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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Soon, Kilmar Abrego Garcia Makes Court Appearance In Tennessee; Trump to CNN, I'm Not Even Thinking About Elon; Trump Taps Former Far Right Podcast Host To Lead Special Counsel Office; Tariffs Cause Sales Dip For Historic Hollywood Prop House; Sources: Trump Administration Prepares Large-Scale Cancellation Of Federal Funding For California. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 06, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour a major reversal from the Trump administration, they are returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States where he is now facing criminal charges. The White House previously pledged that he would stay in El Salvador forever, even after they acknowledged he had been mistakenly deported to El Salvador. So, what happens next?

Plus, the fallout from President Trump's ugly public fight with former first buddy Elon Musk. There are no signs of reconciliation today with Trump telling CNN he's, quote, not even thinking about Musk. But is this feud putting the entire Republican agenda at risk.

Also, they've supplied the props for some of your favorite movies and TV shows, and tonight it's the focus of our Business Leaders series where we're learning how Trump's tariffs are impacting the people and companies behind some of our favorite entertainment.

The Lead Tonight, the White House is doing what it said it would never do, bringing Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States. Abrego Garcia, of course, is the undocumented migrant that the U.S. government acknowledged and mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March. He was never supposed to be to deported back to El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia is set to make his very first court appearance in a U.S. federal courtroom in just moments. He now faces criminal charges brought by the Trump administration. The White House issued this statement, quote, Abrego Garcia was never an innocent Maryland man. Abrego Garcia is an illegal alien terrorist, gang member and human trafficker who has spent his entire life abusing innocent people, especially women, and the most vulnerable. Abrego Garcia will now return to the United States to answer for his crimes and meet the full force of American justice.

Let's bring in CNN's Evan Perez and CNN's Priscilla Alvarez. Priscilla, how did all of this unfold over the last few hours? PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was an extraordinary development, Jake, because of the reasons that you laid out, which is that the Trump administration had dug in their heels and said that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was not going to be returned to United States. This is, of course, becoming a political flashpoint and a fraught legal battle.

But today, we learned about a case that had, or rather an investigation that had been ongoing and had been ongoing in secret and in many ways, learning today that he was indicted on two criminal counts in the middle district of Tennessee. First, conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain, and, second, unlawful transportation of illegal aliens, or rather, yes, for financial gain.

Now, we had known that there was this brush with law enforcement in Tennessee before the Department of Homeland Security had released footage, you see it there, of that brush, but there was not a lot more that was known about it at the time, though now, of course, we are getting more of those details and how this is going to serve as the basis of their case moving forward. And the attorney general saying that essentially after he serves his prison sentence, he would be deported back to El Salvador.

But, Jake, this case really took off after the administration had acknowledged in court filings that it made an administrative error in sending Abrego Garcia back to El Salvador, a place where an immigration judge said he could not be returned to back in 2019. And ever since then, there has been an ongoing court case where a federal judge has required his return, where the Supreme Court said that the administration had to facilitate his return, though leaving some wiggle room as to how or if they did that, and a meeting too in the Oval Office between President Trump and the Salvadoran president Bukele, where both said that he wouldn't return, and Bukele going on to say during that time that he was not going to return him either.

Now, I did speak with Abrego Garcia's attorney today and he provided this statement saying, quote, the government disappeared Kilmar to a foreign prison in violation of a court order. Now, after months of delay in secrecy, they're bringing him back not to correct their error but to prosecute him. It goes on to say, the government should put him on trial, yes, but in front of the same immigration judge who heard his case in 2019, which is the ordinary manner of doing things, quote, to ensure that his case is handled as it would've been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador as the Supreme Court order.

So, still tension here in terms of how the administration has handled this case, but all the same and about-face for an administration that was repeatedly saying there was no way he was going to step back on American soil.

TAPPER: Fascinating stuff. And, Evan I believe the indictment comes from the U.S. attorney's office in Tennessee where Abrego Garcia was stopped when he was driving years ago. What's the reaction like in the U.S. attorney's office in Tennessee? EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, we're told that this, as Priscilla just laid out, there's been a lot of controversy about this case, and it also aroused some controversy in that office in Nashville where this was being investigated.

[18:05:06]

Now, we learned about that investigation after those -- that video got released and we learned that there was an investigation ongoing in the middle district of Tennessee. We don't know how long that has been ongoing. But we do know that inside that office, there was some dispute about how to proceed with this investigation, whether this case should be brought.

Now, we know that Ben Schrader, who is the chief of the criminal section in that office, he resigned the same week that this indictment was brought. He didn't mention anything about this case or why he resigned, but I'll read you just a part of what he said on LinkedIn. He posted a message saying that he had resigned that day after 15 years at the U.S. attorney's office, and he said it has been an incredible privilege to serve as a prosecutor with the Department of Justice, where the only job description I've ever known is to do the right thing in the right way for the right reasons.

Now, we've reached out to the Nashville U.S. attorney's office, the Justice Department. They declined to comment. But I did hear from an official, Jake, who said, look, this is a priority, to bring immigration cases in this administration. And if you don't want to be a part of that, then you don't need to be here. Jake?

TAPPER: And this does remind me of when there were resignations in that U.S. attorney's office in New York after the Trump administration --

PEREZ: I bet we'll learn more in the next few days.

TAPPER: Yes, for whatever reason, dropped the charges against Eric Adams, the mayor.

Evan Perez, Priscilla Alvarez, thanks to both of you for your great reporting.

Let's bring in Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez of Texas. He's the co-chair of the Congressional El Salvador Caucus. And, Congressman, you have been advocating for Abrego Garcia's release. What's your reaction now that he's back in the United States, but facing criminal charges in Tennessee?

REP. VICENTE GONZALEZ (D-TX): Well, there's two things that I've been saying that have proven true. One is if the United States government makes a request to bring Abrego Garcia back, they will release him back to us, which they did today. And the second thing I've been saying is I don't believe Abrego Garcia is some Johnny Appleseeds. I think that we should have given him his day in court.

So, I'm not necessarily advocating for him. I'm advocating for due process, rule of law. I think we need to respect federal judicial court orders. And he was brought back in a very odd situation, right? They went after him. They prosecuted him for a different crime. And in a very punitive way, they're now bringing him back to trial. And they're going to have a trial. There's 94 percent chance in the federal system that he'll either be convicted or will plead guilty, will probably end up serving a federal sentence and then likely will be deported after that. And what's probably going to happen to Abrego Garcia.

TAPPER: So, there was this whole thing back and forth after the U.S. Supreme Court told the Trump administration they had to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the United States where both Trump and the president of El Salvador were like, there's nothing we can do. The president of El Salvador posted on social media not long ago today, quote, as I said in the Oval Office, I would never smuggle a terrorist into the United States. Two, I would never release a gang member onto the streets of El Salvador. That said, we work with the Trump administration, and if they request the return of a gang member to face charges, of course, we wouldn't refuse. And then no more margaritas under custody.

You pushed President Bukele for Abrego Garcia's release. What's your reaction to his statement just now?

GONZALEZ: Yep. So, what I was nudging is that we need to be respecting American federal court orders and we need to respect the rule of law. And if a federal judge makes a ruling here to not deport somebody or bring somebody back, the United States government, whatever agency in charge, needs to follow that court order. And that's all what I was requesting.

I'm not necessarily advocating for Abrego Garcia per se, but I'm advocating for rule of law, for due process, that we have a system that continues to follow the law.

TAPPER: Yes. I mean, everybody deserves due process including the guilty. But let me ask you, if it does turn out that Abrego Garcia is found guilty of conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain and unlawful transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain, those are the charges, will you will other Democrats regretting advocating for him? I understand the principle of due process, and I'm not belittling that, but maybe there would be a better poster child for your advocacy.

GONZALEZ: Yes. Well, it wasn't me advocating for him. It might have been other Democrats. I advocated that we respect that judicial court order, and I've said from the very beginning, from when I read, you know, cases and complaints against him, I knew that he was no little angel and I thought we had a potential criminal on our hands. And if this turns out to be a legitimate indictment, which I assume it would be, he's going to have to face charges here in the United States.

So, certainly, I don't think we should be advocating for Abrego Garcia as if he's some, you know, Johnny Appleseeds, as I said, because he's not, but we should be advocating for rule of law in America and that we respect federal judicial court orders. And that needs to be -- that's always been historically the way the United States operates, and it needs to continue to be that way. So, yes, if people want to advocate for him in particular and be his defender, I don't recommend that for my party or anyone else doing that because I think that he certainly has some blemishes.

[18:10:10]

There were complaints from his ex-wife that he had beat her. There were complaints from her ex-husband that he was a criminal -- a member of criminal organization. We don't know those things, but probably there's some likelihood that he has been a troublemaker in the past.

And I certainly wasn't going to advocate for, hey, bring him back. I think he's this great guy, because I don't believe that's the case. But I do think that he deserved his day in court. I do think that if a federal judge in this country orders any agency in the country, including the presidency of the United States to do something, we need to follow those orders.

TAPPER: Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, thanks so much for your appearance today. I appreciate it, sir.

GONZALEZ: Thank you.

TAPPER: Turning now to the other major story we're following today, the nasty feud between President Trump and former first buddy Elon Musk. Today, President Trump spoke with CNN's Dana Bash on the phone. He told her, quote, I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem, unquote.

Republicans are now caught in the middle. Some worry that a prolonged fight could sink Trump's big, beautiful domestic policy bill with it, which extends Trump's tax cuts and reduces the growth of Medicaid and could add more than $2 trillion to the deficit over the next ten years.

Our panel is here to discuss. And, Sara, let me start with your sense of what's happening right now behind closed doors when it comes to Trump and Musk. Do you agree with those who say Musk saying that Trump is on the Epstein list, suggesting that he's involved in pedophilia and human trafficking without any evidence, by the way, backing up that claim, that's really a bridge too far, this is a permanent breakup?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: I don't think so. I think Donald Trump's comments actually seem like he pities Elon Musk. That's the sense that I get. You know, one of the things that's so interesting is he's constantly referred to Elon Musk as, you know, half genius, half boy. So, it's not surprising to see that he has this kind of condescending view of Elon Musk.

Donald Trump is also very savvy, Jake. He knows that Elon Musk running X, the biggest social discourse platform, where he has 90 million followers, matters and is a big deal. It doesn't mean that he's going to back off from this feud, but I don't think that Donald Trump is ready to totally walk away from this relationship. Remember, our space program, NASA, we're heavily reliant on SpaceX. These companies that Elon Musk runs are a big part of the U.S. economy. I don't think this relationship is completely imploding forever, but I do think Donald Trump is looking at Elon Musk and saying, oh my God, that guy really has some serious work to do.

TAPPER: T.W. Musk spent almost $300 million to help Trump and Republicans in 2024, and although he said he was going to spend less money moving forward. Sources told CNN he'd previously committed to putting $100 million into political groups controlled by Trump in various ways. How much do you think it hurts Republicans if Musk decides to basically wash his hands of politics and stay away from funding Republican groups?

T.W. ARRIGHI, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, Jake. Look, it definitely is going to have an impact. I think Republicans and, broadly speaking, Americans owe Elon a great deal of debt for what he was able to do in this election. And I wouldn't count him out moving forward. He said, and he hinted in that interview where he said he was going to be pulling back, that if he's inspired by a race or a candidate, he will get involved.

Look, people change their minds so frequently, and I think the biggest takeaway from this rift is really the mutually assured destruction component of this whole thing. We just heard Sara mention NASA and our reliance on SpaceX, but we also saw Tesla's stock take a fall yesterday during all this squabble back and forth on X. This is mutual mutually assured destruction. And I think they will end up coming back together in some form because it's, what's good for the goose is also good for the gander. This is good for neither.

TAPPER: Meghan, reporters pressed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, today about whether this Trump Musk feud, this breakup, this divorce gives Democrats an opportunity to, you know, get Musk in their corner. This is how Jeffries responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): the opportunity that exists right now is to kill the GOP tax scam.

REPORTER: Should Elon Musk be welcomed back into the Democratic Party, if that is something that is on the table, given everything he did as the leader of DOGE?

JEFFRIES: Same answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What do you think? He's obviously avoiding the Musk drama all together and focusing on defeating the bill, or at least bringing attention to his negative description of it.

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: I mean, sure, come on over, the water is warm. I think that the Democrats should be embracing anyone who is willing to go out and talk about keeping 14 million people on Medicaid and 18 million kids getting food assistance programs. So, if he's willing to put his neck out there and help get this bill in a more -- a better place for working families and middle class, then I think that the Democrats would welcome him back.

I don't think that's going to happen.

[18:15:00]

I don't think that Elon Musk is going to do that. I think this is going to stay a war between him and Donald Trump, or a squabble between him and Donald Trump. But I think the Democrats would be foolish not to be able to use him effectively to help them, you know, fight for the middle class and the American people.

TAPPER: Sara, we've seen some bizarre reactions from MAGA world influencers on social media. Some of them just straight up siding with Trump over Elon Musk, like Steve Bannon, et cetera. That's not bizarre. It's the almost homoerotic ones about this is what real men act like kind of thing. I'm not even going to quote them because they get into all sorts of references that I'm not comfortable making. What do you think happens with MAGA world when it comes to this split?

FISCHER: I think MAGA world is going to stay with Trump. There's no question about it. I mean, at the end of the day, MAGA world flocked to Elon Musk because he became a Republican and he endorsed Donald Trump. Remember, he only endorsed Donald Trump less than a year ago for the presidency. This is somebody who used to be a Democrat, so I don't think that he's going to win over the MAGA game.

What I do think Elon Musk has a holdover is sort of this techno crap broey culture, and that's often aligned with MAGA politics, but it's not one in the same. I think Donald Trump wins the MAGA vote for this one.

TAPPER: Thanks to all of you. I appreciate it.

The MAGA movement is also taking whole thousands of miles away from the United States. CNN's Clarissa Ward is in Syria. We're going to go to her next. She tells us that some in Syria are embracing and celebrating President Trump, and they're supposed to make Syria great again.

Plus, the judge in the Sean Diddy Combs trial scolded Combs yesterday for his behavior in court when it came to the jury. We're going to have the latest on his demeanor in court today, as one of his ex- girlfriends took the stand.

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[18:20:00]

TAPPER: On to Syria in our World Lead today, nearly six months after the fall of brutal dictator Bashar al-Assad, Syrians are adapting to a new way of life. Many are feeling hopeful after President Trump made this surprise announcement last month. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Clarissa Ward went to Damascus to see how some Syrians are fully embracing the American leader.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Dotted around the streets of Damascus billboard after billboard of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Well, there's another one. There's another one. Look, that is now the sixth poster billboard that we have seen since arriving here, thanking President Trump.

They're thanking him for lifting punishing sanctions and normalizing relations between the U.S. and Syria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you, Trump. I love you, Trump.

WARD: In small letters in the right hand corner, a Syrian American lobby group, Global Justice, co-founded by Maissa Kabbani.

MAISSA KABBANI, CO-FOUNDER, GLOBAL JUSTICE: I want to show you this one, which is after the liberation, it was our new slogan, and Make Syria Great Again.

WARD: When the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad fell, Kabbani began shuttling back and forth from her home in Philadelphia to Damascus. She met with President Trump and Syria's new leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaah, pushing for that historic meeting between the two presidents. For President Trump, she had her sales pitch ready.

KABBANI: I told him our new slogan is Make Syria Great Again, and hopefully we are going to see Trump Tower in Damascus soon. So, he was laughing. So, I don't know. I felt that we can do it and I felt that, you know, this is the way how we're going to approach President Trump, you know? His personality actually is different than any other president. And we need to talk to the people based on what they like to hear, and he likes to hear that.

WARD: And she wasn't kidding about Trump Tower.

This is an early sketch of what Trump Tower in Damascus might look like. And as you can see, it is still a very long ways away. This abandoned construction site is just one of the places that people here are speculating could be the site for this proposed Trump Tower.

And we spoke to the head of Tiger Group, that's the property development company that is behind this proposal. They told us they have put in for government permissions. They're waiting for those. And from there, the next step is to approach the Trump Organization.

Whatever it took to get to this point was well worth it in the eyes of many Syrians.

What was the reaction here when it was announced that the sanctions would be lifted?

KABBANI: Oh my God. Did you see, you know, the same day as the liberation day, people went to the Al-Amin (ph) Square and they are happy. They were dancing. You know, they were chanting about Trump, chanting about President Al-Sharaa. And we want to make Syria a land of opportunity too. So, you could see now everybody's coming back to Syria.

WARD: Outside the U.S. ambassador's residence, the American flag raised last week for the first time since 2012, another sign of a warming relationship few could have imagined.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WARD (on camera): Now, Jake, it's important to underscore that not everybody here is thrilled about this warming relationship, and particularly, I think Jake, a lot of people concerned about President Trump urging President Al-Sharaa to normalize relations with Israel. That is a very sensitive issue here. There have been hundreds of Israeli strikes on Syria since it was liberated back in December. Last month, one hit just near the presidential palace. And as you can imagine, emotions here run very high about what's happening in Gaza.

But still, I would say, Jake, that when you talk to people here, the main sentiment you hear is, we want to start this new chapter. We want to rebuild this country. And they understand that this relationship, this lifting of sanctions is just crucial in terms of getting investment going again into this country.

[18:25:01]

90 percent of people here living under the poverty line, according to the U.N., Jake, after more than a decade of war and sanctions, people here really want to start building Syria back up again. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Clarissa Ward in Aleppo, thank you so much.

Coming up, in the wake of violent terrorist attacks and the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S. and around the world, my next guest is having positive conversations and asking the question, what does it mean to be Jewish?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Back with our National Lead, President Donald Trump has tapped a former far right podcast host and election denier to lead the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. His name is Paul Ingrassia. He's the current White House liaison for Homeland Security. He was nominated by President Trump last week to lead this federal watchdog agency. The nomination comes despite the 30-year-old lawyer's history of rather insensitive statements about Israel and Jews and support for extremists.

[18:30:05]

Earlier today, I got a text from a Republican Jewish leader with close ties to the Trump administration, and he told me that he is, quote, deeply troubled by Ingrassia's past embrace of avowed anti-Semites and his questioning the veracity of the October 7th Hamas atrocities against innocent children, men and women in Israel. He needs to be asked these questions at his confirmation hearing. And if true, he should not be confirmed. These views reflect neither the president's nor his administration.

So, what is this individual referring to? Well, on October 7th, 2023, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, Ingrassia posted on X or Twitter, quote, the amount of energy everyone has put into condemning Hamas and prior to that the Ukraine conflict over the past 24 hours should be the same amount of energy we put into condemning our wide open border, unquote. The next day, Ingrassia posted this, quote/unquote war is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day. two days after that, Ingrassia said, the U.S. should not be committing any foreign aid as well as military presence, whatsoever, to any country, Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, NATO, et cetera, until we secure our borders and get a sensible handle over our border crisis, unquote.

Ingrassia has also expressed support for self-proclaimed male supremacist Andrew Tate. Ingrassia worked at a law firm where Andrew Tate is a client. Tate is currently facing charges of rape and human trafficking in Britain and in Romania, which he has denied. Tate is widely known as a Holocaust denier. He praised Hamas and its leader, Yahya Sinwar, after the October 7th attacks, Tate.

Paul Ingrassia also expressed support for Holocaust denier white nationalist and anti-Semite Nick Fuentes. After Fuentes was banned from Twitter in 2023, Paul Ingrassia made a Substack post titled, Free Nick Fuentes. When Fuentes was removed from a Turning Point USA Convention, Ingrassia posted on Twitter, quote, conservatives should always uphold the First Amendment and allow for dissident voices. It's not really a dissident voice. He's an anti-Semite and racist.

CNN has previously reported on a post on X Ingrassia's podcast account calling for Trump to declare martial law after losing the 2020 election. And after assuming his White House role this year, Ingrassia was present for the release of January 6th prisoners after they were pardoned.

The Trump administration has said it is committed to fighting anti- Semitism. When we reached out to get comment from the White House about all of this, the White House said, quote, Paul Ingrassia is a respected attorney who has served President Trump exceptionally well and will continue to do so as the next head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The 11th hour smear campaign will not deter the president from supporting this nomination. And the administration continues to have full confidence in his ability to advance the president's agenda, unquote. The Department of Homeland Security, Ingrassia's current employer, also called this a smear campaign. Smears, by the way, are when you're saying things that aren't true about somebody. We're just quoting what Ingrassia has said and done.

Prominent Jewish civil rights groups disagree with both the White House and the Department of Homeland Security. The Anti-Defamation League says, quote, appointing someone to a senior administration role despite their documented support for anti-Semites seriously conflicts with and undermines ongoing efforts to combat anti-Semitism at this critical moment, unquote. Ingrassia's new position will need Senate confirmation.

Joining us now to talk about anti-Semitism writ large is Jonah Platt. He's the host of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt.

Jonah, President Trump campaigned on fighting anti-Semitism, supporting Israel. There is this contradiction. We have this Ingrassia nomination. There's also the Pentagon press secretary, I'm not sure how much you know about her, but she's done some really deep-dive old school anti-Semitism about Leo Frank. You have to either be a Jew or a Nazi to know what that's a reference to.

JONAH PLATT, HOST, BEING JEWISH WITH JONAH PLATT: Or have seen the musical parade.

TAPPER: Right. But what do you make of this?

PLATT: You know, when you read that comment about the October 7th attack being a psyop to distract from Columbus Day, I mean, it reads like a white nationalist Mad Libs.

TAPPER: Yes.

PLATT: It's so par for the course for the way a lot of these people speak. And it doesn't surprise me that this is the kind of person who's getting this kind of appointment, sort of, you know, another podcast host, another person kind of out of left field to be in there who has these abhorrent views. And it's this weird contradiction where some of the policies that the Trump administration is going after have undoubtedly made Jews feel safer in a lot of ways or have been beneficial. But then he's also stacking the deck with these avowed anti-Semites and supporter of anti-Semites.

So, it's kind of tough to know how to feel about a lot of this sometimes. And you've got people who are Jewish and are rah-rah Trump all the way. You have the opposite and then you have people who are confused.

TAPPER: Yes. It's a confusing time to be a Jew in America right now. Obviously, despite nominations like that, there is a really violent anti-Semitic move on the left in this country, from the pro-Hamas left, whether it's the arson at Governor Josh Shapiro's house.

[18:35:13] Josh Shapiro has nothing to do with what's going on in Gaza. Whether it's the two individuals shot outside the Jewish museum in my hometown in D.C. or the Molotov cocktails.

How are -- you talk to Jews for a living.

PLATT: That's right.

TAPPER: About being Jewish.

PLATT: Correct.

TAPPER: How's the Jewish community feeling?

PLATT: They're really afraid. It's really saddening to have these conversations. I speak to hundreds, thousands of Jews all day long from all over the world. People are really afraid. And it's understandable. I mean, the things you mentioned being targeted in Boulder, being targeted in D.C. just for being a Jewish person in a Jewish space, that's it. It had nothing to do with anybody's politics, certainly had nothing to do with their actual religion. I mean, these are racist attacks because these people are Jewish. They are guilty by association for some war that people don't like that's thousands of miles away. And this sort of collective responsibility thing, I mean, you mentioned Governor Shapiro, he's no different in his stance on that war than any other Democrat in his position.

TAPPER: He's actually been more critical of Netanyahu than almost any Democratic governor across the country.

PLATT: That's right. But it doesn't matter because he's Jewish, so he's got this collective responsibility that's placed on him, and it's a horrible thing and it's it abject racism.

TAPPER: So, how did this happen? Because we obviously see weird expressions of support, or at least ambivalence about like, let's say, the shooting of the two individuals outside the Jewish museum because they both worked at the Israeli embassy. And there was like this internal debate in the Democratic Socialists of America. I'm not sure if you saw that.

PLATT: Yes.

TAPPER: That story in the Free Press, but like should -- you know, is that okay? Is it not okay? I mean, like it's murder. What are you talking about?

PLATT: We've completely lost the plot. I mean, certainly not we, but they have completely lost the plot. We've gotten to this place where Jews really don't count. I mean, and they haven't counted the way other groups do for some time. But to the point where now -- like we would never accept that conversation happening about anyone else in any circumstance, it would be, of course, we're not going to do violence. I mean, it would be absurd to think that someone would go up to a Chinese American person and commit an act of violence against them because of something the Chinese government was doing in China. Like there'd be no question that would be immediately and widely condemned by everybody.

TAPPER: In fact, it happened after COVID.

PLATT: Right.

TAPPER: I mean, you know, there was all this anti-Asian violence. It was horrible.

PLATT: Horrible. And everybody showed up to say, this is horrible. This has to stop. This is completely unacceptable.

But there's that thing with the Jews where there's that pause of like, is this that terrible? Because there's a lack of understanding about what and who Jews are, there's this thinking that Jews are okay because they're white and rich and powerful, all of which are, you know, prejudicial stereotypes. And because of those things, you know, it's okay to do stuff against them because they'll be all right. It's like it's going after the bad guy. There's a righteousness to it that makes it okay in a way that is clearly, to regular people, obviously not.

TAPPER: We could have this conversation for five more hours, but I got to go. Jonah Platt, thank you so much for joining me. Say hi to your brother for me.

PLATT: You got it.

TAPPER: And please check out his podcast. It's called Being Jewish with Jonah Platt.

Up next, just one day after a judge rebuked Sean Didd Combs for his behavior toward the jury today, he watched one of his ex-girlfriends testified about some of the drug-fueled, quote, hotel nights that she allegedly endured. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

TAPPER: Our Law and Justice Lead now, the ex-girlfriend of Sean Diddy Combs, right before his federal indictment was back on the stand today, she has been going by the pseudonym Jane in court. Today, Jane testified about transporting drugs for Combs, about sexual parties that she called hotel nights, similar to the freak-offs that his other ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, described earlier in this trial.

Combs is charged with racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He denies all the charges.

CNN's Kara Scannell was in court for today's testimony. Kara, prosecutors seem to be trying to link Jane's testimony with the charges against Combs.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. As it relates to Jane, Combs is charged with sex trafficking by fraud, which is different because Cassie Ventura's was sex trafficking by force. And in Jane's testimony today, they focused a lot of it of what she was told by Combs. And she talked about several episodes where she traveled to New York, to Miami, to Turks and Caicos.

And she said, for each of these trips, she thought it was going to be them alone, that they would spend time together on vacation as a couple, that they might go shopping, go out to dinner. But she said on each of those trips, it turned into having one of these hotel nights, sometimes with multiple men. And she was asked by the prosecutor, would she have done it, would she have gone to Turks and Caicos if she knew it was going to be a hotel night? She said she wouldn't have.

So, the prosecution trying to build that out, and in doing so, they showed a number of text messages between Jane and Combs, and also notes that she had taken on her iPhone, capturing her thoughts at the time. In one of the text messages she sent to Combs in September of 2023. She wrote, I feel like it's the only reason you have me around and why you paid for the house. So, she had testified that Combs was paying $10,000 a month for her rent and what was part of their love contract. That's part of this theory on the sex trafficking.

Now, the prosecution also trying to build out the racketeering conspiracy, and they talked about drugs. Jane had testified that before she was involved with Combs, she'd only used drugs twice before in her life. Now, she was describing to the jury these drug-fueled hotel nights. She said she would take multiple doses of ecstasy, something she had never done before. Jake?

TAPPER: Yesterday, the judge scolded combs for his reaction to testimony in front of the jury, as we covered.

[18:45:00]

What was his demeanor like today? Did that scolding change how he acted?

SCANNELL: Well, I didn't see Combs nodding vigorously toward the jury, which was the issue that the judge had. Today, Combs was mostly seated back in his chair during Jane's testimony. I saw him look over to try to read the jury, but he didn't have any sort of, you know, facial animation on his face.

And then when they were reading these text messages in these notes, he put on his glasses, leaned into the computer screen, and was following along -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Kara Scannell outside court in New York, thank you.

Our small business series takes us just a few blocks away to Hollywood, California, tonight, where a company that provides the props for some of your favorite movies and TV shows is struggling under the weight of Trump's tariffs. Their advice to President Trump is next.

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TAPPER: And we're back with our business leader's series. We hear from small business owners from coast to coast about President Trump's tariffs. Some have been in favor of the tariffs. We talked to one of those gentlemen yesterday, some not so much.

Right here in Hollywood, the entertainment industry is feeling the heat today. Small business, The Hand Prop Room, has supplied props for blockbuster films and TV shows.

And CNN's Veronica Miracle went behind the scenes to hear what business has been like for them since the tariffs took effect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Hollywood, the entertainment capital of the world, there are signs of distress for the movie and TV industry.

REYNALDO CASTILLO, GENERAL MANAGER, THE HAND PROP ROOM: The way you can kind of tell for the most part, is just how full the aisles are.

MIRACLE: Just ask Reynaldo Castillo of Hand Prop Rentals.

You really don't think about all of the different pieces that go into a set.

CASTILLO: Every time you'll see luggage, whether it's a background or it specifically calls for it in the scene. For example, like this is Oppenheimer's bag and Oppenheimer.

MIRACLE: From Oppenheimer to "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", this prop rental company brings production sets to life. But recently, sales have dipped to unprecedented lows, down 35 to 40 percent, Castillo says.

CASTILLO: When people think that Hollywood who cares? You know, they're a bunch of rich actors and directors. It's like yeah, maybe the 1 percent, but the rest of the jobs are blue collar jobs.

MIRACLE: Slowly and steadily, other states and countries have lured studios away from California with competitive tax incentives.

CASTILLO: This isn't simply the strike. This is this long, ongoing malaise. It's significantly more threatening than any other period than we've seen this last couple of years have been pretty, pretty brutal.

MIRACLE: You guys made it through the recession, but this is a harder time for you guys.

CASTILLO: This is a much harder time. Absolutely.

MIRACLE: Even President Trump is weighing in. Last month he called for a 100 percent tariff on movies imported into the U.S. made in foreign lands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're Hollywood, you're terrified about that because the last thing in the world you want to do is have tariffs on your movies in other markets, especially when the world is over half of your revenue. Ideally, what you would have is a national incentive, a national tax break.

CASTILLO: Everyone wants productions to stay here. It's just how you do it and what -- it's a different ballgame now where its all by incentives. You know, people go shoot out of the country because they get a tax break. People go shoot in Atlanta because they get a tax break. So, we as a state of California, have to kind of just keep up with the times.

MIRACLE: It's not just supporting staff feeling the lack of work. So are actors like Yaani King Mondschein.

When was the last time that you were on a working set for a job?

YAANI KING MONDSCHEIN, LOS ANGELES BASED ACTOR: For what was that? February 2023. Yeah.

MIRACLE: It's been over two years.

MONDSCHEIN: It's been over two years.

MIRACLE: Like other talent, she moonlights as a waitress to pay the bills. But for the first time, her server side hustle is now her main job.

Is there a chance that L.A. is the next Detroit and that Hollywood doesn't come back to life?

MONDSCHEIN: No, I just don't. I feel like there's too much industry built into this city. So, the next step is to bring it back.

MIRACLE: Mayor, this is an iconic hallway.

MAYOR KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES: Absolutely it is. And I think it's a perfect example of my executive director because it should be easy to film at city hall.

MIRACLE: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is trying to keep studios from leaving Tinseltown by cutting red tape.

California just isn't competitive anymore. How do you think we got to this point?

BASS: I think that we kind of assumed the industry would always be here, and I think we didn't realize how a number of policies that were put in place over the last several decades was actually making it more difficult. I think we didn't foresee that the industry would pick up and move. It needs to be cheaper. It needs to be more economically attractive to film here.

But while we're pushing for that in Sacramento, we need to do whatever we can to make it easier to film right here in our own city.

MONDSCHEIN: Wherever the business goes is where it goes. I will still be here. I will still be putting in my efforts. It's going to look differently than it ever has. And so that's something that I have to accept about where we are. But I'm not going anywhere.

MIRACLE: Veronica Miracle, CNN, Hollywood, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: And our thanks to Veronica Miracle for that report.

Is California the next target of the Trump administration? What we're learning today about a proposal to freeze funding for not just the state, but some major universities here in California as well. That's next.

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[18:58:08]

TAPPER: In our national lead, the Trump administration is planning a sweeping cancellation of funding for the state of California, according to multiple sources. And the state's two largest public university systems could be on the chopping block.

The White House tells CNN that no final decisions have been made.

CNN's Annie Grayer joins us now.

Annie, when could these cuts start?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Jake, we're told these cuts could come as soon as today. Agency officials are looking for where to make cuts across the federal government we're told and we're looking at specifically the public universities in California. We're told that's where the administration is likely to start because they're upset with their handling over alleged antisemitism events on campus.

This is similar to the attacks the administration has made against Harvard and Columbia. Now, the U.C. school systems in California are the third largest employer in the state and provide critical research.

Now, when I reached out to the administration for a response for this story, they were very critical of. California but said no final decisions have been made but Democrats are ready to go on offense here. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom responded to our story on social media and pointed out how much in taxes Californians pay each year, and it is no his -- there's no mystery. The history between Trump and Governor Newsom.

Trump has long been critical of Newsom, specifically over his handling over the devastating wildfires in his state. Trump has -- Trump has already threatened to withhold funding from California over a transgender athletes use of a bathroom. I've reported the -- that the administration has already cut over $100 million in water funding projects for this state.

So, there is a lot of concern around here. The UC school systems are standing by, but we're waiting to see the scale and scope of these cuts. TAPPER: Thank you, Andy. Appreciate it.

Coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION," independent Senator Bernie Sanders, Republican Senator Ron Johnson and Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin. That's Sunday morning at 9:00 Eastern and again at noon here on CNN.

If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can listen to the show whence you get your podcasts.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.

Take it away, Erin. Have a great weekend.