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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Rallies In Chicago As Trump Vows Immigration Crackdown; E.U. Commission Says, Russia Hacked GPS On Plane Carrying E.U. Leader; Trump Attacks Court That Struck Down Many of His Tariffs; 25M Under Heat Alerts Across Western U.S. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 01, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: Welcome to lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper.

This hour, no federal troops in the city of Chicago, that's the message from the city's mayor tonight as braces for an immigration enforcement operation that could start in a matter of days. What we're learning about President Trump's plans, ahead.

Plus, they worked for Republicans and Democrats. Now, former leaders of the CDC are coming together to send a scathing message about HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Why these officials say RFK Jr. is, quote, endangering every American's health.

Also, a plane carrying a top European official forced to land using paper maps after its GPS system was targeted and jammed in flight. We'll explain who officials think were responsible for the terrifying incident.

And more than 25 million people are under heat alerts today just as forecasters turn their eyes to a new system brewing in the Atlantic. We're heading to the CNN Weather Center for an updated forecast.

The Lead tonight, you're looking at Chicagoans who are out protesting this Labor Day with federal agents expected to hit the Chicago streets by Friday. The Trump administration is casting it as collaboration with ongoing immigration enforcement operations in Chicago, while Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker says he's bracing for what could be a, quote, invasion of National Guard troops.

Here's Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson at a rally this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (D-CHICAGO, IL): No federal troops in the city of Chicago, no militarized force in the city of Chicago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: We start things off with CNN's Jeff Zeleny, who is here live in studio. And, Jeff, it doesn't seem like there's a lot of coordination at this point between local officials, state officials, and the White House. What more do we know about where this is headed?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I mean, we know that President Trump has spent so much time talking about Chicago. It really has been a rhetorical punching bag ever since he started running for president. But it certainly has intensified in recent days and weeks but he's spending very little time talking with officials in Illinois. That's what Governor J.B. Pritzker said. He said he's not heard from the White House at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): No one in the administration, the president, or anybody under him. Has called anyone in my administration and me have not called the City of Chicago or anyone else. So, it's clear that in secret they're planning this. Well, it's an invasion with U.S. troops if they in fact do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, Governor Pritzker, obviously a Democrat, and President Trump have been going at one another for quite some time. But, Phil, we are heading into what could be a significant confrontation here. And this is much different than what we've seen in Washington for several reasons. One, this is a federal city, so the president has the authority to essentially federalize the police force. And we've seen that here. It's brought crime down over the last couple weeks.

But Chicago is a different matter. Local officials there are standing up the mayor, Brandon Johnson, we heard him talking there, but he signed an executive order on Saturday to have the police not cooperate with federal troops when they come in. So, what does that look like? Very much unclear.

But the president was talking also about Chicago in a message earlier this morning before going out for a Labor Day round of golf. He said we could highlight Mayor Muriel Bowser of D.C. She's become very popular because she's worked with me and my great people in bringing crime down. And then the president goes on to say, instead of others, like Pritzker, Wes Moore, Gavin Newsom, and the 5 percent approval rated mayor of Chicago, who spent all their time trying to justify violent crime, instead of working with us to completely eliminate it, which we've done in Washington.

Of course, crime is not eliminated here in Washington. Crime has been a problem in Chicago, but it's been down this year. So, as we look forward to the a week ahead, if the troops come in by Friday, what is this going to look like in terms of a confrontation, much more like Los Angeles probably than here in Washington.

MATTINGLY: Yes, critical legal context, also background about what may be coming in the days ahead.

Jeff Zeleny. I appreciate it, man. Thank you.

Well, joining us now, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton. She's a Democrat running for retiring U.S. Senator Dick Durbin's seat. Lieutenant Governor, I appreciate your time. Just to start with the idea that we're pretty sure, based on social media, the president was watching the governor in his interview yesterday. Have there been any conversations since then coordinating between the administration and the state or local officials?

LT. GOV. JULIANA STRATTON (D-IL): Well, no. There's been no coordination and no communication from Donald Trump or the White House and his administration with state and local officials. I think this just continues to demonstrate what we've known all along, that Donald Trump wants to manufacture a crisis.

[18:05:05]

He wants this to be a situation that's not really focused on, you know, promoting public safety or doing anything to make communities safer in Illinois. This is all about his ego trip and wanting to make sure that he's the center of attention.

So, we have not had coordination. That's why we know that this is not done with the best intentions. And in fact, it's something that really just wants to lead to people being -- you know, normalizing the presence of the military on our American soil.

MATTINGLY: You'd have Trump allies point to, you know, I think seven people were killed, 53 were injured in shootings across Chicago this Labor Day weekend, and say, look, this is why the president's doing this. Whether or not that's specifically the case, what they're pointing to, do you believe local officials, their state counterparts, are equipped to handle this without the federal government's help?

STRATTON: Well, we have been equipped and we have been doing the work. We have been working not just as a state and as a city of Chicago, but with business community leaders, with faith, community leaders with philanthropic leaders, with community organizations, and we have made real progress here in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois.

Look, throughout my career, I have done work to create safer communities, and, in fact, for our administration, I lead a program called the Restore, Reinvest and Renew Program, where we've invested over $288 million in youth programs and violence prevention and other initiatives to really help to create safer communities.

But one thing that never comes up, when we talk about how to get to the root causes of crime or violence, and that is a militarized presence in our communities. That is not the solution. If we really want to see solutions, then Donald Trump could simply release the $800 million in violence prevention funding that's owed to states like Illinois.

MATTINGLY: There is, I think, a view among some that this administration wants to spark a clash of some sort, literal or figurative, if they move forward on something like you are describing. Behind the scenes in your administration, when you talk to local officials in Chicago, how are you thinking through how to deal with that and maybe prevent giving them the public relations pictures that they want to elevate? STRATTON: Well, look, first of all, we know that, you know this talk of an aggressive, you know, ICE strike or whatever type of efforts they're going to take, we know what that looks like. And here in Illinois, we're committed to following the law. They are not. You know, they are snatching people off the streets and stuffing them into unmarked cars, people wearing masks, and they're doing so with no due process whatsoever. And they know that good people, decent people will see that kind of activity and will be upset and will want to react.

And so what we are saying is that here in Illinois, we protect and will always uphold someone's First Amendment right to protest. We want to make sure, and we're emphasizing that all protests should, of course, be peaceful because any sort of violence is only going to harm those that are already most vulnerable to begin with.

So, we want people to speak out. We need them to use their voices. We are seeing not just the rise of authoritarianism, we are seeing it, we're staring it, quite frankly, right in the face. And so we do need people to use their voices, use the power of their voices to speak out, but we need things to remain calm because we need to make sure that our most vulnerable are protected.

And one other thing that I'm just going to say, this is the playbook. I mean, they do want to kind of come with this aggressive attack, see if they can provoke some kind of reaction, and then come back and say later, well, this is why we need to now federalize national troops. That is not going to be normal here in the city of Chicago or the state of Illinois, we are not going to make it normal, and we are not going to roll out the red carpet for a wannabe dictator like Donald Trump.

MATTINGLY: Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, thank you very much for your time.

STRARRON: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Well, up next tariff turbulence, what kind of impact should your family expect to see after a judge struck down and put on hold many of Trump's tariffs.

And some scary moments in the sky. The GPS system of a high ranking European leader's airplane is jammed, causing a tense landing, will tell you who experts suspect is behind that dangerous maneuver.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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MATTINGLY: In our World Lead, at least 800 people killed in Afghanistan today after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake. That's according to the Taliban-run government. Now, many people are still feared trapped in the rubble. Three villages were flattened in the northeastern mountainous Kunar Province. The quake was followed by at least five aftershocks, the strongest measuring 5.2.

All this comes as Afghanistan faces a crushing deficit of humanitarian aid following the chaotic 2021 U.S. withdrawal, and the White House's recent slashing of $1.7 billion in aid to the country.

Also in our World Lead, the European Union's top leader was on a flight to Bulgaria when her plane's GPS was hacked by Russia forced pilots to land using paper maps, according to the European Commission. The Kremlin has denied the accusation.

The E.U. commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine and recently earned praise from President Trump.

[18:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think you might be more powerful than all these guys at this table. I don't know. But you -- we had a great negotiation and you're respected all over the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: CNN's Melissa Bell has more. And, Melissa, what are you learning?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Phil, this was a plane carrying the top European leader that was targeted by GPS jamming. Ursula von der Leyen had been on a whistle stop tour of Eastern Europe trying to shore up support for Ukraine when on a charger flight, it was due to land in Southern Bulgaria, the systems went down, the pilots had to land using paper maps.

What Bulgarian authorities then told the European Commission, and it then announced to the rest of the world, is that it believed that Moscow was behind this GPS jamming incident. Just the latest, by the way, Europe remember, has been on the frontline of this hybrid warfare from Moscow for the last few months, for the last few years. And those countries that are in Europe's Scandinavian region, Baltic region, eastern front, the most keen on continued support to Ukraine are often the closest targeted.

As she came down from the plane, having safely landed, Ursula von der Leyen spoke of the urgency that needed to be kept in mind in continuing to fight Russian aggression and to support Ukraine. Phil?

MATTINGLY: Melissa Bell, thanks so much.

Well, how are businesses supposed to, well, do business when many of Trump's tariffs have technically been struck down by a court, two courts actually, but the tariffs are still in place until at least October? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00]

MATTINGLY: In our Money Lead, so much uncertainty for businesses and shoppers after a court struck down many of President Trump's sweeping global tariff regime, because those tariffs are technically still in place until at least October, giving the Trump administration time to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Let's discuss what it all means with Justin Wolfers, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. Justin, the kind of central theme of uncertainty in the marketplace has been pervasive since, I don't know, February, March at some point. Is there a way to explain what that means for the economy in the numbers? Can you see what something like this does to the broader macro economy?

JUSTIN WOLFERS, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Yes, absolutely. So, we have a variety of indices, ways of measuring the amount of uncertainty out there. And, in fact, a couple of months ago, President Trump had driven macroeconomic uncertainty up to an all-time high. The previous high, by the way, was held by the global pandemic. So, it's really quite a thing. If you remember the pervasive uncertainty, the fear, the sense that we didn't know what was going to happen next, that all of us were feeling in March 2020 when it comes to the economic part of things, uncertainty got even higher than that.

Now, it's become even more uncertain subsequently. We don't know if the Fed will continue to be independent, whether the government will continue to collect economic statistics and report them honestly. We don't know whether today's tariffs are going to be on again tomorrow. And it's not just the courts here, the president changes his mind almost every day.

We've gotten to the point though that the only certainty is continued uncertainty. So, at least now businesses know what they're at. And I'm starting to come to the conclusion this isn't just a few months of madness. This is the first six months in what I think is going to be a four-year play.

MATTINGLY: You ticked off a couple of things that I think will really move to the forefront in the next couple of days in terms of obviously the Fed independence. There's a case that's playing out right now with Fed Governor Lisa Cook. We are expecting the first jobs numbers since the president fired for no reason that he could actually demonstrate or give evidence to the head of the BLS, which is now being run currently by a career official as his nominee waits for consideration. We've got a lot of economic data coming before the Fed actually meets again in mid-September.

Do you trust economic statistics we're going to see with the jobs report on Friday?

WOLFERS: I do but I have to give a more nuanced answer than I used to have to give. So, there was a time that whenever the White House spoke the numbers, maybe they cherry-pick their numbers, but they were always true. So, back a decade ago, if the White House set of fact was true, you could count on it. Now, that's no longer true.

So, what I say to your viewers is look at data that's coming from the government statistical agencies, and so that's the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis. What we know is the president is in the midst of trying to politicize them but he hasn't succeeded so far.

The other thing I know is I know a lot of people who work in those organizations, they're absolutely committed to the truth. So, I certainly believe the numbers that are coming out now. And I'm going to make your view as one more promise. I guarantee if those career officials get told to do the wrong thing. They'll be calling their old mates from graduate school. That's folks like me, and I'll be calling you and saying I got to tell the world what I just heard.

MATTINGLY: Yes. I would second your view of the career officials at BLS having dealt with them and talked to them often over the course of the last decade plus, and also agree on your assessment of what would happen should something reflecting malfeasance occur from the political side of things.

I want to ask. There was some news today, the Treasury Department had a list of 68 jobs that would qualify for the No Tax on Tips provision in President Trump's big, beautiful I guess now law. It was first reported by Axios, a long list includes bartenders, cooks, wait staff, dishwashers, musicians, gambling dealers, dancers, hotel desk clerks, concierges, parking attendants, massage therapists, manicurists, makeup artists, and many more. I haven't seen the actual reg yet in terms of how that would be written, so actually meeting those definitions is going to be interesting to see.

[18:25:03]

But this issue itself from an economic perspective, how big of an impact does it have?

It's actually remarkably small and remarkably ridiculous. The ridiculous, first of all, I'm sure you even had to blush a little bit as you read out that list of occupations, but more to the point, yes, low wage and medium income workers deserve help, absolutely, but why those who are in this particular 68 set of occupations?

So, there's all sorts of other really important jobs. My local trash collector, my carpenter, my plumber, the local sandwich maker, who I think do really important work, all of them should be helped. And so no tax on tips is -- it's got a bit of alliteration to it but no economic logic. And all this is doing is adding more pages to the tax code.

There's a really easy way to help working middle class Americans. One would be get rid of tariffs that hurt them harder than others. The other would be to give them overall tax cuts rather than targeting tax cuts to the very rich.

So, what this is, when you look at the bottom line of the budget, it's a very small budget item. So, what it is it's gotten a lot of newspaper headlines, but it doesn't actually do much to help that many people. And even those who hit the list aren't going to get that much help.

MATTINGLY: Right. I absolutely do not agree with the assumption I could ever be embarrassed, Justin Wolfers, unless it's Ohio State versus Michigan the last four years. I appreciate you, my friend. Thanks so much.

WOLFERS: A pleasure mate.

MATTINGLY: Well, top health officials who worked under both Republicans and Democrats coming together, warning Americans that their health may be at risk. One of them joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

MATTINGLY: In our Health Lead, days after key officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention resigned following the Trump administration's removal of the CDD's director, Dr. Susan Monarez, a dire warning directed at all Americans. Today, nine former leaders of the CDC are raising major concerns about Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s leadership and decision-making. All of them on the byline of this newly published op-ed in The New York Times titled, quote, we ran the CDC, Kennedy is endangering every American.

One of the authors joins us now, former acting CDC Director Richard Besser. Dr. Besser, what decisions specifically do you think RFK Jr. has made that you, this group of distinguished former officials, believe are endangering every American's health?

DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER CDC ACTING DIRECTOR: You know, there are quite a number, Phil. It was an incredible process coming together with a group of leaders who have led the agency going all the way back to the Carter administration.

Every single president represented through Trump. There was an agreement that, that not only is CDC being devastated by the actions of the secretary. There are other things he's done as well. The decrease in funding to the National Institutes of Health, the firing of thousands of federal employees, the move to remove health insurance access from millions of people in our country, the elimination of so many expert advisory committees to the government. These things are all causing incredible harm to our country.

What pushed us to put forward this opinion piece was the firing of the CDC director because she refused to fire her leadership team and she refused to agree to put out vaccine recommendations that weren't backed by science. We all cherish the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the role it plays in protecting the health of people here and around the world. And to see what is happening to that agency, we couldn't sit by idly without trying to do what we can to push back.

MATTINGLY: You mentioned kind of the process of actually making this happen and the degree to which it covers decades of leadership at CDC. One person who wasn't signed onto it was Robert Redfield, who served as CDC -- the head of the CDC under President Trump. Obviously, most people remember him from the COVID era. Did you reach out to him? Was his decision just not to sign on?

BESSER: You know, it was a -- this was really a very time-sensitive process. He's one of the individuals that I did not -- but we reached out to all of the CDC directors from the Carter area through to the present.

MATTINGLY: In the agency -- or, sorry, in the essay there's a portion that says, quote, it's clear that the agency is hurting badly. The loss of Dr. Monarez and other top leaders will make it far more difficult for CDC to do what it has done for about 80 years, to work around the clock to protect Americans from threats to their health.

How do you quantify kind of the combination of perhaps distrust, but also maybe the lack of scientific heft that had been there in the past that will, in your view, come to fruition over the course of the coming months and years?

BESSER: Yes. You know, it's hard to say. You know, the agency took a major hit during the COVID pandemic with, you know, such politicization of public health. We saw so many politicians scoring points off of public health officials at the federal, state, local level. So, the agency was reeling, to begin with. And now with the loss of leadership and secretary of health who came in not just with policy differences but he's a major ideologue. He is one of the leading anti-vaccine proponents in the nation and he came in clearly set on moving forward with his agenda. And he's done that.

Although he promised the Senate he would not, he -- you know, during his confirmation, he said, don't take scientific advice from him because he doesn't have any background in science.

[18:35:03]

I agree with him on that, but he has continued to make scientific proclamations on a regular basis that have now put COVID vaccines out of reach for people who can't pay out of pocket.

And one other thing, the wonderful things about our vaccine system here is that if the CDC recommends a vaccine for children, Congress is obligated to pay for that for any child that isn't covered by health insurance. By the secretary deciding that children should not be one of the groups that gets access to COVID vaccines, it means that if you're a parent and you want your child to get that vaccine, you have to pay out of pocket.

More than 200 children are dying every year from COVID, and as a pediatrician, I don't think that is acceptable. These are kids who weren't vaccinated. You know, the majority of these kids didn't have medical conditions that would have put them into a group where they would get the vaccine paid for. But now, because the secretary is pushing his anti-vaccine agenda, those children's parents are going to have to decide, do they have $100, $150 for that vaccine? That's not something many people in America can afford.

MATTINGLY: What do you say to those who say, look, this is President Trump's administration, if you are not on board with his agenda or what he does he wants to do, then you shouldn't be there? And what he wanted to do was put RFK at HHS. I understand what you're saying, what he said during the Senate confirmation, didn't necessarily match with what he said decades leading up to it. That seems to be more of a Bill Cassidy issue than anybody else right now, given his yes vote on that. But people saying, look, this is what you voted for. This is what we wanted. You knew what RFK was, now you're getting it.

BESSER: Well, you know, I think it's really important to lift up what the consequences are of these kinds of decisions. I served as the acting director of the CDC at the beginning of the Obama administration. And the reason for that was that I served -- I was in charge of emergency preparedness and response for four years during the Bush administration.

This is not about politics. It's about keeping our country safe and prepared. We now have an acting secretary -- an acting head of the CDC, who has absolutely no experience with the agency or in public health response. So, you know, I really worry what the consequences will be if we have a public health crisis in the near future.

MATTINGLY: And laid out in detail in this opinion piece that you and eight other heads of the agency posted with The New York Times earlier today.

Dr. Richard Besser, I really appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

BESSER: My pleasure. Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Well, up next, we'll introduce you to a former teacher who was alarmed by the ingredients and the products his students were bringing to school. Now, tariffs are endangering the small business he's built to remedy those concerns. His message to policymakers, next.

Plus, President Trump heads to the golf course and downplays rumors about his health. Our panel weighs in in moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

MATTINGLY: In Our Money Lead, we're back with our Business Leaders series, where we hear from small business owners from coast-to-coast about how they're fairing on Main Street.

Our next guest is Kyle LaFond, owner of Natural Contract Manufacturing, a company that specializes in manufacturing natural and sustainable products, like deodorant and skincare. Kyle, thank you very much for joining us.

Just to kind of start things off, big picture, how have the tariffs impacted your business day to day over the last couple months?

KYLE LAFOND, OWNER, NATURAL CONTRACT MANUFACTURING: Well, it's almost been overnight. You know, we saw an immediate -- we're talking about tariffs, a lot of folks think about -- make all kinds of products that require ingredients from other nations, from primarily tropical nations.

So, we saw an increase in some of those inputs almost immediately. We're talking 30, 40, 50, maybe even 100 percent.

MATTINGLY: So, to people who say, well, hey, maybe just source it back in the United States, what's your response to that?

LAFOND: Well, last time I checked, we're located here in Wisconsin, and, unfortunately, there aren't a lot of palm trees around here. Most of our products utilize coconut oils, shea butter, and other ingredients from the tropics that we just can't grow or harvest here. So, we need to rely on our partners overseas.

MATTINGLY: The reason I asked in a somewhat facetiously way, which is why I appreciate the response, you know, planning for this moment in your business, forecasting what's going to happen in the coming months, how do you do it?

LAFOND: It's almost impossible. One of the real difficult things about owning a business is having to deal with chaos and uncertainty. And these tariffs haven't done anything but create more chaos and uncertainty than I've ever seen as a business owner. And that includes during the pandemic. If there was any type of strategic thinking or a surgical type of approach to tariffs rather than dealing with a sledgehammer, we could all plan much better. But because there's so much uncertainty and so much that we don't know, and these decisions are made pretty much on a whim, it's very hard for any small business to properly look at what the future's going to bring for all of us.

MATTINGLY: For increased costs that you've experienced, are you passing -- explain to people how you kind of think through? Do you pass them through to your consumers? Do you try and eat those costs? Do you try and split some difference there, hoping that maybe that uncertainty will become certain and the tariff will be pulled off? How are you handling it?

LAFOND: Yes. Well, for the past few months we've absorbed all those increases, which is something that, unfortunately, is just not sustainable. Over the course of this past month here in August, we contacted all of our clients and said, hey, we're going to be re- quoting your business, and based on the ingredients, the inputs that you have and how we can continue to operate.

So, we've weathered the storm by basically taking on a lot of additional costs.

[18:45:03]

But beginning today, September 1st, we're passing those on to our clients who, in turn, when they sell to the American consumer, they're going to see those price reflections.

So we've already seen kind of a slowdown in terms of interest and purchasing of personal care products this year. And I think already seen kind of a slowdown in terms of interest and purchasing of personal care products this year. And I think as these prices continue to rise, unfortunately the American consumer is going to bear the brunt of that. MATTINGLY: What is your message to policy makers right now in terms of

how they should be thinking about this? What would make your lives, the lives of other small business owners' easier?

LAFOND: This administration campaigned on the promise of bringing back American business, bringing back the greatness of our manufacturing. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any type of order or plan or strategy that will really do that. Unfortunately, instead of helping businesses, most of these policies and executive orders are harming small businesses.

So, from the administration, from policy makers, I'd like to see a real concerted strategic effort rather than just trying to grab a headline.

MATTINGLY: Once again, people pay attention, it's Natural Contract Manufacturing out of Middleton, Wisconsin.

Kyle LaFond, I really appreciate your time sharing your perspective.

LAFOND: Thank you, Phil. Appreciate it.

MATTINGLY: Well, the panel joins me now in the studio.

Thanks, guys, for sharing your Labor Day with us.

You know, Shermichael, what we just heard there, it's interesting because the headlines matter a lot.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah.

MATTINGLY: The president is better than maybe anybody I've ever seen in politics. And understanding that.

SINGLETON: Amazing marketer.

MATTINGLY: Grasping onto that and selling that. But the point about kind of the concerted effort to lay out the strategic plan after the tariffs. And by the way, there is -- I've talked to officials. I understand how they're thinking about things.

There's a small business owner that says, I don't -- I don't understand it.

SINGLETON: Yeah. You and I have talked about this. I sympathize with Kyle and many other small business owners across the country. And one thing was interesting. He didn't necessarily say that he was against --

MATTINGLY: No.

SINGLETON: -- the idea of tariffs and the president's argument hinges on reciprocity. He just said, hey, I want something that's a little more strategic so that I can plan for the next several quarters ahead. That makes perfect sense. One of the things that I have argued and continue to encourage the

administration to do is to offer some tax incentives for small businesses, but also tax credits. Republicans control the House and the Senate. We can pass immediate emergency legislation to pull some money to the side, to allow small businesses to tap into those dollars so that they don't pass that cost on to the consumer.

Think about what we did for electric vehicles. The rebates as an example. I know the president is against that, but I would follow that same methodology for small businesses writ large. That could guarantee some immediate reprieve to some of those companies that are starting to struggle to say, hey, I don't want to pass this on to my consumers, but I don't have much of a choice.

MATTINGLY: Yeah, it was a smart catch. This is not a mass rejection of tariffs. It was -- I just need to understand a little more and maybe be a little bit more targeted.

I have to ask you, because I've heard from way too many Democratic friends over the weekend about what the president was doing all weekend, and I think he was -- he spent a part of the Labor Day weekend golfing at his golf club in Virginia. But there's also like this social media burst of like, is he healthy? What's actually happening? What color is his hat?

What's going on here?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: I don't know. I think everyone would like to know. I think that it's really disconcerting that the president has been very vocal with press all the time. I think in August, he spent 26 days doing public events or talking to press. So, to go down for six days and just have a slew of Truth Social posts that are very chaotic and people can't follow all of them, it's very concerning. And I think that people -- it raises questions.

The president could just be taking a few days down in August, which is normal for presidents to do, or there could be actually something wrong. The problem is, is we don't know. And they're not being transparent about it.

MATTINGLY: I mean --

SINGLETON: Well, he's golfing, so I mean, he seems to be okay. I mean, he's out there golfing.

HAYS: He's saying he's golfing. They haven't seen it.

MATTINGLY: I will say he didn't stop at all in August. So I'm not totally opposed to maybe going dark for a couple days.

There are huge political fights ahead in the coming days and weeks. I think we were talking during the break like, oh yeah, congress was gone.

The president kind of made you forget, given the sheer volume of things that were happening in the last couple of weeks in those big political fights coming. What do you expect in the next couple of weeks?

SINGLETON: Look, you got the Epstein stuff. We were talking about that. We'll see how Republicans wrangle that story. I'm going to be curious to see if many in the base are still latching on to that, or maybe if they've moved on.

Something that I'm really, really focused on, I'm worried and somewhat I'm not worried. Some of these gubernatorial races, I live in Virginia, we have Winsome Sears, Abigail Spanberger appears to still maintain an advantage. Winsome has caught up a little bit. Those are the things that I'm watching, because I want to see if some of those congressional Republicans in the House are starting to look and say, well, wait a minute, are some of these state races going to impact me potentially in my districts, that's what I'm keeping an eye on for the next couple of weeks.

HAYS: And also, is the government going to shut down, right? So that -- that is really going to impact some of these races that are happening, it's going to go into the midterms. If they shut down the government, who's going to get blamed for it? How is that all going to work? So that is something that they're going to have to figure out in the next month.

MATTINGLY: Do they shut down the government?

SINGLETON: I hope to hell not. I'm -- Phil, I'm like, look, we maintain an advantage right now compared to my Democratic friends in terms of registered voters. Now the question becomes the president isn't on the ballot.

[18:50:02]

Can Republicans turn out those people next November? The number one question is going to be the economy.

We were talking, can we close this fricking deal with China? We got to hurry the hell up with this, man. Because if we can do that, Canada, Mexico, some of these other countries, I think we can wait. But that's the big conglomerate is China.

I think you figure out China, you lower interest rates a couple basis points. The American people start to feel it immediately. The stock markets continue to shoot through the roof. That's the best scenario for Republicans in my view.

HAYS: But even more basic than that -- the president needs to focus on lowering costs. The groceries need to go down, the price of housing needs to go down. They really need to figure out this health insurance piece that's going to -- prices are going to skyrocket in -- starting in January, again, for people on the ACA, that's 20 million people whose health insurance is going to become unaffordable for them.

So, I think they really need to figure that out. And so I'm a firm believer. Democrats cannot shut down the government if they do not have a way to open it back up. So, as this comes to fruition, I think that there's going to have to be some deal making here.

SINGLETON: Speaking of housing, there's a housing shortage. I think Republicans and Democrats could come together on that.

MATTINGLY: One prices, on housing, and specifically, those are two issues that you hear about when you actually leave the bubble of D.C. on a fairly regular basis from people. How people address that is going to be really interesting.

To that point, though, you know, Shermichael, deals -- details, there are two massive races in Virginia and New Jersey that are coming up.

SINGLETON: Yeah.

MATTINGLY: And the political world is about to key in on all of those. I know, I know, the parties have been for a long time. Do you feel like your party is in a good place for those given, I think, a somewhat complicated threading of the needle for the Democratic Party writ large the last couple of months.

HAYS: I think -- so there's two states there. They are ahead in the polls right now. There are also two incredible candidates that have incredible national security backgrounds that have really worked hard for their reputations, and that would be great governor. So, I do think that we are in a solid spot, and they are really strong on the economy.

I'm not sure that the Republicans have put up the best people to fight against them. But the other race that I think that's going to become really important for Democrats and Republicans is the mayor's race in New York. And how that shakes out.

SINGLETON: That's going to be a big one. I hope we win Virginia.

MATTINGLY: Did Trump endorse them?

SINGLETON: I think Trump -- he has not endorsed, but the lieutenant governor, she hasn't asked for the endorsement. And from my understanding, I think they're kind of wary of turning off maybe some moderate Republicans in northern Virginia, where I live.

My estimation is many of them may not vote for her anyway. So, you need to call the White House. Mr. President, I need that endorsement. Turn out the base.

At this point, it's really a 2 to 3 percent margin that really dictates where these races go left or right. I hope to hell you guys win New York with Mamdani, because that's going to be a darn good message for Republicans to run on. You want socialism or you want capitalism? I think most middle class Americans are going to say, give us more capitalism.

MATTINGLY: I just appreciate the idea that the president is being deferential on the endorsement.

SINGLETON: He is. MATTINGLY: He's a long noted.

SINGLETON: And I love this.

MATTINGLY: Long noted.

SINGLETON: Mr. President, I love what you're doing.

HAYS: I think she can win. She can't win, and I think he knows it.

MATTINGLY: Meghan, Shermichael, appreciate you guys. Thanks so much.

So why is this young boy walking along this dangerous monorail track? Luckily, a quick thinking dad sprung into action. Dads, man. And that story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:57:16]

MATTINGLY: In our national lead, Labor Day may mark the unofficial end of summer, but heat alerts are in effect today for 25 million people across the western United States.

Meteorologist Chris Warren is in the CNN weather center -- Chris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS WARREN, METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, Phil, it's the west coast, that is going to remain hot for at least the next few days. And this goes from the pacific northwest all the way down to the southwest, including southern California, while more fall-like feel will be around for the eastern half of the U.S.

But it's this heat here that if you don't take the proper precautions, can be dangerous. Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, here in the central valley of California and into the extreme southern part of California.

So from San Diego to Sacramento, the threat is there for some dangerous heat. Sacramento, you're going to be a few degrees away from 100 on average this time of year. What you would expect around 91, but it's going to be 97 over the next couple of days. East of the cascades in Washington state, Spokane, 100 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday, also in eastern Oregon, we're going to see triple digits with Los Angeles here. Even in southern California, quite warm. 91 degrees.

And then the cooler air is with us. Again, that's relative for this time of year. Early September can be warm, but you see, the 70s here pretty agreeable, I think, for a lot of people. Meanwhile, cooler than average air is going to be moving in for the end of the week as well. You can see that a reinforcing cold front.

So, what's already cool air is going to be even colder once it moves through. And again, cold is relative. We're not talking January or February, but you'll notice those temperatures here with readings running in the lower 60s by Friday in Chicago.

So, you can see that dip here with the overnight lows also going to be just a degree or two away from the 40s.

Here's a look at the Atlantic where this disturbance right here does have a medium chance for development over the coming days. And these coming days are getting into the absolute heart of hurricane season, September through about mid-October or so, and where we tend to see development is where were going to be watching here. And the red shows us we are more typical development and tracks of storms going. That would be right off the east coast, Phil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Chris Warren, thank you.

Well, a terrifying scene of a child walking on a monorail track shocked guests at Hershey Park over the weekend. A man quickly went into action, climbing to a roof to rescue the child back on the ground, the child was returned to the family unharmed. Hershey Park says the ride was not operational.

But we are just a few hours away from the fifth largest Powerball drawing in the game's history. Tonight's jackpot, around $1.1 billion, according to lottery officials. But before you rush to buy a ticket, you may want to consider just how lucky you're feeling.

You're more likely to get struck by lightning. Become president of the United States. Get attacked by a shark, or win an Olympic medal than you are to win tonight. To which I say, you're saying there's a chance.

You can follow the show on X @TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can listen to the show wherever you get your podcasts.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.