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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Judges Rule Trump Admin Must Cover Some SNAP Benefits; Pentagon Clears Giving Ukraine Long-Range Tomahawk Missiles, Final Decision Up To Trump; Trump Reacts To Rulings On Food Stamp Benefits; DNC Chair: "We're Going To Win" NJ, VA Governor Races. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 31, 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, two federal judges ruled the White House must use the contingency funds to at least partially cover food stamp benefits during this government shutdown. But those benefits were supposed to be distributed in just hours, and they still could be delayed. So, what does this mean for the tens of millions of Americans, 42 million, who depend on these resources?

Plus, the Pentagon has now given the green light for the United States to give long-range tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. These weapons could give Kyiv a big boost in its fight against Russia. But the final decision now sits with President Trump.

Also, CNN is on the campaign trail tonight with just four days until crucial elections that will test not just how voters feel about President Trump's first ten months back in office, but Democrats' messaging across the country.

And a new documentary follows three former Navy SEALs who turn to an unexpected treatment to help them deal with post-war trauma. One of those American heroes will join me ahead to explain how psychedelic drugs helped him and other former service members improve their lives.

The Lead tonight, two federal judges say the Trump administration must use its billions of dollars in contingency funds towards food stamp benefits amid this federal government shutdown. The rulings from judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts pushing back against the Department of Agriculture's prior claim that they can't dip into the contingent contingency fund with more than $5 billion in it to help the 42 million Americans who rely on the federal food assistance program known as SNAP.

SNAP recipients are likely to still face delays this coming month with the expiration deadlines scheduled for tomorrow and the money only partially funding this program through November anyway. But the Trump administration's compliance with the order would likely ease a major political pressure point for Democrats as the government shutdown hits the one-month mark today, meaning 31 days of no work and several weeks of missed paychecks for furloughed federal workers.

CNN's Brian Todd hit the streets of Washington, D.C., to hear how these workers are coping with the stress of the shutdown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For Angie O'Neal, drawing and painting are coping mechanisms.

ANGIE O'NEAL, FURLOUGHED GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE: All the words and stress is on this paper. I put it all on the canvas.

TODD: O'Neill is a 40 year federal employee, furloughed from her job as a program manager for the U.S. Navy. She says she hasn't been paid since late September.

O'NEAL: I'd like to give $2,300 for that, $1,500 for the Tony Morrison.

TODD: O'Neill is trying to sell her artwork at the Love Life Coffee Shop near her home in Laurel, Maryland. It's a way to try to make ends meet and handle the crushing uncertainty of being furloughed.

O'NEAL: It's about showing the mature realism of my work and the comfort of it all. I'm sorry.

TODD: Does it comfort you to do that at a time like this?

O'NEAL: Yes, it beautifully captures my emotions. It keeps me steady.

TODD: O'Neal's other coping methods are less soothing. She says she has to think about rationing meals and gas, or even going without medical visits to treat her diabetic neuropathy.

O'NEAL: If I don't have income, then I can't make those appointments. I may reschedule them or have to cancel them.

TODD: Other federal employees and contractors who were furloughed or laid off because of the shutdown are coping by canvassing job fairs, like this one we attended in Silver Spring, Maryland?

ELIZABETH BAKER, FURLOUGHED GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR: I wouldn't be here at a job fair if I weren't trying to hedge my bets, much as my employer has been very good to me has nothing to do with it because we're down to survival.

TODD: Furloughed Government Contractor Elizabeth Baker says she's cashing in her holiday pay using unemployment insurance and consulting on what to do if she gets an eviction notice.

Other furloughed workers at job fairs wouldn't go on camera with us, fearing retaliation. They told us about having to lend money to furloughed colleagues, cutting back on gift giving for the holiday. At K. Scarry's bar in D.C., furloughed workers didn't show for a networking session that Scarry set up for them because they heard we were coming, but Scarry told us what the conversations have been like in those weekly sessions.

K. SCARRY, OWNER, KBIRD BAR IN D.C.: There's questions about, you know, how do we talk to our kids? Our kids know the government's shut down. They know we work for the government. How do we have that conversation with our kids without overpromising, but also making sure they feel steady?

TODD: Elizabeth Baker's message to other furloughed workers, try to cope by focusing on your mental health.

[18:05:00]

BAKER: Keep the hope, keep striving. You're smart. You'll get through this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): And there is hope for federal employees, furloughed federal employees trying to get mental and emotional help as they cope with having no work coming in. One of the directors of a series of job fairs in Maryland told us that his group focuses a lot of its counseling just on the mental health of furloughed federal workers. He says, quote, we just want people to know that you don't have to go through this alone.

Jake, so many of them are going through such hardships, some of them now going as many as five weeks now with no money coming in.

TAPPER: Yes. A pain inflicted upon them by our Congress. Brian Todd, thanks so much.

Turning to major news in our World Lead tonight, the Pentagon has given the White House the green light to provide Ukraine with powerful long-range Tomahawk missiles, assessing that the move would not negatively impact us stockpiles. The White House was informed of the analysis earlier this month just before Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Let's discuss this with former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, retired General Wesley Clark. General Clark, always good to see you.

The final decision on whether to provide these weapons, of course, rest with President Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin has warned against the move. What are the factors that the president might be weighing? How much of a strategic advantage could these missiles provide Ukraine?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: It is an advantage. It's probably not decisive in and of itself. It depends on how many missiles and how much you can shoot at once. In other words, when we use Tomahawk missiles, usually, there's 30, 40, 50 missiles in a salvo against a dozen targets. We hit the targets usually with two or three missiles, just to be sure. So, if you gave Ukraine several hundred missiles and the means to launch a couple of dozen at a time, you'd have a pretty significant strike package going in, and that's what would be desirable.

But there's so much we don't know right now. First, are they going to be released? Second, how many will it be? Third, are there going to be restrictions on what can be targeted? And then Ukraine doesn't really have the means to plot the targets and so forth for these missiles dodge anti-aircraft location and so forth. So, it requires some precision technology to target. That probably remains with the United States.

So, there's a lot of questions still, but it's a very positive signal from the Pentagon that partially offsets the report that we might be withdrawing a brigade from Romania.

TAPPER: The president has also said he declined to provide the missiles because Ukraine would face operational issues in trying to use the Tomahawks without us help. How significant a hurdle is that? Is it difficult? Does it take a long time to figure out how to use Tomahawks?

CLARK: We've consistently underestimated Ukraine's technical capabilities. So, I suspect that they could quickly learn to use the Tomahawks in terms of how to launch them. You got to provide a launcher, got to build that platform, or if we're not going to provide that, but that could be done.

Targeting requires deep intelligence. I'm not sure that the Ukrainians have that. They would still remain dependent on the United States. And when we target these missiles they're not going straight in at a target, Jake. They're zigzagging around terrain features, known radar sites, anti-aircraft, things like this. So, you have to plot that target. You have to load that into the missile somehow. Maybe you can do some in-course corrections real time with the new models. But you still have to have a lot of technology to launch it. But the Ukrainians are very smart. Give them a chance. Let's get it going.

TAPPER: Let's turn to Venezuela. The U.S. has launched a series of military strikes on alleged drug boats off the coast of the country. Trump previously suggested he could look towards expanding that operation to include targets inside Venezuela, though he is now walking that back. What would the ramifications be if the U.S. did attack land locations in Venezuela?

CLARK: I think you'd stir up a hornet's nest diplomatically in Latin America. And I doubt that you could make a decisive impact on drug flow going into the United States. Certainly, you can strike airfields, you can strike boats in a harbor. You could strike headquarters. You could run a snatch job against someone you thought was a drug chief down there. But Venezuela is not really the center of the drug trade. You're looking at Colombia coming in, from Peru in some cases.

And so you've got to ask what's this really about. Is it really about drugs or is it about sort of jiggling the skeleton key in the lock and hoping you're going to find a way to intimidate Maduro and get him out of there? So, we don't know yet. It's not clear.

And, really, if the administration has a compartmented covert operation going, there's no reason for them to tell the American public about it.

[18:10:03]

But I hope that they will consult with all members of Congress on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees and make it a bipartisan effort because we need more bipartisanship and American foreign policy, to be honest with you. That's what gives us strength.

TAPPER: Yes. Obviously, any president possesses broad authority for military action against suspected terrorists. Those powers are now being applied towards suspected drug traffickers, raising questions about whether these targeted killings are legal and justifiable. What's your opinion?

CLARK: My opinion is that, first of all, most of the people we've gotten probably our drug traffickers, maybe not in every case, is certainly a submarine, is not a fishing boat. So, some of that may be legitimate. But killing them, no, that's really a violation of international procedures, international law, but I don't know what's behind it, Jake.

So, if this is a show of force designed to pave the way for a snatch job against Maduro or some other effort that's directed under intelligence services that we're not privy to, then you just don't know how to judge it. But on superficial grounds, yes, it's illegal to sort of go out and shoot boats out of the water. That's not the way it's done but there may be certain circumstances behind it.

I think if the administration really wants to deal with this comprehensively, it does need to show the evidence behind it, it needs some kind of a Congressional resolution as well. Drug traffickers are not terrorists, and if it really is a campaign to stop drug trafficking, you've got to look at other countries, including Mexico and you've got to look at demand in the United States. And thus far we haven't heard about any programs to deal with U.S. demand for drugs, and that's really what draws it in.

TAPPER: Retired General Wesley Clark, thank you so much, sir. I appreciate it.

Five people have now been charged after the overdose death of the grandson of actor Robert De Niro. Our legal experts are digging through the court documents in the overdose death, next.

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TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, five people were arrested Thursday on charges related to the 2023 overdose death of Robert De Niro's, grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, and 19-year-old Akira Stein, the daughter of Blondie co-founder Chris Stein. According to prosecutors, the five defendants allegedly were members of a criminal network that sold thousands of fentanyl-laced opioid pills to teens across New York.

Let's bring in CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig. Elie, walk us through the penalties these individuals may be facing. ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: So, Jake, ordinarily, in a drug trafficking case of this nature in federal court, there would be a ten-year mandatory minimum. That's a heavy hit. That means even if the judge feels sympathy for a person, the minimum, the floor is ten years. But because these drugs allegedly caused an overdose death, that minimum is bumped up to 20 years. So, that's a really powerful tool that prosecutors had.

There was an important Supreme Court decision back in 2014 that said, prosecutors in a case like this, they don't even have to prove that the dealers intended to cause a death or knew that their drugs could cause a death. They simply have to show that the drugs actually did cause a death. So, it's a fairly low bar for prosecutors.

And, Jake, the sad reality is prosecutors have used this type of charge much more frequently the last decade or so as the fentanyl pandemic has exploded. Stats actually show that there was a 44 percent increase in this type of charge between 2019 and 2023 alone, and 80 percent of those cases involved overdoses due to fentanyl.

TAPPER: So, I assume this network runs deep. It's so tragic and also horrifying. Is it possible that these individuals will cooperate? Because, obviously, they're not, you know, the geniuses, the drug kingpins behind all this. I mean, the fentanyl comes from a lot of times overseas in China, goes to Mexico, et cetera, et cetera. This is a big criminal network.

HONIG: I think there's going to be a rush in the door to cooperate, Jake. First of all, as I just said, each of these people is looking at a minimum mandatory of 20 years. They are going to be heavily incentivized to come in. Because, really, the only way you can get around that as a defendant is if you come in and cooperate, then you can get less than the 20-year mandatory minimum.

And from prosecutor's point of view, if they're doing their job well, they're going to want to go, as you said, to the root of this problem. They're not going to be satisfied. They shouldn't be satisfied with just picking off a couple of New York, you know, Manhattan drug dealers. You want to know where the source of supply is. You want to trace this back as far as you possibly can.

But I want to say prosecutors also are going to make clear, we're not going to cooperate everyone. This is a five-defendant case. If I was handling this, I would say, maybe one, maybe two, first one in the door gets the cooperation.

TAPPER: All right. Elie Honig, thank you so much, and our deepest condolences to the Stein and De Niro families.

President Trump has just responded to the rulings from those two judges who say his administration has to at least partially cover food stamp benefits in November from that Agriculture Department emergency fund. That story is next.

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TAPPER: Just into our Politics Lead, moments ago, President Trump responded to the rulings today from two different federal judges who said that the White House and the Agriculture Department must use the billions of dollars in contingency funds to at least partially cover food stamp benefits in November.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is at the White House. Jeff, what did the president have to say?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, it was that back to back ruling from the federal judges that got the White House's attention. Certainly, the president just a few moments ago, writing on Truth Social from his Mar-a-Lago resort that the White House is now willing to pay.

Let's take a look at part of his message here. It says, our government lawyers do not think that we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available. And now two courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do. The president writes, I do not want Americans to go hungry just because the radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and reopen the government. Therefore, he says, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.

Of course, SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, that helps 42 million Americans, about one in eight Americans. So, this, of course, is the deadline that is looming tomorrow. So, the White House is now saying they will pay.

The question is, Jake, how long will that take to actually get enacted? Because it will take a while for the USDA to send the money to the states, and it's not enough to fund the entire month, but only partial funding. But for the first time, the president is saying he will pay the SNAP funds, much like he did military funding earlier this week.

[18:25:05]

But what it does not do is move the shutdown any closer to being reached.

The president, of course, is not here. The House has been out of Washington for more than a month. The Senate also is not in Washington. So, the shutdown is entering a second month here, but at least the SNAP benefits, it look like, will be paid, at least in part.

TAPPER: Imagine not having to show up to work for a month and still get paid. Man, nice work if you can get it.

Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much.

The president of a powerful Republican think tank refused to condemn. Tucker Carlson, in fact, embraced Tucker Carlson after Carlson in interviewed and celebrated a white nationalist who constantly says horrific things about Jews and blacks and other minority groups. We're going to get the reaction from a couple of high-profile Republican senators, next.

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TAPPER: In our Politics Lead tonight, the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership meeting kicks off in Las Vegas as Jewish leaders grapple with the rise of anti-Semitism on the right. On Thursday, Kevin Roberts, the president of the powerful conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, refused to condemn Tucker Carlson, and, in fact, called him a, quote, close friend after Carlson came under fire from other Republicans for interviewing and celebrating White Nationalist and anti-Semite Nick Fuentes. Here's Mr. Roberts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN ROBERTS, PRESIDENT, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: The venomous coalition attacking him or sowing division. Their attempt to cancel him will fail. I disagree with, and even if poor, things that Nick Fuentes says, but canceling him is not the answer either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Here is just part of the Carlson-Fuentes interview that has so many conservative Jews upset.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I think that Neoconservatism, where does it arise from? It arises from Jewish leftists.

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, THE TUCKER CARLSON SHOW: but then like how do you explain Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz? And they're a lot like that John Bolton. I mean, I've known them all, George W. Bush, like the Karl Rove, I mean, all people I know personally who I've seen like be seized by this brain virus, and they're not Jewish.

I dislike them more than anybody you know because like what, because it's Christian heresy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what you're saying about putting aside the tribal interest for the corporate interest, that's absolutely the case. And that's the only way the country's going to stay together.

CARLSON: Exactly. That's my concern.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I absolutely agree with you. I would say, though, that the main challenge to that, a big challenge to that is organized Jew in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, not a lot of Republican officials have condemned any of that, but here is Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): If you sit there with someone who says Adolf Hitler was very, very cool and that their mission is to combat and defeat global Jews (ph), and you say nothing, then you are a coward and you are complicit in that evil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Senator Mitch McConnell, the former Senate majority leader, weighed in too today directly criticizing The Heritage Foundation, quote, the intellectual backbone of the conservative movement is only as strong as the values it defends, McConnell said this.

Two weeks after an explosive young Republicans group chat joked about the Holocaust and praised Hitler, and a story first reported by Politico.

Joining us now, Liora Rez, the founder and executive director of the watch group, StopAntisemitism.

Now, Liora, you've spent a lot of time rightly calling out anti- Semitism on the left, but we're going to look at this phenomenon on the right today. Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks told Jewish Insider that because of all of this, the Republican Jewish Coalition is going to have to reevaluate its relationship with The Heritage Foundation, adding, quote, we've seen Heritage moving further in this direction, but he still believes it's still well outside the mainstream of where the conservative movement in the Republican Party is, unquote.

Do you agree with that? Do you think that this is outside the mainstream? It seems like it's really -- this anti-Semitic part of conservatism is really growing.

LIORA REZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STOPANTISEMITISM: Jake, first of all, thanks so much for having me back. I do not think it's a secret that the Republican Party has given the megaphone to radicals, such as Tucker Carlson. And the fact that the head of a D.C. think tank, The Heritage Foundation, the head cannot disavow a man who hosts a neo- Nazi cheerleading fanboy, who is also a misogynist and anti-black, homophobic bigot is not fit to lead said think tank.

So, yes, we do agree with Senator Cruz. We applaud his condemnation of this. We agree with Matt Brooks and the RJC that their relationship should definitely be evaluated under the leadership of Roberts and we'll see where it goes. But the Republican Party definitely has an anti-Semitism problem.

TAPPER: One of the things I've heard expressed as a fear from conservative Jews who love Donald Trump and want him to succeed is they fear J.D. Vance as someone who is helping to mainstream some of these anti-Semitic voices.

Wednesday, Vice President J.D. Vance spoke before a group of students and he did not condemn somebody that said something pretty blatantly anti-Semitic, that Judaism is all about persecuting Christians.

[18:35:06]

He also said, J.D. Vance, that Christianity is the, quote, most moral faith. What was your reaction to that?

REZ: My jaw was on the floor, to be honest. He was in front of 10,000 students and had an amazing opportunity to shut down a very blatant commentary and accusation and completely drop the ball on it.

A student did stand up and repeat exactly what you had just said, accusing Judaism and Jews of persecuting Christians and, you know, other just abhorrent comments. And the vice president again had a fantastic opportunity to shut the hate down and instead he didn't, and it's just extremely disappointing.

TAPPER: Senator Cruz also said he doesn't see enough Republicans calling out anti-Semitism. He thinks it's spreading through young people, particularly on social media. What is the best way for parents, community leaders, and politicians to address this? And let me expand this now because, obviously, Democrats have an anti-Semitism problem as well. So, more globally, what is the best way to address this, do you think?

REZ: Listen, I have to tell you, it's very apropos that it's Halloween because this is literally a nightmare, and it is on both sides of the aisle. On Tuesday, New York City might be electing a socialist anti- Semite in the mayoral seat. I mean, as a refugee from the former Soviet Union, thankfully, you know, landing in America as a small child, I cannot believe that a socialist might be our next mayor in New York City.

You look at the other side of the aisle when you have, again, Tucker Carlson as one of the leading voices in the Republican Party and his anti-Semitic ties and platforming of neo-Nazis like, Nick Fuentes, we have a big problem in this country. And I think what history has shown us is that whatever starts with Jews never ends with us. This will take down American society and we have to work together to stop the radicals on both sides of the aisle.

TAPPER: Liora Rez from StopAntisemitism, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time.

With just four days until crucial elections, CNN hit the campaign trail in New Jersey, where electricity prices are emerging as a major issue for both Republicans and Democrats.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

TAPPER: Now, we're back in our Politics Lead, which means cue the election music. Nice. We're just four days out from Election Day and two pivotal contests for governor in the New Jersey race for governor. Republican Nominee Jack Ciattarelli cast his early ballot today. A key issue for voters in the Garden State, soaring energy costs. CNN's Arlette Saenz now has this look at how higher utility bills could tilt this nail-biter race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISSE CIELOS, NEW JERSEY SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: I vote for the people around me and the people I care about.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Lisse Cielos runs a flower shop in Passaic, New Jersey, and her business is feeling the squeeze from higher utility bills.

CIELOS: The bill just kept creeping up and up and I was like, wow, when's it going to stop?

SAENZ: Ciellos is like many small business owners and residents across the state, grappling with the spike in utility costs, an issue sending a jolt through the New Jersey governor's race.

MIKKI WOSENCROFT, NEW JERSEY DEMOCRAT: It's probably gone up on the electricity side 25 to 30 percent.

YALLIE ALZATE, NEW JERSEY REPUBLICAN: It is even more expensive than my car payment. So, if we don't switch that we really adding serious trouble.

SAENZ: The economy is a perennial issue for political campaigns with voters often concerned about costs at grocery stores and gas pumps.

But this year, utility costs are emerging as an undercurrent in New Jersey and beyond.

MIKIE SHERRILL (D), NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Day one is governor, I'm declaring a state of emergency on utility costs.

JACK CIATTARELLI (R), NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: That changes when I'm governor. I'll lower electricity bills.

SAENZ: The issue even drawing attention from President Donald Trump.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: If you vote Republican, your energy costs are going to go down tremendously. If you vote Democrat for her, in other words, your energy costs are going to go -- they're just going to go through the roof.

SAENZ: In New Jersey, residential electricity prices jumped by nearly 21 percent in the last year compared to 6 percent nationwide.

CIATTARELLI: It's the first thing out of people's mouths because they're looking at their monthly electric bills, and that's the failed policies of Phil Murphy, which had been endorsed by my opponent.

SAENZ: Republican Jack Ciattarelli says Democrats push for clean energy is to blame, while Democrat Mikie Sherrill says her solution is freezing utility rates.

SHERRILL: Jack doesn't really have a plan to drive them down and Trump's one big, beautiful bill will in fact drive them up here.

SAENZ: The high utility cost could become a flashpoint in the midterm elections, but in New Jersey, voters like Cielos are hoping for some relief.

CIELOS: Something's got to give because this is me struggling as a business, but I have a mom who's 82 years old and I have to help her because her utility bills are getting crazy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAENZ (on camera): Democratic and Republican voters I spoke with were in agreement that these high utility costs are a key concern in this race, but there was no consensus on who exactly was to blame. Some would say political leaders, others would point to the power companies or the construction of these energy consuming data centers. But Democratic and Republican strategists I've spoke with do believe that this issue of high utility prices will have staying power heading into next year's midterm elections. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Arlette Saenz, thank you so much.

Let's turn to the panel. So, we've got some big races here and I don't know who's going to win either of them, honestly. So, current governor Phil Murphy is a Democrat. He's term limited out. The Democrat hoping to replace him is Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill. She says she's the change candidate in this race, which is a tough argument for somebody who is the same party as the current governor.

[18:45:04]

Here's what she told CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKIE SHERRILL (D), NEW JERSEY GOV. CANDIDATE: So when people are gauging the status quo and who's going to actually make change here, I think that's why they're coalescing around my campaign, because, as I said, Jack Ciattarelli has given Trump an A, says he doesn't disagree with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, you have to go all the way back to 1961, when New Jersey elected a governor from the same party three times in a row. Usually, they switch. Chris Christie was the last Republican governor, and then and then came Phil Murphy.

Now, Trump hasn't even been in office a full year. Can she effectively communicate that she's the change agent?

ARSHI SIDDIQUI, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think so, because Mikie Sherrill, she's a pragmatist. She's a problem solver, and she's a great campaigner. So, affordability is front and center. And these are the types of her -- her theme when she was running first time around was ruthless competence in terms of government. And I think that really typifies what we need in this moment.

TAPPER: So, let's talk about the Trump factor. If there is one, we'll see. The chair of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, notes that having Trump back in office has been good for Democrats in special elections so far.

Here's what he told Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN MARTIN, DNC CHAIRMAN: There's been 45 elections on the ballot. Democrats have overperformed in all of them to the tune of about 16 percentage points on average. I expect that were going to win, certainly every single poll right now, public and private shows that we're going to win in New Jersey and Virginia. But as you know, I don't take anything for granted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: We should note, when Phil Murphy was reelected, it was like by four points, which is a very, very -- in New Jersey, that's very narrow for a Democrat.

ASHLEY DAVIS, FOUNDING PARTNER, WEST FRONT STRATEGIES: Absolutely. And listen, I don't think we should win any of these races and all my Republicans are going to be mad at me about saying this if we pull off New Jersey. That's a story. If we don't, I think it's like what everyone expects.

I just -- I mean, we're not going to win Virginia. And I think if he wins in New Jersey, it's a statement, but it's more because of local politics more than national.

TAPPER: So just a few weeks ago, Ken Martin said New Jersey was the best place that Trump had to stop Democratic momentum. Republican Jack Ciattarelli feels good, feels optimistic about his third run for the governor's mansion.

Here's what he said last night during a town hall on Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK CIATTARELLI (R), NEW JERSEY GOV. CANDIDATE: We've seen the greatest number of Republicans return vote by mail ballots. We're matching them voter for voter here in the six days or five days of early voting that we've had thus far. Listen, if we go into election day within a certain number of points, we're going to win this thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: You know, it's kind of actually surprising that he's run three times. He's not a bad candidate. I think he comes across as a normal, regular guy who speaks the way that normal human beings do. Is there a risk here for Democrats? I mean, do you think it's possible that he could win? SIDDIQUI: I would say this is a margin of error race. So, this is very

much in play. So I think Republicans do a great job of setting expectations low.

(LAUGHTER)

SIDDIQUI: So well done, Ashley.

TAPPER: Caught her doing that. Yes. Caught in the act.

I know you feel it. I know that's your honest answer but keep going.

SIDDIQUI: So, margin of error race. And if you do look last time he was down in the polls eight by 8 percent. And after election day, it was 3 percent. Similarly, Mikie Sherrill also overperforms her polling. So, I think we have two good candidates here and it's a real race.

TAPPER: Now, this all happens in with the backdrop of like a real dysfunctional Washington, D.C. We got the government shutdown. We have SNAP about to expire, food stamps about to expire tomorrow. Although it's unclear whether or not the Trump administration is going to follow through and actually use the contingency fund.

We have Obamacare subsidies about to expire at the end of the year. And November 1st, you have, the health care premiums, insurance rates are skyrocketing. Do you see all of that playing a role as well? And if so, does it help the Democrats? Does it? You don't know?

DAVIS: I actually think we're all talking about that. I mean, I actually think tomorrow if SNAP goes away, I think that's a huge deal and it's not going to go away. It's just going to be like downgraded. It's not going to be the whole thing.

But I think that this is a Washington, D.C. issue right now, and that's why I feel that both Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate need to get their act together and pass a continuing resolution, or whatever it is, just like, get the government back up and working.

TAPPER: What do you think? How does -- how does the -- what's going on? The dysfunction in D.C. impact New Jersey and Virginia, do you think?

SIDDIQUI: I think it's going to be interesting because both sides right now, Republicans and Democrats, I've talked to, think they have very strong worldviews and they're stuck in them. So, I think this will give us a real time window into what folks on the ground are feeling and want from government.

So, I think it's going to have a big impact because I've never seen a situation in these types of government funding discussions. There's a tried and true blueprint, and it's talking and negotiating, and none of that is happening.

TAPPER: No, it is -- it is unprecedented. I appreciate it. Thanks to both of you. Really, really good to have you.

Don't miss CNN's special coverage of election night. One year after Donald Trump's election victory, voters head to the polls again in critical races across the country. Our coverage starts Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN, and the CNN streaming app.

[18:50:03]

Don't forget that.

Coming up next, the new documentary following three former Navy SEALs on their journey that leads them to psychedelic drugs to help them with their postwar trauma.

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TAPPER: In our pop culture lead, "In Waves and War" is a new documentary coming to Netflix. It offers an intimate look into the lives of retired Navy SEALs as they turn to an unexpected treatment to combat PTSD, traumatic brain injuries and severe depression.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're overseas and you see half your platoon get killed.

[18:55:01]

We're not supposed to leave them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was just begging, can you please help him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The TBI, with the memory loss, I'd meet someone. I don't know what your name is. No idea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was doing all the things he was told to do. And he was actually getting worse. I got his medical records. I completely changed my approach. Psychedelic medicines proved to be effective, but both are illegal in the United States. So Marcus would have to travel to Mexico.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you love your wife, you'll go to Mexico and do psychedelics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Joining us now to discuss producer and retired Navy SEAL Marcus Capone and the film's director, Jon Shenk.

Thanks so much for being here.

And, Marcus, thanks for your service.

MARCUS CAPONE, RETIRED NAVY SEAL: Thank you.

TAPPER: So this documentary, I was obviously inspired by your experience with psychedelic assisted therapy. The treatment was something your wife suggested or demanded, it sounds like, and you were actually against it at first.

CAPONE: Yeah.

TAPPER: So, walk us through the process and also what it was like watching other service members and veterans go through the same journey.

CAPONE: I think just on the right side of that, watching others go through almost as healing, as healing yourself. I, you know, I think as humans, we're servant leaders and I love watching individuals who come in and they\re broken or they're struggling and you watch them go through treatment. Monday, they come in, they can't look at you in the eye. Friday, they walk away with like the sense of like hope again. And they're excited about life again.

And it's kind of what happened to me for about seven years, I was prescribed antidepressants and talk therapy and went through multiple brain clinics, listen to Western medicine doctors. But I wasn't getting better.

And thank goodness for, you know, for Amber, you know, she's my guardian angel. She was working with some doctors that said, recommended, you know, we think psychedelic therapy, specifically a drug called ibogaine, would help me.

What the psychedelics do in a very short amount of time. It goes right into your subconscious and gets to the root cause of the issue that's forcing you to have these symptoms.

TAPPER: So, John, earlier this year, you guys held two private screenings for Texas lawmakers, try to help -- try to help them better understand the benefits of these treatments, which resulted in Texas approving $50 million in funding for drug development trials. I mean, that's a huge impact right there.

JON SHENK, FILM DIRECTOR, "IN WAVES AND WAR": Jake. What we're able to do with this documentary is super exciting. We followed retired Navy SEALs who were pulling themselves and their brothers out of the brink of these mental health crisis and getting them help finally with this unusual treatment in Mexico.

The film also goes inside their minds with this animation to show what these guys experience on the ibogaine, the drug that they take in Mexico. When the legislators in Texas saw that, they couldn't help but what a lot of audiences feel, which is to have. Tremendous amount of empathy with these guys have gone through and then obviously vote with their conscience and put more money into this, what obviously needs to be studied more, because it's not just veterans. There's so many Americans walking around with trauma that is not treated properly with what the -- with the current tools that we have.

TAPPER: And the documentary highlights an issue that we talk about a lot on the show, which is that more than four times as many U.S. service members and veterans have died by suicide than have actually been killed in combat. If there's a veteran right now watching, Marcus, and we have a we have an audience that's very veteran friendly at the very least, and they're interested in trying this psychedelic assisted therapy.

What do they do? How do they go about it?

CAPONE: All these psychedelics right now are still schedule one, meaning they have technically no medical benefit. According to the FDA and high abuse or high ability to abuse. We know it's the complete opposite. Individuals are coming to us with substance use disorder, with depression, and they're getting off their meds. They're stopping drinking alcohol. If they are -- you know, hooked on opioids from surgeries, whatever. They're stopping their opioids.

So, it's the opposite of what we've been told for so many years. And so, I think there's a shift that's happening. We're seeing that these medicines are extremely healing and helpful, and they're literally giving individuals their lives back. Both men and women.

And we've fought 20 years of sustained combat. There's a lot of -- I'd say hidden.

TAPPER: Oh, hidden injuries between the years. And that's not just affecting the individual. It's everybody around that bubble. It's the spouse, it's the children, and it's generations.

What this is doing is like, is bringing those bonds and like, you know, getting rid of them and just allowing individuals to live the rest of their life again.

TAPPER: Well, it sounds miraculous, and I hope it continues to have an effect.

Marcus Capone, Jon Shenk, thank you so much.

And if you or anyone you know is struggling, you can call or text the national suicide prevention lifeline. It's 988, 988. You can call or text. There is help for you. There is love for you.

"In Waves and War" premieres on Netflix on Monday. But before then, coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", we're going to have the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. That's Sunday morning at 9:00 Eastern and again at noon only here on CNN.

If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can catch up on the new CNN streaming app. You can find it at CNN.com/watch.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.

I'll see you Sunday morning.