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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Robert Prevost Elected First American Pope, Takes Name Leo XIV; First American Pope Graduated From Villanova In 1997; Trump Announces U.S.-U.K. Trade Agreement; Sources: Trump Considering Jeanine Pirro As Acting U.S. Atty. For D.C.; Leo XIV Is First American Elected Pope; Biden Defends Legacy, Attacks Trump On "The View". Aired 5-6p ET
Aired May 08, 2025 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Whitney Wild reported that the new pope is actually a Cubs fan. He, of course, hails from Chicago. He went to school in our Philadelphia, but apparently he's not a Phillies fan. And here's this tweet from the Chicago Cubs. I got to say, I just think it's amazing that there's a pope who, you know, knows the rules of baseball, is a baseball fan.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Yes. I guess we're all not infallible. And the pope's fandom of the Cubs proves that. Although, I will say the Villanova thing is so great. And I saw somebody had photoshopped the pope, like, turning his pope outfit into a Villanova basketball outfit.
I don't know if you've seen that.
HUNT: I love it. I have not seen that meme. We're going to have memes for days, Jake Tapper.
TAPPER: But the congressman made the observation that the people at St. Joe's must be really upset.
HUNT: They must be.
TAPPER: All right, thanks, Kasie. We'll see you back --
HUNT: Thanks, Jake.
TAPPER: -- in "The Arena" tomorrow.
HUNT: See you tomorrow.
[17:00:54]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. And habemus papam, we have a pope. The very first U.S. born pope. The Chicago born Villanova grad Cardinal Robert Prevost walked into the Vatican this week to participate in the conclave. And after two days locked inside, he was the one who secured the support of at least two thirds of his 132 fellow cardinals. He is now going to be the 267th pope. He stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter's today as Leo XIV, a man with U.S. roots, though he has also spent much of his life as a missionary in Peru. The crowd in St. Peter's Square was a sea of smiles and flags as the new pope gave his first blessings, praising his predecessor and delivering a message of peace to the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE LEO XIV, NEW POPE (through translator): God loves everyone. Evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Catholics across the U.S. are now finding connections with their new global leader. Here at The Lead, one of my producers received these yearbook photos from her uncle of Robert Prevost after he said a mass at his Philadelphia area high school in 2004. Go Birds. An American pope, a phenomenon never before experienced in our nation's history. Maybe in no city in the U.S. are Catholics more excited than in Chicago, which is the hometown of the new pope, Leo XIV.
And you can see his childhood home here. And CNN's Whitney Wild is there.
Whitney, what are you learning about who Robert Prevost is?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the people who knows him very well, that's Father John Lydon. He lived with him for 10 years in Peru. He is now here at the Chicago Theological Union where Pope Leo gained his Master of Divinity, then came back to teach other students, other students of the Augustinian religious order. And he said that he is the most global, most international American pope you can imagine because he's lived in so many different places around the world. He said that this is a -- the moment here.
It is hard to overstate the gravity of the moment here because now American Catholics now, members of that Augustinian religious order, see themselves in the man who now leads the Church.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Habemus papam. We have a Pope.
WILD (voice-over): This is the moment Catholics and papal enthusiasts had been waiting for. Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S. pontiff in history presenting himself to the world. Sixty-nine-year-old Cardinal Robert Prevost, born in Chicago, was chosen as the 267th leader of the Catholic Church on day two of the conclave.
POPE LEO XIV (through translator): Peace be with you.
WILD (voice-over): He attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor's in Mathematics before going on to receive his Master of Divinity from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.
SR. BARBARA REID, OP, PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC THEOLOGICAL UNION: I have absolutely no doubt that our new pope, Leo XIV, will just be an extraordinary leader. We didn't think it was possible for an American to be the person that the cardinals would choose, but he's a person that really has the heart of the whole church.
WILD (voice-over): Cardinal Prevost has spent much of his career as a missionary in South America. He previously worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and served as Bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, from 2014 to 2023. He is a dual U.S. and Peruvian national.
After today's unveiling, Peru's immigration agency posted his Peruvian ID card on social media. Today he outlined his vision for the church.
POPE LEO XIV (through translator): We have to seek together to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges and dialogue.
[17:05:08]
WILD (voice-over): The visibly emotional Pope Leo XIV also thanked the cardinals.
POPE LEO XIV (through translator): I should also like to thank all my cardinal brethren who have chosen me to be the successor of Peter and to walk with you as a united church, always seeking peace and justice.
WILD (voice-over): He also asked the crowd to remember the legacy of his predecessor, praising the late Pope Francis, who died April 21.
POPE LEO XIV (through translator): The pope who blessed Rome gave his blessing to the world, to the entire world that morning of Easter. Allow me to follow up on that blessing. God loves us. God loves everyone. Evil will not prevail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILD (on camera): Jake, it was extraordinary to go inside this building where he gave mass, where he ate with students, where he shaped the future Augustinian priests under his direction and under his leadership, and where notably he cooked. Father John Lydon says that Pope Leo loves to cook. And actually, when they were in Peru together, Pope Leo would make pizzas for everyone. That was one of the things, one of the lighter anecdotes that Father John Lydon remembers about now Pope Leo. Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Whitney Wild in Chicago, thanks so much.
From the moment that the white smoke poured from the Sistine Chapel chimney today, the Vatican City was bursting at the seams with excitement, joy. CNN was there on the scene today to see it all. Joining us now, CNN's Christopher Lamb and David Culver who are there.
David, what was it like to witness that crowd today when the brand new pope stepped out onto the balcony? DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: So Chris was up here, Jake, I was down there on the ground. I got part of that crush that pushed towards closer to St. Peter's Basilica. I don't think you can have comparison to a sporting event, a concert, a political rally, there was nothing like that, Jake. And there was a moment where you found folks who were -- and they're dealing with a mix of emotions. You have who are feeling Pope Francis' loss.
So they're in tears and yet smiles all at the same time. It was -- it's difficult still to describe it, Jake. But then you have people starting to realize it and it's very different from what I was able to hear at least when Chris was telling us who he is, what his papal name would be. Down there, folks are trying to decipher it all. They're going through it.
They're not quite sure what's being said and they're asking us. And then when they finally realized it, Jake, I had one American family from the U.S. come up and say we've got an American pope. I would say probably about three seconds later, a young Latina came up to me, she goes, we have a Latino pope. And then I had a young woman from Eastern Europe look at me and say, he's American. Oh, but he's a missionary.
And she had a smile after that. So you have all these different reactions as folks are taking it in. And it's just -- it's difficult to put words to it.
TAPPER: Christopher, you've been following this conclave very closely. Did anyone think that an American would be named to this position? And what do you think ultimately tipped the scales in favor of formerly known as Cardinal Prevost?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's funny, Jake, because just a few days before the conclave started, I had an interview with retired cardinal and I asked him, could there be an American Pope? And he said, yes, there could. In the past he said this was considered impossible, but now it could be possible. And as he said that to me, Jake, I thought, is he talking about Cardinal Prevost? Because Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Prevost, was a really respected figure amongst the cardinals. He is considered to be a very thoughtful, measured person, someone who can bring together different viewpoints.
And it was clear that the cardinals were looking at Cardinal Prevost to be pope. And so whilst the traditional thinking has been that, you know, there couldn't be a pope from the U.S., clearly Pope Leo XIV impressed the cardinals with his leadership skills. But also I think it's the fact that he is, as David says, a missionary, that he's worked in Peru for so many years. He is an American pope, but he's also un-American in the sense that he has spent so much time outside of the U.S.
CULVER: Jake, I will say this, Chris is being modest because I arrived here Tuesday, I flew in and I sat with Chris for a little bit and I said, who do you think? At this point, where are we? And you said, I would keep an eye on Cardinal Prevost. You were focused on him early on. We've got a very hard working team in a workstation here and we've got on the wall some of the top contenders.
[17:10:08]
And Chris, you kept going back to him several times. I don't know what it was. Something must have been speaking to him. But you had that intuition.
LAMB: Yes, I mean, look, I think there was no ideal candidate for the cardinals to choose. I think they had to get behind someone, someone who could be a unifier. And I think he is a unifying figure. He's different in style to Pope Francis, but he's someone, I think who's a very gracious person, very thoughtful person. And he'd clearly prepared his speech.
I don't know if you noticed that there was an hour between the white smoke and the appearance of Pope Leo XIV. And I think in that time he was writing out his speech, preparing what he wanted to say. And all the things he said I thought were very well thought out.
TAPPER: All right, Christopher Lamb, David Culver in Vatican City, thanks so much.
Next we're going to go to Villanova Nova just outside Fiddly. That's where Pope Leo went to college. The special photo dusted off there today when the school heard the news. But first, the bells at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception here in Washington, D.C. celebrating the brand new pope. You see the American flag unfurled, honoring the very first U.S. pope.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:15:26]
TAPPER: And we are back with the major news in our faith lead today, the very first U.S. pope in history appointed today. Before he became Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost was born in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Villanova University just outside Philly in 1977. That's where we find CNN's Danny Freeman.
Danny, besides the fact that everybody at St. Joe's is obviously upset about this, what are you learning about the new pope's time at Nova?
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's going to be a lot of bragging rights, I feel like, at Villanova for a long, long time to come. Listen, you noted it, Jake, before he was Pope Leo, before he was a cardinal, before he was even a priest, he was here outside of Philadelphia at Villanelle University getting a bachelor of science in mathematics. He graduated in 1977. I should also note he got a honorary doctorate of Humanities in 2014 as well.
And I'll get to the tremendous amount of pride that is clearly felt on this campus right now. You can hear the bells. They've been going all afternoon. But I think there is actually a direct line that the university is trying to tie to the pope because this is an Augustinian Catholic university. They pride themselves on Veritas, Unitas, Caritas, Truth, Unity and Love, inspired by St. Augustine.
The Pope mentioned St. Augustine very clearly in his remarks today from the Vatican. So there is a through line here. But just on a individual level students, Jake, when they heard the news, they were absolutely thrilled. A number came to this church behind me on campus just to reflect on this moment, that an alumnus is also the pope now. Take a listen to what some of them had to say to me earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALICE QUINN, VILLANOVA STUDENT: It's just been such like an overwhelming amount of joy. And it's like just like a shared community joy.
ANNABELLA MCKERNAN, VILLANOVA STUDENT: All my family's from Philly and my mom went here. So there's just a big legacy of Villanova. And everyone cares so much and we're so excited for the new pope.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: The other thing I'll note, Jake, I'm not sure if you put it up earlier, but another thing that we learned about the new pope, about his time at Villanova University is he seemed to have quite a lot of hair at that point as well. We got our hands on a yearbook photo from his time here in Villanova. Again, a tremendous amount of pride, not just for the man, the student that was here all those years ago, but for the spiritual leader that now sits in the Vatican today. Jake.
TAPPER: Yes, we just showed it. He had quite the sideburns. Bushy, but it was the 70s. Danny Freeman at Nova, thanks so much.
My next guest is a Catholic Church expert from the Pope's alma mater, Villanova. Professor Massimo Faggioli joins me now.
First of all, Dr. Faggioli, what is it like for people in Villanova right now? The first American Pope is an alum.
DR. MASSIMO FAGGIOLI, PROFESSOR OF HISTORICAL THEOLOGY, VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY: Well, a lot of bell ringing the entire afternoon, a lot of enthusiasm. Quite unexpected, but not entirely because many people had been talking about his name in these last few weeks. So it's overwhelming. Yes.
TAPPER: So you worked on a book about the late Pope Francis. Do you see this new pope, Leo XIV, as a successor to Francis' work and what he did as pope? How do you see -- how do you see Leo fitting into Francis' legacy?
FAGGIOLI: I think this conclave gave us an election of continuity with Pope Francis, first of all, because both men came from Latin America, which is the most important place for the Catholic Church in these last 60 years, globally. And then there are some themes on which there is a division in the U.S. church maybe, but not at the global level. So actually, the College of Cardinals was very united behind Francis' message. And the idea that there could be a revanche backlash against Francis was a construction, not in reality.
TAPPER: I can hear all the text messages you're getting from your fellow Villanova community members excited about the pope. The very first American pope comes at this time of drastic political division in the United States. Pope Francis, of course -- Pope Francis met with Vice President Vance just before he died. He was critical of the Trump administration's work on immigration. This pope also just a few months ago, criticized something that Vice President Vance had said on Twitter.
[17:20:11]
The new pope, back when he was a cardinal, said that. Do you think that the role of the Trump administration played any role at all in the pick of Pope Leo?
FAGGIOLI: Well, we don't know. But there are two messages here. If President Trump and Vice President Vance wanted an American pope, Robert Prevost is not one they wanted. And the second is that the upheaval of the international order made clear by President Trump has made possible the impossible, meaning the papal election of an American citizen. That is made possible by the crisis of international order.
I said one week ago that it was less unlikely this time for this reason the election of an American pope. And so this says something on the creativity of the Catholic Church in reading the global map and in responding in a very creative way.
TAPPER: In his very first blessing as pope, Pope Leo XIV emphasized unifying the church. Can you talk about the tremendous task, the challenge he has ahead of him?
FAGGIOLI: The Catholic Church is in every country at every latitude, still works under one code of canon law for all Catholics from Alaska to Indonesia. It has become very diverse culturally, politically, socially. It's a miracle that there's still one Catholic Church globally. But Prevost, as a former superior of his order of the Augustinians, he knows the global church well, like very few other people. So he's the perfect man for the job.
Also, because he was a missionary. In the prime of his life, he decided to become a missionary. That's probably the most powerful message that this election --
TAPPER: Yes.
FAGGIOLI: -- the election gives to the whole world.
TAPPER: A missionary in Peru. Professor Massimo Faggioli from Villanova University, thanks so much.
And later I'll speak with a reverend who calls himself a friend of the new pope. This is obviously a friendship that was well before his time now as Leo XIV. But first, sources telling CNN that President Trump is considering a rather well known television personality to become DC's top prosecutor. Who is it? Fox's Jeanine Pirro.
We'll discuss next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:27:10]
TAPPER: In our money lead, deal or no deal? President Trump today making a major announcement with the United Kingdom saying that the U.S. and the U.K. have agreed on the framework of a substantial trade deal. That said, we should note it is not quite a fully fleshed out deal, deal exactly, at least not yet. It is quite light on specifics with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying that the details need to be ironed out according to U.S. and U.K. officials who previewed the deal for CNN, it leaves in place the existing 10 percent universal tariffs that Trump placed on virtual all good -- virtually all goods coming into the U.S. Still, apparently what has been negotiated creates something of a concrete pathway to a broader trade pact which could offer some relief from these high tariffs threatening serious damage to the U.S. and global economies.
"The New York Times" White House Correspondent Maggie Haberman is in town. We're always lucky to have her when she's here.
Thanks for joining us, Mags. Good to see you.
MAGGIE HABERMAN, "THE NEW YORK TIMES" WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Jake, good to see you.
TAPPER: So, Trump has one trade deal done ish --
HABERMAN: Ish.
TAPPER: Ish. He loves to announce things.
HABERMAN: Yes.
TAPPER: He still has dozens and dozens more deals left to get done. Today, he said he's working on three of them right now. What sort of headspace is he in? How much pressure did he feel like he needed? How much pressure did he feel to make this call and announce something, given the fact that they've been saying for more than a week that they're right there about to announce something?
HABERMAN: Look, in terms of headspace, he's very happy with what they put out today. But it is notable, as you said, it has been a while since the pause went into effect and they were talking about trade deals coming quickly. The big question is going to be the China talks this weekend. But they are feeling as if this is a signal to other countries that there will be relief for them on tariffs if they forge some kind of a deal.
This was low hanging fruit. This was, I would say, actually something the Biden administration could have had in terms of a trade deal with the U.K. and they just didn't want to for a variety of reasons. The U.K. has been eager for a deal, too. There is not a trade deficit with the U.K.
TAPPER: Yes.
HABERMAN: It says a trade surplus.
TAPPER: Right.
HABERMAN: So it's a little different than the other countries in question here. But this is good news for the administration as they are trying to find a path to lower some of these tariffs --
TAPPER: OK.
HABERMAN: -- on other countries.
TAPPER: So some news breaking as we came on air. Sources are telling CNN and also telling you that President Trump is actually very seriously, strongly considering making Jeanine Pirro, the Fox host, who we should point out was a county district attorney, I think Westchester?
HABERMAN: Westchester.
TAPPER: Westchester County --
HABERMAN: Yes.
TAPPER: -- years ago was a county district attorney. So she does have experience making her the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. She is an ex prosecutor. This also comes as Trump has nominated Dr. Casey Means to be surgeon general even though she dropped out of her residency and hasn't had an active medical license since last year. Trump today saying he took the recommendation of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Give us some background on all the machinations going on here.
HABERMAN: Sure. A couple of things. So Casey Means' name actually was initially in circulation for surgeon general right after the election. And a lot of people around RFK threw water on it and cold water on it and suggested this wasn't going to happen. Obviously Casey Means was not chosen, but it's not surprising that the HHS secretary ended up back there. He has a relationship with the Means siblings.
[17:30:17]
Calley Means actually worked with the Trump campaign as well, even -- even before RFK endorsed the president. So this is not a surprise. It does tell me that they are having some issues with certain staffing holes.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Why did they withdraw the other person who was, I think, Mike Waltz's sister-in-law?
HABERMAN: I think you may have just answered your own question. OK. You know, I think there were issues, questions about the education that that nominee had, but I think the connection to Mike Waltz was not seen as an asset, according to all of the people who I have spoken to. And I think that the Trump White House is feeling more comfortable relying on RFK for what he wants to put in place right now.
TAPPER: And Jeanine Pirro, with all due respect to her, she hasn't been a lawyer for quite some time, unless I'm mistaken. I mean, she was a prosecutor --
HABERMAN: She was.
TAPPER: -- an elected official, Westchester County, et cetera.
HABERMAN: Ran for -- ran for Senate against Hillary Clinton.
TAPPER: Right.
HABERMAN: However briefly and however poorly that campaign went.
TAPPER: That was so long ago.
HABERMAN: It was almost 20 years ago.
TAPPER: Yes.
HABERMAN: She is, however, a -- a more than 30-year friend of President Trump.
TAPPER: Yes.
HABERMAN: Her husband was -- ex-husband was one of Trump's lobbyists, corporate lobbyists, and her ex-husband was also Trump's final pardon issued at the very last hours of his last term. So, I'm not surprised she would turn to him. He would turn to her, rather. She is, as you said, someone who at least does have some experience, but this will be interesting to see how it goes.
TAPPER: Shortly after we learned the identity of the new Pope, President Trump on Truth Social wrote, in part, it is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, what a great honor for our country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It'll be a very meaningful moment.
Then a little later, reporters asked Trump when he would meet with the Pope, and he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have already spoken to us. And we'll see what happens. But again, to have the Pope from the United States of America, that's a great honor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: What's -- what's your take on this all?
HABERMAN: I think that Trump is trying not to be in conflict with everyone as much as he was before, even as he tries to set the terms for trade deals, and as he, you know, has this kind of imperialist view in terms of acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal, he has been much more respectful about the papacy, certainly since he went after the Pope in response to criticism, the previous pope, Pope Francis, for criticisms of Donald Trump.
This is a Pope who, at least on his Twitter feed, appeared to have been an incoming Pope, critical at least of J.D. Vance.
TAPPER: Well, let me point that out, because this is on a Twitter X post from an account under a Provost's name back in February before he was Pope, and the post referenced a theological debate on immigration started by Vice President J.D. Vance, and the post says, the post says from the man who we think is now the Pope, J.D. Vance is wrong. Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others, unquote.
Now, since the Pope was announced, J.D. Vance wrote an effusive tweet celebrating this, but I mean, this could portend tensions in the future, I think.
HABERMAN: Absolutely. And I -- and I think that, you know, we don't know what kind of Pope this will be. Will this be a Pope who is outspoken in the mold of Pope Francis? Certainly the -- the Twitter account that seems to be the incoming Pope suggests he might be, but yes, it could absolutely lead to tensions. We will see how long calm lasts.
TAPPER: All right, Maggie Haberman, always great to have you here. Thank you so much.
[17:33:29]
Next, former President Joe Biden came out today talking about how he thinks the 2024 race went. Let's just say his view of it all was a bit interesting. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, one week and five days before the release of a book that I and reporter Alex Thompson wrote about the cover-up of President Biden's cognitive decline. The Bidens are back. They gave their first joint T.V. interview since leaving the White House and former President Biden had some harsh criticism for his successor President Trump calling President Trump's return to power, quote, the worst 100 days any president's ever had. But Biden also took responsibility for the role he played in returning to the Trump to the White House to a degree. CNN's Arlette Saenz has this look at the Bidens return to public view.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Joe Biden back in the spotlight and denying claims of cognitive decline while serving in the nation's highest office.
JOE BIDEN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're wrong. There's nothing to sustain that. SAENZ (voice-over): The 82-year-old former president sitting with the host of "The View" for the entire hour defending his time in the White House and handling of the 2024 election.
JOE BIDEN: The only reason I got out of the race was because I didn't want to have a divided Democratic Party.
SAENZ (voice-over): But it was his wife former first lady, Jill Biden, who offered the most forceful pushback and denied shielding her husband from public view.
JILL BIDEN, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not create a cocoon around him. I mean you saw him in the Oval Office. You saw him making speeches. He wasn't hiding somewhere.
SAENZ (voice-over): Biden's round of interviews this week comes ahead of the release of several books expected to examine Biden's mental acuity and his decision to seek reelection.
JOE BIDEN: Everything we have to do with, look, if we finally beat Medicare.
SAENZ (voice-over): His disastrous performance against Donald Trump in a CNN debate set off a wave of panic among Democrats with prominent party leaders privately and publicly urging him to drop out of the 2024 race.
JOE BIDEN: The Democratic Party at large didn't buy into it, but the Democratic leadership and some of the very significant contributors did.
SAENZ (voice-over): Polling before and after the debate showed a majority of voters including many Democrats had doubts about his ability to serve another term not just defeat Trump. And almost four weeks later, Biden ended his campaign.
[17:40:11]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should you have withdrawn early given someone else a bigger chance?
JOE BIDEN: Well, I -- I don't -- I don't think it would have mattered.
SAENZ (voice-over): The move left his vice-president, Kamala Harris, with less than four months to wage a campaign a fact Biden got wrong today.
JOE BIDEN: There were still six full months.
SAENZ (voice-over): Biden says he's not surprised Harris didn't win blaming her loss on sexism.
JOE BIDEN: I've never seen quite as successful and consistent campaign undercutting the notion that a woman couldn't lead the country and a woman of mixed race.
SAENZ (voice-over): But Biden now acknowledging his own role in Trump's return to the White House.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you take any responsibility for Trump's re- election?
JOE BIDEN: Yes. I -- I do because look I was in charge and he won so, you know, I take responsibility.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAENZ: Now former president Biden has really laid low since leaving the White House, but we've slowly started to see him speak out including criticizing his successor, President Donald Trump. One thing that is occupying a lot of Biden's time right now, he said in that interview on "The View" that he is working on his memoir something he's been asked to deliver in the coming year, but it all does come at a time when there is a lot of discussion within the Democratic Party about how involved Biden should stay especially as they are trying to rebuild and look ahead to the next crop of leaders that could lead the party. Jake?
TAPPER: Arlette Saenz, thanks so much.
Let's bring in somebody who was there at the table for President Biden's interview on "The View," CNN political commentator and view co-host, Alyssa Farah Griffin. Alyssa, congratulations on the interview. You asked President Biden a number of tough questions and I want to talk about those in more detail. But -- but first what was your general impression of President Biden what you heard from him how he spoke et cetera.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Listen, this is the second time I've interviewed President Biden now and the one thing that really struck me from the moment he got to the table was he and his team are clearly very aware that his legacy is being written right now. And they feel and have this strong sense that they need to fight back and shape the narrative. He immediately got into rattling off accomplishments from -- from his term in office.
And I think it's -- it's in breaking with a lot of past precedent from other presidents who generally let their legacy breathe and kind of go off into the sunset and let someone else come into their role. So there's a very keen sense that if they don't get out there someone else is going to write their story for them.
And Jake, I have to say like I -- I directly asked them about books coming out thinking of your book that's coming out. I think this is something his team is thinking about and concerned about and they want to be able to shape as much of a narrative in advance to get ahead of stories that you may be breaking in it.
TAPPER: Yes, the book "Original Sin" comes out May 20th. So that's 12 days, I guess. Let's play part of that exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: What is your response to these allegations are and are these sources wrong?
JOE BIDEN: There are wrong. There's nothing to sustain that, number one. You know, one of the things that -- that well, I --
JILL BIDEN: Well, and Alyssa, you know, one of the things I think is that the people who wrote those books were not in the White House with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So interesting observation as if historians have to live in the White House in order to write about the -- the White House --
GRIFFIN: Well, and Alex Thompson covered the White House.
TAPPER: Yes. Alex covered it quite extensively.
GRIFFIN: Yes. I -- I -- that -- that moment I think it jumped out to me. I'm having worked in the first Trump administration. It's -- it's not just those people that absolute closest to the President by the way, like a spouse that has an idea of what their general mental health is like every day their ability to do the job if they're stumbling in meetings, there's quite a few aids if given access who should have access to those things. And part of the question I asked another colleague did is was there an effort to kind of keep a tight- knit circle, so any of these slip-ups wouldn't get out to the public.
And my general sense is this, listen. He is an older man. He acknowledged. Look, I would have been 86 had I won a second term. He doesn't shy away from that. He does have slip-ups. That's something we've seen with Joe Biden. But I think -- I -- I think this was very much an effort to tell -- to signal, I was fully in control when I was in -- in the office. And he kept pointing to I wouldn't have been able to pass these many things he's proud of if -- if that weren't the case.
TAPPER: OK. Well, again, the more than 200 people that Alex Thompson and I interviewed all of them Democrats, all of them supporters of Biden will get to have their say starting next week. President Biden appeared in -- in two segments.
GRIFFIN: And Jake if I --
TAPPER: Go ahead.
GRIFFIN: Well, if I could mention, I -- I did ask specifically if, you know, he what his relationship was with President Biden or I'm sorry, President Obama who was reportedly somebody who behind the scenes was concerned about him and he -- he didn't answer the question directly. He gave a more generic response before the former first lady stepped in. And I think that's something the public would really want to know.
[17:45:12]
I mean the most powerful force in Democratic politics of the last 30 years Barack Obama and the role he played in thinking he needed to step in because of his concerns over Joe Biden.
TAPPER: Yes, the sources for our book were people who liked if not loved Joe Biden, but more on that when the book comes out. Alyssa Farah Griffin, thanks so much. I really appreciate it.
GRIFFIN: The British Prime Minister to the United States is going to be here after his day get President Trump today with a sarcastic remark in the Oval Office. How'd that go over? We'll ask him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:50:22]
TAPPER: Our Money Lead now in the framework for negotiations that could theoretically lead to an official trade deal between the U.S. and the U.K. Today in the Oval Office, the British ambassador to the U.S. injected some British humor, understated, into the announcement. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER MANDELSON, BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Thank you very much indeed also for that very typical 11th hour intervention by you with your phone call to the President, demanding even more out of this deal than any of us expected. So thank you for that. Prime Minister was delighted, obviously, to take that call late at night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: You really can't say anything if you have a classy British accent, I suppose. British ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson joins us now. Mr. Ambassador.
MANDELSON: The point about the phone call was that he was interrupting the arsenal game, that the Prime Minister is an ardent fan and he was with friends looking at this crucial game, which I'm afraid they lost. And then the President comes on and says, hey, how about doing a little bit more in this trade deal?
TAPPER: Well, you know, and I'm sure President Trump loved it because he got more out of the deal than he would have gotten otherwise, right?
MANDELSON: He didn't get everything he wanted, but a bit more.
TAPPER: A bit more.
MANDELSON: So Trump's tariffs have been somewhat unpredictable in nature. Are you -- are you and the prime minister confident that it will continue relatively smooth sailing until there's actually a final deal signed?
TAPPER: I think we are quite confident. I mean, it is a deal. It is an agreement. It's one which, frankly, a lot of American farmers and manufacturers will gain quite a lot from. Nothing wrong with that, but we will also gain in Britain. MANDELSON: So it's a fair deal. It was started off in life as a fairly tactical response to Liberation Day, the President's tariffs. But then it built into a more substantial deal. And I think that what we have now is a foundation, first of all, for doing more and creating even more market access as these talks go on.
But also, I hope, opening the door to a longer-term technology partnership between the United States and the U.K.
TAPPER: J.P. Morgan said that the scope of this proposed deal appears limited as of now because U.S. tariffs on the U.K. are expected to remain higher than they were before Trump's announcement on April 2nd and the economic benefit to the U.K. will be small. Are you worried about that at all?
MANDELSON: No, I don't agree with that --
TAPPER: You don't agree with J.P. Morgan?
MANDELSON: -- conclusion. I mean, if you look at the sectoral tariffs on autos, steel, aerospace, in time, pharma, you know, they've been brought right down for Britain. And that's really important.
You know, we had a big car company, Jaguar Land Rover, that was facing, by next week, huge layoffs of the workforce in the West Midlands in Britain. And this deal has saved those jobs. So that's a pretty big achievement, in my view, and I'm -- and I'm very pleased that the president has signed off on it.
TAPPER: I have a Land Rover. You'll be happy to hear. Trade deals take a long time.
MANDELSON: You can replace it and get a new version.
TAPPER: Well, they don't. Well, we can talk about that later. Trade deals take a long time, sometimes fully, months sometimes, to -- to fully hash out, maybe sometimes even years. How long do you think it's going to take to formalize this one?
MANDELSON: Look, what's agreed is not going to change. It's not going to fall away. Nobody's going to step back.
TAPPER: -- I mean.
MANDELSON: The point about it is this, that the sectoral deals will stick, come what may. Where I think we have a lot of potential is in further negotiating liberalization of trade, reducing or eliminating many tariff lines.
Now, we are very ambitious on that in Britain, possibly even more ambitious than the U.S. side. I don't know, but that's be the subject of a negotiation. We think there are huge opportunities for business, for employment, for -- for economic growth.
We want to make both our economies great again, in both the United States and the U.K. And we can do that by liberalizing more trade, as long as it's balanced, as long as there's a sort of equal benefit on both sides. The problem with trade at the moment, internationally, especially with China, is that they produce vast quantities of goods and then just expect the rest of the world to suck it up.
And that's terribly imbalanced. Now, that's not the case between Britain and the United States. So we start from a good foundation, but we can build on it and liberalize further.
[17:55:05]
TAPPER: How is the relationship between the Trump administration and the Starmer administration? And I ask that because obviously the Liberal Party is more similar to the Democratic Party in this country. It's no secret that Nigel Farage and other more conservative figures in the U.K. are Trump fans. Obviously, your Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, has had some impolitic things to say about President Trump, calling him a woman-hating neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath back in 2008.
MANDELSON: I know, but everyone went in for this sort of hyperventilation in the past about Mr. Trump. I did, too. You know, I'm afraid it comes with the turf, but we've all moved on, I'm -- I'm glad to say. Look, Keir Starmer and President Trump are not cut from the same cloth.
TAPPER: Right.
MANDELSON: Politically, they're not. However, what's more important than that is that our national interests overlap and converge very considerably, the way we see the world and we see the threats but of the challenges that we've got to address. But also at a personal level, they get along.
TAPPER: Yes.
MANDELSON: I mean, they talk to each other very straightforwardly, very naturally. I don't know whether they would go down to the pub or go on holiday together or whatever.
TAPPER: Well, Trump doesn't drink, but I take your point.
MANDELSON: Well, he can have a lemonade. But I just think that when they're talking about policies and serious matters in the world, they do see eye to eye. And that's what's important.
TAPPER: That's good to hear. That is what's important. British ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson. Thank you and welcome to Washington. It's good to have you here.
MANDELSON: It's great to be here.
TAPPER: Come back soon.
Coming up, a longtime friend of the new pope joins The Lead. I'm going to ask how he thinks his friend turned pope will handle the gigantic task of leading the Catholic Church. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
