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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Ends Canada Trade Talks Over Ontario Anti-Tariff Ad; Federal Workers Miss First Full Paycheck Amid Shutdown; A.I. Video App Blurs Line Between Reality And Fiction; Cuomo Fails To Directly Apologize To His Accusers; Tropical Storm Melissa Expected To Intensify To Cat 4 Hurricane. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 24, 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]

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

This hour, new numbers out today show what so many families are feeling right now, that prices are still going up and too quickly, from furniture to food, clothing, and appliances. We're going to dig into the data, and a new move by Trump today that could raise prices even more.

Plus, the countdown to Election Day is on, and Zohran Mamdani scored another endorsement in the New York Mayor's race, but why did it take so long for the House Democratic leader to back the Democratic nominee? And at this late date in the election, is it going to make any sort of difference?

Also, there's a new A.I. app that lets you create super realistic videos. Look, there's me flying through the sky. There it is. That looks -- right, that looks real, right? There are also fears that this type of technology could pose a serious threat to the world's economy and stability, and we'll explain why.

And Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to rapidly intensify over the weekend into a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 145 miles per hour. Our meteorologists are tracking the forecast.

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

The Lead tonight, your family is likely paying close to $200 more this month than you would have at this time last year for the exact same goods. That's according to new inflation numbers. We're going to get you to that report in a moment. Those prices could go up again soon because President Trump today called off trade talks with Canada over what the president is calling a fake ad from Ontario's government, where President Reagan lambasts tariffs. Here's a bit of that ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: At first when someone says, let's impose tariffs on foreign imports, it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works, but only for a short time. What eventually occurs is, first, homegrown industries start relying on government protection in the form of high tariffs. They stop competing and stop making the innovative management and technological changes they need to succeed in world markets. And then while all this is going on, something even worse occurs, high tariffs (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Okay. So, that is the actual speech that Ronald Reagan gave in 1987 talking about tariffs. Here is the ad that President Trump is calling fake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAGAN: High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens, markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industry shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs. America's jobs and growth are at state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, the bulk of the address that we brought you earlier from 1987 was not as Trump puts it about how Reagan actually loved tariffs for our country and its national security, unquote, and the premier of Ontario now says he's going to begin phasing out the ad, even though it doesn't seem to have been misused in all Reagan's words. Up until this point, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney says, tariff talks with the U.S have yielded progress, but Donald Trump called off talks. And today, the Dow closing above 47,000 for the first time, the S&P and Nasdaq also seeing boosts.

Let's bring in CNN's Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins. Kaitlan, where do talks with Canada go from here?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, we don't really know Jake. Both leaders, President Trump and Prime Minister Carney, are headed to Malaysia tonight for the same summit. So, maybe something will happen when they're actually in the same room together and can talk about this, but it's not really clear what the direction of these talks are going to look like after the president terminated them and canceled them, in his words, overnight, Jake.

We did hear from one of his top economic advisers, Kevin Hassett, over at the White House earlier. He wouldn't actually go into talking about the ad itself, Jake, but he talked about frustration in the conversations with Canada and said that, as he put it, there was a lack of flexibility on Canada's part when it came to these talks.

But, Jake, I think, you know, in addition to the president saying the ad was fake, as he argued earlier, even though you just showed it, the other thing that stood out to me from the president's comments is he said that ad was placed to interfere with the upcoming tariff argument at the Supreme Court here in the United States on November 5th, and that argument just actually got extended from the typical amount that it is in terms of how much -- how long each side will have to argue with the solicitor general. And that is something that the president has said he is considering attending actually because he's argued it's such a big moment for his tariff debate and his pursuit of these tariffs.

[18:05:01]

And, obviously, Jake, if the president goes, that'd be the first time in American history that a president has ever attended a U.S. Supreme Court argument. So, all of that is kind of at play in the background here.

TAPPER: All right. Kaitlan Collins, thanks so much. Don't miss Kaitlan on her show, The Source with Kaitlan Collins tonight. She's got a special behind-the-scenes look at the White House this week. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN.

Let's turn now to a repeated claim from President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: As you know, groceries are down. It's all down.

Our groceries are down.

Because our groceries are down.

Grocery prices are way down.

And prices are way down. Groceries are down. Everything is down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So frequently repeated. Those clips are just from the past two weeks alone.

But what are the facts? Newly released inflation data shows that grocery prices are actually up again last month and have been on the rise since President Trump took office in January. The average price of groceries rose 0.3 percent from August to September. On average, grocery prices are about 1.4 percent higher than in January when President Trump took office, and they're 2.7 percent higher than they were at this point last year.

And we can break it down even further because every category of groceries has seen price increases over the last year, most shockingly coffee, which is up 18.9 percent, as well as beef and veal up 14.7 percent.

Now, economists say it's normal for grocery prices to rise over time, but we need to point out that two of President Trump's signature policies, his tariffs on imported goods, such as coffee, and his crackdown on illegal immigration, which impacts many workers, especially in the agricultural industry, are certainly contributing to the spike, according to economists. Let's bring in Nebraska's Republican Congressman Mike Flood. Congressman, inflation is back up above 3 percent. Moody's Analytics data reveals that the average family is spending $208 more than last year on the very same goods and services. What do you say to constituents when they reach out and complain and talk about this? What help can you offer.

REP. MIKE FLOOD (R-NE): Well, first of all, the announcement today, to be honest, Asian inflation was lower than what analysts had expected, and this is only ten months into President Trump's term. He inherited massive government spending. We've been cutting that. We were able to prioritize tax relief and now we're focused on energy deregulation. We're going to return to an energy independent nation, just as in President Trump's first term.

Listen, it took a little time when President Trump started in 2017. He dealt with the Canadians, he dealt with the Chinese, and we saw more exports from the state of Nebraska. We regressed seriously under the Biden administration, and now the president is back at the table. We're taking steps. This is going to be a win for the president and for the Republicans in 2026. We're poised for that. And I can't wait for it because I think it's going to come here at the beginning of next year.

TAPPER: You're right that inflation is lower than expected, but it is still higher than normal. And President Trump won the election largely on promises to help ease the burden of high prices for consumers. And I wondered, do you think that when President Trump says, groceries are down, prices of groceries are down, and every American going to the grocery store can see that that's not true, that sees that prices are going up, especially in some categories, like coffee or beef or veal, do you think that that ultimately is going to hurt Republicans?

FLOOD: Well, there's three legs on this stool. You've got tax cuts, spending cuts, and energy independence. What we need to do now is pay attention to the third one. Streamline lease reviews for coal natural gas, oil, reduce taxes on federal oil and gas leases, provide long- term certainty and stability for lease sales and energy investments, and in Nebraska, extend the 45Z biofuel credit.

I'm focusing on energy independence because I think it's the third leg of the stool that needs to be dealt with. We went through four years of Joe Biden where we weren't having ourselves in a position where we have this reliable, stable power. We were relying maybe a little bit too much on wind and solar. Now, we've got it all of the above energy strategy. And when you lower taxes, when you cut spending and you make America energy independent, I think you can take the next step into 2026 and address some of these higher costs.

TAPPER: So, I guess there's another question about fighting with Canada right now. You're a member of the American Canadian Economy and Security Caucus. The state of Nebraska exported $1.6 billion of goods to Canada in 2024. He stopped trade talks because of an advertisement that aired in Ontario, in which Ronald Reagan was largely quoted accurately talking about how he opposed tariffs.

[18:10:00]

Do you support that, cutting off those trade talks?

FLOOD: Listen, Canada is an important trading partner. I'm not going to say anything bad about Canada. We dealt with them in the first Trump administration. We were able to rectify some of the trade imbalance. I think the Republican presidential library for Ronald Reagan come out to say that that rendition of President Reagan's words wasn't exactly what he said.

You know, I think President Trump here, he always has an unconventional style. And if you wake up in the morning and you say, we should go A, B, C, Donald Trump goes A, D, B, you know, L, M, it's always different. And that's part of his strategy. And I'm sure if you're the premier of Canada, you're waking up today and you're saying, okay, how do we get Donald Trump back in our corner? And what does that mean? They're thinking about ways to work with Donald Trump so they can get this done.

He's brilliant when he comes to doing this. Look what he did in the Middle East, you know? He's doing the same thing in Ukraine. He's punishing Russia. If you want a conventional Donald Trump, you're going to have to hold your breath for a very long time. His method is not what they would teach, you know, at some schools, but it works.

And so I'm behind him. I want him to be successful because when he is successful with these talks, we are all successful in America.

TAPPER: I mean, polls indicate that the majority of the American people do not think that his economic policies are working. Yesterday, we spoke with one of your constituents, a Nebraska Cattle Rancher named Jim Skavdahl. We talked to him about Trump's support of increasing the import of low tariff beef from Argentina. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM SKAVDAHL, NEBRASKA FARMER: Cattle business is a tough business to make money in the way it is. We don't need the politicians beating us down with the imports.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Nebraska exported $1.6 billion in beef and veal in 2023, the number one state responsible for that export. At the same time, beef and veal prices are up more than 14 percent. What do you think of the administration strategy here? I mean, they say that they are bringing in all this low tariff Argentinean beef, which your ranchers are not happy about, but they're doing that overall to have more beef and veal in the market to lower prices.

FLOOD: Listen, they're sickly cows and they're second choice beef, second rated beef. Americans want to eat American beef. We have the safest. We have the most -- the tastiest beef in the world. We are proud of what we do in Nebraska. And this whole situation here is really largely drummed up because we have a lower herd than we've had in decades. We've had a drought in the Western United States. We've got the screw worm affecting potentially our herd in Texas. We need to, in my opinion, not import anymore foreign beef, let the prices speak for themselves so that our market and our cattlemen can build more infrastructure and create a larger herd.

That said, you know, I'm on record opposing this, but we also have to remember this is a very, very, very small amount of beef in the big picture. It did spook the market for a couple of days. But I'm confident that, going forward, let's find a way through this. I'm in the solution phase. Can we reduce imports from another country so that we can communicate to American farmers that we're going to stay the course here?

TAPPER: Nebraska Republican Congressman Mike Flood, thanks for joining us, as always, sir. I appreciate it.

FLOOD: Have a good day.

TAPPER: Hundreds of thousands of federal workers got no paycheck today. The government is shut down for its 24th day. This is the second longest shutdown in history. Are Republicans and Democrats anywhere closer to any sort of compromise or even talking to each other? That story, next.

Plus, Melissa is still a tropical storm right now, but she could become a Category 4 hurricane within just days. Our meteorologists are tracking the forecast ahead.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

TAPPER: Our Politics Lead, it's Friday, which usually means payday, but for roughly 1.4 million federal employees across the United States, there was no paycheck in sight nor a sign of when their paychecks might resume. And that's all thanks to the government shutdown. It's now on its 24th day.

Since day one of the shutdown, I've been asking lawmakers here on The Lead what they're telling those unpaid federal workers whom they represent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): I tell my constituents I wish I could control Democrat votes, but I can't. So, we've got to keep public messaging on this and be rational.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): It is the Democrats who are putting the Republican administration in the unenviable situation.

REP. PETE AGUILAR (D-CA): We tell them the fastest way to help people who ensure that federal employees get their paychecks is to end this reckless Republican shutdown. (END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Congressman James Walkinshaw is a Democrat from Virginia. He joins me now.

And just point of fact, I know that's Pete Aguilar talking about it's a Republican shutdown. Just the way we have always covered shutdowns is the party that is voting against allowing a clean vote on the continuing resolution is -- that's the party that's behind the shutdown. In this case, it is Senate Democrats refusing to vote for a clean C.R.

Now, I know that there's the reason that you want Republicans to include extending the Obamacare subsidies. I get it. But this is a Democratic shutdown.

REP. JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA): I don't agree with that. I don't agree that the C.R. is clean. The C.R. that passed the House would lock in the devastating healthcare cuts, not just allow the ACA premium tax credits to expire, but it would lock in devastating cuts to research, cancer research, significant disease research. So, I don't think it's a clean C.R. Obviously, I wasn't in Congress for the March C.R. I wouldn't have voted for that one either because I don't think that was clean.

TAPPER: So, you represent nearly 60,000 federal employees. You represent a district in Northern Virginia. What do you say to them? They're not getting paid today. And, I mean, I don't know what they're saying to you, but I'm sure some of them are thinking, I get it, you want to fight for stuff, but this is just like my livelihood.

[18:20:02]

WALKINSHAW: Yes. Well, what I hear from the federal employees that I represent, and I represent 50,000 to 60,000 who are employed, I represent thousands who have been fired by the Trump administration over the last nine months, they are fed up with what the Trump administration has done to them, and they see this Trump Republican shutdown as another in the long list of assaults that they've experienced from this administration. So, they want us to fight.

They're hopeful that in the ultimate deal that comes from this, we can secure some protections for federal workers to prevent Russ Vought from illegally refusing to spend dollars that Congress has appropriated, for example.

TAPPER: He's using the -- Russ Vought, the OMB chair, office of Management and Budget Chair, is using the opportunity of the shutdown to try to fire 10,000 additional federal workers.

WALKINSHAW: He's tried and we beat him in court. So, so far, the courts have said what we've said all along, that those firings during the shutdown were illegal. I think the law is crystal clear on that.

TAPPER: Is there any prediction you might have about when this is going to end? Do you think that there is going to be some sort of -- I see no indication that Trump or Johnson, Speaker Johnson, are going to acquiesce anything you're demanding.

WALKINSHAW: Well, I'll give you an indication this week. We have seen, and you have reported, others have reported a lot more conversations internally among Republicans as to how they're going to deal with this healthcare issue, right?

TAPPER: Right.

WALKINSHAW: They are feeling the heat from their constituents on the ACA a premium tax credit, so they're starting to figure out what kind of package maybe could get enough Republican support.

My concern is anytime Congressional Republicans start putting their heads together about healthcare, they come up with more ways to take healthcare away from working families. But they are feeling the heat and starting to have those conversations.

What they should do is show up back in Washington and have bipartisan conversations about how we can do that.

TAPPER: Congressional redistricting usually happens every ten years, at the zero, so 1990, 2000, 2010. It's an extraordinary time right now because Texas has decided that they're going to redistrict that has caused something of an arms race of Democrats in California, now talking about it, Republicans in Indiana, Missouri, and on and on and on.

The Associated Press is reporting that the House of Delegates in Virginia is going to meet to talk about redistricting in Virginia. What can you tell us about that and do you support it?

WALKINSHAW: So, that'll be up to the General Assembly. I've had no conversations with the General Assembly leaders about that. I learned of it in the media yesterday. I will say I support nonpartisan redistricting, as most Democrats do. But the reality is that Donald Trump has commanded Republicans in red states to try to rig the maps in those states because he knows he is losing the midterm elections and Democrats in blue states or blue-leaning states can't unilaterally disarm.

So, I think in Virginia we have to keep that option on the table. We have a complicated process to get there, and it would have to go before the voters. So, just like there's a small D democratic process in California that will take place. If Virginia moves forward, there would be a small D democratic process and the voters could decide based on what Trump is doing across the country.

TAPPER: Congressman James Walkinshaw, a Democrat from the great Commonwealth of Virginia, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

WALKINSHAW: Thank you.

TAPPER: Another one of President Trump's nominees is under fire for past controversial comments. This time, it's both parties confronting the nominee. That's story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

TAPPER: And we're back with our Buried Lead. That's what we call stories we think are not getting enough attention. Another of President Trump's nominees faced a bipartisan grilling this week relating to past controversial comments about Israel on the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks.

Amer Ghalib, Trump's picked to be the U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait, has served as mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, since 2021. Ghalib is a Democrat, but he endorsed Trump for President during last year's election and has been accused of having called Saddam Hussein a martyr and liking social media posts, comparing Jews to monkeys.

CNN's Kylie Atwood has more. So, Kylie, what happened during the hearing?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, all of these controversial past comments were on full display and there were members from both sides of the aisle who were really aggressively questioning him about where he actually stands on these positions given what he has said in the past, as you said, calling Saddam Hussein a martyr, also not standing up against boycotts of Israel, and at one point saying it was a campaign of deception when there were reports that Hamas had carried out sexual violence during the most recent conflict that we've seen in Gaza. So, there was a lot of frustration from lawmakers, just trying to understand what his positions really are.

Senator Ted Cruz was one who had some very pointed questions for him, particularly when it comes to his views on the Muslim Brotherhood. Let's listen to part of that back and forth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): In August of 2020, you posted that the Muslim Brotherhood was an inspiration. Do you continue to believe that Muslim Brotherhood is an inspiration?

AMER GHALIB, NOMINEE FOR AMBASSADOR TO KUWAIT: I think a lot of my posts were written in Arabic and mist related. It's an ideology. It's not just a group of people. I disagree with a lot of things that they do. Some of them are extremists. Some of them are part of some governments in the Middle East.

CRUZ: And my question was simple and straightforward. Do you continue to believe the Muslim Brotherhood is an inspiration?

GHALIB: No, I'm not part of it. I don't believe in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: Now, Senator Cruz went on to say that he believes that the views of this former mayor of Michigan are in conflict with the perspectives of President Trump. He indicated that he's not going to vote for him. There would need to be other Republicans who would also vote against Ghalib if he's not going to get through as the ambassador to Kuwait. So, we'll watch and see where this goes. But as you have seen, Jake, not many Republicans on the Hill who have been willing to stand up to nominees of President Trump, even if they have these controversial remarks in the past.

[18:30:06]

TAPPER: How can you be ambassador to Kuwait having called Saddam Hussein a martyr when the United States literally went to war to kick Saddam Hussein's Iraqi soldiers out of Kuwait?

ATWOOD: And he didn't give a direct answer saying that he does not believe that Saddam Hussein is a martyr. He said that he's dead. And then he eventually went on to say that he doesn't think he is. But it wasn't very clear when he answered that question that he has fully changed his mind on that.

TAPPER: Kylie Atwood, thanks so much.

Coming up next, many people know him because he ruins everything. Actor and Comedian Adam Conover talks to us next about artificial intelligence and what he tells us might not make you laugh.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our Tech Lead, OpenAI's new app, Sora 2, which allows users with just a few text and image prompts to create hyper-realistic video clips. For those unfamiliar with the app, here's an example of something I created on Sora 2. Take a look.

[18:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: First, it's just a fact that societal understanding of A.I. trails far behind where the technology is, people around the world are going to be confused as to what's real and what's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And while the fake A.I.-generated videos of historical figures and celebrities have alarmed Hollywood, not to mention the family members of the dead celebrities involved, my next guest says, this new A.I. tool isn't just a threat to the entertainment industry, it could also potentially tank the world's economy.

Here now is comedian and host of the podcast, Factually, Adam Conover. Adam, great to have you.

Not only are you not a fan of Sora 2, you say it's one of the worst apps in the app store, but you also say it's proof that the A.I. bubble is about to burst, dealing a devastating blow to the economy. What do you mean by that? Why? ADAM CONOVER, COMEDIAN: Well, look, the entire AI industry is built on the idea that this is going to revolutionize our economy, right, that there's going to be such massive productivity gains, that, you know, our workforce, all, every industry is going to be transformed. What Sora 2 indicates is that maybe, no, it's not because Sora 2 is just a TikTok clone that costs OpenAI enormous amounts of money to run. It costs them $5 to make every single video, and at best, it's just going to replace TikTok.

This is not a product that anybody asked for. This is not a product that's going to have a revolutionary impact on anything. And when you look at it that way, it starts to seem like what OpenAI is actually doing is they're in a desperate race to get users and show growth by any means necessary. That's also, I think, why they recently announced they would allow people to make erotic content on ChatGPT. They're trying to boost their numbers to show that they're continuing to grow because they don't actually have a plan for how to use this technology in a productive way.

TAPPER: OpenAI CEO. Sam Altman allows his likeness to be used on Sora 2. Not all likenesses are allowed. I want to show users two different videos that you created on the app using his image. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, we need more GPUs. The demand is impossible. I can't build the models without your funding. Whatever you want, I'll do it. Just help us buy the chips.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at you begging. You're a good little pig.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm okay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, you call this app the most powerful bullying tool in human history. I have a lot of concerns about how it could be misused to create like serious conflicts around the world. Are there positive applications for this technology other than amusing ourselves by making these A.I. slop videos?

CONOVER: I mean, can you think of one, Jake? I cannot. I genuinely cannot. I mean, anything that you can do with this app, you could have done before with a real person and, you know, benefit would've been, it would've been real. But now you can make -- you know, anybody can make a video of nonsense and post it. Okay, great. You know, what's the -- what is the point of this? What is the point of any of the A.I. technology that's been rolled out to us? I mean, ChatGPT is just a worse Google that, you know, gives you a higher confidence, worse answer than Google does. People are using it to -- as their therapist, which they do until they talk to it long enough that it tells them to kill themselves.

It's -- you know, these products have been, you know, momentarily amusing, but what they've really done in our society has caused chaos. Like it's absolutely possible to use Sora to make a false story about a conflict around the world. I made one about the Israel-Gaza conflict in my recent YouTube video that looked completely real and that, you know, all someone has to do is remove the Sora watermark and distribute it, and they can make it look like anything is happening in any conflict around the world.

Why would OpenAI release this? I thought that A.I. was supposed to make the world a better place, cure cancer, cure diseases, you know, maybe allowed tons of workers to get fired and allow businesses to become more efficient. I don't understand how making slop videos is, in any way, the promise of this technology.

And we need to remember that these companies are currently spending $400 billion building out A.I. infrastructure around the country, and this is what they're using it for. Imagine if we spend $400 billion on something people actually needed, like food, housing, medicine, anything real.

TAPPER: Right. So, a lot of people are going to have a tough time knowing what's real and what's not. Technology is always way ahead of where our collective conscience is. And I am concerned about people using it misusing it to create conflict, to create war, to create bullying or vengeance or whatever. You said -- let's show that little video that you made.

[18:40:00]

What we're about to show you is it's fake news, literally fake news. It's about Gaza but it's not real at all. Let's show it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a rare scene amid weeks of fighting, Israeli settlers from nearby communities have crossed the fence under Army escort to hand out hot meals and water to hungry families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, again, that's not real. I mean, it's great that you used it to show a moment of peace instead of something else, but like there are a lot of bad people out there that will use this for ill.

CONOVER: Yes. I mean, my point would be that would be a video that could be used for propaganda if you were taking one side of the conflict and wanted to show the actions of Israeli settlers in a positive light, you could easily do it the opposite way. You could do this to show fake videos about what's happening in Ukraine or happening in any country.

And if you look at Facebook right now, Facebook is currently full of A.I. slop images that tons of, you know, social media added boomers are just scrolling by and clicking like on and believing. You know, there's a lot of people in this country who, you know, their brains don't work so good. You know what I mean? They're a little bit behind, you know, maybe they're a little mentally ill, they have issues that cause them to, you know, their critical thinking faculties to go down. These people are getting sucked into these products and they're believing the content.

And maybe most of us will be smart enough not to, but, again, we have to ask, why are these tech companies the largest companies in the American economy, why is this what they are choosing to create? Why are they choosing to create something that is actively harmful and shoving it down all of our throats? I mean, Meta, if you open Instagram or Facebook, they will shove the ability to create this B.S. at you. They will almost force you to use it. And why? What is the purpose? It does nothing for us.

TAPPER: Adam Conover, thank you so much. Great to have you.

Coming up in his final day's campaigning to be New York's next mayor, it's one thing the former governor Andrew Cuomo cannot seem to do. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:45:48]

TAPPER: We are 11 days out from New York City's mayoral election, which has pitted 34-year-old socialist Zohran Mamdani against the state's former governor, Andrew Cuomo. Questions, of course, persist about Cuomo's past and the reason why he had to resign the governorship, particularly about the women who have accused him of harassment and more.

Our next guest pushed him on this, CNN political commentator Margaret Hoover joins me now.

And, Margaret, let's play a bit of your sit down with the former governor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW CUOMO (I), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I think I learned a painful, expensive lesson that there you have to be hypercautious, always, because there is a new cultural sensitivity that people may feel. And if they feel it, it is -- it is real. I'm so hypercautious now by the way, I won't meet with a person alone anymore. I won't meet with a person who I don't know unless I have a witness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Seems to really belittle the allegations against him, some of which have been that he groped women without their consent. Obviously, he denies it. Why do you think it's so hard for him to just say sorry? I shouldn't have done that.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, no charges were ever brought, and he feels strongly, Jake, this came through loud and clear that he was politically railroaded in a moment where the #metoo movement was catching men who had created for themselves a series of circumstances that were incredibly bad to marginally bad to, you know, questionably, questionably bad. I mean, you can look at the difference between Al Franken's resignation and Harvey Weinstein's offenses and see that there is a gradation of bad behavior.

And I think he feels that he was unfairly caught up in that movement. And because of that, that he was politically railroaded in a hot political moment that frankly, where Democrats held each other to a higher standard than Republicans held each other. And so I think that makes it complicated for him to fully demonstrate the degree of contrition and sincere remorse that many women, in particular Democratic women, want to see in order to feel that he's eligible for this third act of what he wants to be a third act play, right?

Like we see a character arc possible here. But in the third act, if you want to come back, you have to demonstrate that you have apologized, that you have learned, that you have self-reflected, and that there is a degree of contrition that will allow people to let you come back and have that third act.

And look, he has reflected, I mean, he has I there was more self- reflection on that question than on the question of what did you learn about yourself from losing the primary? He said nothing. I mean, he learned nothing about himself from losing the primary.

So, he recognizes that he does think he has changed, and he does recognize we're in a different moment and people are sensitive in a new way. And viewers will have to decide if it's and voters will have to decide if it's a sufficient amount of contrition to allow him that third act.

TAPPER: What I heard from him there about how he's changed is that he has changed his behavior because of all these hypersensitive women and this bizarre new culture. And everyone else is at fault. So now he can't even have a meeting with a woman, just the two of them because of their issues. That's what I heard.

Do you -- can you understand why that --

HOOVER: That is --

TAPPER: Yeah.

HOOVER: A thousand percent, that's what you heard there. What he says right after is also whatever level of sensitivity people feel is what it is. And you have that has to be respected. Look, it's halfway there. I give him -- I give him, he's got the ball 50 yards down the field.

[18:50:03]

Does he apologize? No. Does he -- I mean, he's -- he is eminently defensive in his posture and so, you know, I did ask him those questions, I pushed him, I asked him a bunch. I, you know, his team was not happy.

TAPPER: Yeah.

HOOVER: But you can watch the exchange and judge for yourself the whole exchange. And the whole program airs tonight on PBS around the country whether you think he is sufficiently remorseful.

TAPPER: And you can catch Margaret when she hosts "Firing Line" on PBS.

Margaret, always great to have you. Thank you so much.

HOOVER: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: My panel joins me now.

Well, Sabrina Singh, you're a Democratic woman. What did you think?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN COMMENTATOR: I think what I would have advised if I were working for Andrew Cuomo is you need to acknowledge more remorse and be apologetic.

TAPPER: Did you hear any remorse?

SINGH: I think no, short answer no, I really didn't. I think -- you know, he tried to kind of encapsulate like the moment. But I think to your point, he was kind of putting it back on the women. And now it's like women are just super hypersensitive. And it's like, well, actually, maybe you should apologize and maybe some of your behavior led people to being sensitive because you made them uncomfortable.

I think to Margaret's point, too, you know, a third character arc, act three, like, could there have been this arc for him? There could have been, but I think he just missed the ball on it.

TAPPER: After a long wait, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has finally endorsed in the New York mayoral primary. He issued a statement today earlier that read, "Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy."

We have talked about this a lot, how he and both Jeffries and Schumer have avoided endorsing Mamdani for any number of reasons. One of them, Hakeem Jeffries, wants to win the House back. And a lot of Republicans think Mamdani is a gift to them in the sense that they can make Democrats in battleground districts have to decide whether they like Mamdani or they don't.

Is this a gift to Republicans Hakeem Jeffries endorsing him?

JOSEPH MORENO, FORMER GOP STRATEGIST: I don't know, I think he's probably saw the writing on the wall and said, I'm going to go with this. Cuomo is so flawed that I don't think there's any way he's going to pull it off. So Mamdani's going to win.

And, you know, as a conservative, I don't know that he'll be particularly successful. Hopefully I'm wrong. Hopefully he is for New York's sake. What I take from this, though, is that why is the Republican Party at this moment so unable to compete in a city like New York with two highly flawed candidates? The fact that we can't get a moderate, socially moderate, tough on crime, business friendly, conservative Republican in office, that's what I take from this, that it takes like a bottoming out, like a Rudy Giuliani figure when things get really bad to get elected.

So that's what I'd like to take away is like, look, how do we do better as a conservative movement to make ourselves competitive in these cities? Because we really should be, particularly in a year like this.

TAPPER: Well, I mean, I'm old enough to remember Republicans, Republican mayors of New York city, not just Rudy Giuliani. Michael Bloomberg was a Republican when he first got elected. Why can't Republicans compete? Or, I mean, was this just a failure to seize the opportunity?

SINGH: Well, I think the demographics of the city certainly trend towards Dems and I think -- I think the Republicans did put up a flawed candidate. And at the end of the day, you had a very crowded race.

And Mamdani ultimately was a better communicator. I mean, he was disciplined on the message of affordability.

TAPPER: Charismatic, no question.

SINGH: Very charismatic. And I think you know, he invigorated the base in New York and people wanted someone young, someone new. And frankly, you look at Andrew Cuomo and he looks literally like the establishment that, and has been the establishment for so many years. And so, Mamdani was someone new, someone different.

TAPPER: There were some crude comments made in a radio interview that we aired yesterday suggesting that Mamdani, if he had been mayor of 9/11, would have celebrated really? Obviously nasty Islamophobic stuff. Mamdani spoke outside the Islamic cultural center of the Bronx today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Growing up in the shadow of 9/11, I have known what it means to live with an undercurrent of suspicion in this city. I will always remember the disdain that I faced, the way that my name could immediately become Muhammad. To be Muslim in New York is to expect indignity, but indignity does not make us distinct. There are many New Yorkers who face it. It is the tolerance of that indignity that does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, it's true, Joe, that that there are people that have actual questions about his position on groups like Hamas. And the fact that he doesn't think Israel has a right to exist, but leave it to Cuomo to make him the victim in this situation.

MORENO: Look, Mario Cuomo, right? Andrew's father, he governed for 12 years. So, I mean, when I grew up in Long Island, like that was like New York royalty. So I think Andrew Cuomo has the son really has this sort of expectation that he kind of deserves the role, despite the fact that he had, what, like 11 or 12 women make these allegations against him.

[18:55:04]

So, the fact that he says kind of stupid things, insulting things doesn't surprise me. It also is the reason why he had a victory that probably was in hand, and he coasted and now he's going to lose.

TAPPER: All right. Thanks to both of you.

A new warning as Tropical Storm Melissa gains strength. The latest track, and if the storm could hit the U.S. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our world lead, Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean are preparing to face what could be catastrophic wind and rainfall from Tropical Storm Melissa. The storm is expected to rapidly intensify over the weekend into a category four hurricane with winds of 145 miles per hour.

Melissa's rain has already been attacking the islands for several days, with officials urging anyone in the storms path to prepare for life threatening flooding and landslides and power outages.

Coming up Sunday on "state of the union", we're going to talk to former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger about redistricting efforts, climate change, the return of Nazis in our political discourse, and much more. That's Sunday morning at 9:00 Eastern and again at noon, only here on CNN. You can follow the show on X and now on Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now. I will see you Sunday morning with Arnold.