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The Lead with Jake Tapper

FIFA Awards Trump Its New "FIFA Peace Price"; Rep. Jen Kiggans, (R-VA), Is Interviewed About 35 Dem, GOP Reps Urge Vote On Bipartisan Health Care Plan; Rep. Josh Gottheimer, (R-NJ), 35 Dem, GOP Reps Urge Vote On Bipartisan Health Care Plan; Rep. James Talarico (D-TX), Is Interviewed About Indiana House Approves New Congressional Map Favoring GOP; D.C. Pipe Bomb Suspect Makes First Court Appearance; Indiana University Quarterback Leads Team In Undefeated Season. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 05, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

DR. EDITH BRACHO-SANCHEZ, PEDIATRICIAN: Health departments here. I'm at the end of a busy clinic day, but we just got this guidance and we as physicians are looking for the guidance. We're looking to the AAP, the American Academy of Pediatrics. We're looking at local health departments. We're trying to see what changed in the -- in the science. Of course --

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Yes.

BRACHO-SANCHEZ: -- we want to bring parents along on the journey. I do think it's a lot for parents to digest, to read, to follow themselves.

HUNT: Sure is.

BRACHO-SANCHEZ: So I would say go to your doctor, right? Go to your doctor. Ask your doctor. Because it is our job --

HUNT: Yes.

BRACHO-SANCHEZ: -- it is our job to keep up and guide parents through all of this.

HUNT: Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, I'm so sorry we're out of time. Thank you so much for joining us today.

And thanks to my panel as well.

BRACHO-SANCHEZ: Thank you.

HUNT: Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead." Hi, Jake. Happy Friday.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Thanks, Kasie. We'll see you back in "The Arena" Monday.

HUNT: See you Monday.

[17:00:47]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: The Village People in person on a Friday? Why not? The Lead starts right now.

President Trump setting the stage for one of the biggest sporting events on the globe, the 2026 World Cup and somehow earning himself a peace prize in the process. Coming up, the influence of this sport alone on world affairs. Plus, actress Halle Berry taking on Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALLE BERRY, AMERICAN ACTRESS: He probably should not be our next president either. Just saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Ouch. What the California governor now wants to make clear. And the fight for 2026, did the U.S. Supreme Court just create a rush to redraw congressional maps mid-decade nationwide? I'll ask a candidate described as a rising star of the Democratic Party.

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We start with our sports lead. President Trump finally has his peace prize. No, not the Nobel Peace Prize, which is the world's most prestigious and one that President Trump has long coveted. This one is the FIFA Peace Prize.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIANNI INFANTINO, FIFA PRESIDENT: Mr. President, this is your price. This is your peace prize. There is also a beautiful medal for you that you can wear everywhere you want to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, if the FIFA Peace Prize doesn't ring a bell for you, it's probably because it is a brand new award. It was announced last month by FIFA, which is the global governing body for soccer. You've heard of it because it's been plagued by scandal and corruption allegations in the last decade. This year's awardee, the president, is someone whom FIFA says has taken, quote, "exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people around the world," unquote. How the winner is chosen, however, is not clear.

But FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, who presented President Trump the award, happens to be a good friend of the president's. And all of this leads many to believe that the award was basically created for President Trump, given his fixation on someday winning a Nobel Peace Prize. Nonetheless, here is President Trump today accepting his award at the Kennedy Center, the site of today's World cup draw event.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much. This is truly one of the great honors of my life and beyond awards. Gianni and I were discussing this. We saved millions and millions of lives. The Congo as an example, over 10 million people killed.

And it was heading for another 10 million very quickly. And it just, you know, the fact that we could do that, India, Pakistan, so many different wars that we're able to end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: To close out the event, President Trump's favorite people, that is the Village People, performed the song YMCA and the president could not contain his excitement. He did a little peace dance of his own, Trump style. We should note, before President Trump got the award, he declined to answer a question from CNN's Kaitlan Collins about whether receiving the award would conflict in any way with his vow to strike on land soon in Venezuela.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House for us. CNN's Don Riddell is outside the Kennedy Center, site of today's FIFA World Cup draw.

Don, walk us through the spectacle of everything you saw there today. What was said about this new award itself?

DON RIDDELL, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, it was quite a spectacle. The draw was quite drawn out because of the events leading up to the reason were all here, to be honest, which was to find out who's going to be playing who in the World Cup tournament next year. As soon as Infantino, the FIFA president, announced that there was going to be a peace prize, I think everybody knew who was going to win it, especially given the fact that Infantino and Trump have become so close this year. Infantino has been seen in the White House half a dozen times. He accompanied Trump to Egypt for the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

And Infantino was lobbying and campaigning for Trump to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And when he didn't -- literally just a few weeks later, was when it was revealed that FIFA would be creating a prize of their own. So it really was absolutely no surprise that this was handed over to Donald Trump.

[17:05:11]

And of course, he was in good company here. Trump felt very comfortable on the stage alongside Infantino and also alongside the Canadian Prime Minister and the Mexican president, who he has been at loggerheads with this year with the tariffs which have been levied against the tournament co-hosts, but also former allies and trading partners. And he referred to them as friends. Of course, no mention of Venezuela, no mention of bombing the drug cartels in Mexico. This was a day where Donald Trump was made to feel really good.

TAPPER: And Kristen, President Trump literally set the stage for this, given his recent takeover of the Kennedy Center. So this had to be quite a banner day for him. How is he taking this all in?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It couldn't have been a better day for President Trump. I mean, he did all of the things that he loves to do. He walked on a red carpet. He had cameras pointing it at him. He stood on a stage, he received a Peace Prize.

And really when he received that prize, he received it the same way he would. If it was though, it would have been a Nobel Peace Prize. Saying, it's not about the prize, it's about all of the work that we're doing, you know, in these various countries. And then he went on to hear the YMCA by one of his favorite bands, one of his favorite songs, and we see him dance to -- for the last five years.

So I do want to emphasize something that we just heard from Don, which is this relationship with Infantino, because Infantino, this is a mutual relationship. We have seen this head of FIFA almost everywhere, in places that it's shocking to actually see him. He has been by President Trump's side. But there is a mutually beneficial part of this for Infantino, which is he needs this event to go well. They need a lot from the United States government and from the president himself.

Take into account just the fact that there's now a FIFA pass, which is expedited visas for people coming from other countries at a time when we're seeing an intense crackdown on immigration. Anyone who wants to come watch the World cup is getting an expedited visa. I mean, this is again, a two way street here when it comes to this event. But when it comes to President Trump, there was nothing that wasn't perfect about this event for the president.

TAPPER: All right, Don Riddell and Kristen Holmes, thanks so much. Let's discuss with Franklin Foer, staff writer for the Atlantic magazine. He's also author of "How Soccer Explains the World, An Unlikely Theory of Globalization."

Frank, good to see you. Help us understand why FIFA would conceive of an award to recognize contributions to global peace. Has FIFA ever done anything along these lines before?

FRANKLIN FOER, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: No. FIFA has done a lot of murky things in the past. They've cozied up to strong men throughout their history. Mussolini hosted one of the first World Cups in 2018. Infantino was palling around with Vladimir Putin as Russia hosted the World Cup.

The World Cup tends to go to strongmen who like to put on spectacles of this sort because it reinforces their global legitimacy. It's a form of soft power, and strong men just tend to enjoy these types of global spectacles. But it should be said that Infantino didn't suck up to Joe Biden in this sort of way. He had a pretty tepid relationship with him, which stands in stark contrast to everything we've just heard about his relationship to Donald Trump. That he bought office -- or FIFA has rented office space from Trump Tower in New York.

That there is a replica of the World Cup trophy that Trump asked for and that Infantino allowed him to keep and sits in the Oval Office. That there is this symbiotic relationship that the two of them have achieved, and there are the ostensible reasons for this, which is that Trump, with his capriciousness, could blow up this World Cup. That there are all sorts of ways that he could make life difficult for this. And I think anybody who runs FIFA would be probably wise to politic in that regard. But on the other hand, it does seem like the depth of this relationship, the kind of -- the degree of flattery that's on display, that was on display today is something quite out of the ordinary. TAPPER: You've argued that soccer is not just a game. It's a powerful cultural force. It reflects economics, societal tensions, and more. You say it's sort of a window into the modern world. So in this case, what does FIFA's creation of a Peace Prize say about the world?

FOER: Well, I mean, I think one of the things that's been true about FIFA in the modern era is that it is a murky organization where billions of dollars flow through it. That, you know, in selling the television rights to these games, in just amassing the massive amount of revenue, there's no more money on the table in a World Cup then will be there in this summer. The pricing for tickets is dynamic. The pricing for parking tickets, for parking places in New Jersey run 175 bucks a pop. And FIFA is going to collect all of that money tax free.

[17:10:00]

So the scale of this venture is enormous. The United States is kind of one of the last remaining global markets that soccer has yet.

So the scale of this venture is enormous. The United States is kind of one of the last remaining global markets that soccer has yet to fully conquer. It's made a lot of progress here. But this is -- this is a massive opportunity for the global game itself and which will present massive opportunities for revenue for FIFA moving forward. So to have them kind of display this obsequiousness to Donald Trump is an investment in their own bottom line.

TAPPER: President Trump certainly seemed to be very moved by the by receiving this peace prize from FIFA. It's a brand new award. Do you think that the --

FOER: Yes.

TAPPER: -- FIFA Peace Prize will ultimately be regarded as prestigious and coveted?

FOER: I don't think it'll be. Well, yes, I'm sure there will be people who are vain enough to covet the FIFA Peace Prize, but it's a concoction. It's a confection. It was a device that was created on the fly in order to appeal to this president's vanity. I've read reporting in the Guardian that moving forward, there's kind of a strong man who -- a corrupt guy who was a crony of the Myanmar regime who's part of the selection process for this moving forward.

But nobody knows exactly what the qualifications are for this prize. And so -- and nobody's exactly sure the process that led FIFA to bestow this on Donald Trump in the first place. So, I mean, I'm sure the world is filled with people who covet big pieces -- a big trophy is like the one we're watching on the screen right now and all of the attention that comes with it, receiving it on this stage where all eyes of the world are watching to see who's going to play who in the world Trump, it's -- World Cup. It's an opportunity to seize the world's -- the entire planet's attention.

TAPPER: All right, Frank Foer, appreciate it. Thank you so much. Congress is up against --

FOER: Thank you.

TAPPER: -- a major deadline, less than four weeks to extend some Obamacare subsidies before premiums skyrocket for tens of millions of Americans next year. I'm going to talk to a Republican and a Democrat working together on a possible fix. And later, what FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino says now about the arrest in the D.C. pipe bomb case versus how he described the case back when he was a podcaster and FOX contributor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:16:26]

TAPPER: In our health lead today, a new plan to lower health care costs is expected to be unveiled in Congress next week, but time is running out before the end of the year, and details on how lawmakers will be trying to tackle skyrocketing health care premiums for tens of millions of Americans on Obamacare remain slim. Take a listen to Republican Congressman Mark Alford of Missouri earlier today on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you have time to fix it? You only have like nine legislative dates left.

REP. MARK ALFORD (R-MO): Yes. We are going to bring something to the House floor by the end of the year.

SIDNER: And will that include the extending the subsidies so that people can deal with that quickly or --

ALFORD: I don't have knowledge of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Joining us now to discuss Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Virginia Republican Congresswoman Jen Kiggans, also a trained nurse practitioner.

Congresswoman Kiggans, you and Congressman Gottheimer are co-leading a bipartisan health care bill. Its two steps. The first is an extension of these Obamacare tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. Step two includes continued health care reforms before the midterm elections. Is Speaker Johnson receptive to this plan?

REP. JEN KIGGANS (R-VA): Yes. We certainly hope so. It's been a privilege to work with Josh and so many of our bipartisan colleagues to come up with this plan to not only extend the premium tax credits, but also to offer some reform. We can't pull the rug out from under the people who are on the Affordable Care Act marketplace health care right now. So -- but we need to put long term solutions in place as well.

And that's what our common ground plan offers.

TAPPER: Obviously, Congressman Gottheimer, if this gets through the House, it would need to get approved by the Senate. Senate Democrats are trying to push through their own bill. It's a three year extension of Obamacare subsidies. What are your thoughts?

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): I mean, I'm open to whatever actually gets people health care and helps them with their health care premiums. Jen and I, with 35 total members have been working for weeks to figure out, you know, you got 24 million Americans whose healthcare insurance premiums are going to skyrocket massively come January. You're talking about 175 percent increase for a family of four here in Jersey. That's not tenable with the cost of everything way up. So the question is, what can we do to help them?

I think Jen and I are both open to something that's smart and bipartisan that can actually become law. And I think that's the key here and we shouldn't stop working and I know we're not going to until we get this across the finish line.

TAPPER: Congresswoman Kiggans, people familiar with the negotiations say that abortion has come up as a sticking point in negotiations. Republican want so called Hyde protections which would prohibit the use of federal funds for abortion before they vote to extend subsidies. Is this something that can be worked out between Republicans and Democrats?

KIGGANS: It is something that can be worked out. We've had these discussions in our bipartisan group as well and there's already language in place, especially in some of our appropriations bills. The Hyde Act is the law of the land where no federal tax dollars will go to fund abortions. And that's acceptable to both sides. So we need to make sure that we can find that exact language and put that in place as well.

TAPPER: Congressman Gottheimer, there are no doubt families out there deciding how much to spend on holiday gifts or whether or not they even go on vacation because they're not sure whether their health insurance premiums are going to spike. What is your message to those families? This unseen -- uncertainty is continuing and there really are just a few days left before this can be solved.

GOTTHEIMER: Well, I speak to a lot of them and I know they're panicked. And they're -- with open enrollment and they're getting their price tag of health care next year. They're making some serious decisions. And this is about the health care of their families. And I know Jen and I and so many of us believe we should not stop working around the clock until we get this done.

[17:20:06]

That's what we're going to do. And we're going to keep pushing our leaderships to do that. What's unacceptable is going home without a solution. And so we just can't stop working. And the key is to come up with something that can actually become law, not play politics with it, not put up some sort of partisan bills, but actually find something where you can get to 60 votes in the Senate and a majority in the House and actually solve this problem.

TAPPER: So, Congresswoman Kiggans, a few weeks ago there was talk that President Trump was willing to support an extension of these Obamacare tax credits. And then according to Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House leader, it was Speaker Johnson who told President Trump basically to cut it out, that there wasn't going to be the support among Republicans in the House for it. How does your legislation fit in with that?

KIGGANS: Yes, so I wasn't involved in those discussions, but we -- what we have presented to leadership is this bipartisan plan that really not only extends those tax credits, but also has a little bit of reform, puts income caps in place, there's some room for PBM reform, and it's a two-year plan. So it's where we meet in the middle. It's compromise. This is what Americans want to see. They want to see Republicans, Democrats working together to come up with viable health care solutions.

And that's what we've been doing. And 35 people, 35 of our colleagues in total, on both sides of the aisle, it's just been a great and refreshing group to work with and to present, you know, these options to Speaker Johnson and to the administration to say, we can get this done. We can get this done. The clock is ticking, so we need to be mindful of that. But it's time to put real solutions in place.

TAPPER: Congresswoman Jen Kiggans, Congressman Josh Gottheimer, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. Good luck with your bill.

Today, text messages once again with the center of the trial of Brian Walshe, the Massachusetts man accused of killing and dismembering his wife. What prosecutors say about data pulled from his cell phone and how that factors into the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:26:03]

TAPPER: In our law and justice lead, today, defense attorneys for Brian Walshe presented text messages today hoping to portray a healthy, loving marriage. Walshe is, of course, accused of killing and dismembering his wife in 2023. Walshe says he did not kill his wife, but he has pleaded guilty to misleading police and to disposing of his wife's remains. Her body, we should note, remains missing.

CNN's Jean Casarez is following the trial for us.

Jean, what did these text messages say?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course the prosecution puts their text messages that they feel are important in to evidence. But the problem is here and the challenge for the prosecution is they have to show premeditation, premeditated murder beyond a reasonable doubt in order to get a conviction for first degree murder. And there's no direct evidence of that. So on cross examination, the defense really went at it to show that there is a normal couple here that might have issues, but they are a loving couple and they were actually focused on the future. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY TIPTON, WALSHE'S ATTORNEY: There's a text comes from the phone assigned to Brian Walshe, says love you. Correct?

CONNOR KEEFE, MASSACHUSETTS STATE TROOPER: Yes, correct.

TIPTON: And then immediately thereafter there is a text, page 16, immediately following that text coming from the phone assigned to Anna Walshe. And she says love, or the phone says, love you too.

KEEFE: Correct.

TIPTON: And are you aware of the fact that in your investigation of the case that Mr. Walshe actually made a reservation for a New Year's Day dinner?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Now these texts were on December 28th and we do know that Anna Walshe on the 31st of December visited a beauty parlor to get her nails done. She was sitting next to a woman who actually testified saying that Anna Walshe was very excited because her husband was planning a dinner for just the two of them without the children the evening of January 1st. Now, prosecutors were not going to let that go because they showed surveillance video of Brian Walshe following the dismemberment of his wife carrying a trash bag. That's his car right there. This is on January 3rd.

He's going into an apartment complex and he's going around till he finds where the dumpster is. And then you're going to see in a minute where he gets out of that car and he actually is carrying a bag that appears to be a pretty heavy bag. Here he comes right there. Seems to be fairly heavy. He's walking slow.

You can tell that he's sort of -- and then he goes in to where the trash dumpster is, stays there for a minute or so, takes his time in there and then comes out. And the prosecution is going to use that to show consciousness of guilt. You know you murdered your wife. You know you had to get rid of her, and that's how you did it because you didn't want anyone to find out.

And Jake, the final thing today was, and here's another challenge for the prosecution. They don't have a cause of death. They've got to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused the death. So they put the medical examiner from the medical examiner's office on, this is going to continue on Monday. But all that trash that they got, her personal belongings, the rugs, the bedroom slippers, they're looking for human tissue. And he's going to testify if they found human tissue on those items that were just thrown away like trash.

TAPPER: All right, Jean Casarez, thank you so much.

Well, tune in next week and you can follow every step of the case on the new CNN streaming app. You can watch testimony in court live and get legal analysis from the CNN legal team, Jean Casarez and Laura Coates and others. It's all on the new CNN app under the tab Watch.

[17:30:00]

Next on The Lead, the fight for control of Congress and the aggressive maneuvering playing out just one day after that energy boost, if you will, for Republicans from the U.S. Supreme Court.

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, the Indiana Statehouse today approved a new congressional map that favors Republicans for all nine House seats in that state. Democrats currently hold two of those. This does set the stage for a showdown in the state Senate in Indiana where some Republicans have publicly opposed this new map.

This after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas to use its redistricted map for next year's midterm elections. It's a map that President Trump pushed for, unusually in a mid-decade process, in order to keep control of Congress in the hands of Republicans.

[17:35:07]

Texas State Representative James Talarico is joining us now. He's a Democrat. He's running in the U.S. Senate Democratic primary. Representative Talarico, what's your reaction to the news that Indiana has now taken another step towards this unusual mid-decade redistricting in Indiana and in Texas that favors Republicans?

REP. JAMES TALARICO (D-TX): Well, you know, my fellow Texas Democrats and I, we broke quorum over the summer to shine a national spotlight on this redistricting power grab. And in the process, we inspired other states. We inspired millions of Americans. We even inspired a Trump-appointed federal judge to get in this fight. And we saw that federal judge strike down this racist gerrymandering.

Unfortunately, Trump and his handpicked corrupt Supreme Court have decided to revive this discriminatory map. But I think most Americans, most Texans across the political spectrum, believe that voters should choose their politicians, not the other way around. And we need to elect members from both parties who are going to fight for a national ban to end gerrymandering once and for all.

TAPPER: Why do you call it racist?

TALARICO: Well, if you look at these maps in Texas, it is systematically diluting the voting power of black and brown Texans in all parts of the state. It's going to give disproportionate power to Anglo Texans in our elections. And as you know, Jake, our state is as diverse as you can get. And it is becoming even more diverse by the day. And our maps, our representation should reflect that diversity.

Every Texan, regardless of their skin color, deserves to have their voice heard at the ballot box and deserves a fair shot at being represented in our nation's capital. This map prevents us from being able to do that in Texas.

TAPPER: In your state, Democrats, as you noted, protested these maps intensely before they were passed in the legislature. Your State House Democratic Leader Gene Wu told CNN that this fight isn't over just because of the U.S. Supreme Court decision. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GENE WU (D-TX): We're still going to take these maps all the way to the full Supreme Court on appeal. This is about the injunction that the lower court put into place. The -- the Supreme Court only lifted the injunction. They did not say that these maps are legitimate. If they are allowed to do this unchecked, it is the fall of the republic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The fall of the republic. Do you agree with that?

TALARICO: I think it's really easy to think of this as just a legal fight or even just as a partisan fight. But it's really beyond that. We have to zoom out and recognize why the President, the most powerful man in the country, is doing this. It's because his policies are unpopular. He and his Republican colleagues passed the largest transfer of wealth with that big ugly bill.

It's going to kick millions of Texans, millions of Americans off their health care to fund tax breaks for billionaires. They know that's unpopular. And instead of facing consequences at the ballot box, instead of allowing Americans to hold them accountable with their votes, they're trying to rig the results of the next election.

We can't allow that to become normal. We can't accept that, regardless of what our political affiliations are, because this is not about the Democratic Party. It's about the democratic process. And that should matter to every American, regardless of what party we belong to.

TAPPER: Since this redistricting fight in Texas began, other states have taken up this battle on both sides of the aisle. Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio passing new maps to favor Republicans but -- and four other states, including Indiana, are in the process of redistricting in a way that could ultimately favor Republicans.

California and Utah have approved maps to favor Democrats. Illinois and Virginia have launched that process to favor Democrats, too. Do you think this answer by Democrats, answer to Republican-led redistricting, is more Democratic-led redistricting, or is there a different path here?

TALARICO: You know, unfortunately, the way you stop a bully is by standing up to them and looking them in the eye and not flinching. And so I think blue states have to respond. But I hope that all Americans can agree, we don't want a descending spiral of partisanship and a -- and a cycle of -- of tit-for-tat gerrymandering in this country.

That's why I support a national ban to end this practice once and for all in blue states and red states alike, so that we can have free and fair elections in every community, so we can have free maps in every state, and so that we as citizens can hold our elected officials accountable at the ballot box.

TAPPER: There is some breaking news as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Texas. Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett says he's not going to run for reelection. Do you think other Texas Democrats are going to follow suit?

[17:40:01]

TALARICO: They may. That's -- that a decision that -- that every elected official is going to have to make for themselves. But it's a real travesty because in Central Texas, these maps are going to draw our constituents into maps with Texans on the coast and Texans, you know, hundreds of miles away. And that's not what representation looks like. That is not the American way.

We -- we have got to, as Texans, as Americans, come together across our political differences and commit ourselves to free and fair elections where we can all have a shot at having our voices heard in the halls of power in D.C.

TAPPER: Texas Democratic State Rep. James Talarico, thank you so much, sir. Appreciate your time.

Actress Halle Berry turning heads this week with a sharp critique of California Governor Gavin Newsom saying that he is devaluing women. Were the governor's actions misunderstood? We'll bring you Newsom's pushback, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:07]

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, today the man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters in D.C. in January 2021 made his very first court appearance. Brian Cole Jr. of Woodbridge, Virginia, did not enter a plea after the judge read him his rights. Yesterday, minutes before we showed you the suspect's photo, I should note, I mistakenly said that the suspect was white. Obviously, as the photo revealed, he's black. Apologies for that mistake. Cole's next court appearance is December 15th when prosecutors will seek to have him held in jail ahead of his trial.

CNN's also learning new details about the suspect. Sources are telling CNN that Cole told the FBI that he believed the 2020 election was stolen. Here now is our panel. So, Doug, what is your reaction to the suspect saying to the FBI that he believed these 20 -- these elections, theft, conspiracy theories?

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first, I'm glad he's been apprehended after all this time.

TAPPER: Yes. Thank God. Absolutely.

HEYE: I worked in the RNC building. I know you've spent a lot of time in the DNC. This is good news. But then we see, as so often, conspiracy theories cause people to do awful things. And I don't think this is a terrible or a terrible surprise. When we -- when we saw that this had initially happened, we knew there were bad things that were done around this. And it should have told us in advance that somebody believed some conspiracy theory, whatever it might have been.

TAPPER: What's your response?

ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR VP HARRIS: I mean, I think -- I think you're absolutely right. The question is, why are we still peddling in conspiracy theories, I mean, especially from the President of the United States? I mean, January 6th, the day after this particular incident, people didn't just come here because they were angry. They came here because they were radicalized by a conspiracy theory that somehow the election was being stolen.

That's what this is all about. And so, you know, so where -- we -- we do agree on that. I think the -- the concern is -- is the -- the long- term implications of this misinformation and these conspiracy theories. Not only are they distorting the truth and reality, but also starting to unravel the threads that combine us as a nation and all the institutions that hold up this country.

TAPPER: So the Deputy Director of the FBI, Dan Bongino, speaking of conspiracy theories, he's walking back claims that he made before he joined the FBI. Here's what he said on "Fox" last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN BONGINO, DEPUTY FBI DIRECTOR: I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions. That's clear. And one day I'll be back in that space. But that's not what I'm paid for now. I'm paid to be your Deputy Director. And we base investigations on facts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So just to remind folks, here is what Bongino said on his podcast November last year before he was Deputy FBI Director.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BONGINO: There is a massive cover-up because the person who planted those pipe bombs, they don't want you to know who it was, because it's either a connected anti-Trump insider or this was an inside job. This was a setup. I have zero doubt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Doug, that's quite a -- that's quite a pivot.

HEYE: Yes. And -- and he didn't say that once. He said that multiple times. And, you know, there's that phrase about Washington that -- that the ultimate gaffe is telling the truth. And what he said to Sean Hannity was telling the truth.

There is a whole industry in this town of people who are paid to say things that will cause outrage or, you know, stick to their side. I can think of one person who worked at one network and had very strong opinions in favor of Donald Trump, went to another network, became somewhat skeptical of him, went back to the original network and is back to her old self and back on the Trump train.

The reality is that happens all the time. It happens on both sides. And -- and you see opinion and principles for hire. And it shouldn't really surprise us anymore, as shocking as -- and dramatic as that example is.

TAPPER: And one of the things that's unusual about this is, you know, Bongino, to his credit, he played a big role, everybody says, in the FBI and the Justice Department, in -- in getting this guy caught. And, you know, kudos to him.

ETIENNE: Yes.

TAPPER: But one of the challenges for Kash Patel and the Attorney General and Dan Bongino is they have -- they were part of creating this very -- this -- this MAGA base that is very skeptical of anything the FBI or the Justice Department have to say.

ETIENNE: I mean, absolutely. I mean they -- they -- at one point, they were all holding sort of the match and lit the whole thing on fire. And now, all of a sudden, they've got clarity based on the facts. And now, all of a sudden, they -- they want to try to reverse that. But, you know, this has already -- this course has already been set.

And I mean I think the thing that makes this most despicable is how dangerous it actually is, and that these people are getting paid to perpetuate lies. And many of them know that it's a lot. And that doesn't happen on our side.

I mean, I think the argument coming out of the November election is we need to do more of what the Republicans have been doing, which is funding many of these podcasters that are perpetuating whatever narrative that -- that's -- to the Republican Party's advantage. We're not doing that effectively. And we've been arguing as a party that we need to do more of it, minus the conspiracy theory, pushing conspiracy theories.

But I think that is really the main concern here, is that all of these guys were steeped in conspiracy theories. That's what we've seen from the Epstein files. I mean, that was a huge conspiracy theory that -- that blew up in Trump's face. And the same with this particular case. But to your point, is anyone learning the lessons?

[17:50:11]

TAPPER: I want to come back to the FBI, but I do want to touch on this, because California Governor Gavin Newsom is on defense after actress and activist, Halle Berry, said this at a "New York Times" event in reaction to Governor Newsom vetoing menopause care legislation. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HALLE BERRY, ACTRESS: But that's OK. Because he's not going to be governor forever. And with the way he's overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in midlife, he probably should not be our next president either. Just saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So Newsom's office, when we reached out, told The Lead that the governor vetoed the bill because he believed it would have raised healthcare costs for women. He plans to address this issue in the upcoming budget. But, I mean, shots fired from Catwoman.

ETIENNE: I love it. I absolutely love it. But, you know, and as a woman of a particular age, I definitely think there needs to be more focus on -- on menopause and the effect on women.

But here's the thing. This is something that Gavin Newsom should anticipate, that there's going to be much more criticism and -- and -- and much more sort of focus on his record. So I think his team is expecting more of this to come.

But here's the real reality. He's still the frontrunner for the Democratic Party. I mean, many of these issues, he has the opportunity to either put in the next budget to make up for, correct, as he moves down the path.

But he currently is the -- the leading -- leading the field right now among Democrats, primarily because he's figured out this secret sauce on how to mount an effective opposition to Donald Trump. So I don't think that what Halle Berry said, although she's absolutely right, is going to have much of an impact on -- on the governor.

TAPPER: Quickly, Doug, President Trump appeared to doze off during another public event held. This time it was during yesterday's meeting with the African leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Here -- here's how a doctor and medical analyst tried to spin it on "Fox."

All right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MARC SIEGEL, FOX NEWS SENIOR MEDICAL ANALYST: Thomas Edison believed in the 10-minute nap, by the way. What would they say? We wouldn't have electricity, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my goodness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Thomas Edison didn't discover electricity. But anyway, your reaction?

HEYE: I mean, I don't even know what to make of that comment. Look, but Donald Trump, we know, look, he's older than he was the first time he -- he came in office and he was old then. So he still has a fastball. It's not as fast as it used to be. And my guess is we're going to see this happen more. It's just the reality of his age.

ETIENNE: We just call him Sleepy Joe -- Sleepy Donald Trump, I mean.

TAPPER: Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

Coming up, Heisman hype. The strong case being made for one much- celebrated quarterback.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FERNANDO MENDOZA, INDIANA HOOSIERS QUARTERBACK: My whole thing is to always stay hungry and always stay in the hunter mentality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: On to Indiana University ahead of one of the biggest games of this guy's young life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:56:57]

TAPPER: In our Sports Lead today, one of the biggest games in college football is tomorrow. If you don't know, it's Indiana University versus Ohio State. They're going for the Big Ten championship. For the first time, Indiana University is undefeated. And the team's quarterback has a real shot at the Heisman Trophy. That would be another first for the school. CNN's Brynn Gingras filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to Memorial Stadium, the home of the Indiana football team. That's right, you heard me say football.

GINGRAS (voice-over): This town is usually known for basketball, but there's a new game in town.

The Hoosiers finishing the regular season perfect for the first time in school history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at us, a bunch of misfits, a bunch of transfers, a bunch of rejects from Indiana, and becoming 12-0 for the first time in Indiana Hoosiers history.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The team's turnaround led by fan-favorite quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

GINGRAS: You got the Mendoza gear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do, yes. Had to. Had to.

GINGRAS: You're a fan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Of course. This season, are you kidding me?

GINGRAS (voice-over): Mendoza helped catapult his team with big wins against Oregon and a game-winning drive against rival, Penn State.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over there and over there.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Making him a favorite for the Heisman Trophy. His high school in Miami, Florida, launching a campaign to help make that happen.

DAVE DUNN, FOOTBALL COACH, COLUMBUS HIGH SCHOOL: He's going to be the first, I believe, first Cuban-American ever to win the Heisman Trophy.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Off the field, Mendoza is not your ordinary athlete. He's a bookworm who's already got his business degree.

MENDOZA: My whole thing is to always stay hungry and always stay in the hunter mentality. And then so I do that by deleting most, basically all my social media. The only social media I do check is LinkedIn and YouTube.

GINGRAS: If you don't know him, how would you describe him?

DUNN: He's a football nerd. He showed up to his very first meeting with me when he was 15 years old with a notebook and a pen. And he took notes in every single meeting.

GINGRAS: And Fernando as a person, how would you describe him?

DUNN: Unbelievable young man. He's definitely the type of young man you want your daughter to marry.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Pushing Fernando is his backup quarterback at IU, who happens to be his little brother, Alberto.

DUNN: At times I think that they're going to kill each other and at times they're the two most loving, supporting brothers I've ever been around. It's what drives them.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The boys are grandchildren of Cuban immigrants. Family, they say, is their everything.

MENDOZA: I'm so proud to be able to play for them and, you know, because they're my why. Especially my mom. They're my why.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Their mom, Elsa, is living with multiple sclerosis and the brothers raise money and awareness in her name.

MENDOZA: She is the most optimistic, positive person and our inspiration.

GINGRAS (voice-over): This team with head coach Curt Cignetti has changed Indiana football forever.

CURT CIGNETTI, IU FOOTBALL HEAD COACH: I win, Google me.

GINGRAS (voice-over): And forever, Cignetti says, he'll stay at IU.

CIGNETTI: I plan on retiring as a Hoosier. GINGRAS (voice-over): As he inked a contract extension making him the fourth highest paid coach in the game.

GINGRAS: You've turned this town from a basketball town into a football town. What does that mean to you and your -- your players?

CIGNETTI: It's really hard for me to step back sometimes and think about what we've accomplished here. It's been fun and let's have more fun.

[18:00:02]

GINGRAS: For those who slept on IU, what do you say to them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to the party.

GINGRAS: Cheers guys. Go IU.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheers. Go Hoosiers.

GINGRAS: This is amazing.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Brynn Gingras, CNN, Bloomington, Indiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)