keeping it in the media spotlight for multiple days in a way that it likely would have just kind of been swept under the rug, a comment from a Democratic senator trying to get under Trump's skin, but instead you have seen the White House kind of perpetuate it and using this language which has then cast it into the spotlight itself and made its own storyline and narrative for again 48 hours now.
HUNT: indeed at least 24 hours longer than it probably would have been needed to be. Kristen, stand by for me. You're going to continue to be part of our conversation.
But we want to bring our panel in. They are here in THE ARENA, CNN contributor, host of "The New York Times'" "The Interview", Lulu Garcia Navarro; CNN political director and Washington bureau chief, David Chalian; former senior adviser to the Harris and Biden presidential campaigns, Adrienne Elrod; and CNN political commentator and Republican strategist, Shermichael Singleton.
Welcome to all of you. Thank you all so much for being here.
David Chalian, your analysis, as we, of course, have conversations at our network around what Ossoff is doing, where he stands now, I found interesting. How do you assess the state of play for him both in the coming months but also in this bigger, more national picture?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I think you would be hard- pressed to find a 2026 Democratic candidate or a Democrat considering a 2028 presidential run who understands the zeitgeist of the moment inside the Democratic Party quite as well as Ossoff does and can communicate it about it as effectively.
He -- I see it as sort of like three pieces here. He has -- he taps into the voter anger about corruption and the system is rigged. And he marries that up, the natural outgrowth of that stuff, is to the economic populist message that he delivers sort of relentlessly on affordability and overall economic populism. And then adds in the demand from the Democratic base that you punch Trump, like, in the nose on the face and, like, get his attention.
And Ossoff has just proven, throughout this year, the ability to weave all that together in a pretty compelling way for Democrats, which get tongues wagging about from the donor class and the establishment, but also, obviously, look at the state of the race in Georgia. from Georgia voters. And so, whether or not he's going to be able to carry that through, as you said, he's got to win this race, whether or not that will position him in 2028. But it seems to me he's had as good a 26 as any Democrat could hope to have.
HUNT: Well, and let's put up the Fox News poll from June on the Georgia Senate race, which has Jon Ossoff sitting at 56 percent and his opponent Mike Collins. sitting at 43 percent. Now, David, I also think it's worth noting, Mike Collins, probably one of the weaker potential opponents he could have drawn in this state. I mean, if he was running against Brian Kemp, it might be, you know, the Governor Brian Kemp, might be a little bit --
CHALIAN: They tried, the Republicans tried to get Brian Kemp into that race.
HUNT: They tried really hard. But like, Georgia was not, I mean, it should have been if you were looking at this just purely based on how states vote for the president, way more competitive.
CHALIAN: Yes. He's the only Democratic incumbent senator running for reelection in a state that Donald Trump won. I mean, when you sit down at the beginning of a cycle, you're immediately like, that's going to be the hardest thing for Democrats to hang on to. And that doesn't, at this juncture, seem to be the case.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Can I also just say, for wags on Twitter, it's not just what he's saying, it's what he looks like. I mean, I hate to be the that says that.
HUNT: Hey, someone needs to say that.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Someone needs to say the thing. Well, I mean, the people find him to be pleasant to look at, and they think that he looks charismatic, and they talk about him in this Kennedy-esque way.
HUNT: I think is the politically correct word. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Right. And he's young. He's young, and he seems dynamic. He's got a young family. You know, it's like if you're trying to cast, you know, who would be good in this role for Democrats, he fits a lot of those bills. It's not just as you astutely note as a political analyst, all these things that he is saying, it is also the package that surrounds that that I think has Democrats more and more excited.
He is -- you know, in a purple state, it's a state with a big black population, you have to win the black vote in the Democratic Party. I mean, there's a lot of things breaking his way.
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HUNT: I'm sorry to pause you and I don't mean to cut you off, Lulu.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: No, no.
HUNT: We're having some tech issues with your microphone, which they're going to fix off camera while we talk to this side of the table. So just give us a second.
You at home probably noticed it.
Adrienne Elrod, what would you say as a Democrat who's seen a lot, been part of a lot of campaigns about where the race stands broadly? I mean, it's going to be an enormously crowded field in 2028, regardless. But this fight for attention --
ADRIENNE ELROD, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yeah.
HUNT: -- is really one of the hardest and punching through the way he did isn't nothing.
ELROD: No, it's not. I mean, it's very strategic and calculated, even if it doesn't seem like it is. I mean, the way that he has really honed in on his message, he's really tightened his rhetoric over the last, you know, two or three years. I mean, look, I think we all remember when he first ran, it was like, oh, he's great, and he barely won the election. It was very close.
HUNT: And he'd lost a congressional seat.
ELROD: He lost a congressional seat. But I think to David and to Lulu's point, I mean, this is a state that Democrats should have a much tighter election, and especially in this election cycle.
He's doing really strategic things, and I think one thing that he's doing very effectively, which I will also give my former boss Hillary Clinton credit for doing, is he is using Trump's actions and words against him very effectively. So, he will go out there and speak a very affirmative message about Democrats and what we stand for.
Then he draws that contrast on Democrat versus Republican policies, and then he actually uses what Trump is doing, I mean, traveling with aide, all the things, uses that very, very effectively, because what David says is exactly right, the Democratic base wants to see a little bit of a fight, and they want to see you take that fight to Trump, and they don't want to just see you use the same old tired rhetoric. He's doing it in a very creative and strategic way, and it's working.
HUNT: Shermichael, I want to play something that Erick Erickson had to say. He's, of course, a longtime conservative commentator, and also from -- his home state is Georgia, so he kind of sees this one up close. Let's watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERICK ERICKSON, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: You talk to farmers in South Georgia. They can get him on the phone. They can get his staff on the phone. They can get help.
You talk to Republicans in Houston County, very Republican part of the state. They know they can reach out to Ossoff, and he doesn't care that they're Republican. If they need something, he's going to get it done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: High praise.
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, no, high praise. Look, I went to college in Georgia, spent four years there at Morehouse, know the state very, very well. It's one thing to be a put together, well-packaged candidate on the stuff. It's one thing to have Republicans in South Georgia to like constituent services that doesn't necessarily translate to their votes.
The question for me, though, politically and you would appreciate this, Adrienne, how are you tested when you're running against other talented politicians? How do you fare when the media is asking you very tough questions? Sure, he's run for this race now twice against some weakened Republicans.
If you ran against Kemp and Senator Scott really tried to get Brian Kemp to run for this. I know those details very well. This -- the governor didn't want to. I think the dynamics would be very different.
And so, it is great to get this messaging out there. It's great to rally the base with Democrats as a fighter, but there's some talented people on the Democratic side that will obviously run in 2028 and how does he fare against some of those seasoned political actors, I'm not sure if the same praise so many people will be gloating over two years from now.
HUNT: I mean, listen, hubris is a sin committed by the vast majority --
SINGLETON: That is true. That is true. That is true.
HUNT: And many of them who do very well at a level, whether it's even the United States Senate, they think that they can do it. And the presidential campaign is a crucible unlike any other. So, your point is very well taken.
But, Kristen Holmes, I do have this sort of question when I watch the president, who obviously, we see him governing around his legacy. We see him very focused on putting his name on the Kennedy Center, et cetera. But when he goes after these Democrats-- like he went after, obviously, Mark Kelly was down there campaigning with Ossoff. He's now gone after Ossoff himself. And then his campaign apparatus has done it in very personal terms. He elevates these people, right?
I mean, in many ways, he gave Mark Kelly a stronger platform from which to run for president should he choose to do so. Why is he doing that? Like what compels him when he could simply not say anything and functionally starve them of oxygen?
HOLMES: Well, when you say he could just not say anything, that would mean that there was a strategy behind what he is doing when he comes out against these various candidates. And instead, it's exactly what you've heard from a number of his aides, even on the record. President Trump wants to punch back.
It is -- we see it when he's talking about Iran, when he's attacking these leaders even in the middle of negotiations, and we see it when Democrats come after him. He does not like to sit back and just let things play out. He wants to be involved in the fight and he wants to take these people on. He does it with his own allies. if he doesn't like what they're doing.
And so, there is not really a thought process that's going into this as far as I'm told from these White House officials. It's President Trump seeing the remarks and responding in real time as he does.
[16:15:01]
And so, yes, it does amplify the arguments that these different candidates are making, but it's not going to stop in any way because that's just who he is. He always wants to continue punching, particularly if he feels like people are hitting him first.
HUNT: All right, Kristen Holmes for us at the White House. Kristen, thank you very much. Really appreciate your grace today and every day.
The rest of our panel is going to stand by.
Ahead here in THE ARENA, voting is underway right now in key primaries from Florida all the way north to Alaska, where some voters are weighing in on whether to vote for Dan Sullivan or one of his opponents, Dan Sullivan. We'll explain.
Plus, the House of Mouse taking on the feds, suing the FCC for what they're calling retaliation. And it just so happens that at the very same time, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" has a very special guest host.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSIE O'DONNELL, HOST: If you thought the president hated "Jimmy Kimmel Live" when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, buckle up, people. Buckle up!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:20:22]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": And in Alaska, there are two candidates running for the Republican Senate nomination who are both named Dan Sullivan. It's pretty confusing. Check out this political ad that's running.
DAN SULLIVAN: Hi, I'm Dan Sullivan, and I'm a name Alaska can trust, unlike Dan Sullivan. So, on election day, don't vote for Dan Sullivan. Listen to Dan Sullivan, avoid Dan Sullivan, and vote for Dan Sullivan. Let's make sure we don't get stuck with Dan Sullivan. No, wait, that's me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: There's a lot -- there is bound to be a lot of head scratching at the polls today in Alaska, where voters are going to have to sort out exactly which Dan Sullivan it is that they're voting for in the state's open Senate primary.
So, get this, a retired school teacher named Dan J. Sullivan Jr. entered the race challenging the incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan. And both men are on the ballot alongside Democrat Mary Peltola and others. Alaska, just one of a number of key primaries taking place today.
In Florida, there are several, shall we say, colorful races for Senate governor and the House that all come to a head tonight. The Republican race is testing President Trump's endorsement power in his adopted home state. And for Democrats, a test of the Sunshine State's tolerance of progressive politics.
David Chalian, what are you watching tonight? This Alaska race, I mean, the way that they pick candidates is a little bit different than it is for most people, and --
CHALIAN: You should say that in this open primary that both Democrats and Republicans are running in, the top four finishers move on to a general election.
HUNT: Right, so if Dan Sullivan and Dan Sullivan split the vote, then you potentially are really messing around with how things play out.
CHALIAN: Yeah, I mean, if the retired teacher Dan Sullivan were to drain away some votes that people were casting, thinking they were casting it for the Republican incumbent senator, assuming they're both in the general election in November, no doubt that could be an advantage to Mary Peltola, the Democrat, which is exactly why you see Donald Trump on Truth Social banging away at the Democrats, calling this like fraud and saying, this guy is up to no good.
He claims he's not doing it in some way to help Peltola, although if you look at his history, he's a pretty liberal guy and he's never voted for Donald Trump in any of the three elections. He's never voted for Dan Sullivan, the guy who's running again.
So, I think it's fair to say he probably would not be all that upset if his actions here ended up helping Peltola at the end of the day.
HUNT; Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I mean, here was what the president said. Be careful, the president said. Vote for the real Dan Sullivan today. Through me, he's brought hundreds of billions back to your state. The Democrats know how good he is, and it put him in imposter of the same name, Make America Great Again, et cetera.
Lulu, what are you watching for in the primaries tonight?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Florida, home state, you know. So, my state, right? If you remember 2000 and couple of votes. It was everyone was hanging on it. Now cut to 2026. It's a very red state, very aggressively gerrymandered in this recent cycle. So not a lot that's in play.
But -- and also, I will say the Democrats in that state have been a disaster. And so, who they're running in the governor's primary is again sort of a turncoat, someone who used to be a Republican and is now a Democrat. And it's a fascinating race for lots of different reasons, but I think it'll tell us a few things, which is turnout.
How much juice do Democrats have in this very good cycle for them? I don't think necessarily the outcome is going to be the thing that is going to be indicative of too much, but it'll show if there are people really kind of energized, if people are coming out, if they want to vote for Democrats. I think it'll tell Democrats a lot about where the electorate is.
HUNT: Yeah, I'm going to play something, Adrienne Elrod, that it's a little bit of a bigger picture conversation as we look at where the energy is for Democrats with the progressive wing of the party, with more moderates.
And this is James Carville. You may remember him. The economy is stupid. But he's talking about what has been an incredibly important, if not the most important, constituency for Democrats in, you know, in recent decades, and that is, of course, Black voters and where they come down on this critical conversation. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: By the way, the Blacks don't buy your (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Black folks, or listen to me very carefully, are the most loyal part of the entire Democratic coalition. If you disrespect them, they know it.
In a Democratic Party, part of the entire Democratic coalition. If you disrespect them, they know it. And a Democratic Party can never show any distance between itself and Black voters. [16:25:05]
And it gets to the point that the progressives want to disrespect people, they're going to understand that and you're going to lose a constituency that has stuck with you for the last 70 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: What would you add to that or a dispute?
ELROD: Yeah. Well, he's exactly right. I mean, I don't always agree with James, but he's right on that point. I would go a step further and say it's really black women in particular. I mean, you look at every presidential election that we've had since I can remember, certainly since I've been working in politics, they're the most reliable voting bloc of voters among Democratic primary voters and the general election for Democrats.
And look, I think that what he's saying there, if I'm interpreting this correctly, is you can get caught up in the noise on social media. You know, you can get caught up by this, you know, DSA movement. Is this happening? Is it not happening? Are we seeing it isolated to certain areas? Are we seeing it writ large?
But let's remember the most reliable voting bloc, especially black women, they're not always on Twitter. They're not always doing things on social media.
HUNT: You mean it's not real life?
ELROD: They're not real life, but they show up and they vote and they are consistent and they are reliable. And he's exactly right. They don't put up with a lot of the B.S.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think they're energized also this year because of what's happened with the disenfranchised movement.
ELROD: The Voting Rights Act.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And the Voting Rights Act, basically trying to dilute black power. I mean, what I think you're seeing is a quite energized black electorate, precisely.
HUNT: Shermichael?
SINGLETON: Hey, look, also Black men. I don't want to discount black men. I mean, they are the second most loyal voting bloc in your party, and I think oftentimes I've seen a lot of analysts pontificate about one particular segment of my community. And I don't always agree with the way some people in my community vote.
But I agree with Mr. Carville. Black voters have been the backbone of the Democratic Party, and our unique experiences in the country should not be ignored by the party and I've critiqued my own party about meeting particularly Black men who really showcase some diversity in their political thought in 2024 in terms of voting for Trump and Republicans to actually deliver -- electorally deliver, legislatively deliver.
We're not supporting Black male candidates. We should be supporting legislation that empower Black men and the party has completely failed in my opinion. So, I think there's an opportunity for Democrats to regain some of that support and interest among Black men, particularly in states like Texas in South Carolina and Georgia and Pennsylvania, where the numbers were particularly higher for Republicans and Democrats.
But I quickly want to add something that Lulu stated about Florida. Byron Donalds has raised about $58 million in Florida. That is an impressive amount of money for someone running for gubernatorial --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And we should say he's a Black man.
SINGLETON: And a Black man.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: People may not know that.
SINGLETON: And so, what I'm looking for tonight is to see how Republicans spend what is a very clear cash advantage compared to Democrats. How does that help them with messaging? How does that help them with television ads? that helped him with the actual raw campaign operations with targeting mobilization, particularly independent voters that we have seen move a little bit to the Democrats in terms of many of the special elections since last year.
HUNT: Yeah, so I want to talk about actually something that Alayna Treene is talking about in our text chain here. And she says that she can't get over the number of people who are vying for the seat that Byron Donalds, who is the Republican gubernatorial hopeful, vacated, right, when he went to run. And she notes that there are a number of them who are not from Florida, yeah, and says it's wild.
I mean, I believe Madison Cawthorn is one of the people that is.
CHALIAN: Represented in North Carolina, the former Republican Party chair of Illinois who ran in Illinois, another Illinois candidate. A lot of people moved to Florida, apparently.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Florida is the carpetbagging capital of the world, right? It's like everyone. moves to Florida, including our president, and makes it their home state.
HUNT: But, David, how do you think it's going to shake out? Because the carpetbagging point, you know, we quoted a House GOP operative in our CNN story that says it's a who's who of the clown show.
CHALIAN: Yeah, it is a wild story, this district, Florida 19. And, you know, it's very crowded, and we'll see how it all plays out tonight. But I do think the cast of characters is kind of the story in and of itself going into the election.
HUNT: All right, so let's --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Florida, man. CHALIAN: Yeah, exactly.
HUNT: Florida, man.
Big picture here. I want to put up Trump's approval rating, okay, because we got a new Reuters poll out today, I believe. It is at a second-term low.
The approval rating has sunk from 37 percent in July to 33 percent now and when you look at the cost of living and trust in who should handle that, remember, why did Donald Trump beat Joe Biden okay in 2024 it was primarily because of cost of living and the economy and in November 2025, so a year after that election voters said that they narrowly trusted Republicans over Democrats on cost of living. That has flipped and Democrats have now pulled ahead Voters said that they narrowly trusted Republicans over Democrats on cost of living. That has flipped and Democrats have now pulled ahead 38 percent to 31 percent.
[16:30:00]
And David, I mean, let's be real, as interesting as I find the cast of carpetbaggers in a House race, it's usually these numbers that drive midterm outcomes.
CHALIAN: Yeah, I mean, this is the backdrop to the entire midterm campaign. I mean, this is the problem for Republicans is that the president, and this is, by the way, this has been true for both parties in midterm elections, but the party in power tends to suffer this kind of moment, and President Trump is suffering it really badly right now.
He's at this low point, and it is a weight around Republicans, and it is, as you said, cost of living, the economy, and it's because voters are directly tying Trump policies, tariffs or the war in Iran to the fact that the economy is not where they want it to be. And that is a problem for his party.
HUNT: Yeah. And, Adrienne, where would you say Democrats are right now in their thinking about whether this is going to be a wave or a tsunami in the fall?
ELROD: I think we're looking at -- I don't want to do David's job here, but I think we're looking at the numbers. And when you see the president's approval rating under 40 percent, that's when you start to see really massive wave elections. I worked at the DCCC during the 2006 election. That was a wave election cycle and the president's approval rating Bush's was very low. I don't think it was quite as low as Trump's, but it was low.
Now, of course, you're taking into fact the gerrymandering, you're taking into the fact the Voting Rights Act being diluted. There's a number of factors that are different this time around, but at the end of the day, this is looking to be a pretty good cycle for Democrats.
HUNT: All right, coming up next here in THE ARENA, Democratic congressman, ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia will join us. We're going to talk about today's primaries and his latest move to get the Supreme Court to step in and put a stop to the construction of the White House ballroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARMEET DHILLON, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR CIVIL RIGHTS: Since 1957, the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has sent monitors to election hotspots, polling places, to increase voter confidence to troubleshoot problems. And we are doing that now. We just did it in the primary. We're going to do it to the tune of approximately 1,000 election monitors in the November election, and this is just something that DOJ does, something different about it.
Well, we are still formulating our final list, but, you know, the places where there may be language issues, the places where there may have been access of disability rights issues, places where there may be voter fraud issues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The assistant attorney general, Harmeet Dhillon, saying in a new interview that the Justice Department plans to deploy 1,000 monitors to watch the midterm elections this fall. Though it is not particularly unusual for monitors to observe polling locations for irregularities, Dhillon is now claiming that the size of this year's deployment is, quote, probably going to be a historic number for a Republican administration.
Joining me now is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Congressman Robert Garcia of California.
Congressman, thank you very much for being here.
I do want to start there with her new comments. This, of course, a function often that looks at protecting Americans' civil rights in elections, but the way that Harmeet Dhillon framed this seemed to focus on some different areas. What did you hear in that? And is California one of the places where you expect to see these monitors?
REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA), RANKING MEMBER, OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: Well, I think first we should all be very concerned about what was just said. And I think when we look at the president denying elections, denying what happened in 2020, the constant attacks on states and their own election systems, I think we should expect for there to be election interference, and certainly for there to try to be -- whether it's voter intimidation or using federal agents inappropriately.
And so, we take those actions very seriously, and we are doing the same as it relates to ensuring that we are protecting the rights of people to vote, whether it's in my home state of California or it's across the country. And so, we are working with national organizations, lawyers who have teams of volunteers all across the country, election watchers, attorneys, folks ensuring that people have safe access to vote. We cannot just allow Donald Trump and the DOJ to try to intimidate people from voting.
HUNT: When I listen to kind of how you and other Democrats as well talk about this, the question that I have that I might press a Republican on as well is, do you think Americans can trust the results of the election? I understand your concern about interference, but that may raise doubts in the minds of voters. What would you say to that?
GARCIA: Elections in this country, as we all know, are secure and they're safe. And that's because we have a decentralized system where elections are essentially done by counties and then the states actually then do the counting from all the different counties and towns within that state. These are not federalized elections, which is why there is so much certainty in outcomes.
Now, look, people always claim that there's just mass amounts of voter fraud. We know that's been debunked. We know that's not true.
Are there mistakes sometimes made at a local level? Do people have to clean out voter rolls every once in a while? Absolutely. Like in any organization, you have to make things better, make things tighter.
But the idea that there's mass voter fraud is just a lie. Elections are safe, and people should feel secure in sending their ballot either by mail or voting, of course, in their polling place.
HUNT: I want to turn to some of the work that you do on the Oversight Committee. We recently saw Julie K. Brown, she's, of course, the Miami Herald journalist, who broke much of this initial reporting on Jeffrey Epstein.
She reported today that Virginia Giuffre's case files are set to be unsealed.
[16:40:07]
What do you expect to learn from those? And do you have a sense of timing?
GARCIA: Well, first, this is actually very welcome news. And us on the committee have been hoping that this would be the case. We know that Virginia and her family have been very clear about the horrors that she experienced.
And at the same time, you've had people like Ghislaine Maxwell, Alan Dershowitz, and others really downplay or downright lie about Virginia and say that in some cases she wasn't abused or that her experiences didn't happen or didn't matter.
And so, the family and this information through the court being able to actually go through these files, we're talking about tens of thousands of files and documents here is pretty significant for transparency and to ensure that people really know the truth about what happened to Virginia. And I think that obviously -- the work that's happening with reporters that are actually going to the courts and getting this information as well, I think is really helpful to the overall case and investigation.
HUNT: And can you say, if Democrats do take back the House, what are you going to continue in terms of your investigation? I know there have been other key figures that you are trying to get to appear before the committee?
GARCIA: Well, first we should be very clear that this investigation is far from over. Let's remember that half of the Epstein files are in the possession of the DOJ, have never been released to the public, half. That's three million documents.
So first, we've got to get all the files released. That's number one. Number two, we've got to bring in all of these witnesses under oath. Republicans have brought in some witnesses, which we have supported, but they've chosen in most cases. to not put them under oath.
And so, this idea that they can essentially lie and mislead the Congress is not acceptable to a real investigation and justice for the survivors.
And we also need to have public hearings, public hearings where we actually have not just survivors, but folks that have been involved in Epstein's orbit that are being asked the tough questions by Congress. Republicans have held zero public hearings on Jeffrey Epstein in the Oversight Committee. Not a single hearing has happened. And so, we're going to have hearings, real subpoenas, get the information, demand to get the rest of the files, and actually ensure that we are getting justice for survivors and that we're going after every single person that raped, caused harm, trafficked, or abused women and children.
HUNT: And of course, if Democrats do retake the House and you are in line to be the chair of the committee, you also have been focused on some of President Trump's projects, including the ballroom. And I know that you had submitted to the Supreme Court things along those lines today.
What is the status of that and the future there?
GARCIA: Well, the courts have generally been going our way on all these issues, whether it's been the ballroom, whether it's been the Kennedy Center, whether it's been all the illegal construction that Trump's been doing around Washington, D.C., the reflecting pool, courts continue to side with the American public and with this idea that the president cannot just unilaterally decide what to do in public spaces, in public monuments. And that's been the case with the ballroom.
And of course, as you know, the President right now is trying to push back on that. So, we are continuing to file. supporting cases or continue to support folks that are taking these things to court and ensuring that people understand that these are public monuments that people care about.
And the corruption that is happening, not just at the ballroom, who's paying for it, why they're paying for it, what they're getting in return, but Trump's donors getting federal contracts to fix their reflecting pool, which we know has been a complete and total disaster. These are things that have to be investigated, and there has to be real government and congressional oversight. So, we're going to continue to push these things, and certainly in the majority, when we have subpoena power, we have the ability to investigate appropriately, we're going to get to the truth and really understand why Trump is trying to essentially recreate all these things in D.C. and possibly enrich his friends.
HUNT: Very briefly, sir, before I let you go, if you do, in fact, take back the House, Hakeem Jeffries would be in line to be speaker. He recently was interviewed and wouldn't throw his support behind Medicare for All, took quite a bit of heat from the party's base. Is Hakeem Jeffries in touch with the energy in the Democratic Party?
I think Hakeem Jeffries is a great leader and is going to be, I think, a real incredible speaker leading us out of this mess that we're in right now.
Look, the Democratic Party has a diverse perspective. I support Medicare for All. I'm in the Progressive Caucus. We've got to be a party that welcomes everyone and is a big tent, whether you're on the progressive side.
I think Hakeem can bring the party together. He's doing that right now. I think he'll have no problem being elected speaker of the House.
HUNT: All right. Congressman Robert Garcia, thanks very much for your time. I always appreciate it. See you soon, I hope.
All right, ahead here in THE ARENA, new details on Disney's lawsuit against the FCC as one of the president's most vocal and longtime critics takes ABC's airwaves.
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ROSIE O'DONNELL, HOST: I haven't sat behind a desk on TV in almost 30 years, and a lot has changed since the '90s. Well, back then, there was a war in the Middle East. Climate change was ravaging our planet. We had a president who was embroiled in scandals. But today, everything is so chill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'DONNELL: You know, I've been living in Ireland for the past two years because of Mango Mussolini. I read that project 2025 and said, got to get myself out of here.
[16:50:01]
You know, they said you can't come home again, but here I am.
And if you thought the president hated "Jimmy Kimmel Live" when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, buckle up, people. Buckle up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: That was comedian Rosie O'Donnell, one of the president's most vocal critics, filling in for Jimmy Kimmel last night on ABC, where she took some jabs at the president without explicitly mentioning his name. Her appearance coming just hours before Disney filed a lawsuit against Trump's FCC, alleging that the agency's decision to launch an early review of ABC's broadcast licenses was an attack on the network's free speech.
CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter joins us now. He talked to FCC chair Brandon Carr just a little while ago.
Brian, so grateful to have you here. I mean, what can you tell us about the lawsuit and what did Mr. Carr tell you?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yeah, and Carr calls this lawsuit meritless, but I think this has all the makings of a pretty significant First Amendment showdown, with the famed conservative Supreme Court litigator Paul Clement signing today's lawsuit on behalf of Disney. Clement was a solicitor general for the Bush administration.
You know, for many months now, Kasie, a broad coalition has been warning about the FCC being weaponized in some of the same ways people talk about the Justice Department being weaponized on Trump's behalf. You have former FCC officials, Democratic lawmakers, libertarian writers, I don't know, "The Wall Street Journal" editorial board, free speech groups, lots of different organizations saying that SEC chair Brendan Carr has been abusing the SEC's powers.
But now, it's all been laid out in this lawsuit, with Disney listing all the ways it alleges that its First Amendment rights are being infringed. You have this ongoing probe of "The View" by Brendan Carr's SEC. You have this challenge to ABC's local station licenses. And of course, last spring, you had President Trump demanding that ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel. Of course, ABC didn't do that.
So, what you're seeing, I think, from Disney is a company standing up to what it believes is a bully, in this case, the Trump administration and Brendan Carr.
I spoke to Carr on the phone this afternoon. He says this lawsuit is meritless. He clearly expected Disney to take this action at some point. He said he has not yet made a final decision about the next steps in this review of ABC's station licenses. And he reiterated his claim, which, to be frank, I don't think a lot of folks who cover this world believe that actually his probe of Disney is all about diversity practices, that he's investigating the possibility of discriminatory practices at Disney and how those have affected the ABC stations.
So, he says this is about rooting out DEI, Invidious DEI, that's what he says, and quote, We're going to keep moving forward. But now it's going to be in the hands of a court to assess all of the evidence that Disney says amounts to a First Amendment violation. and then decide what might happen next, Kasie.
HUNT: Brian, can you weigh in on the degree to which this is a major shift in tactics and strategy by Disney? Because we had seen them settle over comments that had been made. on ABC by George Stephanopoulos. We had seen them handle -- you know, they had pulled Jimmy Kimmel off the air at one point.
Now they've got Rosie O'Donnell who is, I mean, she's way more than a Trump critic. She is an active Trump antagonist and has been for decades, you know, into his chair. They're now suing.
What's changed?
STELTER: And it's a coincidence that Rosie happens to be filling in this week, but it is not a coincidence that Disney is continuing to platform liberal critics of President Trump, because the point that we're hearing from the company is that you can't let the government decide who's on the airwaves, that that is simply unacceptable, and it goes against basic American values.
So, in this case, Kimmel was certainly involved in picking who's going to fill in for them this summer. He wants comedians like Rosie there, and so that's why she's filling in this week. But it gets to this broader point that Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro made last week in an interview with CNBC. He said he believes there are pretty basic principles at stake here. When it comes to ABC News, the news division, there are journalistic integrity issues at stake here. So, he said he feels very confident in the company's position.
And I think that the broader point is about a shift in the wind you're describing, Kasie. Yes, back at the end of 2024, as Trump was about to come back to office, Disney settled that lawsuit. It was embarrassing for the company. And then it briefly yanked Jimmy Kimmel off the air last year amid pressure from the government. That was embarrassing for Disney, too.
Josh D'Amaro is the new CEO of Disney. He doesn't want to be embarrassed. And he knows the winds have shifted. If they were blowing from the West before, when Trump was coming back to power, they're blowing from the East now, with Trump's approval ratings at record lows.
So, I think Disney is aware of all of that. And most importantly, it wants to be seen as defending the First Amendment. What it believes is a First Amendment confrontation.
HUNT: All right, well, obviously there was a shift in change in leadership at Disney as well. Interested to know some of the fly on the wall behind the scenes things there.
Brian Stelter, always grateful to have you in your perspective. I appreciate it.
[16:55:01]
We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUNT: All right. Thanks very much to my panel. Really appreciate you all being here today.
Thanks to all of you at home for watching as well.
Don't forget, you can now stream THE ARENA live or whenever you want to in the CNN app. Just scan the QR code below. You can also catch up by listening to THE ARENA's podcast.
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But of course, don't go anywhere because Jake Tapper is standing by for "THE LEAD".
Hi, Jake. I heard you have a great show.
